"You say that I changed
Well maybe I did
But even if I changed
What's wrong with it?" Third Eye Blind, Never Let you Go
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"Are you ever going to tell me why you're here?" I asked Laurel as I was typing up my 500-word essay on the Battle of Gettysburg. I had been working on it for awhile and the whole time she had been sitting on the edge of my bed, fiddling with her thumbs. Occasionally, I'd look at her, to make sure she was still there. I do admit, it was kind of annoying having her stare at me...distracting even. Eventually, it gave me the creeps. Yeah, I see ghosts everyday, but still they're...well, haunting.
"I died," she replied softly. "Yes," I responded as I turned my chair around to face her, "I know that. But why are you here and not your next plane of existence?" Laurel smiled gently and replied, "I like it here...that's why." Ugh! Why me? Can't a guy write an essay without having to deal with a little ghost watching him and annoying him? I sighed and turned my chair back around to continue with my paper.
Oh, but Laurel wasn't done then. She got off of my bed and started walking around my room. Then she materialized on my Plexiglas computer desk, startling me. "God, Laurel, I need to get this essay done. I can't finish it while you're off scaring me like that," I said with annoyance. "I'm just bored, is all," she replied innocently. "Do you want something to read?" I asked as I got out of my computer chair and plucked a book from my collection. "The Prince, by Machiavelli. I've read it twice already," she replied as she levitated the book and put it back on the shelf.
"You know, for a new ghost, you're pretty powerful," I complimented her. "Oh. You really think so?" she asked unfazed by the great compliment. "Yeah, you seem to have this whole ghost business down," I replied. Just then the phone rang.
"Slater residence, Paul speaking," I said boredly after I picked up the phone. "Oh, Paul! This is your mother speaking. You haven't called lately, and I was wondering how you were doing," my mother squealed over the phone. "I'm doing pretty good, mom," I replied as I looked at Laurel, who was smiling. She politely dematerialized and left me alone to converse with my dear mother.
"So, how's school, Paul?" she asked curiously. "It's great. I'm running for class Vice President of the junior class," I replied as I sunk down on my bed. "Oh, honey! That's absolutely marvelous! Let me put your father on the phone," my mom replied. Oh, she really does care...not.
"Paul, son. How's your grandfather doing?" my dad got straight to the point. "Oh, he's the same as usual," I replied bitterly, "He stares at his TV a lot. Oh, but today he picked lemons with Mark." "He hasn't been spouting off his usual nonsense has he?" my dad asked, his voice low. "Actually, no. He doesn't talk much anymore thanks to all those drugs he's on," I replied dryly, not even concerned with how rude I was sounding. "Oh, good," my dad responded. Oh, good? OH, GOOD? How is wasting perfectly powerful powers GOOD? After a moment of silence, my dad said, "I'll put Jack on the phone."
"Hey, Paul," Jack said with forced joy. "Hey there, kiddy. What's up?" I asked with a smile. I knew I wasn't Jack's favorite person in the whole world, so it was fun annoying him. "Sky," he replied.
"How's school?" I asked with feigned interest. "It's cool. I made lots more friends," his young voice grew happier. "Great," I replied uncomfortably. I mean, since the summer, my brother and I hadn't been on the best terms with each other. Not like we were all that close to begin with, so you could understand why the conversation was uncomfortable. "How about your school?" Jack asked. "It's a nice school, actually. You'd like it," I replied.
"Suze goes there, right? How is she?" Jack asked with real enthusiasm. And why not...she was, after all, the one that helped him out with the whole mediator thing. Oh, and she taught him how to swim, which is more than I ever did for the kid. "Yeah, she's doing fine. She was just over this afternoon," I said, smiling as I recollected what happened. "Wow, really? I'm surprised she talks to you. You know, since that whole thing in the summer," Jack replied, surprised. I was taken aback by Jack's unintentional rudeness. "Well, you know, I was surprised too. But you know how persuasive I can be," I said. Yep, persuasive enough to get her to ask the right questions AND to get her to make-out with me on my bed. That's just how good I am. "Well, I gotta go. Tell Suze I miss her and that I said hi," Jack said as he hung up the phone.
Well, it's nice to know I have a family that truly cared for me...not. My mom could care less about me being VP, my dad only cares if my grandfather is spouting off 'nonsense', and Jack only cared about saying 'hi' to Suze. It's always been that way though. My parents just let me do whatever I wanted. Jack was such a scaredy cat most of the time, so he was never that fun to hang out with. The only person I enjoyed in my family was my grandfather. Of course, he always complained about how careless and stupid I was being with my abilities. Like he would know about carelessness. He's under heavy medication most of the time, so what does he know? That's right, a big fat nothing.
"What's wrong?" Laurel asked as she materialized right in front of my face. Geez, the girl gets creepier by the minute! "Now's not the time, Laurel," I warned her. "Aw come on, Paul, you can tell me," she said as she patted me on the shoulder. I put a pillow in front of my face and flopped backwards. "Don't you miss your family?" Laurel asked. "Uh, not really," I said bitterly into my pillow. Laurel levitated the pillow from my face and rested it on the ground somewhere. "Why not?" Laurel asked, "They seem nice. Your family, I mean. They were calling to make sure you liked it here." "You don't know my family," I replied dryly. "You don't know mine, either," she retorted innocently (if that's possible). "Tell me, then," I said as I propped my head up with my arm. "I don't usually like to talk about them," she stated as her blue eyes flashed. I could tell the thought of them probably scared her. "I'll tell you about my family, if you tell me about yours," I bargained.
"Okay," she said as she took a deep breath, "My mom was a really nice woman, pretty too. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, just like me. She was a stay at home mom, always cooking and cleaning. She didn't vacuum with pearls on or anything, but she was a perfect mom. I was an only child..." "That sounds nice, actually," I interrupted. "I'm not finished," she stated solemnly, "My dad worked as a lawyer in a very prestigious law firm. Work, often times, was very stressful for him. My mother and I would help him out as much as possible, but it wasn't good enough. One day he came home very angry and sent me to my room, for no reason. I heard him yelling at my mom. I peeked out of my bedroom door and saw him...hit her."
"Oh my God, Laurel. He really did that? He...hurt her?" I asked sympathetically. She nodded and continued, "My mom threatened to leave, so he promised he'd never do it again. And he kept his promise for awhile. One day, my mom came home with some bad news. She had breast cancer. The doctors gave her 4 months to live. My dad and I helped her every way we could, during those months. She became so weak, that they admitted her into the hospital. The last time I saw her, her blonde hair was all gone, and her blue eyes were so pale and lifeless. She told me that I would always be her little girl, and that she'd be watching over me in heaven. She died a week later."
"Oh, God," was all I could muster. "After she died," she continued with a struggle, "my father became angry with the world. He would hit me sometimes when I did something wrong. I always felt it was my fault that I was messing up all the time. One Thanksgiving my dad sent me off to my grandmother's house while he was at some business thing. My grandmother saw all of my injuries given to me by my father. She called Child Protective Services and they immediately made my grandmother my official guardian. I moved all the way from Connecticut to California, which is where she lived. I had trouble fitting in at my new school because I was different from everyone. So I buried my nose in my studies and kept with that. I felt lonely, but it was better than living with dad. Then..." She paused, a tear streaming down her face.
"Then...what happened?" I asked, softly. "Then," she continued, shaking, "My dad kept calling me. I told him I never wanted to speak to him again...but he kept calling me. After a while he came over to my grandmother's house at night, when she was asleep...and he...he kidnapped me. I remember how angry he looked as he placed the knife by my throat. He told me not to scream, or he'd kill me. He took me to his car and we drove for a bit. Then he stopped by this forest looking place near the ocean. He yelled all these curses at me, for not staying with him. He called me so many bad things, and I started crying. I think he hit me on the head. I don't know because I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I felt wet and cold. I realized I was in the water...the ocean. And...now...I'm here."
More and more tears streamed down her innocent face. "Oh, Laurel, I had no idea. Oh my God, I can't tell you how sorry I am. I had no clue," I said as I sat up and took her small hand in mine. She sat down on my bed and buried her head in my chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Now that caught me off guard. I mean, normally fifteen-year-olds don't cry hysterically in front of me, unless I was the one causing them to cry. I wrapped my arms around her small frame and kissed the top of her head gently. Who said I was a bad brother? I had the brotherly thing down pretty darn good.
"You don't have to worry about him anymore, Laurel. He can't hurt you anymore," I tried to comfort her. I pulled out my handkerchief and dried her eyes. Her whole body was shaking in my arms. And I felt an emotion I rarely ever felt...compassion. God, I'm too soft (Suze! It's all your fault!). But I'm a changed man...is that so wrong? Isn't that like a change for the better?
"I can get the cops to search for your body. Then your dad will pay for this...for hurting you," I offered. "No, I could never wish that on my dad. I just...need a friend," she said as she looked at me. The corners of her lips formed a pretty sad looking smile.
Uh oh. Red Alert! Paul is becoming too friendly with a ghost. Must...not...get attatched. "If you're looking for a friend, you're looking at the wrong guy. Seriously, I'm no fun. I'm no fun at all. Plus, I got my own troubles...like finding a way to get you to rest in peace, so to speak," I said quickly as I popped up from my bed. I know, that was mean, but what do you expect? I mean, I became a friend to Slash and now he wouldn't leave me alone.
"That sounds like something a friend would do," Laurel pointed out. "Well, it's part of the job description," I lied. "No it's not," she replied with a grin. "How do you know?" I asked suspiciously. "You said I was powerful," she said as she got off of my bed and moved toward me. "Yeah, so?" I said as I looked away nervously. "I told you, I'm different," she paused in her steps. "Different? Like you're a creepy fifteen-year-old freak?" I asked as I folded my arms.
"I'm just as much of a freak as you are," she retorted, losing that once innocent voice of hers. "What are you talking about?" I demanded. "When I was alive I had freakish powers. You know, like telepathy and telekinesis," she replied. "Wait a minute...you could read minds and levitate stuff? That's nothing, I can do all of that and more," I responded.
"Yeah, well, you were handed those with a purpose. I researched and read zillions of books to find out how and why I had those powers. I got nothing," she said solemnly. "You could do some heavy-duty multi-tasking," I suggested with a grin. She levitated the pillow on the floor and flung it at me. "Hey! What was that for?" I asked as I dodged the pillow. She just glared at me for a moment.
"I knew you wouldn't understand, Paul," she stated as she turned her back to me. "I do understand," I replied cooly. "No. When I was alive, Paul, I HAD NO FRIENDS. I was DIFFERENT. I thought, maybe, since we kinda shared freakish powers given to us at birth that we could be pals. But you're a jerk. No wonder that Suze girl doesn't like you. I actually hope she never does. Because you are truly EVIL."
Um, hello. That was uncalled for. I turned her around quickly and smacked her across the face. I know, that was mean, but come on! She had crossed the line with the Suze comment.
"It's impolite to hit a girl," Laurel stated as she touched the place where my hand met her face. "Yeah, well you shouldn't be saying things that merit such acts," I yelled, "And how did you know about Suze anyway? Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?"
"I happened to witness the whole thing. And, yes, I did catch some parts of your conversation," she countered. "You...spied on me? You had no business...you didn't even know me then! And you SPIED on me?" I asked, beyond furious. "Relax, it was an accident. They sent me here to talk to a medium...I decided to chill out until you were a little less...busy. I didn't interrupt your brief moment of passion with her," she explained as she patted my shoulder.
I picked up her little body and slammed it against the nearest wall. I pushed my body close to hers in order to trap her. She was shrieking at me to get away from her, but I was too infuriated to listen. "You," I hissed angrily, "had better leave Suze out of this, you hear?"
"It's a shame, really. She seemed like such a nice girl. Too bad she'll never speak to you again," she snickered. I punched the wall right by her ear. I could feel her shaking beneath me. "I said leave her out of this!" I yelled as I seized her wrist. "Ow, Paul you're hurting me," she yelped as I twisted her wrist.
"Listen to me, girl. You better not mess with me. I can do massive amounts of damage," I whispered into her ear. She squealed with pain as I tightened my grip on her small wrist. She was shaking more than ever. I could feel her heart beat thudding against her chest. She had no control over anything. No, because I had taken it away.
"Let go, please! You're hurting me!" Laurel by then, was crying. I did let go of her wrist, but I didn't move away from her. I still kept her trapped in between the cold wall and my body. "I'm sorry, Laurel. How evil and jerk-like of me," I said, my voice low and calm again. But I was certainly not calm. "I-I was just k-kidding about the thing w-with S-suze," she cried as she closed her eyes. I chuckled evilly as I stroked her neck with my fingers. Her body tightened up, but there was nothing she could do to stop me.
"Lighten up, dearest. You've had your fun...now let me have mine," I cooed in her ear. I moved my hands to her waist.
At this point, I was too far-gone to reason with myself. I'm not responsible for anything that happened after that.
"Paul, what are you doing to me?" Laurel croaked. "Don't worry, I'll be careful. That's what friends are for, right?" I asked as I unbuttoned her cardigan sweater. "Oh gosh, please don't. Please, I promise I'll never joke about Suze ever again," she swore as I placed my arms around her waist again. "I'm way over that," I whispered close to her ear.
I started kissing her neck forcefully. And there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. No one could hear her cries except for maybe Pops, but he couldn't pop in to check in on me. I admit, I'm a control freak. I would do anything and everything in order to have the power in the situation. I had it from the get-go but she needed to learn NEVER to undermine my authority. She was sobbing uncontrollably when I stopped kissing her neck. Needless to say, she knows who is boss now. Now if only Suze was docile like that. Who knows what could have happened if she had just given in like Laurel.
Laurel's blue eyes looked drained. Tears were brimming on her eyelids. "Goodnight," I said as I took her small hand and brought it to my lips. She quickly dematerialized. Looks like she won't be back for awhile.
I finished up my stupid paper, which turned out to be 700 words instead of 500. It was hard to concentrate because my mind kept wandering toward other subjects.
I realized I was dead. Not literally, but it probably wouldn't be long before I found myself in that pitiful position. Suze was going to tell Jesse about the kiss...in my room...on my bed. And Jesse, upon hearing this, would probably rip my spine out. I wasn't afraid of Jesse DeStupido. But if Suze told him, that would mean that it meant nothing to her. Of course, it meant something to her. It had to. She wouldn't have kissed me back with such passion if she hated me.
What if she really thought I was an evil jerk, like Laurel said? Well, now I'd believe it. All of that stuff I did to Suze was wrong of me. I shouldn't have said what I did about Jesse. It was the truth, but it was still considered as playing dirty. And that stuff I did to Laurel...I threatened her with my power. She had just spilled her guts about her abusive father and how she had no friends, and I had to prove a point in a completely underhanded manner. What does that make me...a monster? Oh, God...I was terrible.
Oh, God...I was way overreacting. Love just spoils things, doesn't it? I can't even be my usual self without feeling guilty about it afterwards. Since when did I feel GUILTY about stuff? Since when did I become compassionate towards ghosts? Since when did I...become a decent human being? That's it, no more living in California for Paul.
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A/N: Hey, it's me again. This week was so stressful for me. I was practicing for my flute solo all week and I get to play it tomorrow for 3 judges. Oh, and play rehearsal was really long today! But enough of my gripes...let's get to business. Laurel was a character born from my own brain. Last week I just wrote the story and something told me to write about her past. So I did and there you have it. When I first wrote this chapter, it ended up really sweet and cute, with Paul looking like a completely awesome big-brother type. But then of course, I reread it a few billion times and I ended up butchering it to death...turning him into what we all know him as. Of course, Paul is human and he feels bad about it. Tell me what you think, and if it doesn't suit you then just tell me and maybe I'll re-post the alternate ending. Sorry it took me so long to post but I went crazy with rewriting it. I love all readers and reviewers! LOVE LOVE LOVE!
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"Are you ever going to tell me why you're here?" I asked Laurel as I was typing up my 500-word essay on the Battle of Gettysburg. I had been working on it for awhile and the whole time she had been sitting on the edge of my bed, fiddling with her thumbs. Occasionally, I'd look at her, to make sure she was still there. I do admit, it was kind of annoying having her stare at me...distracting even. Eventually, it gave me the creeps. Yeah, I see ghosts everyday, but still they're...well, haunting.
"I died," she replied softly. "Yes," I responded as I turned my chair around to face her, "I know that. But why are you here and not your next plane of existence?" Laurel smiled gently and replied, "I like it here...that's why." Ugh! Why me? Can't a guy write an essay without having to deal with a little ghost watching him and annoying him? I sighed and turned my chair back around to continue with my paper.
Oh, but Laurel wasn't done then. She got off of my bed and started walking around my room. Then she materialized on my Plexiglas computer desk, startling me. "God, Laurel, I need to get this essay done. I can't finish it while you're off scaring me like that," I said with annoyance. "I'm just bored, is all," she replied innocently. "Do you want something to read?" I asked as I got out of my computer chair and plucked a book from my collection. "The Prince, by Machiavelli. I've read it twice already," she replied as she levitated the book and put it back on the shelf.
"You know, for a new ghost, you're pretty powerful," I complimented her. "Oh. You really think so?" she asked unfazed by the great compliment. "Yeah, you seem to have this whole ghost business down," I replied. Just then the phone rang.
"Slater residence, Paul speaking," I said boredly after I picked up the phone. "Oh, Paul! This is your mother speaking. You haven't called lately, and I was wondering how you were doing," my mother squealed over the phone. "I'm doing pretty good, mom," I replied as I looked at Laurel, who was smiling. She politely dematerialized and left me alone to converse with my dear mother.
"So, how's school, Paul?" she asked curiously. "It's great. I'm running for class Vice President of the junior class," I replied as I sunk down on my bed. "Oh, honey! That's absolutely marvelous! Let me put your father on the phone," my mom replied. Oh, she really does care...not.
"Paul, son. How's your grandfather doing?" my dad got straight to the point. "Oh, he's the same as usual," I replied bitterly, "He stares at his TV a lot. Oh, but today he picked lemons with Mark." "He hasn't been spouting off his usual nonsense has he?" my dad asked, his voice low. "Actually, no. He doesn't talk much anymore thanks to all those drugs he's on," I replied dryly, not even concerned with how rude I was sounding. "Oh, good," my dad responded. Oh, good? OH, GOOD? How is wasting perfectly powerful powers GOOD? After a moment of silence, my dad said, "I'll put Jack on the phone."
"Hey, Paul," Jack said with forced joy. "Hey there, kiddy. What's up?" I asked with a smile. I knew I wasn't Jack's favorite person in the whole world, so it was fun annoying him. "Sky," he replied.
"How's school?" I asked with feigned interest. "It's cool. I made lots more friends," his young voice grew happier. "Great," I replied uncomfortably. I mean, since the summer, my brother and I hadn't been on the best terms with each other. Not like we were all that close to begin with, so you could understand why the conversation was uncomfortable. "How about your school?" Jack asked. "It's a nice school, actually. You'd like it," I replied.
"Suze goes there, right? How is she?" Jack asked with real enthusiasm. And why not...she was, after all, the one that helped him out with the whole mediator thing. Oh, and she taught him how to swim, which is more than I ever did for the kid. "Yeah, she's doing fine. She was just over this afternoon," I said, smiling as I recollected what happened. "Wow, really? I'm surprised she talks to you. You know, since that whole thing in the summer," Jack replied, surprised. I was taken aback by Jack's unintentional rudeness. "Well, you know, I was surprised too. But you know how persuasive I can be," I said. Yep, persuasive enough to get her to ask the right questions AND to get her to make-out with me on my bed. That's just how good I am. "Well, I gotta go. Tell Suze I miss her and that I said hi," Jack said as he hung up the phone.
Well, it's nice to know I have a family that truly cared for me...not. My mom could care less about me being VP, my dad only cares if my grandfather is spouting off 'nonsense', and Jack only cared about saying 'hi' to Suze. It's always been that way though. My parents just let me do whatever I wanted. Jack was such a scaredy cat most of the time, so he was never that fun to hang out with. The only person I enjoyed in my family was my grandfather. Of course, he always complained about how careless and stupid I was being with my abilities. Like he would know about carelessness. He's under heavy medication most of the time, so what does he know? That's right, a big fat nothing.
"What's wrong?" Laurel asked as she materialized right in front of my face. Geez, the girl gets creepier by the minute! "Now's not the time, Laurel," I warned her. "Aw come on, Paul, you can tell me," she said as she patted me on the shoulder. I put a pillow in front of my face and flopped backwards. "Don't you miss your family?" Laurel asked. "Uh, not really," I said bitterly into my pillow. Laurel levitated the pillow from my face and rested it on the ground somewhere. "Why not?" Laurel asked, "They seem nice. Your family, I mean. They were calling to make sure you liked it here." "You don't know my family," I replied dryly. "You don't know mine, either," she retorted innocently (if that's possible). "Tell me, then," I said as I propped my head up with my arm. "I don't usually like to talk about them," she stated as her blue eyes flashed. I could tell the thought of them probably scared her. "I'll tell you about my family, if you tell me about yours," I bargained.
"Okay," she said as she took a deep breath, "My mom was a really nice woman, pretty too. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, just like me. She was a stay at home mom, always cooking and cleaning. She didn't vacuum with pearls on or anything, but she was a perfect mom. I was an only child..." "That sounds nice, actually," I interrupted. "I'm not finished," she stated solemnly, "My dad worked as a lawyer in a very prestigious law firm. Work, often times, was very stressful for him. My mother and I would help him out as much as possible, but it wasn't good enough. One day he came home very angry and sent me to my room, for no reason. I heard him yelling at my mom. I peeked out of my bedroom door and saw him...hit her."
"Oh my God, Laurel. He really did that? He...hurt her?" I asked sympathetically. She nodded and continued, "My mom threatened to leave, so he promised he'd never do it again. And he kept his promise for awhile. One day, my mom came home with some bad news. She had breast cancer. The doctors gave her 4 months to live. My dad and I helped her every way we could, during those months. She became so weak, that they admitted her into the hospital. The last time I saw her, her blonde hair was all gone, and her blue eyes were so pale and lifeless. She told me that I would always be her little girl, and that she'd be watching over me in heaven. She died a week later."
"Oh, God," was all I could muster. "After she died," she continued with a struggle, "my father became angry with the world. He would hit me sometimes when I did something wrong. I always felt it was my fault that I was messing up all the time. One Thanksgiving my dad sent me off to my grandmother's house while he was at some business thing. My grandmother saw all of my injuries given to me by my father. She called Child Protective Services and they immediately made my grandmother my official guardian. I moved all the way from Connecticut to California, which is where she lived. I had trouble fitting in at my new school because I was different from everyone. So I buried my nose in my studies and kept with that. I felt lonely, but it was better than living with dad. Then..." She paused, a tear streaming down her face.
"Then...what happened?" I asked, softly. "Then," she continued, shaking, "My dad kept calling me. I told him I never wanted to speak to him again...but he kept calling me. After a while he came over to my grandmother's house at night, when she was asleep...and he...he kidnapped me. I remember how angry he looked as he placed the knife by my throat. He told me not to scream, or he'd kill me. He took me to his car and we drove for a bit. Then he stopped by this forest looking place near the ocean. He yelled all these curses at me, for not staying with him. He called me so many bad things, and I started crying. I think he hit me on the head. I don't know because I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I felt wet and cold. I realized I was in the water...the ocean. And...now...I'm here."
More and more tears streamed down her innocent face. "Oh, Laurel, I had no idea. Oh my God, I can't tell you how sorry I am. I had no clue," I said as I sat up and took her small hand in mine. She sat down on my bed and buried her head in my chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Now that caught me off guard. I mean, normally fifteen-year-olds don't cry hysterically in front of me, unless I was the one causing them to cry. I wrapped my arms around her small frame and kissed the top of her head gently. Who said I was a bad brother? I had the brotherly thing down pretty darn good.
"You don't have to worry about him anymore, Laurel. He can't hurt you anymore," I tried to comfort her. I pulled out my handkerchief and dried her eyes. Her whole body was shaking in my arms. And I felt an emotion I rarely ever felt...compassion. God, I'm too soft (Suze! It's all your fault!). But I'm a changed man...is that so wrong? Isn't that like a change for the better?
"I can get the cops to search for your body. Then your dad will pay for this...for hurting you," I offered. "No, I could never wish that on my dad. I just...need a friend," she said as she looked at me. The corners of her lips formed a pretty sad looking smile.
Uh oh. Red Alert! Paul is becoming too friendly with a ghost. Must...not...get attatched. "If you're looking for a friend, you're looking at the wrong guy. Seriously, I'm no fun. I'm no fun at all. Plus, I got my own troubles...like finding a way to get you to rest in peace, so to speak," I said quickly as I popped up from my bed. I know, that was mean, but what do you expect? I mean, I became a friend to Slash and now he wouldn't leave me alone.
"That sounds like something a friend would do," Laurel pointed out. "Well, it's part of the job description," I lied. "No it's not," she replied with a grin. "How do you know?" I asked suspiciously. "You said I was powerful," she said as she got off of my bed and moved toward me. "Yeah, so?" I said as I looked away nervously. "I told you, I'm different," she paused in her steps. "Different? Like you're a creepy fifteen-year-old freak?" I asked as I folded my arms.
"I'm just as much of a freak as you are," she retorted, losing that once innocent voice of hers. "What are you talking about?" I demanded. "When I was alive I had freakish powers. You know, like telepathy and telekinesis," she replied. "Wait a minute...you could read minds and levitate stuff? That's nothing, I can do all of that and more," I responded.
"Yeah, well, you were handed those with a purpose. I researched and read zillions of books to find out how and why I had those powers. I got nothing," she said solemnly. "You could do some heavy-duty multi-tasking," I suggested with a grin. She levitated the pillow on the floor and flung it at me. "Hey! What was that for?" I asked as I dodged the pillow. She just glared at me for a moment.
"I knew you wouldn't understand, Paul," she stated as she turned her back to me. "I do understand," I replied cooly. "No. When I was alive, Paul, I HAD NO FRIENDS. I was DIFFERENT. I thought, maybe, since we kinda shared freakish powers given to us at birth that we could be pals. But you're a jerk. No wonder that Suze girl doesn't like you. I actually hope she never does. Because you are truly EVIL."
Um, hello. That was uncalled for. I turned her around quickly and smacked her across the face. I know, that was mean, but come on! She had crossed the line with the Suze comment.
"It's impolite to hit a girl," Laurel stated as she touched the place where my hand met her face. "Yeah, well you shouldn't be saying things that merit such acts," I yelled, "And how did you know about Suze anyway? Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?"
"I happened to witness the whole thing. And, yes, I did catch some parts of your conversation," she countered. "You...spied on me? You had no business...you didn't even know me then! And you SPIED on me?" I asked, beyond furious. "Relax, it was an accident. They sent me here to talk to a medium...I decided to chill out until you were a little less...busy. I didn't interrupt your brief moment of passion with her," she explained as she patted my shoulder.
I picked up her little body and slammed it against the nearest wall. I pushed my body close to hers in order to trap her. She was shrieking at me to get away from her, but I was too infuriated to listen. "You," I hissed angrily, "had better leave Suze out of this, you hear?"
"It's a shame, really. She seemed like such a nice girl. Too bad she'll never speak to you again," she snickered. I punched the wall right by her ear. I could feel her shaking beneath me. "I said leave her out of this!" I yelled as I seized her wrist. "Ow, Paul you're hurting me," she yelped as I twisted her wrist.
"Listen to me, girl. You better not mess with me. I can do massive amounts of damage," I whispered into her ear. She squealed with pain as I tightened my grip on her small wrist. She was shaking more than ever. I could feel her heart beat thudding against her chest. She had no control over anything. No, because I had taken it away.
"Let go, please! You're hurting me!" Laurel by then, was crying. I did let go of her wrist, but I didn't move away from her. I still kept her trapped in between the cold wall and my body. "I'm sorry, Laurel. How evil and jerk-like of me," I said, my voice low and calm again. But I was certainly not calm. "I-I was just k-kidding about the thing w-with S-suze," she cried as she closed her eyes. I chuckled evilly as I stroked her neck with my fingers. Her body tightened up, but there was nothing she could do to stop me.
"Lighten up, dearest. You've had your fun...now let me have mine," I cooed in her ear. I moved my hands to her waist.
At this point, I was too far-gone to reason with myself. I'm not responsible for anything that happened after that.
"Paul, what are you doing to me?" Laurel croaked. "Don't worry, I'll be careful. That's what friends are for, right?" I asked as I unbuttoned her cardigan sweater. "Oh gosh, please don't. Please, I promise I'll never joke about Suze ever again," she swore as I placed my arms around her waist again. "I'm way over that," I whispered close to her ear.
I started kissing her neck forcefully. And there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. No one could hear her cries except for maybe Pops, but he couldn't pop in to check in on me. I admit, I'm a control freak. I would do anything and everything in order to have the power in the situation. I had it from the get-go but she needed to learn NEVER to undermine my authority. She was sobbing uncontrollably when I stopped kissing her neck. Needless to say, she knows who is boss now. Now if only Suze was docile like that. Who knows what could have happened if she had just given in like Laurel.
Laurel's blue eyes looked drained. Tears were brimming on her eyelids. "Goodnight," I said as I took her small hand and brought it to my lips. She quickly dematerialized. Looks like she won't be back for awhile.
I finished up my stupid paper, which turned out to be 700 words instead of 500. It was hard to concentrate because my mind kept wandering toward other subjects.
I realized I was dead. Not literally, but it probably wouldn't be long before I found myself in that pitiful position. Suze was going to tell Jesse about the kiss...in my room...on my bed. And Jesse, upon hearing this, would probably rip my spine out. I wasn't afraid of Jesse DeStupido. But if Suze told him, that would mean that it meant nothing to her. Of course, it meant something to her. It had to. She wouldn't have kissed me back with such passion if she hated me.
What if she really thought I was an evil jerk, like Laurel said? Well, now I'd believe it. All of that stuff I did to Suze was wrong of me. I shouldn't have said what I did about Jesse. It was the truth, but it was still considered as playing dirty. And that stuff I did to Laurel...I threatened her with my power. She had just spilled her guts about her abusive father and how she had no friends, and I had to prove a point in a completely underhanded manner. What does that make me...a monster? Oh, God...I was terrible.
Oh, God...I was way overreacting. Love just spoils things, doesn't it? I can't even be my usual self without feeling guilty about it afterwards. Since when did I feel GUILTY about stuff? Since when did I become compassionate towards ghosts? Since when did I...become a decent human being? That's it, no more living in California for Paul.
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A/N: Hey, it's me again. This week was so stressful for me. I was practicing for my flute solo all week and I get to play it tomorrow for 3 judges. Oh, and play rehearsal was really long today! But enough of my gripes...let's get to business. Laurel was a character born from my own brain. Last week I just wrote the story and something told me to write about her past. So I did and there you have it. When I first wrote this chapter, it ended up really sweet and cute, with Paul looking like a completely awesome big-brother type. But then of course, I reread it a few billion times and I ended up butchering it to death...turning him into what we all know him as. Of course, Paul is human and he feels bad about it. Tell me what you think, and if it doesn't suit you then just tell me and maybe I'll re-post the alternate ending. Sorry it took me so long to post but I went crazy with rewriting it. I love all readers and reviewers! LOVE LOVE LOVE!
