A/N: Let's meet Edward, my loves.

Edward was a special kind of masochist. He'd come to Disneyland in an effort to show Kate she couldn't kill one of his favorite places. And that might have been a healthy goal if he hadn't come today of all days. If he hadn't worn this shirt, and if he wasn't doing exactly what he would have done if Kate was there beside him like she should have been.

It was muscle memory, pure and simple. Most passholders had a route, a way to do the park "right." They knew which rides had a shorter wait time at whatever point of the day, and had their FastPasses timed down to an art.

For Kate and Edward, their first stop was always Radiator Springs Racers, a ride from the movie Cars where you raced a car full of other guests at the end. It was wisest to get a FastPass for that ride first thing because they often ran out. Then, they got in the regular line, permitted it wasn't too long, to go on the ride right away.

Edward got his lone FastPass, and then his feet took him to the entrance of the main line. There, he stopped, which turned out to be a mistake as someone walking behind him barreled into him.

"Sorry," he said at the same time the woman did. He didn't look up in time to see her face before she'd continued on, joining the left hand line like a woman on a mission.

Edward laughed at himself. "Single rider," he muttered under his breath. That was his line now, he figured.

With a resigned sigh, Edward followed the determined woman. His mother was always telling him to look on the bright side of things. There were positives in any situation, no matter how hard. The single rider line was a positive. It reduced the wait for some Disney rides to minutes in many cases, as Disney ride operators tried to fill in the single spaces left by people traveling in odd numbered groups.

Of course, he could have gone to Disneyland on his own any time and ridden single rider. That didn't take having to break up with someone.

Whatever.

By that time, Edward had caught up with the woman who'd brushed past him. He looked beyond her at first, guessing that the line was maybe ten or fifteen minutes long. Not bad. It was something, and something was more than nothing, or at least that was what he kept telling himself. He didn't believe it yet, but eh.

A snicker drew his attention, and he looked down to see the woman, a brunette, was looking at him. Not his face, but his shirt. But when he shifted, she raised her eyes to his. A shiver went down his spine.

She was pretty. On instinct, he cut his eyes to where Kate usually was, standing beside him, to see if she'd caught him looking. Not that he ever planned on doing anything, but he couldn't help the fact he had eyes. Kate could get so ridiculously jealous.

When he remembered, in the next second, that Kate wasn't there, he frowned, that heavy ache at his chest twisting sharply. Damn muscle memory. He hated that he was still used to her being there.

The stranger thought he was frowning at her. "Sorry," she said. "I was just amusing myself." She nodded at his shirt. "Usually those come in a pair, but you know what? It works for the Han Solo shirt. Makes you seem confident. What's the answer to any question? 'I know.'"

In spite of himself, the corner of Edward's mouth twitched up in amusement. "Kind of makes me sound like an arrogant ba— er, arrogant person, doesn't it? 'The weather's nice today.' 'I know.' 'Sir, that FastPass isn't valid for another hour.' 'I know.' 'Dang, you look good in that shirt.'" He shrugged. "I know."

She snickered. "You're right. It's the shirt who'sobnoxious."

He pointed at the shirt, and she smiled.

And that was when he noticed her eyes again. Particularly that they looked a little red-rimmed, as though she'd been crying recently. "Hey, are you okay?"

The stranger snapped her head forward and laughed. It was an uncomfortable sound. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" But rather than let him answer, she continued on, not looking at him. "So, where's Princess Leia? Does she get sick on this ride, or is she waiting with the kiddos?"

"Ah." The lump in Edward's throat made it difficult to speak. He rubbed his hand over the back of his hair, hating the almost unbearable squeeze on his heart.

Heartbreak, for Edward, wasn't agony. He didn't want to die or anything dramatic like that, but it ached. A lot. And it sucked.

"Something like that," he answered the stranger, his tone strangled to his own ears.

The stranger looked over her shoulder, peering at him. But the line had been moving even more steadily than Edward had predicted, and they were at the front.

"Single rider," one of the attendants called out.

The stranger flinched and sighed, looking forward. "Guess they're playing my song." She gave a little wave as she moved forward onto the ride.

It was only as she was walking away that Edward realized with a start that she was wearing his shirt. Well, the Princess Leia counterpart, anyway. Now he was curious. Where was her Han Solo?

He gets sick on this ride, or he's hanging out with the kids.

But she'd been crying. Maybe Han Solo had upset her. He'd better be waiting at the end of the ride to make it better. That was what he would have done. He'd have been waiting for Kate if he'd done something stupid enough to make her go storming off alone at Disneyland.

Edward was drawn out of his musing by a frustrated cry. The stranger had been placed next to what had to be a sibling pair—two teenage girls who looked way too similar to be girlfriends. The one in the "driver's" seat hopped up, startling the ride operators. She shook her head hard.

"I can't do it. I can't. You go. Go ahead without me."

"Are you sure?" the girl still in the car said. "I should—"

"No. We waited. You go." The girl looked at everyone. "I'm sorry. Sorry."

The ride operator rubbed the back of his neck as the girl hurried off. He turned on his faux-bright smile and looked to the stranger and the remaining teenage girl. "Can you guys scoot over?" He motioned with his hand, waving at Edward. "Single rider."

Edward's eyebrows arched. The stranger looked over her shoulder, looking as bemused as she scooted to the middle seat.

"Sorry," the second teenage girl said, leaning over to look at both of them. "She's got like… trauma. There was an accident. She's fine, right? But she gets scared."

"Oh," the stranger said. "That's kind of horrible."

"We'll get her there," the girl said as their car pulled forward.

Edward and the stranger exchanged a glance, each smiling. It was a sweet sentiment.

Strange. As he'd suspected, getting on this ride without Kate for the first time—the ride was still new in Disney terms—brought back a ton of memories. His heart twisted again, remembering their first time, and all the times after. They had fun doing all the voices, making up what the movie Cars had been about since neither of them had ever seen it.

What was strange was that, above the clench in his chest that made it difficult to breathe, he was also curious about the stranger next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her bite her bottom lip and heard her sharp intake of breath. She breathed out, and put on a pair of sunglasses.

The teenage girl snickered. "You look like you're on a real road trip."

The stranger waved a hand out at the fake grandeur as they passed a tall waterfall tumbling off the red cliffs. "How is this not the best roadtrip ever?"

Edward couldn't help but snort. "I mean, you have a point," he said as they went into the indoor part of the ride. "We're about to be chased by a giant tractor and a tow truck is going to jump over the moon."

"You know, I just figured out that character's name is Tow Mater," the stranger said with a genuine smile. "Like a week ago, it occurred to me. Tow Mater. That's funny." She shrugged. "I should get around to seeing the movie."

"You've never seen the movie either, huh?" Edward said, smiling back.

She pointed out the side of the car. "That tow truck is talking. And his name is Tow Mater."

"Yeah, seemed kind of dumb. Never had an inkling."

"But I like Carsland. The rides are great."

"I like the look of it," Edward said.

"I like that they serve popcorn and mini churros in a traffic cone."

They both snickered and then gasped as the race portion of the ride started. They lurched forward, and the stranger let out a whoop. "Drive, drive," she said to the teenager.

"Come on. We can win this!" Edward cried, his cheers joining with the rest of the people in their car as well as the one they were racing.

"Whoooo-oh-oa," the stranger yelled as they went over the up and down bumps. She raised her hands. His were already in the air.

"I'm glad you guys got to sit together," the teenager said when they were waiting to pull up to the entrance of the ride where they could get out.

"Oh, we—" Edward started at the same time the stranger said, "We're not, um…"

"Oh. Sorry," the teenager said. She looked confused as she looked between the two of them. Their shirts, Edward realized belatedly.

When they got out, the stranger didn't bolt away. They both meandered at about the same pace and came to a stop in front of the wall of pictures. Radiator Springs Racers was one of the rides that snapped a picture of everyone at the point of highest action. The teenager had gotten there before them and was just turning away. She gave them a cool look, rolled her eyes and headed off without another word.

Edward peered at the picture and felt an old guilt, as though he'd done something wrong. But that was ridiculous. He didn't even know this woman's name.

Still, the picture made him smile, if nothing else, for the novelty of it all. She was a perfect stranger, and yet of course it looked like they were together. In the picture, both of their arms were thrown up, their faces rapt with huge smiles, mouths open in a yell. Their heads were tilted, his toward her and hers toward him, though he was sure that was nothing but a coincidence. Then, of course, there was a matter of the shirts. They were even in the right order—her I Love You next to his I Know.

Again, it was muscle memory to take his phone out and fire up the Disney app. As an annual passholder at his level, he got these kinds of photographs for free, stored to his profile as long as he put in the code displayed at the top. He glanced at the stranger, hoping she wouldn't think it was creepy, and found she was doing the same thing.

They smiled at each other. "Are you sure Princess Leia won't mind?" she asked lightly.

Edward's smile fell and he ducked his head. Then, he laughed, the sound coming out bitter. "Princess Leia has made it very clear she gives no fucks" —he glanced around, but luckily no little ones had been racing by at that moment— "about me. Besides, she doesn't have any room to complain."

"Oh."

"Sorry," Edward said with a grimace. "I didn't mean to go all mental breakdown on you."

She snorted. "It sounds like you have a reason to be angry." She paused a beat. "So, you're not here with anyone?"

"Single rider all the way around." The bitterness crept into his tone again.

"Have you had breakfast?"

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the stranger, an eyebrow raised. "What about Han Solo?"

"Fuck Han Solo." She sounded venomous.

He had to laugh, understanding the feeling well. "Sounds like there's a story there."

"I'll tell you mine if you'll tell me yours," she said.

He considered a beat and then laughed inwardly at himself. "How do you feel about Storyteller's character breakfast?"

"Pretty long wait unless you—"

"I have a reservation."

She eyed him, and he realized that sounded creepy as hell. He was about to apologize and explain but heard her mutter, "Fuck it," under her breath. "Yeah. I've had an incredibly surreal morning. Eating breakfast with six-foot-tall woodland creatures sounds like the perfect next step."

His lips twitched upward. "I'm Edward, by the way. Edward Cullen." He offered his hand.

She took it. Her hand was warm and small but firm. He felt an odd tingle in the pit of his stomach. "Bella Swan," she said, with a small but genuine smile.

~0~

Bella began her tale with, "So, here's the deal. I'm going to give you the basics of the situation, and you can't ask me too many questions. I'm stuck on being pissed the hell off, and if you make me cry, I'll kill you. I'll cry later. Pissed off at Disneyland I can handle, but not weepy."

The story she told was short and to the point. A nine-year relationship with a man with a difficult family. He vaguely understood this Jasper character's point. And, he understood the idea he'd had to make a quick, hard decision. "But to have you come all the way out here? It seems like the least he could have done was go to you."

Bella scoffed, dragging a bit of pancake through whipped cream and spearing a strawberry slice. "I don't even know what the hell he was thinking. Jasper isn't an asshole, or he never had been." She shook her head. "I don't know who the hell he was today."

They waved off yet another character, both of them smiling politely until they had wandered away. Then Edward offered Bella a wry smile. "So, this jackass dragged you all the way out here to try and ruin Disneyland for you. Meanwhile, I also drove from San Diego to try to ruin Disneyland for myself. Because I'm that kind of moron."

"You live in San Diego?"

"Well. I live in El Cajon, but close enough."

"Chula Vista here." She waved a hand. "So, how and why are you ruining the House of Mouse for yourself? I've been trying to figure out why you would have a reservation to eat here by yourself."

Edward sighed, pushing his eggs around his plate. "I wasn't supposed to be here by myself." He shoved the plate away with a grunt. "Okay, I'm going to preface this by saying I already know it's pathetic."

"I'm not going to judge. You know, probably."

He had to smile at her honesty. "Okay…" He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the ache in his chest. It still felt weird to say the words out loud. "So, Princess Leia's name is Kate. Long story short, we've been together for four years. I thought we were happy, but…" He shrugged. "Two and a half weeks ago now, she called me. She was on a cruise. She takes a vacation every year with her sisters. So, she calls me from Alaska and says, there's a guy. She wants to have have sex with him, and she isn't a cheater." He stared down at his plate. "She called to end the relationship so she could have guilt-free sex."

There was silence for four long seconds. "I… Whoa," Bella finally said. "So she… I mean…" She put her fork down and ran a hand through her hair. "That's fucked up."

"That's not even the pathetic part."

"Well, not on your part anyway. I'm not sure about hers. Pathetic isn't the word…"

"I was going to propose today," Edward said quietly.

Bella's eyes went wide, then, her shoulders slumped and her face fell. "Oh...Oh, shit."

"I had the whole day planned. It's the fourth anniversary of our first Disney date." He huffed. "I bet she wouldn't have remembered that part anyway. But I planned it. This reservation. I have another for a late lunch at Ariel's Grotto. Prime World of Color tickets—you know, the ones that come with that fancy dessert tray?"

"Jesus."

"See? I drove myself all the way over here from El Cajon to live the day I planned to propose to my girlfriend alone." He gestured to his chest. "Customary shirt and all."

Bella was quiet at that, and Edward thought maybe it had been a bad idea to eat anything. He was nauseated, and he was sure this virtual stranger thought he was the world's biggest loser.

"Hey," she said, and to his surprise she was smiling at him. "Here's a crazy idea, and feel free to say no."

He quirked a single eyebrow and waited.

"You've got this whole day planned. If you're going to live it anyway, how about some company?"

Both his eyebrows shot for his hairline.

"I mean, I get that it's not the same. Obviously, don't do the whole proposal thing," she said quickly. "But misery loves company, right? At some point today, if you leave me alone, I'm going to start thinking, and we all know how that's going to go."

"You're going to drive to his place and key his car?"

"Ah, that's possible."

"So, what you're saying is, the responsible thing for me to do is distract you. You know, to keep you out of jail for vandalism." The knot in Edward's throat loosened a little. A very little, but enough that he could breathe again.

"We're already wearing the matching shirts. It's fate. It's...something, anyway."

Edward considered. Hang out with a pretty woman and wallow together instead of alone? Well, that was a no-brainer, wasn't it? And, she was surprisingly easy to talk to.

"Okay, Bella Swan. It's a date."

She grinned. Her eyes were still sad, but it was such a pretty smile.

A/N: Time for a rec! AushaPasha is writing a story about a vengeful, cursed Bella who is out to fuck up the lineage of the guys who've wronged her. Too bad for brothers Edward and Carlisle, their ancestor was one of the guys who murdered her.

Check out The Siren's Curse by AushaPasha. It's going to be a great ride.