Summer and Seth sat on the high bar stools at the makeshift bar that had been put up for the party. It was a couple of hours since they had arrived, and there was no sign of Ryan and Marissa. Seth had a coke, while Summer was knocking back the tequilas steadily.

"Wow." Seth said. "I don't think I've ever seen you drink so much since, well, since T.J." Summer looked up, grabbing the Malibu bottle.

"Whatever, I'm pissed." Summer replied, getting a plastic cup and filling it up with Coke and Malibu.

"Yeah, I can see that." Seth answered, looking at Summer as she unsuccessfully tried to screw the bottle top back and put it back in the cabinet. He grabbed her arm and steadied her, taking her back to her seat.

"Not that kind of pissed, stupid!" Summer sat back down, and took a sip. "Actually I guess I am a little tipsy, but that's not the point. I'm pissed, as in you know, pissed off!"

"Oh, right gotcha." Seth said. "Guy troubles?"

"Cohen, just because I am drunk, it does not mean I am going to talk to you like you're my gay best friend."

"Fine then, biatch, but don't come to me for advice when you can't decide between the Prada Mary-Janes or Manolo Blahniks." He got up, and pretended to flounce off, whilst Summer got up, wobbling, and followed.

"I was kidding!" Summer said, holding onto his arm to support herself. "You really need to lighten up, Cohen!"

"Yes, I really feel as if I am living in the Dark Ages right now." Seth joked, sitting back down.

"You are like so funny, Cohen!" Summer patted his arm rather erratically as she sat on the stool laughing hysterically. Seth turned his head to see people staring at them, and imagined them thinking 'What the hell is she on?"

"Yeah, you know what; I think we had better get you some fresh air." Seth helped her stand up and gestured outside. Summer stood up unsteadily, taking another shot and caught two people giving her the 'look'.

"Don't go giving me evils!" Summer shouted across the room to them, before giving them the one fingered salute. Seth stifled back a laugh, and dragged her away.

"Yep, come on." Seth said, as he pulled her outside and sat her down on the bench seat. He sat down beside her and leant back taking out a deep breath. "You know, I never thought I would have to be caring for you when you're flat out drunk. I mean, normally it's Marissa knocking back the sauce." He looked over, and saw that Summer had passed out, and was snoring heavily. It was a chance to see Summer in a new light for Seth, and he decided she looked cute when she was asleep. Even though she wasn't technically asleep, but passed out. He decided to wait a while to see if she would wake up, and sat back down. Seth stared at her face for a while, trying to figure out what had actually happened to them. He continued thinking, until he was awoken from his reverie by a voice that shouted his name.

"Seth! Hey Seth!" Seth looked up and saw Alex walking down the boardwalk towards him. He stood up to greet her.

"Hey Alex, what are you doing here?" Seth asked, as he looked back to the boat he figured she had come out of. "Did Marissa invite you?"
"Who the hells Marissa?" Alex asked a smirk on her face. "I'm on my way to a party, but I think I got the wrong boat. I mean, at the parties I go to, you don't go wearing a suit or a cocktail dress." Seth looked down at his apparel, and blushed slightly.

"Oh, yeah. I was, uh, gonna change when I got here. Well, I'm already here, but you know . . ." Seth said, trying to retain his 'cooler' status he had with Alex. Alex smiled and crossed her arms over her tank-top covered chest.

"So, are we still on for tomorrow?" She asked. "Journey, I mean?" Seth tapped his head.

"Yeah, I remember." He replied. "Well, I'm still on if you're still willing." Alex moved closer to him, and nodded his head.

"Yep, I'm still willing." She said, nodding her head. "I'll meet you there." Seth finalized the arrangements, and turned around as he heard moans and sounds of retching coming from the bench.

"Cohen!" Summer called out, sat up with her hand on her forehead, puke spattered over her dress. "Why am I seeing double?"

"Oh, Summer, this is my mate, Alex, from The Bait Shop." Seth said, introducing the two. "Remember I told you about her?"

"Yeah. I remember." Summer answered, giving Alex the 'classic' Summer once over look. "So this is your 'date'?" Seth looked between the two girls, one dressed up in a gorgeous purple dress and a made up face, the other with funked up hair and a stripy tank top, light pink high-top Converses on her feet, and he sensed tension. Two completely different girls with two completely different personalities. Great, just great.

"Yes, I am." Alex stood her ground, smiling at the girl. Whoever this girl was, Alex didn't like her. Alex generally didn't like made-up Newport girls, and this one was the perfect fit of one.

"Well, I hope you have a better time with him than I did." Summer replied snidely, yet drunkenly, grabbing her clutch, and standing up. "Cohen, can you drive me home?"

"Right, um, yes. Alex I'll see you tomorrow, and Summer, wow, do you need a wheelchair, you're walking precariously close to the edge of this boat." Seth replied, waving to Alex as she walked off back to her own party. Summer righted herself, and walked up the boardwalk, turning around.

"Cohen!" Summer shouted, sliding off her high heels which had been digging into her all night. "Come on!" Seth hurried off behind her, reaching into his back pocket for his car keys.

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Jimmy stood inside in the corner, hands in his pockets. So much for the quiet family birthday gathering. He looked around the main lounge of the boat. Even though it was nearing midnight, and his plan was to have dinner, a dance and then all the guests would leave, the party was still going strong. Jimmy didn't even know half of these people, let alone trust them dancing wildly on his new boat. He glanced around and found Julie walking over to him. Oh, shit. He didn't need this right now, he really didn't. Even though, he had to admit, she was looking pretty hot tonight, even though she hadn't even dressed up. But, she had screwed him over too many times to count. Now with this whole 'supposed' baby thing, was she just looking for another way to hurt him once again?

"Jimmy." Julie came to halt beside him, but not looking him straight in the eye. Jimmy sighed.

"Julie." He glanced at her, and her normal not-caring expression had vanished from her face. "So, anymore good news?" He joked, trying to get a smile or at least recognition that he said something from her. Julie seemed to be pondering something inside her head.

"I don't know." Julie replied, finally after turning and facing him. "It depends on what you call 'good news'."

"Admitting that you lied about the baby being mine would be good news." Jimmy turned and faced her, stating what he felt was the truth.

"Except that I've already told you the truth." Julie struggled to keep her voice sounding confident over the thumping sound of the hip-hop music that was playing in the background. "Jimmy, can I talk to you somewhere a little bit more private please?" Julie caught Kirsten's watching eye from across the room, but shook it off as she looked at Jimmy. "I need to give you something." Jimmy frowned slightly, what did Julie want to give him? She never wanted to give him anything, just constantly taking from him. But as he looked into her piercing green eyes, he decided to go with his instinct,

"Sure, let's go out on deck again." Jimmy led the way, Julie closely behind him. He sat down on the bench Seth and Summer had been sitting on, and Julie looked at it.

"Ugh, what the hell is that?!" Julie exclaimed, pointing to the sticky puke that seemed to have been heaved up on the bench.

"Well . . . it looks like puke." Jimmy leant down a bit further and slightly sniffed the air around him. "Smells like puke, so my guess is . . . its puke." Jimmy laughed, but stopped when he saw Julie's disgusted face. He stood up. "Here you go, sit here on the non-pukey chair." Julie smiled slightly.

"No, it's okay." She replied, still standing. The two seemed to be silent for a while, before Julie leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Jimmy pulled back surprised, but Julie stood calmly. "Happy Birthday, Jimmy." After hearing these words, Jimmy smiled slightly, and as Julie turned to walk away, he grabbed her arm and kissed her full on, supporting her back gently with his arm. Julie returned the kiss with a certain roughness, and Jimmy opened his eyes. He heard footsteps, and looked up the boardwalk, where he saw Marissa and Ryan. He quickly broke away and Julie turned around. Marissa stood there in shock, her hand dropped from Ryan's and she turned away, running back up the boardwalk. Ryan stood a little longer, before turning away to find Marissa.

"Marissa!" Jimmy called, running up towards him, leaving Julie, as she walked back into the party. "Ryan, wait! It wasn't what it looked like."

"Well, it looked pretty much as if you were kissing your ex-wife, who you supposedly hate." Ryan said, disbelieving Jimmy's words. "Marissa's gonna kill you."

Jimmy looked down, hands going up to support his head. Ryan patted him on the back hesitantly, feeling sorry for him. "Look, I'll find Marissa, and you . . . well, you had better start getting people out of here." Ryan glanced back at the boat, and Jimmy nodded his head.

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Summer shut the door behind her. The ride home with Seth had been uneventful, and she felt she had sobered up a lot. In fact, she thought she had even fallen asleep. What a long night. She'd almost wished she had stayed at home. Nothing had come from the party apart from a pounding headache and the discovery that Seth had almost certainly moved on. Who was this Alex girl? She looked like a dyke to her. No, wait that was an insult to dykes. Summer sighed, and chucked her bag onto the dresser in her hallway, kicking her shoes off carelessly as she did so. Oh well, Marìa, the maid, would pick them up in the morning. She wished her life could be like that. Like you could tidy it up and everything would be okay again. Like she could lock her feelings for Cohen up in a box and throw away the key. But she knew she would never be able to do that. Summer ambled into the kitchen, opening the fridge for the jug of Evian she always put in there so it would be ice cold. Summer normally had an emergency hangover kit at hand for Marissa, but she didn't really need it anymore since Marissa had lain off the alcohol. Which Marissa wouldn't have done if it wasn't for Ryan. Ryan was Marissa's 'knight in shining armour'. Why can Marissa have what she wanted, but Summer couldn't? Summer laughed bitterly. If it weren't for Marissa and Ryan hanging out so much, she probably would never have met Cohen. She didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. At this moment, it was a bad thing. Even thought it was around 1 in the morning, Summer's mind was ticking and wouldn't stop. Summer couldn't be bothered to walk up the stairs into her bedroom, so she decided she would just go into the lounge. She needed something to help her go to sleep, so she walked into the huge lounge, crouching down at her video cabinet for something she could fall asleep to. She ran her finger along the spines of the tapes, until she stopped unexpectedly at one tape she had forgotten she had. She pulled it out of the cabinet, looking at the writing on the sticker. 'The Slumber Party ' Summer smiled, and took it out of its case. It wasn't a film, more like a Seth Cohen attempt at something new. Seth had filmed it totally randomly after they had decorated Marissa's room at Jimmy's apartment, and they had all ended up staying over, as Seth had suggested when they had gone to the cinema. Things really had been perfect then. Marissa and Ryan back together, her and Cohen going strong. She slid the tape into her state-of-the-art entertainment centre, grabbed the remote control, and sat down. Summer pressed play, and the tape began. It was a bit fuzzy, at first but then Seth's voice came loudly through. Summer settled back onto the sofa.

"Well, hello, welcome to the part-ay!" Seth said smiling, peering into the camera, his curly brown hair sticking up in cute little tufts. "Obviously you're bored enough to start watching a crappy video made by me, but hey!" He started to pan around the room. "Let me introduce everyone. I'm Seth, or Cohen, as dear little Summer tends to affectionately call me." Her head entered the screen, and she was smiling. Seth patted her head, and moved on to Ryan and Marissa, who were lying on the bed. "Aah, the two little lovebirds. Told ya you guys couldn't just be friends." Marissa laughed, and chucked a pillow at the camera. "Wow, jeez, what's with the violence, Ryan, man, you need to keep your girlfriend under control." Ryan smiled, pulling Marissa back into his embrace, whilst Marissa kissed him on the cheek. "O.K, that's enough of that, Now, Summer entertain us." The camera rested on Summer's happy face, as she rested her hand on her chin, pretend thinking. "Well, Cohen, I could always read you Coops secret diary . .!" Summer turned around as Marissa jumped up from the bed, trying to stop Summer from going through her drawers. Seth and Ryan laughed. "Ooh, Ryan it's our lucky night! Looks like they might have a cat fight!" Marissa had given up trying to fight Summer, and was know sitting in the corner, whilst Summer grabbed her diary triumphantly, and began to read from it. "Friday, 7th August, 2003, Dear Diary, I think I met the hottest guy in the planet last night! He looked so cute standing outside the Cohen's smoking a cigarette. I found out his name is Ryan. I know, I know… I already have a boyfriend... but there's just something about him. . ." Summer stopped reading as Marissa tackled her from the side. "Sum! There's a reason why that book says 'PRIVATE' on the front!" Seth turned the camera back onto Ryan. "So, Ryan, how do you feel being described as the hottest guy on the planet?" Seth asked, as Ryan smiled jokingly complacent. "Well, you know I always knew I was . . ." Summer slapped Ryan across the arm jokingly, while Marissa laughed. The video cut out suddenly and Summer on the sofa blinked in surprise, but then she remembered. She fast-forwarded, and came to stop. Seth had the camera on night-vision, and was whispering into the camera, Summer choking back giggles silently. "Okay, its 4 o'clock in the morning, and Ryan and Marissa are peacefully asleep . . .Oh . . . don't tell anyone that Marissa wears Care Bear PJ's!" Seth whispered laughing as he moved the camera over to the bed, where Marissa's head was lying on Ryan's chest, sure enough she was wearing pink Care Bear pajamas, his arm around her waist, and the two were fast asleep. "And Sum and me. . . are wide awake." Summer couldn't hold in her laughs anymore, and burst out laughing. "Summer! Hush yo mouth woman!" Seth laughed, and moved the camera onto his face, turning it round. "Good thing Jimmy's not here! Who knows where he is? Maybe getting jiggy with Aunt Hailey? Who knows?" Seth shrugged his shoulders, smiled, turning to Summer. "Summer, tell the viewers our 'plan'!" Summer grinned into the camera and began whispering fast. "Well, we are totally gonna slip Coop's hand into warm water, which so makes you wet the bed, and Seth brought along his trusty Sharpie. . ." Seth waved the black marker in front of the camera. "And so Ryan will wake up with a brand new tattoo across his head . . . with, what was it Cohen? Oh yeah, I'm Whipped! In huge black letters!" Seth laughed, and turned the camera back to his own face. "Well, you guys . . . we'll give you an update in the morning . . . my battery is running low! See ya." Summer laughed silently and blew a kiss to Seth behind the camera, before the screen went blank.

The Summer sitting on the couch let a small tear run down her cheek before she rubbed it off furiously, refusing to let herself cry over that jackass. Except he wasn't a jackass. If anyone was a jackass, it was her. She took another sip of the ice-cold water, trying to rid her mind of these thoughts, trying to rid her mind of Cohen. But she knew that was impossible. But then again, she knew it would be impossible to go back to the way things were, before . . .last summer, she didn't like to think of it that much. Summer leaned over and took the tape out of player. She went over to her fathers oak antique desk, and sat down. Reaching into one of the drawers, she took out a pair of blue metal scissors. The metal felt cold compared to the warmth of her hand, and it didn't help that her hand was shaking. Summer put the scissors down, deciding that she couldn't do something like that to herself. Maybe Coop, but not her. She was too stable, too rock-solid. At least, on the outside. Summer picked up the video tape, and pulled the reel, releasing the dark black plastic out onto the desk, slowly, almost ceremoniously. She waited till her hand had stopped shaking, and picked up the scissors, slicing up the reel. One cut . . .that's for your stupid boat . . .two . . . that's for the promises you broke . . .three . . .that's for Tahiti . . .four . . .that's for your hugs . . .five . . .that's for your kisses . . .six . . .that's for your brown hair . . .seven . . .that's for your brown eyes . . .eight . . .that's for your jokes . . .nine . . .that's for your comics. . .ten . . . that's for forever, how long we were supposed to last.

Summer watched the black pieces flutter to the leather surface of the old desk, a look of desolation on her face. She sat and held her head in her hands. She hadn't meant to do that. Well, that was a lie, she had, but she hadn't thought it through. The dull aching in her heart meant she still loved him, but then again, she knew she still loved him. That chunk of her heart would always be devoted to him. Summer sat, before hearing the chimes of her doorbell ring through the house distantly. She got up, and looked at the clock that hung on the wall. 12:50. P.M. Ugh, what kind of psychotic freak would come to her house at this hour? Unless they wanted a bitch slap of course. Summer got up, and wiped her face. She walked to the front door, composed herself, and opened it. Oh, God! Zach. Exactly what she didn't need at the moment.

"Summer, . . .hi." Zach said, holding a bunch of flowers in his hand. "Listen I'm really sorry about tonight . . ."

"Zach, I . . ." Summer shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I can't . . .I'm sorry." She shut the door, hearing the dull thud and the click. Summer slid down the side of door, tears streaming down her face, ignoring Zach's pounds. Summer had given up. She'd literally given up.

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A/N: - Wow, finally reached 10 chapters! Sorry hardly any Ryan and Marissa in this bit, but I got a bit carried away with the whole video and Summer thing. If anyone's confused as to where this story's going, its still mostly a R/M fic, but Summer and Seth are main characters as well….hmmm who knows? Maybe I'll even let them get back together. . .lol ;) Oh, and please review, I love reading all of them and I take into consideration what they say, so I would really appreciate it if you would. Thanks!