· The O.C. and all of it's characters are property of FOX. Not me. Sadly.
A Simple Birthday Wish
"Chad?!"
He grinned and bent down, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly and lifting her off of her feet so that she was eye level with him. She grabbed his biceps awkwardly and looked around her quickly, making sure no one was watching.
"What are you doing here?"
He leaned in and pecked her lips quickly and her eyes widened. She was too much in awe to react in any physical way, she just held on to him as he clutched her forcefully and looked into his eyes. He had no right to be here, and yet he was acting like everything was fine.
"Hey, baby! How surprised are you?!" His voice was filled with the enthusiasm of a five-year old and she realized how unbelievably right Marissa had been when she had commented on how much of a brain-dead jock he was.
"Uhm. Very?" She tried not to sound overly sarcastic, but her tone was bitter and hurtful. He barely noticed, finally setting her down on the floor and wrapping his arm around her neck. She cringed and hurriedly checked to see that her skirt was in place and smooth. Chad never really thought twice about manhandling her in public. Come to think of it, she used to like that. How ironic.
"Yeah! I knew you would be. Ah, this is awesome. I've missed you, Robbie."
Summer hid her disgust at his nickname for her as she craned her neck around his forearm, looking for Marissa, Ryan, anyone to escape to. His arm felt like a ton of bricks on her shoulder and his deep voice was giving her a headache. Life had been so unbelievably different when she had dated Chad Mortenson. Well, SHE had been unbelievably different, anyway. He seemed exactly the same.
"Yeah, Chad. I've, uhm. Missed you, too."
He grinned at her again and leaned down to kiss her hard on the lips. His breath tasted like stale Jack Daniels, and his lips were hot. She sighed and let him finish, thinking that she would have to go and touch up her lipstick after this. God, how did she ever stand him? He didn't even think about asking her if she was even single, much less if he could kiss her in front of her entire graduating class.
"Hold on, Chad. I kind of need to breathe."
He rolled his eyes and moved his hand down to her hip, "Come on, baby… you used to be so much fun."
She stopped and looked him square in the eye before pushing his hand off of her and simply walking away. "Nice talking to you, Chad."
"Summer! What the fuck?"
She growled under her breath and walked to the bathroom. If this was Marissa's idea of a joke, it certainly wasn't funny. Closing the door behind her, she stood in front of the mirror that spanned half of the wall. Her left strap had fallen down and the ruffles in her skirt were in disarray. She fixed them quietly before grabbing a tissue and wiping a line of smeared lip-gloss from her cheek. Forcing a small smile onto her face, she shrugged and returned to the party. Marissa was standing two inches in front of her.
"Wow. Hi."
Marissa smile and hugged her. "Hey! I haven't gotten a chance to talk to you, people keep stealing you from me."
Summer crossed her arms over her stomach. "Yeah, like… I don't know, Chad Mortenson?"
Marissa grinned and clapped her hands in front of her. She was almost giddy. Which totally pissed Summer off even more. "I know! Isn't it great, he flew all the way from San Diego to be here! He looks so awesome, doesn't he?"
Summer snorted. "Yeah, all the way from San Diego. I feel so lucky." Her voice was laced with unreceptive scorn.
"I thought you would be happy to see him, Summer. You were so depressed when he moved."
Summer shook her head with disbelief. "Marissa, I was depressed because he CHEATED on me. Did you even stop to remember that small fact?"
Marissa sighed. "I'm sorry, Summer. I just wanted you to have fun on your birthday. You've been so withdrawn lately."
Summer's eyes clouded over and she was shocked to feel a warm liquid on her cheeks. Was she really crying? Her insides were so numb she couldn't tell.
"Marissa, you never even talk to me lately. How would you know if I've been 'withdrawn'? You think you can show up for one weekend, throw some huge party, get me drunk, and we'll be okay again?"
"Fine. You know what? I'm sorry. Happy Birthday."
Summer choked as Marissa walked over to the closet, grabbed her purse and made her way to the front door. What was she doing? She had just pushed away the one person she had left.
---
Seth closed his eyes as Marissa stormed out of the front door. He could see that Summer's eyes were completely glazed over, and judging by the black streak that made it's way down the center of her left cheek, he surmised that she was crying. He smiled half-heartedly at Anna and cocked his head in Summer's direction. "I'm gonna go see if she's okay. She shouldn't be alone on her birthday."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Seth, you don't have to be her knight in shining armor anymore. She seemed just fine with that guy. I'm sure he can comfort her…"
Seth puckered his brow at her. She had been so hot and cold with him lately. One minute she was telling him how great he was to be so supportive of Summer and to hold onto their friendship, and the next she was steering him away from her and telling him that Summer should fend for herself. He was sick of basing their relationship about how he felt about Summer. He thought when he chose her, it would be about them. Seth, and Anna. Not Seth's feelings about Summer. Which were totally up in the air, anyhow. All he knew was that it broke his heart to see her so upset, standing by herself at a party that was for her.
But, that was Newport. Tell them there was alcohol and dancing, and they flocked. He bet that half of them didn't even know what the party was for. He mentally slapped himself for thinking that none of the other guys here knew her like he knew her. None of them had watched her from afar since they were eleven years old, imprinting in their memories what her favorite soda was, her favorite outfit, what movies she had been to, or who… she was dating.
Chad Mortenson had hurt her. He knew that much. Even if he hadn't heard the rumors, he could tell from the face she had made when he kissed her. She was frozen, confused, and hurt. And Seth wanted to hurt him twice as bad as he had hurt Summer. But he also knew that Chad could take him out with his hands tied behind his back and ten drinks in his system.
Shrugging hopelessly at Anna, he patted her on the shoulder. "Anna, I'm going to walk over to my friend and make sure she's okay because it's her birthday. Either you're going to be an understanding girlfriend and come with me, or you're going to be jealous and walk away. You make your own choice for once."
With that, he spun on his heels and walked over towards Summer's hunched form. Anna had settled on making her exit through the back door, but Seth didn't even bother to look over his shoulder. If she was honestly selfish enough to leave a good friend alone, crying, on her seventeenth birthday, then he had been wrong in choosing to be with her. That wasn't the type of woman he could be with, let alone love.
"Cohen, go away for once."
Seth ignored her jab and reached out to pull her elbow gently, guiding her hands away from her eyes. When they glared at him, the hurt and anger in the brown orbs seared through his heart. There was a lone tear, puddle between her rosy cheek and her soft, ski-slope nose. He smiled sadly and used his thumb to wipe it away.
"Hey… crying isn't allowed today. You should be all smiles."
She pulled away from his grasp and crossed her arms over her swollen chest. She had an ache in her throat that wouldn't leave, and she wasn't quite sure why. Was it Marissa? They fought all the time. Chad? She had promised herself a year ago she would never again shed a tear for that asshole. Anna? She wasn't even in sight right now, let alone haunting Summer's heart at the moment. Seth?
He did look particularly good, standing in front of her, looking at her with his puppy dog eyes. Caring. He truly cared about her, and the fact that for the first time, she wanted to reciprocate that care, that love, scared her shitless. Not to mention the fact that Seth wouldn't let that happen. Not while Pittsburgh was around.
"Haven't you ever heard that song… 'It's my party, I can cry if I goddamn want to.'"
Seth chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. She never ceased to surprise him. "Yeah, I have. Although I don't remember the lyrics being worded quite like that. I like it though, nice and bitter."
Summer shrugged irritably. "That's me. Summer Roberts, bitchy and bitter."
"Really? Because I know Summer Roberts, but she's anything other than a bitter, and she's most certainly not a bitch. She's beautiful, and caring, and sweet, and she makes me laugh like no other person ever has. Even Ryan, mind you, and he's… he's a pretty funny guy lately." There was a smirk in his eye as he mocked her pose, arms folded haughtily over his stomach.
Summer laughed quietly and rolled her eyes. "Shut up."
Seth smiled, happy to see a bit of shine return to her dull eyes. "Impossible. My name is Seth Cohen - that word does not apply to my world."
They laughed together, her arms loosened, falling to rest beside her, and she grinned at his laughter. He was so happy, so… together. He was every type of person she had hope to be. He was Seth Cohen, kind and emotional and loving… and she loved his love. She loved *him*.
A voice broke through the crowd and she jumped, stirred from her thoughts. "Hey Robbie, come on, we're goin to the beach. Grab a six pack and get that hot ass in a bikini!"
Seth's glance drifted to the ground as his stomach churned with anger. "You goin?"
Summer laughed loudly and rolled her eyes. "Hell. No. Come on."
He bit back a smile as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind her out of the door and to her car. "Where are we going?"
She ignored his question and hopped into the passenger seat, waiting until he took the point and climbed unsurely into the driver's side. He looked at her oddly, his face scrunched with curiosity.
"It's my birthday, Seth. Take me to your boat."
A Simple Birthday Wish
"Chad?!"
He grinned and bent down, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly and lifting her off of her feet so that she was eye level with him. She grabbed his biceps awkwardly and looked around her quickly, making sure no one was watching.
"What are you doing here?"
He leaned in and pecked her lips quickly and her eyes widened. She was too much in awe to react in any physical way, she just held on to him as he clutched her forcefully and looked into his eyes. He had no right to be here, and yet he was acting like everything was fine.
"Hey, baby! How surprised are you?!" His voice was filled with the enthusiasm of a five-year old and she realized how unbelievably right Marissa had been when she had commented on how much of a brain-dead jock he was.
"Uhm. Very?" She tried not to sound overly sarcastic, but her tone was bitter and hurtful. He barely noticed, finally setting her down on the floor and wrapping his arm around her neck. She cringed and hurriedly checked to see that her skirt was in place and smooth. Chad never really thought twice about manhandling her in public. Come to think of it, she used to like that. How ironic.
"Yeah! I knew you would be. Ah, this is awesome. I've missed you, Robbie."
Summer hid her disgust at his nickname for her as she craned her neck around his forearm, looking for Marissa, Ryan, anyone to escape to. His arm felt like a ton of bricks on her shoulder and his deep voice was giving her a headache. Life had been so unbelievably different when she had dated Chad Mortenson. Well, SHE had been unbelievably different, anyway. He seemed exactly the same.
"Yeah, Chad. I've, uhm. Missed you, too."
He grinned at her again and leaned down to kiss her hard on the lips. His breath tasted like stale Jack Daniels, and his lips were hot. She sighed and let him finish, thinking that she would have to go and touch up her lipstick after this. God, how did she ever stand him? He didn't even think about asking her if she was even single, much less if he could kiss her in front of her entire graduating class.
"Hold on, Chad. I kind of need to breathe."
He rolled his eyes and moved his hand down to her hip, "Come on, baby… you used to be so much fun."
She stopped and looked him square in the eye before pushing his hand off of her and simply walking away. "Nice talking to you, Chad."
"Summer! What the fuck?"
She growled under her breath and walked to the bathroom. If this was Marissa's idea of a joke, it certainly wasn't funny. Closing the door behind her, she stood in front of the mirror that spanned half of the wall. Her left strap had fallen down and the ruffles in her skirt were in disarray. She fixed them quietly before grabbing a tissue and wiping a line of smeared lip-gloss from her cheek. Forcing a small smile onto her face, she shrugged and returned to the party. Marissa was standing two inches in front of her.
"Wow. Hi."
Marissa smile and hugged her. "Hey! I haven't gotten a chance to talk to you, people keep stealing you from me."
Summer crossed her arms over her stomach. "Yeah, like… I don't know, Chad Mortenson?"
Marissa grinned and clapped her hands in front of her. She was almost giddy. Which totally pissed Summer off even more. "I know! Isn't it great, he flew all the way from San Diego to be here! He looks so awesome, doesn't he?"
Summer snorted. "Yeah, all the way from San Diego. I feel so lucky." Her voice was laced with unreceptive scorn.
"I thought you would be happy to see him, Summer. You were so depressed when he moved."
Summer shook her head with disbelief. "Marissa, I was depressed because he CHEATED on me. Did you even stop to remember that small fact?"
Marissa sighed. "I'm sorry, Summer. I just wanted you to have fun on your birthday. You've been so withdrawn lately."
Summer's eyes clouded over and she was shocked to feel a warm liquid on her cheeks. Was she really crying? Her insides were so numb she couldn't tell.
"Marissa, you never even talk to me lately. How would you know if I've been 'withdrawn'? You think you can show up for one weekend, throw some huge party, get me drunk, and we'll be okay again?"
"Fine. You know what? I'm sorry. Happy Birthday."
Summer choked as Marissa walked over to the closet, grabbed her purse and made her way to the front door. What was she doing? She had just pushed away the one person she had left.
---
Seth closed his eyes as Marissa stormed out of the front door. He could see that Summer's eyes were completely glazed over, and judging by the black streak that made it's way down the center of her left cheek, he surmised that she was crying. He smiled half-heartedly at Anna and cocked his head in Summer's direction. "I'm gonna go see if she's okay. She shouldn't be alone on her birthday."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Seth, you don't have to be her knight in shining armor anymore. She seemed just fine with that guy. I'm sure he can comfort her…"
Seth puckered his brow at her. She had been so hot and cold with him lately. One minute she was telling him how great he was to be so supportive of Summer and to hold onto their friendship, and the next she was steering him away from her and telling him that Summer should fend for herself. He was sick of basing their relationship about how he felt about Summer. He thought when he chose her, it would be about them. Seth, and Anna. Not Seth's feelings about Summer. Which were totally up in the air, anyhow. All he knew was that it broke his heart to see her so upset, standing by herself at a party that was for her.
But, that was Newport. Tell them there was alcohol and dancing, and they flocked. He bet that half of them didn't even know what the party was for. He mentally slapped himself for thinking that none of the other guys here knew her like he knew her. None of them had watched her from afar since they were eleven years old, imprinting in their memories what her favorite soda was, her favorite outfit, what movies she had been to, or who… she was dating.
Chad Mortenson had hurt her. He knew that much. Even if he hadn't heard the rumors, he could tell from the face she had made when he kissed her. She was frozen, confused, and hurt. And Seth wanted to hurt him twice as bad as he had hurt Summer. But he also knew that Chad could take him out with his hands tied behind his back and ten drinks in his system.
Shrugging hopelessly at Anna, he patted her on the shoulder. "Anna, I'm going to walk over to my friend and make sure she's okay because it's her birthday. Either you're going to be an understanding girlfriend and come with me, or you're going to be jealous and walk away. You make your own choice for once."
With that, he spun on his heels and walked over towards Summer's hunched form. Anna had settled on making her exit through the back door, but Seth didn't even bother to look over his shoulder. If she was honestly selfish enough to leave a good friend alone, crying, on her seventeenth birthday, then he had been wrong in choosing to be with her. That wasn't the type of woman he could be with, let alone love.
"Cohen, go away for once."
Seth ignored her jab and reached out to pull her elbow gently, guiding her hands away from her eyes. When they glared at him, the hurt and anger in the brown orbs seared through his heart. There was a lone tear, puddle between her rosy cheek and her soft, ski-slope nose. He smiled sadly and used his thumb to wipe it away.
"Hey… crying isn't allowed today. You should be all smiles."
She pulled away from his grasp and crossed her arms over her swollen chest. She had an ache in her throat that wouldn't leave, and she wasn't quite sure why. Was it Marissa? They fought all the time. Chad? She had promised herself a year ago she would never again shed a tear for that asshole. Anna? She wasn't even in sight right now, let alone haunting Summer's heart at the moment. Seth?
He did look particularly good, standing in front of her, looking at her with his puppy dog eyes. Caring. He truly cared about her, and the fact that for the first time, she wanted to reciprocate that care, that love, scared her shitless. Not to mention the fact that Seth wouldn't let that happen. Not while Pittsburgh was around.
"Haven't you ever heard that song… 'It's my party, I can cry if I goddamn want to.'"
Seth chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. She never ceased to surprise him. "Yeah, I have. Although I don't remember the lyrics being worded quite like that. I like it though, nice and bitter."
Summer shrugged irritably. "That's me. Summer Roberts, bitchy and bitter."
"Really? Because I know Summer Roberts, but she's anything other than a bitter, and she's most certainly not a bitch. She's beautiful, and caring, and sweet, and she makes me laugh like no other person ever has. Even Ryan, mind you, and he's… he's a pretty funny guy lately." There was a smirk in his eye as he mocked her pose, arms folded haughtily over his stomach.
Summer laughed quietly and rolled her eyes. "Shut up."
Seth smiled, happy to see a bit of shine return to her dull eyes. "Impossible. My name is Seth Cohen - that word does not apply to my world."
They laughed together, her arms loosened, falling to rest beside her, and she grinned at his laughter. He was so happy, so… together. He was every type of person she had hope to be. He was Seth Cohen, kind and emotional and loving… and she loved his love. She loved *him*.
A voice broke through the crowd and she jumped, stirred from her thoughts. "Hey Robbie, come on, we're goin to the beach. Grab a six pack and get that hot ass in a bikini!"
Seth's glance drifted to the ground as his stomach churned with anger. "You goin?"
Summer laughed loudly and rolled her eyes. "Hell. No. Come on."
He bit back a smile as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind her out of the door and to her car. "Where are we going?"
She ignored his question and hopped into the passenger seat, waiting until he took the point and climbed unsurely into the driver's side. He looked at her oddly, his face scrunched with curiosity.
"It's my birthday, Seth. Take me to your boat."