A/N: Hey! Remember me? I know, I know; it's been AGES since I last updated (sorry!!!) but my Muse just isn't there... ANYWHERE!
Which is why this chappie is sososososo short. But I had to post something, cos you guys were getting agressive!
Acidic Lover: So many questions... maybe they'll be revealed... maybe not... :)
Mystique Angelique: Hahaha, you're not a stalkerish person on MSN. I'm just never available, so you're always having to ask and I'm always having to RUN AWAY, SCREAMING. I thought that educating Jesse on modern-day phrases would play an integral part in my story, so some demonstrations as to things he might be learning would be good. And I thought 'getting some' was a good place to start... oh, the possibilities...
RidgelandHater: Hehe, poor Jesse. Bless him. This world is such a shock to him. One day he might just explode.
My Divinest: Um... I'm hoping you didn't die on anticipation while I took a long time to update...
Alenor: I hope this isn't too much of a cliffie (I know how anti-cliffie you are (and so am I, when I'm not writing the story))
emlythekool: HI!!!! Thanks for all your reviews for N the N... THERE WERE SO MANY!!! :)))) Hahaha, you're nuts, you know? In a good way.
UnangelicHalo: You had to watch Ali G in English? You poor child! Man. I would sue the school if that ever happened to me... mental anguish, and all.
Rinoa/Masuki/Yuna : I'm glad you liked my last two chappies. And I'm glad you're a Final Fantasy fan. I remember my phase of Final Fantasyness.... best I don't get into that...
AmethystHannah: I'm so glad you find the word 'intercourse' amusing... hahahaha, it always cracks me up. Needless to say, Sex Ed is always delightfully entertaining for me. ;)
dreamingducky: Lol, down with Paul? Uh oh... you may not like the up coming couple of chappies then... :)
SharkFin: I updated!!! Hahaha, I bet there's a million and one girls out there who wouldn't mind showing Jesse what 'getting some' actually entails.... ;)
gator: Thanks! Hope you like this (short) chappie!
tt: hahaha, you said 'movel-lengthy.' I'm sure you meant 'novel.' But I prefer movel.
Oenone: Sooooooooooorry I've taken so long to update!!!
Nice Hayley: Hahaha, I lub Adam and CeeCee stuff aussi!
Pink-Raven: Lol, one talented little girl? Thanks... I think. Although, 'little'? I CAN'T HELP IT IF I'M SHORT! :)
Sandra Rose: Again, sorry I took so long to update!!! :)
moovalous3: Lol, I don't think 'twizzled' is a word... but most of the words I use aren't....
Athena884: Uh oh.... I warn now, there is no Paul in this chappie.... PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!
beka: Sorry took so long to update! :)
soin2jesse: Here is the more you asked for...
Gen. Kenobi: Ok, 1) I'm sorry, there is no Paul in this chappie 2) This chappie is short ... runs
xxreixx:Glad you enjoyed my last 2 chappies!!! :)
x0SweEtkIssEzxO: Hehehe, I think I prefer the word intercourse to sex. Don't ask me why. :)
Naomi: Lol, what, exactly, am I meant to publish? My autobiography? HAHAHAHA! :)
rockontracy: DUDE!!!! You're basically from Carmel!!!!!!! AAAAAAAH!!!! How coollllllllllio! :))))
poodly: I lub your name!!! :)
ShadowQuirk: Hehehe, watch as I turn all ye Suze-Jesse lubbers into Suze-Paul lubbers... Oh, the power... :)
Chiltonchick333: Aww, aren't you sweet? Have a bonbon :)
Sorry it's taken so long to update, guys. I am truly, truly sorry. I have been trying so hard to squeeze something out, but my Muse has actually taken a runner (if seen, please call 1-800-DAMN-U-MUSE). I also forgot to wish you all a Happy Crimbo!!! Or happy Holiday. Whatever. So yeah. !!!! :)
Sorry this chappie is so short, too. Like I said, my Muse is somewhere out there, buying candy and drinking Lucazade.
Also, mucho thanks (STILL) for those reviews for VPL. You dudes crack me up. And thanks for the GREAT feedback for Dead On Arrival.
You guys are the best! (If a little scary sometimes...)
Oh, oh! And Anna Suswillo; muchas gracias!!! Glad to know you're still kicking ass...
Even though I was sort of weirded out from the conversation I'd had with Jesse about 'getting some' we fully managed to talk about more…normal things on the way home, while I skillfully managed to avid any mention of Paul and certain spine-tingling, lip-melting kisses.
All in all I'd say I gave off the essence of a young and innocent teenage girl, not one who'd previously had a very un-boyfriend-like tongue in her mouth. Jesse suspected nada.
When we finally got home and I jogged up the stairs to my room (Jesse was already there by the time I'd reached my room) I found the big black book Paul and I had 'borrowed' from Father D's office sitting seemingly innocuously on my bed. But to me, it was worse than the demon dog omen people see in Harry Potter.
Jesse was stood frowning over it. When my chirpy footfalls stopped abruptly, he looked up with the frown still firmly in place on his forehead. "What is this, querida?"
I took a step toward the book; feeling compelled to do so, as if drawn by an invisible force, and stared at the words that gleamed maliciously at me.
Words that hadn't been there when I'd first seen the book.
Although, it had been dark when we'd acquired the book. Still…
"The Book of the Dead…" Jesse read.
I continued to stare.
And then I reached out – again, that invisible force was playing with me – and flipped open the cover. "…to be read by the Living," I whispered, staring at the words that, in stark contrast to the gold leaf writing on the cover, were black and twisted in ugly ways, like a Calligrapher had taken a turn to the Dark Side in the midst of writing it.
Which I suspected might have been partly true.
I bent closer to the book and peered at the words, gasping in shock when I saw the ink wasn't black at all, in fact, it might not have been ink.
Revulsion tossed my stomach and roiled through me.
My finger traced the word Living, "Blood…"
"Susannah, what is this?"
I started in surprise at Jesse's voice and yanked my finger away from the writing. "It's a book that Paul and I found, one that might help us solve Paul's problem."
The ghost of a frown passed over Jesse's face but his features remained tenaciously expressionless.
I turned back to the book. It was really creeping me out. I could almost hear it breathing my name, and that invisible force was growing stronger and stronger, an inexorable pressure building up inside of me as I continued refusing to comply.
Until that pressure grew too strong. I all but leapt onto the bed and gently turned the book to face me. Jesse came to peer over my shoulder.
I licked suddenly dry lips and, with a trembling hand, turned the first page.
To be honest, all I expected to see was a contents page or something like that.
Maybe a dedication? This one's for you, Mom. It could happen.
Instead was something that sent shivers dancing down my spine. I quickly turned the page to see the same things written there. Forcefully and with fear igniting quickly inside of me I turned the pages faster and faster, flipping through chunks of the books at once in a desperate attempt to see something else written on the crispy parchment that spoke of generations passed.
But it was futile.
"Querida…"
I swallowed past the lump in my throat and tried to see past the fog of confusion that was hanging in my mind. This made no sense. Why would someone make a book like this?
On every page, in the dead centre, written in the same font, same color, was the single, deadly word, Living.
Living, Living, Living, Living, Living…
It was like the book was actively accusing me, or Jesse, bitterness spilling from every page, every word, every letter.
"I don't…" I cleared my throat in a bid to get rid of the breathy quality of it, "I don't understand... it's supposed to help me. It's supposed to be like… I dunno. Like the Book of Magic from Charmed, or something. Why would someone do…this?"
I stared at Jesse hopelessly, but soon my gaze returned to the book. It went beyond the boundaries of creepy.
It wasn't until later that night, when I was sat up in bed, still trying to get to sleep, and still staring at the big black book, that I tried again.
The book, I mean. My hands suddenly snatched forward and slid the book across the covers from my feet into my lap. To say I was only slightly surprised would be a lie. The fact that my hands were acting like Thing from The Addams Family was unsettling.
And then do you know what they were doing? My hands, not The Addams Family. They were actually hovering over the book, as if… I don't know. As if they wanted to open the book up.
Which was proven a second later when my fingers gripped the edges of the thick, scaly leather cover in a vice-like assault.
In contrast to the vicious hold I had on the book, my hands peeled it open surprisingly gently.
And this time?
This time, the book was different.
The pages, the words, even the dark aura it emanated like a flock of screaming midnight-black bats in the twilight of the day.
If I hadn't known better, I would have said it was a completely different book.
But I did know better.
And I knew this book was the same one I had stared at in awe and horror only hours ago.
Again, there was no contents page, and no dedication. But there wasn't the blood red scrawl that sent heavy curls of dread to ring through my body.
In the same scrawl and color was a verse written in the centre of the very first page. A warning and a welcoming at the same time. The delicious flicks and twists of the antique font seemed to spill foreboding, and the tantalizing '…' at the end had me licking my suddenly parched lips.
'For those who live with powers strong
With the gift of time and life of long
For those with a knowledge needed to sate
Turn the pages and learn your fate…'
