AN: Sneak peak!

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There was the laughter of children in the air, the sun hadn't even gotten to the high noon point in the clear, cloudless blue sky. There were bright and happy pumpkins and corn as far as Ethan's deep brown orbs could see. But he was running.

"Sarah!" Ethan puffed through his cellphone. Her concerned face was surrounded by hues of blurring brown and yellow- Ethan could only guess that she was running through the woods at top speed. "Some help would be great right now!"

"Ethan, they're not going to hurt you." Benny's voice joined in the call, but Ethan didn't have time to glance at the screen to see where his friend was. Benny was supposed to have been somewhere in the maze with him, but they'd sort of lost each other when a big group went by. Ethan had went one way and Benny the other...something that Ethan strongly suspected was due to a lot of hot girls.

"You try running for two miles from animated plaid and straw!" Ethan did his best to put some snap into his words, but the amount of breathing he was doing wouldn't quite permit. "I hate scarecrows! Just tell me your close, one of you."

"I'm somewhere off to your right!" Ethan could hear Benny both through the phone and over the tall stalks of corn. He didn't sound too far away, and Ethan indeed heard another set of human footsteps running off to his right. "I think I can see you, E."

Benny's voice got steadily more disturbed as he could see more and more of Ethan- and his pursuers.

"You'd better have that dust ready, Benny!"

"Holy cow, E! How many are following you?!"

"Uh, like ten." Ethan's voice rose an octave as he felt something scratchy brush the back of his neck. "Or fifteen!" Benny was yards away now, and Ethan could see him frantically unscrewing the de-animation powder.

"Are there even that many scarecrows in this maze?" Benny's eyes were wide, and he would never admit it, but it took all his willpower not to just bolt from the raggedy, gap-smiled creatures.

"Are there even that many in Whitechapel?" Sarah's anxious voice came from his phone. "How-"

"Benny!" Ethan shouted, shoving his phone in his pocket, preparing to sprint for all he was worth to the maze's main entrance. He knew where he was now, and the entrance wasn't far ahead- these scarecrows wouldn't dare show themselves in front of children, right?

"I'm here!" Benny shouted as Ethan ran past him. "Die, haystacks!"

The sparkling orange powder Benny threw stopped the scarecrows in their tracks once it came in contact their farmer-like clothing. Now, anyone would think that the others would just have kept on running and plowing over their fallen comrades, but there's one weakness to every animated scarecrow: they're extremely clumsy. Fast on their grassy feet when faced with simple tasks like jogging, but amusingly terrible at things like climbing and dancing (don't ask). The ones in the back just tripped over each other and pretty much fell apart, one after another. A display that made Benny laugh and even made Ethan crack a smile.

"Dude." Benny laughed, mirth filling his voice. "This is what you were scared of? They're so dumb."

"Hey, I hate scarecrows, and they were fast!" Ethan defended himself, trying to hide a smile as the last scarecrow fell flat and busted apart on top of the others. All that remained was a big pile of ratty clothing, even grimier ancient hats and boots and shiny yellow hay. "Besides, even you sounded a little unnerved by all this..." He gestured wildly to the mess.

"He did. I heard." Sarah said from Ethan's pocket, and the seer was quick to retrieve his phone. Sarah smiled sweetly at him, and he could see that she was now on the ground and surrounded by pumpkins and kids- probably at the main gates to the Pumpkin Patch. "Anyway, I think you guys should head back now- you're already late!"

"I'm not scared of them." Benny rolled his eyes as he placed an arm around Ethan's still shuddering form, and placed a quick kiss to the seer's temple as they turned around- something he'd been doing in private more and more lately. "But when fourteen of them are coming at you all at once- uh." His eyes widened a split second before he had removed his arm and was violently tugging on Ethan's hoodie and pulling him down the path.

"What is it?" Ethan asked and tried to shove Benny's hand off his arm. "Ouch, Benny!"

"More." Was all Benny said before Ethan looked back to see more animated scarecrows running to meet them- and these ones had rotting pumpkins for heads and clubs in their hands with black ends like burnt out torches. Both were things Ethan didn't want to feel on any part of him. Luckily for them, the scarecrows gave up when they boys reached the edge of the maze.

Unluckily, however, Mrs. Kalum, who was the chaperone of their field trip, was not pleased with them.

"Do you know how easy it is for teens like you to be lost a place like this?" She fumed at them, evidently trying to keep her temper in check. "You were five minutes late! Instead of being at our designated meeting point, you were goofing off in that maze, and didn't I tell you to use the buddy system?"

"But, we were together, Mrs. Kalum!" Ethan reassured nervously.

"We didn't go far!" Benny tried to defend them. "It was only five minutes, other kids have been gone way longer than that-"

"Other students have told me that they seen you running alone through the corn Mr. Morgan." Mrs. Kalum didn't let up, her stance still tense and her arms crossed. "As for you, Mr. Weir, that's five minutes that someone could have easily hit you over the head with a club and stowed you in a sack! Then what would have happened?"

Benny opened his mouth to reply, but she beat him to it. "I do not expect and answer to that Mr. Weir. That's an after school detention for both of you."

Ethan opened his mouth to protest.

"Wanna make it a week?"

"Honestly, Mrs. Kalum!" Benny exclaimed, getting flustered as she gestured violently for them to get on the bus. Some kids were glancing their way with smirks on their faces, or even giggling outright, for it seemed like the science geeks were always the ones to get themselves into trouble. "Who would want to kidnap us?"

"Besides a couple of scarecrows?" Ethan huffed a small, unamused laugh. "We'd get taken back."

Benny cracked a smile, and so did Ethan as they heard Mrs. Kalum's resounding, "Rory Keaner! Out of the play pen!"

"Dude, we have to go see the new installment of Hot Tub Time Machine tonight!" Benny found them a seat near the back of the bus, Ethan wincing as Mr. Ronson's deep voice echoed through the ancient speakers, making them screech and crackle. They waved to Rory as he climbed aboard the bus, still being reprimanded for harassing the small barn animals. "Halloween Edition! The premiere! We've been talking about this for weeks!"

"I don't know, Benny." Ethan sighed. This weekend field trip was supposed to be a walk in the park- literally, to tour the nearby corn maze and the annual Pumpkin Patch, but had turned into something substantially more tiring. "I'm kinda tired, and I still need to take Jane on her runs for the Girl Scouts now that my parents are letting me take the car. And Halloween's tomorrow-"

"All the more reason we shouldn't have came on this stupid trip anyway." Benny cringed along with half the bus as the speaker screeched in his ear. "We could come here anytime. We could come back tonight, when it's dark and you can see all the lights in the trees."

"And make it easier for those scarecrows to get their grubby hands on me?" Ethan said lightly but quietly as the bus began moving. "Notice how they completely neglected to come after you or Rory but they chased me for two miles."

"It's probably because they knew you were scared of them." Benny shrugged. "Sorry about that, by the way. I thought you were with that other group."

"Yeah right." Ethan snorted. "You saw me going the other way. Della was in that other group, wasn't she?"

"E, I have no idea what your talking about." Benny grinned sheepishly. "Either way, I would've struck out. Della wants nothing to do with me since Puffles-"

"I don't know about that movie." Ethan came back to the former topic. "I might fall asleep."

"E, it's Halloween Edition!" Benny looked a second away from shaking his shoulders. "We have to do something fun before tomorrow. We'll be out all night."

"We'll be out all night tonight and tomorrow if you have your way " Ethan answered, but there was no real protest, and he resigned himself when Benny looked at him with those big hazel eyes. "Well, maybe if I hurry up and get home right away...then I have chores, and who knows how long Jane'll take.."

There was a pause as they pulled further into town, stopping at only one traffic light and then passing Whitechapel's Town Hall. Beside him, Ethan could just feel the satisfaction emitting from his best friend. They'd be at the school in just a couple of minutes.

"Well, one of us needs to get there and get premium seats." Benny pulled out M&M's from his bag and offered some to Ethan. "I have chores to get done too. Grandma wants help with some kind of neighborhood precautions."

"Halloween precautions?" Ethan smiled. "Well, I guess that seems logical. With everything that goes on around here, Halloween's like a field day for the supernatural."

"It IS a field day for the supernatural." Benny smiled back, somewhat mischievously. "Haven't you heard of Samhain, E?"

"I've heard of it." Ethan humored his friend. "Unfortunately, my family isn't of Celtic decent."

"No, but you had to have descended from something." Benny winked and Ethan felt a strong rush of affection for his goofy friend. "You had to have gotten those eyes from somewhere."

In response, Ethan just shoved down his inner emotions, shrugged and took out his phone to check the time he had left to get home and do his chores. Right now, it looked like he had a lot of time...but later-

"Come over when you finish." Benny said abruptly when the bus stopped in front of the school. In the background, Ethan seen Sarah blur out of sight, leaving a few confused students to find themselves suddenly standing with an open space between them. "I have something to show you."

"I'll try." Ethan's eyebrows frowned as Benny began walking away. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Inside." Benny pointed to the school, heading in the opposite direction. "Last minute paper hand-in. I'll catch up."

"Or text me." Ethan sighed, thinking of how much he had to do before the movie tonight. Pondering what the theme for the Halloween Edition of HTTM would have in store, he set off home, trying to psyche himself up. plus, he knew he'd enjoy himself, no matter how the movie went. Benny was always fun to watch movies with, especially in theaters, and he knew that Benny would make him laugh even if the movie turned out to be a bust- which he totally doubted would happen! Because hello- Hot Tub Time Machine!

It wasn't awkward...not at all, but it was becoming steadily more difficult to just be around his best friend. Sometimes, or should he say, most times, he found himself wanting to reach out and just touch...it wasn't easy. Developing these feelings just when he thought that Sarah may have finally been responding to him in the way he'd always wanted...and for some inexplicable reason, he felt something like sadness whenever he seen Benny flirt or look at a pretty girl across the room. Maybe it was jealousy.

Even if they had been being more affectionate and touchy with each other than was strictly necessary...it was completely illogical to feel like he had some sort of claim to Benny...because Benny didn't feel that way. And if the little events that had taken place throughout most of the last year suggested otherwise, it was only because Benny was impulsive- a slave to his own whims. It didn't really mean anything...Benny's impulsiveness had always annoyed Ethan, but at the same time, he'd always loved how spontaneous his best friend could be.

Even if it did end up hurting him a little in the end. They'd gotten closer, both emotionally and physically in the past year, and it had all culminated on Ethan's birthday a few months earlier. There had been no alcohol or anything involved, but there was no other way to put it- they'd hooked up. It brought both excitement and regret to Ethan's heart every time he thought about it, because he knew that it had probably been nothing but an experiment to Benny...and that might seem like a harsh thought about his best friend, but that's how the seer felt. He couldn't help how he felt.

He had never been able to.

Not three minutes after leaving the school, the seer had come to a stop as several cars passed in front of him, and had pulled out his phone to check the time again. He had to be done with everything by at least eight fifteen, if he and Benny wanted to make it to the local cinema in time...

His phone buzzed.

"Hey Sarah." Ethan greeted, and felt some of the tension lift from his shoulders as he imagined her sweet smile. She'd said she'd come over later as well- it was Sunday, but his parents had offered to pay her extra if she came to babysit Jane that night. Something about his dad's boss wanting to have an early Halloween get-together that they couldn't refuse to go to.

"Hey Ethan!" Sarah greeted. "Listen, I know I rushed off right away after we got off the bus, but could you do something for me? I've got a paper to hand in tomorrow, and my computer's not acting right- I think it's another bug."

"Uh...sure." Ethan affirmed, though he had no idea how he was going to fit it into his schedule before the movie. It was already almost four. Oh, he had homework too...that was going to put a strain on things- but at least his house was in sight now. "When can you come over?"

"Is twenty minutes okay?"

"Sure, I'll be home." Ethan nodded though Sarah couldn't see him. "I'll be the only one here, though, Jane's visiting a friend unt at least five, and my parents are out looking for last-minute costumes..."

His words died on his lips- because he could have sworn he'd just seen someone move past the curtains of his front door. He didn't feel particularly frightened, but his skin crawled...tingled, like it did just before he got one of his visions.

"Ethan?"

Sarah's voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he snapped out of it.

"Y-yeah, I'll be here Sarah." Ethan stuttered an offhand replied before he hung up. "See you in twenty."

Tomorrow was Halloween...and even though Whitechapel was known for it's supernatural happenings, he knew that ghosts and vampires weren't shy. He'd been watching too many Halloween movies.

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AN: So, this was nothing more than a teaser chapter, and I was shocked to see that it was even over two thousand words. I actually have some of the next chapter written...which was supposed to be the first chapter, but then I decided that it was missing something, and so I wrote this as somewhat of a filler. I couldn't resist. This is my first attempt at a Halloween story, and be warned, there will be smut in the next chapter, so be gentle. What do you guys think is going to happen?

As a side-note, I will say that I have about three more Halloween stories that I want to get posted, so I'm busting ass to get it done before Halloween along with the thousand other things I have to do before school.

Stay tuned.