Title: Shadowland: Jake/Sleepy's POV

Rating: Probably K+

Disclaimer: I do not own these stories. The talented Meg Cabot does, of course.

Summary: This is the Mediator, book one: Shadowland. But, it's in Jake/Sleepy's POV. It's about his feelings in the book, and his feelings for Suze. Just what exactly is going on? And why is his step-sister so frequently on his mind?

So we were waiting at the airport for Suze to get there. Brad and David were holding up a giant sign that said WELCOME HOME, SUSANNAH!

Somehow, I felt that Suze wouldn't be too pleased with the sign, but then I shrugged it off.

What is wrong with me, thinking that I know everything Suze likes and feels. I mean, I've only said a total of one sentence to her.

I think not sleeping is really messing with my head.

So anyway, Suze finally arrived, wearing jeans with holes in the knees and that same leather jacket from the night of the wedding. Not to mention her Black T and her boots that went up to her ankles. Oh, and that giant bag she had slung over her shoulder.

Yeah, she definitely had to be in a gang. I mean, what's up with wearing that jacket here in California?

Anyway, I saw her walking towards us when she saw the sign. Her eyes widened a bit and her cheeks turned red, as I noticed someone say something to her. I'm pretty sure I heard them say the word "cute".

I grimaced. I had a feeling she didn't like being associated with the word "cute".

However, I saw that she quickly pushed her feelings aside, and walked up to us.

"Ok, you can put the sign down now," she started.

No "hello" or "I missed you" or anything like that. But then again, those didn't seem like Suze.

Great. Here I go again talking like I know Suze. The only thing I DO know is that something is wrong with me. I'm just not sure WHAT is wrong with me.

I heard her mom squeal, "Oh Susie!" and I raised my eyebrows.

Susie? Is that what she liked to be called?

I saw her turn and give me, David, and Brad an evil glare. Ok, I guess not.

I definitely will not be calling her Susie. I mean, after all, I don't want her coming in and killing me in the middle of the night. I mean, who knew what kind of things she could do to me, after all her gang experience and whatever.

I shuddered. I definitely didn't want to experience that firsthand.

Man, Suze was causing me an emotional roller coaster. I was definitely tired enough already. I didn't think I could handle this.

As I was thinking this, I couldn't hold back a yawn, but I noticed Suze look at me oddly.

Great. I mean, I get that I probably always look incredibly tired, she probably thinks I'm on like drugs or something. But hey, the Camaro will be worth it. That's all I keep telling myself.

But whatever. She probably didn't even care if I was on drugs. You know, on account of her being in a gang or something.

I saw my dad grab her bag and try to joke about its weight. Something about carrying a fire hydrant across state lines.

I grimaced, because the first thought that popped into my head was "dead body".

Yeah, okay, I mean I know I'm probably overreacting. But Suze was seriously scary sometimes. I didn't know her that well. She could have done some serious damage in that gang of hers.

I heard Suze joke back about it really being a parking meter, and I smirked a little. Just a little, though. Because I was way too tired to fully smile.

Then I heard David giving Suze some more scientific facts. That boy was too smart for his own good. Then Suze's mom—or my mom too now, I guess—was going on about Suze's room.

I tried to listen just a bit in that. I wanted to see if she mentioned the fact that I helped.

Just because, well, I wanted Suze to know that I was a good older brother. That's all. Nothing more, really.

But she didn't, so I gave up listening, because I was too tired and it took too much effort. I vaguely heard Brad mention something about the sign, and then Suze asked if we could get her bags. I couldn't hear too well, though, because I'm pretty sure I was starting to fall asleep. Until I heard my name called out.

"Jake, come on. We're going to get Suze's bags," my new mother said, waking me from my almost-slumber.

I looked up to once again see Suze looking at me strangely. As if I wasn't enough of a freak already.

I quickly came back to my senses and headed towards baggage claim. I followed along as I casually kept my focus on Suze. I watched her reactions to the people and the airport.

She looked shocked, to say the least. I guess California was nothing like New York. But, then again, she was in a gang, and this "happy" environment had to be a drastic change for her.

We finally found Suze's bags, and I caught myself grabbing two of them. I was about to grab the other two, you know, just to show that I could. Carry them all, of course. But Brad beat me to it. So I just shrugged it off.

I mean, I wasn't about to fight with my brother over carrying extra bags, just because they were Suze's. I mean, first, it's weird enough that I feel this urge to impress her.

But fighting with my brother over something so stupid, well, that would be pathetic…and way too obvious.

I tried to figure out why I needed to impress Suze. Maybe I just wanted to be a good older brother, but it seemed to be more than that.

Until I decided that it had to be that I wanted to stay on her good side. You know, so that I wouldn't worry about her trying to take me down with her gang, or whatever.

When we walked out of the airport, I pulled out my sunglasses, along with everyone else. Well, everyone except for Suze. She probably didn't think she'd need them, considering what the weather was like back in New York. I almost thought about offering her mine, but that'd just be way too obvious.

I heard Suze's mom telling her about California and how she'd love it. I think the funniest part was seeing Suze's face as she saw a hummingbird.

She look so confused. It was kinda cute. Except for that it definitely wasn't. Because, well, I mean she's my stepsister and so she was definitely not cute.

And secondly, the words Suze and "cute" didn't seem like they belonged in the same sentence together.

I really wish I could figure out what's wrong with me.

I would see a shrink, but that'd just be too weird.

"Hi, my name is Jake. I am always working, so I'm constantly falling asleep in the middle of the day, probably appearing to everyone else that I either have narcolepsy or I do drugs. But that's not my biggest problem. No, because I'm really worried about what my new stepsister-who just happens to be in a gang- thinks of me. I'm not really sure why. Oh, and did I mention that I think she's hot?"

Yeah, that wouldn't go over so well. I have some serious issues.

We finally all reached the Land Rover and piled in. Suze was squeezed right between me and Brad. A little too close for comfort. And, well, it was really weird, because I wasn't as annoyed as I should have been. And THAT annoyed me even more.

I leaned my head against the side of the truck and looked out the window at the sun. This would be the perfect weather to lie down outside and take a nap. I started to doze off when Brad elbowed me in the stomach.

"Hey, Jake, she can't drive!"

So, big deal. She can't drive. I'll just drive her around. I mean, I don't mind. But I didn't say that aloud of course. I really wish I could stop my brain from thinking so many weird thoughts. It was making me even more tired.

I was going to say something in her defense, but David beat me to it, rambling on that no one in New York had to drive much. Then, I heard dad offer to let Suze get lessons soon. I was going to say that I didn't mind teaching her, but once again I stopped myself.

First, I was too tired to bother. And second, I already said I didn't want to be too accommodating. I mean, it was weird enough to be thinking these things, but I definitely wasn't about to share them with the rest of the family.

Everyone kept talking, as I began to drift off again. But then I heard Suze gasp. I was going to look up, but decided against it. After all, I hadn't slept much, and I could barely open my eyes. Not to mention all of these thoughts I kept having were really wearing me out.

She sounded slightly embarrassed as she mentioned that it had been the ocean that caught her breath. But I didn't know why she'd be embarrassed. I had lived there for a long time, and the ocean still continued to amaze me.

I started to drift off again, especially with "mom's" story about our school, when I noticed that my head was feeling really heavy. I laid it down, without really realizing what I was doing. I didn't realize what I was resting my head on until it was too late. I had just put my head on Suze's shoulder. Whose hair, by the way, smelled a lot like vanilla. I breathed in deeply, enjoying the scent, before I realized what I was doing.

I am such a freak. Really. If Suze only knew what's been going on inside my head, she'd insist to move back to New York right away.

I was going to pull my head away, but then I stopped. First off, then she would know that I hadn't been asleep when I put my head there, and that would be really embarrassing. Also, her shoulder was pretty comfortable, and I was pretty tired. So I decided to stay there. Then I noticed that Suze turned her head towards me a little bit and sniffed my hair. I tried to stay incredibly still, trying not to let Suze know that I was actually awake.

I was definitely glad that I had showered before going to the airport today. I mean, can you imagine if I had smelled like old, greasy pizza? I'm pretty sure Suze would have been even more weirded out by me.

I noticed Suze shift a little when she heard something about the school, but I didn't bother to listen. Until I heard her voice sound a little wary and panicked as she said something about the eighteenth century.

I felt worried. She sounded really upset, and I hated that. But I tried not to let it bother me, so I tried to drift off to sleep again. Although it was really difficult, because Suze's shoulder kept tensing more and more. Especially when our parents brought up our house.

Yep, just as I thought. Suze wasn't going to like our house. Something about old buildings or whatever. I remember her mom saying something about that before.

Finally, we got home, and I grudgingly lifted my head to get out of the car. It definitely WASN'T that I enjoyed being close to Suze. It was just that I was tired, and she makes a good pillow.

I followed Suze out of the Rover, watching her panicked and wary expression at the house.

I mean, really, what was wrong with her? What was so wrong with old houses? I thought they were sorta nice, especially ours. Did this have something to do with the gang she was in? Were they, like, not allowed in old houses? Maybe I needed to research New York gangs or something. But, then again, could you even find something like that on the internet. I wasn't sure.

I saw Suze walk in and look over at all of the baby pictures. Yeah, just what I needed. Suze to see me in my incredibly dorky years. Why do you think I had worked out so much recently? I had finally earned myself a six pack.

I didn't want to be remembered as the gangly awkwardly tall boy with floppy blonde hair and buck teeth. Yeah, just what I wanted Suze to see.

What is wrong with me?

I really wish I could answer that question. But then again, I probably don't want to know the answer.

I saw Suze head upstairs to her room, and I decided to head to my room to take a nap. I mean, I couldn't follow her around. That was weird, and I'm pretty sure it would make her uncomfortable. Not to mention that she probably already thinks I'm enough of a freak.

I definitely needed a nap by now. I couldn't keep up with all of these weird and exhausting thoughts I kept having.

I took one last glance at Suze as she walked warily into her room upstairs, and I turned to my room, flopping down on the bed.

Finally, I could clear my head of these thoughts.

A/N: Okay, that's the end of part two. How it is?

Too weird? I mean, I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible. If Jake WERE to have this feelings, I'm pretty sure he'd be really, really weirded out and exhausted by them.

Let me know what you think/feel. Like it? Hate it? Any suggestions?

Please, review?! It's highly appreciated. And it let's me know that people are at least reading it. Thanks again for reading!