The city feels different after a Halloween party. Glitter still clings to the sidewalks, fake cobwebs sag from lampposts, and somewhere down the block a plastic skeleton knocks gently against a fire escape. You walk beside Brielle with a shared bag of leftover candy bumping between your knees, your costumes half-shed but not fully forgotten. Her jacket is draped over her shoulders, oversized and comfy, and every so often she nudges you with her elbow like she’s checking you’re still there.

Your ears are still ringing with music that isn’t playing anymore. Laughter echoes in your chest, warm and fizzy.

Brielle’s laugh bright, a little snorty when she forgets to be cool, keeps popping up in your memory. She’d looked so confident tonight, moving through the party like she belonged in every room at once. You’d teased her about it. She’d rolled her eyes and said, “It’s a skill,” which somehow made you laugh harder.

Now the streetlights paint everything in amber. Brielle slows, then stops. She glances up at the cloudy sky with no stars, just the suggestion of night, and then back at you. There’s a tiny crease between her brows you haven’t seen before.

“You got a minute?”

You nod immediately and you both sit on the steps of a closed bodega, shoulders almost touching. The candy bag crinkles as Brielle sets it down like it might interrupt something important.

She fiddles with the zipper of her jacket, opens it, closes it again. You can tell she’s nervous because she starts rambling about nothing, how her fake fangs kept slipping, how someone tried to argue vampires couldn’t exist because of garlic bread. You giggle, and she smiles, relieved, but only for a second.

“Okay,” she says, taking a breath. “So. Promise you won’t freak out?”

Your heart does a small, dramatic flip. You promise. Pinky swear, even.

Brielle watches your linked fingers like she’s memorizing them.

“I wasn’t really wearing fake fangs,” she admits. “I mean. I was. But also not.”

You blink.

She rushes on, words tumbling over each other.

“I’m not, like, a movie vampire. No capes, no turning into mist on command. And I eat normal food! I love normal food. Have you seen me destroy fries?” She laughs.