A/N: I know it's a little bit early for Halloween, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head. This takes place in between chapters fifteen and sixteen of Innocence Stolen, Love Found. Enjoy it, guys!
Sleepily, I snuggle against Alec's back. I don't care what time it is. I wanna stay right here and cuddle with my boyfriend.
"What time is it, baby?" he mumbles.
"Dunno," I reply.
He raises up on one elbow to get his phone from the nightstand.
"It's eleven-thirty. We need to get up," he tells me.
My ears flatten in dismay, but I obey him.
"Are you looking forward to tonight?" he asks, kissing me gently.
I nod slowly.
"If you don't wanna go to a haunted house, it's okay. We can always get candy and costumes and give candy to trick-or-treaters," he reminds me.
"You won't laugh at me if I get scared?" I ask.
"No. You being scared isn't funny."
"I'm glad you think so."
"Do you wanna go to the festival?"
"That sounds really fun."
I seriously can't wait for tonight. I've never really had an actual Halloween. The Halloween I always knew was either being used as a sex toy for Ragnor and his sicko friends at his party or a drunk Ragnor hurting me after being at someone else's party.
I dress carefully in a pair of rainbow leggings, booty shorts, and sparkling sweater.
Alec smiles warmly when I pad into the kitchen.
"You look really good," he tells me, kissing my cheek.
"Thanks. What time's everything start?" I ask, wrapping my arms around his waist.
"Four. So we've got a while. Is there anything you'd like to do before then?"
"Can we get lunch at Java Jones? And more coffee?"
"Sure."
As long as I can be with him, I don't really care too much about what we do. With him busy with either work or school, it's like he's not there, even when he is. I miss my Alec-time.
He takes me to Java Jones as soon as we're done with our coffee and I have my makeup on.
"How's the bookstore?" I ask, taking his hand gently.
I'm still not used to not wearing the splints, even though they've been gone for a week. I had to have surgery on them because the bones weren't staying put, and now I have a very lovely scar on each wrist. Alec's offered to let me get them covered up with tattoos. What's two more scars, though?
"It's okay. I like it. They're really nice. Helen's really cool. She and her girlfriend are gonna be getting married soon," he replies, smiling.
"I'm glad you like it there," I tell him.
"Me too. I don't like it sometimes, like when people bring their pets in and treat them like crap."
"That happens a lot, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. It happened last night."
"How do you handle it?"
I'm still worried he might not actually like pets.
"I protect the pet and calm them down and report the owner to Jonathan," he explains.
"I'm glad you try helping them," I murmur.
"I am too."
"After lunch, do you wanna go watch them set up?"
"Sure. What all's at the festival anyway?"
"There's carnival rides, there's vendors selling all sorts of food, and there's people selling stuff."
"It sounds fun. How many night does it go on for?"
"Three."
It's really nice walking around the park with him. I love fall, I think. It's really pretty with the changing leaves. But it isn't as beautiful as Alec.
"What're you thinking?" Alec asks, rubbing his thumb gently over mine.
"I think I like fall. It's prettier than I remember," I reply, smiling.
"It is pretty, isn't it? They're selling hot apple cider up there. Do you want some?"
"Not as beautiful as you. Does it have cinnamon?"
Blushing, he nods. I love making him blush; I think it's the cutest reaction ever.
I think the last time I was this happy was when he told me he loved me for the very first time. I like walking around the park with him and hearing the leaves crunch under our feet. I like knowing I'm as important to him as he is to me.
"They have a zombie run at midnight. Do you wanna watch it?" Alec says.
I agree. I wanna soak up as much of his time as I can. It might be childish, but I just wanna be with him as much as I can while he's off. It's been two weeks since his last day off; he got called in because someone was sick.
"Or, if you want, we can go back to the apartment and cuddle under the blankets and watch scary movies and eat popcorn," he murmurs.
"That sounds a lot better," I reply.
"I thought it would."
My grip on Alec's hand tightens when a blonde girl approaches us. I don't care what's said about me. I don't want anything bad said to or about Alec.
"Hey, Alec. Is this Magnus? He's even cuter than his picture," she says, smiling.
"Yeah, this is my baby. Is Aline with you? Pictures don't really do him justice," Alec replies.
"She's around here somewhere. I'm actually trying to find her."
I like her. She's nice. She isn't trying to pet me or even asking to. She gets along well with Alec. I'm glad Alec's made a friend.
She leaves us to find her girlfriend.
"Can I take a picture of us?" I ask, pulling out my phone.
"Of course, baby," he replies, smiling.
Five seconds later, the picture of us kissing is the background on my phone.
"Can you tell I'm trying to stay humble?" I ask.
"I can tell you're trying very hard," he answers.
I have an amazing time. That is, until I barf up cotton candy on Alec on the Tilt-A-Whirl. He now has a large pink spot on his grey sweatshirt. I feel really bad about it, but he's not mad.
"When's the haunted house open?" I ask.
"It's open now. Do you want a corndog or anything? I know you're probably hungry," he replies.
"I'm good. I'll eat when we get home. Can we see what they're selling?"
I've got fifteen dollars Izzy gave me for some reason, and I really wanna buy Alec something. Unfortunately, they don't have anything he likes that I can afford.
The haunted house is three blocks south of the park. I'm nervous about going, but I wanna experience almost everything I can.
"You sure you wanna do this?" Alec asks.
"I'm sure," I reply.
By the time we get there, there aren't very many people waiting to get in. It's being held in an old two-story house. The building itself looks haunted.
I follow Alec inside the building slowly.
"It's designed for each floor to be scarier than the last," he warns me.
"Have you been here before?" I ask, following him in what looks like the only room.
"Yeah. Last year, Jace and Izzy went with me."
"Oh."
Inside the room, I see there's a door in the wall to my right. Apparently, all the rooms are connected with just one way in and out. From out of nowhere, a black shape rushes at me. It startles me, but I doesn't really scare me. I still hiss at it, though.
"The rooms on each floor are all connected," he adds, leading me through to the next one.
None of it really scares either of us until floor two, the last floor. For Alec, it's a room full of clowns holding snakes. I hold his hand even tighter and murmur gentle reassurances as we walk through. For me, it's a mad scientist lab with a hybrid strapped to an operating table. I'm so scared I can't breathe. Instead of trying to force me to go in the room, Alec leads me back through the clown room and the remaining four rooms on the floor and downstairs. The gentle pressure on my hand keeps me less afraid than I'd be by myself.
"You made it. Are you okay?" he murmurs.
"Need to sit," I mumble.
"That room?"
"Yeah. It was one of my nightmares. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry."
"You faced your scariest room to help me. You really do love me, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do. I'm sorry it scared you so bad. If I'd known, we would've skipped that one."
"Not your fault I belonged to a psychopath. I think I can get up now."
He offers me a hand up.
"Now for a night of horror and popcorn? Or do you wanna watch something else?" he asks.
"Either one, as long as you and popcorn are involved."
Tonight is actually one of my favorite nights since he adopted me. I got to experience a real holiday for the first time. I don't really count Labor Day as a holiday. I got to have carnival food for the first time, even if I did throw up on Alec. I went to my first haunted house, and I liked the parts that didn't scare me crapless. I got to meet a friend of Alec's. I hope it get to have more days like this.