all hallows eve

Chapter ONE:the Jericho river --- Jasmina POV The scream ripped through the night, shattering the quiet like glass. She woke drenched in sweat, her chest heaving, heart hammering against ribs that felt too fragile for the memories that clung to her. Black hair stuck to her cheek, mascara running like rivers of shame, pink satin sheets tangled around her trembling body. The nightmare didn’t fade. Jericho River. John Montgomery. The hands she never wanted to remember. She pressed her fingers to her mouth, tasting the metallic tang of panic, and whispered, “Not again… not again.” Downstairs, the argument started before she could even think. “You wore my top?!” Ellen’s shrill voice cut through the walls. “It’s just a shirt!” Sarah shouted back, smoke curling from her cigarette like a serpent. Then her mother’s cold, slicing voice cut deeper. “Jasmina! Get ready for Homecoming Week!” Jasmina flinched, gripping her pink robe. Homecoming Week. The words felt like nails on her skin. But she forced herself to move, to mask her fear and shame behind practiced perfection. Her mother’s next words were sharper than the bitter morning air. “Hopeless. Why didn’t I abort you?” The sting of it didn’t hurt anymore; it fueled the fire under her skin. She forced her lips into a smile, smooth and flawless. Smile. Pretend. Survive. --- Zade POV He leaned against the black Mustang, hoodie up, mask hiding the lower half of his face, and watched the girl — the one everyone whispered about. The one with hair black as midnight and eyes green enough to drown in. She moved with grace that was deliberate and rehearsed, every step a study in perfection. And yet… Something cracked in her. He could see it. A flicker of fragility beneath the glitter, beneath the gloss, beneath the cheerleader charm. He wanted to reach out. Protect her. Break her free from the suffocating air of her home. But he couldn’t. Not yet. Not when she had no idea who he was — not the Lucifer behind the mask, not the boy who noticed everything. Her scent — vanilla and faint smoke and something darker he couldn’t name — reached him even from across the street. Penguin, he thought. He smirked at the nickname in his mind. Cute. Annoying. Fitting. He made a silent vow: he’d be in her life. Somehow. One way or another. --- Jasmina POV Coffee with Karina was a lifeline. The smell of burnt espresso, the chatter of baristas, the warmth of a cup between her hands — these were small pockets of normalcy she could steal. Karina nudged her, grinning. “Princess, you okay? You look… haunted.” “I’m fine,” Jasmina said softly, stirring sugar into her caramel latte. “Morning stuff.” Karina snorted, eyes narrowing. “Nightmares again?” Jasmina let a faint smile ghost her lips. She wouldn’t tell Karina about the river, about John. Not yet. Jason appeared next, duffle in hand, smirk crooked and mischievous. “Evening… morning… whatever,” he said. And then she saw him. Leaning against the Mustang, eyes icy blue, hair falling over a shadowed mask. The boy who would be her obsession. Her chaos. Her salvation. The air between them felt electric, sharp, impossible to ignore. “Hi,” she said, voice too polite, too stiff. “Hi,” he answered, low and smooth. A growl almost. Her stomach twisted. Something dangerous, something magnetic, radiated off him in waves. She hated it. She wanted to run. And yet, she couldn’t. This is going to be trouble.