Marissa:

She looks at you, holding your gaze for a few seconds, before she looks down. You imagine she's contemplating the right reply, even though you k now you don't deserve the words that you desperately want to hear her say. When she looks back up at you, though, her eyes are pleading.

"Please don't do this," she says, quietly.

Despite the softness of her tone, the words resound in your head. You don't understand...this pleading expression, those words, they don't fit with any of the scenarios you imagined earlier...hell, you didn't imagine you would have said that to her. You expected anger, though, not this quiet reserve.

Needing some sort of clarification, you say, "Don't do what?"

She just shakes her head.

" Just...don't," she says, turning and walking away.

You reach for her arm to stop her. It hurts when she flinches. You draw back, and let her walk away. You knew this wouldn't be easy, but now you're angry at yourself for not realising just how hard it would be. You don't know what to say to her. You hardly know her anymore, you realise. You decide that you can't deal with being around people today, and spotting Seth as you walk back to your car, you ask him to tell Summer you need to speak to her. He looks confused, like he wants to ask why you're not doing it yourself, but then just nods and wanders off to find her.

You drive aimlessly for a while before heading for the beach. You sit with your arms wrapped around your knees, desperately trying not to cry. You're biting your lip so hard that you can taste that metallic tang that means you're bleeding. You wipe a hand over your lip, staining your fingertip red. You take some paper and a pen from your bag. Maybe you can say what you want to in a letter, even if there is no guarantee she'll read it. After all, it took you nearly five years to read hers.

You chew thoughtfully on the pen, wondering what it is you want to say. You don't even know where to begin. Sighing, you shove the pen and paper back into your bag. You can't deal with all the things that you've done. You spent so much time making her hate you, and now she does, you can't cope with it. No words are ever going to make this better, you realise, and that's why you've given up on the letter. There are so many things you could say, but none of them are good enough.

You get up, brushing the sand from you, and wander slowly along the beach, hoping that it will clear your head, at least a little. A hand on your shoulder startles you and you turn around to see Summer looking at you curiously.

"Something wrong?" she asks softly, knowing that the only time you come to the beach alone is when you need to think things over.

"Not exactly," you reply, not feeling as if you can get into this discussion right now. She sees right through you, though, the way she always does.

" Tell me?" She always does it this way, makes it a question so you don't feel like she's demanding to know. You take a deep breath, sitting back down in the sand and motioning for her to do the same. You almost laugh at the expression on her face, the one that says, "Get sand on my skirt!", but she sits down anyway, to your side so you don't have to look at her when you explain if you don't want to. Looking down at your hands, playing with the sand, you mutter, "It's Alex."

" What happened?" asks Summer, not looking half as surprised as you expected her to. Yeah, she's friends with Alex, but you and Summer never talk about her, not anymore. You wonder if Alex has spoken to her about you lately. You know she did before, but things are different now. Summer is still looking at you expectantly, and you look up, meeting her eyes, and say, " I just...I really miss her." You leave it at that, because you can't untangle all the other feelings that come with that, and you've got no chance of being able to explain them to Summer.

" Talk to her," says Summer, her tone betraying the fact that she doesn't believe you will.

"Tried," you say shortly, looking down at your hands once more.

"You did?" she says, and this time she is surprised.

You nod, and now you can't stop the tears from falling, no matter how hard you try to stop them. Summer doesn't ask you any more questions, instead pulling you towards her, letting you cry into her shoulder. You both sit there for a while, the only sound your harsh breathing that comes with the crying. You pull away from her, wiping the moisture from your face, and make a half hearted attempt at a smile. Summer smiles, comfortingly.

"How can I make her listen?" you ask, your frustration evident.

Summer just shakes her head lightly. "You can't make anybody listen if they don't want to," she replies.

"Talk to her for me?" you ask, expecting her to say no, that this is something you need to do.

"She won't listen," Summer replies. Seeing the expression on your face, she says, "But I'll try."

She stands up, offering her hand to help you up. You get to your feet, and you simply say,

"Thanks Summer."

"Don't thank me yet," she says, smiling at you, and then leading you away from the beach. and back to your car.

"See you back in school?" asks Summer, and you just nod, sliding into your car and waving at her as she does the same. You told her you'd see her back in school, so that's where you head next, knowing that Summer's next class is

one she shares with Alex, and you're eager to find out if there's any way that Alex will give you another chance.

Alex's POV:

You haven't paid attention to a word any of your teachers have said today. You're too caught up in Marissa. Again. As you slide into your usual seat in biology, you look around for Summer. You saw her this morning, and she's usually here before you. She arrives a moment later, out of breath, just as the bell rings.

" Cutting it fine today, aren't you Sum?" you say. You can't resist teasing, it's usually you who's almost late. She smiles at you.

" What, no comeback?" you say. She seems distracted...and more than a little flustered.

"Not today," she says, and then off your confused expression, " I need to talk to you at lunch."

" What's wrong with now?" you ask. "You know I'll do anything to avoid actually listening in this lesson."

"Exactly," replies Summer. "No more distracting for you."

You shrug, going back to doodling on the otherwise blank piece of paper in front of you. You don't make it obvious, but secretly you're really curious. This subject bores you, and you can't wait for the bell to ring so you can get out of here and hear what it is Summer needs to say to you. Finally, the minute hand reaches the 10, and you're free to leave.

You and Summer sit outside in the shade of a tree, her sitting against the trunk and you facing her.

"I talked to Marissa today," she begins. This in itself isn't unusual. Despite the fact that she spends more time with you, especially in school, she does see Marissa a lot.

" Yeah..." you say.

" About you," she continues.

"What about me?"

"Did you know she misses you?"

You just shrug. " So what if she misses me?"

"Don't pretend you don't feel the same way, I know you better than that."

"It doesn't matter," you say.

"Of course it matters. You've got a chance to fix this."

" I didn't break...this, whatever this is," you say, angry now. "It's not mine to fix!"

"Maybe not," says Summer, "But don't you think you should give her a chance to fix it?"

"She's had plenty of chances...why now?"

"Does it matter?"

"Matters to me," you mutter. You mean it, it really does matter to you, because just when you were trying to get over her properly, to have some real closure, everything is about her again.

" Just...try, will you? Let her speak. Let her tell you how she feels?"

"What, like she did?"

"Grudges aren't good on you, Alex. There's nothing wrong with starting over."

"It's just..."

"You never got over her?"

"What makes you think that?" you ask, a little too defensive.

Summer just raises an eyebrow. "I'll leave you to figure that one out," she says. " You want me to send Marissa over now?"

You shake your head. " Not ready. Give me some time."

Summer nods, satisfied that she's gotten through to you.

"You going to watch her tonight?" she asks.

"Yeah," you respond, knowing Summer doesn't need to hear you say it to know that you'll be there.

"Wait for her afterwards, if you feel ready then."

" I will," you say, your mind racing, wondering what the hell you're getting yourself into here.