"Sick ride, Dempsey" Justin teased Zach as we made our way to the minivan that he's driving today
"Do you want a ride or no?" Zach shot back as he unlocked the car
"Jeez, you start driving around in a minivan and you change. What a shame" Justin continued as he shook his head
I couldn't help but laugh a little
"Don't you dare laugh or else you'll sit in the back with him" Zach glared at me
I rolled my eyes and got in the passenger seat
"Oh, and she's got a leather seats" Justin exclaimed as he got in
Zach groaned and hit his head on the steering wheel
"Watch it, you don't want to ruin your pink camo cover" Jus told him
I let out a huge laugh and Zach looked at the both of us with pleading eyes
"Okay, now I'm done..." Justin said "For now, Karen" He quickly added
A smile appeared on Zach's face as he tried not to laugh
"That one was a good one" He admitted
Justin sat back in his seat, proud of himself

"Yo! I still can't believe you guys are missing a party to babysit kids, that's so fucking dumb" Justin spoke after a while of silence
"It's not dumb" Zach told him
"Plus, we get free candy AND no hangover the next day" I added
Justin thought for awhile
"I mean I guess but it's still a bit lame" He shrugged "Also can you save me some candy" He asked
I nodded my head

"Have fun giving out bags of vegetables at soccer practice, Suzanne" Justin said as he got out of the car
I snorted out a laugh as Zach flipped him off
"That might have been the most interesting car ride ever" I spoke as we backed out of the driveway
"Oh yes" Zach replied sarcastically
I rolled my eyes and reached for his hand

The rest of the drive to the kids' school was pretty quiet except for small talk here and there.
Once we got out of the car, Zach grabbed my hand and led me inside the school towards the office

"Well if it isn't my Zachary" The secretary exclaimed as we walked through the door
"Hi, Mrs Flake! How are you?" Zach asked her as we approached the desk
"Good, good. You?" She questioned
"I'm great" Zach replied "This is Althia" He introduced me
Mrs Flake smiled at me
"Nice to meet you, dear" She said
"Same here" I responded
"You aren't from around here, correct?" She asked me
"No, I'm from way out of town" I shook my head
"That would explain why I don't know you" Mrs Flake nodded
"You didn't tell me you went to this school" I said, looking up at Zach
"No wonder, he didn't tell you .He was always causing some sort of trouble" Mrs Flake said before Zach could say anything
"That's not true" Zach argued "I would always come here and help you with whatever you needed done" He added
"Yes, but only because you got detention" She said
I laughed as Zach frowned
"Are you two here to pick up the kids?" Mrs Flake asked us
"Some would call them monsters but yes" Zach answered
I smacked him while Mrs Flake shook her head
"You're early, Zachary" She told him as she looked through a binder that was filled with notes "But I won't tell Analicia" She added which made him smile
"I'll call them but you can go and meet them in the hall" She told us
"Thank you, Mrs Flake" Zach cheesed at her "It was nice seeing you again" He added
"You too, dear" She smiled
"Thank you" I smiled at her
"Take care, sweetheart" She replied
We walked out of the office and Zach led me to the classes
"I'm nervous" I whispered to him as he grabbed my hand
"Why?" He questioned, whispering back
"What if they don't like me and then that makes your aunt not like me and then that makes your mom not like me even more" I said
"First of all, my mom likes you" He started and I looked up at him, while making a face "She does" He repeated
"I haven't even properly met her yet and I know she doesn't. Plus that one time I was waiting in the car while you got something, she stared at me from the window before shaking her head and walking away" I told him
"Exactly, she hasn't met you yet so you can't say that she doesn't like you" He argued "And, they're gonna love you. I promise. As for my aunt, she'll love you too. How can you not like someone like you" He continued before I could say anything
"That was super cheesy but thank you" I smiled at him
We turned left into a hallway and I saw two kids attempting to put their coat and shoes on
"Uncleee Zaaaaach" They both exclaimed as they saw us approaching
"Hi boys" Zach ran up to them as they jumped in his arms
I stayed back smiling while enjoying watching Zach with kids
"James, Julien, this is my girlfriend Althia" He introduced us "Althia, this is Julien and James" He told me as he pointed since they both looked alike
"That's wrong" A girl said while she approached us
"Ahh, Beatrice! What would I do without you" Zach exclaimed as he stood up "Babe, that's James, Julien and this is Beatrice" Zach told me "Beatrice, this is Althia" He told her
Beatrice gave me a shy smile
"Aren't you going to give your favorite uncle a hug?" Zach asked her as he held his arms open
She nodded before giving him a big hug
Julien was still struggling with his boots and James was struggling with his coat
"Julien, do you need help?" I asked him
He nodded
"Okay, here, sit down" I told him as I helped him take a seat in his locker "Here we go" I said as I put his shoes on
While I was doing that, Zach was helping James with his coat
"Thank you" Julien said after I had helped him
I smiled at him and then James started to whine
"James, you need to take off your costume to put your coat on" Zach told him as he continued cross his arms and whine
Zach looked at me with pleading eyes
I bent down to James' level and looked at him
"James, sweetie, you don't want to ruin your awesome costume, do you?" I asked him
He shook his head
"Alright, so you're gonna need to take it off so it doesn't get ruined before we go trick or treating" I told him as his eyes lit up at the words 'trick or treating' "Or worse, you don't want to get sick and have to stay at home instead of getting candy" I added
He shook his head again and started to take off his costume
"There you go" I spoke as I helped him into his coat
"Okay, kiddies! Outside we go" Zach announced as they all started to run towards the nearest exist "You're a natural at this" He whispered to me as he grabbed James' costume from my hands
I simply smiled up at him before we followed the kids

//

"Althia, can you help me look more princessy" Beatrice asked me as we were getting ready to go trick or treating
"Of course" I smiled at her
"Yayyyyy" She exclaimed before running away to go get whatever she thought I would need to make her look more princessy
"Babe, you doing ok?" I called out to Zach who was in the other room, helping the boys get into warmer clothes
"Yep" He answered
Beatrice soon came back with a huge makeup kit
"Wow, you have a lot of things" I told her
"Yeah I know" She smiled proudly
I laughed and looked through all of the things before starting a simple eye look
"Althia, I don't like your name" Beatrice announced after a moment of silence
"Why's that?" I questioned, holding back my giggles
"It's a weird name and I don't know how to say it" She answered
I could hear Zach chuckling from the other room
"Do you have any nicknames or something" Beatrice continued
"I have plenty" I said "People call me Al, Alt, Thia, Thi and Ee-Ah, you could choose whichever one to call me if you want, or you can try and make one up" I told her
"Wait, who calls you Ee-Ah?" Zach asked still from the other room
"Justin" I answered "He doesn't call me that a lot but he does sometimes" I added
"Oh" Was all he responded
I applied glitter to Beatrice's eyelids and then put on a pink lipstick
"Okay, I'm done" I announced as I held up a mirror so she could see
"Can you do one last thing please?" She asked me
I nodded
"Can you put that glowy thing you have on in the picture on Uncle Zach's phone?" Beatrice asked me
"Zach, which picture is she talking about?" I asked him, a bit confused
"My lockscreen. My phone should be around you somewhere" He answered before telling James that he needed to put on a different shirt on
I looked around and found Zach's phone and turned the screen on. I looked at the picture and saw that it was one of the many pictures he took the day he asked me to be his girlfriend, and the glowy thing Beatrice was talking about was my highlight
"Okay, give me one sec to go get it" I told Beatrice as she nodded
I went to my overnight bag and dug around until I found my makeup bag. I grabbed my highlight palette and my brush then went back to Beatrice
I applied some on her and then held up the mirror again
"Yay! Thank you so much, Thi" Beatrice exclaimed as she got out of her chair to hug me
"You're welcome, Bea" I smiled as I hugged her back
"Uncleeeee Zach, come look at me!" She yelled at Zach
Zach came rushing in the room with the twins and they all looked at her
"You are the prettiest princess I know, Bea" Zach told her as the twins clapped their hands
"I know" She responded, flipping her hair, making us all laugh
"Can I be next?" James asked me
I nodded as he took a seat on the chair
"What do you want, sweetie?" I asked him
"Mud! I want mud alllllll over me" He answered
"Alright" I replied
I looked around on the table to find the Halloween makeup and sponges that Zach's aunt had left for us
I found some brown and black face paint and grabbed a sponge as Zach handed me a cup with water. I thanked him and mixed the two colors together before applying it on James' face
I covered his face with the paint so it looked like he had mud all over it, like he asked, and then I put a bit on his hands
"Whoaaa" James grabbed the mirror from my hands once I was finished to see himself better
"Uncle Zach, not only is Thi pretty, like mommy, but she can also make mud very good" He said to Zach
Zach chuckled while I smiled
"It's one of her specialties" Zach told him
I laughed slightly as Zach gave me a wink
James looked at himself once again before getting down from the chair
"It's your turn now, Julien" He told his brother
Julien looked at me then at the floor
"What is it, buddy? Don't you want some face painting to look like a scary dinosaur" Zach asked him as he made a growling sound and picked him up
Beatrice and James laughed, but Julien started to cry
Zach's eyes went wide as he quickly set him down
"I don't wanna be scary" He cried as he ran up to me to hug my legs
"It's ok, you don't have to be scary if you don't want to" I told him as I rubbed his back
I looked at Zach who was frowning, obviously feeling bad for making him cry
"Jul, Althia can put on some nice paint and make you look like a nice dinosaur instead" Zach spoke as he crunched down
"I don't want any paint!" Julien told him as he clinged to my legs
"Okay, you don't need to if you don't want to" Zach told him
Slowly, Julien lifted up his face to look at Zach
"Really?" He asked as he sniffed
Zach nodded
"I won't put any on with you" Zach said as he wiped away his tears with the back of his hand
"You're the best" Julien smiled at him as he hugged him tightly
"Can we leave now?" Beatrice asked
"Yes, we just need to go change quickly" Zach answered "Bea, help your brothers with their shoes please" He added
Beatrice rolled her eyes, but grabbed both of their hands and led them to the foyer
I grabbed my bag and went in the bathroom to change while Zach went upstairs. I put on leggings then Jeff's khakis, that I borrowed, on top of them. Then I put on an old-t-shirt and Zach's button shirt on top.
I walked out of the bathroom and saw the kids all ready to go
"Uncle Zach is taking forever" James jumped up and down, impatiently
"He's probably fixing his hair, or taking off his jacket because it made his shirt wrinkly and then putting it back on" I told him, half joking
The kids all laughed
"Zachy! Let's go, we're all waiting for you" I called out to him as I looked in the mirror and placed Montgomery's snapback on my head
"I'm coming" He responded as he walked down the stairs "What's wrong with them?" He asked me while pointing at the kids
Confused, I turned around and saw all three kids with their mouths wide open like they were in extreme shock
"You just called him Zachy!" Beatrice pointed out
"Yeah" I nodded my head, still confused
"Why is she allowed to call you Zachy and we can't?" Julien asked Zach as he crossed his arms
"Zachary! You did not tell them they couldn't call you Zachy, did you?" I questioned him
Zach gave me a sly smile
"I did" He sheepishly answered "You know before you, I hated being called Zachy" He added
"No fair, no fair, no fair" The twins exclaimed
"Okay, okay! You can all call me Zachy" Zach told them
"Yay!" The three of them exclaimed
"Alright, let's go get some candy!" I announced as Beatrice opened the door
Once we were down the driveway, Beatrice grabbed my hand and I smiled
Zach grabbed the twins' hands but Julien got out of his grip and ran to me to grab my other hand
I looked behind me and made a "haha" face at Zach as he playfully rolled his eyes at me
"Guess you're stuck with me" Zach said to James
James looked up at him and shook his head
"We'll switch from time to time" I quickly told him before he could start to throw a fit
Zach gave me thankful eyes and I cheesed a smile at him

//

"You know you can go up with them and ask for candy" Zach told me as we waited down the steps at a house as the kids were ringing the doorbell "I know you wanted to go trick or treating" He added, playfully poking at my side
"I know I could but I'd feel weird because I'd be the only older person there" I answered him
"Would you like some candy?" A woman inside the house asked us
"No thank you" I smiled at her
She gave me a smile back and looked at Zach
"Yes, please" He answered as he gave me a look and walked up the stairs
The lady handed him and the kids some candy and they all thanked her
"You're welcome" Zach whispered to me
I rolled my eyes and quickly placed a kiss on his cheek

//

"Look what I got, Auntie Thiiii" James exclaimed as he ran up to me to show me a huge premade bag filled with chocolates and candies with some small chip bags
"Whoaaa, lucky you!" I responded
I quickly looked over at Zach but he was already looking at us, smiling while Julien was trying to show him something
Beatrice wanted to lead her brothers to the next house since it was her friends' so Zach and I stayed behind them
"Auntie Thi, heh? I like the sound of that" Zach said as he smacked then grabbed my butt to pull me into his side
"Zach" I tried to say sternly but giggles escaped my mouth "There's kids around" I reminded him
Zach shrugged like he didn't care before he placed a kiss on my temple

//

We were back at Zach's aunt house after a long night of trick or treating
We were all in the living room watching Shrek's Halloween as the kids ate some of their candies
"Auntie Thi?" Beatrice asked as I braided her hair
I hummed in response
"Next year, you should go as a princess with me instead of a boy. Maybe then you'll get candy" She told me
Both Zach and I laughed
"Hmm, maybe I'll take your suggestion" I said to her
We finished the show before deciding it was bedtime for everyone
The boys were half asleep on the floor and Beatrice was trying to act like she wasn't tired
"You've got Bea and I've got the boys?" Zach asked me
I nodded as I picked up Beatrice
I started walking up the stairs and stopped as I watched Zach bend down and gently pick up Julien and placing him carefully in his arm before squatting down and doing the same with James

Beatrice lazily pointed to where her room was once we're upstairs
I walked in and gently placed her on the bed
"Can you hide my candy? I don't want the boys to go in it" She asked me
I nodded my head as I placed the blankets on her
"Goodnight Bea" I whispered
"Night, Auntie Thi" She whispered back
I turned around and saw Zach in the doorway
"The boys want to say goodnight" He pointed to the room across the hall
I nodded
Zach said goodnight to Beatrice from the doorway and got a half response before he went back downstairs
I walked in the boys room
"Goodnight boys" I whispered
"Night, Auntie Thi" They said as they were half asleep
I slowly closed their door and then closed Beatrice's before going into the bathroom and answering Jess' texts since she was blowing up my phone

——————
Hope you lovelies enjoyed, much love as always xx