Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: I've noticed that the number of reviews per chapter was increasing. That's always a good thing! Thanks so much for taking the time to read. Here's the next chapter. Hopefully, it was longer than the last few.
Dogsbody: I'm sorry that you found it depressing. Just know that my goal is not to depress.
MrPresident: Thanks for the advice! The ending of this one has more of a cliffhanger.. atleast I hope it does.
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"Just remember that it's the last day of school, you can make it!" Summer said to her friend, hoping to give her the slightest bit of encouragement.
"Thanks.." Marissa replied, not feeling all that encouraged. The fact that mostly everyone was staring at her didn't help.
Summer smiled before walking off in the opposite direction toward her locker.
"I can do this.." Marissa mumbled to herself. If she could go back to school after nearly killing herself with a bottle of pain killers- she could do this. If Ryan could go to school after burning a house down- she could do this. If Luke could go back to school after everyone found out about his gay dad- she could do this. And if Seth could go to school every day and be Seth Cohen- she could do this.
Feeling a little bit better, she walked down the hallway with confidence.. This confidence was shattered the moment Jess approached.
"I liked you a whole lot better when I thought you were on drugs." she said bitterly.
Marissa looked Jess square in the eye. She could've probably come up with a good comeback if she had tried.. but it was the last day of school, and she couldn't afford to get into a fight. So, instead, she simply shifted her books and walked past Jess.
"You know, you're no longer Marissa Cooper.. Now, you're Marissa Cooper- the murderer."
Marissa continued to walk, using every bit of self-discipline she had not to turn back.
"She didn't want Ryan to find out about her and Trey.." Jess turned to some random girl and began talking.
Marissa had to bite her bottem lip to keep from screaming, but continued walking nonetheless.
"They were hooking up?"
As much as this infuriated her, Marissa continued to walk.
"Yeah.. that's why she killed him.."
Eventually, the voices faded out and she found herself all alone in an empty classroom. What was she thinking? She couldn't go to class.. not now.. not after she was accused of being a murderer! She slid down to the floor, dropping her books in the process.
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Sandy pulled up to the building fifteen minutes late.
"It's the last day of school," he reasoned. "No one's gonna care.."
Ryan and Seth stepped out of the car and barely had time to close the doors before Sandy sped away. He was late for work.
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Marissa cautiously poked her head out of the door. The hallway was empty. Perfect. This was her chance..
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Ryan and Seth walked up the steps leading to the entrance. Just as Ryan was reaching for the handle..
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Marissa pushed the door open, smacking someone square on the face. "I am so sorry!" she said. "Ryan?"
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Marissa slowly reached out to touch Ryan's forehead, which was throbbing in pain. "That's gonna leave a mark.." she guiltily admitted. "I'm so sorry, Ryan.. like I haven't done enough already.."
"What do you mean by that? It was an accident." Ryan forced a smile- his teeth clenched together- and tried to cover up his pained expression. "I'm okay, really."
"Are you sure?"
He quickly nodded. Feeling she had no other choice but to believe him, she skeptically nodded and slowly pulled her hand away from his face.
"So, what are you doing?" he wanted to know. "Why are you leaving the building?"
"Um.. I forgot one of my books in my car and-" she stopped. Why was she lying to him? Of coarse he would understand.. wouldn't he?
Ryan frowned. He could tell by the guilty expression on her face that she was lying. He had a pretty good guess as to why she really was leaving.. "Skipping school?"
"Well," she started, fully intending to tell the truth this time. "When I got here, I-" Again, she found herself unable to go on- this time, for a completely different reason. She slowly turned her head to see Seth staring back at her intently.
Ryan noticed this, too. "Uh, Seth?"
"Oh, I see how it is.." Seth folded his arms and glared at Ryan. "You know every last detail of my life, but I-"
"Yes, because I just beg you to wake me up at five-thirty every morning so I can listen to you go on and on about Summer." Ryan rarely used so much sarcasm, but he felt it was necessary in this situation. How else was he suppose to get his point across? He needed something that Seth could understand.. sarcasm definately fit into that category.
Seth gasped and pointed an accusatory finger toward Ryan. "I thought you enjoyed our heart-to-hearts!"
Despite the terrible mood she was in, Marissa couldn't help but laugh at Seth.
Feeling defeated, Seth spun around and entered the school. As much as he was dreading the lecture he was sure to receive from his first-period teacher regarding his excessive amount of tardys, anything was better than this.
Ryan and Marissa stood in silence following Seth's dramatic exit.
Still intending to skip school and avoid confrontation with Jess- or anyone else, really- Marissa dug her car keys out of her purse.
"Are you sure you want to skip? I mean, it is the last day.."
"Exactly. That's why no one's going to care."
Ryan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I guess that makes sense.."
"Do you want to come? I mean, the earliest I can be home is three, and it might be kinda boring by myself.."
How could he resist?
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Twenty minutes later, the two found themselves walking along the beach eating balboa bars.
Marissa glanced over at Ryan and smiled. It was so much better than being at school.. where people were free to point and whisper. It was also better than being at home.. It was getting better, but she would choose Ryan over her mom any day.
The Following Day:
Seth sat in front of the television with a spoon hanging out of his mouth. He was holding the playstation controller and pressing buttons rapidly. It was the first day of Summer vacation, and he was going to spend it- well, how he spent most other days.. He was interrupted by the doorbell. Expecting someone else to answer it, he continued playing. After two more rings, he remembered that Ryan was out in the poolhouse, his dad was at work, and his mom was at rehab. He pressed the pause button on the controller and dropped it carelessly on the floor. He then withdrew the spoon, which had previously been covered with tapioca pudding, from his mouth and set it down on the coffee table.
"Coming!" he jogged to the door and swung it open. His mouth hung open for quite a few seconds once he saw who was standing just a few feet in front of him. "Anna?"
She immediantly embraced him. "Seth, how are you?" Everything about her was exactly the same, except for her hair. She was now sporting a chin-length bob a few shades darker than her normal hair color.
"Anna." he patted her on the back, making their hug even more friendly than it already was. "What are you doing here? I mean, I thought you were in Pittsburg." He was in utter shock. He honestly didn't expect to see her ever again.
"I came home for the summer." she explained, finally pulling away from him. "Look, I'm not here to cause problems.." she recognized his paranoid expression as fear of losing Summer. Again. "I assume that you and Summer are still together?"
He slowly nodded- his mouth hangin half open.
She took a long look at him. He was wearing his blue, striped robe and a pair of flannel pajama pants, his hair clearly had not been brushed, and there was tapioca pudding on the edges of his mouth. "Okay.. I'm gonna go. So, call me if you want to hang out, okay?"
He nodded and accepted the small piece of paper she was holding out- her phone number.
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Marissa sat in the large waiting room flipping through last months issue of Vogue. Her mother forced her to visit the doctor every month- always suspicious that something was wrong and Marissa was back to her old ways.
The automatic glass doors opened and Theresa entered, pushing the carriage containing her six-week-old child. The baby was born premature, so she visited the doctor often. Since Newport seemingly had a better hospital than Chino, she found herself driving an hour atleast once every week.
Marissa glanced down at her watch for the hundredth time, having very little patience left. She had been waiting for a half an hour now. What was taking so long?
Theresa sat down in the nearest chair and mentally prepared herself for the forty-five minute wait. While it was true that the Newport hospital was very advanced, it was also very slow.
Something triggered the tiny baby to start crying.. and it did. Theresa smiled apologetically to the many people who turned their heads in her direction. The waiting room which was once peaceful was now filled with the sounds of a wailing baby. As Theresa scanned the annoyed expressions of the unfamiliar faces, she spotted someone who was very familiar.. This was not good.
Marissa stared in shock. That was Theresa.. and she was holding a baby..
"Marissa Cooper." The nurse said, reading her name off of the clipboard she was holding.
Marissa slowly stood up, her eyes still locked with Theresa's- searching for any information that might be given away by the panicked expression on her face. It took her a moment to put two and two together.. That could be Ryan's baby... and just when she thought that they might have a chance at a normal summer.. or as normal as it ever gets in Orange County.
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