Well, I've done it. Just like my friend asked (begged) me to do;
I've written an O.C. story. Personally, I like it, but the writing is
horrible, so if anyone would like to rewrite it or write one with a similar
theme, please feel welcome to. See, I always get my great ideas when I'm
tired, but that's also when I lose my writing ability, and I'm not taking
this fic seriously enough to rewrite it. You may even use the same
characters I make up and the plot; I don't really care, I'm just a sick
person who likes to see my favorite characters have bad days.Anyway, hope
you enjoy it.
*Disclaimer* I do not own any of these characters. Only Chris, Guy, Mat, and Brad are my 'creations' and I don't claim any right to them either. Want them, you can have them! Please don't sue me, I'm not making any profit, and the writing's not even that good!
Further warning: I have no idea when this takes place, put it anywhere in the season you want, pairings won't really be mad, except for Marissa and Ryan. So maybe after they get together but before Seth and Summer start to get together, while Anna's away? Also, I didn't see the first few episodes, and I have a horrible memory, so I probably screwed up on some details. Oh well, just thought I'd let ya know.
"Old Enemies"
The Rendevous
The morning sun began to fill the room with light, despite the drawn curtains. Seth Cohen moaned and turned away from the window, trying to fall back asleep. It wasn't working; after a night of strange nightmares he just couldn't fall back asleep, despite his exhaustion.
"Seth! Come on, are you getting up or are you still sick?" He heard his mother, Kirsten, call from the kitchen.
"Still sick," he mumbled, but he sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. In a louder voice, he called out to the others assembled in the kitchen, "Yes-yes, I'm coming. I wouldn't dream of depriving our school of my sought after presence for another day." Outside of his room, three pairs of eyes rolled simultaneously at his remark.
Seth had been sick the past two days with some sort of virus, but he had seemed to be recovering the past evening, and he didn't think he could get away with staying home another day.
Blinking in the brightly lit kitchen, a now dressed Seth walked in and sat down next to Ryan at the table; he was reading a magazine and eating cereal. His dad, Sandy, was drinking a cup of coffee, as was his mother, and the two were discussing some new case of Sandy's. Seth poured himself a glass of orange juice and took a drink before searching for his favorite cereal. He found the box, the empty box, and groaned, deciding this was not a good start to his day.
"You sure you boys are going to be ok for the rest of the week?" Sandy asked Ryan and Seth as the two stood up to leave for school. Kirsten and Sandy were taking a short, but much needed vacation. Today being Wednesday, they weren't returning until the next Sunday.
"Well, we'll try to keep the parties to a minimum," Seth joked, pulling on his jacket and waving goodbye. As they walked out, Ryan smiled at them and said over his shoulder,
"We'll be fine. Have a good vacation," Mr. and Mrs. Cohen smiled at the boys and went to get ready for their trip.
To his dismay, but not so much to his surprise, Seth was right about the day being a bad one. It started out normal enough; some name calling, a few half hearted shoves or snickers when he wasn't with Ryan. He had noticed that people were usually nicer when Ryan walked with him, especially when Marissa was walking with them, but he didn't have many classes with either of them.
Still, he was used to it and was able to s mile when he greeted Ryan for lunch.
"Hey, where's the beautiful and fair Marissa?" He asked Ryan as they sat down at their usual table.
"One of her friends got dumped by a boyfriend or something, so she's sitting with her today," He replied, more interested in his sandwich than Seth's question.
"Ah, drama queen sitting, got it." Seth murmured; Ryan laughed and they discussed the day's events as they ate. In fact, Ryan had been more talkative lately and Seth was actually starting to enjoy himself when he saw a sight that made his heart stop.
"Oh dear God." He said, not even noticing that he had said it out loud. Seth was staring at a group of four boys who were standing by a tree a few yards from them. Frowning at Seth's horror struck gaze, Ryan tried to find what he was looking at.
"What's wrong?" He asked, but Seth ignored him, he didn't know what to say. Miraculously, he was saved by Marissa walking over to their table, smiling a greeting before turning to Ryan.
"Did you finish that science homework last night? I forgot my text, so could you help me with it?" By the draining of color in Ryan's face, he had forgotten about it too.
"Ah shit, no, I didn't do it either. Maybe we can get it done together before class. See ya later," He said to Seth, already standing up and walking with Marissa back to the school. Seth wasn't in their science class, so he couldn't help them. Instead, his gaze returned to the boys; he knew them. It had been a few years since he had last seen them, but they hadn't changed much at all; they'd only grown taller and more muscular.
The tallest one was Brad, he was talking to the other three. He had silver spike earrings and his hair was spiked up. A black t-shirt and torn black jeans gave him a menacing look. He was obviously the leader of the other three; Chris, Guy, and Mat, who were all dressed in clothes similar to all the other popular boys' clothes. They were listening to Brad with their complete attention, laughing at some of his words.
To his great horror, Brad turned and saw Seth staring at them. Snickering, he nudged the strong looking red headed Chris, who was standing next to him. Even as Seth wondered how quickly he could get the hell out of there, the four boys sauntered over to his table, grinning.
"Long time no see, Coco." Brad said in a falsely cheery voice. Seth ground his teeth. Coco was the name they had given him in sixth grade, after Mat had poured boiling hot chocolate down his throat; the others had held his mouth open and his arms and legs still. It had hurt to eat or drink anything for almost two weeks, so the humor had been lost on him. For some reason it had seemed to be one of their favorite actions with him, since they had decided on the nickname, 'Coco'.
"Didn't figure on seeing the Fantastic Four here anytime soon." Seth replied, trying to not sound as terrified as he felt. These boys had proved they could be as cruel as any adult at the age of 9, and had tormented most of his life through elementary and middle school. Luckily, they hadn't made it into Harbor when Seth had gotten in; how they had managed it now was beyond Seth's comprehension.
"Nice to see our old buddy again, isn't it?" Brad said coldly, hitting Seth on the back hard enough to knock the wind out of him. The four of them laughed when Seth winced.
"Yeah, we should get together, talk about old times," Guy, a pale and skinny, although still strong, boy with dyed black hair said. The hair on Seth's neck stood up. 'No way, my life was actually starting to go fairly well.' He thought numbly. He tried to stand up, saying quickly,
"Sure, that'd be great, but I, uh, really need to get to class, so if you'll just-"
"Sit down." Brad said. Mat pushed him roughly back into his seat. Too roughly; for Seth's weight made it tip over backward and the boys, as well as a few people nearby, laughed loudly.
"We're having a little party at my house tonight. You should come." Brad said, cold eyes glinting. Seth stood up again and swallowed hard. Truly, when he had first said to Ryan, "Welcome to the dark side," so many weeks ago, this was what he had been referring to. Brad came from one of the richest families he knew of. He had access to everything from drugs, alcohol, and weapons, and he was spoiled. None of the boys' parents cared what they did, and so they knew no limits to their actions.
"I'd love to guys, really, but I've just got too much stuff to do. Sorry and all," he babbled, glancing anxiously at the clock and wondering when the bell would ring.
"No problem, we'll just have to meet up some other time after school," Brad said, smirking as the bell finally rang. Seth felt relief swell inside him. 'Man, talk about being saved by the bell,' he thought as he threw his lunch away and grabbed his books.
To make things worse, Brad was in Seth's history class, and Mat in his gym. Ryan was in neither one, and Seth had to manage the rest of the afternoon by ignoring the jeers and taunts of the two. Even worse, if that were possible, was the fact that all four boys seemed to have become popular; how, Seth couldn't figure out, but he didn't think his social status would be improving any time soon.
At last the day ended, and Seth practically ran through the halls to Ryan's locker.
"Nice to see you again man! Ready to go home and get your ass kicked by the almighty Seth?" He asked, joking about their current video game marathon they'd been having for the past week. Ryan grinned, but shook his head.
"Marissa's got to stay after, so I figured I'd wait for her and get a ride home with her." He felt bad seeing Seth's crestfallen face, but he had already promised Marissa, and he hadn't thought that the stupid marathon had really been that important to Seth.
"No problem, I'll see you later tonight then," Seth replied briskly, clapping his hands together and trying not to show his disappointment as he went back to his locker. By the time he left the building, most of the other kids had already left. Seth had parked in the spot farthest from the school since they had been running late that morning. 'Oh well, maybe a relaxing, quiet afternoon won't be so bad,' he thought to himself.
No sooner had the thoughts crossed his mind then he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. He tried to shake it off, but it only tightened.
"Hey there Coco." He heard Brad say. He tried to turn and felt someone tear his bag off of his shoulder and hold his arms behind his back. Seeing Guy and Chris beside Brad, he figured it must be Mat.
"We brought you a gift, seeing as how its been so long since we saw each other." Guy said, a hyena-like laugh coming from him. Seth had always thought Guy might be touched in the head, to put it nicely, but he feared Brad the most. They were all cruel kids, but Brad was the smartest one, and Seth knew the others would just be common bullies without him.
He struggled against Mat, but was definitely no match for him. Then, to his revulsion, Chris held up a jar, laughing. The glass jar held a large tarantula in it. Seth broke out in a sweat. He hated spiders; it was a phobia he'd never gotten over and one that the four had always loved to torture him with, once they had learned of it.
"We found this guy by our car and couldn't help but think of you. Hold him still Mat," Brad instructed as Seth's eyes widened and a hoarse, "No.." came out of his mouth. Chris opened the jar, and in one swift movement he dumped it down Seth's shirt, dropping the jar which shattered onto the ground. Seth's yell was quickly muffled by Mat's large, sweat stinking arm around his mouth. He could feel the spider crawling on him and he nearly went into a panic, struggling to free himself and kicking at the other boys. Almost by accident he kicked Guy in the stomach, not even realizing it. With a growl, Guy drew a fist and punched Seth hard in the stomach, leaving him gasping for air and nearly suffocating against Chris's tight arm. After Guy's first blow, the others soon joined in their favorite sport, Mat eventually dropping him to the ground so he could join also, since Seth had stopped struggling.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like the beating lasted forever. At last, growing bored for the moment and kicking Seth one last time, they walked off laughing. It took Seth a few minutes to stand up, and the world seemed to spin. He tasted blood on his lip and felt it drip down his forehead, and he could feel a few shards from the jar imbedded in his arms and hands. His clothes were torn and he wondered how bad he looked. It hurt to breathe, but after catching his breath he crawled into his car and started the engine, slowly driving home.
His luck, if you could call it that, had turned a little, or maybe the universe was busy ruining someone else's life, for the house was dark and there were no signs of Ryan. Seth felt a great need to keep what had happened from him. It was humiliating for one thing, and there was nothing Ryan could do for him anyway, except pity him and get beat up himself if he tried to help. Seth was tired of him having to fight his battles for him, and maybe the boys would grow tired of tormenting him soon. After all, surely they must have grown up a little bit? Of course, that was what he had thought every year until high school, and he had always been proved wrong.
Seth stumbled into the house and managed to get to his room, although he clutched the kitchen island once to steady himself, before he managed to get to his room, lock the door, and collapse onto his bed. He hadn't noticed the blood his hand had left on the counter, or he would surely have cleaned it up.
Ryan noticed it however. He and Marissa had gone to get dinner after school, and they had brought some home for Seth. They were surprised to find the lights were off and the house dark so early, and after they had kissed good night and Marissa had driven off, Ryan walked into the house cautiously. Flipping on lights, he called out,
"Seth?" But received no answer. Mentally he shrugged, figuring that he must have been tired and had gone to bed early. He walked into the kitchen to put the food away; but when he turned the light on; he saw the blood on the counter and froze. Setting the food on the counter he examined it to make sure it was blood, and when he knew for certain he walked quickly to Seth's room, trying to open it. Finding it locked didn't help to calm him down and he knocked on the door loudly. It would be just his luck to have Seth get seriously ill or injured while his parents were away and with just Ryan around. Besides that, he was worried. From his experience, Seth wouldn't be careless enough to cut himself, bleed on something, and not clean it up-not if he was able to.
"Seth, are you in there?" Ryan called out. He heard a loud moan and again tried to open the door.
"I'm awake, what's wrong?" Seth called out. Or rather, he gasped out. It took all of his strength to keep his voice normal and not sound like the truth-that he was practically wallowing in pain.
"Did you hurt yourself in the kitchen or something?" Ryan asked again, already feeling stupid since Seth sounded fine. Tired, and stressed, but not like he was on his death bed.
"Uh.." Thinking fast, Seth realized what must have happened. "Yeah, I tried to make a sandwich and cut myself with the knife. Sorry, must have forgotten to clean it up, I'm really tired, I don't think I'm quite over that bug," He said quickly through clenched teeth. Satisfied with the answer, Ryan said,
"Ok, sorry to wake you," and walked back through the kitchen. He stuck the food in the fridge, but when he turned he noticed that there were no signs of cooking. Opening the dishwasher, he found it was empty. The knives were all clean also. So he had the energy to clean the knife he had used, but not clean up the counter? Ryan shook his head as he walked to the pool house. Whatever Seth's problem was, he obviously didn't want Ryan to know.
Inside his room, Seth lay staring at the wall, hurting too much to fall asleep as he tried to form a plan for the next day. It wouldn't be too hard to avoid Ryan at school, he could skip lunch, but what would everyone else say when they saw his appearance? He only had one black eye; his face had been on the ground most of the time, so the only real bruises that would show would be his arms and legs. Still, he could wear layered clothing, even if it was warm out. No, he was far more concerned with how he would deal with them again. He didn't know how far they would go, and couldn't help feeling apprehensive, to say the least. Seth tried to sleep despite his pain, but Brad's cruel laughter echoed in his head throughout the night.
There, all done! I know it probably sucks, but I had to post it. Please, if someone would like to continue, let me know. This is the sort of thing I prefer to read rather than write. I'm not good at making angst seem realistic and not super mushy. If you'd like to review, please do, although trust me, if you thought it was horrible, I agree, so telling me won't really alter anything. Should I bother to continue? That would be up to you. I'll write another chapter if no one else volunteers and if at least one person claims to like it. When, I don't know, but asap anyway. Thanks!
-Luna Sealeaf
*Disclaimer* I do not own any of these characters. Only Chris, Guy, Mat, and Brad are my 'creations' and I don't claim any right to them either. Want them, you can have them! Please don't sue me, I'm not making any profit, and the writing's not even that good!
Further warning: I have no idea when this takes place, put it anywhere in the season you want, pairings won't really be mad, except for Marissa and Ryan. So maybe after they get together but before Seth and Summer start to get together, while Anna's away? Also, I didn't see the first few episodes, and I have a horrible memory, so I probably screwed up on some details. Oh well, just thought I'd let ya know.
"Old Enemies"
The Rendevous
The morning sun began to fill the room with light, despite the drawn curtains. Seth Cohen moaned and turned away from the window, trying to fall back asleep. It wasn't working; after a night of strange nightmares he just couldn't fall back asleep, despite his exhaustion.
"Seth! Come on, are you getting up or are you still sick?" He heard his mother, Kirsten, call from the kitchen.
"Still sick," he mumbled, but he sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. In a louder voice, he called out to the others assembled in the kitchen, "Yes-yes, I'm coming. I wouldn't dream of depriving our school of my sought after presence for another day." Outside of his room, three pairs of eyes rolled simultaneously at his remark.
Seth had been sick the past two days with some sort of virus, but he had seemed to be recovering the past evening, and he didn't think he could get away with staying home another day.
Blinking in the brightly lit kitchen, a now dressed Seth walked in and sat down next to Ryan at the table; he was reading a magazine and eating cereal. His dad, Sandy, was drinking a cup of coffee, as was his mother, and the two were discussing some new case of Sandy's. Seth poured himself a glass of orange juice and took a drink before searching for his favorite cereal. He found the box, the empty box, and groaned, deciding this was not a good start to his day.
"You sure you boys are going to be ok for the rest of the week?" Sandy asked Ryan and Seth as the two stood up to leave for school. Kirsten and Sandy were taking a short, but much needed vacation. Today being Wednesday, they weren't returning until the next Sunday.
"Well, we'll try to keep the parties to a minimum," Seth joked, pulling on his jacket and waving goodbye. As they walked out, Ryan smiled at them and said over his shoulder,
"We'll be fine. Have a good vacation," Mr. and Mrs. Cohen smiled at the boys and went to get ready for their trip.
To his dismay, but not so much to his surprise, Seth was right about the day being a bad one. It started out normal enough; some name calling, a few half hearted shoves or snickers when he wasn't with Ryan. He had noticed that people were usually nicer when Ryan walked with him, especially when Marissa was walking with them, but he didn't have many classes with either of them.
Still, he was used to it and was able to s mile when he greeted Ryan for lunch.
"Hey, where's the beautiful and fair Marissa?" He asked Ryan as they sat down at their usual table.
"One of her friends got dumped by a boyfriend or something, so she's sitting with her today," He replied, more interested in his sandwich than Seth's question.
"Ah, drama queen sitting, got it." Seth murmured; Ryan laughed and they discussed the day's events as they ate. In fact, Ryan had been more talkative lately and Seth was actually starting to enjoy himself when he saw a sight that made his heart stop.
"Oh dear God." He said, not even noticing that he had said it out loud. Seth was staring at a group of four boys who were standing by a tree a few yards from them. Frowning at Seth's horror struck gaze, Ryan tried to find what he was looking at.
"What's wrong?" He asked, but Seth ignored him, he didn't know what to say. Miraculously, he was saved by Marissa walking over to their table, smiling a greeting before turning to Ryan.
"Did you finish that science homework last night? I forgot my text, so could you help me with it?" By the draining of color in Ryan's face, he had forgotten about it too.
"Ah shit, no, I didn't do it either. Maybe we can get it done together before class. See ya later," He said to Seth, already standing up and walking with Marissa back to the school. Seth wasn't in their science class, so he couldn't help them. Instead, his gaze returned to the boys; he knew them. It had been a few years since he had last seen them, but they hadn't changed much at all; they'd only grown taller and more muscular.
The tallest one was Brad, he was talking to the other three. He had silver spike earrings and his hair was spiked up. A black t-shirt and torn black jeans gave him a menacing look. He was obviously the leader of the other three; Chris, Guy, and Mat, who were all dressed in clothes similar to all the other popular boys' clothes. They were listening to Brad with their complete attention, laughing at some of his words.
To his great horror, Brad turned and saw Seth staring at them. Snickering, he nudged the strong looking red headed Chris, who was standing next to him. Even as Seth wondered how quickly he could get the hell out of there, the four boys sauntered over to his table, grinning.
"Long time no see, Coco." Brad said in a falsely cheery voice. Seth ground his teeth. Coco was the name they had given him in sixth grade, after Mat had poured boiling hot chocolate down his throat; the others had held his mouth open and his arms and legs still. It had hurt to eat or drink anything for almost two weeks, so the humor had been lost on him. For some reason it had seemed to be one of their favorite actions with him, since they had decided on the nickname, 'Coco'.
"Didn't figure on seeing the Fantastic Four here anytime soon." Seth replied, trying to not sound as terrified as he felt. These boys had proved they could be as cruel as any adult at the age of 9, and had tormented most of his life through elementary and middle school. Luckily, they hadn't made it into Harbor when Seth had gotten in; how they had managed it now was beyond Seth's comprehension.
"Nice to see our old buddy again, isn't it?" Brad said coldly, hitting Seth on the back hard enough to knock the wind out of him. The four of them laughed when Seth winced.
"Yeah, we should get together, talk about old times," Guy, a pale and skinny, although still strong, boy with dyed black hair said. The hair on Seth's neck stood up. 'No way, my life was actually starting to go fairly well.' He thought numbly. He tried to stand up, saying quickly,
"Sure, that'd be great, but I, uh, really need to get to class, so if you'll just-"
"Sit down." Brad said. Mat pushed him roughly back into his seat. Too roughly; for Seth's weight made it tip over backward and the boys, as well as a few people nearby, laughed loudly.
"We're having a little party at my house tonight. You should come." Brad said, cold eyes glinting. Seth stood up again and swallowed hard. Truly, when he had first said to Ryan, "Welcome to the dark side," so many weeks ago, this was what he had been referring to. Brad came from one of the richest families he knew of. He had access to everything from drugs, alcohol, and weapons, and he was spoiled. None of the boys' parents cared what they did, and so they knew no limits to their actions.
"I'd love to guys, really, but I've just got too much stuff to do. Sorry and all," he babbled, glancing anxiously at the clock and wondering when the bell would ring.
"No problem, we'll just have to meet up some other time after school," Brad said, smirking as the bell finally rang. Seth felt relief swell inside him. 'Man, talk about being saved by the bell,' he thought as he threw his lunch away and grabbed his books.
To make things worse, Brad was in Seth's history class, and Mat in his gym. Ryan was in neither one, and Seth had to manage the rest of the afternoon by ignoring the jeers and taunts of the two. Even worse, if that were possible, was the fact that all four boys seemed to have become popular; how, Seth couldn't figure out, but he didn't think his social status would be improving any time soon.
At last the day ended, and Seth practically ran through the halls to Ryan's locker.
"Nice to see you again man! Ready to go home and get your ass kicked by the almighty Seth?" He asked, joking about their current video game marathon they'd been having for the past week. Ryan grinned, but shook his head.
"Marissa's got to stay after, so I figured I'd wait for her and get a ride home with her." He felt bad seeing Seth's crestfallen face, but he had already promised Marissa, and he hadn't thought that the stupid marathon had really been that important to Seth.
"No problem, I'll see you later tonight then," Seth replied briskly, clapping his hands together and trying not to show his disappointment as he went back to his locker. By the time he left the building, most of the other kids had already left. Seth had parked in the spot farthest from the school since they had been running late that morning. 'Oh well, maybe a relaxing, quiet afternoon won't be so bad,' he thought to himself.
No sooner had the thoughts crossed his mind then he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. He tried to shake it off, but it only tightened.
"Hey there Coco." He heard Brad say. He tried to turn and felt someone tear his bag off of his shoulder and hold his arms behind his back. Seeing Guy and Chris beside Brad, he figured it must be Mat.
"We brought you a gift, seeing as how its been so long since we saw each other." Guy said, a hyena-like laugh coming from him. Seth had always thought Guy might be touched in the head, to put it nicely, but he feared Brad the most. They were all cruel kids, but Brad was the smartest one, and Seth knew the others would just be common bullies without him.
He struggled against Mat, but was definitely no match for him. Then, to his revulsion, Chris held up a jar, laughing. The glass jar held a large tarantula in it. Seth broke out in a sweat. He hated spiders; it was a phobia he'd never gotten over and one that the four had always loved to torture him with, once they had learned of it.
"We found this guy by our car and couldn't help but think of you. Hold him still Mat," Brad instructed as Seth's eyes widened and a hoarse, "No.." came out of his mouth. Chris opened the jar, and in one swift movement he dumped it down Seth's shirt, dropping the jar which shattered onto the ground. Seth's yell was quickly muffled by Mat's large, sweat stinking arm around his mouth. He could feel the spider crawling on him and he nearly went into a panic, struggling to free himself and kicking at the other boys. Almost by accident he kicked Guy in the stomach, not even realizing it. With a growl, Guy drew a fist and punched Seth hard in the stomach, leaving him gasping for air and nearly suffocating against Chris's tight arm. After Guy's first blow, the others soon joined in their favorite sport, Mat eventually dropping him to the ground so he could join also, since Seth had stopped struggling.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like the beating lasted forever. At last, growing bored for the moment and kicking Seth one last time, they walked off laughing. It took Seth a few minutes to stand up, and the world seemed to spin. He tasted blood on his lip and felt it drip down his forehead, and he could feel a few shards from the jar imbedded in his arms and hands. His clothes were torn and he wondered how bad he looked. It hurt to breathe, but after catching his breath he crawled into his car and started the engine, slowly driving home.
His luck, if you could call it that, had turned a little, or maybe the universe was busy ruining someone else's life, for the house was dark and there were no signs of Ryan. Seth felt a great need to keep what had happened from him. It was humiliating for one thing, and there was nothing Ryan could do for him anyway, except pity him and get beat up himself if he tried to help. Seth was tired of him having to fight his battles for him, and maybe the boys would grow tired of tormenting him soon. After all, surely they must have grown up a little bit? Of course, that was what he had thought every year until high school, and he had always been proved wrong.
Seth stumbled into the house and managed to get to his room, although he clutched the kitchen island once to steady himself, before he managed to get to his room, lock the door, and collapse onto his bed. He hadn't noticed the blood his hand had left on the counter, or he would surely have cleaned it up.
Ryan noticed it however. He and Marissa had gone to get dinner after school, and they had brought some home for Seth. They were surprised to find the lights were off and the house dark so early, and after they had kissed good night and Marissa had driven off, Ryan walked into the house cautiously. Flipping on lights, he called out,
"Seth?" But received no answer. Mentally he shrugged, figuring that he must have been tired and had gone to bed early. He walked into the kitchen to put the food away; but when he turned the light on; he saw the blood on the counter and froze. Setting the food on the counter he examined it to make sure it was blood, and when he knew for certain he walked quickly to Seth's room, trying to open it. Finding it locked didn't help to calm him down and he knocked on the door loudly. It would be just his luck to have Seth get seriously ill or injured while his parents were away and with just Ryan around. Besides that, he was worried. From his experience, Seth wouldn't be careless enough to cut himself, bleed on something, and not clean it up-not if he was able to.
"Seth, are you in there?" Ryan called out. He heard a loud moan and again tried to open the door.
"I'm awake, what's wrong?" Seth called out. Or rather, he gasped out. It took all of his strength to keep his voice normal and not sound like the truth-that he was practically wallowing in pain.
"Did you hurt yourself in the kitchen or something?" Ryan asked again, already feeling stupid since Seth sounded fine. Tired, and stressed, but not like he was on his death bed.
"Uh.." Thinking fast, Seth realized what must have happened. "Yeah, I tried to make a sandwich and cut myself with the knife. Sorry, must have forgotten to clean it up, I'm really tired, I don't think I'm quite over that bug," He said quickly through clenched teeth. Satisfied with the answer, Ryan said,
"Ok, sorry to wake you," and walked back through the kitchen. He stuck the food in the fridge, but when he turned he noticed that there were no signs of cooking. Opening the dishwasher, he found it was empty. The knives were all clean also. So he had the energy to clean the knife he had used, but not clean up the counter? Ryan shook his head as he walked to the pool house. Whatever Seth's problem was, he obviously didn't want Ryan to know.
Inside his room, Seth lay staring at the wall, hurting too much to fall asleep as he tried to form a plan for the next day. It wouldn't be too hard to avoid Ryan at school, he could skip lunch, but what would everyone else say when they saw his appearance? He only had one black eye; his face had been on the ground most of the time, so the only real bruises that would show would be his arms and legs. Still, he could wear layered clothing, even if it was warm out. No, he was far more concerned with how he would deal with them again. He didn't know how far they would go, and couldn't help feeling apprehensive, to say the least. Seth tried to sleep despite his pain, but Brad's cruel laughter echoed in his head throughout the night.
There, all done! I know it probably sucks, but I had to post it. Please, if someone would like to continue, let me know. This is the sort of thing I prefer to read rather than write. I'm not good at making angst seem realistic and not super mushy. If you'd like to review, please do, although trust me, if you thought it was horrible, I agree, so telling me won't really alter anything. Should I bother to continue? That would be up to you. I'll write another chapter if no one else volunteers and if at least one person claims to like it. When, I don't know, but asap anyway. Thanks!
-Luna Sealeaf