Two years after Alex Kelly left Newport, circumstances beyond her control bring her back. Now her old friends (and her two exes) have to help her uncover a nasty plot against her. Will be Malex eventually.

Takes place as if nothing whatsoever interesting happened after Alex left. No Trey, no Johnny, no Volchuk. Newport has just been a boring rich town. The TV ratings for the O.C have been just terrible.

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me, except Adam (not Brody!), and all of his lovely friends.

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"Hey!" shouted Alex Kelly, as she lay in the dark, musty trunk of some unknown car. "HEY! Let me out, you bastard!" She kicked the trunk ferociously, causing a very loud thump. "You're NEVER going to get away with this!"

"Shut up!" The voice was muffled, as it was coming from the front seat, but Alex heard it all the same. The speaker was a man, one who had grabbed her and abducted her about two hours ago, as she left a Los Angeles nightclub. At least, she thought it had been two hours ago. It was hard to keep track of time when you're locked in a dark trunk speeding down a motorway in god knows where.

She cursed loudly. This was the biggest trouble she had ever been in, no doubt about it, and she had been in a fair amount of trouble. Her latest ex boyfriend had just got into a load of drug related issues with the LAPD, and he seemed to think she was responsible. Asshole. Crystal meth had just made that stupid idiot think she had ratted him out to the police, she hadn't really. A thought struck her. Was this his revenge? Have one of his buddies kidnap her? She hadn't recognized the man who had stuffed her in the back of this car, but Adam had loads of friends she didn't know about. She swore again, and kicked the door of the truck three times, hard. "Let me OUT, let me OUT!"

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" screamed the man driving the car. He was definitely getting ticked off, and with good reason. They had been driving for a long time, Alex's voice was loud enough that it carried pretty well, and she had been yelling bloody murder the entire ride. Despite her serious situation, she smiled a bit. She had a knack for being an extremely annoying girl when she wanted to be. Now for the grand finale, she thought viciously. She lifted her foot, kicked the trunk five times, as hard as she could, and let out a long, shrill, piercing scream.

After thirty seconds of sheer, penetrating noise, the driver of the car lost it. Adding his own frustrated scream to hers, he pulled the car over, and stopped it. Alex didn't stop screaming. With a grim sense of satisfaction, she heard a car door slam, as the driver got out. Now, she assumed, he would take her out of the trunk and leave her by the side of the road as he drove away. This situation didn't worry her unduly, only her hands were tied, and she could escape from those bonds easily and catch a bus home, or something.

Unfortunately for Alex, her assumption was wrong. The driver's footsteps weren't walking toward the trunk to let her out; they were walking in the opposite direction. Away from the car. Her mouth got extremely dry. He was leaving her here!

No question, this was bad. Really, really bad. There was enough air coming through little gaps in the trunk door for her to breathe okay, but she had no water. No food. She would die here. Shock rushed through her system. Would Adam really kill her? Was he really responsible? He couldn't be. But was he? She was then hit with a sudden, fierce desire. The desire to survive, and the desire to get revenge. The kidnapper couldn't have left her in a completely remote area, could he? And she knew exactly how to attract herself some attention. She had been doing it for the past two hours, after all.

"HELP!" she screamed. "HEY, ANYONE! I'M LOCKED IN THE TRUNK!" Her voice was growing hoarse now, but she kept yelling, repeating her cry for help over, and over. "HELP!"

Eventually, she found herself decreasing in volume, lagging in energy. She was losing her resolve, and her stamina was dwindling. Please, someone, she thought desperately, as she yelled continuously for aid. Someone come.

Just as she lost track of the time, as she was starting to give up, she heard it. Footsteps. Two pairs of them, running toward her. "Hold on!" shouted a male voice. "Are you in the trunk?"

The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Alex was too weary to try and place it. "Yes!" she moaned. "Let me out!"

She heard someone fumbling with the door. "It's locked!" said the someone, a female one now. This voice, too, sounded strangely familiar.

"Move, I got it," the male voice said. And there was a resounding CRASH on the door of the trunk, making Alex's teeth rattle in her head. She cried out. What was this idiot doing? Kicking the car? "Sorry!" called the voice. "Hold on, one more time should do it!" CRASH!

Somehow, amazingly, it worked. A flood of light rushed into the dark trunk as the door's lock broke, and it hung open. Alex's two rescuers lifted it up, and when she saw their faces, her fervent thank yous were caught in her throat. Because she recognized those faces. Both of them.

"Alex?" said the two teenagers together.

"Seth?" breathed Alex. "Marissa?" Her mind froze. Standing in front of her were a boy and a girl, each about nineteen years old. The boy was kind of gawky looking, a curly mop of ebony hair on his head, wearing a tight sweater, jeans, and a flabbergasted expression. The girl was, well, beautiful. She had shoulder length soft brown hair, delicate features, and was tall and thin, like the boy. These two teenagers had one other thing in common as well. Two years ago, when Alex had briefly lived in Newport Beach, she had dated both of them.

"Oh my god!" squealed Marissa, as she reached into the trunk and pulled Alex out. "What happened to you? Why were you locked in there?"

Seth looked equally shell shocked. "Who did this to you?" he gasped. "I'll kill him, I swear!"

With Marissa's help, Alex stood shakily. Seth scrambled to untie her hands, and she swallowed angrily. "Not if I kill him first," she scowled. "I think it was my ex boyfriend."

Marissa stared at her, a stupefied look adorning her perfect Newport features. "You think?" she said. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't recognize the guy's voice, but I think maybe he was Adam's friend. I never saw his face," Alex answered.

There was a short pause. Then Seth spoke. "Adam's a stupid name," he said.

Alex rolled her eyes, and Marissa let out a sigh of exasperation. Then she turned back to Alex. "Well," she said firmly. "No matter who did it, we'll catch him. Come on, let's get you some food and water, you look like you could use it. Seth, write down the license plate of that car she was locked in, we can call the police when we get home."

For the first time, Alex noticed her surroundings. "Holy crap!" she exclaimed. "We're in Newport!" And that they were. The car that she had been so recently held captive in was parked on a side street off of the main highway leading into Newport Beach. In the distance, Alex could see the waterline, where the Bait Shop, her old bar, stood. In the not-so-distance, she saw a car. A very nice, shiny, red sports car. Marissa's car.

Seth laughed a bit. "Of course we're in Newport," he said. "What, did you think me and Marissa just happened to be walking around Los Angeles at two in the morning?"

The three of them started walking toward Marissa's car, and Alex shook her head. "To be honest," she said, "I'm having problems coming to the grips with the fact that I'm here with you guys at all." She looked at her feet. "I haven't seen you in a really long time."

She climbed into Marissa's passenger seat, and a faint awkwardness entered the atmosphere. They had all parted amiably, but there were definitely some delicate issues between the three of them. Alex had broken up with Seth after he had stormed her old office and embarrassed himself. And Marissa... well, that was even more complicated. Alex glanced at her ex girlfriend nervously. She had made it clear her feelings for the gorgeous brunette were stronger than she had ever felt, and Marissa had unfortunately not felt the same way. The Newport beauty had liked her, of course, but just not enough. A twinge of hurt crept into Alex's stomach. She had moved on after Marissa had ended it, but she noticed now that she still really liked her.

Seth, of course, broke the silence. "Well, it's great to see you," he said. "You know, aside from the whole kidnapping thing."

Out of the corner of her eye, Alex saw Marissa shudder as she pulled onto Newport's main road. "What is it?" Alex asked. "Are you okay?"

Marissa nodded, but she still looked pale. "I'm fine," she said. "I just-" she took a shaky breath "-I can't believe you were kidnapped."

"Oh," Alex said. She leaned back in her seat. "I can't believe it either; it's insane that people still do that."

Marissa shook her head. "No," she said. "I mean, I can't believe you were kidnapped." She looked over. "It really scares me to think that my friend could be hurt like that."

Alex didn't say anything. She didn't quite know how to feel about that. She was touched that Marissa was really worried for her well being, but there was still that word. Friend. Then she silently berated herself. She should be thankful Marissa still wanted to be friends, after all that had happened between them. Friends was better than nothing.

Seth spoke up again. "Go to my house," he said. "My parents are out; they won't be back till morning." Alex felt something swoop in her stomach. Seth's house? She swallowed nervously, wondering how to phrase the question she needed to ask. But luckily, Seth caught sight of her face in the rearview mirror. "Ryan's out too," he added.

Ryan. Alex didn't quite know how to feel about him. The last time she had seen him, she had brought two guys with her to beat him up. The time before that, she had thrown a beer bottle at his head. She smiled inwardly. No matter how much she knew that had been wrong, it still had felt really good. As they pulled into Seth's magnificent driveway, she glanced at Marissa. Was she still with him? Then she stopped herself. Don't think about that, she thought. It's none of your business anyway.

The three teenagers entered Seth's house, and Alex let out a sigh. It was really nice; as she had noticed the one other time she had been here. It was kind of funny how she had dated Seth for a good few weeks and only been to his house once, and that was after they had broken up. She looked at him, grinning. "Nice house," she said.

He grinned back. "Thanks. It's good for weekends, and, you know, vacations." He wandered over to his house phone. "Let me call and report that car, and then you can tell us all about how you got yourself into this mess."

After he was done, he led them all into the kitchen and explained the police would call back sometime in the next few days to update them on what they had found out. Then Alex ate two bagels and drank an ice tea, and told Seth and Marissa what had happened at the nightclub. How she had been leaving, and how the man had grabbed her roughly, bound her hands, and stuffed her in the trunk. When she explained how she had gotten him to pull over, Seth laughed out loud. "You annoyed him into submission? If that's not a superpower, nothing is."

Alex grinned. "Well, it worked. He pulled over, and I screamed like crazy until you guys rescued me." She paused. "Shit, I never said thank you, did I? Thank you."

Marissa gave a light laugh. "About time you remembered your manners." Seth nodded, shaking a finger at her mockingly.

She stuck her tongue out at both of them, and then something occurred to her. "Hey, why were you guys even out there? Some side street in Newport at two in the morning?"

Marissa looked sideways at Seth, smiling slightly. Seth suddenly looked stressed. "Crap," he whined, burying his face in his hands.

Marissa turned to Alex, still smiling. "Summer's birthday is on July 16th. Two days," she explained. "I was trying to help Seth think of what to get her, and he thought a midnight drive around town would give him some sort of brainwave."

Alex looked amusedly at Seth. "Well, you were looking for a birthday present, and instead you found me, locked in the trunk of a car."

Seth looked up. "I don't suppose you want to be Summer's gift?"

"Not really," laughed Alex. "So you guys are still together?"

Seth nodded. "Yep. We've had a few rough patches, but we're still good. In the end, she couldn't resist my charms."

Marissa laughed. "Right. Charms."

Alex laughed too, and then looked up at her ex girlfriend. "Um, how about you, Marissa? Seeing anyone?" She felt distinctly awkward asking this. Somehow it wasn't the same as asking Seth.

Perhaps Marissa felt the uneasiness too, because she stumbled over her answer a bit. "Ah, kind of, I guess," she said. "It's hard to describe."

Alex felt like her heart had dropped through her stomach. "Ryan?" she asked. The name came out like a blockage in her throat. Marissa nodded, and Alex labored to maintain some sort of composure. It's not like it's a surprise, she thought sadly. It's not like she didn't leave you for him.

Probably noticing the tension in the room, Seth immediately changed the subject. "So this Adam guy, why would he get someone to kidnap you?"

Alex struggled to focus on what she was being asked. "Oh, right," she said, turning away from Marissa to face Seth. "Well, he was a tweak head, big time. Lots of meth, which led to not so much money. He'd steal, and lie, and I got sick of him, so I dumped him. After that, the police busted him on some selling he was doing, and I guess he was convinced I ratted him out. I was his phone call. He- well, it wasn't a very nice phone call, let's just say that."

Marissa frowned. "What did he say?"

Alex answered without looking at her. "Rambling about how much of a bitch I am, pretty much. How I'd get mine someday."

Seth raised his eyebrows. "How you'd get yours? Oh, he totally got you kidnapped."

Alex shrugged. "It's possible," she admitted. "He's got a lot of friends."

Seth lifted himself off of his chair. "Well, we'll find out when the police call back. They'll ID the car, and we'll see if you recognize the owner. In the meantime, I'm really tired. I gotta sleep." Then he looked down at the table. "Wait," he said. "Alex, you don't have a place to stay, do you?"

"No, I'm pretty sure the rent on my apartment ran out a while ago."

Seth smiled. "That was funny," he said. Then, "You can stay here tonight, I guess, no one's home. We may have to think about what we're going to do when my parents get back though. If you remember, they don't really approve of me and you sleeping over."

Alex smiled. "I remember." She stood up, stretching. "Am I on the floor?"

"You know it. Air mattress all the way."

Marissa stood up, too. "I should get home. My mom will freak if I don't show up soon, and then I get no cell phone for a week. I'll call you guys in the morning." She looked at Seth. "You should tell Sandy about this, you know. He might be able to help out tracking down these guys."

Seth nodded. "Yeah, I guess. As long as he doesn't ground me for having a lady spend the night."

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Considering the alternative is that lady spending the night in the trunk of a car, I'd say he'll be pretty lenient. See you guys later." She paused. "It was really good to see you again, Alex." Then she left, her footsteps echoing strangely in the big empty house.

Alex watched her go, and then looked quickly back at Seth. He was yawning widely, and already heading out of the kitchen. "I don't suppose you have any idea what I should get Summer?" he asked her sleepily as they both headed upstairs.

Alex couldn't help smiling. Even though he meant well, Seth had a habit of turning the subject back to himself no matter what the situation. "No idea," she answered. "Me and Summer never really hung out that often."

They entered Seth's room, and Alex took a look around. Lots of posters of bands hung on the walls, and even more comics piled up in the corners. There was a plastic horse standing on the bedside table. Well, it definitely suited him. She looked around and saw Seth dragging an air mattress out of the closet. He moved it to the foot of his bed, and grabbed a pillow and blanket. He looked up at her. "Want to borrow some pajamas?"

"Ha ha ha," she said sarcastically. "I think I'm good." She lay down on the mattress, and realized how tired she really was. She pulled the blanket over herself, and closed her eyes. Well, she thought, Today was certainly an interesting day.

"Hey, do you think she'd like IMAX tickets?" a sleepy voice asked from somewhere above her. That was the last thing she heard before she fell asleep. The last thing she saw, however, was Marissa's face, swimming before her closed eyes, telling her how it had been good to see her again.

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