A/N and Disclaimer: One step closer. :o)

Character names, song titles, and movie quotes do not belong to me, they belong to Stephenie Meyer, Jack White, and Kevin Jarre, respectively.

Thank you again for reading my story.

*** I Guess I Should Go To Sleep ***

EPOV

- your sister just felt me up.

- excuse me?

- i was trying on a possible top for my costume... she felt the need to 'fluff my boobs'.

I don't think I've ever been so jealous of my sister in my life.

- so you've decided on a costume?

- maybe.

- what is it?

- none of your beeswax!

- punk.

- ps. jess has kinda earned my respect.

- interesting. how so?

- she's a nonconformist.

- really? a nonconformist cheerleader? what an oxymoron.

- i know, right? but she refuses to allow alice to put her in a 'cute' costume. it's quite entertaining.

- i bet.

- now leave me alone.

I don't even bother to text her back to point out that she texted me in the first place, I just laugh and set my phone aside.

"Bella?" Esme asks.

I smile, "Yeah."

"She's pretty awesome," she comments.

"She is," I agree.

She looks at me while rinsing out a glass, "Anything you want to get off of your chest?"

"Nothing I can think of."

"Edward," she sighs.

"Esme," I sigh back.

She stares at me and I stare right back, neither one of us willing to give in. She finally breaks eye contact when her kitchen timer goes off.

"You are so stubborn!" she huffs.

"Where's Jasper?"

"You're changing the subject now?" she asks, pulling a loaf of bread from the oven, "Fine! He went to return a book to George."

I nod, "Where's Dad? I thought he was off today."

"He's at the hospital. Dr. Jordan has the flu apparently," she explains.

"Ahh," is my only response.

"Edward..." she tries again, "...it's okay if you want to end your charade, you know?"

"I know."

Esme make a frustrated grunt, "Go away. I have a kitchen to clean."

Properly dismissed, I head to my room. Now is just as good of a time as any to catch up on my homework.

After about an hour of studying Spanish verbs, I text Bella.

- wanna grab dinner when you get back?

I know I shouldn't ask, but I feel like we haven't had a chance to really hang out in forever. When she doesn't respond after ten minutes, I go back to verbs. Once I'm finished with the verbs, I start on algebra. I manage to finish that too, still with no text from Bella. I send another.

- it's cool if you have plans. just thought i'd ask.

Another ten minutes and still nothing. For a distraction, I pick up a book I've been meaning to read for English class and promptly fall asleep.

I wake up when I hear my door open. Bella waves as she shuts the door behind her.

"Hey," I say, still groggy from sleep.

"Hey," she replies. "You're not wearing a shirt again."

I grin, "If I had known you were coming- "

"You still wouldn't have one on," she cuts me off.

I sit up a little and notice something, "You're not looking away."

She shakes her head in a nearly imperceptible manner, "No, I'm not."

"Why not?" I have to know.

"Maybe I like what I see," she says so softly I barely hear her.

I smirk, "Maybe?"

She blushes, "I do like what I see."

During our conversation, she's been steadily making her way over to me. She's practically standing over me when I reply to her.

"So do I."

"Shut up," she says, bending slightly to shove my shoulder.

I grab her arm and pull her down to me, "No, I really do."

"What do you like?" she obviously still doubts me.

"At the moment? The way you're pressed against me. I like that a lot."

"Like this?" She asks, quickly moving to straddle me.

I can barely manage my next words, "Yeah. Just like that."

She leans down to nuzzle my neck, "It's a shame, isn't it?"

"What is?" I practically pant.

She pulls back abruptly, "THAT YOU'RE GAY, ASSHOLE!"

I jolt awake, gasping for breath.

"Fuck me," I whisper to my empty room.

Never has a dream been so intense, amazing, and terrible all at the same time. I run my hands up and down my face a few times to shake off the dream a bit. After a few minutes I reach my phone on the night stand.

I have numerous texts, all from Bella.

- can't. dinner with james. :(

- don't hate me.

- OMG, YOU HATE ME!

- edward?

- bueller? bueller?

- you're dead aren't you?

- in a ditch. dead.

- it's a shame really.

- jazz'll be devastated.

- don't worry, i'm sure mikey will console him.

Her last message was sent only a few minutes ago, so that's the one I respond to.

- who will console you?

- oh, i'll be inconsolable.

- where have you been?

- sleeping, actually.

My phone rings a moment later.

"Hey," my voice is still a little rough from sleep.

"Oh my! Listen to that gravely voice! Swoon," she laughs, "So, were you having sweet dreams of me?"

If she only knew, "You wish."

She snorts, "Oh yeah! Being part of a gay dude's dream is on every girl's bucket list."

"I bet," I need to direct the conversation to safer territory, "How was dinner with James?"

"I didn't go."

"Why not? That's why you blew me off, yeah?"

"I didn't blow you off," I can practically hear the eye roll, "I had plans. Anyhow, when you didn't respond back I really did start to think you hated me. It made me a bit anxious and I lost my appetite."

What? "You thought I was mad and it made you lose your appetite?"

"Well, when you put it like that, I sound crazy," she admits.

I laugh, "Well..."

"Well..." she chirps back.

"You still hungry?" I ask.

"Famished," she says immediately.

I smile, "Let me put a shirt on and I'll be there in like ten."

Eight minutes later I'm pulling into the Swans' driveway. Bella comes bounding out and down the front steps before I even turn off the engine.

"Where to?" I ask as soon as she's buckled in.

"I could tear up a double cheeseburger," she answers.

I smile, "McDonald's it is, my lady."

On the way she gives me details about her day, which was a lot better than mine. Rosalie found the perfect 'Jane' costume. Alice has decided that she and J are going as Daisy and Gatsby. And apparently Jess was able to procure a rather nice sword for herself.

After we've order our food, found a booth, and are stuffing our faces, Bella pauses to look at me.

"So, I was thinking..." she begins.

My mouth is full of french fries, "Abow?"

"About this 'Murder Walk' idea," she clarifies.

I take a drink of soda, "What? You want to nix the idea?"

She shakes her head, "NO! Not at all. I do love the idea. But I was thinking about a narrator, you know? Someone's gonna have to tells the stories, right? I mean, the only other option would be to have it on a loop, but what if folks walk in on the middle of the story and they get confused? I just figured it'd be better with a tour guide or whatever."

"Okaaaaaay? So what do you propose?"

She bites her lip like she does when she's nervous, "I think I'mma do it."

"Do what?"

She rolls her eyes, "I'mma nut up and be the narrator, asshole!"

No shit. "For reals?"

"Yeah. I talked to James. We're gonna be Otis and Baby Firefly."

"He agreed to be a sadistic psychopath?" I asked.

She shrugs, "He's never seen the movies. He told me to just pick some characters and he'd go with it, so this is what he's stuck with."

"Well... Otis is a dick, so James isn't that far off..." I joke.

She ignores my comment, "So, we need to come up with a few serial killers to profile. Shouldn't be too hard."

We pull out our phones and start scouring the true crime pages, bouncing names and ideas off of each other. From there we google some cheap and effective haunted house ideas. By the time I drop Bella off that night we've pretty much planned everything. Now it's just a matter of bringing everything to life.

The next night at work Daffy tells us that she's found us some mirrors.

"My friend Siobhan used to own a ballet studio. She closed a few months ago, but she still has the space, including the wall-to-wall mirrors."

"This is outstanding! Really Daffy, thank you!" I hug her.

She smiles, obviously proud of herself, "Don't mention it, babydoll. And... I've looked into how you can make some double-sided mirrors to freak people out."

"Awesome! All we need is a strobe light and a smoke machine and that's another room down," Bella smiles.

The first room kind of completed was the playroom. Not only did Angela's parents okay the use of her little brothers, but her mother also offered up their old baby furniture and toys. Now it's just a matter of finding them matching outfits and maybe a fake dead body.

"Mikey told me that Laurent Le'Beau's dad is offering up supplies from his store too," I mention.

Daffy cocks her head to the side, "Who is this Laurent Le'Beau?"

"Just some squirrely little French kid who was suspended for bringing wine to school to drink with his lunch of fromage," Bella answers with a straight face.

"Oh, he must be Gerry's son!" Daffy says immediately. "Yes. I remember now. He did introduce himself as Gerard Le'Beau. He owns that little hardware store. He called earlier to offer to split the extra expenses with us. Very French."

"Oui," Bella and I reply.

"So, if Ole Gerry's willing to supply hardware and stuff, that'll take care of the suspension bridge, right?" Bella asks. "I mean, we'll still need to figure out how to safely construct the stupid thing."

I nod, "Jasper can do it, probably."

"You think honeypie will know how to make a bridge?" Daffy snickers.

I shrug, "Well, I know he helped his dad build a tree house when he was younger. And he's good with his hands."

"I just bet he is," Bella mutters quietly to herself, before adding, "So, suspension bridge down, what next?"

The rest of our week is spent in pretty much the same way. Figuring out what we need and how to get it.

Alice managed to find us about a dozen or so clown costumes, so that's one more room mostly completed. She's also found money in the budget for makeup and old clothing and she talked the drama department into lending us some costumes for the 'ghost' portion of the tour.

Dad was able to get the hospital to donate some old patient gowns and scrubs. He tried to get us some outdated equipment they had stored away, but the higher-ups wouldn't 'okay' it, so he's helping us construct some equipment that could be found in an asylum.

Jasper was able to direct some kids on how to create the bridge. Luckily they grasped the concept right away, so he didn't have to do too much manual labor, despite wanting to.

Mikey has been out of control with what he refers to as 'the menu'. He's driven Maggie nuts with how many times he's changed his mind. Honestly, what's so hard about punch and snacks? Most of the food is being donated anyway, so I'm not sure what the big deal is. Bella tried to express this to him but he nearly had an aneurysm, so the rest of us are keeping our mouths shut.

As awesome as this homecoming is shaping up to be, I think I'm more excited about the after party. Ever since Bella told me about it my first week here, I've been patiently waiting.

Emmett has taken the planning for this event upon himself. He's been working with Chief Swan and some other parents to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. So far the only problem he's ran into is some kids who want to drive their own vehicles to the campsite. After a good deal of compromise it was determined that students can drive themselves there, but they have to surrender their keys and pass a breathalyzer before they'll be able to get them back.

He's even managed to sweet talk Renee, Esme, Daffy, and J's mom to gather an ass-ton of food for us all as well. And I'm not quite sure who's buying, but I've been told that there will be at least four kegs there.

Daffy has offered up some camping equipment to us. Bella promptly called dibs on the three-bedroom monstrosity currently displayed at the store. She's offered to share it with some of us.

"No way am I sharing a tent with Emmers," she told us during lunch on Friday, "No offense to you Rosalie, but you guys need to find your own tent. And allow me to apologize on his behalf for his nocturnal flatulence."

Rosalie laughed, "I'll make sure to pack some Febreeze."

"I told the kid that he and Jess can stick with me. Al, you can bunk with me if you want, and Edward and Jasper can have the other room-thingy," she offered.

"What about James?" Alice asked.

Bella just shrugged, "I'm sure he'll find some place to lay his head."

We readily accepted her offer, as it's one less thing we have to worry about.

It's Sunday again and the whole crew, minus James, is lounging in our den. Relaxing before what we know will be an exhausting week.

"So explain this spirit stick thing to me again, JJ. I thought it was strictly a cheerleader thing," Jasper asks.

Jess shakes her head, "No, it's not just a cheerleader thing. A few times a year each class has a competition to show who can display the most school spirit. Didn't you get the memo about the daily themes?"

"I got the memo, Jessie" the kid sucks up.

"Well I sure as hell didn't," Emmett huffs. "What are we doing this year?"

Bella smiles, "Tomorrow's 'Pajama Day', Em. You can wear your footies with the flap in the back!"

"Fucking right!" he holds out his fist for her to bump and she does. "Pajama day is the best day of the week!"

Alice claps, "Tuesday is 'Twin Day'! I remember that one."

"Well we got that one covered, don't we?" I say.

She actually rolls her eyes at me, "Um, no. I'm twins with you EVERY day. Who else wants to be my twin?"

"I'm down if you'll have me, Alice," Jess is the first to speak up. "I'm pretty sure I have the same tunic as you. The eggplant one? We have the same slouch boots too."

My sister practically bounces in her seat, "Yay! And we're both kind of tiny, so this will be perfect!"

"Eddie, I'll be your twin," Jasper offers.

"No can do, JJ," Jess puts the kibosh on that plan. "You have to be twins with someone in your own grade."

"Oh, I'll be your twin, Jazzy," Mikey volunteers.

Jasper shrugs, "Works for me."

"Well in that case," Emmett says, "Rosie, you gonna be my twin?"

Rosalie, who's been sitting on his lap, turns to look at him, "That depends, are you gonna wear a skirt?"

He grins, "If you really want me to, baby."

She laughs, "I'll definitely be your twin."

Emmett makes a noise of victory and hugs Rosalie closer.

Running out of options, I look at J. Before I even say anything, Bella speaks up from beside me.

"Oh sweet lord, you look like the kid who was picked last for dodge ball. I'll be your twin."

Everyone chuckles.

"Awww... Bella Swan, you're my hero," I quip.

She rolls her eyes, "Whatevs. You're doing me a solid anyway. J and Ang already decided to pair up."

"So what're we doing Wednesday?" J asks.

"'Crazy Hair Day'," Jess answers.

"Looks like you won't be the only one with crazy hair that day, shorty," J laughs and rumples Alice's hair.

She sticks her tongue out at him and bats his hand away.

"Thursday is 'Mismatch Day' and Friday is 'School Colors Day'," Jess throws out before anyone else can ask.

Alice curls up her nose, "Oh, I don't like the sound of this 'mismatch day'."

"But it's so much fun, Al!" Bella says with fake enthusiasm, "You get to wear polka dots and plaid! AT THE SAME TIME! Isn't that crazy?!"

"Bella Swan!" Alice gasps, "Stop or I may throw up."

"I'mma wear my hunter orange pants with my green and white buttondown shirt," the kid states proudly.

Alice sticks her fingers in her ears, "Lalalalalalala... I can't hear you."

We all have a good laugh at her expense and move on to the safer topic of homecoming.

"Be prepared to work your butts off this week, guys! Everything needs to be perfect. Tomorrow night is the first night we're going to be able to get into the rec center and I want to make sure we're well and truly prepared. I don't think we have enough cobwebs. Edward, are you and Bella prepared with the haunted house stuff? You haven't been keeping me updated. Mikey? Where are we with food? Maggie says you keep changing your mind. Did you decide on the spiderweb cookies or the tombstone ones?"

My sister, the midget dictator, goes on like this for at least ten minutes before Bella stretches beside me.

"Well, as stimulating as this is, I need to get home and rest. Sounds like we have a busy day tomorrow and I need to pick me out some presentable jammies."

Everyone else expresses the same sentiment and they all start clearing out.

Alice practically stalks them as they're leaving, "Remember guys we need to head to the rec center directly after school tomorrow to begin prep for everything. Please don't dilly-dally; we really need all hands on deck."

They shout out their promises and make their escape.

Later, while I'm in my room getting ready for bed, a knock sounds on my door.

"Come in, Alice," I say.

"How did you know it was me?" she asks coming right in.

I raise an eyebrow at her, "Who else would be knocking on my door at this hour?"

"Good point," she smiles.

"So?" I prompt.

She looks confused, "So what?"

"So, to what do I owe this late night visit?"

"OH! Right!" she remembers. "I have a big favor to ask."

I laugh humorlessly, "And what would that be?"

"You know since we've been here, Jasper has been dressing a bit more on the preppish side in order to maintain this facade you guys are putting on, right?"

"Yes. Continue."

"I think he misses his boots. More importantly, I miss his boots. I think it would be nice if he were able to wear them again."

I furrow my brow in confusion, "Alice, I'm failing to see the point here. I mean, if Jasper wants to wear his boots, then why can't he?"

"You are so clueless," she shakes her head. "Unlike you, Jasper actually takes his role seriously. There's no way he can rock boots with what he's been wearing."

"Fine," I sigh. "I see your point, now what's your favor?"

She smiles, "I was thinking. Instead of pirates, maybe you guys could be cowboys? I realize it's kind of 'Brokeback Mountainy', but that will only work in your favor, right?"

"Seriously? This is the big favor?" I scoff.

Alice looks panicked, "Edward, please just consider it."

"There doesn't really need to be any considering," I reply.

"But Edward, I think it would mean a great deal- "

I cut her off, "Alice, there will be no considering because there's nothing to consider. We can be cowboys. It's not a big deal."

She squeals and immediately launches herself at me, "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! THANKYOUSOMUCHYOURETHEBESTBROTHEREVER!"

"Breathe, you little psycho," I laugh and hug her.

She takes a deep breath, "Oh, this is fantastic news! I can't wait to tell Jasper!"

Without even saying goodbye she bounces out of room, no doubt to go terrorize her boyfriend.

I close my door, since Alice didn't feel the need to close it, and lock it for good measure.

Trying to decide what to wear tomorrow turns out to be more difficult than I imagined. I don't wear pajamas. I don't own any pajamas. I text Bella.

- i don't have anything to wear tomorrow.

- pajamas?

- i don't have any?

- what do you sleep in?

- boxers.

- and?

- just the boxers.

- of course you do.

- ?

- nm. what do you wear around the house when you're just relaxing?

- normally an old pair of scrub pants i stole from my dad forever ago.

- there! wear those. and a t-shirt. your most comfortable one.

- i think i can swing that.

- wtf would you do without me?

- come to school clad in only boxers, obviously.

- lol. obviously.

- ps. our costumes have changed. we've decided to be cowboys now.

- awww... how cute! like 'tombstone' cowboys, or 'john wayne' cowboys?

- what's the difference?

- gasp! have you never seen tombstone?

- um. no.

- omg. loser.

- i am not.

- you're no daisy at all.

- what?

- exactly.

- good night, bella.

- night, lame-o.

I put my phone down, laughing. It's so easy to get her riled up. Maybe I should text her back and let her know that I have in fact seen Tombstone, multiple times. Nah. That'll just ruin all the fun.

I track down the scrubs I was telling Bella about and a decent t-shirt to wear tomorrow, then I go to bed.

The second my head hits the pillow I'm out. I awake the next morning to the sound of my alarm, disappointed that I didn't dream of Bella again.