xela-assiram, the beginning of this update is for you. it wasn't there originally, but i figured, hey, why not?

enjoy...

Chapter Seven: thoughts that you always thought would make things simpler

The car door opened and Alex and Marissa glanced back to see Summer step from the car. She angrily shoved her phone back into her purse and stalked past them.

"He's not coming." She said over her shoulder. Obviously. Alex thought. Summer continued toward the party. Marissa glanced up at Alex, rasing her eyebrows. Alex laughed and hopped down off the Mustang. She tilted her head a little bit, smiling at Marissa who was still leaning against the car.

"Come on." Alex said. Alex offered the brunette her hand, smiling softly. Marissa smiled back. She looked down at Alex's soft hand, nails chipped and black. Marissa reached out and took her hand, letting herself be pulled up by the blonde. They started toward the party. Slowly, unsure, Marissa intertwined her fingers with Alex's. Alex looked over at the other girl and couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Marissa didn't look at her, only blushed slightly and swung their hands. Both girls had permanent butterflies in their stomachs, caused by the simple touch of their hands on each other's. They grinned.

Alex was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, sipping a beer and talking to this guy about surfing. Surprisingly, not all of the people at the party were jocks and cheerleaders. There were a bunch who reminded her of Marissa and a few who reminded her of herself. Not enough to make the party great, but enough to make it slightly enjoyable.

"Ok, so I was in the middle of this set and the third wave was gorgeous. I mean, legendary. And I'm about to ride it, I could feel it , it was totally going to be this perfect drop and then this asshole of a guy who was, like, way..." Alex was trying to pay attention, really, but she was actually scanning the crowd for Marissa. The guy's voice drifted into the back of her mind. Alex had spent the first hour or so with Marissa, practically attached at the hip, and then they had drifted apart. She kind of missed having her near. Alex snapped back to the conversation when the guy slapped his hands together, demonstrating some sort of wipeout.

"That sucks. I hate it when that happens." Alex leaned back on her hands, looking over at the guy. "There was this one time-" She was cut off when Marissa walked up.

"Hey, um..." Marissa looked over at the guy. "I'll talk to you later, ok?" She smiled, a little fakely, and turned and left. Alex frowned.

"Hey, I've got to go, I'll catch you later, ok?" The guy nodded. Alex hopped off the bar and followed Marissa out of the house and onto the beach. The waves were crashing and it reminded Alex of the last time they had been together on a beach. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing." Marissa stopped in front of a bonfire. "Me and Summer were going to go get something to eat, but I didn't want to interrupt whatever you were doing with that guy." Marissa said. She could hear the tones of jealousy in her own voice and she tried to hide them. Alex tilted her head, studying Marissa's face. She smiled a little.

"We were talking about surfing." She said, amused at Marissa's jealousy. She thought it was adorable. Do straight girls get jealous over other girls?

"Ok, whatever, its fine. So, are you coming with us?" She asked, glancing over at Alex, who was eyeing her carefully.

"Yeah, sure."

"Great." Marissa started to walk away, but Alex grabbed her wrist. The touch sent goosebumps up Marissa's arm. Marissa turned to Alex, but the blonde didn't let go.

"Marissa, I was just talking to him."

"Yeah, I know, why should I care?" Marissa said, mostly to herself. Why should I care? She thought. She could feel Alex's hand on her wrist like a brand, the rest of her skin feeling cool in comparison. Alex studied her face for a second, Marissa not meeting her eyes.

"Ok." Alex let go of Marissa's wrist. The walked back to the car.

Summer was driving this time, weaving in and out of streets like she actually knew what she was doing. The truth was, she didn't know how to shift gears so she had to stay in third and couldn't slow down. Marissa was too busy trying to ignore Alex to help Summer.They finally reached the diner without dying and Marissa automatically shifted down for Summer. Summer sighed, relieved. They climbed out of the car and walked through the clear glass door into the brightly lit diner.

"This is where we eat." Summer told Alex. They started toward a table and a guy with at least seven piercings winked at Marissa. He had on more eyeliner than Alex. Marissa leaned close to Alex. Apparently she had forgiven her for the thing with the guy. Not that she had anything to forgive.

"That guy has had a crush on me for ages. He totally freaks me out." She whispered into Alex's ear, her hot breath giving the blonde goosebumps. Alex nodded, unable to do anything else. Marissa pulled away and instantly missed the heat that Alex had been giving off. They slid into a booth and a waitress dropped off some menus and left. They had just started looking when Summer's phone rang.

"Hello? No, I'm at the diner with some friends...She did what?...Yeah, ok, I'll be there...Love you too." She snapped the phone shut and sighed. "My step-monster overdosed on painkillers and she went to the hospital. Dad says I have to go to the hosiptal. Have fun though!." She slid out of the booth. "He's picking me up on his way, he's close." She called over her shoulder. "Have fun!" The last sentence was more of a threat. Marissa looked at Alex, who was looking down at the menu. She watched her for a minute, then forced her gaze down to her menu.

"What are you getting?" Alex asked, looking up. Marissa met her eyes and couldn't say anything for a minute. To be thinking hard about someone and then have that someone pull you from those thoughts, it was kind of jolting. Finally, she sort of shook her head and looked down at her menu.

"Uh, I don't know. Fries, maybe." Alex let her gaze rest on the other girl, wondering what that whole staring thing had been about. She smiled a little, then looked back down as well.

It was dark outside, the stars faded in the sky, the moon hanging over everything. Marissa was driving Alex home from the diner. They had stayed there for almost two hours, talking. Staring. Sometimes, Marissa couldn't seem to take her eyes off the gorgeous girl sitting across from her. Marissa slipped a mixed CD into the CD player and a new song started. It was almost two in the morning. Soft classical music started and Alex glanced over at Marissa.

"Ok, what is this?" She asked. Marissa smiled.

"Just wait, it gets better." She said. She turned it up, blaring the violins from the speakers. Alex raised an eyebrow.

if you're feeling like a pimp, nir go on brush your shoulders off

ladies is pimps too, go on brush your shoulders off

Jay-Z's voice came blaring from the speakers, on top of building clasical music. A beat started in the background, guitars and drums. It was a remix of the old Jay-Z song. Marissa rolled her window down, letting the cool night air in.

"This is awesome, where'd you find it?" Alex asked, leaning forward and turning up the music herself. Marissa felt her thigh tingle with Alex's hand so close to it.

"This guy I know." They pulled into Alex's driveway, but neither moved to say goodbye. After Summer had left, it had been awkward for a bit, but they had quickly relaxed. Relaxed enough for Marissa to throw a few french fries at Alex. Alex felt like she knew the other girl, after only two nights. Another voice came on, singing.

cuz its a bitter sweet symphony that's life

"Is that the Verve?" Alex asked and Marissa nodded.

trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to money

then you die

They still didn't leave. "You wanna come inside?" Alex asked.

no change

i can change i can change i can change

but i'm here in my mold

i am here in my mold

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there wasn't really a point in me stopping the chapter here, i just wanted to give you a cliff-hanger. haha, enjoy!

also, the song is a mashup of jay-z's dirt off your shoulders and the verve pipe's bittersweet symphony. its soo hot. check it out.