Timeout
By: ChocolateEclar
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with the Mediator Series by Meg Cabot/Jenny Carroll, including Jesse (Oh come on. Just for a day?), Suze, Paul, Father D, CeeCee, Adam, etc.
Claimer: I own Miss Evelyn "Eve" Gemma and the plot. (I still wish I owned Jesse instead of Eve.) I may not own the fact that Jesse has five sisters (ages 6-16 when he died), but I do own who the five girls are – i.e. their personalities and names. In short, I also own Juanita "Nita" De Silva, Estefana De Silva, Felicidad "Felly" De Silva, Dolores "Dolly" De Silva, and most of all Carmen De Silva.
To Clavel: I'm not a fan of Good Charlotte either. I thought about making things "magically fixed," but things just don't work out right that way, you know? I'm glad you liked that I didn't. ^__^ Thanks again.
To muzacgurl: Thanks so much! The bookstore idea just popped out of my head.
To Alda Rethe: Jesse was around people almost all the time he was dead after all. He saw society evolving through just watching and now he can use what he observed. Gail was one of those last minute ideas – something I seem to do a lot. *laughs* Thank you again!
To Lizzie9: Thank you! ^_^
To Mer: Here's the "more" you wanted! ^_^ Thanks for the review!
To IceCristal: Yes, Jesse is freaking hot. Hehe. (As are Draco, Rob, Michael, and the rest.) ^_^ Thanks for the compliments.
To Delilah Wigglesworth: I kick ass? Really? Cool! *laughs* I could eat Jesse up too. ^__^ Thanks for the review!
To musicgirl141: You're exactly right about Dopey…^__^ Read this chapter to see what happens when Suze introduces Jesse to her family. Thanks for reviewing!
To Esodes08: It took me ages to come up with the bookstore/library idea. Once I did come up with it though, it just fit so well. ^_- Thanks for the review!
Chapter 15: He Used to Haunt My Bedroom
Breathe, Suze! Breathe! Darn it!
Gail was not looking at Jesse's butt… You're just being a jealous girlfriend…
OH MY GOD!!!!!
Gail WAS looking at Jesse's butt! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
I'm not freaking out…much.
I was visiting Jesse at Abby's after school today when I saw it. Gail was checking Jesse out, and he didn't even notice – which is probably because she would look away every time she was in his sight and girls probably didn't do that in his day.
If she does it again, I am so kicking her punk rocker butt.
************************************************************************
As I was fantasizing ways to get back at Gail at lunch, CeeCee came up to me and said, "I saw Jesse yesterday."
I nearly fell off my chair and into the grass.
"Wha-Wha-What?" I shrieked.
"I walked into Abby's Bookstore yesterday," CeeCee explained, "only to find someone in our small town I'd never seen before. Not so uncommon with the tourists attractions, but the guy was working – unlike a tourist – and his name was Jesse. You can't tell me it wasn't the guy you told me about."
Well, I had to start introducing Jesse somewhere. It might as well be CeeCee. "So what do you think of him?" I asked – all casually.
CeeCee lifted up her sunglasses and smirked. "You have nice taste, Simon. How old is he?" she replied.
Oh…About one hundred and seventy… "Twenty," I answered. That's how old he was when he died anyway.
"Ah. Four years older than you," CeeCee remarked.
"Three," I corrected – ignoring the century and a half that Jesse was dead. "I'm almost seventeen."
CeeCee sat down beside me and said, "How did you do it?"
"Do what?" I questioned, but I knew what she meant.
"He was dead," CeeCee whispered fiercely.
"Oh. That," I said. "You wouldn't get it even if I told you."
"Try me."
"You don't wanna know," I insisted.
"Suze…"
Then she gave me The Look. Not a look. The Look. It basically said, "I can take anything. Spill."
So, sighing, I said, "Fine. Can I stay over at your house tonight?"
CeeCee beamed at that and replied, "Definitely."
I could trust CeeCee, right? She may have been editor of the school paper, but that didn't mean she couldn't keep a secret…from everyone but Adam anyway.
Don't get me wrong though. CeeCee didn't tell Adam for any old reason. It actually turned out to be a good thing.
************************************************************************
That night Sleepy dropped me over at CeeCee's on the way to his job. With a bag of popcorn and a DVD – Pirates of the Caribbean – in hand, we spent the night chatting. First, CeeCee made me tell everything about Jesse though.
CeeCee: How'd you meet Jesse?
Me: CeeCee…
CeeCee: Give me the where, Simon.
Me: You're not going to believe me.
CeeCee: Just say it.
Me: He was haunting my bedroom.
CeeCee: ……
Me: See? I knew you wouldn't believe me.
CeeCee: I…It's just…
Me: What? It's just totally unbelievable?
CeeCee: It's not that. (sigh) Just tell me what he's like.
Me: He's like any great guy from the 1850s.
CeeCee: 1850s?
Me: 1850s.
CeeCee: That explains the manners.
Me: You talked to him?
CeeCee: Yeah. About the book I bought – Remember When. Apparently he'd read it.
I didn't doubt CeeCee. I remember him reading it. He stole it from my mom back when he was still a ghost. All I know about it is one half is romantic and the other futuristic… I'm curious as to how much Jesse actually understood of it.
Next, CeeCee asked questions about how exactly I could see Jesse when he was dead. And then, how he was revived.
After that, it was my turn for questions.
"How do you think I should introduce Jesse to my family?" I asked, while "Elizabeth Swann " – Keira Knightley – and "Will Turner" – Orlando Bloom – kissed towards the very end of Pirates of the Caribbean.
CeeCee – ever the romance fanatic – unglued her eyes from the TV for a moment and answered, "Good question. Your mom will probably be pleased, but Andy might not take the three years thing very well."
"I know what you mean," I said with a sigh.
"Jesse does get points for having a job, good looks, and first-rate manners," CeeCee pointed out.
"True," I admitted with a smile. "What should I do?"
"Hmm," CeeCee muttered. "Why don't you have him and Adam meet? Then have Adam, Jesse, and I over at your house so it doesn't look like you're introducing a boyfriend, but just having a bunch of friends over."
Which is why the next day Jesse and I met CeeCee and Adam at a little ice cream shop in Carmel and agreed to meet at my house for dinner – Andy had already said it would be fine.
Adam and Jesse got along fine even though they were guys from two totally different periods in time. CeeCee talked about an article she was writing for the school paper about must-read books. Jesse added some to her list with ease.
Sometimes it makes me wonder which he likes more: literature or me?
I think Adam guessed there was something going on between Jesse and me because he kept smirking. Later on, we all arrived at my house via Adam's green VW Bug.
Going inside, I heard my mom yell from upstairs, "Susie? Is that you and your friends?"
"Yeah, Mom," I replied.
"I'll be down in a minute. Help Andy. He's in the kitchen," she shouted.
We could've easily figured out where my stepdad was. I mean, it sounded like he was chopping up a storm of vegetables in the kitchen. We all gathered in the kitchen where Andy said, "Hey, everybody. Whose up for hamburgers?" Except, of course, being an amazing chef, Andy couldn't even make simple hamburgers, but huge ones topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and spices.
Doc was already in the kitchen, sitting on a stool by the countertop – his red hair a great contrast to the kitchen – peeling the husk off some corn. He looked up as we neared him and went wide-eyed when I introduced Jesse to Andy. He knew it was the very same former ghost I had had him research months before.
As Jesse and I were setting the table, Dopey arrived home. I could hear him hunting in the fridge for a can of pop – ignoring CeeCee and Adam instead of making fun of them, like he would've done if Andy hadn't been in there too – before he found one and came into the dining room.
"Who're you?" he asked Jesse while chugging Pepsi.
Jesse looked mildly affronted by Brad's etiquette – or lack thereof – but still replied, "My name is Jesse De Silva. And you?" He held out his hand – just like he had with Adam a few hours before and later Andy.
Sizing Jesse up, Brad crushed the can and answered, "'Name's Brad. You must be the guy she had in her room. 'Bout time Suze's mom meets you."
It took a lot of will power to keep from hammering Brad's head in right there. A whole lot. Jesse stopped me though by chuckling and saying, "You're mistaken. I have never even been in Susannah's room."
"Oh yeah," Brad retorted. "I doubt that."
"I'm curious as to what evidence you have to the contrary," Jesse said calmly. Go Jesse! Psych him out with words he doesn't understand!
"My word against yours is enough," Brad claimed with his version of a feral grin.
"I have my doubts of that," Jesse said.
"You trying to make something, loser?" riposted Dopey.
"That's unlikely," answered Jesse with that same composed tone.
"You –" Brad began before Andy, CeeCee, my mom, Doc, and Adam stepped in from the kitchen carrying plates of food.
My mom peered curiously from Brad to Jesse before turning to me. "Why don't you introduce your friend, Susie?"
"Oh. Mom, this is Jesse. Jesse, my mom," I said. I clenched my fists worriedly as Jesse held out his hand again.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma'am," he said politely.
My mom looked taken aback before she smiled and shook Jesse's outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you too, Jesse," she said.
After my mom and Jesse greeted each other the ice was broken and the questions began – coming mainly from my mother. For the most part I noticed, Jesse told the truth.
"Where are you from, Jesse?" she began as Andy dished out burgers onto each of our plates, so heavy-eaters – like Brad and Jake, who arrived a few minutes after the introductions between my mom and Jesse – left food for the guests.
"I grew up on a ranch outside of Carmel-by-the-Sea," Jesse replied.
"Ah. What does your family raise food-wise there?" Andy queried.
"We raised a few cattle," Jesse explained. "We had a vast land set for crops though, which tended to be rice, wheat, tomatoes, and lettuce. Sometimes we even had almonds."
"Were? Had?" my mom asked.
"My family had to give up the farm right before many of them sadly past away," answered Jesse.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you have siblings?" inquired my mom.
"Five sisters between the ages of six and sixteen," sighed Jesse.
My mom quickly changed the subject. "Are you working in Carmel? It's just, you seem a little older than a high school student…"
"Yes, in a bookstore and the library," Jesse stated.
"How did you meet Suze, CeeCee, and Adam?" Andy queried.
Geez, both my mom and Andy was grilling Jesse.
"When you were first moving to Carmel, so was I," Jesse said. "Susannah and I met at the Mission as I am a friend of Father Dominic. Later, she introduced me to CeeCee and Adam."
My mom was grinning like a cat. That meant she guessed what was going on between Jesse and I and didn't mind it.
This would be a good thing if Brad hadn't blurted out then. "So you kiss her yet?"
The dining room went dead silent. Even Sleepy was wide-eyed. The only sound was Andy's fork hitting his plate.
"B-Brad, now I don't think…" my mom began.
"Suze's been taking him up to her room. I've heard 'em," Brad insisted.
I finally found my voice and shouted, "That's not true!"
"Oh yeah?" Brad challenged.
"Yeah!" I hissed. "But the same can't be said about you and Debbie Mancuso. Remember a certain pool party?"
"You –" Brad started before Andy cut him off.
"ENOUGH!" he hollered. Brad's mouth snapped shut as I took a deep breath. Under the table, I felt Jesse curl the fingers of one of his hands around mine. It made my anger evaporate.
"I don't want to hear anymore about this, got it?" continued Andy.
************************************************************************
Later that night, after everyone had left, Doc came into my room. "Suze?" he called out.
"Hey, David," I replied from my seat on my bed reading Cosmo. I looked up from an article about "6 Hot Accessory Trends" to see his nervous face.
"That guy, Jesse, was he…" Doc trailed off.
"My old roommate?" I asked.
"Well…yeah," Doc said.
"Just between you and me?" I queried.
Doc nodded, so I said, "You're right."
"But how?" Doc questioned, wide-eyed.
"It just…happened," I explained lamely.
My mom knocked on my bedroom door then. "Susie?" she asked as she stepped inside. She had a funny, happy/pleased look on her face. Ah oh. "Oh hey, David," she said.
"I have to get to bed," Doc said hurriedly. He looked like he wasn't sure whether to be excited or frightened.
"About that boy, Jesse, are you and him…" my mom searched for the right word after Doc had left.
I might as well get this over with. Sighing, I suggested, "Dating?"
"I guess that's what I want to know," my mom agreed. "Are you two dating?"
"Well," I mumbled. "You could say that."
"Is that a yes?" Mom queried with a laugh.
"I guess so," I replied, shrugging. "Do you… Do you like him?" I hated to admit it, but I did care if she approved or not.
"Oh sweetie, I may think he seems a little older than you, but I really do think he's fine," my mom assured me, sitting down on the edge of my bed.
"You're not going to give me some speech on the birds and the bees, are you?" I asked grimly.
"No, no, I'm just curious how old he is. I didn't want to ask."
"Twenty," I answered.
"He looks it, but his manners are older," Mom remarked thoughtfully.
"Yeah, they are, aren't they?"
"I get the feeling that's something you like about him," my mom said.
"Yeah," I replied. "Among other things." And that was the truth.
************************************************************************
A/N: Sorry this took ages, but I was having trouble getting it off the ground. It's longer than usual though…
A/N 2: One word: REVIEW! ^_^ Bye!