𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐂 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐄 - 𝖥𝖢𝟦𝟥

𝟎.𝟎.𝟎 - 𝖥𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝟣 𝗈𝗇 𝟣 𝖲𝗅𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋

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𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

   It was late October in 2016, and the air was crisp with the feel of Halloween. Aurelia walked up to Franco's front porch, clutching her overnight bag tightly in her hand. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stood in front of the door, feeling more nervous than she had thought. It wasn't just the sleepover that had her on edge—it was the fact that this was her first time staying the night at anyone's house, especially with a boy. Her family didn't really "do" normal things like this, so the idea of spending the night with Franco's family felt... foreign.

The door swung open, and Franco stood there, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey! You made it!"

"Yeah," Aurelia said, trying to sound casual even though her stomach was in knots. "I made it."

Franco stepped aside to let her in. "Come on, my parents are taking my sister trick-or-treating. We can watch a movie or something."

Aurelia nodded and stepped into the house. She had been to Franco's place before—once or twice for birthday parties—but she had never really paid attention to how cozy and inviting it felt. His house smelled like pumpkin spice and cookies, and there was a warm glow from the Halloween decorations scattered around. It was nothing like the cold, chaotic energy of her own home.

"Your house is... nice," Aurelia said, glancing around at the framed family photos on the walls and the neatness of everything. There was a picture of Franco and his little sister in matching Halloween costumes from when they were younger—Franco as a pirate, and his sister as a tiny fairy.

Franco laughed as he closed the door behind her. "Thanks. Mom goes all out for Halloween. She's obsessed with decorating. It drives my dad nuts."

Aurelia smiled, though a pang of something sharp and sad tugged at her chest. She wished her family cared about stuff like that—decorating, dressing up, just being together without all the sexual things looming over them. But she pushed the thought away. Tonight wasn't about her family.

"So, what do you wanna do first?" Franco asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. "We've got scary movies, snacks... oh, and my mom left cookie dough in the fridge if you wanna bake cookies later."

"Cookies," Aurelia said immediately. "Definitely cookies."

Franco grinned. "I knew you'd say that."

They headed to the kitchen, and Aurelia admired how everything in Franco's house seemed to work so smoothly. His little sister's drawings were on the fridge, and there were sticky notes from his mom reminding him to put the dishes away. The house felt lived in, but in a good way. It was like people actually cared about each other here.

Franco pulled out the cookie dough, and they set to work, scooping the dough onto trays and laughing as they shaped a few into weird, lopsided pumpkins. Aurelia was starting to relax, the tension in her shoulders easing as she got lost in the simple, fun task.

"So," Franco said, popping a piece of dough into his mouth. "You ever have a sleepover before?"

Aurelia hesitated, not sure how much she wanted to say. "Not really," she admitted, keeping her answer vague. "This is, um, my first one on one sleepover."

"No way!" Franco looked surprised. "I thought girls did that stuff all the time."

Aurelia shrugged. "I guess. I've just never... done it before."

"Well, then this'll be fun," Franco said, smiling at her. "We'll make it a good one."

As the cookies baked, they grabbed some blankets and sprawled out in the living room. Franco flipped through the stack of DVDs his mom had left, all Halloween-themed. "What do you think? Horror movie, or something funny?"