Summary: A random moment in Ryan's pool house post-last-chapter. I'd say roughly a few weeks have passed since the last mini-arch of acts in the last chapter.

Story Notes: Was it not Beck whom had an album or song called "Sea Changes"? Keep that in mind as we move forward. There are no signs of this story ending soon. I'll be banging out at least five to ten more acts/chapters. It's funny because I originally set out to end this story in about ten acts/chapters and now I'm already over twenty and making my way to thirty. This story has taking a life of its own for sure. I'm overall pleased. Sure, there are few acts that I feel weren't crucial to the story and basically filler to occupy you till I could finish up weightier chapters. But overall I am pleased. I hope you are too.

The title for this act comes from "Gravity" by the John Mayer Trio.

"Gravity, is working against me

And Gravity, wants to bring me down

Oh, I've never known what makes this man

With all the love that this heart can stand

Dream of ways to throw it all away" - Gravity, John Mayer

Disclaimer: I'm holding my witty disclaimer notes hostage till "Glass Slippers" is updated.

Feedback Notes: I miss the feedback. Please, please feedback. Negative, positive, comments fuel me to make changes and improve my writing.

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"Would you like to get something to eat, tomorrow? Hang out?"

Marissa stood silent and firm in the empty pool house.

"Comic Book Club meeting," Seth said indirectly to Marissa.

"I thought everyone dropped out?"

"Haven't you been watching Boy Meets World re-runs on Family? If Corey can have a sexual abstinence club for one then I can have a comic book club meeting for one."

"Ok. Well why don't I join you. I've been wanting to brush up on my Ghost World. I could bring some take-out."

Seth was pleasantly shocked she wanted to join him for his meeting of one.

"Really?"

"Yeah, if you can make room for me," Marissa said with a small smile.

"Well, I don't know. I wouldn't wanna bore you. I mean right now I'm having this whole debate about whether there should of ever been a bat woman and…"

"A debate with yourself?"

"I fight with the voices in my head all the time."

"Ok," Marissa said with a strange grin and then adding a warm smile.

Seth was becoming more reclusive and incisive as the time passed between them. He was fighting with ever thing he had not to surrender to her simple suggestions. But he also made sure to downplay it all, acting as casual and nonchalant as he could.

"I think this is going to be an evening for one. Ryan's had the baby over a lot and I haven't gotten much rest and sleep. A night to myself could do me good."

Marissa was a little disappointed but opted not to make an issue out of his hesitance to hang with her.

"I guess I should study and do some reading anyway. I'm finally finishing Tommy Lee's book you gave me last summer. And I thought my family was dysfunctional."

Seth let out a forced laugh and then brought his head up to the sky.

"So maybe we can catch up later, this weekend perhaps," Marissa added.

"Yeah, I'll keep my busy schedule free."

It was clear to Marissa that he was being abstract whether he knew it or not.

"Right. So see you in school at least. We've got that major test in Bitterman's French History class."

Seth tentatively shuffled his feet and started to stutter over his words.

"I, I kind have dropped, I dropped out of the class."

Marissa was shocked and surprised. It was clear by the expression on her face she was a little hurt too. She started to sense a conspiracy was coming to head. She wondered why Seth was making such a great effort to keep his distance from her.

"Why?"

"Hey, well you know me and the French. I kind of got their history down anyway. Napoleon, stinky cheese, stinky woman, Jerry Lewis fetish."

"Yeah that's definitely the French in a nutshell, " Marissa said ironically.

"Hey, did you not see the sweat stains and untrimmed body hair on Bitterman. That's, that's reason enough to get out of that class. I just couldn't take that level of un-cleanliness. I've got my personal hygiene to maintain."

Seth was starting, again, to trip over his words and it was clear he was covering for something, perhaps his emotions, perhaps the fact that his dropping out of class was a front.

"Well if I'm ever gonna make it to Paris, I'll to need to know the language."

Marissa paused as she reflected on her thoughts. Occasionally she wondered if Paris was in her future. Sure she could hop on the dead step-daddies private jet. But somehow it wouldn't be the same if she could make the journey her own, just to be able to buy her own plane tickets, trek through with nothing more than a backpack. But who was she kidding. She'd at least stash Mommies credit card and bleed it dry.

But suddenly Marissa pondered what the trip could be like if somehow, someway, Seth was able to make the expedition with her. It was a fleeting thought and she soon let it pass.

"Paris will suite you well. I hope you can still make it. You deserve a few dreams to come true."

"How about the one where you …"

Seth perked his head up and waited on her last words. But Marissa let her voice trail before becoming silent. Almost instantly whatever anticipations either of them had faded away.

What started to seem seemingly easy, the concept of being just friends, wasn't being put to practice. Seth couldn't stand to be three feet in front of Marissa for more than a minute. Flashes of their past summer and everything that could have been had there been no Summer and Ryan, no Fantastic Four, flooded his mind. It made him numb and the only thing he could do to absolve the hurt was pretend it's best for him to stay clear of her. Sure it broke his heart. What was, in his precise words, to be "the best year ever" was turning out to be the most unsatisfying. He thought holding up the mantle for, and reaping the benefits of, the great foursome would be more gratifying than what he thought he and Marissa were building or could one day have.

The dynamics set forth at Comic-Con were a fluke. It was self evident that Seth had relinquished himself to his own delusions. But when Marissa and he reentered the halls of Harbor High, though not right away, slowly the dynamics between them started to change. Reality forced itself through the gaps and loopholes of Seth's friends only plan that had formerly gone unnoticed by him.

"Family dinner tonight so…," Seth said in a tone of apprehension.

"Right. Well I'll see you around then. I'm gonna see if I can find Summer."

Seth slowly brought his head down allowing his eyes to peer to the ground rather than the expressions on Marissa's face. He could hear her release a quiet sigh. For a second it made him shift his eye direction and catch just enough of Marissa's body and frame to know he still couldn't face her in the eyes.

"Bye," Seth said as he gracelessly and gradually brought his hand up to wave goodbye.

He slowly turned around and only once made an attempt to look back, but never fully did. He headed back out into the piercing sunlight and the calming and cool breeze that was hitting against his face. Right now the accolade of Orange County's backdrop was his only comfort.