Hello! lol im back. I think. haha well at this moment in time I hope to be back but whether or not I get the time to continue to remain back is another story. Anyway this is a brand new story, based on the "Making out series" by K. A. Applegate. I haven't read those books in ages and then I finally remembered the name of them, found them on Amazon and intend on ordering them. As I read them for the first time the Mediator flashed through my head....and the result= Criminal Injustice! lol and i hope you all like it. It's a short first chapter (a taster really, to see what reaction it gets first) but I promise when I get up and running on this again chapters will be longer.

Well, let me know what you think, always eager to hear what you have to say!

Laura x

"I can't believe that Son-of-Bitch is getting out!" Paul yelled. I flinched and slid down off the edge of the rock I had been perched up on. The rock was our meeting place- where all four, now five, of us met up. It was in the middle of this huge field about half way between all of our houses and had been our meeting place ever since we were kids, even though we were all 17 the tradition of meeting up here before and after school never died out.

"Look, Paul," I said quietly, not looking my boyfriend in the eye. "He's done his sentence, we all knew he was going to get out soon, it wasn't as if it was a surprise,"

"I know that Suze," Paul said looking hurt and betrayed by my words. "But I can't believe he has the nerve to come back here! No one wants him back after what he did. My brother's dead because of him! Dead! Don't you get it?"

"Of course I get it Paul!" I snapped stung by what he had said. My mind, like it always did, began to slither back to the night three years ago when everyone had found out Jack Slater was dead. It was around twelve at night when the violent screeching of brakes, the crunching of metal against brick and the blood curdling screams had woken most of the residents in Carmel. "I was there too you know!"

"I'm sorry," Paul said sadly, the fire fading in his piercing blue eyes as he took my hand. I gave it a sympathetic squeeze, before letting go. Paul looked confused for a second but got over it pretty quickly. Overhead, dark clouds were starting to drift in. A cold breeze crawled over the exposed skin of my arms leaving goose bumps in its wake.

"I agree with Paul," said Adam tugging at his blue and white tie, trying to loosen it. "Think of all the people he has affected, I mean it wasn't just Jack in that car, Maria was there too…she was lucky to have survived," He added, causing us all to look around at Maria who was 19 and the oldest of us all, as she sat crossed legged in the grass, looking at her shoes avoiding anyone's gaze. She had made our once group of four the five it is now. A lot of things had changed since that dreadful night, not including the size change in my close group of friends. Guilt passed like the breeze over my skin again, keeping the goose bumps alive.

"I know," CeeCee said, patting Maria on the shoulder, "It must be hard knowing that your boyfriend was the cause of so much pain,"

I noticed Maria flinch at CeeCee's words. I rolled my eyes; CeeCee was never the subtle type. I watched Maria as she pulled at a few strands of grass distractedly, her mind like all of ours wandering back to the accident that had changed most of our life's. I tried not to think about it at all, so I instead noted just how pretty Maria was. I had always envied her for it. She was one of the prettiest girls in Carmel, with her curly black hair, clear oval skin and petite figure; she was the girl that most boys drooled over. Then you had me, plain as day Suze Simon, the daughter of the owners of the finest restaurant in town; Ackerman's. My step-dad Andy Ackerman was the chef there too.

No boys ever drooled over me, except of course my boyfriend Paul. We've been going together ever since we were 8 years old, when during a game of hide-and-seek as we were hiding in our usual spot behind the bins in the small alleyway just outside Ackerman's, he had leaned in and kissed me briefly on the lips.

I remember childishly asking him, "Are we girlfriend and boyfriend now?" to which he eagerly replied, "Yeah, I think so,"

We had been inseparably ever since. That was until the tragic death that took his older brother Jack's life. After that we spent a while apart, just until things settled down but it was just never the same. I think Paul has sensed it too which is probably why he's been so clingy lately. I have a feeling that we would have split up long ago, if we hadn't been with each other so long. I mean, the thought of being without each other or with someone else after 9 years was scary. Sometimes, I really do think about whether or not I'm happy with Paul, but he's my best friend and the thought of ruining that friendship scares me more than the prospect of being with someone else.

"When exactly does he get out?" I asked cautiously, not wanting Paul to go off the handle again.

"Next Wednesday," Paul said shortly, his gaze still on Maria. Whenever the gang was all together, he would often stare at her. I felt jealous sometimes, but I wasn't exactly innocent either, when it came to thinking of other people. I mean, if Paul found out what I had done not a week after the accident he would never forgive me. I shuddered at the thought.

"Oh,"

"I just don't understand it," Paul continued, finally taking his gaze off of Maria and instead just looked around at us all. "Why would he come back? He has nothing here! I mean, he must know that he isn't going to get the warmest welcome back…I wouldn't be surprised if they rode him out of town again."

I looked at the fresh green grass, not daring to look anyone in the eye, consumed with anxiety and dread every time someone brought him up, anytime anyone mentioned his name. Which was basically all the time. A day never went by that there wasn't talk about the accident, someone saying how much they missed Jack or how much they hated that Jesse de Silva for everything he did.

I could barely imagine what it was going to be like when he came back.

"It's getting dark," I said finally getting up. Everyone muttered their agreements and we all began to make our way out through the field and towards our houses. Once we reached the road we went our separate ways. CeeCee and Adam went together, Maria on her own as she lived furthest away from most of us and Paul and me together.

As we walked Paul took my hand. I didn't drop it this time.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, holding my hand a little tighter. I smiled, in a weird way it was kind of comforting. I missed the way we were.

"I'm fine, why?" I asked, as my house began to loom into view.

"I don't know….you were kind of quiet today," Paul replied just as softly, stopping just before my drive and out of range of the windows. I shrugged.

"I'm fine, just tired, honest," I lied, moving round so I was in front of him and took hold of his other hand.

"If you're sure?" Paul said slightly distracted as I moved closer to him, pressing my body against his.

"Uh huh," I muttered as our lips came together. It was times like this, that I always wondered what could ever be wrong with our relationship. I mean, his kisses take me away and I love it, they make me forget all the things that are wrong and not right between us, but then when we pull apart it all comes flooding back.

I think that's why I held on to him that bit tighter and deepened the kiss so it would last longer because I didn't want to go back, go back to living a lie, from keeping the truth from my boyfriend, from pretending everything was okay…when it really wasn't.

"Do you want to come back to mine?" Paul asked quietly, resting his forehead against mine, both of us breathing deeply. I sighed, that was another thing that was changing between us. Paul wanted to go further with our relationship, whilst I…well to be honest I was scared and everything that had happened and was happening was holding me back.

"Paul…I don't know…I mean my mum and Andy will be wondering where I am…I don't think tonight would be the best time," I told him quietly, not meeting his gaze. He was silent for a moment.

"Okay," He said, but didn't take his hands from my waist; instead he leant down and kissed me once more. When we pulled apart he muttered, "I love you,"

"I love you too," I said, holding back the tears that I felt were about to come, because I wasn't really sure what I said was true anymore. No matter how much I wanted it to be.