Disclaimer: Bella, Twilight – and (sadly) Edward belong to Stephenie Meyers. I only own an over-active imagination and a slightly used passport. I also tend to only write about subjects with which I'm familiar – hence, Edward and Bella are flying out from the southern United States. (I'll write about Forks after I've seen it..one of these days..)

Summary: Bella and Edward meet, and gradually find out that you tend to find the answers to questions that you never dared to ask aloud when you're the least prepared for it.

Chapter: 1

"Bare Feet, Grape Jelly and New Friends"

{Song: Biscuits & Gravy – David Stephens}

It would be a lie, for anyone to think that Bella wasn't scared, the day of her departure from all that was familiar to her. She wasn't petrified, just nervous and anxious..and terrified. What if she hadn't made the right choice? What if she was really meant to do nothing more with her life than just live out the same existence in the small town that she'd grown up in? What was really waiting for her, at the end of the flight that would deliver her to the other side of the world in a matter of mere hours?

She was sure that everyone around her could sense her last minute indecision, She never could hide anything from the world, thanks to what her mother had lovingly labeled her "open-book-facial expressions". There were many people around her that she was quite sure were on their return trip home. They seemed happy enough, that was a good thing, right?

She quickly checked for the documents that she would be needing: Tickets, check. Passport, check. Address of the place she'd need to find a ride to once she arrived, check. The book she fondly called her 'Sword', check. Pocket money that would buy her snacks and any other small entertainments she may need, check. Everything seemed to be well and good. She'd used up five whole minutes.

She smiled, chuckled at her silliness, and rose to her feet to go in search of the one thing that would calm her fears and anxiety.

Just as she caught her reflection on the metal wall trim of a small fast food airport diner, she giggled. She had unknowingly, and quite openly for the world to see - followed her nose to this particular eatery. She had probably looked like a dog, sniffing up to a grilling steak on July 4th that she couldn't quite reach.

So much for looking "all grown up" to the world around her. It truly is hard to be vain, when you're stuck with all of the many quirks she had. She shook her head, and took her place in line, trying to make her selection before she had her turn to place an order.

Suddenly, Bella was remembering a time when she was a small child. She was with her Grandmother, and Her Grandmother was having the hardest time ascertaining just what kind of breakfast biscuit Bella wanted that morning. Her kind Grandmother tried reading all of the choices off the menu to her to be helpful, but by then, Bella could already read; She simply couldn't make a decision.

Did she want an egg biscuit? Sausage? Bacon? Did she want cheese? The young Bella just scrunched her face up, and wanted to cry. She wanted one of each, if she was being truthful. Knowing that asking for such a thing would be quite selfish, she ordered the next best thing. A plain biscuit with butter. The younger Bella secretly hoped that they would give her honey and jams to go with it. With butter, one doesn't really need to choose a breakfast meat. You could just enjoy the biscuit in all its glory... "Ma'am? Do you need more time?" Bella was mortified. She still hadn't chosen.

Just then, Bella caught another glimpse of her own reflection. She was no longer a child, and her Grandmother had long since departed this world in favor of the bright one Bella was certain she had entered into. Bella was a grown up with her own money to pay for her meal. She could now have one of each biscuit.

She smiled sweetly at the very tired looking girl. "No, I'm ready now. I'll have one egg and cheese biscuit, one sausage biscuit, one bacon biscuit, and one plain biscuit..with butter and jellies on the side, please." The waitress stared back at her, and then gave Bella a once-over. Apparently, she thought Bella was a bit piggie. Ah, well. The waitress blinked, and asked if Bella wanted juice. She said yes, and ordered some cranberry juice..and then added some hashbrowns. The waitress just shook her head, and smiled to herself as she handed Bella the ticket with her order number on it. As if Bella would need it, she thought to herself. Who else would order so much food for themself?

"One of each biscuit with hashbrowns!" The young worker called out, a bit sarcastically. Bella rose to her feet, surprised that her order was so quickly filled - it appeared that her order had jumped in line somehow. She ran up to the counter, and reached just as she saw another hand reach for the exact same order. It was a lovely hand, very masculine. Somebody who clearly chewed on their nails. Beauty is found in the flaws, had always been Bella's opinion. Of course, that was before she caught a glimpse of his reflection in that same slightly greasy metal trim on the wall behind the counter.

Ah. If this man had any flaws other than his nervous habit, it was clearly all personality. He stopped and stared at Bella's hand that was obviously reaching for his order. Ouch. Great, now he could join the girl at the register in thinking how piggie she was. Bella blushed furiously, and apologized as she darted away, to hide until the twin to his order was called out.

Bella silently chided herself. Great. She was acting more and more mature by the minute, she sarcastically told herself. The stranger took his order, and walked away without a backwards glance.

Bella should know, she caught herself watching him walk away. She was mortified, and suddenly wondering how she was going to eat the the contents of her own bag o' gluttony she had ordered.

She was so embarrassed at what the world had witnessed. It was likely that nobody really cared, but it felt as though the entire world was laughing at her. Her order was finally called out, and she ran up to grab it. She thanked the girl, and walked off to find a place to sit and munch as she had another inward conversation.

Apparently, everyone else had decided that now was the time to have a snack or meal - there were no free tables in the self-serve dining area. Bella dragged her carry-on next to a large planter, and had just taken off her shoes to sit down on the floor like a child in kindergarten when she heard an unfamiliar, yet comforting voice. She raised her head to find that she had chosen the one planter out of at least twenty that had the other biscuit lover sitting on the opposite side.

She silently started cursing the Scottish immigrants who had introduced biscuits to people in the southern states long before she was born. Then, she heard it again, and realized that she had heard his voice, and she'd already tucked it away in her memory without even having understood a word he'd said.

What was it with her today? Honestly, she was not normally quite this scatterbrained. Close, but not quite. Bella blinked, as if to make sure that he was really addressing her, and then apologized for the second time in less than an hour. "I'm sorry, sir, what did you say?"

He smiled, and gestured toward the chair across from him. Oh. He was offering her a seat. Bella Swan, the biscuit bandit. She blushed a few shades darker, and stared down at her bag that contained enough to feed a small family of three. The food was likely rapidly getting colder, as she sat there trying to make up her mind.

She raised her head, nodded and smiled as she rose to her feet, and relocated to the seat that he'd motioned for her to choose. It was opposite of his, obviously with no large planter between them. Her heart soared, while her lungs fought to take in air, and then to let it back out again. She decided that maybe we're all still high school geeks with a crush on the homecoming prince that we never quite grow out of.

Bella sat down, just as the butterflies took flight inside her stomach. How was she going to eat a single thing now? That is, until she noticed that her new-found dinner companion was just now opening his bag of food. Odd. She had to wait at least ten minutes after he'd gotten his order.

His smile widened, and all of her thought processes seemed to go on strike, arguing with someone else's mind for the time being about their need for higher wages. He reached his left hand up and ran his fingers through his hair while the other hand twirled the twist cap from his juice around in circles on the table. She nervously opened her bag 'o gluttony, and peered down into it. Which should she try first?, she halfheartedly mused. He mirrored her movements, and she realized that they were both observing eachother's movements in exactly the same fashion.

He laughed a nervous laugh, and politely asked which of the assortment she was going to try first. Bella sighed, and knew that her face was mirroring the same expressions that she'd had all of those years ago with her grandmother. Bella decided that she couldn't choose objectively without having a peek at all of the choices, so she began unwrapping them, one by one. He smiled a receptive smile, and mirrored her actions. Once they were all unwrapped, Bella chose the same choice of her childhood. Butter with..grape jelly. He looked in his own paper sack for a second, and then frowned.

"Uh, they gave me two strawberry jellies instead of one of each..I'm not sure why, I hate strawberry and told the girl that.." Bella giggled, and gently pushed the other half of her jelly serving to his side of the table.

She never really had understood why the companies put enough for two servings in a single serving of jelly, until that very moment. It had always been one of those annoying things about life - like why they put less and less girl scout cookies in a box, or why the light always turns red just as you pull up to an intersection. Bella raised her head, having prayed over her food, to catch him still mirroring her actions..only his head had been bowed slightly longer than hers; though it appeared as if he was only doing it out of respect for her.

He cleared his throat, and took a sip of his juice. Bella did the same. It was beginning to feel like a clown act of shadow boxing. Bella quietly sighed again, this was turning out to be one of the most bizarre days of her existence. His voice brought her out of her silent musings again.

"I'm really sorry that I'm not saying anything, I'm trying so hard to not say the wrong thing. I'm really trying hard to not say something that would have you darting off to hide..You seemed a little skittish back there, and.. I'm sorry if I was rude earlier when the order was called out.." He really was being so kind to her, and she couldn't understand why he had chosen her for a dinner companion. Beyond that, how did he know that she had a tendency to hide from people? It was a childish habit that she'd tried for years to break.

Say something!!!! Bella could hear the voice in her head arguing with the voice in her heart. Her head told her just how crazy it would be to strike up a relationship of any kind with someone in an airport, while waiting for a flight to go to the other side of the world. Her heart was whispering how one can never have too many friends. He was only being kind to her, and such kindness deserved at least a polite conversation.

Bella took a bite of her grape jelly and butter biscuit as a way of stalling while she tried to think of the right thing to say. Having chewed an inordinate long time, she had to swallow the mouthful, and still had no opening lines. So, she opened her mouth, and waited to be surprised with whatever came out. This was an action that she didn't often enjoy, but it was quite necessary sometimes to just turn off the filter between her brain and mouth if she intended to have any conversation at all.

"I wasn't hiding from you. I was hiding from the world, ashamed of the fact that I was about to eat enough breakfast food to feed a family of four." He jumped slightly as she'd begun to speak, almost as if he hadn't really expected her to say anything, and then he laughed at her honesty.

"Well, I have to admit, I am wondering where you plan to put all of that.." Bella childishly frowned, and gestured toward his own display of gluttony. "Yea, well - I don't see how you have any room to cast any stones there, buddy." He shook his head, and took another sip of his orange juice. She felt as though her staring at his throat was inappropriate, but she couldn't help herself. Leave it to her to find Mr. Perfection while she was waiting in an airport for a flight that would take her so far away.

"Mr. Perfection, huh?" She wanted to die. This was a prime example of why she didn't normally turn off that brain-to mouth filter. Suddenly, private thoughts were not her own anymore. She gazed at her bare feet, and wondered why she never really have liked wearing shoes. She liked shoes well enough, she just didn't like to wear them on her feet.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better.." He smiled, and began to unlace his boots. Ok, scratch wanting to die. Bella was now beyond that. Now, she just wanted to run away. Why hadn't she just stayed behind the nice and safe oversized planter?

"You know, uh.. maybe I should introduce myself. My name is Edward. I'm named after a dead guy who managed to endear himself to everyone around him, though nobody really knows how he did it. My Mom thought the notion of people not having a choice whether they liked you or not was romantic. At least his name wasn't Horatio or something.." He smiled widely and stretched his hand out, as if offering his hand to shake. Now, any proper gentleman should know that the lady is supposed to offer her hand first, but Bella decided that she didn't mind. Well, she didn't mind, until she realized that she'd gotten grape jelly on his hand, and she blushed a darker shade than normal. Just how old was she, again? Bella nodded, and said how nice it was to make Edward's acquaintance, and introduced herself.

"My name is Isabella. I was named after a woman (Oh yes, of course she was a woman..) Isabella Bird. She was a famous traveler and author. My Dad always dreamed of traveling to foreign places and having adventures.. I hate my first name, and only answer to 'Bella'. You know what? my Dad's middle name is Edward."

Bella wanted to kick herself (and would have, if she'd been standing up) for her verbal diarrhea. Edward had a sheepish look on his face. She guessed at what had caused that expression to grace his features, and so she quickly added: "Don't worry, you're nothing like my Dad." He smiled then, and looked at where their hands met. That must have been when Edward first realized that his hand was now sticky with grape jelly.

They both seemed to feel self conscious about holding hands, as they were no longer shaking hands; so they both let go simultaneously, and reached for their egg and cheese biscuits next. It was as if they didn't even have to watch the other to mirror their actions..they simply acted as though they were the same person. Well, sort of. He hadn't shown himself to be as weird as she tended to consider herself.

He chuckled, and a twinkle glinted in his eyes as he lowered his head and brought his grape jelly smeared hand to his mouth, even with the biscuit still in his grasp. Bella smiled, and decided that he had evened the score. He didn't even know her, yet he trusted her enough to do that. Or maybe he was just weird, though she something told her that wasn't the case. Oh, the things that can happen while you're in an airport, waiting for take off.

The Edward that is mentioned: Edward King - British Poet (1612 – 1637)

{A/N: So, my song choice – if you decided to give it a listen – was an odd selection, I agree...but, honestly – I had to put in a plug for an amazing musician, and they DID fly out of the deep south...It's highly unlikely that any other songs will have the same sound, though. I'm not really attached to any one genre...

Also, about updating..I plan to have this story updated at least once a week, but I also don't tend to make plans, as I never seem to stick to them. So, in the event that you think this has become a cobweb, and you want to see another chapter, let me know. I may be waiting to hear from you.}