"Thank you!" Scheduler chirped happily as Younger Edward handed over the three dollars. She and Jasper walked away, hands still linked and heads close together.

"Okay, what is going on?" Edward asked, though it appeared that no one could hear him. "Don't tell me Scheduler actually went to Forks High." He rubbed his face tiredly. "God, is my memory really that crappy?"

It looked like it was, since his younger self seemed to know her.

"I will never understand how she's so cheerful all the time," Younger Edward shook his head. "Especially since she's always with Whitlock."

"Edward!" Bella scolded, swatting his arm. "Jasper's just…mellow."

"Mellow," Younger Edward repeated. "Yeah, sure. That's one way to put it, I guess. The dude looks constipated half the time."

Bella laughed. "You're terrible. I happen to think they're a good match. Jasper's cool-as-a-cucumber attitude perfectly balances out Maria's…sometimes over-jovial nature."

Scheduler's name is Maria?

Things suddenly got very real for Edward as he finally put a name to the girl he'd only ever known as Scheduler. And to know she actually had a life before her current status? That was just…too weird for Edward to handle.

"You know, Swan, your habit of seeing the good in everyone's starting to get annoying."

"Well, it made me be friends with you, didn't it?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," Younger Edward chuckled and gave Bella a squeeze. "C'mon. Let's go check out the games."

As he watched the younger version of himself and Bella walk away, Edward continued to stand where he was, completely dumbfounded. He was still half-convinced that he was dreaming, but at the same time he knew that everything really was happening, or had happened, rather, because his memories of the day came flooding back to him.

He was at the fair Forks High usually held near the end of the summer. He knew would end up with a wet shirt later on since someone would accidentally spill a drink on him, and he remembered that he would be grounded for being home only after his curfew as well.

"So it's real," Edward murmured. "But Scheduler…and Jasper? How the hell did that even happen?" He tried to picture the quirky woman he had gotten to know the past couple of weeks together with the body he possessed daily, and couldn't do it. Hell, even seeing them holding hands a few seconds ago was strange for him.

"I have to find them," Edward decided. Maybe he could get some answers by trailing Scheduler and Jasper some more.

He couldn't remember where they headed to, so he just pursued a random direction, passing booths and people as he did. Neither Jasper nor Scheduler were anywhere in sight, however, but it didn't matter. He was feeling dizzy again, and it didn't take long for his vision to fade to black.

…

"…Jasper?"

"Jasper, hey! Can you hear us?"

"Has he been like this for long?"

"I dunno. I just kinda found him like this…do you think we need to call an ambulance?"

"No," Edward groaned as consciousness slowly returned to him. "No ambulance. I'm fine."

"Homygawed, Jasper, I was so worried!" Irina exclaimed when he opened his eyes. "Do you need any help?"

"I got it," Edward assured her, though it did take some effort for him to sit up. After blinking a couple of times, he saw Irina's companion. "Bella?"

"Hey," Bella replied with a small smile. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Edward rubbed the back of his head. "I think I just fainted or something. How long was I out?"

"I don't know; you were already down when we saw you. That was so scary, though," Irina placed a hand on her chest. "I mean, can you imagine how long you could be lying here with no one to help you if we hadn't driven by?" she turned to Bella. "We have crazy awesome timing, huh?"

Bella chuckled slightly. "Yeah, we do."

"Well, that's great. I'm glad you found me before the wolves did," Edward smiled at them gratefully. "I think we should get off the ground, though. It looks like it's going to start raining again."

Irina and Bella agreed, and the three hurried into Irina's rented car.

"How did you two find each other, by the way?" Edward asked after a few minutes of driving around in silence.

"Irina kinda soaked me after she drove through a puddle," Bella explained with an amused tone. "She got out of the car and apologized right away, and…well, she recognized me."

"If I haven't said it enough yet, I'm so sorry," Irina glanced at Bella in the passenger seat. "Though you have to admit, the clothes I loaned you totally fit better than your old ones."

Edward tried to subtly peek at Bella from his seat at the back. He hadn't noticed before that she wasn't wearing her usual duds, but now that he's noticed her new outfit, he had to agree with Irina. Bella looked hot.

"You should really invest in more of these types of sweaters," Irina continued while Edward tried not to drool. "Particularly in blue. They're warm, but they do wonders for your figure! I could get you some if you want."

"Oh, uh, that's okay," Bella blushed. "My old clothes are still fine. You don't have to buy anything for me."

"Who said anything about buying? I got that for free," Irina informed her. "One of the designers I worked with last month gave it away. I'm sure I can – oh hold up one sec. That's my phone ringing. It's probably – OMG, it is! Finally," she quickly parked by the local grocery store. "Hi, Rosie!"

Oh fuck, was Edward's single thought as he buried his face in his hands. He really didn't want Rosalie knowing of his presence yet.

"…at the Lodge? We should totally meet you there! Yeah, I'm with Jas, Be – yeah, as in Jasper Whitlock."

"Uh-huh. And Bella, too."

"What do you mean? I only know one Bella, silly!"

"Uh-huh."

"Alrighty, we'll see you there. Bye!"

"That was Rosalie," Irina explained unnecessarily. She turned to look at Edward. "I know you said this town is tiny, but I got kinda lost after you left me. So, I just went ahead and called Rosie up. It went to voicemail, but I just went ahead and told her that you and I were in Forks, too."

Edward held himself back from cringing. "You did?"

"Yep."

"And…what did she say?" he was nervously curious about how Rosalie reacted to the phony excuse Edward gave her yesterday.

"Um, nothing much. She just said that we should join her for an early dinner over at the Lodge, wherever that is," Irina shrugged and turned back to the wheel.

"I know where it is," Bella offered quietly.

"Great! So where do we go from here?"

…

"Rosie!" Irina broke into a sprint to hug her roommate as soon as she spotted her inside the restaurant. A few of the patrons stared at her, but in usual Irina fashion, she didn't even notice.

"Hi, Rinny," Rosalie patted her back gently. "I haven't seen you in three days, but I've missed you."

"Me, too," Irina smiled brightly as she stepped back. As if suddenly remembering that she had other companions, she beckoned Edward and Bella forward.

"Oh, and Jasper and Bella are here, too."

"Mm, yeah. So you said when I called," Rose replied dryly. She had no idea why those two were in Forks, and she couldn't say she was all too happy to see Bella, but she still forced a smile on her face. "Well, the more the merrier, I suppose. Shall we have lunch, then?"

The party of four sat down and placed their orders when the waitress approached. The silence that could have followed was thankfully avoided when Rosalie got the ball rolling right away.

"So, Rin," she began. "You never did tell me why you decided to come to Forks. And with some…friends, as well."

"I only came with Jasper, actually," Irina told her. "I ran into Bella, like, an hour ago, though. She did some stuff on her own before I did."

"You came with Jasper," Rosalie turned to look at Edward, her expression unreadable.

"Yeah," Irina said. "He volunteered to travel with me after he told me about you needing support. Y'know, what with your mom and everything. Oh, I forgot to ask. Is she doing okay?"

"She's alright," Rosalie told her. She smiled then smiled warmly at Edward, who in turn, wanted to make a face. "Well, thanks for coming, Jasper. I really appreciate your support."

"Ehm, no problem." Edward nodded stiffly. His eyes darted swiftly to Bella who just smiled. He tried to convey without words that him coming to Forks really had nothing to do with supporting Rose at all.

The food arrived not long after the slightly awkward exchange, thankfully giving Irina the opportunity to eat up the table's attention with inane topics while they ate. Rosalie responded cheerfully enough throughout the conversion, but after her phone vibrated for the nth time in her purse, she couldn't help the look of annoyance that crossed her face.

"What's wrong?" Irina asked.

"Nothing," Rosalie sighed, reaching into her bag and turning her phone off altogether. "Just...remembered something unpleasant, that's all."

Well, her reason was close enough, she thought. Jacob had been texting and calling her for the past three days, and she was, quite frankly, ready to explode. Couldn't he take the hint that she didn't feel like talking to him?

"So when are you guys flying back to Chicago?" Rosalie asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"We'll fly with you, I guess," Irina said. "I mean, the only reason we came to Forks was you, and if you're not sticking around anymore..." she shrugged.

"Well, I'm heading back tonight," Bella answered. "I still have some responsibilities with my uncle's cafe and stuff."

Rosalie arched an eyebrow. "I see we'll all have the same schedule, then. I'll also be travelling to Chicago tonight, though I decided to charter a private jet. I'd offer to take you with us, Bella, but you probably have your ticket booked already and –"

"No, she doesn't," Irina interrupted. "Right? You told me while we were driving around that you haven't even gotten your ticket back to Chicago yet." She looked at Bella for confirmation.

"Um, yeah, but – "

"So it's settled! We'll just all travel on Rosie's jet."

Rose glared at Irina for a second before smoothing her features. "Yes, I suppose that can be arranged."

"Great! Like you said, the more the merrier, right?"

"Mm-hm. Right."

...

The flight back to Chicago was only about three hours long, but for Rosalie, it was the longest ride of her life.

For one, Edward seemed to have an invisible rope tethered to Bella the whole time so she couldn't engage him in any type of conversation. Hell, he couldn't butt into his and Bella's either since it sounded like they were talking about a topic she knew nothing about.

Then Irina, for some reason, decided to sample the jet's entire liquor collection. An hour and a half into the flight, and she was up to her usual drunken antics.

There weren't any good movies available either, and any attempts to sleep were foiled by the pilot's inability to avoid turbulence.

It was truly the worst plane ride of Rosalie's life, so when they touched down in O'Hare, it took everything in her not to run out of the vessel screaming for joy.

"Rosie," Irina groaned from her seat when the pilot gave the okay to stand and move out. "I think I lost my shoessss."

"Your shoes are there, Irina. You're just drunk," Rose's tone was hard, but she didn't care anymore. "Come on. Get up. We're in Chicago."

"But the world issss spinniiiiing."

"Oh for fuck's sake," Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Jasper, can you help me get her?"

"Uh, sure," Edward replied. "You sure you can handle your stuff by yourself, Bella?"

"I'll be fine. I only have a backpack with me."

Will you stop freaking flirting with that bitch for one second and help me?! Rosalie wanted to shout, but took a deep breath to calm herself. Eventually, Edward approached, and the two of them helped Irina down the steps and across the tarmac with Bella quietly trailing behind them.

"Is she going to be okay?" Edward huffed as he readjusted Irina's arm over his shoulder. He couldn't remember a time in college when the girl had ever gotten so wasted that she needed help moving. "I mean, she looks really...out of it."

"She'll be fine," Rosalie told him. "It's always like this when she drinks too much. She'll just sleep it off when she gets home then be as good as new tomorrow."

The four managed to reach the airport building eventually, and after gathering Rosalie's and Irina's luggage, began to move toward the taxi bay.

They never got there, however, as they already had someone waiting for them at the arrival section.

The furious, and utterly irritated Jacob Black.

Hope you all have an awesome 2015!