"C'mon Scott, it's Halloween!!"
"Every day is Halloween for us Stiles," Scott sighed, picking at the food on his lunch tray.
"Not every day!" Stiles tried to protest, but when Scott gave him a look, Stiles relented slightly. "Okay, sure, every day can feel like Halloween when you're a teenage werewolf, but hear me out!!"
"Here you out about what?" Lydia asked as she and Allison joined the table, setting down their trays.
"Scott's saying he doesn't want to do anything for Halloween!" Stiles whined slightly.
It was childish, he knew, to whine about this, but Halloween had always been Stiles' favorite. The decorations, the atmosphere of fall and fun, dressing up, and getting to be something else other than yourself. Not to mention the candy!
"What did you have in mind?" Erica asked as she, Isaac, and Boyd sat across from them.
"It's not like I want to go trick or treating or anything," Stiles explained. "I just thought it would be fun to spend it together and celebrate. Though handing out candy would be fun."
"We could watch scary movies," Boyd suggested.
"Or we would walk some of the more decorated neighborhoods to look at the lights," Isaac added.
"Normal stuff!" Stiles pointed out as he looked pleadingly at Scott.
"Where would we even meet?" Scott countered.
"Any of our houses would work," Lydia said practically. "Except maybe Allison's."
"That's a good point," Allison agreed. "Dad's come a long way accepting my friendship with the pack, but I don't think he would be thrilled if I brought the pack home."
"We could ask Derek if we can use the loft!" Erica offered, enthusiasm warming her voice.
"Costumes?" Stiles asked.
"Optional?" Lydia offered the compromise, and Stiles nodded.
"I'm good with that!" Stiles couldn't help his growing smile. "And if we don't want to commit to a full movie, we could look up Halloween episodes of TV shows we like!"
"Oh, I like that idea!" Allison looked at Scott, hopefully. "What do you think?"
Scott sighed again, but before he could answer, Stiles chimed in one more time:
"C'mon Scott, it'll be like when we were little!"
That sentiment, along with Stiles' pleading eyes, was enough for Scott to give in with a reluctant smile.
"I'm clearly outvoted. Who's house should we use?"
"I think it depends on how late we'll be staying," Lydia said, ever the practical hostess. "Do we want to spend the night?"
The group debated for a while who's house to use, and the pros and cons of the different locations weighed and considered. The Loft vs the Lake House. The Lake House vs Scotts House. Scott's house vs Stiles' House and, of course, Stiles' house vs the Loft. Full circle a few times before it was eventually decided that Stiles' house was the best choice, not only because his street got a decent amount of foot traffic and trick-or-treaters but because Stiles had the most movie options.
******
"I still think every day is Halloween for us," Scott said by way of greeting when he arrived at Stiles' house after school.
"And today, it's for everyone!" Stiles grinned, tossing a pack of Reese's pieces to the grumpy werewolf. "So you'll just have to deal with it. Nice costume, by the way."
"It was easy enough," Scott shrugged. He was wearing a set of scrubs and had a stethoscope around his neck. "I didn't even have to steal anything."
"I resent that comment," Stiles laughed. "I didn't steal anything either!"
"So you just happened to have a leather jacket lying around?"
"For your information, I borrowed it from Isaac," Stiles huffed.
"He's lucky it fit," Isaac teased as the two entered the living room. The were' was lounging on the couch in a white T-shirt and jeans. The T-shirt had been written on with a Sharpie to say, 'This is my costume.' "He's kind of short," Isaac said.
"Am I short or are you just freakishly tall?" Stiles shot back.
"What are you supposed to be anyway?" Scott asked, plopping on the couch next to Isaac.
"Isn't it obvious?" Stiles' grin had a hint of mischief now. "Here I'll give you a hint!"
Stiles crossed to the furthest side of the room and struck a pose. His hands in his pockets, feet apart, and something close to a glare on his face as he stared at Scott. Scott stared back for a minute, thinking before he burst into laughter.
"Are you Derek?" He managed to gasp between peals of laughter.
Stiles dropped the glare, his face lighting up at Scott's delight.
"Yeah! He'll probably kill me for it, but it's still a good costume!"
"I know I said he didn't steal it, but if Derek asks, he absolutely did," Isaac grinned too, but before he could say more, he cocked his head towards the door.
"They back with the pizza?" Stiles asked, and Isaac nodded.
Scott could hear them all now, too.
"Perfect timing. It sounds like Lydia is here, too. Allison's with her," Isaac reported what he could hear to Stiles' human ears.
"Awesome! Scott, grab plates for us?" Stiles asked.
"Sure," Scott stood, heading to the kitchen.
When he came back, everyone was settling around the living room.
Erica was in all black and had a pair of cat ears. Boyd didn't seem to be wearing a costume but had brought several bags of candy (both to share and to pass out). Allison had braided her hair over one shoulder and brought her bow for a simple Katniss costume. Lydia was in a simple green dress with fake ivy twined around her head in a crown.
"Poison Ivy?" Scott asked as he handed out the plates.
Lydia nodded.
"It had been my plan for handing out candy at home so I figured I would still wear it!"
"Ivy and Catwoman," Stiles joked "wish we had known there was a theme."
"Don't worry, Stiles, you're still my Batman," Erica winked.
The group fell into easy banter, occasionally interrupted by trick-or-treaters as it got later. Eventually, they put on the Addams Family Values just for the atmosphere, as they mostly kept talking and handing out candy. It wasn't far into the movie when Derek showed up.
"Hey Sourwolf!" Stiles called from the couch when Derek followed Erica inside.
"Erica said you were all hanging out for Halloween," Derek looked awkward as he explained. "She said I should come."
"Absolutely!" Stiles grinned. "Come sit. I think we have pizza still. Where did the box go?"
Derek settled next to Stiles and was handed a plate with a couple of slices of pizza on it. He took a bite and subconsciously scanned the room as he ate, noting everyone's costumes or lack of costumes. He was confused by Stiles', though. The jacket was clearly Isaac's, and for the life of him, Derek couldn't figure out what Stiles was supposed to be.
It was when Stiles was coming back from his turn to hand out candy that Derek finally asked.
"So what are you supposed to be?"
Derek was confused by the giggles that broke out at his question.
"Haven't figured it out yet, big guy?" Stiles smirked. "I'm you!" Stiles struck his pose and aimed his glare at Derek. "Back when you were a creeperwolf who would stare instead of actually communicating!"
Everyone was laughing again, and Derek couldn't help a small smile.
"Terrible," was all he said, and Stiles shrugged, his usual smile coming back.
"At least I have a costume!"
General protest broke out at this, and Stiles had to dodge thrown candy as he made his way back to his seat next to Derek. If Stiles took advantage of that fact to tuck himself closer to Derek (to use him as a shield), no one needed to know.
And if, a couple of hours later, Derek casually put an arm around Stiles, who could blame him? He just needed to stretch; it was cramped on the couch.
And if they were still like that, leaning into each other, fast asleep, surrounded by the pack (also asleep through the room, haphazardly covered with blankets and using each other as pillows), when the sheriff came home the next morning, who would be surprised? Certainly not Noah Stilinski, who snapped a few photos before grabbing some candy from the bowl on the table and heading upstairs. He could let them sleep. Questions could wait.
