Disclamer: I do not own any of Meg Cabot's characters or anything. They belong to Meg and Meg alone... ::sigh:: ...unfortunatly.
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He loves me! He loves me! Those three words continued to repeat themselves in my head when I finally got home. I stepped into the house with a stupid smile on my face, which I couldn't seem to rid. Jesse had kissed me. I still couldn't believe that he actually felt the same way about me as I did about him. And all that time, I thought he was ignoring me for just the opposite reason . But, now I know I was wrong. And I had never been so glad to be wrong.
My mom stopped me half-way thought the kitchen. "Susie, how did the feast go?"
I was so happy that I had almost considered telling her everything. Everything about Paul's grampa...everything about CeeCee...and everything about...Jesse. She had always wanted me to get a boyfriend, so what would it matter if he was alive or dead? At least he liked me. But, then, I thought, she'd probably think I'm crazy...well, crazier...and get me locked up in the loony bin, which would put me farther away from Jesse. And that's the one thing I don't need at this point. So, instead I replied with an "it was fine" and went upstairs to my room.
I had been hoping to find, who else, Jesse up there. I could see him in my mind already, sitting up in my room on the windowseat, waiting for me to come home. But, when I finally pushed open my bedroom door, the only things I saw were that ugly cat, Spike, and my perfumes and nailpolish spread across my floor, which I hadn't bothered to clean yet. Something told me that they'd be staying there for another night at least. Nothing mattered anymore, save one thing.
"Jesse, where are you?" I whispered quietly to myself. I wasn't calling for him or anything, although I was considering doing it. He had always...well, almost always...come when I called him. I mean, he's not a dog or anything, but he comes, nevertheless. I wasn't quite sure if I should call him or not. If I did, I wasn't even sure if he could come. Father Dom probably made him swear to keep out of my room or something. He better not have done that...
I pondered this for a few minutes more, then decided that if I was going to go find Jesse, it'd be easier to do it while it's still light out. I took my clothes into the bathroom and changed. Even though Jesse wasn't here, I still found it hard to break the habit of changing in there. The bathroom, I mean.
I came back out and crawled into my bed, thoughts of Jesse still occupying my mind. I yawned and closed my eyes and in no time at all, I was dead alseep.
There we were, me and Jesse, walking down a supermarket isle of all places. But, it didn't matter where we were, as long as we were together. We continued to walk, holding each other's hands, our fingers entwined. There was nothing ahead of us except for a whole bunch of cereals, canned tomatoes, and boxes of granola bars. The isle seemed to stretch along in front of us, never ending. No one else was around. The store seemed abandoned, which was perfectly fine by me.
The only sound we could hear were the tapping of our own feet against the hard tile of Stop and Shop or whatever store we were in. We were both perfectly content until another pair of feet wwas heard just behind us. Jesse turned around to look.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
I nodded my head silently, looking around for the source of the sound.
I was still peering around behind us, when Jesse suddenly hugged me close to him. He pointed ahead of us and that was all the signaling I needed. We obviously weren't in Kansas anymore. The grocery store was changing right before our eyes. The canned tomatoes and other foods were falling off the shelves. No...not falling...being pushed. Pushed by tendrils of whispy smoke. The food disintegrated as soon as it hit the floor, leaving a dark mark in it's place. No, it wasn't a mark...it was a different floor. And with every item that fell off the shelves and hit the floor, a new section of it would be revealed. The floor, I mean.
My eyes widened with every dark new patch of floor. Soon, the normally white tiled supermarket isle floor had been transformed completely--transformed into a floor that I knew all too well. And the smoke that twirled around my ankles gave the whole scene a lovley touch. It was a view that I had hoped never to see again. Now, there was just one thing missing.
WHOOSH! The ends of the isle suddely stretched to an infinite length.
CRASH! The shelves all dropped simutaniously and disappeared as soon as they collided with the floor, just as the food had done.
BANG! A door appeared on one side of the isle, but it seemed as if someone had just slapped it on there. BANG! Another door just opposite the already existing one appeared. BANG! Another door appeared beside the first one. BANG! And another door... BANG! And another... BANG! And another... BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG...
Before long, the entire isle, which had now become more of a hallway, was filled with doors. Doors leading I don't know where. I could still hear the banging of more doors in the distance. I knew that that sound would never stop. It was just go on, and on, and on, and on until I just simple couldn't hear it anymore. But in the back of my mind, I knew it would be there.
I slowly turned my face toward Jesse, who was still holding me protectivly. "What is going on?" I asked.
Jesse opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was drowned out by the laughter of someone else in the hallway. My head snapped around just in time to see Paul striding toward us.
"Hello, Simon," he said. He grinned at me, showing all of his perfectly white, straight teeth. I, more than anything, would have liked to slam my fist into that perfect mouth of his and watch those glistening teeth fall to the floor and vanish as the food and shelves had done. "Lovely day, isn't it?" He gestured toward the sides of the hallway, which made me feel even more trapped in this place, which seemed a lot to me, like Hell.
Before I could think of what to say next to Paul, Jesse was upon him, apparently trying to do as I had wanted to a few moments ago. Stunningly, Paul merely laughed again. He picked up Jesse by the neck with incredibal strength and tossed him into a wall. That's right, tossed. Not threw, not heaved, simply tossed. WHAT was going ON here? And with that, I threw myself at Paul, punching him in the jaw. Nothing, no one, was going to hurt my Jesse and get away with it. I pulled my arm back and prepared it for another strike. My arm felt like the spring in a pinball machine, ready to smack that little ball at any moment. And right now, that little ball was Paul's head.
I released my fist and thrusted it at his face. He raised his hand and caught my fist in a cupped palm. I drew back my other fist, planning to drive it into his face. But, when I let that one go, too, he caught it in his other hand, the same way he had done a second ago. He tightened his grip on my closed fists.
"Let go of me!" I yelled, trying to wrench back my hands. It was no use.
"That's not very nice." he said matter-of-factly.
Jesse, who had apparently temporarily lost conciousness, opened his eyes which were burning with anger, sprung up and ran towards Paul as soon as he saw that he wouldn't let go of me. Paul released my right hand and held it up towards Jesse. Jesse froze instantly. Was Paul's hand so scary that it stopped Jesse in his tracks or something?
"What are you doing to me?" Jesse demanded of Paul. I understood now. I'm in a dream. And Paul's controlling it. I knew I couldn't get hurt in this dream, but what about Jesse? Was this Jesse the real Jesse visiting me in my mind, or was it merely my own projection of him? I hoped for the latter. If this was the real Jesse, I didn't know what Paul might be able to do to him...
"Oh, no, this is your own image of your loved one," Paul stated. He spat the words "loved one" like they were poison in his mouth. What? How could he know what I was thinking if I didn't even say anything? Oh, yeah, because it's practically his dream. "Besides," he continued. "He's not the reason why I'm here."
I looked back at Jesse...or Dream-Jesse according to Paul...then back at Paul. "Then get out of my head!"
Paul raised an eyebrow. He was clearly amused by the whole situation. "That's no way to treat your teacher, now is it?"
"Teacher?" I asked. Then, it all came back to me...the night of Brad's party...the night I promised Paul that I'd let him teach me everything he knows about mediating. I'm so stupid! Why did that have to happen the night BEFORE his grandfather told me about him?!
"My grandfather?" he asked curtly. "My grandfather told you about me?" He narrowed his eyes in my direction.
I finally pulled back the fist that had been trapped in his clenched hand. He released it easily. It seemed I had struck a nerve. "Yes, your grandfather, Slaski."
Paul raised his eyebrows. He quickly regained his composure. "So, he told you our name was Slaski, huh?"
"Yeah," I said. "And he also told me about what you're doing...it'll kill you. And me if I listen to you." This time, it was my turn to narrow my eyes. Jesse began to say something, but Paul made a gesture as if he were zipping shut a horizontal zipper, and Jesse was cut off mid-sentance. Jesse was still frozen and now he couldn't speak, either. It made me want to kill Paul on the spot right then and there.
Paul, who was shaking his head slowly, raised his eyes to the low ceiling and chuckled. "Suze, my grandfather," he said with a slight laugh. "is losing his mind. You seriously think he knows what he's talking about?"
"Yes," I replied tersely. "I do."
Paul's eyes bore into mine for a few seconds longer, as if we were in a staring contest...and I was winning. He looked away, then turned his back on me, grasping his right wrist with his left hand behind his back, and took a few steps away. "Anyway, Suze, back to my whole reason for being here. You're wondering how to do this, aren't you?" He turned to face me once more.
"Do what?" I asked.
"This." Once again, he gestured to the hallway. I just didn't get it. What's he talking about?
"What's he talking about?" he repeated, with a laugh.
"This..." I mimicked his gesture around the hall. "and that, right?"
"Right. I'm going to teach you how to get into someone's mind."
I shook my head and turned away. "No. Why won't you listen to your grandfather? It'll kill us!"
"Because my grandfather is a nut!" he yelled at me loudly. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then opened them with a new air of patience. "He's old, Suze. I love him and all, but he's not all there, get it?"
I paused for few moments, gazing at him disbelievingly, then rolled my eyes. "And he's not the only one. Now, can you just leave me in peace? I'd really like to rest without you in my dreams." I spat the word "you" just as Paul had said the words "loved one".
"Heh...fine," he said. Paul raised his hands as if to say "I surrender". "I'll leave. But, for talking back to the teacher, I'll have to figure out some sort of punishment, won't I?" He glared maliciously at Jesse with an evil-looking half-smile.
"What are you going to do?" I asked harshly, advancing a step toward him. Paul took a step toward me, still smiling, then slowly raised his hand to the side, pointing at Jesse. He snapped his fingers and Jesse screamed and dropped to the floor.
I turned to run toward Jesse, but Paul stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "Get out of my way!" I screamed at him. I moved quickly to dodge him and make my way toward Jesse, but Paul, once again, shifted so that he was in my way.
"No, not yet, Suzie. I'm not finished with him, yet," he said, holding me still with his hands gripping my upper arms.
"Let go of me, NOW!" I remembered being scared of him...of this...this creature. Now, fear was the last thing on my mind. Now, I just wanted to bash his head into a bloody pulp. I knew I could do it, too. Living in New York City had at least taught me that much. But in this dream-world, it would be all but impossible.
Paul briskly let go of my arms. He looked at me, grinning wickedly, his eyes flashing. I narrowed my own eyes at him and shoved him to the side as I raced toward Jesse.
I was only a few more steps away from Jesse when I finally saw what Paul had done to him. A
blood-curtling scream escaped my mouth.
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What happened to Jesse? Will Paul let Suze get off their deal that easily? REVIEW and find out! :)
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He loves me! He loves me! Those three words continued to repeat themselves in my head when I finally got home. I stepped into the house with a stupid smile on my face, which I couldn't seem to rid. Jesse had kissed me. I still couldn't believe that he actually felt the same way about me as I did about him. And all that time, I thought he was ignoring me for just the opposite reason . But, now I know I was wrong. And I had never been so glad to be wrong.
My mom stopped me half-way thought the kitchen. "Susie, how did the feast go?"
I was so happy that I had almost considered telling her everything. Everything about Paul's grampa...everything about CeeCee...and everything about...Jesse. She had always wanted me to get a boyfriend, so what would it matter if he was alive or dead? At least he liked me. But, then, I thought, she'd probably think I'm crazy...well, crazier...and get me locked up in the loony bin, which would put me farther away from Jesse. And that's the one thing I don't need at this point. So, instead I replied with an "it was fine" and went upstairs to my room.
I had been hoping to find, who else, Jesse up there. I could see him in my mind already, sitting up in my room on the windowseat, waiting for me to come home. But, when I finally pushed open my bedroom door, the only things I saw were that ugly cat, Spike, and my perfumes and nailpolish spread across my floor, which I hadn't bothered to clean yet. Something told me that they'd be staying there for another night at least. Nothing mattered anymore, save one thing.
"Jesse, where are you?" I whispered quietly to myself. I wasn't calling for him or anything, although I was considering doing it. He had always...well, almost always...come when I called him. I mean, he's not a dog or anything, but he comes, nevertheless. I wasn't quite sure if I should call him or not. If I did, I wasn't even sure if he could come. Father Dom probably made him swear to keep out of my room or something. He better not have done that...
I pondered this for a few minutes more, then decided that if I was going to go find Jesse, it'd be easier to do it while it's still light out. I took my clothes into the bathroom and changed. Even though Jesse wasn't here, I still found it hard to break the habit of changing in there. The bathroom, I mean.
I came back out and crawled into my bed, thoughts of Jesse still occupying my mind. I yawned and closed my eyes and in no time at all, I was dead alseep.
There we were, me and Jesse, walking down a supermarket isle of all places. But, it didn't matter where we were, as long as we were together. We continued to walk, holding each other's hands, our fingers entwined. There was nothing ahead of us except for a whole bunch of cereals, canned tomatoes, and boxes of granola bars. The isle seemed to stretch along in front of us, never ending. No one else was around. The store seemed abandoned, which was perfectly fine by me.
The only sound we could hear were the tapping of our own feet against the hard tile of Stop and Shop or whatever store we were in. We were both perfectly content until another pair of feet wwas heard just behind us. Jesse turned around to look.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
I nodded my head silently, looking around for the source of the sound.
I was still peering around behind us, when Jesse suddenly hugged me close to him. He pointed ahead of us and that was all the signaling I needed. We obviously weren't in Kansas anymore. The grocery store was changing right before our eyes. The canned tomatoes and other foods were falling off the shelves. No...not falling...being pushed. Pushed by tendrils of whispy smoke. The food disintegrated as soon as it hit the floor, leaving a dark mark in it's place. No, it wasn't a mark...it was a different floor. And with every item that fell off the shelves and hit the floor, a new section of it would be revealed. The floor, I mean.
My eyes widened with every dark new patch of floor. Soon, the normally white tiled supermarket isle floor had been transformed completely--transformed into a floor that I knew all too well. And the smoke that twirled around my ankles gave the whole scene a lovley touch. It was a view that I had hoped never to see again. Now, there was just one thing missing.
WHOOSH! The ends of the isle suddely stretched to an infinite length.
CRASH! The shelves all dropped simutaniously and disappeared as soon as they collided with the floor, just as the food had done.
BANG! A door appeared on one side of the isle, but it seemed as if someone had just slapped it on there. BANG! Another door just opposite the already existing one appeared. BANG! Another door appeared beside the first one. BANG! And another door... BANG! And another... BANG! And another... BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG...
Before long, the entire isle, which had now become more of a hallway, was filled with doors. Doors leading I don't know where. I could still hear the banging of more doors in the distance. I knew that that sound would never stop. It was just go on, and on, and on, and on until I just simple couldn't hear it anymore. But in the back of my mind, I knew it would be there.
I slowly turned my face toward Jesse, who was still holding me protectivly. "What is going on?" I asked.
Jesse opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was drowned out by the laughter of someone else in the hallway. My head snapped around just in time to see Paul striding toward us.
"Hello, Simon," he said. He grinned at me, showing all of his perfectly white, straight teeth. I, more than anything, would have liked to slam my fist into that perfect mouth of his and watch those glistening teeth fall to the floor and vanish as the food and shelves had done. "Lovely day, isn't it?" He gestured toward the sides of the hallway, which made me feel even more trapped in this place, which seemed a lot to me, like Hell.
Before I could think of what to say next to Paul, Jesse was upon him, apparently trying to do as I had wanted to a few moments ago. Stunningly, Paul merely laughed again. He picked up Jesse by the neck with incredibal strength and tossed him into a wall. That's right, tossed. Not threw, not heaved, simply tossed. WHAT was going ON here? And with that, I threw myself at Paul, punching him in the jaw. Nothing, no one, was going to hurt my Jesse and get away with it. I pulled my arm back and prepared it for another strike. My arm felt like the spring in a pinball machine, ready to smack that little ball at any moment. And right now, that little ball was Paul's head.
I released my fist and thrusted it at his face. He raised his hand and caught my fist in a cupped palm. I drew back my other fist, planning to drive it into his face. But, when I let that one go, too, he caught it in his other hand, the same way he had done a second ago. He tightened his grip on my closed fists.
"Let go of me!" I yelled, trying to wrench back my hands. It was no use.
"That's not very nice." he said matter-of-factly.
Jesse, who had apparently temporarily lost conciousness, opened his eyes which were burning with anger, sprung up and ran towards Paul as soon as he saw that he wouldn't let go of me. Paul released my right hand and held it up towards Jesse. Jesse froze instantly. Was Paul's hand so scary that it stopped Jesse in his tracks or something?
"What are you doing to me?" Jesse demanded of Paul. I understood now. I'm in a dream. And Paul's controlling it. I knew I couldn't get hurt in this dream, but what about Jesse? Was this Jesse the real Jesse visiting me in my mind, or was it merely my own projection of him? I hoped for the latter. If this was the real Jesse, I didn't know what Paul might be able to do to him...
"Oh, no, this is your own image of your loved one," Paul stated. He spat the words "loved one" like they were poison in his mouth. What? How could he know what I was thinking if I didn't even say anything? Oh, yeah, because it's practically his dream. "Besides," he continued. "He's not the reason why I'm here."
I looked back at Jesse...or Dream-Jesse according to Paul...then back at Paul. "Then get out of my head!"
Paul raised an eyebrow. He was clearly amused by the whole situation. "That's no way to treat your teacher, now is it?"
"Teacher?" I asked. Then, it all came back to me...the night of Brad's party...the night I promised Paul that I'd let him teach me everything he knows about mediating. I'm so stupid! Why did that have to happen the night BEFORE his grandfather told me about him?!
"My grandfather?" he asked curtly. "My grandfather told you about me?" He narrowed his eyes in my direction.
I finally pulled back the fist that had been trapped in his clenched hand. He released it easily. It seemed I had struck a nerve. "Yes, your grandfather, Slaski."
Paul raised his eyebrows. He quickly regained his composure. "So, he told you our name was Slaski, huh?"
"Yeah," I said. "And he also told me about what you're doing...it'll kill you. And me if I listen to you." This time, it was my turn to narrow my eyes. Jesse began to say something, but Paul made a gesture as if he were zipping shut a horizontal zipper, and Jesse was cut off mid-sentance. Jesse was still frozen and now he couldn't speak, either. It made me want to kill Paul on the spot right then and there.
Paul, who was shaking his head slowly, raised his eyes to the low ceiling and chuckled. "Suze, my grandfather," he said with a slight laugh. "is losing his mind. You seriously think he knows what he's talking about?"
"Yes," I replied tersely. "I do."
Paul's eyes bore into mine for a few seconds longer, as if we were in a staring contest...and I was winning. He looked away, then turned his back on me, grasping his right wrist with his left hand behind his back, and took a few steps away. "Anyway, Suze, back to my whole reason for being here. You're wondering how to do this, aren't you?" He turned to face me once more.
"Do what?" I asked.
"This." Once again, he gestured to the hallway. I just didn't get it. What's he talking about?
"What's he talking about?" he repeated, with a laugh.
"This..." I mimicked his gesture around the hall. "and that, right?"
"Right. I'm going to teach you how to get into someone's mind."
I shook my head and turned away. "No. Why won't you listen to your grandfather? It'll kill us!"
"Because my grandfather is a nut!" he yelled at me loudly. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then opened them with a new air of patience. "He's old, Suze. I love him and all, but he's not all there, get it?"
I paused for few moments, gazing at him disbelievingly, then rolled my eyes. "And he's not the only one. Now, can you just leave me in peace? I'd really like to rest without you in my dreams." I spat the word "you" just as Paul had said the words "loved one".
"Heh...fine," he said. Paul raised his hands as if to say "I surrender". "I'll leave. But, for talking back to the teacher, I'll have to figure out some sort of punishment, won't I?" He glared maliciously at Jesse with an evil-looking half-smile.
"What are you going to do?" I asked harshly, advancing a step toward him. Paul took a step toward me, still smiling, then slowly raised his hand to the side, pointing at Jesse. He snapped his fingers and Jesse screamed and dropped to the floor.
I turned to run toward Jesse, but Paul stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "Get out of my way!" I screamed at him. I moved quickly to dodge him and make my way toward Jesse, but Paul, once again, shifted so that he was in my way.
"No, not yet, Suzie. I'm not finished with him, yet," he said, holding me still with his hands gripping my upper arms.
"Let go of me, NOW!" I remembered being scared of him...of this...this creature. Now, fear was the last thing on my mind. Now, I just wanted to bash his head into a bloody pulp. I knew I could do it, too. Living in New York City had at least taught me that much. But in this dream-world, it would be all but impossible.
Paul briskly let go of my arms. He looked at me, grinning wickedly, his eyes flashing. I narrowed my own eyes at him and shoved him to the side as I raced toward Jesse.
I was only a few more steps away from Jesse when I finally saw what Paul had done to him. A
blood-curtling scream escaped my mouth.
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What happened to Jesse? Will Paul let Suze get off their deal that easily? REVIEW and find out! :)