Tragedy
Rating: R for mass violence, strong language, Jesse and Suze fluff, and anything else that may make this story worthy of an "R" rating.
Summary: Suze is home sick (for real this time, the flu is a nasty thing...) and Jesse comes to her with bad news regarding her school, a case of unrequited love, and new ghosts to mediate.
One-Shot or Chapter?: Ah, yes, the enternal queston...for now, this is a one shot. YES, I still have Satan's Betrothed, The Secret Lives Of The Mediator Charactors, Rob's Eyes, and One And The Same to finish. However, I wanted to write this before I forgot...
For the Jesse Club or the Paul Club?: Jesse, all the way, baby!
So here we go...
Suze's POV:
I'm dying. I knew it. The ghosts won't off me- it's going to be the flu. At least, that's how I feel. I'm boiling underneith all of these blankets, trying to sweat out my fevor like I have been all day yesterday, last night, and today, but if I take off one blanket, I'll be freezing.
Of course, Jesse could always warm me up...Kind of like he was last night, between helping me in and out of my bed and into the bathroom to throw up. He'd lay there on top of the blankets with me while I settle back in, and attempt to drift off into dreamland. It was very nice.
Not that I really slept. The flu doesn't let you sleep. Damn that shortage of the vaccine.
Around noon, I started to feel better. I flipped through the channels on my tv, not paying attention to anything that passed in front of my eyes.
"Susannah?"
I looked up. In my window was Jesse, looking radiant- literally.
"Hey Jesse." I said, somewhat weakly, but adding a small smile to it.
"How are you feeling, Susannah?" Jesse asked. His dark eyes held a little sadness in them, like he knew something horrible had happened and he didn't want to spill.
"Better. A little anyway." I said, struggling to sit up beneath the millions of blankets Mom and Andy had piled on me.
"Susannah, lie down." Jesse came over and made me lie down. "I'm afraid I have to tell you something. You won't like it-"
"SUZE!! OH MY GOD, SUZE! PLEASE PLEASE BE AWAKE!!!" I heard yelling coming up the steps, in tune with footsteps flying up the steps, and then a minute later, CeeCee and Adam materialized through my door.
Yes, materialized.
I stared at them, eyes wide open in shock and sadness. My two best friends (on this end of the country, at least) were...No, they can't be...
But they were.
They were dead.
Jesse looked pained, and held my hand. I barely had time to register that CeeCee and Adam were glowing before more people started showing up.
First, Paul- glowing.
Followed by Kelly Prescott and Debbie Mancuso- both also glowing.
I sat in my bed, mouth open in shock. I pulled on Jesse's hand and said, "You see them all too, right? This isn't a hallucination? From the fever?"
Jesse shook his head sadly. "No, I'm afraid not, Susannah. They've all become victims of murder."
"Murder?! No one murders Kelly Prescott and gets away with it!" I heard Kelly shriek. Her french-tipped fingers flipped through her hair as she fumed. Seconds later, her expression softened. "Murdered? You mean, we all...We all died?"
I nodded. "Anyone know how this happened?"
At first, no one spoke. I looked around at everyone- the worried violet eyes of my best friend, still fixated on Adam, Paul's icy blues fixated on me. "Let's just say, Suze, it's a good thing you didn't come to school today. Saved you from this fate." Paul said hesistantly.
Debbie and Kelly had taken to sitting on my day bed, both in shock that they were dead. In their minds, this was probably never taken into consideration, and who can blame them? Most people don't wake up in the morning, thinking, "What am I going to do after I die today?"
I do, sometimes. It comes with the territory, you know.
So Debbie and Kelly were no help. Adam was basically silent- a change for him, actually- and CeeCee looked like she wanted to cry.
"All I remember, Suze, is that it hurt. A hell of a lot." Adam finally said, in a very quiet tone.
Cee nodded. "I felt like I couldn't breathe, when he fired the bullet. It hurt so bad..."
"Bullet?" I asked. She nodded. Then I couldn't breathe.
"Jesse...Bullet?" I asked.
"Susannah..." Jesse started. "I tried to protect them. Or, those four, at least." He gestured to Cee, Adam, Kelly and Debbie. Paul looked a bit put out. "But the bullets went straight through me. There was nothing I could do."
I fell back in disbelief. My school, my safe Junippero Mission Academy, had become the setting of a school shooting. Never in a million nightmares would anyone ever believe it...
If it hadn't been so damned true.
Because moments later, the boy responsible for it all appeared.
"You the mediator?" He asked me bluntly, ignoring the fact that his victims were all around him. He was dressed all in black, with a ski mask over his face.
Suddenly, Debbie lept off of my day bed and tackled the kid. "YOU FREAK! IS THAT ANYWAY TO TREAT YOUR VICTIMS?! I SWEAR IF YOU WEREN'T GLOWING LIKE THE REST OF US, I'D KILL YOU!!!" She screamed as her perfectly manicured hands pummeled him.
For a minute, we all watched as Debbie beat him up. Then Jesse and Paul seemed to think this wasn't appropriate and tried to break it up. Only Debbie's nails came flying up to hit them, so they backed off.
"Well, I guess I'll start talking to everyone one-on-one, see why you're all still here." I said, pulling up a blanket. "Cee, wanna go first? I have a pretty good idea about you."
Cee nodded, and joined me on my bed. We spoke quietly as everyone stuck to their own things, Debbie still beating up their murderer.
"So, Cee, first do you believe me about my mediator abilities?" I asked with a small grin.
CeeCee giggled a little at that. "Yeah, Simon, I guess I don't have much of a choice." She sighed. "Although, if this is the afterlife..."
"It's not, don't worry." I said. "But I think you're still here because you never came clean to Adam about your feelings to him." I dropped my voice to a whispher here, should Adam be listening.
He didn't appear to be, however. He looked like- everyone did, actually, and I saw Paul and Jesse had broken up the fight. Maybe they explained why everyone was here?
CeeCee locked her violet eyes on Adam. "I guess I don't have anything left to lose, right?" She said, not looking at me, nor talking to me. She was lost in thought.
"Cee, I'm going to mediate Adam for a moment, then I'll let you two alone, OK?" She nodded, and I hugged my best friend one last time.
"Adam, you're up."
I saw him sigh as he got up and settled in next to me. "Suze, I think I know why I'm here. I kinda understand this mediator stuff, from hearing you and Cee talk in what you think is 'code' so let me give it a shot."
I nodded and grinned. "Why do you think you're here?"
"I'm in love with someone. I never told her." Adam said in dead seriousness. Before he continued, I prayed it wasn't me. "Suze, I'm in love with CeeCee." he whispered.
I hugged Adam tightly and whisphered back, "Go tell her."
I watched Adam and CeeCee start talking together, heads bent down on the floor. Adam said those three little words, and CeeCee responded the way I figured she always would: Pulled Adam's head into her's and kissed him. Adam moved on top of Cee as their arms circled each other, and before we could view anything more, they were both gone in a bath of bright white lights.
I choked back tears and said, "Who's next?"
"Susannah, you need to rest. Slater and I can handle these three." Jesse said, standing next to me as I laid in bed.
"Jesse, it's my job." I protested as Kelly, Debbie, and the mysterious murderer were directed to my bed by Paul.
"Suze, how is it you can see us, anyways? Are you dead, too?" Debbie asked. Kelly was still silent, probably in shock of being dead.
"No, I'm not dead. I'm a mediator." I explained.
"A what-iator?"
I laughed. "A liason between the living and the dead. I can see, hear, speak to, and hit the dead."
"And sometimes she even makes out with them." Paul said, waggling his eyebrows at Jesse and I. So what if Jesse was sitting behind me, and I was basically in his lap? With this damn flu, I could very well be glowing like him any day now.
"Hey Suze, now that I'm dead, do I have a better chance at getting with you?" Paul asked, leaning back on my desk chair.
"No, Paul."
"Damn. Well, what if-"
"No."
"But-"
"NO!"
"Fine, fine." Paul sat back grumpily.
"So, Debbie, let's start with you." I said, sighing. "Is there anything you didn't do before you died?"
Debbie thought for a moment. "Well, there was this really cute skirt- red plaid, so catholic school girl- at the mall the other day, and I didn't buy it because Daddy's been getting on my case about s pending so much on what he calls 'frivolous junk' when in reality, it's so not! I mean, a girl can't help but have sixteen pairs of Jimmy Choos, or twelve Kate Spade bags. And I mean-"
"Debbie, I didn't mean shopping wise." I said, raising my hand to silence her. Or maybe that skirt she didn't buy is what was holding her back.
Highly doubtful, but maybe.
"Well, I didn't tell someone that he was a father." Debbie said. WHOA!
"A father?!" I cried- well, as much as I could. I was going horse a bit. "Debbie, you're pregnant?" She was only 17!
She laughed. "God, no. I was, about a year ago, when I took time off school and told everyone it was because we'd moved and then moved back."
"That's what it was?!" Kelly shrieked. Her first words since she'd realized she was dead. "I can't believe you didn't tell me, your own best friend!"
"You'd have called me a whore, like Heather did!"
"Let's not fight for now." I said hastily. "Debbie, who's the father? I can pass it along or something."
"Um..." Debbie hung her head, staring at her feet as she curled up. "I kind of don't want to say."
"Why not?"
"Look, Suze, are you absolutely sure you're the only one whocan hear us?"Debbie asked, looking pained.
"Yes, I'm sure." I nodded solemnly.
"Querida, what about your brother?" Jesse asked. Dopey- Er, Brad- could hear.
"He's not home. School's on lockdown, I bet." I said. "Go on, Debbie. Who is it?"
"Brad." She mumbled.
I don't blame Debbie's news at all on my vomiting. I had the flu, remember? I was bound to throw up again. And at least it all made it into the toilet.
When I came out of the bathroom, I said, "I'm an aunt?"
"Yes." Debbie said, grinning now. "Her name's Madeline Rose. She's the sweetest, cutest, most well-behaved baby on the planet."
I believed it.
"Debbie, other than Brad not knowing he's the father, do you think that there is any other reason?" I asked, hugging my (almost) sister-in-law.
"My parents hated the fact that I kept her." Debbie said quietly. "I think I may be around because I want to know what's going to happen to my baby. I don't want my parents to raise her, because she'll end up like me. Believe it or not, that's not a good thing." She giggled lightly. "But I don't want her to be raised by strangers."
Paul- who'dbeen silent- and Kelly- who'd been in more shock- both spoke at the same time. "She won't be."
They looked at each other. Paul said, "Go ahead, Kel."
"Thanks." Kelly sighed. "Debbie, don't even bug on it. I bet once my parents find out, they'll ask for custody or something. Or Brad's parent's might."
Debbie nodded. "I wish Brad's would."
"I may have some pull there, Deb." I grinned. "Paul, what were you going to say?"
"Just going to suggest you take the kid, Suze." Paul said, grinning wickedly. "You and De Silva can play house."
I responded by flipping him off.
So Debbie would be sticking around for a while.
It was then I realized our mystery ghost was no where in sight. "Jesse, can you sense him?" I asked, pointing this out.
Jesse concentrated. "The only other being is in Bradley's room." he said.
"Let's go check it out." I said, trying to get up. For once, Jesse let me.
We all moved to Brad's room, and saw the murderer- his ski-mask tossed over a bed post.
I think all of us would have fainted- if ghosts could faint.
As it is, I'm the only one who did.
Although, I blame the flu.
The Junippero Mission Academy's shooter was...
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