FRY GUYS

Scotty reached a hand under his mask to scratch his nose after tossing the plastic grocery sack of candy to Brad.

"Is that the last of it?" Brad upended the bag into his truck-bed.

"Yeah, man."

"Hell yeah."

"Hell yeah!"

Brad's mask matched Scotty's. It was a packet of fries with a screaming mouth and angry eyes like cesspools. Scotty found them in the dumpster behind the sandwich shop he worked at.

"One more street before we head back?"

Scotty grinned. He knew Brad couldn't see it. "Absolutely."

"Cool. I'll meet you there." Brad slammed the tailgate into place. "Meet me at the end of Maple."

Scotty gave him the most sarcastic salute he could muster. "Yes, sir!"

Brad chuckled. He managed not to splatter icy mud on Scotty as he drove away.

It was easy to take candy from children on Halloween. They feared him; they respected him. The mask and black clothes only increased the effect.

Scotty would have done anything for Brad. It wasn't like he was in love with him or anything but Brad's tight body and fun personality definitely had something to do with it.

Okay, so maybe he was in love with him, just a little bit. It wasn't like it was going to change anything.

Scotty cut through someone's backyard, hopped the fence, and landed neatly in the middle of Maple Street. He waited in the shadows for a moment and watched for the perfect kid. Then he came: some pudgy little fifth-grader dressed like Slimer from Ghostbusters. Scotty had to give him props for that. Slimer was the only character he really liked.

Scotty emerged from the bushes just as the kid went to knock on the door. "All right, kid. Gimme the bag."

The kid, with all the gumption in his heart, laughed. "What? You don't control me."

"Jeez. Come on. I like your costume, so I'll give you a choice. Give me all the Twix and I'll let you go."

The kid cursed at him, flipped him off, and knocked on the door.

Scotty rolled his eyes and walked off into the night, ready to try again.

*****

"Okay, ask me another!" Scotty laughed. He sat in the truck-bed with Brad, under the endless cover of the light-polluted suburban sky.

Brad tossed a Skittle into the air and caught it in his mouth. "What do you think about, like, love?"

"What do you mean?" Scotty's heart stopped beating.

"Just... answer."

"As a concept? Very nice. As an act?" Scotty paused, grinned. "Also very nice."

"You ever liked anyone?"

He paused. The silence between them was rich like the chocolate stuck to Scotty's gums. "Yeah."

Brad grinned. "Me too."

"Are you--"

"Scott, can I kiss you?"

Brad didn't wait for an answer. Under the stars, with matching masks on their heads, and surrounded by stolen candy, two boys kissed for the first time.

Scotty would have been lying if he said he wasn't just a little more in love with him.