The note read:

'Party at my place tonight. 13 Edgewood Drive, 8.30pm. Food and drink will be provided but feel free to bring your own alcohol. You may bring a plus one - the more the merrier! See you there.

- Cara"

Cara frowned at the bold handwriting. She knew that the message was a little friendly and out of character, but how else was she going to get people to come? She read the note over one more time and then placed one at each of her fellow classmates desks and sat in her own seat, waiting for the students to file in. When they did, she kept her eyes down, anxious now.

Helen ambled into the classroom, her arms stretching above her head as she made her way to her seat. She made no eye contact with her other classmates, deeming them all unnecessary and a bother – most public school kids were. Man, she wished she was back at the military academy – she can’t believe she’s even thinking this, but she really missed that old drill sergeant. She slouched in her seat once it was reached and leaned forward, her chin fitting perfectly into her palm. Helen’s elbow connected with something flimsy on her desk. Her eyes travelled down to a note, innocently blinking back up at her. Scowling, the brunette snatched the paper off her desk and unfolded it.
“Party at my place tonight. 13 Edgewood Drive, 8.30pm. Food and drink will be provided but feel free to bring your own alcohol. You may bring a plus one - the more the merrier! See you there.

- Cara"
A party? Who in their right mind would invite her to a party? Cara…Cara…Cara…For five minutes, Helen could not put a face to the name. Until, that is, she lifted her head from the slip of paper to face forward for school when she noticed a bowed girl sitting in front of her. Was this Cara? Helen licked her lips and lifted herself the slightest off her seat. On a piece of paper in front of the anxious girl, in the utmost left corner, was a scribbled name. From the distance it was hard to make out, but Helen could read it well enough:
Cara Penny
Now it was only a matter of deciding if she would go or not…

Clary lived only a couple houses away from the school she attended, choosing to walk even when the weather was cold or wet. She had ear buds blasting her strange music into her ears, the light autumn breeze lifting the edges of her book's pages. As far as anyone ever saw of her, she either had her music and a book or just her music. She couldn't help herself, the lives and worlds that fictional characters lived in sounded so much better than the life she had. All through middle school she had been bullied about her unique last name so she didn't bother talking to people anymore. She had no friends and certainly no plans for Halloween.

Book still in hand Clary meandered in through the classroom door, knowing her way to her seat blindly through practice. She placed her bag down on the floor and sat down at her desk, noticing a difference almost immediately. There was a not on her desk, something that probably didn't belong to her anyway. Still she opened it up and read it, finding herself overjoyed despite her cool display. As calmly as she could, she allowed a little smile to form on her lips as she glanced over at the girl she knew to be Cara. Not the most popular girl in school, in fact she might have been considered infamous if more people noticed her. She was considered an oddball but Clary didn't mind. She knew what it was like to have people make fun of things that can't be helped. A thought struck her after a moment, a twist in her gut that she pushed away. What have I ever done to deserve getting invited to a party? Sure I've never bothered her, but it's not like I've done anything for her. Nah, maybe she's trying to be nice and make some friends. Good for her, I'll support her. Clary pocketed the note and wrote down the time on her personal calendar.

As the car pulled up to school Issac tried to change the subject with his dad.His Father had brought up his loner attitude yet again,claiming he should get into sports so he could learn to be a part of something.As the car came to a stop his father sighed saying"look i'm only trying to help you i-" Issac cut him off with a lie saying "dad i'm telling you i'm fine,i'm even going to a party later OK? i'm socializing just fine!".His father studied him for a moment then said "where,and when?" Thinking quick Issac said"i'm not sure yet my friend didn't say" His father sighed saying "fine,go on into school before you're late" Issac then jumped out of the car,and said"see ya later "with a hint of annoyance.his father simply waved,and drove away.

On his way to class he casually looked at his school mates thinking"pfft who'd wanna hang around these idiots? most of them probably won't live to see twenty,but i do need to figure out what to do about that lie..."At this point he was at the door to his class room,which he promptly opened.After surveying the room for a brief moment he took his seat,and began to daydream.As he zoned out he noticed the note on his desk ,and proceeded yo read it"'Party at my place tonight. 13 Edgewood Drive, 8.30pm. Food and drink will be provided but feel free to bring your own alcohol. You may bring a plus one - the more the merrier! See you there." "Who the heck is cara?"he thought quietly.at that moment he noticed the girl next to his seat looked nervous.He casually faked a strech to get a good look,as he did noticed a note on her desk that said "Cara Penny" on the front.He sat back for a moment pondering his options,on the one hand he really didn't want to be bothered with some retarded Halloween party,he didn't even celebrate it! But then again it was the answer to his dilemma."Meh...fine i guess i have to go now...need to learn to keep my mouth shut...".

Nate rushed into the classroom, breathing heavily. He had almost been late for class again. His walking commute had been interrupted, as per usual, by an outside element. This time it had been a cat meandering past carrying an entire unopened bag of beef jerky in its mouth. A normal person would have just shrugged at this moderately unusual sight, but Nate Thurston was the sort that had to drop everything and follow the cat to see where it was going with the treat.

It had gotten away from him, unlike cats or particularly athletic humans, Nate was unable to scale walls. And there he was, fresh tear in his jeans and only a minute or two to spare from his fourth tardy slip. Leaning over his desk to catch his breath after his sprint to school, he spied the slip of paper that had been carefully placed there. Reading it over, Nate couldn't help but take a glance at Cara over there. Quiet girl, a bit mousy, a bit shy, maybe. Nate wondered what was with her sudden interest in having a party.

He checked his watch. Still a couple minutes until final bell. With that in mind, he picked up the invite and walked over to Cara, doing his best to put up what he hoped would be interpreted as a friendly smile. "Hi, Cara," he said. "So what's this about?"

Cara jumped at the sound of Nate's voice and spun to face him defensively. She took in his awkward smile and relaxed a little. Her body was still tensed like a cat backed into a corner, of course - it always was - but she managed a smile of her own. Be cool, she reminded herself.

"I - I heard some people in class talking about how long it had been since they'd had a good party and I thought... Why not?" Something about Cara's tone was off; she could never make herself sound sincere. Her eyes darted to her desk and back to Nate nervously. "Are you thinking of coming?" She asked, meeting his gaze. Cara was, admittedly, a surprised by this prospect. When she'd come up with the idea, she didn't imagine that anybody would show. And why would they? Everybody probably thought she was a total oddball... And they were right.

Issac noticing the conversation about the party decided it was probably best to at least speak to her thinking "I guess i should at least speak to her...it would be awkward to just show up..." So at that he turned to face Cara,and the guy currently speaking with her,and proceeded to say "so you're Cara right?" doing his best to sound friendly,hiding the fact this was just an annoying inconvenience for him. "well i'll definitely be there tonight.I'm just happy you gave me an excuse to get out tonight!Thanks for the invite." he said even throwing in a laugh,and winning smile to finish off the facade.As he awaited a response,he thought to himself "well at least the part about an excuse was true".

There was no worry of being late to school ever when it came to Ivy. She was always promptly on time, but today had been different. Her parents had dropped her off that day instead of her normal required morning walk, berating her with tasks before she exited the vehicle. "Ivy, did you do your homework?" "Ivy, did you do your chores?" "Ivy, don't forget about your piano practices after school!" "Ivy, don't forget to go to the administration office to look into any volunteer work you can do for the school and the community!" All answers were replied with a very calm and quiet "Yes." If someone didn't know any better, the girl could have been mistaken for a robot. "Ivy, I don't know what has gotten into you lately, being late for class is unacceptable, please think about your actions, don't let us catch you doing this again."

Throwing her large black backpack over her back after hopping out of the car. She gave a sullen wave to her parents as they sped off to their job at the town's dental offices. It wasn't that she enjoyed her parent's love and attention, and it wasn't that she was abused by them in anyway. At least, not physical abuse. Rolling up her sleeves Ivy walked into school and quickly to class. Her boots clicked across the tile as her arms swung in a quick and dedicated motion. Tears welled up in her slate colored eyes, in all her years attending school she hadn't been late- ever. "I'm so stupid." she grumbled rolling up her sleeves once again as they had fallen from her constant arm movement.

Her gaze bounced up as she watched her classmate Nate rush in. "Even he beat me today...and he's always late." she sighed, she would have to punish herself for this later. Entering the classroom she sat in her desk as fast and as quietly as she could, putting her bag down quietly and taking her jacket off. She let the pale pink jacket hang on the back of her chair, barely settling down before she was leaning to the side to get her supplies out of her backpack.

Taking out a notebook, pen, her planner, and pencil, she timidly adjusted in her chair using one of her hands to sweep all her hair to her left shoulder. Nate, Issac, and Cara speaking close to her had gone out one ear and out the other, Ivy was way too worried to be listening, even though her attention to detail was something she held close. Shuffling her feet a little she heard something scrape across the floor that didn't sound right. Her eyes widened as she peeked under her desk. A bright piece of paper stared backed at her. "Odd." Ivy thought to herself as she used the toe of her boot to inch the note closer to her before leaning down once again to pick up the note.

She curiously read the note:

Curious Note said Party at my place tonight. 13 Edgewood Drive, 8.30pm. Food and drink will be provided but feel free to bring your own alcohol. You may bring a plus one - the more the merrier! See you there.

- Cara

Ivy's eyebrows raised, "A party?" she pondered, "That is what they must have been talking about.." she continued her inner thoughts as her search of eyes landed on Cara. "I would never have thought Cara would have thrown a party, let alone invite.. me." the thoughts continued as Ivy refolded the paper and shoved it into the right pocket on her jacket. Party details could not be thought about at this moment, she had so much to do today in so little time. Alas, the party plagued her mind constantly.

"Well maybe just this once." Ivy thought as the first genuine smile in months crossed her lips.

Helen rolled her eyes when two boys began to chitter with the girl in front of her. The droning of their voices was beginning to get annoying and Helen was debating about kicking Cara's seat - seeing how jumpy she is, it might trigger a heart attack and those boys might just go away. She had actually thought of the odds of that happening and when realizing that the odds weren't in her favor, she decided to let her annoyance be known with an exaggerated sigh. It didn't seem to get their attention which angered Helen even more. It was too early in the morning to be starting fights, but her irritation level was way too high. Leaning forward, she jabbed one of the boys' shoulder and made sure she had her fiercest glare present. Maybe a little intimidation could make them go away; it's worked before.

(OOC: Doesn't matter if it's Isaac or Nate, whoever wants to be jabbed...)

Nate turned at the jab at his shoulder, ears burning. "Alright, alright, sorry," he mumbled to Helen. She was kinda cute, in a hardbitten don't-you-fucking-dare sort of way, though for some reason Nate was relatively sure she was into girls. Maybe Steve or Harper or someone told him that. "I'll see you tonight," he said to Cara before slinking off in embarrassment, regaining his seat.

Nate reflected on the whole thing. He wasn't much of a partygoer, true, but something about this seemed a bit out of kilter. Cara wasn't the type for spontaneous parties, until a moment ago he had never heard more than two words out of her. It was a bit strange- and that's why he was so interested. The big gloomy house on Edgewood was just gravy, as well. He remembered all sorts of childish rumors about that place when it was sitting vacant back before the Pennys moved in. That it was haunted. That a serial killer had operated out of there. That it was a drug lab. The usual sort of thing. Checking it out might solve one of the low-level mysteries that had flitted through his head for years.

Besides, his dad would be thrilled if he actually went out to a party. The old man was always telling him to get homecoming tickets, go the home games, something, anything. This might get him off his back for a while.

He nodded to himself. Yeah, might as well go.

After the brief conversation Issac sat back into his seat,but not before glancing at Helen thinking "heh guess the lesbo queen gets annoyed easily....but at least that conversation is over,maybe i can just hangout at the party there for like an hour,then just go to Alexis's house".At that he sat back in his seat waiting for class to begin.

Cara smiled inwardly at Helen's irritation. She concluded that Helen would be a great addition to the party. She swallowed nervously and then turned in her seat to face her classmate. Talking to Helen was a little like poking a bear - you might wind up with Winnie the Pooh... Or a kick in the face. She scanned Helen's face but saw no sign of her lashing out; only annoyance was present in her expression. She managed another almost friendly smile.

"Will you be coming?" She asked. Cara's fingers played with the sleeve of her jumper, a dead giveaway that she was feeling especially nervous.

Helen sighed at the interruption of her thoughts which revolved around lizards, for some unknown reason. Her head rolled from its laid-back position and stared at Cara unabashedly. Cara seemed to twitch under her scrutiny and Helen almost felt bad for the girl. Going to a party sounded like it would be much more of a hindrance than it was worth; people would be jumping and bouncing and dancing and kissing all throughout. This is, of course, not mentioning the tipsy drunk guys and clingy intoxicated girls. However, tonight was family night. Family night always ended up with someone being tied to a tree in their pajamas with the sprinklers going off. Granted, she's only been tied to the tree once and it was most likely her older brother who was living off of them like the bum he is. But, her older brother is quite annoying and she likes to avoid him as often as she can.

Helen found herself nodding before she could think on it anymore. She was probably going to regret this...but what is the worst that could happen?

Clary had been reading her book since she read the note, using the time to truly think her answer over. She couldn't think of anything else she had to do other than her homework, which could easily be done each class before. It was a skill she had mastered in her all her years in school. Off to the side she could hear a couple of the kids talking to Cara about the party, among other things. So the others have been invited too... Great. She almost reconsidered saying yes but out of nowhere she put her book down and looked over at the small group. "Hey Cara. I'm free so I'll be there. Any specific theme or just wear whatever?" Inside she was yelling at herself, knowing that she had already committed even though it was only in her head.

Cara seemed outwardly amused by the question. Her fingers stopped fiddling with her sleeve while thought about it. Then she gave the most genuine smile she'd given to a student before.

"Telling everyone to wear 'whatever' seems a little risky," she said. "Wear casual clothes." Then the bell rang. It had barely even finished echoing around the room before Cara had scraped her chair back, fathered up her things and hurried out of the room, calling "See you later!" Over her shoulder to her classmates. Truth be told, Cara had barely even noticed the time go by and was sure she had learnt nothing in that lesson. She hurried to the next, counting down the seconds until she could go home and begin preparations for the party.

The rest of the day passed by in a haze and Helen found herself at home, subconsciously picking at the skirt she was wearing. Sighing angrily, she pulled the skirt off and slipped into her old leather pants and a brown V-neck, pulling on her leather jacket and combat boots. Helen never really liked these type of outfits, caused too much attention; but she figured it was her first high school party, she might well make the most of it. Once dressed, she left the house and climbed into her jeep. Her parents were not home yet, so she left a note on the fridge and was happy to know that family night had been avoided successfully.

Helen drove carefully and it actually took her awhile to find that creepy house Cara is known for...well, supposedly (Helen had asked around about her earlier on in the day). The house was daunting and creepy, sending shivers down her spine, but Helen just shrugged it off and approached the door.

"Okay, Helen, no chickening. Ring the door bell." She told herself, scowling at an invisible face. A hesitant hand reached out and jammed the button. Ding dong.

"You've got a ride home worked out?" Nate's father asked him that night in the car.

"Yeah, my buddy Patrick is coming to get me. He's out at a different party."

"Alright, good," the older Thurston said, nodding to himself. Nate could tell his dad was happy to have him out of the house. The man worried. Too much, maybe. Nate didn't have the heart to tell him this was more to sate his own curiosity than to be a social butterfly. Nate knew he would probably just get a cursory snack, look around the house, then make some lame excuse and call Pat (who was actually just playing WoW at home) to come pick him up. Because the other people just didn't interest him.

"This is the place? I remember this house from when I was a kid," the older man said as they pulled up in front of the house. "Thought they tore it down years ago."

"Thanks, Dad," Nate said, undoing his seatbelt.

"Hold on a sec, son," his father said, before going into what was obviously a prepared speech, probably worked out years ago. "Listen, your mother and I think you're at an age where you know what's wrong and what's right. That said, I want you to make responsible decisions." A slight smile came over his face. "But I also want you to have a good time. You only get to be a kid once. So, uh, don't let your mother know, right?" he said as he slipped a pint bottle of Seagram's Seven whiskey to his son. "This will be our secret," he said with a jocular wink. "Just keep it inside, and be careful about sharing with your friends. Don't get them in trouble with their parents."

"Thanks, Dad," Nate said, a little surprised as he climbed out of the car. "That's, uh, pretty cool of you." Maybe the old man was a little more on the ball than he thought.

"Have a good time," his father called as he pulled away, leaving Nate alone at the curb. He took a glance up at the looming old house, then shook his head and walked up the leaf-strewn walk to the door, the whiskey nestled safely in his hip pocket. It looked like he wasn't the first person there, that girl from class was already waiting at the door.

"Helen, right?" he asked as he came up behind her. "How you doing?"

Helen Davidson turned to look at the newcomer, recognizing him, but not able to put a face to a name. "Fine. Bored."

She didn't bother asking him how he was, because she honestly didn't care. She just wanted to be inside before the cold ate at her skin too much. He looked like the reliable sort, however, and she made a note to look out for him once the party got started. Helen knew things would get annoying and knew she would have to seek out the company of booze to last an hour; a guy like him would be too sweet not to look after her.

Cara took her time getting to the door. When she finally forced open the heavy, creaky door, Cara greeted her two classmates with an awkward smile. She shivered in the cold night air and retreated backwards into the hall.

"You're the first here," she said by way of greeting. "Come on in," Cara stepped back to allow the pair to walk in. She paused in the hall to push the door shut. This required some effort. The hallway was dark but even in the dark, it was evident that the house was old fashioned and ornate. A stuffed moose's head hung sadly on the wall beside a large, gold-frames mirror. Cara led the others into a plush-red carpeted room. The main feature was the big oak fireplace, where a fire was roaring away. On the opposite side of the room, a matching oak table was laden with finger foods and bottles containing various types of alcohol and soft drinks. The room was well-lit, unlike the hall, and seemed a little more normal.

The lack of music or party atmosphere made the otherwise pretty room seem uncomfortable. The only sound was the crackling of huge fireplace, until Cara spoke.

"I don't... I don't actually have any music for my music system," she said apologetically. "The party will get going when everybody else gets here." Cara gestured to the sofa against one wall. "Please, sit," she said, seating herself in an armchair. Cara didn't seem aware of how outdated her surroundings were.

Clary had no problems leaving the house for the party, her parents being known for their relaxed house rules. She had decided to pull on her favorite pair of black skinny jeans, paired with a pair of black knee high, high heeled boots and a maroon t-shit. Slipping into a crop leather jacket, Clary grabbed the bag she had smuggled some alcohol into and ran out the door, plucking a witch's hat from the mannequin on their front porch. Halloween had always been her favorite holiday so she wore the hat proudly as she drove herself to the creepy house she had heard everyone talking about. She had never seen it with her own eyes, but she never went out much so it didn't bother her all that much. Despite its being slightly strange, she looked up at the building and thought of it as beautiful, something she would have wished to see from one of her books. "Well here goes nothing." She sighed, grabbing the bag and jogging up to the door, knocking confidently on the door.