Chapter 23
A/N: Oh my god! This is my last chapter. I'm so sad. . . I've gotten 316 reviews for about 22 chapters. That is just amazing. (Considering I got about 2 from my One Tree Hill fic –we won't get into that.) But I loved the feedback for this story. And to end it, is just so sad! Hey, but you can read my fics that I'm going to start after I'm done with this. Now that I'm done, my head is bursting with new ideas! So please, review for my last chapter when you're done.
skinny5s- The song was "Till I Get Over You." By Michelle Branch. And if I must say, without offending her dearest fans, that is her only great song. It's really beautifully composed, so be sure to check it out.
Lora- Maybe this chapter will give you some insight on to the development of Ryan and Marissa's relation shipand Luke and Cindy's.
Maddie- Wow, that was a tremendous compliment to tell me that one of my stories was one of the best about the OC. Whew. That made my day.
I originally was going to make Cindy be one of those bad characters- an antagonist. But I just fell in love with the image I created of her. So, that's why I kept her, and she still is going to vital to the last chapter.
Good to the very end? I hope so.
Here we go with the last chapter:
"Hello, welcome to the 2015 Oscars!" Melissa brightly exclaimed, thrusting the microphone into the center of them.
Cindy, being the southern charmer she was, took the mikes and handed them out to the rest of her companions.
"Thanks Ava." Marissa replied.
Melissa started to talk again. "Okay, you guys, this is going to be live." She told the group. Everyone started to straighten up.
Summer fussed over Seth's jacket. "I told you not to play with the kids in the car! You got your Tom Ford suit messed up!" Summer berated, as she took a mini iron out (a cool new invention THAT WILL BE invented in 2007).
Seth smiled good-naturedly. He bent over and kissed Summer on the cheek. Summer giggled. Which made Ryan roll his eyes.
The camera man started to raise his fingers. 5, he motioned, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . . He pointed his fingers at the group.
Melissa turned to the camera. "Okay, welcome NBC! I have six of the most illustrious celebrities right here!"
The camera panned towards the six of them, their names appearing under them on the TV.
"So, Marissa Cooper and Ava Sebastian are both nominated for best actress tonight for the same movie! How does it feel?" Melissa asked.
Marissa talked into her microphone. "Well, it feels great! I mean Ava and I are just extremely close and we are both so excited."
Melissa continued. "Last year, Marissa, you didn't get the Oscar. But this year, critics say that the Oscar is either going to go to you or Cindy each with a 50 percent chance. How does that feel?"
Cindy laughed. "It feels great! Either way, we'll be excited!"
Melissa read the teleprompter. "I have to say, this movie was fantastic. "Lost Out At Sea" is an amazing film. Luke Ward, one of the greatest rock stars, has his first major role in this movie. That must be pretty lucky. And Seth Cohen and Summer Cohen are also in this film as guest roles. One of the most influential power couples not just in the celebrity world, but in the business and just basically global, how did you land the roles? And how did you guys come up with the idea?"
A bit baffled by the bombardment of the questions, Seth recovered first. "Well, we are all very close. Ryan and I collaborated on the idea of having a emotionally withdrawn guy who goes on a sailing trip to Tahiti when his world falls apart. It was basically a collection from both of us. So when we were looking for people to take the roles, we just looked around us, and we found the perfect actors!"
Melissa was at lost of what to say because suddenly the teleprompter started to have technical difficulties. Melissa started to sweat, she had no clue what to say. I hate Mom for making me take this job! She spoke the first thing she could think of, the question to her insatiable greed for juicy gossip. "So, Ryan At wood."
The camera suddenly did a close up of Ryan. "You and Marissa Cooper are married. Correct?" Melissa asked, scrutinizing him.
Ryan nodded. "Yes, we tied the knot about a month ago. It was covered in the Instyle magazine."
Melissa nodded.
Luke butt in, "It was amazing, dude. There were roses everywhere."
Melissa nodded again. "And you Luke Ward, you're engaged to Ava?"
Ava nodded and bashfully held out her finger for everyone to see. On it sat an overdone Harry Winston ring. It was made of white gold and a huge diamond sat in the middle, accompanied by smaller five carat diamonds. Luke had walked into the store in London and demanded the biggest and fanciest one. And of course, he got it.
Melissa looked up at the camera man. He motioned for her to basically shut up and move onto the next celebrity on the agenda NBC made. She hated it, she basically had to interview at least 75 percent of the people. Stupid T.V. execs. She turned back to the camera. "Well, that's your report! Back to you, Stacey!" She kept her fake smile on until the camera stopped rolling.
Melissa sighed. "Thanks. So how did you propose?" Melissa asked Ryan.
Ryan blanched slightly under the question. That brings back a lot of memories. . .
Flashback
Ryan nervously fingered the soft velvet covered box. It was black and had been a family heirloom of the Cohens. Seth hadn't used the ring when he purposed to Summer. Kirsten was heart-broken that he didn't use the ring. So she pinned her hopes on Ryan, hoping he would use the ring to whoever he purposed to. So, he was basically was obligated to use the ring. Not that it was an ugly ring. It had one large diamond on a simple platinum band. Ryan really actually had no clue why Seth didn't use it. Well actually he did. Seth knew that Summer loved pink, so when he announced he was going to propose, Kirsten put the box in his hands. But, Seth had shrugged it off, and gave it back to his crest-fallen mother. It wasn't like he was ungrateful, but with the money he was making, he needed a ring to ensure his chances with Summer. A pink diamond ring. Kirsten said it was tacky, and well sons listen to their mothers. Well sort of. He came home the next day with a large clear diamond ring in the middle, surrounded by pink diamonds. One on each side. On the inside of the white gold band, he inscribed the letters, "I'll always love you forever." That was the song that was played after Seth and Summer got named Prom King and Queen. Summer totally went ballistic over the ring and the largeness of the diamonds. And she fell in love with the inscription. Later, Summer had confided to Seth that without the inscription, she wouldn't have jumped on a neighboring table and yelled that she was engaged to Seth Cohen. Or given him that blow job under the well-draped table. Okay, maybe she would have done that anyways, inscription of not, but the point was Seth captured her with that. So Ryan needed something special, besides a large rock. He rubbed the black velvet again.
"Don't worry Ryan, she'll say yes." Seth remarked.
Ryan jumped up, he didn't hear Seth's entrance to his large guest room. "Wow, how long have you been there?"
"Long enough to see the flurry of emotions you're feeling marked over your face. And one of them stands out- fear." Seth remarked.
Ryan shot him a signature look. Damn, the Cohens never knock. "What if I was doing. My. Ahem. Manly thing?"
Seth laughed at Ryan's sensitivity to the subject. "Like what you do when you're lonely?"
Ryan nodded.
"Dude, I'm so glad you're proposing to Marissa. Plus, you always locked the door when you did that."
Ryan blushed.
Seth laughed at his embarrassment.
Ryan regained his composure. "Well, the point is, you had that inscription shit, and I don't have anything. You totally sold Summer on that. I mean c'mon I don't think she would ever dare to jump on a table in a really exclusive restaurant. Especially a table she's not eating at."
Seth chuckled. "And the funniest thing was that there were people actually at that table. And she just hopped right up and squished their filet mignons with her Dolce and Gabbana stilettos.
Ryan and Seth broke out laughing.
Summer walked in when she heard Ryan and Seth laughing. "Chino, Cohen! Shut up the kids are trying to nap! And what the hell are you laughing so loudly at in the first place."
"Well, the kids' bedrooms are literally an acre away. Who knows why we have a house this big, and secondly, memories of our engagement night are pretty funny."
Summer blushed. "Cohen!" She smacked him in the arm.
Seth instantly clutched his arm and started to whimper.
Summer felt so bad. "I'm so sorry, Cohen." She kissed his arm. "I'll make it up to you. . ." She said seductively before sauntering out of the room.
Once Summer left the room, Seth instantly sat up and straightened himself up. He looked Ryan in the eye, "And that, my friend, is how I get great sex." Seth chuckled before running off to follow Summer.
--
Ryan practically playfully dragged Marissa across the large green hill. Ryan ran across a plaza that was sort of Mediterranean with a glittering fountain spouting water.
"Ryan where are we going? Can we just enjoy the stars and moon?" Marissa asked belligerently.
"No." Ryan replied, taking her to a deserted, vacant building. "C'mon!" Ryan tugged her hand as he nodded towards the door.
Marissa wrinkled her nose. The building looked so . . . shabby. She definitely did not want to have encounters with mice. 'You can take the girl out of Newport, but you can't take Newport out of the girl.'
However, Ryan was already in the doorway, patiently waiting for Marissa to follow.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Marissa muttered.
She walked in. It was darkness everywhere and she clutched Ryan's hand tightly. He seemed to know where he was going, so Marissa just blindly followed, surely walking to some things on the way. All of a sudden, there was a bright light. In the center, there was some sort of microscope.
Ryan proudly stood by it. "Look into it." He urged.
Marissa peeped into the eye hole. In it she saw some clear shiny surface, and it was etched, "Will you marry me?" with a flower.
Marissa gasped. She jumped in Ryan's arms. "Yes!!! Of course!"
Ryan grinned and opened a compartment in the bottom of a microscope. He took out the ring, and slipped it on Marissa's finger.
Marissa looked at him with a puzzled gaze.
"I had it etched. They use some really fancy laser and beam it in the diamond, so with a high power microscope, you can read the message. We can pass it down to our family." Ryan said while grinning foolishly.
Marissa grabbed him and kissed him deeply.
End of Flashback
"Eh, just your old tradition proposal." Ryan replied.
Melissa nodded knowingly, before walking away to interview another celebrity.
--
"Wow, that was rather. . . Personal." Cindy mused. "And you guys had such a fantastic night! Why did you tell her that it was just ordinary."
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
Cindy shrugged, "Marissa told me all about it."
"Cindy!" Marissa shrieked.
Cindy laughed and Marissa good-naturedly pretended to slap her.
Seth cleared his throat. "May I remind you ladies that you are in the middle of screaming fans. Do not pretend to hit each other, you don't want to deal with tabloids headlining, 'Marissa Cooper vs. Ava Sebastian.'"
They both straightened up.
"Anyways. . . Cindy continued. "Yours took a lot more thinking than ours."
Cindy sat on her silk-covered bed. Her silver cell phone was lying next to her. She sighed deeply. She really wanted to have a baby, but she was somewhat glad that she lost her baby because she knew Ryan didn't love her and she didn't want to keep him unhappy. But still, the doctor had just called and told her that the baby actually happened because of the night Ryan stayed over. Not over the plane. The world is so fucking messed up. Cindy thought angrily.
Her father had become alcoholic because her mother died while giving birth to Cindy. She knew her dad loved her mom more than anything, and even though it wasn't plausible reason, she knew that was where the abuse stemmed from. And thinking about her father made her cry. She needed someone who was strong and nice and caring. She retook her phone that was lying on her side and speed dialed 4.
"Hello?" A deep male voice answered.
"Luke?" Cindy choked back sobs. "Lets get married."
End of Flashback
They all walked further down the red carpets. Waving to the fans and presenting their best smiles. Seth and Summer walked over to several old A- listers and power-smooched.
Ryan wondered at how Seth knew all of those people. So far, Seth and Summer had greeted Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Russell Crowe. At the current moment, Seth and Summer were talking to Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush. Somehow, telepathically, Seth figures out what Ryan is thinking and motions him over.
Ryan dodges some cameras and some reporters and went under some big black bodyguard's arm.
Seth smiled as Ryan neared by. "Hey man. This is Chad, and his wife Sophia. . ."
--
Marissa smiled as she looked onto Ryan. She put her hand on her stomach. Marissa was two months pregnant. Marissa smiled and looked towards Cindy who was urgently whispering something in Luke's ear. He smiled and said something back and kissed her on the forehead.
--
"So we'll have a baby 7 months after the wedding. It's no big deal." Luke said to Cindy's pleading face.
Luke took Cindy's hand and they met Marissa halfway across the carpet.
The music started to cue, signaling all the guests to head into the theater.
Marissa, Cindy, and Luke met up with Seth, Summer, and Ryan. They all linked arms and headed up the stairs together. Of course they blocked everyone's way into the building, but of course they were the infamous Power Six, so they could get away with anything.
--
Summer shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Seth was trying to calm her down, but her butt hurt from the red velvet fold-up seat. "Bathroom Break she announced."
Cindy and Marissa rolled their eyes, they always followed Summer's lead because she was the first one to do everything, marry, have multiple kids, have a successful career, and go through the tribulations of marriage.
They walked out into the aisle and followed Summer who expertly navigated herself to the exit door and to the bathroom. They opened the door and settled onto the plush bench that served as a lounge in the bathroom. Marissa got up and started towards the mirror lighted by bulbs fixed on the top. Summer sat there placidly while Cindy tapped her red Armani stilettos. They each looked at each other time to time, wanting to say something. Marissa had finished touching up her lip gloss and sat in between Summer and Cindy.
A silence settled between the three. Nobody was in the bathroom, they were all watching some dude perform the theme song for the movie, 'Tales Away.'
"I'm. . . ." They all started.
They all looked at each other.
"You go."
"No you go."
"No, YOU go."
They all looked confusedly at each other.
"I'm pregnant." They all blurted out.
They all each looked at each other with shock.
Then Summer turned to Cindy. "You are?"
Cindy nodded.
"You should pray that your kid doesn't find out she was a pre-wedding baby. Although with Luke's mathematic skills, I doubt the kid ever will."
Marissa and Cindy started laughing.
"This is great." Marissa remarked.
The other two girls nodded. And they all hugged.
"Let's head back." Cindy said, getting up, straightening her dress and heading towards the door.
The two other girls rushed to catch up.
All six of them looked like they were going to pass out from boredom. All the teary speeches were so boring and plus categories didn't get interesting until the later part. But then all six of them sat up when they realized which category was next.
"And here to present the award for Best Actress is Tom Hanks!" The announcer boomed.
Tom Hanks walked onto the stage, waving to everyone in the audience.
"All our nominees this year are young, beautiful, and successful. They have played roles that are classic and mature and far beyond their years, yet they portray them beautifully."
He then turned to the large screen behind him where excerpts of each movie where playing.
"Laura Green, Love and War- . . . Maybe some day we'll be at peace, but for now they're only intent on victory. . . "
"Ava Sebastian, Lost Out At Sea- . . . He just needs to get away. See the clear blue skies, float along the Pacific Ocean. He's going to alone. And that's what he needs, solitude."
"Lison Nease, The Spider's Web- . . . It's so mixed up, everything is just so tangled. We're all in this triangle and love and we're getting heartbroken at every term . . ."
"Scarlett Johansson, Lily- . . . All I need is you. Then I'll be fine. . ."
"Marissa Cooper, Lost Out At Sea- . . . He's so inconsiderate. Leaving, without a note or anything. He's tearing my heart into pieces. . ."
The screen then turned into the regular gold background.
Tom Hanks started to open the envelope.
Seth, Summer, Marissa, Ryan, Cindy, and Luke held their breaths.
"And the winner is . . ."
Lol, I tried to leave a cliff-hanger at the end of each chapter. I hope that keeps you in suspense. And no, I'm not doing a sequel. The end is left to your imagination. It has been so much fun doing this. I think this is the most reviews I'll ever get. Thank you so much, and especially my loyal reviewers, you know who you are. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!
Au Revoir.