Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Suze, Jesse, or any of the other characters that you may even remotely recognize from the Mediator series. They all belong to Meg Cabot.

Authors Note: This is my first Mediator story - but not my first fanfiction story so if it sucks...well...whatever. Please review. Flames are excepted as I enjoy reading about people's dislike of my writing when I am bored. If you don't like J&S...well don't read. Occurs six months after Twilight.

Written in first person (me writing as Suze) most of the time.

Twilight-girl-5

555555555

Susannah (Suze to everobody except Father Dominic and her boyfriend Jesse) sat cross-legged between her best Californian friend Ceecee and Ceecee's boyfriend Adam at their highschool's cafeteria, Suze with her water and corndog (from home of course - as if anybody would eat corndogs from Mission!) and Ceecee and Adam sharing a vanilla milkshake (also homemade.) Conversation was at ease, although not staying on any particular topic for more then five minutes. This probably had to do with Suze's limited interest in whatever Ceecee seemed to be talking about.

It wasn't that Suze found Ceecee dull or anything, but her mind was too overwhelmed to really care about Ceecee's volunteer newspaper job. I mean really. Suze had the whole "Mediator" thing on her mind, especially after finding herself often bringing lost spirits who didn't have much of an idea of anything that they had left unattended to the 'place' - which Suze herself had just visited a few hours ago to help a young ghost-boy who had just recently died in a tragic boating incident. Which was sort of making me tired because...well...last night I had been given the gift of a total of two and a half hours of sleep, which had been spent thinking mostly of Jesse.

Jesse. Pretty much the hottest guy that I have ever seen. And he was my boyfriend! Of course, it had taken nearly nine months for him to become my 'total boyfriend.'

Why?

Well, because Jesse, until recently, had spent the last one hundred and fifty years being a ghost. Actually, Jesse becoming human again was a very long story which I am not going to bore you with... but it does have to do with a certain Paul Slater, mediating, and time traveling.

"Suze. Suze! Earth to Suze." Half screamed half whispered Ceecee into my ear.

"Wha... or sorry Ceecee."

Ceecee sighed and then asked, "Did you get -any sleep what-so-ever last night."

I yawned, and realizing that that wasn't the lie I had intended to tell muttered, "Not really."

Ceecee game me a knowing look, and then turned back to Adam who had stayed away from the conversation. I had only ever told Ceecee, Gina (my best friend from Brooklyn) and my thirteen-year-old stepbrother David about my "ability to speak, see, and assist the dead". Of course Jesse, Paul Slater, and Father Dominic were also maediators and knew of what I could do. It was strange, but before my mother had brought me to Claifornia I had never met a Mediator before.

Anyways, it was as these thoughts were beginning to escape from my mind and sleep was about to take over -in the middle of the cafeteria, I know...weird- a voice called out my name. Of course I recognized the voice...it belonged to the only person who I would actually allow to wake me up.

"Jesse!" I voiced excitedly, leaving Adam and Ceecee behind. Before my stood a dark haired twenty-year-old (which my mom still thought was too old for me but whatever) with great abs and beautiful knowing eyes. He himself seemed content with a wide smile spread across his face.

"Whats up?" I voiced content to see him. Just a few months ago he had been living with me...in my room. Of course, he had been dead then, but I made sure not to let my parents - or should I say my mom and my stepdad, Andy - about that small fact. So it was obvious that I couldn't help but slightly miss him.

Jesse's smile was large, so I knew that something good must have happened. Also, because of his 1850s attitude, he had only ever visited me during school hours once to say he had received his drivers license. He had told me before...while my mother was nearby making her like him a little better... that he wasn't going to interupt or distract her during school hours. I myself had been slightly disappointed but my mother had agreed intirely.

"I got into medical school!" Jesse, who had a ghostly tendancy to keep excitement to himself was doing a pretty good job. I mean, if I had been excepted into med school I would be in hysterics. Jesse was just smiling. But you could just tell that he was in hysterics inside.

Which probably had to do with him being from the 1850s.

Or the fact that he's a guy.

"Awesome!" I screeched and hugged him. But then the bad part of the news came. Or at least, I thought that it was coming.

"Where's the school?"

Jesse smiled again. "Right here in Carmel!"

I smiled - I was too tired to screech again - and hugged Jesse intensly. Jesse was going to go to school -with me in town- get a job, become rich, and then we'd get married and get little Jesse's and Suze's...

"Suze. Suze."

"Wha... Oh sorry." I realized nervously that I had been about to fall into a slumber on Jesse's shoulder. How many times had that happened in this lunch period?

Oh yeah...three.

"Are you okay?" Asked Jesse in a concerned voice that really set him about from most guys that aren't from the 1850s.

"Yeah. I was just...busy last night." Jesse would know what I talking about, since becoming alive again he had gotten the gift of mediation.

"Who?"

"A little boy. He was too young to know why he was still around so I took him to the place. You know..." I yawned heavily. "I doubt that he could understand what he was or his purpose anyhow and I felt bad."

Although Suze couldn't see it, Jesse smiled and stroked her hair.

Brriiiinnnngggg.

"I should go Suze. Meet you after class."

"Yeah."

Jesse pecked me softly on the lips and then left before Sister Ernestine caught him on Mission Catholic School property.

55555555555

"Suze dinner!" Hollered a male voice from downstairs - probably David as Brad couldn't care less if she was late for dinner and Jake was out delivering pizzas, or 'zas.

"Coming." I hollered back, smoothing out my pink sweater and jeans before walking down to dinner. Andy, my step-father, had a thing where he needed to have everybody together at dinner. Jake's job had annoyed him at first, but Jake, a freshman in college, needed to learn to be on his own.

When I got downstairs everybody was sitting around the table, waiting to eat. I apologized quickly, blaming my homework -which I should have been doing- and then settled down to pot roast and baked potatoes. In the household Andy cooked (which wasn't really a problem since my mom's cooking blew) but struck odd with newcomers in the house - A.K.A. Jesse who was still getting used to the whole men-and-women-share-equal-tasks. He wasn't really sexist or anything. After all, who could blame the guy?

"So Susie how was school?" Asked my mother, the only person I allow to call me Susie.

"Fine." I replied after swallowing a forkful of potato. One thing about having three stepbrothers...the way theyeat drives me insane. You'd think they were animals or something.

"So how is Jesse?" Asked my mom, although I couldn't tell if she was prying or just making conversation.

"Fine."

And then I added, "He got excepted into Carmel's med school!" I couldn't help but sound a little excited.

My mother's face began to glow, just like I knew it would. Having a boyfriend serious enough to go into Carmel's med school had to be smart.

"That's excellent."

"Yes. He's finally going to persue his dreams. 150 years later. Although I didn't say that to my mom.

While I was sitting around the dinner table, I realized how lucky I was. I was a mediator. I had spoken to my dad quite a few times before he finally found his way to whereever the dead go. My dead boyfriend was alive - and my mother was beginning to like him better all the time. I was helping countless souls go to 'the Great Beyond'. Paul Slater was leaving me alone.

Unfortunately, this wasn't going to last for long.

Authors Note: So...read and review!

Twilight-girl-5