October

Nights like this were the worst. Holidays, of any sort, were always fun with Joey. A kid at heart, he could always make her laugh and nights like this were the times she missed that the most. A knock at the door forced her to her feet.

She grabbed the candy bucket and shuffled to the door, opening it and shuddering slightly at the crisp October air as it rushed in.

"Trick or Treat," the chorus of voices chanted.

"Wow. You guys look great." She forced a smile and doled candy into each bag. If Joey had been here, the door would have been decorated in fake spider webs, a spooky soundtrack would have been blaring from the dark hallway behind her, and they would have, no doubt, been decked out in some extravagant pair of costumes to greet visitors in. Instead it was just her in jeans and a sweater, trying to make it through the evening.

Sighing, she watched as the group made their way back down the driveway. The wind chilled her again and placed the candy dish down on the table, crossing her arms across her chest in an effort to keep warm.

Her mind flashed back to another fall night—just like this one. Only that night, Joey's arms had kept her warm. They'd been on the rooftop of the Palace—their special place. He'd taken her there to look at the stars and they'd ended up staying there for hours. Somehow, when she was with him, she could totally lose track of time. That happened a lot. Now, the minutes seemed to creep by, as if every second without him was an eternity.

Another brisk breeze forced her back inside the room. Shutting the door behind her, she headed back into the living room. There was no point rehashing this in her mind. She'd gone over and over it far too many times already. It was over. What they had was finished. Magic like that only happened once. No matter how much she might have wanted it to return…it just wasn't the same anymore.

She had tried to move on. She'd even dated a few times, but the memories haunted her still. They had started in her dreams and now they invaded even her waking moments. Joey had been so much a part of her life that it was difficult to imagine the concept of building a life without him, but she had to.

Another knock on the door echoed through the empty hall. Heading back to the door, she sighed. She glanced at her watch. It was early yet and still she was tempted to turn off the porch light and retreat to the bedroom. At least there she didn't have to pretend.

"Happy Halloween," she said, plastering on her best happy face as the door opened.

"Alright, what do you say?" Joey held Ryder's hand tightly. Ryder blinked and thrust the orange pumpkin towards Kelly.

"Candy," he said, with a toothy grin.

"I guess that's close enough." Joey picked him up, pulling the hood back over his ears. "It's chilly out here tonight. I wanted to take him to a few more houses, but with this wind…I don't think we're going to."

"Why don't you come in for a bit," Kelly stammered, stepping back to give him room. "I mean…if you want. You don't have to…I just meant…" She stopped then to take a breath. It never used to be this hard for them. Joey was so easy to talk to and now just being next to him causing her to have heart palpitations.

"Yeah…Yeah..That'd be good."

"I've got some hot chocolate if you want some," Kelly offered. "And I've got some juice or milk…whatever he likes."

"Juice," Ryder replied, more concerned with the contents of his candy haul than anything else.

"Coming right up," she said with a smile, turning quickly and heading out of the room.

Joey took a seat on the couch, pulling Ryder up beside him.

Joey glanced over at Ryder, his eyes drooping as he leaned back against the cushions of the couch.

"You uh…You never told me how you ended up being the Trick or Treat chaperone," Kelly said quietly, watching as Joey carefully moved the pillows on the couch so Ryder could lay back.

"Oh, that. Jess was planning on taking him, but she's got that stomach bug that's been going around. Apparently Bree came home from school with it on Friday and now she and Brody have it. It's pretty nasty."

Kelly furrowed her brow. "Poor thing. I hate that she missed Halloween with the kids. Are you taking Ryder back over there tonight?"

"No. I'm keeping him tonight. She doesn't want him to get it and we figured the best way to keep that from happening was to keep him away from them as much as possible." He glanced over at him again. "Actually, I should probably get going. He looks like he's almost out."

"You know, you could stay here."

Joey's head snapped to attention. "Stay here…with you?"

"I just…I just meant. I mean, Ryder's already asleep. It would be a shame to take him out again in the wind and everything. Starr still has Hope's toddler bed set up in the guest room. He'd been fine in there."

He nodded. "Yeah…Actually. That's not a bad idea. If you're sure it's ok."

"Sure. I'm sure. I mean, it's not like we can't spend a night together, right? We're still friends, right?"

"Yeah…right…of course." He let out a quick puff of air.

Kelly stood quickly. "I'll go get the room ready for him," she said making quick work of the stairs.

Joey looked over at Ryder, who still slept peacefully on the couch.

"This might be a Happy Halloween after all," he whispered with a smile.

"I cannot believe I let you talk me into that." She glanced behind her as he stood there with a smile.

"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad. I thought you said you liked the movie."

"I did, but you said it wasn't really scary…and it was….I'm totally going to have nightmares now." She slapped him playfully as she flipped off the last light.

"How was I supposed to know you were such a wimp when it came to horror movies?" he smiled, mocking her. Covering his eyes with his hands, he barely spread his fingers. "Besides, how much could you see of it like this?"

"Too much, I'll have you know," she growled. "Now, you expect me to go into that dark bedroom all alone and sleep." She sighed and smiled at him. "The second I close my eyes I'm going to see those faces. I'll be lucky if I get a minute of sleep."

"Do you want me to check under the bed? I can check the closet too. Some of those monsters are very sneaky," he teased.

"I'm not kidding, Joey. I will seriously have nightmares. When I was a kid, I watched a movie like that once. I ended up sleeping with my Mom for a week," she laughed.

She glanced up when she didn't hear laughter in return. His serious expression caused her to grow silent.

"If you wake up scared," he whispered, reaching out slowly to touch her face, "I'm right down the hall."

"I'm already scared," she whispered back.

"Maybe you should just stay in here with me…just until you know…just until you forget about the movie," he smiled.

"What if I don't forget about the movie?" she smiled back.

"Then I'd say my plan worked."

She gasped in mock horror.

"Joey Buchanan, did you frighten me with a horror movie for the express purpose of getting me into your bed?" She moved closer to him, relishing in the sensation of his arms as they wrapped around her.

"That depends," he whispered, moving his lips close to her ear, "Is it working?"

He smiled and followed her as she stepped into the bedroom.