Edward braced himself as he opened the door to Jasper's apartment. It wasn't because he was expecting some kind of physical attack once he entered, but it was because he just knew what he was in for once he was inside.

And that would be Scheduler's infamous nagging.

Edward knew what he did was reckless, and he knew that now wasn't the time, but kissing Bella just seemed so…right. And really, what else could he have done? He was close to his best friend – the woman he'd finally realized he was in love with. He couldn't help but kiss her. The situation was, as Bella had said, something straight out of a clichéd young adult romance novel. Might as well do something a romance novel hero would've done, right?

Or maybe you could've controlled yourself and waited until you were back to your own body, Edward's inner thoughts sarcastically remarked.

"Shut up," Edward grumbled quietly when he couldn't think of a decent retort to that. With a deep breath, he stuck his key in, and stepped into the room of his execution.

Except the executioner wasn't there.

"Sched?" Edward called out tentatively, but he received no response. He dug into his pocket for his phone and quickly dialed her number, but he didn't get an answer from that either.

"Huh. Guess I'm spared for today," Edward mused. He lay on the bed, left Jasper's body to rest, and quickly bolted out of the apartment to visit his body. He hadn't seen it in a while, and he wasn't sure if the roller coaster of decisions he'd gone through the past couple days had any effect on it, but he decided it was better to check.

Nothing had happened, though. Or at least, none that Edward could actually tell. Upon arriving in his hospital room, he found his body lying in the same position as the last time he'd seen it. He also saw Esme sitting quietly on a nearby chair, knitting what looked like a Christmas sweater.

"Hey, mom," Edward greeted. He walked closer to her, but didn't bother trying to touch her. "Guess what? I'm staying after all." He chuckled slightly and ran a hand through his hair.

"You can chalk up my breakdown from just…stress, I guess," he continued. "And you've always said I had a tendency to be over-dramatic. Heh, I –"

Edward was interrupted when Esme's phone started ringing. Putting her knitting down, Esme dug through her purse until her hand emerged with the vibrating device.

"Hello? Oh, Rosalie! How is Forks, dear?"

Forks?

Edward's head whipped towards his mother so quickly that if he probably would have had whiplash had he been alive. What the hell was Rose doing in Forks?

"That's wonderful. And how is your mother, by the way? Alright?"

Well, that explained it. Rose went home to visit Lillian. Edward never really knew her, but he did know that she was housed in a facility.

"Oh. Oh, I see. Are you sure that – well, okay. I'll be sure to tell Carlisle that you'll be extending your stay. I'm sure it won't be a problem."

So there was more to her visit. Edward should've known. Knowing now how devious Rosalie could be, she had to have another motive for heading back to their hometown.

What was up with people and going to Forks these days?

Well, it didn't matter. Either way, Edward knew that he was going to have to head to Forks as well. To do what? He wasn't so sure yet. He had to know what Rosalie was up to, though.

Now if he only knew how.

…

Bella was in a bit of a daze as the taxi she rode passed the 'Welcome to Forks' sign. Actually, she'd been in a daze since yesterday when Edward had kissed her.

Holy moly. Edward kissed me!

She felt incredibly giddy and confused whenever she thought of it. For one, there was the fact that…well, he kissed her, but he was still engaged. Sure, he didn't want to speak to his fiancée last time Bella checked, but still. Did the kiss just solidify her errant thought that Edward finally sees Rose in her true, vapid form, and her as more than a friend?

"God, this is a mess," Bella muttered quietly into her hands lest the driver hear her. She was in the process of untangling everything though, and it all began with the chat she was about to have with Victoria Hester.

Bella quickly paid the cab driver and readjusted her jacket as she stood outside a small cottage. She double checked that this was indeed the address she had written, and after confirming that it was, she tentatively rang the doorbell.

There was no response.

With more confidence this time, Bella rang again, and when that had no successful outcome, she knocked rapidly on the door. Maybe no one's home, Bella thought, but when she heard scuffling in the backyard, she knew that wasn't the case.

Bella made her way to the source of the noise, and saw someone hunched over a plot of roses. She cleared her throat, and the person straightened and turned to her immediately.

"Hi," Bella smiled her friendliest. "Um, sorry to bother you, ma'am, but I'm looking for Victoria Hester."

"Who's asking?" the woman – Victoria, Bella presumed – asked, though not unkindly.

"My name is Bella Swan," Bella replied. "I read your article about, um, supernatural possession, and I have some questions. I was hoping you can answer them."

Victoria stared at Bella for what seemed like a long time before she rose to her feet. "Follow me," she said, leading the way inside her small abode through the back door.

"You have a lovely home," Bella complimented politely as she stepped in. The exterior may have seemed like a quaint little cottage, but the inside was filled with dream catchers and some strange-looking paintings. Books cluttered what looked like every available surface, and there were a lot of succulent plants scattered around, too.

"Thank you. My grandfather built it himself. You can have a seat if you want."

Bella sat down at one of the kitchen chairs while Victoria set about removing her gardening gloves. The latter then took a deep breath and sat on another chair.

"What is it you wanted to know?"

"Well, I was just wondering if it was…okay…for people to know if a soul was going through the whole…process."

Victoria cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"Is it okay for other people to be aware that this certain person is actually possessed by a soul?" Bella attempted to be less convoluting. "I mean – "

"No, no, I understand now. And I can honestly tell you that I don't know."

Bella visibly deflated. "But, I thought you were an expert –"

"Of the occult and the paranormal in general, yes, I'd like to think that I am," Victoria interrupted. "But this particular topic…no, I've only encountered one instance of possession before, and even then, I was in no position to gather answers."

"Can I ask why?"

"It was my great aunt," Victoria said. "When I was about nine years old, it happened to her. I don't remember much of the details, but when she woke up, she told us about what she went through. Every other person in our family thought she was insane, of course, but I could tell that she was telling the truth. I wanted to ask her so many questions, but even the mere mention of Great Aunt Matilda's 'hokum nonsense' earned me a slap on the wrist from my mother.

"That didn't stop me from being curious. When I was about sixteen, I tried finding more about the whole process of possession, but I never really uncovered the whole story. Everything you've read in my blog is the result of fifteen years of research."

Victoria looked at Bella straight in the eyes. "So I'm guessing you know of someone who's being possessed as well?"

Bella hesitated, and then reluctantly nodded. "Yeah."

"And you two are close – you and the host, I mean. Otherwise, you wouldn't notice how he's suddenly changed."

"Um, no. Not really," Bella said. "Not me and the…host, no. I – You mean the person being possessed when you said 'host', right?"

"Yes, that would be him," Victoria nodded. "Hm, so that would mean that you're close to the soul, then."

"Uh…well, it's complicated."

"I see," Victoria looked a little amused. "Well Miss Swan, I'm sorry I can't really give you any specific answers, but I do suggest that you keep your knowledge to yourself. It's safer that way for everyone involved; after all, you wouldn't want your friend to be distracted while he attempts to fulfill his mission."

"But what if I want to help him?"

"You knowing but keeping silent is, in a way, helping already. You'll understand why your friend does some of the things he does, why he's acting the way he is. Life is literally at stake here, Miss Swan. If you aren't careful, you may become the reason why he won't wake up at all."

…

"Wow, so this is Forks, huh?" Irina pondered out loud. "You weren't kidding when you said it was this dreary!"

"Yeah," Edward chuckled and nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. As he stared out the window of the rental car, he scrambled to think of his next move.

The past twenty-four hours have been a flurry of hectic, snap decisions for him. After deciding against stealing from himself again, Edward decided to find another way to get to Forks, and that just happened to be Rosalie's apparently gullible roommate.

Edward was through Chicago when he ran into Irina. He knocked the bag of groceries off her arms, and after apologizing and offering to carry the bag back to her apartment, the idea of maybe getting her to bring him to Forks had hatched in his head.

"I kinda overheard her talking to Jacob the other day," he had lied. "Jacob can't really follow her there what with work and all, but she really does need a friend right now."

Irina's look had been that of concern. "It must be because she hasn't seen her mom in a really long time. And with the stress of her job…oh, I wish I could be there for her!"

"You can," Edward had pushed. "Seattle's only a three-hour flight away, and Forks isn't far from there."

Irina had already looked sold on the idea then, and with a little more persuasion, Edward finally succeeded in convincing her to travel to Forks, and taking him with her. It seemed like his streak of good luck just kept going then, since Irina had refused to let him pay for his ticket, stating that she had enough miles to cover both of them.

And now, here they were, riding through Forks with Edward under the guise of concern for Rosalie. Now that his initial goal was completed, though, Edward didn't know what he was going to do next.

"Do you know what hotel Rosie's staying at?" Irina asked. "I don't remember her mentioning anything."

Well, how should I know? "Uh, maybe she's staying at her family's house." Do the Hales still own that place? "Or…I don't really know."

"Hmm," Irina's brow puckered in concentration. "Maybe we should call –"

"No! No, that would ruin the surprise," Edward exclaimed. He didn't want to alarm Rosalie of his presence yet. "Let's just go to check out the local bed and breakfasts. Forks doesn't really have much in terms of hotels, anyway."

Irina agreed, and they were soon on their way to the various inns around town. After seeing two and finding no Rosalie, Edward suggested that they split up and look for her throughout Forks.

"Are you sure?" Irina verified for the third time.

"Yeah, we'll find her faster this way," Edward nodded. In all honesty, though, he just needed some room to think. Irina was a nice girl and all, but she was the type who could just talk your ear off.

"But what if I get lost?"

"You won't," Edward said. "This town is about the size of your thumb. You'll find everything easily, and if you do get confused, the locals are all really friendly. Don't worry, you'll be fine."

Edward didn't hear Irina's reply as he was already out of the car then. He pulled his hood up to both protect his head from the drizzle, and to deter people from seeing his face. After all, the last thing he needed was anyone recognizing him, or Jasper, rather.

The rain was beginning to come down hard when Edward started to feel a dizzy. Black spots appeared around the edges of his vision, and he everything around him was starting to spin. Slowing his walk, he found a wall he could lean on, but as soon as his body rested against the brick, the seemingly impossible happened.

He left Jasper's body.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted, hands pulling at his hair. Quickly, he kneeled beside Jasper's body, and set about getting back to possessing him.

Once he opened his eyes, though, he knew he wasn't in Forks anymore.

Edward stood slowly, and looked around. "It's the school fair," he realized as he gazed at the familiar booths and games. So he was still in Forks, but…how on Earth did he get to the fair? Edward was beyond confused.

"Bella," a very familiar voice called out from somewhere. Edward turned to see his sixteen-year-old self a few feet away. "Come on, just one more bite."

"Edward," fifteen-year-old Bella laughed. "If I eat anymore, I'm going to burst out of these jeans!"

"But I can't finish this corndog by myself."

Bella looked at him incredulously. "Really, Cullen? You're telling me that your black hole stomach can't handle one more corn dog?"

Okay, I must be dreaming or something, Edward thought to himself as he watched the younger version of himself banter back and forth with Bella. How else could he explain what he was seeing?

Younger Edward was just about to shove the last bit of the corndog into Bella's mouth when a petite girl and a tall, lanky boy approached the pair, a basket slung through the girl's elbow. Edward couldn't tell who they were from where he was standing, so he moved closer to find out.

"Would you like to buy a rose?" the boy asked, and Edward quickly recognized him.

Jasper.

"Sure, I'll take one," Younger Edward nudged Bella's shoulder. "A pretty flower for a pretty lady."

A blush covered Bella's cheeks. "Oh, um, that's not necessary."

"Don't worry about it. How much?"

"Just three dollars," the girl holding Jasper's hand spoke. "All our proceeds go to the orphanage."

"That's nice of the drama club," Bella remarked. "I mean, you are selling these for the drama club, right?"

"Of course," the girl said. "I wouldn't be doing this kind of thing for any other organization."

"And I wouldn't be doing this for just any girl," Jasper chuckled and kissed the top of the girl's head. The girl giggled, and the sound rang bells in Edward's mind. The voice, the laugh…it all seemed so familiar to him. He looked at her more carefully, and suddenly, he realized who she was.

"Scheduler?"