THEN CAME YOU

Chapter Ten: Just Ask

Suze

Life with Jesse on it turned out to be more pleasant that what I had imagined. I always thought myself a feminist – not, you know, crazy feminist that even affected my ability to dress like a woman (a very stylish one, if I do say so myself) – the type of girl who didn't need a guy to make her feel better, but there was just something so nice about having someone to cuddle with when I felt like it, someone who would sit through a Drew Barrymore movie without complaining (much) and all that stuff boyfriends are supposed to do,

Kissing wasn't bad either.

Far from bad actually.

Okay, to tell you the truth, Jesse had been getting into my bra lately. And he was very sweet about it too, and oddly respectful. You can really learn a lot of things from a guy when his hands are on your boobs, let's just say that.

And his family, gosh, I loved his family and they were all nice to me.

It would have been perfect but there was a small problem… I was getting attached, and it was almost certain I would be going out to New York by the end of the upcoming summer.

I knew I should be talking about it with Jesse… but I couldn't. Each time I tried to talk about it, break if of or whatever, I found myself tongue-tied and unable to bring myself to say the words.

Meanwhile, spring was coming fast and with it, The Spring Fling. And for once in my life I was excited about it since I already had someone to go and wouldn't be sitting at home with CeeCee giving each other manicures and dissing the dance. Besides, CeeCee had a date too, so that was cool.

And what was best of all: Hailey seemed to have cut most ties with Paul Slater. I mean, sure, she still thought he was hot and from time to time I heard news that someone had seen them making out somewhere, but those rumors started to become less and less frequent and instead I saw her hanging out with David and Alan more and more.

Don't get me wrong, Hailey was still a Princess of the Class, and David and Alan were still The Biggest Nerds Around, and most people only thought Hailey was using them to improve her grades – which had been suffering since she had started attempting to date Scumbag-Slater – but I knew better.

So, for once in my life everything seemed to be where it was supposed to.

I was even getting along with Jake and Brad. We had bonded over keeping Hailey apart from Slater.

It was one of those moments when life was good, and I thought it was as perfect as it could be… and I would be going off in a few months time, never to return again as it had been my plan for the last four years. Only that, somehow, it didn't quite sound so fabulous as before.

And then, everything went to hell.

It wasn't that I didn't get into NYU because I did… it was just everything else.

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Hailey

So, we were just having breakfast. Fairly typical morning at the Ackerman-Simon household: Brad was stuffing all the toast into his mouth as he needed to gain at least two pounds, Jake was going on and on about the repairs he had to do to his Camaro, David was going over some notes – I think we had a test that morning – and Suze was complaining about how she wouldn't fit into her swimsuit anymore if Andy kept making Belgian waffles for breakfast.

I was thinking about the Spring Fling.

Every year the senior class threw a party for the underclassmen called The Spring Fling, and it was the most important dance following the Winter Formal and before the Prom. And it was the one dance everyone could go to, even the lowly freshmen.

It was The Party.

And I was having a hard time deciding whom I was going to go with. I had already been asked by two juniors and a senior. And refused all three of them, I wanted to go but I just wasn't sure whom I was going to go with, whom I wanted to go with.

There was Paul, of course. And there was Alan.

None of them had asked me yet… and I wasn't sure what I would say when they did.

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Paul (A week later)

It was time to ask Hailey Simon to the Spring Fling.

She was, after all, the most popular girl at school and I – as the most popular guy – had to go with her, which would bother Suze and that would be an added bonus.

"Hailey," I called her as we crossed paths in the breezeway.

"Oh, hi Paul." She said, shuffling her books.

"Are you ready for the Spring Fling? I'll pick you up at seven. Look pretty." I said and gave her a kiss on the cheek. And went on my merry way.

"Yeah, Paul, about that I-"

"See you at seven." I said and moved along.

I should have known, of course, that it would only be a matter of hours before Suze got wind of it and came to yell at me.

"You're not going out with my sister," She practically yelled at me as I made my way to my car.

"Sorry, Suzie, too late for that."

"You're not. Over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged," I said pleasantly. Man, she was hot.

"Well, I'm not going to the dance, so she can't go either." She said, crossing her arms and giving me a superior look.

I must admit, that tweaked me enough to say what I said next. "But, Suze, you're going. With Rico, right? I must admit, I never thought he would do such a good work out of you."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Well… didn't you know that Rico has been seeing you because I told him to?"

"That's not true." Suze said defiantly.

"It is too."

"Jesse doesn't even like you."

"I doubt that has anything to do with it."

"You're sick Paul. Jesse wouldn't do that."

Infuriatingly, she was right, but she didn't need to know that. Once the doubt was in her head she would be like a runaway train.

"Well… believe what you want. All you have to do is ask."

Suze went white and stalked away from me.

Ahh… a good intrigue was like a good bra: it crosses the chest and divides.

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Jesse

"Susannah," I said as I slid my arm across her shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." She said but she didn't sound fine.

"Um, I just wanted to ask you if we are going to the dance next week, because we are I need to dry clean my suit."

"Why are you asking?"

"Because you were talking about with your friend CeeCee the other day about it?" I answered, rising my eyebrows, she sounded most weird indeed.

"And Paul Slater has nothing to do with it?"

"Paul Slater?" I asked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Paul told me you only asked me out first because he told you to."

"And you believed him?" I said with no small amount of incredulity on my voice.

"I-I don't know."

"Well, Susannah if you don't know that much about me I don't know what we have been doing the last few months." I said angrily.

"Maybe, I-I just need to be alone and think." She said.

"Fine." I said and turned to leave. "Just one thing, Susannah, one thing for you to think: Who are you gonging to believe? Slater or me? Think carefully about that."

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Suze

Okay, so Jesse had a point.

Whom I was going to believe?

It seemed simple but if Jesse had been lying from the beginning then everything was really screwed up. I knew Jesse. I thought I knew Jesse. I simply didn't know.

See, that's why I didn't exactly like dealing with emotions. It always messed everything up.

And I had yet to talk to Hailey, as soon as she got home.

By diner time I was worried she hadn't arrived home yet, but as I sat to eat with the rest of the family, it turned out Hailey had been home all along, in her room and she had pleaded that she felt sick and so stayed in her room through diner.

I finished quickly and thankfully was Brad's time to do the dishes so I was free to run upstairs and clear some things up with Hailey.

"Come in," She called in a faint voice I knew she used with Mom to get her to believe she was sick. I opened the door and she was lying on her side pretending to be sleepy. "Oh, it's you." She said when she saw me and switched positions, lying on her stomach in the bed and turned the TV on and began to change channels every few seconds. "What do you want?"

"You can't go with Slater to the dance."

"Says who?" She asked defiantly.

"Says me."

"You're not my mother, and you're not in charge."

"You can't go out with him! He's mean and…"

"And I know, you have said this before." She said tiredly and switched the TV off. "But you know? Before you burst into my room making demands you should bother to get the facts straight. You didn't even bother to ask me if I wanted to go with Paul to the dance, you just ordered me not to."

"Hailey… It's really the best thing?"

"Is it? Just because you're afraid of Paul."

"I'm not afraid of Paul!" I said. "I despise Paul."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Yes, why? You have never bothered to tell me! You just ordered me not to."

"Because he just wants one thing from you, and it's not just to annoy me." I said.

"Suze, that's a lame-o excuse and even you know it."

I took a deep breath, this was confession time. A secret I had been saving for four years already. "Once upon a time I went out with Paul."

"WHAT! But YOU HATE HIM!"

"I know." I said, looking away. "It was just after we moved here and I was so pissed off and angry. And he was the most popular boy on my grade and supposedly a nice good guy. We went out for like two seconds, of course, but that's all what took him to try to get me into giving him a blow job. You know, I was fourteen! And had no business giving some guy a blow job, but Paul didn't understand. So I hit him, broke his nose and told him to remain a hundred paces away from me for the rest of my life."

"What?" Hailey asked in surprise. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Like at school?"

"Because no one knows." I said tiredly. "I told Paul that if he said anything about us, I would tell everyone how extremely skinny he had one thing."

"No? For real?"

I nodded, and couldn't help to laugh. "Tiny."

"Oh, my gosh!" She giggled.

"I know," I said and felt like it was safe to get back on track. "The thing is, Hailey, that I don't want you making the same mistakes I did."

"I won't, Suze." Hailey said, sounding more mature than what I had ever heard her sound. "I'm not going to the Spring Fling with Paul. I would have told you had you asked me… but you just jump into conclusions some times."

"I know," I said, remembering Jesse and how Cow-like I had acted earlier. "Paul said Jesse only asked me out because he told him to."

"And you believed him?" Hailey asked surprised. I shrugged. "Oh, Suze, that's really messed up. But do you want to know the truth? I'll tell you. Yes, Paul told Jesse to ask you out so he- Paul – could have the road free with me; we actually planned it all together. But Jesse told him no, that he wasn't a man whore and send him to hell. I think Jesse even called Paul a Pimp, but I'm not sure. And I think, at first, Jesse only liked you because you disliked Paul as much as him."

"Really?" I asked hopeful to my baby sister, whom seemed to be wiser than what I ever gave her credit for. "Jesse never accepted?"

"Never."

"I knew, it of course."

"Of course," Hailey agreed.

"Well, I suppose I should call him and apologize, shouldn't I?"

"Yep."

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End of Chapter Ten

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OKAY, I know I suck! I neglected this story for months, I'm sorry.

There are only like two chapters left and I hope I can type them all within the next two weeks.

Love you guys, and thanks for reading this story, means a lot to me.

Clavie.

Ps. please review!