White Lights

The red lights mean you're leaving,
the white ones mean returning.
So tell me how this story ends
and I'll keep them fires burning.
The Arcade Fire
"Headlights Look Like Diamonds"


Chapter One: The Arrival

Seth Cohen had just stepped out of the foyer and onto his front porch when a bright pair of white headlights shone onto his face. Shielding his eyes with one arm, he closed the door and squinted at the oncoming car. He didn't recognize it as the ignition shut off and the lights faded. He stepped down off of the porch and crept towards the car.

The driver's side door slowly opened, and Seth silently hoped it wasn't his Aunt Hailey, who sometimes randomly showed up in Newport Beach and just decided to show up. He loved his aunt and all, but he really wasn't looking forward to seeing her right then.

But instead, a boy maybe a year or so older than him stepped out of the car. It took him a second to recognize him, but it didn't take long before Seth realized that he was looking at the face of the one and only Oliver Trask. He was caught off guard, to say the least. What the fuck was Oliver Trask doing at his house? He should be off locked up somewhere, whether in a prison cell or padded room, but definitely nowhere near the Cohen residence.

"What's up, Seth?" the dark-haired boy asked casually, shutting the car door and taking a few steps closer to the awe-stricken Cohen. Oliver tucked his hands into his jacket pockets and grinned. "Are you really that surprised to see me? I know you've been getting my letters." He tilted his head slightly to one side, watching Seth slowly shake out of his stupor.

"Uh... I... letters?" Seth managed. He had absolutely no idea what was going on. Letters? From Oliver Trask? What the hell? He felt a little disoriented... after all, this was the kid that went psycho over Marissa Cooper barely two years prior.

Oliver gave Seth another lopsided grin and began rifling through his pockets, never once taking his eyes off the other boy. He finally seemed to find what he was looking for, as he pulled a slightly wrinkled, dog-eared envelope out of his pocket. He cleared his throat as he slickly pulled a piece of computer paper, neatly folded into thirds, out of its enclosure. He unfolded it, carefully, and began reading its typed words to Seth.

Dear you,
Whenever you can make it into Newport, stop by my place.
I can't wait to meet up with you.
Everything sounds great.
- Seth

Oliver smirked at Seth's just-saw-a-ghost expression and refolded the letter, replacing in its envelope with the same careful precision used when he had taken it out. "Sound familiar?"

Seth was confused. He had sent that letter... to an anonymous person... who had been sending him letter of the secret admirer type. But... Oliver? He had assumed the person was a girl, maybe someone he had met in Portland when he was staying with Luke Ward, or even Anna Stern sending him the notes from Pittsburgh. He had been secretly turned on by the aspect of someone sending him anonymous love letters, and had slaphappily sent them back to the unpersonalized return address. But, seriously... Oliver?

"What... I... so confused..." Seth rambled, rubbing his eyes in dazed embarrassment. "I don't get it." He finally allowed himself to look Oliver in the eyes. "Why did you send me those letters?"

Oliver pretended to ponder the question for a moment. He rubbed his chin, enhancing his little skit. "Ah," he said, raising one finger. "Because I want to get to know you, Seth."

Seth shuddered at the way Oliver said his name... it was almost... lustful. "What... what do you mean," Seth started, swallowing the lump that had begun to form in his throat, "'get to know me?' Those letters were... uh..."

"Romantic? Yes, well, that's how I want to get to know you, Seth. In a romantic sense." Oliver shifted his stance and replaced his hands back into his pockets. "Hence the letters."

"But... you're not..."

"Gay? It's funny how I have to finish all of your sentences for you. I was under the impression that it was virtually impossible to get you to shut up," Oliver smirked creepily. "No, obviously I'm not gay. Do you really think I would have caused all that fuss over Marissa just to get thrown out of Newport? I may be a little bit fucked up in the head, but not that fucked up."

"So then why... I'm still really, really confused."

"So narrow-minded," Oliver shook his head. He walked towards the house until he was practically nose-to-nose with Seth. "See, there exists four basic fields of sexuality, Seth. First, and mainly, there's heterosexuality. This involves relationships consisting of a man and a woman. Secondly, there's homosexuality. This involves those consisting of either two men or two women. Next, bisexuality. Either a man who enjoys both sexes, or a woman who enjoys both sexes. Finally, there's asexuality, which is either a man or a woman who doesn't have a sexual preference whatsoever."

Seth just stared.

"So... if we've crossed out heterosexuality and homosexuality, and surely we can deduce that I'm not asexual, then we have..." Oliver waited, but knew that Seth wasn't going to respond, so he finished for him. "...that's right, Seth, I'm bisexual. I like girls, and I like boys." He reached his right hand forward and took Seth's left. "In particular, this boy." He momentarily tightened his grip on Seth's hand for emphasis.

Seth was too dazed to pull his hand away. He just stood there, amazed at what Oliver had just said. He didn't know how to react. Seth Cohen was straight, and definitely not interested in the likes of Oliver Trask.

"Don't be such a dud, Seth. Like I said, I just want to get to know you. We can take things slow. I'm renting out an apartment on the other side of Newport... we can go there and just talk and shit. I'm not expecting you to jump into this wholeheartedly. I'm sure it must be kind of a shock to you."

Kind of a shock? Seth thought. It was definitely a shock. Still, he just stood there. He didn't have any idea what to say back to something like that.

"Can you at least say something?" Oliver pressed, squeezing Seth's hand again. He waved his free hand in front of Seth's eyes, which still caused no reaction. He sighed. "Well I didn't want to have to resort to this so early, but..." And with that, Oliver leaned forward and pressed his lips to Seth's. If anything, it was just to evoke a reaction.

And precisely at that moment, the front door of the house swung open.

To be continued...