Fictober 2018, Day 2 Prompt: "People like you have no imagination."

Fandom: Fablehaven

No warnings apply. :)

"Really? That's the best you can come up with?" Warren asked, quirking one eyebrow upward as he shot Seth a quizzical look.

"What's wrong with this?" Seth replied, his tone of voice slightly defensive.

"People like you have no imagination."

Seth narrowed his eyes and gestured to himself. "Did you really just accuse me of not having an imagination?"

Warren didn't hesitate. "Yes! It's Halloween, Seth! You can wear ANY costume on the planet, and you choose to be a ghost? You're literally wearing a sheet with holes cut out for your eyes. How much more… bland can you get?"

The teenaged boy feigned offense by sticking his nose up in the air and crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't see you in a costume," he pointed out.

"Yeah, Warren. Where's your costume?" a new voice chimed in. Kendra had entered the room.

"You too. Really?!" Warren pointed at Kendra's outfit – she'd dressed up as a fairy, complete with glittery wings. "You don't get enough fairy-ness in a normal day or something?"

Kendra shrugged her shoulders. "I like fairies. What can I say?"

"Why are you so wound up about this?" Seth asked. "So what if we went for the direct approach this year? Why does it matter?"

"I'm insulted. Halloween is when you're supposed to be something you're not."

Seth and Kendra shared a look, and then Kendra said, "Umm… Warren, I hate to break it to you but Seth isn't a ghost in real life, and I'm not a fairy either."

"Whatever," Warren said. "Next thing I know, Vanessa's going to walk in here dressed like a vampire and then Bracken will follow with a fake unicorn horn on his head."

Kendra and Seth both started snickering at that. "Vanessa as a vampire… Bracken as a unicorn… that'd be perfect!" the brother of the duo cried. Kendra clapped her hands in agreement as she laughed.

Vanessa took that as her opportunity to enter the room. Like Warren, she was not wearing a costume. "Hey you two. Great costumes. Kendra, that dress looks amazing on you," she commented, motioning with her hand for Kendra to spin around so she could see the back. "A fairy. How perfect for you."

"Thanks," Kendra replied. "Warren thinks I'm boring."

Vanessa turned to Warren and lightly swatted him on the arm. "She is not boring."

"Seth is a ghost and Kendra is a fairy. Really?" Warren answered.

"You're not even wearing a costume," Vanessa retorted. "It's Halloween. They can wear what they want to wear."

"That's exactly my point –"

"Hey everyone, hope I'm not late," Bracken said as he walked into the living room where they were all gathered, then shot a questioning look at Seth as Warren smacked the palm of his hand into his face. "Did I miss something?"

Kendra smiled brightly and ran over to greet Bracken with a hug before pulling away from him and pointing to Warren. "He thinks we're all boring."

"Would you stop saying that?" Warren asked. "I didn't say boring. You're putting words in my mouth."

"Sure," Seth countered, "Because 'people like you have no imagination' totally doesn't sound like 'boring.'"

"Uncreative. All of you. Not the same as boring."

"Sounds like 'boring' to me, too," Bracken stated. He pointed at Warren and asked, "Where's your costume? I thought we were all going to the party."

"I'm too old for dress-up parties," Warren replied. Bracken quirked an eyebrow in his direction at that comment, then motioned to himself. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you're older than dirt. What are you supposed to be, anyway?"

Bracken looked slightly put out at Warren's remark, then began, "I am not older than dirt, thankyouverymuch. I'm a prince." He pulled a crown out of the cloth bag he was carrying and placed it on his head, then fished around in the bag for another moment before pulling out an additional one. He took the second crown and placed it on Kendra's head. "And you are my princess," he stated, giving her a sweet smile.

Kendra blushed while she grinned, then said, "Hang on, I'll be right back!" before dashing out of the room.

Warren simply rolled his eyes and then grunted as Vanessa elbowed him in the ribs. "What was that for?" he whined.

Vanessa just leveled a glare at him which clearly conveyed the message to knock it off. Or else.

"I'm just saying – there was one year when Dale and I dressed up like astronaut pirate ninjas! I mean, come on! You can be anything for Halloween!"

Seth laughed out loud and Bracken pretended to cough in order to cover up his own guffaw. "Astronaut pirate ninjas?! What would that even look like?!" the boy shouted.

Vanessa hid her own amused grin behind her hand as Kendra re-entered the room with a second set of cheap fairy wings, which she gave to Bracken. He accepted her gift and opened his mouth to say something, but Warren interrupted first.

"Fairy princess… and fairy prince. I give up. You all are so lame."

"What's lame?" came a new voice. Everyone turned to see Dale walk into the room wearing a white button-up shirt with a black tie and fake glasses. The look really flattered him and showed off his muscular build.

"Hey, Dale," Kendra greeted him. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes indeed," Dale cheerfully responded. "I've been looking forward to this all week."

Warren openly gaped at his brother. "What's your problem?" Dale asked. "And where's your costume?"

"Me?" Warren started. "You're going to the party looking like that? After all of the amazing Halloween costumes we've ever worn, you're going to wear that?"

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Dale looked down at his shirt. "Did I spill something on myself?"

"Nothing's wrong," Vanessa informed him. "You look great."

"You look like someone who works in an office," Warren said. "A really buff office worker. What, are you trying to pick up a girlfriend or something?"

"Some of us don't want to spend the rest of our lives single," Dale retorted, rolling his eyes. "Speaking of…" He diverted his attention to Vanessa. "Has he asked you out yet? Because if he hasn't done so by now, then I'd assume it's probably never going to happen so maybe you and I—"

"Aaaaaaand we're leaving!" Warren shouted out, stepping between his brother and Vanessa and motioning everyone toward the door with his hands. Dale chuckled at that and Vanessa blew a kiss at him with an amused smile on her face. Warren visibly reddened at the exchange.

"Are you really dressed up as an office worker?" Seth asked Dale as they left the house and walked toward the cars.

"Eh," Dale started, then struck a superhero pose and pulled open his white shirt to reveal a second shirt underneath with the Superman 'S' on it. "I'm Clark Kent."

"Nice," Seth said, giving Dale an approving fist bump. "Vanessa, are you coming with us too?"

"Oh yeah," she answered. She pulled a set of plastic vampire fangs out of her purse and popped them into her mouth, then winked at Seth who started laughing.

The sound caught Warren's attention and when he saw Vanessa's fake teeth, he threw his hands up in the air in an exasperated fashion and announced, "Seriously. No imagination."

"Wait until he finds out that I'm actually dressed up like him under this sheet," Seth whispered to Dale conspiratorially.