Misfits Like Us (Like Us #11)(91)

NOTES

Don’t arrive shirtless. No one wants to see that, most especially ME.

No pets can attend. Frey Manor is not a pet-friendly venue. (Ben, don’t think about bringing your cockatoo Theodore, and my Hale children, no Newfies.)

NO CIGARETTES. I don’t care if your superhero smokes. This is not a Frey Manor policy. This is a Loren Hale Hates Smoking policy. This includes vapes, cigars, etc.

If you have complaints about your costume, I have a few alternatives in mind. Call me, text me, I’m always here for you.

Sulli and Jane can prioritize comfort over style, and I expect no one to give them shit for it.





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THE LIST



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Listed from oldest to youngest, according to families, so none of you can think I have favorites. (JK, I definitely have favorites.)



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ABBEYS

Garrison Abbey: Angel (Note: please wear a shirt.) Willow Abbey: Rogue

Vada Abbey: Kate Pryde



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COBALTS

Connor Cobalt: Colossus

Rose Cobalt: Emma Frost

Jane Cobalt: Captain Britain

Charlie Cobalt: Northstar

Beckett Cobalt: Gambit Might be working or arrive late after Sleeping Beauty performance (Note: your costume may be shirtless, but please wear a shirt. If you run out of time to dress up, you are the only one who gets a costume pass from me.) Eliot Cobalt: Pyro

Tom Cobalt: Cannonball

Ben Cobalt: Rictor

Audrey Cobalt: Khoura



* * *



HALES

Loren Hale: Cyclops

Lily Hale: Marvel Girl (You’re the best, love) Maximoff Hale: Madrox

Luna Hale: Polaris

Xander Hale: Alexander Summers (Had to give you your namesake, bub) Kinney Hale: Laura Kinney (Also your namesake, my lil Slytherin) Ripley Hale (aka fav grandson): Lockheed



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MEADOWS

Ryke Meadows: Daken (Note: this is the EASIEST costume, bro. You’re welcome.) Daisy Meadows: Dazzler

Sullivan Meadows: Aurora

Winona Meadows: Gloriana



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STOKES

Samuel Stokes: Mister Sinister (Don’t disappoint me, Sammy) Poppy Stokes: Mystique

Maria Stokes: Magik (Note: bummed you can’t make it, but we all understand. Lily and I and the Hale fam are all excited for your movie premiere next year.)





24





PAUL DONNELLY





Halloween. Spooky day made even spookier by being Loren Hale’s birthday. When I was a little kid, most of my Halloweens were spent with my grandmom. She’d pass out early with a cigarette pinched between her fingers, and I’d be left to greet trick-or-treaters at our apartment door.

Don’t know why I didn’t just ignore the knocks and let the kids pass by. Because we never had the money for candy, and it didn’t feel right handing out nothing. So I’d draw these little cartoon figures on the back of Wawa napkins and when some kid came to the door, I’d give him one. Got my ass beat a few times by the bigger kids for not having a fucking Snickers bar to give away. What was worse: the kids trick-or-treating all lived in the same apartment, so I got myself a reputation as that smelly kid who thought his doodles were better than candy.

Despite all that, I like Halloween.

And those idiots just didn’t know that I might have smelled bad, but my doodles were worth at least three Snickers bars back then.

I’ve told that story to Farrow a couple times when I was drunk, and again tonight in the parlor of an old Victorian mansion called the Frey Manor.

For Xander’s dad’s birthday, we’re up in northern PA. He rented out this place. Built in the late 1800s, George Frey—the man of the house—owned a rolling mill, used for the production of iron and steel. He had four sons. A wife, who was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Pennsylvania. They all died off the property, but their lineage swears the original Freys still walk the Manor.

At least, that’s what the placards said in the foyer.

They keep this place running by telling ghost stories about flickering lights and cold touches, so I wondered about its history. Thought it was interesting. I heard Kinney say it’s “definitely haunted” but it’s not as well-known as places like Eastern State Penitentiary and Pennhurst Asylum. So I’m thinking ghosts have taken a backburner on this one.

A lot of people mill about the Frey Manor. All living.

The attendance sheet is all familiar faces to me. Family members, significant others, a few trusted friends of Lo’s, production crew from We Are Calloway (not to film), some party planning staff, and the security team—it’s a highly secured location. What Akara said in our security briefing for this event.

With temps covering entrances and exits, Akara made us aware that we could join the party as guests or we could work. Price apparently gave the same option to the Triple Shield bodyguards, and only a few guys from both firms have clocked in to be on-duty for the event.

I thought about volunteering for the job. To take the money. I do need it. But I didn’t like the idea of missing out on a night with my friends.

Mainly her.