A/N: Ooh! This is it, ya'll! I'm keeping the rating PG...I'll just be very discreet about it. I wasn't about to make him think bad thoughts, but I was just wondering what you guys thought about the whole thing. Thanks to my lovelies who review me! You guys are my preciouses (not a word, but it is now!).

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It was heaven. The kiss started out innocently enough. In fact when my lips met hers for the first time, I did it as soft as possible. It was like kissing the wind. But, oh, I felt the electricity of it. I think she felt it too. The electricity, I mean. Because when I went in to kiss her again, she didn't even try to pull away. I set my hand softly on her face and deepened the kiss, making sure I continued to hold on her wrist, just in case. And then something glorious happened. She kissed me back. SHE kissed ME back. The friction between our lips was so gentle, yet at the same time kind of rough. At that point, I was holding so much passion inside; it seemed like it was going to burst out of my ears or something. But she was kissing me back, so I coaxed her in a horizontal position. By then I had taken it up a few notches with the intensity level. I moved the hand that was on her face and quite forcefully placed it behind her neck.

One kiss and that was the end of me. I was gone, done for, out forever. The game was over for me; and I lost. Not that I minded losing, because in a way it was like I had won. I, Paul Slater, all-powerful shifter, who was invincible to most anything, had finally found one thing I was invulnerable to...Susannah Simon. I don't really know how it happened, it just did. We were on my bed, I kissed her, and she kissed me back. And then BOOM! I just knew. Everything was finally cleared up. Actually, it was there in plain black and white from the beginning. The reason I moved to Carmel, California was because of her. The reason I went to Mission Academy...it was all her. She was the reason I ran for VP. I could not make-out with Kelly Prescott in her study because...

I LOVE SUSANNAH SIMON.

There, I said it. It's in big bold capitol lettering, for everyone with Internet access to see.

She tried to pull away, but I wasn't going to let her get away that easily. I still kept hold of her wrist and continued on with the kissing, until she jerked her lips away from mine and commanded, "Get off me."

"Come on, Suze. Don't tell me you haven't been thinking about this all afternoon," I pleaded. "Actually, I really haven't. Now get off me," she demanded. Instead of giving in to her demands, I continued kissing her...on her neck though, because she had fully turned her head the other direction. I nibbled playfully on part of her ear, too. But she wasn't reacting to it. "Is this *kiss* about the *kiss* student government thing?" I asked her, "Because I *kiss* could care less about *kiss* being vice president of your stupid class *kiss*." I stopped kissing her for a bit and, looking into her eyes, I said, "If you're mad about it, just say the word, and I'll drop out of the race."

"No," she said as she tried to squirm out from under me, "this has nothing to do with the student government thing." Oh, gosh, I knew exactly what it was about. It wasn't about that stupid election. Because she didn't care about it either. I could read it in her eyes that it wasn't that.

"Oh, God. It's not Jesse, is it?" I asked as I searched her eyes. The expression on her face totally gave it away. It WAS Jesse. "Give it up, Suze. The guy's dead," I told her. "I didn't say it had anything to do with Jesse," she said defensively. It has everything to do with Jesse; I wanted to tell her. I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes. "Did you hear me say it had anything to do with Jesse?" she insisted. No, she didn't say it...but it was just THAT obvious.

"You didn't have to. It's written all over your face." I said with some hurt in my voice. I started playing with her hair again while I said, "Where's it going to go with the guy anyway? I mean, you're going to get older, and he's going to stay exactly the age he was when he croaked. "And what, he's going to take you to prom?" I asked, while planting a kiss on her forehead. Then I moved on to kiss her left cheek when I asked, "How about movies? You guys go to the movies together?" Then I kissed her right cheek, "Who drives? Who pays?" She turned her head huffily. I didn't care if I was upsetting her. She deserved to know the truth. "Besides, if the two of you were really right for each other, would you even be here? And would you have been kissing me like you were a minute ago?" I asked, no longer kissing her, but I was searching her eyes. They flashed with anger in them. Uh, oops.

"If you don't get off me, I will jab my thumb into your eye socket," she threatened. I just laughed at her and leaned in for one more kiss. I guess I should learn to take the woman I love more seriously. She really did jab her thumb in my eye socket, causing me to roll onto the floor. "Ow! What the..." I said as I watched her (with my good eye) grab her belongings and run out of my room. "Suze! Get back here! Suze!" I called after her. Oh, God, she was getting away. 'Slash! Fetch, boy!' I called Slash in my head, as I got up and ran after her. I knew I couldn't stop her, but Slash sure could. I stood at the top of the steel staircase that led to my front door. Slash materialized straight in front of my door and folded his muscly arms in front of his large chest. "Whoa! Where'd you come from?" she asked as she stopped herself from running into him.

"Never you mind little lady. I think Mr. Slater'd still like a word with you," Slash responded as he nodded in my direction. "Suze, don't go," I called to her from halfway up the staircase. "Minions?" she asked angrily as she looked up at me, "You have ghostly minions to do your bidding? What ARE you?" "I told you. I'm a shifter. So are you. And you are way overreacting about this whole thing. Can't we just talk Suze? I swear I'll keep my hands to myself," I pleaded. "Where have I heard THAT before?" she asked angrily. Slash took a menacing step closer to her. Uh, I forgot to warn Slash about Suze. Oops. She took one of her shoes, and popped him one on the head with it. She shoved him out of the way and tore out the door.

"Suze! Suze, come on," I begged, "I'm sorry for what I said about Jesse. I didn't mean it." Much, I added to myself. By then she was down by my driveway. She turned around in a huff and gave me the finger. The FINGER! "Suze. At least let me drive you home," I pleaded. And by pleading, I mean I was really pleading. I was about to get on my knees and beg, but I knew that wouldn't be very dignified. "No thank you. I prefer to walk," she replied as she put her shoes on. "Suze, it's like five miles from here to your house," I reasoned. But I guess unreasonable people can't tolerate reason. "NEVER SPEAK TO ME AGAIN, PLEASE," she said, not really yelling but she said it loudly enough, and she started walking off.

I should have known it would happen like this. I mean, she's in love with Jesse, not me. But why not? Why JESSE and not ME? I could make her a list of things that make me an overall better candidate for a boyfriend than De- Loser.

I'm ALIVE I have a nice car I have a sense of humor (and I don't break people's noses who's jokes aren't funny) I can take her to dances (and not make it look like she's dancing with air) I can take her out on nice dates I can drive her to really nice places (like Big Sur so we can watch the sunset while we make-out) in my nice car mentioned in reason #2 I wear clothes that aren't from the 1850's (uh, spurs? Who WEARS those?) I can teach her cool things about shifting (in between make-out sessions) I actually like her...no wait... I love her

There, that's ten reasons. And if you'd give me more time, I could give you a billion more. But then there's that other question, why did I love her? I mean, I could have any girl at Mission Academy...so why her? Ugh.

Dejected, I walked back into my house and shut the door. Slash's hand was cupping his head where Suze whacked him, and my hand was cupped over my eye where Suze jabbed me with her thumb. Heh, that was funny. Slash asked me, "That her? The girl you love?" "Yep. That's the girl I love," I replied tonelessly. Slash whistled teasingly and said, "Man, no wonder you look so beat all the time."

"Slash, have you ever...you know, been in love?" I asked him as we entered my room. I never really asked Slash questions like that before, but I guess I had always wanted to know about his private life. "You've got it bad, kid," Slash stated, completely ignoring my question. "What?" I asked, "I just wanted to know. I mean, it's not normal to fall for someone at seventeen, is it?" Slash shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. On one hand, some would say you're awful young for that kinda thing. But you never know. You might not wake up tomorrow, and then what? You miss your chance, kid."

Wow. You know, for a guy that dropped out of high school, Slash was pretty smart. I mean, he was completely right. Why should it matter if I fell in love at seventeen, or even seventy for that matter? I was pretty sure it was love. I mean, the ways that kiss made me feel...it made me feel complete. It felt like all my prayers had been answered. At the same time, though, it felt dangerous. Probably because falling for Suze would later cause me some extreme physical and emotional pain...but it's not like I knew that at the time. "Penny for your thoughts?" Slash asked as he playfully punched my arm. "They're worth a whole lot more than that," I replied tonelessly.

And suddenly, we weren't alone. Yeah, I was trying to have a heart to heart with a certain tough-guy ghost, when another one just materialized on the spot. It was a girl about the age of 14 or 15. She looked small and mild, kind of like she would obey anything at command. She was wearing a nice light blue cardigan sweater and a blue skirt. Her hair was blonde and straight and her eyes were as pale blue as her sweater. "Well, lookee here, Paulie, looks like we have company," Slash said as he glided over to the girl. "Slash, be nice," I warned him. "What are you talking about, son? You're never nice to charity cases," Slash said as he pointed to the girl. "If you didn't notice, Slash, she's just like you. A ghost...one that needs help," I said. "Hell, Paulie, you really did turn into a softie. I'm leaving, before you make me hurl," Slash said as he dematerialized in a flash. Ah, who needs him!

"Now, girl, what do you want?" I asked as I sat on the edge of my bed. Not that I was really that interested...okay maybe I was. Maybe there was something rewarding about the charity case thing that Suze always does. "What's your name?" she asked me in a soft voice that I could barely hear. Uh, what happened to getting straight to business? "Look, kid, my name's not important. Just tell me what's wrong, and I'll get you where you belong," I sighed. "I'm Laurel. And I'm not a kid. I'm fifteen thank-you- very-much," she said, still speaking softly. "Okay, Laurel," I said with annoyance, "You don't belong here. I can help you get to..." "What's your name?" she asked again. "Fine," I spat, "My name's Paul. Now tell me..." "This is a pretty nice place you have here. The view is absolutely marvelous," she said as she walked to my window to look out on the ocean. "Yes," I said, getting even more annoyed with each passing moment; "It's a great place. Why are you..." "You know, the ocean always looks stunning this time of day. You know, with the sun almost setting and all," she kept talking, ignoring me. This was getting old, fast.

"Lauren!" I yelled. "Um, it's Laurel," she corrected me. "It doesn't matter. I'm TRYING to help you out here. So just tell me, already. Because I have better things to do than to have small talk with a ghost," I said angrily. Laurel turned around and faced me slowly, and I saw a tear gliding down her cheek. Her sad eyes bore into me, tearing a hole in me. I felt...guilty. "Laurel, Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it," I apologized. She turned right back around and faced the setting sun. "Laurel," I said as I walked towards her turned back. I knelt beside her and put my arm around her small shoulders. The glow from the sunset had streamed into my room, casting a purple-ish glow on everything in it. "A guy like you," she said, choking on her tears, "wouldn't understand." "Try me. I've seen lots of things before," I tried comforting her. She just looked down at the ocean, and didn't respond. I was feeling bad for her, genuinely bad for her. Usually I could care less about ghosts and their unfinished business. But, I'm a changed man... all thanks to Suze. Who knew a single woman could change the heart of a beast?

"You know," I said as I turned Laurel to face me, "You were right about the ocean. It is beautiful at this time of day."

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A/N: Whoa! What's up with Paul? He's so different! He was ACTUALLY being a decent human being. And he's in love with Suze? Geez, Paul went squishy. There IS a heart under all of that evilness. I feel sad, not many people reviewed last chapter. I hope my last chapter wasn't terrible. If it was, I'm so sorry for making you suffer! --Hayley