Sorry for the two month delay. I have been very busy. Plus, Xanga and have taken my attention away. Umm…Blame them! Anyways, I am suffering a bad case of writers block. So, if this sucks, please forgive me. I complained about it to my mom and she said that it was because I am falling in love. Well, it could be true, I mean, my boyfriend and I are getting closer. So, yeah. Ahh! F love! Please, pardon that. I was just upset for a bit. Hehe. Well, I hope this isn't too bad. If it is, please shoot me.

Chapter 20

My dreams seem to haunt me now, more than comfort. It's like I cant escape them, but at the same time, I don't want to. I learn more from them, but, the information just seems like it has been used and abused too many times. You know, not making sense, even though it's been played over in my head five million times. Stupid things. Why do we need them anyways?

Umm…To live, Suze.

Shut up!

I fell asleep shortly after Casey and I set off away from the hairy mess Jesse and Paul were left to clean up. Haha, hairy mess. Hair…wolves are hairy…yeah.

For the time I was asleep, I had several dreams. The first, wasn't really anything original. Just another rerun of Jesse and I making out. Of course, I loved that one. Those dreams never get boring. But…there was something odd about this one. It seemed as though someone were in the room with us. Someone I couldn't see when I looked up into the shadows. They were hidden. And it's not like the dream-me would want to leave Jesse's side to check out some weird person lurking in the shadows. Puh-lease. I had better things on my hands.

Like Jesses scorching kisses. Oh man…I could relive each and every single one, so many times! How his lips move from mine to my chin, filling each and every centimeter of skin with a sizzling shock. How my toes curl underneath themselves every time his chest roams across my breasts. It makes me feel alive. Kind of ironic, don't you think? I mean, my boyfriend is dead, and he makes me feel a live. Does that make sense?

Anyways, enough of that. Jesse fills up my mind too much these days. I need something to take my mind away from him.

Like Paul and his amazing kisses?

I tried to ignore the voice in my head, but it didn't seem to work.

You know you like them. You think about them almost as much as you do the ones Jesse bestows upon you. What do you think you are? Some goddess who can make any man, dead or alive, fall to their knees and beg you to have them?

Wait, eww! Have them? I hope I didn't mean that as in sleep with them. That would just be wrong. Wait, me sleeping with Paul. Wow, double eww! That is just too horrible to think about. I mean, yes, he is undeniably sexy in every way. But so is Jesse. And Jesse has a much more sensitive, much more respectful way towards others. Including myself, being one of the people he respects the most. Well, of course I am. I am 1 out of few that can actually see him. Duh, Suze!

Opening my eyes, I took in my surroundings. We were in a house. Which and whose house, I did not know. All I knew was that the dark blue walls and the plaid bed cover were so out of style. Wait, is Suze a decorator now? Oh, shut up!

"Casey?" I called, my voice scratchy from disuse. My whole body ached, and as much as I tried not to move, and cause less pain, it didn't really help.

"Suze?" I heard him reply.

Looking to my left, I saw him sitting in a chair at a computer table against the far wall. He looked as comfortable as I felt. Which, wasn't much really.

"How ya feeling?" He asked, sitting sideways in the chair, with his legs dangling over the arms.

He looked so amazing sitting in that chair. His hair fell to about the tops of his eyebrows; curling every which way, giving him a boyish look. His eyes sparkled from his ethereal glow, and his smile would make any girls knees weak. I couldn't really prove that from personal experience, seeing as I was lying on the bed.

Slowly sitting up; grunting the whole way, I yawned, stretching carefully. The room looked as if it belonged to a guy, if the posters of girls everywhere weren't any indication. I assumed it was his, since he couldn't exactly ask someone if we could stay in their home. I mean, first off, the person wouldn't even be able to see him, let alone allow him to stay somewhere.

"Tired," I replied.

"I figured as much," He laughed. "You were snoring kind of loud, and I believe you were drooling."

My hand immediately shot to my mouth, trying to remove any trace of drool there was. I felt my face heat up, as Casey walked over to the bed and sat next to me. I cannot believe I was salivating all over my face while I slept, in front of him! A very…good looking…OK! Drop-dead GORGEOUS teenage boy. No pun intended with the "drop dead" comment.

Laughing, he pulled my hand away from my face. His smile was soft and sweet, lightening my moo.

"There is nothing on your face," He reassured me, still smiling.

I let out the deep breath I was holding. Wow, did he know how much better that made me feel? Thank God.

"I cleaned it all off while you were asleep."

Jumping off of the bed, I ran to the door, holding my face in my hands. Running after me, laughing uncontrollably, Casey caught me by my shoulder and turned me around. I kept my hands on my face. Who knew what else was wrong with it. My makeup could have run or smudged or something.

Wait…

Suze, you have no makeup on.

Oh…dear lord the world is going to end this instant!

After gathering that knowledge, I had more reason to cover my face. Not that he was going to know that, but that didn't stop me from keeping my face hidden. Haha, Suze has super powers.

Oh, shut up.

Oh, screw you!

"Suze, I was kidding," He giggled.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I slowly removed my hands. Oh, I could have kicked him so hard at that moment. In a certain area that is sensitive for men. I don't really know if it would have affected him much, seeing as he is dead. But, hey, doesn't hurt to give it a try. Haha!

"Oh, thank God," I laughed, pulling some stray hairs behind my ears. "I cant believe I fell for that."

"Yeah," He said, "And I was being honest at first, too."

Again I jumped up, but this time, I smacked him. Falling over the side of the bed, he let out this corny childish wail, which at first I found completely adorable.

"Ow, Suze." He whined. "Damn, you can really knock a guy off balance."

"Yeah," I said seriously. "I can knock a lot of things off balance." And with that, I balled up my fist and laughed, as he scrambled across the floor, trying to get away from me.

"Jeez, Suze, chill out, will ya?" He defended; hands put out protectively in front of him.

"I couldn't resist seeing that look on your face."

"What in God's name-" Came a voice from behind the door.

Before Casey or I could make it to the door to lock it, it swung open. Walking into the room with her mouth agape, the girl looked about my age, wearing a long dancing skirt and a very cute blue sweater.

Umm…Suze, you shouldn't be paying attention to her clothes at a time like this. Remember? You weren't invited into the house by anyone, so you're basically breaking and entering.

I was too invited!

Yeah. By someone who is no longer listed as a U.S citizen!

Oh, yeah, right. Bad me.

"Who the hell are you?" She snapped.

"My name is Suze Simon," I reported.

Great Suze. Now they know your name. How great of you to HAND YOURSELF OVER SO EARLY!

"Suze Simon?" She asked, unsure if she had heard me right the first time.

"Yeah," I assured. "My name is Susannah Simon. Suze for short."

No time to make conversation. What's wrong with you?

"Do you go to the mission academy down the street?"

"Down the street?"

"Yeah…" She said, turning to point in the direction she was talking about. "The one with the nuns and the Father as the principal."

"Yeah, I go there." Oh, how intelligent.

"Umm, why are you in my brothers room?"

"Your brother?" I asked, taking a step towards her.

She took a step back, watching my every movement. Great, I scare the girls now too. See, Suze, this is why you don't make many friends. You scare them all.

Maybe it's due to the lack of makeup. That could be it.

Damn.

"Yes. My brothers name is Casey. You are standing in his room." She pointed out.

"Oh," looking around the room, I tried to think of something else to say. But, the most unintelligible response came out of my mouth before I had time to think about it. "Sorry."

"Don't say you're sorry-just tell me why you're in here and how you got here in the first place."

Oh. That would be a better answer, now wouldn't it? Well, unfortunately, this was a question I couldn't afford giving the answer to. Not if she was going to flip and think I was insane because I claimed I could see ghosts and that her dead brother helped me get into her house. Yeah, that wouldn't go over so well.

"Umm…" I mumbled. I really didn't know what to say. So, I lied. And, like I usually do, without any control whatsoever, I started babbling.

"You see, I went for a walk a couple hours ago and I saw this shadow and thought it was someone following me, so I ran for my life and I heard these voices and I freaked out. Literally freaked out! So, I ran to the closest house I could and climbed up to the window and luckily this window was unlocked, because if it wasn't…err…I would have been a goner."

I hope she didn't understand that. Because, honestly, that was the lamest story I had ever thought up in my entire life!

"Err…" She murmured, looking to the ground, obviously trying to process what it is I had just said. "Umm…sure. Ok."

YES! For once in my life, my curse of babbling has actually worked to my advantage. Go me! Oh wait, I need to pay attention.

"So, you go to the mission, huh?"

"Umm…yeah. We already established that."

"What year are you?"

"Umm...I am going to be a senior. Why?"

"You seem so familiar."

"Uh…Ok. I seem to be getting that a lot lately."

"No, I'm serious." She insisted, walking right up to me.

Our noses almost came into contact, as she leaned forward and studied my face. To be as honest as I can (Which sometimes needs some work, I know, I know), this girl creeped me out. I mean, she was studying my face! Who the hell does that!

Well, besides Jesse. But, he does that for other reasons. Like, when he is catching me in a lie. Yeah, yeah, I know. I am bad. But, hey, I didn't want to reveal my feelings for him when I didn't know how he felt about me. So, sue me!

Please, don't really.

"Umm…I must warn you," I said, leaning back a little out of her reach. "I am highly claustrophobic-" I could hear Casey laughing behind me from what I was making up. "-and when people get too close-" slapping my hands together really hard in front of her face, I tried to make my point as quick and painless as I could. "-I snap."

"Oh…" Mesmerized, and carefully watching my hands, she backed away, learning how close was safe and necessary.

"Thank you," I responded to her movements.

Suze, you really are a bad girl deep down.

Wait…that wasn't-

It's Paul, Suze. Who else would you be talking to in your head?

Umm…myself?

You are so weird.

Hey! Watch it mister!

Ok, Ok. Listen, Suze. Jesse and I had to haul it out of there after you left. The wolves got restless and the old woman sicked them on us. My shifter powers were no match for their strength and natural abilities, so Jesse basically had to throw a parked bus in their direction to distract them as we made our get away. But, what we did find out, is that our wolf buddy was not among the rest of his hairy comrades.

And, I wanted to know this, because…?

Suze, that means that he is out somewhere else. Possibly on your trail and coming right for you. Is Casey still there?

Looking behind me, I saw that Casey was checking out some CDs by his computer desk. Since he couldn't physically touch it, he was levitating them in the air, his eyes widening in, what I could guess was happiness.

Yes, he is. He's checking out some Cds. Ooh! I think he has Def leppard!

Suze, pay attention!

Paul, get a life.

I have one, Suze. And if you don't listen to me very carefully yours might be over.

Well, that really made me stop and think twice. My breath even caught in my throat. I realized I had been staring out into space for quite some time, when the girl went and said, "Umm…Suze, do you have a staring problem? Or, like, narcolepsy where you fall asleep with your eyes open? Like animals?"

Ooh, there are just some people you would like to shoot for their stupidness.

"No, I don't have narcolepsy." I defended. Myself, in case you didn't know! "And usually a person who has narcolepsy-totally not me, I don't have it-does not fall asleep with their eyes open. Now, if they do, and you see this, I suggest you phone the police right away."

Suze, you are so hard on people.

Like I am with you, Paul?

Not exactly. But you do make parts of me hard when certain things happen.

I could just feel his eyebrows moving up and down in a suggestive way. Oh, I could just hit him right now. That's it! I will make a list.

Here are the people I would like to beat the living crap out of, and the reason why:

1. Paul Slater (I just had to move him to the top of the list. He's been a pain in the ass for a while. It's only right that he has first dibs as number one.)

2. The girl standing in front of me (Come on, just for the question she asked me, she has to at least be slapped on the cheek!)

3. The crazy old woman (because she's old, scary, and she has bad breath. Oh, and she sent her wolf minion to kill me! How nice.)

4. Dopey (Because I can)

Suze, you need to get laid.

Bite me.

I plan to, once you give me the chance.

Ooh! I was being sarcastic!

I wasn't.

Ooh, I hate him!

It's a love/hate relationship, babe. Get used to it.

Bite-

Ok, now you're just asking for it.

No, I am not!

Then why do you keep saying bite me-

Oh, Shut up, Paul!

Suze, it is physically impossible for me to, as you say, "Shut it"-

Well, then, cease your talking in my brain.

Wow, he stopped. Seems like I don't need medication to get rid of the disease known as Slateritice after all.

I heard that.

Be quiet.

"Suze…" Great, her again.

"Yes…" I responded, putting on a fake smile and a fake happy mood.

"Are you feeling ok? You seem a little…out of it."

Holding up my casted arm and pulling back my shirt to reveal some of my scratches and bruises, she visibly paled. I smiled inwardly at this, but made no attempt to bring it to my lips.

"Does this help with determining if I am in or out of it?" I asked, shoving my cast out to her. She studied it for a minute and then shook her head.

"Suze," Casey began, chidingly. "Don't be so hard on Elaine. She's only fourteen. She doesn't know any better."

Fourteen? You have to be kidding me! She looked as old as me! Maybe a little older. She didn't seem much like a fourteen year old. Well, I hadn't actually given her a complete once over anyways, so I couldn't really determine for sure her age.

With this new knowledge, I looked her over from head to toe again. Now I could see her age. It was in the way she wore her hair. How it was pulled back into a sloppy bun, with hairs sticking out every which way. The way she had on her makeup-the color of eye shadow was a little too old for her and not right for her skin tone. She seemed like a fourteen year old to me. Fourteen going on fifteen, I guessed.

Maybe I could give her some makeup tips at a later time when I wasn't in pain and trying to pain attention to so many people at once. Oh, and trying not to be killed.

"What is your name?" I asked.

Hesitating for about a second, she looked behind me at the floating Cds by the computer. "Elaine," she responded, her voice shaking in fear.

Looking behind me, I noticed what it was she was looking at.

"Casey, put those Cds down! You're scaring your sister!"

And that's when I heard a loud thump behind me. Maybe I shouldn't have used the name of her dead brother out loud with her in the same room.

P&P: well, I hope it wasn't too horrible. I know it kind of sucked, I couldn't think of much. It's been a while since I worked on this story, and I am having major writers block issues. Stupid love! Anyways, please review and tell me something other than that you liked it. I want to know why you liked it. Or, hated it. Either way. I want to know what you liked. If you hate the sister, TELL ME! I want to know these things. PLEASE!