that scene from A Little Bit of Light we all cry over? more likely than you think
a Halloween chapter in the middle of April? also more likely than you think
Summary: in which connor is spiderman, zoe is ariel, luke is captain america, and samuel is a dick
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"Mummy, will we be picking out Halloween costumes soon?"
Cynthia held up the catalogue she had been perusing. "Yes, actually, I was just looking at costumes. Who do you want to be this year?"
"I want to be Spider-Man!" Connor exclaimed, pretending to shoot webs at her from his wrists. "Oh, and Luke said that he is going to be Captain America, so I think that we should have a superhero theme."
"No, I want to be Ariel, because I want to see what I look like with red hair," Zoe decided.
"Okay, then just Luke and me will have superhero themes."
Zoe nodded. "Okay!"
"You two sure about your choices?" Cynthia double-checked. They nodded. "Well, that was easy. Much quicker than last year!"
Zoe huffed in exaggerated offense. "That was because there are too many good Star Wars people! We couldn't choose!"
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It was the afternoon of Halloween, and Cynthia was in her bedroom, fussing over Connor and Zoe's costumes, and making several last-minute adjustments. "Zoe, please bring me the hair curler from the bathroom drawer. Connor, come back here, are you sure that your costume fits now?"
"I'm sure, Mum!" he assured her for the third time in the past ten minutes, exasperation beginning to sneak into his voice. The costume had been too large on the sides for his little frame, forcing her to pull out her sewing machine and spend the past few days personally making alterations.
"Let me just check it one more time."
He gave a little sigh and stood in front of her, while she checked to make it sure it looked alright. "What time is Luke coming?"
"Mrs. Davidson said around six-thirty, they should be here soon."
"It's six twenty-two now," Zoe said, reappearing from the bathroom, the curler in her hands. "So that's eight minutes left, right?"
"Well, approximately," Cynthia hummed, untangling the wire and plugging the curler in. "Bring a chair over and sit down."
"Do you want to hear a joke?" Connor asked, flopping down on the recliner that sat off to the side.
"Not now, I'm busy, honey," Cynthia murmured as she began curling Zoe's hair.
"But I'm bored!"
"Okay, tell it, I want to hear it," Zoe piped up.
Connor grinned appreciatively at her. "Why did the duck cross the road?"
"You mean chicken," Zoe corrected.
"No, I mean duck," he insisted. "This is a different one; I made it up. Can you guess the answer?"
She thought for a moment before finally giving up. "I don't know, why?"
"To prove he wasn't chicken!"
Zoe and Cynthia both burst into laughter. "That's a good one!" Cynthia praised.
"I made it up," Connor proudly said.
"It's very funny!" Cynthia assured him. He grinned and took a dramatic bow.
"You should dress up as the Joker next year," Zoe teased.
He winked at her. "Maybe."
Just then, the doorbell rang, followed by Skywalker's excited barking.
"I'll get it!" Connor exclaimed, rushing down the stairs and pulling the door open. "Hi Luke! Hi Mrs. Davidson!"
"Hello, Con!" Luke greeted, his voice slightly distorted from behind the Captain America mask. "Cool costume."
"Yeah, yours too," Connor commented as they sat down on the couch to wait for Zoe to be finished.
"Hey! Look at my costume!" Zoe called from the doorway, causing them both to turn towards her. "What do you think?"
"I—it's nice, but you look kinda… weird with red hair," Connor finally said, his face scrunched up as he studied her.
"I know, but I like it," she said, warbling the first few lines from "Part of Your World".
"Okay, kids, I hate to break up this lively discussion, but how about some photos?" Cynthia interrupted, camera in hand.
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The street was lined with a number of children, some dressed in fancy costumes, others in simpler ones, but all carrying bags or buckets they hoped to fill with treats by the end of the night.
The five of them went from door to door, along with Skywalker (who had her own Wonder Woman costume), as their bags got fuller, and passing Batman, Wolverine, several Snow Whites, and a couple of Darth Vaders. Halfway around the block, the children stopped to gloat over their loot.
"Look at all the candy I have!" Zoe exclaimed, holding her bag out for Connor and Luke.
"I hate lots too!" Connor said. "And I'm going to eat it all!"
"Not in one day I hope," Mrs. Davidson joked. "Or you might get a stomachache."
"Of course not." Adults always said that, it was as if they took everything so seriously, when he obviously knew you didn't eat a whole bag of candy in a day. He was eight, not stupid. You'd probably die of diabetes, or something.
"Those guys' costumes look kinda creepy," Luke said in a low voice, nudging Connor to look at a pair of teens crossing the street. Both were dressed as mummies, their bandages stained with fake blood.
Connor swallowed. "Wow, yeah, that is kinda scary." Some of the older children on the block had really freaky costumes, and even though he knew that it wasn't real and everything was makeup and fake, it still spooked him a little.
"Hey! You! Skinny Spidey!"
The two boys turned to see the two Harris kids right behind them. Connor immediately felt his stomach drop at the sight of Samuel.
"Dude, you look even skinnier in that costume!" Samuel mocked as he swaggered up.
Connor instantly felt incredibly self-conscious, and he scowled darkly at Samuel before remembering that he was wearing a mask.
"Sam," Molly admonished weakly, "Stop being mean."
"No, but look at him, he's so—"
Before he could continue, she grabbed him by his hand and yanked him across the street, calling "Sorry!" over her shoulder.
"That kid's not very nice," Mrs. Davidson commented with a frown, eyeing the two retreating figures.
"Boys will be boys," Cynthia hummed as they continued down the block.
"I really look so skinny," Connor muttered dejectedly as he looked down at his small frame in the tight costume, more to himself than anyone else.
"No, you're not," Luke countered. "You're fine, and we're the same size."
"You have more muscle than me," Connor whined. "I'm just like a twig."
"You look fine."
"You're only saying that 'cause you're my friend."
"No, I'm saying that 'cause it's true," Luke smiled.
"The weather's getting quite cool, isn't it?" Mrs. Davidson commented, "I don't remember it being this cold last Halloween."
Zoe rubbed her bare arms as a breeze rustled the leaves overhead.
"Do you want my cardigan, Zo?" Cynthia offered.
She shook her head. "No, that'll spoil the costume."
"But if you're cold—"
"I'm not, Mummy," Zoe interrupted, impatiently tugging on her mother's hand. "Let's go to the rest of the houses."
When their bags were all full, they headed home. It was almost nighttime, and a few houses along the street were lit by creepy Halloween decorations. The Murphy's front yard had been transformed a few days ago into an eerie graveyard, with several glow-in-the-dark skeletons dangling from the trees, and swinging back and forth whenever the breeze blew.
"Your decorations are creepy," Luke admitted as they made their way past a skeleton and into the house. "We usually just have a jack-o-lantern and some cobwebs."
"My parents like to decorate," Connor shrugged. "And it's fun to choose where the skeletons go."
"How did trick-and-treating go, kids?" Larry greeted as they entered.
"Good!" the three of them chorused. "We got lots of candy."
"Can I have some?" Larry teased.
Connor pondered for a moment before seriously saying, "Just a few. Because I worked hard for it." The adults erupted into laughter as he defensively continued, "What? We had to walk down the street and ask for it!"
Mrs. Davidson was about to open her mouth and reply when Zoe sneezed.
"Bless you!" Connor and Luke exclaimed in unison.
"You alright?" Cynthia asked.
In response, Zoe simply sneezed again.
"Well, I guess a costume with a bare midriff wasn't the best idea in this weather," Cynthia sighed.
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I may or may not have written this while listening to A Little Bit of Light on repeat and crying about it. Because yikes.
(Also, I've never gone trick and treating before? So like, excuse any inaccuracies?)
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