13. Across the Pond
Nottingham was not what Bella expected. Of course, almost nothing about her move to England had been what she expected. Movies and books made it seem so easy. No one ever had to get a visa in fiction; they could pack up and move to a foreign country whenever they pleased, red tape be damned.
She'd spent hours staring at pictures of the city prior to hopping on the plane at Sea-Tac, but now that she was actually there, those images seemed idealized. The fairy tale, forest-ringed land of Robin Hood she'd imagined was nowhere to be found.
Dragging her suitcase over bumpy sidewalks, she followed the route she'd traced out online time and time again. It was warm for September — sunnier than it had been in Seattle. Fatigue slowed her steps. Including the layover in Frankfurt and the bus journey from East Midlands Airport, she'd been traveling for 18 hours.
"Oh, sorry, duck," a man said as he jostled her shoulder.
Duck?
At last, she came to a narrow, one-way street lined with brick row houses. Terraced houses, the woman she'd spoken with had called them. Taking a deep breath, she rang the bell for number 13.
"Hi, Gemma?" she said when a tall woman with dishwater blond hair opened the door.
"Bella? Hi! Come on in."
New country, new experiences. Since Bella had already had more than her fill of dorm life, she'd chosen to try at least one school year in a shared house off-campus. Gemma chattered as she led the way through the living room and into the kitchen.
"If you want to take the bus to uni, there's a stop about a two minute walk from here. Just head down the alley at the end of the street, and you can't miss it. I cleared a shelf for you in the fridge and a drawer in the freezer, but I don't mind sharing my stuff as long as you do the same."
Bella blinked as Gemma opened the fridge and freezer doors to demonstrate. They were so tiny — tucked underneath the counter next to a front-loading washing machine. Almost like the mini-fridge Austin and Tyler used to keep in their living room for beer.
"That's great, thanks," Bella said. Peering through the window over the sink, she frowned. "Did I misread your e-mail? I thought my room was on this floor."
"No, it's on the first — oh! American. Sorry. This is the ground floor." Grabbing one of Bella's bags, Gemma motioned toward the steep, carpeted stairs in the corner of the room. "What you call the second floor, we call the first floor."
The "first" floor consisted of two bedrooms with armoires instead of closets and a bathroom with a bizarre electric shower.
"I'll leave you to get settled," Gemma said. "I'm sure you're exhausted. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs."
"Thanks."
Standing in her new room, staring at the empty spaces on the nightstand and bookcase, the reality of the situation crashed over Bella.
She'd really done it. Twenty-four hours ago, she had no stamps in her passport. Now, she lived with a virtual stranger in a foreign country.
"Holy crap."
-oOo-
From: Bella Swan
To: Jasper Hale
Date: 09/21/2011
I think the appliances are rebelling against me.
The oven doesn't have words on the dial. Temperatures, yes, but no "bake, broil, defrost," and such. It has pictures. Pictures that make NO SENSE. I'm pretty sure I'll be cooking everything on the stove top for a while. My roommate explained which picture is which (through a fit of laughter at what I'd created), but last night's attempt at making dinner has traumatized me.
Also, the washing machine. Why would a washing machine have a setting that makes it go and go and go until you tell it to stop? I have half a mind to find the person who designed it, shove them inside, and put it on that setting until they learn their lesson.
I'm telling you, they're banding together. If I need to be protected from a mutant, rampaging fridge, you'll come to my rescue, right?
Love,
Bella
-oOo-
From: J. W. Hale
To: Bella Swan
Date: 09/21/2011
I'm not laughing. Nope. I didn't just spend five minutes chuckling over the mental image of you running from a rabid dishwasher. Honest.
But yes, of course I would come to your rescue. I'd band together with an army of Maytag repairmen, and we would conquer the rampaging appliance horde.
Just make sure you don't look when they bend over.
Love,
Jasper
-oOo-
"Oh, my God," Bella said. "I am never going to be able to eat American cheese again."
Gemma giggled. "Just wait till you try the chocolate. My cousin brought some Hershey's back from Florida once. Ugh. Vile stuff. I liked that peanut butter one, though. What's it called?"
"Reese's?"
"Yes! That was gorgeous, but the rest doesn't deserve to be called chocolate."
"It's clearly a language barrier," Gemma's boyfriend, Dan, said. "They must mean something different by the word 'chocolate.' Like when they call trousers 'pants.'" Pointing at the window to his left, he added, "See that thing out there, where the people are walking? That's a pavement, not a sidewalk. Paaaaaavemeeeeent."
Rolling her eyes, Bella made a silent vow to always call it a sidewalk in Dan's presence.
"Where in America are you from?" Dan asked.
"Washington."
"Oh, are your parents in politics?"
Gemma laughed. "Not Washington, D.C. She's from Washington State."
"Oh, right. Where is that, exactly?"
"On the west coast, right above Oregon," Bella said. When this was met with a blank stare, she added, "Which is right above California."
"Oh."
As she sat in her new living room, making small talk with Gemma and Dan, Bella found herself wishing for the ease and comfort of chatting with someone who already knew her. With so many new things — words, food, mutant appliances — bombarding her every day, she was starting to feel overwhelmed. She longed for the security blanket coziness of the familiar — of someone like Angela or Austin or Charlie. Or Jasper.
Maybe she could convince her penpal to visit. Of course, she'd have to tell him where she was, first. She hadn't even revealed that she lived in England. If he knew, Edward could find out. Fuzzy, half-formed fantasies of showing Jasper around Nottingham shattered and blew away.
As far as she'd come, she was still wary of facing Edward. She didn't trust herself — not where he was concerned. It had been hard enough to walk away when he was just a voice.
Tumbling back into Austin's arms had taken less than three hours, and that was with an amiable split. If Edward returned, she didn't know what would happen.
It was silly, she knew. Throughout her correspondence with Jasper, she'd never made it a secret when she visited Forks. Jasper wouldn't betray her location, just as Edward wouldn't care enough to come searching. Still, she held back. The way she'd fallen so fast, then sank so deep — she couldn't go through that again.
She couldn't be that girl again.
-oOo-
From: Bella Swan
To: J. W. Hale
Date: 10/06/2011
I've been thinking (frightening, I know). When I'm finally finished with school, do you want to meet up somewhere? I'm not sure where, exactly. A place I've never been. Obviously with a decent amount of rain, for your sake. I was just thinking that it'd be nice to spend time with you in person for a change and talk to your face instead of words on a screen.
This is, of course, assuming I'm able to get a job.
So, what do you think?
Love,
Bella
-oOo-
From: J. W. Hale
To: Bella Swan
Date: 10/06/2011
That sounds great to me. I have a few ideas about where we could meet.
If you want to talk to my face, how about this weekend? Most of my family is going our of town to visit some friends of ours, and I've been thinking about suggesting this for a while. Do you have Skype?
Love,
Jasper
-oOo-
Bella paced back and forth across her room, her breath coming in rapid, shaky bursts. Glancing at her clock for the hundredth time, she groaned.
Stop being so ridiculous and calm the hell down, she told herself. It's just Jasper. Just my friend. There's no reason to be so damned nervous.
A musical ringtone chimed from her laptop. Her stomach did a backflip. After checking her appearance in the mirror and shaking her head at her own absurdity, she sat down to accept Jasper's call.
"Hello?" she said, worrying her lower lip between her teeth as her face appeared on the screen, courtesy of the webcam.
"Hey," Jasper said. A second later, his smile flickered into view.
She'd known he would look the same, but somehow, it still made her jaw drop. Every blond curl, every inch of pale skin was just as it had been in high school.
"Oh, wow," he said. "You grew up!"
Bella laughed. "A little bit, yeah."
Silence.
"So," he said.
"Yeah. Sooooo."
A giggle slipped from her lips, slicing through the awkwardness. Jasper grinned.
She couldn't remember him smiling so much before. The old Jasper — the one she didn't really know — was always so reserved and solemn. Perhaps the alluring scent of her blood had been to blame for that. It must've been difficult to cut loose when slipping and killing her was a constant concern.
"This is easier when we have time to think about our responses and type them out, isn't it?" he said.
"Yeah. It's still good to see you, though."
"Likewise."
"Bella?" Gemma's voice floated in from the hall. She didn't wait for her soft knock to be acknowledged before opening the door. "I was—oh." Eyes wide, she stared at Bella's laptop and mouthed, "Sorry. Who is that?"
"An old friend from high school," Bella said.
Nodding in approval, Gemma mouthed only one word in response before she made her retreat: "Fit."
"Sorry," Bella said once the door clicked shut. "That was my roommate. And now that she's caught a glimpse of you, I'm suddenly glad she has a boyfriend."
Jasper chuckled. "Oh?"
"Mm. It means I won't have to think up a reason for refusing to set you up with her."
"Ah. I would suggest a modified version of the truth, but we saw how well that worked with Five Course."
"Oh, good old Five Course. I haven't thought about her in ages. Indigestion always reminds me of her, though. And bacon." Her mouth kept moving without her consent, babbling to fill the silence that threatened to creep back in. "Anyway, I'd probably just make up a lie about dating you in high school or something. No one would expect someone to play matchmaker for an old boyfriend. Hmm, but then she might start asking what possessed you to go out with me in the first place."
Frowning, he tilted his chair back. "Why?"
"Oh, come on. You have to know that you're too good looking for the majority of people on the planet. You're sort of out of everyone's league."
"I guess some things never change." He scoffed, but the sound was halfway to a sigh — soft and almost affectionate. "You're still wrong, you know. No one in their right mind would think you aren't beautiful enough to be with me."
Heat rose up her neck and into her face, showing on screen in a deep blush.
"I'm sorry," he said, smiling. "Did I embarrass you?"
"No." As the lie left her lips, her fingers revealed the truth by twitching toward her necklace and pulling the locket back and forth across the chain.
"Is that the locket I sent?"
"Oh, yeah. I still wear it every day."
"Good. I'm glad."
-oOo-
Grumbling, Bella picked up her phone and jabbed the button to accept the call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Bells! How are ya?"
"Jacob? Someone had better be dead or hospitalized, because if this is a social call, I'm going to hurt you."
"Oh, crap. Did I wake you? I waited until noon your time—"
"Gah. I'm eight hours ahead of you, not eight hours behind. It's 4:00 in the morning here!"
"Well, hell."
Laughing, Bella shoved a third pillow under her head to prop herself up. "At least you did it on a weekend, when I don't have to be up for class. Fat chance I'll be able to get back to sleep now, though. How are Jessica and Sarah?"
"They're great. Sarah loves that noisy-ass toy you sent, so thanks for that."
She smirked. "My pleasure."
"Oh, that reminds me, I need to send you some new pictures. You won't believe how much she's grown."
"I bet. Aww, I'm missing everything."
"She'll still be here when you're through seeing the world. How is England, anyway? Do you like it there?"
"I love it. The culture shock was a bit hard at first, but now that I'm getting over that, things are great."
"Yeah? Do you still talk to...to Jasper?"
Bella narrowed her eyes. "Yes."
"How's he doing?"
"Are you seriously asking about the well-being of a Cullen? You feeling okay, Jake?"
"Hey, I'm trying here. Believe me, it turns my stomach, but I know he's your friend, and after, y'know, everything, he was in a bad way."
"Hmm. Well, he's okay."
"That's...good."
With a dark chuckle that faded into a yawn, she rolled over and snuggled deeper into her quilt. "You sound so genuinely concerned for him."
"I think apathy is the best you can hope for from someone like me. Well, except for Seth and Leah, but I maintain that they're freaks of nature. Even more so than the rest of us. Anyway, I'll let you get back to bed. It was good talking to you, even if you were half-asleep. I miss you."
Closing her eyes, she blew a breath from between pursed lips.
"I miss you, too."
-oOo-
From: Bella Swan
To: J. W. Hale
Date: 07/20/2012
I am never going to finish this dissertation. They're going to take my scholarship away and send me home.
I just spent two hours teaching myself to shuffle cards instead of writing anything. And now I'm writing to you. Hmm, what other ways can I waste time? Maybe I'll learn a new language. Then I can get a bachelor's degree in that language. Then I can start the time-wasting process all over again with a second incomplete dissertation.
Do you think if I ask really nicely and bat my eyelashes, the university will give me my degree without this stupid paper?
And I'm going to subject myself to getting a PhD after this? Have I lost my mind?
Love,
Bella
-oOo-
From: J. W. Hale
To: Bella Swan
Date: 07/21/2012
You'll finish it. You will. The chances of getting your degree without it, however, are slim to none, no matter how adorable your eyelash batting may be. Universities are seldom swayed by adorableness.
In fact, it might be a good idea to stop reading this and go work on the dissertation for an hour. Then reward yourself with a treat of some sort. Lather, rinse, and repeat until the paper is complete.
Love,
Jasper
-oOo-
"Shouldn't you be writing?" Jasper said with a challenging quirk of his eyebrows.
In a startling display of maturity, Bella stuck her tongue out at him. "I needed a break. Didn't you say I should reward myself with a treat of some sort now and then?"
He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Talking to me on Skype is a treat, is it?"
"Oh, shut up," she said, though she smiled back.
"That'd kind of defeat the purpose of a video chat, wouldn't it?"
"I don't know. My roommate is home. I could go get her and let her stare at you." To punctuate the statement, she fluttered her eyelashes and let out an exaggerated version of a dreamy sigh.
Before Jasper could respond, a burst of friendly, sunny yellow emotions roared on the edge of his awareness.
"Aww, hell."
Bella frowned. "What's wrong? I wasn't actually going to get her. Friends don't let friends objectify their other friends. Or something."
"No, it's not that. How would you feel about seeing Emmett?"
"Um, fine, I guess. Why?"
"Because you're going to in about two seconds, if he keeps up his current pace."
"Jasper?" Emmett said as he let himself into the cabin. "D'you want to..." Trailing off, he smirked. "What's that? Are you looking at porn?"
Bella giggled. "If he is, I have a bone to pick with him." Wrinkling her nose, she added, "Um, bad phrasing. I meant I'd have a complaint. It's not polite to look at porn when talking to your friends. Unless they know and are fine with it, I guess. And I'm not, for the record."
Fond amusement swirled through Jasper's chest. Watching her face turn more and more pink was far more enjoyable when he couldn't smell the blood rushing into her cheeks.
Emmett's eyebrows shot up. "Is that..?"
Nodding, Jasper rolled his chair to one side to give Emmett a better view of his computer screen. Emmett wasted no time in placing his face too close to the webcam.
"Hey, Bella!"
She gave a shy little wave. "Hey."
"Don't worry, bro. I won't tell her you were beating it to photos of a donkey show." Pausing, Emmett clapped Jasper on the shoulder. "I wouldn't embarrass you like that."
This time, Bella's cheeks flushed due to uncontrollable laughter.
"Oh, Emmett," she said, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "I've missed you."
-oOo-
From: Bella Swan
To: J. W. Hale
Date: 08/24/2012
I AM FINISHED!
I'm going to go sleep for about 17 years now.
Love,
Bella
-oOo-
From: J. W. Hale
To: Bella Swan
Date: 08/25/2012
Congratulations! See? I told you that you'd finish. I'm proud of you.
Seventeen years? What about that PhD?
Love,
Jasper
-oOo-
"Does he really?" Gemma asked.
"Yep," Bella said. "Every time I talk to him."
"But you've been living here for a year now! He has to be joking."
"I'm not sure. I mean, I think he's taking the piss—"
"Aww, look at you, picking up our slang."
"Bah. Shush."
"Never."
"I honestly can't tell if he's serious. Every time I call him, he says, 'Hey, Bells, how's London treating you?' I'm going to start replying with, 'Fine, Dad, how's Seattle treating you?'"
Giggling, Gemma refilled both of their wine glasses. "It's probably a dad thing. Like bad puns. It's just what fathers do. I'm sure my dad would ask silly questions on purpose if I lived in America."
"If he didn't, then Dan would. Though, in that case, it would definitely not be a joke."
"Ugh. I thought we agreed to never again mention He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
"Not my fault you dated Voldemort."
Gemma's mouth twisted into a grimace. "Eww. That mental image just took me to a bad place. A place without noses."
-oOo-
From: J. W. Hale
To: Bella Swan
Date: 01/17/2013
I cannot believe what happened today.
I went hunting alone, as I often do. When I was through, I felt like taking a run. A few minutes after passing the boundary between our property and the National Forest, I heart a weak heartbeat and smelled human blood.
Ordinarily a disaster in the making, but not today. I managed to retain enough control to cover my mouth and nose and run back to the house. I didn't attack. Instead, I sent Carlisle out to the forest to help the human.
Truly, I never thought this would happen. Especially after your paper cut.
I think I may be in shock.
Love,
Jasper
-oOo-
From: Bella Swan
To: J. W. Hale
Date: 01/18/2013
That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you. Not only did you resist, you probably saved that person's life by sending Carlisle to help. You may not be able to believe it, but I definitely can.
I feel like I should send you an e-card to celebrate, but somehow I don't think I'll find any "Congratulations for not going all murder-y" cards. Though you never know. They make a card for everything, these days.
Are you still in shock?
Love,
Bella
A/N: "Duck" is a form of address in the area of England where Bella is living. The guy who bumped into her wasn't implying she was waterfowl.
Credit for many scenes in this chapter should really go to my family, friends, and acquaintances for providing me with no end of material. I don't usually pull events directly from my life for my fics, but I couldn't resist with this one. I'm from Washington State, and I live in England. An alternative title for this chapter could be, "Stuff that happened when I moved to the UK." ;) Sadly, my relatives who ask how things are in "London" aren't joking.