Title: Everything You Thought You Knew
Author: Sara and Lizzie
Disclaimer: Meg is God. We borrowed it, don't sue.
Rating: Pg-13, with a possible change.
Summary: Several years after Jesse disappeared, Suze is living in San Francisco, finally leading the normal life she dreamed of when she was a teenager. Until she returns to Carmel for a Fourth of July weekend that changes her life again.
"We got older, but we're still young, we never grew out of this feeling that we wont give up." –The Starting Line
It was a typical holiday in the Ackerman household. Barbecue, the deck, my parent's friends. Jake and his girlfriend were there. David and his girlfriend were. Brad didn't have a girlfriend at the moment, and no one would really explain to me why, but the last I'd heard he was seeing someone. Jake said he'd fill me in later, preferably when Brad wasn't around.
I was in the kitchen, avoiding the huge show of the Carmel-by-the-Sea fireworks display, when I heard Gina tapping her heels on the linoleum floor behind me. I turned around to see her shaking her head. "You need to stop this now Simon."
"Stop what?" I asked indignantly.
Gina smiled. "Stop pretending that he's not here, stop pretending you don't love him, and stop pretending you're actually going to go and marry Alex."
"Why don't you like Alex? You've never liked Alex?" I countered.
"He's boring Suze. Boring. He's a lawyer, who wears suits and button down shirts all the time, who thinks going to dinner and discussing murder trials is romantic, and he's not the one for you."
"And Jesse is?"
Gina's smile disappeared. "I'm not gonna pretend I understand this Mediation thing, Suze. But from what you've told me, ghosts don't just come back for no reason."
"What am I supposed to do Gina?"
"You could go talk to him." She said dangling my cars keys from her fingers. I stared at the keys, then at her for a while, before grabbing the keys, and heading over to the mission.
He was staying in the rectory, Father Dom had told me. So I headed there, parked outside, jumped out of my car and stopped. What was I doing? I couldn't really go charging into the rectory in my Coach sandals, jeans and Diane Von Furstenburg tank top.
And what was I going to say to him when I found him. 'Hi, so what spiritual plane have you been wandering while I was getting engaged?' This was hopeless, I decided. I turned to open the car door.
"Leaving so soon, querida?" I turned, and melted at the sight of Jesse.
"Well, see, I didn't know where to find you, and-"
He smiled, shook his head, and then took my hand, and led me to a bench in the courtyard. "I think we should talk, Susannah. I try to live morally. However, sometimes, what is right isn't moral. You and I are what is right Susannah, why can't you see that?"
"Because I already promised someone else I was right for them Jesse. And don't give me that look; it wasn't like I knew you were just going to show up one day."
"Don't be angry at me for coming back, Susannah. I didn't have any choice."
"I'm not angry!" I shout, standing up. Jesse rises too. "You know, forget that I reach this point where I'm at least not depressed. Where I can sort of move on. Forget that I'm engaged. Forget that everything was going just fine before you came back, because I'm not angry." I yell, and rather loudly.
Jesse starts yelling now too. "Oh yes, and it was so easy for me to be wandering around different afterlives for seven years. I didn't miss you at all. It was easy."
We're both screaming at this point. I'm pretty sure everyone in the rectory can hear us, but I don't care.
"You can't expect me not just to drop my fiancé for you Jesse."
"I only expect you to honor what you really feel, Susannah."
"What if I am?" I shout back. Jesse looks like I slapped for a moment, then he smirks.
"I already gave you the chance to tell me if you didn't love me querida."
"Damn it Jesse, cant you see my hands are tied?"
"Can't you see that they're really not?"
"Will you stop questioning my questions?"
"Will you stop shouting? This is ridiculous Susannah, we don't mean these things."
"Well, I'm sorry if I'm too emotionally incompetent to handle you appearing right before my wedding."
He says nothing. I'm pretty sure he's done arguing, and that's fine. I really want to apologize anyway.
"Jesse," but I can't finish because he starts yelling again.
"You're not the only one who can't handle this Susannah. It is not entirely about you. Do you not realize that I am a bit of a predicament myself? I don't want to tear you away from this Alex, but I can't just sit back and let you marry someone you don't love."
His voice was like thunder. "How do you know I don't love him?" I fired back. Instead of continuing the shouting match, he closed the gap between us in two steps and kissed me.
But he didn't just kiss me. It was so far from any kiss I've ever had before. I actually felt my knees go weak. He broke the kiss. "That's how I know, querida."
And I tried. I tried really hard to back away. But that ended in my lips on his again. And again.
I finally stopped kissing him. But I didn't run this time. "Jesse, I-" Could I say it? I had to.
"I gotta go." No. I couldn't say it. My brain was saying you gotta go.
My heart was screaming I love you. The years has passed but that love had grown stronger. As I ran to my car, ignoring Jesse calling my name behind me, I fought the urge to laugh. Who was I kidding?
I couldn't keep kissing him, I was getting married. I couldn't get married, I was in love with someone else.
Author: Sara and Lizzie
Disclaimer: Meg is God. We borrowed it, don't sue.
Rating: Pg-13, with a possible change.
Summary: Several years after Jesse disappeared, Suze is living in San Francisco, finally leading the normal life she dreamed of when she was a teenager. Until she returns to Carmel for a Fourth of July weekend that changes her life again.
"We got older, but we're still young, we never grew out of this feeling that we wont give up." –The Starting Line
It was a typical holiday in the Ackerman household. Barbecue, the deck, my parent's friends. Jake and his girlfriend were there. David and his girlfriend were. Brad didn't have a girlfriend at the moment, and no one would really explain to me why, but the last I'd heard he was seeing someone. Jake said he'd fill me in later, preferably when Brad wasn't around.
I was in the kitchen, avoiding the huge show of the Carmel-by-the-Sea fireworks display, when I heard Gina tapping her heels on the linoleum floor behind me. I turned around to see her shaking her head. "You need to stop this now Simon."
"Stop what?" I asked indignantly.
Gina smiled. "Stop pretending that he's not here, stop pretending you don't love him, and stop pretending you're actually going to go and marry Alex."
"Why don't you like Alex? You've never liked Alex?" I countered.
"He's boring Suze. Boring. He's a lawyer, who wears suits and button down shirts all the time, who thinks going to dinner and discussing murder trials is romantic, and he's not the one for you."
"And Jesse is?"
Gina's smile disappeared. "I'm not gonna pretend I understand this Mediation thing, Suze. But from what you've told me, ghosts don't just come back for no reason."
"What am I supposed to do Gina?"
"You could go talk to him." She said dangling my cars keys from her fingers. I stared at the keys, then at her for a while, before grabbing the keys, and heading over to the mission.
He was staying in the rectory, Father Dom had told me. So I headed there, parked outside, jumped out of my car and stopped. What was I doing? I couldn't really go charging into the rectory in my Coach sandals, jeans and Diane Von Furstenburg tank top.
And what was I going to say to him when I found him. 'Hi, so what spiritual plane have you been wandering while I was getting engaged?' This was hopeless, I decided. I turned to open the car door.
"Leaving so soon, querida?" I turned, and melted at the sight of Jesse.
"Well, see, I didn't know where to find you, and-"
He smiled, shook his head, and then took my hand, and led me to a bench in the courtyard. "I think we should talk, Susannah. I try to live morally. However, sometimes, what is right isn't moral. You and I are what is right Susannah, why can't you see that?"
"Because I already promised someone else I was right for them Jesse. And don't give me that look; it wasn't like I knew you were just going to show up one day."
"Don't be angry at me for coming back, Susannah. I didn't have any choice."
"I'm not angry!" I shout, standing up. Jesse rises too. "You know, forget that I reach this point where I'm at least not depressed. Where I can sort of move on. Forget that I'm engaged. Forget that everything was going just fine before you came back, because I'm not angry." I yell, and rather loudly.
Jesse starts yelling now too. "Oh yes, and it was so easy for me to be wandering around different afterlives for seven years. I didn't miss you at all. It was easy."
We're both screaming at this point. I'm pretty sure everyone in the rectory can hear us, but I don't care.
"You can't expect me not just to drop my fiancé for you Jesse."
"I only expect you to honor what you really feel, Susannah."
"What if I am?" I shout back. Jesse looks like I slapped for a moment, then he smirks.
"I already gave you the chance to tell me if you didn't love me querida."
"Damn it Jesse, cant you see my hands are tied?"
"Can't you see that they're really not?"
"Will you stop questioning my questions?"
"Will you stop shouting? This is ridiculous Susannah, we don't mean these things."
"Well, I'm sorry if I'm too emotionally incompetent to handle you appearing right before my wedding."
He says nothing. I'm pretty sure he's done arguing, and that's fine. I really want to apologize anyway.
"Jesse," but I can't finish because he starts yelling again.
"You're not the only one who can't handle this Susannah. It is not entirely about you. Do you not realize that I am a bit of a predicament myself? I don't want to tear you away from this Alex, but I can't just sit back and let you marry someone you don't love."
His voice was like thunder. "How do you know I don't love him?" I fired back. Instead of continuing the shouting match, he closed the gap between us in two steps and kissed me.
But he didn't just kiss me. It was so far from any kiss I've ever had before. I actually felt my knees go weak. He broke the kiss. "That's how I know, querida."
And I tried. I tried really hard to back away. But that ended in my lips on his again. And again.
I finally stopped kissing him. But I didn't run this time. "Jesse, I-" Could I say it? I had to.
"I gotta go." No. I couldn't say it. My brain was saying you gotta go.
My heart was screaming I love you. The years has passed but that love had grown stronger. As I ran to my car, ignoring Jesse calling my name behind me, I fought the urge to laugh. Who was I kidding?
I couldn't keep kissing him, I was getting married. I couldn't get married, I was in love with someone else.