It was the 31st of October, and Simon had been forced outside in the dwindling light of the evening, chasing around an excited five year old with a white bedsheet thrown over his head.

It’s the first year Mac has been old enough to trick or treat properly, and now it’s Simon’s issue.

The costume was low effort, and the decorations out the front of his house were all from the dollar store. But it made Mac happy, so he wasn’t about to complain. Well… not much.

And while he didn’t want to admit it, he had ulterior motives for encouraging the trick or treating. This was the first weekend in awhile where he had the full thing off, which meant he had to squeeze in multiple different things.

Trick or treating, and seeing you. Taking out two birds with one stone.

You’d lived a couple blocks over for a few months, and your arrival was the most exciting things to ever occur in this town. You were tempting, and kind, and probably the only person on the cul-de-sac who wasn’t married with four kids.

Hell, even he had one.

And now, on this day, he could finally knock on your door and approach you in an excusable, explainable way.

Maybe Halloween wasn’t so bad after all.

Mac—in his ‘ghost’ costume—ran out in front of him, sheet blowing in the breeze. Simon trailed along with his hands in his pockets, until they finally reached your house.

While he had a few up, your house was completely decked out. Every inch of your lawn was covered in Halloween decorations and a few motion sensor animatronics. Mac eventually turned down your driveway just like he hoped.

His tiny fist tapped against the door, and after a couple seconds it swung open.

Mac’s voice shouted, “Trick or treat!” In his own kind of child gibberish.

You laughed and crouched down with a bowl full of candy and chocolate, and Mac took a bar. You looked up to see Simon standing a couple feet away.

“Simon? Didn’t realise you were the trick or treat kind of guy,” you teased, standing back up.

“Really? Well I am. Definitely my uh.. favourite time of the year. Love this stuff.” He cleared his throat as he lied through his teeth.