Ryan holds his hands up in the air to get the attention of the others.
“Ladies, ladies!” He announces, receiving four pairs of rolled eyes in response, and a smacked knee from Julie.
Rubbing his leg, he continues “I know you’re all dying to know why I’ve called you here this evening, so I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. There have been a lot of shenanigans going on lately…”
“Initiated by you!” Rachel chimes in, with her arms folded across her chest. While their pranks were always in good spirit, she was still a little mad at him for wearing a mask of her own face in his latest scheme.
Ryan nods his head. “Fair point. But I’d like to set all of that aside for the time being and come together in friendship and harmony…”
That sarcastic comment elicits more eye rolls and chuckles.
“Just tell us what your idea is!” Lucy laughs, impatiently.
He grins. “In the spirit of Halloween, we are going to have a little costume party. But it won’t be like any party you’ve been to before, I can assure you!”
From underneath the table he retrieves ten small squares of paper. Curious, the four girls lean over to read them.
Five of the pieces appear to have their names written on them: Julie, Lucy, Molly, Rachel, Ryan.
The other five have the names of basic costumes: Cheerleader, Pirate, Princess, Superhero, Witch.
“Oh, no fucking way…” Julie mutters, putting the clues together first.
Ryan’s grin grows wider. “I see you’ve figured it out! We are each going to pick a name and a costume, and that will be our new identity for the party. My brother, as always, will help with the disguises. The goal will be to figure out who is who, and the last one undiscovered wins!”
His friends all look surprised, but thoroughly interested.
Rachel smiles, and points to the pieces of paper listing their potential costumes. “And what if whoever chooses Ryan gets the cheerleader, princess or witch?”
He shrugs. “That person could either have a more…manly…take on the role, or not. Call it an offer of apology for the recent pranks. And hey, I gave myself decent odds for the pirate or superhero” he replies, grinning.
Molly gazes over the papers with wide eyes. “Your brother is really going to make all these new disguises for us?”
Ryan looks as though he just remembered something. “Ah! That brings me to my next task.” He retrieves a black top hat from beneath the table, and goes to hand it to Julie, sitting directly to his right.
“The entry fee for this little challenge is forty dollars per person, half of which goes to the winner, and the other half goes to Tyler’s beer fund…”
He begins passing around the hat, and each of them drops in their contribution. Once that’s done, he takes out the cash and places it into an envelope.
Then, using the hat and the pieces of paper, Ryan passes it around and ensures everyone chooses their assignment in secret.
Finally, they all have all made their selections and sit laughing amongst themselves, already imagining their future costumes.
“Okay then, the contest is on Halloween night, at Julie’s place. Right, Julie?” Ryan asks.
Julie nods. “Yup. My parents are going to be out, so it’s just me and my brothers. They’ll mind their own business.”
“Great! So, we all just need to swing by to see my brother when he’s working to drop off our assignments.”
His friends all nod in agreement.
“Or, you know, we could all save some time and I could just take the money now…” Lucy suggests, twirling a lock of her dark hair and rolling her eyes.
“Oh, please!” Ryan replies. “Ten bucks says I make it farther than you.”
Julie swats his leg again. “No side bets! Besides, if anyone is going to win, it’s going to be me.”
The group breaks out into friendly banter, while each of them begins mentally preparing for the challenge ahead.
NEXT SATURDAY, HALLOWEEN NIGHT
Ryan, Julie, Lucy, Rachel and Molly are all hanging out at Julie’s parents’ house, in their large finished basement. The classic 1978 film Halloween is playing on the television, and a variety of snacks and drinks are scattered on the table.
While it would seem at first glance to be a casual gathering of close friends, it is really anything but. Because, as they all know, none of the guests are who they appear to be.
Molly and Julie are sitting together on the couch facing the television, watching the movie.
Julie appears totally engrossed in the film, and is munching on a bowl of pretzel sticks. She’s wearing an easily recognizable one-piece outfit consisting of a bright blue spandex top, wavy red skirt, gold wraparound belt, and a big red “S” stitched across her chest. A silky cape lies between her body and the couch, and a pair of red leather boots cover her legs up to her knees.
Molly appears to be having a significantly less enjoyable time watching the film. Her pale hands cover most of her eyes, and she sneaks the occasional frightened look at the screen, in between startled yelps. Evidently stuck with the princess card, she’s wearing a short, frilly dress in different shades of pink, and matching pairs of white knee-high socks and gloves. Her reddish-brown mane is tucked up underneath a long, wavy blonde wig, and a gold tiara is nestled on top of it.
Rachel, Lucy and Ryan are sitting at a table next to the couch, playing a game of cards.
Rachel is wearing classic pirate attire, with a maroon skirt that extends to her mid-thigh, a ruffled white top, brown leather belt and boots, and tattered black tights. She’s sipping on one of her usual canned raspberry rose cocktails, studying the cards in her hand intently.
Lucy is wearing a witch costume, consisting of a single-piece lacy black corseted dress, matching heels, and dark fishnet stockings. A choker necklace is wrapped around her neck, and a big, pointy hat sits atop her straight, dark hair.
Ryan is dressed most interestingly of all. Someone had the bad luck - or the best luck, depending on your point of view - of choosing a very special costume for him. Sitting on the couch, acting as if nothing is amiss, he wears a dark navy skirt and matching crop-top, and a pair of white thigh-high socks cover his legs. A set of large pom-poms lie on the chair next to him.
Rachel looks over at Lucy. “Seriously? We’re just going to pretend this is totally normal?” She asks, nodding at Ryan.
Lucy giggles, and Ryan just shrugs. “Hey, a bet is a bet” he replies, casually, taking a sip of his soda.
Rachel’s eyes narrow. Oh, I’m going to get you, the person wearing her face thinks.
“Three sevens” she states, placing the cards face-down in the pile in front of them.
Lucy’s eyes narrow and she scrunches her nose, tilting her head to the side. “Is that so…” she murmurs, gazing at the brunette pirate.
Rachel shrugs and smirks. “You tell me, honey” she replies, taking another sip.
Lucy begins chewing her lower lip in her typical nervous style, mulling over her next move.
After a few moments, Ryan leans back in his chair and sighs impatiently. “Any day now, sweetheart” he teases.
She shoots him back a dirty look with her bright blue eyes. “Ugh, I can’t decide if she’s lying about her hand, and figure out who she really is at the same time!” She complains.
Rachel laughs. “Yeah, whose idea was it to play this game anyway?”
Lucy carefully places down two cards onto the pile. “Two fours…” she says.
“Bullshit.” Ryan immediately states.
She tosses her head back, almost losing her hat in the process, and lets out a long, frustrated sigh. Rachel and Ryan chuckle while she collects all the cards in the pile, muttering quietly to herself.
“Shhhh!” Julie chides her, annoyed at the interruption. Lucy just sticks her tongue out at her in response.
“Better luck next time…” Ryan jokes, eliciting a new round of muffled curses.
Just then, they hear the basement door open, and footsteps coming down the stairs. They all look up to see Adam, Molly’s boyfriend, turn the corner into the living area, wearing a Deadpool costume.
“Hey, babe!” He says to the girl he thinks is his girlfriend, walking towards the couch.
“You made it!” She chirps happily, standing up to greet him.
“Oh, that is fucking good…” Rachel whispers, watching the scene about to unfold. She looks back-and-forth between the others…waiting for it.
Molly embraces Adam, pressing herself against him for a moment. Then, she pulls back and lifts her pink lips to his, giving him a long, drawn-out kiss while moaning sweetly.
On the couch, Julie watches her with an angry, jealous expression on her face. She squeezes her fist tightly, loudly crunching the pretzels in her hand.
Ryan, Rachel and Lucy begin laughing quietly amongst themselves.
“One down…” Ryan whispers, snickering.
Adam pulls away from the doe-eyed Molly, wiping his lips.
“Whoa…uh…nice to see you too…” he mumbles, clearly happily caught off-guard.
“Mmhmm!” His pretty girlfriend hums, fixing her tiara. She glances quickly at the phony Julie on the couch, who glares back at her.
“Well, I just wanted to swing by on my way to Craig’s party. You know, like you asked me to earlier” he explains.
“Thank you, sweetie!” The fake Molly chirps. “You have no idea how much that means to me…”
At the table, Rachel snorts, then tries to cover it up with a cough.
“Oh, hey guys” Adam says, waving at the trio, tilting his head curiously when he sees the costumed Ryan.
“Hey, Adam! Love your costume” Lucy chirps back, clasping her hands in front of her chest.
Stealthily, the Julie on the couch gives her the middle finger.
“Well, I should be going. I don’t want to make the other guys wait. I have all the beer in my trunk” Adam says, with a grin.
“Aw, okay. I’ll see you later, then!” Molly replies.
She moves to kiss her boyfriend goodbye, but Julie breaks in. “Uh, come on Mol’, you can make out with Wade Wilson later. I want to keep watching the movie!”
Molly pouts. “Fiiiine. But it’s so scary!”
She turns to Adam and blows him a kiss. “Later, babe!”
He turns to leave, and she gives her butt a cute wiggle on her way back to the couch. Once they hear the basement door close, Julie smacks her on the arm.
“Not FAIR!” She insists, folding her arms across her chest.
The phony Molly breaks out into a fit of laughter. “Oh, you are such the jealous type…Molly! ” she jeers.
The exposed, real Molly can’t help but smirk with Julie’s borrowed face. “Fine, you got me” she admits. “But I’m keeping this mask on. Maybe I’ll find someone to make out with tonight…”
“Good one, Molly” Ryan chuckles, leaning over to high-five the victorious imposter. “But who are you, really?”
“Thanks, Ryan…” she replies. Then she cups her delicate chin in her fingers, and tilts her head to the side as if to think. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see!”
Giggling, she grabs a bowl of popcorn and hits play on the remote. Oddly enough, she now seems much more interested in the film. “Oh fuck yeah, I love this part…” she says, popping a handful of kernels into her mouth.
Julie, on the other hand, takes out her phone and starts scrolling, keeping her eyes off of the screen.
“Ryan, Julie and Lucy, still in the game! And me of course…Rachel.” The brunette pirate proclaims, with an exaggerated wink.
Lucy rolls her eyes, then reaches down into her purse and pulls out a bright bag of candy. “Now that you mention that, I brought some fun Halloween treats for us all to enjoy!” She chimes in her happy, singsong voice.
“Oh, what’s that, Lucy?” The fake Ryan laughs, playing along.
“Why, it’s a bag of delicious Warheads, of course!” She answers, holding it up for all to see. “Extreme sour!”
“Nobody wants your candy, Lucy” the masked Molly grumbles with Julie’s voice, still mad at herself for being out of the contest first.
“Are you suuuuure?” Lucy asks. “I seem to recall that we all love these. All of us, except…”
A lightbulb goes off in the phony Julie’s head, and her frown turns to a wicked smile. “Oh, right. Thanks for being so considerate! I’d love one. In fact, we should all have one…”
“Totally!” Rachel bubbles, as Lucy opens up the bag with a pair of scissors.
“Heh. Yeah, I’m definitely in for that…” Ryan agrees, though a look of worry has come across his face.
Lucy’s gaze locks onto his. “Great!” She chirps with a smile. Her tone is friendly, but her eyes are hard and suspicious.
She passes them out, and they all unwrap their own piece of candy.
“On three, then?” Molly offers, with a small grin.
“Sure!” Lucy agrees. “One…two…”
“Oh, you know what?” Ryan interrupts her. “I was just about to have some pizza. I don’t want to ruin it, so maybe I’ll just eat this later.”
“Eat the candy” Lucy says, coldly.
Ryan looks back-and-forth between the three girls, knowing he’s in trouble.
“Uh…okay…I guess pizza can wait” he falters.
“Three!” Lucy finishes, without waiting for him to reply.
The five friends pop the candy in their mouths, but most of their eyes are focused on “Ryan the cheerleader”. His face remains stoic for a moment, but they can quickly see his eyes beginning to water.
“You okay, Ryan?” Lucy teases, rolling the candy around in her mouth, then pursing it between her full, red lips.
“Uh huh…” he insists. He lasts another few seconds, but then the dam breaks, and his face scrunches into a look of disgust.
“Phhuuu!” he turns and spits out the candy, sending it flying across the room onto the carpet. “Gross!”
He reaches for Rachel’s raspberry cocktail and guzzles it down, trying to wash the taste out of his mouth.
She tosses her head back, howling with laughter along with the other girls. “Good, please finish that! I don’t know how you drink that stuff…Rachel!”
The revealed Rachel huffs in her “Ryan” disguise. “Damn it!” She fumes, throwing the costume’s pom-pom’s angrily.
“You held up longer that I expected, dear” Lucy smiles, patting "his" arm gently.
“Shit…” the fake Ryan mutters. He leans over to grab another can, cracking it open and taking a big gulp. Then, he smiles. “Oh well, at least I still get to prance around as you for a little payback from last time, Ryan!”
"He" leans forward and glances around rapidly, but Rachel, Lucy and Molly all look back at him with pure, innocent expressions on their pretty faces.
Ryan leans back and grumbles. “Had to try.”
The other girls all laugh. “Yeah, how is it being that big dweeb?” Lucy chuckles, quickly glancing around herself.
The Rachel imposter rolls her eyes, while the fake Molly’s eyes narrow. “That would be just the kind of misdirection the real Ryan would use…” she accuses.
“And that is just the kind of misdirection the real real Ryan would use!” Lucy shoots back, pointing her finger.
The Ryan imposter breaks the tension with a laugh. “It is so weird to be dressed up as a guy” he admits. He lifts a hand to his cheek and pinches the fake flesh, stretching it away from the tanner skin underneath. “Like it feels thicker than the other masks, for one…”
The fake Rachel giggles. “Well, another one down! Nice work, Lucy.”
“Thank you!” The dark-haired witch stands up from the table and gives the others a very dramatic bow, catching her hat at the last second. Her hair falls around her face and she blows it out of the way, tucking it back behind her ear. “Three to go…” she states, with a devilish glint in her eyes.
She sits back down at the table, her head moving slowly back-and-forth between the fake Rachel and Molly, looking for any clues.
They both stare back at her with world-class poker faces, and she eventually gives up, shrugging cutely.
“Oh well, it’s just a matter of time!” Lucy chirps. “Wanna keep playing?”
Rachel sits back down, and the fake Ryan follows suit, still grumbling to himself.
“You’re still going to wear that?” Rachel asks, pointing to his scowling face.
“Oh yeah” he replies. “When the real Ryan is revealed, I’m going to see how he likes watching someone parade around as him.”
The other girls all chuckle - with frustratingly equal enthusiasm.
The other girls return to the couch, and continue to watch the movie.
“Okay, now that I’ve been discovered, you’ll warn me about the scary parts, right?” The disguised Molly begs her smiling twin.
“I suppose…” the fake Molly answers, digging into her popcorn again.
Minutes later, the basement door opens again, and two sets of footsteps are heard coming down the stairs.
“Oh, who is it now?” Rachel asks, turning to look.
The group of friends all look on as two identical teenage boys dressed in clown costumes enter the room, laughing between themselves.
“Ugh” the fake Julie says, rolling her eyes and continuing her impressive impersonation of the real one, despite being “out”. “What do you two want?”
“Nice to see you too, sis” the clown on the right jeers, unaware that the girl he addresses isn’t his real sister at all. “We just wanted to say hello before we left for the party!”
“And steal some of your booze…” the clown on the left adds.
The Julie imposter is about to perform her most convincing admonishment, when they all hear a noise from the other side of the room.
Lucy has stood up so quickly, that she’s almost toppled backwards over her chair. For the third time that night, she almost loses her witch’s hat, as she scrambles to right herself with wide, fearful eyes.
“Whoa, what’s the matter Lucy?” One of the boys asks, with a smirk. “Afraid of clowns?”
“N-no…” the girl stammers, brushing past the chair and turning her back to them. She hurriedly acts like she’s going to the small refrigerator for another drink, while shooting furtive glances over her shoulder.
“Yeah, the only person we know who’s afraid of those is your friend, Ryan!” The other boy laughs.
Then, the two clowns look to the fake Ryan sitting at the table, noticing him - and his outfit - for the first time.
“Oh…hey, Ryan.” One clown says.
“Hey, Mike. Hey, Danny.” Ryan replies casually. “I’m not actually afraid of those anymore. I guess I outgrew it.”
“That’s an...interesting costume” Danny states, looking the "cheerleader" up and down.
In the meantime, Mike had stealthily approached the agitated Lucy from behind. She turns around with her drink and, when she sees him, she lets out a high-pitched yelp and presses her back against the wall.
Grinning from ear to ear, Julie addresses her brothers. “Come on, guys, leave my friend alone. Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
Mike and Danny look back and forth between Ryan and Lucy, knowing something is up, but not what it is. Then, they both shrug.
“Yeah, whatever” Danny replies.
Mike gives Ryan one more look as they head back for the staircase. On the way, he reaches out and tussles Julie’s hair.
“Ugh, jerk!” She exclaims, swatting his arm.
Laughing, the two costumed boys head back upstairs, closing the door behind them.
Lucy, humming nervously to herself, pours her beer into a red solo cup, trying to act as if nothing is wrong.
Her friends approach her with triumphant grins on their faces.
“Is there something you want to say, hun?” The fake Julie asks.
“Nope!” Lucy chirps back. She looks to Rachel and Ryan, then nods to the table. “Should we continue the game?”
They all laugh at her. “Nice try!” Molly hollers, nudging the pale girl on her shoulder.
“Yeah, you can drop the act…Ryan” the fake Julie taunts, poking her big, pointy hat.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Lucy insists. “This is just some of his classic misdirection!”
She looks around desperately, seeing not a trace of belief in her friends’ eyes. After a moment, she lets out a big, defeated sigh.
“Fine…you got me” she mumbles. She hangs her head, and long, dark strands of hair cover her face as her pointy witch's hat finally falls off.
“HA!” Molly shouts, thrusting her fist into the air.
“Yeah, yeah” the exposed Ryan groans, rolling Lucy’s eyes and tucking her hair back behind her ears once more.
“Wait!” Rachel exclaims, pointing at Molly. “That means you’re really Julie! I win!”
“No!” Molly replies, pointing back at her. “I know that you’re really Lucy, too! I win!”
The phony Molly, Rachel, Julie and Ryan all look turn to look at the dejected-looking Lucy imposter for an answer. Instead, they find her with her painted fingernail on her pale chin, lost in thought.
“Oh yeah, how did I not see that coming…” she mutters.
Molly and Rachel both sigh and roll their eyes.
“Split it?” Molly asks, holding her hand out.
“Sure” Rachel agrees, shaking it.
“Finally!” Molly cheers. “Oh my gosh, you have no idea how warm it’s getting under here. I’m wearing a wig over another fucking wig…”
They look on as she strips off her blonde “princess hair” and tan nylon cap, freeing the real Molly’s normal mane of reddish-brown hair. She shakes her head and it swishes around her face, trying to cool herself off.
“Ugh, not good enough…” she mutters.
She reaches into the neckline of her dress and pulls out a thin flap of flesh. She slips her hands underneath it and works them up her face, stretching and distorting her pretty features one at a time. Her fluffy pink lips snap away, followed shortly by her button nose and rounded eye sockets.
“Hrmpphhh” she grunts, as she yanks upwards and the entire mask comes off with a lewd, noisy SCHLORP.
The real Julie is revealed, panting and flushed, and she hefts the floppy, sagging replica of Molly’s face into her white-gloved hands.
She holds it up proudly by its disheveled mane, grinning widely, and pokes at its squishy mouth.
“What do you think, did your boyfriend like kissing these?” She teases, asking her imposter.
“Oh, you jerk!” The fake Julie fumes. “I can’t believe I was sitting next to you on the couch this whole time!”
The real Julie laughs, tossing the mask on the table, where it lands with a hollow THWAP. Molly’s vacant face gazes up at the others through stands of tussled hair, with crumpled cheeks and a buckled nose.
The still-masked real Molly shudders, prodding the false face on the table in front of them. “Ugh, it’s still so creepy to see myself like that…”
The fake Lucy shifts uncomfortably in her costume. “I don’t know what you’re complaining about, Julie. This thing is like wearing a corset over a corset…”
She loosens the outfit’s strings circled around her slender waist, exhaling loudly. Then, muttering to herself, she tugs down the lacy fabric, trying to relieve her discomfort. But, she tugs a little too hard, and the others gasp loudly when a pair of bare, perky breasts spring free of the costume. And not the bland, featureless “disguise” breasts they are all accustomed to. No, these are fully lifelike, complete with small, light-pink nipples.
“RYAN!” The real Lucy exclaims, with Rachel’s voice.
Her twin glances down at her exposed chest and blurts out. “Oh, shit.”
“What the hell are those?!”
“Uh, well, my brother made these disguises on pretty short notice, so he had to…reuse some other stuff…” the phony girl glances back and forth among the others, seeing the ire on their faces. “Hey, it isn’t like I requested for him to make me a naked Lucy-suit!”
The fake Julie actually starts to snicker, looking at the half-naked girl with an expression of amusement.
“Aw…look how cute they are, Lucy!” She teases, reaching out to poke her fake chest.
The phony Lucy quickly covers herself back up. “Hey! There will be none of that. I’m a good girl…” she replies, but there’s a hint of mischief in her voice.
The real Lucy frowns with Rachel’s face and huffs, folding her arms across her chest. “They weren’t even…I mean, that’s not what they really look like…”
Her double rolls her eyes. “Duh. How would I even know that?”
The Ryan imposter looks at Rachel the pirate and scoffs “You’re one to complain about a disguise, Lucy! Where did you even get that outfit, the adult costume shop? I look like a sex pirate!”
The masked Lucy giggles, cupping her ample cleavage in her suited hands and swaying her hips side-to-side. “Hey, your boobs are bigger than mine! Sue me if I wanted to enjoy them a little…”
The real Rachel slaps her hands away from the replica of her own chest. “Yeah, tell me about it! Do you have any idea how much tape I had to use to look like Ryan?”
The group of friends all laugh.
“It sounds like we’re all kind of uncomfortable in these, so maybe we should just take them off?” The phony Julie suggests, pawing at her own face.
“No way, this is so fun!” The masked Ryan retorts, in his stolen, musical voice. “I was doing such a good job of being Lucy! Come on, admit it, none of you had a clue. Besides, it took forever to learn to walk in these heels.”
The other four look down grumbling, not wanting to admit he really did have them fooled up until the end.
The fake Lucy beams. “I knew it! Here, check this out.”
From her purse, the witch pulls out a long, wooden wand, matching the rest of her costume.
“Pretend this is that guy Lucy met when we went camping last summer” she says, before effortlessly dropping back into character.
“Like, oh my gosh” she chirps sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes. “I would love to come check out your tent…”
They look on as she closes her eyes and wraps her pouty, maroon lips around the wand, thrusting it in and out of her mouth slowly while letting out lewd, sensual moans.
“THAT’S IT!” The real Lucy exclaims, reaching for her imposter. She wraps one arm around “herself”, while the other searches for the hidden seam at the back of her neck.
“Hey, come on! I was just kidding!” The fake Lucy laughs, trying to twist away.
But the disguised Molly, apparently feeling the duty of her superhero costume, helps pin the phony girl in place. The real Lucy’s hands slip underneath the mask, tugging upwards as the long, dark wig mimicking her own hair swishes around the squirming imposters face.
When her fingers crest over the crown of her head, the mask’s pale forehead crumples down into its nose, right before its cheeks and lips snap free.
“Mrgphhh!” The fake Lucy’s high-pitched wails are muffled as her face distorts, and the voice changer keeps working its magic until her entire rubbery head comes off with a noisy SQUELCH.
The real Ryan is revealed, and the two girls let him out of their grasp.
“You could have just asked…” he mutters, rubbing his cheeks where the tacky adhesive had peeled off.
“You think you’re so funny!” The real Lucy scolds him, jiggling the floppy, empty husk of her own face. It’s long, dark hair is now a tangled mess, and she tries to brush it out with her fingers.
Ryan grins. “Kinda.”
“Can you ask your brothers to come back?” She asks the unmasked Julie, satisfied to see a look of fear on Ryan’s face.
Julie laughs. “Maybe I should!”
“I really don’t think that will be necessary…” Ryan says quietly, looking down at the floor.
Then he hears a rustling noise, and looks up to see that Julie and Rachel have both begun to take off their masks as well - voluntarily this time.
Wearing and being around such remarkable, lifelike disguises never really felt “ordinary”, but it feels especially strange for him to look on as Julie, his oldest friend, nonchalantly tugs her face off. For a moment, he finds that he cannot look away.
The fake flesh stretches and scrunches until both masks pull off completely, flopping down into their hands.
The real Molly holds Julie’s face by its soft cheeks, while the real Lucy tosses her mask face-down on the table.
“What about you, Ryan?” She asks the only remaining imposter.
Smirking, he retrieves the long, blonde wig that the fake princess Molly had discarded, and tugs it over his own head.
“Oh, I think Ryan still needs to be taught a lesson on respectfully impersonating other people…” he jeers, compounding the ridiculousness of his costume.
“Oh, come on…” the real Ryan grumbles, still wearing Lucy from the neck down.
The other girls laugh and make their way back to the couch, leaving behind some of their own hollow, deflated faces.
“Who wants to keep watching the movie?” Julie asks excitedly, not waiting for a reply before she presses play.
Molly groans, still holding her disguise. “Fine, but I’m going to watch it like this…”
She holds up strands of dirty blonde hair, so carefully embedded in the mask’s scalp, and uses it to cover her eyes. Julie’s sagging face flops around limply, gazing lifelessly at the screen.
“Oh, that isn’t creepy at all…” the real Julie says, rolling her eyes.
Lucy turns to Ryan. “Can you please take that off now?” She asks, gesturing at the disturbingly accurate replica of her own body.
He wiggles the suit’s butt on the couch cushion and replies “Not just yet. This extra padding is actually super comfortable.”
In response, his own imposter pulls out his phone and opens the camera app, striking a selfie pose.
“What the hell are you doing?” The real Ryan demands.
“Oh, just taking some photos for later…” his twin chuckles.
Ryan turns and dives over Lucy, reaching for the phone while the rest of them all burst into laughter.
LATER THAT NIGHT
Julie is fast asleep on the couch, when she is awoken by the sound of soft footsteps on the carpeted floor.
She turns, and through squinted eyes, she sees Lucy standing next to her wearing a pair of light blue shorts and a tank top.
“What the matter?” Julie asks. “Is the air mattress uncomfortable?”
Lucy shakes her head. “No, it’s fine” she whispers. “It’s just a little chilly by the door. Do you mind if I join you for a bit?”
“Sure, go ahead” Julie replies, turning over on the cushion.
She feels Lucy lay down next to her, and the girl’s hair grazes her cheek.
“That was a fun party” she whispers quietly.
Oh, Lucy, I am not in the mood for one of your late-night gossip sessions right now, Julie thinks to herself.
“Mmhmm yeah…”
“Who do you think had the best impression?” Lucy asks softly.
“Well, I held out the longest, so I’d have to say me…”
“Well, technically you and Lucy tied” the other girl replies. “But that’s not what I asked. Like, who had the best performance?”
Julie groans. “Can we discuss this in the morning?”
Lucy continues as if she didn’t hear her. “I mean, if you’re asking me, it would have to be someone who really committed to the role. Someone who definitely would have won, if not for a really mean trick…”
Julie’s eyes shoot open as she hears the sound of light, muffled snickering coming from the girl next to her.
She spins around and exclaims. “RYAN!”
Lucy breaks out into a loud fit of laughter. “Gotcha again!”
Julie lets out a frustrated howl, and pushes the imposter off of the couch, where she lands - still giggling - on the soft floor. The fake Lucy quickly stands up and places her hands on her hips, as her face falls back into an unsettlingly good impression.
“Aw, what’s the matter, Jules? I just wanted to cuddle…” she hums.
“Ugh! Take that mask off!”
“What mask?” Lucy replies sweetly, twirling a strand of her dark hair.
The commotion has caused enough noise to awaken the others, who roll over and sit up in their sleeping bags.
“What the hell…?” The real Lucy mutters, rubbing her face. Then, her eyes land on her smiling twin, and she scrambles out of her bag to her feet.
“YOU!” She exclaims, while the imposter cackles. “How did you- “
“You really should lock your car doors, sis” the masked Ryan teases.
Lucy lets out an exasperated sigh. “Fine, I’ll just tear that thing off of you again, come here!”
She engages in a brief chase around the basement, while her doppelgänger laughs hysterically. But the fake Lucy is also too distracted to notice that Julie has inconspicuously begun handing out pillows to the other girls.
“Your fear of clowns is only one of your weaknesses, isn’t it, Ryan?” She casually inquires, eyeing the phony girl.
The two Lucy's stop running, and turn to look at her.
“What?” the one on the right asks.
“Yes…I seem to recall that you are also particularly ticklish, isn’t that true?”
The fake Lucy folds her arms across her chest, smirking. “Yeah, but the suit covers my whole body, so nice try, Jules” she replies confidently.
“Sure” Julie replies, but then she looks down. “But what about your feet?”
The imposter’s smirk falls into a panicked frown, and she has no time to react before the other girls are upon her, pinning her in place with their pillows.
“No! Wait!” She pleads, desperately.
But in just moments, the sound of ‘her’ high-pitched squeals and uncontrollable screams can be heard all the way upstairs.