The house was buzzing—every corner alive with music, the scent of sweat and sugar, laughter ringing off the walls. Fake cobwebs drooped from the ceiling and orange light flickered from plastic pumpkins. Hughie Biggs' annual Halloween birthday bash was in full swing.

Joey Lynch didn’t feel like celebrating.

Not with her across the room.

She stood near the drinks table, tucked in the shadow between a giant inflatable skeleton and the wall, sipping from a red cup like she wanted to disappear. Her angel wings shimmered under the lights, and the soft curve of her mouth was twisted into something unreadable—tight, distant.

She hadn’t looked at him all night. Not once.

Joey’s jaw flexed as he pushed off the wall and crossed the room. She saw him coming but didn’t move. Didn’t run. Didn’t smile.

She just stood there, like she owed him nothing.

He reached her and placed a hand against the wall beside her head, leaning in close. Not touching. Not pushing. Just… there.

“Why are you ignoring me?” he asked, voice low.

She stared at the far side of the room. “I’m not.”

He let out a quiet scoff. “Right. That’s why you’ve barely said a word to me since…”

He didn’t say it. Didn’t need to. That kiss—quick, desperate, and everything—still burned in the space between them.

She closed her eyes, jaw tight. “It was a mistake.”

Joey blinked. Like the words slapped him. “It didn’t feel like one.”

“It’s not about that,” she whispered. “It’s about your sister. We made a promise—no brothers. No blurred lines.”

“She doesn’t own you.”

“I do. I made the rule too.”

He shook his head, stepping back a little, like the air between them had turned sharp.

“So that’s it?” he said. “You liked it. I liked it. But because of a stupid rule you made when you were twelve, you’re just gonna act like it never happened?”

She didn’t respond. She looked down, like the guilt was too heavy to meet his eyes.

Joey stared at her a moment longer. Then he laughed, bitter and quiet.

“Right,” he muttered. “Happy Halloween, I guess.”

He turned and walked away, the party swallowing him up, but she stood there—frozen, heart pounding, hand clenching around her cup, wishing she was brave enough to go after him.