4.
EPOV
I watch Bella slip off her stool and wish me luck, before she walks out the door without the foresight of asking for her phone number.
I'm left a little bereft, but then there's not much that would come of this kind of thing. Talking to a stranger for a couple of hours doesn't mean much in the long run. Heck, she's pretty and funny, and sexy as hell without even trying, but there's no telling if this was even who she really is. With my luck maybe she's an escaped convict running from the law.
Sighing, I look at my watch and visit the little boy's room in the ice cream parlor before leaving to make it to my bus. When I get to the terminal, they are just boarding, so I give the attendee my ticket and climb up into the bus.
I like a good window seat. It calms my nerves to know exactly where I'm going. Walking down the aisle, I notice how most seats are taken, and since I'm one of the last people to enter the bus, I can't exactly be picky.
That is until I see her. Bella. She's sitting in a window seat, minding her own business. She seems oblivious to me, and as much as part of me wants to ignore the fact that she's right here and apparently on the same bus as me, the other part of me - the part that really got along with her and thought she was a nice girl - wants to go sit with her.
Taking a deep breath, I decide to go for it. Forging a friendship on a bus can't be bad for either of us. If anything, it'll make this hellhole a lot brighter and this trip go a lot smoother.
"Is this seat taken?" I ask, standing in the aisle and looking down at her.
When her eyes meet mine with a mixture of shock and joy, I smile just as she does.
"And you say you're not stalking me." She cocks an eyebrow playfully and gestures for me to take a seat.
I shove my bag in the overhead compartment and take a seat beside her. "Any chance you'd let me have the window seat?" I jut out my bottom lip and cock my head to the side a little. I look completely pathetic, but whatever. A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do.
She brings her pointer finger to her lips and pretends to ponder it before grinning and saying, "Nice try, pretty boy, but no. I got here first."
I frown and huff noncommittally. "Well shit, I guess I'll have to go look for another seat."
She shrugs, a sexy smirk playing on her lips. "Be my guest."
Ha, challenge accepted! Only, when I stand, the bus driver announces our departure and tells us to stay seated until we've left the city. Fuck. "Well, I guess you're out of luck, princess. You're stuck with me now."
She rolls her eyes playfully. "Well, what are we gonna do now?"
"Depends, where are you getting off?" I smirk at my double entendre and she rolls her eyes shoving me with her shoulder.
Our eyes meet for a few seconds before she looks away murmuring, "Forks, Washington."
The air leaves my lungs momentarily at hearing her words. I mean fuck, she's known all this time where I was headed and never before had she mentioned that we would basically be travelling in the same direction.
I have to gather my thoughts before speaking; in fear that if I don't, whatever I end up saying will make me sound like a complete asshole.
"I'm sorry, I thought maybe we'd end up on different busses somehow, I mean, what are the odds?" she asks, and I can tell by the tone in her voice she truly is sorry.
"It's okay," I reassure her. "I'm not offended or anything," I lie. The reality is that I'm a little offended that she didn't trust me enough to tell me that little detail, but then if I were a pretty girl travelling alone across the country, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be talking to me at all. So, I should just be lucky she's taking a chance on me as much as she is.
"We're here now, so how about we make the best of...Wyoming...Montana... a tiny bit of Idaho...and then finally Washington." She ticks them off one after another on her fingers as I look at her in awe.
"Jesus, woman, did you have all of those memorised?" I tease.
She rolls her eyes, but smiles easily before going on to tell me about how many states she's been through since leaving Florida a few days ago. I have to admire her for making it this long without hopping on the next flight out. Even I—the great non-flyer—know how difficult this trip must have been thus far for her.
Travelling alone is boring as shit. I haven't even been on the bus for a whole day yet, and if it weren't for meeting her tonight, I would have possibly contemplated hopping on the nearest plane.
Maybe.
I mean, I would have definitely needed to be sedated, but I hear they have liquor on planes, something we definitely don't have here.
"Ugh, I need to sleep," Bella says, stifling a yawn. Looking at the clock, I notice we've been on the road for about an hour. The adrenaline that was flowing through me earlier has all but left and I'm also a bit tired.
"Sleep. I won't steal anything from you, I promise." I wink at her and bump her shoulder with mine.
She rolls her eyes and yawns again, this time though, it's contagious and I join her.
Somehow, we both fall asleep and when I wake up, the sun is out. Stretching, I notice how Bella's head is perched on my shoulder. Somehow she'd fallen asleep and used me as her pillow.
I smile and watch her face. It's a little creepy, I admit, but I can't help it, she sort of fascinates me.
Her eyelashes rest over her naturally pink cheeks and her lips form a soft pout. Her hair is a little messy, but it's not so bad considering our predicament.
Her hands are resting together over her lap, lightly clutching a sweater and I smirk when I notice her shoes. I'm not sure how I missed it, but we're both wearing checkered Vans. Hers are slightly more beaten up than mine, but it's still funny because at my great old age of twenty four, my friends are always on my ass about them. I don't care though, they're comfortable as fuck, and apparently some people other than me like to wear them.
The bus driver announces our next stop and this wakes up Bella. I watch her face as she blinks lazily and before she catches me, I look away.
"Shit, I'm sorry, Edward. I...err I must have leaned too far... Shit." I turn to her and she's eyeing my shoulder and arm like she's damaged it or something.
Chuckling at her sudden unease, I tell her softly, "It's fine, really. No harm done."
She looks up at me through her eyelashes and chews on her bottom lip a second too long before taking a deep breath and nodding. "Alright, I guess."
"Don't worry about it." I bump her shoulder with mine, missing her warmth as she shifts in her seat, moving away from me.
…
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Awkward. Anyone else have bus stories?
By the way, A Home for the Holidays was pulled by ff, so if you were reading it, you can still do so by downloading from my blog or ff profile.