A/N: I'm going to action-pack this fan-fic. Maybe not now, but certainly later!

Mystique Angelique: The characters aren't the only ones doing the rocking…you yourself rock! If you think you love Maggie now, just you wait. You may end up totally loving her in the end, or totally hating her…teehee. I doubt Esmerelda wouldn't throw Paulie in a fountain…but I could be underestimating her and her adorableness! I am updating now…

UnangelicHalo: Lolly is so fun to RP with! Ya'lls story is so cute, I can't wait to read more! Oh, and no worries about her being related to Jesse. One thing I can say…she so isn't. And I really didn't mean to push him into the fountain. Nothing against Paul…really. Love makes you do strange things sometimes.

Phylicia: Thank you so much for reading! Here's the next chappie!

Esodes08: I always enjoy your super long reviews! They totally brighten my day! And the convincing you tried on me? Good job! If I let Suze have Jesse, I can get Paulie to myself. But then again, I want him to be happy, you know, and he'd be way happier with Suze. BUT…I never said this was Suze/Paul…or Suze/Jesse either. Suze has this one problem…she always seems to follow her heart instead of her head. That gets her into trouble though. And Paul is an interesting character. Interesting indeed. MUAHAHAHA! And no, you aren't odd! You're Manda!

Mediatorgurl: Suze hasn't lost feelings for Paul. The thing is, she's letting her guard down. Paul, as it seems, is no longer much of a threat since she 'trusts' him. You can tell that Suze is still plagued by his hotness. His good looks and obvious charm, along with her guilt for thinking he is both of those things, are truly annoying her. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Time for a little R&R, ladies," Adam said with a grin as we got off the bus. After such a long day touring the Mission, I felt I really could've used a little rest and relaxation, especially because of little Magdalena's hijinks. The whole fountain thing she pulled on Paul? I'll admit it was funny, but it kind of made me wonder…what other damage could this little girl do? She seemed innocuous enough, with her big brown eyes and her little lace gloves. But then again…you can't judge a book by its cover.

I really do need a break.

"Sounds good," I told him as I took in a whiff of fresh air, "What are we going to do, though?"

"It's perfect weather for swimming," CeeCee noticed as she looked to the sky at the late afternoon sun. "I wouldn't mind a little pool time."

It was a pretty nice day to kick back in the sun. The sky was a vibrant blue, and it was practically cloudless. It had to be an even ninety degrees out…hot enough but not scorching. I could use some work on my tan, which was slowly fading due to staying indoors for long periods of time. All I needed were some shades, a towel, my suit, and a Diet Coke…and paradise would be mine.

"I'm game," Adam proclaimed, "Two of my favorite ladies in swimwear? Like I'd ever pass on that!"

CeeCee and I elbowed Adam in the ribs. Adam's a hoot, I tell ya. He always made little jokes like that, hinted with innuendo, but they were always in good fun. I never felt harassed by him. But as for a certain other dangerous hottie who enjoyed luring innocent girls into his room with false promises? Well, you get what I'm saying.

CeeCee grinned at Adam and said, "You would pass on us for Lara Croft."

"Sadly, I chose to leave Tomb Raider at home," Adam wiped a fake tear from his eye. "So no Lara for me. But I've got two lovely replacements…"

Adam doubled over in pain when we elbowed his gut, throwing his arms off of us. CeeCee and I giggled and we began to run for our lives. Adam failed his attempts to catch up to us when we were able to ditch him at the elevator. The slow, creaky elevator, that stopped on every floor on the way up. When the elevator door finally opened, Adam was waiting right in front of it.

"Hello ladies," he said as he casually leaned his arm on the wall. CeeCee and I froze. He caught us. We looked to each other for a second, and then tore past him, running down the ugly, narrow hallways. He was gaining on us…terribly. CeeCee and I made a sharp turn that temporarily put him off our trail. We finally made it to our room. CeeCee fumbled with the keys as I kept screaming at her to hurry. He was coming closer and closer. I was jumping up and down nervously, because I had no idea what Adam might have done when he caught us.

Weird Al for hours on end? Yeah, not too appealing.

Finally CeeCee opened the door and we managed to slip in a slam it in his face. Adam knocked on the door and said, "Oh, come on, ladies. You know you want me!" CeeCee and I giggled as we locked the door. We gave each other a high five and got changed…all the while Adam kept spouting off funny, but incredibly nasty jokes. CeeCee and I could barely breathe we were laughing so hard. Then we heard Mrs. Tarentino jumping on Adam's case.

"Mr. McTavish! That is inappropriate and not to mention downright disgusting! Cut it out, or we shall have to send you home!"

That was too much. My sides were hurting from all the laughter. CeeCee had tears streaming down her face. Adam made a hasty apology and was silent afterwards. His silence caused fresh peals of laughter from the two of us. Adam grumbled a few curses at us through the door.

When we were finally looking hott enough to out-do the sun, we poked out of the door. Adam's jaw dropped in shock and awe. I must say…CeeCee and I were total babes in our new swimwear that we bought together at the mall the weekend before.

I know…I hate the mall. But shopping with CeeCee? Priceless! We had to have 'appropriate' swimwear which- bad news for Kelly- meant no bikinis. So CeeCee and I bought adorable tankinis. Hers was a really pretty dark blue covered in pale blue hibiscus flowers. Mine was just plain pink, with these totally cute boy-shorts with a belt on it.

With a tan, it'd look even better.

"Hey Adam," CeeCee said as she tossed her hair flirtatiously. Adam turned a dark red color, blushing. Blushing because CeeCee talked to him. And all she said was 'Hey Adam'. I grinned to myself evilly.

"Uh, you look-" Adam started, but then he stopped himself, saying, "I need to get my suit. I'll meet you two down there."

CeeCee and I both frowned in disappointment. That was it? No compliment? He didn't even crack a joke, for goodness sakes! Who took away our Adam? Was it…was it CeeCee? Was she suddenly making him…NERVOUS? This was just way too good. Adam began stumbling down the narrow hallway.

"Adam," CeeCee called after him, taking his wrist so he couldn't get away. Adam turned around for a moment, his eyes meeting with CeeCee's for a few seconds. My stomach started doing the butterfly thing. Then I realized it. I was just as nervous as CeeCee. In fact, I was nervous FOR her. I knew how much Adam meant to her, and just how much she was risking by making her move.

"Yes?" Adam asked with a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"I'll…wait for you," CeeCee choked out. I silently sighed in relief as she said it. But then she added at the last moment, "Suze and I will wait for you."

Smooth move Ex-lax. Not.

The smile slid off of Adam's face slowly as he replied, "Sure…okay, yeah." He looked down at CeeCee's pale hand on his wrist. It made his skin look incredibly dark in comparison. CeeCee blushed and dropped her hand from his wrist as if he had some sick disease or something. We followed him to his hotel room, where he dropped us off, telling us he wouldn't be long.

"What," I hissed when Adam closed the door behind him, "was that all about?"

"What was what about?" CeeCee asked innocently, her violet eyes angelically wide.

"Oh, come on, CeeCee, you're not THAT blonde. You KNOW what I'm talking about."

"Actually," she corrected me, throwing her towel over her shoulder, "I don't."

"'Suze and I will wait for you'," I mimicked her, tossing my hair about just as she did. She scowled at me

"So?" CeeCee said as she crossed her arms and pouted.

"So…you're being blind, Cee," I told her. "You got it right the first time. Why wouldn't you just leave it at that?"

"I…I was scared," CeeCee admitted, "It's harder than you think, telling your best friend that you like them. It's scary."

"Don't be such a drama queen, Cee," I told her as I flashed her a smile, "He thinks you're gorgeous."

"He does not," she said, instantly turning red. She knew it was true. She just didn't want to admit it to me.

"No guy looks at a girl the way he just did and NOT think she's the most beautiful thing on two legs," I told her practically. She was turning purple, and her violet eyes were flashing. She wasn't wearing her glasses, so I could see them better.

"The thing is, Suze," she said as she leaned on the wall by Adam's door, "He means so much to me, you know? And if I showed him that, then things would get weird between us. You can't say it won't happen Suze. Because it will. We'll start getting more and more distant. We'll drift apart. Usually, you'd tell someone that to bring them closer, but in all actuality it doesn't. Don't you get it, Suze?"

"Not really," I replied boredly. I've heard this speech many times on those cheesy shows about high school and stuff. And even if CeeCee's was a bit more serious, it still sounded exactly the same to me.

"If I tell him," she whispered, "It will ruin our friendship. Kill it. Run it into the ground. Even if he does return those feelings, things will never EVER be the same. You and I both know it."

I didn't know what to say to her. I mean, I know how to deal with ornery ghosts, but I had no idea how to handle her Adam problem. First of all, I had never had a guy friend that I had known for that long. The closest guy friend I had right then was Jesse, and there was this whole thing where, you know, I love him to death. I guess I felt her pain when he kissed me the first time and then decided to be all distant and such. But in the end, it just repaired itself, you know? But how could I tell her that? Even though she was the smartest person that I had ever seen, I knew that she just wouldn't understand.

Well, okay, and then there was Paul. I never really considered him a friend or anything, but ever since I told him that I trusted him (even if I may have told him that just to get him off my back), my attitude towards him had been changing. I no longer associated fear with Paul. Now, it was mostly annoyance. Oh, and the whole thinking he's hott thing. Which is totally normal. Any girl with two eyes would agree with me.

Wait, how did I get off topic? Rewind. If CeeCee wanted to go out with Adam, she had to make it work by itself. She couldn't try to plan it out or calculate it, as she did with everything else. She just had to go with the flow.

I didn't have much of a chance to voice my thoughts to her, anyway, because the next thing you know, the door to Adam's room opened. But it wasn't Adam that casually glided out of the door…it was Paul. Stupid, stupid Paul.

He had had a costume change from his soaked clothes into- you guessed it- full on swimwear. You know, just some navy blue baggy board shorts. And practically nothing else, besides his towel that was flung casually over his shoulder and this matching button down shirt that he left unbuttoned, showing just a bit of his washboard abs. Not that I was looking or anything.

Okay, fine. I was looking, so sue me. But I wasn't the only one. I caught CeeCee trying to catch a peek at what was going on underneath his shirt too. What can I say? Paul's a hottie with a body. Just, you know, a body that can get me into some major trouble.

I noticed that his curly hair was still damp from earlier in the day, when Magdalena had thrown him into the fountain. It made his brown hair even darker, almost black even. You could barely see the natural blonde highlights that usually peeked from his hair like a crown. The darkness of his shirt, board shorts, and hair all brought out the brightness in his light blue eyes.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, ladies?" Paul purred, glancing at both CeeCee and I in our chic swimwear. I could feel those stunning blues as they scanned over me…like a sudden wave flushing over me. I knew CeeCee felt something too because I saw her heave a shudder and let out a small sigh.

There is no hope for womankind. Even CeeCee, who was so devoted to Adam McTavish, her best friend and love of her life, was melting into a puddle just at the sight of Paul in a swimsuit. We're all doomed.

"We're waiting on Adam," I replied flatly, avoiding Paul's gaze that was directed right at me. I kept telling myself that I was not affected by Paul's charms. They were annoying and frustrating. Maybe if I repeated that to myself a few times, I might have actually believed it.

"Isn't it just like him to leave a couple of fine looking girls waiting?" Paul asked, shaking his head, a light grin playing on his lips. "He said he shouldn't be long, but I can tell him to hurry up if you want."

"Thanks for the offer Paul," I said as I placed a hand on my hip cooly, "but that won't be necessary. CeeCee and I were just planning to go down there and meet him there. Weren't we, CEECEE."

CeeCee continued to gawk at Paul as he swiped some Ray Bans from the pocket of his boardies and put them on. She seemed dazed, almost as if she were in some sort of trance as she lowered her gaze. "Abs…"

"…solutely. ABSolutely. You know CeeCee, Paul's not too quick with Californian abbreviations. He is the new kid, after all."

I elbowed CeeCee, which caused her wrench her eyes from Paul's abdominal muscles long enough to give me a cold glare. I reciprocated the look, motioning to her to get a move on. When she didn't move, I grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hall with me.

Just then, we were stopped by Paul, who called, "Suze, wait…"

"What?" I snapped, still not letting go of CeeCee's arm. Paul glided down the hallway towards us, walking with a casual air that hinted of confidence. When he finally reached me, he held out a towel to me. It was my towel, I realized. The one I could have sworn was hanging about my neck only a moment ago. Only now, Paul was draping it around my shoulders. He pulled me closer to him with the ends of the towel as he said in a low voice, "You forgot something."

I couldn't help but gulp as he pushed his glasses down the bridge of his nose, exposing his wild eyes which were leering at me above the rims of his Ray Bans. As quick as this gesture was over, he gaited back down the hallway, turning back once more to shoot me a wide, toothy smile that sent a million bolts of electricity soaring into me.

I turned back to CeeCee, who had her arms crossed in front of her chest. "What's the matter with you?" she asked. "A hott guy was just scoping you out, and you barely give him the time of day?"

"Paul Slater was NOT scoping me out. He just does that sometimes," I told her, once again grabbing her arm and pulling her down the hall. This time, she put her foot down.

"He's totally trying to charm you," she said. "I'm not blind, Suze. I work for the school paper, for Pete's sake. I see everything."

"What you don't see, Cee, is that Paul is in no way charming. You may be able to see…but you have no idea of actually knowing."

As I said that, the memory of the time I went over to Paul's house flashed right before my eyes. There was nothing charming about him when he dissed my boyfriend and then had the audacity to kiss me. Sure, he may have been smooth and his kisses may have been, well, enjoyable…but that certainly did not make him delightful to be around.

In fact, every time he was around I had this terrible feeling in my gut. One that no matter what he said to me, it would never go away. Even something as seemingly innocent as 'You forgot something'. It just felt as if someone put a belt on my stomach and tightened it too tightly.

CeeCee had no idea just exactly who Paul was, besides the interesting new guy who was bold enough to try to steal my VP position, tell off a novice, and diss Kelly all in the short amount time he's been at JSMA. And after pulling all of that, he only got off with a week suspension. He not only left his mark on the school, but also an impression on his classmates.

You see, the popular folk are the only ones who saw Paul as a freak. Because they were the only ones at Dopey's party that fateful Friday. The other, less popular people? They saw him as a hero among their kind. But they so desperately wanted to be the type of person that DID get invited to these crazy keggers, so they followed the model of Kelly and her posse, by shunning Paul, though they had no idea why. They just heard rumors that were FAR from the truth.

CeeCee never really cared what the populars thought. That's why she wasn't afraid to drool over Paul.

I, however, was. And not because I was afraid for my social standing at school. I was scared of the fact that drooling over Paul would go against everything I knew. Everything that I thought was right…

"Suze. It's a hot guy in a swimsuit. I'm not going to marry him or anything," CeeCee told me, rolling her eyes.

"Darn straight. Because you are going to be the future Mrs. McTavish," I grinned, bypassing her. She scoffed at me and jogged to catch up with me, shouting, "Am NOT!"

"Are too."

CeeCee and I stopped dead in our tracks. Because it wasn't me that said that. It was Adam, who had finally made his way out of the room while we were chatting in the hallway. We slowly turned to face him as he breezed on over to us in his swimwear with his towel dragging on the floor. I noticed in the corner of my eye, that CeeCee turned this deep shade of purple.

"Whoa, what'd I miss? I was just kidding. I really had no idea what you were talking about," Adam said as he hiked up an eyebrow curiously. CeeCee and I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Suze called me blonde," CeeCee said as she shot me a nervous smile.

"Blondes have more fun," Adam said with a wink at CeeCee. CeeCee giggled as he linked arms with the two of us and we began walking down the stairs to the pool. We decided to pass up the elevator since, in all reality, it was much faster to go down the stairs.

"Now I know just how Archie must feel. I've got my very own Betty and Veronica right here," Adam said with a smile. CeeCee and I shook our heads at him.

It was good to know that, despite the mess that awaited me at the San Juan Capistrano mission, I still had my support system with me. The two people that turn my trip from bad to extremely fun in a matter of minutes. My best friends.

Even though my eyes were closed, I could still tell that it was very bright outside. The chlorinated water was cool, however, and I was pretty glad that CeeCee and Adam made me get in the water after all. The one bad thing about the swimming, besides the fact that my hair afterwards would be a frizzy mess? The fact that Adam and CeeCee were making me play 'Marco, Polo' with them.

And because I put up such a fight, they made me be 'it' first. So I closed my eyes reluctantly and began feeling my way through the water while I said "Marco" rather unenthusiastically. Among Adam and CeeCee's shouts of "Polo!" I also heard the splashing of other children that were hitting each other with their floaties. But no matter what, I could not catch them. Obviously they were seasoned pros at this game.

"Marco," I sighed, stretching my arms out in front of me. I figured that maybe I might hit someone or something if I had my arms out. Over in the distance, I heard Adam and CeeCee yell, "Polo!" I made my way over to where I thought I heard it coming from, with no avail.

Then someone whispered in my ear, "Polo…"

I could feel breath tickling my ear. The smell of chlorine was masked by the faint smell of some very nice cologne, obviously put on earlier that day. I mean, no one puts cologne on before swimming, do they?

I turned around and felt around until I could tag the person. When my fingertips came in contact with flesh, I opened my eyes and yelled, "You're it!"

Only then, did I notice that I just tagged Paul. I jerked my hands from his chest, which was coincidentally the place I had tagged him. Stupid wandering hands…

Paul grinned down at me, his eyes fixating me with dark amusement. I tried to look away, but Paul was so close to me that he blocked my vision. The only choice I had was to look down…

…at a totally ripped six-pack, glistening wet from the water. I bit my tongue and jammed my eyes shut, and counting to ten. My counselor back in New York told me that that would calm me down. Only, she meant for me to use that in cases when my temper got the best of me. It wasn't necessarily my temper that was going haywire. It was my entire nervous system.

"I'm going to get a drink, you guys," I told Adam and CeeCee without even looking at them. I trained my eyes to look past Paul, instead looking at the shiny metal ladder…my exit. "Paul's it. He'll fill in for me."

Then, with as much inner strength as I could muster, I swam over to the side of the pool with the ladder and got out, aware that the whole time I was being watched. I glanced at Paul nervously as I grabbed my towel from one of the chairs and wrapped it around me tightly. And still, the whole time, Paul had his bright blue eyes fixed on me. Even when my back was turned to him, I could feel his gaze burning through me like a laser.

It wasn't that much cooler in the shade, but I still felt myself shivering. More than anything, I wanted some sense of knowing in my life. I wanted the one thing that would always stay the same in my life, no matter what.

Jesse.

As I was walking to the soda machine, someone pulled me into this little alley-thing that had a few trashcans in it. I couldn't very well scream, because whoever it was had a firm grip over my mouth. I made a few loud noises and struggled as best as I could, but the person had such a strong grip on me.

"Relax, querida," I heard Jesse whisper into my ear, "it's just me."

Jesse loosened his grip and I stopped struggling. I turned around, and when I finally saw that it was in fact him, I had to fight my urges to jump on him right then and there. Instead, I breathed a sigh of relief and placed my hand over chest. "God, Jesse," I said, "you really scared me there."

"I apologize, Susannah, but I figured that since you called me-"

Uh, no I didn't. I never called him. Sometimes I would think about calling him or just him in general, and he'd just pop up, claiming that I did. Not that I wasn't glad to see him. I was…I really was.

"It's all right, Jesse," I cut him off with a smile. "I, um, just wanted to see how you were doing. I guess I got kind of lonely."

"Lonely?" Jesse asked, touching my bare arm with his hand. "Where are Adam and CeeCee? They attended this trip also, correct?"

"They're playing Marco Polo with Pa-tricia. Patricia. Yup."

Close one.

Jesse raised his scarred eyebrow at me. "What is…Marco Polo?" Jesse asked, his accent smoothly gliding over the words 'Marco Polo'.

"It's a game," I told him, launching into babble-mode. "You know, where you're in a swimming pool and then the person who is 'it' closes their eyes and calls out 'Marco' and the others have shout 'Polo' back at them, and the 'it' person must find them and tag them. It's not very fun with three people, but…"

I trailed off when I noticed Jesse stepping closer to me, a warm smile on his lips. I held my towel closer to me self-consciously, trying to smile back without melting into a puddle of goo. Jesse pulled me closer to him with the hand he had on my arm and he propped his chin on my head, holding me in his warm embrace.

Jesse's arms. The only place I knew I was safe. The only place that, no matter how many guys I've seen in swimwear, will still make me feel the same comfort and warmth as ever. Everything in my mind suddenly melted away like sugar in water. I never wanted Jesse to let me go.

"I miss you," I whispered into Jesse's shoulder. Jesse stepped back, still holding onto my arms, and gazed into my eyes with his own black, liquidy eyes. Most people say, when they look into their lover's eyes, that they lose themselves in them. But I say just the opposite…I find myself in Jesse's eyes. I was lost in a confusing mess, but now I'm returned to my safe haven.

Jesse didn't even have to reply to me. It was enough to tell by the way he was looking at me that he really did miss me. And If I hadn't picked up on that hint, then I certainly would have when he leaned in and kissed me.

The third ever kiss that Jesse had given me. And it was perfect in every, single way. From the way he kissed with a great sense of possession, the softness of his lips on mine, to the way his fingers were tracing circles on my back. It was slow and steady, each movement causing a dizzy rush of emotion and passion. But at the same time I felt warm, happy, and most of all, loved.

No one witnessed anything. And if they did, then I really didn't care. Because in that moment, Jesse was the only person in this world that I cared about. It was just the two of us.

The world is my oyster, and Jesse is my pearl.

A/N: Hey! Sorry about not updating in FOREVER! The whole summer I just could not think of anything for Maggie, mostly because it was about a school trip. I think school actually has a purpose…it inspires me to write. I figure, since I' am now officially a junior, I can use that to feed off of the junior unity theme, and since I actually have daily classes with people, I can more readily observe people. Seriously…only now did I really get inspiration to finish this chapter. I'd been working on it on and off for 2 months. TWO MONTHS.

I know you guys are probably really mad at me for waiting that long. But I tried to make it worth it for ya'll. Was it? Tell me in your review. I will certainly try to update more when I find the time. I have band rehearsal everyday after school plus homework AND football games to march at on Fridays. Way to have a life…not.

You guys ROCK! I love you all in totally non gay ways! Ya'll are totally my inspiration besides school!