Dusk came sooner than expected, the last of the sun's rays cosseted behind soft grey cloud. Main Street took on the look of an old photograph, every familiar thing a shade of grey. Slowly the view was fading into blackness and the night would begin.

Shawn sat there alone, Main Street empty except for the occasional gust of wind in the air that would push aside different leaves, yellow, brown and red. Each one showing the last signs of its color before all would blend into the dark shadows of Halloween night.

Shawn looked around the street, enjoying the quiet for a moment. But he had to get ready for Halloween, so he headed for his house, not wanting to miss out on trick or treating time.

Shawn walked down the street. He could see Tiffany's old house across the street from his own house. There was a single sign hung in purple letters on the door that read 'Boo.'

Shawn saw that Michael was outside the house and that he was dressed in what looked like a Thundercats costume. It was Lion-o, but the costume clearly didn't fit the skinny looking kid. It was too baggy, and Michael was holding Lion-o's mask in on hand and had a pillow case in the other.

"Hey." he said in a dead-pan voice as Shawn approached.

Shawn gave Michael a friendly smile as he approached him, though he knew the other boy wouldn’t necessarily appreciate it. “Hi Michael. Are you trick or treating tonight?” It was actually a little freeing, not to have to worry about using the right words and keeping the right expression.

"Yes." Michael responded in a deep voice, a computer reading out the response to a functional input.

Michael stared at Shawn. The sun was setting behind the skinny boy, far off in the horizon, painting the landscape with an orange glow. Occasionally Michael would blink, registering a sign of life the way a blinking cursor might show that the screen or application was still active.

Shawn nodded, mostly comfortable with Michael’s silence. “I have to go home to put on my costume. Are you trick or treating by yourself?”

Michael blinked for a second. His eyes drifted towards what Shawn was carrying, and then back up to Shawn's own eyes. Then he simply nodded.

Shawn nodded in response. "I have some friends coming with me. After I get changed, do you want to come with me trick or treating too?"

Michael nodded his head. "Ok" He said, as if it didn't matter one way or the other. His body turned slightly towards Shawn as Shawn walked down the driveway towards his own house.

The car that was supposed to be in front of the house wasn't parked there. This indicated that Dad was not home. It also meant that front door could be locked. Although, given the fact that Mom didn't live at Shawn's house anymore, this latter point was anything but certain.

Shawn gave Michael a quiet “See you then.” before departing. Since the house seemed empty, he approached the front door and tried to see if it was unlocked. Hopefully he could get inside and change.

Shawn opened the door to his house. A blast of stagnant, stale air caught his nose like he was entering an old person's home that hadn't been cleaned for a long while. The door bounced against the door-jam, creaking slowly back in the direction of Shawn as if it were about to close before it came to slow stop.

Inside, the interior of the house was familiar, if not, dimly lit. It appeared that no one was home, the hallway silent except for the heat of the furnace blowing through the vents in the ceiling.

Shawn closed the door behind him, wrinkling his nose a little as he caught the smell. He hadn't been gone all that long; had the place smelled like this when he lived here? Still, home was home, and he had stuff to do. He headed upstairs towards his room. He could get changed and check on Mr. Clayton too. He still felt a feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had left him alone too long.