A Fresh Start
Everything was the same, but different. His room – everything in it looked almost exactly as it had the last time she had been in there, but something was different. Felt different.
She knew it was nothing physical; it was more of a change in atmosphere. It felt more mature, more grown-up. The Seth she had once known had begun to change, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If anything, it would make her visit more pleasant.
Legs crossed, she waited patiently on his bed for him to get home. Her jacket was folded in her arms, draped carefully over her lap. She wanted to look perfect. She was nervous.
She knew that she was being silly; it was just Seth. Good ol' Seth Cohen, the one that should've been friend to all but was actually looked down upon by the majority of the snobby, stuck-up kids their age that lived in Newport.
Newport. Her leaving was probably the best thing she could have done. But now she was back. Hopefully it would be for good. It really all depended on Seth. Her time away from Newport Beach gave her time to breathe, but she was ready to be back. She was ready to finally settle down in the place that she barely had time to call her home the previous year.
From downstairs, she heard a mellowed door shutting, and an obviously rehearsed line from Mrs. Cohen. "Seth, there's a surprise for you in your room." It took no more than that to send Seth flying up the stairs, his clunky Converses hitting every other step on the way up.
The doorknob began to turn; she held her breath.
And there he was. All dark curls and chocolaty eyes and smooth features. It was the same Seth that she had mustered up all of her strength to leave. The look of hopeful anticipation on his face gave way to confused but excited surprise.
"Anna?!" Seth choked, pushing his way into the room that the two had shared so many memories in.
She stood up, slowly, cautiously, and smiled. "Hi," she whispered.
"When... how..." Seth stumbled through his words before enveloping the blonde in a tight-yet-perfect hug. "Explain?" he prompted, finally pulling away from their embrace after several minutes.
"I'm back," she said simply, the same smile still on her face from when she had greeted him. She carefully brushed a strand of hair from her face.
"For how long?"
"For good." She finally broke her smile to tenderly bite her bottom lip. She wasn't sure how this would go over. She wasn't expecting to try to rekindle her relationship with Seth past friendship, but it was a possibility. She had never felt more comfortable or safe as she had been with him. But, though the two often kept in touch while she was away, Seth never mentioned anything about Summer. Anna had all reason to believe that the two were still together, and happy.
"You're coming back to Harbor School?" Seth assumed hopefully, literally crossing his fingers and looking as if he would skyrocket through his roof if she affirmed. She simply nodded, letting her smile regenerate. "Anna... I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you," she told him, finally letting go of her jacket, not caring where it landed.
"I'm not going to screw things up this time, I promise," Seth said, taking both of her hands in his.
"Seth—" she started, but he interrupted.
"No, Anna. I was a jerk. I was more than a jerk; I was an asshole. A selfish little brat with my head up my ass. I made the wrong decision. You were there. You were real. I don't know why I didn't see it, or why I didn't let myself see it, force myself. I know I don't deserve you, and I don't know your current situation, but, Anna, I want to make things right. I want to try this again; I want a fresh start. A clean slate. What do you say?" he raced, his words flying from his mouth so fast that they jumbled together, but Anna understood every word that he said.
This was everything that Anna had ever wanted when she had been in Newport before. Seth was... well, Seth was Seth. And that's all that mattered. She knew that he was being sincere; she knew the difference between confident, sincere Seth and nervous, artificial Seth. "I say... nothing would make me happier."
With that, he pulled her into a kiss. The most meaningful kiss that she had ever had. It was perfect. He ended the kiss and studied her eyes. And she realized that at what he said next, she had been right about Seth maturing: "Anna... I let you walk out of my life once before, but I'm not losing you again."
end