"Would you relax already man, its just a party."
"I can't man I'm a Cohen. We're very emotional people and take everything to heart." Ryan rolled his eyes and smirked as he fixed his gaze out on the open road.
"What's the big deal anyways?" Ryan asked pointedly towards Seth's attire. Ryan had decided to go the traditional wife beater and jeans, followed up with a wrist cuff, while Seth was looking dressed to kill. With a neatly pressed polo and khaki pants.
"Well, I'm going to impress Summer. That's the big deal."
"You have any clue how ridiculous you look right now?"
"I dress like this all the time. You're just noticing now?"
"We're going to an after party for a live music venue. You're going to look out of your element."
"Well that's right in my wheelhouse my friend." Seth studied himself in the passenger side mirror. "Also, Summer won't see it that way. She'll see it as a sweet and romantic gesture."
"Not to be a downer on your plan or anything, but aren't you forgetting one key element?" Ryan shot a brief glance over at Seth to see if he understood him. Seth shook his head continuously, obviously not. " Her current boyfriend Zach?"
"He's not her boyfriend." He muttered more to himself, and felt himself beginning to drain out all enthusiasm he had toward his plan. Ryan immediately felt like he was raining on his parade, but knew he had to talk some sense into him. He really was doing him a favor.
"Yeah, right Seth. You only caught her making out with him in her room that one night." Ryan snapped and his voice raised slightly enough that it quieted Seth considerably. Ryan scoffed and laughed with sarcasm dripping off his lips. "Wake up Seth. She's treating you like crap. She sat there and watched you get beat up, ignores you in math, actually wait let me rephrase that, ignores you period, and continues to blame everything on you." Ryan fumed as he stopped at a red light and turned to fully face Seth.
"You don't know what you're talking about." Seth mumbled well below a whisper, and he slouched down in his chair avoiding all eye contact with Ryan.
The red light quickly faded, and he was on his way driving once again. He felt bad for the situation Seth was in, but the way Summer had been treating him since he returned was really starting to get at him. He thought it should be the other way around, Summer being alone and miserable, while Seth was his usual self.
He knew he had to be harsh with Seth, so he could stop him for getting false hope over something that was almost 100 not going to happen. After hearing all of the stories about Summer from Seth on her reaction to him coming back, he felt Seth was better off alone. There wasn't a shot in hell Ryan could look at Summer and not curse under his breath anymore, their friendship or whatever it was when they used to hang out was long gone. Those ships had sailed a while ago.
"Whatever Seth…"
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"You were right Coop, this party really is off the chain." Zach nodded in admiration outward at the crowd of dancing drunks and made his way down the spiral staircase to the dance floor. He had just arrived with Summer, and his entourage of water polo playing followers.
"Wait a sec, did he just call me Coop? Because no offence it just sounds wrong when he says it."
"Sorry about that, I'll have to smack some sense into him later."
"Oh well, I guess it was the same way when Seth used to say it right?" Summer smiled and nodded as her and Marissa leaned over the railway that overlooked the dance floor. The Bait Shop was alive and kicking, the place was literally the perfect advocate for a teen hangout that Newport had been missing up until now.
Her body moved back and forth to the music as her and Marissa continued to stare out at the crowd and survey the party. Her mind quickly raced to Seth, and whether or not he'd show up. As usual, she didn't no what terms they were on, or if they were on any at all.
She knew that he deserved an explanation for her behavior recently, and that he was most likely fed up with her actions. No doubt Ryan was helping to push the envelope farther, and was trying his best to keep him away from her. She no longer trusted Ryan like she used to, and didn't see that changing anytime soon in the future.
"Yo Riss." Marissa shot her head sideways and saw a small opening between some curtains where there appeared to be a tiny room for a hangout. A hand waved her over and she immediately knew who it was.
"Uhh Sum, I've gotta go. I got something to do." She quickly sprang away from the tiny brunette without even hearing her response and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Summer was now left alone. Her supposed boyfriend on the dance floor grinding into some blonde bimbo, and the one boy she felt the strongest for nowhere to be found. She wasn't too upset to see Zach out there flirting with every D cup hoe he could find, she was more pissed off at everything else he had done up to that point.
It was his fault when Seth walked in on them kissing, it was his fault they were even together in the first place. She still hadn't got a chance to explain everything to Seth, the kiss and her behavior as of late. If only he had stayed a bit longer that one faithful night when he caught Zach kissing her, he would've seen her reaction to it and how unwanted it truly was.
Seth was helping speed the healing process up by avoiding her at school either. She was trying to fix things up between them, and he was running away. It was almost as if he was scared to find out exactly what she had to say. Why did he always assume the worst?
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"Didn't I tell you this place would be awesome?"
"You might've." Ryan stated dryly as he and Seth made their way through the main entrance and into the tightly congested teen club. The music was blasting, and it appeared everyone was having a good time. He wasn't as interested in being there as much as Seth was, but figured he would make the best out of it to make his best friend/ brother happy.
"Well, I'll be off to patch things up with Summer. Later man." Seth smiled cheerfully and dashed away before Ryan could throw his input in on how wrong things were going to turn out. He felt like he was the bearer of bad news, but he was really just looking out for him. He knew if Summer did another wrong move, it would crush him for good and it would be luck just to get him out of the house. Seth just didn't realize how much him getting shunned by Summer would inevitably effect him.
He leaned onto the railway just in front of the main entrance, and spotted Summer doing likewise except on the other side of the room. His blood boiled and anger soon took him over when he saw Zach sneak up from behind her and surprise her. His hands began to dig into the firm railing that was supporting him. This couldn't turn out well. To the left, he spotted Seth happy as could be; with a huge grin plastered on his lips as he made his way through a pileup of sweaty dancing bodies to get to Summer. He knew he had to stop him before it was too late.
He turned and swung his arms loosely, flailing his hands through the air. Unbeknownst to him, was the fact that there was someone behind him. His hand struck the girl directly in the back of the head, she groaned and turned to face the attacker.
"Ow…" She bellowed melodramatically and Ryan stopped in his tracks as soon as he heard the tone of the voice.
"I am so sorry…I honestly didn't mean to do that." He stared at the girl and looked her up and down. She was just about the same height as him, give or take a few inches. She was a red head, and her hair ranged down to about her shoulders.
"Is this how all new visitors get treated around here…" She hisses as she rubbed continually at the back of her head and glared at Ryan. His nerves got the better of him, and he started to tremble with his words. The girl was a new kind of beautiful to him, she was gorgeous in her own way.
"Yeah…No, no they don't, and I'm so sorry about that…Ryan Atwood." He extended his hand and smiled frantically as she continued to shoot daggers at him with her eyes.
"Lindsay Gardiner, and I hope smacking me in the head wasn't some sort of pickup attempt, because you're in serious need of some assistance." She smiled warmly at him, and for the first time, shaking his hand. He relaxed considerably and his initial thought of saving Seth from being shut down was thrown completely out the window.
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"Summy…whats up?" Zach smiled goofily and grinned as his hands made their way around her waist and he stood behind her. Summer mumbled something incoherently that came out as more of an insult for breaking her serious concentration on Seth Cohen than a welcoming greeting.
"What do you want?" She uttered dryly as Zach buried his face into her shoulder and continued to ramble on about absolutely nothing. They had been there about an hour, and already she knew he was drunk.
"What do you think girl? You." His hands roamed from settling on her waist to up her shirt. He grazed her stomach and began extending his hand further up.
"Really? I thought earlier you wanted that blonde with the stuffed bra." She snarled and smacked at his hand.
"What…That's all nonsense babe." He reassumed his position underneath her shirt and began ravishing away roughly at her bra. Summer smacked his hand harder this time, causing him to pull out at lightning speed.
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"Summer, I know we haven't had much time to talk recently, and the main reason is because of me. But I'm here to tell you that I'm done being scared, and I'm ready to face anything…with you." Seth smiled, satisfied with his devised plan to woo Summer, and continued to make his way through the flurry of bodies. He had been talking quietly to himself, randomly throwing out cheesy lines he knew that would help win Summer over.
"I know you might have other plans, but I just want you to know that I don't want to be without you. Nothing feels right without you, that's the reason Portland never worked out. I couldn't be there and function properly without you there to smack me whenever I'm out of line." His thoughts swirled around Summer and what he was going to say.
"It might take some time for you to trust me again, but I want you to know that I'll wait for as long as you want…" He broke free from a more congested part of the crowd, and got a clear view of Summer. She was all alone, just staring out at the dance floor.
"But I'm just going to go ahead and say, Summer Roberts I lov-" He came to a halt about 10 feet away from her when he saw Zach approach her from behind and wrap his arms around her. "love you…" His voice cracked as he watched on, and felt his heart being tugged at, most likely the motion of it being ripped out. He lost all color in his face, and his eyes were quickly glistened with a glassy, wet substance dribbling down. He definitely didn't see this coming.He remained frozen on the spot, he saw Zach's hands snake their way from her waist and up her shirt. His last hurrah attempt to salvage his relationship with Summer was officially ruined.
Summer continually denied Zach any access to her body, seeing as he was drunk and she just didn't feel right giving herself away to him. She turned fully around to face him, and he thrust his groin into hers. She was taken back at her first, but quickly shook off all the flusters when she turned her head to the left and saw Seth standing all alone gazing at her with hurt eyes.
"Oh my god, Seth." She uttered quietly and brushed Zach off of her. Seth smiled weakly as tears glistened his eyes. His smile completely faded by the time he turned around and began walking off in the direction of the exit.
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"Marissa come on, one hit won't do you no harm." DJ pleaded with his hands as he and his friends passed the joint around. She never would have thought life would steer her in this direction after Ryan left at the beginning of summer.
"No it's alright guys, I think I should really get going." She smacked the curtains out of the way and walked out into the open of the congested club. She froze instantly when her eyes fell upon Ryan, and he wasn't alone and brooding like she was used to. He was smiling, laughing, and flirting with a red head girl she'd never seen before.
He was smiling for what seemed like the first time in ages, considering every time she saw him look at her, he was either frowning or just generally showing his dislike for her. And Seth and Summer had problems of their own, they didn't have time for her. Seth sure as hell didn't have time for her. She watched as the aforementioned brunettes raced across her field of view, Seth storming off batting away at his eyes, while Summer chased after him.
" Get going? Where? To him…" DJ whispered calmly into her ear before returning back to his other friends and shutting the curtains. Marissa took one last look at Ryan and the mystery red head, before retreating back into the smoke filled room.
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"Cohen, would you just…Stop!" She hollered and he came to a halt just outside the main entrance. He kept his gazed fixed outward at the calm ocean, and waited for him to catch up to him.
"What do you want from me?"
"I just want to talk."
"Why don't you go and talk to Zach? I'm sure he's interested." He replied angrily, his voice dripping in sarcasm.
"Cohen, you have no right to talk to me like that."
"What you said you wanted to talk right!" He turned and faced her, exasperated. "And right now I'm afraid this the only way I'll be able to talk to you."
"Zach's my boyfriend. He was the one that was there for me after you ran off like a little bitch and left me with nothing. He was there." She stated, trying to reassure herself that Zach was indeed her boyfriend.
"See this is why I left. You got a funny way of showing how hurt you are Summer. I take off, a week later you've got a new man crawling all over you, you're happy again, and I still feel like shit for breaking up with you." Seth hollered back, causing nearby pedestrians to turn and see what the big commotion was. He was staring eagerly at Summer, and she was avoided his gaze. But he could see from the moon's reflection the tears shimmering on her cheeks.
"Everything would've been fine if you never left." She spat back.
"Right, everything is my fault. Yet again. Did you ever once stop and think about my feelings, instead of being so self-absorbed? Its funny, all those times you used to say I was full of myself. I mean, look how easy it was for you to go out and replace me, you didn't even think twice about getting a new boyfriend." She went quiet, and lowered her head as she listened on. " And the cherry on top of a perfect summer break is when I come back only to see you making out with Zach. You ignore me during class, laugh at me while I get the shit kicked out of me, then expect after all of that, that I'll still be a little love sick puppy obsessing over you. Well guess what Summer, I was, but now I just don't think its worth it anymore."
Summer remained quiet and rubbed her hands up and down her arms to try and regain warmth. She felt shivers roam up her spine, and they continued when she saw Seth storming away towards his car. She watched him as he went into the back and pulled something out, and to her delight she came back to her.
"Here…" He offered one of his cover-up sweatshirts and tossed it over to her. Summer smiled and wiped away any signs of tears so she could show him she was genuinely happy. Seth was a good guy, even if he said he didn't care, she knew he always would. Or at least she hoped he would. She didn't want to ever lose him, he was just too good to be true. He nodded dryly and rolled his eyes.
"I won't be mad for too long Sum, don't worry. I want you to go out, be happy with Zach, and I'll just have to manage." He smiled weakly averted his eyes behind her. Happy with Zach, yeah there's something to look forward to
"What's going on out here?" Zach walked over and stood in between the vast gap between Seth and Summer. He looked at Summer and saw her tear stained face, and the frown pierced on her lips and came to his own conclusion. "Did you hurt her again queer?"
"Zach, no he didn't." Summer was quick to jump to his defence, and that irked him even more. Zach marched over to Seth and confronted him, he stood tall over top of him and gazed angrily down at him. Seth smirked and waved at him.
"Seth man, you ready to go? We gotta give Lindsay a ride home…" Ryan called, dragging Lindsay along in toe. He saw Seth give him a pleading look, and saw Zach shoving him around. Zach's water polo entourage all snickered as they watched the evens unfold.
"Zach don't." Summer commanded but it was no use. He continually shoved Seth, causing him to stumble and nearly crash down to the ground. Ryan took this as his cue, and abandoned Lindsay at the door and rushed to Seth's defence.
"Hey leave him alone." He barked, and stood between Zach and Seth. Seth was busy rearranging himself, and Summer unknowingly rushed to his side and began to drill questions at him to see if he was okay. Seth smiled, knowing exactly what was happening, he knew later it would be a miracle to get Summer to even utter his name, especially after tonight. He basically put the final nail in the coffin that was their relationship. She clearly had no interest in him, and decided to completely let go of her, or at least return to his old ways of stalking from the shadows.
"I saw what you did to Norlund at school the other day, that was pretty weak man."
"Yeah you want the same to happen to you?" Ryan grunted and clutched his fists. Zach scoffed and pointed behind him to the bevy of water polo player's itching to rip apart both Seth and himself.
"Come on man, let's go." Seth loosely put an arm around Ryan's shoulder and guided him toward the car park.
"You heard the geek, get going." Anger quickly boiled over him, and he tried to shake free of Seth's grip, but he held firmly and continued to guide them toward the car park. He absolutely hated everything to do with Newport, it all seemed so fake to him now after spending time in Chino. What he hated more was the fact that kids continued to pick on Seth, and still hadn't grown out of it. So whenever he heard someone call him a geek or a loser, he always felt obliged to return to his old fighting days in Chino. It was the least he could do for the Cohen's, after everything they've down for him, he could at least try and protect their only son from all the mockery and name-calling that was Newport Beach.
Summer was the last one remaining outside. Even after Zach's countless persuasions to head back inside, she kept her ground and continued to watch Seth and Ryan descend into the dark night on the pier, and watched their car roll out of the car park. She and Seth had finally reached a decision. He apparently was okay with her relationship with Zach, though he used plenty of negative comments to portray it. Ending all ties with him was the last thing she wanted, but she figured she got what was coming considering all of the crap she put him through.
She was now more determined than ever to try and win Seth's affections back and show him she could still be everything he wanted, and more.
A new love interest for Seth? Is it Summer? Who knows? Please review and tell me what you think.
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