"I don't understand," Edward said as he kicked a pebble off the sidewalk. After seeing his body come through surgery and remain unconscious afterwards, he and Scheduler left the hospital and were now walking to God knows where.
His tiny companion continued skipping beside him as she answered. "Don't understand what? Do I have to explain the whole you're-not-really-dead thing again?"
"No, no, I get that," Edward told her. "What I don't get is how I'm supposed to collect the tears. I'm a soul for heaven's sake! You said it yourself – no one can see or hear me."
As if to prove his point, a skateboarding kid flew right through him.
"Of course you can't do it as a soul, silly goose," Scheduler giggled. "That's what you'll need your host for!"
"My what?"
"Your host!" she said excitedly, grabbing his wrist again. "Come on, we're almost there."
Edward had no choice but to let her pull him to wherever. For someone who was freakishly small, she had a lot of strength.
"Where are you taking me?" he demanded as they ran past shops and people. It was dark out, probably around ten PM, and it appeared that a lot of people had made plans to go out.
Well, it is a Friday, Edward figured.
"Here," Scheduler finally stopped moving a minute later. They were in front of a diner that looked like it hadn't been repainted in ages.
"Mel's Diner," Edward read the glowing neon sign. "Wait a minute. I know this place. This is at least two miles from the hospital." He turned to the giddy girl at his side. "How did we get here so fast?"
She replied with a grin. "Super speed is just one of the many perks of the afterlife, my friend. Now, pay attention or else you'll miss him!"
"Miss who?" Edward was beginning to feel frustrated with all the questions he had to ask.
"Him," Scheduler pointed a small finger to the parking lot. The bright lights of the diner allowed Edward to see exactly who she was referring to, but he still wasn't sure.
"Him?" Edward clarified as he looked at the man who brisk walked towards them. He was tall, probably around Edward's height, and had a lanky built. His shaggy blond hair kept getting in his blue eyes' line of vision, so his hand constantly worked to keep them away.
"Yeah, that's definitely him," Scheduler nodded. She followed the blond man as he entered the diner, Edward not far behind her.
"Jasper, there you are!" an elderly waitress – Shelly, her nametag said – exclaimed once the door opened. "I was beginning to worry, honey. You're almost an hour late."
"I know, I know," Jasper huffed as he removed his jacket. "Is Mel mad?"
Shelly scoffed. "Of course not. Anyway, it's not like we're in the middle of a bustling dinner service here. It's midnight after all."
"Good point," Jasper smiled as he donned an apron. "So, what needs to get done around here?"
For the next few hours, Edward and Scheduler silently hung around the diner and watched Jasper work as a dishwasher-slash-busboy-slash-janitor. At around three AM, his shift ended, and after a quick goodbye to Shelly, Jasper walked out the door.
"Who is he?" Edward asked as he trailed behind the blond man. "What does he have to do with me?"
"His name is Jasper Whitlock," Scheduler said. "And he has a lot to do with you, actually. In fact, for the next couple of weeks, he is you, for all intents and purposes."
Edward pondered upon her words as Jasper led them to a crappy apartment building. As the latter entered his flat, the former finally understood.
"So, you mean that I'm going to be…that's the body that I'm…he's my…"
"Your host body, yes."
"You make it sound like I'm some sort of parasite."
"In a way, you're kinda gonna have to be. But your relationship doesn't have to be that parasitic."
Scheduler and Edward settled with standing by the small living room as Jasper went about his usual night time routine.
"Why him?"
"I…I honestly don't know," Scheduler admitted. "But it doesn't matter. What's important now is that you know who your host is. Let's get down to the rules then, shall we?"
Edward collapsed on the small sofa behind him. Of course there had to be rules.
"First and most important: trea –"
"Ow! Dammit!"
The two turned to see Jasper stomping out of the bathroom with a towel held to his jaw. When he pulled away, three razor cuts became very obvious.
"He cut himself shaving?" Edward couldn't keep the amusement – and incredulity, really – out of his voice. The last time something like that happened to him was when he was fifteen and first started growing facial hair.
"It would seem so, yeah," Scheduler agreed before getting right back to business. "As I was saying, though, the first and most important rule is to treat your host well."
"Yeah, I'll make sure he doesn't get any more nicks from shaving,"
"Seriously," she stomped her foot. "No abusing his body, no forgetting to eat, no doing stupid shit. Treat him like you would your own."
"Uh, isn't his body already my own? Y'know, since I'm a parasite now and all that?"
Edward had the decency to look the slightest bit ashamed at Scheduler's annoyed glare.
"Okay, okay, I'll…be good to him."
"Good," Scheduler nodded smartly. "Next up, you can only possess his body when he's still asleep and after he's had at least three hours of sleep. Oh, and you can only stay until ten PM."
"I have a curfew?" Edward interrupted with a laugh.
"Yeah, yeah. Yuk it up, Edward, but it's not going to be me who'll have to face the consequences when you don't leave his body on time."
Edward held his hands up in surrender and urged the girl to continue.
"Okay, last – and probably most obvious – rule: you're not allowed to tell anyone about who you really are. As far as everyone is concerned, you are Jasper Whitlock. If you tell anyone that you're Edward Cullen, the deal's off, and you'll never return to your body."
"Okay. Everything sounds simple enough,"
"Good, good. Now," Scheduler's grin widened. "The sun will be up in about a few hours. What do you say to a little possessing?"
…
"Just do it!"
"I can't!"
"What do you mean, you 'can't'?"
"I mean, I don't know how! And your instructions aren't all that great either. 'Oh Edward, you adorable petunia, just scoot your cute little behind until you're going right through him!'" Edward ended his impersonation with a rising falsetto.
Scheduler was not impressed.
"First of all, I so do not sound like that," she told him, hands on her hips. "Second, will you stop acting so immature for a second? Your life is literally at stake here! And third, why on God's green Earth would I call you an 'adorable petunia?!"
"Well, I am pretty adorable," Edward smiled, but instantly sobered. "Okay, fine, I'll be more serious. I just don't see what you're trying to tell me. Do I try to…hug him or something?"
"Yeah, just…lie down on top of him and try to copy his position,"
Edward pulled at his hair and nodded. It was seven o'clock; thirty minutes more and the alarm Jasper had set earlier would go off. With one last mental prod, he did as Scheduler instructed, holding his breath as Jasper went through his form.
Possessing someone was a very strange experience. Edward felt like he weighed a ton as he made sure his legs and arms aligned with Jasper's, and his eyes were practically forced shut.
When he managed to open them, the feeling grew stranger, and yet more normal at the same time.
Carefully, Edward sat up on the mattress before swinging his legs over and standing.
"So?" Scheduler asked excitedly. Edward had almost forgotten she was there.
"It's so…weird," he said as he inspected his new arms. "I mean, I feel normal, but not normal at the same time. Does that make sense?"
"Perfect sense," Scheduler agreed, stepping aside as Edward took a tentative step forward.
He slowly moved until he was in front of a small mirror. Though he knew what Jasper looked like, what he saw still shocked him.
Instead of looking into a pair of green eyes, icy blue ones stared back at him, and his coppery brown hair had turned long and blond.
"Holy crap," he muttered as he played with his hair. It flopped back down on his forehead instead of sticking up. "I really possessed him!"
Scheduler laughed from behind him. "That you did. Now, you remember the rules we went over earlier, right?"
"Yeah."
"And you promise you won't do anything too stupid?"
"Yes, Sched, I'll be smarter about any stupid decisions I'll undoubtedly make in the future."
"Awesome! I'll see you soon, then."
That made Edward turn around.
"Wait, you're not staying?"
Scheduler shook her head. "Nope. I'll check in on you every once in a while, but I won't go hoverer on you twenty-four-seven."
"Thank God for that. I think it would be best if I deal with you in small, controlled doses," Edward joked, earning him a pinch on the cheek.
"Oh, please. I know you'll miss me," Scheduler patted the red spot she left on his skin. "Oh! I almost forgot." She dug into her pocket and produced a leather cuff with a silver crest.
"What is it?" Edward asked as he took the item from her.
"I guess you can call this your 'tear watcher.' If anyone cries a tear of pure love for you, one of these clovers will be occupied by a crystal," Scheduler explained, running a tiny finger over the clover-shaped recesses. "Once all three have been covered, your job is done."
Edward nodded as he observed the patterns of the crest. It seemed oddly familiar to him…
"This crest…isn't this- this is my family's crest," he realized. "The lion, the hand, the three clovers…this is the Cullen symbol."
"It is," Scheduler said. "Consider it as additional motivation to get those three tears."
"As if I need any more," Edward muttered as his finger traced the embossed patterns. "So, I just wear this all day and hope the clovers get filled?"
When no one answered, he looked up to see that he was alone.
Scheduler had left.
"Great," Edward sighed. He strapped on the cuff and turned back to the mirror behind him.
It was time to begin day one as Jasper Whitlock.
49 Days to Go.