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Seth's eyes slowly open into the morning sunlight streaming in through the windows. He squints and looks around and is surprised to see that the other side of the bed is empty, but there is a note left on the pillow. He sits up and yawns, snatching the note and unfolding it to read it.

Cohen,

Thought I'd slip out before your parents woke up. I'll probably see you around later today though.

- Summer

P.S. You snore like a buzz saw.

Seth lets out a snort of indignation before falling back on his pillows with a slight smile on his face.

***

Seth and Ryan are sitting in the pool house, relaxing and goofing around. Seth looks happier than he's been in a while and Ryan is suspicious.

"What's with the new perkiness there, Seth?"

"I've decided to go out for the cheerleading squad this year. If you can't date 'em, join 'em."

"I heard Ms. Roberts making her morning descent from your room in the wee hours of this morning again."

Seth starts looking happy, but trying to act casual.

"Oh yeah? I told her to keep it down."

"Seth, I have news for you: Summer is a loud person."

"Hm."

Just as Ryan goes to press Seth further about Summer, Sandy comes in.

"Seth, you have a visitor."

Seth turns to Ryan and makes a mocking face.

"My, my, isn't my stock just through the roof? Whoever could it be?"

And with that he hops over the back of the sofa and follows his Dad into the main house leaving Ryan behind, shaking his head.

***

Seth confidently strides past his Dad who heads off into the kitchen, as he goes to the door to greet his guest.

"Just can't stay away, can you…"

He trails off as he ends up face-to-face not with Summer, but the elusive Anna Stern. She raises an eyebrow and gives him a quirky smile.

"Nice to see you too, Seth."

"Anna, wow. This is unexpected."

"It is? I told you I was going to be coming back at the end of the summer for school."

"Right, right. So, huh, how's it going?"

There's a newfound awkwardness with Seth as Anna smiles flirtatiously at him.

"Not too bad. It'd be better if I could come in?"

Seth shakes his head in embarrassment and lets her past and inside the house.

"Sorry, I'm out of it today."

"You don't say."

"Yeah, well, obviously not much has changed since you left."

She laughs a little, but he's sweating it.

"I thought maybe we could go get a burger and trade summer stories?"

"Summer? Oh, summer stories! Like what we each did on our summer vacations?"

He's overly hyper and alert and she's a little weirded out by all of it, but she laughs at his nervousness.

"Well, when you make it sound like a report…"

They're both startled by the sound of the doorbell. Seth looks relieved, though.

"Um, just give me a sec."

He goes and throws open the door, relieved at the opportunity to have an excuse to get away. Suddenly his relief melts away into fear when he sees Summer standing there, smiling at him coyly.

"Hey, Cohen. Long time, no see."

Before she can do anything, though, she spots Anna over Seth's shoulder and her eyes narrow. She steps past him and into the house. Anna looks Summer over skeptically, but says nothing and offers a polite smile. Summer, not surprisingly, doesn't reiterate the courtesy. Seth stands beside both of them looking like he's about to hyperventilate and pass out any second.

"Anna, this is Summer Roberts. Summer, this is Anna Stern. You guys have met right?"

"Uh, yeah. You were one of the debutantes, right Summer?"

"Right. Which means you must have been there, but for the life of me I can't remember you."

"Well, Seth was my date."

"Oh, right! Didn't you, like, drop off the face of the planet or something?"

Seth senses that the exchange is becoming overly hostile and intervenes quickly.

"Yeah! Funny how things work out, isn't it?"

"So what are you doing back in Newport, Anna?"

Summer is grilling the new girl, but Anna is showing no intimidation and rises to the challenge.

"Well, I just got back from a sailing trip to Tahiti and Seth and I were going to go get some lunch and catch up."

Summer turns to Seth with daggers in her eyes.

"Oh were you?"

"Well, actually, I was just going to tell Anna about our lunch plans, Summer, but the doorbell rang before I could, otherwise I totally would have."

Seth is scared, but the girls show no fear, each eyeing the other over.

"Well, Seth, since you're so interested, why don't you invited Anna to lunch with us?"

Summer is issuing a challenge and Anna is eager to step up to it while Seth's panic levels are already through the roof.

"What? Um, okay."

"Sure, Seth. I'd love to."

"Great. I guess it's decided, then."

They all stand around in tense silence. Seth is watching both of the girls carefully. Finally Summer looks over at him impatiently.

"Seth, get a sweater."

"Right. Okay."

And with that he takes off like a bat out of hell.

***

The tense trio enter the Crab Shack and head for a table. Seth leads the way and stops at a booth. He waits for the girls to sit down, but neither one makes a move, waiting for him to sit. Finally he slides into one side and Summer quickly shoves in right next to him before Anna has the chance to. Anna takes this defeat with grace and simply sits on the other side, facing Seth directly. Anna plasters a sweet smile on her face and looks directly at Seth, ignoring Summer's presence completely.

"So, Seth, what have you been up to since I left?"

"Um, the usual. Just spending time sailing and reading comic books. I, uh, went down to Tijuana for a couple of days."

"We went."

"Uh, right. We went to Tijuana for a couple of days."

"Right on. That must have been great."

"Um, not so much."

Summer glares at him for that and he quickly tries to recover.

"I mean, the company was great, but a friend had a crisis, which sucked."

"That's too bad. Tahiti was amazing. You're going to love it. I went to that landmark you told me about and the view was incredible."

Anna is smearing all of the things she and Seth share in common in Summer's face and it is clearly getting to her.

"And I brought this back for you."

Anna pulls an old hardcover book out of her bag and hands it to Seth. The Sailing Enthusiast's Guide For Travel. Seth's really impressed as he flips through the book eagerly. Summer is getting more and more pissed off by the second, though, but says nothing.

"Wow, this is amazing. Thanks!"

"No problem. I saw it and thought of you."

Summer has reached her breaking point. She gives Anna an insincere smile.

"So, Anna, you must be tired from the long journey back home. You must have met a ton of cute guys on your trip, though."

"Yeah, there were some. But most of them don't have much brain activity going on and I'm much more interested in guys I share something in common with. You know what I mean, Summer?"

Seth senses the dangerous territory the girls are getting into and decides to make a run for it.

"You know what? I forgot that Ryan's working today. So I'm just going to go say hi to him."

Summer reluctantly lets Seth out of the booth and he dashes into the back kitchen of the restaurant, leaving the girls to battle it out.

***

Ryan nearly drops the food he's carrying as Seth bolts into the backroom and begins peaking out the small window into the restaurant to see what the girls are up to. He looks panicked and scared and Ryan is stunned.

"What's going on, man?"

"Insanity. Up is down, left is right. At this very moment there are two hot girls sitting in this restaurant fighting like cats over yours truly."

"Seth, man, we've talked about the fine line where porn ends and real life begins."

"I swear to God, man. Look for yourself."

Ryan joins Seth and peers out in to the restaurant. Their eyes land on the table where Summer and Anna are engaged in heated and hostile conversation.

"Isn't that the girl from the Debutante's Ball?"

"The one and only Anna Stern."

"How in the hell did you get yourself into this one?"

"This totally wasn't me! The Gods have either smiled down on me smited me. I haven't figured out which yet…"

"So what are you going to do?"

Seth leans back against one of the counters and thinks hard about this.

"I don't know. What can I do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Well, obviously I've been in love with Summer for, like, forever. And that has a lot of sway. But Anna's the first girl who's ever shown any genuine interest in me, which is a big trip for a guy's ego. Then there's the fact that Summer has kissed me and has all but said she likes me and sleeps in my room and… ugh!"

Ryan laughs at his friend's dramatics.

"How did I become a buffet of women, Ryan?"

***

Seth approaches the table cautiously and both the girls smile up at him when they see him moving closer. Summer slides out of the booth quickly, though.

"Excuse me for just a couple of minutes."

Seth is confused, but Summer walks idly towards the back of the restaurant as he slides back into the booth. Anna jumps on their opportunity for privacy.

"Wow, is she always that rabid?"

"Uh, pretty much, yeah."

"I gotta say, Seth, I'm kind of surprised that you two hit it off and are friends. She just seems… too weird."

"Well, she just takes some getting used to."

"I guess so. I'm kind of glad we've got a moment alone, though. Cause I've been wanting to talk to you for a while."

She gets intense and he looks like a deer caught in headlights.

"Um, okay."

"I had a really great time at the Debutante's Ball. And I never enjoy those things. I guess I can attribute my enjoyment to you being there."

"Oh yeah? Um, thanks."

"And I was kind of surprised by how much we seem to have in common. I couldn't stop thinking about it while I was in Tahiti. And I was really happy to be home so I could have a chance to see you."

Seth nods and casts a stray look towards the back of the restaurant.

"I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I missed you. And I want to spend more time with you, getting to know you. Last time we spent time together I got the same impression from you."

"Okay, Anna, about that. You see, you're a nice girl and I like you. You're right, we have lots in common. But I'm picking up on some signals pointing towards more than just friendship…"

She smiles.

"Me too."

"Oh, okay. No. Um, see, that's the thing. I am sort of involved with someone right now. At least, I think I might be. Kind of."

Her face falls, but she hasn't given up hope entirely.

"Well, are you or aren't you?"

"It's in the beginning stages."

"Is it Summer?"

He looks guilty and nods. Anna is visibly upset, but says nothing.

"Huh, well, I can't say I get it. I thought you wouldn't just value that sort of thing."

"Anna, I'm not interested in Summer just cause of her surface."

"Oh."

Awkwardness settles in and they both become completely silent. Seth would do anything to have all of this be over and done with.

***

Summer comes storming into the kitchen where Ryan once again nearly drops the food he's preparing. He's shocked to see her, but she wants to be serious and cut to the chase.

"Okay, Ryan, listen here. I saw Seth run back here like a scared little mouse and I want to know what the deal was."

Ryan's stunned by how direct and to the point she is. He scratches his head.

"Um, I think you and Anna are scaring the crap out of him."

"Really? What else did he say?"

"He's confused. Confusion, but mostly fear."

She looks pouty and annoyed.

"Do you know anything about that Anna chick?"

"Just that she was his date at the Ball. And she likes comic books and went to Tahiti."

"Yeah, well, I gathered that much. Do you think Seth's into her?"

Ryan shrugs his shoulders.

"I think he was. But you two seem to have something going on and I think he's more concerned about that."

She peeks out at Seth and Anna.

"What do you think they're talking about?"

"Knowing Seth? Probably comic books."

She looks super-grouchy and Ryan can't refrain from laughing.

"What, Chino?"

"You get bitchy when you're territorial. You must have it pretty bad for him."

She glares at him.

"Suck it, Chino."

***

Summer returns to the table eyeing both of it's occupants suspiciously. She slides in next to Seth who has developed a new fascination with his hands. Anna can barely stand the tension.

"Listen, I should really get going. There's so much to do before school starts. But I'll see you around."

She bolts up.

"Uh, sure. Thanks again for the book, Anna."

She smiles before beating a hasty retreat. Summer just looks confused.

"What the hell was that?"

"Nothing."

"Then why do I feel like I've interrupted something."

"You didn't. I had to give the "easy letdown" speech. Despite being on the receiving end of it numerous times, I don't think I have a knack for giving it."

Summer stares at him incredulously.

"You rejected her?"

"Well, yeah. But she came onto me first."

Summer shocks the hell out of him by grabbing him in the middle of the restaurant and kissing him. The sound of large metal objects falling on the ground can be heard in the kitchen. The couple pull apart and Summer looks over her shoulder towards it.

"Ew, pervert."

***

Summer enters Marissa's hospital room yet again. Marissa is sitting up in bed and gets a huge grin on her face at the sight of her best friend. Summer takes her usual seat next to Marissa's bed, but doesn't look as peppy as she had her last couple of visits. She tries to put it behind her, though, and be upbeat for her friend's sake.

"What's going on, Summer?"

"Huh? Nothing. I'm here to visit you. Let's talk about you."

"Bullshit. There's nothing new to say about me, anyhow. For now it's just waiting until they finally release me."

Summer nods.

"This is about you and Seth, isn't it?"

Summer looks guilty and nods some more.

"What's going on with you two, anyhow?"

"I don't know, Coop. The whole situation is completely surreal. I've known him since we were little. And even two months ago I found him completely repulsive. But now…"

"Now?"

"Now I feel different. I've never felt like this about a guy before. And all of a sudden it's like everything has changed completely, only he hasn't changed at all. He just doesn't repulse me anymore."

Summer sighs and falls back in her chair.

"And I'm not like you. I've never had a long-term boyfriend before or any of those… feelings. It's so weird. And never in a million years would I ever have thought that Seth Cohen would be the one to bring out this kind of a reaction in me…"

"Well, I know I'm just an outsider on this, but I think it's great, if you like him. I mean, he's a good guy and you know he'll treat you well."

"Yeah. And we've gotten so close, so fast that I don't really know what to do. I mean, I don't know if we are a couple or if we aren't. We've kissed and stuff and I sleep in his bed, like, every night. The weirdest thing is that suddenly I'm all self-conscious and modest. It's like I want to have sex with him. And I do. But because of that I'm not going to. Because suddenly it all matters more than it used to."

Marissa is shocked at her friend's confessions. She tries to be helpful and provide good advice.

"Do you want to be with him?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure? Even knowing what other people will think when they find out?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Then, be with him. Don't worry about sex and all of that other stuff for now."

Summer thinks this over.

***

Seth is lying in bed alone, with the lights out. He's quietly asleep, but stirs as soon as the noise from the sliding glass door can be heard. He looks up groggily at Summer who is trying to be as quiet as possible. She shuts the door after herself and crawls into bed.

"Don't you want pajamas?"

"Listen, Seth, we need to figure this thing out before it drives me crazy."

"Okay…"

"You like me and I like you and there's something going on between us, but we're both avoiding classifying it for whatever reason. But we have to. Cause I need to know."

"Okay. I mean, I just assumed you were my girlfriend."

This revelation comes as a bit of a surprise to Summer who suddenly finds herself not knowing what to say.

"Oh."

He sits up in bed and faces her. She thinks out exactly what she wants to say before speaking.

"I just want to be sure that we both want the same thing before we make any decisions. I didn't want there to be some confusing mis-communication that will leave one of us hurt."

She crawls over and stuns both of them by sitting in his lap. His arms go around her and she seems more vulnerable than she'd normally let on.

"I don't have a lot of people who are in my life constantly, Seth. My own parents are rarely around and I go through friends like laundry. And I don't want that to happen with us, so if we'd be better off as friends and it would mean you'd be around for a long time…"

He leans back and she faces him and he kisses her. It is intimate and important.

"I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

She smiles and leans into the crook in his neck as he rocks her back and forth. They stay like that for a while as the night falls.