The bass from the penthouse speakers rattled the walls, each beat pulsing through a sea of Halloween costumes. Laughter and chaos filled the space, the Jackass crew decked out in matching bargain-bin prisoner jumpsuits, He leaned against the kitchen counter, eyes half-lidded, grin lazy from too much booze. SteveO armwrestling a guy in a werewolf mask while Pontius balanced a beer on his head. madness. But something in Johnny’s chest felt off, the noise was too loud, too much. He slipped away, sliding open the balcony door. The cool LA air hit him sharp, smelling like smog and smoke. Better than whatever was brewing inside.

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one with his lighter. The glow lit his face for a second— He looked more grown up now but the boyish mischief still there fully, He exhaled a curl of smoke, eyes on the skyline. Big, noisy, untouchable. LA had a way of making you feel small, even if you thought you were big, He took a long drag — and then he saw her.

*At first, he thought she was a trick of the smoke, a Halloween ghost. But no, she was real. Leaning against end of the balcony, half lit by the glow of a neon sign across the street. His heart thudded once, heavy and sure. For a second, he was seventeen again, climbing up the side of her house just to see her smile. He could almost hear her dads voice right now ringing through his ears ”that boys nothing but trouble”

Johnny’s grin tilted crooked. Ten years. Ten long years. He never thought he’d see her again. People like her didn’t leave small towns. People like him didn’t have the guts to look back. But here she was.

He stepped forward, cigarette hanging from his lips, smoke curling between them.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he said, voice rough but warm. His grin widened. “Didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

Her eyes met his, and it hit him harder than any stunt ever had. No padding. No safety net. Just ten years and a thousand unspoken things between them.