"Um, Roman. Is ...everything okay?" Sasha asked, starting to feel a bit uneasy.
"Well. Everything will be okay. After you tell us where the real Bayley is, Sasha," Roman responded as he looked to meet Sasha's surprised gaze.
So, with Sasha's Bayley double being found out, how will things unravel from here? Read on to find out, my loves...in this monster of a chapter. =)
"What do you mean, Roman? Of course this is the real Bayley," Sasha said, trying to keep back the nerves over her double having been compromised. "Can't you see that?"
"Well, what I'm seeing here is a Bayley. But, it's not our Bayley," Roman stood to his normal height.
"And just how can you be so sure of that?" Sasha asked, her hands on her hips.
Leaning down so that he was looking Sasha in the eye, Roman simply said "Bayley doesn't like movies like Insidious because they give her nightmares. Maybe next time, you keep stuff like that in mind when you decide to make doubles of her."
Swallowing over her shame at being compromised, Sasha let out a defeated sigh before willing the Bayley double away. "I had forgotten that being observant was one of your stronger qualities. I guess I just learned that again the hard way."
"Yes, you did," Roman said, straightening himself and crossing his arms across his chest. "Now. Back to what I said before. Tell us where the real Bayley is, Sasha."
Letting out another defeated sigh, Sasha said "Fine, fine. If you all really must know, Bayley went out with some of her friends tonight. But, I ...don't exactly know where she said that they were going."
As Roman let out a low groan and pinched the bridge of his nose, Seth shared a worried look with Dean as he said "Oh no. This is bad. This is very bad! What are we supposed to do? Who knows where Bayley and her friends could have gone to tonight?"
"Well, considering that it's probably just Sami and her friends from school, I highly doubt they could've gone that far," Dean pointed out. "They're probably just hanging around at the street fair before it closes. So, no big deal."
"But, what if they aren't, Dean? What then?" Seth countered.
While Dean tried to make another argument in defense of his own reasoning, Roman had been thinking over what Sasha said in the hopes of trying to find an answer to Bayley's whereabouts. It wasn't until his thinking over Bayley's friends helped point him in a direction of just where the younger brunette might be. Coming out from his inner thought bubble, Roman said "I think I might know where Bayley is."
Back At The Bearer House
Seeing the group of teenagers ahead of him, the man, Mr. Bearer, smiled before saying in a rather high-pitched voice "Greetings, young ones. And, welcome to my home!"
At first, none of the teens knew what to say as they looked ahead as they just couldn't seem to believe their eyes right now. There was just no way that they could all be standing there looking at the dead Mr. Paul Bearer!
Seeing that no one in the group had spoken up, Mr. Bearer said "Come now, children. There's nothing to fear. I mean you all no harm."
Finally managing to find his words-after an elbow in the side from AJ and a poke in the back from Paige-Punk cleared his throat before saying "W-Well, Mr. Bearer, sir. We ...weren't really thinking anyone would be in here tonight. ...Let alone, ...you, sir."
"Now, why wouldn't you all think I wouldn't be in my own home?" Mr. Bearer inquired.
"Well, sir. It's, ...well..." Punk began.
Seeing the young brunette in front of him at a loss for words, Mr. Bearer let out a laugh before saying "Perhaps I should treat you all to some refreshment. You came all this way, and it would be rather ungracious of me to let my guests go without something to eat or drink."
With Punk still at a loss for words, AJ piped up and said "Refreshments sound nice, Mr. Bearer, sir" with a smile.
"Excellent! Now, if you all would follow me to my dining room," Mr. Bearer said before closing the door to the room he had come out of and then turning on his heel and walking away.
With the teens still frozen in place, no one said anything until Punk blurted "AJ. Pardon me for saying this, but are you nuts?!" with many of the others in the group voicing similar remarks.
"Easy, guys. Easy!" AJ tried to calm her friends. "I'm sure that Mr. Bearer means no harm with his offer."
"But doesn't something like this always happen in movies before... Before..." Bayley trailed off, alarming herself with her own train of thought.
"Easy, Bayley," AJ assured the ponytailed brunette. "I'm sure nothing of that sort will happen. Even if it does, you've got a group of older teens here to keep you, Sami, Paige, Becky, and Finn safe. We won't let anything happen to you guys."
Taking AJ's words into consideration, Bayley nodded in understanding. Besides, where the older teens may fail, Bayley could always step in and keep everyone safe with her shield.
AJ could only smile at the show of confidence from Bayley before getting pulled back to reality by the sound of Mr. Bearer's voice.
"Come along, children. I've prepared your refreshment," Mr. Bearer called.
Hearing this, Punk took a breath in before turning to look back at the group. "OK, guys. We have a bit of what he has to eat and drink, and then we leave. Got it?" Getting many Yeses from the group, the older brunette walked ahead with the other teens following suit.
Following along at the back of the group, Bayley kept her hold on Sami's hand as she looked around the hallway the group was walking down. There wasn't anything all that scary on the walls that were covered in a smooth coat of white paint with a black trim along the ceiling and floor and the odd framed picture of Mr. Bearer with other people on the walls. 'Those people must be Mr. Bearer's family members,' Bayley thought. '...But, I haven't seen anyone else here since we got here. Does this mean that ...he lives out here all alone? How sad.'
Looking over to see Bayley in thought, Sami almost ventured to ask the brunette what was up when the group stopping along with many surprised remarks caught the duo by surprise. It wasn't until Sami and Bayley looked ahead that they saw just why everyone-and soon they themselves-seemed so surprised: The group was now standing in the entrance to Mr. Bearer's rather lavish dining room with walls painted a soft red with black trim along the floor and ceiling that was lit by two crystal chandeliers and was filled with a long table that was covered with a spread of assorted cookies, pastries, cakes, and beverages ranging from water to tea.
"Whoa. Check out the spread," Becky said in awe.
"I'll say," Finn added, his eyes trailing over to a display of cupcakes.
"Y-You didn't have to go to all this trouble, Mr. Bearer, sir," AJ said to the older man.
"Nonsense! It's the least I could do for the intrepid travelers that have come to my home," Mr. Bearer smiled. "Now, what are you all waiting for? Help yourselves to the treats I have prepared."
Looking among the group to see mostly wary expressions, Punk took a breath in and walked to take a seat in one of the chairs nearest to the dining room entrances. Having taken his seat, the brunette reached out and took a double chocolate chocolate chip cookie from the tray that was in front of him. First taking a few sniffs of the cookie, Punk then slowly brought the cookie to his mouth to take a bite.
On The Walk To The Bearer House
"Of all the places Bayley's friends would want to go to, why did it have to be to the Bearer house?" Seth wondered out loud as the Gem quartet made their way through the woods to where Roman felt Bayley and her friends were. "They could've just gone to a haunted house like normal kids do!"
"Oh, come on, Seth. Old Mr. B's house isn't that bad," Dean said. "It's actually kept pretty clean for a house that hasn't been stayed in all that often lately."
"That may be true, but what if any of those kids came across any of Mr. Bearer's old tools or anything else he had in there? What then, Dean? Huh?!" Seth countered.
While Dean thought of a response to Seth's somewhat hysterical line of reasoning, Sasha's curiosity got piqued upon hearing the two-toned Gem's remarks. "Roman, I'm confused. What did Seth mean when he talked about this Mr. Bearer having old tools or anything else in his home?"
"Well, Mr. Paul Bearer was the resident mortician here, meaning that he would help prepare the bodies of dead humans for their final rest and burial," Roman explained. "As far as we've known, his sons were going to keep an eye on his house so that no one will run afoul of any old tools or anything else he may have left inside."
"Oh, I see," Sasha nodded in understanding before realizing that she had let Bayley go into such a place. "And I let Bayley go into such a place!"
Seeing the slight worry start to cross Sasha's face, Roman rested his right hand on the magenta-haired Gem's head. With Sasha looking up to meet his gaze, Roman said "Sasha, relax. Yes, it is ...technically because of you that Bayley's here. But, you shouldn't let that get to you too much."
"Wha-? I'm confused here though, Roman. Haven't you been paying attention to the fact that it's because of me that Bayley's even out here?" Sasha asked. "How can you even say that I shouldn't let it get to me?"
"Well. What I'm trying to say is that ...I always had a feeling that the day would come when Bayley would want to do something different for Halloween, and it seems that day has come sooner than I thought it would. So, don't beat yourself up too much about this," Roman assured the magenta-haired Gem.
Taking what Roman said into consideration, Sasha tried her best not to let the situation with Bayley get to her. ...But, the closer they got to the Bearer house, the more Sasha couldn't help but let a number of worst case scenarios go through her thoughts...
...So, it certainly didn't help things when the Gems got close to the front door and they heard a voice coming from inside the house loudly moaning "No, stop. Please! No more!"
Without a second thought, Sasha summoned her whip and, kicking open the front door, ran inside to try to find the source of the yelling. It wasn't until she had heard a similar moan that she headed straight down the hallway that was in directly in front of her. Sasha's frantic run had taken her to a room near the back of the rather large house where she could see Bayley and all of her friends leaning back in chairs, some rubbing their stomachs and some moaning, faces covered in all manner of frostings and crumbs. Running over to where she saw Bayley was sitting, Sasha asked "Bayley? Are you okay? You haven't been harmed, have you?"
Hearing the frantic conversation beside her, Bayley looked over to see Sasha standing near her. Smiling a bit weakly, Bayley said "Hey, Sasha. When did you get here?"
"I just got here with Seth, Dean, and Roman. But, back to the point at hand. Are you okay?" Sasha asked, looking over the brunette for anything in the way of wounds.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm okay. I might've eaten a bit too much, though," Bayley laughed a bit. "Mr. Bearer's pretty good at baking."
"B-But... But, I heard moaning from outside," Sasha said, feeling fairly confused.
"Moaning?" Bayley asked in confusion before realizing "Oh! That might've been Matt and Nick you heard. Nick's pretty full, but Matt keeps trying to make him eat more" and pointing at the source of the noise.
Following the direction in which Bayley was pointing, Sasha looked across the table to see a boy with long sandy blonde hair pushing away a cupcake that a boy with long dark brown hair kept trying to make him eat.
"Come on, Nick. Just...one...more," the brunette got out.
"No, Matt. Stop! I said, no more!" the other boy, Nick, grunted as he pushed Matt's hand away.
Her guard lowering a bit, Sasha took a better look around the table and saw that the others with Bayley all had plates that were covered with mostly eaten cookies and pastries and cakes. "Goodness. It ...certainly looks like you all have more than had your fill."
"Mmhmm," Bayley nodded. "Like I said, Mr. Bearer's pretty good at baking."
Before Sasha could ask about this "Mr. Bearer" that Bayley kept mentioning, a high-pitched voice coming from behind her caught her by surprise.
"Oh, my. Another visitor. Welcome!"
Spinning around, whip at the ready, Sasha found herself facing a rather pale older man. "Who goes there?"
Seeing Sasha in the state she was in, Bayley said "Sasha, relax. That's just Mr. Bearer. The kind man that owns this place."
Hearing Bayley say this, Sasha lowered her whip a bit before saying "Good evening, Mr. Bearer. My name is Sasha, and I'm a friend of Bayley's."
"Welcome, Sasha! Might I interest you in something from what's left of my assortment of refreshments?" Mr. Bearer gestured to the table.
"N-No, thank you, but I appreciate the offer," Sasha smiled a bit uneasily. "Come on now, Bayley. I think it's time that you and your friends should leave."
As he looked to the younger brunette, who seemed set to object, Mr. Bearer let out a chuckle. "Perhaps your spirited friend here is right. It has gotten rather late, and I wouldn't to keep you all from your families."
Upon hearing Mr. Bearer mention being kept from their families and just now realizing that Sasha was there, Bayley quickly put it together that Roman and the others must have found out about Sasha creating a double of her so that she could sneak out. "Oh, no. Rom-Dad and my uncles are probably worried so much about me right now."
"Not anymore, we aren't," a voice said from the dining room entrance.
Looking in the direction of the voice, Bayley saw Roman, Dean, and Seth standing together. "R-Dad. Uncle Seth, Uncle Dean."
"Oh, Bayley, thank goodness," Seth said in relief. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Not really, Uncle Seth. I mean, I'm feeling pretty full, but other than that, I'm fine," Bayley said.
"That's a relief to hear," Dean said. "Now, come on, everyone. It's time we get you all back home before it gets even later than it already is."
Hearing this come from the older sandy blonde, the teens all voiced messages similar to "OK" to heading back to their homes. Rising from their seats, the teens one-by-one said Goodbye to Mr. Bearer with Bayley and Sami being the last two.
"Th-Thank you for allowing us to come into your home tonight, M-Mr. Bearer, sir," Bayley said, looking up at the older man.
"No worries, child. It isn't too often that I get visitors, so tonight was quite the pleasant treat," Mr. Bearer smiled. "If only more visitors would stop in when I'm in town."
"What Mr. Bearer means is that, since he lives out of town, he comes back to visit and check on his home every October just to make sure all is still well here," Seth explained.
"Your friend is right," Mr. Bearer nodded. "Although, I do ask my sons to step in and keep a check on my home, I still like to come back and see how things are doing here for myself."
"That's nice," Bayley smiled. "I hope maybe some day soon, we'll have to chance to meet your sons."
Sharing a smile with Roman and Seth, Dean said "Come on, Bayley. I think we really should be leaving now. I'm sure Sami's parents are probably quite worried about him."
"Oh, right, right!" Bayley chirped. "It was nice seeing you tonight, Mr. Bearer. I hope we get to see you again next year."
"I quite look forward to it, child," Mr. Bearer smiled.
Smiling herself as she gave Mr. Bearer a quick hug, Bayley and Sami finally left with Roman, Dean, Seth, and Sasha only for Bayley to turn and wave goodbye to Mr. Bearer with the older man returning her wave with one of his own. Keeping hold of Sami's hand, Bayley and the other Gems left out of the warmth of Mr. Bearer's home and into the cold chill of the Halloween night.
Walking along the path they had followed to reach Mr. Bearer's home, the last group of six made their way into town with Roman being the one to break the silence among the group.
"So, Bayley. Did you enjoy your time out tonight?" Roman asked.
Already being aware of the fact that her double had been found out due to the other Gems having found her, Bayley immediately began to apologize. "I'm so sorry, guys! I would've told you all that I was going out tonight, but I just didn't know how to even bring it up! I'm really sorry about all of this."
Looking between himself and the other Gems in confusion, Seth said "Bayley. We get it that you may be feeling a bit guilty about sneaking out, but ...you don't have to apologize for it."
"But... But, I snuck out on you guys. Not to mention, I skipped out on our Halloween celebration this year," Bayley hung her head.
Walking over to where Bayley was standing, Roman rested a hand on Bayley's head, causing the ponytailed brunette to look up at him. "Bayley. Like Seth said, you don't have to apologize for it."
Looking up at Roman, Bayley couldn't keep the confusion off of her face as she asked "Wha... What do you mean, Ro?"
"Well, we've always had a feeling that the day would come when you'd want to go out and do things with your friends. So, the fact that you went out with your friends tonight is no big deal," Roman explained.
"We just want to feel at ease when you do go out that you're safe and out of harm's way. Even though we know that you can defend yourself," Dean added.
"You guys," Bayley said before giving Roman a tight hug and burying her face in his jacket, as she had started to cry a bit.
Saying nothing, Roman smiled as he patted Bayley on the head.
Smiling himself as he watched this, Seth then said "Of course, this doesn't change the fact that since you didn't tell us where you were going and that you had Sasha help you sneak out, you both are grounded, young lady."
Pulling away from Roman, Bayley moaned "Aww, man. Really, Seth?"
Confused by this word "grounded", Sasha asked "I'm confused. What is this "grounded" you speak of, Seth? Does that mean you're going to bury me and Bayley in the ground?"
"No, Sasha. It's nothing like that," Bayley shook her head. "...It's a lot worse."
"Worse? How could this "grounded" be worse than what I mentioned?" Sasha asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"You'll see, runt. You'll see," Dean grinned a bit mischievously.
Well, it looks like things ended ...fairly well. Sure there was a moment of worry when Sasha first found Bayley and her friends in the Bearer house, but that was gone as soon as she found out that it was due to the teens all having full bellies from eating a lot of the sweets Mr. Bearer gave them. As for the teens, I'm sure this Halloween will be a night to remember. And, after all of this, turns out the Gems took Bayley being out with her friends pretty well...until Seth brought down the hammer and said that Bayley and Sasha were grounded for their little stunt. Poor Gems. XD Next chapter will be the end of the arc, as we get to see how Bayley and Sasha serve their grounding sentence and other stuff to wrap the arc up. Until next time, don't forget to R&R please. =)
