Summary: Following the abandonment of Ryan and Summer, Seth and Marissa seek comfort from whom neither had ever anticipated: each other.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Pairing: Seth/Marissa.
A/N: I started writing this story such a long time ago, you wouldn't even believe it. I'm about eight chapters in, so you can probably expect regular updates- at least for a while. I was skeptical about whether or not I should post it.. Unconventional couples do tend to trigger some controversy.. But I'll give it a shot. Hopefully, you will enjoy this..
Seth/Marissa scenes are soon to come, but first I must properly break up the other two couples. This takes place after the season 2 finale, by the way. Nothing in season 3 has happened.
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A single tear forced itself from Marissa's eye and trickled down her cheek. He was gone. Permanently.
She noticed when he began distancing himself from her. It all started after Trey's funeral. (he died from severe blood loss) She chose not to attend. She assumed that Ryan needed space. After all, Trey was his only brother. Little did she know, this was the time when he needed her the most. In the days following that event, he began making up excuses. It didn't matter if it was, "I need to catch up on some summer reading." or "I promised Seth I'd go sailing with him." They all meant the same thing.
Every night as she lied down in her oversized bed with no one to snuggle with except for share bear, she would ask herself the same question: "Why doesn't he just break up with me?" Just before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, she would pray to God that he would just get it over with. It was inevitable. It was bound to happen sooner or later. So why must they continue to convince themselves that it wasn't over? That their relationship wasn't doomed to failure from the very beginning? That they had a future? Because they didn't. No matter how much they loved each other, they couldn't change who they were: Ryan and Marissa. Something or someone was always able to come between them. Love was not a factor in their relationship.
She knew that it had to end, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell him that it was over. The time she spent practicing in her bedroom didn't give her the confidence she was hoping it would. In her eyes, she held the privilege of calling him her boyfriend, and she didn't want to lose it. So, she continued "seeing" him, pretending that it was right and that they were the "perfect couple" everyone always said they were. That is, until that night in mid-July..
She knew that something was wrong. Ryan never came to her house unless he was previously invited. He said that they needed to talk. Surprisingly, he did all of the talking. Usually, she would have to ask a million questions just to get a few words out of him. Not this time. Within a few seconds, she discovered that her suspicions were correct. Something was wrong.
Theresa called. She was in Chino.. but not for long.
Ryan, of coarse, jumped at the chance to move to Atlanta and help take care of his one-year-old child. Sure, he would be forced to give up his luxurious pool house and say goodbye to the family he's learned to love.. but it would end the awkwardness between he and Marissa. And maybe, just maybe, he would grow to love his son, Michael- as he recently discovered was his name- even more than he loved the Cohen's and Marissa.
That was it. They said their final goodbyes and he left. No sex. No kisses. Just a friendly hug, even though everyone knew that Ryan and Marissa were never friends.
And then he was gone. Permanently.
After that first tear escaped, it was impossible for her to hold the rest back. They were now flowing freely down Marissa's reddening face. The moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived.. but she felt no sense of happiness or relief. Her first love was gone. He would no longer be there to protect her in times of need. She would now be forced to fight her battles alone. He had a family. She was not a part of it. Nothing would ever be the same again.
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Seth promised Summer that he would never abandon her again. He intended on keeping that promise. Even after Ryan told him he was leaving, Seth remained strong. He tried his best not to think about it. He surrounded himself with the ones he cared about the most, (his parents, Summer, Captain Oats) and stayed away from the empty pool house. Although he knew that nothing was capable of filling the void that Ryan left behind, sailing away wouldn't solve anything either.
Despite everything that happened, Seth was surprisingly happy. He was aware that school started in less than two weeks, but he didn't seem to mind. It was his last year of high school, and he was looking forward to it.
One night, he received a phone call from Summer. She needed to see him. That's all she said. So, he hopped into his mother's Range Rover and sped to her house.
He walked into her bedroom to find it cramped with boxes- some empty, some overfilled with various items.
She was leaving. Summer, the one person he was depending on to be there for him, was leaving.
Apparently, the step monster had overdosed on pain medication. She was dead. The funeral was to take place in Manhattan, where all of her family lived.
Her dad proposed that they stay there, start a new life. Summer didn't object. As much as she loved Seth, he had changed. Ever since Ryan left, the old Seth Cohen was nowhere to be found. Despite Seth's desperate attempts to convince her to stay, it was too late. He couldn't change who he was, and she couldn't change her mind. The arrangements had already been made.
She was leaving with no intentions of ever coming back. Seth's heart was broken.
It's your life
You
say you need a change
Don't all the dreams
We've seen come
true
Mean anything
You say it's different now
And you keep
staring at the door
How can you walk away
Don't I matter any
more
If being free
Is
worth what you leave behind
And if it's too late
For love to
change your mind
(Then it's) goodbye time
If we had known
Our
love would come to this
We could have saved
Our hearts the
hurt
Of wasted years
Well it's been fun
What else can I
say
If the feeling's gone
Words won't stop you anyway
If being free
Is
worth what you leave behind
And if it's too late
For love to
change your mind
(Then it's) goodbye time
Goodbye baby.
"Goodbye Time" by Blake Shelton
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Well, there you have it, the very first chapter.. It will get more interesting as it progresses- I promise! Oh, I just added the lyrics because I thought it kind of tied in with everything.. I will do that sometimes. So, now that I built up the courage to actually post this, please leave me a review! Thanks, I appreciate it! The next chapter is soon to come.