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."
...OK. I know Halloween's over now, but we're still in the season of Fall, which always tends to conjure up spooky imagery for me. So, 'Haunted' shall continue! XD *coughs* Now, after that little note, let's move into Part 2, shall we? I hope you enjoy, my loves. =)
"You can't be serious, right, Paige?" Becky asked, trying not to laugh at the Brit's suggestion.
"Oh, but I am, Becks. I'm really serious," Paige asserted. "After all, what's wrong with us spending Halloween with the high schoolers?"
"Oh, nothing much. ...Oh, wait! I know! There's the fact that we're in middle school. And AJ and her friends are all in high school. That making things clearer for you now?" Becky pointed out.
"And just why should that even matter? After all, we've all grown up in the same town as them and known them for years. So, who says that we can't go hang out with them?" Paige made her own point.
Sitting and listening as Paige and Becky went back and forth with each other-stopping only when AJ had brought out what they ordered and resuming said back and forth when the brunette high schooler had turned and left-Bayley was feeling a bit torn over who to side with. While Paige was making a good point about the different groups all having known each other for some time, Becky was also making a good point that it probably wasn't the best idea for a group of middle schoolers to join in on what the high schoolers were trying to do. So, doing what she felt was the smart thing to do, Bayley just drank her hot chocolate and ate a few of the cookies she was sharing with her friends as she sat and listened to the other two talk, even after they had left and later headed back to their own homes.
Later That Same Evening
"The old Bearer house, huh? That's a place I haven't heard of in some time," Dean said as he scooped out the insides of the pumpkin he was about to carve.
"Really, Dean? You and the others know about that place, too?" Bayley asked, quite surprised to hear this.
"Well, we actually knew the owner when he was alive when we first got here, but not all that well. He tended to keep to himself quite a bit, so it was quite the surprise when everyone found out about his passing," Dean said as he continued his scooping.
"Huh. Well, if the old owner of the place had a reputation like that, I can't help but wonder why Punk and some of the other older teens want to go there," Bayley said, feeling confused after learning all of this.
"Who knows? Kids these days can be pretty strange. It's probably nothing all that much, and they just want to go somewhere that can be seen as a bit spooky," Dean said with a shrug. "It's probably nothing to really worry about."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Bayley shrugged, even though the whole business about Punk's Halloween idea was still weighing a bit on her thoughts. "Dean, I, uh,... I think I'm gonna head back inside and try to find something on TV to watch."
"OK. I'll just be out here putting the finishing touches on my jack-o'-lantern if you need me," Dean nodded.
"OK," Bayley giggled a bit at the sandy blonde Gem before turning on her heel and heading back inside. The ponytailed brunette had just walked back inside when Seth called her over into the kitchen area.
"She just came back inside. ...OK, just a second. Bayley, telephone for you," Seth said.
Curious about who would be calling her at this time of night-and on a school night, at that-Bayley walked over and took the phone from Seth, who went back to keeping an eye on what he was cooking.
"Hello?" Bayley asked.
"Hey, Bayley. I'm not calling you at a bad time, am I?" came Becky's voice from the other end of the call.
"Hey, Becky! Um, no, you aren't. I was just outside helping one of my uncles with something," Bayley said, carefully skirting what she was really doing. "What makes you want to call me at this time of night?"
"Well, ...I've been thinking about what Paige was saying earlier. I mean, after all, even though I don't want to admit it, ...she is right when she says that there shouldn't be anything wrong with us hanging out with Punk and the other high schoolers on Halloween," Becky said.
"So, ...what're are you saying exactly?" Bayley asked.
"Well, if it would be okay with your dad and your uncles, maybe me, you, Paige, Sami, and Finn can go hang out with Punk, AJ, and their friends for Halloween," Becky finally said.
"Gee, Becky. I, uh, I'm not so sure about that," Bayley said, a bit nervously.
"Well, you don't have to make your decision right now. Halloween's not for another couple of days, so our plans might end up changing between now and then. When you do decide what you want to do, just let us know, OK?" Becky said.
"O...OK. I'll be sure to keep all of this in mind," Bayley said.
"Great! So, I'll see you at school tomorrow," Becky said.
"OK. See you then, Becky," Bayley said, ending the call. Pulling the receiver away from her ear and setting it on the kitchen island counter, Bayley walked over to the living room area, where she sat down in one of the chairs and absently turned her attention to the TV that was currently playing a movie Sasha seemed fairly invested in.
Turning her attention away from the movie, Sasha happened to see that she had been joined by Bayley, who ...didn't seem quite like herself. "Something appears to be troubling you, Bayley," Sasha pointed out.
"Yeah. Something is," Bayley nodded.
"Would you like to talk about what's on your mind?" Sasha asked.
"I'm ...not sure if I should. It's kind of silly," Bayley bit her lip a bit.
"Nothing can be too silly to talk about if it's something that's really on your mind," Sasha said. "Just talk to me, Bayley. I just want to help."
Biting her lip as she moved to sit beside Sasha, Bayley knew that Sasha was being genuine with what she was saying. After all, even though the magenta-haired Gem first formed herself back not too long ago, Bayley had found that Sasha had been a surprisingly great confidant. And, given how the ponytailed brunette had been having a bit of a dilemma as to what she should do for Halloween this year, she figured that maybe talking with Sasha could help her sort things out. "OK. So, you know that Halloween's coming up this Saturday, right?"
"I'm aware, yes. After all, I have been helping Seth, Dean, and Roman decorate the house in preparation for the trick-or-treaters. Why do you ask?" Sasha asked.
"Well, two of my friends want to go do something with some of our other friends on Halloween, and they asked me if I wanted to come along with them," Bayley began.
"That sounds like a fairly normal thing for humans your age to do during a day like Halloween," Sasha said. "But, why do you sound so unsure about this thing?"
"Well, while I would like to go, I'm just not sure how to tell Seth and the others," Bayley continued. "Usually, on Halloween, I do stuff at home with them. When I was younger, they would take me trick-or-treating, which was always pretty fun. And, as I've gotten older, they've changed up what it is that we do, with it mostly being us dressing up in costumes and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters that come up here, followed by us eating popcorn and having a Halloween movie marathon, which is just as fun."
"Those all sound like fun plans, Bayley," Sasha smiled before continuing her talk with Bayley. "So, it sounds to me like you're torn between wanting to do both this year."
"Yeah. I am," Bayley nodded. "I don't want my friends to get upset with me. But, I don't want you, Dean, Seth, and Roman to get upset with me, either. Sasha, what should I do?"
"Hmm," Sasha pondered this. It sounded to the magenta-haired Gem that the main problem Bayley was facing was that she wanted to do both things for Halloween this year. 'Do both things. But, ...that would require Bayley being in two places at once. ...Two places at once,' Sasha thought before blurting "That's it!"
"Huh? What is, Sasha? What's it?" Bayley asked, feeling quite surprised by the magenta-haired Gem's sudden outburst.
Taking a quick look over her shoulder to see that Seth was still at work preparing dinner, Sasha leaned in close to Bayley, with the ponytailed brunette doing the same, and lowly said "I think I may have come up with a way for you to be able to be here and with your friends at the same time."
"Really? You do?" Bayley asked, feeling surprised to here this. Seeing Sasha nod, Bayley asked "Well, what is it, Sasha? What is it?"
Looks like we got a little glimpse into how it is that Bayley and the Gems have spent Halloween in previous years (may not be much, but I thought it was all nice, so...I'm rolling with it)...which is making how the ponytailed cinnamon roll wants to spend this year's a bit of a dilemma after her phone call with Becky. Good thing Sasha was there to talk with Bayley about what she should do. But, what's this? Sasha has a plan for how Bayley could possibly be both with the Gems and with her friends for Halloween? Just what is this plan that Sasha (Sasha, of all of the Gems) has? This plan...shall be revealed in the next chapter. So, until then, don't forget to R&R please. =)
