"We're back at it again, freaks! If you didn't see the last episode about running into Kiddo, you're missing out on some good content. That's neither here or there - I have the party nerd right here!" Duce said extremely close to his mic, getting further away from it before screaming, "and you're up!"

Kiddo's eyes shot open, his lips shivered and he turned over to face Duce's mic, slightly rolling his chair around the circular wooden table in Duce's small kitchen; there was only one mic to share, quite the lack of a budget there was for the show.

Kiddo's denim Jean's scraped against the rigid legs of the table, irritating him •● even more now that his white shirt had been stained with dust from the rim of the table that dirtied the fabrics to his immediate dismay.

"Hey people, it's yours truly! The tech geek -"

Ava listened to the live podcast through her phone, sitting on her pink cloud of a bed and staring at a camera lens directly in front of her. Her eyes narrowed and her head tilted to the left.

"Tech geek with the big meat?" She finished, laughing and continuing the podcast on a Zoom call, broadcasting it to her friends, each laughing at her joke.

Her bright pink hair sprawled against the mattress to provide a full pink background against her coffee-like skin.

Simple, yet high-end in execution - that's what the camera read.

"The quality of this is hella good," she finished before turning back to the phone.

"Should I give Duce the honors of a VIP section in my next party?" Kiddo said into the mic before drawing his face back where he could comfortably show off the posture of a trickster, forming a devilish grin and staring at his host as if he'd been daring him to do something.

"We'll see about that one. Everyone knows that I'm a busy man," Duce said as an untruthful rebuttal.

"Too busy to spend time with the kid? Damn my guy," the party geek responded, looking around at the small kitchen sinking in on him.

"Well guys, that'll be all. This discussion will be continued next week. Enjoy this free preview of what our topic will be until then!" Duce said dismissively and shakily.

His body drew back from his mic and he sighed, loudly.

"Aren't you known for promising streams that never happen? Plus, you're getting invited before I even go public with this thing. Tomorrow, Ducey," Kiddo asked rhetorically. His tone made Duce shudder. It wasn't through a mic anymore, but instead, a face to face talk without the workings of glamour.

"You are unintentionally invasive. Do you always project yourself onto people?" Duce asked in an attempt to flip the trajectory of the discussion between Kiddo and himself.

Kiddo smiled, drew one hand over the table and raised his middle finger, folding the others.

"Get your shit monetized, or meet me at that party so I can help you pay that rent coming up," Kiddo responded, pushing himself out of his chair to stand, only to bang his head on a cabinet slightly above a little steel sink.

This little damnation of a kitchen, Kiddo thought.

He pushed his way through the kitchen's back door, throwing a balled up flyer at Duce before escaping into the night.

It was warm out, always pushing the limits of hotness during Halloween season in New Orleans.

Kiddo took his phone from the pocket of his black denim jeans, struggling against the fitted material before pulling the device out of his pocket.

He swiped open the phone using his index finger, tapping the Lyft app as soon as the screen opened to the main menu.

All he had to do now was wait, longer than he had anticipated after putting in his payment information.

"Why does my shit keep restarting?" He mumbled to himself before looking around to check his surroundings.

Nothing.

Vacant. Not a single soul.

Clouds hovered beneath the moon, increasing the darkness that distant street lights only made worse in contrast. Kiddo's brown skin turned into a bright silver underneath the illuminating glare of his revealing predicament.

Why'd he feel so shaken up?

"Why so tense?" He heard a voice call out to him from a figure directly across the street.

His eyes must've been failing him, and his ears couldn't decipher the ambiguity of who he heard. The person wasn't there just a moment ago, and Kiddo knew it, drawing back to his phone.

Dave is one minute away, he thought in reassurance.

'Kia Sorento, a blue one,' his mind jumbled, making him smile with relief as he did. He reminded himself that the world was a familiar place — here he was, shaken up with uncertainty that shifted away as soon as he saw his ride pull down the very familiar street; He couldn't help but realize how the walk to his pickup spot seemed further than it felt.

The car swiped cleanly near the sidewalk and the window to the passenger seat rolled down.

"You're Kiddotreaux?" The driver questioned, the voice reminding the startled male of his new crossroad acquaintance. He looked over the car, to look across the street at the pedestrian who questioned him earlier.

They were still there.

Kiddo felt sick, uneasy. His head motioned down into the window, where he saw a feminine figure look at him, their pale skin throwing him into an increasingly observatory state.

"Kiddo, yeah. No need for formalities," Kiddo said as he made his way into the passenger seat.

His wandering eyes urgently shot up towards the rear view mirror — its like he was commanded to do so by a nerve in his brain.

A large human sized load of candy spread in the backseat of the vehicle, dressing the black leather with vibrant gems of hard and soft delights.

"Take some, Kiddo," the driver said to his surprise.

'Must've seen me looking at the mirror,' Kiddo assumed, reaching back and grabbing a packaged candy rope, unwrapping it before taking a large bite into the chewy treat. It was acidic, almost like soda, but still fruity.

Has an unusual gushy quality to it, staining Kiddo's teeth an ichor-ish shade of crimson.

"You're smart, Kiddo, you picked the best one," The driver praised.

"Never saw it before. Where do you get it?" Kiddo questioned, his curiosity peaking.

"I made it. I can bring a lot to one of your big parties, maybe even supply you with my special candy rain," the driver said, sliding a card across Kiddo's leg.

The gloved hand sent a chill down his thigh, he flinched, not understanding whether or not his privacy had been invaded.

"Looks like you know me well. Halloween party, I'll give you a call. You come and make it a candy wonderland," Kiddo said, gripping the card between two fingers and slid it into his pocket.

The ride was seemingly over.

"Quick ride. You must be a lazy one," the driver laughed before getting a dismissive look from Kiddo, who had already been on his way out of the door.

"You have a good one!" Kiddo yelled, turning to walk backwards as he waved at the now distant Lyft driver.

*RING RING*

*BLEEP*

"I'm going to broadcast your Halloween party. I need the money," Duce informed through Kiddo's speaker.

"Got a sweet tooth, Ducey Juicy?" Kiddo asked, digging into his pocket.

"I'm not sure how I should reply to that," Duce responded in a confused manner.

After a while, Kiddo's black sneakers found their way in front of his house, standing on the grass just outside of his porch. He withdrew the card from his pocket before walking up the stairs and sitting on an old chair that allowed him to look back at the house across the street.

"Got a guy coming with a bunch of candy. Never too old to get some sugar right?" Kiddo asked while walking in from the front of the house to the kitchen, locking the door behind him before beginning his search for his laptop, which was on the table.

Duce's end went mute, his eyes directed themselves outside of his kitchen window, which made him lose focus of the phone call.

From the kitchen window, he could see the front of his house, and what was a large box wrapped outside with a large red bow placed at his outside stairs.

He jolted from the kitchen to the front door, hitting and sliding against walls as he did. Gifts were always exciting, nothing could possibly be wrong, right?

It was almost as if he'd never opened any doors, as if he'd walked through them to get the box and phase his way back inside.

Gift wrap flew everywhere. And the red bow had been sticking to his leg.

How he opened it that roughly didn't matter.

"Candy. So much candy!" Duce shrieked. He grabbed a note that rested on top of a plethora of shiny and colorful treats that he could probably lay in if he put his knees to his chin.

'Let's make this our special night.

Can't wait to see you!'

-Kiddo

Duce's eyes shot open with excitement.

This is why he asked about the sweet tooth! I even got a nickname! Duce thought. He wrapped his fingers around a handful of soft and hard treats, running back to the phone in his kitchen.

"You should have told me you were going to leave gifts! Can't wait to see you!" Duce yelled into the speaker. Inconveniently, his phone died the moment he finished his statement.

Kiddo's eyes narrowed and his head tilted to the side.

"What the fuck?"

A few giggles escaped his mouth as he stared at the card, setting his phone down after noticing his friend's silence.

'Need Candy?

Call Gummie

Discreet and Effective Business

100% Free!'

"Maybe somebody found this service before I did," Kiddo said to himself with an abrupt grunt to end the mysteriousness of the situation. That failed.

'Now what the fuck was Duce talking about?' He continued to think.

He shook his head, finally walking back into his living room, which was towards the back of the house, taking his shoes off beside his reclining chair before jumping on the cushion.

He slept good that night.

The day of the party went according to plan.

It was the most light they've ever seen. Pure beauty in different shades of reds and pinks that glistened across the candy which littered the floors, walls, and tables. Each one crunching beneath the guests feet as they entered the large fairyland from the long catwalk that went from the entrance to the last two blocks down the pavement.

Across the street from the venue was a shockingly unbelievable and insidious darkness that hid a fossilized area of grass, covered in elongated spider-legged webs that looked almost like purposeful decor, sticky strings.

The building erupted from the ground with a brick exterior and black licorice covering each white seam, leading up to a horrific view of two dragons rotating above the structure.

Holograms of course. A clear indication that Kiddo was the party host. Any newcomer to his attractions would probably be freaked out by how calm everyone was with the impending doom in the sky.

"What is this?" Yelled a crowd member who's voice sunk beneath the sounds of those familiar with the obscurity.

A pink haired girl strutted her way past the line of people who's eyes naturally stared at her. Her scarlet heels stole the dragons' breath, making them both lose any form of intimidation.

The puffy coral jacket made her latex cyan jeans pop as she neared the light-infested entrance.

"You on the guest list or did you come to get escorted out?" A security guy questioned, followed by another one on the other end staring at her through his shades.

Must've saw me skip the line, she thought.

"I'm a part of the show? All this money you're collecting and you're not even good enough to remember a list?" Ava questioned with her two inch nails flashing over the guard's face, emphasizing each word with more power than the next.

The doors opened and her smile timed itself to completion once they did.

She walked forward, her heels crunching on the candy carpet underneath them. Luckily it'd all been stuck to the floor for the sake of avoiding slips.

Ava's jacket slipped off of her arms to reveal a latex shirt of a similar pink shade, alongside a thick golden choker that matched her coat's bright interior.

She walked to an elevator away from everyone, her eyes widening with surprise as she looked at floor number three. The button was encased with pink glitter.

"It's Halloween and he decides to throw a glitter party with dragons? Must be an interesting guy," she said before clicking the button, the elevator opening up to a boy who stared at her, shocked.

"Did I scare you for existing in a ticket entry event?" She questioned jokingly before stepping onto the platform.

"What's your name? Must be somebody fun if you're here to see whatever crazy party Kiddo throws," she finished.

His getup of khakis and a black band shirt made for an interesting visual contrast between the two.

"I'm Duce. I was invited by Kiddo on my podcast, but I don't really want to go up," Duce muttered.

"No way, you're not getting to the fourth floor. And for your information, the chemistry you two had on your little podcast made my reaction video spike in engagement ratings, thanks," she said holding Duce by the hand before softly pulling him and his fears across the clouded floor.

More candy laid out on the floor, but this candy was all gummy, extremely soft to walk on, but nonsensical for heels that boasted an aggressive twelve inches of addition to her height of nearly six feet.

Duce's skin turned pale. And before they knew it, they'd been sitting down at Kiddo's table; He stared both of them in the faces with a warm smile. He may have been the life of the party, but he sectioned himself off so he could give energy from the outside.

"Duce, we met. Don't go stranger mode on me baby," he said softly, only making his buddy even more pale.

"Hey Kiddo! Big fan of your vlogs!" The warm palette vixen said excitedly before gripping Duce by his collar.

"He likes chocolate, not refrigerated candy bars. Get your pigment back!" She said through his ear, her white lipstick sticking to his ear as she did.

Kiddo had been confused, obviously hearing the whisper.

Duce's eyes shot up at the man across the table.

"You know, it's hard to talk," he muttered, "without some type of device in front on me to filter my dialogue," Duce explained, his voice getting louder and more confident with each passing word.

Kiddo pulled down his blazer's sleeve, holding down the velvet cuffs enough to remove his watch with an opposing hand. The two stared at him with faces of incompletion. What was he going to do?

He smacked his watch against the table, and from it, shot up a hologram of Kiddo, standing and facing Duce.

"Talk to him then," he pointed to the blue illusion.

Before anyone could get a word in, yells filled the fourth floor.

The lights went off.

First thing the three noticed was the silence of the situation right after - not a single mutter in the slightest. Duce's watch even cut off with the lights, making luminance something foreign to their arsenal of festivities.

Kiddo took both his guests by the hand, extracting them from the seats and using his body as a blind seeing fixture, bumbling into a few walls before finding his way outside of a dimly lit fire escape door. The sign above had a red hue to it.

"Guess our high end party floor was stopped. Was this a setup? Did you all know about this? Turn all the lights off and ditch Kiddo?" He asked slowly and shakily.

Duce shook up, a rock forming in his throat, he saw a vein appear on Kiddo's forehead and felt instantaneous fear.

"No. Otherwise we'd disappear like the others, and I doubt your buddy would do that to you. He came here to invite you to a dance. You see he's tired of talking through a mic," Ava defended.

Kiddo pushed open the door that immediately led them to a series of steel stairs that they'd sprinted down, even Ava, who's heels would be a dead giveaway if there were any serial killers nearby.

"Listen Duce, it sucks enough that I invited you to a high-end blackout. But I'm not the one that sent you a gift or whatever sweet and cute thing you received. I'm not your guy - we're friends. I'm sure you'll understand that," Kiddo said all the way to the first floor.

To their surprise, Kiddo's party had been vacant here too, but the energy remained; Music played loudly and the pink and red lights shined over the three in specific, freezing to bathe them in its heat.

"Great, nobody here either. Give me a fucking break," Kiddo tirelessly demanded to what seemed to be the light above, or probably God.

The guards stayed at the door, standing still and facing the warm outside.

"Yo!" Kiddo yelled towards the two, walking closer to them over the candy that became a force of pure irritation to him in his angered state.

"What happen?" He questioned loudly before yanking one by the shoulder.

The guard's shoulder ripped off into Kiddo's hand, and the smell of strawberry filled his nose.

He screamed, summoning Duce and Ava beside him, both panicked and confused.

Duce held on the candy arm as if it were a baseball bat, ready to hit any stranger that came into view.

Ava smacked the back of the mans head, forcing it to roll against the floor and crack a few times.

"They're candy. Of course," Duce said.

"Hey, I'm gonna go off on a whim here and say everyone here must've been glitz and glamour. Nobody can just disappear the way that these people all did. And as for the candy guards, maybe they were. . ." Ava lost her words.

"Maybe they were what? Candy animatronics?" Kiddo said goofily, giggling was the only responses he could make.

"Who else would be able to rig the party with stuff like that? Kiddo, someone got into your technology. Those were holograms," Duce panicked, his fear and curiosity taking control of the shyness he'd been exuding all day.

The three walked outside of the entrance, pushing open the door to look in unison.

Ava gripped the two and reeled them back in.

"Ava, what the hell?" Kiddo said with his arms raised.

"Oh please. Don't tell me that you can't see what that line was. They're fucking holograms. That's why they didn't move! Those are the same people out there! I'm guessing their animations ended." She explained in a matter-of-factly manner.

Duce nodded his head. The events at hand were fuel for him to lunge out of his comfort zone.

It was news for his podcast.

"The event was open earlier for people who bought tickets online. What happened to all of them?" He asked.

Kiddo looked at Duce with a stare of penance.

"I really wish I could've avoided that question," he said, kneeling to the candy floor, digging his hand beneath the surface to pull out a handful of candy, each piece of it resembling small parts of a human body.

Pieces of eyes, gummy ears, hard tongue tips, each with fruity smells exuding from them.

"The building, the building is what happened to them. They were decorations," he said.

"Weren't you here? This ain't adding up," Ava questioned before nodding towards the door, both of the men following at her sides, brushing against her.

They opened the door again, and there was the line, completely gone.

Just across the street, was a feminine figure in the distance.

The three stopped to stare, with Kiddos jaw dropping.

Ava's eyes glazed across her again as she motioned the boys towards her car, a pink Range Rover that lost every bit of elegance as it became a blur when the three ran near it, Ava finally taking time to extract the monstrous heels from her feet in the process.

The doors unlocked at the press of Ava's button, and they sat down, seconds after - the car had been down the road.

"I was only one hour in," Kiddo said.

"The party started one hour ago," he added.

Duce opened his phone now that it was connected to Ava's car charger. It'd been dead all night and he plugged it in the first chance he got.

His face absorbed in a blue light, and his eyes narrowed.

"Kiddo, this says that your party was never made public to all of your friends. Someone might have sabotaged you," he said, causing Ava to swerve on the vacant road out of surprise.

"Great party!

Our host did so good!

Outstanding venue

Really got the most of what I wanted

Eliminate all your plans immediately!

Legit the best party ever.

So many candies!

Evil, the high quality is wicked fun!"

"Fake reviews, wow. Give me that," Kiddo said, gripping The phone in his hand to analyze the comments.

"Go or else. Of course the bitch left a message in the review section.

Just then, Duce's phone filled the car with noise from its speaker. Kiddo handed him the phone.

"Someone's calling" Kiddo said softly.

Duce's finger swiped to the left to answer the call, and he tapped the speaker button on the unknown caller.

"You're all going to die, but I'm going to play with you until then, bastards," and there it was, confirmation that led to a silent ride for about twenty minutes straight.

"We're all coming to my house," Ava said, the two having no reason to say otherwise at this point.

Kiddo looked at his phone, the money that he made was enough to throw another party. The monster even payed him, just to test him into throwing another party.

"Duce, I'll send you some money when I withdraw it, cash might be the best option" he said before a single tear came down his cheek.

Duce brought Kiddo's head to him, placing it on his shoulder.

Ava looked at her mirror to see the two.

"Come to think of it, those guards weren't familiar with the party lists. You think the guards got turned into candy because they ate hard candy?," Ava questioned.

"I mean, they were scheduled to be here, so anything could have happened to them - I honestly don't care about the dicks. Just to be safe though, I want to know how'd you get here on time, Ava? I invited Duce personally, but you?" He said suspiciously.

Ava scoffed.

"I saw it listed on my events tab as soon as you uploaded it, I guess I saw it on purpose," she explained.

"I'll call the cops," Duce said, rewarding him with stone cold faces from his peers.

"Guess not," he muttered.