The smoke alarm went off for the fifth time that afternoon as England pulled a tray of scones that more closely resembled charcoal than pastries out of the oven.
"Oh, bloody hell, not again!"
The smoke alarm continued to blare obnoxiously in the background as England dumped the scones in the already overflowing trash can. Sighing resignedly, he climbed up on a chair and pressed a button, plunging the apartment into silence, and then sank down into the chair.
"What possessed me to volunteer to host the Halloween party this year?" he asked no one in particular.
"They'll all laugh at me and they have a reason to. I'm an idiot. This whole holiday is ridiculous. Oh, God, when America sees this-"
He smiled at the unicorn in his backyard sniffing at the pumpkin he bought.
"Well, maybe it's not the holiday. Maybe it's me. I just can't do anything right."
The doorbell rang. England flinched, interrupted from his rant session.
"I'll pretend I'm not in."
The doorbell continued to ring shrilly, accompanied by pounding on the door. Curious, England got up and walked to the front room.
"Iggy! Come on, I know you're in here. Can you open the door, dude? I brought cupcakes and the cold air is making the frosting crack."
England's response was to hide behind the couch. Childish? Absolutely, but he could not handle America mocking his cooking right now. Wait-was the door opening?
"I remembered you hid the key under your rose pot. Good thing too, because these cupcakes can't- England? Where are you?"
The couch shifted, and England found himself face to face with America.
"Why are you hiding behind the couch? Did you-Oh God, England, did you watch Blink again? Why would you watch that on Halloween?"
America was holding a tray of perfectly made Halloween cupcakes, with orange frosting and sugar skeletons and gravestones decorating the top.
"I even made you one with a weeping angel! I thought you'd like it and-hey where are the decorations?"
England glared at the cupcakes.
"England? You okay?"
Perhaps it was the perfect detail on the weeping angel or perhaps it was America's enthusiasm but that was the moment that England's patience snapped.
"No, I am not bloody okay! I volunteered for this stupid holiday party and I know nothing about it and my oven's broken and I can't even make scones and what's the point of Halloween anyway? It's stupid. I hate it!"
America's face became serious.
"Iggy. You can't insult Halloween."
"Why not? It's-"
He was abruptly cut off by America covering his mouth.
"It seems someone hasn't gotten into the Halloween spirit. But don't worry. It's my job as a hero to show you the true meaning of Halloween!"
America dug around in his pockets and pulled out an enormous wad of cash.
"Okay, go to the nearest store and get as much candy as you can."
England counted the bills.
"America, this is two hundred dollars!"
"Oh. Yeah…here, have another fifty. Ok, now go!"
One Hour Later
England climbed out of his car carrying six enormous grocery bags.
"Well, I know I just made some storeowner's Halloween. The man at the cash register started crying with joy."
He pushed open his door and froze, dropping three of his bags.
The room was lit up in orange and black, and covered with crepe paper cats and pumpkins. Spooky music played softly and blueberry pumpkin scented candles covered the scent of burnt scones.
"Hey, England! Glad you're back with the candy!"
England turned around to see America in a-was that a Captain America costume?
"Creative costume."
"Thanks! So what do you think?"
"You-you did this?"
"Yeah, well, I wanted to show you the true spirit of Halloween! And also, I owe you one because you covered for me when I forgot Canada's birthday. But it's mostly the first one!"
China stuck his head out of the kitchen.
"Any sign of that candy you promised?"
"Yeah, Iggy's here with the bags! We'll be right in."
England was still staring at America in shock.
"So do you have a costume?"
"Y-yeah, I'm going to be the tenth doctor."
"Cool, so do you want to-"
America stopped talking as England leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thanks, hero."
And then he was gone, America grinning after him like an idiot.