A/N: Happy Halloween!
Timeline:
1. 'In the beginning' Parts 1 and 2 (Chapters 13 and 14) Rusty is seven, Danny is nine.
2. 'Neverending Conversation' Parts 1 and 2 (Chapters 15 and 16) Rusty is seven, Danny is nine.
3. 'Trick and Treat' (Chapter 34) Rusty is eight, Danny is ten.
4. 'Matilda and the Werewolf' (Chapter 23) Rusty is nine, Danny is eleven.
5. 'Something more than it should be' (Chapter 10) Rusty is ten, Danny is twelve
6. 'The humiliation of Norris Carrol' (Chapter 20) Rusty is ten, Danny is thirteen
7. 'Four Day Interlude' (Chapter 5) Rusty is ten, Danny is thirteen
8. 'Remember the first time' (Chapter 4) Rusty is ten, Danny is thirteen
9. 'Sunshine, smiles and sweet, sweet words' (Chapter 17) Rusty is ten, Danny is thirteen.
10. 'Lie, Cheat, Steal, Play' (Chapter 24) Rusty is ten, Danny is thirteen
11. 'View from the outside' (Chapter 12) Rusty is eleven, Danny is fourteen
12. 'When we were young' Part 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Chapter 25-28) Rusty is eleven, Danny is fourteen
13. 'And we won't get it back when we die' (Chapter 29) Rusty is twelve, Danny is fourteen
14. 'Walk before you can crawl' (Chapter 2) Rusty is twelve, Danny is fifteen
15. 'Other Nightmares Parts 1 and 2 (Chapters 8 and 9) Rusty is twelve, Danny is fifteen
16. 'The more things change' (Chapter 1) Rusty is thirteen, Danny is fifteen
17. 'Different Roads' Part 1-3 (Chapter 31-33)
18. 'Words and Silence' (Chapter 22) Rusty is thirteen, Danny is sixteen
19. 'Six months of roses' (Chapter 18) Rusty is thirteen/fourteen, Danny is sixteen
20. 'Two stories with some understanding' (Chapter 21) Rusty is thirteen, Danny is sixteen. Falls within time of 'Six months of roses'
21. 'Life Lessons' (Chapter 7) Rusty is fourteen, Danny is sixteen - falls within time of 'Six months of roses'
22. 'The lies we live' (Chapter 3) Rusty is fourteen, Danny is sixteen
23. 'If the fates allow' (Chapter 19) Rusty is fourteen, Danny is seventeen
24. 'This is our decision (to live fast and die young)' (Chapter 6) Rusty is fourteen, Danny is seventeen
26. 'Such a perfect day' (Chapter 11) Rusty is fourteen, Danny is seventeen
And sequels after they move away!
'Adjusting' - two months after they leave town, Rusty is 15, Danny is 17
'Learning Curve' - eighteen months after they leave town, Rusty is 16, Danny is 19
'All in the family' - shortly after 'Learning Curve'
'Outward Ripples' - Rusty is 18, Danny is 20
'Eye for an Eye' - Rusty is 18, Danny is 20
'Chasing Echoes' - set after O11.
'Reconstruction' - set after movies.
The noticeboard was covered with a forlorn-looking string of dancing skeletons and pumpkins. Well, Danny guessed the skeletons were supposed to be dancing. With their hands in the air like that they looked more like they were surrendering.
But the point of all that, he guessed, was to tell them it was Halloween and once again the high school kids were willing to take the younger kids round trick or treating in safety.
"What do you think?" Rusty asked, looking at the noticeboard .
Danny considered. They hadn't done anything for Halloween last year. The week before Rusty had got into trouble over not having a note excusing him from gym class, and Danny had still been getting hassle from Freddy and Kev, and Mom and Dad had been away for the night and an evening spent staying in and not having to talk their way out of the fight had been much more tempting than it should have been.
"Candy," Rusty commented decidedly. "Lots and lots of candy. Chocolate and toffee and popcorn and those little buttery things and gingerbread men and candy canes and candy apples and sherbert lemons and marzipan pigs and sugar mice and sugar plums and sugared almonds and sugar snaps and sugar lumps and – "
" – I don't think we're gonna get all that," Danny interrupted, before the recitation went critical. "Specially the sugar lumps. Unless we dress like a horse."
Rusty looked up hopefully.
Danny sighed. "We are not dressing up as a horse, Rus'."
"Spoilsport," Rusty grinned. "What are we dressing up as?"
Huh. It was a good question.
It continued to be a good question for the rest of the week and the suggestions ranged from the boring – ghosts and cowboys and zombies, oh my – to the impossible – giraffes and gargoyles and winged monkeys and musketeers and Bugs Bunny and the Empire State Building.
They wanted something good. And they needed something that didn't cost money.
And that wasn't even the most difficult part. Mom had told him all about the most difficult part at breakfast that morning.
"I'm supposed to go to Mrs Darcey's Halloween party," he told Rusty gloomily, as they lounged against the wall in the playground at recess. "I think," he went on thoughtfully. "I think I'd rather kiss a tarantula."
Rusty considered this for a moment. "Think that's an option here?"
"Doubt it," Danny said. Otherwise surely everyone would be doing it.
"'sides," Rusty added. "It's a party, right? Party's are good. Free food. Games. Fun."
Danny looked at him. "How many parties have you ever been to?"
"Two," Rusty answered promptly. "There was cake."
He grinned. "Not sure this is going to be that sort of party, Rus'. Apparently there's gonna be a prize for the prettiest costume." The grin faded and he shuddered. "Mom went out and bought me this 'Prince Charming' costume. 's got a little shiny crown and buckled shoes and a ruffly blouse and silky tights."
Rusty blinked. "That's not going to suit you."
"Not even a little," Danny nodded. "And Annette and Celete and that crowd are having a dance recital. Annette's dressing up as a butterfly."
"Huh." Rusty received this news solemnly. "Maybe I could dress up as a butterfly."
Danny hesitated. "You could," he agreed slowly. And then they could watch the bigger kids get in line to beat the crap out of them. Might not be as bad as the silky tights and the shiny crown, but it'd be close.
"Ashamed to be seen with me?" Rusty asked lightly.
Oh, that wasn't funny. "Never," he said fiercely, and they both knew that according to his Mom and Dad the answer should be always.
The look on Rusty's face was all things apologetic. "Not a butterfly," was all he said though. "How are we gonna get you out of this party?"
"Was just going to sneak out," Danny said with a shrug. "Shouldn't be too hard."
Rusty frowned.
"No one'll notice whether I'm there or not," Danny assured him. "Least no one who will tell anyone. Mom will be busy with the rest of the hyenas. She always is at this sort of thing. And Dad..." He trailed off and looked away. He tried not to notice what Dad always did at this sort of thing. "One time, a couple of years back, I actually went home after ten minutes and they didn't notice till it was time to go home," he added lightly. "The party starts at six. That's plenty of time for me to get out, get changed and meet you outside the school."
Rusty didn't look happy but he nodded slowly. "So that just leaves – "
" – costumes," Danny agreed, and he groaned as the bell rang.
They still didn't have an answer. And they were running out of time.
"A robber," Danny said decidedly as they ate dinner at Mabel's. Danny's idea, since his parents were home and there'd been no food in Rusty's house last night or this morning. He was kind of hungry. Besides, Mabel was still running that deal where they got free dessert long as they ate up their main course. And she'd been giving out holiday discounts since it was Halloween tomorrow. Was all good, as far as he was concerned, and he wolfed down his piping hot macaroni cheese happily, and simply raised an eyebrow to encourage Danny to elaborate.
Danny did. "A bank robber," he went on. "With a mask and a striped shirt and a moustache. Bet I'd look tough."
Huh. Rusty considered that for a moment. "How do you grow a moustache?" he wondered.
"Think it takes time," Danny shrugged. "You get fake ones, but I guess they cost money."
He frowned. "So – "
" – so I was thinking permanent marker," Danny explained.
Rusty had a feeling that was a bad idea. "Doesn't 'permanent' mean forever?" he checked cautiously. He was almost certain he'd understood that right.
"Nah," Danny shook his head decidedly. "I got some on my thumb once and it washed off eventually, no problem. Besides, I wouldn't look as much like a bank robber without a fake moustache. And stubble! Like Clint Eastwood."
Huh. Something else to be considered. "Think if I was a robber I wouldn't want to look like a robber," he pointed out
Danny frowned. "But if I dress up like a robber who doesn't look like a robber then how would anyone know I'm supposed to be a robber?"
Rusty nodded. It was a good point. "You got a striped shirt, right?"
"Right," Danny agreed with a grin. "And the grocer on the corner has sacks. I figure he'd probably give us one if we asked nice enough."
"So you can write 'swag' on it?" he checked.
"Uh huh," Danny agreed.
He hesitated for a moment. "What is swag?"
"Stolen stuff," Danny explained.
He looked down at the remains of his meal. "So we're paying for this food with swag?"
"Guess so," Danny said thoughtfully.
"Huh. Swag tastes good."
There was a noise from behind the counter and they looked up to see Mabel struggling with a couple of boxes.
They were on their feet instantly.
"We got this!" Danny said, grabbing the corner of the topmost box, and Rusty quickly moved to take the other corner and they lowered it to the floor.
Huh. Was full of umbrellas and books and papers and clothes.
"Thank you, boys," Mabel said with a smile. "Now, can I have two strong volunteers to help me carry this out to the door?"
"Sure," Rusty agreed immediately. "What is it, anyway?"
"Oh, all the lost property that's been sitting in the back for years," she explained. "Cathy from my church, she asked if I had anything to donate. She's going to come by and pick it up this evening."
They laid their box down by the door and Mabel put the other one on top of it.
Immediately, Rusty's attention was caught.
He picked up the leather jacket reverently, and carefully draped it over his shoulders. Oh, this was bright with possibility.
Danny was smiling at him. "You look like The Fonz."
"I feel like The Fonz," Rusty agreed. He smiled hopefully up at Mabel. "You think I could borrow this for Halloween, Mabel?"
"Of course, sugar," she said fondly.
The door was locked and Rusty knocked hopefully and waited for a few moments. He really hoped they were in. And that they were prepared to answer. He really didn't feel like hanging around in the hallway tonight.
He was just about to knock again when the door opened a crack. There was silence.
"It's just me, Mom," he said wearily. "Can I come in?"
The door opened wider and Mom ushered him inside quickly. "Keep the floor clean," she warned him.
He looked down at the grimy carpet and nodded. "Sure."
She wandered back to the sofa and slumped across the cushions, reaching for the empty bottle at her elbow. As he watched she raised it to her mouth and took a long imaginary swig.
He bit his lip. He had no idea how long she'd been doing that. Could have been a long time. "You want me to get you something to drink, Mom?" he offered.
"Uh huh," she grunted.
Right. He headed through to the kitchen and glanced at the faucet for an optimistic second. Nah. He knew what would happen if he brought her a glass of water. Last time she'd thrown it in his face and screamed for twenty minutes. Instead, he pulled the chair over, clambered up onto the counter and reached into the cupboard over the sing, pulling down a glass and a bottle of vodka.
Carefully, he splashed a little vodka into the bottom of the glass and topped it up with water. Least it might help a bit. Mmmm. Maybe they had some orange juice or something.
Looked like he was in luck. He carried it over to the counter.
"What are you doing, boy?" Dad demanded.
He span round quickly, spilling a little of the orange juice onto the floor.
Dad was lounging in the doorway. He didn't look angry. Not yet, anyway.
"I'm just getting a drink for Mom," he said, ducking his head submissively.
"Your Mom doesn't want orange juice," Dad said scornfully, his lip curled. "Stupid bastard."
He looked up quickly. "Mabel says orange juice is good," he objected obstinately. "And I put some vodka in it."
"Right," Dad shook his head and suddenly stared at the leather jacket that Rusty had left crumpled on the table. "What you got there?"
Oh. He took a step backwards quickly, futilely sweeping the jacket down and behind his back. "Nothing."
Dad's face darkened and he stepped forwards, blotting out the light from the doorway. "I said what have you got there, boy?"
"'s a leather jacket," he said, swallowing hard.
"You steal that?" Dad demanded. "You a fucking thief now?"
"No!" he said immediately, tensed and ready for anything. "I got lent it. For Halloween."
Dad paused. "Halloween. You going trick or treating?"
Really, he had no idea whether that was good or bad. "Yessir," he said softly, wishing Dad wasn't blocking the doorway, wishing he could just run.
A second later and Dad was across the room, towering over him, and Rusty was hunched over, waiting and trembling. "Well, I better not hear you've been getting in any trouble, boy," he said, leaning over, and Rusty could feel his breath on his face. "You make sure you're good, you hear me."
He nodded fervently. "Yes sir, I will be, I promise."
Dad snorted. "Right." He glanced at the leather jacket and his fingers rubbed round his mouth thoughtfully. "I always liked James Dean."
He wasn't being James Dean. But he wasn't exactly in a hurry to dispel any misconceptions. 'Sides. 'Rebel Without A Cause' had been on TV last month and James Dean was just as cool as The Fonz. "Yes, sir," he agreed softly.
"Good," Dad said gruffly, still unbearably close. "Now, just remember what I told you. I hear that you've been causing trouble and you won't be able to sit down for a month, you get me? He didn't wait for an answer. He just cuffed Rusty roughly round the head and walked out.
Huh. Hadn't hurt.
In fact, it had almost been affectionate.
Rusty smiled to himself. He must be doing something right. Maybe he'd be able to keep it up.
Feeling good, he carried the drink through to Mom and she snatched it out of his hand and drank it down, swearing at him and sending him to his room a second later.
Just as well. He was tired anyway.
Sneaking out of a party was easier than Danny would have guessed. The only problem, he thought grimly, was that he had to wear the shiny crown, the buckled shoes, the ruffled blouse and the silky tights for at least ten minutes.
Mrs Darcey smiled at him as she opened the door, after she'd finished fencing with Mom and Dad. "Daniel. Aren't you just looking precious?"
"Thank you, Mrs Darcey," he said politely. He had to be inconspicuous.
"Such a cute little outfit," she added. "I believe my Annette has a pair of tights that colour," and he knew she wanted him to get mad, to snap and insult her the way he'd done in the past, to publicly embarrass Mom and Dad. He made for good gossip.
Rusty was waiting for him. Rusty, a bank robber's costume and a whole lot of candy.
"It's a nice colour," he said neutrally.
For that he thought he could take anything.
"I'm glad to see you didn't bring That Boy, Barbara," Mrs Darcey said, and her eyes were still on Danny. "Have you managed to discourage him from following Daniel around at last?"
He could take anything. He could take anything.
"Children do get into these strange phases," Mom said stiffly. "The best thing to do is just to wait them out."
"Oh, yes," Mrs Darcey smiled daintily. "I remember a few months back Annette wanted to cut her hair short.
Mum laughed, soft and awkward, and Danny kept his eyes blank. Rusty's friendship was in the same league as an unfortunate haircut.
Not to him.
He carried on smiling and, visibly disappointed, Mrs Darcey ushered them into the next room.
Danny waited until Mom had disappeared into a huddle with Mrs Arthur and Mrs Ferrell, and Dad had vanished off with a blonde woman who was dressed like no nurse Danny had ever seen. Then he headed into the bathroom, carefully closed the door behind him, and ducked out the window.
Fifteen minutes running and he was back home, wriggling out of the ridiculous prince's outfit and into his bank robber costume.
Dark slacks, a black and white striped shirt, the sack with 'swag' written prominently on it and a black scarf with eyeholes cut out of it for a mask.
He tied it around his face and looked at himself in the mirror admiringly. Oh, he was looking good. All he needed was the last finishing touch.
He hefted the black marker thoughtfully.
Rusty was waiting for him when he got to the school.
Blue jeans, white t-shirt, his hair thoroughly gelled back and the leather jacket down to his knees.
Danny smiled. "Gomez Addams called, he wants his hairgel back."
Rusty nodded. "Your moustache is squint."
He put his hand to his upper lip automatically. "I know." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the marker hopefully. "Help?"
"Hold still," Rusty said with an amused sigh, and Danny stood patiently as Rusty, up on tiptoes, drew on his face.
"Wow, looking good guys," a voice said enthusiastically.
Danny glanced sideways to see Doug Fletcher, dressed in a dark cloak and vampire fangs, grinning at them.
"Hey, Doug," Rusty said, not looking round.
"Hi," Danny called, trying not to move his mouth.
"Stay still," Rusty told him. "You going to this thing then, Doug?"
"Yeah," Doug agreed enthusiastically. "The teachers are round the front dividing everyone into groups."
Oh. Danny suddenly felt a surge of unease. They would be able to stay together, right?
He could see the same worry in Rusty's eyes.
"Who are you meant to be, Rusty?" Doug asked suddenly.
"The Fonz," Rusty said absently.
"The Fonz isn't blond," Doug objected.
"We didn't have enough black markers to do my hair," Rusty explained. "There. You're done," he said to Danny, stepping back.
Danny glanced at himself in the window. Oh, that was better. He smiled. "Shall we?"
Mrs O'Donnell was standing in the entrance with a clipboard. "Oh, Danny, there you are." She frowned at Rusty. "And is this your little brother?"
"My friend," Danny corrected simply.
"Rusty Ryan," Rusty put in. "I'll be on the list."
"Oh, yes." She made a couple of notes. "Now, Danny, you're with Roger," She nodded over to a teenager dressed as wizard. "And Rusty, you'll be with Paul." She pointed to a sullen looking boy holding a blood-stained axe.
They didn't look at each other. Didn't have to.
"Can't we stay together?" Danny asked with his most charming smile.
"Please?" Rusty added hopefully. "It really wouldn't be – "
" – nowhere near as fun," Danny nodded, meaning every word. "And we won't – "
" – oh, no trouble at all," Rusty assured her.
They could see her wavering.
"Please," they said again, in soft sincere unison.
"Oh, alright then," she said at last. "You can both go with Paul."
"Thank you," they said together.
This wasn't as fun as they'd been hoping. Pretty obvious that Paul wasn't at all interested in being here. They – along with Julian Meadows, Kelly Sharp, Alice Munroe and Kirstin Lewis – were being herded from door to door as fast as possible. They barely had time to smile and say 'Trick or treat?' before Paul was hauling them away.
No chance of conversation, no chance to compare what they'd got, no chance to show off their costumes, no fun.
After the third home, they exchanged a long glance.
"You want – "Danny began in a whisper.
" – let's go," Rusty nodded.
They dropped to the back of the group then quietly slipped away.
The two of them alone and this was much more fun. They sauntered up to door after door, bright, charming smiles, and they were shining, basking in friendly welcome and appreciative admiration.
Seemed their costumes were impressing. And Danny's moustache, despite their best efforts, was amusing.
Was a good night.
"Think I've got enough food here to last me a week," he said cheerfully, peering into his bag. Chocolate and lollipops and sweet peanuts and gummy bears...all his and delicious.
"Good," Danny said, after a fractional pause and he glanced over in time to see the struggle and conflict.
He honestly didn't know what to say. Oh, he understood what Danny had a problem with, and it wasn't the idea of Rusty having enough food. And yes, he was prepared to admit that it wasn't normal, that the other kids out trick or treating were looking at their candy and seeing, well, treats.
"Doesn't mean it's not fun, Danny," he said softly.
After a moment, Danny smiled. "Yeah. So what do you – "
" – we got time to go to Mabel's 'fore you have to get back?" he suggested hopefully.
Danny considered. "Should do."
Mabel's place was a couple of blocks away, and as soon as they turned the corner they saw the crowd.
Kids, mostly Danny's age. Rusty recognised them. Mike and John, Gina, Unity and Patricia and Jeff and Lee. They were huddled at the top of the street, watching a group of ten or so teenagers who were focussed on something – someone – on the ground. Rusty had seen the teenagers around, but he didn't know names. He just knew to avoid them.
They could just turn around and walk in the other direction. Not get involved. Pretend they hadn't seen anything.
They didn't even look at each other, they just sprinted up to the end of the end of the street and carefully pushed through the crowd.
Chip and Buzz Fairley were on the ground, being held down by two of the boys. And Chip might be the same age as the teenagers, more or less, but he was barely taller than his little brother. This fight was about as unfair as he could imagine.
There was a rucksack at the teenagers' feet. Looked like it was stuffed to the brim with candy. All the candy the kids around them had got from trick or treating, Rusty would guess. This was a shake down.
"New blood," one of the teenagers shouted gleefully, catching sight of him and Danny. "We'll get to you in a minute. Don't try to run, we'll catch you."
He imagined they would. But, as he glanced sideways and saw the same anger and outrage at the injustice reflected in Danny, he knew they had no intention of running.
Danny's eyes flickered a little way along the street and Rusty grinned. Oh, that should work.
He leaned in to Patricia on his left. "Meet us at the diner down the street," he whispered, and he knew Danny was passing on the same message to Mike on the other side.
He started to sneak around the edge of the crowd. A second later and Danny was running past the teenagers with a wild cry, grabbing the rucksack of sweets and zig sagging crazily down the street. Took the teenagers a moment to catch up to what was going on, and then they were chasing after Danny, Chip and Buzz and the others forgotten, and Rusty was running flat out.
Their timing was perfect. Danny ground to a halt in a doorway and the teenagers advanced on him menacingly. "You're in trouble now, kid. Didn't think this through, did you?"
Danny smiled. "You think so?" He looked pointedly to his left and the boys followed his gaze instinctively.
Straight at Rusty, standing right beside the fire hydrant.
"Aaaayyyyy," he said cheerfully, and he hit the side of the loosened fire hydrant, sending a jet of water all over the teenagers who fled, soaked and surprised.
"Wouldn't hang around to give a thumbs up," Danny suggested, and they were racing away, leaving the teenagers behind.
They caught up with the other kids a half block or so from Mabel's.
"You okay"? Rusty asked, stepping up between Buzz and his older brother. Danny wasn't exactly sure of the guy's name.
"Yeah," the brother nodded, awkwardly, clearly embarrassed by the whole thing. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Danny said with an easy smile. "So what happened, anyway?"
Mike shrugged. "Me and John were just walking the girls home when those guys jumped us. Said they'd beat us up if we didn't give them our candy."
"We handed it over," John admitted, a little shame-faced. "Come on, there was twenty of them."
Ten that Danny had counted. But that wasn't exactly the point. He nodded understandingly.
"And then Lee and Jeff showed up, and they got grabbed too," Mike added. "And then Buzz and Chip were walking past, and they tried to get them to leave us all alone." He looked over at Buzz and Chip. "Seriously, I thought they were going to kill you!"
Buzz smiled tightly. "Nah. They were nothing."
"You were amazing!" Gina said, looking at Danny with wide eyes.
Mike nodded. "You really were."
"You got the candy, right?" Jeff asked anxiously.
Danny smiled and hefted the rucksack. "Uh huh."
"Let's go divide it out," Rusty added cheerfully, throwing open the door to the diner dramatically.
Mabel beamed at them all in welcome. "Happy Halloween," she said with a twirl. She was dressed as Wonder Woman.
"Wow – " Rusty began.
Danny nodded. " – you look – "
" – fantastic," Rusty finished seriously.
"So do you," she told them, looking over the group with a smile. "Look at you all! Danny, you must be the fiercest bank robber I've ever seen. And Rusty, you make a wonderful Fonzie."
Danny grinned and Rusty gave her the classic thumbs-up pose.
"Wonder Woman isn't African American though," Jeff pointed out with a frown. "You should've been Storm."
"Storm's cool," Lee agreed seriously.
"I like Wonder Woman though," Mabel told them, seemingly not in the slightest bit offended.
"And Rusty's a blond Fonz!" Lee went on. "Seriously, people, these things matter!"
Danny did his best not to meet Rusty's eyes, amusement crackling.
"You all here for something to eat?" Mabel suggested diplomatically.
Behind them, Chip shuffled his feet. "Uh, we don't have our wallets," he lied awkwardly.
Mabel smiled. "Uh uh, it's Halloween," she pointed out. "You know what to say."
"Trick or treat?" Rusty suggested hopefully.
"Let's see what I have for you all," Mabel said with a grin.
Danny smiled at Rusty. He was going to need to go back to his parents and the party soon enough, and he was going to need to get the ink moustache off his face first, and at some point they were probably going to need to deal with consequences from them walking out on the school trick or treat scheme.
Right now though, watching the other kids reclaiming their candy, waiting as Mabel brought them pie over, feeling like heroes, right now with Rusty smiling beside him, there was nothing to worry about.