Hey guys. Sorry for the delay. I have been working on this chapter for a few days, before school starts and during math class and stuff. My computer finally got fixed on Friday, but then Saturday I was at my sister's regatta (5th place in women's 4! Whoo-hoo!) and didn't get home until midnight last night. Anyway, this is the last chapter… it went very quick. It seems like I just finished "The Fire". Well, I hope to maybe get another story up soonish… I don't know when, or what, or anything at all. I hope you all liked the story, and I'd appreciate any constructive criticism and suggestions on how to improve my writing. So, thanks a bunch for all the reviews, and I hope to get a bunch more:-)

PS- Right. I tried to replace the A/N with this chapter, but it only came up with the author's note when I clicked on the link. So this is up until the real chapter 6 shows itself.

Chapter Six

Things had actually gotten a lot easier with my friends knowing about what happened between Paul and me. I didn't have to lie and hide it anymore. Whenever I got into a bit of a melancholy mood, they chalked it up to a well-deserved case of PDB—Post-Breakup Depression—and stopped interrogating me.

The thing is, though, that most of my sadness wasn't because of Paul anymore, but Jesse. Cee Cee said that he was crazy about me, but now that I had prepared myself to accept to his next offer to get coffee (which he had been asking, multiple times, ever since that initial day), he just stopped asking. The little voice of his (which I had been trying to ignore) that had been telling me, "I like you, I want to be with you" just shut up. As soon as I told him the truth, all of those vibes just switched off. Just when I finally was paying attention.

It confused me. I mean, what was his deal? He couldn't handle that I had a past? That I wasn't a virgin?

Yea, Jesse did seem old-fashioned a bit. But just forgetting about me because I had sex? That's just stupid. Doesn't he realize I regret those decisions?

That isn't to say, though, that he stopped talking to me. We still hung out with the rest of our friends, we talked to each other on the phone every once in a while. But all of the things he had been doing, like sitting next to me, subtly making excuses to be near me or to touch me (like with the sunscreen that day at the beach), had stopped completely.

We were reduced to nothing more than friends.

And it hurt.

Because you know, I really had been falling for him. I was just too caught up trying not to realize it.

Cee Cee, Adam, Rachel, Jesse, and a few of our other friends from school arranged to meet up at the dance at the beach that Friday. I almost decided not to go, but Cee insisted, thinking it was still Paul that was bothering me.

So, that Friday night, after supper I changed into a red tank top and soft, gently worn jeans. I looked at myself in the mirror quickly, but then realized that everyone would be able to clearly see my bruises—which still hadn't faded after nearly 3 weeks. Paul had one hell of a grip, I had to give him that.

Must be from all that tennis… if a tennis player can't hold their racket, what the hell are they going to do?

I quickly threw on a dark brown wrap—one of those ones that only cover the top half of your torso—and the bruises disappeared.

Perfect.

Brad drove us both down to the beach. The music was pulsing, and it was beginning to get dark. There was a slight, brisk breeze, and I was glad for the longer sleeves.

I spotted Cee Cee's white hair, practically glowing in the dark, and hurried over.

"Hey, Suze! Pull up a chair," Adam greeted. I found a chair, which were scattered around, and sat between Rachel and her friend Kira's boyfriend, Keith, who was in my history class. Jesse was on the other side of Rachel.

We all chatted, just hanging out and joking around with each other, while half the school had sex. Or at least doing a dance that was uncomfortably close to it.

Eventually, though, a slow song came on. To all of our surprise, Adam asked Cee Cee to dance. Kira and Rachel both disappeared with their boyfriends, so it was just Jesse and me left in our little chair circle. We both fell silent for the first verse. Then, as the chorus came on, Jesse cleared his throat.

"Susannah, would you like to dance?" It may have only been an offer out of politeness, but I smiled and accepted all the same.

He held me gently, and I enjoyed being in his arms. We swayed to the music, and I was lost in him. I drifted my eyes shut for a moment, resting my cheek on his strong shoulder, completely filled with bliss.

Until I opened my eyes, and saw someone—someone who's face and body and voice were very familiar to me.

A few yards away, Paul was dancing with Kelly. I yelped slightly in surprise, and Jesse's grip on my waist and hand tightened.

"What is it, Susannah?" he asked. I cowered against his large chest, hoping Paul didn't see me. A bit immature, I know, but I was not in the mood to have a conversation with him.

"It's just… someone I don't exactly want to see," I muttered into his shirt.

"Who?" he asked.

I sighed, and, in a severe lack of judgment, said, "Kelly is over there, dancing with Paul. My ex-boyfriend." Jesse suddenly released me, and turned around. His face was set, and had an edge of anger that I had never seen there before. He began searching the crowd, presumably for Kelly. And Paul, though he didn't know who Paul was or what he looked like. "Jesse, stop!" I squeaked, but it was too late.

Jesse spotted Kelly and started stalking across the dance area. "Jesse!" I cried, following him. I wasn't fast enough, though. Before I knew it, Jesse had pulled Kelly's dancing partner away from her forcefully. Paul barely had time to say "What the hell!" before Jesse's fist plowed into his face. Kelly screamed, and I, along with all those in the vicinity, gasped.

Paul, stunned at the sudden flow of blood from his nose, swore and launched himself at Jesse.

"Stop it!" I shouted uselessly. The two fell to the ground, trying to hit each other. Everyone had stopped dancing, and was crowding around. What was Jesse, the gentlemanly (and hot) honors student, doing trying to beat up Paul, the mysterious (and hot) stranger from RLS?

A few teachers began to scurry over as Paul got in a good punch. Cee Cee appeared at my side. "What the hell is going on? Who is that?" She demanded.

"Paul," I said helplessly. She had a quick moment of recognition and comprehension, and then nodded grimly.

The two had gotten back off the ground, and I heard Jesse say something to him, but before Paul could respond, Mr. Walden and Mr. Austin, a chemistry teacher with a handlebar mustache, pulled them apart.

I ran over to Jesse, who was still glowering, but had stopped fighting—both Paul, and Mr. Austin. I was about to ask him if he was okay when Paul called my name.

"Suze? You put him up to this?"

"Leave me alone," I said confidently, even though inside I was shaking.

"God, Suze, just because he broke up with you, you sic Jesse on him?" Wow. Kelly used the word "sic." I was impressed. "What a pathetic loser." Echoes of other people, my former friends, saying the same thing rang in my ears. I refused to listen.

Other people murmuring brought me back to what she said. Suze went out with him? I could hear them all asking each other and themselves.

"I didn't do anything," I shot back. "And did he happen to tell you what happened when we broke up?" Her forcedly casual indifference told me he didn't. He looked slightly nervous.

My anger at him was erupting. At the moment, I didn't care about people knowing what had happened between the two of us. I wasn't hurting anymore—I was majorly pissed off. Words tumbled out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying.

"He broke up with me in a note. Which he gave to my mom to give to me. The morning after we had sex. After I told him I loved him. Then, you know what he did? He shoved me. Slammed me into the wall, and held me there." Kelly's façade cracked, and I saw that her eyes looked troubled.

"Now you tell me," Jesse broke in, "why he doesn't deserve that." Everyone looked at Paul, who shot venom at me from his eyes. He was like a male version of Winona Ryder in "The Crucible," shooting the evil eye at anyone who said that she was making the witchcraft stuff up.

Paul was still being held back by Mr. Walden, but even my teacher had stopped and was listening to our exchange.

After a few heartbeats, Paul started talking. "You stupid bitch. I never did any of that. You're just jealous that I moved on to a hotter piece of ass."

"Then where the hell did I get these?" I asked, pulling off my sweater. The tank top underneath revealed all. "Three weeks, Paul. It's been three fucking weeks, and I still have these damn bruises. From you."

Paul's mouth opened again, but this time Mr. Walden had come to his senses and stepped in. "Simon, de Silva, get out of here. I'll deal with you two later." Still holding Paul's arm, he shoved the two of us away.

Suddenly, everything I had just said and done rushed back to me, and I saw everyone staring at me. "Oh God," I groaned, and I ran away from the whispering, shocked crowd. They had all come to the dance to, well, dance. And they just got the biggest gossip story of the year.

At the edge of the water, I sank down, my head in my hands. A minute or so later, I heard the nearly silent squeaks of feet on sand. "Susannah?" Jesse said. I quickly stood up. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I said. "How about you?" He was getting a black eye, and had a bruise forming on his cheekbone.

"I'll live." I sighed.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, a bit angry. He looked at me as if I was stupid to not know.

"He hurt you," he said simply. I groaned.

"Could your signals be any more mixed?" I muttered, running my hand through my hair and looking out over the water. The moon hung low in the sky, and left a white streak across the otherwise black mass.

"What was that, Querida?" I groaned again, exasperated. I had already confronted Paul tonight; I figured, why stop there? I needed answers.

"Is it because I'm not a virgin?" I asked bluntly. His eyes widened.

"W-what? What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You. Not liking me anymore." He looked even more confused.

"Susannah, I-"

"I mean, God, Jesse, I actually like you. I didn't think it was possible to feel this way again after Paul, but I guess it is. And you have to go and stop liking me because I made a mistake? I was all set to go out with you for coffee, maybe more." To my embarrassment, I felt tears escape my eyes. "It took a lot to prepare myself to let myself care about someone again. I was all set to never let anyone into my life, but Cee Cee finally convinced me otherwise. And you had to go screw that up for me again."

I turned around in frustration, and quickly wiped away my tears. Jesse didn't say anything, and I thought that he had walked away, or something. But then I felt something touch my shoulder softly, and he turned me back around to face him.

"Oh, Querida," he whispered, gently cupping the side of my face with his hand and wiping away a stray tear with his thumb. I couldn't breathe. "I'm sorry. It isn't like that at all."

"Then what is it?" I asked, sniffling.

"Susannah, I've wanted so badly to be with you," he whispered. "But when I found out about what happened with... him," he began, but I interrupted.

"You decided you didn't want to be with someone who isn't as pure as the driven snow?" I asked scornfully.

"Querida, not at all. I forced myself to restrain myself because of Paul. I knew you still loved him, and I thought you needed time for yourself... you didn't need me, pestering you all the time." My breath caught again. He let out a slow breath. "And I couldn't bear to be refused again, because you still love that ..." Again, he used a word in Spanish that I didn't know.

"Jesse," I whispered, hoping desperately this is what I thought it was, "I never really loved him. I know that now." He gave me a half smile, and slowly leaned towards me. His head blocked out the moon and the stars…

And he was kissing me. It was a sweet, gentle, loving kiss. So different from the ones Paul gave me. I kissed back, wrapping my arms around him, feeling the short hairs at the base of his head.

He intensified the kiss, delving deeper and holding me tighter, but still keeping the kiss gentle and loving and, well, not pushy.

We kept kissing until Mr. Walden came and had to drag Jesse away to be disciplined.

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EPILOGUE (for those of you who, like me, need to know what happens after the end of the story)

Jesse and I "officially" started dating the next day, when he took me out for a quick (but nice) meal before taking me to see a movie.

Being with him was so much different than with Paul. Paul pushed and pulled; Paul liked having a girlfriend more than he liked his girlfriend.

Jesse, though, allowed me to take my time to catch up to him, and waited until I was ready. He focused on me, rather than the image of the two of us together.

That Monday after the dance, the people who weren't at the beach already knew about the fight and my dramatic story. Even more whispers surrounded us when Jesse kissed me briefly and squeezed my hand when we met up for lunch with the rest of the group.

All of our friends were very happy we'd finally hooked up. Apparently Cee Cee wasn't the only one to pick up on the chemistry between Jesse and me. Rachel and Kira, who I wasn't that close to, were ecstatic when they saw Jesse slip his arm around my waist and kiss my cheek.

During lunch, though, I suddenly saw Rachel's eyebrows go up, then I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Suze?" I turned around, and there stood Kelly. She looked a bit nervous, and was chewing at her cuticles—at risk to her manicure. "Can I talk to you? And Jesse?"

"Sure," I said, shooting Jesse a glance. We stood up, and followed her to an obscure corner of the courtyard.

"I just wanted to say… I just wanted to apologize for what happened on Friday," she said in a rush. I was shocked. Kelly, apologize? "And… well, I broke up with Paul." She shook her head. "I can't believe he, like, hit you. I mean, like, how much more of an ass can you be?" Jesse and I just looked at her. "And I'm sorry about Paul giving you the black eye," she said to Jesse. "He was totally out of line." Jesse shrugged.

"I hit him first." She blinked at him, with a forcedly neutral look on her face. I knew she thought he was hot. Hell, who didn't?

"Right… well, I'm really sorry. For everything." Then her eyes narrowed. "But tell anyone I told you this, and you'll be the sorry ones."

I didn't find it at all unusual that the most popular girl in school had just apologized for her ex-boyfriend's behavior and then threatened me. What I found unnerving was that I was not unnerved at all. I had seen and experienced much stranger things. It comes with the job.

After that, she walked off, back around the corner, flicking her shimmering hair back and rejoining her friends. I distantly heard her saying something about how she was just talking to one of her teachers about a homework assignment. Her, be caught talking to her ex-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend? Never.

Still slightly in shock, Jesse and I rejoined our friends.

After school that day, I told Brad not to wait up for me when he drove home, and met up with Jesse at his car.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked as he slid into the drivers seat—he had just opened and closed my door for me.

"Anywhere," I smiled, "as long as it's with you." He smiled back, and gave me a lingering kiss.

He drove off, breaking Rule Number One of driving (Both Hands on the Wheel) to hold and gently caress my hand.

I was so glad that I had finally learned to love.

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The end.

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