HAPPY HALLOWEEEN! To celebrate, here is a Halloween Special Chapter!
Phil's P.O.V
"Dan, can you help Cat with her costume, please?"
"Yeah, just give me a minute."
Dan walked into the bathroom, fiddling with his cloak. He smiled when he saw me, and I saw the hints of a laugh on his lips.
"Shut up." I said, turning back to the mirror.
"I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking it. I know you."
"No, no. I wasn't thinking anything."
He leant over and pecked my lips softly.
"I better not have any make up on my face." He said, before waltzing out of the room, his red cloak swaying behind him.
"Not my fault if you do." I muttered.
Thirty minutes later, I had finally finished putting the makeup on my face. Dan and Catherine watched amusedly from the bedroom.
"I look tired." I complained.
"No, you look like the dead. The skeleton wars are coming Phil." Dan joked.
"Oh shush, you. Be serious, does it look okay?"
"It looks fine, Phil. I'm sure you'll scare all the little kids away."
"And this is why I hate you." I stated, picking Catherine up and twirling her around.
"What is your costume then, missy?" I asked, though the answer was rather obvious.
"I'm a kitty cat. Get it, Cat?" She asked, indicating her outfit; which consisted of black leggings, a black long-sleeved shirt, and a black tutu. And, of course, the matching cat ears and tail.
"That's very clever. I'm sure everyone will be very impressed."
I put her down gently, before facing Dan.
"And what are you supposed to be."
"I am Prince Charming." Dan said poshly, swishing his cloak around.
"You're my prince. And I already think you're incredibly charming. You did charm me, after all." I said, kissing him softly on the cheek. I didn't want to smudge my makeup.
"Yes, but now I'm Prince Charming. Also, this cloak is the coolest thing ever."
"It is very cool." I agreed.
The doorbell rang, sounding loudly throughout the house. Catherine ran to the door, yelling 'Alice' as she went. Dan and I followed, Dan swishing his cloak no matter how many times I told him not to.
"Hey...what happened here?" I asked once I opened the door.
"Alice is...Alice, from Alice in Wonderland." Chris said. Alice span in a quick circle, her blue and white dress twirling around her.
"We've been reading the book every night before bed...and Alice thought it would be cool." Pj said, tipping his giant hat.
"I'm personally a fan of the Mad Hatter."
"I can see that. And Chris has gone with the classic and cliché vampire look."
"I am a vampire king!" He objected. "Normal vampires are boring. I'm royalty."
"You're a royal pain in the ass." I mumbled.
"Alright there, Jack Skellington. Ready for the skeleton war."
"Ready to put you in a pumpkin." I retorted.
"Children, enough!" Pj said, smirking.
"Yeah, children." Catherine repeated. She and Alice laughed softly.
"I think it's about time we go trick-or-treating, right girls?" Dan asked.
"Yes!" They both yelled.
"Don't forget to use your manners, girls."
They ran ahead, up the path to the first house.
"You know they probably ignored you." Dan said.
"I'd like to think that we've taught them that manners are important. I'd also like to think that they listen all the time, but I think the last one is a little too hopeful."
I slipped my arm around Dan's waist, pulling him close against me. His cloak spread out behind us, regal and floating in the breeze.
"We probably look like an incredibly odd couple."
"Like Death married a king." Chris said from behind us.
"Alright Dracula, why don't you go back to snogging the Mad Hat man?"
"My costume is exquisite!" Pj exclaimed.
"And so is mine." Dan replied with a grin.
Catherine and Alice ran back towards us, their Jack O' Lantern bags swinging in their hands.
"Look at all the lollies the nice lady gave us!" Catherine said, holding her bag out for us to see. Alice did the same. Both bags had a generous helping of mixed chocolates and sweets.
"Did you say thank you?"
"Yes." They chorused.
"Good girls. Alright, you can go to the next house. But don't go too far ahead, okay? We still need to see you."
They skipped off, holding hands that weren't occupied holding the bags. The four of us followed at a slower pace, enjoying the night and the atmosphere.
"There's just something about Halloween, isn't there?" I muttered.
"What do you mean?" Dan asked.
"There's just this...atmosphere, this feeling. And it sort of changes as you age, but it's always there. When you're a child, it's excitement. What sweets you get, how much you can get in the one night. How much you can eat before you feel sick or your parents take it away, whichever happens first."
"And when you're a teenager it's all about dressing up in the coolest costume, going to the coolest parties. You're not as worried about how much chocolate you get, but you still have that almost innate childish feeling to go trick-or-treating." Dan added.
"Even as an adult, there's still a certain thrill about being out on Halloween. Throughout your whole life, you go from excited to scared and back again; and it's still there as an adult. Seeing other people in their costumes, other kids, your kids. I know I say Christmas is my favourite holiday, and it is; but there's just something about Halloween that makes one single night so enjoyable at any and every age."
"Phil," Chris said, gripping my shoulder with one hand. "That was beautiful."
"Thanks..."
"However, if we don't take our kids home, they won't sleep. And I don't know about you two, but I quite like sleeping."
Chris had never been so right. Catherine and Alice had only eaten two sweets each, but they were already ten times more energetic. It was going to be a long night anyway, but if we stopped them now we'd have a better chance of going to sleep before the sun rose.
"Cat, Alice; c'mon guys it's time to go home."
"But we don't wanna." Catherine whined. She nudged Alice, who nodded and whined the same thing.
"That's fine, but it means that we get to eat your candy."
"No. It's ours!"
Dan smirked at me. "Then we need to go home."
"Fine." Catherine huffed, crossing her arms. Alice copied her, but I had a sneaking suspicion she would have cooperated if Catherine hadn't of objected.
"Now we're really turning into parents." Dan whispered to me. "We threatened to confiscate their Halloween sweets."
"Ten minutes, girls; and then lights out, okay?"
"Okay."
I walked out of the bathroom, using my jumper sleeve to wipe away any remaining makeup. Dan closed the door over, leaving a small gap.
"Are we checking on them in 20 minutes?" I asked.
"Nah, we'll give them half an hour. It's Halloween, after all."
"So what are we going to do?" I asked.
"Well, I was thinking about snuggling up on the couch, maybe watching some horror movies. I want to spend quality time with you."
"That sounds lovely. Just nothing with ghosts or demons?"
"Oh god no." Dan said. "I'd rather watch something with murderers. You know, the non-scary things."
I laughed, and Dan shook his head. "Don't laugh at me."
"You know I love you." I said, kissing his cheek.
We walked to the lounge-room, Dan muttering incoherent sentences behind me. I went over to the DVD case, and after a few minutes found some movies to watch. Nightmare before Christmas, House Of Wax, and ironically, of course, Twilight.
When I turned around however, Dan wasn't there.
"Dan?" I called out, though if he was any further than a metre from the room he wouldn't have heard me, my voice no higher than normal, so as not to wake the kids if they were asleep.
"Yeah." He said walking into the room, his arms laden with popcorn, a wine bottle, and two wine flutes.
"No Malteasers?" I asked.
"Secret stash." He said. He put the wine, flutes and popcorn bowl on the coffee table, and opened the table drawer. He pulled a family pack out, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Somehow, you manage to surprise me every day, and today is no exception."
Dan grinned, incredibly pleased with himself and my reaction.
"What are we watching?" He asked. I laid the DVD's on the table.
"Cool...nice...Twilight? Really Phil?"
"You know you love it." I said.
"Yeah." Dan said, sighing heavily. "I do."
"Oh, look; he's a fairy." I said. Dan didn't reply, which I found very strange. I glanced down at him, and saw his eyes closed; his chest rising and falling slowly with each breath.
"And you're asleep." I muttered, though why I spoke at all didn't make any sense, it's not like Dan was listening.
I moved, only an inch. I had planned on standing up and leading Dan to bed; carrying him if I had to. Dan didn't seem to be a big fan of my plan. As soon as I moved he tightened his hold around my waist, snuggling further into my chest.
"Good thing I already checked on the kids. God Dan, if my neck hurts tomorrow you'll be sleeping on the couch for the next month." I mumbled. I shifted Dan, and myself; adjusting our positions so I was able to lie down, stretched out on the couch. Thankfully it was long enough for Dan and I both to fit; the floor didn't look too comfortable.
Dan groaned, stretching out on top of me, his head finding its familiar spot in the crook of my neck.
"It's a good thing I love you." I whispered, again not realising or caring that he couldn't hear me.
I settled down in the couch, shifting my position and in turn Dan's, until I was comfortable. Not that the dead weight on top of me really helped much. Dan slid his legs between mine, and I felt his breath warm on my neck.
"Goodnight Dan." I whispered into his hair, kissing his head. "I love you."
Thoughts and opinions are really helpful guys; I've never actually experienced Halloween before and if it wasn't for my lovely friend Natalie's help, and of course the many shows and movies I've watched; I'd have no idea how to write this. So, please tell me whether you liked it and if it was good or not.
And of course, as promised, another snippet.
Snippet 2:
Which is why he was astounded when he saw a pair of jade eyes staring at him. The boy they belonged to was standing a fair bit away, so Phil guessed it might not have been him the guy was staring at. But when he turned around and saw nobody else, he realised that yes, the guy was actually staring at him...
Next snippet on the next chapter. :)
REVIEW-REPLY THINGY!
WitbeyondmeasureXOX: All the adorableness, all the time. That should actually be the summary for this, I feel like it explains it better. Oh don't worry, they'll get their alone time soon enough ;)
NeverlandNat: And I live for writing it but really, I love writing it and I love reading it. Domestic anything, really. Aw, thank you! I'm glad you liked it! As much as it sucks your day was bad, I'm glad this made it better. I love you.
Phanstarlight: So it's a good thing? You're not getting bored? Cause there's a lot of fluff.