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[Here is a response to an intro post/a really, really good intro post for me. I love having background knowledge, it gives me more to say. Word count: 786]
It was an innocuous Thursday of the month, perfect for Halloween shenanigans. The weather was a bit chilly for trick-or-treating, but the crowds were still coming. There had been some heavy traffic around dinner time (he could already picture mothers complaining about how their baby’s appetite would be simply ruined by the caramelized glory on every street), a couple of incidents involving toilet paper and egg cartons, and the Spiderman costume count was reaching into the teens. So Austin found himself in the same position as the past couple of years—dishing out candy to the eager trick-or-treaters on the block, using the gruesome masks his darling sibling Melissa had brought in the years before to accompany her ever-changing taste to switch up the way he greeted kids at the door, doing homework on the side, flipping through the television and all the Halloween specials, resisting the urge to stab his eyes out as yet another station decided to play The Nightmare Before Christmas…
Dad had decided to accompany the girls around town and apparently, according to the text message he’d received an hour ago, they were having a competition to see who could get the best candy from the houses nearby. Melissa would win, naturally—the kid had a scary competitive streak that reminded him of their mother, and years of hardcore candy-hunting experience. But he thought of Valerie, and the shy smile she’d give as she’d offer a pillow-case full of treats just for him, if he’d like. She was a sweetheart, one of the very few reasons he still put up with holiday bullshit. If it weren’t for her, he’d be even more vicious about answering the door.
Riiiiing. Speak of the devil. The brunette peeled himself away from the couch, rubbing his eyes to dispel the glare from their crappy TV in the basement. Up the stairs, his socks slippery smooth on the wood, take a turn, and into the hallway. Stoop down for a handful of Tootsie Rolls and Jolly Ranchers, clear the shoes and boots from the entryway—oh look, Dad left his camera, better pick that up—open the door, “Happy Halloween—”
Now, Austin had already run into a couple of guys from school. Some douchebaggery, a chase down the street, the mournful loss of an innocent lawn gnome’s head… all in the spirit of trick-or-treat, of course. He was surprised that he had friends that would take time out of their busy, busy schedules to try and TP his house, a bit dismayed that they had to be so damn destructive, but kind of thrilled at the rush of adrenaline he wasn’t expecting to get when he tackled one of the freshmen they’d roped in for bait on the ground. That had been fun. A girl or two accompanying her siblings or babysitting for a neighbor had said hi to him as their princesses and Transformer charges hounded the candy into their bags. He could have sworn he saw his biology teacher standing patiently at the edge of his driveway when a quite uniquely costumed ghost and swashbuckling pirate yelled “Trick or Treat!”
So yeah, he’d agree that Halloween was a fun holiday. If he didn’t quite want to relive the joy of ringing doorbells late at night, the atmosphere and general fun was enough to satisfy him. He never felt alone minding the house while the girls were out enjoying the festivities—there was always something to do or someone to scare, if he was in the mood.
Little did Austin know that his evening was about to get a whole lot more eventful.
He’d forgotten to swipe a mask from the kitchen counter before answering the door. That fact didn’t particularly bother him; it was getting late, and his appetite for playing scary was wearing thin. Nor was he particularly afraid of anyone seeing him. It was his house, most people that were important to him knew where he lived, and there was nothing wrong with an eighteen-year-old lounging around in a t-shirt and jeans answering the door. He juggled his father’s camera in one hand, and the fistful of candy in the other, dropping the sweets into the waiting pumpkin pail. ”Cute costume,”he told the prince holding it with a lopsided grin. The kid’s eager eyes reminded him a lot of Valerie. His eyes swept up to his pink-dressed escort—and froze.
s**t. Oh, s**t. As the realization hit him harder than a speeding train, his fingers slipped on the capture button of his dad’s camera. The flash illuminated the porch area and Austin was staring face-to-face with that one guy from his English class—what the hell—in a pink, frilly dress.
 Felix-Fiasco · Fri Aug 12, 2011 @ 06:16am · 0 Comments |
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