Everywhere Disclaimer:
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Set Season 1-2. Marissa and Seth, in their rawest form.
Ever since he was a little boy, Seth Cohen had despised Marissa Cooper. Her golden blonde waves and her ever-present smile were so fake. Even at the tender age of eight, Seth could see that.
She would smile and wave politely every time she saw him in the cross between their driveways with his father. However, in school, and when he was alone, she refused to acknowledge him, chalking him up as just the rich but geeky boy next door.
Marissa Cooper was beautiful, but she was fake, and it was obvious to anyone with eyes as perceptive as Seth's. So instead of falling for the girl next door, he fell for her best friend.
Summer Roberts was sassy. She was bossy, and superficial, and narcissistic. But, she wasn't perfect.
Seth Cohen liked imperfections. They made life interesting, and he liked the fact that Summer's eyes didn't always constantly sparkle, and he liked that she didn't always have her hair in place.
"Oh my God. I like Seth Cohen," she had admitted, slouching down on his grandfather's boat. "This cannot be happening."
He liked that she had a toy horse, and that she wasn't Social Chair or the smartest person in the world. When they began finally going out, she accepted his flaws. He embraced hers.
When Ryan came to town, everything had changed for Seth. Suddenly, they were going to parties and getting into fights and hanging out with the most popular girls in school.
Suddenly, Seth had to face his next door neighbor, who he often tried to think of as non-existent.
"I mean, what did I ever do to you?" she had asked, indignant- as if she could do no wrong.
Seth had tried for years to understood what Ryan saw in the blonde beauty, but they were star crossed lovers and he was tired of trying to figure out fate.
"Nothing, Marissa. I've lived next door to you forever and you've never done or said anything to me," he had replied.
There are few times when Seth Cohen is openly vulnerable, and a big percentage of those times are when he's around Marissa Cooper.
Okay, so maybe the girl didn't have totally bad taste in music. "Avril Lavigne doesn't count as punk," Seth had mocked her when she was listing her favorite genre of music.
She shot back, "Well, what about the Cramps? Stiff Little Fingers? The Clash? Sex Pistols?"
Seth watched in awe as this strange, ethereal creature continued to rant on, naming each and every one of his favorite bands. "You forgot Death Cab," he added teasingly, but he had a newfound respect for her now.
Even she could see it.
There is rarely a time when Marissa and Seth hang out alone. Yet, it had happened one time last year, when Ryan was in Chino and Summer with her dad.
Seth had been about to go to the comic store when he noticed his best friend's girlfriend sitting at the edge of the curb, staring at her shoes peacefully.
He sat down next to her. "Hey, what're you doing?" he asked curiously, settling down besides her.
She glanced up at him, smiling slightly as a hello. "Just thinking. God, why can nothing ever go right for me and Ryan? Just once?" she shook her head, talking more to herself than to the boy next to her.
Seth rolled his eyes. "There are several possible answers to that question. Luke, Oliver, Theresa, Theresa and Baby. Need I go on?"
Marissa glared at him and stood up. "Why don't you just go chase after Summer, Seth? It's all you ever do anyway," she snapped, hoping to hurt him.
"Ouch, that hurt, princess," he said sarcastically, standing up as well. They both faced off before heading in opposite directions.
Marissa Cooper is glad that Seth Cohen exists. Years ago, she would have never admitted it, but now, she's more open with these kinds of things.
She likes having someone to point out her mistakes in a witty and mocking fashion rather than everyone just yelling at her and reprimanding her for it.
The one time she remembers Seth Cohen ever yelling at her, in fact, is a moment she likes to forget; a moment she isn't proud of. It's a moment where she knew she deserved it.
"Really, all you ever did, was drag that kid into your messed up life," he accused. Marissa had learned in that year that Seth Cohen was fiercely loyal.
He may be dorky, and listen to screechy music, and obsess over girls that don't give a shit about him, but he's loyal to those he loves.
She admires that, and wishes she could be the same.
It's a whole new year, and Seth Cohen isn't ready to face reality. Neither is Marissa Cooper. Both of their significant others from last year are with other people, and nothing is the way it was. Nothing is on its axis.
"Is it me, or is Zach just perfect?" Marissa laughed, looking at her friend's reaction.
Summer smiled widely, but Marissa could tell she really missed the tall, lanky boy she had fallen in love with. "He really is."
"But he's not Seth," Marissa supplied. Even she wished for a Summer and Seth reunion; she missed hanging out with him, and she didn't exactly have an excuse to do it now, when he and her best friend were at war.
"No one is Cohen," Summer said softly.
Seth felt like his heart was breaking, as he stared at Summer and Zach, interacting with her dad. He was sure that there was no talk of comic books or vim and vigor at that lunch.
He hung his head, now understanding why Marissa had warned him not to go. Dejected, he made his way towards the bench on the pier, hoping to clear his mind.
Marissa felt like her heart was breaking, as she stared at Ryan and the new, pretty redhead, Lindsay, arguing about their paper. Seth had informed her of their strictly partners-for-school relationship, but she wasn't stupid. She could see what lay beneath the surface.
She held in her tears and walked out of school, rushing to the bench outside the Bait Shop. This really was a new era.
"If someone would have told me last year that you and I would be the two loneliest people in Newport I wouldn't have believed them," Seth said, shaking his head as they both sat on the bench, only inches away from each other.
He glanced over at her. "Well, at least not the you part," he added, hoping to make her smile.
She looked over at him, her eyes slightly watering at the thought of Ryan with someone else. "Do you ever want to go back to last year?"
Seth chuckled at the irony of it all. "Is that a trick question?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as he squinted, the wind flying past them.
For the first time, he saw Marissa Cooper, really saw her in a new light: tears streaming down her face, the wind creating chaos in her wavy hair, and her make up smudged.
To him, she'd never looked more beautiful.
"'Cause you're everywhere to me
And when I close my eyes it's you I see
You're everything I know
that makes me believe
I'm not alone."
-Everywhere, Michelle Branch