When we were wallflowers

21 (Halloween Special)

This was going to be it! Dad may not be here to scare me this year, but I was ready for whatever Matthew had in store. I sat in my chair on edge; any movement or noise caused me to look toward it quickly. I was not going to be fooled this year! I knew he was planning something. The house was decorated thanks to our Papa, and he was dressed up tonight like Matthew and Me. We were planning to hand out candy.

Our costumes were family ones. Matthew was a scarecrow, Papa was Dorothy, and I was the tin man. Dorothy is very fitting for our papa, he can rock a skirt like no one's business. If our dad were here, he would have been the lion or something. It was funny to think about that; our dad would have probably wanted to be the scarecrow instead.

"ALFRED!" A shout erupted. I jumped in my seat and began to scan all over the room. "What?" I called, not seeing anyone around. I stood up nervously and walked to where the shout came from. I looked around, and no one. "Hey! This isn't funny! Where are you?" I called. No answer.

I began to walk up the stairs, looking around. "Hey! Where are you?" I asked. I began to tense up, and my hands were stuck to my sides. "Very funny! Haha! Pick on Alfred! You had fun! Where are you? I know you are here!" I called.

Suddenly, the door to my room opened up slowly. I felt shivers go down my spine, and I began to walk toward it. No way in hell was I going to let him scare me! I slowly placed my hand on the doorknob and opened the door. I opened it wide and saw that my room was empty. "Ugh, I swear, I'm such a chicken," I laughed.

"BWAAAA!"

"Ahhhhhh"

I stood utterly still screaming, but it seemed so bland because I was frozen. My eyes widened, and I looked behind me, horrified. "Why would you do that!?" I shouted. "Pfft! Haha! You are too easy!" Matthew laughed. He began to run away, and I chased after him. "Get back here, you slug!"

"Slug? That's new!" He laughed.

We both ran downstairs, and he hid behind Papa. "Get over here!" I demanded. "No!" He laughed. We began to run circles around our Papa, and he stood there defeated. I was about to grab Matthew, but he pushed Papa in front of him. "Children, you will ruin my outfit!"

I started to laugh at them and decided to give up. "I will get you next time!" I laughed. Matthew mocked me and began to sit at the table.

Surprisingly, things had been better. Ivan and Adnan backed off a little after the incident, and I assumed it was because they were afraid of getting in trouble. When Kiku found out about Matthew's arm, he was shocked! But I tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

It went like this...

~Flash back~

"Hey! I got your message! Is that why you both weren't here yesterday? Tell me everything!" Kiku demanded. He ran to the area where we met and looked at Matthew, horrified. "What happened?" Kiku asked. He looked worried at sight and approached Matthew.

"Yeah! He thought he would beat me at arm wrestling, so I had to teach him a lesson on who was stronger!" I laughed. Kiku looked at me, horrified, and backed up. "So you broke his arm?!" He shouted. Matthew rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Alfred, shut up!" He spoke.

~

Ah, what a fun day, we told Kiku everything. Even about Ivan and what he said. We both agreed to distance ourselves, which was tricky since I'd grown to like his company. We both decided to be ready to record Ivan and Adnan if they ever tried to cross us. Matthew and I found out why Carlos never showed up that day.

Carlos admitted to Matthew that Adnan threatened him and told him to leave. So he did, and once Carlos found out about Matthew's arm, it did not stop the apologies and waterworks. He blamed himself despite Matthew telling him it wasn't his fault. Weirdly enough, it brought all four of us together. Carlos began meeting us at lunch; we had been hanging out secretly. He and Matthew have been making sure Adnan did not come around, and they haven't.

I hope it freaked them out enough to leave us alone, but I doubt that. "So when will we sit outside to give out candy?" Matthew asked. "When it gets darker or when someone knocks," Papa responded. I began to go through the candy bowl, and Matthew smacked my hands. "It's for the children!"

"Na Na NaNaNaaaaa blah! Whatever!" I laughed. He rolled his eyes at me, and suddenly the doorbell rang. My eyes widened, and I immediately stood up. "Oh! They are here! Everyone! Get ready!" I announced. I began to fix myself, and I grabbed the bowl of candy.

I went to open the door, and once I did, I was met by two people, one dressed as a ninja and the other dressed as a ghost. Papa and Matthew followed behind me with smirks on their faces. "What's so funny?" I asked. "Trick! Or treat!" They called.

"Treat, I hope," I laughed. I reached in the bowl to give them some, but the one in the ghost costume stepped inside. "Hey! I said treat, not trick!" I spoke, shocked. The ninja person stepped inside too, and my Papa closed the door.

"Sorry Alfred, Matthew didn't want us to ruin the surprise," one spoke. He took off his mask, and I felt immense joy seeing Kiku. "Kiku! My sweet friend!" I cheered.

The person in the ghost costume lifted his sheet, and it was Carlos. I looked at Matthew, surprised, and he started to laugh. "I asked them to come by, I figured it would be fine since they were in costume, but this just means I won the bet!" Matthew huffed out proudly, and I looked at him, shocked.

No way...

He beat me.

"Papa, you knew?"

"Yeah, Matthew gave me a heads up," he replied. "Oh," I pouted.

"Come in, boys; it's very nice to meet you finally; they are always talking about you," Papa started. "Are they?" Kiku laughed. "Yes! And I listen to every word of it!" Papa cheered. He pulled Matthew and me into an embrace and began to kiss our heads. "Daaaaaad! You are embarrassing me!" I laughed. Matthew laughed, too, and pushed his face away. "They are my babies no matter what; I don't know why they are embarrassed," Papa added.

We both moved away, and Papa began to shake their hands. "It's nice to meet you too, and we've heard so much of their infamous father," Carlos laughed. "I love your home; it must be such a culture shock moving to the states," Carlos started. "It was different, but I think we are settled in now," Matthew spoke.

Carlos and Kiku began to look at the photos hanging up and stared at an old family photo. "Whose this?" Carlos asked. He pointed to the picture, and I froze nervously. Crap! We forgot to tell him!

Kiku looked at me as if not wanting to say anything. However, I looked to my Papa, who was smiling brightly. "That is Arthur, their other dad! He looks like an old man, right?" Papa laughed. He walked over to Carlos and smiled at the picture. "Oh? Where is he?" Carlos asked. I looked to Matthew, who had stopped smiling.

Kiku came over to me and gave me a reassuring smile. "He is passed away, but don't worry, he is in a better place," Papa smiled. "What? Oh! I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be! It makes me happy talking about him!"

"Oh... how did he pass?" Carlos asked. I didn't mind all the questions. I think we were all used to it by now. "It was a car accident; Alfred got lucky too," Papa spoke. Carlos looked nervous as if regretting the question. "Don't worry, and we are all good! I'm still alive! Everything is wonderful!" I reassured. Matthew went to Carlos and gestured for him to meet us at the table.

Our dad would have loved both of them. I am sure he would be glad that we made friends, despite some rough circumstances.

We all began to sit around the table and eat some of the food that our Papa made. There were sandwiches and treats, and we all laughed together. Whenever the doorbell rang, we would all take turns answering it to give out candy.

Everything seemed perfect, and I felt genuinely happy once in a long time.