The O.C

Jalouse

A/N: I finally updated. I was hit with sudden inspiration. Hope you guys like this chapter and thanks heaps for the support we've received. Stef and I love reading your reviews. Happy reading! Love, Genevra and Stephanie xxx

Chapter Nine: Forbidden

"Seco! Seco!" Sianna cried, running up the driveway to meet him. He stopped, inches from opening the door, and turned to meet her. She flung her arms around him and sent him sprawling backwards into the front door. "Seth!"

"Tackled by a linebacker," he gasped, patting her back awkwardly. She pulled away and laughed at him as he feigned collapsing on the floor and convulsing.

"Get up," she said, through her laughs.

"Just once more," he said, maneuvering himself around so his front half was behind where she stood. She was staring down at his denim-outfitted legs and wondering what she could use to pull a prank on him when she felt something knocking the back of her knees. She found herself sprawled on top of Seth so that there legs were tangled and their heads nearly met. She found herself laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. Seth was trying not to laugh, this was very unlike him, but he found his friends laugh contagious and soon he was in hysterics as well. Their laughter soon ceased and they lay there, still entangled, staring at each other.

"Hi," Seth said, staring at the wisps of blonde that framed her tanned face.

"Hi yourself," she said back, her voice taking on a softer, more tender sound than she had intended.

A car pulled up in the driveway and tooted its horn, forcing them out of their stupor.

"So, what did you want?" Seth asked, as they quickly disentangled themselves and took their normal spots on the front stoop. It had become an afternoon ritual for the two. Sianna would come to talk to Ryan but always seemed to find herself attracted to the front stoop where Seth was sketching or listening to his Discman. They would sit and talk about music or comics, which Sianna was slowly learning about, or sailing which Sianna had occasionally done in France or the joys and woes of living a privileged life. They had even had Jimmy Choo vs. Manolo Blahnik debates, of which Seth had an extensive knowledge thanks to his shopaholic girlfriend, until they had both come to the unanimous decision that Jimmy Choo's were better. They could talk about anything, especially the things they didn't want to tell their boyfriend or girlfriend.

"I just wanted to tell you that Death Cab were coming back to Newport," she said, waving to Kirsten who was walking towards them, dressed in an immaculate white pantsuit with a gorgeous gold necklace and matching earrings that Sianna had never seen before.

"Death Cab?" Seth asked, his eyes lighting up. "You're joking? The Death Cab?"

"The one and only," she said, beaming at him. "I thought you would want to know."

"Hey Sianna," Kirsten interrupted, smiling at the young girl. Sianna waved at her. "Good news?"

"The best," Seth interrupted. "Death Cab are coming to Newport."

"They're a band, right?" Kirsten asked, poking her tongue out at her son.

"Kirsten, I love your jewellery," Sianna replied, shielding her eyes from the sun to gaze up at her. She felt Seth glare at her and she instinctively knew it was because he was ready to lecture his mother on how she should damn well know who Death Cab for Cutie was. She was sick of hearing the lecture, having it aimed at herself a number of times for various bands.

"Not new," Kirsten replied, giving Sianna a gracious look. "Sandy and I picked it up in India about twenty years ago."

"It looks brand new," Sianna said. "It's gorgeous. Isn't it, Seco?"

Seth grumbled a yes before turning his attention to stripping the branch he held of it's leaves.

"Thanks," Kirsten said, skirting around them. "I'd better head in. Dinner will be ready here in half an hour, Seth. I ordered Chinese."

"Again," he muttered. Kirsten rolled her eyes and turned to Sianna.

"I'll see you soon, Sianna," she said, after asking her to dinner. Sianna had declined, saying her mother was making some Russian dish.

"See you, Kirsten," Sianna said. She turned her attention back to Seth. "So, there's a slight, teeny-teeny problem with the Death Cab tickets."

"What?" Seth asked, his face paling. "Whatever it is, we have to figure out a way to get around it."

"Well, the problem is that there is only 200 tickets and they go on sale at seven am tomorrow," she replied, bracing herself for his reaction. He was calm, an idea formulating in his head.

"Sia, minor problemo," he said, looking at her, his eyes animated. "We just have to sleepover outside the Bait Shop tonight."

"Hang on, I didn't even say it was at the Bait Shop," she said, formulating a plan to get out of it.

"Of course it is. The Bait Shop is the only place in Newport that plays bands like that," he said. "So, after dinner, grab your sleeping bag and a change of clothes for tomorrow and any cosmetics you need and I'll meet you out the front of your house. I'll call Summer and tell Ryan and you can call Marissa."

"Tell Ryan what?" Ryan said, coming out of the front door. He kissed Sianna on the top of the head and took the step in front of her, positioning himself so he was between her legs.

"I didn't say I was going," Sianna said, ignoring Ryan, other than to slip her arms around his waist.

"Well, I did," Seth replied.

"Going where?" Ryan asked again, turning slightly to wave a hand in front of his brother's eyes.

"Death Cab is coming to the Bait Shop and there's only 200 tickets available so Sianna and I are going to get everyone to sleep outside the Bait Shop with us to get them," Seth said. "Doesn't it sound like fun?"

"Yeah. It sounds like fun," Ryan said, his eyes dimming. "I wish I could go but I've got a huge calc assignment due tomorrow and I'm only half-finished."

"But, Ryan, it's Death Cab," Seth said, shocked that Ryan would turn the invitation down.

"Sorry, man," he said, shrugging. He turned to Sianna. "You should go but."

"Are you sure?" she asked, pressing her cheek into his shoulder. She felt him nod. "You want me to get you a ticket?"

"Umm," he faltered. "They aren't really my thing but sure. If there's any left, get me one."

"Ok," Sianna said. She twisted her head around and kissed his cheek wondering why she wasn't even slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be joining him that evening. "I bet Calc will be fun."

"I'm sure," he answered. He turned around, quickly kissed Sianna and then jumped up. "I'm going to go finish it now. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"K," Sianna said, tilting her head up to look at him. she gave him a reassuring smile and then stood up herself. "I'd better go home and tell my parents. I'll call Marissa and meet you here in about an hour and a half, ok?"

"Sounds great," he said. "I'll see you then and don't be late because Death Cab awaits."

"You're a poet and you didn't even know it," Sianna said, dryly, suppressing a sigh. she waved at Seth one last time and walked off home. He stood and watched her denim skirted frame and wished that she wasn't leaving him. He quickly shook the thoughts from his head and fished his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Summer.

"You ready?" Sianna asked, over three hours later. Seth was glaring at her as he piled sleeping bags, blankets and food into the back of her Porsche. She beamed at him, hoping to stave off the inevitable spiel she would hear about lateness and how he had had to wait outside the whole time, even though she knew he hadn't.

"Do you realize that you are two hours late?" he grumbled, climbing into the front seat of the car. She waited until he had buckled himself in and then she drove away from the curb of the Cohen residence.

"Sorry. Couldn't be helped. I was on the phone to Riss," she explained, her eyes not leaving the road. They were silent for a good five minutes.

"How can you people talk for so long?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.

"You and I talk that long," she said, peeling her eyes off the road long enough to glance at him meaningfully. He rolled his eyes and made a face. "Are we picking up Summer on the way?"

"Nope. Her father is forcing her to have a family dinner with the step monster. No Marissa?"

"No Marissa. Something about her mother and a… you know, I don't really know," Sianna finished, as they pulled into the car park. They sat in the car, staring out over the water for a few minutes. Sianna pushed the button that opened her window and breathed in the warm, salty air. She sighed and pushed her headband up further onto her head. "So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know. I've never done this before," Seth replied. "I guess we should go and stake out a place to sleep and then put all our stuff down."

They got out of the car and pulled out their various blankets, pillows and sleeping bags. Sianna had bought a thermos full to the brim of coffee while Seth had bought along what looked like enough snacks to feed an army for an entire week. They trudged over to the empty space outside the Bait Shop and dropped their baggage.

"This looks good enough to me," Sianna shrugged, flopping down. She shook her head at her own stupidity as she rubbed her back. "Oww."

"Rule number one," Seth stated, sitting down a little more calmly. He arranged a blanket on top of himself and Sianna. "No flopping down on the ground. We need to be able to walk to the door in the morning."

The two sat and talked for nearly four hours. They had nearly drunk the entire thermos of coffee, had eaten two bags of marshmallows, a block of chocolate and a box of animal crackers. People had been walking past them all night, but Sianna realized they hadn't seen anyone for a good hour.

"Oh wow," she whistled, looking at her cell phone to see the time. "It's just past two o'clock."

Seth yawned as if he had just realized how tired he was. The door to the Bait Shop opened and a blonde haired girl made her way over to them.

"You know, you'd be a whole lot more comfortable on the beach," she said, a laugh in her voice.

"Alex?" Seth asked, peering up into the girls face.

"Seth?" she replied. A smile grew on her face and she readily accepted him into a hug when he stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said. He turned to Sianna and gestured towards Alex. "I met Alex up in Portland this summer. Alex, this is Sia. I mean, Sianna. She's a friend of mine."

"Yeah, my parents threw me out about two months after you left and I figured this was as good a place as any to come," Alex explained nonchalantly, after greeting a yawning Sianna. "You still haven't told me what you're doing outside my workplace?"

"You work here?" Sianna said, perking up. She rose to join them.

"Uhuh. I'm the manager," she explained. She looked at Seth who was staring at her in shock. "What?"

"I'm just shocked," he said. "I cant believe you would even have to ask why I'm here. Death Cab tickets go on sale tomorrow morning and there's only 200 of them. I have to be one of those 200 people."

Alex burst out laughing. Tears sprung to her eyes and she let them run down her face as she howled.

"What?" Sianna said with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"I'm sorry," Alex said, finally calming down. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and then began to talk. "It's just that the tickets don't go on sale until next week. You must have got the dates mixed up."

"You're joking, right?" Seth said, his eyes widening. Sianna looked at him, stricken, before catching Alex's eye. That was it for her as she saw the humour in the situation and began to laugh. Seth stood and watched them.

"I'm so sorry, Seth," Sianna gasped, through her laughter.

"You have to admit, it is kind of funny," Alex said, bursting into a fresh fit of laughter.

"It's not really," he said, gathering the blankets up.

"It is," Alex said.

"Oh, Seth," Sianna said, getting worried. She stopped laughing and went over to him. "I'm sorry, Seth. It was an accident. And it's ok, we can still go to the concert."

"I'll reserve some tickets in your name," Alex said, quickly. She could see that Sianna was distressed and felt bad. "How many do you want?"

"Can we have five?" Sianna asked quickly.

"Sure. No problem. Just come see me and pick them up before the show," Alex said. she gave Sianna a sympathetic look. "I'd better go. It was good to see you, Seth. We'll have to catch up soon. It was nice to meet you, Sianna."

"You too," Sianna called after her. "And thank you."

Alex flashed her a smile as Seth carried an armful of the stuff back to the car and shoved it in. He left the thermos and a pillow for Sianna to carry. She quickly gathered them up and ran to the car.

"Please don't be mad," she pleaded, starting the car.

"I'm not mad," he replied, his fingers tapping out a beat on the dashboard. "I'm just cold. I want to go home and sleep in something comfortable."

"Oh," Sianna said. He turned to her tugged a few strands of hair

"I had fun," he said, softly. "Just hanging out with you under the stars."

"I had fun too."

"I'm sorry I didn't handle that well. I'm not mad. it's actually kind of funny. It'll be a story to tell our grandchildren, that's for sure," he said. Sianna's attention lingered on the 'our.' She heard Seth falter and he quickly covered. "I mean our as in your grandchildren and then mine."

"It's ok, I understood," Sianna said, carefully. She felt the ease that had followed them around ever since they had met become replaced with tension. She knew what that tension meant. It meant there was something more there than friendship there now. And those feelings were forbidden.

What were they going to do?