A/N: Yes, I'm back for more! ^_^ This chapter is from Jesse's POV and throughout the story I'll be switching between them sometimes and a little with some other people, maybe. Just FYI, but I'll always put it in here if I do.

Stunned. That's the only word I can think of for what happened at the graveyard. It all happened so fast, I almost couldn't remember it.

I'd left the party at the Ackerman house as soon as I was sure Susannah would be safe and that Slater was far, far away. I traveled away, I wasn't quite sure where to, more distracted by my thoughts than anything. Father Dominic had been right, of course, there was no way I could avoid leaving now. Now that I'd caused a disturbance as great as the one that ensued when I lunged at Paul. Not that Susannah had then seemed to care in the least bit if I moved out. She'd made that perfectly clear before Paul had barged in. I'd been so sure that maybe, just maybe, she liked me a little more than that. Or at the very least, hopeful that she had thought something more of me than just a friend.

I don't know why, but two days later I found myself standing in front of the most unlikely place, my own grave. Staring down at the words inscribed in the tombstone, my thoughts drifted back to Susannah, where they'd been for longer that I'd like to admit. Suddenly, I heard noises behind me, the sound of feet lightly coming down the path. I turned my head slightly and saw her standing there, looking as beautiful as ever in the moonlight above. She'd come over and we'd held hands and things had worked out, I suppose. I was too light-headed by it all to be thinking completely straight. To think she thought I actually wanted to move out, to get away from her.

But that wasn't even the most extraordinary, if not best, part of the night that happened. We'd kissed, finally, and no interruptions stopped us this time.

The next few days had been bliss and even with the preparations I had to make to leave the house, I found it hard not to be happy with just about everything. Too bad Susannah had been so busy with her after school government, whatever they did, after school lately. She was always complaining about it when she got home. At first I didn't think anything about it, but lately I'd been a little suspicious. I mean, how much time did they expect students to give to this thing? At least I hadn't heard anything from her about Paul lately. I hoped it meant he was staying out of her life. He better have been, as far as I was concerned. If he tried to lay a hand on her again, I swear I'd chop it off. But luckily it seemed like I wouldn't have to.

I was sitting on the window seat in Susannah's room, Spike curled up at my feet, purring away, when she came in and threw her bag on the bed.

I noticed pretty quickly that she looked a bit more angry than usual. I raised an eyebrow, "Is everything alright, Susannah?"

She blinked quickly and smiled at me casually, although I still couldn't help but feeling she was just trying to cover something up, "Yup, just another long meeting of course. I can't stand the people there."

My eyebrow stayed raised, "How many more meetings are you having this week?"

"Err, only one," She answered although I could've sworn I heard her mutter, ", hopefully" under her breath. "I've got homework to do, so I think I'll just start now." She added quickly. Plopping down on her bed, she dug into her backpack and pulled out some textbooks. She opened them and, as far as I could tell, was trying to look as absorbed in them as possible.

That was odd for Susannah. If there was one thing she hated more than government meetings, it was homework, and yet she seemed to be too deeply busy to talk. I was a little offended by that. For some reason she'd seemed to get more distant from me the past week. But I shrugged it off as just mindless thoughts and faded from the room, hoping she'd be a bit more social tomorrow.

If I'd know then what was going to happen then, I would never have left my querida for a second. .