"I don't even own a winter jacket," Sarah said, anxiously shifting from one foot to the other. Caleb had texted ten minutes ago that he was on his way, and that meant he'd be there any second now.

Jane rolled her eyes as she reached into the entry closet. "So I've noticed. Here, try this on," she said, pulling out a fur-trimmed parka and handing it over.

Sarah wiggled into the coat and sighed. Being in anything other than a t-shirt or hoodie made her feel grossly out of her element. "Is this really necessary? I mean, the snow has almost stopped already," she said, glancing out the window. Although there was a good two feet of powder on the ground, only a few stray flakes were still falling.

Her aunt helped adjust the collar. "For someone who's never lived in anything less than fifty degrees, you're pretty confident about your judgment in how to properly dress for it," she said with unhidden snark. "And yes, it's really necessary. The sky should be clear for the next few hours, but temperatures are going to plummet for that exact reason. If you want to even remotely enjoy the Fall Fest instead of feeling like a popsicle tonight, then I suggest you keep this on."

Tires crunched on the driveway, signaling that Sarah's ride had arrived.

"Fine," she relented, zipping up the parka. "But I'm not wearing—"

Too late. Jane was already handing her a knitted beanie with a poofy pom pom on top.

"Take it," her aunt demanded, before also pulling a pair of mittens out from a drawer. "And this. I can't afford you coming down with pneumonia because of a date."

"A date with the high school quarterback," Sarah clarified with a smirk, taking the extra clothes before Jane could give her anything else. "But I'll see you there, right?"

Jane pushed away a lock of hair that had fallen into her face. "Oh, right," she said almost absentmindedly. "Alex is going to give me a lift since I don't really trust my car in these conditions. I was hoping to have another few weeks before I needed to switch over to winter tires and—"

A honk from Caleb's Jeep interrupted.

"You better go," Jane said instead of returning to the story. "And have fun."

After nearly slipping off the porch's second-to-last riser, Sarah was more careful taking the final steps to Caleb's car.

"You okay, California?" he asked with a laugh after she'd climbed into the passenger seat. "You seem a little wobbly."

"Just drive, jerk." She playfully punched him in the shoulder, but he shook his head.

"Nuh-uh." He tapped his cheek, waiting for a more romantic greeting.

Sarah was more than happy to oblige. But as she leaned in to kiss his face, Caleb moved his head and she got his lips, instead. By the way he responded, the move definitely wasn't accidental.

"Not here," she murmured, hesitant to continue with a full-on makeout session, but also reluctant to pull away. It had been days since they were last alone together, and she'd missed his nearness. "My aunt could be watching."

"Maybe she'll learn something new," he said, pulling her even tighter.

"Hey. I mean it," she objected, pushing against his chest and realizing he was a lot stronger than she was.

Caleb obliged, but Sarah knew that if he hadn't willingly let her go, she had no chance in forcing him to. Quickly unzipping her jacket, she barely had time to snap her seatbelt into place before he drove off, the back of the car fishtailing on the slick surface.

"Is snow before Halloween usual around here?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood again when Caleb still hadn't said another word even after he'd turned onto the main road. "If it was, then Hocus Pocus has lied to me for all those years."

Keeping his attention on the road, he shrugged. "Sometimes, but not always," he said, all together ignoring her mention of the beloved Disney movie that supposedly took place in the witch-capital of Salem not that far away.

So Sarah dropped it, and they drove the rest of the way into downtown without either of them attempting conversation. Her bulky coat may have been good against the cold, but now she was thankful that it also gave her a perfect cocoon to retreat into from the quarterback's sudden icy shoulder.

By the time they'd parked on the outskirts of the square, however, he seemed to be over the earlier rejection.

"What do you want to do first? Food? Games?" asked Caleb as he took her hand and they carefully crossed the icy street on foot.

"I'm going to ignore that you missed the perfect opportunity to say 'trick or treat,'" she said with an affectionate squeeze of his fingers, happy to be starting their date over on a more positive note. "But because I have no idea about what the choices are, why don't we just look around first?"

"Sounds like a plan," he said as they crossed under the banner her aunt had helped install.

The town square had become a spooky winter wonderland.

Glistening in the blue moon's light, there was something magical about how snow covered all the undisturbed spaces where lawns would ordinarily have been. Up above, Edison bulbs strung between the frozen trees lit the freshly shoveled paved paths among the booths and tents in a warm yellow. On the ground, spotlights in purples, oranges, and greens threw holiday-appropriate colors onto life sized scarecrows, vampires, and ghosts.

Fluorescent glowsticks hung from snow-tipped branches and the necks of kids running around dressed as superheroes and pop culture memes. Nestled here and there, fire pits threw amber sparks into the air as visitors roasted marshmallows beside them. And frozen jack-o-lanterns peered into the darkness with their twinking, carved faces, stacked on ladders every which way you looked.

"You have to admit, this weather does make the 'slutty anything' costume a lot less appealing," Sarah said as they passed a couple in full Halloween regalia, thankful that she chose not to dress up (or down) for the night. Because while the guy was likely nice and toasty under his furry werewolf getup, his companion looked like she'd sell her left kidney for a pair of sweats to cover up her bare legs as Little Red Riding Hood.

Caleb followed the duo with his eyes, turning his head as they walked away. "The weather channel's free," he yelled after them, making Sarah quicken her pace to increase the distance.

"Ssh," she shushed him, all the while bursting out laughing. "You're terrible."

"Not true," he replied. "But I am hungry. Can we have a treat yet?"

After successfully loading up on apple slices with caramel sauce and a bag of cheesy popcorn, they continued their stroll.

Stopping between booths, they watched as a face painter applied a sparkly fairy make-up on a grinning little girl, but no matter how hard Sarah tried, she couldn't talk Caleb into getting his own tiger design. He got her back for the teasing by obliterating her score in the balloon dart game, but she quickly evened things out by winning five to one at cornhole.

They were in line for the pumpkin carving station freezing their butts off from the long wait when her eye caught something.

Until now, Sarah hadn't thought back to the unusual scene she'd witnessed in the square exactly a week earlier nor had she even noticed they were near the band pavilion. But as Caleb chatted with some of his football buddies, she noticed that the gazebo had also been temporarily turned into a festival attraction.

"Hey, can we go check that out?" she asked, tugging on his arm as the other boys finally left.

He didn't even look at what she was referring to, but was already nodding his agreement. "Sure. But let's grab something to drink first," he replied, tucking his hands into the pockets of his letterman jacket.

"Preferably something hot," Sarah added, relieved to just ditch the endless queue.

Luckily, they didn't have to go far because there was a refreshments table manned by the New Bedford PTA right next door. Dropping two dollars into a mason jar for their "best spiced apple cider in New England", Caleb returned with two, steaming Solo cups and handed one to Sarah.

"Bottoms up," he said, lifting the drink to his lips.

She was more cautious, taking a small sip of the warm liquid. It was fruity and sweet, but with a slightly bitter aftertaste. "Is it supposed to taste a little funky?" she asked, scrunching her nose.

He laughed. "This is the real-deal, California. Fresh squeezed, not that made from concentrate crap you're probably used to."

Sarah didn't want to admit that she'd never had apple cider before, not even the bad kind. So chalking her evaluation up to not knowing any different, she gulped down the whole thing. The strange aroma lingered, but at least it warmed her from the inside.

"Cool. Now where did you want to go?" asked Caleb, taking her cup and throwing it in the nearby bin.

She led him up the incline to the pavilion, which had been transformed into a tent by the thick fabric covering its sides. A sandwich-board in front had "Tarot & Psychic Readings" written in chalk alongside a drawing of a crystal ball, but a smaller paper pinned to the entrance read "Back in 5."

"Do you want to come back?" Caleb asked, eyeing the note.

But Sarah shook her head. "Are you kidding? Let's go check it out," she said, already pushing the flap aside and slipping in.

Caleb followed.