I'm loving how fast I'm writing this! And if there's any typos, that's because I absolutely refuse to bother to edit. My apologies.

- A f t e r G l o w -

Ignoring the constant string of messages on her cell phone from the actual Romeo to her reluctant Juliet, Susannah sat in her room, her skin tingling excitedly. She couldn't remember ever…feeling like this. Hesitantly, she tried to rationalise what she was feeling, but rationalisation was only designed to lie to oneself, and it was therefore useless.

How could she have felt so intensely about someone she'd known for less than a day? She was almost sure that he felt something too…this sweet, funny, nervous man who was well on the way to thieving her affections…

Indeed, even Jesse could not believe this fantastic string of luck. The best moment of his new life had undoubtedly been being struck by a vehicle. Well, if not the best, then definitely the origin from which his best moments would derive. He would get..."run over" several more times if it meant more time with his Susannah.

He'd spent most of the day with her, and it had been breathtaking. For too long, he hadn't had breath to take and had therefore never understood the term very well. But finally, standing still, completely devoid of air - in the good way, unlike how his death had occurred - he loved the fact that she had that power over him, to take his breath away...

With two hours to go until he would meet her at her home, he could barely sit still on Father Dominic's couch. The priest had arrived home moments before from performing a funeral, so with death on his mind, he greeted, 'Hello, Jesse.'

The ex-ghost rose to his feet politely, trying to be calm and cool, but Father Dominic saw straight through him. 'Oh, dear boy...' he tutted. 'One day, and you're already in love?'

Jesse groaned. 'Is it that obvious?'

'Plain as the collar on my neck,' the priest replied, a little unhappily. 'You really shouldn't be doing this to Susannah, Jesse. If it is indeed true that you only have life for three days, and she goes and falls for you, only for you to die... where would you be leaving her?'

...He hadn't thought of that.

'I - ' Jesse stuttered. 'B-but she...she's the reason I made this deal...'

This certainly seized Father Dominic's attention. His hands froze as he was sliding a dark leather-bound bible back onto his bookshelf, and he spun around. 'She's what?'

Alarmed at this righteous anger, Jesse stepped back, forgetting the couch was behind him; he stumbled backward ungraciously onto the seat.

Father Dominic's face changed. '...The old boarding house on Pinecrest...' he murmured under his breath, staring at Jesse. '...That's...you haunted Susannah?'

'I swear,' Jesse said quickly, 'I'd never want to hurt her. And although I admittedly didn't think far enough to see this ending badly, I just... I needed to know.' His gaze fell to his hands, which writhed within each other.

The old man sighed. 'Jesse...how can you expect her to love you in just three days? That's an awful lot of pressure to put on the girl, don't you agree?'

'I'm not putting pressure on her,' he argued. 'If she feels the same way, then I get to live. If not, I'm perfectly happy to return to ghosthood, just as long as I get to keep these memories. I won't tell her about it...'

He continued to stare down. How the priest had made him feel so ashamed of himself so quickly, he didn't know. Gosh, this man must have been savage in the confessional.

After about a minute of morbid silence, Father Dominic sighed again. 'All right, Jesse,' he said finally. 'This obviously is a matter of...life and death. So, I guess you can only try...'

'That's all I wanted,' Jesse said quickly. If he wasn't mistaken, this sounded almost like...a blessing.

'With this in mind,' Father Dominic went on, digging his hand in his pocket, 'You might want to dress a little nicer for whatever you have planned for this evening.' And when his hand had returned, it held...

'Plastic?' Jesse raised an eyebrow at the small rectangle. 'What will this do?'

'This,' Father Dominic sighed guiltily, 'Is the most powerful piece of currency contemporary mortals can own. Jesse, I'd like to introduce you to...the credit card.'

- A f t e r G l o w -

At eight sharp, he stood before her house, a single orchid in his hand. He felt good; impressive. He should - the clothes he wore hadn't been inexpensive. Father Dominic had just sighed dismissively, 'You only live twice...' before swiping the card through.

The orchid had been Jesse's idea.

Knocking on the door, he swallowed nervously. Only in his most insane delusions had he seen himself standing here, ready to meet Susannah, or her family... From behind the door, he heard Susannah call, 'I think that's for me - ' only to be cut off by an innocent, 'I'll get it, Susie.'

And when the door was pulled open by an unsuspecting Mrs. Ackerman, she let out a low, '...Woah.'

Jesse blinked quickly. 'Oh, er, hello.' He looked down with embarrassment at the flower, before half-hiding it behind his back. 'Is Susannah there?'

The mother was suddenly grinning very widely. 'So, you're Jesse then...'

Susannah came to stand beside her, looking frazzled, but -

'Dios...' Jesse whispered under his breath. There she stood in a floating knee-length dress, cobalt in colour, with threads of silver weaved all through the fabric. She was just too stunning. He gave her the flower, and she flushed with pleasure.

'Well, don't you look pretty,' her mother smiled at her, before looking back at Jesse. 'He looks very pretty too.'

'Mom,' she whined. Jesse blushed.

With promises to be back by eleven, Susannah was permitted to leave with Jesse after being highly approved by Mrs. Ackerman Susannah apologised relentlessly for her mother's embarrassing behaviour, saying it wasn't often she got to "give her heaps" about going out with a g - at which point she stopped talking and stared ahead.

'I'm sorry I don't drive,' Jesse grimaced, noting her heels and how they mustn't exactly be a joy to walk in.

She shrugged serenely. 'That's okay. I like walking with you.'

Whether she'd meant the last two words to slip out, neither of them knew. But they had, and Jesse grinned to himself.

They continued on until they arrived at a place called the Coffee Clutch. Susannah assured Jesse that their drinks were to die for. Jesse only knew of one thing worth dying for so far, so he was quite curious.

Well, two. Father Dominic's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream came in at a close second.

She ordered him a vanilla milkshake, and herself a hot chocolate. He beat her to pulling out a ten dollar bill to pay - donated by the local priest, of course - and felt ridiculously pleased with himself when she finally gave in and let him. At the table, she asked him questions... so many questions. She wanted to know everything about him. Many things he had to fabricate, and he felt terrible, but he didn't lie that much. Mostly, he embellished the truth of his past, telling her he'd grown up on a ranch, but had had a...disagreement with his father over about his future plans, and they'd parted on less than amicable terms. He told her he was nearly twenty years old, even if a hundred and seventy would have been a little closer to the truth. And halfway through, he stopped, and refused to tell her any more.

'My turn,' he grinned.

When their drinks finally came, he let his sit there because he was still too preoccupied with asking her any question he could think of – her favourite colour and why, her most prized possession, ('A poem my dad wrote for me before he died,' she said, and then blushed. 'It's kind of silly…it's not very good,' before reciting it,) her favourite scent, ('The smell of rain…it always makes me feel just…in the moment, you know?') and every other possible thing that came to him. As she was answering his question about her least favourite day of the week, ('Definitely Monday. The end of a weekend, with an entire week of school to look forward to, which means a rude shock when you have to get up at six thirty,' she said, scandalised, 'And don't get me started on Monday assemblies where they...') he absently took a sip of his vanilla milkshake –

'Nombre de Dios!' he half-shouted.

She stopped talking, blinking in shock. 'W-what?'

He stared in awe at the chilly cup he held in his hands, slick with condensation. That beverage had to have been the best thing he'd ever tasted. He spluttered, 'What's this again?'

A grin came to her face. 'You've never had a milkshake before?'

He shook his head.

She giggled. 'Well, milk…vanilla flavouring…malt…ice cream…'

'Aha!' he said victoriously, drinking the milkshake with a frenzied desire. 'Susannah. It is decided. I am in lovewith ice cream.'

'And ice cream is in love with your face,' she snickered, leaning across the table with a napkin in hand. Gently, she brushed it over the corner of his mouth…

And it happened again. They both froze, losing all awareness of time and space.

Finally, it was Susannah who broke the spell. 'If you haven't tried ice cream before,' she said conversationally, sliding back into talking mode with astounding ease, 'Then I'm going to guess you haven't had a kebab.'

'A what?'

'Thought as much,' she said smugly. 'God. You're like a food virgin. It's great.'

He choked on his milkshake.

'And I look forward to stealing your food virginity,' Susannah tossed her head, before sliding out of the cubicle, hot chocolate in one hand and his wrist in the other. 'Come on. We're going kebabbing.'

'You just verbed a noun, you realise,' he said as she pulled him along.

'So did you,' she retorted. '"Verbed" isn't a verb, Jesse. Or a word.'

He smiled. Her flippant use of the English language was having an influence on his own. And not necessarily a bad one… Speaking of having an influence on him, her fingers enclosed around his wrist didn't feel too terrible either. She didn't even seem to notice when she slid her hand in his as they walked, sipping their respective beverages, which Jesse was still enjoying way too much to not be strange. When she'd finished her hot chocolate, she offhandedly glanced at her watch, and swore.

'Crap! The shop closes in ten minutes! I didn't realise it was already nine!'

And with a speed that staggered him, she yanked off her heels and grabbed his hand again, and suddenly they were both sprinting down the block, her dragging him behind. His heart rate soared from the movement, and he began breathing harder. It was exhilarating.

She turned the corner so unexpectedly that he almost fell into the trashcan on the side of the road, something that made her giggle sinisterly. Finally, she stopped, permitting him to also. They stood outside a little side store, panting heavily. 'God,' she wheezed. 'I run fast when food's on the line, don't I? I think I left my heart back in San Francisco – and a couple of other vital internal organs I'll need later in life.'

Jesse, still high from the run, laughed harder than he'd intended at this. Still trying to catch her breath, Susannah quickly stepped up to the counter, asking the small Lebanese man at the check out if they were still open – and also adding that she'd just run three blocks to try and make it in time. He said that they were just closing, but wouldn't mind making a small order for a lady as pretty as her. Jesse glared at him, not knowing why.

Elbowing Jesse when he tried to pay, Susannah placed an order for two chicken döner kebabs, listing various other things she wanted on both of them, requesting extra "tabouli" on her own. Apprehensive at the strange names, Jesse just stared as the little man prepared them, passing the two wraps to her in separate bags. He gave her a hearty wink, and once again Jesse felt a surge of irritation, thankfully smothering the tiny growl of warning that burnt his throat.

The store closed immediately after, and Susannah beamed at Jesse as he began eating. Once again, his taste buds were in a certain euphoria that only flavour could provide. He hungrily devoured it, forgetting he had an audience. 'It's…so good,' he said thickly through a mouthful of pita bread and chicken. 'Kebab, you say?'

Munching happily on her own, Susannah nodded. 'I'm glad you eat like a pig,' she said. 'It means I'm allowed to around you too.'

He laughed loudly again. She always made him laugh…

After they were both done eating, Susannah bit her lip. 'We should probably start heading back home… it's going to rain.'

Jesse looked up at the sky. There were heavy clouds, sure, but they didn't look like they would break just yet. However, she assured him differently, saying she could smell it. So they began walking.

'I'm not due back for another two hours,' she complained. 'Stupid weather and my lack of a car. Although…combined, those two things sound pretty dangerous. Especially with me in the equation.'

'You're probably not as bad a driver as you make out,' he said fairly. 'I was standing in the middle of the road, querida.'

Once again startled by this word, she stopped completely. A cool breeze tossed her chestnut curls. She stared at him curiously. Her heartbeat quickened as thoughts started rushing through her head at the sight of Jesse de Silva in the moonlight. He really was just…something out of a dream. And since it was about to rain, it wouldn't be a dry one either.

Jesse raised an eyebrow at her unanticipated silence. 'Did I lose you?' he queried, his grin a little lopsided. Susannah just shook her head, feeling a little faint.

'No, I…'

Trailing off absurdly, she dragged a hand down her face. 'Sorry,' she mumbled. 'I guess this is all just…'

'Fast?' Jesse winced. It was just as he'd feared…though certainly not unexpected.

The heavens broke, and water began trickling lightly down. Droplets flecked Susannah's face as she continued to stare at him, transfixed by her own bemusement and the utter perfection of his face. She couldn't understand where he'd had come from. One moment, she'd just been going to high school like a normal almost-seventeen-year-old girl, shooing away Paul Slater and trying not to flunk Math. And then her car had struck this…god. And now she couldn't think straight.

'No,' she said softly, moving closer even though her brain hadn't sanctioned such movement. Her body had a mind of its own though. She touched his arms. 'I mean, yes…but…'

The rain increased to a heavy shower at that point, the fabric of their outfits beginning to soak through. The rain made the streets shimmer with a silver glow, a perfectly disturbed surface from the constant hammering rain. Jesse's mouth went dry. She was touching his arms now.

'Is it just me?' she asked him, her fingers on his arms beginning to chill. 'Tell me if it is. I just…I haven't felt like this before…'

'It's not just you,' he promised her. His hands were suddenly at her waist.

Her gaze fell from his and she shook her head from side to side, her hands roguishly sliding to his chest. She laughed in awe of her own boldness. 'I just…don't know how this happened,' she gasped. 'And I don't understand everything that…being around you makes me feel…'

He gulped at her sudden proximity, consumed by her. The rain grew even heavier, drenching his hair. Trickles ran down his neck, and he was unsure which was causing the thrills to shoot down his spine: her or the rain? He pulled her closer to him, and she breathed in sharply at the contact. He was so warm…

Had he ever been capable of this kind of heat as a ghost? Surely not. He felt like he was standing in fire, and the sinuous flames were curling around him, licking his skin. It contrasted so sharply with his years of cold numbness. He felt that if he could die burning, he suddenly wouldn't mind...

It still scared him though.

'You barely know me, querida...' Jesse whispered, his lips touching her moist forehead. It would have been difficult to hear his low voice over the driving rain, but her energy was so in tune with him, so focused, that she could have heard him blink if she'd put her mind to it. She breathed in deeply, smelling only him at the rain, and mentally she had to wonder if she'd answered the question about her favourite scent honestly... Perhaps she'd have to update her response.

'I don't care,' she said, resting her face against his neck, brushing the tip of her nose along his throat. His knees locked from the sensation. Could he have ever imagined her feeling this good?

And then, she'd looked up again, her eyes closing against the pelting rain and her mouth drifting up towards his -

- When suddenly, all the car alarms in the street suddenly sounded shrilly, including the one they stood beside. Susannah yelped, jolting away from Jesse and looking around her wildly. The entire road was lined with flashing, screaming cars, as if incensed by their intentions. Jesse was still frozen in place from when she'd been about to kiss him for a few moments, before realising the opportunity had died.

'Mierda,' he sighed, kicking himself for once again taking so long to act.

When Susannah's heart had finally resumed its beating after the shock of noise and lights, she turned back to Jesse sheepishly. 'I think fate's against us tonight,' she laughed sadly, squeezing his fingers in her own. Her hair was utterly soaked, as was her dark dress which clung wetly to her slight figure. Jesse struggled to look away, feeling disrespectful for scrutinising her so.

She caught his gaze, however, and really didn't seem to be bothered by it, if the crimson flush of her cheeks indicated anything at all.

'Let me walk you home,' he said, a little defeated, before noticing her quivering in the rain. 'Oh - here.' He then removed his jacket, and wrapped it around her shoulders. He didn't want to see Father Dominic's scandalised expression when he saw what he'd let the priceless garment become in the rain.

Susannah's shivers weren't from the chill alone, however. They had more to do with the disappointment that her body was experiencing, after anticipating finally being in his arms, the way she'd wanted to be all night.

'Thank you,' she mumbled, burying herself within its warmth.

- A f t e r G l o w -

As they began walking away, Paul kicked at the hubcap of a nearby Volvo in fury - it didn't make a difference, since the car alarm was already shrieking into the night.

'That wasway too freaking close!' he snapped at nothing in particular.

How had this game gone so spectacularly wrong? How was she falling for this loser at such astounding speed? He just couldn't understand it. He obviously had nothing - he was living off the charity of the local parish, for Christ's sake! What did this nobody have that he didn't? His heartbeat was permanent, and he wasn't thirty years off his bicentennial. Not to mention, he had a car, which would mean no rain, therefore he wouldn't be letting Susannah get all wet - not unless the occasion called for it, of course.

So why him?

Why was she standing on dark street corners in the pouring rain with him? Why had it taken thirty wailing cars to stop them from kissing? It was only the first day! Going at this rate, Jesse would have her saying those words within the hour!

That couldn't be allowed to happen. He'd have to stop just sabotaging him. He'd have to start redirecting her affections.

He'd never lost a deal before. And he wasn't about to change that now.

Grimly, he decided he'd have to become a lot more active in this game, if he wanted to come out on top.

- A f t e r G l o w -

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Love Lolly.