The New Beginning
Chapter Seven: The Beach
Ryan definitely wasn't the most fond of beaches, but he couldn't deny that he was having fun. He hadn't brought anything to wear to a pool, let alone the beach, but Seth had taken care of that. Ryan Atwood was in board shorts, an event that he'd never once considered. Summer's influence on Seth was quite obvious, as he'd brought not only one pair of board shorts for himself, but two.
They had driven to Ocean Beach, parking in a small lot near a public restroom that didn't smell all that pleasant. The girls had practically dragged their less enthusiastic boyfriends onto the beach, and the first thing Ryan noticed was that they had stepped onto Hippy Beach. All along the concrete wall separating the beach from the shops of Ocean Beach were beatniks and headband clad wayfarers.
He couldn't help but smile as Marissa yanked him onto the sand, tugging incessantly. The first order of business, agreed upon by all three of his friends, was to throw him into the ocean. It had begun with Seth, still feeling pretty big about his fight, declaring that he was going to force Ryan into the water. Ryan dared him to try.
So now here he was, struggling against three pairs of hands as they propelled him toward the softly breaking waves. Even as much as he fought, he knew it was in vain. He was stronger than all three, but factoring in Marissa's potential pouting and Summer related rage blackouts, he struggled feebly. The fact that he was smiling tipped his hand.
When they finally reached the water, all three shoved him with a force that surprised him, and Ryan found himself toppling into the chilly ocean. He hadn't tasted salt water before, and it threw him off. He didn't realize the water would be so cold, and felt himself shivering even as Marissa jumped in after him. When she surfaced she met a Ryan made wave with her mouth, sputtering and coughing.
"Ryan!" She shouted, laughing.
Ryan couldn't help but grin at her, as he glanced at Seth and Summer. They were wrestling, knee deep in water, to see who would be the first to get their hair wet. Summer, as small as she was, was infinitely stronger than appearances let on. Seth didn't stand a chance. He went down with less grace than even Ryan had, falling backward as a wave washed over him. He got his revenge upon surfacing though, dragging Summer down by the waist even as she yelled his last name loud enough to draw a handful of looks their way.
The four of them frolicked, or so Ryan's one-sided relationship with a thesaurus said, like children. He relished it, because it seemed so often that none of them were allowed to be kids. And they were, when it came down to it. Take away the drama, and they were all just teenagers, who should be allowed to do teenage things. They were simply The Geek, The Outsider, The Valley Girl, and The Girl Next Door.
It was more fun than Ryan had ever had in any kind of water, despite the cold. The four of them decided to move out further, and raced. Surprisingly Marissa won, showing that she had a skill for swimming that none of them knew about. Now, standing in deeper water, they simply enjoyed the presence of each other. Each wave pushed them a little closer toward shore, but they had plenty of time to just relax, and talk.
"I can't believe this is your first time in the ocean." Seth said, shaking his head. "You spent your whole life in California."
"I spent my whole life in Chino. The closest thing we had there were kiddie pools."
"You know I could just picture you splashing around in a kid's pool." Marissa said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Hey, it got hot."
"Summer, you've been especially quiet today, are you sick?" Seth said, splashing water at his girlfriend playfully.
"Well, you've been especially, um, shut up Cohen." She countered lamely.
"Your wit never ceases to amaze me, my love."
"I was just thinking." Summer said, biting her lip. "This is fun."
Seth raised his eyebrows at her, and Ryan and Marissa shot her worried glances. Seldom did Summer consider anything that wasn't related to waxing or tanning fun. This revelation shocked them into momentary silence. It only took a moment for Summer to glare, somehow, at all three of them.
"What're you staring at?" She said, scowling.
"Nothing." Ryan said quickly.
"Of course, nothing." Marissa agreed, laughing and locking lips with her boyfriend.
"Cohen, get over here and kiss me!"
"Ah, my little romantic."
"You're not kissing!"
Seth smirked, making a show of dog paddling toward her. Summer couldn't help but laugh, and when he reached her she practically jumped on him. Both her legs hooked around his waist, and Seth found it easy to hold her smaller body up, even without the water helping him. For a long time, as the smooth waves gently shoved them back to the shore, the four of them simply held their respective partners, joined at the mouth.
When finally they reached water that didn't go above their waists, Summer detached herself, dropping into water that came up a little higher on her. She grabbed Seth's hand and pulled roughly, coaxing him toward the sand.
"C'mon, I'm cold."
Ryan and Marissa untangled soon after, and followed their friends out of the water and back onto the beach. Ryan glanced over as Marissa took his hand, absently rubbing his palm with her thumb. It tickled, but he didn't let it show. He was just happy that she seemed to have completely forgotten that her Stepfather was about to be Seth's Grandfather, or that her Mother had done the dirty with her Ex-Boyfriend. So long as Ryan could, he would prolong that.
They had been sitting on their towels for over an hour, simply enjoying the sun, and engaging in people watching. Seth and Summer soon discovered that they shared the same hobby, and were giving a running commentary on about every person that crossed in front of them. Ryan and Marissa had joined their towels together, and lay propped on their elbows, side by side.
"Yeah, he's definitely gay." Summer stated, pointing straight at a dark haired teen.
"Summer, it's rude to point." Seth said, and was rewarded with a finger jab to the ribs.
"How do you know he's gay?" Ryan asked, clearly not seeing the sign he wore that said 'I like boys'.
"Look at the way he walks, his hands all loose. Limp wrists, Chino."
"I walk like..." Seth began, before he realized what implications his words would leave.
"I'm not wasting my time with you, am I?" Summer asked, raising an eyebrow beneath her Dior sunglasses. "Because I'm sure Luke's dad is available."
Seth scowled and shook his head, Marissa snorted in a most unattractive manner, and Ryan merely smirked. Making fun of Luke was okay now, because he'd said his peace, and had left on better terms than could be expected. Seeing as he cheated on Marissa with one of her best friends, and then had a fling with her mom.
"Oh, those two are cute." Summer said, pulling her shades down to get a better look.
Seth perked up at this, sitting up further to size both of the men up. They were quite obviously giving their attention solely to Summer and Marissa, ignoring the two guys that were sitting so close to them.
"Sailors." Seth said matter-of-factly.
"How can you tell?" Marissa asked, leaning forward to glance over at him.
"The haircut, and the way they walk. They're practically marching on the beach. Probably from some obscure state like Iowa or something."
"Iowa, ew. Are there even people living in that state?"
"Why no, Summer, there's only cows and corn."
"That's what I thought."
"So what do you want to do tonight?" Marissa asked, as the "Sailors" walked out of sight.
"Let's go see a movie." Seth suggested, making it his first input in the weekend events.
"Cohen, they have movies in Newport."
"Yeah, but have any of you ever been to a drive-in?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.
The three of them shook their heads slowly, and Ryan smirked. Finally he had done something they hadn't. Summer sat up completely, frowning at Ryan.
"So, what, do you just, like, drive into the theatre?"
"That would be the basic definition, wouldn't it?" Marissa said, smiling.
"Oh, Seth," Summer began, turning to her boyfriend. "I didn't know you had an equally sarcastic and unfunny sister!"
"Trust me, if she were my sister, she'd be wearing a lot more to the beach."
"What's wrong with my bikini? Summer's is more revealing."
"Yeah, but Summer has-"
"Watch it." Ryan said, cutting Seth off.
"-to look sexy for me. Or I might go run off with a cute San Diego girl." Seth recovered.
"More likely it'd be one of those Sailors." Marissa said harshely, nodding in the direction they had departed in.
The group had opted for lunch in Ocean Beach before heading back to their hotel. So they left the Range Rover parked by the beach, and walked up to the streets. Ryan and Marissa had been attached at the hip, and Seth and Summer spent the entire walk either stopping to make-out for a few seconds, or playing cat and mouse games. They walked the streets, both couples hand in hand, as they debated over what to eat.
"There's always Mexican food." Seth suggested.
"Not as many take-out Chinese joints as in Newport." Ryan commented, raising a single eyebrow.
"This close to Mexico, burritos rule the city." Seth said with a shrug.
"I want a big, fat burger."
"Summer, do you know what a big, fat burger leads to?"
"That better not be anything close to a weight joke, Cohen. Because do you know what that leads to?"
"And what is that, mi amor?"
"Rage blackout." Summer said sweetly, kissing Seth on the cheek.
"So!" Seth said with vigor. "Where do we get a big, fat burger?"
"Actually, that doesn't sound so bad." Ryan said, aiming the statement at his girlfriend.
"A burger place is fine, but I'm stealing fries." Marissa added her input vegetarian, and it was decided.
"Cohen! Get on the sidewalk, you retard. Hello, cars."
"Aww, your concern for me is sweet."
"I'm concerned about your brains getting splattered all over my clothes."
"Technically it's my shirt anyway."
Seth spoke the truth. It had come to a shock to all of them when, after Marissa had decided to steal one of Ryan's shirts and a pair of shorts to wear over her bikini, Summer had followed suit. Marissa often wore Ryan's clothes when it was just them, but never before had Summer picked anything of Seth's to wear. If it wasn't Prada, it wasn't Her, she had said before. The fact that she had taken a long button down shirt to wear floored all three of her friends.
"Look, there!" Summer said, pointing excitedly.
"Hodad's Burgers?" Ryan said, eyeing the joint.
"And it's on Newport Avenue." Summer said, pointing now at the street sign near them. "If that's not fate, I don't know what is."
"Let's check it out then." Seth stated, taking off across the street toward the burger joint.
He was the first to arrive, as the rest of them followed his leave and jogged across the street. Seth had stopped right in front of the small restaurant, reading some of the advertising.
"'Ho·dad'" He began. "'A person who does not surf, but who spends time at surfing beaches pretending to be a surfer.' My dad's used that term before, once or twice."
"I think it's perfect." Summer declared, tossing her hair and walking inside without waiting for any of them.
"'Open 24 hours, just not in a row. Under 99 billion served.'" Seth read, laughing. "My kind of sarcasm."
The three remaining teens walked inside and found Summer already deciding on her seat of choice. There weren't many other people eating there at the moment, so she had plenty to choose from. She sat at a table for four, raising both eyebrows and directing the rest of them to join her. Seth flopped down next to her, and Ryan and Marissa took up positions opposite of them.
"I like all the license plates on the wall, and the car… thing." Marissa said, looking around the room.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Ryan conceded, taking her hand.
"Less talk, more ordering!" Summer demanded, already browsing through their selection of burgers.
"Those burgers are huge." Seth noticed, glancing at another table, where two guys in board shorts struggled with theirs.
"Good." Summer said. "Because I am starving."
The four of them joked and talked throughout the entire meal, mostly at the fact that Seth was the only one who could fit his entire burger in his mouth. Coupled with walking in on Ryan half naked two days before, his heterosexual defense wasn't holding up too well.
Author's Note: I had fun writing this, though I got stumped halfway through. I just wanted to give the kids a chance to have fun at the beach, since in the first season at least I didn't see Ryan or Seth ever once enjoy it. And for the record, Hodad's is an actual burger place in Ocean Beach. I've eaten there a couple of times, and they rock. The Sailor joke was at my own expense. I'm in the Navy myself, and stationed in San Diego. And also from Iowa. Nothing is more humbling than the ability to make fun of yourself. Words of wisdom. Review!