Summer stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, pushing a few
stray hairs behind her ears. She sniffled and fell back to lean against the
door. How much time has passed since she left Seth? She should probably be
getting back to him, she didn't want him to worry about her.
When she had first got into the bathroom, she collapsed by the sink, splashing her hot cheeks with cold water, trying to recompose herself. She was used to crying, but not in front of other people. The last time she cried in front of an audience was in seventh grade, when her first boyfriend dumped her for Holly. That had been so long ago, and after that mild embarrassment, she vowed never to show people her weak side again. And she hadn't, until tonight.
Summer hugged her legs close to her chest as she slid down from the door to the marble floor. It was cold, but the rest of her body was warm, so it didn't faze her. She closed her eyes, imagining herself on a warm, secluded beach somewhere, far away from all the Newport bitches and her family problems. The only other person she could imagine herself spending forever with was Marissa. But Marissa would get lonely, so Chino could come along. But then Summer might get lonely, so Seth could come too. The four of them could live on their own little island. Summer realized her last doubts about Seth Cohen had completely vanished from her, almost as if her tears washed them away. She drifted off further into her happy little dream world until a soft knock against the bathroom door stirred her out of it.
"Summer?" His voice sent pleasant chills down her spine.
"Yeah, one second." Summer quickly stood up, checking herself in the mirror. Her skin was splotchy and dry, all of her makeup had come off. Her hair looked repulsive, and she put it back into a ponytail effortlessly. She felt cold and uncomfortable in the tiny shirt she had borrowed from Marissa's closet. She shoved her hands in her pockets and whimpered a tiny, "Come in."
She watched in pain as the shiny gold doorknob twisted ever so slightly, and Seth appeared in the doorway.
"Hi." He smiled at her, closing the door behind him.
"Hi." She croaked, her voice muffled. She leaned against the sink, sighing.
"Um, are you ok?" Seth wasn't sure what to say. He never had family issues like these. For the most part, his parents were always there for him. Summer was going through something he could offer no advice about.
"I," Summer sat down on the toilet. "I don't know." She said flatly, putting her head in her hands.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Seth said, sitting down across from her.
Summer looked up, staring blankly at him. His eyes looked at her with such pain, but such love for her. "God," She attempted a laugh. "I must look horrible." She said, standing up again, lightly touching her face as she checked her reflection again.
Seth stood up behind her, looking at her eyes through the reflection of the mirror. "You look beautiful."
She turned around, smiling at him. He took an inch closer to her, wrapping his arms around her.
"It's ok, Summer." He said and that's all it took for her to start weeping again.
"I don't get it, Cohen." She said, between tears. They stood there in the bathroom in a tiny embrace, Summer crying on his shoulder.
"What don't you get?"
She looked up into his puppy dog eyes, "How you can still like me after all these years of me being a complete bitch to you?"
He cracked a genuine smile, "I knew you'd come around," She laughed. "Eventually." She tilted her head up, their lips so close to each other, she could feel his breath on her cheeks.
"I'm glad you didn't give up on me, Cohen." She smiled, leaning her face against his chest.
"Summer," He started, feeling a rise of confidence in his body. He lifted his arms from her side, tilting her head up to face his again. She gasped, not expecting this from him at all, but she didn't dare fight back.
"Seth," She whispered softly, closing her eyes, as their lips grew closer. All they both kept thinking was this was it, things couldn't get any better.
"Summer, are you in there?" Marissa's voice accompanied a knock on the bathroom door.
Summer's eyes burst open and saw the disbelief and disappointment in Seth's. She bit her lip, thinking that if they stayed silent, Coop would go away.
"Summer? It's time to go." Marissa knocked again.
Summer heaved a giant sigh and pushed herself away from Seth, giving him a sympathetic look. "Hold on, Coop!" She called out, pushing Seth towards the door. He opened it, to see Marissa standing there, an expression of shock and happiness mixed pleasantly on her face.
"Great timing." Seth said to her as he walked past her, back to his usual spot in the living room.
Marissa's smile curved into a frown, and she went into the bathroom, where Summer had sat herself back down onto the toilet.
"Am I missing something here?" Marissa asked, turning back to make sure that Seth Cohen had really just walked past her.
She looked back at Summer, when she noticed a stream of dried tears on Summer's cheek.
"Summer, what happened?" Marissa bent down to her, holding her hand.
"Nothing!" Summer cried. "Nothing happened. But something almost happened. And," She cried again, but in a happy way, "Oh, Coop, I am so confused!"
"Don't worry, sweetie. We'll figure this all out, ok?" Marissa offered her hand to help her stand up and Summer took it, wiping away more tears.
"Can I sleep over? I really don't feel like being alone right now."
"Of course. What about your dad though?" Marissa said as they made their way down the hall and towards the living room.
Summer just gave her a long glare and Marissa took the hint. She knew Summer's dad was very well trained in the way of being a prick. She patted Summer's back and they turned into the living room, where Seth and Ryan were sitting on the couch, talking.
"Is she ok?" Ryan asked quickly, seeing this unfamiliar state of Summer. Seth stood up and walked over to them, grabbing Summer's hands from Marissa.
"She'll be fine. We should get going though." Marissa said, surprised by Seth's new wave of confidence with Summer.
"Five minutes." Seth said promptly. "Is that ok?" He asked Summer, who nodded with a smile. "We're going to go talk while you two kiss goodbye." He said with a smile and whisked Summer outdoors to the pool.
"That was strange." Marissa laughed and sat next to Ryan.
"I guess Summer was too distraught to give you details of their time spent in the bathroom." Ryan laughed, putting his arm around Marissa.
"What do you mean?"
"They. . ." Ryan's words lingered, searching for the right words.
"Oh my god! They what?" Marissa gasped.
"Almost kissed."
"Why almost?"
"You interrupted them." Ryan snickered.
Marissa's jaw dropped, "Oh, that's great."
"Hey, how were you supposed to know Seth was with Summer in the bathroom and they were on the verge of making out?" He kissed her softly. "I mean, the odds of that are pretty slim."
"Correction, Ryan. They WERE pretty slim. I think we should be expecting a lot more Seth and Summer action to come now that Seth has confidence." She kissed him back.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying about Seth and Summer?" Ryan grinned, kissing her again. "Because," Kiss. "I'm a little distracted."
"Well," Marissa kissed him furiously. "Whatever I was saying, it doesn't matter." And with that they fell back onto the couch, kissing as if there was no tomorrow.
"Summer," Seth began, not sure of how he should word himself. "You know how I feel about you."
"Yeah." Summer shivered. They were sitting poolside on some chairs and the air was completely chilled compared to a usual California evening.
"Here." He slipped his jacket, which he grabbed before leaving the pool house, onto her bare shoulders and she thanked him with her eyes. "Well," He touched her arm gently, which warmed her up quickly, "I'd like to know what you feel for me."
"Seth," She sighed. She wasn't really in the mood to discuss her feelings. "I don't know right now, ok?"
"Ok, that's better then 'Seth, you disgust me'." He laughed, causing her to smile.
"There's one thing I do know." She said, glancing at the pool house where she saw Marissa and Ryan coming over to them through the glass doors.
"For some strange reason, I can't cover up anything with you. I can't hide." She said calmly, although inside she felt all jittery for being so honest. Seth stroked her hand as she spoke, only making this harder for her to say. He couldn't believe this random confession. "Seth, you're like my kryptonite."
"Huh?" Seth began, shocked by her words.
"You're my kryptonite. Every shield I put up, you weaken. You are the only person who does this to me." She smiled, finally relieved to get this off her chest.
"You made a superman reference. You really are the girl of my dreams." Summer took that as Seth's own way of saying that he appreciated what she said.
"Well, I watch Smallville." She said, blushing as Marissa and Ryan came through the door.
"Ready Sum?" Marissa asked, tentatively, not trying to interrupt any more kisses.
"Yeah." Summer got up and went towards Marissa.
"Later Seth," Marissa called, kissed Ryan a final time and looped her arms through Summer's as they walked off to the driveway.
"Ryan, my man, you ever hear of 'nice guys finish last'?" Ryan just glared at Seth. "Well, it's true."
"Sure." They headed back into the pool house. "So I guess you had a nice time?"
"Amazing would sum it up better."
"Good, well I'm beat. Who knew kissing could take so much energy out of someone?" He laughed and Seth shrugged.
"You're asking the wrong person!" Seth said, falling back to the couch. "I think I'm just going to crash here. On this couch, where Summer and I sat, bickered, talked, made love." Ryan's eyes went up skeptically at that last statement.
"Ok, I made that last one up. But one day, Atwood, one day."
"Fine, but just make sure I'm not here when it happens."
"No problem." Seth laughed. "Summer and I can't really afford any more interruptions."
"Yeah, Marissa was really sorry about that."
"It's ok. I've been waiting for . . ." He drifted off, counting in his head. "Forever. What's another day?" He laughed, closing his eyes. "Goodnight Ryan."
"Night Cohen." Ryan shut of his light and drifted off to dreams about Marissa Cooper. Life couldn't be better. . .
When she had first got into the bathroom, she collapsed by the sink, splashing her hot cheeks with cold water, trying to recompose herself. She was used to crying, but not in front of other people. The last time she cried in front of an audience was in seventh grade, when her first boyfriend dumped her for Holly. That had been so long ago, and after that mild embarrassment, she vowed never to show people her weak side again. And she hadn't, until tonight.
Summer hugged her legs close to her chest as she slid down from the door to the marble floor. It was cold, but the rest of her body was warm, so it didn't faze her. She closed her eyes, imagining herself on a warm, secluded beach somewhere, far away from all the Newport bitches and her family problems. The only other person she could imagine herself spending forever with was Marissa. But Marissa would get lonely, so Chino could come along. But then Summer might get lonely, so Seth could come too. The four of them could live on their own little island. Summer realized her last doubts about Seth Cohen had completely vanished from her, almost as if her tears washed them away. She drifted off further into her happy little dream world until a soft knock against the bathroom door stirred her out of it.
"Summer?" His voice sent pleasant chills down her spine.
"Yeah, one second." Summer quickly stood up, checking herself in the mirror. Her skin was splotchy and dry, all of her makeup had come off. Her hair looked repulsive, and she put it back into a ponytail effortlessly. She felt cold and uncomfortable in the tiny shirt she had borrowed from Marissa's closet. She shoved her hands in her pockets and whimpered a tiny, "Come in."
She watched in pain as the shiny gold doorknob twisted ever so slightly, and Seth appeared in the doorway.
"Hi." He smiled at her, closing the door behind him.
"Hi." She croaked, her voice muffled. She leaned against the sink, sighing.
"Um, are you ok?" Seth wasn't sure what to say. He never had family issues like these. For the most part, his parents were always there for him. Summer was going through something he could offer no advice about.
"I," Summer sat down on the toilet. "I don't know." She said flatly, putting her head in her hands.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Seth said, sitting down across from her.
Summer looked up, staring blankly at him. His eyes looked at her with such pain, but such love for her. "God," She attempted a laugh. "I must look horrible." She said, standing up again, lightly touching her face as she checked her reflection again.
Seth stood up behind her, looking at her eyes through the reflection of the mirror. "You look beautiful."
She turned around, smiling at him. He took an inch closer to her, wrapping his arms around her.
"It's ok, Summer." He said and that's all it took for her to start weeping again.
"I don't get it, Cohen." She said, between tears. They stood there in the bathroom in a tiny embrace, Summer crying on his shoulder.
"What don't you get?"
She looked up into his puppy dog eyes, "How you can still like me after all these years of me being a complete bitch to you?"
He cracked a genuine smile, "I knew you'd come around," She laughed. "Eventually." She tilted her head up, their lips so close to each other, she could feel his breath on her cheeks.
"I'm glad you didn't give up on me, Cohen." She smiled, leaning her face against his chest.
"Summer," He started, feeling a rise of confidence in his body. He lifted his arms from her side, tilting her head up to face his again. She gasped, not expecting this from him at all, but she didn't dare fight back.
"Seth," She whispered softly, closing her eyes, as their lips grew closer. All they both kept thinking was this was it, things couldn't get any better.
"Summer, are you in there?" Marissa's voice accompanied a knock on the bathroom door.
Summer's eyes burst open and saw the disbelief and disappointment in Seth's. She bit her lip, thinking that if they stayed silent, Coop would go away.
"Summer? It's time to go." Marissa knocked again.
Summer heaved a giant sigh and pushed herself away from Seth, giving him a sympathetic look. "Hold on, Coop!" She called out, pushing Seth towards the door. He opened it, to see Marissa standing there, an expression of shock and happiness mixed pleasantly on her face.
"Great timing." Seth said to her as he walked past her, back to his usual spot in the living room.
Marissa's smile curved into a frown, and she went into the bathroom, where Summer had sat herself back down onto the toilet.
"Am I missing something here?" Marissa asked, turning back to make sure that Seth Cohen had really just walked past her.
She looked back at Summer, when she noticed a stream of dried tears on Summer's cheek.
"Summer, what happened?" Marissa bent down to her, holding her hand.
"Nothing!" Summer cried. "Nothing happened. But something almost happened. And," She cried again, but in a happy way, "Oh, Coop, I am so confused!"
"Don't worry, sweetie. We'll figure this all out, ok?" Marissa offered her hand to help her stand up and Summer took it, wiping away more tears.
"Can I sleep over? I really don't feel like being alone right now."
"Of course. What about your dad though?" Marissa said as they made their way down the hall and towards the living room.
Summer just gave her a long glare and Marissa took the hint. She knew Summer's dad was very well trained in the way of being a prick. She patted Summer's back and they turned into the living room, where Seth and Ryan were sitting on the couch, talking.
"Is she ok?" Ryan asked quickly, seeing this unfamiliar state of Summer. Seth stood up and walked over to them, grabbing Summer's hands from Marissa.
"She'll be fine. We should get going though." Marissa said, surprised by Seth's new wave of confidence with Summer.
"Five minutes." Seth said promptly. "Is that ok?" He asked Summer, who nodded with a smile. "We're going to go talk while you two kiss goodbye." He said with a smile and whisked Summer outdoors to the pool.
"That was strange." Marissa laughed and sat next to Ryan.
"I guess Summer was too distraught to give you details of their time spent in the bathroom." Ryan laughed, putting his arm around Marissa.
"What do you mean?"
"They. . ." Ryan's words lingered, searching for the right words.
"Oh my god! They what?" Marissa gasped.
"Almost kissed."
"Why almost?"
"You interrupted them." Ryan snickered.
Marissa's jaw dropped, "Oh, that's great."
"Hey, how were you supposed to know Seth was with Summer in the bathroom and they were on the verge of making out?" He kissed her softly. "I mean, the odds of that are pretty slim."
"Correction, Ryan. They WERE pretty slim. I think we should be expecting a lot more Seth and Summer action to come now that Seth has confidence." She kissed him back.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying about Seth and Summer?" Ryan grinned, kissing her again. "Because," Kiss. "I'm a little distracted."
"Well," Marissa kissed him furiously. "Whatever I was saying, it doesn't matter." And with that they fell back onto the couch, kissing as if there was no tomorrow.
"Summer," Seth began, not sure of how he should word himself. "You know how I feel about you."
"Yeah." Summer shivered. They were sitting poolside on some chairs and the air was completely chilled compared to a usual California evening.
"Here." He slipped his jacket, which he grabbed before leaving the pool house, onto her bare shoulders and she thanked him with her eyes. "Well," He touched her arm gently, which warmed her up quickly, "I'd like to know what you feel for me."
"Seth," She sighed. She wasn't really in the mood to discuss her feelings. "I don't know right now, ok?"
"Ok, that's better then 'Seth, you disgust me'." He laughed, causing her to smile.
"There's one thing I do know." She said, glancing at the pool house where she saw Marissa and Ryan coming over to them through the glass doors.
"For some strange reason, I can't cover up anything with you. I can't hide." She said calmly, although inside she felt all jittery for being so honest. Seth stroked her hand as she spoke, only making this harder for her to say. He couldn't believe this random confession. "Seth, you're like my kryptonite."
"Huh?" Seth began, shocked by her words.
"You're my kryptonite. Every shield I put up, you weaken. You are the only person who does this to me." She smiled, finally relieved to get this off her chest.
"You made a superman reference. You really are the girl of my dreams." Summer took that as Seth's own way of saying that he appreciated what she said.
"Well, I watch Smallville." She said, blushing as Marissa and Ryan came through the door.
"Ready Sum?" Marissa asked, tentatively, not trying to interrupt any more kisses.
"Yeah." Summer got up and went towards Marissa.
"Later Seth," Marissa called, kissed Ryan a final time and looped her arms through Summer's as they walked off to the driveway.
"Ryan, my man, you ever hear of 'nice guys finish last'?" Ryan just glared at Seth. "Well, it's true."
"Sure." They headed back into the pool house. "So I guess you had a nice time?"
"Amazing would sum it up better."
"Good, well I'm beat. Who knew kissing could take so much energy out of someone?" He laughed and Seth shrugged.
"You're asking the wrong person!" Seth said, falling back to the couch. "I think I'm just going to crash here. On this couch, where Summer and I sat, bickered, talked, made love." Ryan's eyes went up skeptically at that last statement.
"Ok, I made that last one up. But one day, Atwood, one day."
"Fine, but just make sure I'm not here when it happens."
"No problem." Seth laughed. "Summer and I can't really afford any more interruptions."
"Yeah, Marissa was really sorry about that."
"It's ok. I've been waiting for . . ." He drifted off, counting in his head. "Forever. What's another day?" He laughed, closing his eyes. "Goodnight Ryan."
"Night Cohen." Ryan shut of his light and drifted off to dreams about Marissa Cooper. Life couldn't be better. . .