6. Dressing up as a ghost just isn't trying

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Fishlegs asked in a rather nervous voice. The largest dragon rider was perennially lacking in self-confidence when faced with the irrefutable and unwise overconfidence of Snotlout. The fact that Fishlegs also disliked Halloweeen since he had been on the wrong end of multiple so-called tricks when he was younger-which had reduced his enthusiasm for the holiday to microscopic levels-didn't help either.

"Fishface, this is the best idea ever!" Snotlout told him, lounging on the sofa. "Look-Halloween is the night of witches and ghosts and...er...accountants and other scary things..." Fishlegs cast him a pointed side-eye.

"Usually," he noted, trying not to take offence. Accountancy was one of the careers he was considering, along with actuarial work and corporate risk assessment...

"My point is, Fishface, that everyone will be dressing like witches and zombies so dressing as ghosts is awesome, original and perfect!" Snotlout announced, cracking open a beer and sucking half the can down. He was almost lying on the couch, legs hanging over an arm and head propped up on three hand-embroidered cushions specially made for Fishlegs by Old Gammer Ingerman. "No one else will ever think of it!"

"No one else?" Fishlegs asked suspiciously. He was pretty certain that millions of children saw 'ghost' as the easiest costume possible. "I thought we were going as zombies."

"Look, I can't do make-up, you can't do make-up and Astrid doesn't even know how to work mascara," Snotlout argued. "That means we would have to rely on the twins and we all know how dangerous that is." Fishlegs nodded. They all remembered that.

"What's for dinner?" Snotlout asked as Fishlegs stared at him.

"I was planning a warm salad of chicken, avocado and pomegranate molasses..." Fishlegs began as Snotlout made vomiting noises.

"What's wrong with a proper steak or burger?" he whined. "I'll starve on chicken salad..."

"You weren't actually invited for dinner," Fishlegs pointed out. "And this is part of my 'Heimdallr' eating plan..." Snotlout bounded up to his feet and patted the other man's chubby midriff.

"Well, yes, you gotta try to lose the chub!" he said tactlessly. "I'll just raid your fridge...maybe order some pizza in...and then we can watch your Netflix..."

Fishlegs stared after him, glaring and feeling his hands tighten into fists. He reminded himself that Snotlout was just...tactless and thoughtless but somewhere, buried very deeply, there was a heart of gold. Maybe. Possibly. Potentially. In a parallel universe...

"Fishface-you got a credit card? I've got a hankering for ribs!" Snotlout yelled from the kitchen. Fishlegs growled and counted to twenty.

Everyone had a friend like Snotlout. It was a Rite of Passage. But why had he agreed to let the man organise their Halloween costumes?

-o0o-

Halloween was cold and rather windy, making Fishlegs doubt that the ghost idea was any good at all. Their sheets would be halfway to the North Pole in about ten seconds... In fact, he had tried to text Snotlout and suggest they try different costumes on no less than ten occasions but he had always stopped himself. Part of it was, of course, the fact that Snotlout would tease him mercilessly and call him a wimp but also, he knew Snotlout almost certainly didn't have another costume. But there was one major issue and though he was in his final year and not badly off, Fishlegs steadfastly refused to buy anything new for a stupid costume. He just hoped Snotlout would understand that there were some restrictions on what he was willing to do.

The entire gang was convening at his apartment so he had snacks in neat bowls on the side and the fridge was full of soft drinks and a six-pack of beer. If he had brought Snotout's favourite brand-well, that was because Fishlegs was a generous and kindly young man, if husky, nervous and with a tendency to fuss over botany. Then the doorbell rang. Bracing himself, Fishlegs went to open the door.

"Surprise!"

"It's us!"

"Cluck cluck."

"You're right, chicken. We are looking awesome..."

Fishlegs stared. Facing him were two shapes draped in bed sheets, basically dressed as ghosts as he and Snotlout had planned. Except that one was bright fuchsia pink and the other was bright olive green.

"What on Midgard are you?" he asked. The pink ghost huffed, a chicken squirming in his arms.

"Ghosts, obviously," Tuffnut said. The olive green ghost elbowed him.

"Idiot!" Ruffnut said. "Told you the blue would have been better."

"Well, Butt-elf, you may prefer the wishy-washy colour but my artistic soul will not be contained by..."

"What are you dressed as?" a familiar voice asked. A rather short, stocky black sheet-swathed shape ambled arrogantly up the hall.

"Snotlout!" Fishlegs exclaimed and then stared. "Black?"

"I only have black sheets," Snotlout mumbled. "And I can be a stealth ghost..."

"I thought the point of ghosts was that they were obvious and loomed over people, scaring them..." Ruffnut said, throwing her green sheet back and glaring at him.

"Whoever heard of a green ghost?" Snotlout sneered.

"I'm eco-friendly!" Ruffnut shot back smugly.

"Hey guys!" The familiar, friendly voice of Hiccup sounded as a tall shape walked up, swathed in a deep green sheet patterned with small dragons. "I see we're all coming as ghosts..."

Fishlegs's eye was twitching. He was a rather fastidious and detailed orientated young man and the fact that everyone was doing it wrong was starting to wind him up. A shorter shape gracefully walked up alongside axe-patterned Hiccup ghost and Fishlegs almost eeped as he saw familiar boots poking out of the bottom of a sky blue sheet patterned with axes.

"Evening, Milady," Hiccup said with a grin as he threw his sheet back. "You look spectacular as always." He lifted Astrid's sheet and gave her a tender kiss.

"Aww, thanks, Babe," she replied with a smile. "You look good yourself..."

"That's enough!" Fishlegs exploded, walking out and more or less shoving them all into his apartment and slamming the door. "No, no, no, no NO!"

"Chill out, Fishface!" Snotlout said, heading for the fridge.

"What is it, Fish?" Hiccup asked kindly, his emerald eyes sweeping over his agitated friend.

"I knew this would be a disaster!" Fishlegs said unhappily. "I knew I should have bought a white sheet..." And then he gestured to the duvet cover he was going to be wearing...which was a bright yellow with large flowers all over it. Snotlout and the twins burst out laughing but Astrid walked forward and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay," she said easily. "None of us look much like ghosts...but that's okay, Fish. This is meant to be fun, not some terrible test. So Snotlout is a short black ghost, Tuffnut and Chicken are the weirdest pink ghost and we three are all in patterns. But it doesn't matter."

"We're meant to be going to Dagur's house for a Halloween party so why worry," Hiccup reassured him. "Our friends will welcome us anyway and at least we have made an effort..."

"Even though dressing as a ghost isn't really trying," Fishlegs mumbled. Hiccup patted him on the shoulder.

"Let's have a drink and then we can go and join Dagur and Heather," Astrid suggested.

"And get that chicken out of the pistachios!" Ruffnut added.

And if a group of six ghosts-pink, green, black, blue with axes, green with dragons and yellow with flowers-garnered some funny looks from the small witches, warlocks, frankenstein monsters, ghouls, mummies and zombies trick or treating in Berk Town...well, no one really cared. After all, they were going to a party that turned out to be hosted by a camouflage-coloured ghost with a sleek silver ghost behind him, waving self-consciously. And if everyone was temporarily dressed as a ghost to much hilarity, well, no one minded.

Almost no one.

Snotlout huffed as he dumped his black sheet and helped himself to beer, shaking his head in disappointment.

"That's the problem with people nowadays," he huffed. "No originality.".