Palm Trees and Power Lines
Chapter 6: Counting Stars

Summary: Sort-of future fic. Summer breaks Seth's heart and all he could think to do was leave… but will she find him again, and will he want her back if she does?



Rating: PG to PG-13… you never know.



Disclaimer: I own nada… not "The O.C." or the actors… nor do I own any song that will appear in this fic…


A/N: Thanks again for all the great reviews!!! Once again, sorry it took so long…I had finals, then a ton of parties to go to :)…but here it is… I don't know how long it will be until the next chapter, I'm leaving for Texas in six days, and still have ALL of my packing to do… plus I'll be there for a week…so who know when Chapter 7 will be up…for now, enjoy this one…it's kind of depressing… hmmm…..The song in this fic is another Sugarcult…entitled Counting Stars… have fun and enjoy!…On to the story… Reviews make me happy, you know!

Hey, I wanna crawl out of my skin
Apologize for all my sins
All the things I should have said to you
Hey, I can't make it go away
Over and over in my brain again
All the things I should have said to you

Ryan sat down on the beach, thinking about what had happened in the past few months… he slept with his brother's girlfriend, causing Seth to fly cross-country, which left Summer in a state of depression. This was all his fault, if he could have just controlled himself… It didn't matter now, though. Seth was off in Pennsylvania and he was in Newport…alone.

"Hey," Ryan looked up at the familiar voice. "What're you doing here all alone?"

"Hey Marissa," he replied. "Just thinking about stuff, that's all."

"Let me guess, you're thinking abouuuttt…Seth?" Marissa asked, already knowing the answer, as she sat down next to him.

"Good guess," he replied, distantly. "God, why did he have to leave?"

"Ryan, it's not your fault. He just needed some space. I mean, Summer did cheat on him. I mean, she's my best friend and all but… it was wrong," she replied, not knowing that the person she cheated on Seth with was sitting right next to her.

Ryan didn't say anything. He just sat in silence, staring out into the ocean. Little did she know…

"Ryan, you can't think that this is your fault," Marissa continued when he didn't speak.

He had to tell her. He couldn't lie to her any more… he had to tell her the truth. But before that, there was something else he had to do. Without thinking, he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Marissa's lips. She didn't fight it one bit, but was sad to feel him pull away.

"Marissa, before I say anything else I have to tell you something. Something that I've wanted to say to you since the first time we kissed, on the Ferris wheel, but never could," Ryan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I love you."

Marissa sat, speechless, trying to find the right words. Finally she opened her mouth and the words just came out, "I love you too."

Ryan leaned in for another kiss, which was happily returned. Quickly, he pulled away, though.

"There's something else I have to tell you," Ryan said, looking down. "This might make you take back everything you just said."

"What is it?" Marissa asked, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine it's just… Seth," he started. "Seth didn't leave just because Summer slept with some random guy. He left because... because… because I was that random guy."

Marissa was in shock… she couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Ryan…how…how could you?" she managed to get out, on the verge of tears. "I-I know we weren't dating or anything, and I guess I… I really have no say over that but, my best friend? God…how could you? Both of you! And what you did to Seth… I can't believe you two! I- I have to go. Bye," she finished, standing up and running off down the beach.

"What have I done?" Ryan signed, putting his head in his hands. "God, what have I done?"

Counting stars wishing I was okay
Crashing down was my biggest mistake
I never ever ever meant to hurt you
I only did what I had to
Counting stars again

Joel stepped out of the hotel, his vision blurred from all the drinking. Seth had left a while ago, and Joel had just figured this out. He was too busy partying to even notice his friend leave. Deciding it would be best to walk home, instead of drive, he turned down an alley he knew lead to the road their hotel was on.

He walked quickly, but suddenly felt something catch under his foot. This sent him hurdling towards the ground. Pushing himself up, he noticed exactly what sent him flying.

"Seth?!" Joel exclaimed, jumping up. "Seth? Oh my God, Seth, man, wake up? Seth…SETH!" He shook the unconscious body, lying in a pool of blood. "God, Seth, talk to me! Get up! I better call someone."

Quickly, Joel pulled out his cell and dialed 911.

"Hello? Hi, I'm Joel Roopenwood. My friend, Seth Cohen, is passed out in an alley. I don't know what happened. He left the party early, and I came out to find him lying in a pool of blood… Yes…No… Um, North Third Street…yeah…okay. Thank you. Bye," Joel hung up the phone then hurried back so Seth. "Seth, man, come on, you gotta snap out of this. Who am I gonna party with? Seth…please, come on man."

Joel continued talking to him until he heard an ambulance pull up. Paramedics rushed out of the van with a stretcher. Quickly, yet carefully, they pulled Seth onto it. A few paramedics talked for a little, then one came over to Joel.

"You friend has severe trauma to the scull. We're not sure if it has penetrated the actual brain, but it doesn't look good," the man told him. "You're lucky you found him when you did. If he had lost any more blood, he could be dead."

"Can I come see him?" Joel asked, afraid of what might happen to his friend.

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't you be able to?" the paramedic questioned.

"No, it's just…I've had a lot to drink, and I don't know how well I can drive. Do you think I could stay with him? He's like, my best friend," Joel replied. "Please, I don't have any money for a cab either."

The man sighed. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. But here, this should be enough for the ride to the hospital," he said, handing over some money.

"Thanks," Joel replied and walked out to the street as the ambulance drove away. "Seth, you better be okay."

Hey, I'll take this day by day by day
Under the covers I'm okay I guess
Lost assure that I feel small

Ryan walked down the sidewalk, on his way home. His mind was filled with thoughts about Marissa and Seth. He was regretting what he had done now, more than ever. He needed to talk to Marissa, make her understand somehow. But she never would…

He was approaching the house when he saw a figure sitting, slouched, at the bottom of the driveway. Quickly he ran over to it, afraid that Marissa had pulled another one of her stunts… but was shocked to see that this time, it wasn't Marissa. It was Summer. Quickly he ran over to her.

"Summer? Summer? Summer, can you hear me? Summer!" he yelled, shaking her a bit. "Oh, God," he said looking at the empty pill bottle on the ground. He pried the napkin out of her hand and read it. "Oh my God, Summer!" He yelled once more, then sprinted up to the house and through the front door.

"Kirsten! Sandy!" he screamed, running in and out through different rooms, trying to find them.

"Ryan? Ryan, what is it?" Kirsten asked, walking towards him, followed by Sandy.

"It's…S-summer…she…took too many pills…she tried to kill herself…" he panted. "She's at the bottom of the driveway."

"Oh no," Kirsten and Sandy said in unison as they rushed out the door. Sandy got the car and Kirsten ran down to see the young girl.

"Oh my God," Kirsten exclaimed, as she read the note. "Oh my God…no… Summer you have to be okay, honey."

Sandy pulled to the end of the driveway and Ryan placed Summer in the back, and climbed in after her. They quickly hurried to the hospital…she had to be okay.

Counting stars wishing I was okay
Crashing down was my biggest mistake
I never ever ever meant to hurt you
I only did what I had to
Counting stars again

Joel ran through the hospital doors, cursing at how long the cab driver took to get him here. Quickly he found Seth's floor and went to see how he was doing.

"What room is Seth Cohen in?" he asked the woman behind the desk. "And is it okay to go in right now?"

"Room 345, but no, sir, I'm sorry you can't go in. The doctors are still working," the woman replied. "We'll be sure to tell you when you can see him, though. Are you his brother?"

"No, he's my roommate," Joel replied.

"Oh, well do you know where I can contact his family?" she asked. "We need to get medical information, and they couldn't find any in his wallet."

"No, they live in Newport Beach, California. But I'm sure I could find a phone number somewhere. Like in his cell, or something," Joel replied. "Did you find that?"

"Yes, but it's password protected. We couldn't get in," she said.

"Oh, I know it. Here, can I see the phone?" he asked, as the woman handed it over. Quickly he typed in the code and searched throughout the phone for the number. "Here, this is it." He said, showing it to the receptionist. "I'll call."

As he was about to dial the number, a doctor emerged from Seth's room. Joel quickly forgot about the phone, and rushed over to the doctor.

"Is it okay to see Seth yet?" he asked quickly.

"Um, sir, will you sit down," the doctor asked. "You might need to."

Marissa walked into a waiting room to see Kirsten, Sandy, and Ryan sitting with worried looks.

"Ryan," she cried as she saw him, and fell into his arms, bursting into tears. Every thought of Summer and Ryan sleeping together disappeared from her head. "How is she doing?"

"We don't know yet," he replied, rubbing her back. "They haven't talked to us."

"If anything happens to her… I don't know what I'll do," Marissa cried into his shoulder. "God, why, Ryan? Why?"

"Shh, I don't know. We just have to be strong for her, and pray that she ends up okay," he consoled, but was interrupted by the ringing of Sandy's cell phone.

"Sandy! We're in a hospital, you're supposed to have that off!" Kirsten scolded. "Turn it off. It can wait until later."

"It's from Philadelphia," he said, and quickly answered it. "Hello?... What?... No…no…no, not Seth. Thank you, Joel. Bye," Sandy finished and hung up the phone. "That was Seth's friend from Philly, Joel. Seth had an accident. It appears he was drinking…a lot… and he tripped or something and gashed his head open on impact. He was bleeding for hours in some dark alley before anyone found him. He lost a lot of blood… they aren't sure if he's going to make it over night."

Counting stars again
Counting stars again
Counting stars again
Counting stars again
Counting stars again

A/N: So that's Chapter 6…sorry it took so long to get out…but this was a long one… :) Reviews make me happy!!!