And, after the events of last chapter, we (finally) come to the end of the 'Haunted' arc of the story. Just what is fallout from Bayley and her friends going to the Bearer house and Sasha helping Bayley sneak out? Read on to find out, lovelies. =)

Monday came around and with it came the end of Halloween celebrations in Emerald Pines and a new week of school for students in town.

...And what also came with it was the beginning of a certain group of teenagers' own separate punishments.

"I still can't believe my parents grounded me for two weeks. I'm going to miss two week's worth of 'American Horror Story'," Paige moaned that Monday at lunch.

"You do know that's only going to be two episodes, right?" Finn pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's beside the point!" Paige countered. "The point is it's totally unfair that my parents grounded me."

"Well, to be fair, we did go to the Bearer house even though so many adults here have said not to a lot," Becky said. "At any rate, you're not the only one that couldn't duck the grounding hammer. I have to go two whole weeks without 'Supernatural'. Gonna be a real pain having to go without seeing where Sam and Dean's quest to defeat the Leviathans takes them next."

"Becky. Again. Only two episodes," Finn repeated.

"Yeah, you're right," Becky shrugged in agreement. "So, Bayley, Sami. How'd your parents take you two being found in the Bearer house?"

"My parents weren't all that thrilled when they found out," Sami said. "I got lectured first. Then they told me I'm grounded for a week."

"Lucky bloke with the light punishmnet," Paige mumbled. "How about you, Bayley? How'd your dad and uncles take finding you in the Bearer house?"

"Not too well. They weren't all that happy when they found out. And I got grounded a week, in the end," Bayley said.

"What about the lass that was with them?" Becky asked. "Who was she?"

"That was my ...cousin Sasha," Bayley said. "I told her about our plans, she helped me sneak out, and I guess she ended up having to tell the truth when my dad asked her where I really was. And she got grounded, too."

"Aww, that's a bummer. At least we all get to bear through being grounded together," Becky said with a light laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that," Bayley agreed with a laugh of her own.

The rest of the day went as normally for the students of Emerald Pines Middle School as normal is. After lunch and their classes that followed, the students were released at the end of the day to return to their homes and handle the homework they were given by their teachers.

"Can't even enjoy an afternoon of no homework because I'm grounded. Total bummer," Paige moaned as she, Bayley, Becky, Finn, and Sami walked home from school.

"Well, at least our parents didn't say anything about us hanging out with each other after school. Like I said during lunch, at least we can bear through our grounding together," Becky said.

"Yeah. I guess that is one thing that'll make being grounded bearable," Paige agreed.

"It does, now that you mention i-" Bayley had begun adding in before bumping to something-or rather, someone-in front of her and taking a fall to the concrete. "Ouch!"

"Whoa! You okay there, Bayley?" Becky asked as Sami helped the ponytailed brunette up from the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just walked into something. Or rather, someone really tall," Bayley said, rubbing her chest and her stomach to make sure her Gem didn't get cracked-which it didn't.

Looking up to see just who Bayley had bumped into, Paige smiled and said "Hey there, Mr. Calloway. Fancy seeing you back here."

"Hey there, Paige. Yeah. Glen and I are just back in town to get our dad and check on our old home," the tall man, Mr. Calloway, said. "Since that's all done, we're actually heading back out of town now."

"Aww. I wish we could've seen you both sooner. There's always next year, I guess," Becky said with a shrug.

Mr. Calloway let out a chuckle at what the redhead said before taking inventory of the group and noticing the two new teens in the group. "So, who are the new ones in your group?"

"Oh! Sorry. Didn't mean to hold off on the introductions," Paige laughed a bit. "Mr. Calloway, this is Bayley Martinez and Sami Zayn. Bayley, Sami, this is Mr. Mark Calloway, one of Mr. Bearer's sons."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Calloway, sir," Bayley and Sami said.

"Nice to meet you both, as well," Mr. Calloway said. Wanting to get to something he was told earlier in the day, Mr. Calloway said "So. My dad says that you all and some of your other friends paid him a visit Halloween night."

Hearing the taller man mention this caused a sudden silence to sweep over the group. Being the first to break the silence, Paige nervously said "He did, did he?"

"Yes, he did," Mr. Calloway nodded.

"We're so sorry, Mr. Calloway, sir!" Bayley blurted. "We didn't mean to go to your dad's house unannounced this Halloween."

"Bayley's right," Becky added. "We were out with some of our older friends when they suggested that we go look around in your home. We didn't know that your dad was back in town."

"Yeah, we're sorry for entering where we shouldn't have, Mr. Calloway," Paige added in.

Hearing Finn and Sami voice apologies of their own, Mr. Calloway let out a chuckle at the shows of forgiveness from the group of five. Seeing the confused looks among the teens, Mr. Calloway decided to explain himself. "From what my dad says, yes, it was quite the surprise that you all dropped in on my dad on Halloween night, from what he's told us, but it's nothing to apologize for. In fact, he said he quite enjoyed your visit."

"He did?" Paige asked. Seeing the older man nod, Paige asked "But, ...why? We all just randomly waltzed into his home, thinking no one was there."

A chuckle rumbling in his chest, Mr. Calloway said "I believe that's actually why he enjoyed your visit. You see, every year when he comes back to town, my dad never seems to get anything in the way of visitors. So, the fact that you all popped into his home, even if it was for a bit of exploration, was something that he enjoyed quite a bit."

"He did?" Becky asked. Seeing the taller man nod, Becky said "Wow. I never would've guessed that us wanting to explore the Bearer house would be something Mr. Bearer would actually enjoy."

"I most certainly did," Mr. Bearer could be heard saying as he and another taller man, this man bald, came to join Mr. Calloway and the group of teens. "It isn't too often that I get visitors when I'm back in town, so I did quite enjoy you all coming to my home."

"We're sorry that our visit was so unexpected in the first place," Paige said. "Maybe next year, ...it'd be okay if we came back to visit you again next year. That is, if it's okay with you, sir."

"Why, that sounds like a marvelous idea! I would surely enjoy another visit from you and your friends next Halloween," Mr. Bearer replied with a smile.

"Really? That's great!" Paige said, smiling herself, with the others voicing similar remarks.

"Wonderful. Simply wonderful!" Mr Bearer smiled. Hearing the taller bald man clear his throat, Mr. Bearer said "And, I believe that is a sign that Mr. Jacobs is ready to leave. Farewell, children. I will see you all next year."

"We'll see you then, Mr. Bearer," Paige said.

"Can't wait to see you again next year," Becky said.

"We'll be sure to let you know when we want to come visit this time," Bayley said with a light laugh.

"And I will be looking forward to that," Mr. Bearer said. With one last goodbye, Mr. Bearer turned and, heading to and entering a black car with Mr. Calloway and Mr. Jacobs, left out of Emerald PInes, the five teens waving after their car.

"Wow. Who would've guessed that our sudden visit would've been such a nice one for Mr. Bearer?" Bayley asked.

"I wouldn't have guessed that," Becky said. "Although, Mr. Bearer is quite the secretive person, so I think it's largely a surprise just to even hear that."

"Looks like my idea to join Punk and the others was a good one, after all," Paige grinned.

"OK, Paige, I guess I can now agree that your idea wasn't too bad," Becky agreed with a laugh.

With the others sharing a laugh at this, the group of five talked a bit more before going their separate ways and heading home so that they could do their homework and find a way to spend their afternoons without breaking their own separate groundings.

Making her way up the hill to her home and heading inside, Bayley saw Dean watching TV with Sasha sitting at the kitchen island reading another one of her books, this book the first in a series about a teenage girl falling in love with a vampire. "Hey, guys. I'm home."

"Hey there, Bayley. How was school today? Anything happen today?" Dean asked.

"It was okay. Just your average Monday after a weekend," Bayley took off her backpack and set it at the bottom of the staircase leading up to her "bedroom". "Although, me and the others did run into Mr. Bearer and his sons on my way home."

"That's good. Day after Halloween weekend is usually when he and his sons leave town again, so it's neat that you caught him before he left," Dean said. "As you can see, Sasha found your 'Twilight' books."

"I have, indeed. And, ...I'm a bit confused about why Bayley would own something like this. I haven't really come across anything so far that makes Bella all that likable, and Edward's just as worse," Sasha piped up.

"Yeah, I ...I got these because my friends Emma and AJ talked about them a lot. The series is pretty okay, just ...not exactly something that's for everyone," Bayley said as she took a seat near Sasha.

"So I've noticed so far," Sasha nodded in agreement. "Now, if you wouldn't be so afraid of it, I'd recommend something like Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'. It's considered one of the greatest pieces of vampire media written."

"Huh. Well, it certainly sounds like it's pretty good if you say so. Maybe next time I go to the bookstore, I can find a copy for you to read," Bayley said with a smile.

"You would really do that for me?" Sasha asked in surprise. Seeing Bayley nod, Sasha smiled and said "Wow. Thanks for doing that for me, Bayley."

"It's no problem," Bayley shrugged. "So, what else have you been thinking about 'Twilight' so far?"

"Well, outside of what I've said about Bella and Edward, I will say that the human characters are all fairly interesting," Sasha began. "For starters, ..."

And the rest of Bayley and Sasha's joint grounding was filled with days like this. In between Sasha's book reading and the afternoon discussions she and Bayley had about what the magenta-haired Gem read earlier in the day, it helped make being grounded a lot more bearable. And that helped add up to some of the most fun the two Gems had in some time.

So, it looks like the grounding hammer came down quite hard on our favorite group of high schoolers. But, at least they can still see each other at school, so that's a positive (I suppose). One walk home from school, and Bayley & Company meet up with Mr. Bearer and his sons before they leave town with the best thing being the fact that the teens have already made plans to pay Mr. Bearer an official visit next Halloween. On the side of Bayley and Sasha being grounded, at least it doesn't mean they'll be bored as they seem to having their own little book club of sorts, with their first book discussed being 'Twilight' (Guilty confession: I actually liked the 'Twilight' series when I was in high school ^^,). At least the two Gems have something to help them pass the time through their grounding, so that's pretty good. =)

And with this ends the 'Haunted' arc of 'Bayley's Universe'. I hope you all enjoyed this delightfully spooky (in places) arc. =) Hopefully, I'll have the start of the next arc up soon, so be on the lookout for that (just saying this now, I'm juggling like three different ideas for the next arc, so it'll be interesting seeing which one I go with ^^,). Until next time, don't forget to R&R please. =)