A/N: As requested, I am continuing with my fic. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my first one! You guys kept me going! I LOVE YOU ALLLL!!! *Boinces* (I'm kind of hyper right now…I drew this awesome butterfly on my notebook, and my friend's gonna draw it on my back with henna, so I'm happy and all that. Woo!) Lemme know what you all think of this!
Disclaimer: Anything familiar is Meg Cabot's, as usual. I didn't write the mediator series. My pen name's Cali Vinett, not Jenny Caroll. The only thing I own is the plot, and Cali(xte).
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Chapter 1: Life Without Cali
**Suze**
Well, Cali was dead, and it was back to the way things used to be. It was even back to the way things were before Paul, since she had killed him. It had taken a long time to register that they were both dead, believe me. Jesse seemed to be in shock for awhile. He just couldn't believe that she had sacrificed herself to give us a chance together. The only difference was that Jesse was alive, and we had a real, working relationship. Father Dom could no longer disapprove.
"Susannah?" I heard from outside. Jesse still came over a lot, and we'd sit on the porch roof and talk, just like we used to. I walked over to the window seat and knelt on it.
"Hey," I called out the window, watching him climb up the ivy on the side of the house. That plant was useful, let me tell you. I sighed, thinking about how Cali's parents had taken the news. They actually hadn't been too shocked. I could hear the conversation as if it was happening again right in front of my face. "Mrs. Vinnett?" I remember saying. "I have some…bad news."
"Oh? Who are you?" she had asked me, tilting her head. I should've known these weren't Cali's real parents, because they both had dark hair, and Cali's was a golden blonde that I actually kind of envied.
"Sorry. I'm Suze – Susannah Simon. She was in my class," I'd said, feeling really awkward. Father Dom had, to my great relief, stepped into the picture.
"Mrs. Vinnett, I am Father Dominic, the principal of the Junipero Serra Mission Academy. It's a pleasure to meet you. I feel in this situation, it's better to cut to the chase," he said with a sigh. "Calixte is – "
"No longer with us. Am I right?" her mother had said, to my total shock. I remember my jaw dropping and Jesse reaching down and kind of closing my mouth. Calixte's mother – er, foster mother? – sighed. "Yes, we knew this would happen. Did she tell you we're not really her parents?" When all three of us nodded, she nodded. "We adopted her when she was fourteen. She told us her story, and told us what she thought her destiny was. Evidently, she was right," she said with a slight smile. "Would you all like to come in? It's a little chilly out here," she'd said, rubbing her arms.
"Well, we don't want to impose," Father Dom had said good-naturedly, but when Cali's foster mom insisted, he'd agreed, and we'd all walked in. Mrs. Vinnett made us tea. I would've preferred coffee, but I didn't say anything. I mean, it's just not nice to make someone do something out of their way when her daughter – or foster daughter – just died. Is it?
"What's on your mind, querida?" Jesse asked jolting me back to the present.
I shook my head. "Nothing. Just thinking about Cali. Sucks that she had to die, doesn't it?" I sighed. "I wish we could bring her back…or something. Don't you? She was…interesting. I liked her. I have to admit, I'm glad Paul's gone, though," I said quietly, walking onto the porch roof and sitting down next to Jesse, who pulled me into his arms. I was happy like this. I hated that Cali's death was the thing that fixed it, but it did. Fix it, I mean.
Jesse nodded. "I agree," he said quietly. We had both sort of gotten used to Jesse having Cali's powers, so it wasn't as weird, or as annoying when he read my mind now, or heard my thoughts. "I have to wonder, though. Didn't Calixte say she was the daughter of the Angel and Malaengel of Life? Didn't she also have some strange powers that even angels shouldn't have? Or something along those lines. If she did, I probably have them, and maybe I can bring her back," he said with a shrug. (Which was kind of odd, since I was in his arms)
I blinked. "I don't know, Jesse. You weren't trained to be able to use them the way she was. From what she said, her powers sound a little dangerous." I couldn't help it. The last thing I wanted was for Jesse to try something and get himself killed all over again. If he did that, all of Cali's hard work and sacrifice would be for nothing.
"Susannah, you worry too much," Jesse said, shifting so I was facing him, then leaned down and kissed me lightly. "Relax. Everything will be fine. I promise I won't try anything without…researching somehow," he said with a smile. He was learning how to use the internet, which was still very strange to him. I smiled. He'd fit in the modern world once he got the hang of it.
That made me think of how it had gone when I'd introduced him to my friends. I had arranged to meet Cee cee and Adam at the beach. The scene played in my head. "Cee, Adam, this is Jesse," I'd said, introducing them.
Cee cee had been watching me with a knowing look in her eyes. She did know about Jesse, after all. "Hello, nice to meet you," she'd said, friendlily, holding out a hand. And when I'd introduced him to mom and Andy…oh man. You should've seen mom's jaw drop. Andy just kind of stood there. It was really funny. I smiled, thinking of Kelly Prescott's reaction to him. Jesse and I were at the mall, buying him some modern day clothes.
Kelly had walked over to me while Jesse was trying on the clothes I had picked out for him. "Hey, Suze! How's it going? What've you been up to?" she asked, multiple shopping bags hanging off her arm, along with a white clutch purse to match her outfit.
"Hey, Kelly," I said, giving her my best smile. "Oh, you know, the usual. What about you?" I really shouldn't have asked her what she'd been up to. I really shouldn't have. As soon as I stopped talking, Kelly launched into a detailed description of what she'd done in the past few days. It went something like "Igotmynailsdone, and Igotmyhaircut, and I of course boughtanew wardrobe (haveyou gone shoppingyet, Suze?), and I wentoutwith this reallycute guy, and – Ohmigosh! Who is that God that just walked out of the dressing room?" I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing when I saw who she was staring at. The guy was a god, and it was none other than Jesse.
"I have to meet this guy," Kelly said, walking towards him.
"You're sure this is – Ah, hello," Jesse added, looking at Kelly. "Susannah, are you sure this fits right?" he asked me, completely ignoring Kelly. Kelly looked flabbergasted as Jesse walked past her and over to me. I grinned and looked at him. He looked excellent in modern clothes. I mean, he had some. But we were really trying to figure out his personal style. So far it was looking a mix between prep and goth. He liked leather. I couldn't blame him…he looked so good in it.
"Yes, Jesse, that's how they fit. Look around you," I said, gesturing to the other guys in the store. Jesse tugged at the waist of his jeans, not used to them. You should've seen the look on Kelly's face. "What's she thinking, Jesse?" I asked him.
Jesse grinned. He loved to use Cali's powers. He thought for a moment, then almost started laughing. "She's thinking 'how could he choose her over me?' She's rather…what's the word I'm looking for?" he asked me.
"If you're looking for skanky, bitchy, or stuck-up, then yeah. She is."
"Actually, I think the word I was looking for was conceited…but those seem to work as well," he said, grinning. Then he did something he's never done before: kissed me right in the open. I couldn't help grinning at the look of utter horror on Kelly's face. "Alright, enough of that. I'm going to go change back into my clothes," he said, walking back over to his dressing room. Kelly glared angrily at me as she walked by, and I shrugged, still grinning. I couldn't help it. Jesse was an amazing kisser, and gorgeous to boot. He emerged about a minute later, wearing his jeans and black tee shirt. He walked up to the counter, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. I walked over and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders as the lady started ringing up his clothes. She kept looking up and watching him, and I just glared at her, thinking look away, sister. This one's mine. From the way Jesse looked down and gave me sort of a half smile, I could tell he had heard my thought, and was amused by it. Oh well.
Jesse had obviously heard me thinking about that day, since he said, "well you are a rather…what was that?" he asked, cutting himself off mid-sentence. I listened carefully.
"Jesse, I don't hear –"
"– Shh," he said, putting a finger to his lips. I listened even more carefully, and finally realized what he had heard. There was a sort of crackling noise coming from the ground. I felt all the blood rush from my face as I looked down and my eyes were met with a ring of bright blue fire. Oh god. "Ah, Susannah?" Jesse started. "Do you think we should maybe…move?" he said quietly. I nodded and walked into my room and saw the exact thing I didn't want to see. Ever again: Paul Slater sitting on my bed, reading a magazine.
"Hello, hello," he said, grinning. I looked where I thought his wings would be, but there weren't any. What the hell was going on? "Fancy meeting you here, Suze. It's been awhile. How's life working out for you, deSilva?" he asked Jesse, smirking. I wanted to walk right over there and knock that sneer right off his face, but Jesse tightened his hold on me, knowing what I wanted to do.
"Slater," Jesse said neutrally.
"What the hell are you doing in my room?" I yelled. Okay, I was a little pissed. You would be, too, if you walked in your room and found the one person you hated most in the world casually sitting on your bed, reading one of your magazines.
"No need to be hostile, Suze," he said with a shrug. "Just wanted to pop by and say hi," he said. He was hiding something. What was going on?
"Paul. There's such a thing as a door. You were dead. Cali killed you. What the hell are you doing alive?" I asked. Okay, so I was being hostile. I saw every reason to be hostile, and fully intended to take advantage of the opportunity. "I was there. I watched you die. You're not glowing, so you're not a ghost. What are you?" I asked with more emphasis on the word "are" than I had planned. Where was Cali when you needed her?
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A/N: Well here's the start on the sequel! Same deal – lemme know what you think and all that. Ooh, mystery. Dundundunnnnn…