Chapter Five: Of Sharks and Squirrels
After an awkward dinner that night where they rarely spoke to one another, Summer sat on the bed staring out into the night, a look of unease apparent. Not only was the incident at the mall embarrassing, it opened a window into her heart that she never let anyone see. For those few moments, she stood there outside the dressing room in full public view, naked - her soul bared to the world for all to see. Her cheeks reddened even at the thought, the smirk that crossed Seth's face seared into her memory after she adorned Clark in Cohen-ware. Maybe it was the wholesome goodness of smalltown, USA, or maybe it was the fresh country air that pass through the room from the open window, but for whatever reason, for the first time in a long time, Summer admitted a hard truth to herself. She liked Seth Cohen. She screamed into her pillow, the thick material muffling her ill-timed confession.
His stupid smirk. His crooked smile. The way he fought her every step of the way - rebutting every insult with his quick-witted tongue. The way he babbled on and on with said tongue... his tongue must be very strong by now, she mused. Her eyes grew wide and she shook the thought from her brain. Not only did this revelation weigh heavy in her mind, but she also had school to worry about. The same conditions applied, she had to bring her grades up, even if she was more than a thousand miles away. She prayed silently that the teachers would be more lenient here than in Newport, not because she planned to slack off. She just knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate fully on her studies... and if she didn't do very well, Seth would no doubt offer to tutor her some more. She sighed deeply. It was getting late and she would never get some sleep unless she cleared her mind.
A sound coming from a tree outside snapped her concentration. She peered out, shocked to see a significant event in her life replaying itself in front of her. On the ground at the base of the tree, a small squirrel had just snagged a large chestnut when suddenly a larger squirrel jumped it and chased it off, greedily coveting the nutritious fruit. Summer's hand clamped around her mouth in shock as the large squirrel ran off with the prize. She definitely would not have any sleep that night.
Next door, Lana wasn't faring any better. She wasn't ashamed of what had happened as she couldn't be more forward about her feelings for Clark. She had pretty much laid out all her feelings for him, but he rejected her again. But even still, she could see the longing in his eyes. It was so frustrating to know that they both wanted each other, but for whatever reason he couldn't take that risk. Like she wasn't worth that risk... she thought sadly. Her thoughts were broken by a knock at the door. She opened it slowly and was surprised to see Seth there, his eyes shifting from left to right quickly like a crack addict on speed who was in the middle of an acid trip after draining his fourth coffee.
"Were you awake? Cuz if you weren't, I could go back to my room, but you obviously are, either because you couldn't sleep, or because I just woke you up, in which case I humbly apologize. But then again, your light was on so I just assumed..."
"What is it, Seth?"
"I just... I couldn't sleep. Do you want to talk for awhile? I don't really have anyone to talk to, and I do talk a lot. It would just make me feel better to talk to someone, cuz if I talked to myself, I would be crazy. And frankly, Captain Oats has had enough of my babbling. I already called my folks back home, but really... Ryan's not much of a talker. I can't talk to my parents about Summer. Marissa... well, she's Summer's best friend, so whatever I tell her will get back to Summer."
"Sure, fine, whatever," Lana complied.
Seth walked into her room and jumped onto her bed, his feet dangling off the edge. Lana rolled her eyes.
"This is comfy," he exclaimed.
Lana closed the door and sat beside him.
"Okay, so what did you want to talk about? Hmm... Summer maybe?"
"Well yes, but I was thinking we could talk about Clark too."
"Clark?"
"Yeah, Clark. You see, you and I have the same problem. We both want someone who wants us back, only they refuse to give it to their desires. I think we can counteract that with a little thing I call, 'jealousy.'"
"Jealousy?"
"Yeah, jealousy. Look, we get along, right? We have a good rapport. So it's not entirely implausible that we could like each other... romantically."
"Romantically?" she said, her hands going up defensively, her eyes blinking in disbelief.
"Yes. I find you excruciatingly beautiful and charming, and you find me incredibly witty and handsome. It's not far from the truth."
"I like the idea... I don't know about that last part. But, okay, let's do it."
"Awesome! In no time, the green-eyed monster will bore it's ugly head... though I must warn you, Summer suffers from rage blackouts. Do you know self-defense?"
Lana laughed.
"You're kidding, right?"
A long pause.
"Right?"
"Maybe we should start hiding the silverware," Seth replied, the wheels in his head turning once more. "Oooh, let's go see a movie tomorrow. There's an Imax across the street from that mall we went to today. They're showing this incredible shark movie. Let's get a couple of tickets and make it blatantly obvious to them that we are going together... without them. What do you think?"
"It's a start, sure I guess," Lana mumbled, still wondering about the rage blackout comment.
"Excellent," Seth smiled, rubbing his hands together.
They were interrupted by a quiet rapping at her door. Lana ushered Seth behind the door in case it was Gabe coming to check on her. He would not approve a boy in her room late at night. To her relief and surprise, the second visitor to her room that night was Summer. She heard Seth stiffen slightly as she spoke.
"Hi, Lana, sorry to bother you, but I couldn't sleep. I went downstairs to look for a snack... I was just wondering if you have any nuts."
"Nuts?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah... nuts. Preferrebly unsalted. Do we have any?" she asked, biting her lip.
"Umm, no, but we can pick some up tomorrow," Lana suggested.
"Oh. Okay, that's fine. Just wondering... because, um. I love nuts. Anyway, I should probably go back to bed."
"Goodnight, Summer," Seth suddenly blurted out.
"Cohen?" she shouted out quietly in shock, her head snapping back toward the doorway.
Seth barged his way from behind the door and wished Lana a good night before going down the stairs back to his room, whistling along the way. Lana gave a confused Summer an innocent smile and closed the door, quickly locking it behind her.
'What have I gotten myself into...' she thought to herself, pressing her back against the door. 'What a minute. I'm terrified of sharks...'
Their first day at school went without incident. This place was much friendlier and warmer than Orange County. Summer turned heads as usual, but was comforted by the fact that there were none of the usual cat-calls and lame come-ons that she was used to at home. Seth was surprised that he wasn't so much a geek in Smallville. On the contrary, anyone who wasn't born or raised in Kansas was automatically hip and cool, and for the first time, Seth actually felt like he fit in – though his quick sarcasm was lost on many. He'd give them some time, he thought.
And of course whenever they were in Clark or Summer's prescence, Lana and Seth acted very 'friendly.' Seth made sure to casually touch Lana casually on the arm or the shoulder while she in turn laughed and/or smiled at everything he said. He bet it was nauseating for the two of them just as it nauseating for him watching Marissa and Ryan flirt and dance around each other for months back home.
As the school day came closer and closer to a close, Seth became increasingly nervous. More nervous than usual. He stood outside Lana's locker waiting for her arrival and to execute the next part of his brilliant plan.
"Hey," Lana greeted him.
He helped her with some of her books as she opened her locker up.
"Are you ready?" he asked anxiously.
"As ever I'll be. Now all we need is for them to show up so we can ditch them."
"Don't turn around, but their coming down the hallway right now," Seth exclaimed, looking casually to his left. Clark's face was head and shoulder's above everyone else – he was not hard to miss.
Lana pulled out her compact to get a good look at them with her mirror.
"Okay, so what do we do?"
"Look at me," Seth ordered.
Seth stepped closer to her, his hand stroking her cheek. Lana raised her head, startled. They fixed their eyes on each other for a few seconds before he lowered his face to hers and planted a soft but firm kiss on the corner of her mouth. He then backed up, noticing Clark and Summer approaching, neither especially amused by the spectacle.
"Hey guys!" Lana blushed, putting her hands into her pockets. Seth merely waved, trying to avoid Clark's somewhat threatening gaze.
"Hey." Clark stated matter-of-factly. "Summer and I have this Trig test to study for, so what say we all go over to the Talon and hang out?"
Summer tapped her foot impatiently, her stare alternating between the two of them. First she catches Cohen up in Lana's room in the middle of the night, and now their playing kissy face in the hallway? Should would have to do something about that.
"Um, actually Lana and I are going to see that Shark movie at the Imax. It's supposed to be killer," Seth spoke up.
"Lana, I thought you were afraid of sharks?" Clark asked quizically.
"What? No! Not any more. It's pretty silly – being afraid of sharks. I mean, we don't even have access to the ocean. Besides with all the stuff that goes down here in Smallville, sharks are the least of my worries. C'mon, Seth – let's go."
Lana frantically pulled Seth toward her, her arm linking with his as they fled.
"Was it just me, or did they kiss?" Summer asked, contempt resonating from her voice.
Clark stayed silent, only giving a sigh in response. He looked like a little kid who just had his lunch stolen.
After an awkward dinner that night where they rarely spoke to one another, Summer sat on the bed staring out into the night, a look of unease apparent. Not only was the incident at the mall embarrassing, it opened a window into her heart that she never let anyone see. For those few moments, she stood there outside the dressing room in full public view, naked - her soul bared to the world for all to see. Her cheeks reddened even at the thought, the smirk that crossed Seth's face seared into her memory after she adorned Clark in Cohen-ware. Maybe it was the wholesome goodness of smalltown, USA, or maybe it was the fresh country air that pass through the room from the open window, but for whatever reason, for the first time in a long time, Summer admitted a hard truth to herself. She liked Seth Cohen. She screamed into her pillow, the thick material muffling her ill-timed confession.
His stupid smirk. His crooked smile. The way he fought her every step of the way - rebutting every insult with his quick-witted tongue. The way he babbled on and on with said tongue... his tongue must be very strong by now, she mused. Her eyes grew wide and she shook the thought from her brain. Not only did this revelation weigh heavy in her mind, but she also had school to worry about. The same conditions applied, she had to bring her grades up, even if she was more than a thousand miles away. She prayed silently that the teachers would be more lenient here than in Newport, not because she planned to slack off. She just knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate fully on her studies... and if she didn't do very well, Seth would no doubt offer to tutor her some more. She sighed deeply. It was getting late and she would never get some sleep unless she cleared her mind.
A sound coming from a tree outside snapped her concentration. She peered out, shocked to see a significant event in her life replaying itself in front of her. On the ground at the base of the tree, a small squirrel had just snagged a large chestnut when suddenly a larger squirrel jumped it and chased it off, greedily coveting the nutritious fruit. Summer's hand clamped around her mouth in shock as the large squirrel ran off with the prize. She definitely would not have any sleep that night.
Next door, Lana wasn't faring any better. She wasn't ashamed of what had happened as she couldn't be more forward about her feelings for Clark. She had pretty much laid out all her feelings for him, but he rejected her again. But even still, she could see the longing in his eyes. It was so frustrating to know that they both wanted each other, but for whatever reason he couldn't take that risk. Like she wasn't worth that risk... she thought sadly. Her thoughts were broken by a knock at the door. She opened it slowly and was surprised to see Seth there, his eyes shifting from left to right quickly like a crack addict on speed who was in the middle of an acid trip after draining his fourth coffee.
"Were you awake? Cuz if you weren't, I could go back to my room, but you obviously are, either because you couldn't sleep, or because I just woke you up, in which case I humbly apologize. But then again, your light was on so I just assumed..."
"What is it, Seth?"
"I just... I couldn't sleep. Do you want to talk for awhile? I don't really have anyone to talk to, and I do talk a lot. It would just make me feel better to talk to someone, cuz if I talked to myself, I would be crazy. And frankly, Captain Oats has had enough of my babbling. I already called my folks back home, but really... Ryan's not much of a talker. I can't talk to my parents about Summer. Marissa... well, she's Summer's best friend, so whatever I tell her will get back to Summer."
"Sure, fine, whatever," Lana complied.
Seth walked into her room and jumped onto her bed, his feet dangling off the edge. Lana rolled her eyes.
"This is comfy," he exclaimed.
Lana closed the door and sat beside him.
"Okay, so what did you want to talk about? Hmm... Summer maybe?"
"Well yes, but I was thinking we could talk about Clark too."
"Clark?"
"Yeah, Clark. You see, you and I have the same problem. We both want someone who wants us back, only they refuse to give it to their desires. I think we can counteract that with a little thing I call, 'jealousy.'"
"Jealousy?"
"Yeah, jealousy. Look, we get along, right? We have a good rapport. So it's not entirely implausible that we could like each other... romantically."
"Romantically?" she said, her hands going up defensively, her eyes blinking in disbelief.
"Yes. I find you excruciatingly beautiful and charming, and you find me incredibly witty and handsome. It's not far from the truth."
"I like the idea... I don't know about that last part. But, okay, let's do it."
"Awesome! In no time, the green-eyed monster will bore it's ugly head... though I must warn you, Summer suffers from rage blackouts. Do you know self-defense?"
Lana laughed.
"You're kidding, right?"
A long pause.
"Right?"
"Maybe we should start hiding the silverware," Seth replied, the wheels in his head turning once more. "Oooh, let's go see a movie tomorrow. There's an Imax across the street from that mall we went to today. They're showing this incredible shark movie. Let's get a couple of tickets and make it blatantly obvious to them that we are going together... without them. What do you think?"
"It's a start, sure I guess," Lana mumbled, still wondering about the rage blackout comment.
"Excellent," Seth smiled, rubbing his hands together.
They were interrupted by a quiet rapping at her door. Lana ushered Seth behind the door in case it was Gabe coming to check on her. He would not approve a boy in her room late at night. To her relief and surprise, the second visitor to her room that night was Summer. She heard Seth stiffen slightly as she spoke.
"Hi, Lana, sorry to bother you, but I couldn't sleep. I went downstairs to look for a snack... I was just wondering if you have any nuts."
"Nuts?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah... nuts. Preferrebly unsalted. Do we have any?" she asked, biting her lip.
"Umm, no, but we can pick some up tomorrow," Lana suggested.
"Oh. Okay, that's fine. Just wondering... because, um. I love nuts. Anyway, I should probably go back to bed."
"Goodnight, Summer," Seth suddenly blurted out.
"Cohen?" she shouted out quietly in shock, her head snapping back toward the doorway.
Seth barged his way from behind the door and wished Lana a good night before going down the stairs back to his room, whistling along the way. Lana gave a confused Summer an innocent smile and closed the door, quickly locking it behind her.
'What have I gotten myself into...' she thought to herself, pressing her back against the door. 'What a minute. I'm terrified of sharks...'
Their first day at school went without incident. This place was much friendlier and warmer than Orange County. Summer turned heads as usual, but was comforted by the fact that there were none of the usual cat-calls and lame come-ons that she was used to at home. Seth was surprised that he wasn't so much a geek in Smallville. On the contrary, anyone who wasn't born or raised in Kansas was automatically hip and cool, and for the first time, Seth actually felt like he fit in – though his quick sarcasm was lost on many. He'd give them some time, he thought.
And of course whenever they were in Clark or Summer's prescence, Lana and Seth acted very 'friendly.' Seth made sure to casually touch Lana casually on the arm or the shoulder while she in turn laughed and/or smiled at everything he said. He bet it was nauseating for the two of them just as it nauseating for him watching Marissa and Ryan flirt and dance around each other for months back home.
As the school day came closer and closer to a close, Seth became increasingly nervous. More nervous than usual. He stood outside Lana's locker waiting for her arrival and to execute the next part of his brilliant plan.
"Hey," Lana greeted him.
He helped her with some of her books as she opened her locker up.
"Are you ready?" he asked anxiously.
"As ever I'll be. Now all we need is for them to show up so we can ditch them."
"Don't turn around, but their coming down the hallway right now," Seth exclaimed, looking casually to his left. Clark's face was head and shoulder's above everyone else – he was not hard to miss.
Lana pulled out her compact to get a good look at them with her mirror.
"Okay, so what do we do?"
"Look at me," Seth ordered.
Seth stepped closer to her, his hand stroking her cheek. Lana raised her head, startled. They fixed their eyes on each other for a few seconds before he lowered his face to hers and planted a soft but firm kiss on the corner of her mouth. He then backed up, noticing Clark and Summer approaching, neither especially amused by the spectacle.
"Hey guys!" Lana blushed, putting her hands into her pockets. Seth merely waved, trying to avoid Clark's somewhat threatening gaze.
"Hey." Clark stated matter-of-factly. "Summer and I have this Trig test to study for, so what say we all go over to the Talon and hang out?"
Summer tapped her foot impatiently, her stare alternating between the two of them. First she catches Cohen up in Lana's room in the middle of the night, and now their playing kissy face in the hallway? Should would have to do something about that.
"Um, actually Lana and I are going to see that Shark movie at the Imax. It's supposed to be killer," Seth spoke up.
"Lana, I thought you were afraid of sharks?" Clark asked quizically.
"What? No! Not any more. It's pretty silly – being afraid of sharks. I mean, we don't even have access to the ocean. Besides with all the stuff that goes down here in Smallville, sharks are the least of my worries. C'mon, Seth – let's go."
Lana frantically pulled Seth toward her, her arm linking with his as they fled.
"Was it just me, or did they kiss?" Summer asked, contempt resonating from her voice.
Clark stayed silent, only giving a sigh in response. He looked like a little kid who just had his lunch stolen.