The Phantom house was big, sleek and modern, but alive in a way no real estate listing could fake.

It wasn't a parent's dream home.

It was theirs.

The porch light spilled warm over polished floors and wide, open windows. Hockey sticks and skates leaned against the walls like loyal soldiers.

Near the front window stood a baby grand piano, glossy black, half-buried under loose sheet music and scribbled post-its.

A massive wooden table dominated the dining room, its surface battered and scratched from a hundred impromptu battles over takeout and homework.

Above the fireplace a giant framed photo.

The six Phantoms, crammed onto an old couch:

Arya, Davina, and Tessa laughing mid-moment; Sky, Tyler, and Dominic standing behind, arms slung casually, all six faces split wide in real, reckless grins.

All around the house, walls and shelves overflowed with photos, hockey wins, blurry birthday snapshots, holiday disasters, late-night movie collapses.

Memories carved into the very bones of the house.

There were guitars slumped against the walls.

A stack of sketchbooks half-tucked under the piano.

Art supplies and books scattered like breadcrumbs.

The kitchen gleamed, warm and full and two "DON'T KISS THE COOK" aprons swung proudly from a hook near the pantry.

The Musketeers stood just inside the doorway, silent for a moment.

Naomi's eyes softened immediately, trailing over the photos.

Declan crossed his arms, his posture tighter than usual, but his gaze stuck to the photo above the fireplace a little longer than necessary.

Jordan, hands jammed in his pockets, rocked back on his heels a small, rare smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Bennett said nothing, but his sharp blue gaze missed absolutely nothing.

Dominic tossed his keys into a bowl by the door.

"Not what you expected?" he said, half a tease, half a challenge.

"It's..." Jordan started, then shrugged. "It's cool."

"Yeah," Naomi said quickly, smiling at him.

"It feels like... you know. Home."

"That's the point," Tyler said, kicking his sneakers off by the steps.

"We're renting it for senior year," Sky added, flopping down onto the bottom stair dramatically. "Because going back to our actual houses was never gonna happen."

Tessa threw a blanket at his head.

"Six bedrooms, one kitchen, one mutual agreement not to murder each other," she said, smirking.

Sky peeled the blanket off his face.

"And one bloody coup to get the master bedroom," he muttered darkly.

Davina appeared from the hallway, arms crossed, completely unbothered.

"It was a fair fight," she said sweetly.

"It was Mario Kart sabotage," Tyler grumbled to the Musketeers like he was revealing deep war crimes. "She trained. Studied my weaknesses. Broke my spirit."

"Adapt or die," Davina said, grabbing a few extra blankets out of the linen closet.

Declan let out a soft snort, half-impressed.

"Sounds like you deserved it," he muttered.

Naomi laughed under her breath.

Bennett just shook his head faintly, lips twitching.

⸻

Tessa and Davina started hauling duvets and pillows out into the hallway.

Arya leaned against the doorframe, grinning.

"We've got six rooms. You guys are crashing upstairs with us," she said.

"No floor sleeping unless you're into that," Davina added dryly.

Jordan immediately threw himself onto the nearest pile of duvets like a starfish.

Bennett kicked him lightly without even looking.

Dominic spread his arms wide, grinning.

"We'll figure out sleeping arrangements in a minute."

He said it too casually, too confidently.

Sky snickered under his breath, already predicting the inevitable chaos.

Because no matter what they thought nothing involving the Phantoms and the Musketeers was ever that simple.

⸻

Davina vanished into the master bedroom without even pretending to entertain guests.

The door clicked shut with ruthless finality.

Declan skipped the debate altogether, tossing a blanket onto the giant sectional couch downstairs and stretching out with a grunt of approval.

"No drama, no idiots," he said to no one in particular, flipping over and passing out almost immediately.

Bennett ended up in Dominic's room not by choice, if his faint scowl was anything to go by.

Dominic grinned as he dropped onto his bed. "Don't worry. I only snore when I'm plotting."

Bennett muttered something about homicide being justifiable under these conditions and shut the door behind him.

⸻

Tyler, of course, had managed to sneak Daphne into his room in the most obvious way possible. They didn't even try to hide it, Daphne tucked against Tyler's side, both of them grinning shamelessly as they disappeared upstairs.

Tessa claimed Naomi with ruthless efficiency, dragging her into her room under the excuse of "gossip and skincare."

Naomi, to everyone's surprise, went willingly.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Naomi said as she disappeared inside, "but I trust her."

"Famous last words," Sky muttered.

The Phantom house settled into a soft, lazy hum of shutting doors and muffled laughter.

Jordan was supposed to bunk with Sky.

That had been the plan.

Easy.

Simple.

Which, of course, meant Jordan ignored it entirely.

⸻

It was almost midnight when he padded quietly down the hallway, barefoot and still slightly damp from the ocean.

He hesitated outside Arya's door for half a second heart hammering in a way he could not for the life of him rationalise and then knocked lightly.

The door creaked open before he even finished.

Arya stood there, barefoot, wearing a faded oversized grey T-shirt and shorts, blinking at him like she hadn't really expected him to come.

For one suspended heartbeat, they just stared at each other.

Then Arya grinned, lazy and dangerous.

"You're terrible at sneaking," she whispered, stepping back to let him in.

Jordan slipped inside without thinking.

Arya climbed back onto her bed, flipping the covers back invitingly.

He hesitated at the edge hands stuffed awkwardly into his pockets until Arya tilted her head, catching his eye.

"You gonna stand there all night?" she teased, voice low and warm.

Jordan swallowed, moving toward the bed then stopped.

He glanced at her, something suddenly too raw to cover with a joke.

"Is it—" he cleared his throat, voice rough.

"Is it okay if I stay?"

Arya's smile softened, slow and real.

"Yeah," she said simply. "It's okay."

Jordan exhaled like he hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath.

He slipped under the covers beside her careful, still and for a moment, it wasn't flirting, or teasing, or reckless.

It was real.

Arya's bare knee brushed his under the blankets. She didn't pull away. Neither did he.

The space between them crackled laughter still lingering, but something heavier underneath now. Something that felt a lot like falling.

Jordan turned onto his side to look at her and found Arya already watching him, brown eyes wide and unguarded.

He could've closed the distance so easily.

Could've kissed her like it was inevitable.

Arya licked her lips once, nervous.

Jordan's hand twitched in the sheets between them.

One more second and they would've—

The door exploded open.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL—"

Sky barreled into the room like a goddamn wrecking ball, all gangly limbs and righteous fury.

Arya shrieked, yanking the blanket up to her chin.

Jordan froze, deer-in-the-headlights, caught mid-crime.

Sky stormed across the room, zero hesitation.

"You little gremlin!" he barked, grabbing Jordan by the back of his shirt like an unruly cat. "I trusted you!"

"I wasn't doing anything!" Jordan protested, flailing uselessly as he was hauled upright.

"Don't you lie to me, Wallace!" Sky roared, physically dragging him toward the door.

Arya was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe, burying her face in her pillow.

The hallway was already full of witnesses.

Tessa, Tyler, Dominic, Naomi, Daphne, even Declan leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, looking far too amused for someone who supposedly hated drama.

Bennett appeared at the top of the stairs, sipping water, watching with mild interest like it was prime-time television.

Davina, perched on the banister, didn't even bother to hide her grin.

Sky marched Jordan into the hallway and spun dramatically to address the crowd.

"THIS," Sky announced loudly, "is why we can't have nice things!"

Jordan groaned, faceplanting against the nearest wall.

Tyler cackled, doubling over.

"Five bucks says he tries again in twenty minutes," Dominic said to Naomi.

"I'll take that bet," Naomi murmured, fighting a smile.

⸻

Sky finally dragged Jordan back toward his actual room still muttering darkly under his breath about betrayal and lost innocence and slammed the door behind them.

The hallway buzzed with muffled laughter for a few more seconds before everyone slowly retreated back to their rooms, shaking their heads.

Arya lay back in bed, heart racing, face burning, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt.

Jordan was gonna be the death of her.

And if he tried sneaking back in well.

She wasn't going to stop him.

⸻

The smell of something sweet and buttery pancakes, maybe drifted through the house, dragging everyone out of bed one by one.

Jordan wandered into the kitchen, barefoot, hair a total mess, and already grinning.

Arya was at the stove, flipping pancakes like a pro, wearing a massive grey hoodie and humming under her breath.

Dominic leaned against the counter, cracking eggs into a bowl without looking, half-asleep but somehow functional.

And Bennett already showered and awake, sleeves rolled up was manning the cutting board, assembling a plate of perfectly sliced fruit like he was competing in a Michelin-star kitchen.

Jordan didn't even blink.

"Morning, Gordon Ramsay," he said, snagging a grape off the plate.

Bennett side-eyed him. "Touch the strawberries and die."

Jordan popped the grape into his mouth anyway, grinning wider.

He wasn't surprised Bennett was cooking, he knows Bennett could out-cook half the restaurants in town.

It was just funny, seeing him doing it here, in the middle of the Phantoms' chaotic kitchen.

Sky stumbled in next, rubbing his eyes and dragging a blanket around his shoulders like a reluctant king.

Jordan immediately threw an arm around him.

"We cuddled," he announced grandly to the kitchen.

Sky elbowed him without mercy.

"You spooned me without my consent," Sky grumbled.

"You didn't complain," Jordan shot back, winking.

"You tried to sneak back to Arya's room at two in the freakin morning," Sky snapped, grabbing a handful of blueberries off Bennett's counter.

"Not my fault," Jordan said. "I was drawn like a moth to a flame."

Arya, still flipping pancakes, choked on a laugh.

Tessa drifted in, yawning, hair a wild halo around her head.

She took one look at the scene and snorted.

"Sky, let's not pretend you're some innocent maiden. You've flirted with half the senior class."

Sky didn't even bother denying it. He just shrugged and stole another blueberry.

"Equal opportunity, baby," he said, flashing a lazy grin.

Dominic snorted. "Certified menace."

"Certified slut," Tessa corrected under her breath, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Arya nearly dropped her spatula laughing.

Sky bowed dramatically. "Thank you. I accept this title with honour."

Tyler and Daphne wandered in next, looking suspiciously well-rested for two people who supposedly just crashed like everyone else.

Tyler grabbed two mugs of coffee, handing one wordlessly to Daphne like it was second nature.

Davina and Naomi followed, bickering about what actually qualified as a healthy breakfast.

Declan appeared last, surveying the chaos with the exhausted patience of someone already plotting how to escape.

Someone queued up music, chill indie songs floating through the kitchen.

Tyler challenged Sky to a pancake flipping contest, even though he couldn't flip a pancake to save his life.

Jordan stole a pancake straight off Arya's plate when she wasn't looking, and she whacked him with the spatula.

Dominic and Naomi got into a heated debate about whether strawberries or bananas were superior.

Tessa and Davina teamed up to aggressively rearrange the fruit platter, ignoring Bennett's death glares.

Through it all, Jordan kept catching himself watching Arya.

The way she laughed without holding back.

The way she grinned when she won an argument.

The way she looked right at him sometimes, like they were the only two people in the room.

Jordan was screwed.

Fully, absolutely, gloriously screwed.

He didn't even care.

Across the room, Bennett caught Jordan staring, raised one eyebrow and went back to slicing kiwis with terrifying precision.

The house buzzed around them loud, messy, stupidly alive and for the first time, it not longer felt like Musketeers and Phantoms.

It just felt like friends.

Or something getting dangerously close to it.