Aftermath // 5SOS Fanfic // Ashton Irwin

Scared Yet?

Claire's POV: The weeks leading up to Halloween make me eve more excited for the snowy winter. Unlike everyone I've ever known, I really hate summer heat. I would take chill, rainy weather over the hot sun any day. Another odd thing about me especially at this time of year is I don't really like holidays. I didn't really have fun holiday memories as a kid, so I guess that kind of explains why. Christmas and Thanksgiving I am really dreading, but first I have to get through Halloween.

"It's a surprise!" Marie smiles, when Michael asks her about her costume. She loves holidays and celebrations of any kind, so I try to join in the festivities for her usually.

"What about you, Claire? What are you gonna be?"

I sigh and scoop more orange gunk out of my pumpkin. I think jack-o-lanterns are the best part of this whole ordeal. "I don't know yet. Any ideas?"

"Well, if you want to reflect your personality, you could be the Grinch since you hate everything fun!"

"No," Ashton protests, giggling. "To show her personality, her costume would have to some form of food because that's what's number one in her life."

"I got it!" Michael laughs. "A troll. Or an evil witch."

I reach into my pumpkin and throw a handful of  slimy pumpkin guts right at Michael. Not because I'm mad! I couldn't care less what they think about my opinions toward the holiday season (though they, of course, don't know the reasons behind them.) I just always wanted to throw this stuff at someone, and now I have an excuse.

"Is this happening right now? Pumpkin fight?"

"Let's go!"

Marie yelps as the insides of our pumpkins are flung across the backyard. She shoves me in front of her. "Human shield! Sacrifice! Take the girl!" This was also her strategy with dodgeball in middle  school. Unfortunately, her "brilliant plan" makes it hard for me to run and dodge. I trip on her foot and fall forward with her right behind me. She lands on top of me, and the boys take advantage of our moment of vulnerability.

"ATTACK!"

I laugh because I can't stand up, pumpkin is flying at my face, and this is probably the one of the most fun holiday related things I've ever done.

"We surrender! we surrender! Hold your fire!" Marie cries dramatically between laughs.

She insists we use the hose to wash off. As I pull gross bits of pumpkin out of my hair, I get an idea. "Two things: Mikey, you should be a vampire. Oh wait, then you wouldn't need a costume! And I know what I'm going to be now!

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Ash's POV: "Mike! Come turn on the fog machine!"

Making our front yard into a haunted house was actually Marie's idea. She thought it would give us the opportunity to make friends with people in the neighborhood. Michael and Marie both wanted to actually be in the haunted house. Claire and I want to walk through and be scared. I don't have high expectations.

"What bums me out is that you've basically already seen the whole haunted house so nothing is going to scare you!" Michael sighs.

"I promise to act scared!"

"You know that's not as fun."

"Looks like Marie is here. I should go so you guys can open this place up."

Claire and I are supposed to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters at her house. When she opens the door for me, I laugh. She's wearing skinny jeans, my sweatshirt, Vans, and has her hair pulled back into a beanie.

"It's me!" I laugh.

"And you're Captain America. Perfect!"

She picks up her big bowl of candy, and we sit on the couch. "What's your favorite?" I ask, digging through the selection of sweets.

"I like Reese's. And Twix. And Snickers."

"That's all that's in here!"

"Well I was the one to pick out the candy this year," she winks, unwrapping a peanut butter cup.

The doorbell rings, and I hear little kids' voices, but Claire doesn't get up.

"Aren't we supposed to-"

"Shhhhh and turn off the front porch light!"

"Why aren't we-"

"SHHHH!"

"Okay then." I do as she tells me then whisper, "Why exactly are we withholding candy from little children and hiding?"

"Ugh because I don't want to hand out candy and encourage a holiday in which we encourage 'be whatever you want to be' because the little girls aren't going to grow up and be princesses, and the little boys aren't gonna be superheroes, so why do we tell them they will be?"

"That's not what it's about. Don't you love escaping your world and walking in someone else's? Plus, it can be really fun if you give it a chance. We don't have to tell anyone anything about the future, but for one night, you can just forget yourself and your past, and I think that's cool. Plus if we don't give out candy we will get mobbed."

"I'm not afraid of preschoolers with plastic swords and padding for muscles."

"I was talking about Marie and Mikey."

"Ooh good point. I'm scared of them," she finally relents, standing with the candy. Opening the door, she puts on a big smile. "Wow! Look at your costumes! Tinker Bell, a ghost, and- oh my goodness! Spiderman, is that you? You guys can take a big handful since you look so awesome, but don't tell anyone!" she winks. The kids giggle and grab the candy.

 "What are you dressed up as?" the little Tinker Bell asks.

"This boy!" she laughs, pointing at me.

"Aw! Are you guys in love?"

"Amanda! Ricky! George!" calls a voice from the sidewalk.

"Coming, Mama!" The little strangers scurry across the yard to their mother, leaving the question unanswered.

Neither of us mention it. We greet candy-seekers for a couple of hours before leaving the bowl on the front porch and heading to the haunted house that is actually my yard.

"I'm actually kind of scared. I don't know what you crazy hooligans are capable of!"

"I don't know exactly how Michael and Marie are going to pull it off, but I think you'll like it!" I say.

We step through the sheets we set up as walls and through fake spiderwebs, fake fog, and streamers hanging down to confuse and surprise us. We're nearing the end I think. A masked clown jumps out in front of us. Claire, who was walking slightly in front of me, jumps back and we end up close together with my arms absentmindedly flung around her. My heart is hammering and I think I can feel hers doing the same. I'm not sure if it's because of the one element of the haunted house I didn't know about or because of how close she is to me right now and how I tried to protect her without even thinking. What just happened? Our faces are only inches apart when I look down at her. "Scared yet?" I whisper.