Sorry this is coming out later than usual. As I already explained to some of you, I spent about a week or so rewatching all seven seasons of The Venture Bros in preparation for the movie. Then when the movie came out, I watched it four times to make sure I took everything. With that said, Steven Universe is owned by Cartoon Network and Gravity Falls is owned by Disney. Enjoy.

Chapter 19: Plans and Complications

Despite a somewhat shaky start thanks to Amethyst's childish needling, the Universe Siblings' annual Summerween outing was going off without a hitch. They'd only been at it a few hours and already their candy bags were almost too heavy to carry. Steven attributed this to the originality of their costumes, while Tambry attributed it to her brother's seemingly superhuman likeability. Either way, they were having a grand old time.

Having just scored a couple of king-sized Coconut Crunchy Bars from the always generous, if somewhat unstable, Mr. Poolcheck, our intrepid heroes were hoping to increase their bounty even more by dropping in on yet another old friend. In this case, Tambry's old babysitter Ms. Wentworth, known to the majority of the town as 'Lazy Susan'.

Ding-Dong.

"Just a minute, sweeties." said the kindly older woman from the other side of the front door. "I'll be right there."

A minute later the door opened wide and out walked the familiar form of the town's favorite waitress, dressed as, of all things, a giant ball of yarn, with several of her cats clinging to her costume like it was made of saranwrap.

"Trick or Treat~" the duo sang in unison, as was customary in this situation.

"Oh, well isn't this a nice surprise." The older woman said pleasantly. "Tambourine Universe. Look at you, all grown up and pretty."

Tambry blushed a little, both from the compliment and from hearing her full name for the first time in months. As her former babysitter, Lazy Susan was one of the few people who could call her 'Tambourine' without getting decked in the face.

"Thanks." The teen girl replied politely. "It's nice to see you too, Ms. Wentworth."

"Oh, quit being so ding-dong formal, honey. Just call me Lazy Susan."

"Yeah, I-uh… I'm not gonna do that." Tambry said awkwardly.

"Suit yourself, sweetie." Lazy Susan said with a shrug before taking notice of the younger Universe. "And oh~ Is that little Steven I see? I swear, your costumes just get more and more creative each year."

"Thanks, Ms. Susan." The young lad replied appreciatively.

"You're welcome, Honey." The older woman said pleasantly, before pulling out a large bowl of candy from somewhere offscreen. "Now here you go, but only take one handful each, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." They both replied in unison before taking their treats and adding them to their bags.

Then, after thanking Lazy Susan and wishing her a Happy Summerween, the duo continued on their merry way. And as they moved on to the next house, with a slight spring in their step, the Siblings Universe began to sing their special trick-or-treating song; first composed by young Tambry at the tender age of nine.

Ghosts and Ghoulies gather round~

Stalking you without a sound~

Wake up six feet underground~

One more body in the mound~

Yeah… kids are scary.

Shadows swallow every sound~

Arms and legs are locked and bound~

No salvation to be found~

Now you're trapped in Monster Town~

Tambry was about to start the next verse when she noticed something strange. Steven wasn't singing along with her. That had never happened before.

"What's the matter, buddy? You feelin' alright?" she asked him concernedly.

And rightfully so, for young lad wasn't his usual exuberant self. He was so quiet, which in itself was extremely out of character, but what really concerned her was the look on his face. It was an unsettling mix of sadness, guilt and confusion; the exact same look he had when she had to teach him about 'Goldfish Heaven'.

"I'm fine." He answered her hollowly, which only added to her anxiety.

"Like heck you are." She replied, before kneeling down to his eye level. "Now what's wrong? Are you sick? Let me feel your forehead."

"No, it's… it's nothing like that."

"Well, something must be wrong. You weren't singing our special trick-or-treat song. I thought you loved that one."

"I do, it's just… I have a lot on my mind."

"Okay, well, you know you can always talk to me it, right?"

"I know, but I… well…." Steven began awkwardly, pausing for a brief moment to organize his thoughts. "Tambry, am I… am I a bad brother?"

Needless to say, this caught the elder Universe off-guard.

"What?" she blurted out in utter disbelief. "Of course not. Where would you get a silly idea like that?"

"Well, Amethyst said you're missing a party with your friends to…"

"Ugh! Amethyst!" Tambry said annoyedly. "Steven, don't pay attention to anything that Gem says. She's just trying to cause trouble. Again."

"But there really is a party going on tonight, and you're missing it to hangout with me."

"Sigh. Oh, Steven." The purple haired teen said as she placed a reassuring hand on her little brother's shoulder. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. Highschool parties suck."

"Huh?"

"It's true. There's never anything to do besides talk, and whenever someone tries to liven things up someone else usually calls the cops. Heck, the only reason people even go is because they're afraid of missing out."

"I don't understand."

"It's a teen thing. You'll get it when you're older. Look, the point is I'm having way more fun hanging out with you tonight than I would at Nate and Lee's party. So don't worry about what Amethyst or anyone else says. Okay bud?"

"Okay." The young lad replied, his voice regaining some of its usual exuberance.

"Good." Tambry said, smiling warmly and patting her brother on the head. "Now come on, let's get going."

With that minor crisis averted, the Siblings Universe continued with their delightful biyearly ritual; singing merrily as they went. Tambry was so relieved that Steven was back to his usual perky self; mostly because of her strong sisterly instincts, but also because him being happy made it easier for her to segway into the next phase of her plan. While everything she'd said earlier had technically been true, she actually had a much more interesting reason for wanting to skip the party.

"Hey Steven, I'm getting kinda hungry." She said to her little brother innocently. "What do you say we head over to the Big Doughnut for a bite?"

XXX

(A short time later)

The Big Doughnut was not the only convenience store in Gravity Falls, but it was the most popular. Part of the reason for this was because it was owned by Mr. Smiley, who despite being a thoroughly unpleasant person in general was a wizard when it came to marketing. The other reason was the superb customer service provided by the twelve-time Employee of the Month, the always delightful Sadie Miller.

Although she'd moved to Gravity Falls with her mother over two years ago, Tambry had never taken much notice of the short, stocky blonde until last Spring, when they'd both been cast in their school's production of From Here to Eternity the Musical. The play itself had been a total disaster, but after spending so much time together and getting to know each other so well, the two teens became friends and started hanging out whenever possible. However, in recent weeks, Tambry's thoughts toward Sadie had become, shall we say, less platonic in nature, so she decided she needed to do something about it before those thoughts drove her completely mad.

The tinkling of tiny bells announced their arrival as the Siblings Universe stepped through the front doors of the Big Doughnut. As expected, there were no other customers. There never were, not this late on Summerween, but Mr. Smiley still insisted on staying open, just in case. Not that this was a problem for Tambry, of course. As far as she was concerned, these sorts of things, matters of the heart that is, were better done without an audience.

"Hey Sadie! Happy Summerween!" Steven said excitedly, instantly breaking the ice.

"Hey Steven. Happy Summerween to you too." The blonde cashier replied pleasantly, before taking notice of the elder Universe and blushing slightly. "Oh, uh… hey Tambry."

"Hey." She replied, playing it cool as she approached the counter. "So, is it always this crowded?"

"I know, with all the parties and trick-or-treating tonight, it's been like a ghost town most of the time." Sadie explained conversationally. "You two are the first customers we've had in over four hours. I don't know why Mr. Smiley makes us stay open."

"Because he's a sleazy, moneygrubbing creep, that's why." The taller teen answered with a hint of venom in her voice. "So, we still on for later?"

"Oh, totally. I've been looking forward to this all week."

"Whatcha guys talking about?" Steven asked curiously.

"Just a little Summerween movie marathon at Sadie's after she gets off work." Tambry explained. "And before you ask, no, you're not coming."

"Aw~ Why not?"

"Because after 10 is passed your bedtime." She explained in a stern yet gentle tone. "Besides, Pearl would pop a gasket if I let you watch something that gives you nightmares… again."

"Okay…" the young lad said dejectedly.

"Say Steven, why don't you help yourself to some doughnuts." Sadie said in a clear attempt to cheer him up. "Business has been so slow I was about to throw them out anyway."

Upon hearing this, Steven's pupils turned to stars and he immediately went to town on the slightly stale pastries; much to Tambry's amusement.

"Thanks for that." The purple haired teen said to her shorter 'friend'. "So, what movies did you get?"

"Well, the video store was a little sparce, you know, with it being Summerween and all." Sadie admitted awkwardly. "But I managed to find a few in the bargain bin that looked interesting. Resurrection of the Rattlesnake, Ocean Ogre and Notebook Found in a Deserted House."

"Nice." Tambry said approvingly. "I've heard of that last one. It's supposed to be really freaky. This is gonna be one heck of a night."

"Yeah, it's gonna be really… something." The shorter blonde replied uneasily.

"You okay?" asked the taller teen, sensing that something was wrong. "Don't tell me your Mom canceled her date or something."

"No, it's nothing like that. It's just…" Sadie paused for a moment, wearing the expression of a child about to confess something to their parent. "I maybe… kinda… sorta… invited Lars to join us."

Ah yes, Lars Barriga.

Sadie's semi-reliable coworker.

He moved to town around the same time she did. Nothing much to say about the guy. Just your typical awkward loser desperate to get in good with the cool kids. Unfortunately for him, Tambry's group already had one of those, so his attempts to wedge himself into the crew were often met with ridicule and wedgies. Needless to say, his presence at what was supposed to be a private affair was most unwelcome. Luckily, Tambry was mature enough to handle this unexpected development with poise and civility.

"EWW! Gross!" the purple haired teen squealed disgustedly. "Why the heck would you invite that weenis?"

"Because he's my friend." Sadie answered sternly. "And because your friends were jerks to him and really hurt his feelings. Again."

"Sigh. What happened?" Tambry asked, suddenly feeling a little less upset.

"Nate and Lee came by earlier to invite me to their party. I told 'em I was busy, and they were about leave, when Lars came over and asked if he was invited and… well… you can guess the rest."

'Great, my evening's ruined because those two morons can't control themselves.' Tambry thought bitterly. "Okay, but why did you have to invite him to our movie night?"

"Because he's really hurt this time and he really needs a friend. And if you wanna keep being my friend, you'll be nice to him and act like you want him to be there. Okay?" Sadie explained in a way reminiscent of a parent lecturing a child.

Wanting to stay on the shorter blonde's good side, Tambry reluctantly agreed to these terms.

"Alright, I'll be nice." She said begrudgingly, much to Sadie's delight. 'But Nate and Lee are so dead for this.'

End Notes:

Lyrics for Tambry's trick or treating song come courtesy of 'Man on the Internet', with some minor tweaks, of course. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one. Peace.