Disclaimer: The Mediator belongs to Meg Cabot dudes! It's all hers!

...And You Are...?

Chapter one

I stared down at Paul's unconscious body feeling – okay, I admit it – a little guilty. I hadn't meant for this to happen but, yeah, it was my fault.

So, sorry to any Paul lovers out there.

Ha, Paul lovers? As if! Sorry, I think I let my extremely weird imagination get carried away a bit there.

It's a pretty funny idea though.

Right, I'll be serious now. No jokes, the Paul Lovers might be offended… Snort.

Okay. Unconscious body. On the floor. Got it.

I prodded Paul's stomach with my foot wondering if he was planning on waking up any time soon. I really hoped so. And not because I missed Paul's ever so charming personality or anything. No, if it was up to me he'd stay this way, he's much better company when he's unconscious, I've found. However, Dr Slaski's nurse or someone happened to walk in anytime soon for whatever reason and he found me staring down at Paul's body, then I don't think he'd be best pleased with me. Unless I could somehow convince him that I hadn't noticed it. Like, "Oh hi, nice weather we're having – oh my God! Look at THAT!"

Hmm, I'll have to try it sometime.

Or I could pretend he'd fainted. I don't think anyone has to know that the real reason Paul is lying unconscious on his bedroom floor is because he'd shifted with a particularly violent ghost that I've been trying to mediate for the last three days.

Somehow I don't think Paul's going to be too happy with me when he wakes up. And Paul's bad enough in a good mood, I don't think I want to find out what he's like when he's angry. Maybe if I made a run for it now he'd forget about it by the next time we see each other. Yeah, that's a good plan; I'll just walk awa-

Crap!

He woke up.

Oh, God. A hiding place, that's what I need. Think Suze, where can you hide?

"Suze?"

NOOOOOOOO! STOP LOOKING, WHILE I HIDE!

I turned round, smiling sweetly. "Hi Paul."

That's good, lay it on thick, girl. Stay on his good side. Remember, you're too young to die. And Paul's got ghostly minions, he could probably get away with the murder. There's nothing stopping him!

Paul looked up at me, seeming more than a little irritated.

Okay, time to go!

"Okay," I said, still smiling. "You're fine, so I guess I'll be going now."

I started walking towards the door.

Please spare me, please, please, please, please-

"Not so fast, Suze."

I think I'm going to cry.

I turned back round and noticed that Paul had sat up and was wincing as his post-shifting headache set in.

"Can't blame me for trying," I muttered as I walked over to his bed and sat down on it.

Paul looked like he was trying to hide a grin at that. Hey, maybe there was hope after all.

"What was that?" he asked, meaning the mediation-gone-wrong that he had just been dragged into.

Okay, so Paul wanted an explanation, this was good; it meant that I might get away with it. Either that or I'd make things ten times worse. Hmm, how should I answer this? "It was… a ghost." Hey, good start! "You can tell because of the glow-"

"Suze."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" I admitted. "Things just got out of control when I couldn't find the guy's money and I thought he'd gotten over it but, you know, apparently not…" I trailed off when I noticed Paul's exasperated look. "So, um, sorry."

I suppose this could have gone worse. I mean, exasperated isn't murderous, and it was murderous that I was trying to avoid so really my job is done. I can deal with exasperated.

"And you wonder why I don't put up with charity cases."

Ah, there's the Paul we all know and… something… not love… because that would just be wrong. Whatever, I was safe now, it seemed. I could relax and annoy Paul as much as I wanted.

Which I promptly did: "Well actually, I don't. I know it's 'cause you're a jerk."

Paul stood up and shot me a dark look. "Right I'm a jerk," he said, "one who just saved you from getting your head smashed open."

Um, I might have forgotten to mention that earlier.

'Cause, yeah, Paul was right. I'd just been sitting on his bed, minding my own business and reading this book on shifting when suddenly Paul grabbed me and pulled me to the side just as a humongous – and when I say humongous, I mean humongous – hardback book landed where I'd just been sitting. I was so surprised that I didn't even notice the ghost guy until everything started shaking and I was flung across the room. As I looked up Paul grabbed hold of him and shifted. Which was why he'd been unconscious before.

But like I was going to let that get in the way of my insults.

He probably had it coming anyway. I mean, like I said, the guy's a jerk and he must be practically swimming in bad karma. This wouldn't have happened if he were just that little bit nicer.

"I could have totally saved myself," I told him, even though that was, of course, ridiculous. But he didn't need to know that. "I don't need your help, Paul."

Paul smirked. "Yeah that's why – shit!"

Paul was looking round his room with a horrified look on his face.

"What?" I asked him, confused.

"Look at what that ghost did to my room!"

I looked. And was totally unimpressed. Yeah his room was a mess, but it wasn't like anything was broken. It was just a bunch of books that had fallen off his shelves, same with a couple of CDs and the box he keeps his shifter stuff in had been knocked over and the contents were scattered over the floor.

But still, it was no big deal.

I gave Paul a funny look. "You mean you only just noticed this?"

He scowled at me. "I'm sorry, Suze, I was a little preoccupied with wondering why a ghost just showed up in my bedroom and tried to kill you."

"Aw, Paul," I said, smirking, "you do care! I'm so touched."

God, I had no idea Paul was this funny when he was wound up.

"Yeah, well I'm starting to wish I'd left you to it… But perhaps told you to take it outside first – this is going to take me ages to tidy."

Aw, poor Paul. He obviously had no idea how to function like a normal human being; his room was usually spotless and a mess like this must have been simply too much for his brain to handle.

I decided to take pity on him. "Paul," I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder "you see those new books over there?" I pointed to said books, "They go on that shelf." I pointed to the shelf, "The CDs go in the CD rack," I pointed. "And all this," I gestured at all the papers and old dusty books, "goes in that box." I pointed at the box then I smiled encouragingly up at Paul. "See? Easy peasy."

Paul didn't seem to agree. "God, when did you get so annoying?"

Annoying? Moi?

Whatever could he mean?

I smirked. "What can I say, Paul? You're a bad influence on me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Paul replied casually and I laughed a little. He grinned back at me then walked over to where his CDs were scattered and started to pick them up.

I watched with mild interest. "Oh hey, you're tidying," I said. "Go you."

"Yeah," he muttered, starting to put the CDs back in their rack. "But all that shifter stuff was organised. I'm gonna have to put it all back the way it was otherwise I'm never gonna be able to find whatever I want." Paul turned to face me. "Sorry, Suze, but your 'all this goes in that box, easy peasy' idea isn't going to work this time."

I blinked. God, what a freak. "Okay… Well if you want to be all OCD about it then do your thang, mister." I smiled sweetly, "I, however, would like to go home."

I folded my arms and waited for him to find his keys, since I needed him to give me a ride home. I had my licence and everything but since Brad and I had to share the Land Rover I'd had to get Paul take me to and from his house after school.

However it seemed that Paul didn't want to give me a lift just yet.

"Aren't you going to help?" he asked, looking, for some reason, like he was being serious.

I looked at him. Then the mess on the floor. Then at him. Then at the mess. Then finally back at him.

"Are you on crack?" I asked him. "Dude, I have places to be. Can't we just cut this lesson short?"

I didn't really. Have places to be, I mean. Unless you count being in my own relatively tidy bedroom with my gorgeous boyfriend (which, actually, okay!), but apart from that, not so much.

Still, what was Paul thinking? Me? Tidy his bedroom with him?

As if!

"But…" Paul seemed to have realised that the tidying thing? Not going to happen. But he kept trying. "It's pretty much your fault that this even happened in the first place, so you owe me this at least."

Nice try, buster, but I ain't doing it.

"I know, Paul. And I totally would do this for you, but… I don't want to."

Hmm, good argument, Suze.

Paul stared at me, trying to get me to change my mind with, I don't know, mind control or something. I just stared right back at him. And I guess my stare was better than his because in the end he gave up.

"Fine, where are my keys?"

An evil grin spread across my face. Oh yeah, I totally kick ass.

-o-o-o-

I closed my last homework book and smiled. Finally, I was done and now I could turn my attention to more interesting things…

Such as the nineteenth century hottie who was sitting on my window seat, reading the Harry Potter book that I'd forced him to try. I'd decided that it's about time that Jesse read something normal, the books he usually reads are… well, he'd just finished Critical Theory Since Plato. Need I say more? So, yeah, I decided it was about time I did something about that. And who can resist The Boy Who Lived?

I got up and walked over to him, he'd nearly finished already.

I gave him a funny look. "God, your, like, really far in that."

Jesse looked up at me and smiled. "It is a relatively simple book, Susannah."

Right… whatever. I plucked the book from his hands and put it down on the floor. "That's enough of that," I said with a grin, and then I sat down next to him and pulled him towards me.

I love kissing Jesse. Sometimes I wonder how I ever managed without being able to come home from school every day and let him kiss me senseless. I mean, I'd always wanted it to happen, ever since I first came here and found him haunting my room, and now that Jesse and I were together I didn't want things to ever go back to the way they were.

It was just getting good, though, when the phone started to ring. I pulled away from Jesse. God, why couldn't I just make out with him in peace?

I got up and walked over to the phone on my bedside table. As I picked it up, Jesse dematerialised. To give me some privacy, I figured.

"Hello?"

"You know, you forgot to say thank you to me before."

It was Paul. Well, why wouldn't it be? I mean, if I have to be interrupted while I'm making out with Jesse, then why not make the suckiness of it complete but having Paul phone me.

"What do you want, Paul? Or are you just phoning to bug me?"

"Would I ever do that, Suze?" he asked, and I could just tell he was smirking. "What's up with you, anyway? I hope I not interrupting anything."

Typically, he didn't even try to sound like he meant it.

"You're not," I told him, it was a lie, obviously, but like I was actually going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right. "But is it not enough that I have to put up with you every day in school? You have to phone me now?"

"Ah, I get it. PMS, right?"

"I'm hanging up now."

I started to put the receiver down but heard Paul shout, "Wait!"

I thought about just hanging up anyway, but I realised that Paul doesn't usually call me; he just bugs me in school a lot. So the chances were that this phone call did actually have a point and I figured I might as well hear him out.

"What?"

"You still haven't said thanks."

I rolled my eyes. "Thank you, Paul. I know I didn't show it very well, but I am very grateful for your help earlier. Happy?"

"No problem, Suze. You know I'd do it any time."

Yeah, like he hadn't made it perfectly clear that he cared more about his room being trashed than me. But whatever.

"Is that all?"

Please say yes, I want Jesse back!

"No, there was something else I wanted to ask you before I bid you farewell."

Ugh!

"Okay, shoot. But make it snappy, I'm a busy lady."

"I'm sure you are, Suze. Okay, so tell me, have you ever wondered about parallel universes?"

If Paul had been in front of me I would have stared at him like he was a total lunatic. Was he serious? THIS was what his important phone call was about?

"Paul, seriously, get to the point!"

"This is my point, Suze. Just answer the question."

I really do not have anywhere near enough patience to deal with this guy.

"Fine, yes! Yes, I probably have, at some point, thought about parallel universes. Can I hang up now?"

Again, please say yes.

"Not quite yet. So what if I said that I've found proof that they exist?"

I suddenly forgot about wanting to hang up.

What did he say?

-o-o-o-

A/N: Uuuuuuuummmm. So I've got a new fic... yeah. Sorry about that. I meant to finish the other ones first but I couldn't resist. Tee Hee. So let me know what you think. You want another chapter? Go on, say yes. You know you do really!

Review , my pretties, review!