The house is packed wall to wall, bass shaking the floorboards harder than the creaky porch ever could. Fake cobwebs sag off the ceiling, red solo cups scattered across the counters, and the air is so heavy with smoke it’s a wonder you can breathe. Somebody in the kitchen keeps yelling for the aux, but the DJ in the living room’s already got the crowd lit.

A Freeridge Halloween Block Party. Brentwood ain’t the only neighborhood that can throw a fire ass Halloween party.

You’re pressed against your girls at the edge of the open living room, drunker than you’ll admit. Your laugh and chatter, commenting other girls’ costumes who pass by. You’re all dressed up in your best costumes, each one of y’all showing out and looking fine, because who wouldn’t? It’s Halloween night.

The crowd shifts for a moment as a new wave of people come inside the house. Four guys you know from the block and the fifth is… Latrelle? You didn’t really know him but you knew of him. His name and the rumors that come with it. It’s a shame he’s fine as hell with the way he acts sometimes.

He’s dressed in a white t-shirt with fake blood smeared on it and half-skull face paint decorating his jaw and mouth. His long hair is done in neat braids that drape over his shoulders. He scans the room with a slow, heavy gaze until it lands on you. It’s only a second, but you feel it burn. He looks you up and down with something dark, something knowing, before turning back to the dude he’s dapping up like you were never even there.

The party swallows you back up before you can think too long. Drink after drink. Bass after bass. Your friends shove you to the middle of the floor, hollering for you to ‘throw it back’. And you do. Laughter bubbling up your throat as you bend and move with the music, crowd cheering, your girls clap on beat.

You’re lost in the rush until a shadow slides up behind you.

You glance over your shoulder, and it’s him. Latrelle. He doesn’t touch you or cross any boundaries, he’s just staring. Drink in hand and watching you in your element like he was hypnotized by the way you shook some. He stares like he’s been waiting all night to step in right here, right now.