"Hey there, Sandy."

The voice pulled her from her attention on Luca and the cute boy. A tall guy in a vampire costume was leaning against the wall next to her, drink in hand. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and something about the way he looked at her made her skin crawl.

"I'm Jason. And you look thirsty." He held out a red cup. "Let me fix that for you."

Ashley's internal alarm bells started ringing. This wasn't like the soft-spoken offers from Lucien at the café or the playful banter with Luca. This felt... wrong.

"Oh, no thanks." She took a step back, wishing she hadn't let Luca wander off so soon. "I'm good."

"Come on, it's a party." He moved closer, using his height to loom over her. "One drink won't kill you. Unless..." His smile turned mocking. "This is your first party?"

Heat crept up her neck. She'd spent so long wanting to experience normal teenage things, but now she felt painfully naive. "That's not—"

"It is!" He laughed, the sound sharp and unfriendly. "Little Miss Perfect's first high school party. Here." He pushed the cup toward her again. "Let me give you the full experience."

Ashley hesitated. She didn't want to seem childish, but Luca's warnings echoed in her head. Still, maybe one sip would—

A hand appeared between them, knocking the cup out of Jason's grip. The drink splashed across his vampire cape, turning the cheap fabric an even darker red.

"Oops." Arek's voice was casual, but his eyes spoke differently. "Guess I should watch where I'm going."

Relief flooded through Ashley. She hadn't even known she was holding her breath until she could breathe again.

"What the hell, man?" Jason tried to step forward, but something in Arek's stance made him think better of it.

"You should probably go clean that up." Arek's tone suggested this wasn't a suggestion. "Somewhere else."

Jason looked between them, clearly weighing his options. Finally, he backed away, muttering under his breath.

"You okay?" Arek turned to Ashley, his expression softening in a way that made her heart do a tiny flip.

"Yeah, I just..." She stared at him, brain catching up with reality. "Wait– What are you doing here? I thought parties weren't your thing."

"They're not." He ran a hand through his already messy hair, and she noticed a smudge of what looked like charcoal on his wrist – he must have been drawing before coming here. "My cousin dragged me here. She wanted to go and her parents didn’t want her to go alone." His lips quirked up. "But if I have to be here, figured I might as well do something I actually want to do."

"Which is?"

"Talk to you."

Heat crept up her neck for an entirely different reason now. "Oh."

“You never answered any of my texts”

“O-oh that’s… thats because.. I just.. You see… I..”

“Hey, it's okay, it's okay” He chuckled. “I should’ve known you would be busy. That’s not a problem at all. Everyone has a life outside their phones. Sorry if I bothered you too much.”

Ashley shook her head quickly, “You didn’t! I promise.”

Arek gave her that warm smile that she has come to really like looking at, "Come on." He nodded toward a quieter corner of the house. "This music's giving me a headache."

They found a relatively peaceful spot on the back porch, fairy lights twinkling overhead. From here, the party's chaos felt distant, manageable. Ashley noticed how Arek positioned himself between her and the door, subtly creating a barrier from the crowd inside.

"So," he gestured at her costume, "Sandy, huh? Pretty iconic choice."

"Yeah, Luca and I thought—"

"Right. Luca." Something flickered across his face. "You two seem... close."

Was that jealousy in his voice? The thought made her stomach bubble like there were butterflies trapped inside. Not like she was about to let something lose! Just that little feeling of excitement. "We are, but not like that. We could never date."

"Why is that?"

She bit her lip, hating that she couldn't just tell him the truth but she would never out Luca unless he wanted it. It was still something big for him, "We just... couldn't. Trust me."

Before he could press further, a group spilled onto the porch, already deep into a game of Never Have I Ever.

"Hey, Danny Zuko's Girl!" A girl in a cat costume waved them over. "Join us!"

Ashley hesitated, but Arek leaned close to whisper, "We don't have to if you don't want to."

The concern in his voice made her smile. "No, it might be fun. Just... stay close?"

"Always."

The game started innocently enough. Never have I ever cheated on a test. Ashley kept all fingers up, naturally. Never have I ever snuck out. Arek put a finger down with a smirk that made her wonder about the story behind it. But when things started turning more provocative, Ashley noticed Arek's subtle management of the situation.

"Never have I ever skinny dipped!" someone called out.

Before Ashley could feel awkward about her lack of experience, Arek jumped in with, "Never have I ever understood calculus," making everyone laugh and steering the conversation toward school complaints.

As the night progressed, they migrated through different party games. During Truth or Dare, a small group gathered in the living room. Ashley watched, fascinated, as people revealed secrets and performed increasingly ridiculous tasks.

Then someone turned to her with a wicked grin. "Truth or dare, Perfect Ashley?"

She felt Arek tense beside her. "Dare," she said, surprising herself.

"I dare you to drink this." They held up a shot glass filled with what looked like hot sauce. "Unless you're too scared..."

Before Ashley could respond, Arek reached for the glass. "I'll take it for her."

"That's not how it works—"

"New rule." Arek's voice was light but firm. "Partners can take dares for each other."

"We're not—" Ashley started, but then Arek downed the hot sauce in one go.

The reaction was immediate. His eyes watered, his face turned red, and he made a sound she'd never heard from another human being.

"Holy... that's..." He coughed, accepting the water she frantically handed him. "That's definitely not regular hot sauce."

"Ghost pepper special," someone said proudly.

Ashley helped him to the kitchen for more water, trying not to laugh at his dramatic wheezing. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know." He wiped his streaming eyes. "But your face when they suggested it? Worth the pain.” He breathed out, “I might have burned off all my taste buds."

"My hero," she teased, but it was so sweet to see him go through this for her.

They spent the next hour sharing stories and trading observations about their classmates. Ashley found herself relaxing more than she ever had at school, letting her perfect mask slip away.

"Wait," she gasped through laughter as Arek described his first attempt at art, "you actually set the easel on fire?"

"In my defense, oil paints are very flammable." His eyes crinkled when he smiled – something she'd never noticed before. "My art teacher's eyebrows did eventually grow back."

“What is with you and fire?”

He shrugged which made her chuckle.

"Is that why you switched to charcoal?"

"Safer for everyone involved." He studied her face. "You're different when you laugh, you know that?"

"Different how?"

"More real. Like you're not trying to be perfect anymore."

The observation hit close to home. "Maybe I'm not perfect."

"Good." His voice softened. "Perfect is boring. You're much more interesting when you're just you."

They ended up back on the porch, away from the increasingly rowdy party. The fairy lights cast a soft glow that made everything feel dreamlike.

"Your turn," Arek said, continuing their modified version of Twenty Questions. "What's something no one would guess about you?"

Ashley thought for a moment. "I listen and dance to k-pop music with Luca’s sister."

"Really?"

"Really" she admitted. "And my parents don’t know. They think I only listen to classical."

"Subtle," he teased, but his eyes were warm. "Dancing is an art too, you know. I think you may be more artistic than me."

She looked at him then, really looked at him. The boy she'd thought was just a troublemaker now seemed so much more – thoughtful, protective, surprisingly funny. He'd spent the whole night making sure she was comfortable, safe, but never in a way that made her feel childish.

"What?" he asked, noticing her gaze.

"You're nothing like I thought you were," she said softly.

"Is that... good?"

"Very." Her heart was racing now. "You're so much more."

He moved closer, one hand coming up to cup her cheek. The touch sent shivers down her spine. "So are you."

He leaned in closer and closer. Their lips touched, it was gentle, questioning. His lips were soft despite his earlier hot sauce heroics, and he smelled like charcoal and something uniquely him. Ashley's first kiss, and it was nothing like she'd imagined – it was better, realer, perfectly imperfect.

They pulled apart slowly, and Ashley realized she was trembling slightly. Everything felt heightened – the fairy lights overhead, the distant music from inside, the way Arek looked at her like she was something precious.

"Was that okay?" he asked, suddenly looking uncertain.

Instead of answering, she kissed him again. This time with more certainty, letting herself be brave in a way Perfect Ashley never could.