Genre – Angst/Humour
Format – 3rd person personal
Couplings – Seth/Alex, Alex/Marissa, Ryan/Marissa and Seth/Ryan
Warnings – slash, cynicism
Summary – 'Never judge a book by its cover, except in Newport Beach where looks mean everything.' Alex considers the merits of judgment by undergarment.
What Lies Beneath
Alex has a policy whereby she never wears matching underwear. For one thing, her concept of a sock drawer is more of a 'general underwear pile' on the floor, which makes any attempt at matching a near impossibility, but also because it would make her feel predictable and she, as a girl who since the age of 15 has never lived in the same place for more than 6 months, prides herself on being inconsistent.
When Seth enters her life she realizes that his different boxer shorts don't even have a common theme between them, and when she asks him why that is he replies that he likes to be creative. He then tells her that Ryan's are all the same colour – black, and that's because he doesn't have time to worry about such trivial things as underwear.
Alex finds it strange that Seth would bring Ryan up in this conversation.
---
'And you know what else, my friend Ryan he's really cool ok, he's very anti-establishment. He enjoys sunset walks on the beach, punching people and not smiling.'
'And that's how you see me?'
'Yeah only with less smiling…'
---
Marissa has a policy whereby her underwear sets are always matching, and not only that, they match her outfit, which matches her accessories, which match her hairstyle, which is always perfect. For one thing, this is because Marissa likes to look good, but also because she and Summer understand that there is no point in buying an underwear set if you're not going to wear it as one.
This all changes, as many things do, when she moves in with Alex, and she hasn't been to school in a week and she's usually so drunk she picks up and wears whatever's on the floor. She asks about Alex's non-matching underwear policy, and when she gets told, it makes sense, because if there's anything Marissa's scared of it's being consistent, stuck in her Newport rut.
---
'Who knew you Harbor chicks could throw down?'
'Yeah well, I'm not like the other girls…'
---
When she goes back to Ryan and he asks her what's changed, and she realizes nothing, nothing at all has changed, she switches back to the sets because that chapter of her life is over. It's over.
They look better as a set anyway.
It's gone.
---
When Marissa comes to get her stuff from Alex's and she picks through all of the underwear to find the sets; plain lilac, pink lacy, black satin, Alex wonders about Ryan Atwood and what he's got to make everyone she finds in Newport leave her for him. She hates the concept of his steady, predictable, alpha-male, red blooded behaviour, and she's expecting his mockery or anger when she stumbles up to the poolhouse, whisky in hand, and asks him what kind of underwear he owns.
And even when she tries to hit him and scratch him he takes her hand and lifts her and tells her that she can judge him all she wants, but that you can't tell everything about someone from what you've heard, and that his underwear is all black because his life has been a fucking car wreck since the day he was born and he wants his change to be into stability.
---
She is embarrassed as she cries into his shoulder.
"I get it, right, Marissa, you love her."
And a strange look crosses his face, and she feels him swallow against her earlobe.
"Seth" he whispers "I love Seth"
And fuck, for once it makes sense.
---
The next day she revs up the engine on the truck she borrowed from a friend of a friend and lets the wind whistle through her hair, her three full bin-liners of belongings rattling around in the back.
She considers leaving him a letter.
'Never judge a book by its cover' it would say 'Except in Newport Beach, where looks mean everything.'
He'd get it; he seemed to get everything better than she did, but she doesn't, because, what's the point?
Alex has a policy whereby she never wears matching underwear, and, even after everything she's learnt in Newport, she likes it like that.