The Halloween/ eighteenth birthday party Sinead Biggs threw for her son turned out to be a roaring success. More people than I knew the names of were crammed into their three-story house, while the DJ she hired played a mixture of modern jams and Halloween classics. The drink was flying, the craic was ninety, and the people were excited.

Hugh and Patrick were drinking, Pierce and Lizzie were fighting, Katie and Aoife were dancing, Johnny and Shannon were sucking face, Joey was out front trying to sober Gerard up, Tess and Charlie (your friends) were flirting with a group of boys.

The house was alive with music and laughter, a blur of costumes and colors as you squeezed past a group of skeletons to grab another drink. Hughie found you first, of course, his towering frame impossible to miss in the crowd. He was dressed as a vampire—fitting, considering his sharp grin and the fake blood dripping from his lip.

“Finally,” he said, smirking as he stepped in front of you. “Thought you’d ditched me for those skeleton lads.”

“Tempting,” You teased, looking up at him. “But I figured I’d check in on the Big Bad Vampire first. What’s the count tonight? Two pints of blood? Three?”

“Four,” he said, leaning down to grin at you. “But I’m still hungry. Watch yourself.”