So this is a new type of fic for me, and I'm not quite sure if I'll stick with it. I will if I get positive feedback. Its just something I've been thinking about for a while, and I'm a huge sports fan and I haven't wrote one yet, so there. Its going to circle around Seth and Summer, and basketball. Seth still will have the same character even though he plays sports, and it will all work itself out in the end.
("") That are bolded are Ian's comments, and the plain bold are Liam's.
Disclaimer: I don't own zip, zilch, nadda of the OC
Losing All Hope"Hey babe, you ready?" Zach entered the foyer of the Robert's mansion and waited hesitantly for his girlfriend to appear.
"Yeah just a second." Summer poked her head over the railway from the stairs and plastered a fake smile for her boyfriend before returning back to her room.
"Well hurry up. The biggest game of my life starts in a half hour and I'm already late." Summer rolled her eyes as she heard him walk out the door and slam it behind him. To tell the truth, she thought her relationship with Zach was a tad bit boring. Actually, lets rephrase that and call it a dry relationship.
In any situation, if a relationship wasn't working out, you would end it, right? But Summer was just so afraid of change, that she was scared to make a move. Another motivating factor was that Zach was the captain of the Harbour basketball team, thus claiming him the king of the school. She was self-conscious about what life without Zach would be like. Would people all turn against her? Would she lose all of her friends? That was the kind of following he had around him.
To the average student in Harbor, they'd all say that her and Zach shared a model relationship, and that everybody admired them. But the truth was they rarely ever showed any moments of actual love. Only enough to let others know that they were indeed a couple. Technically, the only thing that was keeping them bound together was the fact that Zach was king of the school, being the captain of the basketball team, which led to Summer being queen of the school, heading up the cheerleading squad. They seemed like the perfect match for each other.
She quickly threw on the first items of clothing she could find that made her look presentable and finished applying her makeup and grabbed her cheerleading outfit. She paced herself down the stairs at a snails pace, trying to stall as much as she could so it would further piss Zach off. She tidied the house up before marching out the door and into the passenger side.
Zach didn't hesitate and quickly started the engine and sped out of the driveway before she even had her door shut.
"So much for being just a second." He snarled as he kept his eyes on the road and gripped onto the steering wheel tightly, channeling his frustration with Summer out on it. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes but kept her gaze well away from him, and stared out at the beautiful scenery that Newport Beach had to offer.
The red BMW rolled onto the school grounds with 5 minutes to spare. Zach pulled the key out, grabbed his gym bag out of the back seat, and sprinted toward the school exit without even waiting for Summer. Not that she was expecting any sort of chivalrous act from Zach. After all, she knew even holding a door open for her was a challenge in itself. He was definitely full of himself.
She trudged into the school and made a beeline for the group of cheerleaders gossiping amongst each other in the hallway just outside the gymnasium, and she had a hunch it was along the lines of how their captain was running late. God they were such drama queens.
"Hey you guys" Summer finally made her presence felt as they all turned to face her.
"Summer, thank god!" Elizabeth, one of the more conniving and immature girl of the bunch rushed over and wrapped her in an embrace. She was treating this whole ordeal like it was life or death.
"We were starting to get worried." Heidi walked over and joined the other two. She was the ideal advocate for Newpsie In Training.
"Liz has been on the phone calling you." Another girl informed from behind the group. Her name was Chelsea, and she was usually a more quiet and dark spirited person. Rarely did she ever speak up or even comment on anything. She just did what she was told and kept her mouth shut.
"I was busy." No you weren't. Oh wait, yeah you were. You were doing what you always do, complaining about how shitty your life is. Its routine!
"Well now that you're here, we can go over that new routine…" Liz began to walk away and headed toward the gym where the game was just about to begin. The other's followed willingly.
"Just let me get changed…" Summer called but to no avail. She headed straight for the girls change room in a terrible mood. There was just no spontaneity to her life. It was safe to say, she was sick and tired of everything around her.
Summer entered the gym, and the game was already well underway. The stands were packed yet again, which everyone was pretty much accustomed to as Harbor was one of the top seeded teams in the league every year. It was the finals for the Orange County division, and the winner gets a shot at the Southern California title.
"Summer!" She turned her head on a swivel to find the one person that made things bearable around here, and it was Marissa Cooper. They had been best friends ever since, well forever. She stopped fidgeting with her cheerleader outfit as Marissa was approaching her from the other end of the gym. She took the time to check the score, it was 15-12 for Harbor. Whoopee.
"Its nice to see you actually decided to come out and support your man."
"Well I had to, Zach literally came to my house and forced me out the damn house. Speaking of support, you should show your man some or I'm afraid the cutest couple in Newport may be heading for rough water."
"I do show Luke support. Just because I don't go all out and grab pompom's and a skirt." Summer rolled her eyes at her comment and continued to watch the game.
"I don't see what's so fascinating about you and punk music."
"It helps me keep a clear mind. Well that and not being a basketball team groupie."
"Cheerleaders are more than that!" Summer defended, mock hurt.
And Zach Stephens nails the clutch jumper to end the quarter, narrowing the Panther's lead to just 5 points.
Arguably the two biggest geeks in the school, brothers Liam and Ian Mackenzie called the radio play-by-play for every single game imaginable at Harbor. Of course, the main one's being basketball and water polo. It was always a frenzy around school, if it wasn't basketball season, then it was water polo season.
"You better get going Sum. Go show some cheer!" Marissa added and gave her a mocking thumbs up and plastered a grin the size of a watermelon. Summer just rolled her eyes and but grinned as she turned away and headed for the rest of the girls.
Timeout Pacific, and there is only 20 seconds left! All the Pirates have to do is hold off another Panther's attack and they finally win that illustrious title that's evaded them for so long.
Summer watched from across the court Zach's confidence radiating off of him, he had a beaming smile that seemingly lit up the gym, and he was just out having a good time it appeared, playing one of the sports he loved. She couldn't help it and her lips soon curved into a smile as she continued to watch him.
Pacific inbounds the ball, and number 24 takes it.
"I'd say they should keep the ball away from him, he's been lighting up the score sheet. Don't you?"
He passes it off to All-County guard Josh Cunningham. The clock continues to tick here at the Harbor High school gym.
"7 seconds left…"
Cunningham fakes a pass and drives straight to the hoop! Oh no, Harbor's last hope is their own perennial All-County guard Zach Stephens.
"This doesn't look good Liam."
"Shut up Ian…Cunningham stops, posts…
"3 seconds.."
He shoots with a hand in the face…
EEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
SwishThe crowd silenced instantly as the visiting Pacific team all flooded onto the court and attacked Josh Cunningham with embraces. The Harbor bench was left speechless, as they all dejectedly lowered their heads to hide the shame and embarrassment.
Summer felt her heart being tugged at as she spotted behind the celebrating Panther players, Zach glued to the spot underneath the basket, staring aimlessly at the rim. She smiled sympathetically for him, even though they weren't on the greatest terms, and made her way over to him so she could console him.
"Aww baby I'm so sorry." He quickly nuzzled his head into her chest, but remained silent. Summer heard a few sniffles and it only made her feel worse about her feelings towards their relationship. "You tried your best, right? That's all that matters." Her eyes raced around the gymnasium. The stands were all but empty, and the other cheerleaders who had boyfriends on the team all were consoling their own respective mates.
He abruptly snapped his head away from her chest and clutched his fists tightly together.
"That was bullshit!" He yelled as he began swiping frantically away at any lingering tears.
"I know baby, but you tried and I think that's all that-"
"-Shut up you bitch! What the hell do you know?" Zach shoved her out of the way rather harshly, and she was taken back by the stark brutality he displayed as he stormed away from her and approached the celebrating Pacific team that were all gathered at center court. Summer was left speechless at his words, and saw Marissa skipping over to her in a hurry. She remained frozen on the spot, Zach's words taking full affect on her.
She felt Marissa slowly beginning to guide her across the court and towards the side exit, but something in the background caught her attention.
"Hey Cunningham…" The victorious boy lowered himself down from being thrust on his teammates shoulders and faced the direction where the voice came from. Zach was left standing alone, surrounded by Pacific supporters, and did the unthinkable. He punched Josh square in the jaw, sending him piling backward into fellow teammates. That sparked an all out brawl.
That was about all of it that they caught, as Summer was already being whilst away out the door and into the parking lot. Marissa must have caught wind of what happened, because she seemed pretty urgent on getting her home and away from Zach.
The car ride home was silent. Marissa didn't force the issue of Zach, and Summer didn't feel the need to either. Her mind wasn't quite wrapped around everything yet, she was too busy trying to come to conclusions about Zach first off. She knew that they no longer were working as a couple, but what kept her lingering on was his popularity. She wasn't exactly using him, it was just she has been with him for so long now, that she was afraid of change.
She had been eluding change for so long now, that it was becoming routine. Even after all the times she caught Zach with another girl, she stayed with him. The numerous times he blew her off for basketball or some other arrangement, she stayed with him. She was in desperate need of something new, something fresh.
She constantly ran and hid from any surfacing issues in her and Zach's relationship, and she always chalked everything up to it being a mistake and would never happen again. Yet time and time again, it kept recurring and she was proven wrong. Of course she would forgive him, and they'd put on their happy couple act in front of the school and go on like nothing happened. But maybe this time was different. She didn't know if she could do that anymore.
Before, she was never out looking for ways to complicate things and change her. But now, maybe this time, change was looking for her.
Okay so that was an alright chapter, I'm not entirely happy because I'm not very good at writing just Summer chapters. I'm more better with writing for Seth, so this WILL get better. Next chapter will be introducing Seth and the Cohen's.
Please review and leave your input. Don't bash too much though because this will get better.