Halloween had come around, and the small town of Sandy Lake was modestly decorated to celebrate the common traditions of having children go out to collect candy from their neighbors. It was a cold autumn day and a new moon, which meant it would be dark that night. But all the children of the town were extra excited because it also happened to be Friday which allowed them all to enjoy the weekend with their treats without having to worry about classes starting in the morning. 

Lyle was the eldest of three in the family of caracals that lived at the top of a steppe incline at the age of eleven. Normally he would go Trick-or-Treating with his family but this year he was excited because he had asked out his friend that lived just down the hill, Kileona, to go out and to spend the night. The caracal was surprised when Kileona, a puma cat, said that he would go. Despite Lyle being a year younger and shorter by a head, it was Kileona that was reserved, quiet and shy. 

Lyle knew the puma's family and that since Kileona was the youngest of the siblings, he was often had the most control and restrictions placed on him. The caracal pitied the fact that Kileona felt ashamed of the things he enjoyed doing because of how his family would interject negative opinions through teasing or toxic criticisms. So the fact that Kileona was brave enough to ask to go out Halloween night with a friend instead of family, and that his family agreed to let Kileona do something for himself, was a shock. 

After school on that Friday afternoon, both cats agreed to meet up right around sundown and begin touring the town to collect their candy. The smaller caracal dressed up confidently as a vampire, and even powdered his fur to make it appear pale. Kileona had some zombie make up which lacked any attention to detail and just wore some old torn clothes to compliment attempt of a zombie. 

Throughout the night they stayed close to their homes while collecting candy from their neighbors. With the sun having gone down, the new moon and the small town lacking any sort of street lighting, it wasn't long until they wandered back to Lyle's home. 

Lyle excitedly spoke to his parents about their adventure, while Kileona characteristically stayed quiet for the most part. They sorted their candy and as their normal bedtime rolled around, Lyle led Kileona downstairs to where his bedroom was. 

However, they were excited to watch a movie before going to bed. Naturally a scary movie would be the only suitable kind to watch on Halloween night. With sugary drinks and assorted snacks, they both sat on the couch in the downstairs den as the movie started up. 

The movie started with some typical family drama of adult children living in various cities. One of the youngest was having a hard time reflecting back on some haunting times that she experienced as a child in an old house the family used to live in. While the story swapped to an elder sibling, who was heading home after a business trip, she received a call on the phone from the father of the family. While distracted on the phone and unlocking her door to enter her house, she was spooked by the youngest sibling already being inside and standing in the dark. 

Startled by this, the older sibling rebuked her sister, who remained silent, while still trying to hold a conversation with her father over the phone. Her father started to talk about the youngest sibling, and he seemed upset. While setting down her luggage, the older sister tried to mention that the youngest sibling is here so he doesn't need to worry. She glanced back at her sister who hasn't moved or said anything yet. But their father seemed too upset, so the elder sibling waited and listened while sorting her keys and bag until her father said that they found the youngest sibling's body, that she's dead. 

Highly confused, the elder sister stopped messing with her bags and turned back to her sister. The youngest sister was now very close and staring directly at her, her eyes rapidly faded, her fur fell out exposing lethal wounds and her body started to decompose in front of her sister. 

The elder sister jumped back and fell to the ground, blinking for just a moment before noticing that her younger sister had disappeared. Her father still on the phone that had fallen from her grasp. 

Watching the scene did not cause Lyle to jump or get scared, but it certainly sent a chill up his spine as he watched it unfold. The movie had just begun but it has greatly unnerved both cubs. The caracal turned to look at his puma friend, to see that Kileona was equally terrified of what just occurred on the screen. 

"Damn, that was chilling," Lyle said attempting to break the tension of the scene. The puma turned his eyes away from the screen to look at Lyle. He muttered and agreement but seemed to be more scared of the movie that the caracal had been. 

The movie continued for a while going through the characters' relationships with each other, which is strained at best, while giving plenty of unnerving backstory and imagery hidden in the backgrounds of the scenes as well. 

Idly holding onto the sugary drink in his paws, Lyle was watching a heated argument grow between two of the siblings while they were driving down the road. As the argument escalated, a figured came from the backseat of the vehicle and screamed; the ghost of their youngest sibling appearing to both siblings, causing the vehicle to swerve off the road. 

It was the first jump-scare and completely unpredicted causing Lyle to jump in his seat. The sugary drink went up in the air, spilling all the liquid to come crashing down on both the caracal and Kileona. 

Ripped from the drama on the screen, Lyle started to apologize profusely and picked up the cup. Kiloena was shocked, but also pulled away from the terrifying moment and they both tried to clean themselves up but the sugary drink easily went through their costumers and got into their fur. 

Despite the efforts to clean up the mess, their costumes were growing sticky along with their fur. Lyle requested that the puma go shower, and that he'd get new clothes for him. Kileona looked wide-eyed at the caracal over the suggestion, and Lyle wasn't sure if it was because he was afraid to be in a room alone after a horrifying movie or because it'd be the first time that Kileona would be showering somewhere else than home. A religious family that shamed their own bodies had made Kileona very self-conscious. 

Despite his nervousness and terror, the puma did agree to a shower as the sticky drink was very uncomfortable on his clothes and fur. While Kileona headed to the shower, Lyle quickly went to his room to gather some fresh clothes. He headed over to the bathroom where he heard that the shower had already been turned on, and he entered. 

The puma was startled by this, as he was undressing near the shower curtain. Still wearing pants, the puma stopped undressing as Lyle set down the clothes and expressed that he hoped they'd suffice for tonight even if they don't fit well. 

Without much thought he started to undress too, while Kileona looked the opposite direction and didn't move to undress further. Lyle was fully naked within a minute, and checked the water to see if it was warm enough before stepping in. He urged Kileona to hurry and get in before the sugary drink dried further, and so that they don't waste hot water. Kileona didn't respond, so after his initial rinse Lyle pulled back the curtain to check on his friend. 

The puma's tail was tucked between his legs and his ears were folded back, and it was obvious that he was embarrassed. Lyle didn't quite understand why so he again urged his friend to hurry up. Reluctantly the puma began to undress again, telling the caracal to not look. 

Closing the curtain, Lyle reached for a brush. It took nearly a minute before the puma finally pulled back the curtain and stepped in. Lyle was still brushing his sticky fur but noticed that Kileona kept his gaze straightforward and seemed very rigid. The caracal was in front of the shower, getting most of the water while Kileona shyly slunk to the back of the shower getting practically no water. 

Lyle turned around too look at the puma, and when he did his breath caught. He could only see the back of the puma, but the sight made him pause. The light golden fur was flawless covering the muscled back, rear, tail and legs. He felt... warm. He couldn't describe the feeling but he knew he liked looking at his naked friend even if he did not understand why. 

"Swap places with me so you can rinse off," Lyle eventually said, feeling flustered himself now. The puma agreed to do so but kept his back to Lyle as much as he could. The two cubs showered together, letting the warm water rinse out the sticky drink. 

After a few minutes, Kileona seemed to lighten up a bit, and actually washed himself instead of soley trying to keep his body from being seen. When sufficiently washed, Lyle stepped out of the shower and closed the curtain behind him. While drying himself off with a towel, the shower went off and the curtain barely opened while the puma asked for a towel. 

Before the caracal could pass of the towel, the sole lightbulb in the bathroom suddenly flashed, popped then went out leaving both cubs in utter darkness. The events of the movie still fresh in their mind, the sudden lightbulb burning out and the subsequent darkness caused their fur to rise in fear. 

"The light bulb burnt out..." Lyle muttered, fearing a ghost might've caused it as it had happened in the movie. He suggested to help Kileona out of the shower now since even when their vision adjusted, they could not see a thing in the absolute darkness of the enclosed room. With his paw still held out with the towel, Kileona grabbed it but before he lost track of Lyle's paw, he grabbed it and was helped out of the shower. With one leg out, Kileona briefly lost balanced and fell toward Lyle, who caught the naked cub. 

Feeling the puma's naked body fall into his own naked body, brough back that strange sensation again stronger than before that Lyle had been feeling since he first saw Kileona naked. Catching the puma by wrapping an arm around his waist to stabilize him and feeling their torsos mesh took away Lyle's breath again. The feeling was absolutely new to him, a feeling of appreciation, wonder, and desire, that confused Lyle more than anything.

Even though the unintentional embrace didn't last long, the feeling remained and lingered. Only the fear of the absolute darkness from the suspiciously ill-timed light bulb burst, pushed back the confusing feeling. 

"I can't see anything," Kileona remarked. Both cubs still had their fur raised, and Lyle suggested that they try to make it to his room since it was closest and they'd be able to finish drying off and dressing there. 

Carefully Lyle led the way, while holding the paw of the puma, through the darkness taking short steps to avoid kicking or tripping over anything. Opening the bathroom door, both cubs expected a ghostly apparition to appear in front of them but none did. A short trip across the common area, they were soon in the caracal's room where he was able to quickly turn on the light and both were able to see again. 

This time Lyle was able to see the puma nude from the front. An unintentional thought occurred in his head, thinking that Kileona was simply cute. Kileona quickly wrapped the towel that he had been carrying around his waist and averted his gaze to ensure that he wouldn't look at the still-naked caracal. 

After changing into some pajamas, the puma rolled out his sleeping bag while Lye climbed under his covers. Turning out the lights, they were left in darkness again but this time the light from the digital clock at least made their superior night vision allow them to see somewhat. 

With some discomfort from the fear the movie caused, and the confusion that rolled through Lyle's mind from the emotions he's felt, it took some time for both cubs to fall asleep. Unbeknownst to them though, it seemed something slowly started to lower Lyle's blankets.