13 Treats or Treats (1/2)
”I'm sorry, but I'm too old for Halloween,” Amy said when her friend brought up the subject.
”Oh”, Agnes said with sadness in her eyes. ”Yeah, maybe we're too old for that.”
”No, wait. I was talking about me.”
”That's the same, right?” Agnes said with a wry smile. ”We're the same age.”
Amy knew that Halloween was her friend's favorite day of the year. For Amy, a fifteen years old girl, being obsessed with witches, monsters and horror stories was silly. However, seeing her friend's happy face when she talked about that, Amy always suppressed her opinions. Amy thought that side of Agnes was cute.
Agnes was a girl with blond and wavy hair. She looked like a princess but always wanted to be the witch when they played as kids. Amy, with her black hair and pale skin, looked way more like a witch. She was also taller than Agnes. And yet, her friend always gave the cutest costumes for her.
They were childhood friends and Amy felt like Agnes never grew up.
But walking around the city asking for candies with other kids while wearing a costume was too much for her. No matter how much she loved Agnes, she wanted some more mature entertainment.
”Ok, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate it in a different way,” Amy said. ”A grown-up way, for example.”
”Grown up? Like a party, maybe? I remember our class was making a Halloween party this year”
”Yeah, that would be cool. But,” Amy knew how uncomfortable Agnes was on those parties, so she always avoided it. Somehow, she also didn't want Agnes in that place. ”How about a private party? Or a sleepover, maybe. My parents won't be home on Halloween night and they asked me to give candies to the kids. So, you know, if you don't mind, maybe, huh…”
Agnes jumped and clapped her hands with a smile.
”We could spend the night watching horror movies, right?!” she said.
”Ah, that's, huh,” Amy wasn't good with horror movies, or horror stories in general. Still, the bright smile her friend gave was hard to resist. ”That would be nice. Yeah. Horror movies. I don't mind it at all.”
”That's great! So I'll bring the movies. I guess we'll need food as well, so…”
”Oh, I'll take care of that, don't worry. Making food isn't your best skill, so yeah. Better safe than sorry,” Amy laughed at the grimace Agnes made. ”Just make sure to bring some good movies.”
Not too scary, please, Amy though, but didn't voice it.
Agnes giggled.
”Leave it to me. I'll make the scariest selection I possibly can!” Agnes said while rubbing her hands. ”I won't let you sleep that night!”
Amy felt a shiver. Yet, the bright smile on Agnes' face was enough to stop her from complaining. She couldn't believe she was doing that. Amy suddenly wondered how important her friend was for her and how far she would go to make her smile.
***
When Amy answered the door on Halloween night, there was a cute blonde girl wearing a witch costume waiting on the other side with a smile on her face.
”You're still wearing a costume, huh?”
”Yeah. I had bought it already and I didn't want it to go to waste,” Agnes put her finger on her lips. ”Is it weird?”
Imagining Agnes happily buying that costume just for that night while planning their Halloween together, Amy felt like her heart was being stabbed. Agnes really loved Halloween night.
Amy had dressed herself to wait for Agnes. Not in a Halloween costume, that would be too much. The purple scrunchie tying her hair was a present from Agnes. So was her jeans shorts. Or her black tights. Almost everything she was wearing was a present from Agnes. Agnes loved dressing her up too much.
”It's not weird. Actually, since you're in the mood already, you can answer the door when the kids come,” Amy looked away before adding: ”And, well, you look cute.”
Agnes giggled behind Amy's back.
”A-Anyway,” Amy tried to change the subject. ”You brought movies, right? We can start watching them. We also have food for when we get hungry. Mom left juice since she knows you can't stand soda.”
”Oh, that's right! I spent this whole time making a selection with the most brutal, bloodiest and scariest horror movies I ever saw.”
Amy felt a shiver running down her spine by listening to her friend's enthusiastic words.
”Y-You could've brought something you didn't watch yet,” she said, taking the bag Agnes passed to her and looking inside. ”W-Wait. There's at least ten!”
”I said I won't let you sleep tonight,” Agnes gave a smile.
”No, no, no, wait! Forget about sleeping, we don't even have that much time.”
”We do,” Agnes looked at her clock and showed it to Amy. It was 8 PM. ”Come on, it's Halloween. You don't want to sleep during Halloween, do you?” She threw herself on her friend's couch. ”Choose something and put it on already.”
Looking at those titles, Amy was sure they were as terrifying as Agnes made them out to be. She couldn't even look at the cover without feeling uneasy. She just took something and put it inside the blu-ray player and sat beside Agnes, who just looked at her with a mischievous smile as the movie started.
The first few scenes weren't as scary as Amy feared.
Agnes had her legs bent, putting her feet on the couch. She always felt at home when she and Amy were alone at Amy's house. Her knees invaded her friend's space a little and her long skirt touched Amy's legs.
Glancing at Agnes, Amy realized she had her eyes glued on the tv screen. She had watched that movie already, but her excitement looked the same as always. Amy could feel how much her friend loved horror movies.
Amy's body flinched as a long buzz sounded inside the house. Agnes looked at her and Amy was sure she was holding herself to not make a joke about it.
”P-Probably kids looking for candies,” Amy said, hitting pause on the controller.
”You can keep watching it. I already watched that one.”
”N-No. I'll… wait for you,” Amy said while dreading the thought of watching it alone. Agnes giggled.
The front door wasn't that far from the living room, but she had to cross a hallway to get to it. Agnes almost skipped through the house as she went to open it.
”Tricks or treats!”
In the other side, there were three kids. Two boys wearing a werewolf and a vampire costume and a little girl wearing a ghost costume.
”I'm a witch, why would I carry candies?” Agnes said and grinned. ”But I don't want to be pranked, so let's see what I can do…”
With a fast movement, Agnes managed to get candies from the bowl on her side and hide it on her sleeves. With a theatrical gesture, she made it fall on the three kid's bags. The sleeves of her dress were long, so it looked like the candies were coming out of her hands.
”Wow!” the three kids said, amazed. When they looked at her again, the first boy let out a shout.
”Eh!? Agnes!?”
”Oh, you found me,” Agnes said, clapping her hands.
”What are you doing there?! We're against the children from the other street this year. If we can't get enough candies, we lose. You're our secret weapon!”
”I'm sorry. I'm a grown up now and grown-up girls spend Halloween in a grown up way! I can't be a kid forever.”
”No way!” the little girl said.
”You're our leader!” The third boy said. ”We can't win without you!”
”Of course you can!” Agnes said and pointed her finger towards the kids. ”From today on, I elect you three to be the leaders. Pass this message to the others and say that their order is to win! That's my word, so if you lose, you'll stain my name forever!”
”Yes, ma'am!” the three children yelled and turned away running, soon meeting other kids at the street.
Agnes let out a sad smile and turned to meet her friend waiting for her, leaning against the wall in the hallway.
”Back to the movies,” Agnes said and walked towards the hallway.
”You're so good with kids,” Amy said. She had a serious face and didn't move from her place. ”Any plans for having some of your own?”
Agnes stopped. She looked at Amy and gave a nervous smile.
”N-No. We're too young to think about these things, right?”
”We should always think about our future.”
”Well, true,” Agnes looked away. ”I don't think I wanna have kids, actually. I wouldn't be a good mother. And I think spoiling other people's children is good enough for me.”
”That's not true. You would be a great mother. You're so great with kids, so not having any would be a great waste.”
”I-Is that so?” Anges was fiddling with her skirt. ”G-Guess it can't be helped, though. I don't think I want it.”
”Are you sure? I could be the godmother.”
”Jezz, Amy, could you shut up?!” Agnes blurted.
Amy felt her body jump. She gave a startled look to her friend.
”I-I,” Amy stammered, looking away. ”I'm sorry. I didn't…”
”I don't want to hear that from you,” Agnes stared right into Amy's eyes as she said it. ”That's what mom is always saying. How she wants a grandchild. But I'm an only child and I really don't want one. I know mom will be disappointed, but…” Agnes lowered her head, asking in a low voice: ”Am I being selfish?”
”No, you're not,” Amy rushed to put her hand on her friend's shoulder. ”I, I'm sorry. I didn't want to bother you like that. I don't know what got to me. I think I'm just upset. You really wanted to be out there tonight, right?”
Giving her friend a sad smile, Agnes went back to the couch. When Amy followed her, she met her friend with the controller on her hand, but the movie was still paused. Amy sat beside her.
”It's true that I wanted to be out there,” Agnes said, staring at the paused movie. ”At the same time, I understand we're getting too old for that. Can't help it, I guess. I'm just like a big child.”
”I'm sorry,” Amy said without facing her friend.
”And that's why,” Agnes turned to Amy with a smile on her face. ”I want Halloween to still be fun for me. One way or another, I want to get excited for these nights all years. And so,” Agnes leaned against Amy, resting her head on her shoulder. ”That's your responsibility now.”
Amy gave a nervous smile as the movie resumed.
***