Her body pressed against mine, warm and soft through the thin fabric of my costume shirt. I kept my hands carefully on her upper back, acutely aware that we had an audience.

When Harlow finally released me, her cheeks were pink.

"Okay!" She clapped. "Now we need to do your hair!"

"What’s wrong with my hair?"

"Nothing! But it needs styling! Vampires have dramatic hair!"

"My hair is fine."

"It’s adequate," Vivienne said. "Which means it has room for improvement."

I sat in the folding chair they’d set up, accepting my fate. Harlow circled me like a shark, examining my two-toned blonde and dark roots from every angle.

"We could gel it back," she mused. "Very classic vampire. Or messy and windswept! Like you just fed on someone!"

"Please don’t phrase it like that."

"Or!" She gasped. "We could add temporary color! I have spray-on red dye!"

"Absolutely not."

"But it would match my highlights!"

"Still no."

She pouted but ultimately settled on gelling my hair back and slightly to the side, creating what she called "elegant predator vibes." I looked like I was attending a funeral for someone I’d personally killed.

"Perfect," Harlow declared.

Cassidy had been silent for too long. That was never good. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

She approached with something glinting in her hand. "You need an earring."

"I have earrings."

"You need a dangly one. For the aesthetic."

"I’m not wearing a dangly earring."

"It’s just a cross!" She held it up. "Very vampire hunter chic! Ironic!"

"Cassidy."

"Angelo."

We stared at each other. Her purple eyes dared me to refuse.

"One earring," I said. "Left ear only."

"Deal!"

She leaned close, her fingers brushing my ear as she clipped the cross into place. Her breath was warm against my cheek. I could smell her shampoo, fruity and sweet.

"There," she murmured. "Now you look dangerous."

"I look ridiculous."

"You look edible." She grinned. "Which is the whole point."

Before I could respond, Sabrina appeared with the cape, draping it over my shoulders with surprising reverence. She adjusted the fabric, smoothing it across my back.

"Stand," she said.

I stood.

She walked around me slowly, her eyes tracking every detail. When she reached my front again, she looked up at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

"You’ll do," she said.

High praise from Sabrina.

"Can I see?" I asked.

Harlow wheeled over a full-length mirror. I stared at my reflection.

I looked... different. The costume transformed me into something out of a gothic romance novel. The tailored black emphasized my build. The cape added drama. The slicked-back hair made my face look sharper, older.

I looked like I belonged in their world.

That thought twisted something in my chest.

"Well?" Harlow asked, her voice uncharacteristically nervous. "Do you like it?"

I turned away from the mirror. "It’s good work."

Her entire face lit up like I’d just told her she’d won the lottery. "Really?"

"Really."

"Yay!" She hugged me again, this time from the side, her arms wrapping around my waist. "I’m so glad! I was worried you’d hate it!"

"Why would I hate it?"

"Because it’s so extra! And you’re always so..." She waved vaguely. "Normal."

"I’m not normal anymore," I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Four pairs of purple eyes locked onto me.

"What does that mean?" Cassidy asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing. Forget it."

"No," Vivienne said, stepping closer. "What did you mean?"

I looked at them. Really looked at them. Four identical girls who’d somehow wormed their way past every defense I’d spent years building. Who drove to Philadelphia in the middle of the night because they were worried about me. Who made me laugh at arcades and held my hand during panic attacks and kissed me in bathroom stalls and on mansion steps.

Who’d confessed their feelings in a parked car and I’d rejected them because I was terrified.

"I meant," I said carefully, "that before, I was invisible. A scholarship student who kept his head down and got through the day. Now I’m wearing a custom vampire costume that probably cost more than my rent, standing in a locker room with four billionaires who apparently care if I live or die."

"We definitely care if you live," Harlow said.

"The dying part would be inconvenient," Sabrina added.

"We’d be very upset," Cassidy confirmed.

"Devastated," Vivienne finished.

I laughed, a real laugh that surprised even me. "You’re all insane."

"Correct," they said in unison.

That unison thing was getting creepier every time they did it.

"Okay," I said. "What’s the actual plan? Because I know there’s more to this than just fitting a costume."

The sisters exchanged glances. Some kind of silent communication passed between them.

Vivienne spoke first. "We need to discuss last night. In the car."

"We confessed our feelings," Harlow added.

"And you rejected us," Cassidy said flatly.

"For logical reasons," Sabrina noted.

"But we’ve reconsidered our approach," Vivienne continued.

I didn’t like where this was going.

"What approach?"

"The collective one," Sabrina said.

"The what?"

Harlow took a deep breath. "We’ve decided we’re okay with sharing."

My brain stuttered. "Sharing what?"

"You, obviously." Cassidy rolled her eyes. "Keep up, scholarship boy."

"I’m sorry, what?"

Vivienne stepped forward, her business mask firmly in place. "We’ve discussed it thoroughly. All four of us have feelings for you. You’ve made it clear that choosing one would be problematic. So we’re proposing an alternative arrangement."

"An alternative—" The words died in my throat.

"Polyamory," Sabrina supplied. "It’s a valid relationship structure with documented psychological benefits when properly executed."

"You want to—" I couldn’t even finish the sentence.

"Date you," Harlow said cheerfully. "All of us. Together. At the same time."

The locker room spun slightly.

"That’s not... You can’t just..."

"We can," Vivienne said. "Legally, ethically, practically. Provided all parties consent."

"Your mother would murder me."

"Probably," Cassidy agreed. "But she’d have to go through us first."

"And we’re very protective," Harlow added.

"Unreasonably so," Sabrina confirmed.

I sat down on the bench before my legs gave out. "You’re serious."

"Completely," Vivienne said.

"This is insane."

"Also correct."

"People don’t—" I gestured vaguely. "This isn’t how relationships work."

"For normal people, no," Sabrina said. "But we’re not normal."

"Neither are you," Cassidy pointed out. "You commute five hours round trip just to go to school. You work until midnight. You’re raising your sister alone. Normal went out the window a long time ago."

She had a point.

"I need to think about this."

"We know," Vivienne said. "That’s why we’re not asking for an answer today. We’re asking you to consider it."

"And wear this costume," Harlow added. "Because you promised."

"The costume is non-negotiable," Cassidy confirmed.

I looked at the four of them. My brain kept trying to process the logistics and failing spectacularly.

"If I agree to think about it," I said slowly, "will you stop ambushing me in locker rooms?"

"No promises," Cassidy said.

"We make no guarantees," Sabrina agreed.

"But we’ll try to be less obvious," Harlow offered.

"That’s not reassuring."

Vivienne’s phone buzzed. She checked it and her expression tightened. "Mother is asking where we are."

"Tell her team bonding," Cassidy suggested.

"She’ll want specifics."

"Tell her the truth then. We’re dressing our employee in a vampire costume."

"That sounds worse."

"Everything sounds worse with our family," Sabrina observed.

My phone buzzed. Iris had sent a photo to the group chat showing her wearing what appeared to be a matching vampire maid costume, complete with a small cape and tiny fangs.

"When did you make that?" I asked Harlow.

"Last week! Surprise!"

"You’ve been planning this."

"Obviously! Good surprises require planning!"

Marin’s voice echoed through the gym. "Harlow! We need you for the menu board!"

"Coming!" Harlow turned back to me. "Stay in costume! We need to practice the cafe routine!"

She skipped away, her energy apparently infinite.

Cassidy lingered, eyeing me in the butler outfit. "You really do look good."

"Thanks."

"I’m serious. Like, annoyingly good. Makes me want to..." She trailed off, her ears going pink.

"Want to what?"

"Nothing." She grabbed a basketball from the equipment bin. "Forget it."

"Cassidy."

She bounced the ball once. Twice. "Do you actually hate the idea? Of us. All of us."

I considered lying. Went with honesty instead.

"No," I said. "I don’t hate it."

Her eyes snapped to mine. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"But you’re scared."

"Terrified."

She nodded, understanding crossing her face. "Your mom’s still here, right? In Philly."

"Until tomorrow."

"You think she’ll convince Iris to go with her."

"She might try."

Cassidy set the ball down, her expression turning serious. "Iris won’t go. That kid worships you. She’s not leaving."

"You don’t know that."

"I know people. I know loyalty. Iris has both." She moved closer, stopping just inside my personal space. "And even if your mom tries, we’ll help. All of us."

"Why?"

"Because Iris is your sister. Which means she’s important. Which means we care." She poked my chest. "Stop being difficult and let us help, idiot."

"It’s not your problem."

"Everything about you has become our problem," she said. "Get used to it."

Before I could respond, Sabrina appeared with the fangs.

"Put these in," she said, handing me the case.

"Harlow said I only have to wear them during cafe hours."

"Cafe hours start in twenty minutes. Consider this practice."

I clipped the plastic fangs onto my canines. They felt weird. Made me talk with a slight lisp.

"How do I look?"

"Ridiculous," Cassidy said.

"Perfect," Sabrina corrected.

"Both can be true," Vivienne noted, rejoining us.

Harlow’s voice carried from the gym. "ISAIAH! WE NEED YOU!"

"That’s my cue," I said.

I walked toward the door, the cape swishing behind me with every step. The effect was admittedly kind of cool.

"Angelo," Cassidy called.

I turned back.

"Think about what we said. About the... arrangement." Her voice dropped. "Because I meant what I said in the car. And I’m not backing down just because it’s complicated."

"None of us are," Vivienne added.

"We’re Valentine sisters," Harlow said, appearing in the doorway. "We don’t back down from anything!"

"Ever," Sabrina confirmed.

I looked at the four of them. Four identical faces. Four completely different versions of stubborn determination.

"I’ll think about it," I said.

"Good," Vivienne said. "That’s all we ask."

For now, I added silently.

Because the look in their eyes suggested this was only the beginning.