A/N: My first Mediator fic. Be nice.
A/N/2: To all my Crossing Jordan friends, I know I should be working on other stuff, but I got the 6th book in this series and had to do this.
Details: Set after Twilight, CeeCee makes Suze keep the promise about telling her how Jesse became alive. Then some other stuff happens. Confused yet?
"Spill." CeeCee took a sip of the milkshake I had just put in front of her. It was just a few days after the Winter Formal, and we were on holiday break. It was hard to believe that if I were in New York right now, I would be freezing, not sitting on my back deck, drinking milkshakes, without a hundred layers on.
"About what?" I asked, trying to sound clueless. I don't think it was working. It was obvious she was talking about my newly-enfleshed heart-trob, Jesse.
"Jesse! He was a ghost and now he's not! And you promised you'd tell me how. This is a perfect time!" CeeCee wasn't about to give up.
I took in a deep breath before I started. Just how much did she want to know? "The whole story?" I asked, and when she gave an excited nod, I took another deep breath. "I am a mediator, or, ortherwise, a shifter. I can see, hear, and touch ghosts. Since I was about two. So, basically, they come to me for help, and I do whatever they want, and they go on to the netherworld. And if they don't want to, sometimes I have to kick a little bit of ghost butt." Well, if CeeCee never thought I was crazy before, I betcha she does now.
"So, that's what happened with Bryce and Father Dom, and the breezeway, when you first came to Carmel? Heather's ghost attacked them, and then tried to distroy the school, didn't she, Suze?" CeeCee didn't really seem like she was going to run away in fear of me anytime, soon did she?
"Ya, that's what happened." But she only distroyed the breezeway because she didn't like it that I was trying to excorise her. I only thought the last part, no need for innocent CeeCee to hear all the gruesome details.
"Oooh!" she squealed, "Continue!"
I briefly explained how I had met Jesse, hanging out in my bedroom. I told her a bit about what had happened to him, and how many times he had gotten me out of trouble. Then I mentioned something about Father Dominique totally having a cow about a guy living (in a manner of speaking) in my bedroom. Not such a bright idea.
"But how did Father Dom find out? He's not a mediator too, is he?" Good job Suze, I highly doubt Father D really wants everyone to know his little secret.
"Umm..." was all I said, but CeeCee, being CeeCee, took it for a yes.
"Ohmigod! That's so cool! Wait, what about Paul? Could he see Jesse at that party your brothers threw a couple of months ago, when he almost drowned?" This chick never misses a beat, does she?
"Ya, Father Dom, Paul, Paul's grandfather, and me are all mediators. And Jesse is, now, too, I guess." If she was going to know some of the truth, why not tell her it all?
CeeCee let out yet another squeal. Geeze, this girl was a powerhouse of pent-up energy just waiting to be released in the form of squeals.
"Calm, Cee, calm. Paul wanted to get rid of Jesse for good. Obviously, I didn't want that, so I made a deal with him. If I spent every Wednesday after school with him, at his house, he wouldn't exorcise Jesse. It ended up that that was useless. Paul found a different way to do it. Time-shift and made it so that Jesse never got killed to begin with. And if Jesse hadn't been killed, it's unlikely that he would become a ghost, and therefore, I would never meet him." I was starting to sound hysterical. Great.
"But, why wouldn't Paul want you to meet Jesse?" CeeCee asked when I stopped to take a drink of milkshake.
I stumbled over words for a few moments, not quite sure how to describe how Paul was obsessed with me - and couldn't stand Jesse. "He's got a crush on me." Lame way to put it, but it, for the most part, got the message across.
"So that's why he was so intent on insisting that you guys had a fling over last summer?" She was obviously fascinated with this whole twisted story.
I kind of shrugged a response. "So when I found this out, I followed him back to Jesse's time. And I was going to stop him from stopping Jesse from dieing, so that he would die and I would know him. But then I saw him and I couldn't let him die, I was going to let him live out a normal life, as much as it would hurt me. But then, as we were jumping out of a burning barn - don't ask - I shifted, without really realizing it. And I took Jesse with me. Live Jesse." I guess I was kind of rambling, but it looked like CeeCee understood me.
"So, you brought Jesse to this time and his ghost - for lack of better word - died?" she ventured. Nice guess, but not quite.
"Actually, no. Live Jesse's soul disappeared, and Ghost Jesse kind of got sucked into Live Jesse's body. Does that make sense?" She nodded enthusiastically.
"So Ghost Jesse is in Live Jesse - which makes a Jesse we can all see and wish was ours?" After I had agreed that that was bascially it, we both broke out laughing.
"Not like you could ever get him. He's all mine. You couldn't even pry him from my cold, dead hands, because I know how to haunt." I threatened, still giggleing like a fool. What has gotten into me lately? Giggleing a lot, and crying even more. I must be making up for my lack-of-emotion-filled childhood.
"I know, but still, a girl can dream, ca-" The doorbell rang. I was just about to hop up and get it when I realized that Dopey and Doc were both home. "Can't she?" CeeCee finished, still giggeling like crazy, though I had calmed down slightly. I heard the front door open and vaugely heard Dopey say 'ya, just a second.'
"Suze, Adam-the-fag's here!" Twirp, he can only get away with calling Adam a fag when Andy's not home. I jumped off my deck chair, and went to the front door, milkshake still in hand and CeeCee in tow. And there Adam was, holding a box of Krispy Kremes.
"Hey, where's my milkshake?" Adam said in mock offense. I very maturely stuck my tongue out at him, but went and poured the leftover shake from the blender into a glass for him. When I went out onto the deck, I found CeeCee and Adam sitting very cosily on the edge of the deck together. I stiffled a giggle and hung back a moment.
Shaking with surpressed laughter, I accedentally spilled milkshake on my right Jimmy Choo. Not very funny, spilling dairy products on my designer footwear. That made the whole situation notvery funny, but I still had to get some sort of embarrasment out of them.
"Ahem. The lads milkshake is served." I said in my most English-butler-ish voice, with satisfaction.
CeeCee and Adam jumped away from each other, Adam nearly falling off the deck. I put his milkshake on the table and went back into the kitchen to hunt down paper towel. Once that mission was successful, and my beautiful shoes cleaned, I went back out on the deck. My best friends had found seperate chairs, but had moved them closer together than I remember them. And then there were the disgusting lovey-dovey looks they were sending each other, over their doughnuts. I made my presence known once I gagged loudly and sat down.
"If I have to put up with my two best friends being gaga, I deserve a Krispy Kreme." I was going to milk every bit of embarasment I could out of these two. I had waited with CeeCee too long for Adam to come to his senses about her not to do at least a little bit of teasing. We sat there, just talking about anything, for a long time. It was weird, but I actually felt like a true teenaged girl, not some freaky mediator, like I'm used to. It was a pleasant change.
I heard my name being called, and I looked to the glass door to see Dopey there, apparently trying to talk to me.
"Suze, where's the ice cream?" He didn't really say it, more grunted, as is his style.
"I finished it off making shakes. Go buy more if you need it so badly." He grumbled something not too nice towards me and left. But not for long, he came back a second later, asking for the car keys. My stupid step-brother wouldn't be able to find his head if it wasn't attached to his body. I excused myself from my friends and pushed my way past Brad, making him nearly topple over the couch. I grabbed the keys off the key rack - where they always were - and shoved them into his hands.
Without so much as a word of thanks, he went out to the garage to get the Rambler. I turned around to go back out on the deck, to find that CeeCee had came inside to head me off.
"He asked me on a date. Adam asked me to go to a movie with him." She squealed.
"Then why are you still here? Go! The next round of movies start any minute now." I will be left alone, but that just gives me a good reason to visit Jesse. Plus, Adam and CeeCee made a super-cute couple.
"Are you sure?" She looked anxious. We had already walked back out onto the deck.
"Yes. Shoo, lovebirds, shoo." So they left, with Adam's arm around CeeCee's waist, and the albino giving me and excited thumbs up, and a look that said 'I owe you one'.
But she didn't. It was the least I could do.
I rushed up to my room and flung myself on the bed, grabbing my cordless phone as I did so. I dialed the beautiful number I knew off by heart, even if it had only been in use for a few days.
"Hello?" The most gorgeous voice in the world answered.
"Hey Jesse." I said, trying not to squeal.
"Quierda, it's you." Jesse said back, his voice (even though it wasn't exactly harsh before) softening.
"What are you up to?" I could feel myself blushing from his name for me.
"Not much. I only just got home from work." After that, he said some more, but, to be honest, I wasn't really paying attention. Just hearing his voice and knowing that he's not a ghost anymore makes me melt. We talked a bit.
Well, at least I think I answered, I'm not too sure.
"Do you want to go get a bite to eat?" When he asked me that, I was so used to Ghost Jesse, I was about to tell him he doesn't eat, but then I remembered what happened, and actually answered. With a yes, of course. We made a plan to meet at a local restaurant, and the moment we had said our 'see you soon's I jumped up and started recking havoc on my closet.
What the heck was I going to wear?
After long deliberation, I decided on the hottest pair of jeans I own and a pink, sequined, tank top. I gave my hair a quick brush, and threw on the first lip-gloss I could find. With my leather jacket and my black boots, I grabbed the keys to mom's car.
Then, remembering my manners, I found the notepad in the kitchen (a hideous block of paper with pictures of daisies on it), and quickly scribbled a note.
'Gone out with Jesse, be home before curfew'. That should do it.
Thank God mom let's me use her car, as long as I'm careful, and thank God I didn't crash it going to the restaurant.
I got there in one peice and Jesse was waiting for me at the front door. I went all absurdly giggley when he smiled at me, feeling good to know that not only I can see him anymore. Everyone can see that I have a boyfriend.
In your face, Paul Slater.
When I got close to him, he put one arm around my waist and kissed me softly on the lips. And let me tell you, for a guy who was dead for 150 years, he is a really good kisser.
I gave him a sly smile as we headed into the restaurant and found a table. That wasn't very far away from where Kelly Prescott and Debbie Mancuso were eating. Great, a possibley romantic diner, bound to be ruined by the two biggest flirts at Junipero Serra Mission Academy.
Thankfully, they left soon, and if they noticed us, they didn't say anything. The diner was actually kind of uneventful, as far as events with your previously-a-ghost boyfriend go. Sure we talked and stuff, but nothing really out of the ordinary.
Oh, ya, I know what ordinary is now.
Not.
After we ate, and Jesse payed the bill (who knew you could make so much working at the Carmel Historical Society?), we took my mom's car to the Mission. (Jesse had walked from his apartment) I parked it and we walked over to the graveyard.
Jesse took my hand in his as we wordlessly walked to his grave. It was still there.
"Father Dominique said that he was going to get this removed, before anybody made the connection between my name and the headstone." he said and I nodded. I was looking down at the engraved stone, when I felt Jesse step a little bit closer to me. When I looked up at him, he gave me a deep, lasting kiss.
Except for the fact he was breathing, what an odd sense of deja vu.
A/N: Sorry if it's crap, my slave-driver-of-a-best-friend wouldn't let me stop writing, even though most of this was written at around 2 o'clock in the morning. Review please!
Love, Callieach