A/N: Thanks a lot for all the reviews! And I just wanted to say that pretty much everyting that you're asking for in the reviews will happen in my story...eventually. It will take some time though, so please be patient and stick with it because I think (hope!) it'll all be worth it in the end!

Seth sat motionless for several minutes, oblivious to the occasional students who passed by and shot him a questioning sidelong glance. Katie's words echoed relentlessly around his head "…You're not part of her world Cohen…" and although he heard her words repeatedly, nothing penetrated his brain "You're just a phase…something to pass the time…" He wouldn't allow himself to think about it. "You'll never give her what she wants…" It was as if a wall had been erected in his brain and the words just kept pounding on it, pushing him to process what had been said "…You're not good enough…"

Seth's head swam as Katie's voice grew louder and louder; a war of attrition in his ears. Images of Summer's smiling face and Katie's leering eyes flashed alternately through his mind, the sequence growing ever faster until the pictures blurred into one and Seth couldn't take it any more.

Scrambling to his feet, Seth shook his head violently in search of a respite. Glancing around the now deserted corridor, his chest grew tight and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the need to get out of building as fast as possible.

He quickened his pace down the halls and finished up running the last few metres through the parking lot to his car. Climbing into the vehicle he slammed the door shut behind him and slumped into the opulent leather seats, inhaling shallow ragged breaths as he did so.

Turning the key sharply in the ignition he switched on the CD player and blasted out Death Cab's 'We Looked Like Giants' to drown out the voices that, although more subdued now, were still haunting his mind.

He drove home on autopilot, barely noticing anything around him except the intensity with which he was gripping the steering wheel. Seth couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so shaken, and it terrified him.

He could barely remember pulling into the driveway and letting himself into the house, but the next thing he knew he was pushing open the door to his bedroom and pausing by his desk. His eyes lingered on a photo that was propped up against a stack of books and his hand dropped involuntarily to pick up the frame.

Seth took a deep breath and momentarily shut his eyes before collapsing onto the bed, still clutching the photo in his clammy hand. In that instant it him; why Katie's words had cut him up so much; why he felt like he'd just been punched repeatedly in the gut…He just didn't know anymore…he didn't know anything.

Katie had managed to cast doubts on every aspect of his relationship with Summer, all of which he had previously considered to be constants, certainties in his life, but now…everything seemed open to question.

The photo in his hand had used to be Seth's favourite one of himself and Summer. It had been taken by Marissa one day while they were out on the beach, and both of them had been entirely oblivious to the camera. In the photo, Summer is wrapped in Seth's arms with her head tilted towards his, laughing at his animated face. The camera had caught them off guard and both looked blissfully happy. Or at least that's what Seth had assumed every time he had looked at the picture up until now.

Now, he looked at it and just wasn't sure. Was Summer truly happy there? Was it love he could see in her eyes? Or was Katie right…

A sharp knock at the door intruded on Seth's thoughts and Ryan's head appeared around the wall. Seth hastily stuffed the photo frame under his covers, for some reason he wasn't quite ready to share his doubts with anybody yet, not even his brother.

Ryan noticed the flurry of activity but said nothing about it "You Ok Seth?" he began "I didn't see you come in…" Ryan shot his brother a puzzled look.

"Uh yeah…I'm fine" Seth replied unconvincingly "Just tired" he added, flashing a weak smile at Ryan.

Ryan nodded curtly and turned to head back out of the door, but hesitated; clearly Seth was in no mood to talk, but equally, when Seth was in no mood to talk…something pretty major was usually bothering him.

He whipped his head back round and opened his mouth as if to say something but was cut off when Seth, whose gaze was fixed firmly on his bed, got there first

"Uh…do you know anything about Jen's party tonight? He asked, as nonchalantly as possible.

Ryan gave him an odd look and shook his head "No, sorry buddy. Me and Marissa were just going to go to the movies tonight…why is Summer going?"

Seth shook his head "No, no it's not that. It's just…" he began, but then broke off and glanced up at Ryan, thinking better of it "No, Summer's coming over here tonight. I just wondered that's all."

"Uh ok…" Ryan knew his brother too well to believe that everything was alright. But Seth would talk to him when he was ready; he knew he could be sure of that.

As Ryan walked out, Seth's hand pulled the photo back out from under the covers and studied it further. Staring, he realised that the picture told him nothing that he didn't already know. Photos of themselves were no good, only he and Summer could fill in the blanks in their relationship that seemed to have multiplied ten fold in the past hour.

As the door banged shut behind Ryan, the voices in Seth's head started up again in earnest. "You'll never give her what she wants…You're not good enough…You're not good enough…You're not good enough…"

Seth grabbed his remote control and switched on his music, pushing the volume up as loud as it would go. For now, denial was better than dealing with it.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Again sorry it's so angsty at the minute, I promised myself when I started the fic that I would lookinto the characters of S/Sin a deeper way than they tend to on the show, but unfortunately that sometimes means sad posts. Anyway, hope you liked it, please review!