Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Never will. Buh-bye (

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hate Paul. I really, really do. Jesse's always telling me that "hate" is a strong word, but come on. I have a right to feel contempt towards him. Paul, I mean.

He grinned at me while saying, "Suze! You look upset. Tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can make it better."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You make me sick, you know that?"

He grinned that disgusting grin. Well, he's not that disgusting. He's kinda hot: in a murderous-dangerous-kind of way.

He rolled his eyes, almost bored. "This isn't about Jesse, is it?"

I tried my best not to look surprised. "How did you know, Paul? You spyin' on me?"

"This whole Jesse thing is beginning to sound like a soap opera, you know that?" Paul said. "One minute he loves you and then the next he doesn't and now you're all upset because you've finally realized you just can't be together. Having relationships with ghosts really isn't a great idea, Suze."

"Why do you bother making it your business?" I hissed. "Jesse is haunting my room, not yours. Jesse is my ghost, not yours."

"This is actually quite amusing. I can't believe you're actually trying to get with him. You and I are the only people who can see him. Doesn't make well for a healthy relationship, does it?"

"Father Dominic can see him too," I tried hard not to pout. I don't think it worked.

"Oh, wow. Three people. Tell me, what's gonna happen when you try to introduce him to your friends? They'll think you're off your rocker. You're going to eventually grow old, Suze. You think Jesse's gonna want to be with someone who's a senior citizen? I think not."

Paul's words stung a lot. I felt the tears coming to my eyes. What's worse is that he was making some good points.

I tried to choke back a sob. That didn't work either. The tears flowed freely and I stood there looking like a moron trying to wipe them away.

Something in Paul's face changed. His face had gone from insensitive to worried. He said, "Aw, come on, Suze. Don't do that. Geez. I hate it when girls cry."

I let out a shuddering breath. "You're right, Paul. You're 100% right. There's no way I could ever be with Jesse. Him and I are at other ends of the spectrum - literally. It's not your fault you're saying the truth."

He still looked sincere. "You have really strong feelings for him, don't you?"

I sniffled. "However did you guess?"

Paul sighed. "Well, you are an amazing girl, Suze. It was stupid of me to think that only I would realize that."

I eyed him curiously. "What are you talking about?"

Paul looked around, as if someone would even care to listen in on our conversation. "I've heard some things recently about Jesse and you."

"How?" Duh. He could shift in and out of the ghost channel all he wanted. Use your brain, Suze.

Paul ignored my question. He looked crestfallen as he said, "Jesse has.." Paul stopped to take a deep breath, "Jesse's fallen in love with a mediator. That's the news. It's only obvious who they're speaking of."

I felt my heart thump hard against my ribcage. JESSE. LOVES. ME.

I instantly regretted my little girl tantrum I had had back at the house. I wanted to run home, into my room, and apologize to Jesse for how awful I had treated him. But then, I would have to deal with Sleepy and the wrath of my mother -

- But who cared???? Jesse was in love with me!!!

Wait a second. Why was Paul even telling me this? There's a catch. There's always a catch with Paul.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

Paul was silent. Was it possible for psychopaths to look sad? Well, Paul sure was pulling it off: "I don't know, Suze. I've been thinking a lot. I've been acting the way I have because I'm jealous. I know following you around at school seemed a bit bizarre, but I just..wanted to get your attention. But," he paused, "after seeing you like this and realizing how much you actually need Jesse, I realize I just want to see you happy."

Huh?

"I'm going to make you an offer, Suze. If I told you that you could actually go to the year 1850, save Jesse from his death and bring him back here, ALIVE, would you do it?"

"If it were possible, I'd do it in a second." I remember telling Jesse once that if there were a way to make him not dead, I would do it. Well, maybe this was a way.

"Here, let's go someplace else," Paul suggested, taking my arm and leading me away. He had a good idea: we had been talking out on the sidewalk the whole time. I'm sure we were getting some look from wary neighbors.

He took me near the ocean shore. The sun was setting and looked absolutely beautiful. The reds, oranges, yellows and soft blues covered the ocean. I sighed. I wish I weren't sharing this gorgeous scene with Paul.

He faced me and reached into his shirt. He pulled out a necklace, an amulet really. It looked ancient. I mean, prehistoric even.

"This is very easy to use," Paul said softly, his eyes boring into mine, "You simply put it on and think of what you want it to do. Then it happens. Easy as that."

It still seemed kinda weird. I don't understand why Paul was doing all this for me. Did the planets actually shift and made him NICE? Seemed kinda farfetched, didn't it?

But I'd do anything for Jesse.

I looked at Paul, then at the amulet. I whispered, "I'll do it."

"See you later, Suze," Paul whispered back. He put the amulet around my neck. I thought of the year 1850 -

- And then I completely blacked out.