I think I'm finally going to try the 10 song shuffle challenge thing. This'll probably crash and burn, but…I think I wanna try it anyway. The fandom that I'm gonna do will be Mentalist, with Jane/Lisbon, so not only will this be a new challenge thing, this'll be a new fandom, so they might be OOC…okay, it will be pretty OOC, but…it'll be a new experience :)

I will probably cheat a little, after all, I can only type so fast, but…I'll try not to.

Misery Business - Paramore

Lisbon didn't like Kristina the moment she saw her. It wasn't that she was prejudiced or anything, it's just that the red-haired woman rubbed her the wrong way. Her whole psychic thing bothered her, and her superiority complex irked her.

But more than anything, she hated what she did to Jane.

Sure, Jane should have happiness, he deserved it, but Kristina was the last person who could give that to him. She was everything he wasn't. He hated everything she was.

So it came as a bit of a surprise to Lisbon when she heard about their 'date'. In fact, it shocked her to the point of speechlessness. And at first, she couldn't understand what it was about that made her so mad.

Over the years she'd been slowly, but surely falling for her blonde-haired consultant, and now that she's faced with competition, with someone who could possibly take him from her, she realizes that that angry boiling feeling in her chest is jealousy.

But even though she loves him, she can't take this chance of happiness away from him. Just because she doesn't think Kristina's right for him, doesn't mean he does. So she sits on the sidelines, simmering in this new feeling, because she wants what's best for him.

No matter how much she wants to object to it.

Eight months later, Kristina breaks it off with Jane, and Lisbon is left with the pieces. She's there for him, as a friend, listening to him, helping him through, because that's who she is, she helps the people she cares about with no regards for herself.

One day she can't hold back though, and lets it slip that he's the only one for her.

And that's why the next time she sees Kristina during another case, she swears she doesn't mean to brag, but she has Jane where she wants him. And that's by her side.

Impossible – Anberlin

She really has no idea what she does to him. She can be so oblivious, it can be maddening.

He's found that he's started to make meaningless excuses to be near her. To talk to her, get a rise out of her, make her blush, make her smile.

He realizes that he's smitten with his boss. This doesn't deter him; in fact it makes him try harder.

He tries harder for her attention, he brings her little gifts (mostly paper origami animals), and helps her out more instead of giving her trouble during cases. He tries to show her he cares. He makes her smile more.

She's still maddeningly oblivious to his advances, but…he thinks she's slowly realizing what he's doing. He thinks he's wearing her defenses down.

Life Left to Go – Safety Suit

The case had hit way too close to home this time around. It brought to many memories of a broken home to the surface, making it hard for her to keep her mask on during the post-arrest process.

She doesn't go home that night, choosing instead to sit in her office, burying herself in her paperwork, trying to forget…just forget and be forgotten, if just for a bit.

She thinks she's put on enough of a brave face so that no one noticed her inner turmoil. So it doesn't really surprise her when Jane walks in without knocking, sitting on her couch without her permission.

"Jane, what do you want? I'm busy," she doesn't look at him, her red-rimmed eyes showing way too many emotions to be considered safe.

He doesn't answer back, surprisingly, and ignoring the warning voice in her head, she cautiously looks up after a long silence.

His eyes stare back intensely. Her breath catches.

Without breaking the connection, he pats the seat next to him, an invitation. He knows.

She can feel her resistance breaking, but she's still reluctant to let him see that side of her.

"Teresa…it's okay."

She feels the foundation of her heart break down, and suddenly she's next to him, burying her face in his suit jacket, his arms coming to rest around her shoulders.

"It's okay, there's nothing to run from, there's nothing to fear…" he whispers into her hair, and she feels the unspoken request.

I'm begging you, please don't leave, smile again.

Because she's his rock. She's his reason to keep his sanity, to keep control when the demons show. He needs her, just as she needs him.

A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me" – Fall Out Boy

He screwed up. Again. And yeah, that's an ongoing occurrence, but this time he really screwed up. And she doesn't even know that he did.

He should've kissed her.

He had that chance, the perfect chance. But he couldn't. His ring caught the light right when he began leaning in, and his reason for being there, his revenge, hit him in the head like a freight train.

Because of who he is, he can't love her. He knows this; he's the one who set these rules.

But that doesn't mean he has to like it.

The Anthem – Good Charlotte

Why can't he ever stay in line? Lisbon sighed as she set her eyes on what felt like the thousandth complaint form against Jane.

She supposes he wouldn't be Jane if he lived like other people. Even before Red John he wasn't exactly 'normal'. But it would really make her job a lot less hard if he tried to behave.

He's like a child. He can't follow the rules and he doesn't want to be normal; he doesn't want to walk the same line as everyone else.

She supposes that's what makes her love him so much though. Her life just wouldn't be the same if he weren't there to shake up some trouble.

Fences – Paramore

He remembers the spotlight. The horrible limelight that always seemed to be pointed at him and his family, that was always trying to peel his truths and reality from him. He hated it, it drove him crazy, and although he didn't show it, he was slowly dying from it.

The breakdown was almost welcome. But when he went in that white room, it felt the same, like he was always being watched, being observed.

He knew he was living proof that this world, the fame, was a lie. It wasn't real.

But she's helped him build in the fences, the gates that hold his sanity together. He's starting to regain the grip he lost on his world.

This Is How I Disappear – My Chemical Romance

He's come to the conclusion that if he never catches Red John, he will break. He will just come undone. He needs the satisfaction of bringing justice to the serial killer. These cases are killing him. He needs closure, and being shut down at every lead, every turn, is slowly destroying him.

If he didn't have Lisbon anchoring him down, he'd have probably disappeared by now, just a ghost of a man, haunted by his vow of revenge and hate.

Just The Way You Are – Boyce Avenue

She's absolutely perfect, and she doesn't even realize it. She doesn't see how she glows in her element at crime scenes, how her eyes shine like bright emeralds when she smiles. How even her anger causes her beauty to light up like a beacon.

He can compliment her, but she doesn't believe him. By now, she's written every word he says off as a joke, a lie. But what he says is the truth.

She's amazing the way she is. If she were any different, he wouldn't be the same. If he didn't have her smile, her blush to look forward too, he doesn't know what would have become of him. He wouldn't change a thing about her.

Practice Makes Perfect – Cute Is What We Aim For

This hasn't happened in awhile. He never thought he'd ever fall in love after his wife.

But here he is, finally moving on, standing here with the one and only Teresa Lisbon at his side.

He never would've thought that he'd be here. Never would've thought that he'd be standing in this spot, revenge-free, and ready to open his heart up again, start his life anew. And he's scared. He's afraid to lose everything again, it hurt enough last time.

But looking at Lisbon, at her body language towards him, something tells him she'll be worth the pain.

So he courts her, little by little. A kiss here, a smoldering stolen look there. He's repeating the whole dating thing, going over the basics again, seeing as he's been out of the game for a long time.

But seeing her in the morning light, contentment and happiness on her face, he realizes that practice makes perfect sense. He'll keep doing this with her as long as he can. He thinks—no he knows it's worth it.

Marchin On – One Republic

Looking back on her life, Lisbon realized all that they'd been through. So many things gone wrong, gone right. She'd fought so many battles: for herself and for him. He'd been so close to that brink so many times before they caught Red John, but somehow she held him back. Somehow, she'd been able to pull him away from the edge, into her arms. They somehow made it out of the war, with the scars to show for it.

And yet they still smiled. They still lived. They're Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon. No matter what happens, no matter what, they keep marching on. They get past whatever comes in their way, because they have each other to lean on. They keep marching on side by side.

So I was right, I did cheat some. I paused some songs a bit, and put a few on repeat, but I couldn't type fast enough and my brain would randomly turn itself off. It's funny though, because the songs that were picked were actually songs that fit them. Some I'd kinda wanted to use for videos, but never had the chance. At least I have a fic for them now. :)

As I said, this is my first 'challenge', and it's my first Mentalist fic. So please be nice. I know, I KNOW that they weren't in character probably, so please don't rag on me about that. Any other tips or comments you'd like to write, I'd love to hear :)