Sanctuary

It’s Halloween and I’m set on staying in and handing out candy. Last year, I managed to sneak in a Halloween party with Alex; I say sneak because of All Time Low touring and we were able to go to a party. It was so fun and I was surprised the man didn’t get wasted, but we did have a drink or two. I equally enjoy passing out candy to kids and it’ll give us time to spend time together and watch horror movies. It was rare, but I somehow managed to have off on Tuesday and that’s when my favorite holiday happens to fall on. I thoroughly decorated our house inside and outside which amused Alex; when I’m invested in something, I go all out.

“Are you excited about tonight?” he asked.

We were at Walmart for my biweekly trip for groceries, also hoping to buy some ice cream I was going to eat tonight; I can eat a whole pint of Ben ‘n Jerry’s in one sitting.

“Super excited. I started giving out candy on trick-or-treat night the year after I was no longer able to go out and do that myself aka when I was thirteen. Plus, we get to watch scary movies tonight.” I said the last part in a spooky voice.

He began laughing.

“What? I didn’t sound scary?”

“What matters is that you tried.” he said patting me on the shoulder.

I jabbed him in the gut and jokingly rolled my eyes. He continued to laugh.

“Are you?”

“Yeah. I love seeing their costumes.”

“Me too and seeing the smiles on their faces when they get candy.”

“It makes me think about us going trick or treating when we have kids.”

It hasn’t been a topic we’ve actually had a genuine conversation about, but we both knew that we wanted kids someday.

“I love the idea of us raising our own children.”

I wondered if he could see the huge smile on my face.

“How many?”

“Two, maybe three.”

“A boy and a girl?”

His smile was melting my heart.

“Sounds perfect.”

I don't plan having any kids until the year after we get married, so I hope to get into a thorough conversation about this sometime next year. I turned to him and we kissed. I would’ve leaned up against Alex, but we were in public and grocery shopping. I found my favorite ice cream toward the end of the trip and we headed to checkout. I cooked dinner earlier than usual since trick-or-treat starts at six.

"Whatcha cookin'?" he asked.

"Chicken parmigiana."

"Fuck yeah."

I laughed.

“I agree.”

“Can I have a taste?”

He was clearly asking about my homemade sauce.

“No. You’re gonna have to wait.”

“Please?”

“It’s still a no.”

He wrapped his hands around my stomach; not gonna work.

“Less than a half hour. Ok?”

“Ok.” he said defeatedly.

Roughly a half hour later, dinner was ready and the smile on Alex’s face couldn’t be bigger. When I pulled it out of the oven and began plating our food, I could hear walk him into the kitchen.

“Can I help?” he asked.

“Yeah. Could you grab us drinks, please?”

He nodded. By the time he walked into the dining room, I had everything set on the table and was about to sit down.

“I cannot wait to dig in.” he said.

“I know. Neither can I.”

He had such a look of pleasure when he bit into his chicken which truly amused me.

“Good?”

“Great. No, scratch that. Fantastic!”

I loved his enthusiasm.

“Thank you, Alex.” I said laughing.

“You’re welcome.”

He was washing the dishes minutes later while I walked to our bedroom to change into a costume; it was something very simple and appropriate. I came out looking like the ‘80’s threw up on me, complete with crazy leggings, a sweatshirt and wild hair because why not?

“How do I look?” I asked, spinning around.

“Awesome! This is a great look for you.”

I was laughing and so was he.

“You’re kidding. Right?”

“No.”

“I was born in the ‘80s and wish I could’ve really grew up in the decade.”

“Yeah. Two years isn’t enough time. I get it.”

“Glad I didn’t have to wear a wig. I just teased my hair like crazy, so please refrain from touching it.”

“I’ll try.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Let’s go sit down, Cyndi Lauper.”

I shook my head and went to plop my ass on the couch.

“How long till trick-or-treat?” he asked.

“20 minutes. Candy ready?”

“Two huge bowls worth.”

I put Alex in charge of Halloween candy and he ended up getting four huge bags of it; I was overly curious about how much will be left over because I want some of it.

“Good.”

“Wanna take a selfie?”

“Hell yeah.”

I grabbed my phone and took a picture of the both of us.

“I’m totally posting this if you don’t mind.” I said.

“I’d love that.”

I edited it and posted on three of my social media accounts. We were deciding on what to watch first when I heard a knock on the door. I got up first to answer the door, grabbed the dish and opened to a huge group of kids.

“A lot of cutie pies out there.”

“Cutie pies?”

“You’re gonna have to get used to me talking me like that if I’m gonna be a mom.”

“Well, I can’t imagine me talking like that.”

“You will be. You just don’t realize it.”

“Nope.” he said shaking his head.

I kissed his cheek.

“I’m right and you know it.”

He didn’t know how to respond.

“We’re gonna take turns tonight.”

-knock knock-

“You’re up slugger.” I said patting his thigh.

Hearing him talk to those kids made my heart melt because it wasn’t something I had ever experienced before.

“You’re adorable.” I said as he sat back down.

He turned and kissed me.

“I love you.” he said.

“I love you, too.”

I kissed him back and leaned up against him. The night ended up being a fairly busy evening and we were left with one bag of candy.

Success!

“Yes!” I exclaimed.

“What?”

“We have one bag of candy leftover!”

I started to dance around at this point. Alex came over to where I was which ended up being in the middle of the living room and picked me up.

“What are you doing?” I asked laughing.

He didn’t answer me and sat me down on the couch, then he gunned for the candy.

“I see what you’re doing!”

I leapt off the back of the couch and ran to where he was and saw him about to tear open that bag of candy. We played tugged of war to get control.

“Alexander William Gaskarth, let me have this.”

I pulled it toward me.

“No, Abigail Marie Shaw. It’s mine.”

He pulled it his way. This really made me wonder how old we actually are.

“You’re a stubborn ass.” he said.

“So are you.”

After a handful of tugs later, the bag busted open and candy flew across the room.

Fuck.

“See what you did.”

I wasn’t seriously angry, but I didn’t want to pick up all the candy that was everywhere. I found the candy bowl and got on my hands and knees to clean up the mess he made. In the midst of a second trip to the bowl, he stole it.

"Get your ass over here, Alex." I said grabbing his foot.

That stopped him in his tracks as he turned his head.

"Really, Abby?" he asked, turning back toward to me.

I continued to move for maybe five feet when I felt him grab my foot again, stopping me. I busted out laughing followed by his own laughter. He tackled me and we rolled until I was on top of him.

"We are so fucking strange." I said.

"You can say that again."

"We are-"

I knew that he didn't actually mean for me to actually repeat myself, but still... I couldn't help myself. He interrupted by kissing me; I wrapped my arms around him deepening the kiss. I didn't want to move and neither did Alex, but we knew it'd be better if we weren't actually lying on the floor surrounded by fun-sized candy bars.

"This is better." he said, taking a bite out of a Twix.

"It is." I said, taking a bite out of a Hershey bar.

We laid in bed together watching a scary movie and eating candy. Best. Halloween. Ever.

Notes