A/N: Sorry I mainly use AO3 now because my story, With You, is rated MA or E or whatever for violence. But if you have an account there, check it out-I have the same username there. That's why this is posted way after Halloween-because I hate the rating restriction here.

Autumn in the United States was something altogether different from Ireland's fall season, or so Jack thought. Even though he was only 7 years old, and he didn't have many memories of his home country, he felt things were different. There wasn't as much rain, and it wasn't that cold.

Plus, Halloween was a bigger deal here than back there. Or maybe because it was a big city? Either way, Jack didn't dwell on it too much. He just enjoyed the scent of the leaves, the sound of them skittering in the wind, the vibrant hues of the trees contrasting with the gray of the buildings… and the excitement of free candy.

This year, Jack was dressed as one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The bulky costume (and thermal wear underneath) kept him nice and warm on the chilly night. The moon was rising steadily and the streetlamps had come on long ago. He was with some of his older siblings this year, their parents home to hand out treats and watch movies.

Before long their buckets were nearly full. Jack was having a little trouble with the weight but he insisted on carrying it himself when his older siblings offered to hold it for him. Jack knew they'd steal some if they got the chance, and replace it with gross stuff like raisins or those little packets with toothbrushes and toothpaste. Why would you give out those? I already have a mom to nag me to brush my teeth with my own stuff, thank you very much!

There were a lot of people around-kids, parents, teenagers-but he wasn't afraid. Suddenly, he felt his bucket being weighted down further and jerking around. He glanced at it and pulled his sister to a stop. "Hey!" Jack yelled.

His siblings turned and giggled. In his bucket was the snout of a dog, nosing around for goodies. "Let go!" Jack grabbed his plastic pumpkin and pulled it closer to his chest, failing at shooing away the persistent dog.

At the same time, the dog was being pulled away by the leash. A lady was scolding it. "I'm sorry," she said to Jack. "He's usually so well behaved." With her were two boys, one around his age and the other a little older. The younger of the two also scolded the dog.

"Bad boy!" He said, before turning to look at Jack. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Did he eat any of your candy?"

Jack looked at the boy, with dark hair and brown eyes, dressed in a pirate costume. "Um," he said, glancing at his bucket before touching it. He grimaced; there were some bite marks on the wrappers and slobber everywhere. "Not really."

"Can I see?" the other boy asked. Jack blinked at him and nodded, holding out the pumpkin. The other boy also flinched at the slobber. "Aw man, that stinks. Here," he said, pocketing the ruined candy. "I'll take them and throw them away, and give you some of mine." He scooped out some candy from an identical pumpkin bucket into Jack's. "There. All better. Uh, I'm Mark," he said, waving a hand awkwardly.

"I'm Jack," said the Irish boy. He glance to the side to see his older brother and Mark's mom talking.

Brown eyes widened. "You talk cool! Where are you from?"

Jack blushed. "Ireland. We moved here a few months ago."

Mark smiled. "You look kinda familiar. What school do you go to?" Jack told him, and the smile grew bigger. "I go there, too! I'm in the third grade."

"Second grade," Jack replied.

"Really? Aw, I was hoping you'd be in my grade. But we're still in the same school! We should hang out some time, I like you. And you have really pretty eyes," Mark said eagerly.

Jack blushed again at the compliment. "Thanks. I'd love to hang out, too. And I like your hair. It looks really soft."

"Thank you! You wanna touch it?"

The bluntness of his new-found friend baffled Jack, but he nodded anyway. Mark bent his head and Jack brushed a hand over the hair—it was as soft as he thought it'd be. Mark lifted his head back up, and the two grinned at each other.

After coming back home that night, Jack was very happy. He got a lot of candy and made a new friend that was really nice. Mark's mom and Jack's oldest brother exchanged phone numbers so the two young ones could talk to each other more.

It was the start of a life-long friendship.