A/N: I own nothing.

I set my cup of coffee down on the center table and looked out the window of my apartment. As usual, the sky was overcast and threatened the city with a downpour. I sighed and picked up the coffee once more.

Sunday mornings were always very relaxing for me. I didn't have work today so I decided to spend the morning lounging around. I looked back at the TV but didn't even try to make sense of the scene playing out. I hadn't been paying attention at all since I had turned it on.

No, the TV wasn't what held my interest right now. When I'm working, it's easy for me to clear my mind and focus on the task at hand. But now that I find myself with nothing of interest to focus on, my thoughts drifted back to the mysterious man from the diner.

Jasper, I believe his name was. Who was he? How did he know so much about me? Should I call him? I kept the piece of paper he gave me on the nightstand next to my bed. I read and re-read the note but I still wasn't sure what to do with it.

Thinking about what he said, he was completely right about everything. I truly wasn't living and I just wasn't happy with that anymore. But what could I do now? This had been my life for as long as I could remember.

I knew better than to leave myself to sit idly at the hands of my thoughts, so I decided to go for a walk. The threat of rain was ever present, so I didn't let that deter me. I put a rain jacket on just in case, and left my apartment.

I walked past Emmett's door and noticed it was open. I knocked before opening it slightly, and saw an obviously hung over Emmett lying on the floor.

"Ah fuck, the light! It burns!" Even in his current state, the joviality of his tone was evident.

"Do you need help?" I asked, only slightly concerned. This was definitely not the first time I had seen him like this.

"Nah man I'm good," he replied as he pushed himself off of the ground with much more effort than should have been required. He slowly walked over to the open door and leaned against the wall. "You know, you should try going to a party sometime. It can't be fun doing nothing but working all the time. Live a little, Eddie."

Normally it would have been easy for me to brush off his comment and move on, perhaps even reply with a witty retort of my own. But his last sentence hit a nerve.

I muttered something along the lines of "I have to go" and quickly made my way toward the park next to my apartment complex. Emmett called behind me, but I needed to get away from here. I needed to get away from everything.

As I reached the park, I decided that I needed more than just a walk. I started jogging on the sidewalk that wound around the grassy area. The area was deserted, most likely due to the weather.

As if on cue, a slight drizzle began. It wasn't nearly enough to be a concern for me so I continued on the trail, doing my best to avoid getting lost in my thoughts.

My concentration on the task at hand was so intense that I barely noticed the drizzle turning into a torrential downpour. I looked up and noticed that there were barely any clouds in the sky.

Strange weather. The sky was full of clouds earlier but there was no rain. Now the sky is mostly clear and it's pouring.

I caught the figure of a man in my peripheral vision and slowed down to get a better look at him. I nearly stumbled over my own feet when I noticed who it was.

Jasper.

He stood with his back turned to me and stared at the sky, completely motionless. My mind was urging me to move forward and say something to him but my body wouldn't comply. Suddenly, he turned around and looked directly at me as if he knew I was there. He smiled and the penetrating gaze that he first had was replaced by one of compassion.

"They say rain is a symbol of change," he said as he walked toward me. The pouring rain didn't seem to faze him at all as he now stood inches away from me. He cocked his head to the side but didn't take his vibrant blue eyes off of mine.

"Have you thought about my offer?"

I felt my breath hitch and I couldn't get my thoughts to stop racing. This man did things to me that no one has ever done to me before. It took every ounce of concentration I possessed to form a coherent sentence.

"W-who are you?" I managed to stammer out. I hadn't realized how cold it was starting to get and I began shivering. Noticing my predicament, Jasper took my hand and pulled me over to the side of a nearby building that provided shelter from the rain.

The feeling of his hand in mine was… incredible. I can honestly say that nothing in my life had ever felt like this. Despite how cold he must have been as well, it felt as if my hand in his ignited a flame that warmed my entire body. I didn't want him to let go, but he did once we were out of the rain.

He gave me a confused look. "My name's Jasper. I thought I wrote that on the note."

"You did. I mean who are you? How can you possibly know so much about me?" At this point I was trying to hide the exasperation in my voice, but this man was driving me crazy.

"Do you believe that the eyes are the windows to the soul?"

I can't see how this question is relevant, but I nod my head.

"As do I. And your eyes tell me that you are unhappy with your life. You seek change, but don't know how to find it. It's possible that you even fear it. Am I right?"

My breathing fully stopped and I simply stared at him. This man has figured out about me something that I myself have yet to fully comprehend. I must have lost my balance because the next thing I knew, Jasper was by my side with his arm around my waist. He slowly pulled me up and asked if I was alright.

"Y-yes. You are right, I mean." He let go of me and stood directly in front of me, his silence urging me to continue.

'I don't… I'm not happy with my life. But this is all I've known. I'm comfortable." I should have felt apprehensive about sharing such personal details with a stranger, but for some reason I felt completely comfortable with him.

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone," came his insightful reply.

This caused me to chuckle. "You really like quoting people don't you?"

His face lit up in the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. I felt honored to even be in such a creature's presence.

"That I do," he told me as he gaze shifted back to the park. "Looks like the rain has stopped."

I looked back at the outside world I had forgotten. The trees glistened with the droplets of water that now sat upon them. The grass shimmered as the sun's rays were reflected in every direction. The landscape surrounding us was simply breathtaking.

"It's beautiful," Jasper said, his words echoing my thoughts. "These are the moments that make my travels worth it."

Jasper began to describe the various sights he'd seen during his recent trip, and I found myself hanging on to his every word. I truly wished that I could see the beauty in the world as he could.

He was silent for a moment before asking, "Would you go?"

"Where?"

He sighed and shifted his gaze back to me. "Would you go on such a trip? If not for the beauty of the world, then for the change it can bring about in you?"

The intensity of his eyes unnerved me for a moment and I looked at the ground. "I don't know where I'd go. Travelling hasn't really been something of interest to me before, but the way you described it, it's now something I'd like to consider."

I answered him honestly. His description of the world through his eyes made me want to go out and see if for myself. I wasn't sure what he meant by the "change it can bring" so I didn't answer that question.

"You would go wherever your heart takes you. You don't need a plan."

I looked up at him, his eyes still remaining on me. "I don't know where my heart wants to go."

His breathtaking smile had returned, and he moved until there was almost no space between us. "Come with me then."

I wasn't sure that I had heard him correctly. "What?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"Let's leave this place. We can go wherever our hearts take us. And when your heart decides where it wants to be, then you can go there."

I was stunned by his words. I momentarily considered refusing his proposition, but I didn't know that any part of me truly wanted to reject him.

"But… where? And for how long? I would have to…" I trailed off, trying to come up with some reason to decline his offer.

"There's no need to worry about the details. We'll come home when we're ready."

My heart fluttered at his words. The prospect of "us" coming "home" triggered something strange inside of me.

I put my arms around Jasper's neck and held him tight for a moment. Once I realized what I had done, I tried to pull my arms back but he quickly moved his own arms around my waste. We stayed in this intimate position for what seemed like ages, and it was truly the most amazing experience I'd ever had.

When he finally pulled away, he looked at me with a smile that could have illuminated even the darkest of nights. "Is that a 'yes' then?"

Unable to speak, I nodded.

"Would this be a good time to ask for your name?"

I coughed several times at the realization that I had never actually told him my name. "Edward," I managed to croak out between coughs.

Once I had my violent bout of coughing under control, I looked up at him and asked "So um… when do you want to go?"

"Whenever ya want."

His answer brought up several more questions but I settled on one. "Why?"

"Why what?" he asked, watching me expectantly.

"Why are you doing this for me? We've only known each other for a few days."

For the first time since I've met him, he looked away slightly and frowned. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not." I wasn't going to ruin the moment by pushing for an answer he obviously didn't want to give, though his reasoning for that was unclear. It seemed like an innocent enough question. "Can we leave tomorrow then?"

I was floored by my abrupt decision. When I was behaving like the normal, rational adult that I was, I would have waited a couple weeks at least. But something about living in the moment seemed to work for Jasper, and I wanted to know what that felt like.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," I answered, again without even a second thought. I knew that the longer I had to think about it, the more likely I was to change my mind. I didn't want to give up what could possibly be the most important journey in my life.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning then." He gave me one last smile before walking away. He seemed to have a spring in his step, but I wasn't naive enough to think that I was the one that put it there.

I walked over to the park's sidewalk and headed down the path back to my apartment. I didn't know what to think about today's events, so I settled for thinking about what had to be done before I left tomorrow.

I would need to let the Cullens know that I wouldn't be coming in to work for a while. Shit, I didn't even know if they would let me take a break, especially since I didn't know when I would be back.

I quickly pulled out my phone and called Esme.

"Hello, Edward," came her cheerful greeting. She was a kind woman, and I hated having to leave on such short notice. I don't usually care for someone's feelings, but she and her husband have been nothing but kind to me.

"Hello Mrs. Cullen. I'm really sorry to ask you this on such short notice, but would it be alright if I took a bit of an extended vacation starting tomorrow? I don't know when I'll be back but it's really very important to me…" I purposely left out the true nature of the "vacation" but I didn't lie. I honestly felt as if this trip would be life changing. If this was going to be a problem, I could always just quit, although I'd much rather avoid that.

"Of course dear!" She almost sounded happy that I was leaving. "In the three years that you've worked for us you've never once asked for time off before. I'm glad that you're taking a break. Don't you worry, we'll be just fine here. Enjoy your vacation!"

I hung up the phone with a mumbled "thank you" and found myself rushing back to my apartment. I hadn't felt this energized in years.

I ran past Emmett's open apartment door and stopped when I heard him call for me.

"Holy shit Ed I don't think I've ever seen you… well, excited!" he practically yelled as he came to the door.

I was so excited that I couldn't even manage to stop the goofy grin that spread across my face. "I am excited, Em. Things are finally gonna start to change."

I quickly went into my apartment and sat down for a moment. The truth in the last sentence I had spoken to Emmett was finally settling in.

Things are going to change. I'm going to make sure of it. And Jasper will be there with me.

I started to pack my bags when I realized that I didn't really know how much I would need to pack. I decided to take Jasper's advice and refused to worry about details. I packed enough clothes for two weeks and was suddenly thankful that Jasper was going to be taking his car instead of his motorcycle. Though I was initially upset that I wouldn't get to ride on it.

Sleep didn't come easy that night but I eventually dozed off.

I woke to the sound of my phone indicating a text message. Jasper was letting me know that he would be over to pick me up in a couple of hours. I nearly jumped out of bed, fully energized once again at the prospect of what was to come.

I went through my morning routine and had a big breakfast, and by the time I was done it was about time for Jasper to show up.

I picked up my bag full of clothes and other supplies and walked outside. I only had to wait about two minutes before Jasper showed up in a gorgeous red convertible. Easily the next best thing to the motorcycle.

Leave it to Jasper to travel in style.

He got out of the car and loaded my bag into the trunk. I got into the passenger seat while Jasper got into his. He took off his sunglasses and gave me an incredible smile.

"Are ya ready Edward? This is the beginning of the rest of your life."