The Third Wheel
"So…Whats up?"
"Nothing…Why are you in here?"
"Dude, I'm in here everyday around this time, it never used to bother you."
"True…"Ryan mumbled, and settled back onto his bed. Seth quickly turned his attention to the TV and started up the PS2.
"So…what have you been up to? Who are you?"
"We got home from school 30 minutes ago...You saw me than."
"It seems like ages ago buddy…" Seth sat down on the edge of the bed, but turned to face Ryan to see what was bothering him.
"Well…Things between Marissa and I have been really awkward…" He looked over at Seth to see if he even cared, and he nodded which pressed him to continue. "I don't know what exactly happened, but things just got weird. We were fine one day, and the next it was weird."
"I'm not a professional psychiatrist or anything, but maybe she's trying to tell you something."
"Like what?" Ryan perked up, immediately interested with the prospect of fixing his relationship. Seth became silent, and started pondering his answer while slaying a zombie on his game.
"It seems to me that…YO DUDE DID YOU SEE THAT? I RIPPED HIS HEAD OFF AND BEAT HIM WITH IT…that maybe she's just bored, not exactly with you but maybe your actions."
"My actions?" Ryan's voice rose, he was incredulous to Seth's point; meanwhile his eyes were fixed on the screen to see Seth's character roam through the level.
"Maybe she wants you to be spontaneous or something. Start expressing your true feelings for her or some cheesy thing like that…"
"I see your point…but don't you think…"
"OH DAMN! I JUST SLICED HIS ASS UP!…If you ask me, maybe you should take her on a date or something."
"Yeah, that sounds good…without you and Summer this time…"
"Don't worry about us, I've got my own little thing planned for her…DAMN!" Seth hollered as he was finally beaten.
"How have things been between you two?" Ryan asked, he rose from the edge of the bed and switched spots with Seth so he could take the controller.
"Not too bad, I've kind of learned to get over the fact she shuns me in public…"
"Good, that's really-"
"NOT! HOW THE HELL COULD I EVER GET OVER THAT, MAN!"
"Seth, we've been through this before…"
"Yeah I know, and every time we do, I get more and more fed up. But don't you worry man, tonight; I'm changing everything. We work on my terms after this"
"Right on man." Ryan smiled and handed the controller back to Seth, showing him he had cleared the level.
"I've beaten that level several times, I just wanted to see if you could."
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A few hours later, Seth came trotting down the stairs, more nervous than ever. His date with Summer a mere 30 minutes away from beginning, and he was having second thoughts. Not about actually attending the date, but more about the way it would go. Which were usual pre-date jitters.
All he had told Summer was that he was taking her out and to dress up. His plan was to pick her up in a limo, and than go to dinner at the Yacht Club, one of the most elegant restaurants in Newport.
He entered the kitchen, where the rest of his family was busy eating dinner. They all turned and gazed at him, confused with his dress shirt, tie and dress pants. Sandy began questioning the evolution of family dinners.
"Look at you, looking sharp…" Sandy chimed in and slithered some more Thai into his mouth. Kirsten adored her son, once again reminiscing the past.
"Yeah, well I have a date."
"With who?" Kirsten questioned, trying not to sound too, too interested.
"Oh honey, I bet its that fox that's been over the past couple weeks, isn't it?"
"Yeah, its Summer." Ryan confirmed, and Seth closed his eyes and sighed. Ryan grinned proudly.
"So are they dating now?" Kirsten asked, no longer referring to her son for answers, but Ryan.
"Yep, have been for a few weeks now…" Sandy and Kirsten turned to face their son at the entrance, he still had his eyes closed and was shaking his head.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"You've got to have her over for dinner soon son."
"My little boys all grown up…"
"Jeez you guys, and you wonder why I don't tell you things…" Seth finally answered; his angered statement was only met with smiles from everyone. He'd never be able to pull it off.
"So, where are you taking her?" Kirsten asked, making sure her son had the right mind set for a perfect date.
"Well, the limo will be here shortly and then I'm going to pick her up; then dinner at the Yacht Club."
"Awww…you planned all of this?"
"Who's paying for all of this?"
Kirsten and Sandy both asked in the listed order, Kirsten shooting her husband and annoyed look. Seth squinted his eyes, trying to remember what card he used.
"I think I used the one that we're only supposed to use for special occasions, so I think its Calebs-"
"Excellent, atta boy." Sandy smiled cheerfully, and raised his glass to his son then took a sip.
Seth heard the limousine pull up and honk rather loudly. He said his goodbyes to his family, than strode off for the door and through on his over jacket and headed out the door.
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He knew the Yacht Club was the perfect selection for a dinner date with Summer. One, she wouldn't be constantly checking her surroundings to see if anyone saw her; and two, it was romantic enough for her to actually enjoy herself.
The limo pulled into the Roberts's mansion, and Seth felt his hold on the lone rose in hand tighten. If he held it any longer, it would certainly die and lose all color. He bounced out of the car and walked up and rang the doorbell.
"H-H-Hey S-Summer." Seth stuttered out, unable to take his eyes off of her. He held out the rose slowly, and waited for her to grab it, he was still entranced by her.
"Hey Cohen." She smiled sheepishly and greeted him properly with a kiss. She pulled back and grabbed the rose from his hand. "Aww, for me? You shouldn't have." She peered out the door and saw the limo. "Jeez Cohen, a limo and a rose; you must really be into me huh?"
"Y-Yeah…"
"Now I feel like I underdressed…especially with you looking all handsome in a suit and tie."
"I-Its j-just the Y-Yacht Club…Y-You look b-beautiful."
She eyed herself down, as Seth had ever since she opened the door. She had a tight fitted pink dress on, that hugged all of her curves in the right way; just enough to drive Seth wild. The expensive earrings and pearl necklace sparkled off the moonlit sky. She looked amazing. Seth could care less how she dressed, he always felt it wasn't her outfits that accentuated her, it was always her face. She was gorgeous, absolutely stunning. Always the most beautiful girl in his eyes.
"Hello…earth to Cohen." She waved a hand in front of his face to get him to stop staring at her. "The date…?"
"O-Oh r-right you are Summer…"He held out his arm and she giggled, but took it as he led her out the door. Once outside, he waved the driver off dismissively, and decided to open the door himself. She blushed and grinned, the entered the car; Seth following behind.
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"So where's your dad at today?" Seth spoke up, deciding to get the conversation going. It had only been a minute since picking Summer up, and the silence was already eating away at him.
"He left a note saying he was going out to dinner, didn't say where though."
"Out to dinner?"
"Oh relax, what are the chances of him being at the same place we go?"
"I hope you're right, because I'm no where near ready for that."
The car came to a halt, and Seth eagerly opened the door, holding a hand out to help Summer out. She smiled again, showing off those pearly whites of hers, which made Seth even more determined to make this night perfect.
"Reservation for two; Cohen." He informed the waiters and they scrambled around, cleaning the table up as best as they could. They both easily looked the most stunning of everyone in the building. Newpsies all whispered and began to question their own looks, once they caught eye of Summer; all wondering if another boob job was needed.
They were led down the aisle of seats, businessmen and Newpsies chatting away left and right, as the two youngest people in the building finally found their seats. Seth pulled her chair out, which was met with another million-dollar smile from Summer. He swore those alone would be enough to drive him wild.
"Hello and welcome to the Yacht Club…what will you two love birds be getting?" A female waitress came and greeted them with a smile. Summer bit her lip and surveyed the menu, a look Seth found adorable and lowered his menu just to stare at her. The waitress took note of this little moment. "I'll give you two a moment." She smiled cheerfully and nodded at Seth, than dashed away quickly.
"Hmm…I think I'll get..-"
"Summer!" She was cut off from finishing by a voice, and the two teens both turned to face whoever called them. Summer praying it wasn't anyone from school, and Seth praying it wasn't her father. He had been dreading that meeting ever since they got together.
"Dad!" Unfortunately for Seth, his nightmare was fulfilled. Summer smiled cheerfully and set her menu down to go see him. Seth reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"To go see my dad…" She answered puzzled, not seeing what the big deal was.
"But we've got to order."
"It'll only be a minute, I can't not say hi to him." She smiled at him, then bent over and planted a kiss on his lips, lingering near for a few seconds, before scrambling away down the aisle to see her dad, who was seated at the bar.
After about 5 minutes, Seth felt like her dad's eyes already burning holes into his back, and was eager for their chat to finish so she'd get back.
"Seth!" He turned and Summer was giddily waving for him to come over. He obliged and treaded over towards the two Roberts'.
"Hello Mr.Roberts." Seth muttered out nervously and held out a shaky hand.
"Hello, and who are you?" Neil smiled and shook his hand.
"Umm Daddy, this is the boy I've been telling you about." Summer leaned over and spoke quietly over his shoulder, though Seth still heard.
"Oh right, the boy from the coma." Seth felt a tingle roam up his spine at the mention of it. It felt like so long ago that had happened, but he only thought happy thoughts of the experience. As gruesome as it sounds, it led him to Summer; he couldn't be entirely sorry about it. "The Cohen's boy. Listen, I heard what happened that night, and I feel I never got a chance to properly thank you. What you did for my daughter."
"I-It was nothing sir, honestly. I would've done it for her any day." He smiled, and with new found confidence, reached across and grabbed Summer's hand. He rubbed over hers with his thumb and she tightened her grip on his hand. Neil, seeing the interaction, could only smile about his daughter's happiness.
"That shows a lot about who you are. I'm sure you'll treat her well."
"Yep, you got it."
"Because you know if you don't, I'm a very powerful man…you don't want to see me when I'm angry." Silence fell over the three, and Summer was pleading with her eyes to give him a chance, her grip on Seth's hand firm and strong. By now, Seth was near pissing himself, and his entire body wouldn't stop shaking. This man was a lot scarier than originally thought. Neil kept his scowl fixed on Seth, and his eyes were burning into Seth and his stony reflection not relaxing for a minute. Seth immediately remembered why he didn't want to face this guy.
"Just kidding boy!" He laughed and patted him on the shoulder, turning to grab his drink from the bar counter.
"H-H-Haha funny M-Mr.R-Roberts. Y-You got me, sir." He smiled nervously, and attempted to let out a laugh, but all that came out were silent whimpers. A huge sigh of relief washed over him. Summer smiled at Seth, fixing her tear glistening eyes on him. The tears had only just began to show because of how cute Seth was, and just everything seemed to finally be falling into place for her. They were happy tears. "You're an everyday Will Ferrell."
"He's not funny…" Mr.Roberts replied with a stony expression, but it was cut short and he laughed. "Just kidding boy, don't get too scared. How about I buy the both of you dinner, my treat." He pulled out his wallet, and handed some cash to Seth, who was still reeling from the second near death occurrence. He had been making mental jokes not to make comedian references when Neil handed the money out.
" Why don't you join us? It'll be a good time for you to get to know Seth." Summer offered, and closed the distance between her and Seth and leaned into his chest and wrapped an arm loosely around him. Seth smiled sheepishly, and nerves were beginning to get the better of him.
When Neil turned to retrieve his drink, Seth glared at Summer, and tried to portray his distain for her offer with his eyes. She took this gesture as another one of Seth's adorable antics, meanwhile it was the opposite, and pinched his cheeks together and constantly whispered that it was going to be fine.
"I'd love to" Neil strode away from his barstool made his way over to Seth and Summer's table.
"Do I get any say in this?"
"No, no you don't" She pecked him on the lips and dragged him off after her dad.
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"I can't believe you did that!" Seth exclaimed, he was fascinated with some of the stories Neil had been telling. He never knew he was an outsider and did a lot of dangerous things when he was a teen.
"Yeah, well I used to be quite the rebel when I was younger." Neil laughed, and wiped the tiny specs of tears away, as he reminisced about the good old days of his youth.
"Who knew you could be such fun?" Neil turned on a whim and faced Seth, and Seth was sent through a panic spiral once again; clinging to Summers' hand, that he'd been holding onto all evening, tighter than ever. "I mean, I just never would've pegged you as the rebellious type of person."
"Nice save…" Neil uttered out before he polished off his glass of wine. The dinner had gone particularly well. All talk was focused on Summer, Neil didn't focus too much on Seth's life, instead enjoyed listening to stories of his daughter. He wasn't too thrilled that she was with Seth, but chalked up to her being sorry for Seth after he took the beating of a lifetime for her, and figured they'd be over probably later on this night.
He still had never heard about all the lusting, watching and lingering from the shadows on Seth's part. Hell, he thought Seth was just like those other jerks Summer brought home. He didn't know about the uniqueness off him and how different he was from everyone else. He certainly didn't know much Seth love- liked her.
The dinner finally came to a close, with Neil waving the teens away and staying behind to pay the bill, Seth led Summer down the front steps and to the limo. The car ride to Summer's was silent, but both were thrilled with the dinner, Summer a little bit more.
They arrived at her house, and Seth once again graciously opened the door and held out his hand, and escorted her up to the door.
"I had really fun tonight Seth." She leaned over and pecked him on the lips. "No ones ever done this for me before." She smiled and her lips lingered near his as she gazed into his eyes.
"I'm just glad you liked it."
"I loved it." She planted another kiss, this time holding it longer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Seth leaned her back against the door. She felt his tongue beginning to wonder around her lip, and she finally opened up and allowed their tongues to clash together. They broke apart, the need for air getting to them, both with smiles.
"You want to come in and watch a movie or something?" Summer exclaimed, finally catching her breath after the heated kiss.
Seth nodded and kept his eyes focused on Summer, and allowed her to lead him into the house. He drearily raised a hand and waved the limo driver away, before Summer closed the door and attacked him with her lips again.
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The movie wound down, not that either had been watching. They made out for the entire duration, which Seth was thrilled about because it was The Notebook. But Summer got tired near the end, and decided to call it quits on the kissing, and fell slowly asleep; her head resting on Seth's chest and his hand was stroking through her luscious hair.
He quietly weaved his way out of the position he was in with Summer, and was forced to go home. He knew his parents would have questions waiting to fire at him if he didn't come home, and he didn't want another embarrassing encounter with them. He shut off the TV and DVD player without a sound, covered up with blankets, and gave her a goodnight kiss; he lingered over top of her just watching in awe at her sleeping form, before shutting the light off and heading out the door.
"Late night huh?" Seth was startled by Ryan's voice coming from the pool house. The front door was already locked, so he had to enter through the back. He quickly walked in and flopped down on the floor, ripping off his tie and throwing his jacket on the chair.
"You have no idea." He scanned the bedside clock, it was 2:30 am. Ryan chuckled and unpaused the game he was playing.
"What you playing?"
"Zombie game."
"Oohh…stepping it up and killing zombies past midnight, you've got guts"
"You want in?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I need. The fascination of knifing down zombies, a perfect ending for a perfect night."
Okay, so I've basically got the rest of this story all sorted out. I'd say there is about 5-6 chapters left, I don't know. I'm aiming for around there at least. And I decided I'm ending it with the school dance, but it might not be for the better. I haven't decided whether or not I'm making a sequel, I don't know you decide if its worth it. And if I do, S/S may be in the air…
Nxt family dinner; 2. a party.