Happy almost Halloween, dear readers! ...OK. In honor of us being almost upon one of my favorite holidays of the year, I've decided to finally work Halloween elements into an arc of 'Bayley's Universe'. Great, huh? =D Now, I obviously won't have this done for Halloween, so consider this an extended Halloween treat from me to all of you. =3 So, strap in, and get ready to enjoy the new arc, which I have titled 'Haunted'. I hope you all enjoy, my loves. =)

It had come to be that time of the year. Fall descended on the town of Emerald Pines, with the first real telltale signs of the season coming in the month of October as leaves changed colors on the trees, with a good number of trees already in the early stages of losing their leaves. And with the month of October came annual prepartions for what the townspeople would do to celebrate Halloween at the end of the month.

"Wait. You're serious about that, Bayley?" Paige asked one day she, Bayley, and Becky were walking through the town on their way to the local bakery that was in town. "You seriously don't have anything in the way of plans for Halloween this year?"

"No," Bayley shook her head. "I've never really wanted to do much around this time of year, so I've always spent it with my dad and my uncles. And even then, we don't really do all that much."

"Well, what have you done in the years before this year for Halloween?" Becky asked.

While Bayley had a feeling that she was going to get asked this eventually, she wasn't exactly planning on letting two of her friends know about just what did in the years before this for Halloween. 'Besides, Becky and Paige'll think I'm a total loser if I tell them,' Bayley thought, biting her lip as she felt a slight warmth start to creep up her cheeks.

Seeing the look on Bayley's face, Becky tried to right the situation. "Well, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to, love."

"You sure about that?" Bayley asked.

"Of course! After all, what you do with your family is your own business. You don't have to tell us about what you all did. Just ...tell us if and when you want to. That's all," Becky reassured her friend.

"OK. Thanks for understanding here, Becky," Bayley smiled a bit as she gave the goggle-clad redhead a sidehug.

"No worries, love," Becky smiled a bit herself as she returned the ponytailed brunette's sidehug.

Seeing this exchange take place, Paige couldn't help the grin that crossed her face. "Aww. You two are just so adorable!"

Leaning over past Bayley to give Paige a light shove, Becky said "Really funny, Paige. Although, last I checked, I saw that there was nothing wrong with a friend giving another friend a reassurance talk."

"I know. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to say something about two of our adorable little pumpkins," Paige grinned.

"What can I say? I do have tendencies to ...pumpkin people up for stuff," Becky responded with a grin of her own, as Paige groaned a bit at the Irish girl's wordplay and Bayley laughed a bit at it. "Now, let's go, girls! I've been wanting a pumpkin cookie all day."

"Yes, Becks," Paige laughed a bit as she watched Becky walk a bit ahead of her and Bayley. Turning to look to the brunette, Paige said "Becky's right, you know? I shouldn't have overstepped and tried to dig into whatever it is that you've done with your family in the past for Halloween. You can just tell us whenever you want to, should you decide you want to" before turning to go after Becky, who had already made it to the bakery.

Making her way to where her friends were waiting for her, Bayley let the talk she just had with the other girls bounce around in her thoughts. She knew that they were both right and that she could always tell them about her own Halloween traditions whenever she wanted, but there was still a lingering worry over just how her friends would react to just what it is that she'd do every year with Roman, Dean, and Seth. Shaking this away, Bayley let her mind come back to the present and the afternoon she was going to spend with her friends. 'At any rate, I've always got time in the future I can tell Becky, Paige, Sami, and Finn about what I do for Halloween. Until then, it's time for me to enjoy some pumpkin and spider cookies with my friends!' Bayley thought as she finally reached her friends and the trio headed into the bakery.

Heading over to and taking a seat at a three-seater table, the three girls took off their coats and sat in wait for not too much longer until a teenage girl with long dark brown hair came over to take their orders.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't three of my favorite people to see," the girl joked with a small smile.

"And a good October day to you too, AJ," Paige smiled up at the brunette. "Today been kind to you?"

"As kind as days like today can be," the girl, a friend of the trio named AJ Mendez, responded with a slightly annoyed sigh.

"Aww. Busy day, I'm guessing?" Paige asked.

"Yeah. Well, ...that, and I wasn't even scheduled to work today. But, I'm not going to complain much," AJ shrugged. "It just means I'll be making some extra cash to go towards my Halloween fund."

"That's the spirit, love," Becky encouraged from where she was sitting. "I'm guessing you and Punk are going on a trip or something?"

"Not quite, Becky," AJ began.

"Well, then, just what is in the plans for the lovebirds for Halloween?" Paige asked, her curiosity quite piqued.

"Well, ...that's just the thing, Paige. It's kind of a bit of a secret thing Punk and I were going to do with some of our friends from school," AJ explained.

"Ooh, high schooler plans! Well now I feel like I just have to know what you lot are all up to," Paige said, an excited note in her voice.

"Can't tell you that just yet, Paige," AJ shook her head. "After all, I'm not even sure Punk and the others have everything smoothed out in that area."

"Aww, come on, AJ! Can't you at least give us a hint? We won't go telling anyone. Honest! Right, guys?" Paige asked as she looked to Becky and Bayley to confirm this, which the other two girls did with nods. "See? They pretty much just gave you their word. So, now can you tell us?"

"OK, OK, Paige! Geez, you're quite the eager little crumpet to find out what us big kids are planning," AJ said with a laugh at the Brit's want to know. Looking around herself, AJ then leaned in close to the table. "Look. This is just an idea that Punk and some of the others have been throwing around, but ...they were actually thinking about going to the old abandoned Bearer house and looking around inside it."

"Th-th-The Bearer house?!" Bayley nervously asked. "B-B-But, don't people say that that place is ...haunted?"

"I'm sure those are just old stories adults tell us so that we won't go in there and get hurt or anything like that. It's nothing to worry about, Bayley. Those are all just old stories, after all. Nothing to be too afraid of," AJ said as she tried to reassure the younger brunette.

"Yeah, i-if you say so," Bayley nodded, a slight smile on her face.

"Just relax, Bayley. I'm sure Punk and the others will think of something else that we can do, so ...hopefully that'll mean no abandoned house tours," AJ said as she pulled out a notepad and pencil. "So, in the meantime, what can I get for you three today?"

"One plate of your finest and freshest pumpkin and spider cookies and three hot chocolates with whipped cream, please," Paige said, taking the liberty to order for the table.

"All right," AJ said, writing down the order for the three. "Your order should be out in about ten minutes."

"OK, AJ!" Paige smiled as the older brunette smiled at the trio before turning on her heel to head back to help with preparing the trio's order. Turning back to her friends, Paige asked "Did you guys hear all of that?"

"Yeah. She said our order should be out in about ten minutes. Lucky break, huh?" Becky asked.

"No, not that, Becks. What AJ said she and Punk and some of their high school friends might do at the old Bearer house," Paige said as a slight mischievous grin starting to cross her face. "I say, ...we join our older friends on their trip there this Halloween."

A trip to an old abandoned house. That's certainly one way to spend your Halloween. One that Paige certainly wants in on...although, this could be because she wants to hang with the older teens. Will this trip happen? You'll have to wait ...a chapter or two, depending on how Chapter 2 pans out for me (^^,). So, until then, don't forget to R&R please. =)

(For those curious about how Bayley and the Gems have spent Halloween in past years, I'll be working that into next chapter, so be prepared for some Halloween-themed cuteness. =3 )

(Also, I apologize in advance if I made anyone cringe with my attempt at a pun. I at least tried to think of a funny one for Becky to use, so ...yeah, sorry for the cringe I may have caused. ^^, XD )

(And to the Guest reviewer that wants me to go ahead with working on my next Bayley x Sasha femslash, please be patient with me. I'm trying to finish up a couple of my other fics first before I leap into posting anything new. That way, when I do finally get to that story, I'll be able to focus a good bit of my attention on it. In advance, I thank you for both your patience and interest in that story of mine. =) )