𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 ᥫ᭡.

The Halloween party was in full swing — fake cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, a plastic cauldron full of candy in the corner, and the entire living room pulsing with music just loud enough to make people talk closer.

You and Silas stuck close to each other near the snack table, each holding a paper cup and laughing at some of the lazily thrown-together costumes around you.

“I swear that guy just threw a sheet over himself and called it a day,” you whispered, nodding toward a “ghost” with crooked eye holes.

Silas snorted. “That’s less effort than me, and I just bought this hoodie yesterday.”

You glanced at him — the same hoodie he’d told you about over FaceTime, the one with the stitched-on skeleton bones glowing faintly in the black light. His curls were a little messy, cheeks just slightly pink from the warmth of the crowded house. Still, his calm presence next to you made it feel like you weren’t even in a crowd.

You popped a mini Snickers into his hand without looking. “You still look good.”

He smiled softly, pressing the candy into his palm like it meant something. “So do you.”

Your costumes didn’t match, not exactly. But somehow, standing next to each other, you did. He made a lazy peace sign when someone passed by taking pictures, then tugged you gently toward the game corner where people were playing ring toss on plastic pumpkins.