Chapter 3: Epic Eye Candy

"I can't even…I hate this thing," Graham complained after Elliot opened the door to the half-bath on the first floor. "I don't even want to be here, which makes having to wear this even worse."

“Don’t look at me. I don't want to be here either,” the other teen replied, watching in the mirror as he wrapped a bandage around his head.

“I am looking at you to blame. You’re the one who told Mercedes to ask me!”

“It’s not like I thought she’d go this far. At the worst, I pictured a five-minute interrogation. Who else might have heard about this Seeper? You’re the one person I could think of because you subscribe to that magazine,” Elliot explained, unrolling the bandage partially before shifting it a half-inch over.

“I can’t be the only person in our school who reads The Wicked Riddle,” Graham insisted.

His suggestion caused Elliot to pause in putting on his costume to give him a blatant side-eye. Throwing up his arms, which looked short because of his costume, Graham begrudgingly agreed that he probably was the lone person. Grumbling about low subscriber numbers, he returned to the more pressing issue.

“I look like an orange blob. It’s humiliating!”

“I’m sorry, but it’s all we could find at the last second that somebody else wasn’t already wearing,” Elliot apologized. “Hell, I had to put this thing together from a couple of different stores. The bandages came from the drug store, the goggles from the department store, and the smoking jacket from some fancy mall store. It cost a fricking lot.”

“I should’ve done that,” Graham whined.

“How’s it look?” Elliot inquired, putting on the goggles to finish the look. Turning to face his classmate, he peered around the hallway. “My vision is only somewhat limited, but you sound muffled. This might not work if anything goes down.”

“It looks better than me. I wish I could cover my face like you,” the slightly chubby teen declared.

“Try pulling the hat piece down more. Maybe you can cover enough that a quick look won’t reveal your identity. It’s not like anyone is expecting you at this party,” Elliot pointed out. Then, picking up his phone off the bathroom counter, he slid it into his pocket.

“Where am I supposed to keep mine?” Graham challenged, patting his costume and body. “I had to leave it in my bag.”

“Well, anyway, we'd better head over to the back stairs. Kayla said they’d be down soon,” Elliot reminded.

Once they’d finished the tour of the showroom, Miss Bishop had been called away. Unsure where to change, Elliot suggested asking Dorita, which led to a quick snack in the kitchen before the chef suggested they use the nearby bathroom to change into their costumes. Located next to the entertainment room and down the hallway from the rear foyer, Graham had dressed first in his simpler outfit.

“Maybe tonight will go smoothly, and nothing will be stolen. That letter could be a prank from a friend or enemy of Mr. Raddatz,” the more hopeful teen speculated.

“Doubtful. You saw the showroom. This place is a goldmine with poor security,” Graham proclaimed. As per his usual, the negative worrywart had already worked out a half-dozen theft scenarios in his head while starting a seventh.

“I wouldn’t call it poor. Look at the number of guards. I think we’re up to eleven different ones so far. Those showcases are bulletproof, and even that vault door impressed you,” Elliot listed the reasons for his hope.

“Guards can be bought, or one could be the thief. Bulletproof glass means nothing. A solid burglar knows how to cut through it. Finally, while impressive, a three-factor vault door can still be accessed. Mr. Raddatz could be forced to open it,” the crime hobbyist countered.

“Forced?

“Yes. Imagine a scenario where his wife or daughter is held hostage or threatened with bodily harm.”

“Cede has already been warned not to do that to you two,” a sweet, cheery voice announced, echoing down the stairway. “No threats.”

“Like that’s going to stop her,” a second voice said from the top of the stairs. “Oh, shit. I forgot…I’ll be down in a minute.”

With Brielle returning to the bedroom, Kayla descended the stairs by herself. Within seconds, Graham dropped a quiet “Whoa” upon seeing her costume. The petite brunette with a rather large bosom for her frame had poured her body into a skimpy lime green dress. As she made the turn on the stairs, it became apparent that the garment barely covered her toned butt while she tugged up its front three times during her descent. A pair of semi-transparent wings and a blonde wig completed the Tinker Bell costume.

“Problem?” Elliot asked.

Unable to see the smirk, his longtime neighbor heard it in his tone. Shooting him an exaggerated frown, the peppy cheerleader preferred to dismiss the issue with her usual positive attitude.

“Only when I move around fast or up and down.”

“Which is basically what you do at a party. Or won’t you be dancing tonight?”

“Oh, shut up,” Kayla shot back. However, her smile belied her attempt to appear angry.

Reaching the bottom step, the brunette-turned-blonde stopped as a line of young women came down the hall. It took Elliot three seconds to recognize a few of the faces, which caused him to blush. Fortunately, the bandages around his face obscured the color change as the shopgirls they’d accidentally walked in on changing in the lounge slowed down.

“Cute Tinker Bell, hun,” an athletic brunette dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast complimented.

“Thanks! Wow, you ladies look fabulous,” Kayla replied with her own compliments, causing Elliot to nod and Graham to groan.

All seven young women wore various Disney princess costumes, and each had opted for the sexier version. Besides Belle, there were Cinderella, Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Alice, and Ariel. Each woman was a gorgeous, stunning beauty, which spoke volumes about who Mr. Raddatz hired as clerks in his main showroom.

“Well, you filled that out nicely. I’m less upset over not being Tinker Bell,” the woman dressed as Alice from Wonderland stated. With trouble written all over her sultry face and body language, she screamed either Slutty or Dirty Alice. Elliot noted to keep an eye on this one. He suspected she might possibly make a scene once the liquor flowed.

“Let me guess. Mercedes claimed Snow White, didn’t she?” Jasmine asked. With her skimpy, semi-transparent blue top and low-cut pants, the boys could tell the raven-haired vixen had an ass that rivaled Carmen Rosado, one of their high school’s in-demand cheerleaders.

“Nope. She chose something more fitting for her personality,” Brielle responded, chuckling as she rejoined Kayla. “I believe one of her father’s guests claimed Snow White.”

Elliot and Graham heard none of the words that followed over the next three minutes. Instead, both young men’s brains went blank when introduced to Brielle’s Elsa costume. Or rather, they assumed the character from Frozen had inspired the icy blue dress. Extremely low-cut, with a scandalously high thigh slit, the smitten teens knew at once that the ultra-busty blonde couldn’t possibly have on any underwear. And if Kayla might have problems keeping her dress up later tonight, Brielle might have already written off keeping the sides together: up top and down below.

Cinderella stopped in front of Graham and opened her mouth, snapping the pair out of their daze.

“Huh?” the startled, shy teen sounded.

“I said, that’s a cute costume,” Cinderella complimented. “Are you supposed to be the Great Pumpkin from Charlie Brown?”

“Uhhh…”

“Yep! Great guess. Graham is a big Peanuts fan,” Elliot lied about the large plastic pumpkin his classmate wore—black pants and sleeves, along with a pumpkin hat, topped off the cheap costume.

"I'm a big fan, too!" Cinderella squealed excitedly. Tapping Graham's arm, she didn't notice him almost melt to the floor as she added. "See ya around."

Thankful for the goggles he wore, Elliot watched the seven sexy shopgirls shuffle out the rear door. Through the window, he could see them head toward the pool. His brain briefly cycled through memories it recorded earlier in the lounge’s doorway. Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Sleeping Beauty were the three naked women whose details he could recall without any trouble.

“Damn,” he muttered, focusing on Sleeping Beauty’s large, dangling breasts.

“Who were they?” Graham questioned, looking at Elliot.

“The shopgirls,” Kayla replied first. Hopping off the bottom step, she made her way over with Brielle several steps behind. “They work in the Raddatz & Padfield showroom inside the headquarters. As the flagship location, Mercedes’s dad hires gorgeous women to sell and model his items. Those that show promise often go out on promotional tours to other stores.”

“I already have a standing offer from Mal to work there starting next summer,” Brielle revealed, meaning after she graduated from high school. “Many of the shopgirls either work their way up the company or become their models.”

“We know how they work their way through the company,” Kayla responded, frowning at the image in her head. “And don’t think Cede is going to be cool with you working there. Her dad usually hires his personal assistants from that batch.”

“I like the sound of that,” the busty blonde purred. “If things go well, I can have Mercedes calling me her stepmom.”

“Don’t even joke about that. Not tonight,” Kayla warned.

“Speaking of…I didn’t see Misty with them,” Brielle noted, referring to a former Rapidside cheerleader who was three years older than them.

“You didn’t hear? Misty was hired by an advertising company that R&P uses,” Kayla revealed.

“Shhh,” a voice shushed from the bottom of the stairs. The silent, sly approach down the stairs startled the four classmates, but it made sense when they turned to find Carmen Rosado.

Arguably the most athletic member of the cheer squad, the energetic teen’s stamina often outshone her friends. A dark-haired brunette with light brown eyes, medium-to-large breasts, and a toned tush, Carmen also had a reputation for being light on her feet. This trait made her slinky figure perfect for the skintight, black leather Catwoman costume she wore.

Strutting across the floor on her long legs, Carmen scanned the hallways, the open door to the entertainment room, and the stairs she’d just climbed down. Although satisfied that no one else was around, the cheerleader waited until she moved closer to explain her shush.

“Don’t bring up Misty’s name around Mercedes. She’s the one who arranged for her to be hired by that firm. It’s a nice move, but Cede didn’t do it out of kindness. She claimed the whore, as she called Misty, had gotten ideas about her dad. I guess she wanted the personal assistant job when it opened up over the summer,” Carmen recounted. “I only know the details because my sister was a year behind Misty on the squad. So they still run in the same circles.”

“You see? Don’t get any ideas,” Kayla warned Brielle.

Before the blonde could answer, they heard more people coming down the back stairs. Elliot recognized them as three junior-year cheerleaders he only knew slightly. The apparent leader of the pack led her friends over to the group.

“Did you hear from Pomona yet, Carm?”

"I don't think so," Carmen admitted. She raised a black velvet bag, untied it, and pulled out her phone. "Nope. Wait, a message is coming…Val and Pomona just arrived at the gates. It sounds like a line is forming."

Not far away, Graham approved the accessory substitute for a purse. The type of bag she held was often used to hold jewels or gems, and it went well with her Catwoman costume.

“Cool. We'd better go to see if any of the others arrived yet,” the lead junior said, causing Carmen to join them in walking outside. Before she did, the older cheerleader told her friends Mercedes might show up at any moment.

As he watched the door close behind the four girls, Elliot stiffened with another thought. If most of the cheer squad is getting ready upstairs, does that mean…

“Uh, who is upstairs? I mean, is Hay—”

“No!” Kayla exclaimed, cutting her neighbor off. “Don’t worry. She’s not here yet.”

“But Haylee will be, and she’s not happy about your invitation,” Brielle revealed.

“What? Why?” Elliot questioned about his ex-girlfriend.

“Haylee found out that Mercedes invited you after you left the stadium last night. It…was a scene,” Kayla admitted, frowning about her fellow cheermate’s reaction. Once friends with the other girl, their friendship had dissolved to a fraction of its old self after Haylee dumped Elliot last spring.

“Girl had a fucking meltdown,” Brielle disclosed, shaking her head. Chuckling, she continued by explaining how Mercedes eventually ordered her to shut up. That brought over Jacqueline Cabot, the cheer captain and Mercedes’s rival, who immediately took Haylee’s side. “So, Haylee joined the other side and is getting ready at Terra’s.”

“Great,” Elliot mumbled.

As Kayla's close friend, he knew all about the years-long war between Mercedes and Jacqueline. If his mere presence at the party added more drama by sending Haylee over to the other side, that also meant the Raddatz heiress might expect him to make up for that fallout with his limited detective skills tonight.

“Her reaction and attitude were uncalled for. Elliot hasn’t been to any parties since they broke up,” Kayla pointed out, repeating her arguments from the fight last night. “She can’t act like his appearance is trespassing on her turf.”

“I think Hay expected him to avoid parties for our whole senior year,” Brielle speculated, shrugging. Unable to see Elliot’s expression, she could read his body language. “Don’t worry. She’s chasing after Corbin Barron, so I bet you’ll be forgotten about pretty quickly tonight.”

“I doubt Haylee succeeds. Corbin has his eye on Isannah,” Graham supplied from out of nowhere. Noticing the surprised expressions on the two cheerleaders, he added, “I do hear gossip just like anyone else. People often forget I’m sitting next to them.”

“If that’s the case, you can be my new informant,” Brielle teased, wrapping her arm around the teen, who stiffened at the touch.

“What hell is that costume?” a voice roared from midway up the stairs.

The foursome turned to find another quartet descending the stairs with Mercedes in the middle. All four girls wore formal court gowns that looked straight out of the 18th or early 19th Century. As the spoiled rich heiress, Mercedes clearly played the role of some sort of queen.

An elaborate, richly embroidered light blue dress featured numerous sequins, glass stones, feathers, and ribbons. A wide range of expensive-looking baubles also covered the teen's body. Elliot and Graham spotted a diamond choker, a pearl necklace, gemstone earrings, brooches, and a sapphire-lined hairpiece. Mercedes also wore a diamond bracelet and an assortment of rings.

A minor comic book fan, Elliot nearly commented on her rings and the Mandarin, an Iron Man villain, but he held his tongue. While her low-cut gown, revealing an abundance of D-cups, was expected to draw the most attention, it was her sky-high hair that made Elliot gawk.

As for the other three cheerleaders, two sophomores from the junior varsity squad walked down the stairs ahead of Mercedes. Based on their squad rankings and the way they monitored the senior cheerleader’s dress, Elliot presumed their matching dresses, but in light yellow and lavender, made them her handmaidens.

Wearing a dress between the regal queen and the lowly handmaidens, a junior cheerleader wore a light red dress. Although unsure, Elliot guessed she was either an aristocrat or a lady-in-waiting to the queen. He also noted that she followed Mercedes from behind, which seemed to signify a higher position than the other two.

“He’s supposed to be the Great Pumpkin,” Kayla responded, using Cinderella’s misunderstanding of the generic pumpkin costume. “You know, from Charlie Brown.”

“I was not talking about that cheap piece of crap, but we will get to that shortly,” Mercedes replied, turning her nose down at Graham while she finished her descent. “I meant that!”

Finding the finger jab pointed in his direction, Elliot sighed.

“What’s wrong with this costume?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it! I have a strict rule about no copies of the same costume,” Mercedes declared. “That annoying pest Freddie Illig signed up to be a mummy.”

“Does she remember everyone’s costume?” Graham mumbled, only loud enough for Elliot to hear.

“First off, this is not a mummy costume,” Elliot began after shrugging at the other guy’s question. “Second, what the hell do you call that? Those two have the same dress but in different colors.”

“My handmaidens have different names, so they’re different characters. Not that it’s any of your business,” Mercedes explained. “You do not get to question me.”

“I’m going to,” Elliot shot back. Already stressed over getting forced to attend and the potential trouble with his ex, he surprised nearly everyone with the rare backbone he showed. “What the hell is with your hair? Is that a beehive?”

“It’s pouf, you moron! I’m Marie Antoinette. It’s what she wore.”

Surprisingly, the titter that started a giggle fit came from Graham, not Elliot. The whole exchange between Mercedes and the two guys seemed to shock the three younger cheerleaders. However, when their friend’s eyes turned to blaze with fire in Graham’s direction, Kayla’s expression turned worrisome while Brielle appeared to smirk.

“What the…Are you…Are you laughing at me, Higbee?” the redhead demanded to know.

“You…of all…people…chose…Marie…Antoinette?” the slightly chubby teen asked between each laugh.

“What’s wrong with her?!”

“You do realize that people hated her enough to cut off her head with a guillotine, right?” Elliot questioned. “And with your bitchy reputation, it feels somewhat fitting.”

“It…It is not! No one is chopping off my head!” Mercedes shrieked, with her hands on her hips.

“Is Cabot coming dressed as a French revolutionary?” Graham asked, once his giggle fit ended.

“Silence!” Mercedes roared. “If you mock me again, Higbee, I will carve up your pumpkin costume to make a Jack O’Lantern. Understood?”

“Cede,” Kayla scolded.

“Don’t Cede me. You brought me these two.”

“Fuck this,” Elliot announced out of nowhere. “We don’t have to put up with this bullshit attitude.”

“We don’t?” Graham whispered.

“No, we don’t. You need our help. Yet, you can’t ask nicely or be polite about it, so we’re leaving this stupid party. Have fun begging this Seeper to spare you,” Elliot stated, telling his classmate to grab his bag from the cloakroom.

Astonished that someone had spoken back to her, Mercedes watched in shock as Elliot hustled Graham down the hall. Twice, she opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

“You had to be mean,” Kayla said, sighing.

“Wait! You can’t abandon me. I need your help,” Mercedes called after the departing guys.

“Better grovel more,” Brielle cracked, earning a dirty look before her friend dashed after them.

“You can’t leave. I need your help. I’ll…I’ll pay you. Yes, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll pay you to stay.”

“We can’t be bought,” Graham declared, finding strength in Elliot’s defiance. However, his classmate wavered slightly from the offer.

“But you could pay us back for our costumes. This smoking jacket was damn expensive.”

“Yes, I can do that,” the semi-contrite redhead nodded before a sneer appeared. “What the hell are you dressed as?”

“Duh, I’m the Invisible Man,” Elliot responded. “This is his classic look. I have the bandages to cover my invisible skin, goggles to hide my eyes, and his smoking jacket.”

“Oh, that’s what you are! I would’ve never guessed,” Brielle said. “Still, it’s a great way to hide your face if you snoop around.”

Behind the busty blonde, Kayla frowned at the costume choice. Unlike the others, she knew it wasn't a simple selection. The costume spoke volumes about Elliot's feelings of being a nobody since Haylee dumped him. That sudden and persistent lack of self-esteem troubled the usually positive-minded young woman.

“Fine. I’ll pay for both costumes,” Mercedes repeated.

“Actually, you can either pay us for our time, or give us a good reason why you forced us to arrive so damn early,” Elliot continued, pulling his phone out of the jacket’s pocket. “It’s nearly 6:45, so why did we need to be here over two hours ago?”

“I wanted you to get set up while learning the layout. Didn’t anyone give you a tour?”

“Miss Bishop gave us a partial tour,” Elliot revealed.

“Although we couldn’t access most of the rooms due to the guests. Nor did she have the time to show us the grounds, since your father needed her,” Graham added.

“That incompetent…person,” Mercedes growled, catching herself at the end. “Can’t she do anything right?”

“I thought it was fine for the time she had,” Elliot said, defending the pretty assistant. “She’s also friendly.”

“You just want to screw her like everyone else,” the red-haired heiress snapped. “I don’t like her. She’s an ass-kisser.”

“I think she’s nice,” Kayla declared.

“You like everyone!” her close friend shot back.

“You also don’t like most people,” Brielle added, earning slight nods of agreement from the three younger cheerleaders.

“I can’t wait until her time is up.”

“Your dad seems to think highly of her,” Elliot pointed out.

“That’s because he’s still trying to seduce her!” Mercedes snapped. “Oh, I don’t think they’re fucking yet. I don’t see any of the signs, and there are always signs.”

Concerned about where the conversation was headed, Kayla suggested they go out to the backyard. Although their party didn't begin until 8:00, some of their close friends planned to arrive early at 7:00, which was also when Mercedes's parents' party started.

“Um, how about we give Ellie and Graham a brief tour of the backyard before more people arrive? I mean, we don’t want anyone to get suspicious.”

“Yes, that’s…Excellent call, Kay. We’ll do just that,” Mercedes agreed, seemingly settling down.

---

“Jesus,” Diego Ortega groaned, scanning the bevy of beauties milling around the pool deck. “And you’ve been just hanging around these women for the last three hours?”

“More like the last hour,” Elliot informed his best friend.

Diego arrived around 7:40. Even though his football teammates didn't want to look desperate by arriving early, he’d managed to convince Karsten Dekker, the starting quarterback, and “Bash” Basham, the starting running back, to go early to help poor Elliot. When they arrived less than ten minutes ago, the three guys immediately regretted not showing up sooner.

They watched with dropped jaws as some of the sexiest women they'd ever seen strutted past them in by far the skimpiest costumes they'd ever imagined. These weren't their classmates. No, Elliot had ended up hanging around the young women who worked at Raddatz & Padfield after Kayla and Mercedes gave them a brief tour of the outdoors. Short, as in the heiress pointing at a few places before rushing off to deal with an issue that Dorita brought up about the snacks. Kayla had attempted to pick up the slack, but her boyfriend, Linus Nolin, arrived in his Peter Pan outfit to complete the couple's costume. Eventually, the two guys ended up chatting with the Disney princess group.

“I mean, fuck. That one has to be a model,” Bash declared, watching as a vampire queen and a Little Red Riding Hood strolled past them. None of the other guys asked which one he meant, as they both looked glamorous.

“I knew I should’ve picked Batman before Travers did,” Karsten groaned in his Captain America costume. “Look at that Poison Ivy.”

“Oh, Pam? Yeah, her real name is Pam,” Elliot revealed when Diego turned to stare at him in disbelief. “Pam’s super sweet. She’s a secretary in the company's production department. See that Wonder Woman?”

“Whoa!” Bash exclaimed, wowed by the raven-haired woman’s curves and good looks.

“She’s best friends with Pam, who’s already vowed to tie her up later in her vines. And Annie, that’s Wonder Woman, countered by pulling out her lasso. Yeah, based on their light kisses, I’d say they're very close best friends,” Elliot added, enjoying the reactions of the star athletes.

“Tell them about the Candy, the Cavegirl,” Graham whispered.

“Oh, right. Keep an eye out for Candy, the Cavegirl. You’re going to recognize her,” Elliot teased.

“A model?” Bash asked.

“An actress. It turns out that there are a few celebrities inside at Mr. Raddatz’s party. We’re only getting some of the younger overflow crowd out here.”

“Who’s the actress?” Karsten queried.

“Just wait and see,” the other teen teased.

“Damn, when did you get game, Keever?” Bash challenged.

“Me? Nope, this is all Graham’s doing.”

“Graham? Graham who…Wait, Highbee, you’re at a party?” Karsten questioned, finally noticing the other person who’d been standing with them for the last dozen minutes.

“See those Disney girls? Yeah, they love Graham and his costume. They think it’s adorable,” Elliot revealed while the slightly chubby teen blushed.

“That costume?” Diego challenged, staring incredulously at the plump pumpkin.

“Yeah, it seems they respect a man not afraid to have fun and look goofy,” Elliot semi-lied.

“Fuck, this is too weird. Let’s go back by our crowd…for now,” Bash suggested. The other newcomers agreed, so they walked around to the other side of the pool, closer to the guest house.

“Is the Mummy with you guys?” Karsten asked, gesturing at Elliot’s Invisible Man costume and Diego’s Werewolf one.

“Nah, that’s Illig,” the former revealed.

“Knowing him, he probably has a second, crazier costume underneath,” Diego remarked about the mean-spirited prankster.

“Anyone see Ryle or Antonio yet? They’re supposed to be going as Superman and Daredevil,” Karsten revealed.

“No, but Batman, Lex Luthor, and Wesway rolled in,” Bash responded. “What the hell is Wesway going as?”

Pulling out his phone, Elliot checked the list of guests and their costumes that he’d insisted Mercedes send to him right before she ended the tour. It was only a partial list; it included the high school guest, not the adult party. Under the Batman mask was Tucker Travers, the cocky, rich kid who bought the school presidency last month. His bald lackey, Quirke, played Lex Luthor.

“Zayn is…James Bond.”

“That sounds like him,” Diego replied, rolling his eyes. Then he stood straighter and warned his best friend about a girl who passed their sightline. “Haylee alert. Warning: Haylee alert.”

“Damn!” Bash cried, watching the strawberry-blonde appear in a skintight Black Widow uniform before vanishing into the crowd. “I think she might be looking for you, Cap.”

“I would so fuck…Naw, I wouldn’t do that to Keever,” Karsten changed his comment after Diego caught his eye.

“Shit. Yeah, sorry, man. That bitch is mean as fuck,” Bash apologized, although his head still moved to catch another glimpse of the cheerleader.

“Whatever. I heard she’s after Barron,” Elliot replied, trying to play off his pain.

“Are there any hot Marvel girls for me to get an in with?” Karsten asked, missing out on the fact that being the star quarterback was all he needed to impress girls.

“Pomona is dressed as Psylocke,” Graham revealed, barely able to speak while recalling that skimpy costume.

“Oh, that’s not bad,” the quarterback responded. “Damn, it looks like those DC films got more hot women tonight.”

Graham started to raise his hand to argue that the costumes looked more like the classic comic book versions, but Elliot shook off his point.

“No shit. You had that Wonder Woman and Poison Ivy over there, and is that Carmen as Catwoman?” Bash asked, looking over at Elliot, but Diego nodded first.

“Who’s Batgirl? Nice body, but something about her seems intriguing,” Karsten noted.

“Uh, I don’t have anyone listed for our group. She must be one of the company workers or a friend they brought,” Elliot replied after taking four minutes to check the list twice.

He failed to notice Graham straighten as his suspicious mind flagged Batgirl as someone to watch.

“Man, I don’t see any Star Wars characters,” Bash moaned. The dark-skinned teen rubbed the head he’d shaved bald to go as Mace Windu.

“I saw a Stormtrooper on the way in,” Diego offered. “It might be a chick inside.”

“Bash can make a move to find out,” Karsten joked.

“Ah, Addison Veith is Padme Amidala,” Elliot reported, checking the list on his phone. “I think I saw a Slave Leia at the other party.”

“Sheeeeitt! Veith is cold as hell. I got a better chance with Mercedes’s mom,” Bash groaned.

“Addison is good-looking,” Karsten pointed out. “Who knows? Maybe she’s down with the purple lightsaber.”

Even Graham shook his head at the terrible joke.

“What’s up?” Ryle said, coming over in his Superman tights. “Did you see Wonder Woman?”

After hearing that they had, the popular baseball player looked at Elliot and Graham with new appreciation. Then, he dropped a comment about Kayla’s Tinker Bell dress.

“I mean, if she was dating anybody but Linus…”

“Yeah, he’s too good a dude to make a move on his girl,” Bash agreed.

“Besides, doesn’t Keever have dibs?” Karsten asked.

Diego nearly fell over laughing as his best friend complained about everyone thinking the same thing about his neighbor—fortunately, the cheer captain and one of her cronies passed by to distract from Kayla and Elliot.

“What I’d use those pigtails for…” Bash moaned at Terra’s Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz outfit.

“Jesus, Jacqueline’s push-up bra is performing a miracle,” Diego commented about the small-breasted cheer captain.

The platinum blonde wore a sexy Ringmaster costume with a black corset, matching thigh-high boots, an open, short red jacket, and a gold-trimmed black top hat. However, despite the sex appeal that Jackie oozed, every single guy stared with trepidation at the whip dangling from her belt.

“Shit, I should’ve gone as Indiana Jones. Me and her could’ve had a whip-off,” a new voice commented. It drew their attention to Percy Pascoe's arrival.

“You’re early,” Graham noted.

“I was worried about you, little buddy. All these dangerous women around my innocent family friend.”

Dressed in a blue velvet suit with wide lapels and flared trousers, a white ruffled shirt, and thick-rimmed glasses, Percy finished the Austin Powers costume off with several accessories. First, there was the bad wig that seemed ready to fall off at any moment. Second, two girls flanked his sides, wearing pink, fluffy baby-doll negligées with built-in breast cannons. The two Fembots also wore pink gloves and big blonde wigs.

“Are those sophomores?” Bash questioned, shooting Percy a dubious look.

“Aren’t they your cousin’s friends?” Graham added.

“The girls are merely accessories to complement my costume. No hanky-panky will occur, or the previously mentioned cousin will slice my throat at Thanksgiving, or so she said,” Percy relayed, sounding somewhat bored about the threat. “Ladies, you may mingle.”

“Still aren’t you playing with fire, Pascoe?” Karsten asked. “Wait, I thought Raddatz limited the sophomores invited. Did you sneak them in?”

“Yeah, baby, yeah!”

The obnoxious line caused everyone around the notorious flirt to groan.

“You’re fucking crazy, bro,” Bash stated. “Raddatz will murder you.”

“Wait, how did you get them inside?” Elliot asked, wondering because he knew about the security plans. However, he didn’t get an answer right now.

“Wesway is dressed as James Bond,” Diego pointed out.

“You think I don't know that? Ruining Zayn’s night is the sole reason I picked this getup. My Fembots and I are going to cockblock him at every opportunity,” Percy laughed. Then, he shook his head like a double-take in a cartoon. “What the fuck is Mercedes wearing?”

“I know. She’s a walking crime scene. She’s asking for trouble,” Graham muttered, causing all the guys to spin around to stare at him.

“Whoa! Okay, buddy, we need to talk about consent. Just because The Reddest Bitch of Them All is dressed like a French hooker doesn’t mean she’s asking for it,” Percy explained. “I know girls and parties aren’t your usual–”

“I meant her jewelry! A thief sends a letter threatening to rob from this very party, and she’s wearing tens of thousands of dollars on her, at least,” Graham clarified. “Shit, the Seeper doesn’t even need to break into the vault.”

“Wait, what now?” Bash asked.

“A thief threatened to rob the Raddatzes? Tonight?” Karsten questioned. Then, he caught Diego’s guilty expression. “You knew about this?”

“I wasn’t supposed to tell. That’s why Elliot and Higbee are here.”

“Well, you went and fucked up now, Graham,” Percy declared, scolding the crime hobbyist with a shaking finger.

Elliot could only palm his face at the screw-up.