A Treat Sweeter Than Candy
I figured for this contest, there would be a ton of monster rape/sex/otheryummyyiffstuff/ect, so I was like, hey, lets do a short, quick, cute little melt-your-heart halloween story. I hope you all enjoy it, and give a great, big thanks to TakenByMe, who has generously edited this story! THANKS YOU A BUNCHES!!!! *Hugs*
A Treat Sweeter Than Candy
"I'm going to do it, I'm finally going to." I said, looking at myself in the mirror. I adjusted my pirate hat to make my rabbit ears more comfortable and made sure the rest of my costume was in check. Once I was content with that I walked into the living room, showing off my pirate attire with gusto.
"Bravo Michael, you look like you belong on the seven seas!" My mother said, walking over to me. She began tugging on this, adjusting that, doing all the little mother things that anyone would do to their children.
"Mom, stop it! It's fine." I said, pushing against her playfully.
"Oh, I just can't help it. I can't believe I'm letting you trick-or-treat all on your own."
"Mom, I'm twelve! I'm plenty old to do it myself!"
"You're right, I can't baby you forever." she said, patting my head. "Just promise me you'll be safe."
"Don't worry, I won't do anything reckless." I fixed my hat again, moving towards the door. "Bye mom, love you!"
"Goodbye, have fun!" She said as I closed the door.
I headed down the street, towards town. Normally I would have gone the other way, to my friends house, but his family had some weird family trip planned this year so we couldn't do anything for Halloween. Either way, I had a goal in mind. Not to get tons of candy, not to pull an awesome prank, but to finally have a chance to talk to Alice. She was the most beautiful rabbit I'd ever laid eyes on. Her and her friend sat in front of me during math. I'd had a crush on her since the fourth grade but never built up the courage to talk to her. I'd learned that her friend was also out of town for Halloween, so she was trick-or-treating by her self as well. I figured this was as good a time as ever, and I wasn't going to pass up a chance like this again.
She lived close to the heart of town, and I remembered she was going to eat dinner before going out, so I was hoping that I'd be able to find her close to her house near seven. I checked my watch and saw it was five minutes till, so I picked up the pace.
I found a bench on her road and sat down, checking that my bag for candy was secured under my belt. I compulsively looked at my watch; literally watching the seconds tick by. Sure enough, I saw her door open and she walked out soon after seven.
I sat there for a moment, mesmerized by her costume. She was a pirate bounty hunter, sporting a large hat, white ruffled shirt, and some leather stitched pants to complete the look. She had grace in her step only matched by the beauty in her form. If anyone had doubt that angels could fall from the sky then she was proof that they could. She turned from her walkway, onto the sidewalk, heading away from me to the other houses. I got up and started to follow her, trying to catch up.
As she turned to the first house that she would trick-or-treat at, I was still quite a bit behind her. I stood next to the road while she rang the doorbell, soon to be greeted by the residents of the house. I closed my eyes and though hard about what I should say to her. After a moment or two I still hadn't thought of anything, so I opened my eyes, only to find her already walking away from the house. I stood still as she continued towards her next destination. I let out a sigh, but continued after her. She had already trick-or-treated that house when I got to it so I stood by again, frozen in place. When she walked past I remained silent, still not having a clue what to say to her. I slapped my hand against my head; almost sure she'd seen me standing there like a bloody idiot. Next to me a mother led her young daughter towards the house, eyeing me suspiciously. I shook my head before noticing Alice cross the street.
I hurried after her, not wanting to lose sight of her. An elderly couple owned the next house that she knew pretty well, as she helped them out with their housework occasionally. She walked up to them on their porch, greeting them with a smile. This time I wasn't going to stand in the street like a fool. Just as I got to the steps I heard the old squirrel ask her if she could fetch a basket from their shed out back. She nodded and skipped down the stairs the moment I reached the top. I could have sworn she smiled at me when she passed by.
"Most kids would say trick or treat, you know?" The elderly squirrel said, tapping her witches' staff on the ground.
"Oh, I-I... Umm..." I stuttered, taken by surprise by the question.
She looked at me for a moment, studying me before smirking. "You're not here for candy, are you?"
"N-no m'am."
"I can see it in your eyes. I remember back when I was as young as you. I remember having the same feelings too."
"What?"
"You know what I'm talking about. So, what are you waiting for? Don't be nervous! I promise you, it won't hurt a bit!" She said, giving a witches laugh. She winked at me, tapping my leg with her staff. "Go get her, at least give it a shot." I nodded, taking her advice.
I started walking around the house when I saw the shed door being pushed open. Panicking, I dove into the nearby bushes for cover. I held my breath as Alice passed by, bringing the basket to the elderly squirrel. As she walked back to the sidewalk, I scrambled out of the bush and patted off the twigs that clung to me. I saw a police car roll down the road as I continued to follow her. I heard the car slow down to a stop, so I turned my head. The woman who had been staring at me just moments before with her daughter was talking to the cops and pointing to me. I froze as they looked at me and began backing up the car.
"This woman says that you've been stalking a little girl tonight, is that true?" The nearest policeman said, staring right at me. My lungs ceased to work, so all I could do was nod. Both officers shrugged as he opened his door and put a hand on my shoulder. I saw Alice look at me as the cop helped me into the back of the car. My stomach curled itself into a knot as I wrapped my hands over the top of my head, resting it between my knees. My life was over. I had a chance to talk to her and I wound up getting accused of being a creepy stalker. Now she'd never ever think about talking with me.
I felt the cop car roll forwards, then suddenly stop, but I didn't bother to look. I heard the sound of whispering. Soon after, the two officers talked with each other briefly before grunting in agreement.
"Hey kid, you're free to go." One of them said, getting out to open my door. I looked up at him, perplexed.
"Wh-why?" I asked, stepping out of the car.
"Someone filled us in on the rest of the story, so we decided not to take you to the station and call your mother." He said, getting back in the car. "And kid, happy Halloween." He said as they drove off. I let out a huge breath of relief as my heartbeat slowly got quiet enough to stop thumping in my skull. I saw Alice, almost a block away, turning into the small park at the corner of the road. There weren't many houses past that street with decorations up, so it was pretty deserted. As I got closer she was sitting in a swing, slowly swaying back and forth. I cautiously approached her, still trying to think of what to say.
"Even though I'm a bounty hunter, I didn't mean to get you arrested." she said with her back to me. She then looked at me, patting the swing next to her. "Come, sit." I nodded, grabbing the chain, and sat down. "I hope you're not angry with me for being the reason the officers got you."
"I-it's ok. I'm not upset." I said nervously.
"I knew you were following me the whole time."
"Oh, s-sorry about that." I said, blushing immensely and looking away.
"It's fine. I actually though it was, well, kind of cute."
"R-really?" I asked, looking back to her. She giggled before averting her gaze.
"Yea, I think how shy you are is... cute." She said timidly, still looking towards the ground. "You didn't get any candy from trick or treating..." She said, pointing to my completely empty bag. "Why?"
"Because I was trying to build up the courage to talk to you."
"Well," she said, looking back at me. "What did you want to say?"
"I, umm, I-" I stuttered. She giggled again as I blushed. Finally, I cleared my throat and gathered my courage. "I think that you're really pretty, and I like you, I like you a lot." I looked at the ground, my heartbeat thundering in my head. Suddenly, she leaned over and kissed my cheek. Instantly I felt warmth rush into my face; partly because of the kiss, partly because of the vivid red color that was shining in my cheeks.
"I-I like you too, Michael. You're cute and funny and nice." She said, standing up. After a short while, she held out a hand to me, smiling. "Come on, I know where we can find some warm apple cider." I took her hand in mine, feeling a shock of happiness run through my arm, down to my toes, and all the way up my spine before it settled with a smile I couldn't stop no matter what I did.
I didn't get a massive amount of chocolate or suckers or gum this Halloween, but I got something better than all of that combined. I got a little something sweeter than candy.