Archive of Our Own ^beta

As the sun began to set and Halloween night descended upon the land, the veil between the mortal and supernatural worlds was thought by humans to be at its thinnest, allowing for spirits and monsters to come out to play. In one particular small town, known as Pumpkin Hollow to its inhabitants, Halloween was not just a holiday for watching scary movies and collecting candy from the neighbors. This town possessed its own legends, whispers of stories that warped and altered as they passed along the grapevine, each person with their own suspicions and ideas when it came to the darkest night of the year.

However, above all of the superstition came a vast appreciation for the holiday, for a town by the name of Pumpkin Hollow thrived on October 31st, with nearly every occupant out on the streets in costume. Jack o’ lanterns perched on the front step of every house, the spindly skeleton branches of trees casting a spooky silhouette as the sun went down, the night of the year when it was most fun to be a little bit scared. Thick forest surrounded the busy neighborhood streets, and those who looked into the shadows for long enough may even see the outline of the monsters of legend, lurking in the darkness as the veil between worlds became thin enough for their true features to show.

Pumpkin Hollow was known for its embodiment of Halloween during October, the traditions that had been in place for centuries within the seemingly unassuming town. The most terrifying legend of all centered upon the haunted house at the top of the hill within the forest, surrounded by dying trees, the ground littered with orange and brown leaves by the time Halloween night came around each year. While most indulged in the superstitions for fun and nothing more, some truly did believe that the house was haunted, that ghosts and spirits would terrorize anyone who came too close.

This Halloween, a full moon hung high in the sky, casting a pale glow upon the streets as the sun disappeared from view, creating warped shadows as the trees shook against the wind. Children flocked in the streets, walking past the rows of houses as they gathered candy in their respective baskets, laughter rising high into the sky. However, the older members of town only began to leave their houses once dusk settled in, eager to spend time with friends under the shroud of night.

Creaking hinges sounded as the wooden door of a small brick house at the end of the lane swung open, the three occupants of the house stepping out onto their front porch, the old wood planks groaning under their combined weight. All three of them were of similar height, and as the door was about to thud shut behind them, the youngest of the three intercepted the movement and darted back into the house as if he had forgotten something.

“Joshua, what are you doing?” Called out Seungcheol, his tone exasperated but fond. His face wasn’t visible due to the thick white bandages that covered his entire body, wrapping around his limbs, torso, and face in a great interpretation of a mummy. Only his eyes blinked out from behind the costume, and they sparkled in the rising moonlight, lively with the prospect of another Halloween spent in good company.

Rummaging sounded from inside the house before Joshua eventually reappeared, shrugging his shoulders as he showed the big bowl of candy in his arms to his two companions. Full of all different kinds of chocolates and sweets, he placed it carefully down on the porch, right before the steps. “I almost forgot to put out the candy for the kids,” he explained as he did so, and Seungcheol and Jeonghan shared a look, endeared by his dedication.

When Joshua straightened up, his costume was on full display in the porch light. He wore a baggy orange flannel beneath overalls, with the sleeves cuffed at his wrists so that they didn’t extend too far past his fingers. A burlap sack had been placed over his head, with holes for his eyes and a stitched-on smile, clearly the getup of a scarecrow. Instead of being a scary one, though, Joshua’s costume was actually rather cute, the bottoms of his overalls cuffed as well to reveal a pair of worn black shoes.

Hay poked out from his sleeves and over his shoes, and he blinked at Jeonghan and Seungcheol in confusion, for they were both staring at him with matching amusement. “What?” He asked, cocking his head to stare right back, and Jeonghan laughed softly before stepping forward and adjusting the straps of his overalls, for one had been in danger of falling after he had bent down with the candy bowl.

“You know that the first kids who see that bowl are just going to steal all of the candy, right?” Jeonghan pulled his hands away from Joshua’s shoulders, a knowing grin on his lips. He looked the most normal out of the three, though when looking closely at his face, red smudges could be seen around his eyes, his entire face as white as a sheet. His clothing gave his costume away, however, a fancy white button down under a deep velvet vest paired with black dress pants, with a long, dark cape sweeping over each garment and brushing against the wooden planks of the porch. When he spoke, two sharp fangs poked out from behind his lips.

“Well,” Joshua responded, reaching into the large front pocket of his overalls, “that’s why I made this.” He fished out a small sign made out of laminated orange paper, with the words ‘PLEASE TAKE ONE’ scrawled in big bold letters with what must have been a thick black marker. He showed it to them proudly before he leaned over again to rest the sign against the front of the bowl, the words easy to read in the light of the porch.

Jeonghan chuckled, patting the top of the burlap sack on Joshua’s head when he straightened back up. “You act like a slip of paper with words on it is going to stop any kid on Halloween from taking the entire bowl,” he pointed out, gesturing towards the hordes of children that were currently roaming the streets, running up the paths to different houses and ringing doorbells incessantly until someone answered. “Leaving out a bowl of candy is practically asking for it to be stolen.”

“Well, we won’t be here, so I have to leave out something! You know the Halloween rules, don’t you?” Indignation was clear in his voice, and Seungcheol took a step forward, placing a gentle hand on his back to placate him. They needed to meet their other friends soon, and bantering over the logistics of Halloween candy could wait for another time. Before Seungcheol could say anything, however, Joshua continued, gesturing again towards the bowl of candy.

“Rule number one, always hand out candy to trick or treaters,” he explained, and Jeonghan crossed his arms and listened with a grin on his lips, even though they all knew these rules by heart living in a town like theirs. He grabbed a few pieces of the candy, handing one to Seungcheol and one to Jeonghan before he stashed his own away in his pocket, pausing for a moment until he pulled out something else.

A lighter, one with a long neck, and he held it in front of his chest so they could both see it. “How many different things do you have in there?” Seungcheol asked, his brows raised in surprise, for he had really thought that the pocket was just for show. Joshua paid him no mind, walking past both of them to go down the three steps of their porch. Each step had a jack o’ lantern positioned on top of it, right beside the wooden railing, and Joshua pulled off the stem portions before pressing the switch on the lighter, a small flame blooming from the end.

He carefully lit each pumpkin, extending the neck of the lighter inside to catch the flame onto the small tea light that sat behind the carved faces. “Rule number two, light all of your jack o’ lanterns and whatever you do, don’t extinguish them before midnight,” he continued, letting go of the lighter switch and letting the flame disappear once all three pumpkins were lit. With a wave of his hand he beckoned Jeonghan and Seungcheol down the steps, and they joined him on the path, their bodies all illuminated by the orange glow of the jack o’ lanterns.

“And, well, we’re all abiding by rule number three already,” he said, and though his expression was hidden by the burlap sack, the words sounded as if they were spoken around a smirk. “Rule number three: always wear a costume.” All three of them grinned at that, though only Jeonghan’s could actually be seen, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. “We look pretty convincing, if I do say so myself,” he added, and Jeonghan wrapped an arm around his shoulders, squeezing so tight that Joshua squirmed under the half-embrace.

“You’re cute, you know that?” He commented, and Joshua just shoved him away, though his soft laughter followed the movement. The three of them walked down the front path and out to the road, joining the throes of children and parents mulling around the streets. They could have chosen to drive, but on Halloween night it was much more fun to walk and join in on the festivities. Falling into step behind a group of trick or treaters, they watched as the kids turned down the path of the next house over, clambering up the steps with joyous laughter as they rang the doorbell.

The door swung open a moment later to reveal a woman dressed in a nurse costume, a wide smile on her garishly painted red lips. It was clear that she had consumed a few drinks by this point in the night, even though it was still early, and Jeonghan chuckled as he looked at the other two. “Hey, you could probably go up and get candy, you know. With your faces covered, she would probably just think you’re kids. Especially you, Shua,” he teased, and Joshua slapped his arm lightly, though there really wasn’t much room for protest. In the overalls and oversized flannel, he did look a lot younger than he actually was.

“I still have my candy,” Joshua retorted, pulling it out from his front pocket to show them before stashing it away again. “Plus, I think Cheol and I are a bit tall to be children, Hannie. You’re so annoying.” Fondness slipped into his voice, however, and Jeonghan just laughed, incredibly amused while teasing his boyfriends. They had been together for quite a long time, but it was still so easy for him to rile them up.

Turning his sights upon Seungcheol instead, Jeonghan nudged him lightly, eliciting a groan from behind the mummy bandages that covered his mouth. “I didn’t even say anything yet!” Jeonghan protested.

“You didn’t have to,” Seungcheol responded without missing a beat. “I swear, Halloween does something to you. You’re even more mischievous than you usually are.”

Jeonghan grinned, not denying the statement. “Well, once we meet up with the others I’ll have more fun teasing them anyway. You two are so predictable,” he complained, though his words held no real weight. After all, it was hard to mistake the affection on his face as he walked between the two of them, linking their arms together cheerily. “Come on, I want to at least try to scare some kids while we walk there. Who isn’t scared of vampires?”

“They probably won’t even know what you are,” Joshua grumbled. “Most kids these days dress as, like, cartoon characters, or superheroes. Things like that.” He did present a fair point, as Jeonghan’s outfit alone likely wouldn’t be enough for a kid to know what he was without seeing the fangs.

Still, Jeonghan had never been one to back down easily, and he began to eye the groups of trick or treaters walking alongside them, kids wearing costumes very similar to what Joshua had described. “I bet I can still scare them, though. Even if they don’t know what I’m supposed to be,” he mused, and Seungcheol sighed, shaking his head.

“You know what would be nice? A peaceful walk into town until we meet up with the others. You two are like toddlers,” Seungcheol commented, though it was nothing he wasn’t used to. As much as they loved to push each other’s buttons, it kept things interesting, and to be honest peace wasn’t really something Seungcheol wanted. Joshua and Jeonghan together meant that he hardly ever had any peace, but he had learned to love the chaos.

“I didn’t do anything!” Joshua protested, though neither of his boyfriends could really take him seriously with that adorable sack over his head. “Jeonghan always instigates everything, I think we all know that.” Jeonghan opened his mouth to interject, but Joshua continued on, all of their arms still linked as they walked along the side of the street. “Don’t even try to claim otherwise - you just said a minute ago that you want to scare kids just for fun.”

Seungcheol burst into laughter at his matter-of-fact tone, and when Jeonghan fixed him with a glare he just shrugged. He didn’t speak right away because he was a bit captivated by Jeonghan’s features, high cheekbones and soft eyes highlighted by the moonlight - far more enchanting than anyone else dressed as a vampire within their town, that much was for sure. “I don’t think you would be able to scare anyone, anyway,” Seungcheol decided after a moment, tilting his head slightly. “You’re not very scary.”

“Oh yeah?” Jeonghan challenged, red lips splitting into a wide grin, a certain edge present in his gaze as he set his sights on a group of trick or treaters just ahead. “I’ll prove you wrong, just watch.” And before Seungcheol could protest, he was pulling away from both of them and quickly crossing the distance towards the kids, who appeared to be around middle school age. With a sigh, Seungcheol closed the gap between himself and Joshua, wrapping an arm around his flannel covered shoulders.

“Sometimes I can’t believe we wound up with him,” Seungcheol mused with a fond grin, though it wasn’t visible beneath his costume. “He’s seriously still a child.” Joshua nodded in earnest, reaching up to tug at the bag over his head and adjust its position as a particularly chilly gust of wind blew past the two of them.

Up ahead, Jeonghan had reached the middle schoolers, and both Joshua and Seungcheol watched in interest as he snuck around them before jumping directly into their path, effectively stopping their movements. “Boo!” He yelled, and Seungcheol covered his face with his palm, second hand embarrassment taking hold at the sight of his boyfriend being so openly… old. Just as he had expected, none of the kids appeared to be even remotely scared, and the two of them watched from a few steps away as one of them stepped closer to Jeonghan, wearing some kind of superhero costume.

“What superhero are you?” He asked, and the expression that crossed Jeonghan’s face was comical, confusion and indignation mingling across his features, brows raised and lips parted. Joshua giggled, covering the stitched mouth of his costume with a straw-covered sleeve, for he understood what the kid meant - he had seen Jeonghan’s cape and assumed that he was some kind of superhero as well.

Jeonghan did not understand that, however, and instead he leaned forward to look directly into the kid’s face, baring his teeth to display his fangs. “I’m a vampire, actually,” he corrected before straightening back up and pressing his lips back together. He caught sight of his two boyfriends laughing behind the group of children and scowled, muttering some excuse before leaving them alone and heading back over to Joshua and Seungcheol. “Oh shut up, both of you,” he grumbled, taking his place again between the two of them and linking their arms all over again.

They continued to walk towards the center of their little town, but Joshua couldn’t stop giggling, unable to shake the image of Jeonghan’s surprise. “You tried to scare them, and he thought you were a superhero!” He exclaimed, overjoyed at just how badly Jeonghan’s idea had backfired. Jeonghan just rolled his eyes, elbowing Joshua in the side, though he couldn’t keep back a chuckle of his own at the situation. His cape blew in the wind behind him, soft velvet material dragging along the dead leaves on the ground, darker and thicker than that of a superhero.

“You just wait,” he said cryptically, lowering the tone of his voice to sound more ominous, as if he was preparing to tell a scary story. He glanced at the two of them, raising up one of his hands so that it cast an elongated shadow upon the ground before them, almost like some kind of monstrous claw. “When a monster - something big - comes creeping up on us, it’s going to head straight for you first. You wanna know why?”

As he spoke, he ran his nails over the collar of Joshua’s flannel, grazing them against his skin ever so lightly, just enough to raise visible goosebumps along his neck. “It’s because no monster would be scared of your costume. And after they’re through with you, Cheol will be next, because he’s not very scary either.” Switching his focus, Jeonghan ran the back of his hand over the bandages that wrapped around Seungcheol’s cheek, sliding a finger just barely beneath. “And that will leave me, because like I said before, I’m the scariest.”

Satisfied with himself, he retracted his hand, tugging both of his boyfriends close again by their linked arms. “Hannie,” Joshua whined, though he pressed closer into Jeonghan’s side, staring into the woods that bordered the street, shadowed and eerie. “Why do you have to say things like that?” Jeonghan just chuckled, leaning over to press a loud kiss against the top of the sack of Joshua’s head, fangs poking out behind his smile.

“Well, because it’s fun, of course!” He answered, looking up at the moon breaking through the trees overhead, full and bright like a pearl within a shadowed sea. “And besides, you know that would never happen, anyway. There’s nothing out here that’s any scarier than the three of us - no need to get scared over a silly little story.” Joshua kicked a small pile of leaves on the side of the path, sending them gusting past in the breeze, still clinging onto Jeonghan’s arm.

“Plus, we wouldn’t just let a monster get you,” Seungcheol added, his voice a bit softer, though a certain level of amusement still came through. “At least, I wouldn’t.” Jeonghan glared at him for the implication, pulling his arm out of Joshua’s grasp so that he could wrap it around his neck instead, the material of the burlap sack rough against the heel of his hand.

“I wouldn’t either,” he corrected, sticking his tongue out at Seungcheol. “Though, I wouldn’t mind dragging you all the way up to the haunted house at the top of the hill, just to shove you in with all of the spirits.” He wiggled his fingers in Seungcheol’s face, who just slapped them away with a roll of his eyes, picking up the pace so that the other two would fall into step alongside him.

“Come on, we’re going to be late if you continue with this nonsense. Wouldn’t want to keep the others waiting, especially not on Halloween.” And so the three of them continued their walk towards the busier part of their small town, crowded by people of all ages and sizes in their respective costumes, not a single soul ignoring the importance of the holiday. After all, Pumpkin Hollow took the 31st of October very seriously.

~

Loud beeping filled the small kitchen as the smoke alarm just above the stove went off, triggered by the thick grey smoke spilling from the cracks of the oven, the entire room beginning to smell of burnt food. Mingyu came running out from the bathroom, eyes open wide in panic as he took in the scene, thick claws scrambling for the potholder teetering on the edge of the table. “Wonwoo, are you kidding me?” He practically screeched, pulling open the oven just to be hit by a billowing cloud of smoke, stinging his eyes and ripping a cough from his throat.

Holding potholders with claws was a bit difficult, and he struggled to see through the smoke enough to pull out the cookies in the oven, setting down on the stove with a loud clattering sound. For a moment Mingyu just stood there in the kitchen, breathing harshly around the smoke with the alarm beeping over his head incessantly. Already prepared to leave for the night, he wore a red flannel and jeans, with hair coming up from under the collar and surrounding his face, wolf ears sprouting from the top of his head - a werewolf, quite clearly. The only thing obstructing his costume was the apron tied around his waist, decorated with soft florals, rather comical compared to the rest of him.

Just as he was about to start searching for something to fan away the smoke and put an end to the beeping, the other occupant of the home came from around the corner, his lips parted in surprise at the sight of the kitchen. “I’m sorry - I just went to light the jack o’ lanterns outside, I swear! I was only gone for a second, and… well, I had to find the lighter, because it wasn’t in the same place I thought I put it last time, and one of the wicks just wouldn’t light,” he explained, expression sheepish as he ducked his head, wringing his fingers together.

It exposed the large bat ears on the top of his head, and Mingyu couldn’t really be mad at him, not when he was so adorably apologetic. “It’s fine, I’ll just have to make something else really quick,” he decided, for the cookies were clearly a lost cause, totally blackened by their extended time in the oven. “Just get rid of this smoke, will you?”

Wonwoo obeyed easily, grabbing a newspaper from the kitchen table and waving it towards the smoke alarm until finally the room fell silent again. He continued to fan at the smoke even after that, stepping past the oven, but one of his large wings caught on the pan of cookies, nearly sending them falling to the ground all over again. “Wonwoo, oh my god” Mingyu sighed, running a hand over his face. “Please, just don’t touch anything else.”

Smiling sheepishly, Wonwoo nodded, dispersing the last of the smoke. His clothes were all black, and the wings behind him weren’t those of a bird but rather a bat, dark and somewhat leathery in texture - a vampire bat, practically the token image of Halloween, aside from the pumpkins, of course. A set of thin wire glasses perched on his nose as he came up behind Mingyu who was now standing before the burnt cookies, peering over his shoulder, nose scrunching when the long werewolf hair on Mingyu’s neck tickled his cheek.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, pouting slightly as he rested his chin on MIngyu’s shoulder. “What are you gonna do now? We can always pick something up if there’s no time to make something new.” Mingyu drummed his fingers against the counter for a moment in thought, frowning as he looked at his cookies, for they had been so promising. He never would have thought that they would start burning while he was in the bathroom, but Wonwoo truly was a disaster in the kitchen - leaving the cookies in his hands even for a few minutes had been a mistake.

“It’s alright,” Mingyu responded eventually, picking up the baking tray with the pot holders again and making his way over to the garbage can. Wonwoo followed closely behind, eyes wide with remorse as he watched Mingyu dump all of his hard work straight into the garbage, for the cookies were definitely not salvageable. They had been really cute, too, which only made things more unfortunate - jack o’ lantern shapes, and Mingyu had already prepared the orange icing to decorate them.

Now the piping bag just sat abandoned on the counter, and Mingyu sighed, turning to face Wonwoo. “I still want to make something, it’s tradition. Plus, even though it’s just the thirteen of us, that’s the size of a small party for most people, and what’s a party without desserts?” He made a fair point, and Wonwoo reached over to grab his hand, giving it a small squeeze. The gesture made Mingyu smile, and Wonwoo’s heart felt rather like a glowing jack o’ lantern at the sight, his stomach full of flapping little bat wings, much like the ones that stuck out behind his back.

“Well, we have the stuff you made last night already, don’t we? I mean, that’s a lot of food already.” Before Mingyu could interject, Wonwoo grinned softly, raising a placating hand. “I know they’re not desserts, Gyu, but there has to be something we can make quick. We have cookies in the cupboard - didn’t you say the icing was made from white chocolate?”

Mingyu seemed to catch onto the idea, and his face lit up as he stood up straighter, heading straight for the cupboard beside their small fridge. “We have Halloween Oreos still!” He exclaimed in victory, turning around to show Wonwoo the bag, eyes sparkling. “If I just dunk these in the orange chocolate, and decorate them to look like pumpkins, it won’t be all that different. You’re so smart.” Wonwoo blushed at the praise, and Mingyu beckoned him over as he set down the bag of cookies on the counter beside the piping bag.

“I’m gonna need to reheat this a little bit, because it’s too hard now, but then we can dunk them in. I have cake pop sticks, we can use those.” Pulling open a cabinet below the counter, Mingyu pulled out the sticks before closing it again and grabbing the piping bag. He was able to easily squeeze all of the white chocolate back out and into the bowl, which he passed over to Wonwoo. “I trust you can heat this for about thirty seconds without almost burning the house down a second time?” The question was lighthearted, but Wonwoo just took the bowl with a grimace, for he couldn’t really deny the validity of the words.

He had always been, for lack of better words, a complete disaster in the kitchen. Good thing Mingyu was a great cook, otherwise they would probably be eating frozen meals every night. Opening the microwave, Wonwoo placed the bowl inside and set the time to thirty seconds, watching it spin around a few times, following the circles with his eyes before the time ended. It was hot to the touch when he removed it, and he hurried back over to Mingyu, setting the bowl down with a wince as he blew gently on his hand, the skin of his palm a bit pink from the hot ceramic.

All of the Oreos had been stabbed through with a stick, and Mingyu was already flying through the motions of making the quick dessert, setting out a sheet of wax paper to place the finished cookies onto. He spared a glance at the chocolate, using a spoon to check the consistency before leaning over to press a quick kiss to Wonwoo’s lips, just a fleeting touch before he was back to business. “You did great,” he complimented over his shoulder, the muscles in his back visible through his flannel.

Raising a hand to his cheek, Wonwoo just stood there and watched, his face hot from the sudden kiss. Sometimes he wondered how he of all people had wound up with Mingyu - Wonwoo was pale, and not very social, and half the time he spent the day sleeping, too busy gaming at night to check the time until the sun began to rise outside of his window. Mingyu was sun kissed, and bright, and friendly, and yet he treated Wonwoo like there had never been anyone so lovely, like he was just as affected by every smile, every soft laugh.

Even now, Wonwoo could see the traces of a blush on Mingyu’s cheeks as well, a sight that made his heart feel warm. He had a tendency to doubt himself, but Mingyu made it pretty hard for those kinds of thoughts to linger, not when he was so openly smitten. “Here, help me with this,” Mingyu requested, and Wonwoo stepped closer to the table, listening attentively. With the bat ears on the top of his head, he looked particularly alert, and Mingyu fought a smile as he continued.

“I’m going to dip the Oreos in the chocolate, and then I’ll hand them off to you. All you need to do is place them down on the wax paper,” he gestured towards the sheet that had been laid out on the counter. “But we need to move kind of fast while the chocolate is still melted, so that’s why it’ll be easier if you help me. Alright?” Wonwoo nodded, for he could certainly handle placing Oreo sticks down onto the wax paper.

Mingyu picked up the first Oreo and dipped it in the chocolate, twirling it until the entire thing was bright orange. He then passed it off to Wonwoo, who carefully did as he had been told, placing it carefully down onto the wax paper. They continued on like that for a few minutes, until the final Oreo was placed down on the paper and they were able to step away, sharing a satisfied grin. “This is fine - honestly, knowing our friends, this will be better. I just need to put the jack o’ lantern faces on them, which I can do with the other icing we have in the cupboard. Thank you for helping,” he said sweetly, and Wonwoo nodded, feeling rather proud of himself for not screwing up anything else in the kitchen.

He continued to watch as Mingyu retrieved what he needed and began to add the small faces, his movements practiced, muscled forearms showing even beneath the werewolf hair as he rolled up his sleeves. Even with the claws, he could still add such meticulous details with little struggle - it was truly remarkable, and Wonwoo wondered if perhaps in another life he would have owned some kind of bakery. “Almost done,” he commented after a few minutes, his lower lip caught between his teeth in concentration.

Wonwoo took that as his cue to find a container for them, and he opened a set of cabinets beside the fridge to fish through the options, eventually finding one that seemed to be the right size. He brought it over to the counter, and as Mingyu finished up on the final cookies he began to place the already finished ones inside, carefully arranging them so that they would all fit. Once Mingyu stepped away from the last one Wonwoo added it to the stack before placing the lid on the container, clicking it into place.

“That’s all, right?” He asked, and Mingyu nodded, taking off the apron he had been wearing over his werewolf getup. He hung it over the handle of the oven, which had significantly cooled down since the earlier incident.

“Yeah, that’s it. The rest is still in the fridge, so we just need to load it up into the car, and then hopefully we can still get there without making the others wait. Knowing them, they’re likely not gonna be punctual either,” he contemplated, and Wonwoo chuckled, because that was certainly the truth. The sun was setting now, however, so their timing was better than he had expected considering the cookie disaster.

Wonwoo spared a glance out the window, a thick branch encroaching the view in an almost eerie manner, the night just beginning to darken. Thin twigs extending out from the main branch tapped against the glass with every gust of wind, almost as if something was asking to be invited inside. As night fell, especially on Halloween, the branches did seem to hold a life-like quality, and Wonwoo had to tear his eyes away before he could convince himself that something more sinister lurked outside - it wasn’t possible, anyway.

When he turned back to the rest of the kitchen, Mingyu was already standing before the fridge with the door wide open, face bathed in the soft light from inside. He grabbed a few different containers of food, stacking them up in his arms and keeping a tight hold to ensure that nothing fell. “Wait, let me help-” Wonwoo offered, rushing over to reach out for the load in Mingyu’s arms.

“It’s okay, I got it,” Mingyu assured, and sure enough he stepped away from the fridge, all of the containers still stable in his arms. It was honestly impressive, for he had made a lot of food earlier in the day, but Wonwoo knew all too well how strong he was - the size of his biceps made that very clear. “If we both carry stuff, it’ll be impossible to open the door and get in the car. Plus, we might need to refill the candy bowl, it’s been out there for awhile.”

Heat rose to Wonwoo’s cheeks at that, and he looked down at his feet, a bit sheepish. “I may have, um, refilled the bowl already. When I went to light the jack o’ lanterns… I was out there for longer than I realized,” he admitted, and Mingyu just laughed breathlessly, shaking his head as he cast a glance towards the garbage can, now a burnt cookie graveyard. In his eyes, Wonwoo was far too cute to be mad at, anyway - even now the sleeves of his black shirt hung past his fingers, forming adorable little paws. For someone who was only a little bit shorter than Mingyu, he always looked incredibly tiny.

“I should have known,” Mingyu sighed, though his heart was light. “Lead the way, with those massive wings of yours.” He winked at Wonwoo, worsening his blush and making Mingyu feel a bit proud - teasing him was always fun. Wonwoo’s mind went blank for a moment, and he moved a second too late, cheeks burning as he made for the door, Mingyu’s heavy boots following right along behind. He really shouldn’t get so flustered after all this time, but Mingyu’s effect on him had never diminished even with each turn of the season, each new year that passed.

Chilly autumn air surged into the room as Wonwoo pulled open the front door, fogging up his glasses for a moment, and he had to stop on the porch until they cleared up so that he wouldn’t fall down the steps. Once he could see again, he checked the candy bowl, pleased to find that it was still mostly full - no kids had decided to take the entire contents of the bowl just yet. The jack o’ lanterns were glowing bright on either side of the steps, and Wonwoo carefully made his way down to the path, turning to make sure that Mingyu didn’t need any help.

He seemed to be doing fine, the large claws providing the surface area he needed to maintain his grip, and so Wonwoo continued down the path, Mingyu following closely behind. The car was parked right out on the street, the wheels just barely rolled onto the grass, and Wonwoo quickly unlocked the doors before opening the back one, stepping out of the way so that Mingyu could place all of the food inside. Once everything had been carefully placed down on the floor of the car, making sure nothing would open and spill out during the drive, Wonwoo kept the keys and headed for the driver’s side door, for Mingyu couldn’t exactly drive with his massive claws.

The car door handle was cold to the touch, and Wonwoo pulled it open quickly, sliding into the driver’s seat and arranging his wings so that he could sit back comfortably. Mingyu clambered in on the other side, both of them buckling their seat belts before Wonwoo turned on the car. He instantly reached over to switch on the heat, but Mingyu’s hand intercepted his own, warm to the touch as he reached the dial first. “It’s freezing in here,” Mingyu commented, and Wonwoo nodded in agreement, smiling as Mingyu squeezed his hand before pulling back.

Thankfully, the heat began to seep out from the vents almost immediately, and Wonwoo eventually pulled away from the curb, taking care to ensure that no trick or treaters were in the way. On Halloween it would have been much easier to walk, in all honesty, but with all of the food in the backseat they had no choice but to drive. Their street was a pretty quiet one, however, and it didn’t take long to pull out onto one of the main town streets, still keeping a slow speed just in case anyone ran out into the middle of the road.

Children still flocked along the sidewalks, and Wonwoo spared a glance towards the passenger side window only to find that Mingyu had his face pressed up right in front of the glass, making faces and showing off his claws for the kids they drove past. Wonwoo rolled his eyes, for it was exactly the kind of childish thing that Mingyu loved to do, but it still warmed his heart. He looked back ahead, carefully driving further into the center of town, though his eyes eventually caught on three familiar figures.

“Hey, look who it is,” he pointed out, elbowing Mingyu to get his attention. “Right up ahead.” He pointed a finger while keeping his other hand on the wheel, and Mingyu followed the gesture, recognition showing on his face after a moment. “I would recognize that hair anywhere.” He was referring to Jeonghan’s hair, for it was pretty long at that point in time - their three older friends were walking just up ahead on the other side of the street, seemingly bickering about something.

“God, there’s never a moment of peace with them,” Mingyu commented, and Wonwoo huffed a laugh, for he certainly wasn’t wrong. Currently, Jeonghan and Joshua appeared to have teamed up to tease Seungcheol, who was laughing while protesting, his blush visible even from across the street.

The three of them must have been on their way into town as well to meet up with everyone else, and Wonwoo frowned, looking over at Mingyu as his car slowed to a stop before a stop sign. “Do you think we should pick them up?” He asked, and Mingyu grinned, shaking his head instantly.

“No way - I don’t wanna deal with them until I absolutely have to,” he answered, and Wonwoo chuckled, pressing his foot down on the gas again and driving past their friends. Mingyu leaned over to wave at them through Wonwoo’s window, if only to be annoying - he would surely be hearing about that later. Mingyu loved the three of them, but he was often the target of teasing from nearly all of their friends, so he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to torment them a little bit.

As they finally drove into town, the small shops lining the streets, Mingyu leaned over to roll the windows down despite the chill. Orange lights were strung between the street lamps, illuminating everything in a warm glow as people in costume strolled along the sidewalks, most of them headed towards the festival at the main intersection in the middle of town. The air itself smelled of pumpkin and apples, like the essence of fall had been bottled up and set free into the air.

A large part of them wished that it could be like this all year round, but this one day each year was especially magical because there was simply no other day like it, especially not in Pumpkin Hollow. Good thing the night was still young, the full moon just beginning to rise higher amongst the star strewn sky.

~

In the late afternoon, another pair sat together at the kitchen table inside of their shared home, a disposable tablecloth spread over the surface to keep it clean. A large bowl sat between the two of them, for they were sitting opposite one another, already looking the part as they prepared for Halloween in one final way. Simple, but very important in a town such as theirs - the two of them were about to carve pumpkins to leave outside before they left for the night.

Seungkwan eyed the round gourd before him with lips pursed in concentration, brows furrowed as he brushed his hands over the smooth surface, as if debating how to carve it. His expression was made considerably more adorable by the permanent pink flush over his cheeks, soft freckles dotting the skin of his face, particularly over the tip of his nose. A set of pale green translucent faerie wings stuck out from behind his back, for he was dressed as exactly that - a faerie. His outfit was mostly green as well, comfortable and fitting for a faerie, made from a supple mottled leather material with embroidered details covering the entire thing, both shirt and pants. The detailing was silver, and it glimmered and caught in the light each time he moved, as captivating as one would expect from a faerie.

On the other hand, the person who sat across from him at the other end of the table wore something of the complete opposite visual aesthetic. Rather than bright and sparkly, Vernon’s clothing was strictly black from head to toe, including the loose hood that draped over the top of his head. It cast his face in shadows, making his cheekbones appear particularly pronounced, the hollows of his cheeks so deep that his face almost gave off the illusion of being skeletal.

Leaning against the wall behind him was a large scythe, the blade shiny and reflective while the staff was as dark as the rest of his outfit, perfectly fitted for a grim reaper, for that was his costume. Despite the wicked nature of the outfit, however, Vernon’s wide smile shattered the illusion of anything scary, his gums showing as he regarded Seungkwan’s deep concentration. “It;s just a jack o’ lantern, you know. We’re not doing rocket science,” he pointed out, and Seungkwan glared at him over the top of the pumpkin, his line of vision obstructed by the stem.

“Jack o’ lanterns are still really important!” He protested, reaching over for a marker and uncapping it, still unsure of what to actually draw and eventually cut out from the pumpkin flesh. “I don’t know if I should do something scary, or something cute. Or maybe something in the middle somewhere… I don’t know,” he whined, looking over at Vernon again to find that he hadn’t made any progress either. “Do you have an idea?”

Vernon’s expression became more serious then, and he gestured towards his phone where it rested against the tabletop. “I’ve been looking for some inspiration, but I think I’m just gonna do my own thing. Maybe an alien, or something,” he considered, following Seungkwan’s lead and grabbing the other marker they had set out on the counter. “Aliens are pretty cool.”

Seungkwan giggled, for Vernon could be rather eccentric, much like aliens - he supposed that must be why he liked them so much. The two of them were opposites in more than just the costumes they wore - in fact, Seungkwan really couldn’t think of anything they explicitly had in common, aside from their feelings towards one another. It was just as well, because they balanced each other out better than anyone would have expected from the faerie and grim reaper sitting at the same table on Halloween. “What do you think I should do?” He asked, and Vernon look up from his pumpkin again, biting his lower lip in thought for a moment.

Rather than looking at Seungkwan’s pumpkin, he was just looking at his face instead, and Seungkwan was grateful for the blush already covering his cheeks, for it hid his real blush from view. “You should do something pretty,” Vernon decided, and Seungkwan raised a brow, because he had never heard of a pretty jack o’ lantern before. Scary, cute, even silly, but pretty was a new one.

“What the hell do you mean by a pretty jack o’ lantern? It’s a pumpkin, I don’t see how it could possibly be pretty,” he remarked, confusion coming through in his voice, and Vernon just continued to grin, small crinkles visible next to his eyes. He really did have a wonderful smile, and just the sight of it made Seungkwan’s heart feel a bit like it was floating, like it might just fly up from his chest entirely.

“Well, I just think that someone as pretty as you should make a jack o’ lantern to match,” he answered, and Seungkwan was at a momentarily loss for words, butterflies fluttering around in his stomach even as he laughed, leaning over the table to whack Vernon’s arm.

The statement, while extremely adorable, was also completely ridiculous. “You’re so cheesy it actually causes me physical pain,” Seungkwan teased, though he couldn’t keep the smile off of his lips, betraying his true feelings. Anytime Vernon complimented him, he felt like he could just survive on his sweet words for eternity. “But seriously, I don’t even know what I would do… I guess a cute face, and maybe I’ll carve some little flowers too?” He contemplated, and Vernon nodded at the idea.

“That sounds perfect. Reminds me of your little flower bed outside - it’s fitting for you. My little faerie,” Vernon said with a smile, his expression a bit softer this time around, his words leaning more towards genuine and less towards the playful manner with which he usually spoke. “An alien and a face with flowers around it… I’d say it represents us pretty well.”

Seungkwan had to nod in response to that, for it was extremely true. “Well, we should get started if we want to be done in time,” he pointed out, checking the time on his phone. They would still have plenty of time, but if Seungkwan was late again for a gathering with all of their friends he would never hear the end of it. Taking the uncapped marker, he began to carefully draw on the eyes and mouth that he wanted to carve, until he was satisfied with the face. Then he added some little flowers, though he made sure that they were big enough for the tools they would be using, finally sitting back and stretching out the tension in his back once he was satisfied.

Vernon had finished his drawing as well, and he turned around his pumpkin to show Seungkwan with a proud grin, an alien face drawn on the orange skin of the gourd. While simple, it actually looked quite good, and Seungkwan turned his around as well. “I like it,” Vernon complimented with a nod, sincerity coming through in his voice. Rather than overflowing with enthusiasm like Seungkwan often was, Vernon was a much calmer individual, but his praise meant more to Seungkwan than anyone else’s.

“Thank you,” Seungkwan responded, his voice as warm as his heart. “I like yours too. It’s very you.” That was certainly the truth, and Vernon seemed to be pleased with that assessment, turning the pumpkin back around and scanning his eyes over his own work again. “We should really start carving, though. Hopefully it won’t take too long,” he continued, and Vernon nodded, reaching over to open up the pumpkin carving kit they had been using for years at this point.

All kinds of tools could be seen inside, skinny knives for smaller designs and thicker ones for larger cuts, spoons for scooping the insides out and a lighter for the eventual tea lights that would be placed inside. Selecting one of the bigger ones first, Seungkwan got to work with cutting off the top of the pumpkin, arms straining as he punctured the blade through the thick flesh. Once he had made it around the entire length he pulled off the top, a wave of warm pumpkin smell hitting his nose as he looked down into the inside, tangled guts and seeds staring right back.

He grabbed one of the spoons next, one that had a slightly serrated edge for scooping, and got to work on cleaning out the inside. The bowl between the two of them was for this very purpose, and both Seungkwan and Vernon began to deposit the innards into it, rapidly filling up the entire bowl until their pumpkins were both completely clean inside. By the time they finished Seungkwan was grateful to sit back in his chair, rubbing his hand over his forehead as he inhaled, exhausted from the strange hunched over position he had been forced to assume while cleaning out the pumpkin.

From there they both began to carve, sitting mostly in silence as they focused on the larger cuts and finer details, brows furrowed and lips set into firm, concentrated lines. Vernon began to carve out the eyes and mouth of his alien, for his design was much simpler than Seungkwan’s, and he finished by the time Seungkwan had finished the face of his own. They both fixed the finer details, making sure that no evidence of the marker lines could be seen anymore, and Vernon nodded his head in satisfaction before standing up from his seat.

Seungkwan’s eyes followed the movement, brows furrowed in an unspoken question about where he was going, but he didn’t need to worry for long as Vernon plopped down directly into the chair beside him. Before Seungkwan could say anything, he reached over, the top of his hood tickling Seungkwan’s chin as he grabbed a small precision knife from the carving kit, sitting back and gesturing towards the pumpkin. “Come on, I’ll help you. I’m finished with mine,” he offered, and Seungkwan blinked at him for a moment before leaning over to rest his head on Vernon’s shoulder long enough to inhale deeply, squeezing him in a one armed hug.

“Let’s do this,” he agreed, brandishing his own knife, the flowers still not yet cut out yet. Pumpkin carving shouldn’t have been so complicated, but the flowers were small, and as they got started Seungkwan felt even more grateful for Vernon’s help. His fingers slipped on the knife from how tightly he was holding it, but he eventually finished with one of the flowers, sighing heavily as he rolled his neck before starting on the next one. Casting a glance over at Vernon, he straightened up instantly, mouth gaping as he nudged his companion’s shoulder.

“What the fuck - you’ve already done almost three?” He spluttered, and Vernon looked back at him, eyes wide and innocent, quite the juxtaposition to the ominous hood that shadowed his face.

“Well, yeah,” he answered lamely, and Seungkwan just scoffed, his lower lip jutting out in a small pout as he crossed his arms. “Well your face was more detailed than mine, Kwannie! I have all this energy left in my fingers, because mine was so much simpler.” It was a cute attempt at appeasing Seungkwan, although completely lacking in actual fact.

Still doubting his carving skills, Seungkwan eyed the bowl of pumpkin innards on the table, trying to keep up his pouting facade as he rested his arm down on the table, inching his hand over towards the bowl. Once his fingers brushed over the ceramic edge he quickly dipped them inside, grabbing a handful of the pumpkin guts and throwing them directly into Vernon’s face. A loud laugh burst from his lips, for as soon as the guts touched Vernon’s skin he pulled a face, his expressions always extremely ridiculous, brows raised and eyes blowing open wide.

“Hey - I’m helping you!” He protested, though he was laughing too, reaching up to pull the orange mess off of his face. Instead of placing it back in the bowl, he chucked it directly back at Seungkwan, though even then he took care to avoid his cheeks, the pumpkin guts instead splattering against his chin and neck. A deep, surprised inhale came from Seungkwan’s throat before he could stop it, and he stood up from his chair completely then, Vernon doing the same right next to him.

After being together for so long, they moved completely in sync, both reaching for the bowl at the exact same time, four sets of fingers grasping at the ceramic edges all at once. Raucous laughter filled the room as Seungkwan managed to pull it free from Vernon’s grip, though he was pretty sure that Vernon had let him have it. Either way, he grabbed another handful of the slimy pumpkin innards, raising it high and charging straight for Vernon, who darted away, leaving only the sound of his laughter behind as he disappeared into the kitchen.

In hot pursuit, Seungkwan followed right after him, his socks sliding all over the hardwood floor. He collided with the wall, his shoulder pain smarting along his shoulder from the impact, but he hardly even felt it as he chased after Vernon, eventually cornering him at the end of the hallway. They were both nearly hysterical with laughter at this point, hardly able to breathe as they faced each other. Seungkwan raised his handful of pumpkin guts again, throwing them against Vernon’s face all over again.

Setting down the bowl, he stepped forward to help Vernon wipe off the pumpkin now that their little game was over, but his foot slipped on a chunk that had already made it to the floor. Body pitching forward, he would have slammed right into Vernon if firm hands didn’t grip his shoulders first, keeping him upright. “Be careful,” Vernon murmured, for now their chests were nearly touching, breaths mingling with how close they were to one another.

He should have looked stupid with pumpkin smeared on his face, but Seungkwan would never view him that way - the sharp angles of his cheekbones and jaw were just as stunning as ever, his features so flawless that Seungkwan really wondered how on earth he had ended up with someone so handsome. And even though he was fully upright now, Vernon still didn’t move his hands away, the two of them both covered in pumpkin as they stared right back at each other.

Before Seungkwan could speak, Vernon’s lips were suddenly ghosting over his own, pressing softly but firmly all at once. Not for too long, as he pulled back just a moment later, but long enough for Seungkwan’s mind to go entirely blank. So blank that he didn’t realize Vernon’s true intentions until a hand rubbed over his neck, spreading the slimy pumpkin all over it.

“Vernon!” Seungkwan shrieked, hopping away from him instantly as he tried his best to pull all of it off, loud laughter bouncing down the hallway. It stuck to Seungkwan’s fingers, and he had to shake his hands to put the stringy innards back in the bucket, pulling a face at the gross feeling. “God, I thought you were just being romantic,” he grumbled.

Arms came around his waist then, and Vernon hugged him from behind, resting his cheek against the back of Seungkwan’s head. “Oh, boo hoo. You’re the one who started it,” he answered, sounding like some kind of overgrown toddler. He wasn’t wrong, though, so Seungkwan just reached down to grab the bowl, Vernon not detaching his arms even as they began to walk back into the kitchen.

“Now we need to clean ourselves up - we look like we were involved in some kind of pumpkin crime scene,” Seungkwan grimaced, and Vernon chuckled, the breathy sounds sending chills along the back of Seungkwan’s neck. Seungkwan led them both towards the sink, awkwardly waddling due to the extra body clinging to his middle, grabbing a towel and running it under the water before doing the same with another one. He passed one off to Vernon, who finally pulled his arms back, accepting the towel gratefully. “You have it all over your face,” Seungkwan pointed out, and Vernon rolled his eyes.

“No shit,” he responded, raising the towel up to his face and doing his best to wipe it clean once more. Seungkwan only needed to clean off his neck and chin, and once he was finished he went back out into the hallway to wipe the floor until that was clean as well. He hadn’t realized how long they had spent fooling around, but when he came back out into the kitchen he caught a glimpse of the clock mounted on the wall, his eyes flying open wide.

“Fuck, we have to go!” He called out, and Vernon appeared back at his side, much cleaner now than before. “It’s almost time, and I’ll never hear the end of it if I’m late again. I guess the rest of the flowers won’t be cut out.” He frowned slightly, for his pumpkin did look rather incomplete, but Vernon just nudged him with an elbow to get his attention.

“It adds character,” he said thoughtfully, walking over to the table and picking up the pumpkin in his hands. “Not complete, but that’s okay. It’s the thought that counts, right? Plus, at least we had fun.” He reached over to grab the lighter as well, spinning it once over his index finger before heading towards the door. “We don’t need anything else - let’s just put these guys out on the porch, and then we can leave.”

Seungkwan complied quickly, grabbing the alien pumpkin with a grunt, for it was heavier than he had expected. Vernon passed him a tea light, and they both filed outside, the cool autumn air pleasant despite its chill. Just as Seungkwan placed down his pumpkin, he turned around to see two little kids walking up their front path, carrying trick or treat baskets already full of candy. He cooed as soon as he saw them, picking up the candy bowl by the door and quickly going down the steps.

“Don’t you both look adorable!” He remarked, raising the pitch of his voice for their benefit as he knelt down before them. These were neighborhood kids whom he had seen loads of times, and they both grinned adorably at the compliment, missing teeth visible in their smiles. A little girl and a little boy, dressed as a princess and a frog, respectively - if only Minghao could have been there to see the latter costume.

He emptied a handful of candy into each of their baskets, the smile never leaving his lips - perhaps he should have rationed a little bit more, but he couldn’t resist. Seungkwan loved kids, and he listened attentively as the little girl tugged at his sleeve, her eyes wide as she looked at him. “You’re very pretty,” she admired shyly, and Seungkwan’s heart melted right there in front of his porch.

“Oh, a princess calling me pretty?” He gasped, and the girl giggled, smiling wide. “Well, guess what? When you grow up, you’re gonna be the prettiest girl in town.” He whispered the words, as if it was their own little secret. She bounced up and down on the soles of her feet, tugging at his sleeve again as she pointed just past his shoulder.

“Is that your boyfriend?” She asked, mirroring his conspiratorial whisper, and Seungkwan had to hold back a laugh of his own as he nodded. Vernon had never been as drawn to children as Seungkwan, but he stepped down from the porch now, waving a bit awkwardly at the two children still standing before Seungkwan. “He looks kinda scary,” she added, and Seungkwan shook his head instantly.

Reaching back, he gestured for Vernon to come closer, until he too was kneeling in front of the kids. “He’s not scary - he just looks a little scary right now, for Halloween. But he’s actually very nice. I wouldn’t ever have a boyfriend who wasn’t nice, I promise,” he said to them, and they both nodded, looking at Vernon with interest.

This time it was the little boy who shifted forward, moving a little bit closer to Vernon. “Your boyfriend is pretty,” he informed, relaying his sister’s words from earlier, and Vernon smiled back at him, nodding his head in agreement.

“You’re right, he’s very pretty. My little faerie.” Seungkwan felt his cheeks flush at the term of endearment, and he popped one last piece of candy into each of the children’s baskets, for he didn’t want to keep them out too late. Both Seungkwan and Vernon said goodbye as the two of them walked back down the path, joining who must have been their parents on the sidewalk and continuing on to the next house.

Vernon had lit the jack o’ lanterns already, and Seungkwan placed the bowl of candy out on the porch, hoping that it would last for a while before becoming completely empty. They had places to be, and as they walked down the path to head on their way, he couldn’t help but cast a glance back towards their home, the pumpkins glowing bright as the sky grew darker. An alien and a half-carved floral design - certainly not conventional jack o’ lanterns, but that was part of their charm. They had managed to mostly finish, in the end - there was no crime in having a little bit of fun along the way.

~

The center of town was still teeming with life even earlier in the day, for Chan and Seokmin had been there for several hours by the time night began to fall, already fully blending in with the costumed crowd as they helped out with the town festival. They wouldn’t need to go far to meet the rest of their friends, so they were able to linger even once the sun went down, working at their respective stations while greeting children and adults alike, the Halloween atmosphere practically injected into their veins.

Glowing orange lights had been strung up over their heads, and so many different baked goods and treats were being served that the entire area smelled like it, warm and delicious despite the chill that broke through the warm atmosphere every now and then. Seokmin had been standing behind the table at one of the many food tables for a while, sneaking bits of his own treats as he helped to serve them to anyone who approached, his blinding smile never falling. It wasn’t a forced one, either - he truly loved Halloween, and seeing all of the different people all coming together for the holiday kept the smile on his lips for hours on end.

Since Pumpkin Hollow was a small town in general, the different shops lining the roads in the center of town were still pretty small, and the different shop owners had set up their own tables outside of their respective stores, so that every few feet there was a new table to look at. A major intersection marked the dead center of Pumpkin Hollow, and that was where this festival took place, spooky music playing from speakers that had been situated around the area, adding to the general atmosphere of fun frightfulness.

Chan’s current station wasn’t too far away from where Seokmin stood, just a few feet over at the next table where he helped to hand out small Halloween goodies for children, like plastic spider rings and sets of vampire teeth. As the night grew darker the teeth began to glow in the dark, and Chan couldn’t help but laugh every time he looked up to find a group of kids running past, their mouths glowing as much as the full moon. The festival was funded on donations, and all year people waited for the night when they could all gather together at the intersection, dressed up as they enjoyed the atmosphere of Halloween.

For adults, there were separate tables for alcoholic drinks as well, all themed for the occasion to look like witches’ brew, or blood infused vampire cocktails - Seokmin even saw someone holding a large chalice with a fake eyeball inside of it, who approached his table at the sight of the colorful baked goods. “Hello, you can take whatever you like,” he informed with a smile, and the man scanned over the treats in interest. He had to reach up to move the eye patch away from his eye for a moment, sparing Seokmin a friendly grin.

“This eye patch prevents me from seeing everything, I swear. Maybe a pirate wasn’t the best costume choice,” he explained with a shake of his head, looking down at himself. A fake sword had been swung over his back, and he wore a massive pirate hat, with layered cloth and leather clothing over the rest of his body, ending in a set of sturdy boots. “I do have to say, though, I’ve been noticing your face paint every time I walk through here. I’m usually terrified of clowns, but I guess your smile makes it hard to consider you scary.”

It wasn’t the first time Seokmin had been faced with a similar statement, and he could understand why. He wore a regular clown suit, the kind that one would expect to see on a person dressed as a clown, but rather than one of the scary clown faces, his was instead a happier one, with bright colors and a happy smile painted over his natural one. Rather than scaring all of the kids that ran around nearby, they all seemed to like his costume, trying more than once to touch his face in undisguised interest.

“Yeah, well, I’m not a very scary guy,” he answered, the same wide smile present on his lips like always. It was hard to frown when the Halloween spirit was so high this year, but he was pretty much like this every other day of the year as well. “Do you see anything you would like?” He gestured over the different treats covering the table - cookies decorated to look like pumpkins, marshmallow ghosts, chocolate covered strawberries with little bat wings, and several others as well.

The man looked over the table once more before choosing a long chocolate-covered pretzel stick, with white icing drizzled in strips to look like a mummy, small candy eyes poking out from the top. “I’ll take this one, though I might be back for more later,” he decided, and Seokmin chuckled as he waved farewell to the man, heart warm from another friendly encounter.

During the brief moment when no one else approached the table Seokmin spared a glance over to his right, eyes instantly landing on Chan, who seemed to be practically swarmed by a group of kids in matching superhero costumes. Chan’s costume had been a hot topic amongst the different kids that roamed around the streets, and for good reason - his entire body was covered in bright blue fur, with orange horns poking out of the top of his head, and three big eyes poking out from behind his fuzzy exterior. His face couldn’t even be seen, just a big monster costume from an outside view, almost like Sully from Monsters Inc.

Still, his laughter could be heard loud and clear behind the costume as he gave each of the kids a set of vampire teeth, their faces lighting up at the new toy. One of them nudged the smallest boy, sticking out the vampire teeth for him to see, even though he was already holding his own. “See, I told you! That guy in the street wasn’t a real vampire, he was just wearing something like these,” he explained, and the smaller boy nodded sheepishly, popping his own set of teeth into his mouth proudly.

Seokmin’s interest piqued at that, and he abandoned his table for a moment, walking over beside Chan and poking him in the side, if only to elicit another laugh from him. Chan’s laugh was intoxicating, really. Turning to the kids, Seokmin beckoned them to step back to the table, smiling warmly at the smallest boy. “You don’t need to be scared of vampires, or other monsters, okay? It’s Halloween, but all anyone wants is to just have a good time.”

The boy nodded again, his small hands gripping at the handle of his trick or treat basket. “We thought he was a superhero because of his cape, but he was really a vampire. I got a little scared,” he admitted, and Seokmin cooed in understanding.

Another boy stepped closer then, the one who had reassured the smaller boy in the first place. “I told him that it couldn’t possibly be a real vampire, because a real vampire would have acted a lot cooler than that guy did. Plus, he was walking around with a scarecrow and a mummy, and they didn’t look scary at all!” Just as Seokmin had expected, he knew exactly who the vampire had been, and he glanced over at Chan, rolling his eyes before turning back to the boys.

“Oh, don’t worry about him. That’s actually our friend, he always dresses as a vampire, but he really isn’t scary. You don’t need to be scared of him, alright?” Seokmin reassured, and the small boy perked up at that, cocking his head as he nodded, relief clearly evident in his face. Chan grabbed another one of the toys on the table, this one a bouncy ball made to look like an eyeball, and he handed it to the boy.

“Yeah, there’s no reason to be scared. Jeonghan isn’t scary at all, even though he likes to think that he is,” Chan agreed, handing one of the bouncy balls to the rest of the boys as well.

As he placed one into the hand of the older boy, the one who had mentioned Jeonghan’s companions, the boy spoke again, his blue cape flapping in the wind behind him. “He was wearing a cape too, so I thought he was a superhero like us! I asked him what superhero he was supposed to be, but then he got all offended and told us that he was a vampire, and showed us his teeth. That’s what scared Minjun,” he explained, gesturing towards the smaller boy - Minjun must have been his name.

Seokmin laughed at the story, leaning into Chan as he tried his best to get a hold of himself enough to explain why he was laughing to the kids. “Sorry, it’s just - that’s a really funny story. I’m gonna tease Jeonghan about it later - a superhero. He’ll never hear the end of it, though I’m sure that Joshua and Cheol have been teasing him already.” Jeonghan prided himself on being scary for Halloween, so to hear that he had been mistaken for a superhero was simply too great of a teasing opportunity to pass up.

A third boy spoke up then, shifting on his feet, as if he was a bit nervous. “Um, but aren’t there actual scary monsters out in the woods? That’s what my mom always says, that I can’t go into the woods at night on Halloween, because it’s dangerous. But no one tells us why, because we’re still just kids, and they don’t want to scare us, but I know it has something to do with the haunted house,” he whispered, as if afraid that one of the adults milling the streets would overhear and get him in trouble. “Do you know about it?”

Chan nodded solemnly, resting both of his fuzzy monster claws down on the table, bending down so that he could speak to them in a hushed tone, like he was sharing some top secret information. “Yeah, I know about it,” he revealed, and the boys all gasped, flocking even closer to the table, gripping their treat baskets tightly. “But, I don’t know if I can tell you. It’s some pretty scary stuff.”

The kids protested instantly, and Seokmin laughed under his breath, because he knew Chan was just teasing them. In reality, the extent of the stories people told about the haunted house ranged from simple legend to pretty gnarly versions of events, but as with most haunted house stories, most of it was exaggeration - at least, that was what most people believed. Still, talking about the legends was fun in a creepy way, planting that seed of fear into the minds of the townspeople even though they knew it couldn’t possibly be real. After all, that was the reason that Halloween thrived - because everyone possessed that shred of fear, that perhaps the stories really were true, that humans weren’t alone on this one night of the year.

Sighing heavily, Chan made a show of glancing around the area to make sure that no one was listening. “Okay, well, I guess I can tell you, but this is top secret,” he decided, and they all nodded earnestly, listening attentively. It wasn’t really top secret, for Seokmin assumed Chan would tell them a simplified, child-friendly version of the legend, but it added to the fun to act like he was sharing some forbidden knowledge with them. Sparing a glance over at his table, Seokmin made sure that no one else had stopped there for desserts before turning back to the situation at hand.

“The story starts centuries ago, back when this town looked a lot different. No shops like what we see now, and a lot less people. Even back then, though, the townspeople took Halloween very seriously, because only on Halloween are monsters able to roam the mortal world alongside the rest of us,” Chan began, and it was kind of comical to hear a big fluffy blue monster speak so ominously, but the children were completely enraptured. “They still gathered in the center of town, much like we’re doing now, except they did it for safety in numbers instead of for a fun festival. Rumors had spread already at that point, about monsters being sighted in the woods, terrifying creatures covered in stitches, the cold that sunk into their bones at the sight of a translucent ghost out of the corner of their eye.”

The kids stood there with eyes open wide, hanging onto his every word. “Every year during Halloween, there were sightings of these monsters, right in the woods that surrounds us right now. A lot of the town members believed the stories, because they could see the fear in the faces of their friends who claimed to have seen spirits, heard whispers coming from the dark woods even when no one was in sight. However, a particular group of people refused to believe it, claiming that monsters weren’t real, that all of the tales were false and people were just seeing things, creating images in their minds. You see, everyone in town respects these legends now, but there’s a reason for that - it’s because of what those people did on one particular Halloween.”

A gust of wind blew past as Chan spoke the words, and Seokmin could see the goosebumps erupt along the arms of the kids as they shared a glance with one another. “It was a night much like this one - a full moon,” Chan continued, pointing up at the sky where the moon was just beginning to emerge, much to the fright of his small audience. “Several townspeople had already claimed to have heard strange sounds, just like they did every year, and eventually that group of people who didn’t believe there was a reason to be afraid finally snapped. They grabbed the wooden torches that had been placed in a circle around the gathering of people, determined to find out the truth once and for all, tired of hearing the same stories. Most people stayed behind, huddling together in fear of what might happen to the ones who ventured into the woods, holding their torches high.”

Chan lowered his voice even further, for now he was getting to the heart of the story. “At first, they weren’t scared of anything, determined to prove that there had never been any monsters out in the woods. They went deeper and deeper, further than anyone had traveled in a long time, as most people didn’t dare to step foot past the tree line out of fear. The trees grew thicker, the branches terrifying in their own way, casting shadows that looked like shadow people watching their every move. They couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t alone, and eventually they started to lose their sense of confidence, fear breaking down their walls until nothing else remained.

“Eventually, however, they stumbled upon a large, rickety house amongst the trees, made from old wooden planks, the front door open ominously, as if something had been waiting for them. The interior was completely dark, and a certain energy surrounded the area, one that seeped into their bones and amplified their terror to the point where they wanted nothing more than to run right back to the center of town. Before they could do that, however, the door slammed closed, the loud bang sounding through the trees around them, echoing and growing into something ugly, something terrifying. Much to their horror, bats flew out from the windows, flapping right past the group of them, scaring them out of their minds. That wasn’t all, though,” Chan continued cryptically, and it really shouldn’t have sounded so scary coming from him, but the chilling tone of his voice had goosebumps spreading along even Seokmin’s skin by that point.

“On the closed door, a sign hung slightly off center, battered and faded just like the rest of the house, reading ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK in big, red letters. One of them dared to step closer to read it, and only then did he notice the deep nature of the red writing, the thin trails of dried liquid that extended down from each letter. He realized that the sign had been written in blood, just like the blood that comes from you and me.” The jaws of the children dropped at that, and they huddled more closely together, still listening intently despite clearly being spooked by the story.

“He screamed at the sight of the blood, and legend says that his scream could be heard all the way back at the center of the town, right where we’re standing now. ‘Blood, the sign is written in blood!” He yelled once he found his voice, and then the rest of them froze in fear as well. They were too petrified to move for a moment, until a loud creaking sound cut straight to their bones, the sound of the door slowly opening once more. A dark claw came from the shadows, something that could never have belonged to a human, and they all started to run then, heading back into town as fast as they possibly could.”

Chan gestured towards the street lights around them, the strings of orange lights that lit up the streets. “As they ran, their torches went out, and they were stuck in the pitch black woods. They could hardly even see the trees right in front of them, and fear crawled down their spines like the spindly legs of a massive spider, because they could tell that they still weren’t alone. Several sets of steps could be heard following them, the steps of something that couldn’t have been human, following in hot pursuit. By the time the town came into view, they lurched through the trees, the monsters’ breath hot on their necks at that point. However, as soon as they broke through the tree line, the monsters retreated back out into the woods, likely to go back to their rickety old house.

“They rushed back to where they had left the others, too scared to even fully divulge the tale of what had happened, stumbling over their words as they tried to find their voices again. At first, they wondered if they had lost their minds, and perhaps all of it had been a hallucination, but then a little boy approached one of the men, not much younger than all of you. He tugged on the man’s shirt, dirty from the hurried run back through the woods, and only then did they see what he was pointing at. A set of three massive claw marks, right through the back of the man’s shirt - had he been just a second too slow, the monsters would have gotten him,” Chan revealed, and the boys gasped, eyes as wide as the full moon hanging above their heads.

“And that’s why your parents tell you not to go out into the woods on Halloween night, because the monsters own those woods. Even though it’s just a legend, and most people don’t think that it’s real, everyone still feels a little bit of fear thinking about the possibility of it being true,” he finished, and the kids were rendered speechless for a few moments. In order to prevent them from feeling too scared, Seokmin quickly went back to his table to gather up a few cookies, bringing them back over and handing one to each of the kids.

The one in the middle who had asked about the story initially gripped his cookie tightly, but he didn’t eat it yet, a frown on his small lips. “But, what about the rules of Halloween, then? Why do we follow those, if the monsters stay in the woods anyway?” He asked, and Seokmin answered him this time, for he wanted to give Chan’s voice a break - he had been telling the story in such a husky voice that Seokmin didn’t want him to hurt his throat.

“Well, the reason is connected to the story about the haunted house. Halloween is a holiday for the monsters and the spirits, after all, and once the townspeople started to respect the holiday more by lighting jack o’ lanterns and trick or treating, the sightings of the monsters lingering on the edges of the woods started to happen less and less. So, it’s believed that we need to follow the rules to keep the monsters in the woods, because if we don’t respect the holiday, they might decide to come out and find the ones of us who disobey. That’s why Halloween is so important in Pumpkin Hollow, because celebrating the holiday is what keeps our town safe,” he explained, and the boys made awed noises, munching on their cookies as they nodded in understanding.

“But,” Seokmin added, regarding them with a soft smile. “You don’t need to be afraid of the haunted house story, or any other legend you might hear, because as long as you follow the rules of Halloween, the monsters won’t ever try to scare you. You have nothing to worry about.” They seemed relieved at that, smiling right back at him.

The smallest boy reached over to tug at Chan’s monster fur, giggling at the soft feeling. “Thank you for telling us the story,” he said, and their hearts nearly melted as the other boys thanked them as well before happily going off on their way, likely to find more treats somewhere else. Seokmin elbowed Chan once they were gone, reaching over to squeeze his hand for a moment.

“You know, you’re really good at telling scary stories. I had chills from that, which is kind of embarrassing on my part,” he said, and Chan laughed loudly, looking extremely cute in his monster costume.

“I hope I didn’t scare them too bad,” he commented, looking down at all of the different Halloween toys littering the table. “Though, I think the cookie distracted them - that was a good call. Plus, I think everyone benefits from a good scare every now and then - no monster is ever really going to hurt them.” Seokmin nodded in agreement, and he looked back over at his table to find that a new person now stood behind the treats, offering them to those who walked past.

As if on cue, another person walked over to Chan’s table, and they happily rescinded the station to him, for they had only promised to volunteer until nightfall. “We should go meet with the others now,” Seokmin suggested, and Chan nodded in agreement, their hands still intertwined as they strolled down the town streets, for they didn’t have very far to walk. Infectious energy was present in the very air that surrounded them, and if it had been up to them, this night would never end - there was truly nothing like Pumpkin Hollow on the night of the 31st.

~

Creepy sounds flooded out from the house before them, and Jun gripped onto Minghao’s arm so tight that his knuckles turned white, eyes wide as he took in the sight before them. A haunted house - not the haunted house, but rather one with actors inside - loomed in front of the two of them, a small line of people waiting for their turn behind Jun and Minghao, for it was now officially their turn to go inside next. In all honesty, Jun hadn’t even agreed to go inside, but Minghao had dragged him there and he had been unable to refuse.

“Come on,” Minghao urged, though he didn’t actually force Jun forward, instead just looking over at him with an unimpressed expression. “You’re a grown man - you can survive a haunted house.” And perhaps he had a point, but Jun hated jump scares, and wasn’t the entire point of going into a house like this just to have people jump out and scare you? Still, he found it extremely hard to say no to Minghao, especially when night was just beginning to swirl around him, complementing his costume nicely.

A pointy hat sat atop Minghao’s head, made from black velvet, soft star and moon designs visible against the fabric. The robes draped over his body matched the fabric of his hat, almost like he was made of real constellations as the velvet shimmered, his complexion glowing beautifully. Minghao was nothing if not elegant, but the witch outfit particularly elevated his usual enchanting demeanor, and Jun was having a hard time taking his eyes off of him.

Jun, on the other hand, was dressed in a much simpler getup - black clothing, with black furry ears visible on the top of his head, a long slender tail extending from his back. A cat nose and whiskers had been drawn on his face carefully by Minghao earlier in the day, and they really did make quite the perfect pair, a witch and a black cat. The way Jun was currently clinging to Minghao only served to add to the illusion, and his expression turned pleading as he eyed the door to the haunted house, blushing in embarrassment as his own reluctance to go inside.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I want to survive a haunted house,” he retorted, and Minghao giggled, the high-pitched laugh that Jun treasured whenever he had the privilege of hearing it. In reality, it was hardly even dark out yet, and Jun knew it would only take less than ten minutes to go through the entire house, but he had been in his head about it ever since Minghao forced him to watch a scary movie the night before, too. Sometimes he wondered how the two of them had wound up together, but then he remembered all of the ways that Minghao had always silently cared for him, and he knew that if he really did want to go inside, Minghao would never force him to.

That being said, Minghao smirked at his words, brows raised high enough that they disappeared under the front fringe of his hair, a black mullet style that suited him a bit too well, in all honesty. “So you’d rather not survive, then? Sounds a bit violent,” he commented, and Jun rolled his eyes, slapping Minghao’s arm in annoyance, for they both knew that wasn’t what he had meant.

“No, you menace. I would rather not go in at all,” Jun clarified, placing his head in his hands for a moment and breathing deep before looking up again. “I hate you, I hope you know that. Why do you always make me do things like this?” The question was rhetorical, for he knew why - Minghao got a massive kick out of pulling Jun into these situations, because Minghao himself never got scared by movies, or haunted houses, or anything of that nature. What made it worse was that anytime Jun did get scared, which was pretty much inevitable, Minghao’s only advice consisted of saying ‘just don’t get scared’. Extremely helpful.

“Well, because it’s fun. And also because literal children are doing this, Jun. Look.” Minghao pointed over towards the back of the house, where a group of kids were walking out, clearly having just finished going through. They were smiling and laughing with each other, looking positively joyful after the experience, which only made Jun scowl, for it really wasn’t helping his case.

He eyed the door to the house again, noticing the way it had been painted, to look old and rugged, with scratch marks carved into the wood. A light illuminated the space in front of it, beckoning them forward, though it flickered eerily, the bulb making soft buzzing noises each time. Slender fingers slid into his own, and Minghao squeezed his hand gently, quite the contrast to the smirk still playing along his lips. “Come on, you’ll be fine. It’ll be over in a few minutes, and then you can brag to all of the others about how brave you were.”

Jun scowled, but he didn’t protest when Minghao pulled him over towards the door, their feet creaking over the front steps. Sounds could be heard from inside already, the screams of the people who had gone in just before them, and Jun wanted nothing more than to firmly plant his feet on that doorstep and stay there. He didn’t, however, because Minghao had a little sparkle in his eye, as he opened the creaking door and he couldn’t extinguish that. He would do anything to keep Minghao happy, even if it meant spending the next ten minutes screaming like a little girl.

“Fine, let’s just get this over with,” he grumbled and Minghao smiled at him, keeping their hands together as he stepped inside, Jun following closely behind. In a situation like this, he didn’t even know where he wanted to be - leading the way meant that he would be the first to encounter anything scary, but staying behind Minghao meant that anything could come up behind him. Still, he opted to just latch onto Minghao’s robes, his free hand clutching at the material as he followed closely behind, heart thudding against his ribcage.

The initial hallway was full of cobwebs, and Jun felt them brush over his skin, sending chills all over his body. Nothing jumped out, however, so he was able to deal with it, though the darkness of the room made him fear what could be lurking just out of sight. They reached the first actual room quickly, however, and as soon as Minghao opened the door Jun shrunk further against his back, dread pooling in his stomach as they took the first step inside.

It was set up to look like some kind of vampire’s nest, and fake blood had been splashed all over the walls, dripping down as if it was fresh. Several actors dressed in terrifying costumes and makeup huddled in the far corner, and Jun ushered Minghao forward, desperate to get out before the vampires came over to them. That wasn’t how haunted houses worked, however, and the vampires all stood as soon as the two of them came in, wicked smiles parting their lips and revealing their sharp teeth, coated with dark red blood.

Jun wanted nothing more than to get out of there, and he hid behind Minghao as they skirted along the wall, heading for the door on the other side. If he had been more capable of rational thinking, he would have probably felt bad for squeezing Minghao’s hand with so much force, but it didn’t even cross his mind as he tried to hide from the vampires. Not the best decision, as suddenly the wall behind him opened, for there had been a second door that he hadn’t seen, another vampire directly behind him.

He couldn’t help but scream then, for the gaping fangs were right there in his face, the makeup so real that he couldn’t force himself to remember that it was just an actor. Pathetic, since he was a grown adult, but Minghao had been through this with him many times - he just giggled as he pulled Jun along, scanning the design of the room as if this was just another house and not once with blood and other gross things strewn across the walls.

In general, Jun tended to be a pretty shy person, and in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but be embarrassed that the actors were seeing him act like this, but he could dwell in that shame later. For now, he just tried his best to catch his breath as they left the vampire room, bracing himself for whatever was to come next. The next room seemed to be mostly vacant when they first stepped inside, but it certainly wouldn’t last, and Jun squinted to scan the room, too afraid to open his eyes fully.

“This looks like some kind of birthday party, or something,” Minghao deduced after a moment, for balloons had been haphazardly positioned all around, though half of them were semi-deflated. A banner hung against the far wall, and Minghao took a step closer to it, though Jun tried to pull him back. “I just want to read it, come on. You’re gonna get scared either way, whether we stay here or go over there.” And maybe he made a good point, but Jun still dragged his feet as they crossed the room, the hairs on his arms standing up straight in anticipation of something.

Minghao reached up to brush his fingers over the banner, smoothing out the sinking corners so he could see the words. “Yeah, definitely a birthday party,” he commented, for the banner said exactly that, though it was certainly not written in colorful ink like most party banners were - instead it was most certainly blood, and Jun felt his skin crawl as he spared a look over his shoulder, paranoia creeping up his neck. Except when he turned his head he didn’t see the rest of the room like he had been expecting - instead, a painted face hovered just behind his shoulder, an actor who must have snuck up on them.

He shrieked, jumping away from the clown instantly, heart hammering at the fright that coursed through his system. Minghao whirled around as well at his scream, eyebrows raising at the clown who had managed to get so close, several more of them coming up directly behind. Their makeup was rather wicked in appearance, and when the closest clown opened its mouth two rows of sharp teeth were revealed, much like what Jun imagined piranha teeth would look like.

They came so close, and even though Jun knew that they wouldn’t touch him he could still feel their breath ghosting over his skin, the uncanny feeling of having something so terrifying so close. He tugged at Minghao’s robes again, desperate to get out of there, though his efforts didn’t amount to much, for MInghao was more focused on the clowns circling around them. “Junnie, it’s okay,” he said with a chuckle, and Jun glared at him, for it certainly was not okay.

Right then, the closest clown made a quick move, as if he was going to lunge forward, and Jun screamed again, flattening himself against the wall and closing his eyes. Only when nothing happened did he open them again to find Minghao looking at him, expression unimpressed but also a bit sympathetic, like he found this entire thing to be rather funny. “They’re wearing makeup, Jun. Watch this.” Before Jun could even get a word in, Minghao stepped forward, easily hugging the clown closest to him before letting go and walking back over to Jun, grabbing him by the arm.

The clown seemed to be a bit speechless after that, and the two of them were able to stroll from the room, Minghao’s head held high while Jun cowered beside him. After that they went into the next room, full of witches in rather horrifying makeup, and Minghao seemed to enjoy that considering his own costume while Jun just wanted it to be over. He managed to power through the rest, however, and when they did finally reach the door on the other side of the house he sighed in relief, feeling like he had aged ten years in about ten minutes.

Minghao looked over at him with eyes shining and Jun just slumped into his side, smiling as Minghao laughed at him, even though his heart had yet to calm down. “Thank god that it’s over-” He started to say, but a loud sound suddenly came from behind them, scaring him out of his skin all over again. He whirled around, screaming again as a large man in a mask barreled towards them with a chainsaw, waving it around dangerously.

Running for his life, Jun didn’t think he had ever moved so fast before, and Minghao’s laughter was absolutely joyous as they made it around to the other side of the building and the man stopped chasing them, raising his mask and waving before going back to his hidden post by the door. “Oh my fucking god,” Jun remarked, out of breath as he leaned his hands against his knees. “Why do you make me do these things - that was horrible.”

All he received in return was a grin as Minghao patted his back, though his next words kind of defeated the purpose of the sympathetic nature of the gesture. “It’s good for you to get scared once in a while. It’s Halloween - you have to get into the spirit. Plus, you know there’s nothing that you really need to be scared of. This isn’t the real haunted house,” he teased, waggling his fingers against Jun’s neck until Jun slapped them away.

“You’re so annoying,” he whined, and Minghao seemed to feel rather proud of that, nodding his head in agreement.

“Well, you’re stuck with me, so maybe you should have made a better choice. Too late now, though, because this is way too much fun for me to want to let you go,” he answered, and Jun rolled his eyes, though he supposed it wasn’t so bad. Minghao looked so alive standing there, the flickering light from the haunted house still illuminating his face in short bursts, eyes sparkling and lips forming a wide smile. His hat hadn’t even shifted throughout the entire journey through the house, and Jun found that to be extremely unfair.

Still, he couldn’t deny Minghao’s point either, so he just started to walk back out towards the road, for the house had been located just outside the main festival in the center of town. “Well, you’re lucky I don’t want to let you go either, even though it’s a bit tempting sometimes,” Jun said after a moment, once Minghao had fallen into step beside him. A pointy elbow nudged his ribs, and Jun grasped his side, the attempted facade breaking as he laughed. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, at least.”

“I did enjoy it, very much,” Minghao confirmed, linking their arms together casually as he looked over at Jun, his hair blowing in the slight breeze. Now that the moon was visible in the sky, he really seemed to be in his element, like stars existed in his eyes rather than the vast expanse of sky over their heads. “Now, we just need to stop back home for a second so I can grab my broom, and then we can go meet the others. I can’t be a witch without my broom, you know?”

Jun chuckled at that, following Minghao’s lead as they walked back towards their small neighborhood, very close to the middle of town. They would still be on time, and Minghao was right, after all - the broom really was the finishing touch to his outfit. Even from their current location they could still hear the sounds coming from the festival, music and games and all kinds of conversations going on, the entire town teeming with life. It made him happy to hear it, and he looked forward to walking through the festival on their way back to see all of the costumes.

“What are you smiling at?” Minghao asked as they walked along the sidewalk, and Jun shifted his gaze to look at him, smile only growing as he tugged Minghao a bit closer by their linked arms so that their sides were touching.

“I’m just glad that Halloween never disappoints,” he mused, feeling somewhat sentimental even though the night was still young. “People here take it seriously, and it makes everything more fun. I don’t think Halloween will ever die around here - it holds a magic of its own.” He really did believe that, for something in the air just seemed to shift on Halloween, a feeling that he would cling to until next year came around.

~

The fan whirred above Soonyoung’s head as he laid face up on the comfortable queen sized bed he slept in every night, even though it was late afternoon now and he really should have gotten up by now. He had already mulled around the house in the morning, but the thought of getting ready wasn’t very appealing, and he groaned as he threw his arm over his face, blocking his own vision. Getting ready meant covering his body in the last touches of makeup he needed, for he was already wearing the other components of his costume, and he wouldn’t be able to lay down at all after that without the blankets turning green.

He toyed with the idea of not doing his makeup at all, but it was an essential part of his costume, as much as it would have been easier to ignore it completely. So really, he should have gotten up by now, but he kept laying there, unable to will his limbs into actual movement. That is, until a pillow was launched at him from across the room, hitting him directly in the face and pulling him from his stupor. “Get up,” Jihoon drawled, and Soonyoung didn’t even look at him as he groaned again, still not moving.

“I don’t want to do my makeup,” he complained, and he could practically feel Jihoon’s eye roll in response, even though he couldn’t see it. Jihoon loved to act like he had zero tolerance for Soonyoung’s bullshit, even though everyone knew that he secretly enjoyed it, for otherwise he wouldn’t have succumbed to Soonyoung’s thousands of advances over the years. Still, if anyone could get Soonyoung’s ass out of bed in this situation, it was most certainly Jihoon.

“Well, you have to do your makeup, otherwise you’re gonna look like the lamest Frankenstein around and none of the kids will even know what you’re supposed to be,” Jihoon said bluntly, and Soonyoung pouted in the way that he knew Jihoon found cute, no matter how many times he denied it.

Craning his neck upwards, he could see that Jihoon had already gotten ready, not that his costume was a very complex one - just a large white sheet with two eye holes cut into it, draping all the way down to the floor to cover his entire body. “It’s not fair - yours is so easy,” he sulked, and this time he could see it when Jihoon rolled his eyes, walking further into the room until he was standing right beside the bed.

“Well, that’s too bad. You waited until the last minute, so now you need to deal with the consequences of your actions. Which starts with getting out of bed,” Jihoon insisted, reaching over to grab Soonyoung’s arm through his sheet and pulling him up into a sitting position, much to Soonyoung’s chagrin. He frowned in Jihoon’s direction, though it didn’t really achieve much, as Jihoon reached over to flatten Soonyoung’s hair with his sheet-covered arms.

After a moment Soonyoung finally gave in, turning so that his legs dangled off of the side of the bed. He reached out for Jihoon, who grunted but didn’t protest as Soonyoung pulled him into a hug, his head pressing into Jihoon’s chest because he was still sitting. “You look really cute,” Soonyoung murmured, and Jihoon breathed a laugh, pulling back from the hug a moment later to take in the sight of his boyfriend, his eyes scanning over Soonyoung’s body quickly.

“You know I love the way the stitches look, but you definitely need the green makeup too if anyone is going to know who you’re supposed to be,” he said again, and Soonyoung sighed but nodded, because in reality he was just being dramatic - it wouldn’t be that hard to cover his face and arms in green body paint. The rest of him would be covered by his clothes, which he was already wearing - black pants and a shirt with the sleeves ripped off, the ends hanging raggedly over the rest of his arms.

He stood up from the bed then, and Jihoon gently patted him on the shoulder, leading him out of their bedroom. The rest of the house had been excessively decorated by Soonyoung at the start of October, and it brightened his mood to see it all now, the last of his exhaustion leaching away, replaced by excitement over the fact that it was finally Halloween. Cobwebs were strung up in the corners of the ceiling, and the shapes of small vampire bats had been pasted all down the hall, almost like a trail for them to follow as they emerged out into the living room.

In the living room, small pumpkins had been placed on the table in front of the couches, and Halloween themed blankets and pillows decorated the normally plain cushions, so that the entire room seemed to be alive with the spirit of the holiday. On the table Soonyoung could see a pair of scissors lying forgotten as well as two while circles, the holes that Jihoon had cut out of the sheet for his costume. A small pot of body paint sat there as well, and Soonyoung grimaced as they walked over to the table, picking it up in his hand and regarding it with reluctance.

Like Jihoon had mentioned earlier, Soonyoung’s body had already been covered in the stitches indicative of Frankenstein, and this was the last step to really make it known who he was dressed as, for nearly every child had seen a green Frankenstein in a cartoon at some point. The body paint was a medium shade of green, and Soonyoung popped off the lid with a slight struggle, for the seal was rather strong. “Where’s the brush?” He asked, and Jihoon disappeared from his side for a moment, heading off into the kitchen without a word.

Still, Soonyoung waited for him, and he came back with a brush for the body paint in his hand, the end already dyed green from past uses. Soonyoung sat back onto the couch, picking up the pot of paint again, though it was quickly taken from his grip by a sheet covered hand and placed back down onto the table. “What are you doing?” Soonyoung asked in confusion, and Jihoon just dipped the brush in the paint before looking back at him as if the answer was obvious.

“I’m helping you, duh,” he responded, hunching over slightly so that his arm was more in line with Soonyoung’s face. “If you try to do it yourself without a mirror it’s gonna look horrible, and I will be embarrassed by extension. So just let me do it.” Soonyoung couldn’t help but smile at that, because it was really just Jihoon’s way of saying that he wanted to help. He really was an extremely caring individual once you learned to look past his attempts at seeming otherwise.

“Thanks Jihoonie,” Soonyoung said with a smile, and Jihoon’s eyes formed small crescents behind the sheet, indicating that he couldn’t help but smile as well. “I’ll be extremely still, but you can smack me if I forget.” It wasn’t just a random suggestion, either - Soonyoung knew that Jihoon would gladly smack him if necessary.

The brush, already covered in some of the body paint, swiped against his cheek first, and Soonyoung jolted from how cold it felt. It wasn’t necessarily an unpleasant feeling, but it still raised goosebumps all along his arms. Jihoon continued on despite that, however, painting all over Soonyoung’s cheek while being careful to not completely cover the long line of stitches that crossed over both cheeks as well as the bridge of his nose.

Soonyoung giggled as the brush glided over his forehead next, covering up his eyebrows, and it took a lot of strength for him to not move from the ticklish feeling. “That tickles,” he commented, a restrained laugh hiding behind his words, though Jihoon just continued with the paint until he couldn’t anymore, for Soonyoung began to laugh uncontrollably a moment later.

“Stop laughing, I’m gonna mess it up,” Jihoon complained, though amusement could clearly be heard in his voice as well. Soonyoung expected Jihoon to smack his arm, or his leg, or something, but instead he just reached down to grab Soonyoung’s hand, the sheet separating them from touching completely. “Soonie,” he said, trying his best to keep his voice steady, and Soonyoung looked up at him, laughter still shining in his eyes. “You need to stop laughing so I can finish! The only thing worse than going out without paint is to go out with only half of your body covered.”

For some reason Soonyoung found that to be extremely funny as well, and he burst into another round of laughter, reaching up to cup the shape of Jihoon’s cheek over the sheet. “You’re so cute,” he giggled, and only when Jihoon feigned a glare did he finally sit back, nodding his head and trying his best to gain hold of himself once more. “Okay, okay. I’ll be quiet now. Just please hurry up with the forehead part, it really tickles.”

Jihoon sighed fondly as he nodded, letting go of Soonyoung’s hand so that he could pick up the brush again and get back to work, and thankfully Soonyoung was able to keep it together as he finished the final touches of the face makeup before traveling down to the neck. He painted over that area fairly easily as well, taking care not to get the paint all over Soonyoung’s clothes or his own sheet as he did so, for that would certainly ruin the illusion of the ghost he was supposed to be.

The arms came next, and Jihoon was extremely diligent with painting over his hands, sliding the brush between all of his fingers so that not a speck of skin was left without being covered in the green paint. Soonyoung often had trouble sitting still for long periods of time, but he kept reaching out to fiddle with Jihoon’s sheet, pretending to raise it up until Jihoon slapped his hands away. Really, Soonyoung wasn’t all that different from a five year old in terms of behavior, and it was a miracle that Jihoon of all people not only tolerated him, but loved him.

Soonyoung had sought after Jihoon for years, because he had always been infatuated and who could really blame him - there wasn’t anyone else quite like Jihoon. He had always possessed a certain sadness around him, and he used to keep mostly to himself until Soonyoung had made it his personal mission to brighten up his life however he possibly could. Jihoon had feigned annoyance for a long time, but eventually he had come around, and no one could deny that he had been a lot happier since.

“Almost done,” Jihoon informed, taking care of the last few fingers on Soonyoung’s right hand. The brush weaved in and out of the spaces between them, and Soonyoung did his best to keep his hand still, turning it when he needed to so that Jihoon could cover both the back of his hand and his palm. "Okay, you’re all done,” he said with a final swipe of the brush, placing it down on the table beside the pot of paint as he stepped back from the couch. “You should stand up now, because if you ruin the cushions by covering them in paint I will seriously end you, Kwon Soonyoung.”

With a pout on his lips Soonyoung complied, getting to his feet and keeping his hands close to his sides so that he wouldn’t touch anything. “It’s not fair - now I can’t hold your hand, because I’ll get your sheet all dirty,” he pouted, and Jihoon’s eyes softened by a fraction, fondness practically seeping out from behind the sheet.

“It’s alright, Soonie,” Jihoon appeased, heading over to the door and waiting for his paint covered, pouting boyfriend to follow along. “Once we’re just with the others, I’ll take the sheet off, but for now I need to wear it so that everyone can see my costume, alright? After that, you can hold my hand all you want.” Soonyoung brightened a bit at that, and he nodded as Jihoon tugged the door open, stepping out onto their front porch.

Night had already fallen at this point, and they were lucky to live so close to town, for they would be in danger of being late otherwise. “Good thing we don’t live as far as Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Joshua - they probably had to leave so early just to get there at the same time as us,” Jihoon pointed out, and Soonyoung nodded in agreement as they descended their front steps. Their jack o’ lanterns had already been lit by Jihoon earlier in the day, and candy had been left out as well, so they didn’t have anything left to do as they started on their way down the street, the sounds from the festival already reaching their ears.

“Do you think Mingyu made treats again?” Soonyoung asked after a little while, the thought suddenly entering his mind as he caught a whiff of the different baked goods being sold at the festival, his stomach rumbling in response.

Jihoon huffed a laugh, nodding his head beneath the sheet. “Yeah, definitely, are you kidding? I’m expecting him and Wonwoo to show up with their entire backseat full of food again,” he answered, and Soonyoung bounced a little in excitement at that, for Mingyu was a great cook and he was hungry. They passed several different groups of trick or treaters as they walked, and Soonyoung smiled and waved at all of them, while Jihoon just floated along beside him, his sheet dragging along the ground.

The green paint had been necessary, just as Jihoon had told him, because every kid seemed to know what his costume was supposed to be, and he even received a few compliments that made his heart feel warm despite the chill. The children seemed to like Jihoon’s costume as well, though he just gave short responses, not as overly energetic as Soonyoung always tended to be. They continued on their way, and eventually they entered the busier streets of town, full to the brim with people in all different costumes, likely every possible getup one could imagine.

Soonyoung couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering to every different table, all of the different costumes as people walked past, though he made sure to keep firmly beside Jihoon, allowing himself to be guided out of the throng of people. After all, they weren’t supposed to meet with their friends directly in the center of the festival, for it would be difficult to find them that way. Instead, their usual meeting spot was the next street over, in front of a small candy shop, and as the turned the corner Soonyoung’s face lit up at the sight of all of their friends gathered by the sidewalk.

Only one car had been parked nearby, one that he knew belonged to Mingyu and Wonwoo, and Soonyoung glanced over to share a look with Jihoon, for he had most certainly been right - they must have used it to bring whatever food Mingyu had made this time around. Soonyoung raised his hand up over his head, waving it rather haphazardly as they got closer. “We’re here!” He called, and everyone else turned to the two of them, whooping and cheering, for they had been the last two to arrive.

They all appeared so full of life in their costumes, and all thirteen of them gathered up by Mingyu and Wonwoo’s car, smiles and sparkling eyes all around as they watched MIngyu pull open the door. “There’s a bunch of stuff here, so if we all hold something it’ll be easier to carry it,” he explained, and they all complied easily, each taking the container he handed to them. They were all of various sizes, and Seungcheol got stuck carrying the heaviest one, mostly because his arms were twice the size of anyone else’s.

“Okay, should we go? We only have so much night left,” Jeonghan proposed, and they all fell into line, talking and laughing with one another as they walked, spirits at an all time high. The thirteen of them didn’t follow the rest of the people around by going towards the festival, and instead they headed in the opposite direction, following the streets until they were right on the edge of town, just outside of the busier streets. The shadowed woods lied ominously in front of them, and instead of turning to continue following the streets, they headed straight into the woods, branches scraping against their sides as they broke through the tree line.

Jeonghan continued to lead the way, with the others following along behind him, as they couldn’t walk in one big group when the trees were so close together. It was difficult to see, and Jeonghan eventually switched on the flashlight on his phone, using it to illuminate the woods directly in front of them. The atmosphere was chilling, and Jun clung to MInghao’s robes just like he had done in the haunted house, still spooked and feeling like he was being watched as they traveled through the woods.

If anyone else in town had seen them going off into the woods, they never would have allowed it, but they had been able to sneak away due to the festival. Still, as Chan and Seokmin held onto one another as well, both of them easily spooked, they couldn’t help but wish that the walk would go by faster, that they wouldn’t have to keep jumping every time some critter shifted the leaves and branches.

“Remember, there’s nothing to actually be scared of out here,” Seungkwan reminded as they walked, speaking as if they were just strolling down the road during midday, rather than stomping through the brush with the moon suspended above their heads. “Some of you are so dramatic, I swear. It’s just the woods - no monsters are gonna come and steal you away.” He laughed breathily at his own words, while Seokmin smacked his shoulder, scowling at him.

“You’re so annoying,” he retorted, and Seungkwan just laughed louder, patting Seokmin’s head gently. At least the walk seemed to go by quickly as they all talked with one another, even though it had only been days since the last time they had been together. Joshua and Minghao followed directly behind Jeonghan, with Jun still clinging to the back of Minghao’s robes, talking to Soonyoung and Jihoon when he wasn’t busy scanning the surrounding woods and picturing one of the actors from the haunted house following them.

Behind them walked Vernon and Seungcheol, who seemed to be talking about something completely unrelated to their current situation, calm as they stepped over sticks and avoided the trees in their path. Wonwoo and Mingyu were right behind them, and Seungkwan, Seokmin, and Chan brought up the rear, the three of them bickering constantly. “All I’m saying is that you’re being dramatic,” Seungkwan remarked, and Chan reached forward to pull on one of his faerie wings, if only to get a rise out of him. “Hey, watch it or I’ll pull out that blue hair of yours!”

Chan laughed at that, the sound loud and unrestrained, slowly forgetting his fear as they walked deeper into the forest. He couldn’t help but recall the story he had told the kids earlier at the festival, about the haunted house, for they were following that exact path now. Anticipating settled deep in his bones, and by the time the haunted house actually came into view he was positively vibrating, clinging to Seokmin’s arm as he craned his neck in an effort to see over the rest of his friends.

At the front of the group, Jeonghan stopped right in front of the house, just as the townspeople had done in the legend. The rest of them came to a stop right behind him, and Seungcheol made his way up to the front, lightly nudging Joshua’s shoulder as he stepped up beside him, the three oldest in front of the younger ones. “We don’t have any time to waste,” he murmured, and the other two nodded, all three sets of eyes trained on the front door, the sign that still hung there after all the years.

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. It shouldn’t have still been there, but yet it was, almost as if not a day had passed since the story that had terrified the town for centuries. No one had dared to travel this far into the woods to even check if the sign was really real, but here they were now, and the sign seemed to stare right back at them, almost like the house was a sentient being of its own. Chills ran down Jeonghan’s spine - not out of fear, but rather due to the atmosphere surrounding the house, the distinctly supernatural energy that seemed to hum out from the wood planked walls.

Seungcheol was the first to step forward, and his foot made contact with the front step, a loud creaking noise echoing out into the otherwise silent forest. Another step, and another, and then he was standing right before the door, the sign right at eye level. He could see the finger strokes of the words, the big capital letters, clearly written in blood. By all logic, it shouldn’t have still been there after centuries of weather, and seasonal changes, and wildlife, but it looked exactly the same as it had in the legend.

He cast a glance to the side, meeting Jeonghan’s eyes, for the other man had stepped up beside him as well. Jeonghan nodded his head, an unspoken agreement, and Seungcheol extended his arm, wrapping his fingers around the doorknob, the cold metal biting into his skin even through the white bandages that covered his body. He twisted it gently, another loud squeak reaching his ears, and he winced at the high pitch of the sound.

The entire forest seemed to have stilled as he pushed the door open, revealing the dark interior, the shadows that almost looked like people if he allowed his mind to run wild. He didn’t, however, and he stepped forward into the house, the wooden floor straining under his weight as he planted both feet inside the doorway. Reaching to the side, he fumbled over the wall for a moment before he found what he wanted, flicking the switch and illuminating the entire room with light.

“We’re home!” He yelled, and the others cheered as well, flocking in behind him as he walked deeper into the house. With the lights on, it wasn’t scary at all - couches with colorful cushions had been pushed against the walls, fluffy carpets covering the old wooden floor, and lights against every wall that banished the darkness from every room. Seungcheol carefully placed his container of food down on the kitchen table, and the rest of them did the same until their hands were all free.

Taking another step into the kitchen, Seungcheol grabbed the apron that hung by the oven, chucking it in Mingyu’s direction and laughing at the look on the werewolf’s face. “C’mon, we’re all hungry,” he said with a grin, and Mingyu couldn’t help but smile, revealing his pointy canines as he started to open up the container of foods, Wonwoo coming over to his side to help dole out the portions onto a plate for each of them.

Jeonghan and Joshua headed straight for the loveseat in the corner, sitting together as they left a space to Joshua’s right, clearly meant for Seungcheol. Most of the others made to sit down as well, any fear from walking through the woods now gone and replaced by gleeful smiles, the atmosphere teeming with life. Seungkwan, on the other hand, went straight for the television screen across from the couches, fiddling with the controls until he was able to pull up what he wanted. He grabbed two microphones, passing one off to Soonyoung as they argued over what song to choose for karaoke, their absolute favorite thing.

Rolling his eyes, Seungcheol walked over to the loveseat and took his place, grinning at his two lovers, for no facades were needed anymore. As the song started and Soonyoung and Seungkwan began to sing, Soonyoung grabbed Jihoon’s hand through the sheet, pulling him up and tugging the sheet off entirely. Instead of a regular human lying beneath, however, his skin was transparent, his feet floating over the ground as Soonyoung forced him to stand there, twirling him around in some kind of strange dance.

For monsters, it was easier to hide in plain sight on Halloween, the one day of the year that their supernatural forms overtook the human forms they usually wore to coexist in the mortal world. The legends were partially true - the veil was thinnest on Halloween, hence why the true appearance of monsters couldn’t be hidden on this one day each year, but that didn’t mean that monsters didn’t walk amongst humans every other day as well - they had just gotten good at hiding it.

In the town of Pumpkin Hollow, thirteen monsters had always existed, even before people had started to populate the town. The classic monsters of Halloween, the ones that everyone knew about - they weren’t just fictional. They had always existed, for legends needed to be fueled somehow. Despite their nature, however, none of them were really scary - they just needed to keep the fear alive, because their very own life forces were tied to the spirit of Halloween, the adherence to the rules and the belief that perhaps something scary really did lurk in the shadows.

Centuries ago, they had spooked the first townspeople who had dared to come near their home, the haunted house that had stood there forever, just as magical as the monsters themselves. Never had any lives actually been in danger, but they had chased the villagers right back into town, spooking them enough to keep the fear alive even now. The sign on the door had just been written with the blood from one of Jeonghan’s blood bags, but it had done the trick to freak them out, and they had never removed the sign out of nostalgia more than anything else.

Every once in a while, if someone firmly refused to believe in the monsters, one of them would linger on the edge of the woods for just long enough to be seen, to keep the fear alive and keep themselves alive as well. But on Halloween night every year they traveled up to the ‘haunted house’, a tradition that they had never broken, one that they would hold onto for as long as people still believed. Seungcheol truly was a mummy, and Joshua’s burlap sack wasn’t just a costume - the inside was truly just stuffed with straw. Unlike the toys Chan had been handing out, Jeonghan’s fangs were real, and when Mingyu handed out dinner he would just go grab a blood bag from the fridge.

Mingyu had been the one to show the townspeople his claws all those years ago, and he had ripped that man’s shirt as proof that they were real, that Halloween wasn’t just a silly holiday. He never would have actually hurt anyone, but the illusion was a necessary one. Wonwoo, on the other hand, was really a vampire bat - the wings sprouting from his back were actual extensions of his body, and as Mingyu prepared the food he allowed himself to shift to his tiny bat form, perching on his lover’s shoulder and wrapping his wings around himself.

All of the legends about the grim reaper had started in one place, all centered around Vernon, who had now left his scythe to rest against the wall as he watched Seungkwan with fondness dancing in his eyes. The faerie wings were real as they fluttered against his back, and Seungkwan even lifted into the air a few times as he sang, excitement getting the best of him. The green of Soonyoung’s skin was certainly fake, but the stitches weren’t, as all of the original Frankenstein legends had never involved green skin. He could pop off his limbs at will, and one of his hands was currently crawling up Jeonghan’s leg to rest in his lap, as if it had a mind of its own.

On a separate armchair sat Minghao, his robes hanging over the sides as he smiled, softly petting the black cat in his lap. The cat was Jun, and he had curled up the moment Minghao had sat down, recovering from his earlier fright in the fake haunted house. Just because they were monsters didn’t mean they couldn’t have irrational fears too, despite how comical Minghao found it to be. His broom leaned against the back of the couch, and sometimes he did take it for a spin leading up to Halloween, just to spook the people in town.

Jihoon was a real ghost, his transparent skin enough to make that rather obvious, and he floated around by Seokmin and Chan once he managed to escape Soonyoung’s ridiculous dancing, a whisper of a smile on his lips as he watched all of his friends. Perhaps the most comical of them all, Seokmin’s makeup was permanent, and even though he was a clown he had never been a scary one - he was far too friendly for that.

And last but certainly not least, Chan had always been the butt of their jokes as the youngest, for his fuzzy blue monster suit wasn’t actually a suit - the unconventional costume was really just who he was. As expected, he had felt extremely scandalized when he watched Monsters, Inc. for the first time, as Sully had really just been a copy of how Chan had looked his entire life.

Halloween couldn’t exist without them, and they couldn’t exist without Halloween - it was a balance they had mastered with time, and now they knew how to keep up the right level of fright in order to continue to thrive for centuries to come. They didn’t know how long it would last before people lost their fear of monsters, the voice in the back of their head that whispered and planted seeds of doubt that perhaps they were never truly alone in the shadows, that something terrifying lurked just out of sight.

All they could hope for was that their legends would stay alive, and that people would take Halloween traditions seriously, unknowingly keeping the monsters alive as well. After all, monsters weren’t really scary - they just wanted to enjoy Halloween with their dysfunctional family, just like everyone else.