Disclaimer: All of the original and familiar characters are property of Meg Cabot and her series The Mediator, but the plot and new faces are property of me.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7

Walking out into the hall, dazed, I bump into Paul while walking to the car.

"Hey, what did Marc want?" He asks.

"Oh, nothing." I say automatically.

"Are you sure? Because you looked kind of freaked out." Paul pulls me into a corner where no one can see us. "Remember Suze, you can tell me anything. I'm your friend." I look up at Paul, and I take him seriously.

"How 'bout you drive me home, and we can talk about it?" I say while taking a step back.

"Okay," Paul says and then we resume walking out towards the parking lot. I find Dopey, who is making out with Debby.

"Brad! I'm getting another ride home, I'll be home for dinner!" Then I haul it over to Paul's car, feeling sorry for ditching Doc.

"All set?" Paul asks while opening the door to his car for me.

"Yeah," I say as I slide in and buckle up.

"So," I begin when we are driving over to the Coffee Clutch, "what does Kelly say about us hanging out so much?"

"I don't really care what she says, she's not my type at all, and she's gotten extremely bossy and needy lately." Paul shudders and I laugh while he pulls into a parking space.

"You wanna just get some to go, and then we can drive off and have some privacy?" Paul asks while opening the shop door for me.

I look at him, and think, and then say, "Sure, sounds better than people overhearing us." Paul smiles and then we order, and he pays for me, even though I do have my own money, which I flaunt in front of his face.

"I got it," is all he says, until we get out to the pull off, where I almost got molested and beaten to death by ghosts. Paul parks the car and then unbuckles his seatbelt.

I sip my coffee concoction, and Paul looks at me, while sipping his. He is waiting for me to start.

"So, Marc, our new Medical Science teacher, he held me after class, as you are well aware. And he asked me how I was taking the Father Dominic situation, and everything. He said that he and Father D. were good friends, and that I could come to him for anything. And then when I was leaving, he said, 'By the way, if you see Father Dominic around, could you send him my way, I have some papers for him to look over?'"

Paul's eyes widen just a little bit. "Isn't that weird? I mean, do you think that Marc is a mediator as well? And if he is, why didn't Father D. tell me about him? What if Marc's a shifter? Wouldn't that be cool?"

Paul looks queasy for a moment, and then he leans back in his leather-covered seat. "How did he know that you can see ghosts?"

"Well, obviously Father D. talked to him!" I say exasperatedly.

"Okay, okay, well then how do we approach this? Do we tell him about me as well, or do we just let it slide, and let him come to us?" Paul sips some more of his coffee.

"I don't know. I think Father Dominic would like us to tell Marc the truth. If Marc knows about me, he's bound to know about you."

"Yes, but what if he doesn't? What if Father Dom never got around to it?"

"Well, what if he did? Huh? Wouldn't it look fishy to Marc if we didn't come to him? If we didn't ask him all these questions, and have a group session with him, Father D., you and me?"

Paul just shakes his head. "Aren't you going to include Jesse? He can see too."

"I know, I know, but sometimes I wonder if he's actually a mediator at all, because he wasn't born with it. Not technically."

I stop and stare at my hands, which are shaking.

"Suze, are you sure, there's nothing you want to talk about?"

Finally, I just give up. I decide to take Paul up on his offer. "Paul," I say suddenly, "if you were my boyfriend, would you kiss me every time you could?"

Paul looks shocked as well as pleased, and a little bit smug. "I don't know; I haven't really gotten in a lot of practice." A smirk glides across his face, and a blush across mine. How did I get sucked into this?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I can't stop blushing, Paul is just staring at me, and I can't stop blushing. A smirk is on his face, and I am blushing.

"So, why do you ask?" Paul asks while setting his coffee cup down in the cup holder.

"It's just Jesse doesn't seem to eager to kiss me lately," I say remembering last night, when he said, "I don't think we should do this right now," when I had leaned in for a kiss.

"Well, he must be crazy."

I smile at Paul, who smiles back at me. And then, before I can register it, Paul's lips are on mine. They're soft and firm. His hands pull me close to him, and I feel a part of me fight him off, and another part give in. Then I open my eyes, and see that his are closed. I give in.

I close my eyes, and let Paul kiss me all he wants. It's nice, you know, to have somebody kiss you like this. It's passionate (and a little one-sided, I might add). Paul's enthusiasm is nice and so are his kisses…but then he goes for the bottom of my shirt.

I tear myself away from him. "What the hell are you doing?"

Paul's eyes fall onto mine. "I thought it's what you wanted."

"Well, it's not. Jesse's my boyfriend, and you have a girlfriend of your own! Paul, just please take me home now." Paul's face falls, and he nods while putting on his safety belt. I put mine on, and Paul starts the engine.

He drives me home in silence, and when we pull into my driveway, I see Jesse's car in there. My heart warms. I look over at Paul, who has already thrown the car into reverse.

"Good-bye, Paul." I say and get out of the car. He scowls at me. And then drives off. A part of me feels guilty for doing that to him, but the other part of me feels guilty for cheating on Jesse.

While walking up to the house, I decide that to fix this problem is to just make out with Jesse. I take off my jacket and walk into the house.

"I'm home!" I yell, and my mother yells a greeting. Max puts his nose in my crotch as his own greeting. I push him away with the heel of my hand. "Hi, Max."

"Hello, Susannah," someone says to my right. I look over and I see Jesse. He is smiling at me, and I find it hard not to smile back.

Andy's voice booms out from the kitchen, "Dinner is in twenty minutes!"

A chorus of okays are screamed from different parts of the house. Jesse and I yell our own okays, and then I begin walking up the stairs to my room. Jesse follows like a little puppy.

"Susannah?" Jesse asks while shutting my bedroom door behind him. "Is something wrong? And why did you ride home with Paul? You know I don't trust him."

"Jesus Jesse! Just because you don't trust him, doesn't mean that he isn't a changed person! Paul and I happen to be friends! And me being with him, is of no concern to you! If you don't want me to cheat on you, maybe you should kiss me more often!" I stop short of yelling this at the top of my lungs, and settle for a stage whisper/yell.

Jesse just looks at me, his shoulders slouched down. I throw my book bag onto the floor, and put my jacket right next to it. "Querida."

I look up, and Jesse is dragging his hand through his hair. I look at him expectantly.

"Why the hell do you have to wear the shirt?"

In an instant, Jesse is kissing me. It's much better than with Paul, because there are fireworks. Jesse's hands are on my lower back, pulling me closer to him; I fling my arms around his neck, and bring his head closer to mine. We are so close, it's like we're one.

Jesse's mouth slips away from my lips, and makes a trail of kisses down around my neck. One of his hands slips under my satin top, and I feel his fingers on my lower back. I shiver, not because his hands are cold, which they aren't, but because I'm so sexually awake. Jesse's other hand slips under my shirt and rests on my hip. His lips come up to mine again.

Suddenly, I push Jesse away. He looks at me quizzically. Then something cold passes over my body and I feel hands at my throat.