Happy six days before Halloween! Last year I wrote a Halloween story for HHaW, and Coraline is my next victim! Buahahaha--*coughcough* oh geez, uhm...no more evil laughter.

Prepare for Halloween fun!

--Phanny

Coraline Jones, after her move to Oregon and her escape from a spidery-seamstress' freaky alternate dimension, had found a best friend in Wybie Lovat.

Maybe it was what they had in common--they were both stubborn, imaginative, and easily bored. They enjoyed the outdoors, rainy days, and mocking reality TV shows on Friday nights. Maybe it was what they didn't have in common--Wybie had an interest in technology and engineering, things that Coraline couldn't make heads or tails of or even care about. Coraline wasn't afraid of confronting people she didn't like, while Wybie tended to avoid conflict. Wybie actually thought Wolverine could beat Superman in hand-to-hand combat, while Coraline fought with him for hours on why he was wrong.

"Superman would just drop a building on that super-hero wannabe!"

"Wolverine would heal and claw Superman's face off and use it for a dish rag!"

"Wolverine doesn't do the dishes! That's what Robin is for!"

"Robin has nothing to do with this! Your argument is invalid."

"…What if Zombies came, then?"

"Well then I guess everyone is doomed. I still win, though."

Maybe they just enjoyed each others' company. Whatever it was, it kept them together long enough to enjoy their first Halloween together.

When they arrived at school on Thursday, October 30th, They continued to discuss their plans for Friday night.

"So we'll get my mom or dad to drive us to a bigger neighborhood for candy, then we watch scary movies," Coraline explained to Wybie on their way to class, "maybe we'll find some that we can actually call scary."

"You've seen one teen slasher you've seen 'em all," Wybie shrugged, "we should go to the video store tonight--every movie'll be gone by tomorrow night."

"Can we ask your Grandma to take us there? Mom and dad only agreed to take us trick or treating--they won't go for anything else. One favor per week, apparently," Coraline huffed at her parents' stinginess. They were just so…inflexible.

"Just because Gramma has a car doesn't mean she really goes anywhere," Wybie said, "at least not for…what did she call them? 'Frivolities'."

"Old people," Coraline grumbled, "so selfish."

"Come on, students!" The assistant principals traveled the halls, blowing their whistles loudly, "two minutes, let's go!"

"I'll race you, Wybourne!" Coraline disappeared into the rushing crowd of students and Wybie frowned.

"Oh come on! I can't run through this, get back here!"

At least they hadn't bet money this time.

"This selection sucks," Coraline moaned as she glanced at the shelf labeled "Horror" in the Ashland Movie Gallery, "we came all the way here for this?"

Wybie had managed to get his bike working properly (he'd had an accident the previous week involving Mr. B's beet patch in the garden and a now very injured squirrel), and had convinced his grandmother that they would be really quick and would be back by five.

It was three forty-five when they'd arrived, and they'd been looking for fifteen minutes at the dismal selection of films.

"Halloween?" Wybie asked, looking at the movie covers.

"Seen it," Coraline droned.

"Halloween II?" Wybie asked in a bored tone.

"Seen it."

"Halloween III: Season of the Wi--"

"Face it, Wybie! We've seen every one of them!"

"Hey! If you two can't pipe down you'll have to leave."

"We were going to anyway," Coraline stomped towards the door, and Wybie gave the cashier a stiff, two-fingered salute as he followed her.

"You're store is an insult to movie connoisseurs everywhere!" Coraline said before pulling out some money, "however, we will take some red vines and a Snickers bar."

"And the Sour Patch Kids," Wybie added, placing them on the counter. The cashier rang them up silently and gave them a bag.

"Good day to you, sir," Coraline said sharply as both kids left.

This would have been a polite response if the cashier hadn't been a woman.

"So let me get this straight," Wybie said in awe as Coraline delivered her news on Friday morning. The girl had come to school looking pretty ticked off, and now he knew why. "Your parents have to work on Halloween…and cannot take us anywhere."

Coraline pouted and crossed her arms, fuming, "you heard me. Selfish! The only thing that would've made it worse was if my dad told me no candy on Halloween builds character!"

"Well, no movies and no trick-or-treating…" Wybie sighed, "what an awesome Halloween, huh?"

"And then you know what happened?" Coraline went on, "she suggest dropping us off at the Halloween dance here!"

"The Halloween dance is pointless," Wybie said, "it's just a regular dance…with pumpkins and paper ghosts."

"People around here don't know anything about scary!" Coraline groaned, "if we could just find a way to…scare everyone the right way…at the dance…"

Wybie paled, "oh no. Jonesy, whatever you're thinking of right now you need to st--hey!" Coraline had grabbed Wybie's hand and begun to drag him to class.

"Get out some paper and we'll brainstorm!" She said excitedly, "let's get 'em good."

Oh no.