A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Thanks again for all the support. This chapter I'm reintroducing some characters that haven't been here for a while:

Lindsay: currently dating…Ryan! Of course!

Alex: currently dating…MARISSA! Yeah, I couldn't resist. I'm actually excited about that, like, honestly. Everyone's like ew…she's a lesbo and I'm like "Hey more power to ya! That's awesome!" Just a quick reminder, things with Alex and Seth didn't happen in this story like they happened on the show. Going back a few chapters, you'll remember that they just kissed. He did, however, quit his job in this story (mainly because I forgot about it). Yeah, that's the only problem I'm having with stretching this fic out over such a long period of time is that I forget certain things from earlier chapters. It's okay though, because I kind of have this mapped out in the direction I want to go. I also have a few more fics in the works but I don't want to post them while I'm still working on this one. We'll see how it goes.

Wet Bodies

"Cohen, what time are your parents getting home?" Summer asked from her spot on the couch.

"Um, probably not till, like, three," he answered, jabbing a few buttons on the controller.

"Heck yes," she said, getting up and stepping over his legs which were resting on the coffee table.

She ambled into the kitchen, shuffling some things in his cupboards. Then, she disappeared into the tiny little room that was more like a hallway connector but it had a wet bar and a lot of alcohol. She remerged with a bottle of what looked to be champagne.

"What the hell is she doing?" Ryan asked from his end of the couch where he was playing Seth at the ninja game.

"Dude, what the hell is she ever doing?" Seth answered.

"Good point."

"Hey Summer? You know it's not even nine thirty, right?" Seth called.

"Who cares? It's New Year's Eve, baby! It's never too early to drink."

"You know what, Ryan? I think she had a few drinks before she came over here," Seth said, leaning towards the TV.

"I heard that," she said, as she came back into the living room, a champagne flute in hand.

Then, the doorbell rang and Seth tossed the controller to Summer, which she didn't catch, before he headed to the foyer to answer it. Seth opened the door to find Marissa, and her date, who, not surprisingly, was Alex.

"Hey Ryan!" Seth called. "Come over here and let's make it even more awkward!"

"What?" Ryan said, as he approached the front door. "Oh. Um, hey guys."

"Funny Seth," Marissa said as she pushed through them. "Hey Ryan," she said, as she gave him a hug.

"Alex, long time no see," Seth said.

"Mmhmm," she said, following Marissa into the room.

"Coop!" Summer screeched as she came bounding into the foyer.

"Sum!" Marissa squealed back, equally as shrilly. "Happy New Year!" she said as she hugged her.

"Happy New Year," Summer said, as she politely hugged Alex too.

As everyone finished greeting and hugging, wishing a happy New Year, the doorbell rang again. This time, enter Lindsay, Ryan's date for the evening.

"Hey everyone!" she said, once inside.

Summer entered, having refilled her glass of champagne. "Linds! You're here!" she said, a bit too loudly.

"Hey, Summer!" She pulled her into a hug and whispered over her shoulder, "Is she drunk?"

"Just a little," Seth said, holding up his thumb and pointer to symbolize "little".

"Want some champagne?" she asked, offering her glass to Lindsay.

"Oh, no thanks," she said, pushing it back towards her.

"Let's go to the kitchen," Seth said, grabbing Summer by the elbow and leading her to where Marissa and Alex were already propped against the counters, discussing something.

"So, what now?" Marissa asked, noticing their entrance.

"Champagne?" Summer suggested.

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One hundred and two minutes until midnight and Summer was far past tipsy. Seth knew the alcohol was the one accountable for the way Summer was acting but it was still odd to him. She was being all touchy with him—sitting on his lap, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around him, stuff like that—which she hadn't even done when they were dating.

Seth was currently standing in the kitchen being chided by Marissa for allowing Summer to drink. "Dude, she drank before she came!" Seth said.

"That doesn't mean you had to give her more alcohol. You know how the champagne goes straight to her head," Marissa reminded him.

"She helped herself," Seth told her. "And besides, it's New Year's Eve. Who doesn't drink?"

"You could've held off. Now, she's going to look like a complete fool."

"Get over it, Marissa. You're drinking," Seth said, pointing to the drink in her hand.

Marissa was about the reply with some smart remark when Alex approached. "Come on," she said, quietly. "It's New Year's." A soft smile appeared on Marissa's face and she nodded, letting Alex lead her back into the living room.

Ryan appeared in the kitchen and Seth sighed. "Maybe it was a bad idea to invite everyone over."

"Why? It won't be anything compared to the destruction caused last year," Ryan said.

"I'm not talking about structural damage, man," Seth told him. "I'm talking about people damage."

"People damage?" Ryan questioned.

"Maybe it's, like, the wrong time to mesh these people," Seth tried to explain.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you and Marissa have a history and Alex and I sort of have a really, very short history and then there's Lindsay and now Alex is with Marissa and Summer's just drunk off her ass making everything ten times more awkward with all this unnecessary touching."

"I guess I see your point," Ryan agreed. "But, we've got to do it sometime. If we're all gonna be friends and everything."

Seth shrugged and Ryan clapped him lightly on the shoulder before he headed back into the living room where Lindsay was attempting to play Tony Hawk's Underground. Alex entered the kitchen then, leaning on the counter across the island.

"So," Seth said, trying to think of something to say. "You and Marissa seem pretty happy," was what he ended up with, and he just hoped it wasn't too weird.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, she's really cool. And just, like, hot."

Seth looked up, slightly surprised with this but answered with, "Yeah, well maybe I'll get to watch some day."

If Alex thought this perverted, she didn't show it, just smoothly replied with, "Oh no, wouldn't want to upset your mistress."

"I'm not married," Seth said.

"I'm sorry. Whore," she said, as if correcting herself.

"She's not a whore," Seth said, always quick to defend Summer. Then, he smiled, almost mockingly, and said, "You know, I knew you'd bring this up."

"Bring what up, Seth? The fact that you kissed me and then ditched me for her?" She said this all with a calm voice, as if she couldn't give a shit whether they discussed this or not. Almost as if she were reporting the weather.

"You knew I wasn't over her," he said, just as calmly.

"No, no, of course not. I get it, Seth. And we're fine. We really don't need to talk about this."

Just then, Summer appeared at his side, slinging an arm easily around his waist. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked, innocently.

"Nothing," Seth said, staring Alex straight in the eye, daring her to say different.

"Yeah," she said, moving toward the living room.

Seth leaned down and kissed Summer's temple as be brought a hand to the small of her back. She leaned up, kissing the underside of his chin before taking another sip of her champagne. "Want some?" she asked, holding it up to him in offering.

"No thanks," he said. "At least one of us has to be sober."

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Ryan was headed to the fridge on his way to grab another soda when he was intercepted by Summer. "Ryan," she said, very seriously.

"Uh, yeah?" he said, just a little confused.

She put her hands on his shoulders and looked him right in the eyes as she asked her next question. "Are you mad at me?"

"What?" Now, he was more than a little confused.

"Are you mad at me?" she repeated.

"Should I be?" he asked.

"Well, you used to get really mad at me for hanging out with Seth. You said I shouldn't jerk him around." Summer looked down at the ground, a pitiful look on her face. "I don't mean to. I really like Seth, maybe even love him, and—" Suddenly, she clapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes huge. "Please don't tell him I said that," she said, begging. "It's just that, if he knows that, then things will get complicated. Too many feelings—"

"Summer?" Ryan said, interrupting her drunken rambling. She looked up, as if surprised to find that he had a voice. "I'm not mad," he told her.

"Oh thank god," she said, placing a hand over her heart in a very dramatic gesture.

"You make him happy," he added, squeezing her arm and continuing to the refrigerator. This was definitely one strange New Year's.

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"Let's play Truth or Dare!" Summer suggested excitedly.

"Let's sit and be quiet," Seth told her.

"Come on, Cohen," she said, turning in his lap to face him. "You're no fun."

"And you're drunk."

She just rolled her eyes and faced back around. Ryan and Lindsay were sharing one of the chairs to her right and Marissa was sitting on the floor in between Alex's legs, who was positioned on the couch next to them. "So, who wants to go first?" When there was no response, she said, "Fine, I'll go first." Then, she looked around the room, deciding who her first victim would be. "Coop, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Marissa said, a little tipsy herself.

Summer thought for a minute before she turned around and whispered something in Seth's ear. He nodded his head and she turned back around, a satisfied smile on her face. "I dare you to eat a jar of mayonnaise."

"Oh, ew! Sum, that's gross!" Marissa shrieked, making a face.

"Fine," Summer said, getting huffy. "I dare you to eat a spoonful of mayonnaise."

"Ew," Marissa said, still making a face but accepting the challenge.

Twenty minutes later and a half a bottle of champagne had been chugged by Lindsay who was now feeling her own buzz, Summer's breasts had made an appearance, courtesy of Seth, Seth had downed an entire stick of butter, payback from Summer, and now it was time for the inevitable dare surrounding a certain pair of people and their newly announced homosexuality.

Hushed conferring was coming from Seth and Ryan, obviously deciding who would ask. Lindsay sat on the arm of Ryan's chair, not paying any attention to what he was saying. Summer looked over at Marissa and Alex next to each other on the couch completely oblivious to anything going on around them.

"No way, man. You ask," Seth was saying.

"You're the one without the girlfriend!" Ryan whispered.

"Yeah, but I have Summer. And Summer equals sex. And mad Summer—"

"Oh my god, Cohen," Summer said loudly. "You did not just say that."

"Hey there, Summer" Seth said, as if he was surprised to find her in his lap. He had been leaning forward and, apparently, thought he was being quiet. "I…uh…say what?" he asked, trying to look innocent.

"My god, you guys are such pussies. I'll ask." Summer had a tendency to use…interesting language when he she was intoxicated.

"Coop," Summer said, loudly commanding the attention of her best friend, which she had gotten long ago for yelling at Seth about the sex comment.

"Yeah?" Marissa said.

"Perv-boys want to see you two make out."

Alex and Marissa laughed, trying to hide it but failing. Then they looked at each other and smiled as if they had some secret that no one else was in on. They leaned in and kissed until they felt the need to come up for air. Seth sat, staring, wide eyed, as they did so. Feeling Summer shift in his lap reminded him that she was there and he quickly decided that this was all he needed for the rest of his life.

Finally, they pulled back and looked at the eyes of Summer, unconcerned, as if she saw this everyday, the eyes of Seth and Ryan, wide eyed and waiting for more, and Lindsay, a little surprised and a little curious as if she might like to try for herself.

"That was awesome," Seth said, and Summer elbowed him in the chest.

"I'm still mad at you." She glanced up at the TV, which had been playing on mute the whole time and yelled, "Oh my god! Turn it on! Put the sound back on! Turn the sound on!"

Seth reached a hand around and covered her mouth in an attempt to quiet her but she promptly bit him and he pulled back. "Ow! Jesus Christ!"

"It's almost New Year!" she exclaimed, as if this was the reason for biting him. She pointed at the TV, where they were now focusing on the brightly lit ball in Times Square. The people huddled outside started counting down the seconds: 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…and then "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Things exploded on screen and confetti littered the sky.

Ryan leaned in, giving Lindsay and gentle kiss as Marissa and Alex started up their kissing fest again. Summer surprised Seth by turning around and laying a drunken kiss on him.

Once the commotion on screen died down, the group moved outside to the patio for, as Marissa suggested, the first swim of the New Year. Seth didn't quite get it but followed Summer outside and watched as she, along with Marissa, stripped down to their bra and underwear before jumping in the pool.

"You coming?" Marissa asked Alex, who didn't hesitate in shedding her clothes and jumping in alongside the best friends.

Ryan and Lindsay disappeared, unnoticed, into the pool house to do things Seth would rather not think about. Instead, he sat down in a chair at the end of the pool, his back to the pool house, and settled in to watch the girls.

"What's a matter, Cohen?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah, you don't wanna come swimming?" Summer chimed in.

"Oh no, I think I'll just watch," he said, leaning back with his hands locked behind his head.

There was a whispered conference between the girls, some suspicious smirking, loud giggling (no doubt coming from Summer), and then they broke up, diving under water and swimming to different areas of the pool. Seth knew they must have hatched some kind of plan to do god knows what to him but started to doubt that idea when nothing happened. Marissa had moved to the hot tub and Alex was talking to her, her hands on the mosaic tiles where the water ran over, while Summer swam slowly over to his end.

"Hey," she said, sweetly.

"Hi," he said back.

"What'cha doing?"

"Sitting here," he said.

"Oh. I think I might get out," she informed him.

"Okay."

"We'll need some towels," she told him.

"Hell no. I am not even knocking on that door," Seth said quickly.

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll just walk my soaking wet body," she said, drawing out the words almost seductively, "through your house. I'm sure your mother won't care that I dripped water off my wet wet body onto her rugs."

"You can stop with the wet body references," he said. "I'll go get your towels as long as you promise to be wet in my room later."

Summer's eyes doubled to twice their normal size. "Cohen!" she said.

He just laughed and got off the chair, heading back into the house for towels. When he came back out, Marissa and Alex had already gotten out and were standing together, waiting for him. He tossed them two towels and then looked at Summer who was still swimming happily in the pool. "Come get your towel," he called.

"Could you bring it here?" she said, looking at him with innocent eyes.

He walked over to the edge of the pool where she planned on getting out and before he knew what was happening, he was tumbling into the pool. Coming to the surface he wiped the water from his eyes. "So that was the grand plan? It took you guys like a ten minute consultation to come up with that."

"Shut up, Cohen. You're soaking wet aren't you?" Summer said, swimming over to him. She nodded to Marissa who took Alex back in the house to get two more towels considering the one Summer was going to use was now floating in the pool somewhere. "Let's get out and eat icecream!" she said, as if it were some brilliant idea.

Seth just followed her out, accepting the towel handed to him by Marissa. "We're all wet so we're going to get going," Marissa told them. "Tell Ryan and Linds we said bye."

"Yeah, later guys," Alex said, as they walked back through the house.

Summer's energy was starting to wind down just a little, and she was entering what Seth recognized as her "sleepy drunk" stage. He knew he had roughly thirty minutes before she was out. "Come on," he said, snaking an arm around her waist. "Let's take your wet body inside."

Seth led Summer upstairs to his bedroom where they both changed into dry clothes. She was actually able to find a pair of sweatpants she had left at his house a few weeks ago and he lent her one of his t-shirts.

Once they were changed, they went back downstairs and Summer sat on the island counter while Seth cleaned up the few stray cups that had been left around. He rinsed out the champagne flutes and disposed of the empty bottle. When he decided the house was clean enough that his parents wouldn't have a fit when they came home, he walked over to Summer. Standing between her legs, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his face against the side of her neck.

"I'm drunk," she slurred into his ear.

"Yeah you are," he said, not lifting his head from its resting place.

"Let's sleep," she said.

He nodded his head against her neck in agreement and slid her off the counter. He found it surprisingly easy to carry her but, of course, there was no way he was going to attempt the stairs. Not yet, anyway. Instead, he just laid her down on the couch where she shifted a little and then opened her arms to him. He laid down on top her and she whispered "Happy New Year, Cohen."

"Happy New Year," he said, but her eyes were already drooping shut.

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A/N: So I ditched some drama for the New Year but don't worry…things will start heating up in the next chapter! Leave a review!