"Excuse me, sir?"
"Huh?"
"Is this your ticket? I found it on the floor next to your bag."
"Oh," Jasper checked his pockets first. "Yeah, I think it is mine. Thanks."
The stranger handed him the small piece of paper. "You better be careful where you leave that. Not everyone would stop and ask you."
"You're right. I guess falling half-asleep here isn't such a good idea," Jasper chuckled lightly. "Thanks again."
"No problem." The stranger smiled before walking away.
Jasper sighed, and stared at his ticket. Due to some delays, the earliest bus to New York he managed to book wasn't going to depart for another hour. At first, it didn't seem that much of a hassle, but with nothing to do, Jasper found himself staring blankly at nothing, and second guessing his actions.
"Stop it," he muttered to himself. "It's all over now. Just be happy you're given the chance to be safe."
Nodding, he stuffed the ticket safely in his pocket, and busied himself with a nearby newspaper.
…
Bella was in the elevator before Rosalie could call for security. The pain from her throbbing hand didn't even register; she guessed it was probably the adrenaline coursing through her.
Scheduler was waiting for her outside the car when she reached the parking lot. Bella could see the curiosity and intrigue in her eyes, and she decided to answer her unspoken questions off the bat.
"I did it," she said once close enough. "I know where she left Jasper now. He's at the bus station. I have no idea where he's headed, though."
"That figures," Scheduler said as she re-entered the car the same time as Bella did. "How did you manage to do that?"
"Do what?"
"Get some answers. From what I can tell with Rosalie Hale, she's not exactly the type to give up information just like that."
"I just…demanded, I guess," Bella shrugged. "Plus, she thinks she's won already, so she had no problem telling me where she convinced Jasper to go. And…I may-have-kinda punched her."
"Really?" Scheduler's eyebrows went up.
"Well I did it after she answered my questions, but…yeah," Bella's cheeks turned red at her reaction. She couldn't help but laugh a little. "It felt really good."
If Edward could at that moment, he would have taken Bella in his arms and kissed her silly. The shock and awe he felt just amplified his admiration for her more, and for the umpteenth time that day, he thanked God for giving him Bella.
Now if only He would give Jasper, too.
…
The station wasn't that packed when the search party of three arrived, but there was still enough people milling about to make things harder for them to complete their task. Seeing that they had a lot of ground to cover, Bella immediately took off and disappeared within the crowd.
"Well, off she goes," Scheduler commented, her attempt to follow her failing in an instant. "I guess divide and conquer's the technique we'll be using."
"Come on, then," Edward said as he moved quickly in the direction opposite Bella's. "You don't think his bus has left already, do you?"
"I don't want to think about that." Scheduler's eyes passed through every person she saw.
After what seemed like an eternity of searching, Edward was beginning to feel desperate. If he were still alive, he knew his palms would probably be sweating by now as the uncomfortable twist of anxiety would wreak havoc on his stomach.
"We're never going to find him this way," he tugged at his hair. "Sched, we need to think of another plan."
"There's no time," Scheduler told him, her tone just as frantic. "Okay, I think it's pretty obvious that he isn't in the food court or any of the passenger lounges we passed. Let's just keep going through –"
"Wait," Edward interrupted with a strangely breathy voice. "Over there."
He pointed to the waiting area closest to a terminal where some buses were y boarding. There, looking like he hadn't slept for days, was Jasper.
"Go talk to him," Scheduler urged. "Try to pound some sense into that thick skull of his, and I'll go find Bella."
Edward agreed as she disappeared from his sight. Despite his severely diminished speed, he still managed to reach his host relatively quickly, and with a deep breath, he sat next to him.
"Jasper," he spoke softly. "Jasper, what are you doing?"
The moment the foreign voice registered in his ears, Jasper tensed. "Go away," he hissed. "Just leave me the fuck alone."
"No, please. Hear me out," Edward pleaded. "I'm not here to hurt you or cause you any harm. I just need your help."
"Why should I give it?" Jasper asked. "So you can continue possessing me to do your bidding?"
"I'm not – " Edward began, but Jasper chose the moment to walk away abruptly. To the former's horror, the latter was about to board his bus.
"Wait!" Edward called, running the distance between them, and entering the vehicle when he did. "Look, I'm sorry that everything turned out this way, but I'm really not out to cause you trouble. Please, just don't go."
"No," Jasper spat hotly. He shoved his bag in the overhead compartment before taking up a chair. "Rosalie told me about what you did to me, and what you can do to me if I stayed. I'll be damned if I let some malevolent spirit take over my body, so get the fuck out of this bus, and just leave me in peace!"
The lady in the adjacent row glared balefully at Jasper's disturbance, but he didn't care. He huffed angrily, and stared out the window.
"If there's anyone who's malevolent in this whole scenario, it's Rosalie," Edward insisted. "If you'll just get off the bus and stay, I promise I'll explain everything to you. You have no idea how much I need your help right now."
Jasper didn't respond. He continued to face away from Edward as the bus doors closed, and the vehicle began to pull out of the terminal.
Fuck, Edward thought immediately when he realized what was happening. Where the hell are Bella and Sched?!
…
"Bella! Bella, we found him!"
Bella whirled around to see Scheduler running for her. She instantly felt relief in her chest at her words. "Where is he?"
"He's at the other wing. Come on!" the diminutive girl started running again, Bella right at her heels.
They reached the lounge where Jasper was last spotted, but despite both girls' efforts, he was nowhere to be seen.
"I don't understand. Could he have gone somewhere else?" Bella asked as she looked around.
"No," Scheduler shook her head in fear. "He's gone. He boarded before we arrived."
"How can you –"
"I just know," Scheduler insisted, and she did. Though she didn't have the ability to track down Jasper's whereabouts, she did have the capability to know Edward's. "Look, it's almost on the road already."
"Well, we can't just stand here," Bella exclaimed. "We need to stop it! Or find some other way of getting on it."
"That sounds crazy, but I don't think we have a choice anymore." Scheduler said a little regretfully.
Thanks to adrenaline, Bella took off sprinting faster than she ever did in all her life. The bus hadn't gotten too far away, but its distance from her was long enough that she was panting once she was beside it.
"Hey!" she shouted, hand banging on the side repeatedly. "Stop the bus!"
And by some miracle, it did.
The large hunk of metal slowly decelerated until it came to a full stop on the road. Bella thought it had been her who'd managed to make it halt, but upon rounding up to the front, it turned out to be a police officer on a bike who had done it.
"What's the hold up?" the driver asked as he stepped out of the bus. "I already have my clearance and everything!"
"That's not it," the officer shook her head. "Couldn't you see you had a passenger chasing after you? Poor girl's probably exhausted tryin' to catch up!"
"Well, she should've just gotten on like everyone else back at the station."
"You wanna get your license suspended again, Schmidt? Keep talkin' to me like that, and that's what's gonna happen."
Schmidt grumbled under his breath, and eyed Bella from the corner of his eye. "Fine, then. But she ain't getting on without a ticket."
"Thanks so much." Bella thanked the officer while the driver returned inside.
"No problem, ma'am. Just be careful, now." She reached out her hand for a shake. When Bella pulled away, she found a ticket placed in her palm.
She was surprised at the move, but no longer had time to question it anymore. She hurriedly climbed onto the bus, and after giving the small piece of paper over, began walking down the narrow aisle to where Jasper was seated.
…
"Bella," Edward exhaled in reprieve when he saw her walking towards him. He had been worried as all out seeing her run after the bus from the window, so he was happy to see that she was safe and sound.
Alerted by Edward's voice, Jasper turned to see her as well. It surprised him a little when she sat on the vacant chair beside his.
Bella was still a little breathless, but she still spoke clearly. "Jasper, I don't know if you remember me – "
"Bella," Jasper said, partially because he heard Edward mention it, and partially because he truly did recognize her. "Bella Swan."
"Yeah. Hi."
"What are you – what do you want from me?"
"I need you to stay in Chicago, Jasper," Bella implored in a manner similar to Edward's. She had planned on easing up to this part of the conversation at first, but decided to just get straight to the point. "Please. You –"
"Do you know what's happening to me?" Jasper demanded angrily. "Do you know about that-that ghost who's been possessing me? Of course you do; otherwise you wouldn't be asking me the same thing. Are you possessed, too? Is that what's happening? You need me to stay here so your little buddy can have someone to manipulate again?"
"It's not like that," Bella said fervently. "I'm not possessed, and Edward isn't evil. He just needs your help."
"She's right," Edward added. "I swear to you, Jasper. I don't have any ill intentions."
"Edward, huh," Jasper narrowed his eyes at his general direction. "So it has a name."
"God, I never knew he could be such an asshole," Scheduler suddenly appeared beside Edward. "When did he become such a prick?"
"Shut up, Sched. Now isn't the time for your commentary," Edward muttered at her.
"Someone else is with you?" Jasper asked in surprise.
"What?"
"The spirit...I heard him talking to someone else."
"He's here?" Bella's eyes widened. "I...Well, that doesn't matter. Jasper, please listen to me. Edward is a good person. His circumstances just haven't been so kind to him."
"Sure." Jasper snorted.
Bella ignored that. "Last month, he fell into a coma after getting into an accident. In the process, his body and soul were separated, and in order for them to be one again – in order for him to live – he needs to fulfil his mission first. That's where he needs your help."
"An accident...what happened to him?"
"You've probably heard of it," Bella said. "It was a car crash. The driver of the other vehicle was fine, but Edward..."
"Wait," Jasper was fully attentive now. "Was – Was one of the cars shiny and silver? And the other one was black?"
"Yeah."
"Oh my God," Jasper gasped into his hands. "That crash...i-it was my fault."
"What?" Edward questioned. "What do you mean it was your fault? How can –" But then he remembered.
He remembered that while his driving was fast that day, a man had suddenly crossed the street, forcing him to turn sharply and crash into the SUV.
"It was you," he whispered. "You were the man I tried not to hit."
"I...I don't know what to say," Jasper's voice trembled.
"It's your fault why I'm like this!" Edward roared. "If it wasn't for you, I would still be alive!"
"Ed, calm down –"
"Don't tell me to calm down!" he shrugged off Scheduler's hand. All rational thoughts flew out of his mind as he continued to rant. "You – I can't –I can't believe this!"
"I'm so sorry."
"No! No, you don't get to be sorry. I'm through!" Edward turned to Scheduler. "I can't do this anymore, Sched. I don't want to be anywhere near him!"
"Edward, stop it and think properly here," Scheduler scolded. "You were going past the speed limit that day."
"It was a fucking green light!" Edward turned slightly to glare at Jasper. "If he just paid attention, I wouldn't be in this mess!"
"I'm sorry," Jasper apologized again. Tears were starting to fall from his eyes. "I-I didn't mean to. I didn't know it was going to be like this. I was just s-so upset that day..."
"What's happening?" Bella was completely bewildered. She looked back and forth between Jasper and the space where she assumed Edward was standing. "Are you okay? What's Edward saying?"
"He's angry at me," Jasper confessed. "B-Because I'm the reason why he was in that accident. I'm sorry, Edward."
Edward shook his head wordlessly.
"I really am," Jasper insisted. "Please. I-I'll make it up to you. I'll stay in Chicago. I'll help with your mission."
He leaned forward slightly to show his sincerity. "I'll do all that I can to help you get your life back."