AN/Disclaimer: Paul, Suze, Jesse, Kelly, and The Mediator belong to Meg Cabot. I just borrowed them for this little fan fic. XD

Bowing Out Gracefully

I don't know what made me do it. Was I high or something? Insane? Every ounce of sense in my body told me plainly: do not do this. Do not make a fool of yourself. But I didn't listen, and went ahead anyway.

I stuck out my hand toward her. "No hard feelings, Simon?"

God. What a loser. Of course, Paul, you can just apologize and the girl is going to automatically forgive you for trying to ruin her life for the past few months. Oh yeah, and for almost offing her boyfriend. Smooth, Slater, real smooth.

She stared at it (my hand) for a minute, and I winced. Here it comes.

But to my surprise, she didn't hit me, which is, truthfully, what I expected. She's a wonderful girl and all, but Suze Simon is not known for keeping her temper.

But like I said, she didn't hit me. She didn't do anything like that. She didn't even make a biting, sarcastic remark. This was not normal Simon behavior.

So it took me completely by surprise when she slipped her fingers into mine and shook my hand.

"No hard feelings."

And then she left me there. Left me there with Kelly Prescott.

Was that supposed to make me feel better? Because it wasn't working.

Don't get me wrong…Kelly has her, er…merits. But let's face it; the girl isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box. She was a shell. An empty shell, with a pretty face.

Suze wasn't a shell. Suze was real.

"You're not a million bucks, you know," my grandfather used to tell me, when he was still considered somewhat sane. "Not everyone is going to like you."

Naturally, being the arrogant, pompous jerk that I am, I didn't believe him. I may not have been a million bucks, but my family's loaded. And, once I got out of school and became a lawyer, I was only going to add to that fortune. I was Paul Slater. I had it all.

Why would anyone not like me? What kind of girl would dare to say no to me?

Suze Simon. That's what kind of girl. The only kind worth having, and she didn't want me.

It didn't matter anyway. I'd already admitted that I didn't love her. Not like that anyway. Not like de Silva did.

I stared at the two of them dancing, lost in my thoughts. In defeat.

They'd conquered every obstacle.

Life. Death. Time.

Only one thing stood between them and their happy ending…

If it wasn't for Susannah, if it wasn't for Jesse…I'd be happy.

If it weren't for me…they'd be happy.

Clearly, it was time for someone to bow out gracefully. To let go. Move on. Leave.

Equally obviously, it could not be Susannah. That wouldn't make anyone happy.

And if Susannah was going to be happy, de Silva'd have to stick around, too.

There was only one person left. So for once in my selfish, conceited existence I did what was best for someone else…

And gave up.

Fini.