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"No, Grif! That house is creepy, and Mom told me to never ever go near it!"
"Aw c'mon, Simmons! Don't be a baby."
"I'm not a baby! You're the baby. I'm eight, and you're seven, so you're the baby."
"No, you're a baby."
"Grif, Mom said no."
"A baby and a momma's boy!"
Simmons whined loudly, tugging on Grif's arm to try and get him to stop walking towards the creepy house at the corner. The house was scary enough on a normal day, but whoever owned it really played up its naturally spooky atmosphere for Halloween.
The dead trees were covered in fake cobwebs and giant insects while headstones littered the front yard. It looked like there were even some fresh graves, and Simmons could swear he saw some of the dirt in one human-sized mound moving. Even if his mom hadn't refused to let him go to that house, Simmons wouldn't have wanted to anyway.
"Come on, Simmons! I heard they were giving out full-size candy!" Grif kept on walking as if Simmons wasn't hanging off his arm. Given how much lighter and shorter Simmons is than Grif, it was really no problem for Grif to pretend he wasn't there.
So Simmons dug his heels into the ground, trying to weigh Grif down any way he could. When Grif continued walking, Simmons finally let go of him and looked down at the ground. "You can go if you want," he said quietly. "But I'm staying right here."
Grif stopped and turned around to look at Simmons. He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted for a moment. "If you stay there, then you can't move even a single muscle," he said. "Not even for breathing or nothing."
"What!" Simmons exclaimed, head snapping up to look at Grif again. "But I have to move muscles! Even if I held my breath and stuff."
"Then I guess you have to come with me to the house." Grif shrugged and turned back around. "We're not supposed to leave each other's sides anyways."
Simmons grumbled to himself before practically launching himself at Grif's back. "We're not supposed to go near that house either."
"Nobody's gonna know. We just go up there and get our candy and leave."
"I dunno..."
Grif thought for a second before holding his hand out to Simmons. "I know! Here, we can hold hands, and I'll protect you from the big, scary house."
Simmons huffed and crossed his arms. "You're too lazy to protect me."
"Just hold my hand, you baby. We're going to that house."
"Fine! But Mom's not allowed to know about this ever," Simmons muttered, grabbing Grif's hand and holding it tightly.
"Don't worry. You'll still be momma's perfect angel."
"Let's just get your dumb candy."
"My candy's not dumb. You're dumb."
"Shut up."
"Ooh! I'm telling your mom you said that!"
"Then I'll tell your mom you had three candies already!"
Grif pouted at Simmons before looking down. "Let's just keep going," he mumbled after a few moments, tugging Simmons along to the house at the corner. Simmons tucked himself close to Grif's side because he knew, despite all his talk, that Grif honestly would protect him if something bad were to happen.