After Headlines

35: Halloween

" I wanna be a Newsie!" Penny announced, skipping through the hotel room.

" You wanna be a Newsie?" Josh chuckled.

" Yeah!" She nodded enthusiastically.

" Ya know, your mom and I were Newsies." Josh smiled.

" That's why I wanna be one." Penny grinned.

" I'm sure we can do that." Josh nodded.

" Hey Josh?" Bexley strolled out of the bathroom, her hair still damp from her shower.

" Yeah?"

" Small problem." Bexley scrolled through her phone.

" What's wrong?" Josh asked. Bexley sat next to him, lowering her voice so Penny doesn't hear.

" We're traveling on Halloween." She said.

" So we can't have kids come to our dressing rooms for treats?" He sighed.

" Nope." Bexley shook her head.

" And Penny can't go either." He added.

" So, what are we gonna do about that?"

oOOo

" Why am I putting on my costume now?" Penny asked as Bexley finished braiding her hair. They had thirty minutes before they had to load onto the bus.

" Because you're gonna be doing a special kind of trick or treating." Bexley smiled.

" Oh, okay." She shrugged.

" Penny, remember how to tie your shoes?" Josh handed Penny her lace up boots.

" Yes." She nodded determinedly.

" Okay, let's see it." Bexley tied off her second braid. Penny swiftly pulled on her boots lacing them up perfectly.

" Done." She smiled in satisfaction.

" Well done." Josh chuckled, handing Penny his old Newsies hat.

" Come on, let's head to the bus." Bexley ushered her out the door, pulling their bags with them.

oOOo

At the first stop, Sky basically sprinted out of the bus.

" Okay, so Sky is hiding somewhere at this rest stop with a bunch if candy, so you need to go find him." Bexley explained to Penny.

" Okay!" She already took off. The first place she went was the gift shop, with Bexley and Josh right on her tail.

" Not here." She muttered, running the the cafe.

" Nope."

She then ran around the rest stop to the dog park. Low and behold, Sky was playing with a bunch of dogs, holding the candy away from them of course.

" Found you!" Penny shouted, jumping on his back.

" You did!" Sky laughed.

" Here you go." Sky handed her the bag of candy.

" Thank you!" She beamed.

oOOo

Once they arrived at the hotel, Bexley and Josh handed Penny a plastic pumpkin.

" So, you're gonna go knock on everyone's door, and you know what to say?" Bexley asked.

" Trick or treat, duh." Penny sassed.

" Josh." Bexley laughed.

" I didn't do it, that was all you." Josh raised his hands in defense.

" Oh, I'm the sassy one in this relationship?" She crossed her arms.

" No, but you're definitely the looks and brains." He winded his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to her lips.

" Don't say we. Don't say ew." Penny whispered to herself.

" You're showing some serious restraint." Bexley chuckled.

oOOo

" Trick or treat!" Penny knocked on JoJo and Ben's doors.

" Hey Penny." JoJo grinned as she opened the door with Ben right behind her.

" Happy Halloween." Ben held out a bag of candy.

" And there's sweet tarts!" Penny bounced excitedly.

" You said they were your favorite." JoJo chuckled.

" They are, thank you!" Penny gave them each a hug. She skipped to the next door.

oOOo

She made her way to every cast members hotel rooms, collecting candy from them. By the time they got back to their room, her bucket was overflowing.

" Well, you made out like a little bandit." Josh laughed.

" So much candy." She beamed.

" Don't eat too much of it." Bexley smiled.

" We watching a Halloween movie or what?" JoJo strolled into the room, followed by Ben, Sky, Cara, Nick, Natalie, and the rest of the Toursies.

" What're we watching?" Josh knit his eyebrows as everyone else made themselves comfortable.

" Nightmare before Christmas, duh." Nick replied.

" I don't know if that's a good idea for Penny." Cara laughed.

" That movie scared me when I was twelve." Iain nodded.

" Okay, what about Charlie Brown?" Bexley asked.

" We love a classic." JoJo smiled. They all made themselves comfortable between the two beds. Penny had insisted upon sitting with Ben and JoJo, which was fine with Bexley and Josh. That just meant they could cuddle more.

" Okay, but why does he talk so slow?" Nico asked from where he, Anthony, and Jeff lined the foot of Josh and Bexley's bed.

" Who?" Natalie asked from her spot next to Nick.

" Charlie Brown." Nico replied.

" It's a kids movie." Chaz shrugged.

" CHARLIE BROWN IS A MOVIE FOR ALL AGES!" Jeff threw a pillow at him.

" Okay, Jeff." Anthony patted his shoulder.