Summary: Seth and Marissa exchange some quips, play Jenga and eat take-out. Takes place a day or two after "SFTG".

Story Notes: I'm starting to map out a distinct structure and plan. So you may soon notice that I am reaching to some form of ending and yes maybe some romance. I won't lie. Just don't expect them to be making out anytime soon.

Story title taken from a sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Disclaimer: oddsbodkin17 is the queen of witty disclaimers. So I won't even try to live up. I own nothing of value. Not our house (apartment), not our car (it's the banks), and no, not even the characters of The O.C. (They belong to some guy named Josh Schwartz). But I do own my fingers, and this computer I am typing on, and the words in my head that flow through my fingers and on to this screen. Yup, I own all of that. So in other words don't steal my ideas! -- On a side note I don't own the game of Jenga. I also have never played Jenga. All I know is that you have a tower of wooden blocks, you try not to topple the tower, and at some point someone yells, "Jenga!". So don't come crying that I got the game wrong, etc.

Rating: It's as clean as they come.

Feedback Notes: I'm starting to feel as though I lost a bit of my knack. I was on such a writing high after reading a few other fics and of course "Glass Slippers". Please don't tell me you haven't read it yet. Now, something just seems different. Please do be honest with me. Let me know if I'm loosing my touch. And of course, thanks for all your reviews. I personally love anyone who has reviewed. And if I could, I'd feed you special treats. : )

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Semi-bright lights were shinning over Share Bear who laid flat on her back. She looked as content as a stuffed bear could. Although she was tired and maybe even a bit warn, she was feeling alright. That was until a towering mountain of wood blocks crashed creating little sound but fierce reaction from the one who hadn't made them topple to their ground.

"Jenga!"

Seth jumped from his position on the dark blue floor and began to move his arms in a weird dancing like motion. Drowned out by his need to gloat, he hadn't noticed that Captain Oats had toppled over on to his side and into Shear Bear's lap.

"And a+d+fc and c represents Jenga," Seth said as he beamed.

"Captain Oats," a concerned female voice cried out.

Seth looked over at Marissa who had taken Captain Oats into her hands. His brows lifted as he watched, both concerned and surprised, that she was taking such extreme care of Captain Oats. He sat back down on the carpet.

"Oh My God, Shear Bear," Seth said, attempting to mimic her in an almost female like voice.

"Seth," Marissa said as she pushed him in the shoulder, almost knocking him back into the floor.

Emotionally bruised he shot Marissa a playful, but evil, grin. He could only be mad at her for so long though. The fact was, he was almost touched that she showed much concern for Captain Oat's well being.

"So Death Cab are back in town. Are you going?"

"Ah, yeah. I'm not missing it this time. I think Ryan and Summer are coming too. You should join us."

"Ryan Hey? That's cool.," Marissa said with a hint of reservation in her voice.

Seth looked up at her and saw she was trying to hold back her true emotions.

"You don't have to come. I was just saying."

"No. It's cool. I'm mean I should totally be cool with hanging with Ryan right? I mean you're totally cool with Summer."

"Yeeess, but she is totally cool with me. So all is cool. You haven't talked to Ryan since the break up have you?"

"Sure I have," Marissa replied.

With the look on his face it was clear he didn't believe a word she was saying.

"Ok, so what if I haven't? He hasn't been reaching out to be friends with me," Marissa said as though she was trying to prove a point.

"Ok, so all the time with the kid doesn't factor?"

"I just wish, I just wish we could have what you and Summer are creating, an actual friendship. I mean it's not like we didn't have it before, because we did. It's just now since we broke up and all his time is with his baby."

"You want some advice?"

"No, not really."

"Marissa, please. I am wise like the great wise Yoda. You must trust in my wisenest."

"What?"

Marissa was clearly confused by his rhetoric, but also equally amused. Not directed in any intentional direction, she shed a light laugh.

"Ok, just listen. You have to deal with this head on. I mean you got to talk to him. Sure it takes testicles of steel, but just get out there and face him."

"I don't have testicles," Marissa said as she frowned and her eyebrows shifted.

Seth sighed as he showcased a frustrated look on his face.

"Right, well you get the idea. Marissa Cooper."

Marissa's eyes shifted across Seth's room and noticed a flyer for the Cramps concert that was coming to the Bait Shop. She paused, which made Seth wonder what diverted her attentions. He looked on, bewildered by her movements, and then it became clear.

"Oh my god, are you going to this Cramps concert?"

Seth was a little surprised by her excitement.

"Ah yeah I think so. Hey, maybe this can be our show. That is if you're still into punk music. You know, still bitter and angry," Seth said.

"Actually, I started getting into Simple Plan. A little Good Charlotte. A bit of Skye Sweetman," Marissa said picking up the soda beside her and taking a sip.

Seth was cringing inside at the though of her actually listening to these artists. His face contorted and it started to look like he was becoming ill in his stomach. Marissa looked over to Seth and noticed his distaste.

"I'm totally kidding. I more into Midtown and Dropkick Murphy's these days. Besides, I'm still angry and bitter. I live with Julie Cooper. It comes with the territory."

Seth motioned with a look of agreement.

"Well you won't be seeing Summer or Ryan there. I tried to suggest the show and when she saw a photo of the band..."

"She said something like lower than trailer trash and Eww!"

Seth casually nodded and smiled in Marissa's direction. The two of them then laughed together.

"So what do you say we play another game of Jenga," Seth asked.

"I'm game. I just hope Captain Oats and Shear Bear can take the pressure," Marissa replied back just before she started making odd noises and rubbing the stomachs of both.

Seth's face became contorted once again. And it was clear he was a little concerned for Marissa and her affliction with Shear Bear and Captain Oats. But it quickly flashed inside his mind that he was a boy who would spend endless nights in bed, just him and Captain Oats, talking about his hopes, dreams and fears. When it connected in his head he wasn't really that different than Marissa on the matter of love for an almost adamant creature he smiled.

The game had continued on as it had been for a number of times now over the past week. There was a shift in motion. No longer were their moments together stagnant and spread apart. No longer did they glance in each other's direction as their former respective others talked over them. It couldn't be defined but a form of relationship was forming between them. Each, at their own time, tried to call it a friendship, but still something held them back from labeling it as such. Marissa and Seth friends, the kind of friends who shared in each other's sorrows, supported each other when the other was about to fall and sat, legs crossed, across each other playing Jenga? It was a hard concept to process in their heads.

"That's totally illegal," Marissa cried out in playful anger.

"It is, hmmm I don't know Marissa. I think it's in the great rules book somewhere."

"Would that be the Seth Cohen rulebook," Marissa asked with a sly look on her face.

"Could be," Seth said with a smile.

Marissa threw a Jenga block into his lap and then grinned as though she was in the right, not only for calling him on his illegal move, but, for throwing the piece at him. Seth returned her moment of gloating with a suspicious grin. He grabbed three Jenga blocks of his own and threw them in Marissa's direction. Marissa shifted her head and gave a child like frown in response.

After, they grew silent and got lost in the awkwardness that had formed between them. They were each waiting for the other to speak. When nothing was said for more than a minutes time Marissa leaned away from the game and picked up a box of take-out food.

Seth paced his fingers on the dark blue carpet and watched her as she began to grab the take-out leftovers that were beside her. Marissa's body shifted to its side and her lower back peaked through as her top lifted upward. Although she was wearing nothing more than a short saffron top and a pair of faded jeans, he was oddly drawn into her stripped down beauty. Seth had rarely seen her outside of her comfort zone of high fashion and glittery styles. Secretly, he knew he had enjoyed her in her slinky little dresses. But he was beginning to enjoy her casual look as well. It wasn't really a matter of him being directly connected to her looks, but he always did feel a little tingle when she passed by him or, more notably, when she was standing next to Alex where a silk robe.

Actually, his mind was beginning to drift to warm, sensual, thoughts of her and Alex coming together in whatever physical way they did.

"That's hot," he muttered under his breath.

His head began to shift and his hands were moving in weird directions.

"Are you ok," Marissa asked, concerned he might have been loosing his mind.

Seth snapped out of his trance and was brought back into the real world, the one where Alex had left town and Marissa was single and currently heterosexual.

"The General Tao Pao. It's really hot."

Marissa glanced down at him and then met back up with his face that was turned away from her. She looked on confused and then preceded with the food.

"Ok, I'm in your bedroom, without Ryan. We are playing Jenga. We are eating Chinese take-out. I think we are becoming friends Seth."

"Could be. You have been talking to me a lot more lately. Conversation is always a good friendship starter. To bad you didn't know this when I was just a geek in high school, you know before Ryan came to town."

"Seth, you're still a geek in high school."

Seth wanted to be angered by her words, but all he could do was nod his head and sigh. He knew, all to well, she was right.

"And besides you never talked to me, remember?" "You probably still think you're better than me," Marissa said smirking.

Seth repositioned his ass on the floor to make himself more comfortable. He then reached his hand over to grab a box of chicken wings. Marissa noticed his hand reaching for the box and passed it his way. His hand shifted for the box and met with her own. For a moment they paused, each of them staring down their hand and then coming up to look at each other.

"Actually, now that I've reassessed things I'd say we're pretty much equals," Seth said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Seth said as he smiled in her direction.

Marissa returned his smile with a grin of her own and then released her hand.

"Well there's worse things in the world," Marissa added trying to get the last word in.

The four walls around them were not at all a trap. They felt at ease and comfortable around each other and it wasn't changing as the afternoon wore on. This was the tone of their afternoons together. And although it was a little strange to get used to, soon, it's just became a perfect fit to their lives.

Even though Seth and Summer were maintaining a friendship they weren't exactly as close as they were when they were dating. And then there was Marissa who had done her best to stay clear of Ryan since they had broken up.

Sure she had Summer. She'd probably always would. But she found herself enjoying her time with Seth. She was drawn in by their newly discovered common ground. She was drawn in by his charm and the way he made her laugh. She was seeing Seth for who he really was and it rarely put her off.

Seth never really stopped to analyze things. All he could see was one moment after another where she just happen to appear in his site, willing to lend an hear or share a voice. Then one day they started hanging out and playing Jenga. And he was pleased. A part of his thoughts still lingered on Summer every so often. But being with Marissa helped him come off from these visions where everything between him and Summer could relent in a state of perfection.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught Marissa stuffing her face in the last remains of the food. Her eyes were peered to the ground. Again, there was silence between them, but it didn't feel so awkward as before. They rather enjoyed the peacefulness and relished in how un-hectic their days had become since being with each other.

Seth had shifted his sites to the ground where he was playing with unused pieces from the Jenga game. He stroked them, shifting each piece within his fingers. Marissa had spoken something about the upcoming Cramps concert and his head lifted to acknowledge her voice. His mind was wandering a bit. He never really responded to what she had said. He leaned back against his bed and sat their silent. Resting on the edge of the bed, he mentally drifted away from Marissa and his surroundings. Seth was a little tired and it was beginning to show.

Just then, as he his head peered to the ground, his saw out of the corner of his eye, Captain Oats and Share Bear sitting side by side. Marissa looked out and saw him fixed on the two newly formed friends and smiled. Seth caught her glance and lifted his eyes away from his knees and shifted them towards her direction. She either felt his stare or saw his face shifting towards her and it prompted her to move her smile in Seth's direction.

They both greeted each other with a wide grin and there they remained for just a few minutes. But somehow it felt like a lifetime.