Most of Edward's morning was spent exploring Jasper's small apartment. And in Edward's opinion, it really was small; the entire space could fit into his bedroom back at his place.

Lack of elbow room aside, everything seemed to be alright. The miniscule kitchen and bathroom were clean, and though the building was crappy, the window in the sitting room was a great place for people watching.

"Maybe I can actually make this work," Edward nodded as he looked around.

Once he was familiar with the location of basic necessities, Edward set about digging for more information about Jasper Whitlock.

This doesn't really count as invasion of privacy, he reasoned in his head as he rummaged through the desk that was shoved against a corner. I have to know my host, don't I?

Much to his relief, Edward didn't find any incriminating evidence of Jasper being some kind of criminal or weirdo, unless of course you count a surprisingly large collection of country music. The documents scattered on the surface were mostly unpaid bills and delinquent notices, but a particular piece of paper called Edward's attention.

After reading it and glancing at the clock, he let out a loud "Shit!" and rushed to get out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, he was finally just a few steps away from his destination, but needed to rest.

"That's it," Edward panted as he leaned against a low brick wall. "Jasper, when all of this is over, I am definitely buying you a car." He pushed his long hair off his face. "And I'm getting you a haircut, too."

The car and the haircut had to wait, however, since he had a job interview in about ten minutes. At first, Edward didn't really understand why Jasper needed another job on top of the one he had at the diner, but after remembering the unpaid bills he found and his less than stellar living arrangements, he understood.

Not everyone can be privileged rich boys like you.

After calming down some more and fixing his appearance as much as he could, Edward walked towards the establishment that would hopefully be his – and Jasper's – second source of income.

Heaven Café looked petite from the outside, but was actually quite roomy in the inside. The aroma of brewed coffee and baked goods filled the space, almost making Edward groan in want and appreciation.

If this is where I'm going to be working in the next weeks, I don't know how I'm going to resist eating anything, he thought as he watched a tray of cakes being carried to a table. He also hoped that Jasper didn't have any allergies; it would suck if his sweet tooth would result to some horrible allergic reaction.

"Hi! Welcome to Heaven. Can I help you?"

Edward pulled himself out of his cake-induced trance, and glanced at the waifish girl in front of him.

"Uh, yes. I'm Ed – Jasper Whitlock. I'm here for a job interview."

"Oh! You're meeting James. Right this way, then. I'm Jane, by the way," the girl smiled as she led him towards an office. The man sitting at the desk looked up from his laptop as they entered.

"Hey, Boss," Jane greeted. "Someone's here for a job interview."

"Thank you, Jane," the man nodded, and Jane left after a quick 'good luck!'

The man who was in front of Edward looked every bit the typical, uptight corporate businessman he encounters on a daily basis. From the tailored suit to the well-styled hair, practically everything about the older gentleman screamed 'professional,' but Edward was well-prepared.

After all, he didn't become a partner at his father's architecture firm before his twenty-fifth birthday for no reason. Well, there was some nepotism involved there admittedly, but that was beside the point. Edward was good at what he did and he knew how to act professional despite his tendencies to be a bit immature outside the office.

He was about to step forward with a good mannered handshake when James grunted and pulled at the collar of his shirt.

"I hate suits," he muttered as he all but took off his tie. "This is honestly the worst part of being a lawyer. I'll take clients who insist on suing for anything and everything over having to wear this monkey suit all day."

Edward wasn't sure how to respond to that.

As if suddenly remembering Edward's presence, James stopped his fidgeting and stood with a chuckle. "I'm sorry, son, but this suit has been bothering me all day. Please, have a seat." He gestured to a plush chair by the desk.

"So, Mr…?"

"Whitlock…sir. Jasper Whitlock."

"Mr. Whitlock," James nodded. "What can I do for you today?"

"I'm here for the job opening, sir."

James raised an eyebrow as he looked over the young man across his desk.

"I have to say, you look impeccably dressed for someone who just wants to apply for the server position."

Edward could feel his ears redden. To be perfectly honest, he didn't bother reading what position Jasper actually applied for; he pretty much just bolted as soon as he saw the words 'job interview.'

"I…ah…I just wanted to…show that I intend to take my job very seriously, Mr. James."

And with that, James burst into a fit of laughter.

Can this get any worse? Edward felt a strong urge to bury himself under a pile of dirt.

"I'm sorry," James wiped his eyes. "But that has got to be the funniest thing I've heard all morning! I appreciate your professionalism, son, but there isn't a need for anything of that sort here."

Despite the reassurance, Edward's ears were still red.

Why did I have to get the host with overactive blood vessels? Why didn't I get paired up with the stoic badass instead?!

"Jeans and shirts are perfectly fine here; just make sure you wear an apron. I swear, some people have issues when their servers don't have them. I mean, what's the difference, really? Anyway, you can ask Charlotte where we keep 'em 'cause I have no–"

"Wait," Edward interrupted. "You mean, I'm hired?"

James blinked. "Of course! Why? Didn't I mention it?"

Edward shook his head.

"Huh. I was so sure I did," the older man pondered on that for a moment then shrugged. "Oh well. Important thing is you got the job, right son?"

"Right," Edward finally felt relaxed enough to laugh. "Thank you so much, Mr. James."

"Oh, hey, that reminds me of another rule we have: don't call me sir and don't address me with mister," James pointed a finger in mock scold. "You just call me Peter. Or if you prefer last names, James. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure everyone calls me Butter behind my back – remind me to tell you the story behind that – so I guess you can call me that, too, but not to my face, alright?"

"Okay, Mr…uh, I mean, Peter."

"Excellent!" Peter clapped his hands. "Now, I'd orient you about how things work here, but I'm no expert on that. I may own the place, but I just do the taxes and pay the bills, really," He chuckled. "So why don't you scurry on out and look for Charlotte? Can't miss her – flaming red hair, expanding waist line – don't tell her I said that – and she's probably by the register."

After thanking Peter again, Edward left the office where he just had the most bizarre job interview of his life. He liked how his boss was completely at ease and casual, though. He thought of the rigidity of the architecture firm and wished their rules were less strict.

Maybe I can make some changes when I get back to my own body, he thought. I'll inherit and run the place one day, anyway.

The café was busier than when Edward entered, but true to Peter's word, Charlotte wasn't difficult to spot. The plump woman was chatting on her phone by the cash register, but said goodbye when she saw Edward approach.

"How can I help you, sugar?" she asked with a warm smile.

"My name's Jasper Whitlock, ma'am," Edward answered. "I'm…your newly hired server. Peter sent me over here to –"

"That's right! We did need a new server, didn't we?" Charlotte let out a loud laugh. "Well, don't be shy, sugar. Come on over here at the back, and I'll show you the ropes."

Edward was just about to lift the counter when the door that led to the kitchen opened, and a petite brunette woman stepped out with a plateful of cakes.

Edward stopped what he was doing the moment he saw her face. She was very familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen her before.

Until she began to speak.

"Aunt Charlotte," she called. "What do you think of these? I was thinking I'd do something different with the strawberries instead of…"

That voice…

And then it hit him.

Brown hair, brown eyes, soft voice…it's Bella Swan.

"…Jasper?"

"Huh?" Edward turned to both women at the sound of his new name.

"I said, did you know Bella?"

"Uh…what makes you think so?"

"Well, you did say her name," Charlotte looked very amused.

"Oh…uh…yeah, I-I think," Edward stuttered. Come on, Cullen. Think fast! "I…we went to high school together, right?"

Well, that wasn't a total lie. Edward really did go to the same high school as Bella. They were close friends, even, but after graduation, drifted apart. He began to think about why and how that happened, but now wasn't the time for that.

Shit, what high school did Jasper go to?

Edward grew up in a small town called Forks; what were the odds that Jasper did, too?

"Jasper…Jasper Whitlock?" Bella's eyes looked over him curiously. "You were president of the photography club, right?"

The odds were very high, apparently.

"Right. The photography club," Edward laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair. "And you were our senior prom queen."

Bella smiled shyly and looked down. Edward couldn't help but grin as well. She had always blushed when he'd teased her about her surprise win before; it looked like some things never changed.

"This is great!" Charlotte crowed. Edward almost jumped; he had forgotten there were other people present besides him and Bella. "Bella, why don't you show Jasper how we roll around here? I'm sure he'll feel much better if he's with someone he knows instead of this old hag."

Bella blinked quickly as if she had just woken from a trance herself. "Jasper's going to be working here?"

"Yep. You know how tired Janey is from doing both her shift and Tanya's after she quit, so your Uncle Peter decided to get a new waiter to ease her burden."

"Oh."

"Sooooo, whaddaya say?"

"But what about the cakes? Mrs. Newton –"

"You just leave me to deal with that demanding cow," Charlotte waved a hand and took the plate of cakes from Bella's hands. "Go ahead and catch up with your old friend. You spend so much time cooped up in that kitchen that I wonder if you get any human interaction aside from with me and your uncle."

"Alright," Bella replied softly. She looked into Edward's eyes and smiled. "Come on, Jasper."

The way she looked at him made Edward feel something peculiar. He didn't know if the tingling he felt was good or bad, but he didn't deny that he was happy to follow her over to the other side of the long counter.

"So, where do we start, boss?" Edward asked as he watched Bella dig for something below the marble counter top. It was all he could do to distract himself from staring at her hips and ass.

"Well," Bella huffed as she finally emerged with a large board. "I figured we can start with understanding the layout of the dining area first, then just go from there."

"Sounds good."

"Let's get to it, then."

…

Edward had forgotten how much fun he could have until he spent the afternoon with Bella. She had always been a shy girl, but just like in high school, she was a different person with him. Once he managed to break her shell a bit more, she started making her own jokes, laughing at his, and blushing at his innuendos.

Edward was enjoying every second of it.

When their time came to an end, Edward honestly didn't want to leave her. Now that he was reminded of how amazing it was to be friends with Bella, he wanted to spend more time with her. Reality eventually made itself known once again, however, in the form of Charlotte James.

"You two look like you're having fun," the woman's grin was ear to ear as she stopped by the table Edward and Bella were sitting at.

"As much fun as I can have trying to teach Jasper the menu," Bella glanced at Edward with a smile.

"Trying? I'm succeeding, aren't I?" Edward asked teasingly. "I've already memorized every single pasta and crepe dish you have."

"Ah, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, young Padawan," Bella pointed to a longer list. "We still have cakes to cover, and that makes up more than half of what we serve."

"I'm sure my memory can handle it."

"Unfortunately, tackling those cakes would have to wait," Charlotte interrupted their bantering. "Bella, your mother's on the phone."

The life that filled Bella's cheeks drained in an instant. Her smile disappeared and was replaced by a mask of indifference.

"What does she want?"

"I don't know. She just said she wanted to talk to you."

Edward watched as Bella warred with herself. It was obvious that a part of her didn't want to answer the call, but another did. In the end, the latter won. With a murmured "excuse me," she stood and walked away.

Edward's eyes followed Bella until she disappeared into the back office, resisting the urge to get up and follow her. He turned to Charlotte in an effort to keep himself from doing just that.

"Is everything okay?"

Charlotte didn't respond immediately, but when she did, her voice was quiet.

"It's not really my place to say anything, but don't worry, she'll be alright." She smiled slightly. "Well, I guess you're free to go for today, Jasper. Did Bella tell you your schedule?"

"Yeah, she mentioned it earlier." Edward was set to cover the schedule of the employee whom he was hired to replace, so he had to work from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon from Sundays till Fridays.

"That's good," Charlotte said. "We'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

Edward didn't say anything. He simply nodded before leaving the café, disappointed that he didn't get to spend more time with his rediscovered friend, but hopeful that he would have the chance to do so tomorrow.

…

Though calls from her mother were very few and far apart, Bella always felt worn out after them. It wasn't that she hated her mother; she just…didn't understand her. Bella had long accepted that Renee just wasn't cut out for motherhood, but she still couldn't help but feel bitter towards her for leaving when Bella was just eight.

The bitterness had gotten worse since her father Charlie passed away about a month ago after a long battle with cancer.

Bella rested her head on her uncle's desk and tried not to dwell. Today was the first day she actually felt happiness again, and she wasn't going to let anything vapid like her mother ruin it. She, instead, focused on the latest person to enter her life: her old schoolmate Jasper Whitlock.

They weren't really friends in high school, but Bella always had the impression that Jasper was more of the anti-social, contemplating type. The only time she'd really seen him interact with people was when he would ask the teacher a question or when he would hold meetings with the photography club.

Today had only proven that impressions could be deceiving since Jasper turned out to be a very sociable person. He was constantly making her laugh and finding new ways to distract her from showing him around. Bella couldn't be annoyed at him, though. For once, she was having fun again.

His antics and charming smile made her feel like she had something missing in her life that she didn't realize until now. It was probably because he reminded her so much of the only man she had ever loved, and the only man who managed to break her heart.

Bella shied away from the feelings of hurt that began to bubble inside her.

She really didn't want to open the can of worms that was Edward Cullen again.