Shirl - thanks so much for the review and the praise! Seth is my favorite character to write, because I relate to him a lot. It's about to be AU, which is where the slash comes in. Sorry about that. I'm glad you enjoyed the Seth/Summer - they are cute together, even if I'm a Ryan/Seth shipper at heart.
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I open up the paper. There's a story of an actor who has died while he was drinking. It was no one I had heard of. And I'm turning to the horoscopes and looking for the funnies when I'm feeling someone watching me and so I raise my head.
Part 3: "The Friend"
"Seth?" Kirsten was in the doorway of his bedroom.
"Yeah, Mom?"
"Your dad –" she
sat down on the end of his bed. "Look, we have a guest staying in
the pool house. Just for a few nights. I thought you should know in
case you run into him."
"Okay... well, who is he?"
"He's..." she sighed. "Your father brought home one of his clients. Ryan. From Chino. He stole a car."
Seth stared at her. "What? How old is he?"
"Your age," she
said. "Just... be careful, all right?"
"Okay." Seth was
still trying to process this. Kirsten stood up.
"Well, I'm going to go to bed. See you in the morning."
"'Night, Mom." She kissed his forehead and left.
Seth lay there in the dark for a long time, staring up at the ceiling, nervous. Maybe he could use this guy... Ryan... as practice for making friends this year. After all, he was only going to be around for a few days.
He knew his mother was concerned because Ryan was a criminal. But Seth thought it was kind of cool, actually. Dangerous. Exciting.
In the morning, after he ate, he'd go out to the pool house and introduce himself. Maybe Ryan liked video games.
It didn't work out that way. Ryan got up early and came inside before Seth was done eating (in front of the TV, of course). Seth looked up and saw the boy standing awkwardly in the doorway. So Ryan was just as nervous as he was. That made things a little easier.
"Hey."
"Hey." Ryan's voice was deep but gentle. Seth liked him already.
"Do you..." he gestured to the controller he was holding, "... wanna play?"
"Sure," Ryan said, coming to sit down next to him.
Seth had never had a real friend, but he knew what it felt like to really click with someone. Well, he thought he did, anyway. That was what it was like with Ryan. They didn't talk much, but he felt an instant connection. He thought Ryan felt it, too, but he was scared to ask.
Of course, Sandy interrupted them and ruined the moment. But then, that was his dad. Much as Seth loved him, Sandy wasn't the most tactful person. Then again, neither was Seth.
"You guys are inside on this beautiful day? Go do something outdoors!"
Parents. "Yeah, Dad, because there's so much to do around here."
"Come on," Sandy said.
Ryan looked at Seth. "What do you do for fun here?" Instantly, an image of the Summer Breeze popped into Seth's head. But Ryan wouldn't be up for that. Right? He'd probably never sailed before. What if he got seasick?
He glanced at Ryan, who looked so guarded. They had had a definite moment, and Seth didn't want to lose that. He found Ryan incredibly endearing, even though he'd only known him for about an hour.
He sighed. "Come on. I'll show you."
Sailing with Ryan was more fun than he thought it would be. He'd never sailed with anyone before, aside from Chester and a few other students. Sailing was his alone-time activity. Actually, everything was his alone-time activity, but Seth would rather have died than admitted that to Ryan.
Ryan was probably the least judgmental person his age that Seth had ever met. When he told him about Summer, Ryan didn't make fun of him or tell him to get his head out of the clouds. Instead, Ryan nodded, as if Seth's love of a girl who didn't even know his name was perfectly normal and not stupid in the least. Which Seth knew wasn't true, and he appreciated Ryan's response.
Finally, they headed back to shore. Sandy was there when they got back, preparing to surf. When he told Seth that Marissa had invited Ryan to the fashion show, Seth felt a surge of jealousy. "She invited you? Dude, I've lived next to Marissa Cooper my entire life and she's never said a word to me!" Ryan had the decency to look sorry, at least. Even though it wasn't his fault, really.
A few minutes later, when Seth was arguing against going, Ryan said, "Summer might be there."
Seth was astonished. No one had ever paid so much attention to him before. In a twisted way, that was why he rambled: because no one was listening to him anyway, so he might as well keep talking.
"Yeah, she is Marissa's best friend. Maybe we should go."
He ambled back up to the house, thrilled. For the first time in his life, Seth Cohen felt noticed.