Chapter 9

It took forever for lunchtime to finally roll around. I breezed into the courtyard and sat at the table Adam, CeeCee and I always sat at.

"Hey guys," I greeted as I sat down across from Adam.

"Howdy, ma'am." Adam returned with a nod of his head and a fake Texan accent.

I rolled my eyes at his silly behaviour.

"Hey Suze." Was CeeCee's response. "Did you ever find out how Paul and Kelly 'hit it off' with each other?"

"Wait a minute," Adam held up his hand in a slow down gesture. "What?"

CeeCee and I laughed as we told him about our conversation earlier, after he'd left us to line up with the other boys in our grade.

His eyes bulged when he heard the part about me and Paul.

"Paul Slater is your boyfriend?!" He exclaimed loudly.

I hastily glanced around making sure that no one had heard him.

"Yes," I told him. "Now, quiet down, would you?"

"Sorry." Adam said sarcastically as he started mumbling under his breath about Rich Guys and their smooth charm.

Rolling my eyes at him yet again, I turned to CeeCee ad answered her earlier question.

"No, I didn't," I explained. "I asked him but his voice got all screechy and he changed the subject."

CeeCee raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Then I felt a finger trace down my neck, making me shiver.

"Paul!" I exclaimed turning around. "What did I say…?"

Only it wasn't Paul. It was Jesse. And he had a look of pure anger on his face.

"I don't know, querida," He folded his arms across his chest and looked at me pointedly. "What did you say?"

I stared at him in shock.

"Um," I stuttered. "I, um -"

"Um," CeeCee clicked her fingers in my face. "Suze? Who are you talking to?"

I whipped my head around to face her. Oh yeah, the ghost thing.

"Oh," I replied acting all cool like I hadn't just been caught talking to myself. "Nothing. There was just some, er, wind! It startled me and I thought it was Paul."

By now Jesse had chosen to sit next to me and continue running his finger up and down my neck. The smirk on his face, knowing I wouldn't do anything to stop him, was infuriating.

"You never answered my question, querida." He muttered. "What did you say to Paul?"

It was getting increasingly harder to concentrate on the conversation. Both conversations.

"Where's Paul?" I blurted out, interrupting CeeCee but knowing that Jesse would understand me. And then tell me where he actually was.

"Haven't seen him." Adam answered, seemingly happy by this news.

"I know where he is," Jesse sing-songed in my ear.

I glanced at him discretely hoping that my eyes told him to continue.

Jesse leaned in closer.

"He's around back, in the cemetery." I wrinkled my nose at this piece of news. "With Kelly."

I froze.

What?!

Paul was with Kelly? He hadn't even been in the school for a full day and he'd already forgotten about me.

"Are you okay, Suze?" CeeCee asked concernedly. "You look a little pale."

"Oh," I stood up hurriedly. "Actually, I've got a major headache. I'm just going to go walk it off. See you around."

I walked away from the table, instinctively knowing that Jesse was behind me. When we reached a deserted are of the school Jesse reached out and grabbed my arm, spinning me to face him.

"What's the matter querida?" He asked. "I thought you would be happy about this?"

"Why would I be, Jesse?" I snapped at him.

"Because, now that Paul is with this Kelly, we can be free to be together."

Jesse looked so hopeful.

"But Paul and I dating was the only way I could get to see you. Even you said that you couldn't come over to my house every night."

I closed my eyes in despair. What were we going to do?

"Why do you have to be haunting Paul's bedroom?" I whispered to myself. "Why not mine?"

Jesse took a step closer to me and reached out his hand to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear.

"Querida," he muttered. "We will find a way to be together. It was killing me seeing you with Paul. Seeing you like that this morning …"

He took a deep breath before continuing.

"I will find a way to see you," He promised.

I smiled up at him.

"Okay," I agreed. "But first, I have to go and find Paul Slater and make him pay for cheating on me."

Jesse laughed his deep, rich laugh and kissed me squarely on the lips.

"I better go then," he said regretfully. "Can't have Paul knowing about us just yet."

He leaned in to kiss me again. I can't imagine how it must have looked to anyone walking past. I was just glad we were alone.

"Remember," he whispered, "graveyard."

Then he shimmered away.

Ugh. Only Paul would kiss someone in a graveyard - with all the dead people and tombstones. I shuddered. And only Kelly would participate. Eagerly. Sighing, I took off to the graveyard round the back of the church.

As I reached the final corner, I took a deep breath. Well, here goes.

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It was so worth it. The look on Paul's face as I cleared my throat to alert him to my presence. He pulled away from Kelly as if he'd been burned, turning to face me in despair.

"I -" He stuttered. "It's not what it looks like!"

That line is such a cliché.

What was even better was the look on Kelly's face once she realised that Paul had broken up their make-out session for me.

"Paul Slater!" She practically squealed. "Would you like to explain to me what Susannah Simon is doing here?"

She spat out my name like it was poison.

Paul, however, was still stuttering.

"She's, um. I." He finally stopped and took a deep breath. "She's my girlfriend," he told Kelly while he looked straight at me.

"Ex-girlfriend." I responded still looking at Paul, emphasising the ex.

The look on his face then had to have been the best. It was full of regret - his eyes full of pain as he looked at me. Yeah. That'll teach you to cheat on me.

"Suze," He called out as I'd started to walk away. "Wait."

I paused, keeping my back to him.

"How'd you know?"

Yeah, I cheated on you too. The ghost that lives in your bedroom told me.

"I have my ways."

And then I walked away from a very regretful Paul and a steaming mad Kelly Prescott.

Jesse was waiting for me around the corner.

"Have fun?" He said, obviously knowing the truth.

"Oh yeah," I whispered back to him, pulling him down for a kiss. "Lots."

That was the first time I'd kissed him that I didn't have a feeling of guilt at the thought of leaving him to be with Paul. Now there was no Paul. And me and Jesse were free to be together.

Except for the whole ghost thing.

But, when you're in love, it doesn't really matter if the guy is dead or anything.

All that matters is that you are together.