Disclaimer: I own nothing, sad but true. Enjoy!

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Seduction of Summer

Chapter Eleven: Going through the motions

"I'd show a smile, but I'm too weak.
I'd share with you could I only speak.
Just how much this, hurts me."

-AFI, This Time Imperfect

I stared out at the night sky, hoping that it would swallow my whole. If hiding up on the roof was a sign of a coward, call me a coward and be done with it. I couldn't face Mum and Tony, telling everyone about their wonderful weekend away. While there were no visual signs of the party that had ruined everything, I was sporting deep scars on the inside of where I had been ripped apart during its aftermath.

I was surrounded by darkness, because tonight the starts and moon had gone into hibernation. There was a light fog that had begun to take over the bay, signaling that something weird was happening, or about to happen.

At least, that's what fog signals in all the movies I watch, I thought bitterly.

It had been one day, and several long hours since I had last spoken to Luke. Since he had walked out on me, on us, on everything. I was past the stage of crying for him, hoping that he'd come to his senses, and was now so far past the guilt stage that it wasn't funny.

I was now at the vindictive bitch stage, wishing bodily harm upon him every time I saw him, or every time his name was mentioned in passing conversation, or every time I thought about him.

He'd be dead by now, if thoughts could kill, because I still thought about him non-stop.

It's a vicious cycle, saying goodbye to the one you loved.

The worst part was just that.

It had been goodbye.

Not 'this is over'.

Not 'I'm breaking up with you'.

Not 'I'm going to fall for that Hilary skank you hate so much'.

Okay, so that last one was highly unlikely. Impossible, I liked to believe. But I was also at that stage at blaming anyone and everyone but me for my own problems. And at the top of my hit list, was the one and only Hilary, who had created the dare which had forced the fight and her great confession about how I was feeling… like that little witch knew how I was feeling. She had just wanted a reason to sink her manicured claws into my man and now…

I stopped the angry rant in my head. Because now, now she was going to be able to sink her manicured claws into my man.

Because I had ruined everything.

Ruined all the lives of all the people I loved.

I was a horrible, horrible, self-loathing, selfish person, with no relationships or prospects to speak off. Not to mention I had lost my best friends and boyfriend and turned our lives upside down, all in a matter of hours.

And what was I doing two days on from the party instead of trying to win Luke back, or actually working up the guts to speak to Cassie, with the hopes of explaining the situation to her?

I was having a self-pity party for one.

Invite only.

Right now, I felt like jumping off the god-forsaken roof.

Instead, I heard a window opening behind me, and footsteps climbing across the roof, as someone came to join me.

God, was nothing sacred any more?

So far, we'd been at Beth and Tony's house for a whole half an hour and Cassie had managed to only look at me once. And that one wonderful time she had glanced in my direction, as soon as our eyes met, I felt her ice cold glare, before she returned to paying attention to Beth and Tony's story, aided with Sal's help, about their wonderful weekend away.

I needed to escape. Noticing Maddie was nowhere in sight, I politely excused myself and went in search for her. Knocking on her bedroom proved useless, as there was no answer, however I decided to let myself in anyhow. It would be a lot safer in that room than being back in the living room with the Ice Queen and Mr. Gloom and Doom. Luke hadn't smiled once during his fathers' story, he simply continued to look down at his shoes, as if there was something hypnotic about it.

Life sure had changed for everyone over the weekend. That was a given.

Walking over to the window, I noticed the light fog that was beginning to surround the Bay. Fog on a summer night? It could only mean death and destruction, I thought to myself rather morbidly. Taking more notice of what, or rather who was outside the window, I smiled shortly, before opening the window and stepping out onto the roof.

Maddie turned around and glanced quickly in my direction with an irritated look on her face, before resuming her previous position staring out to sea. Was no one to be pleased by the sight of me tonight?

"Thanks for the warm reception" I said to Maddie, as I sat slowly down next to her.

"Your entirely welcome' she replied shortly, looking at me again with irritation on her face. 'I just thought I'd get to be alone tonight, to contemplate once again whether I should jump now and end everyone's misery." She finished, looking at me thoughtfully.

I looked back at her, stunned at her words, before she said 'Kidding' and gave me some ease.

"Maddie, don't you dare think about leaving. You and I have got to stick together. We managed to deal with this 'us against the world' problem before, remember? And we'll get through it again." I said, trying to make my voice sound encouraging.

She scoffed for a moment, before turning to me. "Yeah I remember' she said resentfully. 'That's the situation that put us in this mess in the first place, remember?" she finished, her tone mocking.

"I'm trying to forget.' I began ' But hey, thanks for dredging up the painful memories of the weekend once more. Its not like I haven't relived them twenty billion times already" I finished, sounding almost as bitter as she had.

She sighed next to me, before putting an arm around me. "Sorry Ric, I don't mean to be such a bitch, but everything had just been crap since then. At least we're not alone in this mess, that's got to be one positive about the situation doesn't it?" she finished, slowly and carefully, as if calculating in her head whether that was the right thing to say.

"Yeah Maddie, at least we're in this together." I said back to her, clipping her on the shoulder in a friendly manner.

Together we sat on the roof, watching the sky, watching the ocean in a comfortable silence. We sat together, mainly so we weren't alone.

It felt like I'd been here for hours, listening to Tony and Beth and Sally talk about their great weekend away. While all I could think about was curling up in bed with a block of chocolate, a tub of Nuts about Chocolate and a Mandy Moore movie marathon, starting out with How To Deal, followed by Chasing Liberty, then Saved, and ending with the classic A Walk To Remember.

I was desperate to get out of there. So desperate that I was actually reliving the movies in my head, as a way to stop other memories flooding my brain. However, they were slowly leaking out. Ric's arms around me when we woke up together in the morning, his lips touching against mine for the first time…. then flashes to he and Maddie, his arms around her in the same style, his lips touching her own… the looks they shared.

It was all too much to bare some times. Okay, it was too much to bare all of the time. That's why I was trying so hard to move on, to forget everything that had happened.

To forget my memories.

At least I now had an inkling as to what Ric had felt like, when he had wanted to forget Flynn so badly. He had wanted to forget because it hurt too much to remember. I knew that now. Because it was hurting me too much to remember Ric and everything that had occurred in the year that I had known him.

It had been both magical and maniacal at times. But all that was over and done with now. Finished. Finito. Finis.

Sighing, I looked over once again at an animated Sally as she laughed at something that had happened on their short holiday. She'd come back looking so happy, so at peace with herself. She had hummed to herself this morning as she cooked breakfast for Ric and myself, something she hadn't done since before Flynn's death. And I had walked in on her showing Pippa one of the many photo album's of their life together.

Whatever had happened while she was away, I was glad it had happened. Both Pippa and Sal deserved to be happy in life. Even if the rest of us couldn't manage to be happy.

Not that it was my fault. No, that perpetrator had run off a while before, probably looking for his partner in crime. I was somewhat glad actually, knowing that they were together. It gave a tiny bit more sense to the situation. Together they got themselves into this mess, together they'll have to be alone against the world.

Watching Cassie, I saw the sadness in her eyes.

However all that was reflected in mine was mind numbing boredom. God, can these people talk or what? Especially that Tony guy. He's a step up from Rhys Sutherland that's for sure, but Mum really knows how to pick em.

His son wasn't much better.

He was sitting in the corner brooding away because he'd split with his girlfriend. He looked so damn sad too.

And it was his fucking choice. Actually, it was Cassie's choice too, but I'm glad she made that one. It would make everything easier for me. At least, that's what I hoped it would do. She was alone, upset, and needed comforting. I was a sweet, sensitive male who hadn't cheated on her with her best friend. I at least have that as leverage.

I'd realised over the last couple of hours, when I witnessed the four teenagers moping around, Cassie and Luke avoiding their former spouses and Ric and Maddie avoiding everything, that Summer Bay turns everyone into saps. I was a sap when I lived here, but moving away, going on tour, gave me a whole lot of experience and taught me many things.

The most important. Do anything to get what you want in life.

Before I was able to be pushed around by stupid dicks like Ric and his old friends in school. Now, I was the one doing all the pushing. Messing with their heads would be fun. I wouldn't stop with Cassie. There was so much fun to be had before the summer was over. There were still a good two weeks till school resumed, and with the rager we'd thrown over the weekend, I had no doubt in my mind that the five of us would be invited to other parties.

That's when all the fun would begin.

Yes, it would be a challenge getting them all to go to the same parties. Somehow I'd manage it. I didn't think Ric and Maddie would be a problem. Both of them seemed as if they'd be willing to drown their sorrows with alcohol, instead of facing them head on. Cassie and Luke on the other hand, might need some convincing.

Or manipulating, depending on how one looked at it.

Cassie, I thought would be easier to manipulate, as she already trusted me to an extent. And she seemed the sort to want to forget and move on, make those who hurt her pay. Luke, well, he brooded in a corner. Maybe I'd need some help with him, I thought, flipping my phone open and scrolling down the list of numbers till I reached the one I was searching for.

Excusing myself from the room, I walked into the back room, shutting the door behind me to make sure no one heard my phone call.

Pressing the call button, I held the phone to my ear, hearing the ring tone go once, twice, three times before there was a quick and hurried "Hello" on the other end.

"Interrupting something am I?" I said, smirking into the phone.

"No,' the voice replied on the other end 'well, nothing spectacular anyway. What's up?"

"What's going down tomorrow?" I asked expectantly.

"Well, theres talk of a party in Yabbie Creek. Interested?" the voice, said.

"You know it. I could use something of the sort. But I may need some help, getting everything sorted. You in?" I asked.

"Don't you just know it." the voice replied maniacally before hanging up.

I smiled to myself. This was going to be two weeks no one would ever forget.

I looked up as I heard Henry excuse himself from the room. Not that I cared. He could do anything he wanted and not ruin my life. No, I had done that for myself, I thought, thinking back to two days before, and being alone with Maddie… naked… in a bath.

The thought was still messing with my brain. I wanted Maddie like I wanted nothing else. And yet, I had said that I couldn't do it, because it would be wrong.

It would've been, wouldn't it? I was no longer sure myself any more.

Time had a weird way of warping memories so you weren't sure of anything that had happened any more.

And I definitely wasn't sure of what happened any more.

Because all I could think of was her crushed face in the bath tub, with tears streaking down her face. She had never looked so vulnerable. She had never looked so beautiful. And I had never loved her more than right then.

Throwing that away, had been the hardest thing I'd ever done.

The worst thing was, I shouldn't have felt this way. I had ever right to walk away from her and from us, after she had treated me on Friday night. After everything had happened, after the kiss and the cat fight between her and Hilary. I wasn't in the wrong in this situation.

But then, why did I feel so damn guilty?

Maybe it was because I hadn't fought for the one I loved. Maybe it was because I knew that technically I had only walked out of the bathroom and away from Maddie, I hadn't said, this is over. We're over.

There was an ambiguity within the statement that I had given Maddie almost two days ago, and I couldn't fathom whether I had meant it to be ambiguous, or whether my subconscious had done that because it knew I wasn't ready to say goodbye.

Whether it knew that I wouldn't ever want to say goodbye.

Although it really didn't matter.

Everything had been ruined anyway.

I honestly doubted Maddie would speak to me after I left her high and dry. She'd stayed well away from me since then, even when Dad and Beth had gotten home; she'd feigned illness and stayed cooped up in her room.

These thoughts were interrupted when my phone beeped in my pocket. Wondering who would be messaging me, I opened my inbox to find a message from Hilary, reading

Hey Babe, party 2moro nite ;)

U in?

Sighing to myself, I began to weigh up everything in my mind, but stopped abruptly, because this was something I would do when considering things to do with Maddie.

No, this time, I'd be spontaneous.

Typing back quickly, I wrote

Sure, why not?

Where and when?

I'll come get you.

Satisfied with my response, I sent it and sat back, happy that I would be doing something that could potentially take my mind of Maddie for even five minutes.

I really needed this.

Finding Cassie, alone, I saw an opportunity for an invite to the party.

"Hey Cass,' I began quickly 'you look like you could use a night to forget your worries. Wanna come to a party with me tomorrow night? It'll be fun, you can get dressed up and dance and even have something to drink? And I'm a great pity date, I might even crack a joke or two if your lucky." I finished, cocking my eyebrow at her.

She looked at me for a second pondering the invite before smiling back at me.

"Sure, why not? Got nothing else better to do anyways. Pick me up about 8?" She said, and I nodded back.

She and Sal were about to leave, so I said a quick goodbye before finishing my mission.

Walking into Maddie's room, I stuck my head out the window to see two lonely figures looking out across the ocean.

"Oi,' I yelled 'There's a party tomorrow night, are you two in? Luke and Cass aren't invited, strictly a pity party for the two loners who want to drown their sorrows."

They shared a look, before Maddie yelled back, "Sure, we've obviously got nothing better to do, and I could use a good night of alcohol induced fun."

"That's my girl." I yelled back, before pulling my head in the window and feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket.

Flipping it open, I skimmed over the message I had been send.

Ready, steady… go and ruin lives. We're all set ;)

Smiling to myself, I suddenly couldn't wait for the next night to roll around.

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AN: Not really sitting on the edge of your seat stuff was it? Filler chapter, kind of boring, no drama… not really. Just establishing feelings of characters and setting up the situation… I think the story has about four major events to go (with minor events too) and I'm going to plan ahead till the final chapter.

Anyways, read and review please!