Seth looked back down at his graphic novel. It was his favourite edition of Spiderman 1. It wasn't the first edition. It wasn't the limited edition. It was his edition. The one he had so painstakingly copied from the original, the one he has read and re-read so many times he was amazed the pages hadn't ripped in two. He skimmed the last two pages and then put it away, only to see Summer Roberts staring at him in disgust.
"Comic books? Ew, Cohen!" she turned away from him, only to talk about him with her best friend, Marissa Cooper.
"Tough break, man." Seth looked around.
"Huh?"
"It's me! Ryan!" Ryan grinned and slapped Seth on the back – it was only way that two guys could greet each other at Harbor without being labeled gay.
"Dude. Just because Theresa threw you out, it doesn't make public displays of affection cool! I know you love me – in a friendly, non-sexual way, that is, but as I just said, public displays of affection are not cool."
Ryan looked at Seth. He hadn't changed a bit since Ryan had left for Chino to help Theresa look after their baby, but she had made it clear she didn't want him there.
"Ryan! You have a new life! You abandoned me once, and I couldn't handle you running to Newport every time things got a little hard! So just go – before I change my mind."
Ryan knew that she was right, and he didn't want to make her angry – he had heard that pregnant women could be pretty temperamental, and he knew if they got into a fight, then she would get hurt, and more importantly, so would the baby. He had left in a hurry, but in the back of his mind, he hoped that she would call him back – he didn't want to leave his child in Chino.
But he had to.
"Ryan?" the voice he knew and loved called him away from his memory.
"Marissa."
"Oh, Ryan!" Marissa grabbed Ryan and pulled him into a hug. She had missed him so much. It had been so different without him; she hadn't had him there then Oliver had come back, threatening her with the gun this time. She hadn't had him there when she had been beaten in an alleyway for being a "slut", as they had called her. She hadn't had him there when she almost hadn't been there – and she had the scars on her wrist to prove it. Realizing all this, she suddenly pushed him away.
"You suck, Ryan Atwood!"
"Aah, how I love to hear those words again." Ryan let her push him.
"How could you leave me here? Alone? Don't even answer that. You wanted to look after your kid in Chino. You just make me feel bad."
"Sorry," Ryan replied.
"Don't be sorry. I should be sorry. I'm sorry for dragging you down with my problems. I'm sorry..."
"Atwood!" Ryan turned to see Summer standing behind him. She punched his chest, as hard as she possibly could. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I was..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Playing the knight in shining armour! Well let me tell you something, if you think you can just sashay back in here..."
"Summer. Really, it's okay." Marissa stepped in between the two.
"Sorry, Ryan. You know..." Summer tried to make her tone lighter, "Rage blackouts."
"Yeah Summer. I know." Ryan grinned. Summer's rage blackouts were famous. He turned: "And who's this?"
"Oh, God, sorry! Ryan, this is Kathryn. Kathryn, Ryan." Marissa smiled.
"Hi." Kathryn barely managed to get the one syllable out. She was dumbstruck.
"Hey," Ryan held out his hand in greeting and Kathryn shook it, and it was surprisingly supportive – strong and manly. 'I think I'm in love,' she thought.
"This is Seth." Seth looked up when Ryan introduced him, to see Kathryn smiling. He knew she would fall for the old Atwood charm.
"Hi," he said, "I think we kinda met."
"Yeah, kinda." She reached down and picked up the comic book he had been reading. "Spiderman 1?" she opened it to the first page, scanning it for publishing details. "Edition...edition...hey, how come there's no edition reference?"
"It does have one – you see?" Seth pointed to the bottom left-hand corner of the page, where it said, in miniscule writing: "Edition SC".
"SC? What does that stand for?"
"Seth Cohen." Seth mumbled. No-one had ever asked what the "SC" stood for before. Then again, no-one had ever seen it before, either.
"You mean you made that? Cohen, ew!" Summer was unimpressed, but Kathryn was interested.
"You did all this?" she asked, flipping over pages, "It's incredible! You've gone into such detail! I can't believe..." she trailed off when she noticed Marissa, Holly and Summer staring at her as if she had just stepped off a spaceship, and had five arms and a fin sprouting out of her. "I mean...like, whatever." And she turned away to face the girls again.
"Good save." Ryan whispered in her ear, in a voice that Kathryn couldn't place. It was on the brink of sarcasm, but he was too serious to be sarcastic. He almost sounded angry, but she could tell that he wasn't. It was too odd. This guy – this guy was different. Different from anyone she had ever met.
"Marissa – is everything going to go back to the way it was...before Ryan left...before...before everything?" Summer desperately wanted everything to go back to the way it was. She wanted to go back to the days when she could hang out on the beach with her best friend, her best friend's boyfriend, and her best friend's boyfriend's best friend. Despite the fact that she didn't know how she felt about Seth Cohen, she liked the little arguments they had. She liked his little witticisms. She liked his Jew-fro. What she didn't like was how he kept bringing up the time she had kissed him at his grandfather's birthday party. She had done it spontaneously, she knew it meant nothing – but at the same time she knew it meant something – which was why she was so confused about him.
"I don't know Sum. I hope so. But now we have Kathryn, and she'll be hanging out with us too..."
"That's no problem. For me, anyway. I like her." Ryan and Seth came back to join the conversation.
"You like her, do you Ryan?" Marissa playfully hit him on the shoulder. Ryan winced – unconvincingly, but even so.
"Not in that way," he started to try and cover up for himself, until he realized he could be offending Kathryn, "Not that I don't think you're very pretty..uh, Seth, help me out here......"
"Dude," Seth clapped a hand over Ryan's babbling mouth. "Just don't bother. We all know what you were thinking. You're just digging yourself into a bigger hole. Not cool."
"And what would you know about cool, Cohen?" Summer had to get a cutting remark in there. She did have a reputation to keep, after all.
'Sorry.' she tried to send him a telepathic message. She knew he wouldn't get it, but sometimes it was easier to pretend. Who was she kidding? It was always easier to pretend.
"Comic books? Ew, Cohen!" she turned away from him, only to talk about him with her best friend, Marissa Cooper.
"Tough break, man." Seth looked around.
"Huh?"
"It's me! Ryan!" Ryan grinned and slapped Seth on the back – it was only way that two guys could greet each other at Harbor without being labeled gay.
"Dude. Just because Theresa threw you out, it doesn't make public displays of affection cool! I know you love me – in a friendly, non-sexual way, that is, but as I just said, public displays of affection are not cool."
Ryan looked at Seth. He hadn't changed a bit since Ryan had left for Chino to help Theresa look after their baby, but she had made it clear she didn't want him there.
"Ryan! You have a new life! You abandoned me once, and I couldn't handle you running to Newport every time things got a little hard! So just go – before I change my mind."
Ryan knew that she was right, and he didn't want to make her angry – he had heard that pregnant women could be pretty temperamental, and he knew if they got into a fight, then she would get hurt, and more importantly, so would the baby. He had left in a hurry, but in the back of his mind, he hoped that she would call him back – he didn't want to leave his child in Chino.
But he had to.
"Ryan?" the voice he knew and loved called him away from his memory.
"Marissa."
"Oh, Ryan!" Marissa grabbed Ryan and pulled him into a hug. She had missed him so much. It had been so different without him; she hadn't had him there then Oliver had come back, threatening her with the gun this time. She hadn't had him there when she had been beaten in an alleyway for being a "slut", as they had called her. She hadn't had him there when she almost hadn't been there – and she had the scars on her wrist to prove it. Realizing all this, she suddenly pushed him away.
"You suck, Ryan Atwood!"
"Aah, how I love to hear those words again." Ryan let her push him.
"How could you leave me here? Alone? Don't even answer that. You wanted to look after your kid in Chino. You just make me feel bad."
"Sorry," Ryan replied.
"Don't be sorry. I should be sorry. I'm sorry for dragging you down with my problems. I'm sorry..."
"Atwood!" Ryan turned to see Summer standing behind him. She punched his chest, as hard as she possibly could. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I was..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Playing the knight in shining armour! Well let me tell you something, if you think you can just sashay back in here..."
"Summer. Really, it's okay." Marissa stepped in between the two.
"Sorry, Ryan. You know..." Summer tried to make her tone lighter, "Rage blackouts."
"Yeah Summer. I know." Ryan grinned. Summer's rage blackouts were famous. He turned: "And who's this?"
"Oh, God, sorry! Ryan, this is Kathryn. Kathryn, Ryan." Marissa smiled.
"Hi." Kathryn barely managed to get the one syllable out. She was dumbstruck.
"Hey," Ryan held out his hand in greeting and Kathryn shook it, and it was surprisingly supportive – strong and manly. 'I think I'm in love,' she thought.
"This is Seth." Seth looked up when Ryan introduced him, to see Kathryn smiling. He knew she would fall for the old Atwood charm.
"Hi," he said, "I think we kinda met."
"Yeah, kinda." She reached down and picked up the comic book he had been reading. "Spiderman 1?" she opened it to the first page, scanning it for publishing details. "Edition...edition...hey, how come there's no edition reference?"
"It does have one – you see?" Seth pointed to the bottom left-hand corner of the page, where it said, in miniscule writing: "Edition SC".
"SC? What does that stand for?"
"Seth Cohen." Seth mumbled. No-one had ever asked what the "SC" stood for before. Then again, no-one had ever seen it before, either.
"You mean you made that? Cohen, ew!" Summer was unimpressed, but Kathryn was interested.
"You did all this?" she asked, flipping over pages, "It's incredible! You've gone into such detail! I can't believe..." she trailed off when she noticed Marissa, Holly and Summer staring at her as if she had just stepped off a spaceship, and had five arms and a fin sprouting out of her. "I mean...like, whatever." And she turned away to face the girls again.
"Good save." Ryan whispered in her ear, in a voice that Kathryn couldn't place. It was on the brink of sarcasm, but he was too serious to be sarcastic. He almost sounded angry, but she could tell that he wasn't. It was too odd. This guy – this guy was different. Different from anyone she had ever met.
"Marissa – is everything going to go back to the way it was...before Ryan left...before...before everything?" Summer desperately wanted everything to go back to the way it was. She wanted to go back to the days when she could hang out on the beach with her best friend, her best friend's boyfriend, and her best friend's boyfriend's best friend. Despite the fact that she didn't know how she felt about Seth Cohen, she liked the little arguments they had. She liked his little witticisms. She liked his Jew-fro. What she didn't like was how he kept bringing up the time she had kissed him at his grandfather's birthday party. She had done it spontaneously, she knew it meant nothing – but at the same time she knew it meant something – which was why she was so confused about him.
"I don't know Sum. I hope so. But now we have Kathryn, and she'll be hanging out with us too..."
"That's no problem. For me, anyway. I like her." Ryan and Seth came back to join the conversation.
"You like her, do you Ryan?" Marissa playfully hit him on the shoulder. Ryan winced – unconvincingly, but even so.
"Not in that way," he started to try and cover up for himself, until he realized he could be offending Kathryn, "Not that I don't think you're very pretty..uh, Seth, help me out here......"
"Dude," Seth clapped a hand over Ryan's babbling mouth. "Just don't bother. We all know what you were thinking. You're just digging yourself into a bigger hole. Not cool."
"And what would you know about cool, Cohen?" Summer had to get a cutting remark in there. She did have a reputation to keep, after all.
'Sorry.' she tried to send him a telepathic message. She knew he wouldn't get it, but sometimes it was easier to pretend. Who was she kidding? It was always easier to pretend.