Page 7 of Once Upon a Fake Date

Tucking her legs underneath her on the wicker couch, she took her witch hat off and stuck it on the glass table.

“This is fun,” I said, gesturing to her costume. “Little pink witch. I like it.”

“You should see Ella,” she said, smiling. “She made both of our costumes.”

“She goes here too?” I asked, though I didn’t know why I was surprised. They’d always been close, even for twins.

“Mhm.” Audrey hummed in response. “She’s majoring in costume design.”

“That’s cool.” Reaching over, I brushed a thumb over her cheekbone.

“W-what was that for?”

“You had a fleck of glitter on your cheek.”

“Oh.” She looked down at her lap. “Occupational hazard, really. Sometimes I probably use too much glitter, but…”

But she loved it. It had always been that way. When we were younger, her bike had been pink with a little white basket. She’d worn her pink sundresses to play with me in the mud and go on adventures around the neighborhood. Audrey had always loved the color, sparkles, and being the center of attention.

Maybe that was why I couldn’t take my attention off of her. Because she lit up my world in a flurry of pink, and I was entranced, like she had me under her spell.

Childhood best friend, I reminded myself. Even if we were more like strangers right now. It had been almost a decade, yet slipping back into a friendship with her felt as easy as riding a bike.

“Where’s your costume?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Ah.” It was my turn to be embarrassed. “I sort of ditched it at the last party. It was stupid, anyway.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“No.” I rubbed my forehead. “It was. My teammates made me wear these awful demon horns and fake vampire teeth.”

Audrey burst out laughing. “A demon? God, that’s the last thing I can imagine you dressing up as.”

“It’s been a few years since I did,” I admitted. “I’m not really that interested in Halloween anymore.”

“But you loved it when we were younger,” she pouted.

Not really. I just loved making her happy, andsheloved dressing up. I went trick-or-treating with her every year, content to be her protector. The last year before I moved away, we had a big Halloween party at my house, but the two of us had spent most of our time sitting on the swings in my backyard.

Back then, Ella and Audrey always wore matching costumes. I’d just dressed up as whatever she told me to be. It wasn’t like I had a sibling to dress up with, so I didn’t care as long as it made her smile.

Even though she was a year younger than me, she always got her way. Maybe it was her outgoing, bubbly, sunshiny personality. In comparison, I was quiet. Shy. Easygoing. Sure, I could be brave, too, but it had mostly been for her.

“Halloween was always fun growing up,” I admitted. “You made it fun.”

“Yeah.” She was quiet. “Listen, I should?—”

“Don’t go,” I practically begged, reaching out and grabbing her hand.

Audrey giggled. “I was going to say I should probably find Ella and tell her we’re hanging out. That way she doesn’t miss me.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “After that… do you want to get out of here?”

She grinned. “Yes.”

CHAPTER 3

Audrey

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