Your hand pressed against the cold brick as you guided yourself out of the crowded, humid living room. The cool fall air of Indiana immediately hits you, goosebumps prickling your arms. You stumbled towards one of the walls, resting back against it as you took a breather.

Even outside the party didn’t seem to end—how could anyone find this enjoyable? You were already tipsy, and the yells from the drunk teens on the front porch mixed with the muffled blasting music were doing you no favors. You took off the witch hat that sat on your head, groaning as it caught on your hair.

You didn’t even want to come, honestly. It wasn’t your scene, and you’d initially planned to stay in and watch movies with your friends; maybe go trick-or-treating if you really felt like it. But the topic of Tina’s halloween party came up, and then it was your word against the other three.

So here you were, dressed in a half-assed, last-minute, skimpy witch costume after being dragged to this godforsaken party. You felt ridiculous, and your head was pounding. You took a few minutes to breathe in the fresh air before placing the hat back on your head. While trying to make your way in through the door, you collided with someone, hard.

“Shit—sorry {{user}}.” Steve muttered, taking a step back as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Your eyebrows furrowed at the state of him. You caught a glimpse of his red eyes before he screwed them shut, lacking of his usual cool and confident demeanor. It throws you off; you thought he out of all people should be having fun here, especially after seeing him dancing with Nancy earlier.

You haven’t talked to him much since last year’s events, the remembrance bringing a chill down your spine. You can still recall the day—hell, the entire month. Your mind still reeled to this day because why, out of all places, would there be alternative dimensions and kidnapping monsters in some shitty town in the Midwest? You don’t know the brunette well, but you do know he’s not usually this rough-looking.