CHAPTER 4: The Tears Light Your Eyes
"I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is out of service. Please try
again later." This was the sound Seth had been hearing all night. After
about half an hour of attempts, he gave up, and fell back on his bed. He
wondered why Summer had no interest in him. Obviously, they were two
different people. But why should appearances confirm your thoughts about
someone? He knew that if he could get Summer to talk to him, open up to
him, he'd at least stand a chance of getting her to know him. But this was
Seth Cohen. Opportunities like that didn't happen for him, and this was
just another setback for him. But rejection got easier for Seth, he'd not
only gotten used to it, he'd gotten good at it. A good ol' ninja game, some
takeout Chinese food and a dark room could cure anything for him.
But he wasn't in that mood. This time, he was taken down by the one person
he actually felt for. Every kiss she ever had, every heartbreak she every
took, every item she ever bought, Seth was there to witness her emotions.
But she had no idea. No clue that the town geek had the biggest crush on
her since she was 10 years old, which meant she had no reason to talk to
him, associate with him, even notice him. So Seth just buried his head in
his pillow and drifted off to sleep.
"Hello? Ryan!" Summer got an unexpected call at night, but treated it like
an every day conversation. "So, why ring me so late?"
"I can't ring you during the day. It's... complicated."
"You can tell..." Summer knew she wouldn't get an answer halfway through
her plea, "You know what, never mind."
"I was just wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow?" Ryan knew it
was risky, but over the past few days, he had grown a soft spot for Summer.
Her naïve sense and materialistic charm, accompanied with her bright beauty
was irressitable to the Chino kid.
"Erm, let me check what I'm doing tomorrow?" Summer dropped the phone on
the bed and reached for her diary. No one knew she had one, not even
Marissa. Everything she ever felt was noted in that book, and she made sure
no one saw it. "Yeah, I'm free. So, you want me to come over or...?"
"No! I mean, don't come over." It went silent as Ryan tried to think of an
excuse for her not to come. "How about I go to yours?"
"Yeah, sounds good. I can't wait. Oh, I have to go, I'll catch you
tomorrow. Ryan? Hey, Ryan!" But Ryan was staring at the black figure on the
blind. He quickly hung up the phone, as Seth entered the small house.
"What are you doing here, man?"
"I couldn't get to sleep. You know, that number! It's fake!" Ryan gave a
surprised look, as Seth continued. "Yeah, man. Right now, I feel like the
lowest person in the world. I mean, there are old men living on the streets
with better luck than me!"
"Oh, come on. That's not true." Seth ironically stared at Ryan, who just
smiled back. "You, you have a house?"
"Yeah? Well right now I'd rather be homeless with Summer than in this
body." Ryan just sat next to Seth, and didn't really know what to do. "Hey,
who'd you call?" Ryan switched looks to the phone, then threw it on the
bed.
"Erm, Marissa. Yeah."
"Really? This late? Why didn't you ring her in the day, when like anyone
else would've?" Ryan shifted his eyes around the room, while Seth waited
for an answer.
"Well, at night, when everyone is asleep, it's, erm... more... you know?"
"No, I'm sorry man, You've lost me." Ryan was desperatly thinking of how to
get out of it, until Seth announced he was going to sleep. He had clearly
gotten bored of Ryan's dillema, and walked over to the couch and dropped on
it. Ryan walked to the phone and turned it off, then jumped into bed and
rested.
"Hey where are you going?"
"I gotta see some buds from home, you know?" Ryan grabbed his jacket and
opened the door. He looked at Seth, who looked miserable, then left the
house in a guilty state. Seth got up and slouched next to the window and
saw Marissa walking up and down the garden with her phone. He got up and
walked to the back yard, ready to question Marissa.
"So... hey."
"Hi. What's up?" The air was clearly uncomfortable and she had something on
her mind. But Seth wasn't ready to give up just yet.
"Not much. Hey can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure?"
"What did you talk about last night?"
"What?" Marissa started looking confused at Seth's comments, who just
smiled back at her.
"Oh come on, I know. Ryan told me..."
"Ryan? What did he say about me?"
"Nothing, he just said he called you last night?" Marissa shook her head
from left to right, shocking Seth in the process. "But he said he rang you
at night?" She denied his question, and Seth ran back into the house and
grabbed the phone in Ryan's poolhouse. He scanned through the address book
on it, and noticed a strange looking one. The name was just "?" and Seth
slightly recognized the number. He walked out of the house and confronted
Marissa again.
"Hey again. Look, you're pretty popular around here. Do you know who's
number this is?" He showed her the screen on the phone, and she lent
towards her sunchair to grab her own phone. After scanning through the
address book, she showed Seth a screen which had exactly the same number on
it, this time with "Sum" above it. He stood there in misbelief, trying to
cope with the news.
"Is something wrong? Seth?" But Seth didn't notice Marissa trying to snap
him out of his trance. He couldn't believe it, after everything he had told
Ryan, he'd still gone behind his back. "OK, I'm gonna go. Your going to be
alright?" Marissa grabbed a bag and her jacket, and then retreated inside
the house.
"Wait! You know where she lives, right?"
"So where did you get this jacket from anyway?"
"My mom bought me it. She's from this rough neighborhood, and never really
passed the whole phase of being there. But then she married my dad, and...
well the rest isn't necessary." Ryan and Summer were enjoying the private
company of each other, which pleased Summer lots. The two were lying on the
bed next to each other, and after talking they randomly started kissing. It
was happening all day, and eventually Ryan pulled himself away.
"You know what, I have to go."
"Why? Come on, stay her with me?" Summer put on the puppy dog eyes act and
Ryan couldn't resist one last taste. He moved into her lips, and they
kissed, this time longer than before. However, they were interupted by a
smashing on the door.
"Dad, I'm busy..."
"Open this door!"
"Cohen?"
"Oh..." Ryan looked around the room for somewhere to go, somewhere to hide
until Summer pulled the sheet up hiding under the bed, and he ducked under.
"Ryan! I know you're here, man!" Seth kept banging on the door until Summer
walked over and unlocked it. He had his hand in the air ready for another
hit, but was stunned by Summer.
"What the hell, Cohen!"
"Yeah, nice. Erm, where's Ryan?" Seth frantically searched the room, and
walked over to the bed. Sadly for him, Summer noticed and distracted him by
turning him around.
"He's not here." Seth picked up Ryan's leather jacket, and smiled.
"Nice speech. Ryan where the hell are you!"
"Hey! You're the one invading my room! Why the hell do you care if Ryan is
here anyway? And why would Ryan care that you're here?" Seth threw the
jacket on the floor and started walking hastely around the room.
"Look, I know he's here. I just wanted to tell him..." Ryan pulled his hand
out from under the bed, and then another, and eventually poked his head up.
"Ryan, I, you... how the hell could you!"
"Trust me, I didn't plan on this..."
"No way, I have enough of this going on in my life. Every day I have to
live with someone knocking me down and making sure that I stay there! I
expect it every day! But I didn't expect it from you." Ryan felt like he'd
had enough, but Seth kept dishing out the guilt that he hated so much.
"When did it start?" The room stayed quiet for a minute. "When the hell did
it start!"
"The party..." Ryan didn't know what to do. What could he do? He couldn't
escape the room, he couldn't walk over to Seth nor Summer. He had to take
whatever Seth was going to give him.
"Oh, well that's just great then, look at you getting to know everyone!"
Seth started to slow down, but then slouched against the wall with his arms
over his head. "You know what? Just go."
"Oh c'mon! Look, I said I'm sorry, what do you want me to do?"
"Erm, as much as I love this little predicament we're in, what's going on?"
Summer sat on a chair, as there wasn't much she could do either.
"I told you what I want you to do. I don't wanna see you again. You
betrayed me, you don't deserve to be around me."
"Not like he'd want to anyway...!"
"What was that? That sounded like the not-so-smart remarks of Summer! Well,
Ryan. Seen as though you two are the hottest couple in Newport, why don't
you tell her. Go on!" Seth stared into Ryan's eyes, and kenw he had a
chance to wreck everything Ryan had. "Come on, tell her your big secret."
"I, I..." Ryan looked down at the floor, and then looked back up. "I'm not
sorry!"
"What!"
"Look, you have your whole life ahead of you. You live in this fancy town
with bright lights and perfect scenery. I, I had it different. You've never
been to Chino, you don't know what it's like!"
"Chino? Oh my god!" Summer ran onto the bed and buried her head into the
pillows, while Ryan was still in a fury.
"Everyday you live like nothing else affects you. Like your, special! When
I first arrived here, I could see that you didn't want me around. No one
wanted me around! You see, that's what my life is like. One big failure. So
there, are you happy now Seth? You've managed to squeeze every ounce of
dignity I had in me!" Ryan just stared at Seth, who didn't know what to
say. Now, his women troubles seemed so small after Ryan's rant. "You know
what, you're right. I don't wanna see you."
"Wait!" But it was too late, Ryan slammed the door shut, leaving Seth and
Summer in an awkward silence.
"Way to go, Cohen!" Summer turned herself around on her bed and looked out
the window. She saw Ryan fidling with his bike lock, and in the end just
giving up. He started franitcally kicking the bike, before walking away
from her house. "Why the hell are you still here! Go!" Summer started
thinking about everything. All the things she felt for Ryan were a lie, yet
she still wanted to see him again. She started crying, but held back the
flood until Seth left. "Look! Just go!" She turned over and threw a pillow
at him. After another was chucked across the room, he slowly opened the
door and walked out.
"Your tears brighten your eyes," Seth whispered, as he walked away.
"What?"
"Nothing." Seth walked down the stairs feeling like the biggest dick on the
planet. He'd just ruined anything Ryan had, and now, he had nothing too.
"I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is out of service. Please try
again later." This was the sound Seth had been hearing all night. After
about half an hour of attempts, he gave up, and fell back on his bed. He
wondered why Summer had no interest in him. Obviously, they were two
different people. But why should appearances confirm your thoughts about
someone? He knew that if he could get Summer to talk to him, open up to
him, he'd at least stand a chance of getting her to know him. But this was
Seth Cohen. Opportunities like that didn't happen for him, and this was
just another setback for him. But rejection got easier for Seth, he'd not
only gotten used to it, he'd gotten good at it. A good ol' ninja game, some
takeout Chinese food and a dark room could cure anything for him.
But he wasn't in that mood. This time, he was taken down by the one person
he actually felt for. Every kiss she ever had, every heartbreak she every
took, every item she ever bought, Seth was there to witness her emotions.
But she had no idea. No clue that the town geek had the biggest crush on
her since she was 10 years old, which meant she had no reason to talk to
him, associate with him, even notice him. So Seth just buried his head in
his pillow and drifted off to sleep.
"Hello? Ryan!" Summer got an unexpected call at night, but treated it like
an every day conversation. "So, why ring me so late?"
"I can't ring you during the day. It's... complicated."
"You can tell..." Summer knew she wouldn't get an answer halfway through
her plea, "You know what, never mind."
"I was just wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow?" Ryan knew it
was risky, but over the past few days, he had grown a soft spot for Summer.
Her naïve sense and materialistic charm, accompanied with her bright beauty
was irressitable to the Chino kid.
"Erm, let me check what I'm doing tomorrow?" Summer dropped the phone on
the bed and reached for her diary. No one knew she had one, not even
Marissa. Everything she ever felt was noted in that book, and she made sure
no one saw it. "Yeah, I'm free. So, you want me to come over or...?"
"No! I mean, don't come over." It went silent as Ryan tried to think of an
excuse for her not to come. "How about I go to yours?"
"Yeah, sounds good. I can't wait. Oh, I have to go, I'll catch you
tomorrow. Ryan? Hey, Ryan!" But Ryan was staring at the black figure on the
blind. He quickly hung up the phone, as Seth entered the small house.
"What are you doing here, man?"
"I couldn't get to sleep. You know, that number! It's fake!" Ryan gave a
surprised look, as Seth continued. "Yeah, man. Right now, I feel like the
lowest person in the world. I mean, there are old men living on the streets
with better luck than me!"
"Oh, come on. That's not true." Seth ironically stared at Ryan, who just
smiled back. "You, you have a house?"
"Yeah? Well right now I'd rather be homeless with Summer than in this
body." Ryan just sat next to Seth, and didn't really know what to do. "Hey,
who'd you call?" Ryan switched looks to the phone, then threw it on the
bed.
"Erm, Marissa. Yeah."
"Really? This late? Why didn't you ring her in the day, when like anyone
else would've?" Ryan shifted his eyes around the room, while Seth waited
for an answer.
"Well, at night, when everyone is asleep, it's, erm... more... you know?"
"No, I'm sorry man, You've lost me." Ryan was desperatly thinking of how to
get out of it, until Seth announced he was going to sleep. He had clearly
gotten bored of Ryan's dillema, and walked over to the couch and dropped on
it. Ryan walked to the phone and turned it off, then jumped into bed and
rested.
"Hey where are you going?"
"I gotta see some buds from home, you know?" Ryan grabbed his jacket and
opened the door. He looked at Seth, who looked miserable, then left the
house in a guilty state. Seth got up and slouched next to the window and
saw Marissa walking up and down the garden with her phone. He got up and
walked to the back yard, ready to question Marissa.
"So... hey."
"Hi. What's up?" The air was clearly uncomfortable and she had something on
her mind. But Seth wasn't ready to give up just yet.
"Not much. Hey can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure?"
"What did you talk about last night?"
"What?" Marissa started looking confused at Seth's comments, who just
smiled back at her.
"Oh come on, I know. Ryan told me..."
"Ryan? What did he say about me?"
"Nothing, he just said he called you last night?" Marissa shook her head
from left to right, shocking Seth in the process. "But he said he rang you
at night?" She denied his question, and Seth ran back into the house and
grabbed the phone in Ryan's poolhouse. He scanned through the address book
on it, and noticed a strange looking one. The name was just "?" and Seth
slightly recognized the number. He walked out of the house and confronted
Marissa again.
"Hey again. Look, you're pretty popular around here. Do you know who's
number this is?" He showed her the screen on the phone, and she lent
towards her sunchair to grab her own phone. After scanning through the
address book, she showed Seth a screen which had exactly the same number on
it, this time with "Sum" above it. He stood there in misbelief, trying to
cope with the news.
"Is something wrong? Seth?" But Seth didn't notice Marissa trying to snap
him out of his trance. He couldn't believe it, after everything he had told
Ryan, he'd still gone behind his back. "OK, I'm gonna go. Your going to be
alright?" Marissa grabbed a bag and her jacket, and then retreated inside
the house.
"Wait! You know where she lives, right?"
"So where did you get this jacket from anyway?"
"My mom bought me it. She's from this rough neighborhood, and never really
passed the whole phase of being there. But then she married my dad, and...
well the rest isn't necessary." Ryan and Summer were enjoying the private
company of each other, which pleased Summer lots. The two were lying on the
bed next to each other, and after talking they randomly started kissing. It
was happening all day, and eventually Ryan pulled himself away.
"You know what, I have to go."
"Why? Come on, stay her with me?" Summer put on the puppy dog eyes act and
Ryan couldn't resist one last taste. He moved into her lips, and they
kissed, this time longer than before. However, they were interupted by a
smashing on the door.
"Dad, I'm busy..."
"Open this door!"
"Cohen?"
"Oh..." Ryan looked around the room for somewhere to go, somewhere to hide
until Summer pulled the sheet up hiding under the bed, and he ducked under.
"Ryan! I know you're here, man!" Seth kept banging on the door until Summer
walked over and unlocked it. He had his hand in the air ready for another
hit, but was stunned by Summer.
"What the hell, Cohen!"
"Yeah, nice. Erm, where's Ryan?" Seth frantically searched the room, and
walked over to the bed. Sadly for him, Summer noticed and distracted him by
turning him around.
"He's not here." Seth picked up Ryan's leather jacket, and smiled.
"Nice speech. Ryan where the hell are you!"
"Hey! You're the one invading my room! Why the hell do you care if Ryan is
here anyway? And why would Ryan care that you're here?" Seth threw the
jacket on the floor and started walking hastely around the room.
"Look, I know he's here. I just wanted to tell him..." Ryan pulled his hand
out from under the bed, and then another, and eventually poked his head up.
"Ryan, I, you... how the hell could you!"
"Trust me, I didn't plan on this..."
"No way, I have enough of this going on in my life. Every day I have to
live with someone knocking me down and making sure that I stay there! I
expect it every day! But I didn't expect it from you." Ryan felt like he'd
had enough, but Seth kept dishing out the guilt that he hated so much.
"When did it start?" The room stayed quiet for a minute. "When the hell did
it start!"
"The party..." Ryan didn't know what to do. What could he do? He couldn't
escape the room, he couldn't walk over to Seth nor Summer. He had to take
whatever Seth was going to give him.
"Oh, well that's just great then, look at you getting to know everyone!"
Seth started to slow down, but then slouched against the wall with his arms
over his head. "You know what? Just go."
"Oh c'mon! Look, I said I'm sorry, what do you want me to do?"
"Erm, as much as I love this little predicament we're in, what's going on?"
Summer sat on a chair, as there wasn't much she could do either.
"I told you what I want you to do. I don't wanna see you again. You
betrayed me, you don't deserve to be around me."
"Not like he'd want to anyway...!"
"What was that? That sounded like the not-so-smart remarks of Summer! Well,
Ryan. Seen as though you two are the hottest couple in Newport, why don't
you tell her. Go on!" Seth stared into Ryan's eyes, and kenw he had a
chance to wreck everything Ryan had. "Come on, tell her your big secret."
"I, I..." Ryan looked down at the floor, and then looked back up. "I'm not
sorry!"
"What!"
"Look, you have your whole life ahead of you. You live in this fancy town
with bright lights and perfect scenery. I, I had it different. You've never
been to Chino, you don't know what it's like!"
"Chino? Oh my god!" Summer ran onto the bed and buried her head into the
pillows, while Ryan was still in a fury.
"Everyday you live like nothing else affects you. Like your, special! When
I first arrived here, I could see that you didn't want me around. No one
wanted me around! You see, that's what my life is like. One big failure. So
there, are you happy now Seth? You've managed to squeeze every ounce of
dignity I had in me!" Ryan just stared at Seth, who didn't know what to
say. Now, his women troubles seemed so small after Ryan's rant. "You know
what, you're right. I don't wanna see you."
"Wait!" But it was too late, Ryan slammed the door shut, leaving Seth and
Summer in an awkward silence.
"Way to go, Cohen!" Summer turned herself around on her bed and looked out
the window. She saw Ryan fidling with his bike lock, and in the end just
giving up. He started franitcally kicking the bike, before walking away
from her house. "Why the hell are you still here! Go!" Summer started
thinking about everything. All the things she felt for Ryan were a lie, yet
she still wanted to see him again. She started crying, but held back the
flood until Seth left. "Look! Just go!" She turned over and threw a pillow
at him. After another was chucked across the room, he slowly opened the
door and walked out.
"Your tears brighten your eyes," Seth whispered, as he walked away.
"What?"
"Nothing." Seth walked down the stairs feeling like the biggest dick on the
planet. He'd just ruined anything Ryan had, and now, he had nothing too.