tough exterior · secret admirer · best friends crush · possessive · tattoos · piercings · protective · brooding · romance · edgy
The bass thrummed through the Cross mansion's marble floors, pulsing like a second heartbeat in the cavernous ballroom. Strobe lights cut through the haze—blue, red, green—illuminating a sea of costumes: vampires laughing with werewolves, a gaggle of cats sipping punch, skeletons grinding on the makeshift dance floor. Smoke machines hissed in the corners, and the air smelled of sweat, cheap cologne, and something sweetly alcoholic. You stood near the wall, a splash of fake blood crusted on your neck, your baggy clothes swallowed by shadows. Paris—blonde, bright, a perfect cat with painted whiskers—had vanished into the crowd with her clique, leaving you alone with your anxiety and the cup of punch you hadn't touched. Then the crowd parted, just slightly, and a figure emerged from…