"Pastaaaaa! Ve!" What a commotion. More of America's friends had arrived. Tony pointed out a military uniform, a panda suit, a matryoshka doll... but when I saw the squealing man, my gaze was fixated on him and him alone. He was dressed as an alien.

"Look, everybody! I'm a Pictonian!"

"What the hell, Italy?! Those aliens were annoying!"

"Don't be silly! The aliens are my friends!"

The aliens are my friends. The aliens are my friends. The aliens...

I moved my long neck, trying to catch his attention. Then I waved. It worked.

"Hey, look, I'm not the only alien! Hi there, you two! I know Tony, but who are you?"

I told him my name, but the friendly man jumped back in terror.

"Mamma mia! Please don't kill me! Why do you growl and be so scary?! I just wanted to know your name!"

I looked at the ground, a bit ashamed. I was just saying my name...

"Do you have a name? Mine is Italy Veneziano!"

I shrugged. I didn't know how to translate my name into Earthian.

"I'm back!" America had returned to the meeting place.

"America, we need help!" Italy cried out. "This alien has no name! It's so sad! We should give him one!"

"Cool beans!" said America. "I'll think about it, 'kay?"

Why was he upset? He asked, I answered. I played by the rules.

It was time to go. We headed towards a nearby city, where we knocked on the doors and yelled: "Trick or treat!" It was stupid, but secretly fun. I felt a giddy feeling, "festive", as Tony would call it. It was the feeling that I belonged.

In the beginning, a few people had seemed uneasy or agitated, getting into quarrels and hiding behind trees, and I'd been slightly annoyed at this seemingly pointless party, but after a couple houses, we'd all gotten in the spirit. Some of us were happy with their candy, others happy to be together, and the man called Italy held my hand as we skipped together from house to house. I loved the dark. I loved the glowing pumpkins, and the stars, and all the other, unfamiliar lights that added extra magic to the darkness. Earth was much more beautiful by night, and when I looked up to the sky, I saw that it had the most beautiful moon, and I could have sworn this moon was winking at me.

"Taste it!" said the man called Italy. "It's yummy!" He was talking about the candies. I took one of the tiny, colorful pieces of treat from my bag and plopped it in my mouth. I was immediately disappointed.

This tastes disgusting...

"It's okay if you don't like it," said Italy. "It's about the fun, after all!"

I nodded.

"Are you having fun?" asked Italy.

I nodded again.

"Yay!" said Italy, grinning so widely that it made me want to smile. I moved my mouth from side to side, trying to figure out how smiling worked. Italy laughed and we skipped on to the next house. The others followed us, but I wasn't paying attention to them anymore.

"Trick or treat!"

The two people from the house looked into their closet for the same yucky candies we already had so many of. In the corner, I noticed a small clock. I was distracted. I walked towards it.

"Here's your candy!"

I didn't react. I barely heard them.

"Don't you want your treat?"

Now I turned around and looked them in the eyes.

"I want a clock."

The people laughed nervously. "Don't be silly! Here you go!" They put candy in my bag. The same disgusting candy. I growled, but when Italy said "Hey, be nice!", I stopped immediately. I took a last look at the clock, and then I shrugged and went back out. It was about the fun, after all, not the treats.

"Are... you... my friend?" I asked Italy.

"Of course I'm your friend!" said Italy. "I love being friends!"

I nodded softly, and at the corner of the street, I stopped walking.

"Be my friend..." I whispered, "forever..."

"How 'bout Steve?" said a loud voice behind us. "Steve is a cool name!"

"Good idea, America!" said Italy. "Let's call him Steve! Did you hear that, Steve! You have a name now!"

"That's not my name," I whispered, but I whispered it in my own language, and I didn't know how to translate that.