Ethan smirked, leaning closer. "Oh, come on. The way you're singing his praises, it's obvious. 'He's got access, he's disciplined, he's sooo responsible.' Just say the word, and I'll bring you a box of chocolates to hand him tonight."

Evie rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "I don't like Damien either. He's obnoxious. Always at the top of the class, like he's some kind of robot. It's unnatural."

Richie chuckled, nudging Evie. "What's the matter, Evie? Jealous because you're always second to him?"

Evie shot him a withering look. "Excuse me, I am not jealous. It's just irritating how smug he is about it. Like, we get it, you're perfect. Tone it down."

Fiona ignored them and jabbed her finger at Ethan. "Well, if you think Damien's so lame, who else do you suggest? Got a better idea, Mr. Bad Boy?"

Ethan opened his mouth, then paused, looking stumped. "Uh… I don't know. Maybe break in? Pick the lock?"

Richie sighed, shaking his head. "Wow. Genius idea, Ethan. Because getting arrested would really spice up this Halloween adventure."

Fiona huffed triumphantly. "Exactly. Damien is our best bet. I'll text him."

Evie groaned, slumping her shoulder with a long sighs. "Great. Now we're dragging him into this mess. I swear, if he starts giving us one of his 'follow the rules' speeches, I'm out."

Richie smirked. "Don't worry, Evie. Maybe he'll let you borrow one of his medals for inspiration."

Evie glared. "You're not funny, Richie."

As Fiona pulled out her phone to type the message, Ethan muttered under his breath, "This better be worth it. If I have to listen to Damien drone on about proper behavior, I'm haunting you all as a ghost after I die of boredom."

Fiona grinned slyly. "Don't worry, Ethan. If there's a caged demon, maybe Damien will give it a lecture, and we won't have to lift a finger."

Evie frowned deeply, raising an eyebrow at Fiona as though she had just committed a high crime. "Wow, you really texted him? What are you, a traitor? I feel so betrayed by my own Fiona."

Richie burst out laughing, clutching his sides. "Oh no, Evie. Another chapter for 'Reasons I Hate Damien' in your famous book of grudges!"

Ethan crossed his arms, his face twisting into a scowl. "Geez, I hate that guy. And you texted him? You've officially ruined Halloween, Fiona."

Fiona rolled her eyes, tapping her foot impatiently. "Oh, calm down, drama queens. We all have his number from the class group chat. Or don't you two ever bother looking at it?"

Ethan scoffed. "Who actually reads the class group chat? It's all announcements and reminders. Boring stuff. I mute it."

Richie smirked. "And I thought I was lazy."

Before Fiona could retort, a sudden ding ding echoed behind them.

"Got your text."

"WOAH!" Evie shrieked, jumping so hard she bumped into Ethan, who yelped like a startled puppy and flung himself onto poor Richie's arms.

"Fiona, what the—" Ethan stammered, clinging for dear life.

Meanwhile, Fiona screamed like a horror movie character caught in the act. "AAAAAHHHH!"

Standing calmly behind them was Damien, his jet-black hair swept neatly to the side, pale skin glowing faintly under the hallway lights, and a perfectly calm, almost vampire-like smile on his face. His ember-colored eyes seemed to shimmer ominously.

Damien tilted his head, confused by the chaos. "Haha, don't be scared. It's just me."

Evie glared at him, panting heavily. "Just you?! What are you, a silent ghost?! Give people a warning next time, Dracula!"

Ethan finally released Richie, who was groaning from holding his weight. "Dude, don't sneak up on people like that! You're lucky I didn't punch you in self-defense."

Richie raised a finger weakly. "Yeah, I'm the one who took the punch. Thanks, Ethan."

Fiona clutched her chest, gasping for air. "Damien! For the love of Halloween, can you not pop up like that? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Damien gave a small shrug, still smiling. "Sorry. I saw you were all standing around, so I thought I'd make my entrance. It's not my fault you scare easily."

Evie muttered under her breath, "This is why I don't like him."

Damien arched a brow, his smile widening. "I heard that, Evie."

Fiona, finally regaining her composure, stepped forward. "Okay, okay, enough drama. Damien, we need your help. It's for a, uh… school-related project."

Ethan snorted. "School-related? Nice save, Fiona. Real convincing."

Damien crossed his arms, his gaze curious. "A school project? On Halloween night? Interesting. What's this project about?"

Fiona hesitated, glancing at the others. "Um… well… we need access to the old abandoned building next to the school."

Damien's smile didn't falter, but his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "The abandoned building? You mean the one that's been off-limits for years?"

Ethan muttered under his breath. "Here comes the lecture."

Damien ignored him, looking directly at Fiona. "This sounds like trouble. Why should I help you with this… project?"

Fiona grinned nervously. "Because you're the class president, the head of the discipline committee, and a student council member? You always help students in need, right?"

Damien stared at her for a long moment before sighing. "Fine. But if you get caught, don't say I didn't warn you."

Evie groaned. "Great. Now we've got Damien on board. This just keeps getting better."

Richie chuckled. "At least now we have someone responsible to babysit us."

Ethan shook his head. "Babysit? More like supervise us to death."

Damien smirked. "You might want to be careful with your words, Ethan. You never know what might happen in the dark."

Ethan blinked, suddenly uneasy. "Wait… was that supposed to be a threat?"

Damien just smiled. "Let's get going, shall we?"

Evie rolled her eyes dramatically, folding her arms. "It's not today, Dracula. Halloween isn't until tomorrow, so cool it with the spooky vibes."

Before she could finish her sentence, Damien had popped up beside her, as silent as a shadow. "Oh, it's not today?" he asked innocently, his ember eyes glinting with amusement.

Evie jumped back, clutching her chest. "Dear Mother Mary and all her fruits! Don't do that! Seriously, Damien!"

Damien chuckled darkly, obviously enjoying her reaction. "I can't help it. I like seeing you spooked the most. You always look like you're about to murder me with your eyes."

Ethan leaned casually and sit on the table facing them with a little chuckle. "Well, Miss Creep does kill everyone with her eyes. It's her thing, it's a known fact."

Richie burst out laughing, pointing at Evie. "True, true. Well, Fiona, why don't you explain this so-called 'school project' to Damien? Since Evie's too busy having a heart attack and glaring daggers here being spooked by Damien. I think Damien would really be interested in hearing it."

Fiona, trying to regain control of the conversation, pointed at Richie. "Shut it, Richie. You're making it worse." But then she turned to Damien with a more serious expression. "Look, Damien, we need your help. There's a, uh, 'school project'—not a big deal, really—but it involves us needing access to the abandoned building. You know, the one that's off-limits. Evie don't like it and I want to prove that it's a good project site for... uhh curriculum."

Damien tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, so Evie doesn't like the idea? Sounds interesting." His smile widened, clearly entertained by her reaction. Richie nudged Fiona with a grin. "See? Told you Damien's definitely interested now."

Evie groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Great. Just great. This is exactly what we need. Damien getting all smug because he thinks he knows something we don't. Now I'm going to be haunted by both you and Damien and pray to god my sanity will stay intact."

Fiona shot Evie a playful look. "You can handle it. I mean, how could you not handle this face?" She gestured toward Damien, who just smiled in that eerily calm way of his.

Damien shrugged with mock innocence. "I'm just curious. You have to admit, anything that makes you this annoyed has to be worth looking into."

Evie shot back with a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, you're right. He 'really' look harmless."

Fiona clapped her hands together, ignoring Evie's muttered complaints. "Okay, focus, people! Damien, here's the deal. There's a spooky old building next to the school, and rumor has it there's something creepy inside... a 'caged demon.' We're investigating it tomorrow night, and we need your help to get inside."

Damien raised an eyebrow, his smile never wavering. "A 'caged demon,' you say? Sounds like a job for the school's discipline committee."

Ethan groaned. "Oh, come on, man! Don't ruin this with your 'responsible' act."

Richie smirked. "Yeah, Damien. Live a little. Break a rule or two. Who knows? You might even have fun."

Damien's eyes twinkled mischievously as he glanced at Evie, who was still scowling. "Fun, huh? Fine. I'll help—if only to see how many times I can make Evie jump before the night's over."

Evie glared at him, pointing a finger. "You do that, and I swear I'll—"

"Kill me with your eyes?" Damien finished, chuckling. "I'll take my chances."

Fiona beamed, throwing her hands in the air. "Yes! Team assembled. This is going to be amazing!"

Evie groaned, muttering under her breath, "This is going to be a disaster."

TO BE CONTINUE....