A/N: Okay. Hi! I hope you liked the last chapter because I really love this story to death. And I love everybody who's still reading even more! :D Thanks!

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I stood on Paul's doorstep, knocking on the door, tittering anxiously. My hands were shoved in the pockets of my hoody as I shuffled my feet. Yes, in case you were wondering, I did change out of my skirt and tank-top and into the hoody and a pair of jeans. I guess I just wanted to avoid any more embarrassing misunderstandings. So sue me.

After a minute of waiting, Mr. Slater's nurse answered the door with a smile. He had a bottle of medicine in his hand and was turning the cap as he answered the door.

"Hello," he poured a few big green pills into his hand. "Uh, Susan, right?"

I shrugged, "Close enough. Is Paul here?"

(a/n: lol, people mess up my name all the time. So much that I don't even mind when they call me "Elise")

"Sure," he smiled. "He's in his room. Look, uh, I'm heading out for the night and Paul is supposed to keep an eye on him. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, I guess." I said as he grabbed his jacket, and then handed me the pills.

"Good. Well, make sure he takes these once every three hours with a glass of ice water."

I laughed, "Whatever you say." As soon as he left I set them on the table and raced into Paul's room, where I ran into him in the hallway just by his door. He must have heard me come in.

"Hey, Suze," he said, leaning up against the door casually. I only stood there grinning at him, which prompted him to go, "I take it you liked the flowers..."

I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck. "I loved them." His body was close against my own and I smiled seductively.

We just looked deep into the other's eyes for a long time. His were such a pure, clear blue, they seemed endless. The kind of eyes you expect an angel to have; Innocent. I could hear Paul's breath become heavy as I slipped my hand around, opened the door, and pushed him into his room, pinning him down on the bed.

I really don't know what had possessed me to go around kissing Paul like a mad-man. I don't even think Paul cared.

Whatever it was, we began kissing rather intensely. It was... strange, to say the least, because every kiss Paul and I had shared since the one in his bedroom had been a timid, "Let me comfort you and heal your sorrow," kiss. But no, this one.... Wow.... And I'll say it again: WOW.

(a/n: I think I might have sounded like the bat from 'Anastasia' there, lol)

Everything around us seemed to melt away. Like the only thing in the world was Paul, lying here with me. It was that intense.

Until I opened my eyes and looked at Paul only to see something was horribly wrong. The person I was pulling closer to me was not Paul, but Jesse. Jesse's dark eyes that would forever haunt my dreams were now pinning me to the bed.

Well, I'm ashamed to say that I kind of, uh, threw him off of me, in my haste to leave the room. I quickly gathered my things and got out of there, but not fast enough because Paul caught me before I could get out the door, going, "Suze, what the hell's your problem?"

My breath was racing as I turned around slowly, afraid of what I might see. God, this was it. I'd finally lost it. I'd finally gone off the deep end. Now I was seeing things?

Jesse was not in the room. It was just me and Paul. No reason to freak out. I was just imagining things. Jesse was gone. He'd never come back.

"Suze," Paul breathed. "Look, I'm sorry. Are you all right? Because you can always talk to me if there is ever something wrong. You know that."

I looked at him and saw such sincerity in his eyes that for a moment, I actually considered telling him the truth. About the little trips into the shadowland, I mean. I almost told him about Jesse. But I wrenched out of his grasp and ran home before I could let myself say anything else.

I hopped into bed and I guess I was so tired from the day's events that I immediately fell asleep. But I didn't exactly have sweet dreams. Ok, that was an understatement. I had NIGHTMARES.

I was in the shadowland again, but there was something different about it this time. Some sense of foreboding and a deep feeling of sorrow, just hanging about. My arms were coated with goose bumps and I shivered almost violently.

Then I felt a tingling along my legs, then a sharp itching and when I looked down I let out a shriek that almost made the whole place tremble. Dozens of spiders were crawling on my bare legs, twitching and salivating as they made their way up.

It also didn't help that they were roughly the size of my palm.

Yeah, so you'd be freaked out, too. I didn't want to touch them or anything and just jumped up and down, shrieking. But when I looked down again, they were not there.

My heart just about came out of my chest, it was thudding wildly. Oh, I just wanted to get out of there and get home. What ever happened to those nice dreams where Jesse was holding me close, whispering sweet nothing's into my ear? Huh?

Suddenly, as if he'd heard me, Jesse's deep voice began calling out again from the far inside the shadowland. Curious, I let it lure me in, deeper and deeper.

That's when I realized it. Who was I kidding anyway? I couldn't even fool myself anymore. All this time spent with Paul.... I was just tricking myself into thinking I could live without Jesse. Fooling myself, and everyone around me, into thinking that life was worth living without him. Pretending that I could move on and be happy with Paul, when, really, there was only one truth:

I still loved Jesse.

And I always would.

So instead of just walking toward his voice, I began to run, something I normally wouldn't do—not in the shadowland, anyway, considering how I'm deathly afraid of the place and all. But I didn't even care. Like there was no guarantee I would see him, but just the thought of him holding me in his arms made every worry of mine disappear.

~~

Because it's you, my sun,

The faith with which I live

The strength of my voice

The feet that I walk with

It is you my love, my desire to laugh

The goodbye I won't know how to say

Because I will be never able to live

....without you

~~

(a/n: roughly translated myself from a Shakira song, Tu, that is originally in Spanish.)

And as the voice became louder, as If I was coming closer, and the darker it got until it was such an intense darkness that I couldn't see my own hand if I held it right in front of my eyes.

Then, the dim light of a candle appeared, seemingly floating in front of me, and in the darkness it was enchanting, my eyes glued helplessly to its iridescent glow.

And then a familiar voice: "Who's there?"

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JESSE'S POV—

I was tossing and turning in my bed, not able to find a comfortable spot. I'd throw the blankets onto the floor, only to pick them up again. My body was doused in sweat from all this moving. Something was bothering me inside, like a nagging feeling constantly reminding me that I had forgotten something. Or that something had forgotten me.

Anyway, I was sure I knew why I'd been having such feelings all day when I heard a soft rustling coming from right inside my bedroom. My eyes opened with a fast jerk and I felt around for my machete, which I kept close to my bed at all times.

Especially now, since someone in town must have heard that my father would be away for a week, and was now trying to take advantage of the situation, knowing that I was the only man in the house.

Or, on the other hand, it could have simply been a mouse. But I wasn't taking any chances. I struck a match, lighting the candle on my nightstand and holding it up as I pulled the machete out from under my thick mattress.

"Who's there?" I called, careful not to awake my sisters. At first, there appeared to be no one, until I held the candle higher, and saw the shadowy figure of a woman dart across the floor. I heaved a big sigh, knowing that it must have been one of my younger sisters, who had simply had a nightmare. But even they know that it's not quite appropriate from them to come crawling into my bed when they have a nightmare: that's what my mother is there for.

"Martha?" I called. "Is that you?"

The only response was some soft mumbling and a clatter as I could hear her trying to make her way to my door.

"Excuse me," I said, grabbing her wrist lightly because, frankly, I wasn't sure if this was really my sisters, or even one of our servants, for that matter. I'm sure if they even knew me they would have at least addressed themselves to me.

But oh no, I knew I'd caught an intruder who had thought they could weasel their way out without a scratch. But they obviously don't know who Hector de Silva really is. Because if there is one thing I won't do, it's let someone hurt my family.

Hastily, I grabbed a lantern, lit it, and swung it around, growling, "Who's there?!" The lantern steadied itself but when I saw who was it was, it slipped out of my hand and clattered to the floor. I didn't even bother to pick it up as I only stood there, enthralled.

It was her; the beauty that haunted my dreams, day in and day out. Here she was, standing in my own home, in the flesh. No, I chastised myself; this is nothing more than a dream....

I reached out with the back of my hand and pressed it against her cheek.

....A beautiful dream.

Her was skin so pale and soft, almost porcelain. She looked like an angel, the way her auburn hair curled softly around her cheeks while her green eyes shimmered in the dim light. Nothing less than an angel, sent to me from Heaven. She had this presence of innocence about her. Like a child: sweet and blissfully happy.

~~

When you were here before,

I couldn't look you in the eye.

You're just like an angel

Your skin makes me cry.

~~

I took a step closer and I could hear her breath quicken. I placed my palms on her bare shoulders, an inappropriate move on my part, I know, but there was something about her. Like she couldn't have cared what I did to her.

I pulled her close to me, and she nuzzled her nose to my cheek for the slightest, yet most mesmerizing, moment. She looked up at me, and I noticed that her eyes were not only a deep green, but had flecks of ginger bursting from the center.

Lucero was right: They were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.

"Jesse," She breathed. Her eyes were still glossy as they remained fixed to mine. "It's been a long time." She let out a small, nervous chuckle.

I hadn't the slightest clue what she could have been talking about (or how she knew my name), but, almost automatically, I felt a sense of belonging being with her.

I pulled her lips to mine, ever so gently, and kissed her with such fervor I'd never felt before towards anyone or anything. It was like a blast of icy cool wind, as so many memories hit me at once. Thing I don't even remember experiencing just came to me, leaving me dumbfounded as she stepped back and she said, "Jesse, are you alright?"

I scooped her back up into my arms, ignoring the stabbing pains, and smiled, taking in the sweet smell of her hair. The memories would be all I had if I were ever to wake from this dream. "Susannah, I am more than alright."

~~

A hundred days have made me older, since the last time that I saw your pretty face

A thousand lies have made me colder and I don't think I can look at this the same

But all the miles that separate

They disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

I'm here without you baby but your still on my lonely mind

I think about you baby and I dream about you all the time

I'm here without you baby but your still with me in my dreams

And tonight girl, there's only you and me

~~

(a/n: isn't that the perfect song? :-D)

As I kissed her, I saw another I saw another light coming closer and Lucero appeared in my doorway. She took one look at me and Susannah, holding each other and her eyes went out of their sockets. She went and grabbed Susannah, pushing her out of my bedroom and into the courtyard.

"You again!" She was hissing. "I thought we told you to leave? What are you doing to my brother!? Go, get out!" She chased her outside and came back in, sitting down next to me.

"Jesse," she whispered. "What happened?" She had an arm around my shoulder and was leaning forward, trying to get me to bring my head up.

"Lucero," I whispered, my head rising slowly. "It was her...."

"Who?"

I smiled. "It was Susannah...."

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A/N: Whew. Isn't Jesse the cutest!? Awwww *hugs him* Okay, hope you liked the chapter!!

Whoa, you would not believe the other plan I had for this chapter. Utter craziness. Glad I'm not using that one... .teehee.... But I won't tell you what it is.

Alright then. Thanks for reading! Please review! :-)