Disclaimer: I don't own anything regarding "The O.C." nor am I affiliated with any of the cast and characters used in the story. Anyone or anything that you don't recognize is mine, and anyone and anything else that you do recognize is not mine.
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Against All Odds
Chapter 11 – Words of Wisdom from RyRissa
He closed the door slowly as he stepped out of his room. He was now dressed in a blue shirt and a navy flannel pajama bottom. It was his place, and yet it felt like one big sleepover, except that they all had separate rooms. It was definitely a change for him, considering that he never had anyone occupy the other two rooms before. He walked down the hallway and noticed that Ryan and Marissa were missing. However, Summer was in the living room watching TV. She already changed from her clothes earlier that night and was now wearing her silk pajama top and bottom.
"So much for hanging out, huh?"
"Coop was really tired," Summer looked up from the couch. "Chino was probably experiencing the after effects of flying."
"Right. Ryan and his height problem."
Seth was taken aback when Summer started laughing. He looked at the TV, but nothing funny was happening. He turned his attention back to Summer again and replayed what was said when it dawned on him. Ryan and his height problem. It was true. While he was an inch taller, Marissa always towered over him when she wore her heels. Needless to say, it was not the height problem that he was thinking about.
"I'm sorry. That totally came out wrong. I meant to say fear of heights."
"Don't worry about it. It did make for a good laugh. I promise I won't tell Ryan."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"It's your place," Summer said as she moved over the couch. "Feel free to do whatever you want."
"What are you watching?"
"Love Story," Summer mumbled, sneaking a quick glance towards Seth.
"On second thought, maybe it'd be best if I go to bed too."
"Oh, come on, Cohen," Summer said. "This will be a milestone for us. This is the first movie on TV that we watch together in person."
"Nice try," Seth started to get up.
"Please Cohen?" Summer pouted her lips. "I really don't want to stay up alone."
"Okay, fine, but don't expect me to talk much."
"I don't care. I just want someone watching with me."
Seth continued to look at her as she returned her attention towards the movie. He sat down slowly, careful not to touch her.
"Cohen, I don't bite."
"Right."
He readjusted himself so that he could be more calmly seated on the couch. He tried to pay attention to the movie, but he couldn't help but glance at Summer every ten seconds or so. He was grateful that she had her eyes set on the screen, because the thought of her catching him would probably ruin the whole night. Summer and her romantic movies. He didn't really get all the fuss about romance in movies. They were fiction, and life was just never that dramatic or romantic. It had already been five minutes, and he hadn't paid any attention to the movie at all. He finally willed himself to watch in case she asks him any questions. If only his eyes were cooperating…
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His head shot up as though something startled him. He tried to focus on an object until he regained his full vision. The TV was still on as its glare started to hurt his eyes. He looked around for a clock.
"One-thirty-seven," he mumbled. "Why didn't she wake me up?"
Before he could continue, he found his answer in the woman lying on the opposite end of the couch. As it turned out, he wasn't the only one who fell asleep. He got up slowly and turned off the TV. Once again, his attention returned to Summer.
"Summer," he whispered, not quite sure if he wanted to wake her up or not.
She didn't seem to budge, so it was probably best that he didn't disturb her sleep. She did look comfortable on the couch, but she probably won't be too happy in the morning. Seth tried to approach her but found himself backing up. The truth was that he didn't know what to do. He already decided not to wake her up, but he didn't want her to sleep on the couch either. That only leaves him with carrying her to her designated room, but that would mean touching her, and if he touched her, she might wake up, or worse, she would kill him.
"Stop it!" he admonished himself. "Just get her to bed… Get her to her bed and get this over with."
After procrastinating the inevitable for another minute or two, Seth crouched over and slowly lifted Summer up to his arms. He realized that this was the second time in less than seven hours that he had carried her. The thought was irrelevant, but it made him smile nonetheless. He looked down on her face as he carried her through the hallway. She looked so innocent and peaceful and beautiful. His thoughts were disrupted when he came across her door. With some crafty maneuvering, he was finally able to open it without waking Summer up.
He decided not to turn on the lights, mainly because it could easily wake her up. She stirred a bit when he set her down on the bed, but she remained asleep. He carefully moved the flat sheet and the comforter over her, making sure that she was fully tucked in. A sudden warm feeling came over him as he was doing this, and he immediately stepped back.
"What are you doing to me, Summer?" he said softly. "I… My life was fine. It wasn't perfect, but it was fine. It was simple, and then you… I am so confused right now."
He didn't realize that he was still moving backwards until he hit the dresser and caused her purse to fall off, leaving its contents on the floor. With the faint light that was available to him from outside the door, he gathered her stuff and put them back in her purse, ultimately putting it back on the dresser. With one last look, he made sure that she was asleep before stepping out of the room.
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She had gone to her appointment many times before, but not by car and certainly not with Marissa. It was actually fortunate that Marissa was already awake since she was running a little late and was in serious need of a ride. In addition, it saved her from resorting to borrowing Seth's car.
"How did you sleep last night?"
"I'm definitely more refreshed now," Marissa replied as she kept her eye on the road. "You?"
"I fell asleep on the couch."
"Did I miss something, because I definitely did not see you there this morning?"
"Cohen took me to bed."
"Did you two sleep together?"
"Coop!" Summer cried. "No! Of course not. I meant that he took me to my bed. He must have carried me or something. I don't really remember anything. I just woke up in bed all tucked in and everything."
"Aww… that was nice and sweet of him."
"Could you stop saying that please?"
"Why? It's true."
"Yeah, but you're just confusing me more."
"About what?"
"About Cohen."
"Is there something going on between you two?"
"No, but…"
"But there may be something," Marissa said as though she had just uncovered a big mystery.
"I so do not need this right now."
"But something is happening," she said, although it was more of a question than a statement.
"I don't know. I mean, he's Cohen. He's annoying, and he rambles a lot of nonsense. He can be so immature. I have to constantly take care of him. I don't even know why I bother sometimes."
"But Seth's not just all that."
"That's the problem," she said with a sigh. "He gets on my nerves, but I hate it when he's not around. I joke with him and boss him around, and yet he does all these really nice and sweet things like tucking me in bed, cooking me dinner, making me laugh…"
"Changing his whole Thanksgiving plans for you," Marissa added.
"Yeah, and I didn't even ask him to stay."
"Maybe he wanted to stay."
"Maybe… Maybe… I hate maybes," Summer said in exasperation. "What am I doing?"
"Are you in love with him?"
"Coop!"
"I was just asking."
"That is not the issue here."
"You saying that makes it the issue."
"What am I going to do?" she said frantically. "I can't go down that road again."
"Why not?"
"You know why not."
"You two have a history together. You know each other well."
"It wasn't all hunky-dory at the time either," Summer said. "Besides, that was the past."
"What about now? You two are getting to know each other again."
"He doesn't even know that…"
"Summer, that has nothing to do with anything. That's in the past. This is now."
"For all I know, it could very well be just me."
"He's totally crushing on you, too," said Marissa knowingly.
"Excuse me?"
"Summer, the guy called us at eleven o'clock on Sunday night."
"That's two in the morning…"
"Exactly! He practically begged and groveled for us to change our plan and come out here. He even offered to pay the expenses and everything. Aside from that, he's still here."
"What do you mean?"
"Seth hates New York," she said with conviction. "He loathes it. Personally, Ryan and I didn't think that he would last a month. From what he had been saying during that first month, it was almost certain that he would be flying back any time soon."
"What's your point?"
"Seth's been here for more than two months now. It's not a coincidence that he started liking the place after the two of you started hanging out."
Summer looked away from Marissa as she let the words sink in. If she wasn't confused then, she was definitely confused now.
"You deserve to be happy," Marissa told her.
"But it's Cohen…"
"That doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing."
The car ride remained silent until they arrived at their destination.
"Do you want me to come along?"
"You can drive around the city for a while," Summer said. "I'll be here for about an hour at the most."
"It's never too early for shopping, I guess," Marissa said, her face perking up.
"I'm sure Chino would love that."
"I'll pick you up in an hour," Marissa laughed.
"An hour it is," Summer said as she watched Marissa leave. "One long hour."
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As he stepped out of his room, the light coming from the window immediately blinded him. He didn't get a chance to look at the clock, but from the glare of the sun, he was sure that it was late. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw Ryan reading a newspaper and eating by himself.
"Where's Marissa?" he asked in the middle of yawning.
"She went out with Summer."
"Summer's up?" he asked as he looked through the refrigerator.
"She kind of had to be up to be out."
"It's too early for your sarcasm, Ryan."
"It's ten-thirty, Seth."
"Well, it's too early for me anyway," Seth said, looking up from the fridge. "Are those bagels?"
"I got them this morning."
"What time is it?"
"I told you that it was ten-thirty."
"Did I really sleep that late?"
"Did you just wake up?"
"Yeah."
"Then yes, you really slept this late."
"Can I have some?"
"My bagels are your bagels, except for this one because I already took a bite out of it."
"Thanks," he said dryly.
"How late did you sleep last night?"
"Well, I slept earlier than the second time I slept."
"You're not making any sense."
"Summer and I were watching TV when we both fell asleep. I took her to bed…"
"You what?"
"I took her to her bed, and then I went to my bed," Seth explained slowly. "What's wrong with you, man? Get your head out of the gutter."
"What's going on between you two anyway?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you two together or what?"
"We're just Seth and Summer."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"What the hell are you interrogating me for?" Seth retorted defensively.
"I'm just curious, that's all," Ryan said, hoping that Seth would calm down. "What you did last night… With the whole Thanksgiving thing… Don't tell me that it was nothing."
"Ryan, I'm her back-up best friend. It's what I do. I make sure that she's okay."
"Whoa… slow down. Did you just say back-up best friend?"
"That's what I said."
"What the hell is that?"
"Well, Summer's best friend is Marissa, right?"
"Right."
"So, if Marissa ever gets whacked, I get to take her spot," Seth said rather enthusiastically. "Isn't that great?"
"No, man, that's not great," Ryan said, looking at Seth weirdly "I don't want Marissa getting whacked."
"That's cool. I understand."
"So that's it?"
"What?"
"You're just her back-up best friend?"
"I guess."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Could you stop it with the questions already?" Seth cried angrily. "I'm already dealing with enough of them, and you're just making me more confused."
"I knew it."
"Knew what?"
"You're in love with Summer," he said almost smugly.
"I am not…" Seth started to say as Ryan continued to smirk. "You are full of it."
"Me? What about you?"
"What are you talking about now?"
"You're in love with Summer, but you're just too damn stubborn to admit it."
"What do you want me to say?" he shouted, his voice full of emotion. "Am I falling for Summer? Yes, you're damn right I am. I can't stand it when I'm not around here. Heck, I can't stand it when I'm with her because I can't do anything. You know that I've been in love with her since I was just some puny little kid, but what I feel right now… I am falling so hard that I probably haven't reached the bottom yet. She's just Summer, you know. That's the only word to describe it. She's right here with me, and when she's not here physically, she's still right there."
"I know you both have a lot of history together, but you can always start over. Marissa and I did."
"We're really good friends now, and it took us years to get here. What makes you think that I won't mess it up again?"
"The two of you are older now, and hopefully a lot wiser than you were years ago. As your brother, it was hard seeing you all those years. Sure you've had a relationship or since then, but you were miserable compared to when you were with her."
"I… I can't lose her again, Ryan," Seth managed to say as he tried to swallow the swelling lump in his throat. "The thought of not having her around pains me more than not having my parents around, and that scares me. That scares the shit out of me. If losing them almost destroyed me, then losing Summer would probably kill me. I don't know what to do, Ryan."
"It's going to be okay," Ryan said softly as he gave a reassuring grip on Seth's shoulder.
"I don't want to get hurt, and I don't want her to get hurt."
"Well, sometimes, you have to risk everything to truly find happiness."
"Where did you hear that one?" Seth managed to smile as he slightly wiped off the tears forming in his eyes.
"Actually, it came from a very smart man who lead a wonderful, happy life."
"Who?"
"Sandy Cohen."
"He did have a wonderful life," Seth uttered softly.
Their conversation was interrupted when Summer and Marissa came into the room.
"Hey!" Marissa greeted them both before going over to kiss Ryan on the cheek. "Is everything okay here?"
Seth caught Summer's eyes but quickly looked away.
"Yeah," Ryan said. "We were just having a discussion."
"Are you okay, Seth?" Marissa asked, noticing that he seemed tense.
"I just woke up," he said absentmindedly. "I'm going to take a shower now."
The trio stood in silence as Seth left the room. It didn't take long before both pair of female eyes rested on Ryan.
"Is he okay?" Summer asked.
"He's fine. You know Seth. He's just naturally out there."
"Was he crying?" Marissa asked. "His eyes were a little red."
"No," Ryan said quickly as he tried to come up with an explanation. "You know how he is with bagels."
Ryan was met with two confused looks.
"Sandy liked bagels. It just reminded him of Sandy, that's all."
"I'm going to head back to my room and pack my stuff," Summer said, looking skeptically at Ryan before leaving the couple behind.
"So…" Ryan started.
"So…" Marissa followed.
"You went shopping."
"I did."
"That's great."
"I know."
"You didn't tell her about the wedding, did you?"
"No. Did you tell Seth?"
"No."
"Good."
"Good."
"We'll tell them about the party before we leave."
"Which is at the Cohen house," Ryan added.
"Do you think Seth would mind?"
"If not, I have a spare key," he smiled deviously.
"I love you," Marissa kissed him.
"I love you, too," he said, enveloping her in a hug.
"You were totally lying about Seth earlier."
"I know."
"I guess we have a lot to talk about on the plane ride home."
"If I spill, then you spill."
"Oh, trust me, I have a lot of things to share."
"I don't really like talking though. I'd rather sleep."
"I have my ways of making you talk."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
"No, you're afraid of heights."
"Don't remind me."
