Chapter 88

                                    

                                          
Lately, everyone had been so busy that they hadn't had much time to get out and do some Halloween-related shopping. Though, like he did last year, Clay had volunteered to help decorate the Baker's pharmacy store during one weekend that he had some free time. Right now, Matt, Lainie, Amara, Ani, Clay, Allison, Harley, and Justin were all out together, doing a bit of Halloween shopping as they were in search of some halloween candy and maybe even a costume or two. The 19-year-old had invited his girlfriend to come along, but she unfortunately was tied up with helping her parents out with a few things at their store. 
                          
Roaming the aisles, Justin, Clay, and Ani were impressed by the large variety of Halloween masks as well as costumes. For the store being Target, they sure had a pretty decent selection. Allison was busy looking at toddler-sized costumes for Harley as the one-year-old sat happily in the cart while her mother slowly pushed it down the aisle. Finding a mask that didn't seem too scary, the blue-eyed teen removed it from the rack and put it on. The boy then slowky crept over towards Harley while her back was turned to him. Silently coming up beside the unsuspecting toddler, Clay stopped in place, leaned in closer to her, and let a low growl escape his mouth right as his niece turned to see who was beside her. This caused Harley to let out a genuine toddler scream as she leaned back as far as the cart would allow her in an attempt to get away from the gray, fang-baring and angry-looking wolf. Chuckling to himself a little, the Jensen male quickly removed the werewolf mask, showing his niece that it was just him. Once the young girl realized that the wolf was just her uncle, she instantly smiled before moving to hug him. Smiling to himself, Clay leaned in closer, letting Harley hug him as he wrapped his right arm around her in return.
                          
After a few short moments, Clay returned the gray werewolf mask back to the rack and spotted Justin in his peripheral vision as the jock was smiling down at his phone. "Ok, that's the best thing I've ever recorded in my life." The boy said as he walked over to his brother, briefly showing him that he had captured the whole moment on video with his phone. The 19-year-old smiled to himself before lightly shaking his head at his male sibling. "You've got to send that to me, Justin." Ani said after having seen the video over Clay's shoulder. Nodding in agreement, Justin sent the video to his friend, and he even sent it in a group message to Lainie, Matt, Allison, and Clay before placing his phone back into his pocket.
                          
"So, what are you thinking of being for Halloween?" The Foley teen asked as the two brothers glanced around at the various masks and other costumes. "I'm not all that sure. I might end up hanging home and handing out candy like I did last year." Clay said with a small shrug of his shoulders. "Are you doing anything for the school's costume contest this year?" Justin asked curiously. "That Freddy Krueger costume you went with last year was epic! It might be a challenge to top it if you do anything this year." The Foley teen added, being fully impressed with Clay's costume from the year before. "Yeah. I don't really know. I'd have to give it some thought if I were to do something again this year. But, who knows? I might retire early while I've already got one win under my belt." The blue-eyed teenager said, causing his brother to laugh a little. "That might not be a bad idea." He said in agreement. 
                          
After a few hours, everyone had arrived back home. Allison stood in the kitchen, near the counter with her daughter standing closeby. "Hey, Harley, check this out." She said, gaining the toddler's attention. Allison then proceeded to say the magic word, "abracadabra," before gesturing her hands towards a drawer as it magically opened. Briefing looking down at her speechless daughter, the mother repeated the magic word, causing the drawer to close on its own. "You give it a try, Harley. Say the magic word like Mommy did." She said, smiling down at her one-year-old. The young girl smiled excitedly before attempting to say the magic word as she strongly gestured at the same drawer. As she watched, the drawer slowly opened all by itself, causing the toddler to flash a bright, toothy smile at her achievement. This went on a few more times with the girl becoming even more excited each time. When Harley attempted the magic word once again, a cabinet just below the magic drawer opened this time. Becoming curious, the small girl carefully peeked into the opened cabinet, only to see her uncle in the decently sized, empty space. It turns out that Clay had been the one opening and closing the drawer the whole time rather than it being magic. At the sight of her uncle, Harley let out a childish laugh as the older boy climbed out of the cabinet with a smile on his face.