#this is how we queue

October 24, 2020

Halloween was about a week away and usually, Carlos would be buzzing with excitement. But instead, Julie hadn’t heard anything from him about it and decided to confront him.

“Don’t tell me you’re not dressing up for Halloween,” Julie questioned, approaching the boy sitting at the dinner table.

“I don’t dress up anymore. That’s for kids.” Carlos looked up from his tablet, seeming to deflate, slipping farther down into his seat.

Julie gave him a quizzical look, sputtering out noises of disbelief. He always loved dressing up, so why the sudden change? Maybe something happened at school, if his friends didn’t want to go with him then he’d just have to join her group.

“The boys, Flynn, and I are all dressing up if that makes you feel better. Halloween is fun for everyone, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can dress up if you want.” She saw the slight hint of a smile gracing his face, of course mentioning the boys would make perk up. Carlos and Reggie had a special bond, but all three of them held special places in Carlos’ heart. They brought back the light in Julie’s eyes and the spark in her heart, of course he would love them for it.

Luke, Reggie, and Alex already knew what they were going as; sheet ghosts, for obvious reasons. They matched well with Carlos’s ghostbuster costume too, so that was a plus. Julie and Flynn decided against going as ghosts, opting for witches instead, just so they could look cute.

They had spent a portion of the next few days getting everything ready. The boys’ costumes didn’t take that much effort, just some sheets with dark spots for the eyes, and Reggie added a black cowboy hat to his. Carlos’s costume was a bit more complex, him opting to DIY with the help of Ray instead of just buying everything. Flynn and Julie’s costumes were something they had a lot of fun putting together; they planned cute makeup looks and got some accessories from their local Spirit Halloween.

October 28, 2020

“If you guys don’t carve pumpkins with me, the band is breaking up.” The group wanted to get Carlos back into the Halloween spirit, so they planned on doing as many fun activities as they could fit into the week.

“Flynn- I mean, we’ll do it, obviously, but- I don’t think you have that much control over the band?” By the straight look on her face, he didn’t think she was joking around. The others tried to cover their laughs, trying not to make Reggie feel bad.

One day, after band practice, the six of them had decided to convince Ray to go to the pumpkin patch. They had each picked out the perfect looking pumpkins, as well as a few extra small ones. Reggie suggested they get hot apple cider before going home, it was a favorite of his growing up, and Ray just couldn’t tell the boy no.

“I have an idea!” Carlos exclaimed.

“How about we have a contest? Whoever makes the scariest pumpkin wins,” He continued. The rest of them nodded in agreement, whatever Carlos wanted to do, they would do it.

Soon after they arrived back at Julie’s house, they set up the dining room table. They laid out a plastic tablecloth for easy cleanup, taping down the edges. Spoons and knives were strewn across carelessly, which if Ray were to see, he would have to have a talk with the teens.

By the end of the night, they had all come to a decision. Even though he was the one who suggested the contest in the first place, Carlos won. Maybe the others chose him just to make him feel a bit better, but his pumpkin was also pretty good anyway. They didn’t have a prize, just bragging rights they supposed, but they ended up baking the seeds per Julie’s request.

October 31, 2020

Halloween day had finally arrived and everyone was buzzing with excitement. Alex, Luke, and Reggie were still trying to get caught up with the things they had missed out on over the last 25 years, so the other three decided that tonight would be the perfect time to show them some iconic Halloween Disney movies.

“Do you want tea or hot chocolate?” Julie asked, mostly just to Flynn and Carlos.

“I drank a gallon of cider all by myself. I regret nothing, but I don’t think I can handle drinking anything else,” Flynn replied. It wasn’t unlike her to go a little overboard, considering she’s downed seven sodas consecutively on multiple occasions.

Julie walked back into the studio with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, one for herself and one for Carlos. They had asked Ray to join them, but he declined saying they should have a night to themselves. The kids had gotten some popcorn ready, tons of blankets and pillows, and all piled on to the couch to start their Halloweentown marathon that afternoon. They were as squished together as they could get, but all content.

About 6 hours later they had gone through all the films and were ready to get the spooky time shenanigans started. The four boys had gotten dressed fairly fast, their costumes weren't complicated so no one was surprised, but they were very impatiently waiting for Julie and Flynn to be ready to go. Once the girls were all dolled up, they grabbed some candy buckets and went on their way down the street to start trick or treating.

A few hours later, the group had hit all the houses giving out king size candy bars near them and they were tired, so they were ready to go back to Julie’s relax again. It seemed Ray had decided to order pizza for dinner that night and everyone was grateful, that was just what they needed. Once everyone was full they decided to get some comfy clothes on and watch one last movie to end the night.

An idea struck Flynn, they should do face masks! Skin care is always a nice activity to do at night, she and Julie needed to do it in the first place, and maybe they could rope the boys into it as well. They protested a bit but ultimately gave in, they painted each other nails as well, which Alex ended up loving the most.