A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, as always! Also thanks in advance to Gaby for your lovely chaperone idea. I added it in, but sadly, it's not a big part of the chapter. But don't fear! My Hero's Cuties on the way! Also, I didn't mean to hate on Maury last chapter. I watch it too sometimes; it's just not exactly 'kid friendly,' so that's why Ralph wouldn't like it. Oh parents (Or guardians)!

Cute Girl: Aw, I'm glad you like it so much! And don't worry, this story will keep fighting 'till the very end!

Why was it that when you wanted something to happen, it took forever, but when you didn't want it, it came in 2 seconds flat? That's how Vanellope was feeling right now. Yesterday they had a dentist come to their school and look at all their teeth, and it'd felt like it'd taken only 10 seconds to get to her on list. The dentist had said she was lucky she didn't have any cavities, since she ate way too much sugar than "was healthy for her."

But now as she sat in Science, it felt like time was taking a million years to go by. Miss Mary was drawing a diagram of how photosynthesis worked on the board. And talking.

So. Much. Talking.

She fidgeted in her seat. She so very badly wanted to just run out of her seat and onto the bus. Why should they have to learn about photo-whats-it anyways? It's not like she would ever use it in real life!

Finally Math came, and then-it was time to go! The kids all got out their coats and met out in the school lobby.

"Cool shirt, Vanellope!" Gloyd said as they all got into their buddy groups. "It's Halloween colors and everything!"

"Thanks!" Vanellope said, feeling proud. In honor of fall, she'd worn her Q-Bert T-shirt, a ruffled orange skirt, and mismatched black and orange tights. Then she had tied her hair up in a ponytail with a bright orange bow as well.

"Halloween is Gloyd's favorite time of year," Swizzle said, throwing his friend a smile.

"It's the best!" Gloyd exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at just the thought. "I mean, you get to dress up in awesome costumes, and get as much candy as you want-for free! What could get better than that?"

"Nothing really," Vanellope said laughing.

"Did you bring any money?" Swizzle asked both of them.

"Only 10 dollars." Vanellope said. "Ralph said that should be enough to buy lunch and play some games."

"Who's Ralph?" Gloyd asked.

"He's kinda like my dad." Vanellope explained.

"Kinda?" Swizzle said, furrowing his brow.

"Uh, yeah…it's a long story." Vanellope said, trailing off.

"Well, my mom and dad gave me $20!" Gloyd said, looking happy.

"Lucky!" Swizzle and Vanellope said together.

They turned to look as Coach Calhoun walked in, looking slightly annoyed. "What's she doing here?" Vanellope asked.

"She's probably coming to watch us on the trip," Swizzle shrugged. "That's what Coach Zangief would always do."

"She looks kind of scary." Gloyd said apprehensively.

"No, she's really nice!" Vanellope assured him. "I talked to her one time."

"Really?" Gloyd and Swizzle said, looking surprised.

She nodded. "Yup."

Miss Mary rushed in, with Professor Felix trailing behind. "Alright children, the buses are here, so let's go!"

The kids let out an excited scream as they all ran out the door. Vanellope, Gloyd and Swizzle all squeezed into a seat, with Vanellope sitting on the aisle side. Taffyta looked thrilled to have a spot next to Rancis. Candlehead just looked uncomfortable.

Felix sat in the bus's driver seat, Coach Calhoun sat in the front seat, and Miss Mary sat in the back. "Everyone ready?" Felix called, turning to smile at them all.

The students all cheered. Even Taffyta couldn't help but look excited.

Vanellope saw Felix turn to whisper something to Coach Calhoun as he started the bus engine. She smiled a small smile at him and nodded. Vanellope wondered what it was about. She and Ralph hadn't really hung out with Felix since that time at the beach last month. Felix started the bus and soon they were off and driving down the road.

They rode the bus to the country part of town, someplace Vanellope had never been too. She and Ralph always stayed in the downtown area; the most remote they'd ever gotten was when they went to the beach. There were lots of fields, barns, and animals. The trip went by quickly as Vanellope enjoyed talking to Gloyd and Swizzle about cars and racing.

"Do you know what you're going to be for Halloween?" Gloyd asked them.

"I was deciding between a zombie doctor and a vampire." Swizzle answered.

"Zombie doctor-that's way cooler." Gloyd said, nodding approvingly. "What about you, Vanellope?" The boys both turned to look at her.

"Ah, I don't know." Vanellope said. "I've never really dressed up for Halloween before."

"WHAT?!" They exclaimed, looking as if she just told them she had cancer.

Vanellope's cheeks flushed red. "Yeah."

"Well then you have to think of an awesome costume, this being your first time and all." Gloyd said. "You could be a ghost, or a witch, or maybe even Frankenstein."

"Or Slender Man!" Swizzle chimed in. "That's what my brother's doing-he's in high school."

"What's a slender man?" Vanellope asked, looking perplexed.

"What isn't Slender Man?" Swizzle replied ominously.

"Anyways," Gloyd said, shoving his friend playfully. "You still have a couple weeks to come up with something-so don't feel rushed."

Vanellope slouched in her seat. Maybe Ralph would have some ideas. He'd lived through like, 1 bazillion Halloweens already-he must know some good costumes.

Soon, they got to the fairgrounds. All the kids went to press their faces up against the window.

"Wow!"

"Cool!"

Vanellope's heart sped up as she was pushed along down the aisle and outside. "Alright class, remember you must always stick with your buddies." Miss Mary reminded them. "Me, Professor Felix, and Ms. Calhoun will be walking around the grounds, so if you need any help, look for us. We'll all meet for lunch at the picnic benches at 12:30, did everyone hear that?"

They all nodded, just wanting to get to the fair already.

"Alright, go off, have fun!" Miss Mary said, waving them away.

"C'mon, let's go!" Gloyd said, running ahead.

"What are we going to do first?" Vanellope asked, jogging along beside him.

"Let's go to the bumper cars!" Swizzle said.

The group spent the rest of the day exploring the whole fairgrounds. They battled in bumper cars, screamed on a roller coaster, gave the wacka-moles a concussion, rode the carousel, threw baseballs at milk jugs, and went in the corn maze. They'd gotten lost for a while, but Gloyd smartly came up with the idea of following the footprints in the dirt, and after finding a path with a bunch of them on it, they'd managed to escape. Now they were going to do an apple bobbing contest.

"Who'd like to go first?" The attendant said, smiling widely at them.

"Uh, what the Hershey's is this?' Taffyta said, strolling up with Rancis and Candlehead.

"Hey Rancis!" Swizzle said. "Nice face paint!"

"Thanks!" Rancis said. A small bat was painted on his cheek. Candlehead had a flower, but Taffyta had nothing.

"She said it would mess up her makeup?" Candlehead whispered to Vanellope when she saw her eyeing them.

"Gob, just can it Candlehead." Taffyta said, rolling her eyes.

Candlehead looked down, looking shamed.

"It's a bobbing for apples contest." Gloyd said, looking perturbed that Taffyta had joined them.

"What do you have to do?" Taffyta asked.

"You dunk your head into the bucket and pull out, one at a time, as many apples as you can with your teeth!" The lady said, smiling so big it looked painful.

"Eh meh gawd, ew!" Taffyta exclaimed, taking a step back. "No way-I'm not doing that! That's crazy!"

"I'll do it." Vanellope said, stepping forward. "It's just water."

Taffyta glared at her.

"Woot!" Gloyd, Rancis and Swizzle cheered and clapped. "Go Vanellope!"

This didn't make Taffyta feel any better, Vanellope could tell. But like Minty had said, she was always mad about something anyway. Vanellope walked over to the bucket and tightened her ponytail. "Alright." She said confidently. "I'm ready!"

"Okay, you have one minute!" The attendant said, getting out a stopwatch. "Ready, set…go!"

Vanellope dove her head into the large bucket. Immediately the sound of the boy's applause was sedated, and all that could be heard was the swishing of her hair in the water and the loud silence that being underwater brought. The water was very cold, but she could tell it was full of apples, as her forehead bumped up against several right off the bat. She opened her mouth wide, swallowing some water in the process, and chomped down on the first apple she came in contact with. With a loud splash, she raised her head and spat it out into the bucket, earning herself another round of cheers.

She repeated this process, over and over again, until she heard a loud buzzer go off. "Time's up!" The lady said. "Let's see how many you got."

Vanellope stood up and wrung out her hair as the lady counted all the apples up. Her shirt was soaked wet, and her bangs were sticking to her forehead, but she didn't care.

"Wow! Great job! You got 15 apples!" The lady said, smiling again.

"Good work Vanellope!" Gloyd said, fist bumping her.

"Yeah!" Swizzle and Rancis said, clapping and smiling at her.

Taffyta rolled her eyes. "Whatever, it was only 15." She muttered. "I'm pretty sure the world record is 34."

"Yeah!" Candlehead said, quickly rushing to stand by her. "My dog could get more than that, and he's a dog."

"Here's your prize, little girl!" The lady said, handing Vanellope a large stuffed Mickey Mouse.

"Thanks!" Vanellope exclaimed, choosing to disregard the fact that she had called her "little girl."

"That was awesome Vanellope!" Rancis said.

Gloyd and Swizzle nodded in agreement. The six had walked off for a moment, all but Taffyta and Candlehead admiring Mickey, when Swizzle asked, "Hey, do you guys all want to check out the haunted house? I heard it's supposed to be really scary!"

"S-s-scary?" Candlehead stuttered, looking fearful.

"Let's do it!" Gloyd said. "You guys coming?"

"Well duh, we're not babies!" Taffyta said, nudging Candlehead.

"Then let's go." Swizzle said. "I know right where it is!"

The six all walked across and around the whole fair until they reached the house. It was an actual farm house that had been abandoned and renovated just for this, or at least that's what Swizzle explained to them all.

The front porch squeaked and creaked as they all stepped up. The paint was peeling off of everything, and cobwebs and dust were everywhere. Enter…if you dare, the sinister sign that hung on the door read. Its letters were dripping with red paint, and they almost looked like they'd been painted in blood.

"Uh, actually, what if we don't dare?" Candlehead said, standing in the back of the group. "Why don't we just go ride the carousel instead?"

"The carousel is for babies." Gloyd said, opening the front door and walking in. They all followed behind, Candlehead still looking hesitant.

Inside the house was just as bad as the outside. Creepy noises were playing off in the distance, and there were black drapes hanging over all the windows, so it was pitch black inside. A bubbling noise of a cauldron was in the other room, and smoke hung thick over the air. A flash of "lightning" revealed there to be a large coffin sitting at the end of the hall, and Vanellope swore she could hear breathing coming from it.

Vanellope shifted nervously on the spot. Even she was starting to get a little freaked.

"Who is holding my hand?" Swizzle suddenly exclaimed out of the blackness.

"Not me!" Candlehead said, followed by the sound of feet shuffling away.

They picked up some flashlights that were marked by glowing tape on the ground and turned them on. Portraits of creepy looking people hung on the walls, and there were even more cobwebs here than there were outside.

"Ew, don't they ever get a maid in here?" Taffyta said, sticking out her tongue as she pushed a cobweb out of her face.

"C'mon, let's go upstairs." Swizzle said. "There's more arrows pointing up there."

They all walked up the stairs timidly, each shaking with fright as more creepy voices whispered haunting things into their ears. They heard a monstrous laugh followed by a loud scream play over the speakers. Vanellope shuddered, and tried to remind herself that none of this was actually real. It was hard.

They got to the top of the stairs, and entered the first room they saw. It was pitch black and they shown their flashlights all around.

"S-see?" Taffyta said, trying to sound confident as she shook on the spot. "There's n-nothing up here! S-so let's just leave!" Her voice shook and as she headed towards the door.

The minute she touched the doorknob though, red lights flashed from the ceiling and the loud noise of thunder filled the room. More terrified screamed filled the air as spiders flew down from the ceiling and landed on their heads. A creepy laugh played over the loudspeakers and a skeleton sat up in the bed, its eyes rolling and its mouth opening and closing as it laughed hysterically. "Get out!" A loud shriek exclaimed. "Get out or be doomed!"

The kids all let out a petrified scream and pushed past each other as they scrambled down the stairs and out the door. Their flashlights clambered to the porch and they all rolled out onto the grass, heaving and trying to catch their breath.

"I'mgoingtodie, I'mgoingtodie, I'mgoingtodie." Candlehead said, her eyes bulging out of her head as she clutched her neck.

Rancis just moaned into his knees, rocking back and forth.

Taffyta flipped over. "W-what was that?!" She screeched.

The other five just shook their heads wordlessly, all pretty traumatized by the event. They all sat there silent, their chests heaving and hearts pounding ferociously.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Vanellope finally squealed, jumping up.

"Are you crazy?" Taffyta said, looking at her as if she had a second head. Even Gloyd, Swizzle and Rancis looked at her with shocked looks on their faces.

"C'mon, you have to admit, even though we got scared, that was so fun!" Vanellope exclaimed.

"I-I guess," Gloyd said, starting to smile. "That was a really good scare."

"Man, I haven't been that scared since I got trapped in the bathroom with Slender Man." Swizzle said, brushing all the grass and dust off of himself.

"I suppose it wasn't so bad." Rancis said, standing up.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about." Taffyta huffed, picking a piece of cobweb off. "That was awful!"

Candlehead sounded like she was wailing from fright.

"Well, we better go-it's 12:35." Rancis said, checking his watch.

"Good, 'cause I'm hungry." Vanellope said.

With an excited chatter, they all walked off, leaving the house, and the skeleton, far behind.