A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews! I feel loved! Kk, here's more of my weird ficcie.......

The Mediators Chapter 2

...........I am still not the only mediator.

I can tell because that dark Adonis is sitting two lunch tables away from me, and when he spotted me, he waved lightly. Then he proceeded to laugh a big, deep laugh at a joke one of the jocks had made—he was sitting at the same table as Dopey, WHAT was up with that?—and it hadn't been some stupid thing my psycho mind made up. He really was a mediator like me, and he really kissed my hand (SWOON). Kelly Prescott, who I "introduced" myself to earlier that morning, was sitting beside him, making googly eyes and attempting to whisper tantalizingly in his ear, but he acted like she wasn't even here. He didn't seem to be eating anything for lunch...

...Ok, yeah—so I was watching him. So sue me. God made guys like that for a reason...

Oh shit—he just looked over!

"Um, Suze, do you need help with your homework?" Cee Cee asked, peering over my shoulder.

I snapped my head back into place, partially because of Cee Cee, and partially because I had a sinking feeling Jesse was now smirking because of me.

"Huh? Um...no..."

Cee Cee Webb. Less than a day at this new school, and I already have a friend. Does this mean I have a life?

"Are you sure...?"

She eyed me with those purple eyes of her. I finally glanced down at the sheet of Algebra I had pulled out with every intention of coaxing Cee Cee, resident genius, to—um—"help" me with—and promptly realized why she was looking at me so funny. On my paper, where there should have been many X's and Y's, there was only one word written over and over again by my oddly self-aware hand.

"Ack—" I quickly swept the paper off the table, but it was too late.

"Jesse, eh?" Adam McTavish, my other "friend" (GO SUZE!) said, his eyes twinkling. "What do you want with an unattainable jock like that, when you can have THIS?" He flexed his arm for emphasis, and I gave an unladylike snort. "What? I'm all man, babe."

Cee Cee smacked him playfully over the head. "You're a joke, Adam."

She was SO crushing on him.

"And anyway, he's not a jock." She pushed her glasses farther up her nose, and crossed her legs smartly, balancing her Critical Lit text book on one knee. "He's a guitar god."

I blinked. "A...a what?"

"A guitar god, Suze." She looked me square in the eyes. "Even more unattainable than a jock—as if I would want to attain one, anyway."

A guitar god? I'm...intrigued.

.......Alright, I admit it. I am SO crushing on him.

And he's a mediator. That's a plus for me, right?

I glanced back the table, but he was gone. So was Kelly. Hmmm...

"Give it up, Suze," Adam said with a sigh. "It's a shame...most girls don't know what they've got until it's gone."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Same with most guys," I heard Cee Cee mutter under her breath. Adam didn't quite catch that one.

I turned and scanned the area, getting acquainted with the faces of my fellow student body.

........Ok, ok, so I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Jesse. And hoping that he wasn't getting cozy with Kelly. That would just be...ewww.

As I sat idly gazing at the future of America blowing loogies at one another, my eyes came to rest upon one boy in particular. He was at a table a little separate from the rest of us, next to someone who was face- down on the table, dead asleep. I recognized the shirt...that was Sleepy. Figures. Anyways, the guy was pretty cute (nothing on Jesse), but he had the saddest look on his face...

"Why, Suze, why must you always look at JOCKS?"

Cee Cee gave him another smack. "That's Bryce Martinsen," she said without glancing up from her text book. Is it me, or is she enjoying reading that? "Do you still need help with your homework?"

"Why does he look so sad?" I asked, ignoring her question.

"His girlfriend Heather just killed herself," Adam said, grinning creepily. "Splattered her brains all over his front porch when he dumped her."

Wow...that was stupid.

Cee Cee slapped her book shut, and gave him the smack to end all smacks.

"Was she the dumb blonde cheerleader type?" I asked coolly, suppressing my slowly approaching "AH-HAH!".

"As a matter in fact, she was," Adam mumbled, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at Cee Cee.

AH-HAH! So she's the one haunting my locker...

I suddenly got that prickly feeling on the back of my neck again. I glanced up quickly, and spotted Jesse walking back to his table, with Kelly following close behind. She looked close to tears, and he looked extremely pissed. I wondered vaguely what had just happened...

It happened after lunch, as we were shuffling back to our classes. Cee Cee was chatting enthusiastically about some article she had planned for the newspaper, and Adam was a little ways behind us, still rubbing his head and pouting. I was wondering how to possibly deal with Heather...ok, ok...I was wondering what the hell Jesse had been up to with Kelly. And wondering why the hell I cared. I mean, I'm not one to get obsessive over a guy. But...there was something about this guy. I just felt...strangely...possessive of him, I have to admit. I don't know why. He said all of five sentences to me, and kissed my hand. Then turned around and walked away. And said he'd meet me after school...

SWOON.

That was when I caught the hint of a spectral glow at the corner of my eye. I turned, and saw...surprise, surprise, Heather had left the girls' bathroom. And she was staring pointedly at something. I followed her line of vision, and saw...Bryce, shuffling along slowly a little ways ahead of us. I looked back at Heather, and noticed the look of hate slowly contorting her features...

...and I noticed that the breezeway above our heads was rumbling ominously. Specifically, the piece of wood directly over Bryce's head. Ah...It seems Heather had at last awakened to her ghostly psychic powers. And it seems she's out for revenge...

Well, as a mediator, I've been through this type of thing repeatedly back in New York. Without even thinking, I dashed at Bryce, just as a ear- splittingly loud crack sounded through the hallway. Time seemed to slow down...so slow, that I saw every detail in that moment. This tends to happen in these situations...I often wonder if it's something to do with mediation. I saw Bryce's eyes widen at the sound, not realizing he was about to be smashed into bloody pulp...I reached out for him...and I was suddenly shoved back roughly, skidding back three steps and falling magnificently on my ass.

As the block of wood crashed to the floor, there were resounding screams up and down the hallway. As chaos inevitably ensued, and as Cee Cee and Adam rushed over to me, kneeling beside me and repeatedly demanding to know if I was okay...I could only stare at the cloud of dust hovering over the pile of fallen breezeway in shock. I was actually shaking.

"Suze!" Cee Cee screeched in my ear. "Suze, say something!"

"The rest of the breezeway'll fall on us!!!!" I heard somebody's distant yell, and the screaming started over again. Several students, barely visible in the slowly dissipating cloud of plaster, were frantically lifting chunks of wood off the floor. I couldn't hear what they were saying...

And I just stared...it had fallen right on top of him. Right on top of both of them. And I couldn't have stopped it...

I...I failed. Totally failed. They were both dead. Oh my god...

"Everybody, calm down! Relax—relax! Quiet, please!" I saw a tall, aging man make his way slowly through the squirming throng. I recognized him as the principal of the school, Father Dominic. He stopped in his tracks as he spotted the damage, and a strange silence suddenly fell over the hallway. "...what...what has happened here?"

That was when I stood up, slowly, my head pounding with a sudden headache. There was a sick feeling in my stomach.

"Part of the breezeway fell on top of someone," I heard from somewhere behind me.

"Oh dear God!" Father Dom breathed, and rushed forward. I saw an indistinct shape slowly rise from the rubble. Father Dom rushed toward the moaning figure.

I failed...I failed...but...at least one of them was alive...one of them....which one...?

He limped out of the hovering mist which was quickly being swept up and out through the ceiling, propped up by two jock-looking types.

Bryce. It was Bryce. He didn't look too hurt...sprained ankle maybe...

But where was Jesse?

Without realizing what I was doing, I rushed forward a bit, afraid of what I might see...

...And I could have cried in relief. Jesse was sitting up slowly, having just missed the main part of the falling wood by mere inches. There was blood running down the side of his face, which seemed to be stemming from a cut somewhere on his forehead. Father Dom and several students were fussing over him, but he waved them away with an annoyed look and stood up. He immediately turned to me, as if he knew I was there all along, and his hair fell over his face again, covering his bloody eye. He looked...well, annoyed.

"You got in my way, Susannah," he said quietly.

W—WHAT?????

My concern for his health suddenly and mysteriously fell away.

"Um, excuse me? But YOU got in MY way," I hissed out in sudden vehemence.

He took a quick step towards me, and started wagging his finger in my face like a reprimanding parent. "I am the one who will take care of the dangerous situations in this school," he whispered dangerously. "So you just keep away from danger like a good little girl, and you won't get hurt—"

Something in me snapped. Nobody...NOBODY insinuates that I am a weak "little girl". I snatched his finger away from my face, gripping it perhaps a bit tighter than necessary. The same hand that gently held mine earlier today, I now felt like crushing in my rush of anger.

"I am not a 'good little girl', Jesse. I'm a mediator, just like you, and I will do whatever I think is necessary to—"

"Break it up, you two," Father Dom said, pulling us gently apart. "Jesse, you will accompany Bryce and I to the nurse's office immediately. All other students, please report to your classes. There is nothing more to see here."

Jesse gave me one last look over his shoulder, then followed Father Dom.

So...he was one of THOSE. He thought that girls should stand helplessly on the sidelines while the boys got down and dirty. Well...he was in for a BIG surprise, because Susannah Simon does not stand helplessly, no matter how unbelievably sexy the "down and dirty" boys are.

I was still fuming in Physics ten minutes later when the loudspeaker suddenly crackled to life.

"Will Susannah Simon please report to the front office? Susannah Simon to the front office, please."

The class immediately turned to stare at me. Seriously, why do people always do that? I mean, direct all of their attention towards you whenever there's the slightest hint of any private business they can nose around in. It's so ANNOYING.

So I grinned a little. "Aw shucks, Mr. Granger—and I was so excited to hear about how many photons it takes to ionize an oxygen molecule. Oh, well, there's always tomorrow."

That garnered a few chuckles. Mr. Granger looked me square in the eye. "Well Ms. Simon, maybe you can tell me about all the things hope to learn this year in a two page essay, due on my desk tomorrow morning."

Ouch.

Five minutes later, I entered the front office, wondering why the hell I was there. I glanced at the nurse's office, whose door was to my right, and I started wondering about Jesse again. I mean, was he alright? That was an awful lot of blood...he was sexy covered in blood, like some kind of—

Ack, did I just think that???? Get it together, Suze. This stupid crush is getting ridiculous.

The secretary glanced up at me over the rim of her glasses. "Susannah Simon?" she said in a nasally voice.

"That's me."

She pointed briefly to the tall wooden door with "Principal" posted on it, then turned back to what looked like a Danielle Steel book, rolling her eyes. Geez, thanks for sparing me a moment out of your busy schedule.

I knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the old priest/principal's voice.

As I pushed open the door, I got a flutter of dread of potentially being in trouble. But I didn't do anything wrong...did I? I mean, I threatened to break Kelly Prescott's fingers...talked back to a couple of teachers...but nothing too bad...

The door finally swung open onto an incredibly neat looking office. Before me, Father Dom sat at his desk, smiling up at me. Then my eyes roamed a little to his left...

...and I froze.

Jesse was sitting on a cushy-looking chair, his legs resting lazily on the corner of Father Dom's neat mahogany desk. He didn't look up at me at all. He was fingering a Rubik's cube, of all things, twisting it in all direction with seemingly no objective. I looked at the smiling principal and then back at the hot guy who was ignoring me, and then back at Father Dom again.

"Um...why am I here?"

He motioned to a chair in front of the desk. "Please, Susannah, have a seat."

I shut the door quietly behind me and sat down, watching Jesse and Father Dom suspiciously. Well it's not like I thought they were going to jump me or anything...it was just a weird situation. I mean...think about it.

So I sat down on the hard, cold chair, not complaining at all about how Jesse got the nice soft one, and about how girls should always get the nice soft chairs. There was a moment of silence during which I wondered once again why the hell I was here...and then I noticed something.

"Whoa, what happened to all the blood?" I blurted out, startling Jesse out of his almost trance-like state of Rubik-dom. "It was gushing out of your forehead a few minutes ago."

"It was cleaned up," Jesse said simply. "It wasn't really as bad as it looked. A little scrape over my eye."

I noticed then a thin, scar-like sliver cutting through his left eyebrow. All that blood came from that little cut? And it was already almost healed? This guy was DEFINETELY a mediator.

"Oh," I said dumbly. "Well...um, good."

"Susannah, are you a mediator?" Father Dom suddenly said.

It didn't quite sink in. The was a split second where you could have heard a toothpick drop onto the carpeted floor. Then what he asked me registered in my overloaded mind.

"A...a what?"

I know, I know...but to find all this after living sixteen years of freakish seclusion...it was too much for one day.

"A mediator," he repeated, looking anxious. "A medium to help the deceased move on to their next life."

My jaw must have been nearly touching the floor at that point.

"Uhhhh...."

"Susannah, just nod your head," Jesse muttered in an annoyed voice. I glared at him, once again miffed. He was back to twisted the Rubik's cube around.

"Yeah. Yeah, I see dead people."

I heard Jesse snort in amusement. I realized what I said and stifled a laugh, myself. Father Dom ignored our immatureness, and leaned back in his chair, looking content. "I see..."

"I told you she was one, Father D," Jesse said without looking up.

"Are...are you one, too?" I asked Father Dom, the realization suddenly dawning that he might be...

"Yes, I am a mediator as well, Susannah."

Wow.

I mean, really, wow.

I've been lonely my whole life, and suddenly in one day, I find two more freaks like me.

Wow.

I mean, really wow.

Wowowowowowowowowowowow.

K, I'll shut up now.

(A/N: I like the word wow.)

"Geez...I always thought I was the only one..."

He lit his baby blues on me, and I thought vaguely that he must have been quite handsome at some point in his life. He still kinda was, ya know, for an old guy.

"There are many others like us, throughout the world," he said, sounding wise and powerful. "I am glad to have been able to meet Jesse DeSilva, a young man who is excellent at what he does."

I'm sure he is.

"And I would much appreciate it, Susannah Simon, if you too would join our little...how would you call it?... 'mediating team'."

A...a mediating team. Holy cow, there's an actual mediating team.

"Are there more mediators here besides us?" I asked.

"As far as I know, we are the only three in this school."

Three mediators. And possibly more. Hundreds more. Thousands more. I could have possible already met mediators in the past, without even knowing it. Were they all as miserable as me? Well, Father Dom seemed to like being one, anyway.

"Well, Susannah, will you join us?"

HELL YEAH!

"...um...yeah, whatever."

"Excellent." He leaned back in his chair again. "Now, we must first discuss how to take care of Heather. I thought it was alright to take our time with her, but now that she is trying to hurt students, we must end it as quickly as possible."

Jesse tossed the Rubik's cube onto the desk, and I realized with a start that he had actually solved it. "She's targeting Bryce. So, we should get him out of here until we can take care of her."

"Exactly," Father Dom said with a smile. "I'll take care of that, so don't worry. Now...we need to think of an efficient way to deal with Heather."

Well, I could think of one easy way to get rid of the bitch. But Father Dom's eyes might burn off, ya know, owing to the fact that he's a priest and all. Exorcisms don't tend to sit well with the holy folks. So I set aside my rash mediating techniques for the moment.

"Well, why don't we just try talking to her?"

They both turned and looked at me like I had just appeared out of nowhere. Jesse smiled a small, pitying, holier-than-thou smile.

"Susannah...you don't think we've already tried that?"

"The name's Suze," I snapped. "And yes, you may have tried it, but you're both GUYS. I think what Heather needs is a little heart-to-heart girl chat, provided by—"

"Oh yes, you were so kind and understanding to her this morning," Jesse remarked dryly.

I felt my face flush a little. "Yeah, well—well, she was in my way!"

Ok, yeah, that was a stupid thing to say. But I seem to have lost my usual bounty-full supply of wit and humor in the wake of Jesse's glorious (albeit slightly annoying) presence.

"Look, I can be nice when I want to," I hissed. "You don't know me, so don't pretend you do. You have no idea how many dead people I helped back in New York. I'm a helluvagood mediator."

Jesse leaned slowly towards me, a dangerous glint in his eye. "Prove it."

Prove it? PROVE IT?

"I will."

He smirked at me then, and my breath caught in my throat. I hoped he didn't notice my sudden difficulty breathing. "Go ahead. I'll be there to pick up the pieces when...I mean, um, IF you fail."

Father Dom looked between the two of us, then finally shook his head in disbelief. "We are here to work together to help others, not to compete against one another."

"Don't worry, Father D," I said, folding my arms stubbornly over my chest. "I'm here to help others. I can help others. I'm a darn good helper of others."

He sighed. "Well...it was a pleasure meeting you, Susannah...I suppose..."

......he 'supposes'? What, I 'ain't good enough for him?

"I'll write you both passes so you can return to your classes. We will meet again soon to discuss out plans."

I stood up at the same time as Jesse. As we stood side by side, watching Father Dom write out our passes, I was finding it damn hard to ignore Jesse, as much as he was bugging me. I mean, he was emitting so much body heat...and I could smell the faint musky scent of sweat and soap. I suddenly wondered what it would feel like to be wrapped in that heat and that pleasantly male scent, what it would be like to—

"Now children," Father Dom said as he handed us passes. "It is imperative that neither of you try anything on your own. I mean it."

"Yeah, sure," I said. Beside me, Jesse nodded.

"Both of you, promise me."

"I promise," we both said in unison.

Breaking a promise to a priest? I was so going to hell.

A/N: Hmmm...... Once lied to a nun and a priest, all in the same day......I'm going to hell, too! (yay, I can meet Suze there!)

*cough*

Um....k, go and REVIEW now!!!!!!!!