Seth Cohen fell in love with Summer Roberts all because of an apple pie. He should have known something was wrong the day his best friend Chris hadn't shown up for school. After eating lunch and playing kickball, he'd come back to class to find his fourth grade teacher in tears and his mother and father huddled in a corner, stricken looks on their faces. Chris and his mother Marlene had died in a car accident on a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu. Instantly, he felt his whole world falling apart. The only thing that made sense, the only thing he could think to do, was lay his head on his desk and cry. Of course, his parents pulled him out of school for the rest of that week. They took him home and tried to comfort him, but it was Summer and her mother standing on his doorstep one night, an apple pie in hand, that somehow managed to penetrate the thick shell that had started to form over his heart. He knew instantly, that should he live to be a hundred, he would remember that moment forever.
That was six years ago and he was still in love with her despite the fact that she wouldn't give him the time of day. But, the tide was turning. He could see it and feel it and taste it, all thanks to a certain blonde transplant from Pittsburgh named Anna Stern.
"Have you thought about what we talked about yesterday?" Seth asked as he and Anna crossed the Harbor School quad, the glare from the afternoon sun momentarily blinding them.
"We talked about a lot of things yesterday," she said stopping in front of him.
"Watch it geek," one of the football players said as a football whizzed past Seth's head. All around there was movement - students tossing Frisbees, playing hacky-sack, sitting on the grass, or just milling around.
"Jackass," Anna called after the football player.
She and Seth resumed walking until Seth stopped again.
Standing near the entrance to the library was Summer. She was dressed in a white mid-riff top, a short denim skirt, and clogs. Her brown hair hung loose at her shoulders. Three girls similarly dressed surrounded her.
"How do I look?" Seth asked.
"You're so money and you don't even know it."
"Swingers. Nice. Seriously, is my Jew-fro in place?" Seth asked patting his hair.
"You look great Tiger, let's go," Anna said as she wrapped her arm around his waist. They slowly began walking toward Summer and her friends. Just as they were passing them, Anna's hand moved from around Seth's waist and landed with a loud thud on his right butt cheek. Then, she gave it a firm squeeze. Shocked, Seth turned to look at her but she continued to stare straight ahead, a wanton smile on her face. Remembering their objective, he quickly turned his head to gauge Summer's reaction. She was fuming. Her face was tight, her lips were pressed into a thin line, and she stood with her hands on her hips, her foot tapping against the concrete walk. Seth tried to catch her eye, but she swung her head around and resumed talking to her friends.
"Awesome," he said turning to face Anna. "But watch it grabby, I'm a nice Jewish boy, okay?"
"Whatever."
"I'm totally pumped now, why don't we discuss our next move over lunch? But first I need to stop by my locker, so I'll meet you in the cafeteria."
"Sure," Anna said then headed toward the lunchroom.
Seth turned and walked into the main building. The halls were crowded. So much so, he had to push his way through a tidal wave of students trying to get out of the building. But finally, he made it to his locker. Once there, he dropped his backpack on the floor, tumbled the locker's combination lock, pulled on its latch, and opened the door. To his surprise, an expensive-looking beige envelope fell out. As he slowly bent down to pick it up, he noticed his name typed across the front. Confusion swept over him as he untucked the envelope's flap. Unconsciously he held his breath as he pulled out a folded sheet of stationery that matched the envelope. He unfolded the letter, began reading it, then stopped. He looked down one end of the hallway then the other. After a few minutes, he resumed reading the letter, finally folding it and stuffing it back into the envelope.
A love letter … someone had sent him a love letter. His first thought was that it was some cruel practical joke, but the more he thought about it, a smile began to spread across his face. Summer. God, Anna was a genius; her plan was working like a charm.
***
"Summer," she heard someone call from down the hall. It was five o'clock so the school's main building was empty except for a handful of students packing up to go home. As the figure got closer, she could see that it was Seth Cohen. Damn, she thought.
"What Cohen?" she said testily, turning around to face him.
"I got your letter," he said, a self-satisfied smile on his face. The smile irked her; it suggested a familiarity they did not share. Who did Seth Cohen think he was? He certainly didn't have any business talking to her.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Cohen."
"C'mon Summer, I like you, you like me, can you blame me for trying to put together some kind of relationship between us?" Seth said as he leaned against the locker next to her's.
"That will never happen. Besides, I'm seeing someone. He's a film student at USC. So, if you don't mind," Summer said slamming her locker door shut then pushing pass Seth. Quickly, she walked down the hall and down the stairs.
***
Seth stood stunned for a few minutes, unable to move. If Summer hadn't sent him that letter then who did? Was it really someone's idea of a practical joke? Or, was Summer just toying with him, too embarrassed to admit her feelings?
***
Summer ran out of the main building and didn't stop until she reached the safe confines of her jeep. She hated to admit it, especially to herself, but Seth Cohen was actually starting to grow on her. He's kinda cute, I guess, she thought as she started the car then pulled out of the student parking lot. But god, what would my friends say? High school could be a social minefield; thus, the right clique was everything. It defined you, it opened doors for you, and it protected you. She'd hung out with the same group of girls since junior high and she knew they wouldn't be open to her associating with Seth Cohen let alone dating him. Granted, he was Caleb Nichols' grandson, and Caleb Nichols ruled Newport Beach. But Seth was such a lost cause even that wasn't enough to save him - his father was a tree-hugging liberal, he read comic books, and the skateboarding thing was so passé.
***
"Are you sure your parents don't mind me spending the night?" Seth asked as he reached for the t.v. remote control. He was sitting on Anna's bed in her surprisingly very pink bedroom. I never would have pegged her as a girly-girl, he thought as he grabbed a handful of Doritos. "Why should they?" Anna said as she turned off the stereo. "It's not like there's anything going on here. Nothing's about to go on here, is there?" she asked raising her eyebrow.
"Of course not, that's another of my problems. The ladies think of me as safe. You'd think safe would be good but apparently it's not. Bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad," Seth said slapping his own hand.
"Will you stop bellyaching and whining. I know plenty of girls who would go out with you."
"Name one."
Me, Anna thought as she walked across the room and crawled into the bed next to him. "Lots Seth, lots. But, wasn't the convention great? The fact that Neil Gaiman showed up unannounced was icing on the cake. I totally love Sandman. So, are we still doing this Lord of the Rings marathon?" Anna asked as she lay back against her fluffy, frilly, white lace-covered pillows.
"Yep."
* ~ *
Three hours later, Seth was still watching The Fellowship of the Ring DVD when he heard Anna moan. She'd fallen asleep an hour ago so he'd had to content himself with finishing the bag of Doritos and throwing popcorn at the t.v. whenever Orlando Bloom appeared on screen.
"Seth."
"What?" he said turning to face her.
"I love you."
What? Did she just say what I thought she said? As if on cue, Anna said it again. Shit, what do I do now? He liked Anna, but strictly as a friend. As he looked down at her slumbering form, he had to admit she was cute. On the other hand, Summer was gorgeous. Anna was a mere girl, but Summer, Summer was a woman. In fact, she was the kind of woman a guy would kill to go out with, the kind of woman a guy could be proud to say was his girlfriend.
For twenty minutes, Seth contemplated the situation, breaking out in a cold sweat as a result. Meanwhile, Anna began stirring in her sleep. As she rolled onto her side, her hand landed with a plop on Seth's crotch. He jumped as if rammed with a hot poker, lost his balance, and crashed to the floor. He laid there silently in pain like a deer caught in headlights waiting for what seemed like an eternity to see if she would wake up, but she didn't.
Quietly, Seth stood up. He tiptoed across the room and gathered his things. Just as he was sneaking out the bedroom door, he happened to glance at Anna's desk. There tucked neatly in a corner were beige envelopes and stationery that matched those used by his secret admirer. Fudge, he thought. Once outside the door, he slipped on his shoes and walked down the stairs. Her father was still up. After telling Mr. Stern he had a family emergency, he let himself out of the house and raced down the driveway to the end of the block. Immediately, he called Ryan. Ten minutes later, Ryan drove up in the Cohens' Range Rover.
"Why am I picking you up?" Ryan asked as soon as Seth opened the car's passenger side door and climbed in. As usual, Ryan was dressed in a white t-shirt, faded jeans and scuffed black Doc Martens. "I thought you were spending the night at Anna's."
"Dude, she's in love with me," Seth said as he ran his hand through his hair.
"What?"
"I know. We were watching The Fellowship of the Ring four-disc box set. Excellent product by the way. We should really watch that some time."
"Seth," Ryan said interrupting him.
"Sorry, she fell asleep and the next thing I know she's mumbling 'I love you'. Oh god Ryan, what should I do?"
"How do you feel about her?"
"Anna's cool and all, but she's you know."
"No," Ryan said letting the word out slowly.
"She's Anna."
"Yeah?"
"And Anna's not Summer."
Ryan sighed. "Seth, have you ever considered the possibility that there may be other fish in the sea besides Summer?"
"That's what Anna said."
"Maybe she has a point. You and Anna are both into sailing, movies, and comic books. You have a lot in common. What do you and Summer have in common?"
"What do you and Marissa have in common?"
Ryan sighed again.
"I want Summer," Seth said. "I can't help it; the heart wants what the heart wants."