Dark hair spilled down the nearly white shoulders. Her shoulders were reflecting the moon's opaque, white, clean surface, but the moon was barely visible. Her lips were parted; her eyes were searching for an answer he didn't have. Her hands were in the crooks of her bent elbows. She looked so desperate, so helpless, so vulnerable. Seth had never seen anything like it.

Knock. Seth leaned his head toward the door, yelling "come in!" and putting down his pencil.

The door opened and he shut the notebook as soon as the blonde hair leaned against his comforter.

"Hey." Holly's arms were crossed beneath her cheek as she sat on her knees, looking up at him.

"Hi."

"When are your parents coming home?"

Seth leaned over and realized how pathetic it was that he had been home alone on a Saturday at 8:42.

"Late."

"You want to talk?"

"About what?"

"Us."

Seth tossed his sketchpad onto the ground on the opposite side of his bed. "Holly, do you think you're sounding...endearing? Because you sound like you just came out of a romantic comedy."

"Do you want to be with me anymore? Or not?"

Seth shrugged, creating a tear to roll down Holly's face. His eyes softened, his hand coming to her elbow. "Holly...'

"It's what you want." She started to stand up, but Seth put his hand on the top of her head.

"Don't go."

She lowered herself back to her knees, her eyes looking up at him. They were blue, piercingly blue, and they were waiting for him to tell her he wanted her to stay, forever maybe. Her eyes waited for him to kiss her, to touch so softly against her cheek against the lone tear.

"Holly, we can talk."

She nodded, her eyes going back to their slightly concerned, but light, state. "Talk. Great."

"I don't like people talking about us."

"I know. I hate it. It's just..."

"You don't hate it. You want people talking about you. But I don't think they should be talking about Summer."

"You're worried about Summer Roberts."

"She didn't do anything and suddenly all these guys, guys like Brad, are coming onto her. I don't know if she can handle it."

"Seth, she could've ruined our relationship."

Seth winced slightly, but shook his head. "That's not the point."

"But you said she didn't do anything, and she did."

"I took advantage of her. She was there, and I didn't...it was my fault."

"Why are you sticking up for her? Why do you need me to forgive her? I forgive you, baby. That should be all that matters."

"I don't want her to have to deal with crap she doesn't deserve to deal with."

"You don't even know her! How do you get to decide what she deserves?"

"I don't know her. And that's why it's not fair to put her through crap."

Holly exhaled, letting out a tiny groan. "Do you like her or something?"

"I don't know her."

"So why do you care?"

"She's just a person, Holly. She deserves to live her life like she wants to."

Holly fell backwards onto her ass. She leaned her head on her palm, concentrating. "Seth?"

"Yeah."

"Do you love me?"

"Holly..."

"Don't say it's not as simple as that, because it is. Do you love me or not?"

Seth turned his face away from Holly's, and shrugged. She started sobbing again.

"Holly...stop."

"So what have you been doing with me? We, I mean, you, and I, I never knew anything was even wrong! Not until...her."

"What her? Holly, you know no person besides, well, me had anything to do with the fact that I don't love you."

"Then what is it?" Holly's face looked up, her cheeks stained. Seth sighed and wiped the black mascara with his thumb.

"Holly...you don't, you don't even know what love is."

"How do you know?"

Seth traced the black lines in her face, resting his hand underneath her chin. "This just isn't it. It isn't fair for you."

"So...you want to break up?" She sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Seth shook his head. "We don't have to."

"But you said you didn't love me."

"Holly, we're not getting married."

"Oh." Holly smiled tentatively. "Right."

Summer lay still, watching the cloths above her move with the wind from her open window. Marissa was supposed to call, because they 'had to do something,' but she was probably held up with the boyfriend. Summer would be better with a boyfriend. Some guy that would be there when she needed him, and would even be there when she didn't. Even someone like Holly could find someone to be mildly happy with. Not that Summer wanted what Holly had, because she was stuck with Seth Cohen, but Holly still had someone to be there.

And Marissa probably wasn't going to call in this decade.

So Summer was alone in a house without even the evil stepmonster to keep her company. She was going out shopping. The wicked witch of the west had more of a life than Summer. That was sad. She would've gone too, if it was anyone but the most beautiful, everything handed to stepmother who, Summer believed, was even a little embarrassed to be seen in public with someone like Summer.

It was ridiculous that she had to go through something like this. She had no real release besides a brief stint with her father dying to take her surfing. Summer wanted some way to spend her time, because as it was, all she did was make up futures for herself and Seth Cohen, and that wasn't healthy.

Seth woke up late, and he wasn't ready to get up either. His arm was cramped, and his legs were twisted over each other. And he was really, really cold. Pushing his eyes open, he tried to roll over, but a weight on his left arm stopped him. A mess of blonde hair flew into his eyes, and this wasn't good.

"Holly?" No answer. "Fuck, Holly." He pulled his wrist out from underneath her chin, rolling her over, and getting out of his bed.

"Mmm...Seth? What?"

"We have school; you have to get up."

"When?"

"Now? Get up." Seth locked the door behind him as he found the bathroom. He splashed what must've been a gallon of water on his face and fell against the wall in front of the sink. He thought about going back to sleep, but already heard the walking of people downstairs who were going to need the bathroom. And he wasn't falling asleep next to Holly. He was too tired to go to school, though. So Holly would leave without anyone seeing, maybe Ryan, but Ryan would keep his mouth shut, and Seth would go off to the beach or something. Maybe get in some sailing on the boat he had abandoned for almost half a year.

Holly got dressed in the same outfit as she had worn the day before, which was sort of a badge of honor when everyone knew you were going out with Seth Cohen. She smiled and kissed his cheek when Seth dropped her off and school, and didn't really notice when he didn't get out with her.

Seth had picked up the habit of sitting in the center of the dock, his legs grazing the water, watching the boyfriends and girlfriends sail into the sun, far enough away so he couldn't see what they wanted to do with the romantic setting. Ever since he had been, like, ten. His grandfather had seen him do it one day and decided that a boy like him needed a boat. So Seth had learned to sail. His boat was small and nothing exciting, but he was proud of it when people asked. It was white with large blue scrawl across the bottom reading "The Lovers' Breeze." He got a bit of crap from people claiming it was a girls' name, but when he got older, he could tell people that it was a girls' boat. He said he used it as a girl magnet, and considering he was Seth Cohen, people believed him.

But sometimes he didn't need to sail. He still just watched the people walking by, young boys and girls holding hands, older boys and girls hiding away to make out. Sometimes people sitting or walking just to think. It fascinated him to no end, so whenever he felt like skipping school, he'd find peace where people couldn't see his face. In fact, they could see nothing but the outline of his body in the sun. It was like playing hide and seek. He could see all of them, but they couldn't see him.

When he saw people he knew, he usually liked to turn around. Kids from school would always come over, laughing and giggling, and going on about things he wasn't in the mood for. He wasn't interested in what they were doing at the water, because it usually was just to tan or flirt. It was the people who were looking at him, even if they couldn't see his face, that he was entranced by. The people that were here everyday, watching the tide come in and waiting for something. Seth was always waiting too.

And then there were the girls. Girls loved the beach, even if they didn't have a guy attached to their sides. He liked to draw them sometimes. The girls that stood on rocks, sat on railings, shyly sat near him on the other side of the dock. Their hair was never done, and they always seemed to know some secret that he could never capture in simple sketches.

But during the morning, there never were that many people, so Summer Roberts standing on the shore, getting her feet wet, stood out. He watched her for a while, wondering if she noticed that he was there at all. She had a pair of headphones on, but at this particular part of beach, no one could hear anything anyway. You just sensed things. She hadn't looked over yet, though. Seth wondered why she wasn't in school. She always seemed dedicated to do well, even if her grades weren't always the best. She always seemed to care. So, even if Brad nearly molested the entire school, she would always stick out. She had the biggest secret of all the girls he would watch take their walks, and Seth Cohen was intent on uncovering it.

He never really talked to the people here. Not unless they talked to him first. But he picked up his sketch pad, and walked towards the beach anyways.

"Hey. Summer, right?"

She finally turned her head and pulled her headphones down, circling her neck. "Yeah. What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

She shrugged and looked back at the water. He walked up next to her and cocked his head.

"You're missing school."

"So are you."

"I'm different."

Summer rolled her eyes. "So I've heard."

Seth entertained a smile and tapped her on the shoulder when she pulled her headphones back on.

"I remember you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Oh thank god, now I can finally rest. Seth Cohen remembers who I am."

"I'm sorry about all of that. At the beach house."

"At Holly's beach house."

"Yeah. Holly."

"Your girlfriend."

"I guess."

Summer turned the volume up. Seth just laughed. "You really don't like me, do you?"

She pulled them off. "What?"

"You think I'm retarded, and self-centered, and...a mama's boy." He raised his eyebrows and waited for her to say something back. "Well, I'm right, aren't I?"

"Well, I guess you're not retarded."

"Oh, zing. That was a good one, Roberts."

She winced slightly at the name Brad called her. Seth noticed. "So now that you've decided I'm worth talking to...what are you doing here?"

"Didn't want to go to school."

"Mmm. Me neither."

"Why would the darling Seth Cohen not want to go to his kingdom?"

"They're all just a joke."

Summer scoffed and shook her head. "Wow, that's really deep of you. I'm really seeing the other side. We can be best friends now."

"I don't want to be your best friend."

"So why talk to me? You haven't for my entire life."

"And that bothers you."

"Frankly, I could care less."

"Oh, of course. That's why you pointed it out."

"I'm just saying that people like you usually have a second motive as to why they want to talk to me. I'm not going to flatter myself and say I give the best conversation, so usually it's something that dicks like you would find amusing."

"No one's around."

"What?"

"No one's around. Why would I want to play a joke on you if we're alone and there's no goon to impress?" He raised an eyebrow, laughed again, and swung his arms and sketchbook around his waist.

She eyed the book, knowing he wanted her to ask, but just ignored it. "Well that was redundant."

He grinned and ducked his head. "When your comeback resorts to grammar, I know I'm starting to win."

"Win what?"

"The right to talk to you. So, you're coming with me and Ryan to Colorado for Thanksgiving break, right?"

"That's the rumor."

"Well, I'm touched that you let Marissa convince you into it."

"Yeah, I'm sure Holly will just love it."

"There comes that name again. Are you, like, obsessed with her or something?"

"No, but you should be."

"Oh, believe me, I am. She is the perfect girl."

"Well, she has bought her way there, hasn't she?"

"Hey, no bashing. You were the one that brought her up."

"I just thought you'd like to talk about your girlfriend."

"She's not really my girlfriend."

"Don't let her hear that."

"I won't. Glad to know you care, though."

"Why should I?"

"Because we're friends now, right? We joked, we laughed, we're b.f.f."

"I thought you didn't want to be my friend."

"I can change my mind."

"Oh of course. You probably don't want to be my friend, though. It'll damage your gorgeous reputation."

"I can risk it."

"Yeah, well, I don't know if I can." She smiled and started to walk away.

"Hey, I didn't say anything. You're the one inventing reasons to hate me."

"I don't hate you. I don't know you."

They were a few feet away, but he extended his hand anyway. "Seth Cohen. If we were friends, I might even tell you that my middle name is Ezekiel."

"Seth Ezekiel Cohen?"

"Yeah, well, my dad's Jewish. He's from the Bronx. My mom was born here though. She's a Nichol."

"Oh, I've heard. Richest Jewish boy in Newport Beach. Destined to the Caleb Nichol fortune and company. Very impressive stuff, Seth Ezekiel."

"Thank you. Summer Roberts, dad's named Neil, stepmom's named Lara, though I doubt you're going to become a plastic surgeon any more than I'm going to go into real estate."

"I have a stalker."

"I'm not a stalker. Just interested."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Something to keep me busy."

"So where do you get all your information?"

Seth stepped closer and grinned. "I googled you."

"Oh, really?"

"Or, you know, I might've just talked to Marissa."

"But that makes less of a story."

"Exactly." She smiled back at his widening grin, but shook her head.

"I feel bad for Holly."

"Why is that?"

"Her boyfriend flirts with freaks."

"I won't tell if you don't." Seth winked, leaned in a bit closer, and patted her on the head.

"Later, Roberts." He grinned one last time and walked toward the parking lots.

Summer waited to hear his engine drift off before she exhaled.

Seth sat on the veranda, listening to Ryan talk about how dumb it was to skip, and how it was pointless, because it wasn't like he had to perform brain surgery or anything, and it was really irresponsible, because his parents would be disappointed. Seth bit into a fry, nodding slightly when he thought he should, and watched the people eat lunch. It wasn't as interesting as strangers at the dock, but they still fascinated him. A girl saw him looking at her, and waved; he nodded back, unsure exactly what her name was.

"Seth, where did you go? Holly was in school."

"Yeah, I know. I just had to think."

"About what? How to sneak Holly out of the house next?" Ryan rolled his eyes.

Seth shook his head, letting his eyes follow Ryan's. "That was a mistake."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure it would've been a much better idea to bring her downstairs and ask Sandy if he had a few extra pancakes."

"That's not what I mean. I don't know why...I wasn't planning on it or anything."

"So, you slept with her."

Seth shrugged again.

"Did you break up with her?"

"No. I never wanted to break up with her."

Ryan gave him a look, and Seth cracked. "Fine. Maybe I did. But what's the point? It won't help anything, and it would just hurt Holly."

"Oh, but not talking to her and fucking her just makes her smile."

"I talked to her."

"About what?"

"She asked if I loved her. And a bunch of shit about Summer."

"What'd you say?"

"I sure as hell didn't tell her I loved her."

"What about Summer?"

"I said it didn't make sense for her to get hurt just because we were fighting. So I asked her to get people to stop talking about her."

"That's not going to work."

"It's better than nothing."

Ryan shook his head. "No. What would be better than nothing would be apologizing to Summer. This is just going to make Holly think you're in love with Summer."

"What makes you such an expert, dude? Where's the one for you? Where's the girl you'd never lead on?"

Ryan shrugged, ignoring Seth's sarcasm. "She's around."

"Well, I just think you're not exactly qualified to giving out women advice when you're, no offense, man, but alone."

Ryan nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Fine, then. I'll shut up."

Seth leaned forward. "No, dude, I didn't mean..."

"You're right. I don't have a girlfriend. I've never met the perfect girl. I was just hoping that maybe you had."

"I think everyone knows that Holly isn't the perfect girl."

"I think...I wasn't talking about Holly." Ryan raised an eyebrow. "But whatever, man, it's your life. We have class." Ryan stood up, patted Seth's shoulder, and walked back into the building. Seth waited for a minute and the followed him.

Anna sat in her biology class, randomly doodling song lyrics on her binder. Seth walked in, and she smiled at him, but he walked by her to a table of five other boys. He smiled briefly at her, turning when more people came in the room. He was leaning on the back legs of his chair, smiling weakly while the boys around him roared. The quiet girl with the dark hair walked in too, looking at Anna for a second, and sitting with some unfortunate looking boy and extremely lanky girl.

Anna watched the entire class, as Seth didn't respond the way the boys thought he was going to, to any of their jokes, but watched the dark haired girl instead, quickly turning his head when she looked towards him. Which was basically all the time. Dumb.

On his way out, Anna grabbed Seth's arm.

"Anna, hey."

"Seth, are you retarded or something?"

"What?" Half of his mouth curled into a grin, trying to look like he thought he was perfect.

"Who's the girl?"

"Who?"

"The brunette. The one you were staring at for the entire class. Samantha, or something."

"Who?" He grinned with his whole mouth, playing dumb.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Whatev. But the Seth Cohen I know didn't stare lustfully at girls in science class and ignore her when she stared back."

"Anna, I don't stare lustfully at high school girls."

"Yeah, I hope not. Holly would just love that."

"Holly doesn't love a lot right now."

"She loves you. For some reason."

"Hey! I'm a catch. But Holly doesn't love me."

"No, but the brunette obviously does. Summer, that's her name. Where's your self respect, Cohen?"

"I have self respect."

Anna nodded. "Right. Well, I just wanted to say that if you want her, you can obviously have her. Didn't she not have a date for cotillion?"

"Yeah. She was going to go with Ryan before you asked him."

"Why was she going to go with him?"

"He volunteered as some sort of white knight for whatever girl needed one."

"Oh. He was cute though. I needed a cute boy to introduce me to Newport Beach."

"And you going with him meant you got to meet me. What a lucky chick." Seth grinned, wrapping an arm around Anna's shoulders and pulling her in for a brief hug. "Now, thanks for the talk, but I gotta go. Peace."

"Peace, bro." She smiled at his descending figure, wondering what Ryan looked like now.

Marissa walked across the hall shoving Seth's arm slightly as she settled on the locker in front of him.

"So."

"Marissa, what are you..."

"Do you like her?"

"Who?"

"Summer."

"What? Why is everyone..."

"You were staring at her. For like all of biology."

"I wasn't staring at anyone."

"She likes you. A lot. So if you don't like her, then you're being a real ass."

"She likes me a lot?"

Marissa shrugged. "She did."