LOVE IN THE HALLWAYS

THE HALLOWEEN DANCE

The halls of Springdale High were buzzing with excitement. Flyers for the annual Halloween Dance plastered every wall and locker, their orange-and-black colors impossible to ignore. It wasn’t just another dance—it was the event of the fall semester. Students had been planning their costumes for weeks, and the popular crowd was already treating it like a fashion show instead of a school dance.

Lexi Thompson stood at her locker, scrolling through her group chat. Her friends, Megan and Riley, were debating whether to go as angels, witches, or something more risqué that would guarantee them attention. Lexi rolled her eyes.

“Lex, what are you going as?” Megan asked, sidling up to her with a smirk. “Don’t tell me you’re skipping it. You can’t skip it. You’re basically student royalty.”

Lexi snapped her phone shut and shoved it in her bag. “I didn’t say I wasn’t going. I just haven’t decided.”

Riley grinned. “Translation: she’s waiting to see if Ethan Walker shows up so she can match his vibe.”

Lexi froze, glaring at her. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, come on,” Riley teased. “You’ve been different since he showed up. You actually talk to him.”

Megan’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Don’t deny it, Lex. Everyone’s noticed.”

Lexi quickly slammed her locker shut, ignoring the heat rising in her cheeks. “You two are ridiculous.”

But her heart betrayed her. Deep down, she was wondering if Ethan would come. He wasn’t the type to care about school dances, not with the way he usually skulked through the hallways with his sketchbook. But something in her gut told her he’d show up—maybe not for the dance itself, but for some reason connected to her.

---

Friday night came faster than Lexi expected. The gym had been transformed into a Halloween wonderland: paper bats hung from the ceiling, orange lights glowed across the bleachers, and a fog machine filled the room with an eerie haze. The DJ blasted music loud enough to rattle the floor, and students in every kind of costume swirled together in a colorful blur.

Lexi walked in with Megan and Riley, all three dressed in coordinated costumes—Grecian goddesses with flowing white dresses and glittery golden accessories. Heads turned as they entered, as usual. Lexi knew how to command a room, but her eyes scanned for one person only.

She found him near the back of the gym, leaning against the wall with his hands shoved in his pockets. Ethan. His costume—or lack thereof—was understated compared to everyone else’s. He wore dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and a long trench coat. But the black mask painted across his face made him look like a character straight out of a gothic comic book. His presence was magnetic, standing out even though he clearly wasn’t trying.

Lexi’s pulse quickened.

“Speak of the devil,” Riley whispered, nudging her. “Your brooding artist has arrived.”

Lexi ignored her and made her way toward Ethan, weaving through the crowd. When he saw her, his lips curved into the smallest of smiles.

“You clean up well,” he said, his voice low but audible over the music.

She raised an eyebrow, twirling the golden ribbon tied around her wrist. “This? Please. I look like a toga party reject.”

Ethan’s gaze softened. “You look like you stepped out of a painting.”

For a moment, Lexi forgot how to breathe. Compliments from her friends and classmates were common—shallow, rehearsed, expected. But from Ethan, it felt raw. Real.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice quieter than she meant.

---

They drifted to the edge of the gym, talking over the music. Ethan admitted he hadn’t planned on coming, but his foster brother had convinced him it was better than staying home alone. Lexi teased him about his “half-costume,” and he countered by sketching her quickly on the back of a napkin he’d pulled from the snack table. The resemblance was uncanny, even in rough pencil lines.

“You seriously did that in like two minutes?” Lexi asked, stunned.

Ethan shrugged. “It’s easier when the subject’s… distracting.”

Lexi’s cheeks burned again. She hated how easily he could throw her off balance.

Just as she was about to say something, Megan swooped in, grabbing Lexi’s arm. “Come on, Lex! We’re doing a group dance picture.” She glanced at Ethan with a smirk. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Ethan shook his head, though Lexi caught the flicker of annoyance in his eyes.

After posing with her friends, Lexi tried to return to Ethan, but a guy from the football team intercepted her. Tyler Matthews, quarterback, popular, and annoyingly persistent.

“Lexi! Looking good,” Tyler drawled, giving her costume a slow once-over. “Save me a dance?”

Before she could answer, Ethan appeared at her side, his posture protective. “She’s busy.”

The tension between the two boys was palpable. Tyler smirked, clearly amused by Ethan’s audacity. “Since when do you speak for her?”

Lexi quickly stepped between them. “Since now,” she snapped, grabbing Ethan’s arm. “Come on.”

She dragged him out into the quieter hallway, away from the music and the stares. Her heart raced, partly from the confrontation and partly from how close she suddenly was to him.

“Sorry about that,” she muttered. “Tyler doesn’t know when to quit.”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. “You don’t have to apologize. I just hate the way he looks at you.”

Lexi’s breath caught. “And how exactly does he look at me?”

Ethan’s dark eyes locked on hers, intense and unflinching. “Like you’re a prize. Not a person.”

The words hit her harder than she expected. Nobody had ever said it like that before. And in that dimly lit hallway, with the muffled beat of the music vibrating through the walls, Lexi realized something had shifted between them.

She didn’t know who leaned closer first, but suddenly the air between them was charged, their faces only inches apart. Lexi’s heart thundered in her chest. She swore Ethan was about to kiss her—

“LEXI!” Megan’s voice echoed down the hall, breaking the moment.

They sprang apart just as Megan appeared, her eyes flicking suspiciously between them. “There you are! We’re doing the costume contest lineup. Let’s go!”

Ethan shoved his hands back into his pockets, masking whatever emotion had been on his face. Lexi forced a smile for Megan’s sake, but inside she was reeling.

That almost-kiss lingered in her mind for the rest of the night.

---

When Lexi finally got home, she sat on her bed, still in her costume, replaying everything. The way Ethan had looked at her. The way his voice had softened when he told her she deserved better than guys like Tyler.

It scared her how much she wanted him to have kissed her.

And it scared her even more that she wasn’t sure what would happen when he finally did.