A/N: Please keep reviewing, guys. This chapter is a little weird, but still
good. Another one on it's way, too.
**************************************************************************** ***********
Whoa, what a day. First, I smack Kelly Prescott. Then, I black out in front of Paul Slater. Then, I have an Ancient Egyptian premonition- no, a "Sighting." Then, I wake up to a pair of bickering boys. Then, CeeCee marches up to me, and yells at me for defending her. Adam comes up to me after her, and whispers his congratulations for thumping Kelly. Then, Paul grabs me in the hallway, and tells me that we have a shifter lesson after school, and accompanies this little message with an attempted kiss. I say attempted, because I hell punched him in the stomach. Even more unfortunately, a novice caught me and gave me a detention. I had to defend myself by saying that, once again, I was provoked, and so she let me off with a warning.
I mean, seriously! One day!
I need a holiday . . .
~*~
Paul, unfortunately, had remembered about our lessons. He was waiting for me in his sleek convertible, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. His lips were curved into a faint, impish smile, one that made my stomach stiffen. I closed my eyes, said a quick prayer for my safety, and slid in the car. Yes, I said a prayer. No, I'm not getting all religious, it went something like this: "If there is a God, you'd better protect me from this bastard, or I'll kick your cloudy ass to the fiery pits of hell."
Amen.
Hey, I'm not exactly known for my shouts of faith.
'Paul, I swear to God, you'd better keep your hands to yourself this time for real, or you are so dead,' I snarled, clicking in my seat belt. Did I really want to do this again? I mean, seriously, last time, I'd not only been sexually harassed, but had been impeded in my attempts to flee from his property. Was I ready to put myself in this position again? Oh, God, oh God . . .
'Suze, would you relax,' he groaned. 'Seriously, this is strictly a shifter lesson.'
'Wasn't last time?' I asked, my voice going high. His car roared into life, and I shrank in my seat. The breeze was whipping behind the window, blowing my hair into an unattractive frizz. Oh, how bloody charming.
'No, that was the . . . introductory course,' he said with a grin.
'Well, I want a refund.'
He snorted, and lazily put an arm around my shoulders. 'Remember, if you back out now, Suze, Rico Suave won't be too happy with you.'
'On the contrary-'
'Oh, yes. Of course, he doesn't want you to have anything to do with me,' he corrected himself. 'Well, I meant to say he won't be very happy in the Shadowland, as you call it. Or further.'
I turned to him sharply. 'What?'
His grin widened evilly. 'That's right. Purgatory isn't the worst. That's just where I prefer to send 'em.'
I gaped at him.
'Let me out of this stinking car now, Paul,' I hissed, shoving his arm off my shoulder. 'Or, I guarantee you, I'll-'
He chuckled, and quite the reverse of stopping, sped up.
I gulped. I mean, who was I to try and fight him in a car? I remembered quite clearly the last near-death car experience I'd had, involving two brothers, one alive, and one, very dead.
Again, I closed my eyes. 'Shit, shit . . .' I whispered under my breath.
'Suze,' he asked, 'Why are you scared of me?'
'Am not,' I snapped.
'Are too.'
'Am not'
'Are too.'
'Am n-' I broke off. This was so going to last forever, because, seriously, Paul was just about as stubborn as me.
I looked down at my feet, making sure for the twentieth time that day that I was wearing my Aerosoles. I was . . . okay, that's good. This time, if you run, you can easily run away, and also, you'd tactfully remembered to nick CeeCee's cell phone. Sure, she was going to kill you, but it was worth it.
I was thinking all of this, when I realized that Paul had stopped at his waterfront house in Scenic Drive. Instantly, the memories of last time came streaming back. Oh, and did they ever hurt.
I took a deep breath, and swung open my door. Hopping out, a took in the huge glass house on the cliff, overlooking Carmel's beach, when I turned to Paul, all, "Oh, I think we should do this in the library, you know? It'd be better, because then-'
'Simon,' he drawled, grabbing my arm as I attempted to get back in the car, 'Chill.'
It's easy for him to say. He wasn't in any danger to be sexually harassed. Oh, no, I can quite keep control of myself at all times, and seriously, if I tried to kiss him, and he didn't like it, I'd be burnt to a crisp, I'm sure.
I saw Paul smile.
Yeah, so I followed him up to his house. The Toyota Celia wasn't there today. But I'm sure that just because the, um, day attendant wasn't there, that Mr Slater- I mean, Dr. Slaski was there. And he'd, I dunno, help me fight Paul if he did anything, uh, mean, right?
Yeah, Suze, and Eminem's going to be ordained a priest tomorrow.
Once in his room again, blue as it was, with the king-size bed almost beckoning, I almost hyperventilated. But not quite, thank God. I perched myself coolly on one of his top-line ergonomically designed computer chairs, but kept my bag in arms reach. I smiled sarcastically at Paul as he went to sit on the end of the bed again, pulling out that box containing all his shifter stuff.
I kind of choked on my own spit when he pulled out that thesis, noticing how, uh, crumpled it was. My heart rate began to increase again. Oh, God. Why am I here? He's probably only going to talk a whole bunch of bullshit to me, there's no point-
-Oh yes there is. Shut up.
I relaxed a little as I realized that this was the beginning to discovering about mediators for real. I mean, come on. You don't get offered this opportunity every day. And I'd done everything within my power to prevent any unwanted scenarios, so I was fine.
'Okay, Suze, what do you want to start on?' asked Paul, leaning one hand on his bed, messing up the silky covers only slightly. I bit my lip, and was all, 'Uh, well, I don't really know much about any of it, so can you give me, like, some options?'
'Sure. Okay, we can start with Seeing, Materialization, Ghost Calling, Barriers, Soul Transference, Shifting, Mind Reading, Life Draining, Controlling, K-'
'Life Draining?' I asked uncomfortably, squeezing my fingers in my hands.
'Oh, that's a bit too much to start with, I think. You might get scared of yourself on the first day,' he smirked. Usually I would have persisted, and demanded him to tell me, but I really didn't like the sound of it at all.
'Go on with the options,' I said.
He grinned, resting back on the bed. 'Oh, there's Telekinesis, Possession, Telepathy, Physical Substitution-'
'What's that?' I asked curiously.
He chuckled. 'Yes, the name is intriguing. However, shifters cannot so this to themselves. Nah, only to other shifters or mediators. You want to me tell you about that?' he asked.
'Uh, I guess,' I was my superior witticism.
He sat up, and walked over to the window. I noticed the way that the hairs on the nape of his neck were so incredibly fine, and how his ears sat to perfection, not sticking out like, say, Doc's do. How his arms were muscular, with visible tendons running from his broad shoulders right down to the stretch of his open hands. How his-
SUZE, STOP IT ALREADY!
I looked away, down at the gentle shade of blue that was his carpet. Geez, and I thought I was the height self-control. I couldn't even control my own thoughts.
'Physical Substitution,' he began, turning to me, a mysterious look on his face, 'Is the act of swapping the external appearance of a shifter or mediator with a different form of any other living organism. While under the influence of this curse-like power, neither can die. It is like Soul Transference, except that that can only be done with a dead human being and a living one. The shifter who performs this action calls upon the only people who can undo it, and after their name is called upon, no one else can kill these two living things. It is very difficult to do, and the only way for the called upon shifter to free the trapped shifter or mediator is to-'
'Whoa,' I interrupted. 'You sure know a lot, don't you.'
He shrugged. 'You could say that. Now, where was I-'
'Uh, Paul? I think that's enough on that. Can you move onto . . . uh, Materialization? That could be really handy.'
'As you wish,' he grinned, taking a step closer to the window. Then, without warning, he dematerialized and materialized right in front of me! I mean, RIGHT in front. Like, leaning over the chair, centimeters away from my face in front!
'Holy crap!' I exclaimed, sinking back into the chair to avoid his face. He grabbed my shoulders, and we dematerialized together. When we materialized again, we were, to my relief, still in his room and not in the Shadowland, as I had feared for a split second. However, the downside of this was that I was on his bed, and he was kind of lying on top of me.
'Paul, what the hell are you doing?!' I yelled, as he kind of straddled me, on his knees. Serious! This was WORSE than last time already!
'Showing you what a real shifter can do,' he breathed, and kissed my forehead.
Oh, God, please, oh, please . . .
"Come on, Simon. If you just chill out, you might actually enjoy this."
HEY! He just talked to me through my mind! This was WAY wrong!
'Get off-' I began, but he clapped a hand over my mouth. Crap!
"Paul, you were just promising before you wouldn't give me any shit!" I exploded in my brain. I was sure he got the message by the way he winced and then grinned evilly. Oh, his eyes, they were like, burning red! This was bad, bad, bad, BAD!
'I know,' he grinned, and bent down to kiss me on the lips. I thought he was just going to kiss his hand that was over my mouth for a moment, but in a swift movement, he repositioned his hand so it was painfully pushing my lips against his. Oh, this wasn't enjoyable! Not at all! I mean, if this had have maybe been Jesse, I might have at least liked it a bit, but I hate it when guys think that they can control everything.
'How else was I going to get you here?' he asked. I thought that this was very strange, seeing as he had just shown an excellent example of Materialization, and could have materialized me here from anywhere. But I didn't voice this.
Neither did I have to.
'Yes, but it's much more fun luring you here,' he said.
Whoa! He could read my mind! NOOOOOOOO!
"Now, Mind Reading is different to Telepathy. Mind Reading is one way, Telepathy is two way, and can only happen between shifters and mediators-"
"I don't give a fu-"
Okay, he was getting really enthusiastic with his tongue about now, which is seriously gross. I went to slap him, but very remarkably, I couldn't move my arms. Desperation was burning within me, but I didn't know what to do. I mean, I couldn't move my arms, or- nope, not even my legs. Believe me, I tried. Harder than I have ever tried to do anything in my life. It was kind of like trying to pop my ears, or lifting up a seriously heavy pot plant, but WAY harder.
"That's controlling," he explained, via Telepathy.
So Paul just went on kissing me. I was like, (now that I could speak again,) 'Stop it, God dammit!' but he didn't. Stop it, I mean. And then, to my indignation, I saw him looking at my torso area very, very intensely. But it wasn't till I saw the buttons popping off my shirt, that I was seriously horrified.
'Paul!' I yelled in revulsion, 'How the (insert colourful four letter word here) are you doing that?!'
He tore his eyes away, and answered breathlessly, 'Telekinesis. Simple, really, once you get the hang of it. I'm giving you examples of things that a shifter can do, Suze, so pay attention.' Yeah, with a highly MA 15+THEME!
Oh, my God. No FREAKING WAY!
And that was when my top was kind of, like, ripped open. NOOO! WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! With a bang that gave me a heart attack, there was a kind of glowing red dome around the bed. That was when he moved back, grinning.
I was so off that bed. I ran towards the glowing dome thingie-
-Only to be blasted back onto the bed with such painful force, I screamed.
'That's a Barrier,' he explained, pushing me back down by my shoulders. My heart was hammering against my ribcage so thoroughly I felt as though the bones would shatter. Dread was claiming me, as I knew what Paul was going to do . . .
"JESSE! GET YOUR GHOSTLY ARSE HERE!" I screamed within my head.
And I waited.
And waited.
But no show. Not a flicker, nothing!
I released a woebegone cry, as Paul grabbed my wrists, and slammed them against the above pillow, pressing me harder against the bed, kissing me. EWW!
I was utterly terrified. I'm not ashamed to say that, I mean, this was worse than all my dreams of the Shadowland, of all the other times that Paul had ever come near me, worse, even, than when I thought I'd lost Jesse. And that's saying something!
He ran a hand down my stomach, and down my thigh. Oooh, not good. RAH! Away! Shoo!
"JESSSSSSSSSSSSSSE!"
'That slips in the "Ghost Calling" category of the shifter powers. I can not only call them, but forbid other mediators/shifters from calling them,' Paul said, sliding his hand behind my head, netting my hair between his fingers.
This was SO past sexual harassment now. This was assault, wasn't it?
'As a matter of fact, no, Simon. Assault counts as penetration,' he said, 'also known as rape, which I have no intention to do.' He did not just say that!!!!!
"Thank God for that." I spat at him. "Paul I think I've had enough of a lesson for today."
ForEVER more like it.
'Ah, now Suze, don't be like that,' he warned angrily, 'After all, Mr De Silva's death is at stake, is it not?'
I whimpered, and that was when the Barrier disappeared, and I gained full control over myself. He got off me at long last, rolling his eyes. I gaped at him, totally scandalized. Still gawking, I swooped up my bag, and ran for it. He didn't even stop me this time, or even send down a Biker Bob minion of his.
'I'm never coming back, Paul!' I shouted at him.
'You don't have a choice,' was his reply.
And he was right. But I'd figure out something, anything . . . I had to!
I ran down the pathway from his house. This was MAJOR déjà vu. I glared at his convertible. Oh, if only I knew how to drive, I'd so nick his car and crash it into the sea. Well, to crash a car, you don't exactly need to know how to drive, do you? I thought. Then I grinned. Yeah, if you haven't already guessed, he had foolishly left the keys in the ignition.
Idiot.
Do I jumped in there, turned the keys, relishing that moment when the engine roared with life, and pulled out of the drive.
'Hey! HEY!'
I looked up at the highest window, and saw Paul gawking at me in shock. Fueled by his astonishment, I sped down the road, to the cliff. I whipped out my hair lacky, and fitted it around the accelerator so it would keep going. Then I jumped out of the car, and watched in total bliss as it drove straight off the edge, plunging gloriously into the wild ocean below, smashing deafeningly on the jagged rocks.
I ran back to Scenic Drive, mighty impressed with myself, and began to walk home. I didn't plan to walk all the way, just so I was far enough from Paul's house to avoid suspicious when I called Adam to come and pick me up. I didn't know his number, but sure as anything, all of his numbers, home, mother's cell number, father's cell number, summer house phone number, etc. would be keyed into CeeCee's phone. Another problem I would encounter was that CeeCee, sure as anything also, would be with him, and would realize that it was me who stole her cell phone. Ah, it was a sacrifice I had to make. But then, I could easily be all like, "hey, Cee? What do ya know, the funniest thing happened. You cell phone must have jumped from your backpack to MY backpack at school. What a coincidence, seeing as I needed it now, huh?"
I was a dead woman.
I was at the nearest Carmel mall, ready to call him, when a vaguely familiar voice interrupted me.
'Susan? Is that you?'
A/N: Who is it? And will he/she get his/her butt kicked for calling Suze that? Stay tuned.
**************************************************************************** ***********
Whoa, what a day. First, I smack Kelly Prescott. Then, I black out in front of Paul Slater. Then, I have an Ancient Egyptian premonition- no, a "Sighting." Then, I wake up to a pair of bickering boys. Then, CeeCee marches up to me, and yells at me for defending her. Adam comes up to me after her, and whispers his congratulations for thumping Kelly. Then, Paul grabs me in the hallway, and tells me that we have a shifter lesson after school, and accompanies this little message with an attempted kiss. I say attempted, because I hell punched him in the stomach. Even more unfortunately, a novice caught me and gave me a detention. I had to defend myself by saying that, once again, I was provoked, and so she let me off with a warning.
I mean, seriously! One day!
I need a holiday . . .
~*~
Paul, unfortunately, had remembered about our lessons. He was waiting for me in his sleek convertible, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. His lips were curved into a faint, impish smile, one that made my stomach stiffen. I closed my eyes, said a quick prayer for my safety, and slid in the car. Yes, I said a prayer. No, I'm not getting all religious, it went something like this: "If there is a God, you'd better protect me from this bastard, or I'll kick your cloudy ass to the fiery pits of hell."
Amen.
Hey, I'm not exactly known for my shouts of faith.
'Paul, I swear to God, you'd better keep your hands to yourself this time for real, or you are so dead,' I snarled, clicking in my seat belt. Did I really want to do this again? I mean, seriously, last time, I'd not only been sexually harassed, but had been impeded in my attempts to flee from his property. Was I ready to put myself in this position again? Oh, God, oh God . . .
'Suze, would you relax,' he groaned. 'Seriously, this is strictly a shifter lesson.'
'Wasn't last time?' I asked, my voice going high. His car roared into life, and I shrank in my seat. The breeze was whipping behind the window, blowing my hair into an unattractive frizz. Oh, how bloody charming.
'No, that was the . . . introductory course,' he said with a grin.
'Well, I want a refund.'
He snorted, and lazily put an arm around my shoulders. 'Remember, if you back out now, Suze, Rico Suave won't be too happy with you.'
'On the contrary-'
'Oh, yes. Of course, he doesn't want you to have anything to do with me,' he corrected himself. 'Well, I meant to say he won't be very happy in the Shadowland, as you call it. Or further.'
I turned to him sharply. 'What?'
His grin widened evilly. 'That's right. Purgatory isn't the worst. That's just where I prefer to send 'em.'
I gaped at him.
'Let me out of this stinking car now, Paul,' I hissed, shoving his arm off my shoulder. 'Or, I guarantee you, I'll-'
He chuckled, and quite the reverse of stopping, sped up.
I gulped. I mean, who was I to try and fight him in a car? I remembered quite clearly the last near-death car experience I'd had, involving two brothers, one alive, and one, very dead.
Again, I closed my eyes. 'Shit, shit . . .' I whispered under my breath.
'Suze,' he asked, 'Why are you scared of me?'
'Am not,' I snapped.
'Are too.'
'Am not'
'Are too.'
'Am n-' I broke off. This was so going to last forever, because, seriously, Paul was just about as stubborn as me.
I looked down at my feet, making sure for the twentieth time that day that I was wearing my Aerosoles. I was . . . okay, that's good. This time, if you run, you can easily run away, and also, you'd tactfully remembered to nick CeeCee's cell phone. Sure, she was going to kill you, but it was worth it.
I was thinking all of this, when I realized that Paul had stopped at his waterfront house in Scenic Drive. Instantly, the memories of last time came streaming back. Oh, and did they ever hurt.
I took a deep breath, and swung open my door. Hopping out, a took in the huge glass house on the cliff, overlooking Carmel's beach, when I turned to Paul, all, "Oh, I think we should do this in the library, you know? It'd be better, because then-'
'Simon,' he drawled, grabbing my arm as I attempted to get back in the car, 'Chill.'
It's easy for him to say. He wasn't in any danger to be sexually harassed. Oh, no, I can quite keep control of myself at all times, and seriously, if I tried to kiss him, and he didn't like it, I'd be burnt to a crisp, I'm sure.
I saw Paul smile.
Yeah, so I followed him up to his house. The Toyota Celia wasn't there today. But I'm sure that just because the, um, day attendant wasn't there, that Mr Slater- I mean, Dr. Slaski was there. And he'd, I dunno, help me fight Paul if he did anything, uh, mean, right?
Yeah, Suze, and Eminem's going to be ordained a priest tomorrow.
Once in his room again, blue as it was, with the king-size bed almost beckoning, I almost hyperventilated. But not quite, thank God. I perched myself coolly on one of his top-line ergonomically designed computer chairs, but kept my bag in arms reach. I smiled sarcastically at Paul as he went to sit on the end of the bed again, pulling out that box containing all his shifter stuff.
I kind of choked on my own spit when he pulled out that thesis, noticing how, uh, crumpled it was. My heart rate began to increase again. Oh, God. Why am I here? He's probably only going to talk a whole bunch of bullshit to me, there's no point-
-Oh yes there is. Shut up.
I relaxed a little as I realized that this was the beginning to discovering about mediators for real. I mean, come on. You don't get offered this opportunity every day. And I'd done everything within my power to prevent any unwanted scenarios, so I was fine.
'Okay, Suze, what do you want to start on?' asked Paul, leaning one hand on his bed, messing up the silky covers only slightly. I bit my lip, and was all, 'Uh, well, I don't really know much about any of it, so can you give me, like, some options?'
'Sure. Okay, we can start with Seeing, Materialization, Ghost Calling, Barriers, Soul Transference, Shifting, Mind Reading, Life Draining, Controlling, K-'
'Life Draining?' I asked uncomfortably, squeezing my fingers in my hands.
'Oh, that's a bit too much to start with, I think. You might get scared of yourself on the first day,' he smirked. Usually I would have persisted, and demanded him to tell me, but I really didn't like the sound of it at all.
'Go on with the options,' I said.
He grinned, resting back on the bed. 'Oh, there's Telekinesis, Possession, Telepathy, Physical Substitution-'
'What's that?' I asked curiously.
He chuckled. 'Yes, the name is intriguing. However, shifters cannot so this to themselves. Nah, only to other shifters or mediators. You want to me tell you about that?' he asked.
'Uh, I guess,' I was my superior witticism.
He sat up, and walked over to the window. I noticed the way that the hairs on the nape of his neck were so incredibly fine, and how his ears sat to perfection, not sticking out like, say, Doc's do. How his arms were muscular, with visible tendons running from his broad shoulders right down to the stretch of his open hands. How his-
SUZE, STOP IT ALREADY!
I looked away, down at the gentle shade of blue that was his carpet. Geez, and I thought I was the height self-control. I couldn't even control my own thoughts.
'Physical Substitution,' he began, turning to me, a mysterious look on his face, 'Is the act of swapping the external appearance of a shifter or mediator with a different form of any other living organism. While under the influence of this curse-like power, neither can die. It is like Soul Transference, except that that can only be done with a dead human being and a living one. The shifter who performs this action calls upon the only people who can undo it, and after their name is called upon, no one else can kill these two living things. It is very difficult to do, and the only way for the called upon shifter to free the trapped shifter or mediator is to-'
'Whoa,' I interrupted. 'You sure know a lot, don't you.'
He shrugged. 'You could say that. Now, where was I-'
'Uh, Paul? I think that's enough on that. Can you move onto . . . uh, Materialization? That could be really handy.'
'As you wish,' he grinned, taking a step closer to the window. Then, without warning, he dematerialized and materialized right in front of me! I mean, RIGHT in front. Like, leaning over the chair, centimeters away from my face in front!
'Holy crap!' I exclaimed, sinking back into the chair to avoid his face. He grabbed my shoulders, and we dematerialized together. When we materialized again, we were, to my relief, still in his room and not in the Shadowland, as I had feared for a split second. However, the downside of this was that I was on his bed, and he was kind of lying on top of me.
'Paul, what the hell are you doing?!' I yelled, as he kind of straddled me, on his knees. Serious! This was WORSE than last time already!
'Showing you what a real shifter can do,' he breathed, and kissed my forehead.
Oh, God, please, oh, please . . .
"Come on, Simon. If you just chill out, you might actually enjoy this."
HEY! He just talked to me through my mind! This was WAY wrong!
'Get off-' I began, but he clapped a hand over my mouth. Crap!
"Paul, you were just promising before you wouldn't give me any shit!" I exploded in my brain. I was sure he got the message by the way he winced and then grinned evilly. Oh, his eyes, they were like, burning red! This was bad, bad, bad, BAD!
'I know,' he grinned, and bent down to kiss me on the lips. I thought he was just going to kiss his hand that was over my mouth for a moment, but in a swift movement, he repositioned his hand so it was painfully pushing my lips against his. Oh, this wasn't enjoyable! Not at all! I mean, if this had have maybe been Jesse, I might have at least liked it a bit, but I hate it when guys think that they can control everything.
'How else was I going to get you here?' he asked. I thought that this was very strange, seeing as he had just shown an excellent example of Materialization, and could have materialized me here from anywhere. But I didn't voice this.
Neither did I have to.
'Yes, but it's much more fun luring you here,' he said.
Whoa! He could read my mind! NOOOOOOOO!
"Now, Mind Reading is different to Telepathy. Mind Reading is one way, Telepathy is two way, and can only happen between shifters and mediators-"
"I don't give a fu-"
Okay, he was getting really enthusiastic with his tongue about now, which is seriously gross. I went to slap him, but very remarkably, I couldn't move my arms. Desperation was burning within me, but I didn't know what to do. I mean, I couldn't move my arms, or- nope, not even my legs. Believe me, I tried. Harder than I have ever tried to do anything in my life. It was kind of like trying to pop my ears, or lifting up a seriously heavy pot plant, but WAY harder.
"That's controlling," he explained, via Telepathy.
So Paul just went on kissing me. I was like, (now that I could speak again,) 'Stop it, God dammit!' but he didn't. Stop it, I mean. And then, to my indignation, I saw him looking at my torso area very, very intensely. But it wasn't till I saw the buttons popping off my shirt, that I was seriously horrified.
'Paul!' I yelled in revulsion, 'How the (insert colourful four letter word here) are you doing that?!'
He tore his eyes away, and answered breathlessly, 'Telekinesis. Simple, really, once you get the hang of it. I'm giving you examples of things that a shifter can do, Suze, so pay attention.' Yeah, with a highly MA 15+THEME!
Oh, my God. No FREAKING WAY!
And that was when my top was kind of, like, ripped open. NOOO! WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! With a bang that gave me a heart attack, there was a kind of glowing red dome around the bed. That was when he moved back, grinning.
I was so off that bed. I ran towards the glowing dome thingie-
-Only to be blasted back onto the bed with such painful force, I screamed.
'That's a Barrier,' he explained, pushing me back down by my shoulders. My heart was hammering against my ribcage so thoroughly I felt as though the bones would shatter. Dread was claiming me, as I knew what Paul was going to do . . .
"JESSE! GET YOUR GHOSTLY ARSE HERE!" I screamed within my head.
And I waited.
And waited.
But no show. Not a flicker, nothing!
I released a woebegone cry, as Paul grabbed my wrists, and slammed them against the above pillow, pressing me harder against the bed, kissing me. EWW!
I was utterly terrified. I'm not ashamed to say that, I mean, this was worse than all my dreams of the Shadowland, of all the other times that Paul had ever come near me, worse, even, than when I thought I'd lost Jesse. And that's saying something!
He ran a hand down my stomach, and down my thigh. Oooh, not good. RAH! Away! Shoo!
"JESSSSSSSSSSSSSSE!"
'That slips in the "Ghost Calling" category of the shifter powers. I can not only call them, but forbid other mediators/shifters from calling them,' Paul said, sliding his hand behind my head, netting my hair between his fingers.
This was SO past sexual harassment now. This was assault, wasn't it?
'As a matter of fact, no, Simon. Assault counts as penetration,' he said, 'also known as rape, which I have no intention to do.' He did not just say that!!!!!
"Thank God for that." I spat at him. "Paul I think I've had enough of a lesson for today."
ForEVER more like it.
'Ah, now Suze, don't be like that,' he warned angrily, 'After all, Mr De Silva's death is at stake, is it not?'
I whimpered, and that was when the Barrier disappeared, and I gained full control over myself. He got off me at long last, rolling his eyes. I gaped at him, totally scandalized. Still gawking, I swooped up my bag, and ran for it. He didn't even stop me this time, or even send down a Biker Bob minion of his.
'I'm never coming back, Paul!' I shouted at him.
'You don't have a choice,' was his reply.
And he was right. But I'd figure out something, anything . . . I had to!
I ran down the pathway from his house. This was MAJOR déjà vu. I glared at his convertible. Oh, if only I knew how to drive, I'd so nick his car and crash it into the sea. Well, to crash a car, you don't exactly need to know how to drive, do you? I thought. Then I grinned. Yeah, if you haven't already guessed, he had foolishly left the keys in the ignition.
Idiot.
Do I jumped in there, turned the keys, relishing that moment when the engine roared with life, and pulled out of the drive.
'Hey! HEY!'
I looked up at the highest window, and saw Paul gawking at me in shock. Fueled by his astonishment, I sped down the road, to the cliff. I whipped out my hair lacky, and fitted it around the accelerator so it would keep going. Then I jumped out of the car, and watched in total bliss as it drove straight off the edge, plunging gloriously into the wild ocean below, smashing deafeningly on the jagged rocks.
I ran back to Scenic Drive, mighty impressed with myself, and began to walk home. I didn't plan to walk all the way, just so I was far enough from Paul's house to avoid suspicious when I called Adam to come and pick me up. I didn't know his number, but sure as anything, all of his numbers, home, mother's cell number, father's cell number, summer house phone number, etc. would be keyed into CeeCee's phone. Another problem I would encounter was that CeeCee, sure as anything also, would be with him, and would realize that it was me who stole her cell phone. Ah, it was a sacrifice I had to make. But then, I could easily be all like, "hey, Cee? What do ya know, the funniest thing happened. You cell phone must have jumped from your backpack to MY backpack at school. What a coincidence, seeing as I needed it now, huh?"
I was a dead woman.
I was at the nearest Carmel mall, ready to call him, when a vaguely familiar voice interrupted me.
'Susan? Is that you?'
A/N: Who is it? And will he/she get his/her butt kicked for calling Suze that? Stay tuned.