CHAPTER FIVE: ℴctober 𝒻irst.

🥽/🍁 SUMMARY ✶ It’s your favorite month so the core boys decide to go out and do Halloween activities.

🥽/🍁 DISCLAIMERS & WARNINGS ✶ slow-ish burn, fluff, jason already down bad, reader totally clueless half the time.

🥽/🍁 TAGLIST ✶ @httpjoints @i8wruby @whimsical-bubble33 @hollymurdock @sofloveswbb @leahbeahhh @moonzsh

🥽/🍁 NOTE FROM VAL ✶ lmk how you feel about the story so far!! The Halloween party is coming soon and soo much drama so stay tuned 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

The first morning of October.

You wake up to rain tapping against the bedroom window in the guest room.

Someone downstairs is already making breakfast. Someone else is yelling because another roommate stole their hoodie. Normal.

You walk downstairs wearing an oversized Core House hoodie and find everyone crowded around the kitchen island.

Jason looks up first. “Mornin’.”

“Morning.”

Ron immediately points at the hoodie. “…You gave her one already?”

Jason doesn’t even look up from pouring coffee. “She was cold.”

“Uh-huh.”

You hide a smile behind your mug.

The plan for the day is spontaneous. Lacy suggests a pumpkin patch. Adapt wants apple cider. Marlon insists on getting lost in a corn maze.

Within twenty minutes, seven people are piling into two cars. The drive is chaotic. Music too loud. People arguing over who gets aux.

Jason somehow ends up driving, you take the passenger seat. Not because anyone tells you to. It just… happens.

The conversation is easy. You point out mountains you’ve never seen before. He laughs because you’re amazed by things Californians barely notice. You tell him New York has better autumn.

He insists California wins because “our pumpkins have personality.”

“You can’t tell a pumpkin has personality.”

“You absolutely can.”

“That’s the dumbest thing you’ve said all week.”

“So far.”

The pumpkin patch feels like stepping into a movie. Hay bales. Apple cider. Children running through rows of pumpkins. The smell of cinnamon donuts floating through the air.

You disappear almost immediately. Not because you’re wandering off. Because you’re taking pictures of everything.

Jason quietly notices.

You stop to photograph tiny pumpkins. The leaves. A scarecrow that isn’t even particularly interesting.

“You really do love fall.”

You lower your camera. “A little.”

“A little?”

You gesture toward the entire farm. “…Okay, maybe more than a little.”

Everyone splits up. Some head toward the corn maze. Others start picking pumpkins.

Without really planning it…You and Jason end up walking together. The conversation drifts from favorite holidays to childhood memories. Halloween costumes. Family traditions. You discover he used to hate scary movies. He discovers you still carve pumpkins every October.

“You still do?”

“Every year.”

“You know we’re definitely doing that here.”

“We are now.”

Across the field, Marlon notices the two of you laughing together. He smiles to himself. Maybe he waited too long. Maybe not. He doesn’t say anything. Just keeps walking with the rest of the group.

Later, everyone gathers around picnic tables with hot cider. Someone pulls out a deck of cards. Another roommate starts recording behind-the-scenes clips.

Jason sits beside you without thinking. Halfway through the conversation, he quietly hands you the sleeve of his hoodie. You’d been absentmindedly rubbing your hands together because the air had turned colder. “You cold?”

“A little.”

“Take it.”

“I’m already wearing one of yours.”

“So?”

“You’ll freeze.”

“I’ll survive.”

You hesitate. Then slip your hands into the sleeves. “…Thanks.”

He just shrugs. No big speech. No dramatic moment. Just something he noticed before anyone else did.

That evening, everyone returns home exhausted. Pumpkins line the kitchen counter.

Someone immediately starts planning the Halloween party. Ideas are thrown around: “A haunted escape room.”

“No.”

“Murder mystery.”

“Too much work.”

“Costume contest.”

“Absolutely.”

You sit cross-legged on the living room floor, sketching pumpkin carving ideas while everyone argues.

Jason glances over. “You’ve already got a design?”

You nod. “I told you I take Halloween seriously.”

He laughs. “I owe you an apology.”

“For what?”

“I thought you were exaggerating.”

“I never exaggerate about fall.”

“I know.” He smiles. “I’ve figured that out.”

The night ends late that night. Most of the house has gone to bed.

You walk onto the back patio carrying two mugs of hot apple cider. Jason is already outside, sitting on the porch swing. Without asking, you hand him one.

He takes it. “Thanks.”

You sit beside him. Neither of you says much. The swing creaks gently beneath you. The air smells like rain and cinnamon.

Inside the house, everyone is still arguing over Halloween decorations. Outside, it’s quiet. Comfortable.

After a long silence, Jason glances over. “I think you’re ruining New York for me.”

You laugh softly. “How?”

“Now I want to see autumn there.”

“You should.”

Another pause. “And…” He looks out toward the backyard instead of at you. “I’m starting to understand why people call you the Girl Next Door.”

You smile into your mug. Neither of you says anything else. You don’t have to. Sometimes the best conversations are the ones that don’t need words.

The two of you watching the porch lights flicker on as the first October evening settles over the Core House.