When Sam moved to Santa Carla, he had pretty low expectations. Sure it was a fun place to visit during the summer for a couple of days, but live there? No. It seemed impossible, especially going from a big city like Phoenix where there was always something to do or new people to meet. Santa Carla, well, it is no Phoenix. It was no anything else, because Santa Carla is a world of its own. It is a quirky little beach town that goes stranger by the day. Even after being settled down for a few months, Sam still cannot wrap his head around its oddity. That is why when Halloween came closer, he became more excited. Surely something interesting will happen on the creepiest night of the year in the strangest town in the country, if not the world.
Apparently there was not much going on. At least there was not when he asked his new friends, the Frog brothers, if they were doing anything fun for Halloween.
"Why?" Sam asks as he follows Edgar, who carries a box, down an aisle of the comic book store. "Are you working again? On a holiday?"
"No."
"But you have no plans?"
"I never said that," Edgar replies. "You asked if we are doing anything fun, and we aren't." He slides the box onto the counter top next to the place where his brother sits.
"Then what are you doing?"
"Vampire hunting. Halloween is prime for hunting."
Sam sighs. "Are you serious?"
Edgar and Alan blink, unmoved by Sam's distress. The blond sighs again. "Of course you're serious. When are you not serious?"
"Never," Alan answers.
"We have to be," Edgar adds. "There are enough giddy fools like you prancing around here."
"I don't prance!" Sam exclaims.
Edgar snorts. "It's close enough."
"You can come with us," Alan offers.
"No thanks. I don't think I want to spend the holiday stalking people."
"Vampires," Edgar corrects him.
"Right."
"Then what were you planning on doing?"
"I don't know! Maybe a party or something. You know, something normal? My mom is working, and Michael is probably going to be gone again. I don't really want to be stuck at home with my grandpa for another night. Hell, he may even have plans." Sam sighs to himself. The house is too lonely and too quiet for his liking, especially compared to how is old home used to be.
"No," Edgar says. "No parties. We don't do parties."
"Well, can you guys at least come over for a little bit so I don't have to be bored the whole night?"
Edgar and Alan exchange a look. "Fine."
Sam helped the Frog brothers close up their shop early so that they may leave sooner. Just as they walk through the front door to the Emerson house, Sam is greeted by his brother, who seems to be happier than usual. This quickly worries Sam.
"Hey, Sammy!"
"Uh, hi."
Michael waves at Edgar and Alan, and grins when the two teens glare. "What are you guys up to?"
"Nothing. We're pretty bored."
"Got any plans later?"
Sam shrugs. "Not really."
"Would you be interested in doing a favor for me then?"
Yes, he knew it. There had to be something more to Michael's enthusiasm. "Maybe," Sam says, slowly. "What do you need?"
"You see, Star and I are going to a party tonight," Michael says. Sam nods. "We won't be gone for too long, but Star wasn't able to find someone to watch Laddie. So, we were wondering."
"No."
"If you could watch him for a couple of hours."
"Mike!"
"You said you didn't have any plans."
"Not yet," Sam says. "We may do something later."
"Really? And what would those plans be?"
"I don't know. Something."
"What about you guys?" Michael asks, directing the question towards to the Frog brothers. "What are you planning on doing tonight?"
"Vampire hunting," Edgar says, solemnly. Alan nods to confirm this.
"Sounds like a great time."
"It's not. This is serious business."
"Right," Michael says, grinning. "I don't think mom is going to want you out vampire hunting, Sammy. She's probably going to make you stay home. It would be smarter if you just decided to now and get paid for it instead-."
"Paid?" Sam interrupts. This new development changes everything. "You never said anything about that before."
"Well, yeah. Star and I would pay you to watch him."
"Really? How much?"
"I'm not sure," Michael says. "It depends on how long we're gone. But it would be fairly good for watching him for a couple of hours and taking him out trick or treating."
"Wait, hold up a moment here. Trick or treating? Are you serious Michael?"
"Sammy-."
"I'm not going trick or treating, Mike, even if you pay me. I'm way too old for that bullshit." Sam looks to his friends in hope that they will back him up.
Alan shrugs. "You get paid for getting free candy."
"See, Sammy. Alan gets it."
"No," Sam says. "I'm not going to do it.
"Come on. I'm your brother Sammy; do it for me. Please?"
Sam looks up at his brother, scowling. He can telling that Michael is trying his best to look needy, but fails to do so with the faint smile slowly creeping across his face. He knows that Sam will give in. He has no other choice. "Fine," Sam says with a sigh. "But I'm not dressing up or anything."
"Fine with me," Michael says, now fully grinning. "Don't look so pissy, Sam. You'll have fun."
"Sure."
"You will. And Laddie won't be any trouble. You know how shy he is. This will be easy money."
"Yeah."
"Well, have fun Sam," Edgar says. He roughly clamps a hand on his friend's shoulder before turning to go.
"Wait! Where are you two going?"
"Out."
"Vampire hunting," Alan adds to clarify.
"No. No way," Sam says. He grabs onto each of the Frog boy's sleeves, and pulls them backwards. "You're not leaving me."
Edgar scowls. "Yes we are. We have actual work to do, not your sissy candy shit."
"You're not leaving me," Sam repeats. "If I have to do this then so do you two."
"That's bullshit!"
"I don't care if," Alan begins to say.
"Shut up, Alan! We're not trick or treating with little kids."
"Hey," Michael cuts in. "I don't care how many of you do this just as long as I got someone watching Laddie. You kids can keep fighting, but I'm going to go upstairs and get ready."
The three boys hold off their bickering until they hear Michael's bedroom door close. "We're not going," Edgar says defiantly. "We already have plans."
"Guys, you can't leave me alone in this. It's not fair."
"How does us going make it any more fair?"
Sam struggles a moment to find a decent reason. "I don't know! It just does! Please, guys?" Edgar and Alan look at each other. Neither seem to be moved by their friend's desperation. "You don't even have to call it trick or treating," Sam continues to say. "You two can come with to make sure Laddie and I don't get attacked by vampires or something like that."
This argument seems to be more convincing. "It wouldn't be good to let you be on your own," Edgar says, slowly. "God knows there is no way you can defend yourself."
"Thanks."
"Will we get candy?" Alan asks.
"Yeah, sure. It is Halloween."
Alan catches his brother giving him a look. "I just like candy," he says, quietly.
"We're not wearing costumes," Edgar says, now looking at Sam.
"Fine," Sam replies. "I'm not wearing one either."
"You owe us for this."
"Don't worry; I'll make it up to you later."
Just as it was starting to get dark, Star showed up with the ever quiet Laddie by her side. "Hi!" Star says brightly as she steps through the door. Laddie quickly follows. "Thank you so much for doing this for us, Sam."
"It's nothing," Sam says half heartily. "It should be fun. And it will give us something to do."
"Are you going too?" Star asks Edgar and Alan. The brothers nod. "Cool! See, Laddie, I told you it will be fun!"
Laddie eyes the three older boys with suspicion. He has been around Sam enough to feel a little bit comfortable in his presence. Sam is nice and not threatening. Not the Frog brothers, though. They did try to kill Laddie before, and it is not something is going to forgive or forget so quickly. He will have to be careful tonight.
"I like your costume," Sam says, smiling. Laddie glances down at his outfit. Originally, he had not wanted to dress up. In fact, he did not even want to go out tonight. It was more of Star's idea; she wanted him to have something normal in his life after all that had happened in this year. So to please her, Laddie settled on dressing up in a pirate to match Star's costume.
Michael then walks down the staircase. He looks no different from when he had first left aside from his slightly damp hair. "Where's your costume?" Star asks. Michael grins, flashing a pair of white, plastic vampire teeth. Edgar and Alan immediately scowl at the sight of them.
"That's not funny," Star says. Despite the tone of her voice, there is a smile on her face.
"It's not meant to be," Michael says, struggling to talk through the fake teen.
"I like it!" Sam exclaims. He looks at his friends to see their reaction. "What do you guys think? Great, huh?"
"No," Edgar says, gravely. "You of all people should know that vampires are no joke."
Michael's plastic grin widens. "It's only a costume."
"Yeah, Eddie," Sam says as he jabs Edgar with an elbow. "Chill out."
"We'll see how much you're laughing when he gets turned into a vamp again. And this time you won't be getting help from us."
Michael pulls out his vampire teeth. "That's not very nice."
"You'd deserve it, especially since you never paid us for the first time."
"I don't have any money," Michael says. "I can pay you in candy, if you want." He gestures towards a large bowl filled with assorted candies sitting next to the front door. Alan looks at his brother, hoping that he will take the offer.
"We only accept cash," Edgar says as he crosses his arms defiantly against his chest.
Michael shrugs. "Maybe later then. But we're going to go now. You kids have fun!" He pops the plastic teen back into his mouth and takes a hold of Star's hand.
"Be good," Star tells Laddie as they leave the house.
The four boy stand quietly for a moment after Michael and Star has gone. "Well," Sam says, "should we get going then?" When no one replies, Sam goes into the kitchen, leaving Laddie momentarily alone with the Frog brothers.
"This is fucking stupid," Edgar mumbles to Alan. "At least we will still be able to do some patrolling while we're out." Alan nods indifferently.
Laddie studies the two miniature vampire hunters. He cannot decide if having them along will make him feel safer or put him in more danger. Currently, he is leaning more towards the danger side.
Sam returns with three plastic jack-o'-lantern buckets in one hand and a flash light in the other. He gives one to Laddie, and offers the other two up to the Frog brothers. "Do you guys want one?"
"No," the hunters reply in unison.
"Alrighty," Sam says as he tosses the jack-o'-lanterns on the couch. "Let's see; we've got the candy buckets and the flashlight. What else do we need?"
"Stakes, but we've got those," Edgar says, patting the top of the book-bag on his back.
"And holy water," Alan adds. "We should probably load up before we go."
Sam rolls his eyes. "Do we have to?"
"Sam, have you forgotten where we live?" Edgar asks. "This is Santa Carla. Only an idiot would go out in Santa Carla on Halloween night without holy water. Do you want to be that idiot?"
"Fine," Sam says with a sigh. "But hurry up. I want to get this over with."
The Frog brothers head for the kitchen to fill their squirt guns with the holy water from their canteens. Sam turns towards Laddie. "They're kind of crazy," he says with a smile.
"Yeah," Laddie replies, quietly.
"But they'll be fun. Maybe we can scare them. I don't think they'll be too hard to scare with how superstitious they are."
Laddie grins at the idea. This could be fun. Perhaps the night won't be so bad after all.
Hello! I felt like doing a holiday themed story because I am that cool, and it's in two parts because I am even cooler. The rest should be up by tomorrow, or so I hope. This isn't very good, but it's something fun! The next/last chapter should be better. Thanks for reading and possibly reviewing!