A/N- Hello all! This is a new Seth/Summer fanfic set in this season, only a little later. For the sake of the story, just know that Ryan and Marissa are still together (duh) and Anna and Seth are pretty newly dating. All right-let the games begin!
The Confession
~*~
"I don't know-this tie's a little minty." Seth looked at his reflection critically.
"I think it looks nice. Plaid's very in right now." Anna looked up from Seth's chair where she was reading anime.
"Yeah, the whole Irish plaid thing doesn't really work for me-I am but a humble Jew."
"Whatever, wear what you want. It was just a suggestion. I'm wearing plaid." She pointed out.
"True-but we're not like going to the prom. No need for matching. It's just some party."
"Which I don't even understand why we're going at all. I hate Newport parties, as, I thought, did you." Anna rolled her eyes.
"Ryan and Marissa want me to go, so I'm going. It's not that big of a deal- we'll have fun."
"Why do you always do what Ryan and Marissa tell you to do?" Anna put down her comic book.
Seth blinked, surprised.
"I don't always do what they tell me to do."
"Yes you do- it's always like, 'Oh, Anna, we'll just go wherever Ryan and Marissa are going or lets hang out with them or whatever. I don't even like them that much."
"You don't like my brother and his girlfriend? Oh, I'm sorry, Anna, there's not too much I can do about that situation." Seth said, sounding a little angry.
"All right, don't get all cheesed off. I'm just saying- it'd be nice to do stuff just us sometimes."
"We do!" Seth sighed, taking off the plaid tie and putting on a dark gray sweater.
"No, we don't! Since we started dating, I think we've done one thing that didn't involve Ryan and Marissa! And you always drag me to those stupid Newport parties, and Summer's always there-"
"Wait, wait, wait--this is about Summer?" Seth stopped her.
"No, it's not ABOUT Summer, but she is going to be an issue between us, obviously."
"Why is she an issue? Geez, Anna, you're my girlfriend, not her. What more do you want?"
Anna stood up, her arms crossed.
"I want to feel like you're not just settling for me."
Seth sighed.
"Of course I'm not."
"So why do you still hang out with Summer at school?"
"What, now I can't even see Summer anymore?"
"That'd be nice."
"Anna, come on! Don't you trust me at all?"
"I don't trust her."
Seth put his hands on either side of her face, smiling.
"I won't talk to her tonight if it bothers you that much."
Anna smiled back, satisfied.
"Good. Let's go."
"Okay, I'll go tell Ryan and Marissa we're ready."
~*~
"So, sorry about another party that you have to come to. I feel like I keep dragging you to things you don't want to go to." Marissa sat next to Ryan on the pool house bed.
"It's no problem. If you're there, it's always a good time." Ryan gave her a little half-smile and went back to tying his shoes.
"I love you." Marissa sighed happily.
Ryan looked back at her, kissing her softly on the lips. Just as his hands tangled in her air, Seth and Anna walked in.
"Whoa, guys, keep it PG." Seth grinned, as Anna hung slightly back, looking annoyed.
"Hey, Seth," Marissa grinned at him, "You're looking snappy."
"Same to you. And Ryan- I'm loving the new look." Seth gave a thumbs up to Ryan's classic white tank top/button down combo.
"Hey, if it ain't broke…" Marissa smiled at Ryan.
"Can we go?" Anna said suddenly.
"Oh, right, we're going to be late." Seth looked at his watch.
They all climbed into Marissa's Jeep and headed for the enormous birthday party Caleb was throwing for Julie Cooper. He'd practically invited all of Newport, regardless of whether they even knew Julie or not. Caleb had a penchant for being the best at everything, and this party was going to be no exception.
~*~
"This house…is awesome." Marissa breathed, looking up at Caleb Nichol's beachfront property.
"It's all right. To me, it will always just be the place with the pool I used to pee in when I was like six, so it's not all that impressive." Seth shrugged.
"Gross, Seth." Anna wrinkled her nose.
"Oh, like you've never done it." Seth sighed.
"No, actually."
"Hmm…well, that kind of deflates my whole anecdote, so…let's go!" Seth recovered quickly, getting out of the car and opening the door for Anna.
"I think it's awesome. It's like the Super Pool House." Ryan observed.
"Makes ours look downright inadequate."
"I like my pool house just fine, thank you." Ryan clapped Seth on the back as they entered the party.
The first floor of the beach house was mostly the adults sitting around and drinking Merlot, but the second floor held all the rich Newport teenagers Caleb had seen fit to invite. Which was pretty much most of Ryan and Seth's class from Harbor, so they saw plenty of familiar faces.
Summer saw Marissa enter, and crossed over to them.
"Hey, guys." She smiled brightly, looking anywhere but at Seth and Anna.
"Hey, Summer." Marissa smiled back.
An awkward silence fell as Seth looked at his feet, Anna glared at Summer, and Ryan tried to think of any excuse to go somewhere else.
"Hey, Coop, can I talk to you for a sec?" Summer finally said.
"Sure. Let's go."
~*~
They set off for the bathroom, and as soon as they were both in, Summer slammed the door behind her.
"I can't believe he's here with her." She practically growled, leaning against the door miserably.
"Summer, you knew they were dating."
"Yes, thank you for reminding me yet again-it's just…I don't know, seeing them together…I can't stand it."
"I thought you were 'so over' Seth Cohen." Marissa said.
"Aloha, Coop- I was lying!"
"But Summer…I mean, it's Seth. You never even spoke to him before this year."
"Look, I can't explain any of this. I wish I didn't feel this way-but it's not like I get any say in the matter. I like him. A lot."
"How do you know you like him? I mean, I knew you were kinda jealous on the yacht, but it's not like anything's happened between you guys."
Summer looked down at her feet a little sheepishly.
"Something's happened between you guys?" Marissa asked, shocked.
"Well, it all started at Caleb's birthday party."
"What? You just never told me?"
"I meant to! I kissed him, and then I kinda went through this stupid denial phase, and then seeing him with Anna on the yacht just got me thinking that maybe it was possible that I really liked him, and we kissed again…and it was…I know this sounds cheesy, but kissing Seth is like nothing I've ever felt before."
"Seriously? Seth Cohen?" Marissa raised an eyebrow.
"What? You've never kissed him, you don't know." Summer said defensively.
"All right, I'll take your word for it. Continue."
"So, then we made out in the pool house on Thanksgiving-"
"Summer!"
"And then a little bit at that Christmas party. Until Anna walked in and ruined everything."
"This is insane-why did you never tell me all this?"
"I don't know, you've been so busy with all the Ryan drama."
"Summer, I always have time for you. That's kinda a part of the whole best friend thing." Marissa smiled at her, perching on the sink.
"So…what do I do?" Summer said, sitting next to Marissa and leaning her head on her shoulder.
"I don't know, Summer, do you really think he's worth it? I mean, any guy who would pick Anna over you…"
"She's like his perfect woman with her stupid comic books and her stupid sailing and her stupid haircut and her stupid-"
"All right, breathe." Marissa patted her on the head, laughing.
"Sorry. This is really freaking me out. This is a very new situation for me." Summer said sulkily.
"I know. All right, well, have you talked to Seth about all this? I mean, without Anna there?"
"Not really. But Anna's done a pretty good job of making sure we never get to talk alone. She's kinda scary protective."
Marissa smiled at her friend.
"She's just threatened."
Summer grinned back, her confidence suddenly returning.
"She should be." She said, leaping off the counter and fixing her hair in the mirror.
Marissa giggled.
"Slow down there, Man Trap." She teased, putting on more lip gloss.
~*~
Summer practically strutted back out into the party, and suddenly saw Seth go to the bar to get Anna and him drinks. Anna was talking to some weird girl Summer didn't know, and seemed pretty preoccupied. She slipped past them quickly, walking up to the bar.
"Hey, Cohen." She said, taking a Mountain Dew.
"Summer." Seth barely acknowledged her.
"Something wrong?" She looked up at him, trying to stand in the most provocative pose possible.
"Nope. See ya." Seth didn't even look at her, starting to walk away.
Summer grabbed his arm, making him spill one of the drinks.
"Hey, geez, Summer-this is a new shirt!"
"Well, then stop running away and talk to me and I'll stop ruining your stupid shirts. Please, you have like a billion."
"Look, Summer-"
"What, did your little girlfriend forbid you from talking to me or something?"
Seth blinked.
"Yes, actually."
"You just let her boss you around like that?"
"She doesn't boss me around." Seth looked anxiously up at Anna, who was still talking ot her friend.
"Please. Telling you not to talk to someone? That's pretty controlling."
"It's just because…you know why, Summer. We have all the history, and you know, I named my boat after you, I had a mix CD of songs that reminded me of you, of course she's a little threatened."
Summer smiled slightly.
"You named your boat after me?"
"It doesn't matter now! I'm with Anna." Seth's voice rose in volume a little with frustration.
"So you just stopped caring about me?" Summer couldn't help asking.
Seth looked down.
"No, of course not."
"Then how can you date her? How can you pretend-"
"I'm not pretending!"
"You just said you still care about me!"
"Forget I said anything. I gotta go." Seth turned to walk away again.
"Fine! You don't want me? That's fine." Summer grabbed Chip's arm, some random jock standing nearby.
"Hey, Summer." Chip looked at her, confused.
"Hey, Chip. Want to hook up?" Summer smiled widely at him.
"Uhh…yeah." Chip smiled dumbly, and they started to walk towards one of the other rooms when Seth couldn't stand it anymore.
"Summer, don't do this." He said it a lot louder than he meant to, and a few people nearby stopped talking.
"Don't do what? Don't move on? I'm not just going to wait around forever, Cohen!"
"You don't care about him."
"So what? I hook up with a lot of people I don't care about…remember Thanksgiving?" Summer practically yelled back.
More people stopped talking to watch.
"You're saying none of this meant anything to you?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying!"
"I don't believe you." Seth looked at her, and didn't even notice the amount of spectators they had acquired, including a furious Anna, and a bewildered Ryan and Marissa.
Summer took a deep, shaking breath, her fists clenched.
"You want the truth, Cohen?"
"Yes!" Now they were both shouting.
"Fine! FINE! Here's the truth- I've never felt this way about any guy before! I can't stop thinking about you! I can't stand seeing you with anyone else-it's tearing me apart to see you with her. I had a miserable Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND New Year's thanks to you and my stupid feelings! You're just some weird guy I've known since third grade who reads comic books, and you drive me insane, and I hate your dumb music and I hate your weird t-shirts and still, despite all of those things, and as much as I hate myself for feeling this way, I think I'm falling in love with you!" Summer yelled this entire diatribe at the top of her lungs, and it was only when she finished that she realized practically the entire party had heard every word.
All she really noticed was Seth. He looked at her with an expression that was completely indefinable. He looked like he was still processing everything she'd said. She couldn't stand the silence that had fallen over the party, and how every single person was looking at her with shocked expressions. She heard Holly giggling with stunned delight. She couldn't bear to look at them. Her secret was out. Now basically her entire class knew she was falling in love with the uber-geek Seth Cohen.
Summer felt tears clouding her eyes when Seth still didn't respond. She had to get out of here. She turned on her heel and stormed into the nearest room, her heart thudding in her throat as she started to cry. What had she just done?
~*~
Seth just stood there looking at her in complete and utter shock. He knew Summer was jealous of him and Anna, but he had thought it was just because she liked competition and she usually won. After she turned to leave, Seth followed his first instinct and went to follow her. Anna stepped out the crowd and grabbed his arm, furious.
"Seth! What are you DOING?"
"Anna, I-I can't just…"
Anna's eyes were wet with tears when she looked back at him.
"I knew you still…I was so naïve to think that I could change anything. Just go, Seth. You deserve each other." She said bitterly, practically running off.
"Anna, I'm so sorry." Seth called after her, and she spun to face him.
"Don't be. I never should have moved here in the first place. You're just confirming that fact."
"I never wanted to hurt you. But I need to be honest."
"Whatever, Seth. Have a nice life." Anna rolled her eyes, leaving down the stairs.
The whole party looked at Seth as if questioning his next move. This was quite an interesting little scene.
"Carry on, people. These are my problems." He waved them on and slowly everyone resumed talking.
Seth took a deep breath and walked into the room Summer had stormed into.
~*~
"Coop, just leave me alone!" Summer said tearfully when Seth opened the door.
"It's me." Seth said quietly.
Summer looked up, her cheeks stained with tears. It was strange- in all his years of noticing her every move, Seth had never seen Summer cry.
"What? Come here to humiliate me some more?"
"I didn't mean to humiliate you, Summer. I was just a little…shocked by all the stuff you said."
"Well, you wanted the truth." Summer shrugged, wiping her eyes almost angrily, looking away from him.
"I know, I just didn't expect so much truth in like ten seconds." Seth smiled, sitting next to her.
"Don't talk to me. I can't take this hot and cold crap with you anymore, Cohen. You want me, you want Anna, you want me, you want her, it's really getting old."
"Anna and I…I think we're done." Seth looked down at his hands.
"Because of what I said?"
"No, not just because of that. It's kind of been ending between us for a while now. Besides, she doesn't like Ryan and Marissa. And that-that's just not girlfriend material right there."
"I agree. How could you not like Ryan and Marissa?" Summer looked puzzled.
"I know!" Seth shook his head with disbelief.
Summer sighed as they sat there in silence for a long moment.
"So…what now? I mean you know how I feel, but you haven't told me anything about how you feel." She finally asked.
"Summer, I seriously didn't know before tonight it even mattered to you how I feel. I thought this was just some game with you that got a lot more interesting to you when Anna started liking me."
"Well, it does matter to me."
Seth looked at her with a small smile.
"I've been in love with you since we were in elementary school. I've dreamed about sailing to Tahiti with you ever since I liked sailing…which has been like, my whole life. Whenever we're together, I have to convince myself over and over again that I'm not dreaming. That's how I feel. You're the only person I've ever really wanted-this whole Anna thing, I just thought you didn't really care, and it seemed like she did. It's all been so crazy lately, but through it all, I never stopped loving you."
Summer's eyes welled up with tears again.
"Seth…" She barely managed to choke out.
"Why…what…no more crying! Did you not hear the loving you part?" Seth looked at her, panicked.
"No, no, I heard."
"Then why-"
She cut him off, kissing him so hard he almost fell backwards onto the bed. It was definitely the most passionate kiss they'd ever shared, and the relief and happiness flooding through Summer made her light-headed. She pulled back for a moment, smiling at him.
"What?" He laughed, feeling a little dizzy himself.
"How is an inexperienced loser like yourself such a great kisser?" She giggled.
"Wow, Summer, I think that was almost a compliment! Dare I name it-could it be love?" Seth grinned back.
"Shut up, Cohen." Summer rolled her eyes, kissing him again.
~*~
A/N- Please leave me a review!
The Confession
~*~
"I don't know-this tie's a little minty." Seth looked at his reflection critically.
"I think it looks nice. Plaid's very in right now." Anna looked up from Seth's chair where she was reading anime.
"Yeah, the whole Irish plaid thing doesn't really work for me-I am but a humble Jew."
"Whatever, wear what you want. It was just a suggestion. I'm wearing plaid." She pointed out.
"True-but we're not like going to the prom. No need for matching. It's just some party."
"Which I don't even understand why we're going at all. I hate Newport parties, as, I thought, did you." Anna rolled her eyes.
"Ryan and Marissa want me to go, so I'm going. It's not that big of a deal- we'll have fun."
"Why do you always do what Ryan and Marissa tell you to do?" Anna put down her comic book.
Seth blinked, surprised.
"I don't always do what they tell me to do."
"Yes you do- it's always like, 'Oh, Anna, we'll just go wherever Ryan and Marissa are going or lets hang out with them or whatever. I don't even like them that much."
"You don't like my brother and his girlfriend? Oh, I'm sorry, Anna, there's not too much I can do about that situation." Seth said, sounding a little angry.
"All right, don't get all cheesed off. I'm just saying- it'd be nice to do stuff just us sometimes."
"We do!" Seth sighed, taking off the plaid tie and putting on a dark gray sweater.
"No, we don't! Since we started dating, I think we've done one thing that didn't involve Ryan and Marissa! And you always drag me to those stupid Newport parties, and Summer's always there-"
"Wait, wait, wait--this is about Summer?" Seth stopped her.
"No, it's not ABOUT Summer, but she is going to be an issue between us, obviously."
"Why is she an issue? Geez, Anna, you're my girlfriend, not her. What more do you want?"
Anna stood up, her arms crossed.
"I want to feel like you're not just settling for me."
Seth sighed.
"Of course I'm not."
"So why do you still hang out with Summer at school?"
"What, now I can't even see Summer anymore?"
"That'd be nice."
"Anna, come on! Don't you trust me at all?"
"I don't trust her."
Seth put his hands on either side of her face, smiling.
"I won't talk to her tonight if it bothers you that much."
Anna smiled back, satisfied.
"Good. Let's go."
"Okay, I'll go tell Ryan and Marissa we're ready."
~*~
"So, sorry about another party that you have to come to. I feel like I keep dragging you to things you don't want to go to." Marissa sat next to Ryan on the pool house bed.
"It's no problem. If you're there, it's always a good time." Ryan gave her a little half-smile and went back to tying his shoes.
"I love you." Marissa sighed happily.
Ryan looked back at her, kissing her softly on the lips. Just as his hands tangled in her air, Seth and Anna walked in.
"Whoa, guys, keep it PG." Seth grinned, as Anna hung slightly back, looking annoyed.
"Hey, Seth," Marissa grinned at him, "You're looking snappy."
"Same to you. And Ryan- I'm loving the new look." Seth gave a thumbs up to Ryan's classic white tank top/button down combo.
"Hey, if it ain't broke…" Marissa smiled at Ryan.
"Can we go?" Anna said suddenly.
"Oh, right, we're going to be late." Seth looked at his watch.
They all climbed into Marissa's Jeep and headed for the enormous birthday party Caleb was throwing for Julie Cooper. He'd practically invited all of Newport, regardless of whether they even knew Julie or not. Caleb had a penchant for being the best at everything, and this party was going to be no exception.
~*~
"This house…is awesome." Marissa breathed, looking up at Caleb Nichol's beachfront property.
"It's all right. To me, it will always just be the place with the pool I used to pee in when I was like six, so it's not all that impressive." Seth shrugged.
"Gross, Seth." Anna wrinkled her nose.
"Oh, like you've never done it." Seth sighed.
"No, actually."
"Hmm…well, that kind of deflates my whole anecdote, so…let's go!" Seth recovered quickly, getting out of the car and opening the door for Anna.
"I think it's awesome. It's like the Super Pool House." Ryan observed.
"Makes ours look downright inadequate."
"I like my pool house just fine, thank you." Ryan clapped Seth on the back as they entered the party.
The first floor of the beach house was mostly the adults sitting around and drinking Merlot, but the second floor held all the rich Newport teenagers Caleb had seen fit to invite. Which was pretty much most of Ryan and Seth's class from Harbor, so they saw plenty of familiar faces.
Summer saw Marissa enter, and crossed over to them.
"Hey, guys." She smiled brightly, looking anywhere but at Seth and Anna.
"Hey, Summer." Marissa smiled back.
An awkward silence fell as Seth looked at his feet, Anna glared at Summer, and Ryan tried to think of any excuse to go somewhere else.
"Hey, Coop, can I talk to you for a sec?" Summer finally said.
"Sure. Let's go."
~*~
They set off for the bathroom, and as soon as they were both in, Summer slammed the door behind her.
"I can't believe he's here with her." She practically growled, leaning against the door miserably.
"Summer, you knew they were dating."
"Yes, thank you for reminding me yet again-it's just…I don't know, seeing them together…I can't stand it."
"I thought you were 'so over' Seth Cohen." Marissa said.
"Aloha, Coop- I was lying!"
"But Summer…I mean, it's Seth. You never even spoke to him before this year."
"Look, I can't explain any of this. I wish I didn't feel this way-but it's not like I get any say in the matter. I like him. A lot."
"How do you know you like him? I mean, I knew you were kinda jealous on the yacht, but it's not like anything's happened between you guys."
Summer looked down at her feet a little sheepishly.
"Something's happened between you guys?" Marissa asked, shocked.
"Well, it all started at Caleb's birthday party."
"What? You just never told me?"
"I meant to! I kissed him, and then I kinda went through this stupid denial phase, and then seeing him with Anna on the yacht just got me thinking that maybe it was possible that I really liked him, and we kissed again…and it was…I know this sounds cheesy, but kissing Seth is like nothing I've ever felt before."
"Seriously? Seth Cohen?" Marissa raised an eyebrow.
"What? You've never kissed him, you don't know." Summer said defensively.
"All right, I'll take your word for it. Continue."
"So, then we made out in the pool house on Thanksgiving-"
"Summer!"
"And then a little bit at that Christmas party. Until Anna walked in and ruined everything."
"This is insane-why did you never tell me all this?"
"I don't know, you've been so busy with all the Ryan drama."
"Summer, I always have time for you. That's kinda a part of the whole best friend thing." Marissa smiled at her, perching on the sink.
"So…what do I do?" Summer said, sitting next to Marissa and leaning her head on her shoulder.
"I don't know, Summer, do you really think he's worth it? I mean, any guy who would pick Anna over you…"
"She's like his perfect woman with her stupid comic books and her stupid sailing and her stupid haircut and her stupid-"
"All right, breathe." Marissa patted her on the head, laughing.
"Sorry. This is really freaking me out. This is a very new situation for me." Summer said sulkily.
"I know. All right, well, have you talked to Seth about all this? I mean, without Anna there?"
"Not really. But Anna's done a pretty good job of making sure we never get to talk alone. She's kinda scary protective."
Marissa smiled at her friend.
"She's just threatened."
Summer grinned back, her confidence suddenly returning.
"She should be." She said, leaping off the counter and fixing her hair in the mirror.
Marissa giggled.
"Slow down there, Man Trap." She teased, putting on more lip gloss.
~*~
Summer practically strutted back out into the party, and suddenly saw Seth go to the bar to get Anna and him drinks. Anna was talking to some weird girl Summer didn't know, and seemed pretty preoccupied. She slipped past them quickly, walking up to the bar.
"Hey, Cohen." She said, taking a Mountain Dew.
"Summer." Seth barely acknowledged her.
"Something wrong?" She looked up at him, trying to stand in the most provocative pose possible.
"Nope. See ya." Seth didn't even look at her, starting to walk away.
Summer grabbed his arm, making him spill one of the drinks.
"Hey, geez, Summer-this is a new shirt!"
"Well, then stop running away and talk to me and I'll stop ruining your stupid shirts. Please, you have like a billion."
"Look, Summer-"
"What, did your little girlfriend forbid you from talking to me or something?"
Seth blinked.
"Yes, actually."
"You just let her boss you around like that?"
"She doesn't boss me around." Seth looked anxiously up at Anna, who was still talking ot her friend.
"Please. Telling you not to talk to someone? That's pretty controlling."
"It's just because…you know why, Summer. We have all the history, and you know, I named my boat after you, I had a mix CD of songs that reminded me of you, of course she's a little threatened."
Summer smiled slightly.
"You named your boat after me?"
"It doesn't matter now! I'm with Anna." Seth's voice rose in volume a little with frustration.
"So you just stopped caring about me?" Summer couldn't help asking.
Seth looked down.
"No, of course not."
"Then how can you date her? How can you pretend-"
"I'm not pretending!"
"You just said you still care about me!"
"Forget I said anything. I gotta go." Seth turned to walk away again.
"Fine! You don't want me? That's fine." Summer grabbed Chip's arm, some random jock standing nearby.
"Hey, Summer." Chip looked at her, confused.
"Hey, Chip. Want to hook up?" Summer smiled widely at him.
"Uhh…yeah." Chip smiled dumbly, and they started to walk towards one of the other rooms when Seth couldn't stand it anymore.
"Summer, don't do this." He said it a lot louder than he meant to, and a few people nearby stopped talking.
"Don't do what? Don't move on? I'm not just going to wait around forever, Cohen!"
"You don't care about him."
"So what? I hook up with a lot of people I don't care about…remember Thanksgiving?" Summer practically yelled back.
More people stopped talking to watch.
"You're saying none of this meant anything to you?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying!"
"I don't believe you." Seth looked at her, and didn't even notice the amount of spectators they had acquired, including a furious Anna, and a bewildered Ryan and Marissa.
Summer took a deep, shaking breath, her fists clenched.
"You want the truth, Cohen?"
"Yes!" Now they were both shouting.
"Fine! FINE! Here's the truth- I've never felt this way about any guy before! I can't stop thinking about you! I can't stand seeing you with anyone else-it's tearing me apart to see you with her. I had a miserable Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND New Year's thanks to you and my stupid feelings! You're just some weird guy I've known since third grade who reads comic books, and you drive me insane, and I hate your dumb music and I hate your weird t-shirts and still, despite all of those things, and as much as I hate myself for feeling this way, I think I'm falling in love with you!" Summer yelled this entire diatribe at the top of her lungs, and it was only when she finished that she realized practically the entire party had heard every word.
All she really noticed was Seth. He looked at her with an expression that was completely indefinable. He looked like he was still processing everything she'd said. She couldn't stand the silence that had fallen over the party, and how every single person was looking at her with shocked expressions. She heard Holly giggling with stunned delight. She couldn't bear to look at them. Her secret was out. Now basically her entire class knew she was falling in love with the uber-geek Seth Cohen.
Summer felt tears clouding her eyes when Seth still didn't respond. She had to get out of here. She turned on her heel and stormed into the nearest room, her heart thudding in her throat as she started to cry. What had she just done?
~*~
Seth just stood there looking at her in complete and utter shock. He knew Summer was jealous of him and Anna, but he had thought it was just because she liked competition and she usually won. After she turned to leave, Seth followed his first instinct and went to follow her. Anna stepped out the crowd and grabbed his arm, furious.
"Seth! What are you DOING?"
"Anna, I-I can't just…"
Anna's eyes were wet with tears when she looked back at him.
"I knew you still…I was so naïve to think that I could change anything. Just go, Seth. You deserve each other." She said bitterly, practically running off.
"Anna, I'm so sorry." Seth called after her, and she spun to face him.
"Don't be. I never should have moved here in the first place. You're just confirming that fact."
"I never wanted to hurt you. But I need to be honest."
"Whatever, Seth. Have a nice life." Anna rolled her eyes, leaving down the stairs.
The whole party looked at Seth as if questioning his next move. This was quite an interesting little scene.
"Carry on, people. These are my problems." He waved them on and slowly everyone resumed talking.
Seth took a deep breath and walked into the room Summer had stormed into.
~*~
"Coop, just leave me alone!" Summer said tearfully when Seth opened the door.
"It's me." Seth said quietly.
Summer looked up, her cheeks stained with tears. It was strange- in all his years of noticing her every move, Seth had never seen Summer cry.
"What? Come here to humiliate me some more?"
"I didn't mean to humiliate you, Summer. I was just a little…shocked by all the stuff you said."
"Well, you wanted the truth." Summer shrugged, wiping her eyes almost angrily, looking away from him.
"I know, I just didn't expect so much truth in like ten seconds." Seth smiled, sitting next to her.
"Don't talk to me. I can't take this hot and cold crap with you anymore, Cohen. You want me, you want Anna, you want me, you want her, it's really getting old."
"Anna and I…I think we're done." Seth looked down at his hands.
"Because of what I said?"
"No, not just because of that. It's kind of been ending between us for a while now. Besides, she doesn't like Ryan and Marissa. And that-that's just not girlfriend material right there."
"I agree. How could you not like Ryan and Marissa?" Summer looked puzzled.
"I know!" Seth shook his head with disbelief.
Summer sighed as they sat there in silence for a long moment.
"So…what now? I mean you know how I feel, but you haven't told me anything about how you feel." She finally asked.
"Summer, I seriously didn't know before tonight it even mattered to you how I feel. I thought this was just some game with you that got a lot more interesting to you when Anna started liking me."
"Well, it does matter to me."
Seth looked at her with a small smile.
"I've been in love with you since we were in elementary school. I've dreamed about sailing to Tahiti with you ever since I liked sailing…which has been like, my whole life. Whenever we're together, I have to convince myself over and over again that I'm not dreaming. That's how I feel. You're the only person I've ever really wanted-this whole Anna thing, I just thought you didn't really care, and it seemed like she did. It's all been so crazy lately, but through it all, I never stopped loving you."
Summer's eyes welled up with tears again.
"Seth…" She barely managed to choke out.
"Why…what…no more crying! Did you not hear the loving you part?" Seth looked at her, panicked.
"No, no, I heard."
"Then why-"
She cut him off, kissing him so hard he almost fell backwards onto the bed. It was definitely the most passionate kiss they'd ever shared, and the relief and happiness flooding through Summer made her light-headed. She pulled back for a moment, smiling at him.
"What?" He laughed, feeling a little dizzy himself.
"How is an inexperienced loser like yourself such a great kisser?" She giggled.
"Wow, Summer, I think that was almost a compliment! Dare I name it-could it be love?" Seth grinned back.
"Shut up, Cohen." Summer rolled her eyes, kissing him again.
~*~
A/N- Please leave me a review!