A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys. You don't know how close I was to finding the quickest exit possible from this story. Now I'm kinda getting into it, though. I tried something a little different with this chapter, writing what would be shown in "quick cuts" on the show. I hope you're not too confused.
"You gonna do something about them or am I?" Marissa asked as she clutched Ryan's hand and watched Seth and Summer avoid each other like the plague.
Ryan shrugged. "Divide and conquer?" he suggested.
With a nod, Marissa pushed off the table they were leaning against and set off in the direction of her best friend. She knew it was a bad idea, this whole "friend" thing, but Summer couldn't be convinced once the seed of an idea took root in her head. She had no idea what she was going to say, but she knew that she had to say something.
Ryan took a deep breath as he sank to the couch beside Seth. This was ridiculous. The forlorn look on his best friend's face was more than he could handle. Ryan was the brooder. Seth was the one who went out of his way to say something completely absurd just to lighten Ryan's dark moods. And this whole "Pouting Over Summer" thing did not follow protocol, and it bothered him more than he was willing to admit.
"Alright, Sum," Marissa stated firmly, holding her hand out to Summer, who was sitting in an overstuffed chair, a pathetic look on her pretty face. "What the hell?"
Summer looked up through her long eyelashes, shrugging. "This is the suckiest Chrismakkuh ever," she sighed.
"Come on," Marissa took her arm and pulled her out of the chair. "Let's go talk about it, okay?" Summer was like dead weight as she followed with a groan of protest. Somehow, Marissa managed to get her to the pool house before Summer collapsed against the bed with a heavy sigh. Oh, this was gonna be fun.
"So, man," Ryan started, casting a side-long glance at Seth. "What the hell?"
Seth shrugged his shoulders pathetically. "I thought this was supposed to be an intimate party with our friends and family, man. Who are all these people?"
Ryan scanned the unfamiliar faces in the crowd. "I thought you wanted Chrismakkuh to sweep the nation?" Seth gave a raised eyebrow and a slight nod of concession as Ryan stood. "Come on. Let's get some air."
He didn't want air. He wanted Summer. But since he couldn't have her, and his best friend was now leaving him for the backyard, he stood and followed. He dropped to the chair across the patio table from Ryan and propped his elbows up, propping his chin in his upturned hands. "This is good, Ryan. There's lots of air outside," he said.
Leave it to Seth to fill empty space with unnecessary words. Ryan smiled inwardly and watched over his friend's shoulder as Marissa sat next to Summer on his bed and said something. Great – this was exactly how he wanted to spend his holiday.
"He is totally avoiding me, Coop," Summer whined.
Marissa rolled her eyes. "It's not like you're being all kinds of approachable, Sum," she pointed out.
Summer sat up and looked out the window, watching as Ryan talked to her ex. She wondered if they were talking about her. What else would they be talking about? One of his other girlfriends? His college girlfriends? The ones she couldn't ask about? "I hate the pact," she pouted.
"What were we thinking?" Seth asked Ryan, refusing to turn and look at whatever Marissa and Summer were doing in the pool house. "I mean, how are we supposed to be friends if we can't talk about our love lives, or lack thereof, in my case? I ask you, Ryan, what else do friends talk about?"
Shrugging, Ryan leaned back in his chair. "I don't know, man.You and Ifind stuff to talk about."
"It's not like I can ask him about the newest lip color from MAC," Summer said, standing and turning her back on the window. She couldn't keep looking at him. "And I don't care about his interests, so that's out."
Marissa laughed. "Well, what did you guys talk about before?"
"I think you were right, man," Seth conceded, leaning back in his own chair. "I don't think we can be friends. And do you know why, Ryan?"
"Because you'd rather throw her down and fu--" Ryan started.
But Seth cut him off with a raised finger and the shake of his head. "No, although that thought is never far from my mind's forefront. We can't be friends because she doesn't know Marvel from DC from Dark Horse," he rattled off some of his favorite comic book brands.
Ryan rolled his head. "Seth, I don't know the difference in most of those," he pointed out.
"Coop, he doesn't even know a body wrap from a salt glow," Summer threw her hands up in exasperation.
Marissa stood and looked out the window. "Look at him, Summer. Just look out there and think about the best times of your life." She caught Ryan's eye and nodded. It was time to pull out the big guns – memory lane. If that didn't remind these two of why they liked each other in the first place, then maybe they didn't belong together after all.
Ryan took Marissa's cue and leaned toward his friend, who was tracing a non-existent line on the table top. "Seth, man, think about this." Seth looked up in interest. "Whether you have anything in common or not, who's been there for all the big moments in your life?"
"Captain Oates?" Seth asked. Ryan's shoulders sagged. "Um, you?" He stopped and took a deep breath, risking a glance over his shoulder. "It's always been Summer," he admitted.
"Cohen," Summer whispered, catching his eye. When she thought about the best times in her life, whether they were a couple or not, he was always a part of them. He was a part of her. He was the part that showed her life was more than beach parties and spa trips. He was the part that saw her as a super hero, even when she didn't believe in them.
Seth stared back at the brown eyes watching him. She couldn't be his friend because she would always be more. She would always be the part of him that stopped him from being to self-involved, the part that kept him grounded. She would always be the part of him that proved the prom queen was never out of reach, even if he was just a big comic book geek.
As Marissa exited the pool house, Ryan slid away from the table and met her at the kitchen door. Seth and Summer continued watching each other, neither moving. "Think it worked?" he asked.
She leaned into his shoulder as he slid his arm around her waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "I think that we should go inside and let them figure it out from here."
When they had gone inside, Seth stood and motioned with his head and a smile for Summer to join him. He turned his focus to the moonlight's reflection on the glassy water as she exited the pool house and sidled up to him. "So, that yarmaclaus looks pretty good on ya, Summer."
She smiled and brushed his shoulder, looking at her own shoes. "Want to get some eggnog? Maybe talk?"
"I think that's maybe the best idea I've heard all night," he smiled, following her back to the house. Complimenting her didn't violate their pact, did it? He shook his head as he closed the door behind him. Did talking about the pact violate the pact? Because he starting to think that it needed some serious revising.