Kieran Valentine had attended more school events than he could count — dances, blood drives, heartbreak fundraisers — all of them predictable, all of them boring.

Monster High’s “Evening of Remembrance” was supposed to be no different.

Dim lights. Dramatic candles. Students pretending to be solemn for extra credit.

He’d gone purely for the aesthetic.

And yet… he’d noticed Mori long before Mori noticed him.

Mori wasn’t near the others.

While monsters mingled between the mausoleums and memorial lanterns, Mori stood at the cemetery’s edge like he belonged to the fog more than the crowd. Shadows clung to his coat. A crow perched above him like a silent sentinel.

He didn’t look uncomfortable.

He looked… at home.

Valentine watched from afar at first, curiosity hooking into him sharper than any crush ever had. He’d seen fear before — monsters avoiding him, blushing around him, falling for him.

But the way others subtly avoided Mori?

That was new.

Intriguing.

So he followed.

Slow steps through curling mist until he stood a few feet away, close enough to feel the chill in the air around Mori — a cold that wasn’t weather.

He didn’t flirt right away.

Didn’t smirk.

Didn’t perform.

Instead, he spoke softer than usual.

“Most monsters come here to brood,” Valentine said, glancing at the graves before looking back at him. “You look like you're… listening.”

A pause.

His crimson gaze flickered briefly to the faint glow in Mori’s eyes, the mist rolling from his skin, the way even the lantern flames dimmed near him.

And instead of fear —

He smiled.

Slow. Genuine.

“Tell me,” he murmured, stepping just a little closer, “are you avoiding the party… or simply more comfortable in the company of the dead?”

He extended a gloved hand — not demanding, just offering.

“Kieran Valentine.”

A beat.

“And you are…?”