"What's wrong?" JD asked, noticing Vin staring dejectedly into his mirror.

"The Halloween party."

"Can't think of a costume?"

"Nothing that won't look stupid," he said, baring his teeth to show off a row of shiny metal braces.

JD nodded. At twelve, he had only begun to experience puberty but Vin had recently turned fifteen. Growth spurts had left him overly skinny, with limbs and appendages that no longer seemed to fit togehter, and his skin was constantly breaking out; the condition worsened by the fact that he had recently started shaving.

"Look at me! All I need is horn-rimmed glasses and a pocket protector!"

Picking a comb off the bureau, JD drew a part straight down the middle of his own black hair, slicking it to either side. Buttoning his collar all the way to the top, he met Vin's eyes in the mirror. "I will if you will."

Vin smiled a little. "No fair, you're already a geek."

JD nudged his shoulder. "Girls like geeks."

"Can I borrow your jeans?"

"What for?"

"High-waters."

"Jerk," JD shot back, laughing.

Suddenly more enthusiastic, Vin laughed too. "Let's call Uncle Ezra. Bet he knows where we can get some props."

"Cool."

"This is disgusting!" Ezra complained. "I don't see why I have to do this part."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Because you're the one who said the church Halloween party needed artistic flair."

"I was merely offering a suggestion."

"Just like you suggested that I'd do all the carving?"

Ezra smiled innocently. "Only because you're good with knives."

"Yeah? Well there's no way I'm doing fifteen jack'o'lanterns all by myself, so get back to work or we'll never get this done."

Ezra scowled, carefully lowering his utensil back into the vegetable to remove another spoonful of pungent, orange, slimy pumpkin guts.

Vin flipped through the DVDs. "What do we want? We go 'Poltergeist', 'Exorcist', 'The Addams Family' . . ."

"Man, who brought 'The Exorcist?" Nathan complained. "That damn movie freaks me out."

Josiah smiled. "I did. You?" He frowned at Nathan's offering. "Casper the Friendly Ghost?"

"I like it," he said defensively.

Vin resumed his perusal. "'The Changeling'. Any good, Ez?"

"Yes, so long as you prefer spine-chilling to stomach-churning."

"What'd you bring, Chris?" Buck asked slyly, knowing that his tough friend was completely squeamish when it came to horror movies.

"I brought the beer. Now shut up and hand me some popcorn."