whispered-yelled, clearly embarrassed. "I didn't mean to take it! I just forgot and carried it all the time!"

"Well, that's too bad," Lexi commented, pulling the handle and opening the door. "I don't think they're gonna notice if one of their Jason masks is gone. At least it makes up for all the Catwoman costumes they haven't sold--"

"Lex," I grabbed her arm to stop her from entering the car. "We can't take that mask--"

"Why not? Do you think he's gonna come running at us?" The teenager raised an eyebrow and she smiled in amusement. "Oh my God! Behind you!"

"Ha ha ha." I sarcastically laughed, crossing my arms over my chest again. "Good one, Alexis. Now, we have to get back in there AND RETURN THE MASK THAT MACKENZIE STOLE!"

"I didn't steal it!"

"No, I'm serious." Lexi closed the car's door. "There's someone behind you--"

"Lexi, you should spend more time reading Harry Potter instead of The Hunger Games because then you'd know that Sirius is dead." I deadpanned.

Walking up to me, the brunette sighed before grabbing my shoulders and turning me around--

"Madison stop!" My eyes widened and Maddie started laughing as she took off the mask.

"Are we gonna take it back or what?" Kenzie questioned and the three of us looked at her.

"I mean, she's kinda right." Maddie shrugged as she finally stopped laughing. "She doesn't want to go to juvenile detention for theft."

"I'm not a thief!"

"But how are we gonna get it back in there?" I asked. "I mean, at least one security camera must have recorded it."

"If it had happened, they would've been out here by now." Lexi pointed out. "But they haven't, so we still have time to take it back."

"What if they recognize us?" Maddie asked, looking nervous about the possibility. "And if we get in trouble?"

BREAKING NEWS: "Dance Moms" stars get in legal trouble after stealing from local Spirit Halloween

"That's why we're making a plan," Lexi announced and looked over at Kenzie. "Kenz, you're cold."

"What?" The ten-year-old seemed confused. "I'm not--"

"You're cold now." The teenager snapped and turned back to look at me. "G, you're giving Kenzie over there your flannel."

"I mean," I looked down at the flannel. "It's not mine--"

"You're being a nice person and giving Kenz your flannel," Lexi repeated. "Right?"

I sighed before taking the flannel off and tossing it to Kenzie. "Thanks, Lexi. Now everyone can see my bra."

"Cover it with your hair or something." The brunette simply told me. "Or who even cares if you're wearing a bra? People would also be mad if you weren't wearing a bra, so you can never win."

Soon, the entire plan was done. First, we would all enter the store and Kenzie would be wearing Elle's flannel to hide the mask. Then, we would go back to the aisle and put it back without anyone noticing, and finally, we would buy some candy to celebrate-- That last one is subject to change.

Knowing that Helena was still too busy arguing with Carlie to even notice we were out in the first place, we all decided to take our time to get ready. Then, the show began.

We all walked into the store once again, and the difference between wearing and not wearing the flannel was obvious. I rubbed my hands together, hoping to feel some warmth, but my blood went cold once we reached the aisle.

An employee ― possibly in his mid-twenties ― was rearranging some products, including the few Jason masks left. The four of us halted to a stop and shared a nervous look, trying to decide what was our next move.

Lexi took a step forward. "Excuse me-- Could you help me with something for a minute?"

Maddie and I shared a confused look as the employee responded. "Sure."

"It's over here." She started walking down the aisle, with the employee following her, and the two soon disappeared.

I exhaled in relief as the Ziegler sisters rushed over to the spot where the employee had been working. As Maddie held the flannel around her, Kenzie practically tossed the Jason mask she stole ― she hadn't, I know ― to the rest. The younger girl squealed in excitement as her older sister handed me the flannel and I hurried to put it back on. After that, all we had to do was buy the candy ― still subject to change ―, and get the heck out of here.

With Kenzie a few steps ahead of us, we soon found Lexi talking about candy. That's when the girl took a few steps back to us and whispered: "They don't sell candy here."

But that wasn't even the biggest of Lexi's candy worries. "It's that my grandma is diabetic, so she needs sugar-free candy."

I frowned. Was there even such thing as sugar-free candy? That's like sugar-free sugar!

The fifteen-year-old stood right in front of the slightly taller man with all the confidence in the world. She made direct eye contact and her chin couldn't have been higher if she tried.

"We don't sell candy here." The employee tried to explain. "We hav--"

She looked down to read his name tag. "Roman, you should bring that up with your employer. It is not my fault that you guys don't sell candy here, but you know who sells candy?" When Roman didn't answer, she continued. "Party City. That's why they can be open year-round and you guys are limited to three months."

"The store's name is--"

"Nuh-uh, I don't wanna hear it." She brought up her right hand, closed her eyes, and turned her head away from the guy. "Now I have to go all the way to Party City to buy my poor grandma sugar-free candy." Her eyes fell on us. "And my cousins over there also wanted candy. Especially the youngest one. She sometimes gets so excited she starts to steal things."

Maddie sniffled a laugh and I bit my lower lip as Kenzie pouted.

"So, if you'll excuse me, Roman, we have a party to attend." She started to walk away from the man. "A party city."

All right, so Lexi loved to be dramatic, that one was for sure.

Back home, we decided to try to figure out how the wig worked, so picture this: Kenzie sat on my bed, playing with Ava as they tossed a red plastic ball back and forth, me sitting on my desk's chair cross-legged as Maddie tried to not pull my actual hair out, and Lexi having left the room approximately twenty minutes prior.

"Is Lex coming back soon?" Kenzie questioned as she looked over at us.

"'She said she was going to check up on Helena," Maddie answered as she brushed the wig.

"I'm starting to think Carlie isn't Helena's roommate." I pointed out. "I mean, they could be, but there's probably something else."

"Who knows." My best friend shrugged. "But if it is a relationship, then it's kinda toxic."

"True that."

"Thuu tha."

"You don't know anything about relationships, Aves," I told my younger sister. "And if I can make sure of it, you're not going to know about them 'til you're twenty and in college--"

"Helena and Carlie are in college--"

"Shit-- don't repeat that!"

"Zane that--"

"What?"

"Zane says tha."

"I think she's trying to say that Zane says that word," Kenzie explained.

"Not surprising." I stood up from the chair. "But I'm still gonna scold him because I'm bored. You guys coming?"

"Sure."

The four of us then walked downstairs to the game room, where Zane was playing with someone else. All the consoles had been moved there because there was much more space than in the living room― it was just an excuse to get us out of those fancy couches. Surprisingly, for the first time in an eternity, he was playing something on the Wii. Lately, it seemed like it was all about the PlayStation.

He was also playing one of the Wii classics: Wii Sports Resort, and he was playing archery. He looked very focused, but snapped out of it once I called his name: "Zane!"

His head turned sharply toward my direction and his finger left the "Z" button. In response, the Mii on the screen shot the arrow, and it landed on the near-center yellow section of the shooting board― also known as nine.

I pointed at the TV screen with my right hand's index finger. "You're welcome for that-- But do you really want me to be the one to tell Mom that you're teaching Ava how to say--"

"She just listens and repeats everything." My older brother answered. "Why are you wearing a wig?"

"It's called a Halloween costume," I told him. "I'm just trying it on."

My eyes fell on the other guy sitting on the couch. "Uh, hi."

"And that's my other other sister," Zane introduced me. "Chucky."

"Uh, yeah, or you could, you know, call me Genevieve like everybody else," I told the guy with a smile. "And you are..?"

"Landon."

"I'm sorry, but--" My brother sniffled a laugh. "You look ridiculous."

"That's kinda the point." I shrugged. "But if we go by that, I can also say that your hair looks ridiculous."

Even with a crazy Thursday, there was still a crazier Friday ahead. We had to start rehearsals earlier so we could start the bus ride to Virginia in the afternoon and get to the hotel before the Halloween party was over.

After a flexibility & conditioning class at studio "B", we were called in to work with the show's group routine one last time before leaving for the competition. All of our luggage was up in the viewing room, with the moms watching the stuff. The bus still wasn't there, but Abby clarified that we would be leaving as soon as the vehicle was in the parking lot, so time was running out.

The group routine was entitled "Frozen Together", and it was inspired by Disney's "Frozen". Maddie and Kalani would be playing the sisters, and the rest of us were there. Honestly, I like to think we're the trolls or something like that. Or maybe Kendall could be Hans.

Lexi, Nia, and Kalani stood on the left side while Kendall, Kenzie, and I stood on the right side and Maddie stood in the center. If JoJo hadn't been cut from the routine, she would have joined Nia and Lexi, and Kalani would have joined Maddie in the middle, but things happened.

The soft music started and we all started dancing, but all of our ponytails would constantly get in the way. I'm not going to lie, it looked pretty funny. From the back of the room, the Siwa girl marked over the steps, and I realized she was either bored or upset.

After the group dance rehearsal, the final solo rehearsals started, and Maddie was up first. This week, she was competing with yet another lyrical routine, and she would be competing in the teen category along with Kendall. JoJo, however, would be competing in the junior division, but there was also the possibility that they would be going head-to-head in the overalls. It all depended on the competition's rules.

As Kendall applied some corrections shouted by Abby, Allison announced that the bus had finally arrived, and we took that as a sign to hurry and pick our preferred seats. With eight dancers, it was obvious that everyone would end up paired up with someone, but it didn't mean that we wanted to sit right behind Abby― or near any of the adults, for that matter.

After placing my two suitcases ― competition stuff and personal stuff ― in the nearly empty luggage compartment, I held onto the railing and got up the steps two at a time. Once I was up there, I hung my bag over my right shoulder and started checking the available seats. All three solo costumes ― along with most of the group dance costumes ― were already in their designated row, and there were also some people from the camera crew setting up the cameras around the area. I also noticed that the designated producers for this trip were already there.

Yes, there is always at least one producer traveling with us. It is weird, but we are filming a show after all. Today, Craig was the designated one, and I couldn't help but feel relieved. At least it wasn't Jeff, Evelyn, or even Bryan. Just good ol' Craig. Not the nicest person, but he's not them.

Next to him, there was a woman. She looked to be around Holly's age, and I hadn't seen her before.

Snapping back to reality, I walked down the corridor to take a seat. Right behind me, Nia followed close behind, and the two of us settled in a row near the middle of the bus, with me sitting right next to the window. We started setting our separate stuff as some of the other girls and moms started to enter the vehicle, taking their own places, around forty minutes later, the teacher finally arrived, and we were finally able to leave.

The bus ride was around five hours long, and by the time it arrived at its destination, it was already eight at night. Knowing we only had until twelve, we all rushed to check in and get to our rooms. For this specific competition, some of us girls ended up sharing rooms. There were two groups of three and one group of two. It was confusing as to why it had happened, but I really hoped it was only a one-time thing.

Feeling happy that I hadn't been paired up with Kendall ― she had been paired up with JoJo and Kenzie ―, I decided to take a shower as Nia and Lexi started looking for their own costumes. Once I was done, I changed into my not-so-costume costume, consisting of a long-sleeve shirt with red, blue, green, and pink stripes, denim overalls that looked horribly similar to the one that Elle had back when she was five, and red Converse that hadn't been included with the costume― I had to steal that one from Elle's closet, again.

I really keep on stealing everything from her. I should ask Kenzie how to stop doing it.

Then, the hard part came: the wig. It was ironic that I was going back to being a redhead, but maybe dyeing my hair was easier than wearing a freaking wig. I didn't even know why it was so hard; I had worn a wig two weeks ago!

Walking back into the room, Nia was already wearing her weird-looking green sumo wrestler costume, and Lexi was taking a thousand photos of her while telling her that she wasn't. I smiled at the scene before grabbing the nylon cap and the red wig and turning to them. "I'm going to Maddie's and Kalani's room to have them help me with this thing!"

Both girls sent me a thumbs-up and I went on my way, closing the door quietly behind me and simply crossing the hallway and knocking on the door. "We don't have candy!"

I opened the door and peeked my head inside. "So why are you celebrating Halloween, then?"

Kalani sat on her designated bed, a silver standing mirror being held with both of her thighs as she delicately worked with her face makeup. "We celebrate Halloween to get candy, not give candy."

I shrugged as I closed the door behind me. "Fair enough-- Where's Maddie?"

"You mean unicorn number two?" The Hilliker girl looked up at me. "Melissa called her for something, but she's gonna be back soon-- Also, she was telling me something about Kenzie stealing a Jason mask?"

In the back of my mind, I could hear the younger girl yelling: "It was an accident!".

"Yeah, she was talking with someone and got distracted." I sat on the edge of Maddie's bed, watching as Kalani continued working with her makeup. "But we returned it without anyone noticing-- Except when Lexi started talking about some sugar-free candy."

"Gotta love that one," Kalani commented. "At least it's better than the time she walked into a Baskin Robbins and asked for a burger."

I frowned. "She did what?"

"I'm gonna blame it on the meds-- Well, she had taken a Benadryl earlier because she had a horrible allergy, but we were out for the day because it was the only day we both had off-- Did I mention that she was in an episode of AUDC during the season I competed?"

"When we first met."

"So she was trying to pull through because it was the only day we had off, but she was congested and her mom told her to take a Benadryl, so she did that and we left, but then she started to get loopy, and then I suggested to take a break and get some ice cream. We walk to a Baskin Robbins, I'm thinking about what to order, and then she blurts out, "Can I please have a burger?"."

"But did she get the burger?"

"The only thing she got was a weird look from the poor employee."

The door then opened and we both turned to look at it.

"Wow, a unicorn and Chucky in the same room," Maddie commented in amusement as she stepped into the room.

"Says the other unicorn."

"Ooh!" Kalani turned her head sharply to the right to look at me. "Can I please do your makeup?"

I nodded and she squealed in excitement. "Right after unicorn number two helps me with my wig."

Fast forward to ten minutes later: two unicorns were helping Chucky to get ready. Just your typical Halloween crossover, am I right?

Twenty minutes later, we were at the hotel's Halloween party, and it was nice to know there were way more dancers than we had expected, but that meant there was more than one dance battle. People still don't seem to realize this isn't High School Musical or something like that.

Around an hour and a half into the party, I was tossing the fake bloody knife into the air and attempting to catch it. So far, I have been successful every single time, but when Lexi basically yelled my name, I lost my focus and the knife hit the floor.

Looking up at the girls, I noticed she wasn't alone; there were at least ten more people with her, and only two were from our group― JoJo and Kalani.

Maddie then appeared by my side from apparently nowhere. "I was trying to stop them, but they really wanna know."

I turned to look at her. "Know what?"

"The big Wednesday, Chucky, Jason, and Carrie crossover of a few Halloweens ago," Lexi explained. "The one you guys were talking back at Spirit-- I--We wanna know the whole story-- It can be called: "The Big Karen Showdown"." She made some jazz hands.

"I mean, Karen didn't do that much." I realized as they all sat down around me. "Great, now I'm the one who tells the stories." Without even looking at her, I grabbed the Ziegler girl by the arm before she could get away. "You dragged me into this, you're gonna help me with it."

She frowned as I scooted over on the brown armchair to give her somewhere to sit. "What do I know?"

"You were there." I reminded her, raising an eyebrow. "Zane and Morgan aren't, so, chop-chop! We've got a story to tell!"

"Shouldn't we turn off the lights or something?"

"It's not a scary story-- At least that you count Karen's haircut."

"Okay, let's start off-- Wait, when was it?"

"Halloween-- October thirty-first, two-thousand and nine--"

_______________

"I mean, it isn't really fair--"

Thirty minutes into trick-or-treating, we had found ourselves confronting our first challenge: a sixteen-year-old teenager who seemed like she had been grounded to stay at home and attend trick-or-treaters. The only thing Zane, Morgan, Maddie, and I wanted to do was trick or treat there and move on to the next house, but it was not going to be that easy.

See, the teenage girl ― her name was Hope ― was eager to get back to the living room's couch and resume watching "Hocus Pocus", but for that, she needed to attend all trick-or-treaters. That is why she came up with an amazing idea-- One that isn't good for anyone except for her.

"--Having a list of all the kids that come isn't really nice." I had told her while pouting. "What if they need more candy? What if there's an emergency and all