"You've got wits...you've got looks / You've got passion / but I swear that you've got me all wrong" Dashboard Confessional, As Lovers Go (another lovely song!)

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I had been grinning up until I saw the tears. Susannah Simon was actually crying. I had no idea what to do or what to say to her. All I knew is that I had to figure out why. "Go away," she said bitterly.

Of course I wasn't going to 'Go away'. Not until I found out what she and the good father were talking about. I was also curious about the crying too. "What's with the waterworks?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Nothing, just allergies," she said as put her arm up to wipe her eyes on her jacket. I reached out and gently grabbed her arm away. "Here," I said as I gave her my handkerchief, "Use this."

Suze stared at my handkerchief like it was an alien or something. "You carry a handkerchief?" she asked incredulously as she leaned against one of the columns that held the breezeway up. "You never know when you might need to gag someone," I joked. I guess I shouldn't tell her how many people...err...ghosts I've had to use it on. My sense of humor was (finally) appreciated, because she let out a little laugh.

She started wiping her eyes off a bit. When she was done she stared at me. Well, not me exactly...more like my mouth. I read into her thoughts a little bit, catching that she thought the kiss we shared was good. I know it's wrong to read into private thoughts, but I have the power...no sense letting it go to waste. I couldn't help but smile when I knew that Suze liked the kiss. She wasn't alone in her feelings. But I more than liked it...I loved it. Then she looked in my eyes...well...okay...she looked at the one eye she jabbed. A guy can dream, right?

I placed both of my arms on the column and pinioned her between them. Part of me was afraid she might try to run away again, just like she had the other day. There was no way she could escape now.

"So, Suze, what did Father Dominic want to see you about?" I asked. "Don't worry," she said as she cleared her throat, "I didn't tell Father Dom anything about you, if that's what you're worried about." Funny, I didn't know she could read minds. Because that was the real reason I was here anyway. But I couldn't let it show. So a change of subject was in order...

"I like your hair better down. You should always wear it down," I said as I fingered a wave near her shoulder. I manipulated my fingers to accidentally brush the skin of her neck. I could feel her getting nervous.

In the ancient days, if a caveman encountered a vicious tiger, it had one of two responses...fight or flight. Suze chose the latter of the two as she tried to duck underneath one of my arms. Well, the flight response usually allured the tiger to chase after the poor caveman. This was true in the case of Suze. I took a step closer, making it impossible to flee. "Where do you think you are going?" I asked playfully.

"Paul, really," she sounded annoyed, "Not here, okay?" "Fine," I said, not even taking a step back, "Where then?" She lifted a hand to her head with clear annoyance. She stuttered, "Oh, God, Paul. I don't know, okay? Look, I have...I have a lot of stuff to figure out right now. Could you just...could you just leave me alone for awhile, so I can think?" "Sure," I said, still not moving. She knew perfectly well that I would not leave her until I got an explanation.

She didn't answer for a while, so I asked her, "Did you get the flowers?" She rolled her eyes and replied, "I got the flowers. But if you think I'm going to forget about what you did to me, just because you sent me a bunch of dumb flowers..."

"I said I was sorry, Suze," I interrupted her, "And I'm more sorry about your feet than I can say." Well, that part was true. I wasn't sorry about kissing her or the revelation that things weren't going to work about between her and Jesse. I added, "You should have let me drive you home. I wouldn't have tried anything, I swear."

She looked up at me. I have to say that it wasn't very far up she had to look, because I was leaning in really close to her. Easily, I could kiss her again. I had no choice this time, though. If I kissed her she might have run away again. Instead, I started playing with her soft waves again. I could smell the shampoo she used...it smelled like coconuts. "Oh, yeah?" she asked, "What do you call what you're doing now?"

"Suze, how else am I going to get you to talk to me? You've got this totally mistaken impression of me. You think I'm some kind of bad guy. And I'm not. I'm really not. I'm...well, I'm a lot like you, actually," I replied, being completely honest. "Somehow, I seriously doubt that," she said uncomfortably.

I began preaching, "It's true. I mean, we actually have a lot in common. Not just the mediator thing, either. I think our philosophy of life is the same. Well, except for the whole part where you want to help people. But that's just guilt. In every other way, you and I are identical. I mean, we're both cynical and mistrustful of others. Almost to the point of being misanthropic, I would go as far to say." I paused for a second, to catch my breath and moved on, "We're old souls, Suze. We've both been around the block before. Nothing surprises us, and nothing impresses us." I stared meaningfully into her eyes and added, "At least...nothing until now. In my case, anyway."

"That may very well be, Paul. The only problem is the person I mistrust most in the world? That'd be you," she said strongly. "I don't know why," I complained, "when we're clearly meant for each other. I mean, just because you met Jesse first..."

"DON'T! Paul, I'm warning you," she practically yelled. Clearly, Jesse was forbidden grounds of communication. I had a strange feeling that her visit with Father Dom had something to do with Jesse. "Shhh," I quieted her as I laid a single finger over her lips, just like she had in my vision a few days ago. "Don't say things you'll only regret later."

"I am NOT going to regret saying this," she hissed as her lips moved against my finger, "You..."

"You don't mean it," I said as I slid my finger from her lips down the side of her neck. "You're just scared," I said, "Scared to admit your true feelings. Scared to admit that I might know a few things you and wise old Gandalf, a.k.a. Father Dominic, might not. Scared to admit I might be right, and that you aren't as completely committed to your precious Jesse as you'd like to think."

If Suze were leaning any harder into the column, she might have made it crumble. She had nowhere to go, but I could see her mind calculating a way to get out. "Come on, 'fess up," I urged her, "You felt something when I kissed you the other day. Don't deny it." I got no answer for awhile. I moved in closer to her, until I could feel her shaky body near mine. She tried to flatten herself against the column more, but she was already backed into it as much as possible.

"You want to try it again?" I coaxed her as I brought my lips less than an inch away from hers, "A little experiment?"

I knew she wanted to. I could feel it. I felt her heartbeat quicken suddenly beneath me. I wanted her. She wanted me. But there was only one thing in our way, Jesse. I couldn't wait. The anticipation was killing me. If she waited any longer, I'd be just as dead as Jesse was. Although, she'd probably like me better that way. She obviously has a thing for dead guys. She should give Slash a call sometime.

"Let's not," she finally said as she craned her neck out of my reach. "I am having a very bad day, Paul. I would really appreciate it if you would back off..."

As she said the words, 'back off', she pushed me away from her with both of her hands. Strong one, isn't she? I was surprised by her sudden 'fight' response, so I staggered backwards, nearly falling over. "Whoa! What's the matter with you, anyway?" I asked.

She played with my handkerchief nervously and said, "Nothing. I just...I just got some bad news, is all." Bad news, huh? I deserved an explanation. "Oh, yeah?" I asked curiously, "Like what? Rico Suave dump you?"

Suze gasped suddenly. What? It was only a guess. "Whoa. Sorry," I said sympathetically, "Did he? Did he really?" She shook her head as tears fled down her cheeks. That...oh, I could say so many curse words about him right now, but I'm trying to keep this PG.

"I kind of thought that there might be trouble in paradise when he never showed up to kick my ass after, you know, what happened at my house," I reasoned out loud. "I don't need Jesse to fight my battles for me," she croaked.

She didn't...oh God. "You mean you didn't tell him. About you and me, I mean," I said, trying to straighten this out. She looked away guiltily. "It has to be that. You didn't tell him. Unless you did tell him, and he just doesn't care. Is that it, Suze?" "I have to go to class," Suze choked as she turned around and tried to walk away.

I stopped her by asking, "Question is, why didn't you tell him? Could it be because maybe, deep down, you're afraid to? Because maybe, deep down, you felt something...something you don't want to admit, even to yourself?" She spun around and said, "Or maybe, deep down, I didn't want a murder on my hands. Did you ever think about that, Paul? Because Jesse already doesn't like you very much. If I told him what you did to me- or tried to do to me, anyway- he'd kill you."

I grinned, "See. You must like me a little, or you'd have gone ahead and let him." Of course, Jesse couldn't kill me, even if he were alive. And if he tried, he'd have to be ready to meet his maker.

She opened her mouth and then closed it again, letting me know that I was right. She spun around again to leave. First period must've been over, because all of the classroom doors opened and floods of students leaked out.

"Well, Suze, is that it?" I asked as people pushed through me, "You don't want me dead. You want me around. Because you like me. Admit it." She turned around and shook her head. Why can't she just accept the truth?

Just then, Kelly strolled up to me and said, "Oh, Paul, there you are! I've been looking for you everywhere! Listen, I was thinking, about the voting, you know, at lunchtime. Why don't you and I stroll around the yard, passing out candy bars? You know, to remind people. To vote, I mean." I really wasn't paying close attention to Kelly. I was set on hearing those words from Suze's mouth. You know, the ones that I longed to say to her. I wanted her to tell me how she really felt. "Well, Suze? Are you going to admit it or not?" I asked, still staring at her. She shook her head. "You are in need of intense psychotherapy."

I think that's when I lost it. If I didn't need psychotherapy before, I probably needed it then. What she said really hurt. Suze brushed past me like I was nothing. Well, that was her mistake.

Kelly looked at me nervously and started tugging on my coat. "Paul...Paul? Hello. Earth to Paul. The election, remember? The election? This afternoon?"

I was annoyed. I was angry. I had been hurt more than anyone could ever possibly be. So, I'm not responsible for anything that happened after that.

I pulled my coat out from under Kelly's fingers. "Why can't you leave me alone for five freaking minutes?" Obviously those words have never been spoken to Kelly Prescott, the most popular girl at Mission Academy because she replied, "W-what?"

Everyone stopped...it felt like time was standing still. I really didn't know it at the time, but I was making history as the first guy to ever diss Kelly Prescott. "You heard me. I am freaking sick of you and this stupid election and this stupid school. Got me? Now get out of my sight, before I say something I might regret." Kelly looked like she got punched in the stomach. "Paul...but...but the election...the candy bars," she stuttered, on the verge of tears.

I looked at her pathetic state and said, "You can take your candy bars and stick them up your..."

"Mr. Slater! Get to the principal's office, this instant!" one of the novices called above the crowd. "You," I called back to her, "can freaking go to hell." Except I didn't say freaking. Everyone looked at me as the poor novice burst into tears and fled the scene. I looked at Kelly, who was crying too, being consoled by a gaggle of her friends. Then I looked at Suze.

It was all her fault, you know. She had hurt me. I loved her, and she hurt me. Stuff like this never happened to me. I was Paul Slater...everything always went my way. But it didn't this time.

I didn't care anymore. Suze could have her stupid school. She could have the vice presidency. SHE COULD HAVE HER PRECIOUS JESSE! But she wasn't going to get all of that without a fight. She looked at me with a fearful expression. Fearful of what I might do next. She knew very well what her actions would cause me to do. I broke eye contact with her and started running to the parking lot. I was out of there.

I jumped into my car, not even bothering with the seatbelt, and I screeched out of the parking lot.

I decided then and there that she was going to get it. She AND her precious Jesse...and there was nothing she could do to stop me.

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A/N: Hey again. I told you this chapter would be better. Since my last chapter was kind of a dud (sorry about that) I got this one out as quickly as possible. Plus I was kind of scared that everyone would pull a Paul on me. And thank you to the reviewers! I love you guys!