"So even when the village shaman would try to call down the vengeance of the moon upon his enemies, he was still a snappy dresser." Mr. G explained, holding up a cloth. "Now, I hope that some of these native artifacts are going to inspire some culturally diverse costume choices this Halloween."

"All it's inspiring for me is a nap." Benny said quietly to Ethan and I.

"I miss naps. The dreaming, the snoring, the drooling..." Rory listed.

"Since when did you give up drooling?" Ethan asked as I stifled a laugh.

"Ah, naps." Rory laid his head down on his desk.

Mr. G shouted, holding up a mask and startling us. That definitely startled me awake from my midnight study session. I was almost half-asleep until now.

"Here's a sight for scary eyes. According to native legend, an ancient warlord would use this mask to bring to life the fighting spirits of his army. And the warlord's warriors would don the furs of wolves and bears and then, do you know what would happen?" Mr. G asked.

"Animal rights groups would protest?" Ethan asked.

"They smelled like old carcasses?" Benny guessed, looking at me for help.

"And then real wolves and bears would come and attack them?" I added, Benny and I high-fiving with a smile.

"No. The natives believed the warriors would turn into actual wolves and bears! Scary stuff, eh kids?" Mr. G smiled.

The bell rang and I started to calmly pack my stuff up.

"That's the first today for the Weir twins. Benny high-fived me again.

"Off to a great start and it's only second period." I said, yawning afterward.

"Are you yawning because you were up till three or because of the class?" Ethan asked.

"Both." I sneakily grabbed his hand, intertwining our fingers.

~~~

"Why not?" Ethan asked as I walked up to the two.

"Because it'll just be the three of us, that's why." Benny replied.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that we don't have a dozen friends with ready-to-wear costumes and no Halloween plans? We invite the mathletes, and we're halfway there." Ethan explained.

"Count me in, because I don't want to go to a vampire party filled with five-hundred-year-old vampires. Erica explaining it just sounded lame. I'd rather dress human, not like I'm from the seventeenth century." I explained.

"We could at least invite Rory." Ethan added.

"What?" Benny's smile fell. "Do you remember what happened last time? And that wasn't even a costume party."

"Look, I'm sure he'll be better this time." Ethan assured him.

I heard a grunt and I saw Rory wearing a mask, trying to scare people. I laid my head on Ethan's shoulder tiredly. "I still think that's better."

~~~

"So, I'll be home by eleven. Have fun with your friends, and don't forget to take Jane trick-or-treating." Mrs. Morgan reminded Ethan.

"I can't forget what I never remember." Ethan said in a deep voice.

"Wow. Do all of those Dusk characters really talk like that?" Mrs. Morgan asked.

"Yeah. Especially Jakeward." Ethan explained.

"He's "thoughtful"." I added.

"Who are you supposed to be, (Y/n)?" Mrs. Morgan asked.

"I'm Rochelle." I twirled, Ethan smiling.

"Hey, Sarah. Who are you dressed up as?" Mrs. Morgan asked cheerfully.

"I'm me, myself, and I." Sarah said, still in her outfit from school. "I really didn't know what I was going to wear, so I'm going as myself."

"Okay. Well, have a good time, guys." Mrs. Morgan walked out the door.

"See ya, Mom." Ethan said weakly.

I inspected his outfit a moment before pulling him in by the collar into a sweet kiss. I fixed his collar and pulled away after a moment. I smiled, giggling as he pouted.

"Come on. Let's get the snacks ready before Benny comes over." I said, pulling away from him.

I faced the counter, preparing the snacks.

Ethan came up behind me and I felt his breath in my ear. He whispered, "Why do you have to be a tease?"

~~~

"Arriba!" Benny came downstairs.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Ethan asked.

"Well, I couldn't decide between Merlin and a Mexican wrestler, so I picked both. Say hola to El Merlo Loco, the wizard-wrestler who combines the best of the arcane and the insane!" Benny explained.

"Hey, Whitechapel! Are you ready to party?" Lizzy asked as she walked in.

"Compared to this, Erica's traditional vampire Halloween is starting to sound like blast!" Sarah rolled her eyes, walking away.

~~~

"(Y/n), can you please take me trick-or-treating?" Jane walked over to us whining.

"Let's go!" I smiled.

"Ethan, come on!" Jane said as she took my hand.

"Okay, okay! Don't get your whiskers in a knot." Ethan sighed, following behind us. He walked next to me. "Why are you favored over me? I'm the big brother."

"Because (Y/n)'s the fun sister." Jane retorted.

Ethan scoffed, offended. "Why?" he whined.

"Because she is. She's going to be my sister-in-law anyways, isn't she?" Jane questioned as I blushed madly.

"Jane!"

~~~

"What's that for?" Ethan asked as Benny wheeled up a garbage can.

"If we're doing this, I'm going to break my record. Eleven point twenty-eight pounds." Benny said determinedly.

"Yeah." Ethan scoffed quietly.

Jane meowed as the old lady opened the door. "Oh, what a sweet little mouse! Here dear." the woman gave Jane some candy. "Children certainly are getting tall these days. Are you sure you're not too old to be doing this?" she looked at Benny. "Let me get my glasses out."

"No! I'm ten. I love recess, and balloons, and... that cartoon about that bouncy thing." Benny said in a high-pitched voice.

"All right, then." she handed him a box.

"Thanks." Benny said, backing up.

"Here, (Y/n). It's (f/c)." Jane handed me the candy.

I smiled, taking it from her and opening it. "Thanks, Jane." I said, breaking off a bit and handing it to Ethan. "You weren't serious earlier, were you?" I looked at the girl.

"I was. What makes you think I was joking?" Jane giggled, skipping a couple feet in front of us.

"My one and only." Ethan whispered in my ear.

I shivered. I smiled, pecking the corner of his mouth, teasing him. "My prince."

~~~

"Are you serious?" I groaned.

"What? That house is a candy gold mine. Their fun-size bars are actually fun." Benny argued.

"You have fourteen pounds of Seed Mints." I deadpanned.

"A record's a record." Benny said, opening a box and filling his mouth with candy.

~~~

"That's ten houses. You've got enough yet?" Ethan asked. "We'll find Benny when we get back to the party."

"Yeah, good enough. I'll be sick tomorrow for sure." Jane rolled her eyes.

~~~

"Ugh. Ah, man. I thought the seeds would be the worst part, but it's clearly the mint." Ethan gagged.

"Now open your mouth and say "ah"." Kevin instructed.

"Aaaaah- I said are you ready to party?" Lizzy asked enthusiastically.

"Indeed. Now, take two gumdrops and call me last night." Kevin placed the candy in her hand.

"Hey, Kevin. Want a seed mint?" Ethan offered.

"What I want can't be found in all tomorrow's yesterdays." Kevin said mysteriously.

"Wow. That's a really good Doctor When impression." Benny acknowledged. "Somebody's a fanboy." Benny whispered to me and I nodded.

"I have to go. I'll be here any minute." Kevin said in realization.

"Don't go yet. We're gonna order six feet of pizza from Feetza." Ethan said.

Kevin looked to the side before disappearing in a blinding light. I looked shocked at the place he was standing in.

"Was that as impossible as I think it was?" I said.

I heard growling and we looked into the other room. Girl-illa was fighting Finja.

"That looks like a real sword. And that sounds... and smells like a real gorilla." Ethan looked at me.

Kevin suddenly appeared in front of us. "What day is it? What day is it?"

"Something's not right here." Ethan said in a hushed tone.

"I know. This party is awesome! I never knew our friends were so much fun." Benny said with a smile.

"Benny, Kevin just teleported! Lizzy was playing a real guitar! There's an actual gorilla in a wig in Ethan's living room. Finja has a real sword that could cut someone." I listed.

Rory came into the room and Jane turned to face him.

"Hey, Rory. Neat mask." Jane complimented.

"Rory, what's going on here?" Ethan asked.

Rory put his hands on the sides of her head and chanted something, his eyes glowing red. He ran off, laughing muffled as Jane meowed.

"Jane?" I questioned.

Ethan reached into her bowl and Jane hissed at him.

"Hey! We took you trick-or-treating, you rugrat!" Benny scolded.

Jane meowed moodily at him.

"There you are!" Sarah ran over to us. She motioned into the other room. We walked into it, Benny closing the door.

"Did Rory just turn Jane into a cat?" Ethan asked.

"I don't know what's happening, but he really got this party started." Sarah sighed.

"He's wearing that native mask from Mr. G's class. What did Mr. G say it did?" Ethan asked.

"You're asking me to remember something from class?" Benny deadpanned.

"Figure it out later! Stop it, now. We can't let a gorilla and a ninja out onto the streets." Sarah said.

"I got this. Groundus dominicus eternius!" Benny said calmly, orange magic flying toward the lock.

I heard a click. "That's the spell Grandma uses to ground me. No one gets outside." Benny explained.

"Ethan! I'm home!" Mrs. Morgan called from the other room.

"What about inside?" Ethan asked worriedly.

"It doesn't do it that way." Benny scratched his head before we rushed into the kitchen.

We heard chanting and Rory disappeared seeing us. "Mom?" Ethan questioned.

"Quiet!" Mrs. Morgan held out her wand, looking like a cliche witch. "Not another word. Or I'll turn you into a toad."

"Can she really-"

Green magic shot out of the wand toward Ethan. He froze before turning into a real toad on the ground. He croaked repeatedly as I looked at Benny with worry.

~~~

"Ethan, please don't jump out at me again. It was so disgusting to catch you." Sarah cringed.

"You know, I think he looks cuter as a toad." Erica stated.

"Not to me." I scoffed.

"All right, stand back." Benny cracked his knuckles. "Amphibiar formus malnath ecto personam!" Benny casted the spell.

Ethan's body turned back to normal and Benny smiled. He reached to take off the trash can, and we screamed when we saw the toad head.

"What? What is it?" Ethan asked, slightly out of breath.

"Uh, nothing! Everything is fine. You do not have a hideous toad head." Benny said.

"That's my next five nightmares." Erica breathed.

"What?!" Ethan panicked, ribbiting after. "Why did I just ribbit?"

"I'm doing it." I stopped Benny. "Amphibiar returnus malnath ecto personam." I casted, blue magic shooting toward Ethan.

I waited a moment and lifted the basket off of Ethan's head. I hugged him in relief.

"I'll freak out about this later." Ethan said, kissing my head. "Let's get to work."

"Erica, help me find Jane. She's sort of a cat now." Sarah said as I sat down next to Ethan.

"Fine. I will help you find your cat, then that is it. I need to shun the material world, and... and "feel the pulse of lifeblood"." Erica quoted from the book. "That sounds... that sounds awesome."

I laid my head on Ethan's shoulder, relaxing slightly.

"I love you." Ethan whispered barely as he typed.

"I love you too." I lifted and turned my head to kiss his cheek before laying my head back down again.

~~~

"So, an ancient warlord used this mask to turn his warriors into wolves and bears." Benny started.

"We know that." Ethan nodded. "What happens after?"

"The gods were angry with this warlord so they blasted his mask off with this bolt of lightning, and his warriors turned back to normal." Benny continued.

"Can you lightning the mask off?" Ethan looked at Benny.

"This is fifteen thousand-year-old magic. (Y/n) could probably attempt it, but I don't have that kind of power." Benny explained.

"With how drained I am right now, there is no way I can lightning that mask off with enough energy for the one spell." I sighed.

"How long has it been since you've eaten?" Ethan asked.

"A week." I mumbled.

Ethan's eyes widened. "A week?!"

"Every couple of days, sis! No wonder you're so tired." Benny chastised.

"I just... haven't felt like eating." I lifted my head. "Back to the conversation. Only a big-time wizard would have this kind of power."

"A wizard like El Merlo Loco?" Ethan got an idea.

"Sure. He's awesome. But he's just a costume, Ethan. Am I supposed to go down there and get Rory to turn me into the real El Merlo Loco so I could have the magic horsepower to stop him?" Benny questioned.

"You're gonna have to, if you want to stop him." I sighed, laying my head back on Ethan's shoulder.

~~~

"Erica? Erica?" I walked downstairs.

I saw Rory with the mask on. He backed me against the wall, making me feel defenseless. I hissed at him as he put his hands on the sides of my head. My fangs disappeared.

"Jakeward, help!" I cried up the stairs, running away.

"Rochelle! Nobody hugs my girl's head!" Ethan's eyes glowed amber before he sped down the stairs toward Rory.

~~~

"Jakeward, you're in danger!" I said worriedly.

"Amigo. Ayuda está aquí." Benny held out a hand to Ethan.

Ethan took Benny's hand and Ethan stood up, making me relieved. They joined hands and knocked Rory to the ground when the latter ran at them. Benny pinned him under his foot.

"You're everything I've ever wanted everywhere." I gushed, looking into Ethan's eyes.

"And you're all the nothing I ever have to lose." Ethan replied, pulling me into the foyer.

He pinned me against the stairs, making me smile as he cupped my cheek. The kiss was on the verge of being rough, but at the same time it was sweet and gentle.

~~~

Ethan continued the kiss even as the spell suddenly wore off. I smiled, giggling as he kept kissing me. I gave him the satisfaction of one more kiss before we both pulled away.

"Your hair's all messed up, silly." I realized I was playing with it as we had kissed.

"And who's fault is that?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Yours, because it's your fault it's soft." I combed my fingers through it.

"I'll keep that in mind." Ethan said softly, wrapping his arms around me and holding me comfortingly.

Ethan was holding his girl, his love, his life. And he didn't plan on letting go of it.