Every Universe

‣ Halloween AU

pairing ‣ Quinton Aoki x Harrison Chang, Hannah Zhao x Noah Wisetkaew

prompt ‣ came to investigate someone screaming next door AU

notes ‣ it took me forever to decide on a Halloween-ish prompt, and this isn't really about Halloween in the end, but you know, whatever works. anyway, who did you dressed up as for Halloween this year?  

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Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.

At least, that was what it felt like, year after year, when the autumn air chilled Harrison to the bone, when he wished he listened to his mother's advice of bringing a sweatshirt, when he tried to gather the courage to ring Hannah's doorbell for their annual Halloween get together.

No matter how many times Harrison went to her house, he always felt nervous. He didn't know why.

Before Harrison could finish his quota, a hand, red from the cold, reached out and knocked on the door. Harrison glanced to his right. "Noah?" he breathed out, and the word turned into fog temporarily before dissipating into the breeze. "I thought you were already here."

Noah shook his head, not quite meeting Harrison's gaze. "I got into a fight with Ava."

Harrison didn't know what to say. There was nothing he could say, because Ava and Noah was a story Harrison could never understand, like how Hannah and Noah were a story Harrison could never understand. He was a side character, a gap filler, doomed to never know the full story.

As the younger of Hannah's brothers opened the door, Harrison looked away from Noah, only to see Joshua standing there, looking up at the two of them and frowning. "Hannah's still at school," he said, bored, "doing an experiment or something. She has to redo it."

"Why?" Noah asked.

"She said something about titrating the solution instead of restarting, and her professor caught her, lectured her, and forced her to start over."

"Will she be back soon?"

"Yeah." Joshua moved out of the way and allowed Noah and Harrison to step into the air conditioned house. Like always, Harrison could feel the homey warmth that only seemed to be in Hannah's home. "No else's home, so don't worry about greeting them or whatever."

"Are you watching the movie with us?" Harrison asked, trying to seem genuine. It didn't come through, because Joshua gave Harrison a cold and calculating look.

"If we get to watch Sleepy Hollow this year."

Noah scoffed. "No."

Joshua's lips moved upwards slightly as he turned to Noah, ignoring Harrison now. Imitating Hannah's voice, he said, "Are you just used to saying that?" Harrison laughed but went quiet when Joshua glared at him.

"Sleepy Hollow is scary," Noah explained.

"How would you know if you've never watched it?" Joshua asked. "Plus, you won't even let us watch Practical Magic, and that's not a scary movie." Noah and Joshua began arguing, and instead of listening or participating, Harrison put his backpack down and walked around the house. In one of the hallways, there hung many different photos of their family on one wall. There were so many, and each time he came, they seemed to change. The only ones he recognized from last time were the one with Joshua smiling at his middle school graduation and another with Hannah, in overalls and a shirt with cacti patterns, standing in front of a burger place in Portland and laughing without a care in the world. Harrison smiled. Each photo perfectly captured a moment, and they said so much about the family.