SwedenXReader: World Halloween Bash Extravaganza

Summer has begun to fade away and winter has begun to take its place. The autumn breeze shifts constantly, blowing the fallen leaves in your path. You glance at the houses you pass by. Children set out lit jack-o-lanterns that bare odd and even silly faces. Decorations cover many of the houses:  from silk spider webs to bright, flashy lights to seemingly life-like skeletons. It's that wonderful time of the year; Halloween. You smile and wave to a little girl in a fairy costume. She waves back and flutters across her porch to her sibling in a zombie getup. You continue walking down the leafy path until you reach the end of the street.
You hadn't planned on trick-or-treating this year, because your friend Alfred decided to throw a Halloween party, and you were more or less forced to attend. You didn't bother to put on a costume because you knew it would be nothing compared to America's best. He gets competitive every year and changes more than once so he's the sharpest looking "Michael Macy" in the house…or on the block.

You  begin down the next street. More leaves tumble about and you step over fallen tree branches. The trees are barren and give off creepy shadows in the setting sun's light. Somewhere far off, you hear Michael Jackson's "Thriller" start up. Once the sun set completely, the whole town would be a living fairytale (or nightmare).  A few more blocks and you would make it to Alfred's on time.

"Hey  lady!" a small voice calls from behind. You stop and look back to see a  floating bed sheet drifting towards you. "Do you have any candy?"

"No, sorry," You sigh. The shape seems to deflate.

"Oh…okay… So where are you going?"

"Somewhere," You begin to walk again. The bed sheet follows.

"Do you have any candy now?"

"Hmm," you check your pockets, "Nope, still nothing."

"Bugger,"

"So are you just gonna follow me?" You grin.

"Yeah, because I know where you're going."

"Oh really?"

"I know because I am your spirit! I'm here to tell you that you shall perish if you don't give me candy!"

"So my spirit has come back from the dead to force me to give it candy?"

"YES-er-no…Lady, just let me have some candy! I know you have some!" The bed sheet runs in front of you.

"I know where you live!" it claims.

"Sure  ya do kiddo." You laugh and continue on, stepping around the ghost. The  kid groans and continues to follow you down the street as if they actually were your own spirit. But once you turn back to ask the kid where he was headed, he'd vanished and you were all alone again. You shrug this off and keep down the lane, passing more houses.

The  sun sets quickly and the moon rises just as fast. The air is cooler now. You will be reaching your destination soon. People begin to venture  off of their porches and out into the chilly night. Countless creatures  pass you. You turn down the final street and see America's home. You quicken your pace a little. His house is definitely the most decked-out…its worse on "X-mas". He calls it the "World Halloween Bash Extravaganza Deck-Out Super Extreme and Awesome Party". You aren't too sure why it has to have such a long name.


You  walk up the steps and knock on the front door. All of the lights seem to be off in the house: as if no one's home. That's impossible. You knock a little louder. The door swings open.

You  step back in surprise. Alfred's face isn't covered in some movie-make up. His clothes aren't some ridiculous outfit. He's in his normal plain white shirt and jeans.

"Dude,  you came! I didn't even get to put on my costume yet! You're so early!"  He exclaims and pulls you inside quickly, slamming the door shut and dead bolting it. You look back at him as he peeks through the peep-hole.  

"Okay, since you're the first one here, you gotta help me out."

"Why? I'm not early."

"Dude, its 8:45. The party doesn't start until 9:30! I told you that!"

"Well excuse me that you changed the times so much while we were on the phone."

"It  doesn't matter now," he sighs with a shrug. "I've still got to put my costume on. I need something from the store; I forgot to pick it up this  afternoon."

Alfred jogs over to a small table then back to you, slapping a piece of paper in your hands.

"I need everything that's on the list. It isn't much," the blonde digs into his pocket.

"Why do I have to go?"

"Because…" he looks at you, his blue eyes basically pleading.  "you're my friend. I thought you wouldn't mind doing this for me…"

"I-I…ugh.  Fine," You submit shamefully, hating when he makes that face. His puppy  dog eyes disappear as he slaps a fifty in your hands.

"Be back soon, ok? I'm gonna go put my costume on so I can scare the shit outta Britain."

"Okay…but why are all of the lights off?"

"So  no kids come over here until you get that candy on the list. I can't break their little patriotic hearts!" Alfred says with a "that-should-be-obvious" tone. You watch as he rushes up the stairs.

"Fine…Thanks  for the fifty!" You head out the door. You hear America shout something, but it isn't comprehensible. The chilly gust smacks you in the face and blows away more leaves. You look down at the list.

"Candy  and Coke" it says. You laugh a little and waltz down the steps and back  through the front yard. The kids haven't made it to his house yet, so you decide to get while the getting's good and quickly walk down the side walk.

You  casually stroll to the nearest convenience store (which isn't very far). The roads aren't busy so you cross the street without a problem. But as you cross the street, you hear a yapping sound. You look back to find a small white dog is following you. You turn back to it and smile.

"Hi there, aren't you just adorable?"  You  kneel and pet the dog that seems very friendly. The dog's tail wags uncontrollably and she licks your hand. You scratch behind her ears.

'I  wonder whose dog this is,' you wonder and look around. There's no one around because all of the candy hot-spots are back in the neighborhood. You were currently on the outskirts. You straighten and glance in all directions. There isn't a single soul in sight. You sigh and look down at her. She yips and jumps up, and then paws at your leg. You hesitantly  begin to continue onward to the convenience store.

The  dog eagerly follows you to the door. You look through CVS doors and see  one man lazily sitting behind the counter. For the excitement of it, you scoop up the cute fur ball. Like a ninja, you dash inside the store and down an aisle, unseen. The dog pants excitedly as you make your way to the "Pet care" aisle. You look at the various doggie treats and select the bacon flavor, because everyone loves bacon. Then you calmly stroll to the counter, fluff ball in hand.

"Hello," the man looks over at you then makes a face, seeing the dog. You act innocently.

"Something wrong, sir?"

"No pets allowed," he gestures to the rather large sign. You blink.

"Oh, I never saw that, I'm from overseas and-"

"There's no need to lie about it. Is this all you're getting?"

You smile a little. "Yeah, that's it."

"Alright, that'll be $2.50,"

You  hand him the fifty. He makes another face and breaks it, handing you the change and the bag. You shovel the money into the bag, juggling the dog.

"No more pets," the man says sternly, although he doesn't seem to mind.

"Yeah," you look up at the clock. Alfred's party starts in exactly thirty minutes.

Outside,  you sit on the sidewalk and open up the treats. She takes one from you with manors and begins to gnaw away. You scope for the owner again. There's no luck. While the dog is chewing away, you get the idea to ask the man in the store.

You leave the puppy outside this time as you enter, asking,

"Do you know whose dog that is?"

The  man shakes his head no. With a puff of irritation, you jog to the Halloween candy section and pick out a few different assortments, then dash to the soft drinks and pick up a 2 liter of Coke. You set this on the counter. As the man rings this up, you look out the glass doors to see that the puppy has made its way into the whole bag of treats you carelessly left outside.

"Here you go," the man says dryly. You hand him the $47.50.

"Keep  the change," you tell him quickly and rush out of the store. You're in such a hurry that you run right into someone standing outside the doors.  You are about the fall back onto your butt, but the person reaches out and grabs your arm. Your feet slide forward until they push against their own feet, thus stopping your fall.

"Are you…okay?"  A voice deeper than you'd expected asks.

You  nod, "Yes, thank you. I'm sorry," you stand on your own and find that you're facing a rather tall man. His eyes are an alluring deep blue and his hair is an attractive golden color, tainted silver in the moonlight.  

"Hm," he nods and turns back to the puppy that you'd become found of.

"Oh…is  this your dog…?" You ask sheepishly. His eyes crash down onto yours behind his glasses. His gaze is rather harsh, but it doesn't seem threatening.

"Yeah…Hanatamango." He says. You assume the fur ball's name is Hanatamango and not his.

"Oh, well, sorry if I worried you. He started following me-"

"She,"

"She started following me and I had to get her something. I'm glad she isn't all alone. She's really cute."

"Thank you…"

You anxiously pace in place. Clearly, he isn't the talkative type, so you decide to say farewell.

"Well, I'm sorry about this," you scratch your head, "Goodbye."

You walk away. But you don't get too far before his voice calls out to you.

"What's your name?"

You turn back and reply, "(Name),"

He stands with Hanatamango in his arms and walks over to you.

"So you're America's friend?"

"Uh, yeah I am. How'd you-"

"I  arrived at his house a little early, he gave me the wrong time in the first place," he shakes his head, "but he asked if I could look for you,  because you'd been gone for some time."

"Oh…I'm sorry for all of the trouble."
"It's nothing…I'm Sweden,"

"You know my name now," you laugh lightly. His face remains expressionless.

"You do know it's dangerous to walk around at night, regardless if it is Halloween or not?"

You look away. He's got a point. It is pretty risky. But it was America's fault for being too lazy to buy his own party favors!

"Yeah, I know…"

He doesn't reply. The two of you return back to Alfred's home just a little before the party has begun.

"(NAME)! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY!" America throws his arms around you melodramatically.  "I was afraid that you were eaten by some creepy zombie!"

"Sure you were," you roll your eyes.  Sweden takes a seat on America's sofa next to a young man with blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Did Hanatamango get to use the potty?" he asks merrily.  You wonder why he's dressed up as Santa Clause.  America pulls his white hockey mask over his face and puts a finger to where his lips would be.

"Someone's coming," he whispers.

You  watch as he stalks to the door, snatches up a prop chainsaw, and peeks out the hole. He swings the door open so hard it slams against the wall.  He revs the chainsaw's motor and makes an odd laughter.

You  hear a terribly horrified scream. America's normal laugh breaks through. You walk to his side to see that his brother has hidden behind England and France, who look unamused.

"Nice try, America. Maybe you'll scare Sealand with that getup." England laughs.

France notices you and smiles, "Hello, I didn't know you'd be here!"

"Yes you did, you asked me if I was coming yesterday."

Francis pretends he didn't hear and shakes a bag he's holding.

"I  brought candy so let me in, pudgy!" he says to America. Alfred snatches  up the candy bag and gestures them to come in over his shoulder. England and France come inside with a hesitant Canada behind.

"Are you okay, Canada?" You ask softly while closing the door.  Matthew nods.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" he assures you and adjusts his rabbit ears.

"Awww, you look so cute," You squeeze his bunny paws. Matthew smiles

"Thank you-"

"HEY CANADIA!!!!!!" Alfred  yells in his ear. Matthew screams and turns around quickly, hitting America in the face by a reflex. America stumbles back a bit.

"What the bloody hell-"

"L.O.L!" France shouts. Just then, the door opens and the bed sheet that was stalking you earlier comes through.

"Sorry  I'm late, mates! But have no fear, Sealand is here!" the sheet calls, but no one is listening. Finland laughs at the trick Hanatamango preforms as Sweden holds a treat in his hand. And after that, various countries arrive at a steady pace, along with unsuspecting  children who end up getting the piss scared out of them when Russia or America opens the door. A few small arguments break out between England, France, Sealand and America about who has the best costume. Then everyone comes to realize that you aren't wearing one. After a while of that, you wander away from the crowd and sit beside Finland and Sweden.


"Are you enjoying yourselves here?" You ask them. Finland nods quickly.

"It is a lot of fun. I'm glad we were invited!"

"Hm," Sweden responds.

You smile, "That's good,"

Gilbert jumps over the table in front of you three seated on the sofa and falls at your side.

"Sorry  about that," he laughs obnoxiously and scrambles up, quickly fixing the  glasses on his face. Then you watch as he sprints down the hall. Hungary comes into view next, asking

"Where'd he go?"

Sweden points in the direction and she takes off, shouting something about Austria's glasses.

"I  would like to be thanking you," Finland says, catching your attention, "for taking care of Hanatamango when she got away from Susan. I really do appreciate it. I forgot to bring her leash…"

"Oh, it's nothing. She's just so cute!"

There's a large explosion somewhere in the building. You jump to your feet and Hana whimpers.

"What the hell was that!?" You hear France shout. Smoke begins to filter into the air.

Sweden gets to his feet, saying, "Finland, take Hanatamango outside with you."

Finland nods warily and does as he's told, "Just be careful…you never know what America does…"

You  run to the direction of the explosion, which seemed to be around the kitchen. Sweden is by your side. The smoke is thicker. You cover your mouth and nose and crouch down low. You hear the coughs of someone.

"Hey, what happened?!" You ask loud enough so the person could hear.

The person crouches and crawls towards you and Sweden. It was Italy.

"The food exploded!" he cries. There are many voices behind you.

"DUDE, WHAT THE HELL?!"  America exclaims and coughs before dropping to his knees. France is beside him along with Germany and Romano.

"Come on, you gotta get out of there," You crawl forward to help Italy out.

"But  England's in here somewhere! And Sealand!" he tells you urgently. You can see Sweden's frown through the smoke. He creeps low and disappears.

"Dude, this is so not cool!" Alfred crawls in the opposite direction. You lead Italy to Germany.

"Are you alright?" Lovino asks Feliciano that in tears for no actual reason.

You  use your memory to locate a window. You scurry back to the living room and feel along the walls because you can't see very well until you locate curtains. You stand and pull the latches on the window. It won't budge. You try harder, yet it seems the latches have been seared shut. You get low for another breath. You see that Sweden was headed in your direction. You don't need words; you just motion above your head. He nods and stands up and feels the latches. You stand as well, hoping to offer assistance. He grips one latch and you grip the other. You keep your eyes closed for the smoke has begun to burn your eyes like unions magnified by 1000. It's almost instant that he snaps open his latch. You  back out of his way and he opens the second, following up by opening the window.

The smoke begins to travel outside like a vacuum.

It's  getting harder to breathe. You poke your head out of the window for one  final breath and dive back down. You can vaguely see Sweden's form. He motions you to hurry. You follow him right to the front door. You take his offered hand and stand. He leads you out to where, thankfully, just about everyone else is anxiously waiting a little way away from the house.

You  sit in the grass besides Feliciano as he explains what started this whole mess. However, before he can finish, France emerges from the home carrying Sealand, who looks out cold. People from around the neighborhood have gathered and watch in disbelief.
"Where's America?" Japan asks France.

"Still inside," France says and gives a terrible cough, far worse than yours. China helps him to sit with the help of Austria.

"I'll go back in," Germany takes off his fake wolf ears and tail. You grab his arm and protest,

"You can't!"

"She's right," Prussia frowns, "The fire department is-"

The  sirens of the police, ambulance and fire department are loud and abrupt. And by some crazy miracle, America stumbles out of the building,  England supported on his shoulder. The paramedics rush over to the two,  maybe because they'd been inside the longest. You made sure to account Canada had safely made it out (which he had). It isn't long before everyone who needs it is with a breathing mask. Sweden sits beside you for treatment and he doesn't really need much. You thank him for his bravery.

"You're really thanking me for doing the right thing?"

The way he says it makes you feel a little dumb, yet he continues.

"There's  no need to thank me. Don't think I would've found that window if you hadn't. So...maybe I should be the one saying 'thank you'."

"Well, I just did what was right..."

"So  there's no need to thank each other, you see?" Then he looks up at the starry night sky. "But everyone is safe, so that is what matters most."

"Yeah...you're right, Sweden."

Its quiet for a moment, then you say
"I guess we're friends, right?"
Sweden looks over at you and for a moment, you wonder what's crossing his mind. He says with a faint smile, "If you want to be."
"Then I guess we're pals!"
He laughs a little then agrees, "Alright."

Finland  plays with Hana in the grass and Sweden watches. You can't help but watch,too. Something about Sweden was somewhat calming. You couldn't tell if it was his voice or just the way he is, but it is a good feeling: like opening gifts on Christmas day or spending time with all of your friends around you.


As you sit idly, watching everyone be nursed back to health, you realize how glad you are that everyone was alive.  And the next day that America is calling everyone, demanding they come back over for an after party.  For  people like Austria, Romano, Canada, Sweden, Sealand, Germany, Japan, England and you, it took a lot of persuasion to return the day after. Luckily, there was mainly smoke, and not much fire. Turns out the fire started because England was trying to cook scones for everyone, saying that no one could live without them. Italy agreed to help and Sealand was just observing. Then England started doing this weird chanting that made the oven explode.
Go figure.