It's time, it's time! Halloween for Bella and Jasper! So, as usual, everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just like to play with the characters. Beta-ing done by the wonderful EdwardsMate4Ever.

WARNING - This story features the Cullens acting like traditional vampires.

Dark and Stormy Night – Chapter 1

It was a dark and stormy night. Perfect for Halloween. Not so perfect for a last minute drive back from Port Angeles along the 101. How could she have not realized she didn't have Charlie's favorite candy bar? And why did it matter so much that she would drive to the nearest big city because the tiny town of Forks' candy supply had been depleted of Mars bars in the fun size?

Bella craned forward in her seat, pulling against the seatbelt, as if getting closer to the windshield would allow her to see better. The windshield wipers were no match for the relentless sheets of rain. Usually the drizzle just came and went. If you drove for a few minutes, you passed through it. But this cloud seemed to hang over the entire region.

There was a small amount of mist on the glass, so she used her wrist to clear the condensation off. She slowed to 10 mph, not that she had been doing much above that anyway.

To top it off, she had left her cell phone at Angela's after school. Wrong night for that.

Not too much further…she had seen the mile markers for Forks and knew she would be nearing the bridge soon. She hadn't reached the turnoff for the 110 yet. That should be soon.

Bam. She felt an impact then listened and felt the "flub flub flub" of driving on a deflating tire. The car shuddered to a stop, and her heart lurched in time with the car.

What now?

On the bright side, she probably wasn't so far she couldn't walk the rest of the way.

But still.

It was Halloween. She was supposed to be home. Forks kids wouldn't be deterred by the rain. They would show up. She needed to be there, with the porch light on, jack-o-lantern lit, candy at the ready.

She opened the door and stepped out into the rain.

For just a moment, she thought she saw eyes blinking on the edge of the road. Then they were gone. Must have been a deer or elk. An entire herd of elk camped out on the edge of town across from the Chamber of Commerce during hunting season. There were often over thirty of them. How they figured out they would safe there, no one knew.

Maybe one had strayed.

She knelt to look at the tire. It was very flat. She wondered what could have done that. She looked ahead. How far to the edge of the city? Nothing but trees along here. Trees and bends in the road. However dark the rain made it, the wind through the trees added additional levels of creepy to the roadside scene.

She shivered. Maybe she should just get back into the car and wait with the emergency lights flashing.

Hold on. The emergency lights didn't work. She was going to get them fixed soon. That had been on the top of her To-Do list.

Not smart. Combined with her missing cell phone and trip to get Charlie's Mars bars, that made three not-smarts in a single day.

She stood up and realized she was completely soaked. She saw something gliding toward her through the rain. It was a car with those headlights that looked like slanted eyes. She shivered. The car-beast slid to a stop on the opposite side of the road.

It sat for a moment, and no one inside moved.

Why don't they open a window? Oh wait, they want me to walk up to the car so they don't get splashed.

She slopped across the highway and approached the driver's side of the car. Even in the dark and rain, she could see it was an expensive model.

The window rolled down and a gorgeous face looked out.

"Hi," she breathed before taking in the face. Copper red hair, and half-bored, half-something else look on the face. "Flat tire," she said, gesturing with her thumb to the other side of the road.

Handsome flicked his eyes back inside the car and as she peeked inside, she saw another passenger. He filled his half of the front seat with his bulk. He was good-looking too, but staring a little too intently at her.

On the other hand, he looked big enough to lift her car to replace the tire without a jack.

"Can you give me a lift to Forks?" she asked, shivering.

"Bridge trouble ahead," the driver said. "We just came from there. We're going around. We can take you with us."

Was there another way around?

She hesitated, but he reached back and opened the back door for her, and she decided to accept the ride. She realized that stretch should have been hard for him to do, but he had managed. Double or triple jointed perhaps.

She got in the backseat. "If you would just turn around and head toward the bridge, I can walk across. They know me there…"

Instead of turning back toward the bridge, the driver stepped on the gas and zoomed forward as soon as she finished closing the door. Bella's heart raced. Jerks. Won't take driving directions from a woman. "Like I said. They know me there," Bella repeated, a little more firmly. "I'm the sheriff's daughter."

The two men exchanged glances. "We'll take good care of you," the larger one said.

With a screech, he pulled off of the paved road into the woods. The sudden turn onto a dirt road made even the expensive car's ride bumpy and sent Bella's heart into her throat. They were going to drive this expensive car into the woods? She was getting scared.

"Um, where are we going?" she finally asked.

She could see the driver smirk in the rear view mirror. He cut his eyes back to her, but then looked ahead. The big guy turned in his seat and "Do you like scary stories? Because you're in one."

Though her stomach clenched with fear at his words, Bella felt for the pepper spray Charlie always insisted she keep in her purse. She would wait until the car slowed then jump out.

Xx

(And how does everyone think jumping out of the car would go? Yeah, no.)

Thank you for reading my Halloween story. Hope you're ready for a bumpy ride, because this is a scary one.

Please leave a review. I will send a preview of the next chapter to all reviewers.

Enjoy your October!