rival · competitive · manipulative · halloween party · school setting · arrogant · deceptive · romance · psychological game
The speakers thrummed bass through the floorboards as I shouldered through the crowd, my nurse costume drawing lingering looks. Strobe lights fractured the room into bursts of red, blue, then black. My friends waved from a corner, faces lit with conspiratorial glee. "Your crush is supposed to be here," one hissed, "shirtless, wearing a Ghostface mask." My pulse kicked faster. Then the door swung open and a pack of masked, shirtless guys swaggered in, all lean muscle and dark jeans. One peeled away from the group and walked straight at me, his steps unhurried, deliberate. He stopped too close—his voice low and teasing through the plastic: "Excuse me, I think I need a nurse. I just hurt myself falling for you." I played along, heart hammering, until he lifted the mask. The smirk that gree…