Sean walked into the house to the smell of pumpkin spice something-or-other and sighed. His sister Jessica, a senior this year, was sitting at the kitchen table among a spray of books, eating a cookie. She looked up at him and said “What” spraying cookie crumbs at him.
He looked at her tiredly and said “OK, I get it that Halloween is a big thing to you bunch of witches…” A squeal from the other room cut him off “Who are you calling a witch?” His little sister Megan stomped into the kitchen, her face its usual mask of displeasure at the sight of him.
Sean glared back at her “You, in particular. But her, Mom, the lot of you.”
“Oh, poor picked-on boy. It’s fun, deal with it. Or don’t. But whatever you do, don’t rain on our parade.”
Plunking down at the table, he looked to Jess for any kind of support at all. She was a senior, about to be an adult, hadn’t she outgrown this obsession yet? “Yeah, Sean, don’t rain on our parade.” Nope, not outgrown at all.
Sean sighed and dragged out his math text, taking a cookie. Although he objected to them because of Halloween, he had to admit they were pretty great.
Later that night, Jessica helped her mother load the dishwasher. Sean had immediately dashed to his bedroom in the basement, to play video games and gossip with his friend about the evils of living in a house full of women, no doubt. “Mom, what are we going to do about him? He used to be so fun, and now all he does is lock himself down there and play those stupid video games!”
Marilou looked at her daughter and couldn’t help but be touched by the sound of concern in her voice. “You know he’s processing your father’s death his own way. Men feel things differently than women, they work them out rather than talking them out. This is his way of doing that, and he has to process it at his own pace.”
Jess sighed “I know, but I just want the old, fun Sean back. You remember how much he and Dad loved decorating, how he would hang back and man the door with Dad?”
“I do, but we can’t force him to get there. But let’s keep thinking along those same lines. Let’s see if we can include him in the decorations this year?”
Jess got an idea, but she didn’t want to tip her hand. She smiled and said “Sure, Mom,” a plan forming in her mind.
Over the next few days, Jess quietly made opportunities to single out a few of Sean’s gaming friends, and to ask them a few questions about what they were playing lately. “Dark Souls II” came up several times, so Jess looked into it a bit. As she looked at some of the reviews, she got more and more excited, this could be do-able. Now she had to enlist some allies.
First, she went to her Mom. She had gathered a few screenshots from the game, and put together a plan for turning their front porch into one of the key scenes from the game. She had described how they would paint the background onto sheets of paper and hang them, based on what they did the prior year, and even found a fog machine a friend was willing to lend her. A couple of strings of blue and green holiday lights, and the plan was complete. It wouldn’t look like a traditional halloween decoration, but it would be creepy.
Her mom liked the idea immediately, but scaled it down a bit. Then they roped in Megan, asking her if she wanted fun Sean back. Seeing the plan, she immediately whipped out her phone and in the space of 10 minutes had promises for set painters from her friends, in return for hosting a party for them in the backyard. Marilou laughed at what she had gotten herself into, but realized having both her daughters involved in the same project was a good thing even if Sean didn’t want to go long.
With the party planning underway and out of her hands, Jess turned to the final part: getting Sean. She knew he was sweet on her friend Molly, but too shy to ever say anything about it. Molly thought of him as her friend's cute brother, but as a junior was trying to focus on AP classes and achievement tests and all the stresses that High School can bring.
Without telling Molly exactly what she had planned, she explained that her help was crucial in getting Sean into the family Halloween mojo again. When she explained about Megan’s party, Molly was curiously immediately ready to join in. Jess asked her why, and she confessed her little brother had a crush on Megan and she would do it if he could come to the party. Jess laughed and agreed, and they agreed they would need to invite a few more boys so it wouldn’t be weird.
Next they enlisted a few of Sean’s gamer friends, swearing them to secrecy. All they knew is they were supposed to pull together an in-game costume, as much as possible, and show up for the party.
Now she just needed the final touch: Sean’s costume. After days of internet research and some advice from Molly’s friend who knew how to sew, then came up with a budget and went to her Mom. Mom looked at the hundred and twenty dollar bill of materials and asked “does it have to be this elaborate?’
Jess explained the alternatives she had looked at, without going into much detail about the characters, and how expensive each of those were. In the end, her mother said “We can do it if you can do it without the boots. I don’t want to pay that much for a pair of boots he will never wear again.” Excitedly Jess agreed, though she would have to do something about the boots, they were crucial to the costume.
The day before Halloween, Marilou casually mentioned she was having a party for Megan in the backyard, and they would be decorating the front porch right after school. Sean did his usual “Do I have to help?” routine, but accepted “Yes” with little argument.
The next day, when they all got home from school, pumpkin cookies were of course waiting. A small army of Megan’s friends, Sean’s friends, and Jess’s friends showed up to help mount the decorations. They started with the party in the back, a pretty vanilla set of Jack o’ Lanterns, witches on brooms, one of which Sean insisted on calling Jessie, and orange lanterns. The older kids moved to the front, began hanging the backdrops Megan’s friends had painted.
Sean realized halfway through what they were making. “Wait a minute… this is the chamber from Dark Souls!” His friends laughed and called him “dumbass” under their breath, and finished setting up the porch. When they pulled the refrigerator box that had been redecorated as the respawn point out of the back of an SUV, Sean nearly choked. “Wow, it’s just like…”
His friend Miguel said “Wait until it’s dark and we have the lights on, it’s gonna be killer.”
Everyone left to go home, have dinner, and get costumed up. Sean walked into the house full of chaos from the construction projects and said “Thanks Mom, this is great. But I don’t have a costume, I just haven’t been in the mood.”
She smiled and pulled him against her side and said “I think your sister has that covered. You should probably shower first, since you’re going to be near her friends tonight. After dinner, you get cleaned up, put on a t-shirt and gym shorts, and we’ll hand you over to them.”
He laughed and said “Oh, great, the coven expects me?” His Mom laughed far more at that than was called for with such a weak joke. He dragged his backpack down to his lair in the basement, popped into the game for a moment to send his friends a fully meant “thank you” and to wish them fun at the party tonight, and went up to help with dinner.
After dinner, he jumped in the shower, doing only the basics, and toweled himself dry. It was hard to get dry in the damp basement, so he stood in front of a fan cooling and drying before donning the outfit his mother had ordered. He bounded up the stairs, through the kitchen, and upstairs to the bedrooms, where he nearly tripped over Molly.
“Oh. Uh. Hi, Molly. You’re helping tonight, huh?”
Molly smiled at him “Oh yes, we have quite a costuming department tonight. We’re almost ready for you, wait right here.”
He stood at the top of the stairs as she disappeared into his sister’s room. He could hear a lot of giggling, and a whirring noise, for a few minutes, then Molly stuck her head out of the door and said “It’s done, but we’re not going to dress you until after the party starts, when you make your grand entrance.”
Sean looked around nervously and said Umm, OK, when is that?
Molly said “It’s just about dark now, and your entrance is the first big item. We’ll go out and mingle, then come back and help you into your costume, it’s pretty elaborate. Can you chill for about 15 minutes?
Umm, sure, I guess. Sean disappeared down the stairs, looked at the crowd of Megan’s friends in the backyard, and retreated into his basement hideaway.
17 minutes later, his phone pinged with a text message: “Meet us at the front door.”
He scampered up the stairs, through the kitchen, into the front room, where he saw the refrigerator box had been brought inside so it filled the front door. Jess and Molly were waiting for him, several other Junior and Senior girls standing around waiting as well.
Molly pulled open a cardboard door on the back, then stopped Sean at the entrance. Jess pulled his t-shirt off over his head, then pulled a form-fitting black sack made of some clingy fabric over his head, down to his neck, and pulled a lace snug, then pushed him into the box. As he walked into the box, his neck was pushed into a slot so he couldn’t see down, even if the sack hadn’t covered his face. He was spun around, various things draped over, strapped around, zipped onto his body. He was helped into some very high boots with heels, something he hadn’t ever worn before, gloves covering his hands, then finally the hood was removed and a mask and some sort of elaborate headdress added.
Music from the game filled the front porch. Sean was helped to step over the threshold onto the porch as his cardboard tomb was pushed out through the front door. Finally, the entire front of the box fell forward, just as the witch's tomb opened in the final scene in the game. Sean, finally able to see, gasped at what he saw:
A low-lying fog covered their front courtyard, light with purple light from inside the fog. All seven Lords, his gaming friends, stood to one side, then knelt as he was pushed out from behind. As he stepped out, he was joined by Jess and Molly, together they were the 3 witches. He was the High Witch of Izithriel, in full regalia. The music reached its crescendo, and the gathered crowd erupted into applause and screams of excitement.
His mother’s voice boomed over the sound system “It’s Halloween, Witches!”
Jess and Molly took him by the arms, quickly surrounded by the other girls who had helped with his costume and by his gaming friends, and he was whisked down the driveway and off down the sidewalk for a party at Miguels house a few blocks away.
At the door, they were met by Miguel's parents, Sean was beginning to get cold feet by now. Cold, achy feet. Jess told them he was “My cousin Sloane, who joined the coven for this special night” then swept him through the house and into the backyard for the party.
Molly immediately swung him onto the dance floor on the patio, half propping him up, and yelled over the music “Don’t fall in the pool, I’m not sure how well the costume will hold up to water.”
With that, she took off his mask and he discovered the hood had actually mostly been a wig. He caught a glimpse of himself in the sliding glass door, startling at the image. He was a tall, slender, pretty blonde girl in high boots, a short white minidress, ringed with tinseled garlands. He was the spitting image of the White Witch, at least as she would have looked as a teen.
He spun from song to song, dancing with Molly, with Allison, with Chelsea, with Kaitlyn, and even one dance with Jess. Jess turned him back to Molly and announced “The little kids are done, let’s go trick or treating.”
The entire party stormed out around the garage, leaving Sean alone with Molly. Molly pulled him close and whispered in his ear “I have a halloween gift for you, if you can accept it.” Sean turned to look her in the eye and nodded once. She put something in his hand.
Uncertain, he tried to hold it up, but Molly pushed his hand back down. “Follow me in the dance.” She danced him around several of the tables laid out on the patio, to a dark corner that was mostly out of the lights, then she danced down him, reached under the short dress, and pulled his shorts down!
She stood back up, whispered in his ear “Step out of those.”
He tried to look down, but she held him close. He lifted on foot out of the shorts, then kicked them across the lawn, to her laughter. Molly whispered in his ear, nearly kissing it “Now let me help you on with those.” She took the gift from her hand, spread it between them. It was a lacy panty, in white. He stammered as she knelt and tapped his left foot. He lifted it and she pulled the lacy over it, to his ankle. She tapped the other foot, he lifted it, and she pulled the panty up to his knees, then rising slowly, pulled it up under the dress.
Spinning him to make sure he was facing the house, she lifted the dress and pulled the panty into place. She gripped his firm erection in her hand and pinched quite hard, he mostly deflated instantly with a surprised yelp. She tucked it down and under, pulled her hand out and licked her fingers with a loud smack.
She kissed him full on the lips, holding the kiss, parting his lips, and probing with her tongue. As soon as he began to kiss back, she pulled back and said “Now that you’re properly dressed, let’s go trick or treating.”
She grabbed his hand and took off around the garage, Sean trying desperately to stay on the heels and not break an ankle. They heard squeals and laughter down the street, and soon caught up to their friends.
As they approached the street light on the corner, Jess said “Geez, Sloane, somebody really messed up your lipstick.” She took a lipstick out of her witch’s bag, expertly applied it to his lips, then handed him a paper napkin to blot on. Sean did this blushing furiously. Miguel and Charlie watched in fascination, Miguel whispered afterwards “fuck you’re hot, I’d kiss you if I didn’t know better.” Molly laughed and slapped him playfully “Hands off, she is mine.”
They laughed and crossed the street, coming up to the house that always had the biggest party every holiday. Warm cider bubbled at the end of the driveway, the entire yard was a graveyard, ghosts flew back and forth on wires, and at the door waited the biggest bully in the school. The center for the football team, captain of the wrestling team, and general douchebag, Billy Garcia. Everyone called him Billy Goat to his back, nobody dared to his face.
They approached the door and Sean said “we could skip this one this year.”
Molly laughed “Nonsense, Billy is always well behaved around me, watch.”
The door opened and Billy appeared, dressed as Frankenstein’s monster. Or maybe that was just how he looked when his hair was combed down.
“Unnnnnnh.”
Molly shoved her way to the front. “Hey, Frankie, meet my friend Sloane. She’s joined our Coven for Halloween.”
Billy looked straight at Sean. The last time they had done this, he ended up with a black eye and a bloody nose. Sean tried to retreat, but all the girls were behind him now.
Billy looked Sean up and down, then simply said “Unnnnh. Pretty.”
Everyone laughed, Billy handed out full-sized Snickers bars. Later they would find that each of the Snickers bars also had a $25 iTunes gift card or Amazon gift card tucked inside. Jess kissed him on the cheek and asked “Want to come trick or treating with us Frankie?”
Billy said “Unnnh,” and held up his bag, but looked disappointed he couldn’t come.
As they walked the rest of the neighborhood, kids began dropping off in twos or threes. Sean was a bit surprised when Miguel walked the opposite direction from home, huddled with Kaitlyn, the girl with the sewing machine.
As they walked along, Sean braced between Jess and Molly, it suddenly occurred to him that his sister had taken their holiday and made it all about him. He stopped and both of the girls turned to him. They watched for a minute, as he worked through it, then Jess stepped forward and wrapped him in a bear hug, difficult since he was now inches taller than her, and in heels…
“Yes, dumbass, I love you. I’m leaving for college before next Halloween, so you have to get better so you can help Mom through them.”
With that, she marched off in the direction of home, leaving him alone with Molly. He stared at her, and she just calmly watched him in the dim street light. A car drove by and slowed, the window rolled down, Molly took his hand and they bolted down the street.
They ran through a gate into the condo community where Molly lived, then slowed. They walked quietly down a sidewalk along a pond, and turned to Molly’s front door. Molly keyed the lock and pushed the door open, then pulled him inside. Sean stumbled into the room and stood straight, facing Molly’s mother.
“Mom, this is my friend Sloane. She’s visiting the Clancey’s, but we’re too wired to sleep so we’re going to talk awhile.”
Sean, tongue-tied, didn’t say anything. “Well, you don’t have school tomorrow, but don’t exhaust yourselves. You’ll have tomorrow as well, right?”
Molly tugged Sean up a flight of stairs “Of course we will, Mom.”
Upstairs, Sean was pulled into Molly’s small but neat bedroom. Not the cluttered pink mess of her sister’s boudoir, this was more like what a mature woman’s room might look like. The only places to sit were a small desk chair or the bed, so Sean chose the chair. Molly pulled open a closet door and disappeared inside, then popped her head out “I bet you're dying to get out of those boots, right?”
He laughed and nodded, but then said, “Not if you want me to keep them on.”
She smiled impishly and said “I have to smuggle them back into her closet before she realizes I borrowed them, I’m glad you didn’t fall and scrape them.”
Sean looked at her wide-eyed, she came out with a few things in her hands and plunked them under the chair, then began unzipping the boots. As his toes emerged, he made small gasps of pleasure. “They are a half-size too small for you, I figured they would be Ok for a few hours.”
She stood him up, pulled the minidress over his head, and he was standing there in white lace panties and… a smile and wig. She turned him to face the mirror, then wrapped a matching lace bra around him, hooked it in the back, then pulled each of the cups out and dropped something pink and wiggly into it. She pulled a nightgown made of some slippery teal fabric over his head, then sat him back down on the chair. “Be right back.” and she darted out the door.
She was back in two minutes, two heart-racing minutes, with a pair of matching teal mule slippers. She kissed him, disappeared into the closet for a minute, made a lot of rustling sounds, and emerged in flannel pajamas.
He stared at her, covered from head to toe in a lumberjack’s castoffs. He started to say something, but she cut him off with a kiss. “I’ve wondered for months why you wouldn’t ask me out, and I’m done waiting. I’m taking what I want, and your only choice is to be Sloane and be with me, or to go back to being Sean the basement troll.”
She took his hand, led him to the bed, and flopped down on top of the covers, then pulled him down beside her. Rolling onto her side, she picked up an iPad from the bedside table and said “Let’s have a look at how the video came out, shall we?”
Hours later, Molly’s mother knocked on the door and poked her head in. “Jess is here to take Sloan home.” Molly smiled at her mom “I loaned her a nighty, she needed to crash.”
“Of course you did, dear, that was sweet of you. I’ll get your old coat so she won’t chill in the night air.” Jess bumbled into the room giggling and helped get Sean on his feet and into the mules. They got him down the stairs still half-asleep and wrapped the coat around him, Molly walked him to the car with Jess helping to support him. “Do you need help getting Sloane to bed at home?”
Sean’s Mom laughed and said “No dear, I think we can handle it.”
