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.
"To me, you're strange and you're beautiful
You'd be so perfect with me
But you just can't see
You turn every head
But you don't see me"
Seth groaned as he heard the first signs of the fourth period bell. He swung his long legs as fast as he could to his English class, his strides matching his rather cloudy mood. It wasn't his fault that he bumped into the new girl, thus leading him to apologize profusely, helping her pick up her textbooks and helping her clean her spilt coffee.
He learned that the girl's name was Anna and she had just transferred from Pittsburgh. She was cute, not ugly in any way. Dressed in an argyle sweater and purple leggings, she captured Seth's attention undoubtedly. She seemed not to be like the other girls at school.
But she wasn't hot. She wasn't gorgeous. She definitely was no Summer.
And so, as he walked to fourth period, he grimaced. He had just participated in a kind act by helping someone pick up their things, and what did he get in return? Tardiness. Great.
Walking into English, he groaned as thirty pairs of eyes landed on him. Ms. Brookes stared up at the gangly teenager through her foggy bifocals and shook her head. "And you are late because why, Mr. Cohen?"
Seth shrugged his shoulders as he took his seat. "Hold up in the hallway."
Ms. Brookes rolled her eyes. "Class started ten minutes ago. What hold-up could there possibly be in empty hallways?"
Quiet laughter erupted throughout the classroom and Seth shrugged once again. Ms. Brookes pointed a pencil to Seth. "Don't let it happen it again, Seth."
Seth sighed as he slid himself down into his seat, making himself comfortable. He spied Devon Rockglen in his peripheral vision and inwardly groaned. Summer had blatantly asked him to help her be with him, and what choice did he have? Sure, Seth had the option of choosing not to participate, but in going down that road, he would lose Summer's respect and possible friendship.
So he basically had no real choice at all.
Seth looked up to the front of the class. Ms. Brookes had her back turned to the class, writing boring facts about Henry David Thoreau on the blackboard. Seth rolled his eyes. Ms. Brookes never got the clue that her students didn't care about the class at all.
Turning to his side to speak to Devon, Seth gained his attention by calling out his name in a ragged whisper. Looking up from his notes, Devon raised his eyes when he heard his name and found the voice coming from Seth Cohen.
"Oh, hey Cohen," he acknowledged.
As Seth looked upon Devon, he accredited that he had never really disliked him at all. Whereas Brad and Tyler had bullied him everyday during sophomore year, Devon had never joined in on teasing, had never participated in Seth's everyday wedgies or "punching sessions". He had never called Seth names, had never thrown him a snide remark about how "gay" his music is, or how "comics are for geeks".
Seth had to admit: Devon Rockglen was actually a pretty good guy.
Which hurt him more than anything. It would have been easier, he reasoned, if Devon had been a bully, an asshole. That way if Summer ever did realize that he was a waste of time, she could rely on Seth himself. He would be her knight in shining armor.
But Devon was just too perfect. There would be no actual reason for Summer to leave him.
Seth ignored his conflicting thoughts and swerved his mind back to the task at hand. "I'm doing an interview for the school newspaper," he proposed in a small voice, "and I'm writing an article on--um--football captains." He subtly wrinkled his nose at his lame attempt to come up with an excuse.
Devon lifted his eyebrows in surprise and nodded his head. "Really? Is that so?"
Seth gulped and quickly nodded in response. "Yep, really."
Devon smiled, his white teeth gleaming. "Alright, then. Go ahead and ask whatever questions you want."
Seth released a sigh of relief. Devon hadn't caught on.
"Well," he began to ask, "What's you favorite food?"
Devon lifted his index finger and thumb to his chin, racking up an attempt to gather a good answer. "Um, probably my mom's lasagna. She makes the best lasagna. Like, the cheese on it is the perfect kind of gooey."
Seth laughed and leaned back into his chair. "Damn, that really sounds good right about now."
Devon smirked. "Dude, once you try that lasagna, you're gone. I swear."
Seth nodded his head and smiled, before throwing his victim more questions of the various kinds. He later found out that the guy's favorite movies were Varsity Blues and There's Something About Mary. He liked to go bowling with his dad on the weekends and sometimes liked to fish.
As the "interview" finished, Seth leaned back into his seat a little more. He gave an inaudible sigh as he quickly jotted down the notes Ms. Brookes wrote on the blackboard. Stealing a quick glance to Devon on his right, he sighed once more and languidly slumped his backpack on his shoulder when the bell to lunch gave way.
Seth Cohen definitely had competition.
Summer walked the hallways of the high school, her high heels tapping on the tile of the ground. She hummed contentedly and holding a textbook to her chest, her tote swung to and fro from her shoulder. Eyes scanned the hallway when she spied a tall, lanky boy working his lock at his locker.
"Cohen!"
Seth looked up when his ears registered that someone was calling his name. Summer walked briskly up to him, her tapping getting much louder and her skirt swaying in time with her striding. Seth gave an involuntary smile.
It still did wonders to him about how Summer could turn him into a lovestruck guppy. His heart started to beat faster, and his palms began to collect sweat. He prayed that Summer didn't notice how much she could change his demeanor in .03 seconds.
"Hm?" he nonchalantly asked.
Summer finally reached him and leaned her side on the locker next to his.
"So, did you do anything yet?" Her eyes held a bright glow and Seth felt his heart tighten.
"Why yes, I sharpened my pencil twice and had a lovely turkey sandwich at lunch today. Thanks for asking."
Summer scowled and quickly slapped Seth on the shoulder. "I mean about Devon, you moron."
Seth grimaced when Summer's fingers abusively made contact with his shoulder. "Hey, watch it with violence, young lady. Some are not as strong as others."
Summer rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She gave an impatient nod. "Well?" she asked.
As he was rummaging through his locker, Seth gave a quiet sigh. He turned to Summer with a defeated facade.
"Yeah, I talked to him."
Summer mouth grew into a wide, bright smile. "Well, what'd you ask? What'd he say?" Seth felt nauseous at her blatant happiness.
"Well, I asked him basic stuff. Like favorite food. Stuff to do on the weekends. Not that 'Would you like Summer Roberts while your at it?' stuff you want me to say."
Summer waved off her hand in disregard. She smiled at Seth. "Whatever. Save that for another time. But the fact is, you're actually getting somewhere. So, what'd he say?"
Seth bit his lip, making an attempt at trying to remember what Devon had told him. "Well," he said, "He said his favorite food was lasagna."
Summer giggled and Seth tried hard not to roll his eyes. It literally broke his heart to stand here and share stories about the competition he had when it came to Summer. For the millionth time that day, Seth realized just how much his position sucked.
"Lasagna is so good. He has a very nice taste in foods."
Seth retrieved a notebook from his locker and slammed it shut. He turned to Summer, "Lasagna's okay. You know what's really good? Hot Cheetos and cream cheese."
Summer's mouth fell open in shock. That was her favorite snack. Marissa and Holly had thought it to be the weirdest combination, but Summer always shook her head and shrugged her shoulders at them. She loved the hot, spicy taste of the Cheetos combined with the smooth, rich flavor of cream cheese. Eating the Cheetos alone had always been a challenge to her; they were always too pungent for her taste buds. But with the cream cheese, Summer felt as though it made the best of the Cheeto. The best of both worlds.
Realizing her position, Summer snapped shut her mouth and tossed a trite scowl to Seth. He noticed how her short-lived warmth had transformed into a sudden ramrod straight terseness and scratched his head at the thought.
"Ew, Cohen. That is, like, the nastiest combination I've ever heard of. Talk about gross." She feigned her charlatan facade and tried her best to make it seem as if she didn't have a care in the world.
Seth shrugged. "You should try it sometime."
Summer rolled her eyes. The bell rang for sixth period and she clutched her textbook closer to her chest. "Well, you better tell me the rest of the 411 from today. I need to know my man-facts."
She turned on her heel to walk to class and Seth's eyes glazed over in realization. Summer's footsteps echoed throughout the hallway and Seth dashed to keep up with her, his quick strides taking him to the destination quickly. A cough vibrated next to Summer and she turned around to the accomplice.
"What do you want, Cohen?"
Seth faked a scoff. "I'm walking to class, Summer. It just so happens to be that it's in the direction you're going. Don't think you're something special."
Summer rolled her eyes and her mouth began to sprout a quick retort that she would unleash to Seth. A lone pencil sat in the middle of the hall and while her attention focused to Seth, she ignorantly dismissed it, her eyes never leaving the skinny, bobbleheaded geek next to her.
Her foot swept over the pencil and in shock, her eyes doubled in size. Her arms lost control over her books and papers flew in all directions, scattering over the dirty hallway floor. Seth caught Summer's shoulder before she had a chance to fall flat on her face, his quick reflexes saving her from being a total embarrassment in the middle of the hallway.
"Whoa, are you okay?" Seth looked at Summer in worry, his eyes glazed in questioning. Summer nodded and fully stood up, straightening her skirt and fixing the stray hairs on her head.
"I'm fine, thanks," she said. She looked down. "But my books are not."
Summer bent to retrieve her textbook and papers, as Seth did the same. He slowly gathered Summer's belongings off of the floor, helping her, when the sound of the clicking of heels sounded in his ears.
"Sum!"
Holly made a quick jog to Summer just as she was standing up. Her blonde hair tousled in her miniature rush and she quickly gave Summer a hug and a small kiss on the cheek.
"You're coming to the party tonight, right?"
Summer nodded and plastered a smile on her face, her teeth making a bold appearance. "Wouldn't miss it, Holl."
Seth stood up, his hands full of Summer's belongings. Holly's eyes turned from Summer to him, and she grimaced in disliking. She looked back at Summer and giggled.
"Sum, you are so genius."
Summer knitted her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Holly rolled her eyes in a playful manner and pointed at Seth. "Duh. I mean, like, getting the nerd to carry your stuff. I should totally try that sometime." She turned to Seth and wrinkled her nose. "You're really that desperate, Emo Geek?"
Holly laughed and Summer threw her a small, emotionless smile. Seth felt his heart warm when he didn't hear Summer's agreement of Holly's mistreatment of him. Standing in front of Summer, Holly didn't notice how Summer clearly disagreed with her, regardless of the social rank of Seth Cohen.
"Well, see you there. Love you." Holly walked away, her miniskirt billowing as her hips swayed to-and-fro. Summer turned to Seth and gathered her books from his hands.
"Um, yeah. Thanks, Cohen." Seth smiled and nodded his head. Summer nodded her head back at him and walked away, looking around; hoping no one would notice her associations with Seth. She stalked off to the last class of the day and watching her, Seth sighed in resignation and laid his head on the nearest locker.