Ack! Well guys thanks SOOO much for all your positive reviews and fluff! Much lovies to you all sweeties! Heheh here is the next chappie sorry that it's not quite as long and took a long time but its exam week! EEK! (Finally figured out how to do a page break too)! Hope you enjoy it! I've already posted it a couple of times last night but I kept finding mistakes :S) Please review! xoxo

Lyanne & Julietta123

Disclaimer: We do not own anything in the following story. Everything belongs to Meg Cabot.

Chapter 2

Oh my God. Just when you think things can't possibly get any worse, your mediating skills are called into play. Not just for any old ghost, I might add, but for a totally hot guy whose father is a vampire-wannabe. That's right. Tad Beaumont is back in the flesh – well, almost. How he died is a mystery to me. His dad probably escaped from the Mental Institution and tried to drink his blood through a straw. Poor Tad. It's not his fault his dad is a psychopath.

I gaped at his newly glowing body, clearly awe-stricken.

Tad didn't look too pleased to see me either… especially since he was getting a rub-down by Cee Cee. Usually you'd think a guy would like that, but Tad is not your typical guy. I mean, come one. He has Count Dracula for a father! He has every right to be a little estranged.

Suddenly I burst into peals of laughter. I couldn't help it. Things were going so horribly that I just had to let loose in some way. Seeing the ghost of your ex-boyfriend whose uncle tried to off you and whose dad attempted to sip from your jugular seems to be a pretty valid reason for a giggle fest.

Paul, however, didn't seem to find the current situation very amusing.

He turned his steely blue eyes on me and I tried to focus on his frowning face through my tears.

"Suze, why are you laughing?" Cee Cee wanted to know, ceasing her patting of Tad's frontal region. He looked quite relieved and his former expression of horror was replaced by one of pure smugness. I couldn't believe it. The once quaint and compliant Tad Beaumont was being smug! Whoa. Death really can take a toll on people.

I was still smiling when I sat down in the seat in front of her, careful not to step on the long, sprawled-out legs of the ghost sitting beside her.

Paul, with a glance of obvious disdain towards Tad, plopped himself down beside me and glared harshly at him.

It was so strange because it felt to me as though they had met each other before, which is entirely impossible. Unless of course Paul was stalking me (most likely) and has taken a fancy to keeping tabs on all of my old boyfriends… well that would just be weird. Then again, this is Paul I'm talking about.

My thoughts were finally answered when Paul went coolly, "Who the hell are you?"

Tad's grinned broadened while Cee Cee, who obviously thought he was talking to her, looked utterly bewildered.

"Um yeah, Paul I would be Suze's best friend, Cee Cee, remember? Jeez, for someone who seems to be obsessed with her you sure don't know anything about her life." She rolled her eyes as I gave her a sharp kick in the leg to save myself from further embarrassment.

Then, as though sensing the tension between Paul and I, Cee Cee grabbed her stuff and hauled it into the seats behind us.

"God, I know when I'm not wanted. I can take a hint you know… I'll just be going." She stood up and walked right through Tad's legs as she made her way to the back. If she thought that was a valid excuse to move, she had another think coming. I smirked as I saw Adam's bags already placed territorially next to where Cee Cee's now were.

"I'm Tad Beaumont, I use to live here," I tuned back into the conversation Paul and Tad were having without me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was definitely something different about him. Tad, I mean. Something about the abnormally stuck-up way he crossed his arms and looked down at us from his nose with that cool, all-knowing, secretive smile I have grown to recognize only too well…

"Well isn't that nice," Paul sneered as the bus began to move out of the school parking lot, "But what is it that you want here… why are you still hanging around?"

Tad turned his gaze onto me just then. I was still staring at him open-mouthed trying to decide which horrendous fate he actually met when he said,

"Oh, Simon and I use to be really close, weren't we, Suze?" Tad looked quite pleased with himself when he said this and became even more encouraged when Paul raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Really." Paul didn't even say this as a question. He sort of dragged it out so that it sounded more like reeeeaaaalllly.

Who the hell was this person sitting in front of me? Certainly not the Tad Beaumont I had known.

"Um, sorry to be blunt but… how did you die?" Honestly, I am such a card. My sympathy for others astounds me sometimes. They should call me Susannah Hi-how-are-you-doing-oh-by-the-way-how-did-you-die Simon. Yeah, that's me, the kindest person anyone will ever know. What I can never understand is what someone like Jesse sees in me. Even though the guy in front of me was being a total jackass and deserved being put directly on the spot.

Tad smiled at me then, revealing all of his perfectly white teeth in all of their ghostly magnificence. He could obviously tell that I could see him by now.

"Well, it's actually quite ironic," he began as though the tale of his death was actually the greatest thing ever, "after I went to live with my grandparents, I took up water-skiing again and this time, I didn't need to pretend that it was an accident. I really did wipe out and the last thing I remember is hitting those waves pretty hard and then the next thing I knew, I'm here, talking to you again."

Whoa. This is creepy considering how his uncle was only too keen to make it look as though Tad and I had been killed in a tragic water-skiing incident. I suddenly felt a pang of compassion for him as the realization that he was truly dead finally sunk in. Paul, as per usual, felt no such emotion.

"Wow, that is so tragic. Now, what is it that's holding you back, you know, from moving on to that 'better place'," he said this last part with heavy sarcasm. Leave it to Paul to dis someone's concept of heaven.

I held on to the window ledge of the bus as we took a sharp turn onto a bumpy road. I was still not quite awake and I groaned with irritation as we all proceeded to shake in our seats as the wheels hit the gravel. Somewhere in front of me I could hear the annoying drone of Debbie Mancuso's voice as she fawned over something my idiot brother had said to her. This is really not my day, or year for that matter. I couldn't help but think about Jesse's reassuring hand on mine as Paul and Tad launched into some sort of debate about death, or something of the like. Wow, you know you have no life when…

"-Isn't that right, Suze?" Paul turned to me expectantly, the fire of triumph burning in his eyes.

Crap. What were they talking about? It had to be of some importance because both equally handsome men were waiting for my answer. My head began to feel like a swelling balloon and a grogginess seemed to shroud my view of them. I simply nodded –or at least I think I did- before laying my head against the back of my seat and falling into a deep sleep.


I woke with a start to the feeling of someone gently prodding my shoulders. I reluctantly opened my heavy eyelids to see my view filled with the grinning face of Paul Slater. Oh, wonderful. I go from having a heavenly dream about Jesse in my sleep to seeing the spawn of Satan in my reality. Um, yeah. I'd take the dream world any old time.

I noticed a blanket had been placed gently on top of me and I said I silent prayer that it wasn't Paul who had covered me. Quite frankly, the thought of Paul coming that close and touching me sent shivers up my spine… for more than just one reason. Ug, I disgust myself sometimes.

Tad, I noticed, was gone and Paul was now gathering all of his bags together as he put his sunglasses back on.

"We're here!" he informed me a little too cheerily for my liking. I threw him a look of pure hatred as I sat up, probably looking like hell run over by a train. I was way too tired to care right now. What frightened me even more than my appearance as I looked at my reflection was the fact that Paul and I were alone on the bus… for how long I don't even want to think about.

I quickly grabbed my two travel bags and all but jumped off that bus, not even remembering to mourn over the fact that I didn't have a chance to use the plumbing.

That was just a little too much Paul at once, thank you very much.

As I stepped out into the fresh air, I knew immediately that he would have no need for his Ray Bans that framed his face so well. Everything around me was dull and boring as the clouded sky cast a disturbing gray darkness around the forest trees and grass. I could barely make out the faint outline of mountain tops out in the distance through the choking fog. Great, so much for working on my tan this weekend. The one thing that I had actually considered to be a pro for this excursion turned out to be a very big negative on my increasingly large list of cons. I would have considered shooting Father D. if he weren't a priest and all… oh, and if murder weren't a crime.

Sister Ernistine, who was one of the chaperone's (oh joy!) was summoning everyone to gather around her. This was actually quite a big accomplishment for her considering she is just a tiny, old lady surrounded by a ton of noisy, conceited teenagers. Nevertheless, everyone was just as confused and dumbfounded as I was and we all listened, eager for an explanation as to why we were spending a weekend in this dump.

"Thank you everyone. Alright, now we are about to have an extremely exciting weekend and hopefully be able to educate ourselves on nature and survival skills! I know that we will all be on our best behaviour and try to get as much out of this experience as possible."

I almost felt bad for her because she genuinely didn't know what she was in for. Everyone was already chatting with his or her neighbour and I saw Cee Cee and Adam walking towards me through the crowd. Fortunately, Paul had disappeared amongst them… what else is new.

Sister E. continued to explain how we will be put into pairs of the same sex and then set off on our own. We were to follow the red trail markers until we all come upon our group campsite. She also said that who we were paired with is who we will be doing all of the actual "excursions" through the woods with, a part I can say that I could easily do without.

As the group lists were being read out, all I could do was hope that I wasn't with Debbie or Kelly or that other weird girl who writes love notes to every guy in the eleventh and sprays her perfume on them – Katie, I think her name is. I definitely do not need those kinds of clingy, obsessive people right now.

I noticed a dark, lean shadow coming towards me and I new instantly Paul had sought me out. It suddenly occurred to me what someone like Paul does to ghost that get in his way and this thought caused my breath to catch in my throat.

"What did you do, exorcise him?" I demanded sourly, putting my hands on my hips. Paul merely leered at me and shook his head.

"You really were conked out… we weren't too sure. No, you don't have to worry about your little Taddy, he's around somewhere."

I let go of the breath I was holding at this, however I winced at the "Taddy" comment.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean? It's not like I still like him or anything." God, no. Far from it. I was Jesse's girl now… if only he would realize that.

"Oh c'mon Suze. I know you have a thing for ghosts, it's only too apparent in your choice of men," he chuckled, referring, of course, to Jesse. Paul then did an astounding thing. He gave me another one of his trademark grins, winked at me and then he walked away to join… Adam. I then understood why as Cee Cee started to jump up and down excitedly.

"Oh, thank God! I was so worried we wouldn't be in the same group, Simon! I do kind of feel bad for Adam though. I mean, it can't be easy being in such a close proximity with Paul Slater."

She had no idea.

I was so not eager to start the walk up the mountain. Despite this, I donned a pair of sneakers for the occasion and after a quick glance at Paul and Adam, we began the treacherous trek up the hillside.

Did I mention that I am not the greatest walker or hiker? Yeah sure, I get my cardio every day by doing my kickboxing tapes but I'm not one of the hard-core runners who sprint for miles because it feels good. I would so rather swallow a cactus than jog for fun. This is why it is only fair to say that I had every reason to whine and pant and take reasonable breaks every so often. I'm not ashamed of my lack of enthusiasm…walking is stressful for a girl like me.

At about our sixth red trail marker, I was about to collapse onto a heap on the floor, fully willing to give some of the coyotes a pretty yummy treat. My back and feet were throbbing viciously and I couldn't help but cast wary glances at every plant we had to walk through, searching for my mortal enemy – poison oak. I shuddered to think at how disgustingly disfigured I had become that time I stumbled into a patch of it.

I found a suitable tree stump slightly off the trail and practically fell onto it. My body was literally dripping with sweat and all the while, I fully wasn't catching any of some much-needed rays.

"Oh, not again," Cee Cee whined when she looked back to see that I had stopped. She rolled her eyes and began to walk back towards me. She, unlike me, was totally in her glory because this was her kind of weather. She didn't have to worry about what the sun would do to her sensitive skin.

"You're so lazy Susannah Simon and before the end of this trip, I am determined transform you into a hiking guru," she said, matter-of-fact. I highly doubted that but I didn't say so… I am not one to burst people's bubbles.

"Just give me a minute to recuperate and then I'll be good to go," I assured her. Cee Cee shrugged and walked onward until I lost sight of her. She was probably looking to see if she could trade in her partner for a more physically fit one. Well, too bad for her, I was trying here.

I slipped off one of my shoes and emptied about a pound of pebbles from it. Oh yeah, I am so all for the walking. I replaced my sneaker and groaned in frustration, burying my head in my hands. I have never felt this disgusting before in my life! Oh, when I get home Father Dom is never going to hear the end of this… just thinking about home made me want to cry. What I wouldn't give just to see Jesse again, to feel his strong arms and kiss his perfectly shaped lips on his clean cut tanned face… what could I say? I was a girl obsessed. I can't go a minute without thinking about how I feel whenever I'm with him and how he looks at me with those deep, dark eyes of his.

This got me to thinking… if I called him, would he come just now? Not that I had any intention of him seeing me in all of my hiking grandeur, but still. I was just about to test this theory when from behind me in a dense clearing of trees came a throaty laugh.

At that very moment, I think that my blood had stopped coursing through my veins as I felt myself blanch. I sat up, rigid in my seat and too stunned to move. It's just that you don't normally hear voices coming from the forest, right? I was petrified but I wasn't about to let my potential attacker in on this little secret. I could tell that the person that the voice belonged to was getting closer and just as I could feel their warm, shallow breath on my neck, I flipped myself around to face them and brought my arm out with me.

Much to my chagrin, my forest visitor foresaw my attack and now held my wrist in a vice-like grip. That is when I got a really good look at who it was.

"Aw, dammit."