Tricks and Treats

05 | Holiday Feast Fit For Royalty

•Y/N: Your Name
•S/C: Skin Color
•E/C: Eye Color

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Your POV:
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Right as the doors to the mausoleum opened, I was struck with the familiar combination of fall scents, which seeped deep into my lungs on first breath— The cinnamon, the apples, pumpkin spice and sweet sugar. I couldn't help breathing out a sigh of contentment as I gazed upon the colorful and spooky decor. It's just as incredible as I remember. Like before, the table was filled to the ends with plates of mouthwatering goods that made my stomach rumble. Jack skips right past me to his throne, which I note has another just like it sitting beside it. I assume that to be my seat, seeing as it was the only other chair at the table. It was certainly an upgrade to the old, wooden chair I had to sit on last year; although, I would've preferred to sit across from Jack, rather than next to him. As I take my seat, the doors shut on their own while Whiskers hopped onto the table, managing not to land in any of the dishes. Using his magic, the spirit fills up our purple-tinted, wine glasses with sparking apple cider before holding his cup towards me as if to make a toast. Playing along, I pick up mine as well, smiling at the strange boy.

    "To you, my Queen. Thank you for returning. You have no idea what that means to me. I hope you'll come back every year henceforth." I giggle lightly when he gives me a wink along with his signature grin before tapping our glasses together. The sound they made when they clashed echoed throughout the space before I took a sip of the sweet, bubbly cider.

    "You know, I was actually getting worried you weren't going to come. I've been waiting all morning for you. I thought you had forgotten about me," he pouts exaggeratively, though his tone conveyed a genuine solemness as he swirled the liquid in his glass. I looked at him, surprised. Did he really believe I wouldn't?

    "Of course not! After last year, how could I possibly forget about you?" His eyes seemed to glimmer as he giggled and grinned once again, seeming happy that I said that.

     "Last year was pretty fun, wasn't it?" I nod in agreement as he takes a swig of his drink.

     "I only took so long because I had school today. Well, that, and I wanted to get into costume too. I didn't mean to leave you hanging."

    "The point is you came. That's all that matters, and I must say, the costume looks lovely on you!" I thank him a bit sheepishly as his eyes drift over to Whiskers who looked exhausted from all the earlier running. "And, I see you've been spoiling this chubba rotten." He snickers while leaning over the table to give the cat a small poke in the side, resulting in an annoyed groan from the feline. "He's as plump as a pumpkin!"

   "I guess I did go a little overboard with the treats."

    "Well, I think that's enough smalltalk for now! Let's eat up quickly, so we can head out." With a nod, I reach out to fill my checkered plate with food only to pause and narrow my eyes in suspicion at the deceivingly delicious treats.

    'Wait a minute.' My E/C eyes shifted back over to Jack, who wore an innocent smile as he stared at me, not making a single move towards the food.

    "You did it again, didn't you?"

    "I'm not quite sure I know what you mean, Y/N." By a touch, his smirk widened, causing my eyes to narrow even further. And he thought he had me fooled.

    "You poisoned the food again, didn't you?" I elaborate in an accusatory tone.

    "Awe! You found me out so quickly!" He pouts in fake disappointment. "That's no fun! You didn't even pick anything up yet." I give the blonde a serious look, staring straight into his bright, red eyes.

    "Are you actually trying to kill me?" I ask in all seriousness. I mean, come on! He's done this to me like three times now! Fucking sadist. Jack merely laughs at my expression, clearly amused by my question.

    "Of course not! That stuff isn't lethal. The most you'd get is a bad stomachache. I would never actually hurt you," he claims, though he had just admitted he was trying to purposely give me a stomachache. I roll my eyes at the king as he grins and pinches my cheek as though I were a little kid. A small smile forms on my own lips as I push his hand away.

    "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say," I mutter, showing clearly through my voice that I don't believe a single word of it, which he picks up on easily.

    "I mean it! I'd never ever want to hurt you," he declares, boldly directing my face closer towards him as he leaned in, popping the bubble of personal space, not that I minded. "I swear it on my favorite witch hat! You're the Halloween Queen, after all. I'd just be heartbroken if you were to go so soon." I swear my cheeks were burning as I turned my head away in embarrassment for getting so flustered. That was just so sweet. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw his smile falter a bit when I pulled out of his grip, but it quickly regained it's place soon after as he snapped his fingers, making the food disappear in a cloud of red smoke. Everything was replaced by supposedly more edible food, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I wait for Jack to make the first move to ensure this wasn't another trick up his sleeve. Thankfully, there wasn't. He ate without hesitation, and so I began filling up my plate.

     "What do you do for the rest of the year?" The spirit asks suddenly, sounding genuinely curious as he brought a fork of cherry jello to his lips.

    "I go to school mostly, but that's pretty boring. Nothing exciting ever really happens there." I sigh before sipping at my drink.

    "That's no good! Everything should be fun! There's always a way to make something boring more interesting," he beams, optimistically, which makes me wonder where in the world he gets his energy from. All the sugar, I'd wager. "And, what about your family? Were they giving you any trouble about coming out this year?" He questions a bit more seriously. I imagine he's still mad about what my parents said about me being too old for trick-or-treating.

    "Just a little. I think they've finally realized I don't care what they think. Besides, if I listened to them last year, I would've never met you, so I'm glad I kept to my childish ways." My words bring a proud look to his face, and I even noted a hint of pink appeared on his cheeks. Jack surprises me by grabbing my left hand.

    "Awe, you're so sweet, I could just eat you up!" My eyes widened when he brought my hand to his mouth to lightly bite down on the flesh, just barely skimming it with his teeth. It was weird, obviously, but the action made me laugh, nonetheless. I love his sense of humor; it's different. Jack chuckles at his own joke, continuing to hold my hand even after removing his mouth. I found myself looking at our joined fingers with a fluttering heart. He's so warm and comfortable to hold. I kind of don't want him to let go, but after noticing my staring, he pulls away. I feel disappointed when he does but then nearly bursted out laughing after seeing how red his face had gotten.

    "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything," he apologizes before stuffing his face with turkey. There is a lot more on the table than just candies and cookies, like chicken, turkey, cream of mushroom soup, mashed potatoes, corn, pumpkin bread, and green beans just to name a few. All of which are absolutely delicious.

    "Oh, no, it's fine." I send the boy a comforting smile, feeling a bit flustered myself. I don't know what's gotten into me. When I'm around him, I just feel... Happy, and when he does things like that, it only makes the feeling heighten. By the end of dinner, I'm so full that I doubt I'll be able to even get up from my seat. Jack clearly didn't feel the same way, though, for he jumped up from his throne excitedly after finishing.

    "Trick-or-Treat time!" He shouts enthusiastically before tugging my lethargic body out of the chair. I let out a groan, not wanting to go anywhere during such an intense food coma, but I had no choice in the matter. Jack's arm linked with mine before he dragged me out of the mausoleum with Whiskers bounding beside us, trying to catch up. At least he understands the struggle of moving on a full stomach. Jack is on crack or something. I swear to god, that's why he's like this.

Let's just hope my neighborhood is ready to face Jack for another Halloween.