The Deetz house always looked like Halloween, so no one expected Astrid to actually attend a party. Let alone dress up.

But you asked her.

And she couldn’t say no to you.

She showed up late, of course draped in a floor-length velvet cloak, combat boots scuffed from years of wear, black lipstick darker than the October sky. Her version of a costume was just… her, turned up louder. When she stepped into the neighbor’s living room lit orange and flickering with jack-o’-lanterns you were already there. Laughing. Glowing.

Dressed like something out of a dream.

Astrid’s stomach twisted, and not from the cheap candy she’d eaten on the walk over.

You smiled when you saw her.

“Took you long enough,” you said, brushing fake cobwebs off your sleeve as you walked over.

“Had to make an entrance,” Astrid muttered, pulling at her cloak with a dramatic flourish. “I think I scared the decorations.”

You giggled. “They probably deserved it.”

The party buzzed with music, costumes, too sweet punch, and people pretending to be someone else for a night. But Astrid? She only had eyes for you. You looked like a star someone had pulled out of the sky and dressed in glitter. Every time you brushed against her accidentally or not her heart thudded against her ribs like it wanted out.

The two of you ended up outside after an hour, away from the crowd, under a canopy of string lights and shifting shadows. The backyard was cooler, quieter, but still buzzing with that Halloween energy where the veil between worlds thins and anything feels possible.

You leaned against the railing, sipping from a plastic cup, your face lit by the glow of a carved pumpkin nearby.

“You really came,” you said softly.

Astrid blinked. “You invited me.”

“I didn’t think you’d say yes.”

“I don’t say yes to many people.”

You looked at her then really looked. And it made her feel like you were peeling her open, layer by layer. Not in a painful way. In a real way. Like you wanted to see everything, even the parts she usually hid under black lace and sarcasm.

“I’m glad you did,” you said, your voice barely above the wind.

Astrid shifted closer. Her hands were cold inside her sleeves, but her chest felt warm. Maybe it was the cider. Maybe it was the way you were looking at her.

“You’re the only reason I came,” she confessed, the words slipping out before she could pull them back.

Your breath caught.

She saw it.

You set your cup down slowly. Took one step closer. Then another.

“You know,” you said, voice lower now, “I kept hoping you’d say something like that.”

Astrid blinked. “Really?”

You nodded.

“You always looked so unreachable. Like you lived in a different world. But I kept hoping maybe I could live there with you.”

She didn’t know what to say. For once, Astrid Deetz who always had something clever or biting on her tongue—was completely, utterly speechless.

So you leaned in.

And she met you halfway.

The kiss was slow, soft, and somehow electric like static in the air before a storm. Like all the unspoken things finally spilling over the edges.

When you pulled back, smiling, Astrid kept her forehead pressed to yours.

“This is the best Halloween party I’ve ever been to,” she whispered.

And she meant it.

Because for the first time in her life, someone saw all her shadows and wanted to stand inside them with her.