Disclaimer: I own nothing, with the exceptions of a few original characters.

Summary: After pining for Summer for entirely all his life, Seth gets a chance when she asks something of him. But will her proposition be exactly what he wants to hear—or worse? SS.

Author's Note: Wow, I'm actually attempting a multi-chaptered story. So, enjoy the story and please review.

"Contradictions
Get me everything I want
I'll let you know
But I think it's gonna take a while
It's a clear view
No one's waiting at the door
A million letters
They couldn't make me change my mind
I think I'd better run, run, run, run."

She sat in the lounge of her school, quietly sipping her coffee as her eyes scanned the contents of the latest issue of Riviera. A sigh escaped her lips as she pretended to read, but her mind was elsewhere. She lifted her eyes slightly to look across the room and immediately they spotted him.

Devon Rockglen. Senior. Captain of the football team. Absolutely gorgeous.

Summer was always a fan of the chase. She strived off of it, was always game to get what she wanted, when she wanted it. When she obtained her prizes, however, she always seemed to get bored of them. The boys always got too "into themselves" or "always talks about soccer" or "thinks he's some god or something". And then she would break up with them, crushing their hearts like she was a mallet and they were the shellfish.

But not Devon.

He was different.

She had already approached him at a party last weekend. Dressed in a short red number, she sauntered over to him while he spoke to his football friends. She flirted with him, gave him small taps on the shoulder, brushed her hands against his arms.

And he looked right through her.

And so Summer made Devon Rockglen her next target. No one could say no to her. She was fucking Summer Roberts, for crying out loud! 'If he didn't want her,' she mentally thought, 'then people would make it a trend. They would forget all me, and no one would want me any longer.'

Nothing could get in her way between her and her new prize.

"Seth Ezekiel! Get down here!"

Seth eyes jolted open. He turned his head to look at the clock and groaned. '7:45 AM' it read.

He sighed as he swung his legs from over his bed and lifting a tired arm, rubbed his eyes. Feet slid into warm, house slippers and trodding along, Seth opened his closet to pick any two items hung and stacked nearby. A finger flipped on his stereo system and as Seth quietly changed, he listened to the melodies; anything so he could take his mind off another day at school.

Don't got a lot of time
Don't give a damn
Don't tell me what to do
I am the man
If there's a god up there
Something above
God, shine your light down here
Shine on the love

Love of the loveless

Don't have too many friends
Never felt at home
Always been my own man
Pretty much alone
I know how to get through
And when push comes to shove
I got something that you need
I got the love

Love of the loveless

All around you people walking
Empty hearts and voices talking
Looking for and finding
Nothing

Don't got a lot of time
Don't really care
Not selling anything
Buyer beware
If there's a god up there
Something above
God, shine your light down here
Shine on the love

Love of the loveless

Don't got a lot of time
Don't give a damn
Don't tell me what to do
I am the man

Love of the loveless

"You ready?" Ryan walked up to his brother and raised a comforting hand to his shoulder. His backpack was slung over one shoulder and a cup of warm coffee was held in his hand. Seth's noses quirked in want as it smelled the sweet aroma of Ryan's coffee.

"Hey, you mind if I get a sip of that?" he asked. Ryan gave him a sideways glare and retreated his hand away from Seth.

"No, it's mine. And we're gonna be late for school. It's not my fault you woke up late. Again." Seth groaned and making a 180-degree turn, he stomped back towards the kitchen. Ryan grabbed him by his sweater as he was walking.

"No. School. Now. We're gonna be late." Seth made a face and Ryan shrugged. Throwing their backpacks in the trunk of the car, both boys climbed in, with Ryan at the wheels and Seth in the passenger seat.

The first few minutes of the ride were habitually silent, music radiating off of the radio system to be the only sound.

"So, Summer, huh," Ryan said, in an attempt to break the silence.

"Yep, Summer," Seth sighed. He made a face and leaned his forehead against the car's window. In a dramatic attempt, he sighed, his voice loud and booming and Ryan had to suppress a laugh.

"Why are you so quiet today? Usually, you're so 'Oh. My. God. I love Summer, blah blah blah'. Your silence is starting to creep me out, Seth."

Seth leaned his head far back on his seat and played with his fingers. He turned to Ryan, "I don't know, man. It's just--today, I made a conclusion."

Ryan lifted an eyebrow, never taking his eyes of the road. "A conclusion?"

"Yeah, a conclusion. I mean, Summer, right? I've been pining for her for, like, ten years. And has she noticed me? No. Nope. Not at all. She doesn't even know who I am. And that one time when she actually noticed me in the cafeteria, she called me Stanley. Not Seth. Stanley. I have decided to give up."

Ryan felt his lips quirk in a small grin and when Seth looked at him with large eyes, he faked an audible gasp of worry. "Oh, Seth. I can't believe it."

Seth shook his head and crossed his arms. He leaned back into his seat. "You better believe it, bro." Ryan didn't attempt to suppress his laugh and Seth looked pointedly at him. "Why are you laughing?" he asked.

"Seth, you do this every week. You say you're gonna give up on Summer, and yet at lunch time, you always go on and on about how beautiful she is, how much you want her to be yours. This has been happening for months now." Ryan nodded. "Trust me, giving up on someone you've liked for nearly a decade...it's not exactly easy."

Seth sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, well. Says the guy with the steady girlfriend for a year and a half."

Ryan shrugged. "It'll be your turn soon enough, Seth." Seth rolled his eyes.

Pulling into the school parking lot, both boys stepped outside the car and retrieved their bags from the trunk. They slowly walked through the parking lot and Seth halted his ministrations when he was in front of the school. The two stood on the first step of the large building and looked up at the structure.

Ryan patted Seth hard on the back. "It won't be that bad. Maybe she'll notice you this morning. Or at lunch. Or this afternoon."

Seth pouted and his shoulders slumped.

"I hate school."