Disclaimer - I do not own any part of Hocus Pocus. If I did, well . . . to be honest nothing would have changed cuz the movie rocks as it is!

Author Notes - Hello everyone! So this is my first Hocus Pocus fic, but not my first fic ever. If you're a Final Fantasy, Harry Potter, or Guiding Light fan, go check out my other five stories thus far. I hope all of you enjoy this story, because I actually wrote it for my friend, but I decided to do something great with it. So without further adieu, here is Chapter One of Candied Death.

III

It was nearly obscene the way Dani Dennison had become over the years. She lost self respect for her own body, but wouldn't let anyone near her, Her gothic clothing portrayed her freakish personality, and covered the pink gashes that had become a regular part of her attire at the young age of fourteen.

Now she was a senior in high school, and nothing about her had changed. Grey and black armbands still covered her mutilated arms, a black minishirt and fish net stockings left little to one's imagination, A tight black tank was torn to reveal an orange undershirt, and knee-high boots completed her clothing. Her jewelery on the other hand was another story. Various hoops and studs ran all the way up her ears, a nose stud and a lip ring definaed her pale face.

Dani, however ridiculous most people thought she looked, had managaed to accumulate some very good friends, Jocilynn Peters, Nerika Dew, and Lynnax Stohn. They all had a lot in common, like thier love for the band H.I.M. and poetry, and they shared everything, but even they didn't know the secrets behind Danni's love for Halloween.

The music blared upstairs in Dani's king sized bedroom that she had moved into after Max moved out and married Allison. Inside the girls laughed furiously at each other as they went through some old junior high yearbooks.

"You haven't changed at all Dani. Taller maybe, but nothing about you has changed otherwise", Lynnax stated. She considered herself to be close to Dani than the other two, just because they had known each other longer. Dani gave her a light smile and brushed a strand of her red curls out of her blue eyes.

"No, I guess I haven't." she said. "But change isn't always a good thing. I'd prefer not to take the risk."

"Agreed." Jocilynn nodded from the windoe sill. "The whether is a very predictable change, but most of it is not for the good. Like Halloween for example. It always rains. Everyday for the past seven years the sky goes from a clear blue cystal, to an ominous black hole, as if it were to devour the world."

"Just how you like it, eh Dani?" Lynnax teased with a smirk. Dani said nothing, only nodded as she feel backwards into the comfort of her pillows.

"Why is it you like Halloween so much again, Dani?" Nerika called to Dani from the floor at the foot of the bed. Dani closed her eyes, and she distictly heared whispered repremands towards the questioning female from the other two. "You know she doesn't like to talk about Halloween!" She snorted at the thought of telling them just why she loved Halloween so much.

'Because that's when I met you.' she thought.

"Hey Dani, what do you think of that new kid, what was his name, Katsuragi?" Nerika asked after being scolded.

"Yeah, Kerial Katsuragi. He's in my math class. Bright kid. Can't understand why he's only in Algebra the way he thinks." Jocilynn pondered, still perched on the sitting window sill.

"He's in our history class too. He sits right behind Dani. I wonder if he might like you, Akiko." suggested Lynnax, using Dani's nickname, meaning 'autumn child'.

"Bite me, Hotaru." Dani spat, using her nickane as well, meaning 'firefly'. "You know I hate talking about guys. Why would I want to date one? They're nothing but foul, loathsome,evil little cockroaches."

"Urie is not a cockroach!" Nerika spoke up, defending her longtime boyfriend.

"Nerika, you're dating the quarterback of the football team, you're captain of the cheer team, student body president, honestly, I don't know how we picked you up in the first place." Jocilynn said refusing to tear her gaze from the window. "It's getting dark. What time is it."

Lynnax looked at her watch. "9:20. We should be getting home." She slid off the bed, holding her hand out to Nerika and pulling her up. Jocilynn crawled off of the sit-in-window sill and gave pulled Dani off of her bed, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Get some sleep tonight, Akiko. We'll need as much rest as possible if we're to go to that dance tomorrow night."

"Hai, and you too Kenshin." she replied, calling her 'sword heart' and releasing her.

"Sleep tight, Dani!" called Nerika from down the hall.

"Better than sleeping with your legs spread, Emi!" she called back using her other anme as well, meaning 'rich beauty' earning a roar of laguther from the girls.

Once Jocilynn and Nerika had gotten downstairs, Lynnax wrapped her arms around her best friend and kissed her forhead.

"What was that for? You only kiss me when I'm crying." Dani stated.

"Something's wrong. You're not telling us, or even me. You know you can at the very least talk to me right?" Lynnax questioned, concern filling her soft voice.

"I'm fine, Hotaru, You know I hate talking about guys, most especially because of what happened with my parents." Lynnax held tighter for a moment, then let her arms fall to her sides.

"Just promise me you won't do anything stupid, and you'll talk when you're ready. Please?"
Rolling her eyes, Dani gave her friend a quick hug.

"Yeah, Lynnax, you have my word."

"Okay then. I expect to see you in class tomorrow then." she said expectantly.

"Yes mother," Dani retorted, and Lynnax turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Dani's plopped back onto her bed uncerimoniously, and sighed. She loved her friends, especially Lynnax. They were always looking out for her like sisters, and to Dani, that's just what they were, blood or not. She knew though, that the time was coming that she would have to leave them, and hurt them in ways indescribable.

She rolled over facing her window and CD player. The song was 'Salt in Our Wounds' by H.I.M. She loved that song, and it was good music to fall asleep to. Not bothering to change into more comfortable attire, Danni fell asleep to the alluring lyrics and think of the past, and what was to come.

Here we are
Right back where we began
Waiting for sweet love
With open arms
Here we are
Just like before
Waiting for the warmth
Of that tender storm
Love is insane and Baby
We are too
It's our hearts little grave
And the salt in our wounds

Dani's mother was away on business when her father brought home another woman. He slept with her every night her mother was gone, until one night, the woman's husband, broke into the house, killed his wife, and then Dani's father. She was all alone, with only her three friends to help her. Her mother came home a day later, and it's been just her and her Dani since then, always leaving Dani in the care of her friends, and coming home only when she had time off, which was only two weekends out of a month. Dani was still efficient in school, and kept decent grades. But even still, she harbored secrets that she could never tell.

Soon, it would all be over, and she could only hope that this Halloween would be the one, the one that brought her to eternal peace.

'All because I love you, Thackery Binx.'