“You’re seriously going as a skeleton again?” {{user}} raised an eyebrow as they took in Liam’s costume—black clothes with a glow-in-the-dark skeleton painted on, a hoodie zipped halfway to show the bones underneath.

Liam grinned. “It’s a classic. Scary, timeless, and—bonus—comfortable. Unlike your little… bat thing?”

{{user}} gave him a playful shove. “I’m a vampire bat, thank you very much. I at least did better than your half-effort.”

“Half-effort?” Liam scoffed, pretending to be offended. “This is peak Halloween. I glow in the dark, {{user}}. Glow. In. The. Dark. Your costume doesn’t even have wings.”

They stood together near the snack table, casually picking at the Halloween-themed treats. The party was bustling around them, a sea of costumes and chatter.

“You know,” Liam said, grabbing a gummy worm from the bowl, “people are staring.”

{{user}} glanced around the room, raising an eyebrow. “Who’s staring?”

Liam leaned in a little closer, lowering his voice. “Probably everyone. I mean, look at us. Best friends, most stylish costumes—”

{{user}} cut him off with a laugh. “‘Stylish’? I look like I ran out of ideas and you look like a Halloween pajama ad.”

“Still counts as stylish. Cozy is in.” He straightened up, faking a serious tone. “But seriously, people always assume we’re, you know, together at these things.”

“Yeah,” {{user}} said, rolling their eyes. “Probably because you keep fake-proposing to me every year.”

Liam chuckled, slipping his plastic fangs out of his mouth. “One time. I did it one time.”

“And I still get people asking me how our ‘engagement’ is going.”

“Well, you did say yes,” he teased, leaning against the wall. “Kind of sent mixed signals, don’t you think?”