Let's see if I can crank out another chapter, here... I'm in a writing
mood. I have no idea what's going to happen here, so here we go!
______________
Seth took his aggravation out on the foosball table after school, beating Ryan three games in a row.
Ryan gave Seth a look with his eyes as he started another game
"What can I say?" Seth shrugged, his eyes on the ball. "Frustration does wonders for my game."
"Have you called her?"
"Twice."
They played out the point, and Seth tossed the ball back and forth between his hands. He had to talk to someone. "How bad did I screw up?"
'That was pretty intimidating," Ryan said, running his fingers through his hair. "I probably would have been as dumbstruck as you."
"Yeah, but you never talk, whereas I, on the other hand..."
"Never shut up."
"Right. Thanks." Seth started another point and immediately scored, earning him another look from Ryan.
"Why can't I be mad at her, then? When all that crap happened before, she was a wreck and I was a nonchalant smart ass. Now I couldn't pull that off with her even if I wanted to."
"Things are different now," Ryan said simply, shrugging.
Seth agreed with his silence. He just wanted this to be over, to be holding Summer again, and to drop English. If only it were all that simple.
"Lost your touch?" Ryan scored a point.
"Maybe." Seth pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I need to call her."
______________
Summer sat on her bed, surrounded by random homework paraphernalia and ignoring all of it. She wanted more than anything to talk to Seth, but she also wanted more than anything to ignore him altogether.
Why couldn't he have just said something? The question replayed in her mind, and she kept coming up with the same answer. It wasn't a fair request.
She knew that Seth loved her, and it wasn't reasonable to drag him into a cat fight. The poor guy had looked so lost.
There was more, though.
There had to be, or else she would be calling him or knocking on his door. Instead, she was staring impassively at chemistry notes.
Maybe it was the whole love thing. Love scared her. It wasn't some deep insecurity issue that went back to problems with her parents or anything like that, it was just overwhelming. It felt so final and committal, and while she couldn't imagine herself with anyone other than Seth, it was odd to put herself out there so fully. Especially knowing that nothing is static.
What did he want with her, anyway? What could she bring him that nobody else could? Summer wasn't exactly one to suffer low self-esteem, and it wasn't about that. It was about Seth and what he needed, and she was wondering if she could give it to him.
He needed somebody to humor him constantly, someone to tolerate his 3am calls, somebody to buy him action figures for Christmas. She knew that she made him happy, but she wasn't sure why; she was demanding, caustic, and impatient.
Well, she used to be.
She still was, to a point. When she was around Seth, though, she was different. She never failed to poke fun at him or speak his mind, but she had began nodding whenever he went on about comics. She found herself wanting to make him feel completely happy, even if it meant a little sacrifice on her part.
But she SHOULD want to talk about those things, she told herself. Humoring and encouraging him were nice, but were they really enough? She wondered if they could go on being together with such different lives.
Her cell phone beeped, and she looked at the screen. Another missed message. Seth.
She hesitated, then listened. "Summer, look, you know how I feel about you. I love you. All I want is for you to call me, okay? This is... stupid."
She sighed and dialed a phone number.
"Hello?"
"Coop, I'm dying here."
"Let it out."
"I don't know what to do!"
"Yes you do."
"I don't know," Summer insisted. She paused. "Maybe he does need to be with someone like Anna. I mean, she can... I don't know."
"What the hell are you talking about!? What have you done with my best friend?"
"Huh?"
"Summer, this is so not like you, okay? You like him. He likes you. I don't see the big issue here."
"You're one to talk," Summer pointed out.
"This is about you guys, don't get off topic," Marissa said. "Look, Seth loves you. He always has. It's been painfully obvious since elementary school, and he's not about to change his mind just because some girl moves to town who likes a few things that he does."
"What if I'm not good enough for him? I might hurt him." The thought spilled out of Summer's mouth before she realized it existed.
"You want to be together, and you make him happy. It's up to you what happens."
Summer nodded, the point finally settling in her head. "God, I feel like we're on Oprah or something."
"More like 90210," Marissa laughed.
"Oh yeah," Summer said. "Gotta love the teen dramas."
______________
Seth dialed her number for what felt like the hundredth time, praying she would answer. There was no shame, no anger, just a desperation to see her again. He couldn't believe they had been so petty. No answer.
His cell phone said that it was one o'clock, but he didn't care. He grabbed his keys, then reconsidered. Instead, he took his skateboard from his room and slipped out the front door.
It wasn't that long of a trip to Summer's house, considering he wasn't pausing for tricks or anything. He sat in her driveway for a minute, wondering what he was planning on doing. He couldn't just saunter up and ring the doorbell; it was too late for that.
He dialed her number again, a final attempt. She answered it, sounding wide awake.
"Come outside," he willed her.
"What?"
"I'm outside. Please."
She stole outside a few moments later in pink pajamas. He didn't wait for any awkward stares or comments. He met her on the walkway and embraced her in a hug.
She let him hold her and she clung to him.
"Sorry," she said. He barely even heard her, and when he pulled back he looked worried.
He looked so cute when he was upset. An odd thought, she knew, but true nonetheless.
"You're a wreck," she muttered, hugging him again. He was warm and his shirt was soft. She settled her head against his neck.
"Yeah. Are you?"
"I was."
"Good."
"Well, thanks. Glad you care," she said against his neck.
"You know what I mean. I at least need to know that you were half as miserable fighting as I was."
She didn't say anything else, just leaned against him.
"I still have to do this project," he said slowly.
"I know."
"And you're going to have to trust me," he reminded her.
"I always trusted you. I just never trusted her," she said. "That, and I thought you were... happier with her."
"You're kidding," he positioned her so that she had to look him in the eyes. "You really thought that?"
"Kind of," she shrugged, straightening up a little. "I mean, it's not like I can talk to you about all that stuff."
"Who cares?" He grinned. "For someone so cocky, you sure have some issues..."
"I do not have issues!" She tried to slap his arm, but he caught her hand and brought it to his lips.
"Sure you do," he said, kissing each finger individually. "But don't worry, so do I."
"I won't argue there," she said with a smirk. "So what issues do you have?" She added a moment later.
"Well," he measured. "I'm paranoid that one day you're going to wonder what the hell you're doing with me. I worry that I can't be perfect for you."
"First, that will never happen. Second, don't suck up," she said, kissing him.
"I don't need to suck up," he said. "I have you wrapped around my finger."
"Whatever, Cohen." She wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed him again.
______________
Okay, I know this is really really short... but... uh... what now? Whenever I think of something else I'll make this chapter longer, but for now I'm stuck. So sue me. Feedback is good. Very very good.
OC ON TOMORROW!!
______________
Seth took his aggravation out on the foosball table after school, beating Ryan three games in a row.
Ryan gave Seth a look with his eyes as he started another game
"What can I say?" Seth shrugged, his eyes on the ball. "Frustration does wonders for my game."
"Have you called her?"
"Twice."
They played out the point, and Seth tossed the ball back and forth between his hands. He had to talk to someone. "How bad did I screw up?"
'That was pretty intimidating," Ryan said, running his fingers through his hair. "I probably would have been as dumbstruck as you."
"Yeah, but you never talk, whereas I, on the other hand..."
"Never shut up."
"Right. Thanks." Seth started another point and immediately scored, earning him another look from Ryan.
"Why can't I be mad at her, then? When all that crap happened before, she was a wreck and I was a nonchalant smart ass. Now I couldn't pull that off with her even if I wanted to."
"Things are different now," Ryan said simply, shrugging.
Seth agreed with his silence. He just wanted this to be over, to be holding Summer again, and to drop English. If only it were all that simple.
"Lost your touch?" Ryan scored a point.
"Maybe." Seth pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I need to call her."
______________
Summer sat on her bed, surrounded by random homework paraphernalia and ignoring all of it. She wanted more than anything to talk to Seth, but she also wanted more than anything to ignore him altogether.
Why couldn't he have just said something? The question replayed in her mind, and she kept coming up with the same answer. It wasn't a fair request.
She knew that Seth loved her, and it wasn't reasonable to drag him into a cat fight. The poor guy had looked so lost.
There was more, though.
There had to be, or else she would be calling him or knocking on his door. Instead, she was staring impassively at chemistry notes.
Maybe it was the whole love thing. Love scared her. It wasn't some deep insecurity issue that went back to problems with her parents or anything like that, it was just overwhelming. It felt so final and committal, and while she couldn't imagine herself with anyone other than Seth, it was odd to put herself out there so fully. Especially knowing that nothing is static.
What did he want with her, anyway? What could she bring him that nobody else could? Summer wasn't exactly one to suffer low self-esteem, and it wasn't about that. It was about Seth and what he needed, and she was wondering if she could give it to him.
He needed somebody to humor him constantly, someone to tolerate his 3am calls, somebody to buy him action figures for Christmas. She knew that she made him happy, but she wasn't sure why; she was demanding, caustic, and impatient.
Well, she used to be.
She still was, to a point. When she was around Seth, though, she was different. She never failed to poke fun at him or speak his mind, but she had began nodding whenever he went on about comics. She found herself wanting to make him feel completely happy, even if it meant a little sacrifice on her part.
But she SHOULD want to talk about those things, she told herself. Humoring and encouraging him were nice, but were they really enough? She wondered if they could go on being together with such different lives.
Her cell phone beeped, and she looked at the screen. Another missed message. Seth.
She hesitated, then listened. "Summer, look, you know how I feel about you. I love you. All I want is for you to call me, okay? This is... stupid."
She sighed and dialed a phone number.
"Hello?"
"Coop, I'm dying here."
"Let it out."
"I don't know what to do!"
"Yes you do."
"I don't know," Summer insisted. She paused. "Maybe he does need to be with someone like Anna. I mean, she can... I don't know."
"What the hell are you talking about!? What have you done with my best friend?"
"Huh?"
"Summer, this is so not like you, okay? You like him. He likes you. I don't see the big issue here."
"You're one to talk," Summer pointed out.
"This is about you guys, don't get off topic," Marissa said. "Look, Seth loves you. He always has. It's been painfully obvious since elementary school, and he's not about to change his mind just because some girl moves to town who likes a few things that he does."
"What if I'm not good enough for him? I might hurt him." The thought spilled out of Summer's mouth before she realized it existed.
"You want to be together, and you make him happy. It's up to you what happens."
Summer nodded, the point finally settling in her head. "God, I feel like we're on Oprah or something."
"More like 90210," Marissa laughed.
"Oh yeah," Summer said. "Gotta love the teen dramas."
______________
Seth dialed her number for what felt like the hundredth time, praying she would answer. There was no shame, no anger, just a desperation to see her again. He couldn't believe they had been so petty. No answer.
His cell phone said that it was one o'clock, but he didn't care. He grabbed his keys, then reconsidered. Instead, he took his skateboard from his room and slipped out the front door.
It wasn't that long of a trip to Summer's house, considering he wasn't pausing for tricks or anything. He sat in her driveway for a minute, wondering what he was planning on doing. He couldn't just saunter up and ring the doorbell; it was too late for that.
He dialed her number again, a final attempt. She answered it, sounding wide awake.
"Come outside," he willed her.
"What?"
"I'm outside. Please."
She stole outside a few moments later in pink pajamas. He didn't wait for any awkward stares or comments. He met her on the walkway and embraced her in a hug.
She let him hold her and she clung to him.
"Sorry," she said. He barely even heard her, and when he pulled back he looked worried.
He looked so cute when he was upset. An odd thought, she knew, but true nonetheless.
"You're a wreck," she muttered, hugging him again. He was warm and his shirt was soft. She settled her head against his neck.
"Yeah. Are you?"
"I was."
"Good."
"Well, thanks. Glad you care," she said against his neck.
"You know what I mean. I at least need to know that you were half as miserable fighting as I was."
She didn't say anything else, just leaned against him.
"I still have to do this project," he said slowly.
"I know."
"And you're going to have to trust me," he reminded her.
"I always trusted you. I just never trusted her," she said. "That, and I thought you were... happier with her."
"You're kidding," he positioned her so that she had to look him in the eyes. "You really thought that?"
"Kind of," she shrugged, straightening up a little. "I mean, it's not like I can talk to you about all that stuff."
"Who cares?" He grinned. "For someone so cocky, you sure have some issues..."
"I do not have issues!" She tried to slap his arm, but he caught her hand and brought it to his lips.
"Sure you do," he said, kissing each finger individually. "But don't worry, so do I."
"I won't argue there," she said with a smirk. "So what issues do you have?" She added a moment later.
"Well," he measured. "I'm paranoid that one day you're going to wonder what the hell you're doing with me. I worry that I can't be perfect for you."
"First, that will never happen. Second, don't suck up," she said, kissing him.
"I don't need to suck up," he said. "I have you wrapped around my finger."
"Whatever, Cohen." She wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed him again.
______________
Okay, I know this is really really short... but... uh... what now? Whenever I think of something else I'll make this chapter longer, but for now I'm stuck. So sue me. Feedback is good. Very very good.
OC ON TOMORROW!!