Chapter 11 – Where It's At
Seth stopped the Range Rover about a street away from Holly's house.
"Seriously Seth, you aren't going to get carjacked in Orange County." Ryan said from the passenger seat.
Seth turned to his friend. "So, how are we going to play this?" He asked.
Ryan looked confused. "Play what?"
Seth jabbed his hands in the direction of the faint sound of loud music.
Ryan looked even more confused.
Seth gave up jabbing and his arms collapsed by his side in surrender. "The party. How are we going to play the party?"
"Oh." Ryan said in realization, and then he couldn't think of an answer and just shrugged.
"Come on, Dude. Are we going to play it hard and fast? Seat-of-our-pants, fly by night, play by ear?"
"I don't know what you're saying." Ryan said flatly.
Seth cocked his head to one side and raised his eyebrows. "Neither do I."
"I'm just going to see what happens." Ryan stated.
"Sounds good." Seth agreed.
Inside the house an expensive stereo system blasted out the latest cool and danceable pop tune at an oppressive volume. A mass of teenage bodies intertwined seductively on the makeshift dance floor. The open-plan kitchen was littered with the discarded remnants of empty bottles, used plastic cups, and the persuasive stench of vomit. Some of the girls had stripped down to the bare essentials and some of the boys had opened their shirts and throw away their jackets and ties. In a corner of a room a group of mostly boys sat slumped on the floor with a suspicious smelling smoky cloud hung around them with drug paraphernalia strewn on a table in front of them. A steady line of people emerged from the bathroom wide-eyed rubbing their red raw noses. A sense of sexual tension was thick in the air.
In the midst of this Summer with her red dress desperately clung to her shoulders stood speaking to a similarly small blonde blue-eyed friend. "Come on, Charity. He's a nice guy."
Charity raised an eyebrow in Summer's direction. "Seth Cohen?"
A frown emerged on Summer's face. "Yeah, I know." She conceded. "But once you get past the whole enormous geek front he's actually quite a sweet guy. And he's funny too, on occasions. Plus he's the grandson of, like, the richest man in all of Orange County. Caleb Nicol practically owns Newport."
Charity perked up. "He does?"
Summer realized she had found the button to press. "Yeah. He owns, like, five yachts, a private jet, the works."
Charity thought for a moment. "So, Seth is a sweet guy?"
"Uh-huh."
Just outside the house on the porch looking out onto the beach Marissa stood drinking out of a red plastic cup. She looked at her watch. He was late. Maybe he had got caught in traffic. At this time of night? He's probably still at the other party. Maybe he won't be able to get away. Maybe he'll stay there all night. Maybe he has met someone. She looked at her watch. She looked out over the beach and into the ocean beyond. The sea was calm. Waves gently lapped the golden shore. The moon shone brightly in the night sky. She could just about make out two shadowy figures rolling about in the sand in the distance. She smiled to herself. Maybe he's just turning the corner and will be there any minute. She looked at her watch.
Luke approached Marissa from behind. "Got a curfew tonight?"
Marissa looked momentarily confused. "Huh." Then she realized. "Oh." She looked at her watch. "No, just wondering what time it is. Isn't the moon beautiful tonight?" She asked trying to change the subject.
Luke looked up at the moon. "Yeah." He said unconvincingly. He scanned the beach until his eyes hit upon the two shadowy figures. "Oh my God! Is that Dan and Felicity?"
"Yeah, I think so." Marissa said with little enthusiasm.
"He has got to be drunk." Luke commented.
Marissa turned to her boyfriend and raised her eyebrows.
"What?" Luke asked confused.
Marissa looked at her watch.
Seth and Ryan approached the house. On the front lawn lay several unconscious bodies that had been placed in a comprising position on top of each other by someone and then left to sleep off whatever they had taken. Seth looked at Ryan with trepidation. The pair continued into the house and both were taken aback by the scene they were confronted with. A beautiful girl in her bra and panties made her way through the middle of them smiling at them both as she passed. Seth cocked his head in Ryan's direction. "Play by ear?" He asked.
"Play by ear." Ryan confirmed.
The two made their way into the heart of the party. Seth looked around for Summer and Ryan looked around for Marissa. Neither saw who they wanted to see. Suddenly Seth was stopped in his tracks by a beautiful blue eyed blonde girl. Seth looked confused. She must be completely wasted, he thought.
"Seth Cohen?" She asked.
She didn't sound drunk. Seth looked over to Ryan for help but he had slowly distanced himself before raising his eyebrows in a 'go for it' motion and disappearing into the crowd. Seth was left alone with the beautiful girl. He didn't know what to do. "Yeah, I'm Seth Cohen." He responded nervously.
"You wanna get me a drink?" The girl asked seductively.
"Err…" Seth looked around the party. He didn't know where he could get her a drink. "Sure." He said weakly.
The girl took him in hand and led him in the direction of a half-full bottle of vodka and fridge full of coke cans.
Ryan smiled at the good fortune of his friend. He made his way to the keg planted in the sand outside of the house and poured himself a cup. As he took a sip he saw Marissa at the other end of the porch. She was with Luke. He thought about approaching but thought better of it.
Marissa looked at her watch. Where was he? Luke was distracted by a group of his friends who had dared him to drink a foul concoction of green liquid. Marissa scanned the party again. He wasn't there. She took a sip of his drink. Maybe he had decided not to come. She looked at her watch and as she looked up she saw him. He was standing on the other end of the porch drinking from a red cup. He glanced in her direction and their eyes met. She indicated him to come over. He tilted his head in Luke's direction. She turned round and realized what he meant and sighed. She made her way over to him without Luke noticing she had left.
"So, you decided to come." She said smiling.
"I told you I would." Ryan replied taking another sip from his cup.
"What do you think of an Orange County party?" She asked.
"It's a bit tame by Chino standards." He responded with a grin.
She smiled back at him. "If that's the case then you're going to have to take me to a Chino party."
Ryan was about to respond when Luke stormed up to them.
"What are you doing?" Luke asked with menace.
"Just talking." Ryan said calmly.
"Just stay away from my girlfriend."
"Luke, we were just…" Marissa tried to explain.
Luke didn't let her finish. "Stay out of it, Marissa." Luke said dismissively. "This is between us."
"Don't talk to her that way." Ryan said defiantly.
Luke pointed a finger in Ryan's face. "Don't tell me what to do."
Ryan narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Luke moved his finger right up in Ryan's face. "Why? What are you going to do about it?"
Ryan clenched his fist but Marissa jumped in between them before he could use it. "Stop it!"
Ryan relaxed his fist.
Luke put two hands on Marissa's waist and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, honey. It's just I get a little jealous."
Marissa glanced at Ryan then back at Luke. "You don't have anything to be jealous about." She reassured him.
"I love you, Marissa." Luke said earnestly.
Marissa hesitated for a moment, briefly glancing at Ryan. "I love you too."
Meanwhile inside the house oblivious to the confrontation outside Seth stood talking to Charity. He wasn't really listening to what she said, to be honest; he had stopped caring long before she had started to talk about her favorite shoes and where she had brought them. He just couldn't work out why she was talking to him in the first place. Had the world turned completely upside down? Was it like opposite world in the Superman comics? Was he, Seth Cohen, attractive to beautiful young women? He thought about this for a moment as Charity moved on to her third favorite pair. No, that couldn't be it. This was the real world. Seth Cohen is not attractive to beautiful young women. Something else was at play here. He wondered what it could be. Just then saw at the other end of the party a flash of an exquisite red dress. He would have been able to spot that dress from a mile away. It was Summer. She was standing talking to Nick Banford. Seth's heart sank. Then something strange happened. She quickly and ever so carefully glanced in his direction. It was so subtle that Seth thought he was seeing things. He would have dismissed it as just another one of his Summer-related fantasies but it happened again. She was definitely looking in his direction. Strange, thought Seth, very strange. Then it struck him. He knew why she was glancing over. Charity was Summer's wingman, well, wing person. She was keeping Seth busy while Summer could talk to Nick Banford. That way Summer could have her cake and eat it. She could feel good about inviting Seth while not have to worry about him messing things up between her and Nick Banford. How could he have been so stupid?
Charity's hand on his chest brought Seth back to reality. He had to get out of there. He spotted Ryan coming in from the porch. He excused himself to Charity's bemusement and went over to Ryan.
"You wanna leave?" Ryan asked.
"Yep." Seth quickly replied.
The two made their way to the exit but before they could leave Ryan was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Ryan spun round to see Luke flanked by three buddies. They tried to look as menacing as possible.
"You better stay away from Marissa or else." Luke said punching his fist into his other hand.
"Dude, that's so cliché." Seth said from behind Ryan.
Ryan turned round and started towards the exit. "Come on, Seth. Let's go."
Luke turned to one of his friends. "I can't believe I was jealous of this white trash Chino coward."
Ryan stopped in his tracks. He turned round and squared up to Luke. "You know the difference between you and me? I'm not one for talking." And with that Ryan landed a ferocious punch on Luke's face. Luke collapsed into his buddies allowing Ryan and Seth to make their exit.
The pair desperately ran to the Range Rover pursued by Luke and his friends. Seth jumped into the driver side and Ryan into the passenger side. Seth quickly put the car in gear and turned to his friend. "Dude, that was so cool." Then he drove away.
Back on the porch Summer and Marissa were sipping their drinks unaware of what had just happened. "Did you see her?" Summer asked sharply.
Marissa was staring out into the ocean. "Huh?" She said absentmindedly.
"Charity? Did you see her?" Summer asked.
"What about her?" Marissa said bringing herself back to reality.
"She was throwing herself at Seth. What a slut!" Summer said with venom.
A smile crept on Marissa's face. "Summer!"
"What?" Summer put her hands on her hips. "She was all over him. He tried to get away but she wouldn't let him."
"Are you jealous?" Marissa asked.
"Jealous?" Summer asked in shock. "Did you smoke some of the special stuff?" She pointed in the direction of the druggy corner.
"You're jealous." Marissa said with conviction.
"Why would I be jealous? I set them up." Summer pointed out.
"You were feeling guilty so you set them. Now, you're feeling jealous." The smile on Marissa's face grew larger.
"Whatev." Summer said trying to sound nonchalant.
Marissa was about to press her friend further when Luke showed exhibiting a rather bad-looking black eye.
"What happened to you?" Marissa asked with concern.
"It was Ryan. He just attacked me without warning." Luke said to the confirmation of his friends. "That guy is crazy."