A/N: I’m really sorry I haven’t updated ay of my stories in awhile. I got sidetracked with my newer hobbies (video editing, photo editing, basically any kind of editing.) This is just a quick one-shot that came to me when I was listening to Vienna by The Fray. Actually, the only part that has to do with Vienna is the fact that there’s a bus. My friend Cristina is making a banner for this, so it’ll be up on my profile very shortly. Onto the story….

Summary: Edward Cullen finds himself falling deeper and deeper in love with Bella Swan each bus ride. Throw in a brown bracelet, one angry cousin, a dinner party, and a slice of cake and what do you get? A story of romance, friendship and hilarious threats. ExB, OCxJB.

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Title: Bus Schedules

Rating: T

Author: Breathless Tomb

One-Shot

Edward’s POV

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I watched as the rain poured down in buckets. The lights of every house were dimmed, with the curtains pulled shut. I waited under the golden glow of the street light, my hair plastered to the sides of my face. Another dreary day. Maybe the rain was just some sort of freak coincidence. But what would I know? I’d long given up trying to make sense of the world.

I could see the silver lights of the bus down the street making its way towards me. I sighed. Another ending day. Another day of my life gone. I stuffed my hands into my pockets, fidgeting with my feet, staring at the ground.

The bus pulled up in front of me, and the doors opened. I waited for a few seconds, allowing the other passengers to get off. Then I saw her.

She smiled at me politely, which I returned. Every day I saw her, and every day I wished I could just pluck up the courage to talk to her. She was perfect. We could be perfect. Together. It would be amazing. It would be heaven.

But every day, it was the same. Just as I felt like I could say something, I would see her smile and just like that all my courage would disappear, leaving me an incoherent mess. So, I just smiled and nodded, inwardly despising myself. I cursed myself to the fiery regions of hell. Such a coward Cullen, I thought.

I watched her quietly as she walked away, before climbing into the bus. The driver gave me a pitying look, and a small smile. Was it that obvious? I guess so, by the look of his face. I sat down at the back, resting my head against the window. I had rubbed against the frost on the window, wiping off liquid residue onto my cheek.

I watched her silhouette walk away into the darkness as the bus pulled away. I sighed again. One day. One day everything would be perfect. I just knew it somehow. It wasn’t an obsessive thought, or even slightly creepy. I just knew that she was perfect for me. She was everything I’d ever looked for in a woman.

The street lights faded into the distance as the bus neared my house. I waited in numbness. Inside, everything seemed to be working, but hollow. Pathetic, cowardly piece of shit. God Cullen, get over yourself.

The bus stopped, and I started walking down the rows. Just as I was about to step off, the driver put his hand on my shoulder. I craned my head around to look at him. His sad smile was still in place, and I couldn’t help comparing how he looked at me like a father would look at his son.

“Talk to her. She feels the same you know,” He said. My eyes widened.

“Really? How do you know? When did you figure it out? Why didn’t you tell me before? Why are you telling me this?” The words didn’t seem to leave my mouth fast enough as I bombarded him with questions.

“I know what it’s like to lose a chance at love. I’m not going to let you make my mistake.”

And with that, he pushed me onto the sidewalk and closed the bus doors. I stood there dumbfounded as the bus pulled away. It seemed like I’d stood there for hours, until I finally turned around and walked down the street, my feet sloshing in the puddles.

How did the man know? How could he have known but not me? Why couldn’t he have told me this weeks ago? I could be with her right now! I could be with Bella. I wouldn’t be alone right now. I wouldn’t be walking alone to my apartment right now. Bella.

My mind was on overdrive, thinking everything over. Once I’d entered my apartment building, I pulled out my keys. Nothing was making sense. I unlocked and opened my door, stepping inside. My shoes squeaked against the linoleum, much to my increasing annoyance. Though I should’ve been grateful to the old man, I couldn’t help but feel so frustrated. All this time waiting.

I hung my jacket up and kicked my shoes into the hall closet. My hair was still dripping, so I quickly grabbed a towel from the laundry room. After scrubbing my hair thoroughly, I fell back into a chair. I didn’t care in the slightest that my clothes were soaked.

All I could think about was Bella.

***

“Hi Bella, my name’s Edward. I was thinking, since we see each other every day, but we’ve never actually talked, do you wanna go grab a coffee sometime today?”

Awkward.

“Hey Bella, I’m Edward. Since I see you every day, but we’ve never actually talked, I wanted to know if you wanted to...um…I don’t know, hang out sometime?”

Desperate. And just a bit creepy.

“Yo Bella. I’m Edward. You wanna grab a coffee after, or just hang out? My treat.”

Too forward. And pushy. I sound like Mike Newton. Ew.

“Bella, I have a confession. I’m completely in love with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know I’ve never talked to you, but please marry me. I couldn’t stand to see you with another man.”

Oh God, no. Why don’t you just piss on her while you’re at it?

I stood in front of the mirror, trying to figure out how to talk to her. But so far, nothing was working. Everything that came out of my mouth just sounded so wrong. I sighed in exasperation. This was going nowhere fast.

On the bright side, at least I was nearly completely sure she’d be on the bus today. It was Saturday. Obviously she’d be taking the bus and metro downtown. Maybe I could ask her to sit beside me on the metro. My mood brightened considerably.

This time when I got on the bus, my mood was completely turned around. The driver looked up at me and subtly nodded his to the back, where I could clearly see Bella smiling back at me. A grin stretched across my face as I walked quickly down the rows, making my way to the seat beside me.

Suddenly, someone pushed past me. I stumbled into a chair as a blonde man sat beside Bella. Newton. Bella shot me an apologetic look, but I shrugged. I sat down in the seat I was pushed into, glaring at Newton from the corner of my eye.

He was leaning far too close to Bella, his arm thrown casually over her shoulder. I could feel rage boiling inside me. Calm Cullen. You don’t want to snap and murder the poor idiot. That’d only scare Bella off, and then what chance would you have with her?

The voice in my head was right, and I reluctantly focussed my attention to the hills of glistening pure white snow. There was a glassy layer over the snow, as if water had been recently been poured onto the small mountains, creating a smooth icy surface. The trees were dusted with snow, sprinkling down in the mild wind.

I could hear Bella’s delightful peals of laughter coming from the back of the bus. What I wouldn’t give for it to be me making her laugh. Instead of that vile Newton. Damn parasite. But what was she laughing at? Something he said? Why would she be leading him on like that? It was painfully obvious how much he lusted after her.

Did she….did she want him that way too? Had the bus driver been wrong in his assumption? My heart plummeted at the thought. No. An angel like Bella couldn’t possibly be attracted to something as disgusting as Newton. He was miles out of her league.

But aren’t you as well?

The nagging voice in my head reminded me just how inferior I was to the angel who sat six seats in back of me. I could still hear her voice, ringing like bells. How accurate, I thought. But, I could also hear Mike’s annoyingly obnoxious voice, poisoning the atmosphere.

God, why doesn’t he just die already?

The bus screeched to a stop and I snapped my head back to see Bella squeezing past Newton to get out of her seat. My vision adopted a red tint when I noticed Newton staring at her ass with a smirk. Disgusting pig.

My palms felt clammy as she walked to the front of the bus, passing by me. She shot me her usual smile, before getting off the bus. My head dropped. Not again. I was actually going to say something today! Damn Newton.

But, looking at the floor beside me, I noticed a silver bracelet, with a wooden wolf attached to it. I’d seen that bracelet before. Images and sounds flashed through my head.

A pale delicate wrist.

Peals of laughter.

A pale hand running through locks of coffee hair.

A polite smile.

Bell laughter.

Bells.

Bella.

I was off my seat and running for the doors in seconds. The bus hadn’t left yet, luckily. I glanced at the old man, who shot me an encouraging smile. Bella wasn’t too far away. I jumped onto the sidewalk and started running. A quick glance back showed Newton glaring at me as the bus pulled away. I smirked triumphantly. Serves him right, filthy pervert.

Once I was directly behind Bella, I reached forward, tapping on her shoulder. She spun around, clearly shocked to see me. I held the bracelet out, saying, “I think you dropped this.”

She squealed and launched herself into my arms, shrieking thank you over and over. My lips pulled up into an enormous smile. I was stunned into silence, but screaming inside. All I could think of was, I wanted to be able to hold Bella like this forever, and never have to let go. I wanted to wake up holding her, and fall asleep with her.

“Thank you for finding Jacob’s bracelet!” She said when she let go of me. Everything froze. Jacob? I hadn’t even thought if she had a significant other. I just sort of assumed she was single, since I’d never seen her with a man before today, when Newton stole my seat.

“Jacob?” I asked. I hoped she didn’t hear the jealousy in my voice. She must’ve though, because she cocked an eyebrow, her lips pursed.

“He’s my cousin, and also my best friend.”

My face heated up and I fidgeted with my feet. I flashed her a crooked grin, chuckling nervously. I expected her to scowl and walk away, but instead she simply smiled.

“Hey, do you wanna do something?” I asked, pointing to a nearby café.

Bella shrugged. “It’s not like I have anything better to do,” She said in a teasing voice. Linking our arms together, she proceeded to half drag me to the coffee shop.

***

My arm looped through Bella’s as the bus ran over a crack in the street, bouncing us off our seats. I winced as I slammed back down on the cool plastic. I pouted dramatically at Bella, moaning in mock pain. I rubbed the underside of my upper thigh with my hand

“It hurts Bella,” I said in a whining voice.

She shot me an exasperated, yet amused look before playfully mocking back to me, “Aww, poor Eddie. Does Eddie want a band aid to make his booboo better?”

I shook my head, keeping my pout on, “Eddie doesn’t want a band aid. Eddie wants a kiss. On the lips.” I pointed to my lips and smirked wickedly at her. Bella rolled her eyes, lifting her head up and quickly pecking me on the cheek. I frowned.

“That’s not the lips…” I muttered, but my attention was soon diverted to a man who’d just stepped onto the bus. He was tall—at least six foot three. His inky black hair was cropped short and contrasted well with his russet skin tone. He was arguing with the bus driver in an obnoxiously loud voice.

“Look, I don’t care if I have to have ‘exact change’. For God’s sake it’s five freaking bucks! Just give me my damn change back!” He proclaimed in a booming voice. Bella’s head snapped to the front of the bus, her eyes wide and fearful.

“Oh no…” She moaned, dropping her head into her hands. I arched an eyebrow. I looked back at the Native American man to see him turn his head at the sound of her voice. A wide smile over took his face, showing rows of pearly white teeth.

“Bella!” He screamed, running to the back of the bus.

“Hey!” The bus driver yelled, “You can’t go back there without paying!”

The tall man looked back, “Okay calm yourself down, dude. This is my cousin. I’m just gonna ask her for some change, alright?” The bus driver looked slightly less upset, but I could still see an angry purple vein pulsing near his temple.

Bella looked up at me apologetically and then back at the man. “Hey Jacob,” She said in a weak voice, looking utterly embarrassed.

I snorted with laughter. This was the cousin and best friend Bella had been talking about? She shot me an annoyed look, her cheeks flushing a deep scarlet, which I found rather endearing. I chuckled, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a bunch of random quarters. I handed them to Jacob before Bella could protest.

“Here dude. Don’t worry about paying me back,” I said. He gave me a grin, rushing to the front of the bus and dropping the quarters into the bus driver’s awaiting hand. I felt rather than heard Bella’s huff of annoyance before she punched me on the shoulder.

“What?” I whispered in confusion. Her eyes were frustrated and her nose scrunched up in anger. I already knew what she was going to say before the words left her lips, so I clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled for a second, before finally giving up, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at me from the corner of her eyes.

“I know what you’re going to say, so don’t say it,” I warned her, removing my hand. I looked back at Jacob who was walking towards us, vaguely hearing Bella mutter “I could’ve given him money.”

Jacob sat on the other side of Bella, reaching over to shake my hand. His grip was firm, but I had the strangest suspicion that it was only because I was sitting beside Bella. His dark eyes twinkled with mischief and happiness, but they were slightly guarded.

“Listen, thanks man, I really needed that.” I shrugged off his gratitude.

“It’s nothing.”

He turned his attention back to Bella, grabbing her by the head and ruffling her hair. “Jake stop!” She yelled, squirming around, hitting and pinching his arm repeatedly.

“How’s my favourite cousin?” He growled playfully. Bella’s face was an even deeper shade of red now than before, as the other passengers glared at Jacob’s boisterous display. I, on the other hand, was trying my damn hardest not to fall onto the floor laughing.

“I’m fine Jake. Thanks.” She added in the last bit when he let go of her neck. She smoothed down her hair, fixing the collar of her jacket. Bella glanced over at me and, seeing my smirk, slapped my shoulder for the second time today.

“Bells, Sara wanted to know if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight. She’s making her Fettuccine Bombay.” Jacob’s mouth watered a little as he looked out the window, his eyes glazed over. He shook his head before looking over at me. His eyes looked almost calculating, before a wide grin spread across his face.

“You should come over too….” He stopped, and I realized I’d never introduced myself.

“My name’s Edward, and I wouldn’t want to impose…”

He waved his hand and made a face, “Don’t be stupid, you wouldn’t be imposing. Sara’s always pressuring me to bring more people over anyway. She thinks I don’t have any friends.” He sighed, “She worries a lot, but it’s only ‘cause she cares. I love her.”

And he did. I could hear it in every word he said about her. I smiled to myself. “Who is Sara anyway?” I asked.

Bella smiled sweetly at me, “Sara’s Jake’s fiancée. They met a year and a half ago. Jake spilt a drink on Sara’s shirt and tried to clean it up. She then proceeded to flip out at him for touching her. Genius then asked for her number, which she strangely gave him before storming off. They’ve been together ever since.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. What an odd pair. I’d have to meet this Sara person. Jacob smiled again, his eyes hundred years away, remembering the day he met Sara I guessed. I intertwined my fingers with Bella’s. She looked up at me and I winked back down.

***

“Honey, I’m home!” Jacob called out, throwing his jacket onto a chair sitting right beside the door. Bella and I copied his movement. I heard shuffling from the kitchen, and then a blur of brown and white launched itself at Jacob, though he didn’t budge an inch.

“Welcome home Jake, I made Fettuccine,” The girl who’d thrown herself at Jacob. The girl had her face buried in Jacob’s chest, with her arms wrapped around his waist, so all I could see were messy locks of auburn brown hair. She was quite tall for a girl, though still a head shorter than Jacob. They matched well together. This must’ve been Sara.

“I brought friends home. I told you I wasn’t depressed,” Jacob said. Sara poked her head over Jacob’s shoulder, and I was met with a pair of friendly, inquisitive peridot eyes. She had a heart shaped face, much like Bella’s, but while Bella’s features were delicate and small, Sara’s were relatively normal sized.

“Hi!” She said eagerly, smiling. She had a strange aura about her. Very oxymoron, almost like an apathetic excitement. I found myself smiling back awkwardly as she rushed forward to engulf me and Bella in a hug.

“I’m Sara, but you probably already know that by now,” She said to me, “Oh, and hey Bella! Long time no see.”

“I’m Edward, and yeah Jacob introduced you on the way here.”

We all heard Jacob yell from the kitchen, “Holy crap Sara! Did you expect me to bring people over?!”

Sara looked at me and Bella and shrugged, “I cook a lot. Usually Jake eats all the food before me, so today I decided to cook enough to feed a small army. Turns out I’m psychic. Follow me to the kitchen.”

The table had been set for two people even though it seated four, so Sara hurriedly rushed around the room, grabbing extra forks, plates, knives, and napkins. Bella and I stared in awe at the meal presented before us. Jacob had already seated himself down, waiting anxiously for the meal to start.

Sara purposely served Jacob first, noticing the ravenous expression on his face. The moment the Fettuccine touched his plate, he rammed his fork into it, picking up the entire piece and bringing it to his mouth, which Sara promptly swatted away. The food fell back onto his plate and Jacob looked up at Sara in desperation.

“You wait until everyone else has food on their plates. Got it?” She said, glaring down at him. Jacob nodded and lowered his head, pouting. I smirked, looking the other way, while Bella stifled a laugh. Jacob raised his head a bit to glower at us.

“You think this is funny Swan?” He said to Bella. Bella Swan. So that was her last name. I smiled to myself discreetly. I’d have to file that away for another time. Bella chose to ignore him, watching Sara hurriedly serving everyone. Her cheekbones were a faint pink from running around the room. Jacob reached for his fork again.

“Don’t you dare touch that Jacob Black,” She said scathingly. She smiled at me, “I’m so sorry. Jacob really has no manners.” She shot him a look.

Jacob held up his hands in self defence, “I’m hungry. Plus, I’ve been a nice person today, inviting Bella and Edward over. I should be rewarded.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Bella and I made gagging faces. Sara rolled her eyes, walking over and opening the fridge, pulling out a huge slice of cake on a plate. Jacob beamed.

“This,” Sara said, pointing to the slice, “Is your desert. Do not touch it before we all finish eating or I swear to God you’ll be sorry you ever came home.”

She placed the plate in front of him and I watched in amusement as Jacob stared at the cake in longing. I could’ve sworn I even heard a little whimper escape his lips. Once Sara had set all the plates, she sat down beside Jacob, who abruptly dug into his food.

“So Edward, how’d you meet Bella?” Sara asked, trying to make polite conversation, “When did you guys start dating?”

Bella choked a little on her food, from embarrassment. “We aren’t dating Sara,” My heart plummeted a bit at her words, “We met a while ago, but never had the chance to actually hang out. I dropped my charm bracelet that Jake gave me and Edward found it for me, so we spent the day together.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Sara cooed, but she still looked slightly confused at Bella’s words. “Are you sure you two aren’t dating? You look so cute together!”

Bella looked down, muttering something about hopeless romantic. Jacob lifted his head from his plate looking at us. “You guys seemed awfully close when I met you on the bus,” He accused, pointing a figure between us.

“So that’s where you met them?” Sara asked. She glanced from him to me to Bella, and then sighed, “What’d he do now?”

Jacob dropped his fork in aggravation. “It always has to be something I did, doesn’t it? It’s never me just coincidently finding someone; I always have to have done something.”

“He was making a scene at the front of the bus,” Bella piped in. Sara smirked over at Jacob, and he looked away, biting his lip to hide a smile.

“Which I saved him from,” I said, speaking for the first time. Bella grinned up at me. I put my fork down, folding my hands under my chin, “Jacob mentioned something about being pressured to bring friends home. Is that true?” I asked pleasantly, just teasing Jacob slightly.

Sara nodded vigorously, “Oh yes. I’ve been worrying about Jake a lot. I think he has issues with people.” She stopped to think, “Or more like people have issues with him.”

Jacob snorted, “I don’t need friends,” He said, “I’ve got my two best girls right here.” He swopped down to plant a wet kiss on Sara’s cheek. She giggled in awkwardness, but you could tell just how much she liked it.

Bella suddenly changed the subject. “This is delicious Sara,” She moaned, digging into her Fettuccine, “What’d you use in this?”

Sara thought for a second. “Well, there’s crushed up garlic cloves, fourteen ounces of diced tomatoes, an onion, two skinless and boneless chicken breast, some—Jake don’t touch that or you won’t be getting any for a month!” She shouted as Jacob reached for the slice of cake.

Jacob’s hand snapped back, looking at her fearfully, though he didn’t look like he doubted her for a second. He looked positively green as he thought of her threat. I was holding my sides laughing, and Bella was giggling madly, her hands clamped over her mouth. Her eyes were watering with mirth.

I found it absolutely adorable.

The dinner went on for about another half hour, with Jacob making many half-hearted attempts at getting his cake before we finished eating. I suspected most of them were just to tease Sara, because even she was starting to smile a little at it after the fifth time.

“Edward, can I talk to you in the other room?” Jacob suddenly asked, his expression very innocent. I glanced over at Bella, whose hand had frozen holding her fork. Her wide, suspicious eyes were trained on Jacob as he got up. I shrugged, “Sure.”

He led me over to the living room, sitting down on the couch. I following suite, sitting beside him on the farthest end of the couch, keeping a respectful distance between us. I wasn’t family.

“I just want you to know,” Jacob drawled, looking serious, yet playful, “That I approve of you and Bella,” He cut me off before I could protest, “And don’t tell me that neither of you are interested. It’s as obvious as day.”

“Thanks Jake,” I grinned, listening to the peals of bell laughter coming from the kitchen. I had a feeling, that this wouldn’t be the last time I’d be hearing that delightful sound. As Jake had said;

It was as obvious as day.

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A/N: *Sighs* It’s finally done! I’ve been working on this one-shot for a freaking long time, because I keep procrastinating. Luckily, Sara (Who is actually my real-life friend, obsessed with Jacob) kept nagging me to finish this. I would die without her. She’s awesome. And she really does act like as I wrote her. That’s her exact personality.

I will be updating my other stories sometime, but probably not very soon because I’m such a sloth. I’ll most likely be writing more one-shots, but probably for Harry Potter. I’ve really gotten into the Cedric/Hermione pairing. I hope you liked this!

--Breathless Tomb--