A/N: Me again. ^_^ More thanks to my reviewers. You guys are great! Oh, and
genies9, I now allow unsigned reviews, I'd been meaning to change it. :P I
need your guys advice, like if you think it's too boring or something. More
is better! Oh, and this is Suze's POV again, in case you couldn't tell.
Paul was waiting by the gate with his car at exactly two forty-five, just like he said he would. Of course I was still going to go over to his house, even with the new threat I'd just found out about from Father D. I was sure it wasn't anything I couldn't deal with. In fact, I was still more worried about Paul.
He smirked as I slipped into his car, "Good to see you showed up, Suze."
I tried to look indifferent, but let me tell you, it wasn't easy, "Did you think I wouldn't?"
He shrugged amiably, "I wasn't sure. You're a bit unpredictable sometimes." His smirk changed to a small smile here, "Most of the time."
I didn't respond. I just crossed my legs and folded my arms as he pulled out of the school parking lot. The drive to his house was pretty quiet. I didn't talk because, although I wouldn't admit it, I was freaked out about being in his house again. He didn't talk because, from what I could tell, he didn't have anything to say, a first for him.
When we did finally pull into his driveway he gave me a skeptical look, wondering if I'd actually exit the car like a normal human being this time without spending five minutes like I had the last time I'd been there. Just to annoy him, I shoved my door open and got out, chin up.
"Are you coming or what?" I asked, hoping to get some sort of annoyed reaction from him. Unfortunately, he just smiled in his odd way that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on edge and exited. He ushered me inside the building politely, almost like he didn't even remember what he'd done the last time I'd been over there. Not that it was that easy to forget, him sticking his tongue in my mouth and everything.
The house looked the same. Still metal, modern, and as empty as it was the last time I'd been there. I shivered again as he led me into the kitchen and then to his room, the last place I could think of that I ever wanted to visit again. I disliked it even more than I hated limbo or whatever that place had been.
"So, have you told him anything?" Paul asked and I could just spot some vehemence in his voice that tipped me off to who he was talking about. I seriously could've slugged him on the spot, but, lucky for him, I didn't.
"Still no, and I'm not going to." I assured him yet again. Honestly, how many times did he have to ask me before he actually believed me? "Now, can we just get started on whatever it is you wanted to teach me about shifting or whatever?"
"Sure, Suze." He avoided sitting on his bed, I noticed. Good idea, seeing as there was no way I was going to go anywhere near there again. Especially not with the developments I'd had in the Jesse department, as little as they now seemed to be.
I was actually starting to feel a little at ease when I sat down in a chair until he moved to the door.
"Don't even think about it." I hissed automatically and he just rolled his eyes at me. That's right folks, he dared to roll his eyes at me, like I was over-reacting or something. That kind of miffed me, I mean, I was only taking precautions.
"Shifting isn't the only thing we can do." He casually leaned against the doorframe, blocking my only exit in case I tried anything, "You remember my friend Mike, right?"
"If you mean the Hell's Angel, than yeah." As if I was going to forget that he had nearly stopped me from escaping the house the last time I was here. Thank god for designer shoes.
"You called him my minion before you hit him with your shoe. That was actually pretty accurate. He does serve me and will until I decide its time to let him move into the Spirit World."
"What?" His statement genuinely confused me. How could he keep that ghost here if he didn't want to be? I mean, Paul was buff and all, but Mike wasn't any pansy.
"Along with the shifting, it's one of the many things we can do. Call spirits into our service and make them stay, whether or not they have other plans. It really can come in handy sometimes." Paul's voice had grown eerily quiet, "Suze, you have so much potential. If you only would stop being so scared of me. I could teach you more than you've ever dreamed. Than it could be just me and you."
It was then that I decided that I'd had enough of our little chat.
"Uh, okay, Paul, if you say so. I really got to be going home now, if you don't mind. I'll see you sometime next week I guess." I stood up, clutching my backpack with my hands until my knuckles turned white, I was that scared. I moved past Paul who, this time, didn't seem at all interested to stop me.
"Going home to Jesse already, are we?" He called teasingly to me as I was headed down the hall, "You're losing your guts, Suze, running to him to hide all the time."
I just continued walking down the hall and to the front door, although in a perfect world I could've beat Paul to a bloody pulp and Jesse would be alive again. Yeah, I so wish.
That thought brought up more ideas that I didn't want to think about. He hadn't tried anything, had he? I'd kept up my half, so I figured he was just trying to get on my nerves. Sadly, he was doing too good a job at it.
When I finally left his house, I almost sprinted three of the five miles to my house-I'd remembered to wear my jogging shoes this time- just to get away from him. And I'll admit I was concerned about Jesse, too. Just my luck that all my possible rides home were busy tonight.
I burst into my house and yelled, "I'm home!" No one answered since, of course, everyone was gone. Let me tell you, our house is great and everything, but it isn't a place I'd want to be by myself at night. Luckily I was pretty sure Jesse would be waiting upstairs for me, as usual.
Jumping every other stair, I skittered to a stop in my room and threw my bag on the ground. My room was, unfortunately, empty and silent, except for a scratching sound coming from my window.
I walked over to the window and opened it slowly. I was still pretty spooked from my talk with Paul, so I didn't want to take any chances. A golden-red blur of fur bolted in, flicked his tail and landed on my window seat.
"God, Spike, you scared the crap out of me." I moved my hand over to pet him out of instinct to be holding anything, especially since I was getting a sneaking suspicion something was up, another one of those little tingles down my back. It was what happened next that told me that I was right.
That stupid ball of fur nearly sent me backwards by leaping into my arms and sticking his little, pink, sandpaper tongue in my face. The only good thing was that his rumbling purr broke the silence.
"Wait a minute, Spike. What the heck was that for?" I nearly shouted at him, I was so shocked. Spike never showed any sign of liking me at all- even though I fed the stupid thing-, in fact the last time he had was when. . .
I dropped him and he gave me a look of disgust. Oh my God. It couldn't mean what I thought, there was no way. It was just my imagination.
I whispered into my room, although my suspicions had grown into fear in about a second, "Jesse? Where are you?"
Paul was waiting by the gate with his car at exactly two forty-five, just like he said he would. Of course I was still going to go over to his house, even with the new threat I'd just found out about from Father D. I was sure it wasn't anything I couldn't deal with. In fact, I was still more worried about Paul.
He smirked as I slipped into his car, "Good to see you showed up, Suze."
I tried to look indifferent, but let me tell you, it wasn't easy, "Did you think I wouldn't?"
He shrugged amiably, "I wasn't sure. You're a bit unpredictable sometimes." His smirk changed to a small smile here, "Most of the time."
I didn't respond. I just crossed my legs and folded my arms as he pulled out of the school parking lot. The drive to his house was pretty quiet. I didn't talk because, although I wouldn't admit it, I was freaked out about being in his house again. He didn't talk because, from what I could tell, he didn't have anything to say, a first for him.
When we did finally pull into his driveway he gave me a skeptical look, wondering if I'd actually exit the car like a normal human being this time without spending five minutes like I had the last time I'd been there. Just to annoy him, I shoved my door open and got out, chin up.
"Are you coming or what?" I asked, hoping to get some sort of annoyed reaction from him. Unfortunately, he just smiled in his odd way that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on edge and exited. He ushered me inside the building politely, almost like he didn't even remember what he'd done the last time I'd been over there. Not that it was that easy to forget, him sticking his tongue in my mouth and everything.
The house looked the same. Still metal, modern, and as empty as it was the last time I'd been there. I shivered again as he led me into the kitchen and then to his room, the last place I could think of that I ever wanted to visit again. I disliked it even more than I hated limbo or whatever that place had been.
"So, have you told him anything?" Paul asked and I could just spot some vehemence in his voice that tipped me off to who he was talking about. I seriously could've slugged him on the spot, but, lucky for him, I didn't.
"Still no, and I'm not going to." I assured him yet again. Honestly, how many times did he have to ask me before he actually believed me? "Now, can we just get started on whatever it is you wanted to teach me about shifting or whatever?"
"Sure, Suze." He avoided sitting on his bed, I noticed. Good idea, seeing as there was no way I was going to go anywhere near there again. Especially not with the developments I'd had in the Jesse department, as little as they now seemed to be.
I was actually starting to feel a little at ease when I sat down in a chair until he moved to the door.
"Don't even think about it." I hissed automatically and he just rolled his eyes at me. That's right folks, he dared to roll his eyes at me, like I was over-reacting or something. That kind of miffed me, I mean, I was only taking precautions.
"Shifting isn't the only thing we can do." He casually leaned against the doorframe, blocking my only exit in case I tried anything, "You remember my friend Mike, right?"
"If you mean the Hell's Angel, than yeah." As if I was going to forget that he had nearly stopped me from escaping the house the last time I was here. Thank god for designer shoes.
"You called him my minion before you hit him with your shoe. That was actually pretty accurate. He does serve me and will until I decide its time to let him move into the Spirit World."
"What?" His statement genuinely confused me. How could he keep that ghost here if he didn't want to be? I mean, Paul was buff and all, but Mike wasn't any pansy.
"Along with the shifting, it's one of the many things we can do. Call spirits into our service and make them stay, whether or not they have other plans. It really can come in handy sometimes." Paul's voice had grown eerily quiet, "Suze, you have so much potential. If you only would stop being so scared of me. I could teach you more than you've ever dreamed. Than it could be just me and you."
It was then that I decided that I'd had enough of our little chat.
"Uh, okay, Paul, if you say so. I really got to be going home now, if you don't mind. I'll see you sometime next week I guess." I stood up, clutching my backpack with my hands until my knuckles turned white, I was that scared. I moved past Paul who, this time, didn't seem at all interested to stop me.
"Going home to Jesse already, are we?" He called teasingly to me as I was headed down the hall, "You're losing your guts, Suze, running to him to hide all the time."
I just continued walking down the hall and to the front door, although in a perfect world I could've beat Paul to a bloody pulp and Jesse would be alive again. Yeah, I so wish.
That thought brought up more ideas that I didn't want to think about. He hadn't tried anything, had he? I'd kept up my half, so I figured he was just trying to get on my nerves. Sadly, he was doing too good a job at it.
When I finally left his house, I almost sprinted three of the five miles to my house-I'd remembered to wear my jogging shoes this time- just to get away from him. And I'll admit I was concerned about Jesse, too. Just my luck that all my possible rides home were busy tonight.
I burst into my house and yelled, "I'm home!" No one answered since, of course, everyone was gone. Let me tell you, our house is great and everything, but it isn't a place I'd want to be by myself at night. Luckily I was pretty sure Jesse would be waiting upstairs for me, as usual.
Jumping every other stair, I skittered to a stop in my room and threw my bag on the ground. My room was, unfortunately, empty and silent, except for a scratching sound coming from my window.
I walked over to the window and opened it slowly. I was still pretty spooked from my talk with Paul, so I didn't want to take any chances. A golden-red blur of fur bolted in, flicked his tail and landed on my window seat.
"God, Spike, you scared the crap out of me." I moved my hand over to pet him out of instinct to be holding anything, especially since I was getting a sneaking suspicion something was up, another one of those little tingles down my back. It was what happened next that told me that I was right.
That stupid ball of fur nearly sent me backwards by leaping into my arms and sticking his little, pink, sandpaper tongue in my face. The only good thing was that his rumbling purr broke the silence.
"Wait a minute, Spike. What the heck was that for?" I nearly shouted at him, I was so shocked. Spike never showed any sign of liking me at all- even though I fed the stupid thing-, in fact the last time he had was when. . .
I dropped him and he gave me a look of disgust. Oh my God. It couldn't mean what I thought, there was no way. It was just my imagination.
I whispered into my room, although my suspicions had grown into fear in about a second, "Jesse? Where are you?"