"You can set the kegs over on that table," Emmett calls out to Riley and Diego as they help set up the backyard for the party.

A small crowd of costumed students is already forming on the patio.

He pours another bottle of vodka into a fruit-filled plastic trashcan and sings along to the DJ's upbeat set.

Alice's tiny, silver-clad frame flits through the gate, followed by Edward in a black cape.

"Happy Halloween!" Alice greets. "How do I look?"

She does a spin, showing off her metallic, futuristic dress, glittery platform heels, and rhinestone-encrusted tights. A pair of antennas bobble atop her head.

"You made that? That's sweet!" Emmett replies, opening a bottle of tequila and adding it to the alcohol-laden trashcan unceremoniously. "But the whole point of Halloween is to dress up as something that you're not."

"Hey! I'm not an alien!"

"Are you sure about that?" Edward tilts his head doubtfully. "You sure act like you're from another planet."

She leans over the trashcan of jungle juice and crinkles her nose. "I'm not drinking that."

"Yeah, yeah, there are White Claws in the fridge," Emmett says.

"Grapefruit?"

"Mango."

"Of course." Alice sighs and heads in through the patio door.

From what Emmett can hear, there's already a crowd forming in the house.

Edward checks his phone and starts to type out a message.

"Are you texting your girl?" Emmett teases, earning a death glare.

"I'm texting Bella. She's heading over soon with her roommates."

"Sweet. Have you met them? Are they cute?"

"You're not dating Bella's friends."

"I'm just asking! And for the record, I'm trying to date Rosalie. I asked her to come tonight." Emmett pours a bottle of whiskey into the can, topping it off.

"The mean blonde Carlisle works with? She's awful."

"I know, right?" Emmett laughs. "She doesn't take shit from anyone. It's so hot."

The backyard starts to swarm with people, prompting the DJ to bring up the volume of the music so loud that everyone on the block will be able to hear the booming bass.

Emmett sees Alice come out of the house sipping on a can of hard seltzer and dancing to the thumping melody. She disappears after a second or two behind a group of people over five feet tall, the tips of her springy antennas bobbing around through holes in the crowd.

He grabs a plastic cup and ladles some of the trash juice into it, taking a sip.

It's a particularly good batch.

He decides to take a lap and see who all has arrived.

Diego's talking with a freshman girl over by the fridge with Fred. Riley's trying to start a game of flip cup in the dining room. Raoul is sitting on the sofa with a dog dressed in a dinosaur costume that someone brought with them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Emmett sees white feathers and long, blond hair.

"Rosalie!" he calls out, and she looks over briefly before turning back toward Jasper. She's saying something to him, but it's too loud to hear.

Emmett pushes through the crowded room to the group. When he gets closer, he sees that Rosalie's wearing a pair of white jeans and a matching low-cut white top to compliment the wings and halo she's sporting.

He hasn't seen a more perfect angel costume in his life. She's beyond hot. She's practically ethereal.

"You guys made it!" he says to the Hale twins. "Thanks for coming!"

"Yeah, of course." Jasper motions to the two other blonds standing with them. "This is Peter and Charlotte. They're my friends and roommates."

Emmett recognizes the guy from the bar the other night. The girl doesn't look familiar. She's Alice-sized and has waist-length pale hair that's tied into pigtails.

"'Sup, I'm Emmett," he says to them.

"Cool party, man!" Peter replies with a nod.

Charlotte giggles. "Are you a gladiator?"

"Yeah, I am!"

"It suits you!"

Emmett notices then that Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte are all in denim, boots, and cowboy hats of various colors and designs. "I, uh, dig the whole cowboy theme you guys have going on," he says. "And you're looking particularly angelic tonight, Rosalie!"

"Mhm. You could say I was inspired," she says with a sexy grin. "I need a drink."

"Out in the yard," he tells her and gestures in the direction of the blaring music. "I'll go with you."

"Sure."

He leads her through the crowd, stopping halfway to make sure she's still following him.

She is, so he shoots her a wink.

"This is a pretty big party," she says, raising her voice so he can just barely hear her over the hook to the Drake song playing. She eyes the table of drinks carefully before grabbing a cup and filling it from the keg tap. "Your cast is off."

"Yep! Good as new!" He bends and flexes his knee demonstratively. "I could probably even dance on it if someone asked."

She narrows her eyes at him and takes a sip of her beer, turning to head back into the house. "Good luck with that."

"Aw, please?" he pleads. "I already told all my friends I was inviting the gorgeous girl who saved me. They're going to drag me later if they don't see us together at least once."

She tips her head back and finishes her drink, then fills it once more from the keg. She stares at his face for a long moment, seemingly considering his offer.

He feels a swell of hope in his chest and smiles as big as he can muster, hoping it'll sway her decision.

"Fine. One dance," she agrees, nodding with all the enthusiasm of someone who's being asked to work a double shift at their minimum wage job.

She pulls his arm toward the dance floor just as the beginnings of a Madonna remix come on, and Emmett couldn't be more ecstatic.

...

Bella finishes braiding her hair and shoves a straw hat over her head. She steps back from the mirror and admires her handiwork.

She found a vintage pinafore dress at a thrift shop on the Ave yesterday, and her brown leather hiking boots go nicely with the whole ensemble.

"Are you almost ready?" Angela asks from the living room.

"Yep!" Bella grabs her phone and heads out of her bedroom to see Angela in a witch costume and Jessica dressed as a cat.

"First college party!" Jessica hollers as she shimmies her way to the door. "Let's go!"

The three girls pile into Bella's truck and head onto I-5 towards the University District, following her phone's GPS to the address Emmett gave everyone at the dinner party the week before.

Bella isn't much of a partier, but her friends begged her to let them come with her when she told them she was invited. Plus Edward's going, and it's a good excuse to see him again.

She would stand in a three-hour line at the DMV if it meant she could spend more time with Edward.

The street is crowded with cars parallel parked bumper-to-bumper. She spots someone leaving and takes their place as they pull away.

"Holy shit, this is like an actual party!" Jessica squeals. "Like a real college party!"

And she's right. It's a very big, very real college party.

The house is two stories high and slightly run-down, with music booming out of it. People decked out in bright colors, frills, and masks seep out of the packed house and onto the front lawn, chatting, drinking, and dancing.

She checks her phone and there's a text from Edward. I'm in the backyard, it reads.

"This way," Bella says, skipping the busy front door and heading for the side gate.

Her friends follow her past two tables of kegs and snacks to the patio where Emmett's playing a game of beer pong with Jasper. They both seem pretty into it, and Jasper's winning, judging by Emmett's loud protests as he continues to drain cups.

"Bella!" someone says, and an arm suddenly grabs her.

She turns and sees Alice dressed head-to-toe in silver. Even her body's dusted in glitter and little rhinestones are carefully glued along her lashline.

She looks at her with a perplexed face. "Um. You're..."

"Anne of Green Gables," Bella says, finishing her trailing sentence. "You're a Martian?"

"Oh! Yeah, I sewed it myself." Alice smiles and flounces her skirt. She tilts her chin over toward the beer pong game. "Edward's over there if you're wondering."

He's sitting not too far behind Emmett, watching as Jasper lands a perfect shot into the last remaining cup.

Her heart starts to race.

She carefully walks across the yard, doing her best not to trip and look like an idiot.

He stands when he sees her. "I like your costume," he compliments.

He's wearing a black cape, fangs, and a lot of glitter.

"A sparkly vampire?" she asks.

"It's an unintentional side effect of carpooling with Alice," he explains, attempting to brush off some of the sparkles unsuccessfully. "She's contaminated the interior of my entire car just by existing."

Bella laughs. He looks surprisingly good with the fangs. Even better than usual. She wonders what it is about vampires that's so irresistibly attractive.

She can feel her cheeks starting to flush. She sucks in a breath and chews her lip nervously, reaching for his hands to try to distract. He clasps hers firmly, gently swinging their arms together side to side.

"Are you drinking?" she asks.

"No, I'm not twenty-one yet. And I have to drive back home later. I'm hoping Alice doesn't want to stay too long," he says, running a hand through his messily coiffed hair.

His bright green eyes watch her face, searching for something in her expression. She bites her lip again.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how long Jessica and Angela will want to be out. Usually, I just stay home and hand out candy to trick-or-treaters," she admits.

He smiles. "Yeah, me too."

Her heart feels like it's going to explode.

His ability to be both down-to-earth and so incredibly debonair simultaneously should be impossible. Her cheeks burn. He's perfect.

There isn't anyone on the planet she'd rather spend next Halloween with, passing out candy to neighborhood kids and watching scary movies with.

...

Peter successfully flips the last remaining cup for his team, and Jasper finds himself once again on the losing side of a round of flip cup.

"Your record's been broken two times over, Jazz!" Peter taunts.

Jasper laughs, looking at his team. "It's not from lack of trying on my part."

He knew Charlotte isn't good at drinking games, but Bella's roommate Jessica was even worse. They didn't stand a chance against Rosalie, Emmett, and Peter.

"Excuses!"

Jasper rolls his eyes at Peter's smack talk and drinks.

They're all crowded around the little counter island in the outdated kitchen. Plastic cups of alcohol and bags of chips and candy are scattered around on every possible surface.

They've been at the party for a couple of hours now, and Jasper has a steady buzz going. He's having fun. The music is good, he has his old friends from back in Texas, he has his new friends from Seattle, and there's enough alcohol around to fill the lake.

Emmett starts to set up a new game. "Edward, Bella, you wanna play this round?"

"No, thanks," Edward answers immediately.

"Bro! You never wanna play!" Emmett protests.

Alice comes in with a giggle and sits on the countertop beside the fridge. "He's afraid he'll lose."

"I am not! I don't want to play stupid drinking games," Edward whines.

Emmett doesn't back down. "You're at a party, Edward, lighten up!"

Having had a dozen or so drinks since arriving, Jasper has to pee.

"I'll be back," he says to no one in particular, splitting off from the group.

"Okay, we'll be here!" Alice chimes before going back to chatting with Bella and Edward.

Jasper walks to the bathroom on the ground floor and it has a line of people standing outside, shouting at the occupant to get out. It sounds like someone's sick.

There should be another upstairs.

There are fewer party-goers on the second floor. A few couples sit around making out and chatting, someone's hunkered on the ground, talking on their phone while it charges plugged into a wall outlet.

The Xanax he took earlier feels like it's starting to wear off. He's getting antsy.

His phone rings and he looks down to see Maria's number. He declines the call with a sigh.

The upstairs bathroom's medicine cabinet doesn't have anything interesting, just some toothpaste, antacids, and a razor.

He splashes some water on his face and goes back out into the hallway. He almost doesn't see the person waiting just around the side of the door.

"Jasper. It's good to see you again," a lilting voice calls out.

He turns to face the familiar sound.

She's exactly how he remembers with long, dark hair cascading in waves, sun-kissed skin, and a swipe of blood-red lipstick. A fitted black dress hugs her curves and heels give her petite stature a height boost that just barely brings her up to his shoulder.

Her name falls off his lips effortlessly. "Maria."

All the air in his lungs has dissipated, and he's left with a dull ache in his chest.

"You're not an easy man to track down, you know," she says, brandishing her trademark sultry smile. "But I have my connections."

"Why are you here?"

"It's Halloween! I told you I would be in town. Are you not getting my texts anymore?" Her voice is as sensuous and smooth as ever. "I wanted to see you."

He shakes his head. "You want me to help you."

She gives a short, humorless laugh. "That too, but our little phone conversation made me realize how much I missed you."

"Maria, I told you already that I don't want to do this anymore."

"Are you still shaken up about that kid ODing?" She tsks. "You're always too sensitive about these things. It happens all the time. That's just the business. You don't need to feel bad about it."

Seeing her now in person makes it difficult to push back old feelings he hasn't felt in months. An exhausting need to please mixed with fear and insufficiency hits him hard.

She was always so sure of herself, so confident in her ability to mold his temperament like a ball of clay.

When she was in a good mood, life was bliss. If she was angry, upset, stressed, she made it known that it was his responsibility to make things right.

For a long time, he thought that's what love was—depending and relying on someone in good times as well as bad—but his doubts have grown significantly over the past several months. The one time he needed her most, she wasn't there.

"I'm done dealing," he says.

"Jasper..." She steps forward and places her hand on his arm, pressing her glossy red nails lightly into his skin. "Come. Let's go someplace more quiet to talk about this. I'm sure we can talk this out."

"No, I—"

"I came all this way to see you. You're lucky I even thought of you after you left without saying goodbye."

He can smell her sweet, heady perfume.

"Jasper?" Alice's soft, wind chime voice rings out in the dim hallway. Sometime in the middle of his and Maria's conversation, she made her way upstairs and found them.

This doesn't look good.

Guilt and disappointment cloud his ability to think clearly. He gently tugs away from Maria and looks at their new arrival apologetically. "Give me one sec, Alice. I'll meet you back downstairs."

Maria makes a disapproving sound in the back of her throat. She's not happy with this turn of events.

Alice nods, looking worried, and slinks back down the hallway.

"New girlfriend?" Maria inquires, following him when he steps away from her once more. She presses both hands against his chest and backs him into the wall. Her nails dig into his biceps. "Does she know how you are? What you like?"

"Maria, stop." Jasper pulls her wandering hands off him and puts them back down to her sides. "I said I'm done. I'd appreciate it if you didn't call anymore."

Her face drops for a moment, the determined smirk turning into more of a frown.

"Fine, have it your way. When you're finished pretending to be a goody-goody like your little friends here, you know my number." She crosses her arms. "I'll give it a month tops before she dumps you. She's too good for you and you know it."

Her long hair whips around as she turns back down the stairs to the front door. He escorts her out to make sure she's leaving.

As soon as he's back inside, he pours the first thing he sees into a plastic cup and downs it, not tasting the alcohol. He refills it and repeats, continuing to drown out the terrible broken feeling in his chest.

...

Bella takes a sip of Alice's mango White Claw.

She winces. It's bitter.

Alice the tiny, sparkly alien had handed her the can a few minutes ago before darting out of the kitchen without explanation.

Bella wonders if it had to do with the drink and if it would make her ill.

Edward eyes her apprehensively. "You're seriously drinking that?"

"I'm curious what all the hype's about." She shrugs.

It isn't like she's going to drink it all. And even if she did, she doubts that a half-drunk can of hard seltzer will do much. It's only five percent alcohol.

She looks around the room, watching the hoards of tipsy party goers milling about. She thought parties would make her feel different, but nothing's changed.

She still doesn't have an urge to jump around screaming. She would be home in bed hours ago if it weren't for Edward's company.

Jessica and Angela are chatting with a group of lacrosse players not far away.

Rosalie and Emmett are swaying offbeat to a Megan Thee Stallion song, drinks in hand, looking like the winged goddess Victoria and her laurel-crowned champion of battle.

Bella wonders if they coordinated the costumes and how long they've been together. She never went to prom or anything like that, but if they were at a high school dance and not a college party, Rosalie and Emmett would undoubtedly be crowned the king and queen.

It's intimidating how good they look together. They're both so tall and seem so sure of themselves. It makes Bella feel like even more of a wallflower. Like she has no hope in ever being seen when people like that exist in the same universe.

Edward must notice her watching them dancing because he asks her the one question she dreads the most. "Do you want to dance?"

Dance.

Bella does not dance. She'll make a fool of herself. She has horrible coordination, especially when music is involved.

She can only imagine how perfect Edward is at dancing, though. If it's anything like all the other things he can do, he's probably amazing.

"I don't dance...I've tried and it's terrible," she says. "I'm actually getting kind of tired."

Before Edward has a chance to say anything in response, a loud police siren blares outside.

The music from the DJ cuts out and the room goes quiet except for some panicked shouts.

"And that's our cue to leave," Peter says, quickly brushing past and grabbing his girlfriend Charlotte's hand. The couple leaves out the back exit.

"What the hell! Who called the police?" Emmett shouts. He looks devastated. "Edward, if it was you, we aren't friends anymore."

"It wasn't me, but the timing is impeccable," Edward replies snidely.

A few of Emmett's teammates—the ones who live in the house—talk with the police officers at the door. They frantically try to diffuse the situation, but the prognosis is bleak.

Bella overhears something about a noise complaint, underage drinking, and illegal drugs. It's safe to assume the party's over.

Alice comes into the kitchen looking thoroughly put out, her antennas bouncing limply in front of her face. She nudges Edward's arm. "Hey, I'll drive the Tesla home if you're getting a ride with Bella."

"Why would I be getting a ride with Bella? She lives fifteen minutes away while we're all the way on the other side of town," Edward says incredulously.

"I'm gonna stick around and help clean up," she explains. "Go ahead and go without me."

"Get a ride with Emmett."

"Uh, Eddy, I do not drive while drunk. I'll be sleeping on the couch here," Emmett interjects.

"Right. My bad." Edward looks at Bella for approval.

"I can give you a ride. I just need to drop Jessica and Angela off first," Bella agrees.

Knowing she'll have more time to talk with him on the drive over, she doesn't dare turn down the opportunity. Plus, she isn't sure what happened to Alice, but she wants to do whatever she can to help.

"Of course, thank you," Edward says, tossing Alice the key fob to his car. "Let's get going then."