It's time, it's time! Halloween for Bella and Jasper! So, as usual, everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just like to play with the characters. Beta-ing done by the wonderful EdwardsMate4Ever.

Shopping, Vampire Style

Chapter 1 – The Store

Bella sighed. Working at the Halloween store for Mrs. Weber during the month of October meant money for Christmas in December. But sometimes she just wasn't sure it was worth it. Maybe Charlie and Renee would rather have something homemade this year. Maybe she should learn a craft. Like crochet or scrapbooking or furniture repair or…

High-pitched squeals and the sound of children running brought her back to reality. The Bratton kids had tried on every costume in the store. Eight-year-old Eddie was currently in a vampire outfit, chasing Suzie Van der Merk down an aisle, yelling, "I vant to dreenk your blood."

She knew his mother wasn't going to buy the costume though. Wait for it, and…"Come Eddie, Vanna. Put the costumes back on the rack."

Both kids gave theatrical groans, and then the trio made their way to the front door.

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Bratton said, nodding to Bella as she passed. "I don't think we've found what we're looking for yet."

"Of course. Take your time," Bella replied, trying not to sound as though she was speaking through gritted teeth. Tomorrow's Halloween, after all.

She looked down the aisles of the store. The shelves were in disarray, masks and plastic pails appeared to be about to fall off of the shelves, and costumes hung crooked from the racks. It's going to take me an hour to get this straightened up before I leave. Might as well get started. She picked up the basket of go-backs and returns, and began making her way up the nearest aisle, straightening and putting things away as she went. Time passed slowly doing such work, but finally the store was back in order.

6:00 just couldn't come soon enough. She glanced at her watch—5:50, so she started to count her register. Even in these days of credit cards, there were still cash transactions. Finally, her watch said 5:59. She heard the door chime and turned. "Sorry, we're…" The words died on her lips.

Standing in the door was a tall man, half hidden in shadows. He appeared to already have a costume—he was wearing old-fashioned clothes, a bit worn, but good quality.

"May I help you?" she said.

"You're closed?" he asked, the words trailing over his lips in a Southern drawl like silk.

"How many kids do you have, and are you going to buy or just try on all the merchandise and leave it on the floor?" she blurted out then stopped herself from berating the innocent man further. Why had she said that?

He threw back his head and laughed, then turned the sign on the door so that "Closed" showed and switched off the light. Street light kept the store from being completely blacked-out, but the sudden darkness was unnerving.

"Better?" he asked as he moved closer to the counter.

She was in the dark with a handsome stranger. I should be scared, but I'm not. Still…Bella flicked on a light near the back. "Yes, now."

He stopped. "Didn't mean to scare you. Just got into town myself."

"Where are you from?" she said, starting to take out the cash drawer to finish closing. She stopped. Why would she do that in front of a perfect stranger? Especially one who had moved to silently stand directly in front of her. She flinched and the cash drawer fell to the floor, the coins bouncing out of their slots and rolling on the floor.

She sighed and bent to pick them up.

He came around the counter to help her. "Sorry. Now I've managed to startle you, too," he said as he bent over and began pulling the change out from under the display case.

"I've got this," she said. I should be disturbed he's touching the money. She wasn't. Think of something to say. "Were you looking for something for Halloween?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Um, this is a Halloween store," she said, standing up to put the cash back into the register.

He looked puzzled briefly then smiled. Suddenly seeming to notice he was behind the counter with her, he walked to the front of the display case. "Better?" he asked softly.

She blushed and nodded.

"Just new in town," he said, turning to look around the store. "Thought I would check out the neighborhood."

"Oh." Yep, you must sound really smart to him.

He watched as she finished counting the money and closed the register. She went to the back room and felt a sense of both relief and loss that he didn't follow her. As she punched out and locked the money in the store's safe, she listened for the sound of the door closing. She didn't hear it.

She went back into the main store area, and he was lingering by the door, looking out into the growing twilight. Because it was late October, it was already dark. When she reached him, he said, "It's getting late. Do you need an escort somewhere?"

"I was just going to grab something to eat," Bella said, zipping up her hoodie. Such formal language.

"Sounds good, but I dined earlier."

Her heart sank.

"Maybe I can get a cup of coffee while you eat?" he added.

"Sure. There's a place just down the block, Forks Coffee Shop," Bella replied. "Actually, almost everything is down the block. We're a small town."

"I noticed, and I love small towns," he said. "Where I grew up, most towns were small."

They went outside and he waited, looking down the street, while she locked the store. They walked the two blocks down Forks Avenue to the Forks Coffee Shop in a light drizzle. A few cars passed, one nearly splashing them in front of the library.

When they reached the diner, he held the door open to allow her to pass. Once inside, they stood by the counter at the entrance.

In a small town, everything was noticed. Conversation seemed to come to a standstill. The coffee shop's longest serving waitress, Marge, dropped a coffee pot on the floor, and the glass shattered with a resounding crash. Coffee splashed everywhere, including on Marge's uniform and the people sitting at the table nearest to her.

Nice entrance. Not even my own clumsiness.

"Sit anywhere," Marge stammered, after she recovered her breath. She turned to the couple she had splashed at the table. "I'm sorry. Let me get something to clean this up."

The man was grumbling, wiping off his cellphone. The woman was dabbing at her white sweater with a napkin. Yeah, that's going to be a problem.

Bella found a booth near the back. It was close to the restrooms, but at least they wouldn't be surrounded by staring eyes. This way the rest of the restaurant crowd could only stare at the back of one of them.

The stranger extended his hand toward a booth seat, and she sat down. He sat across from her with his back to the crowd.

Marge didn't take their orders. Lauren came instead. Bella knew this wasn't her station, but figured Lauren had just moved in to look at the stranger. "Your usual?" she asked Bella. When Bella nodded, she leaned closer to Jasper. "What can I do for you, hun?"she asked in a husky voice.

"Just coffee," he replied, never taking his eyes off of Bella.

Disappointed, Lauren straightened up and left.

"So," Bella said, "I didn't get your name."

"Jasper," he said. "Yours?"

"Bella," she replied.

"Bella," he said, dragging the two syllables over his tongue slowly. "It suits you." He leaned forward and whispered, "It means beautiful in Italian."

Shivers ran up and down her entire body at those words and that voice. She blushed.

"What brings you to town?" she asked, not knowing how to respond to the compliment. "You said you were new."

He shifted in his seat. "Looking into getting some property. Hear there's good hunting in this area."

She nodded. "Lots of deer. Good fishing, too. What do you like to hunt?"

He gave a strange smile. "I hunt a variety of prey. Deer, elk, bear."

Prey. What an odd choice of a word.

"Some of my Dad's friends hunt," she said. "I hear it can be a challenge getting to game. Lots of ferns and nurse logs in the area, and the guys are always talking about how they have to cross streams and complain about getting their gear wet."

"Mine doesn't get wet," he replied.

She raised an eyebrow.

"I travel light," he continued. "Seems only fair. If the deer is traveling light, so should I."

He leaned across the table, and seemed to be reaching for her hand when Marge appeared with the food. Guess it was her turn to check out the newcomer.

"Mushroom omelet with dry wheat toast," she said as she put Bella's order in front of her. "Freshen your coffee?" she asked Jasper.

Jasper shook his head. "Still letting it cool," he replied.

Xxx

Thanks for your interest in my story. Please leave a review. I will send a preview of the next chapter to all reviewers. Hope everyone has a great October!