A/N- You guys are the best! Here's Chapter Three….
Disclaimer- All characters from The OC belong to Fox, the lyrics at the end belong to Dashboard Confessional's "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most."
Chapter Three
The Places You Fear
~*~
"This place is awesome." Seth observed, looking around the rather palatial beach house.
"It's nice." Summer shrugged, toweling off her wet hair.
"There's like eight bedrooms!" Seth laughed from the hallway as he explored.
"Good. No more cramped living quarters. Seems to make me do very, very stupid things." Summer said, following him up the stairs.
Seth didn't respond for a moment.
"So you think what happened was a mistake?" He said in a surprisingly vulnerable voice.
"Um…YEAH." Summer rolled her eyes, feeling a twinge of guilt at the look of hurt in his eyes.
"Oh." Seth said simply, going into one of the rooms and closing the door rather forcefully.
Summer sighed.
"Come on, Seth. Don't get all Dawson's Creek on me here."
Seth didn't respond. Summer tried the doorknob. It was locked.
"Seth…" She whined.
"Oh no, Summer, don't come in. You might make another 'mistake'. And you wouldn't want to do anything other than what people expect you to do. What would all your friends think?" Seth said in a very angry voice.
"Okay, Seth, now you're just abusing sarcasm." Summer said, trying to ignore how close his words were hitting her.
"Well, now we're both abusing something." Seth said in a very surly voice.
"Cut the angst, Cohen! Could you BE any more melodramatic?"
Suddenly, Seth flung the door open, making Summer jump.
"You want to tell me you didn't enjoy it? Not even a little bit?" He was practically yelling at her.
Summer's mouth hung open for a moment, too surprised to respond.
"I don't know how I felt about it, Seth." She finally said in a small voice.
Seth took a deep breath, seemingly steeling himself for something.
"Well, then let me remind you." He finally said, in an adorably nervous voice.
And then he kissed her.
~*~
"This storm's really getting bad!" Marissa shouted to Ryan as they struggled with all the bags through the sheets of rain.
"I don't think I can drive through this-it better let up soon!" Ryan shouted back as they reached the porch and the noise died down slightly.
"Or we might be stuck in a beach house with our best friends. Oh NO!" Marissa clapped her hands together with mock worry.
Ryan grinned.
"I guess that wouldn't be so bad."
"You're so effusive." She smiled back, opening the front door.
"Seth! Summer!" Ryan shouted, putting all their suitcases at the front door.
No response.
"Where are they?" Marissa looked down one hallway, then started to walk towards the stairs.
"I hope they get here okay-"
"Coop! Ryan! There you guys are!" Summer suddenly appeared out of one of the rooms down the upstairs hallway.
"Hey, Summer-we were hoping you guys didn't drown in all this." Ryan motioned towards the window.
"Nope, we're dandy." Seth appeared behind her from the same room, his voice a little shaky and his hair very disheveled.
Ryan and Marissa looked at them for a moment, taking in their rather unkempt appearances.
"What have you guys been doing?" Marissa asked, fixing Summer's hair automatically.
"It's just the rain-you know my hair gets insane in bad weather." Summer smoothed down her hair, laughing a little too loud.
"Okay." Marissa was looking at her best friend with that same dubious expression she had seemed to grow fond of using that day.
"Let's unpack!" Seth clapped his hands together suddenly.
"Great idea!" Summer nodded, hurrying downstairs.
Ryan and Marissa were left alone for a moment. She looked at him, a smile forming slowly.
"Marissa, seriously, no way." Ryan shook his head.
"I think something's going on…" She said in a sing-song voice.
Ryan just laughed, going downstairs to help with the suitcases.
~*~
Later that night, rain was still falling on the beach house as the four occupants slept soundly. Well, two of them anyway.
Seth lay awake, reading the Legion comic he'd brought along for about the five billionth time. He still didn't actually process a word of it. He wondered if she was still awake. He wondered if she'd just deny everything again. But what had happened before Ryan and Marissa had come…he had never kissed anyone like that. He had never been kissed like that. Just thinking about it made a goofy smile spread across his face.
Suddenly, there was a very soft knock on his door. Seth practically jumped off the bed to answer it, nearly tripping over Ryan's bed. He cracked the door open as quietly as possible, revealing Summer in plaid pajamas.
"Hey." She whispered.
"You look good in plaid." Seth replied, grinning goofily still.
"Thanks-look, we really need to talk." Summer looked very serious.
"All right, hold on." Seth slipped out the door, following her to the balcony outside of the game room.
Summer closed the glass door behind them, turning to face him with her arms crossed and her eyes slightly glassy.
"Are you okay?" Seth asked, concerned.
"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just-this-us--it's really not going to work. It just can't happen."
"Oh, okay. Except that it can." Seth responded flippantly.
"No, it can't. You don't really know me, Seth. You don't know my father. He'd kill me if I ever-you know."
"No, I don't know." Seth said, confused.
"Don't be stupid, Seth! You know what I'm saying!"
"NO I DON'T!" Seth was getting really frustrated.
"I'm saying my family has expectations for me that you don't fit in! The Cohens are a joke to this whole neighborhood, everyone says your father just leeches off your mom's money and I mean, face it, you've never exactly been a part of us!"
Seth looked as if she'd slapped him.
"Seth, I'm sorry! You wanted the truth, there it is!" Summer was about to start crying.
"I don't know what I was thinking…I-I'm the one who made the mistake." Seth stumbled slightly over his words as his quietly angry tone broke the very long silence that followed her declaration.
Summer looked at the ground.
"I always hoped that I was right about you. That you weren't just some superficial, spoiled, rich Newport bitch who didn't care about anything but what other people think. That's what everyone said about you, but I always told myself they were wrong. That there was more to you that you just never let people see, but that maybe I could find. But I'm the one who was wrong. That IS all you are, Summer." Seth started to walk away.
"No, Seth, wait-" Summer said, her voice choking slightly.
But he just kept walking, closing the glass door behind him.
Summer was shocked when she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She couldn't recall ever regretting anything she'd said to anyone, ever. But this was different. She couldn't believe it, but she would have given anything to take everything she'd said back. She remembered what it had felt like when he had kissed her, really kissed her just a few hours earlier.
She had to make this right.
~*~
Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself,
and covered with a perfect shell,
Such a charming beautiful exterior
This is one time
That you can't fake it hard enough to please everyone or anyone at all
And the grave that you refuse to leave
The refuge that you've built to flee
The places you have come to fear the most
Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself,
and hidden in the public eye.
Such a stellar monument to loneliness
~*~
A/N- Don't worry, guys! It's ain't over until I say it's over between them! But please review and tell me what you thought, Ch. 4 is coming soon!!
Disclaimer- All characters from The OC belong to Fox, the lyrics at the end belong to Dashboard Confessional's "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most."
Chapter Three
The Places You Fear
~*~
"This place is awesome." Seth observed, looking around the rather palatial beach house.
"It's nice." Summer shrugged, toweling off her wet hair.
"There's like eight bedrooms!" Seth laughed from the hallway as he explored.
"Good. No more cramped living quarters. Seems to make me do very, very stupid things." Summer said, following him up the stairs.
Seth didn't respond for a moment.
"So you think what happened was a mistake?" He said in a surprisingly vulnerable voice.
"Um…YEAH." Summer rolled her eyes, feeling a twinge of guilt at the look of hurt in his eyes.
"Oh." Seth said simply, going into one of the rooms and closing the door rather forcefully.
Summer sighed.
"Come on, Seth. Don't get all Dawson's Creek on me here."
Seth didn't respond. Summer tried the doorknob. It was locked.
"Seth…" She whined.
"Oh no, Summer, don't come in. You might make another 'mistake'. And you wouldn't want to do anything other than what people expect you to do. What would all your friends think?" Seth said in a very angry voice.
"Okay, Seth, now you're just abusing sarcasm." Summer said, trying to ignore how close his words were hitting her.
"Well, now we're both abusing something." Seth said in a very surly voice.
"Cut the angst, Cohen! Could you BE any more melodramatic?"
Suddenly, Seth flung the door open, making Summer jump.
"You want to tell me you didn't enjoy it? Not even a little bit?" He was practically yelling at her.
Summer's mouth hung open for a moment, too surprised to respond.
"I don't know how I felt about it, Seth." She finally said in a small voice.
Seth took a deep breath, seemingly steeling himself for something.
"Well, then let me remind you." He finally said, in an adorably nervous voice.
And then he kissed her.
~*~
"This storm's really getting bad!" Marissa shouted to Ryan as they struggled with all the bags through the sheets of rain.
"I don't think I can drive through this-it better let up soon!" Ryan shouted back as they reached the porch and the noise died down slightly.
"Or we might be stuck in a beach house with our best friends. Oh NO!" Marissa clapped her hands together with mock worry.
Ryan grinned.
"I guess that wouldn't be so bad."
"You're so effusive." She smiled back, opening the front door.
"Seth! Summer!" Ryan shouted, putting all their suitcases at the front door.
No response.
"Where are they?" Marissa looked down one hallway, then started to walk towards the stairs.
"I hope they get here okay-"
"Coop! Ryan! There you guys are!" Summer suddenly appeared out of one of the rooms down the upstairs hallway.
"Hey, Summer-we were hoping you guys didn't drown in all this." Ryan motioned towards the window.
"Nope, we're dandy." Seth appeared behind her from the same room, his voice a little shaky and his hair very disheveled.
Ryan and Marissa looked at them for a moment, taking in their rather unkempt appearances.
"What have you guys been doing?" Marissa asked, fixing Summer's hair automatically.
"It's just the rain-you know my hair gets insane in bad weather." Summer smoothed down her hair, laughing a little too loud.
"Okay." Marissa was looking at her best friend with that same dubious expression she had seemed to grow fond of using that day.
"Let's unpack!" Seth clapped his hands together suddenly.
"Great idea!" Summer nodded, hurrying downstairs.
Ryan and Marissa were left alone for a moment. She looked at him, a smile forming slowly.
"Marissa, seriously, no way." Ryan shook his head.
"I think something's going on…" She said in a sing-song voice.
Ryan just laughed, going downstairs to help with the suitcases.
~*~
Later that night, rain was still falling on the beach house as the four occupants slept soundly. Well, two of them anyway.
Seth lay awake, reading the Legion comic he'd brought along for about the five billionth time. He still didn't actually process a word of it. He wondered if she was still awake. He wondered if she'd just deny everything again. But what had happened before Ryan and Marissa had come…he had never kissed anyone like that. He had never been kissed like that. Just thinking about it made a goofy smile spread across his face.
Suddenly, there was a very soft knock on his door. Seth practically jumped off the bed to answer it, nearly tripping over Ryan's bed. He cracked the door open as quietly as possible, revealing Summer in plaid pajamas.
"Hey." She whispered.
"You look good in plaid." Seth replied, grinning goofily still.
"Thanks-look, we really need to talk." Summer looked very serious.
"All right, hold on." Seth slipped out the door, following her to the balcony outside of the game room.
Summer closed the glass door behind them, turning to face him with her arms crossed and her eyes slightly glassy.
"Are you okay?" Seth asked, concerned.
"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just-this-us--it's really not going to work. It just can't happen."
"Oh, okay. Except that it can." Seth responded flippantly.
"No, it can't. You don't really know me, Seth. You don't know my father. He'd kill me if I ever-you know."
"No, I don't know." Seth said, confused.
"Don't be stupid, Seth! You know what I'm saying!"
"NO I DON'T!" Seth was getting really frustrated.
"I'm saying my family has expectations for me that you don't fit in! The Cohens are a joke to this whole neighborhood, everyone says your father just leeches off your mom's money and I mean, face it, you've never exactly been a part of us!"
Seth looked as if she'd slapped him.
"Seth, I'm sorry! You wanted the truth, there it is!" Summer was about to start crying.
"I don't know what I was thinking…I-I'm the one who made the mistake." Seth stumbled slightly over his words as his quietly angry tone broke the very long silence that followed her declaration.
Summer looked at the ground.
"I always hoped that I was right about you. That you weren't just some superficial, spoiled, rich Newport bitch who didn't care about anything but what other people think. That's what everyone said about you, but I always told myself they were wrong. That there was more to you that you just never let people see, but that maybe I could find. But I'm the one who was wrong. That IS all you are, Summer." Seth started to walk away.
"No, Seth, wait-" Summer said, her voice choking slightly.
But he just kept walking, closing the glass door behind him.
Summer was shocked when she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She couldn't recall ever regretting anything she'd said to anyone, ever. But this was different. She couldn't believe it, but she would have given anything to take everything she'd said back. She remembered what it had felt like when he had kissed her, really kissed her just a few hours earlier.
She had to make this right.
~*~
Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself,
and covered with a perfect shell,
Such a charming beautiful exterior
This is one time
That you can't fake it hard enough to please everyone or anyone at all
And the grave that you refuse to leave
The refuge that you've built to flee
The places you have come to fear the most
Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself,
and hidden in the public eye.
Such a stellar monument to loneliness
~*~
A/N- Don't worry, guys! It's ain't over until I say it's over between them! But please review and tell me what you thought, Ch. 4 is coming soon!!