I own nothing.

A/N: I recently joked about Seth and Marissa being together but, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I actually think he'd be good for her

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"Hey," Marissa said, opening the door.

Seth peered in. "Is my granddad around?"

Marissa shook her head and moved aside. "They've gone out to dinner. Mom says not 'to wait up,'" she replied, rolling her eyes.

Seth stepped into the dimly lit hallway and sighed. He never would have guessed it would come to this.

He wasn't stupid - he'd expected his life to change when he returned from his three day trip to Catalina but didn't quite anticipate just how much. Other than practically being forced by his father to work at a homeless shelter to "appreciate the lives real runaways lead," Summer had pretty much dumped him. She argued that if he'd loved her as much as he claimed, he wouldn't have ditched her like that. She even accused him of loving Ryan more. In response, Seth had stupidly vocalized his suspicions that she was merely projecting her abandonment issues on him and that just about pushed a nail into the coffin. Desperate, he turned to her best friend for advice.

Marissa had been a little surprised to receive that first call as they hadn't really been friends but welcomed it because he was a link to her old life with Ryan. She knew he probably didn't realize it, but she could see the influence Ryan had had on him. Other than the behavioral changes like learning to think before he spoke, Seth had adopted some of Ryan's habits like, for example, playing with his elbows whenever he felt nervous. And Marissa loved how it looked on him. Hanging out with him made her feel like her preferred self - the one she was with Ryan.

What started off as infrequent phone calls grew into almost daily lunches at the Crab Shack and weekends spent together, holed up in the theater, throwing popcorn at each other. It had begun as Marissa acting as a liaison between him and Summer but their relationship took a turn when they started sharing anecdotes about the guy they both hopelessly needed. They didn't expect to have much to say to one another outside of that topic, but were both grateful to find someone who understood what they were going through. Marissa would hang on his word as he recounted something Ryan did while they hung out together, while Seth would smile as she recollected something cute or romantic. In a way, they both felt they were getting to know Ryan more intimately because they'd become privy to a side they hadn't previously been exposed to.

Marissa took his hand and led him down the expensive but tastefully decorated hallway.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked, turning around.

Her eyes and teeth shone in the darkness and not for the first time, Seth wondered how he'd lived next to her for most of his life and never realized how pretty she was. He'd always been attracted to short, curvy brunettes but in a matter of weeks, he'd somehow acquired a taste for tall, thin blonde girls.

"Sure. What do you have?"

She shrugged. "Pretty much anything you want."

"How about something with a kick?" he asked hopefully. He didn't want her to think he needed alcohol to relax, but he really needed something to calm his nerves - his legs were about to give way. Irritated, he slapped himself. He had no reason to feel that way after all, he actually had every right to be there. When Marissa had informed him that Summer was seeing someone new, he refused to believe it till, one evening, as he passed by the Crab Shack, he caught sight of her leaning into a blonde muscle head. He was still mad and trying to figure out if he could get over her when Marissa kissed him.

Marissa never thought she'd be attracted to Seth Cohen and in fact, she really wasn't. He was skinny, talkative and geeky and the combination of all three was hardly something she lusted after. But on that warm summer night, his hurt, his anger, even the way he coiled his fist, was just so Ryan that she didn't know what to do with herself. That was exactly who Ryan was when she'd been friends with Oliver and even though she knew those were their worst times together, she still thought of them fondly. How couldn't she? She loved every single minute she spent with that boy. But that evening, she'd managed to keep herself together till Seth shrugged and gave her that look. That one look. The Ryan-I'm-so-tortured-I-don't-know-what-to-do glance that she simply couldn't get out her system. It wasn't really her fault; could anyone really blame her for losing her senses?

"What would you like?" she asked, walking behind the bar. She'd put some ice-cubes in a glass and was reaching into the cabinet that housed all the liquor.

"Whatever you want."

She skimmed his skinny frame, grabbed the Bacardi, then added some juice to it - she figured he was a lightweight and preferred that he wasn't drunk. She poured herself some Jack Daniels and walked back into the hallway. She glanced back when she realized he hadn't moved.

"Seth, come on," she beckoned, her head bent sideways.

He stood up and followed her to her bedroom.