I don't own the O.C.
A/N: I all but abandoned this to the point I lost my notes, but, here's a new chapter. Anyway, I decide to throw in a little bit of what had been happening on the show.
-----
Dating Nate was quite refreshing. He didn't own a boat or any other mode of transportation that he'd named after a girl he'd pined for all his life, his mind didn't travel whenever a certain season was mentioned and most of all, he gave her his undivided attention. So, Anna didn't quite understand why she hung up on him the minute that 949 number showed up on her caller-id.
"What's up?" she shouted into the receiver.
"I'm alright. What about you?"
Anna groaned. Seth always wore his emotions on his sleeve so she didn't even have to analyze his speech to realize that something was wrong.
"I'm fine, but what's going on with you?"
"I'm... o.k..."
"Listen, Seth. I am not going to spend the better part of a Sunday evening trying to figure out what's gotten you all sad. The fact you called tells me you want to talk, so just talk."
"Alright, I guess I'll talk to you later," he said reluctantly.
It appeared to be worse than she'd thought. Seth was always up for a little argumentative banter so his willingness to give up so easily worried her.
"Seth, it's not something with your parents, is it?"
"Hmm... no"
"Oh, it's Summer, is it?" Anna was glad she was thousands of miles away from him because she could roll her eyes without having him to see it. "What happened?"
"I think it's over," he said plainly.
"Why?" She decided she wants her popularity back, she almost added but bit back the words. Her friend needed her and she'd just have to save it for another day.
"I don't know."
"Seth, don't give me that. You can't just think that she wants to dump you for no reason. Hell, when I dumped you, you didn't even see it coming."
"It was different..."
She didn't even have to ask him what he meant by that because she already knew - he couldn't have cared less because he never really loved her. The feelings of resentment were fighting to come through but Anna just wouldn't let them. Right then, Seth needed his nice friend and not his bitter ex-girlfriend.
"Go on... what happened."
"Well, I got to meet her father."
"Great!"
"Well, not so great. Turns out that he's her best friend."
Anna wasn't surprised -he was a plastic surgeon after all. "Continue," she urged.
"Well, we went out to lunch and it didn't turn out well."
"What do you mean?"
"Summer told me at Julie's shower that her father doesn't like me."
"Wait.. wait a minute. Julie's shower? Is she pregnant?"
"No.. not a baby shower, she's getting married."
"To?"
"To Caleb. But that's besides the point. What am I going to do?"
Anna would have been a little angry if she didn't know Seth so well. So much had happened in Newport and she was completely clueless. She tucked all her questions away for a different day and decided to tackle Seth's problem head on.
"Alright, what happened at the dinner."
"Nothing. I thought it went well."
"I see. What did you talk about?"
"Comics, sailing, Summer... you know, the usual things."
"And who talked?"
"What do you mean 'who talked?' We both talked."
"Summer's chin-implanting father talked to you about sailing and comics?"
Seth paused. "Well...no."
"So what did he talk about?"
There was another pause. "Well..."
"Okay, here's another question. How much did you talk and how much did he talk? And for that matter, how much did Summer talk?"
"Ehm...."
"Let me guess. You did all the talking and they just watched you crash and burn."
Another pause. "Damn!" he exclaimed. Finally, they were getting somewhere.
"Seth, think about it. You and I are friends, right?"
"Right."
"When was the last time you called me? All these things happen in Newport and you don't tell me about them, but the minute you have a problem, you call me up, right?"
"Anna..."
"No, let me finish. You are meeting Summer's father for the first time. Instead of letting him lead the conversation, you go on and on talking about your hobbies. What kind of first impression is that supposed to make?"
"I was nervous!" he argued.
"That's hardly an excuse, Seth. I know you don't want me to go into a lecture about confidence... but Summer inviting you to lunch with her father wasn't about you. It was about Summer getting approval from her father -and you blew it!"
"You can say that again."
"I can, but I won't," from what she could see, he'd suffered enough for one week. Sometimes dealing with Seth Cohen was like dealing with a child. He tried to act nonchalant but he really took some things to heart.
"So what do you suggest I do?"
"You love her, right?"
"Right." Hearing that didn't hurt as much as she'd expected. Anna realized that she'd truly moved on.
"So find a way of making it up to her. Find a way of letting her father see the sweet side that I see. The side Summer sees. You don't seem to be afraid of making a fool of yourself," she said, referring to his public declaration of love in front of their entire high school. "It doesn't have to be big, just do something to let him see the lovable side of you. O.K?"
"Alright. Thanks Anna, you're the best," he said right before he hung up.
Sometimes, she wondered why she was involved in such a one-sided relationship with him. It would have been nice to have a friend that called even when it wasn't all about him.
-------
"Hey," Anna said walking to Winston and Charlie. They made a nice looking couple and recognizing that made her feel quite good for she no longer needed to feel guilty about dumping him the way she had - he was obviously made for another.
Winston looked behind her. "You're not here alone, are you?"
She laughed. "No. My date's in the restroom. What did you guys see?"
Charlie rolled her eyes. "The Whole Ten Yards - as if Nine Yards weren't bad enough."
Winston laughed. "You're talking to the wrong person, " he said to his girlfriend. "She actually liked that movie."
"Guilty. We saw 'Laws of Attraction,'"
"How was it?" she asked.
"Cute."
"Yeah, Pierce is quite hot."
"If only I was 20 years older..."
"Forget 20 years, he looks good to me now..."
Winston coughed playfully to get their attention.
"Did you hear anything?" Anna joked.
They were all laughing and enjoying a tension-free time together when Winston's body language suddenly changed. Anna turned around to follow his gaze and saw Nate approaching them.
"Oh, hey guys, this is Nate," she said, introducing them.
"Yeah, I know who he is," Winston replied, not bothering to mask his frown. "Charlie, let's go. Anna, I'll see you around," he concluded, rushing off.
Nate was probably one hell of a poker player because his face remained expressionless.
Anna looked curiously at him. "What was that all about?"
"Who knows?" he said dismissively. "Just forget about it." He kissed her quickly on the lips. He bent his hand to look at his watch. "So it's 10:13 on a Friday night.... what do you want to do?"
Winston wasn't the type to overreact so she knew that something was definitely up. She decided against probing Nate any further because it was obvious he didn't want to discuss it and she didn't want to ruin their evening. They'd only started dating and Anna wasn't ready for a blow out argument. She let it go knowing that sooner or later, she'd get to the bottom of it.
A/N: I all but abandoned this to the point I lost my notes, but, here's a new chapter. Anyway, I decide to throw in a little bit of what had been happening on the show.
-----
Dating Nate was quite refreshing. He didn't own a boat or any other mode of transportation that he'd named after a girl he'd pined for all his life, his mind didn't travel whenever a certain season was mentioned and most of all, he gave her his undivided attention. So, Anna didn't quite understand why she hung up on him the minute that 949 number showed up on her caller-id.
"What's up?" she shouted into the receiver.
"I'm alright. What about you?"
Anna groaned. Seth always wore his emotions on his sleeve so she didn't even have to analyze his speech to realize that something was wrong.
"I'm fine, but what's going on with you?"
"I'm... o.k..."
"Listen, Seth. I am not going to spend the better part of a Sunday evening trying to figure out what's gotten you all sad. The fact you called tells me you want to talk, so just talk."
"Alright, I guess I'll talk to you later," he said reluctantly.
It appeared to be worse than she'd thought. Seth was always up for a little argumentative banter so his willingness to give up so easily worried her.
"Seth, it's not something with your parents, is it?"
"Hmm... no"
"Oh, it's Summer, is it?" Anna was glad she was thousands of miles away from him because she could roll her eyes without having him to see it. "What happened?"
"I think it's over," he said plainly.
"Why?" She decided she wants her popularity back, she almost added but bit back the words. Her friend needed her and she'd just have to save it for another day.
"I don't know."
"Seth, don't give me that. You can't just think that she wants to dump you for no reason. Hell, when I dumped you, you didn't even see it coming."
"It was different..."
She didn't even have to ask him what he meant by that because she already knew - he couldn't have cared less because he never really loved her. The feelings of resentment were fighting to come through but Anna just wouldn't let them. Right then, Seth needed his nice friend and not his bitter ex-girlfriend.
"Go on... what happened."
"Well, I got to meet her father."
"Great!"
"Well, not so great. Turns out that he's her best friend."
Anna wasn't surprised -he was a plastic surgeon after all. "Continue," she urged.
"Well, we went out to lunch and it didn't turn out well."
"What do you mean?"
"Summer told me at Julie's shower that her father doesn't like me."
"Wait.. wait a minute. Julie's shower? Is she pregnant?"
"No.. not a baby shower, she's getting married."
"To?"
"To Caleb. But that's besides the point. What am I going to do?"
Anna would have been a little angry if she didn't know Seth so well. So much had happened in Newport and she was completely clueless. She tucked all her questions away for a different day and decided to tackle Seth's problem head on.
"Alright, what happened at the dinner."
"Nothing. I thought it went well."
"I see. What did you talk about?"
"Comics, sailing, Summer... you know, the usual things."
"And who talked?"
"What do you mean 'who talked?' We both talked."
"Summer's chin-implanting father talked to you about sailing and comics?"
Seth paused. "Well...no."
"So what did he talk about?"
There was another pause. "Well..."
"Okay, here's another question. How much did you talk and how much did he talk? And for that matter, how much did Summer talk?"
"Ehm...."
"Let me guess. You did all the talking and they just watched you crash and burn."
Another pause. "Damn!" he exclaimed. Finally, they were getting somewhere.
"Seth, think about it. You and I are friends, right?"
"Right."
"When was the last time you called me? All these things happen in Newport and you don't tell me about them, but the minute you have a problem, you call me up, right?"
"Anna..."
"No, let me finish. You are meeting Summer's father for the first time. Instead of letting him lead the conversation, you go on and on talking about your hobbies. What kind of first impression is that supposed to make?"
"I was nervous!" he argued.
"That's hardly an excuse, Seth. I know you don't want me to go into a lecture about confidence... but Summer inviting you to lunch with her father wasn't about you. It was about Summer getting approval from her father -and you blew it!"
"You can say that again."
"I can, but I won't," from what she could see, he'd suffered enough for one week. Sometimes dealing with Seth Cohen was like dealing with a child. He tried to act nonchalant but he really took some things to heart.
"So what do you suggest I do?"
"You love her, right?"
"Right." Hearing that didn't hurt as much as she'd expected. Anna realized that she'd truly moved on.
"So find a way of making it up to her. Find a way of letting her father see the sweet side that I see. The side Summer sees. You don't seem to be afraid of making a fool of yourself," she said, referring to his public declaration of love in front of their entire high school. "It doesn't have to be big, just do something to let him see the lovable side of you. O.K?"
"Alright. Thanks Anna, you're the best," he said right before he hung up.
Sometimes, she wondered why she was involved in such a one-sided relationship with him. It would have been nice to have a friend that called even when it wasn't all about him.
-------
"Hey," Anna said walking to Winston and Charlie. They made a nice looking couple and recognizing that made her feel quite good for she no longer needed to feel guilty about dumping him the way she had - he was obviously made for another.
Winston looked behind her. "You're not here alone, are you?"
She laughed. "No. My date's in the restroom. What did you guys see?"
Charlie rolled her eyes. "The Whole Ten Yards - as if Nine Yards weren't bad enough."
Winston laughed. "You're talking to the wrong person, " he said to his girlfriend. "She actually liked that movie."
"Guilty. We saw 'Laws of Attraction,'"
"How was it?" she asked.
"Cute."
"Yeah, Pierce is quite hot."
"If only I was 20 years older..."
"Forget 20 years, he looks good to me now..."
Winston coughed playfully to get their attention.
"Did you hear anything?" Anna joked.
They were all laughing and enjoying a tension-free time together when Winston's body language suddenly changed. Anna turned around to follow his gaze and saw Nate approaching them.
"Oh, hey guys, this is Nate," she said, introducing them.
"Yeah, I know who he is," Winston replied, not bothering to mask his frown. "Charlie, let's go. Anna, I'll see you around," he concluded, rushing off.
Nate was probably one hell of a poker player because his face remained expressionless.
Anna looked curiously at him. "What was that all about?"
"Who knows?" he said dismissively. "Just forget about it." He kissed her quickly on the lips. He bent his hand to look at his watch. "So it's 10:13 on a Friday night.... what do you want to do?"
Winston wasn't the type to overreact so she knew that something was definitely up. She decided against probing Nate any further because it was obvious he didn't want to discuss it and she didn't want to ruin their evening. They'd only started dating and Anna wasn't ready for a blow out argument. She let it go knowing that sooner or later, she'd get to the bottom of it.