ɴᴇᴡ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ|𝙻𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝/𝙻𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗

Two Trucks

Wait a second...

The pictures around the house showcased the two in different costumes, each with some sort of theme like witches, pirates, and many more he did not recognize.

But they were dressed as fruits and... his head was a lemon.

A cherry, a plum, and a lemon.

Did they do this for him?

The thought sent him into a panic. He needed to leave. Getting chummy with humans was one thing, but to participate in a family outing would mean he could no longer deny the warm fuzzy feeling in his chest.

"Well, I'm off," he announced, marching to the front door. "You two have fun."

Skid ran around him to block his path. "But this is the biggest spooky month of all! You have to come with us!"

The monster took a step back, helpless against the boy's puppy dog eyes. Lila stepped in next to her son, attacking him with her own pleading eyes.

"I didn't think I would have to tell you this, but you're coming with us," she said, opening the door to usher them out. "Besides, it's Halloween! What's the worst than can happen?"

Nothing worried him, ever! If anything, it was them that should be worried! What happened to him? He used to scowl whenever they did their spooky dance, but some unknown force felt left out, as if he wanted to join in.

A beat passed before Lila added, "you don't have to wear clothes tonight if that helps."

And with that, the monster joined them for Halloween night. They went to the candy store where they ran into Pump and his family. Upon their reunion, to his utter horror, they all began to perform the spooky dance. Even Pump's mother and father were somehow in on it.

The only individual who didn't partake in the activity was a young girl with her wavy brown hair in a ponytail, who he would later learn is Pump's older sibling. He mouthed a silent "What do I do?" at the disinterested girl, but she merely shrugged in response before returning her attention back to her phone.

After buying their candy and bidding the family goodbye, they continued trick or treating around the neighborhood. He didn't understand why they were given candy at the drop of a phrase, but it was fun. He even found himself repeating 'trick or treat' much to Skid and Lila's surprise and to the dismay of the recipients.

The human and her child would also force him into their photos. He wasn't sure why, but it felt... nice to be included, and a small part of him wondered if he would join their small wall of family photos.

He waved away such thoughts by shoving several chocolate bars into his mouth.

The night came to a quiet close... at least to them it probably was. His world came crashing down and it was all thanks to her.

She asked for one last picture with the three of them. Skid bounced in between them without hesitation, while the monster stuck close to the boy's left side, leaving a gap between him and Lila.

If she noticed, she didn't mention it, setting the camera to its timer and stepping back to stand next to her son. The monster gave his best ear to ear smile for the camera, but Lila had other plans. At the last second before the flash, she closed the gap between them, lacing her fingers with his claws and bumping her costume against his shoulder.

The flash went off before he could process what happened and just like that her warm, soft hand left his cold, rough claw. The monster was slack-jawed, a warm sensation rising in his cheeks, but overall, in shock at what just happened.