“Nooo! I can’t wear a jacket! If I wear a jacket, nobody can tell what I’m supposed to be!” Kurt wails and wiggles out of his father’s grasp.
His father looks like he wants to argue – he has that stern face on – but Kurt is determined. He looks so good in his blue power ranger costume, and he wants everybody to see. Besides, what kind of superhero wears a jacket over his costume, really?
His father shares a look with his mother, who smiles and rolls her eyes.
“Okay, sweetie, but the moment you start feeling cold, you tell your daddy and you put on your jacket without complaining, alright? I don’t want you catching a cold.”
Kurt sighs and digs his trainers into the carpet. “Yes, mummy,” he mumbles.
Sometimes it’s easier just to agree with his parents’ silly ideas when they don’t understand what they’re asking. He’d try to explain it to them, but it always takes so long to make them understand, and right now that’s time he just doesn’t have. It’s Halloween, and every second he’s not out trick-or-treating is a second wasted. The little old lady down the road always has the best candy – last year it was chocolate bars – and he’s scared she won’t have any more if he’s late, so he gives his parents his best convincing smile, runs over to his mother where she’s sitting by the fire for his goodbye kiss, picks up his helmet, and tugs his father out the door by the hand.
It’s a clear night with no clouds and lots of stars. He can see other groups of children and parents making their way from door to door.
Quite a large group is gathered in front of the chocolate bar lady’s front door, so Kurt puts his power ranger helmet on and fishes his bag out of his pocket. There are already two wrapped raspberry candies in there, because his mother always puts a little something in his bag before he leaves, to ‘make the other sweets feel welcome’, as she says. It works wonders every time, too. Kurt usually goes trick-or-treating with Rachel, and he almost always gets more candy than she does. His mum says it’s because it’s impossible to say no to his big blue eyes (which Kurt doesn’t buy, because his parents tell him ‘no’ all the time, and ‘take out the garbage’ and ‘I saw you hiding those sprouts, Kurt Hummel, and they are for eating, not for hiding under your napkin’, so clearly the eyes don’t work on them).
His dad grumbles that it might have something to do with the fact that Rachel talks so much, and then his mother always tells him to be nice.
This Halloween, however, Rachel and her dads are out of town, visiting grandparents, and Kurt misses her, even if she is bossy and loud most of the time. She watches musicals with him, she’s really good at playing tea party, and when they play with his power rangers, she lets him be the blue one AND the pink one. He can handle a little talking for that.
He would go with Mercedes instead, but she lives all the way across town, and his parents think it’s too far to walk when they’re just going to end up carrying him home again when he gets sleepy.
So this year, it’s just Kurt and his father, but it’s not too bad. Kurt’s dad is the biggest, strongest man Kurt knows, so even though he’s outside and it’s dark, he’s not scared, because he’s with his dad. No monsters could possibly get him.

They make their way around the neighbourhood with Kurt’s candy bag getting heavier and heavier. The sweet old lady had lollipops this year, and Kurt has his eye on a purple one he’s going to open first thing when they get home. He’s not ready to go yet, though, because this year he’s going to get so much candy even stupid Finn Hudson will want to swap some tomorrow.
They’ve just started up the path to a cheerfully decorated house with a smiling Jack o’ lantern on the front porch, when there’s the sound of running feet and something hits Kurt in the back with enough force that he topples to the ground. He’s so stunned he doesn’t even cry, and when he turns around, he sees a small boy, probably around his own age, sitting on the ground, sniffing. The boy’s dressed up like a dog, but his eyes are red and puffy, and even as Kurt watches, two fat tears run down his cheeks. His nose is running, too, and he looks so scared that Kurt does the first thing that comes into his head; he hugs him. The boy is stiff for a moment, and then hugs back tentatively. Kurt thinks it helps, because when they separate, the boy has stopped crying. His father bends down and offers the boy a handkerchief, and the boy blows his nose noisily.
“There, there,” his dad says. “Are you lost? Do you need help finding your parents?” he asks.
The boy shakes his head. “I’m not with my parents,” he mumbles into the handkerchief. Kurt’s dad looks a little worried at that.
“Aren’t you a little young to be out by yourself, kiddo?”
The boy straightens.
“I’m not little, I’m six and a half,” he says vehemently. “And I’m not by myself; I’m with Cooper, only he told me old man Johnson was going to trap me in his basement because I kept barking, so I ran away before he could catch me, but now I don’t know where Cooper is, and old man Johnson’s going to get me!”
He looks absolutely terrified at the thought, so Kurt takes his hand.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “Nobody’s going to get you now. My dad is really strong and brave, and he won’t let anybody lock you in a basement.”
The boy gives him a watery smile.
“I really like your costume. The blue ranger is really cool.”
Kurt beams. He’d had to put on his jacket earlier because he was freezing, but if this boy can tell he’s a power ranger, maybe it’s not so bad.
“Thanks,” he says, “the blue one is my favourite. I’m Kurt.” He squeezes the boy’s hand.
“My name’s Blaine. I like the red one better, but I like dogs best, and we can’t have a dog ‘cause Cooper’s ‘lergic.”
Kurt frowns.
“Who’s Cooper?” he asks.
“He’s my stupid brother who never wants to play. He just wants to watch movies and kiss his girlfriend.” Blaine makes a disgusted face, and Kurt can only nod his understanding, because kissing girls is gross. So gross.
“I never ever want to kiss a girl, ever,” Kurt says, shaking his head for emphasis. His dad chuckles at that, but Blaine just squeezes his hand and Kurt’s pretty sure he’s just made a new friend.

They walk together for the rest of the night, trick-or-treating with Kurt’s father and Blaine’s brother Cooper, who had come running shortly after they met Blaine. Kurt isn’t sure he entirely trusts someone who kisses girls in his spare time, so he sticks with Blaine, who’s much more fun, anyway. When both Kurt and Blaine start yawning too widely to be able to hide it, they go back to Kurt’s house, where Kurt’s mum makes them all hot chocolate before his dad drives Blaine and Cooper home.
Kurt’s last thought before he falls asleep that night is that it’s the best Halloween ever, and maybe Blaine can come over and play tomorrow.