The Third Person

"What the hell is this?" Marissa asked, storming into my room as I read.

"It's a lily." I told her. "I was watching Imagine Me & You and thought…" I trailed off when I realised the anger on her face was not going to dissipate.

"'I dare you to love me'?" she spat at me. "You think I don't love you?" I opened my mouth to protest but thought better of it. "I had a gun pointed at my head because of you and you think I don't love you?" I opened and shut my mouth again. "You are impossible." She shouted at me, throwing the lily on my bed before walking out of my room just as quickly as she'd come leaving me looking between her rapidly retreating figure and the lily I'd had thrown at me.

I folded down the page of my book and got up, taking the simple flower to the kitchen with me. I found a long glass and filled it with water, dropping the lily into it and placing it on the side before returning to my bed and my book.


"Hey buddy," Seth smiled at me, "what you reading?"

"Great Expectations, its about this orfa-"

"So I have decided this will be an era of personal growth for me." He cut into my sentence. "I am going to be less narcissistic. I am going to be the New Seth Cohen. The New Seth Cohen is just like the Old Seth Cohen just more Anna'ry. The New Seth Cohen is going to listen and offer advice and be less narcissistic. The New Se-"

"For the love of god man," I snapped my book shut, "please stop referring to yourself in the third person."

"Done." He pointed and smiled at me. "So what's with the flower?"

I turned round and looked to where he was pointing before turning back to him, "That's my 'Marissa still loves me' flower."

"Cool. So do you think Summer is going to like this New Seth Cohen?"

"Wow that period of growth lasted long." I sighed under my breath. "You're doing all this for Summer?" I frowning at him, closing my book realising I wasn't going to get anything done. "Cause she's gay now."

"Not just Summer…" He trailed off. "I'm gunna go…" He told me walking out of my room.

"People keep doing that." I frowned at his retreating figure before going back to my book.

"Monday morning, Alex." Seth smiled at me as we walked through the school grounds. "Its Monday morning, time to test out the New Seth Cohen, no good just wasting him round the house."

"Can the New Seth Cohen please stop saying Seth Cohen?" I asked him, as I rummaged around in my bag to find my ringing phone. "Hey T." I smiled into it, knowing she would be the only person to call me from the 909 area.

"When are you going to take Avril Lavigne off your ringt-" he stopped talking when I put my hand over his mouth.

"Was that Seth?" Theresa asked me from the other end.

"Yeah, but the new and improved version, apparently." I sighed, walking away from him. "How did you get my number?"

"Called your house, your Jewish mother gave me this number."

"She's a WASP."

"You're living with WASPs now? Get out, get out whilst you still can." Theresa laughed at me.

"Please I put up with a family of Hispanic Catholics I can deal with anything. Why are you calling me?"

"I'm coming out your way today-"

"For work?" I cut into her sentence as I opened up the door to the main building, knowing Seth would continue following me so I simply stopped at his locker and leant against it as I continued my conversation with Theresa.

"Yeah but…" I heard her smile down the other end, "they cant make us work all the time right, so I was thinking maybe we could hang out tonight."

"That's cool." I nodded, though she couldn't see it. "Come by the house, I'll show you where I live now and my 'Marissa still loves me' flower."

"Sticking with the time and space plan?"

"I'm going to fight for her. Through beer cans at peoples' heads, find a couple skeazy ex cons to do my dirty work."

"You don't know anyone that's served time that's not related to one of us."

"I know one…"

"Hang up now and tell me you'll see me later."

"I'll see you later." I told her before flipping my phone shut and dropping cell back into my bag. "So, New Seth Cohen, how much of that did you hear?"

"Theresa's coming over tonight huh?" He smiled at me as he fumbled around with books in his locker.

I simply shook my head and walked away to find Anna before Homeroom, however, I ended up just walking into Marissa.

"Hey." I tried to smile at her.

"Hey." She nodded back at me, leaving an awkward pause between us. "I'm sorry about last night." She eventually whispered. "I didn't mean to be quite so…"

"I get it. It was painful… but I get it." I sighed back. I watched her as she opened and closed her mouth, clearly struggling with what to say.

"I'm gunna go…" she said after a while.

"I do wish people would stop doing that." I sighed watching her leave.


I stepped out of my math class and found Marissa waiting by the door, clutching her books to her chest, just waiting.

"Hey." I smiled at her. "You look vaguely lost."

"Well, I was waiting… for you…" she bit her lip and shook her head. "Look, I don't know how to do this, so I'm just going to have to say it. I'm not ready to jump straight into everything, but coffee… You drink it. I drink it. Maybe we could drink it together sometime; tonight even?"

"Are you asking me out?" I frowned at her.

"It wouldn't be a date." She said quickly. "But friends, perhaps?"

"Okay," I said slowly, moving out of the way so the next class could pile into the room, "sure."

"So tonight, the Starbucks next to Abercrombie & Fitch in the mall?"

"Wow, that was so very Newport." I smiled at her.

"Well you're one of us now." She smiled back. "Seven?"

"Sure." I nodded at her. "Seven's per- Fuck!"

"Seven's perfuck?" she frowned at me.

"I'm seeing Theresa, but I can get out of it."

"Theresa's still here?"

"Not here, here… and its not like that. We're just friends." I told her quickly.

"Okay." She nodded. "How bout we go after school?"

"Now that I can do."


I waited on the wall for Marissa after school and we drove to the mall. We sat in Starbucks, her with a Frappuccino me with a simple black Americano, we sat both of us staring down as our drinks trapped in silence. She slurped from her drink as I sipped from mine both of us locked in silence that neither of us could find a way to escape from. It was as if we didn't know how to talk to each other. That was until she said his name.

We talked it through, not as lovers but as friends. No shouting, no snide remarks, minimal anger and minimal blame. There was sarcasm, but that was mainly me…


I got home just as Theresa was walking up the drive, I called out to her before she reached the door.

"You never told me you were in gated community." She smiled at me, looking round at all the mansions.

"Sorry, I guess I've been here so long that it no longer seems weird." I shrugged, digging into my school back for my keys. "You ready to meet the rest of the family?" she simply nodded and followed me into the house.

"Alex is that you?" Sandy called out from the kitchen.

"Yeah," I called back to him, taking Theresa's hand and leading her through the house behind me, "I brought someone for dinner if that's okay."

"Oh Mari-" Kirsten cut herself off when she saw Theresa.

"This is Theresa." I smiled at them.

"Nice to meet you, uh," Kirsten moved round the counter so that she could extend her hand, "I'm Kirsten an this is-"

"Sandy." he finished for her, shaking Theresa's hand too, "Hi, I've heard so much about you-"

"From Seth." Kirsten told her, looking at me.

"Its nice to meet you all." Theresa smiled at them. "Can I help? It looks great."

"Sure, uh, the key is taking the food out of the Styrofoam containers." Kirsten smiled back at her.

"But her real speciality is ordering." Sandy nodded.

"We don't let Mom cook." Seth explained walking into the kitchen. "Hey, how was Starbucks?" he asked her.

"Starbucks?" she frowned at him.

"That was with Marissa." I told him after a pregnant pause.

"You and Marissa are talking again?" Kirsten smiled at me.

"We're friends, at the moment." I nodded at her.

"Well that's more than you were two days ago," Sandy beamed, "so progress is being made."

"I feel that this is the beginning of personal growth for both of us." Seth smiled at me.


"So we're all dressed up for my brother's sixteenth birthday-"

"Must you tell a story when I either fall down or get injured?" I cut into Theresa's sentence, she had been telling stories about me falling over throughout dinner, "I already told Seth about the pin in my arm."

"You have a pin in your arm?" Kirsten frowned at me.

"You are aware that if I tell you this story you will instantly regret having me in your house." I warned her.

"Besides I've already heard that story." Seth nodded. "Did Alex fall down when you did musicals, maybe you could tell us about that?"

"You did musicals?" Sandy smiled between Theresa and I, "I did a musical or two myself in college."

"Oh someone please stop him before he starts singing 'Grease Lightening'" Kirsten sighed, looking pleadingly around the table.

"Do it Dad," Seth goaded him, more to spite his mother than out of actual want to hear him sing show tunes, "Travolta's your bitch!"

"Oh thank you son." Sandy smiled at him.

"Go ahead." Kirsten prompted Theresa to continue, hoping that would stop Sandy and Seth.

"So we were at the Holiday Inn at the revolving restaurant, and Alex has this thing about spinning round…" she trailed off when the door bell rang out through the house.

"I'll get it." I told the table, pushing my chair back. "If she's telling embarrassing stories, I'd rather not be here whilst she's doing it."

I walked through the house and just reached the door as the bell was rung again, I pulled open the door and found a face I was not expecting to see behind it.

"Hey Al." He smiled at me. My arms were folded as I leant on the door frame and blocked his entrance. "You never were much for talking."

"I'm getting better." I shrugged, arms remaining tight across my chest.

"I'm, uh, here for Theresa." My arms suddenly dropped as I was left to compose myself, not wanting my obvious shock to betray me.

"She's not here." I lied quickly. He simply stood to the side and revealed her car parked in my drive. "Okay," I conceded. "Wait here." I sighed before walking back through the house, to dinner and my family. "Uh," I pointed back at the front door, "that was Eddie."

"Who's Eddie?" Seth frowned at me as Theresa quickly rose.

"You should have got a cab." I told the panic that was covering her face.

"What does he want?" She asked.

"Didn't ask, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say you. No one drives from Chino into a gated community for no-" I cut myself off as it suddenly dawned on me. "You sleeping with him?" I asked her.

"We'll leave you. Now, Seth." Kirsten told us as she scrapped her chair back and pulled her son away from the table and into the next room.

I watched as she opened and closed her mouth. "Why are you here?" I asked her as she stumbled over what she was going to say.

"I came for you." She said honestly and barely above a whisper but then she looked up at me. "I'm not any more."

"I think we're going to have to cliff note this, angry guy not getting any less angry on my front step." I sighed at her.

"Eddie proposed. I came here. For you." she said with a slight roll of her eyes, "You're in love, yaddah yaddah-"

"Do not yaddah, yaddah my love!" I pointed at her.

"Not here for you anymore." She continued as if without interruption.

"What you want me to do about Eddie?"

"Get him to go?" She asked me hopefully.

"This guy used to regularly kick my arse I don't see this going well." I sighed as I walked back through the house and to my door. "Eddie!" I smiled at him as I pulled it back open. "Yeah she doesn't want to see you."

"You love her?" he asked me.

"What?" I frowned back at him.

"I do, okay, I do… And I wanna take care of her, do you? I mean can you?" His arms were folded this time as I simply looked at him no idea what the hell was going on. "Look I know this is tough I – I can't tell you what to do… but if you wanted to you could talk to her you know convince her to come home, otherwise you better be ready to fight for her cause I'm not just gonna walk away okay, I cant." He told me, lacking all sense of irony as he got into his truck at the end of the drive way and drove away.

"This is why I don't have friends over." I sighed, walking back into the house and closing the door behind me. "Theresa!" I yelled as I went to find her where I left her. "The less cliff notey vision."

"The less cliff notey version?" she frowned back at me.

"Eddie seems to think I am now the third person in your relationship. I get to make up phrases. Eddie proposed?"

"He asked I didn't say yes."

"So you just took off? You think that'll fix everything?"

"How many times have you run away from home? Talked about starting over, away from your mom, in a new town?" Her hands were on her hips telling me I shouldn't push her.

"Your gonna have to face him sooner or later, his teen drama 'This isn't over' speech made that perfectly clear to me. And since when did you start dating men again?" She looked across the table at me. "I'm not pushing you." I sighed.

"I should go." She said after what seemed like an eternity of silence between us.

She walked round the table so that she was besides me. "I'm sorry." I told her quietly as she passed me. "I never meant to fall in love."

"Give a monkey a thousand girls-"

"Worst analogy ever." I told her as our eyes locked properly for the first time since she'd got here.


"You can't ever…" I looked up from Great Expectations and found Marissa in my doorway, caught between my room and the garden, "put them back the way they were… You know, it takes time. You can't just have coffee and expect-"

"You alright?" I frowned at her as I folded down the page of my book.

"There's just so much to work through. Trust has to be built again, on both sides… You have to learn if we're even the same people we were, if you can fit in each other's lives."

"Marissa?"

"It's a long… important process, and… can we just skip it? Can – can you just be kissing me now?"

As I got up and walked the small space to meet her, to feel her lips on mine, to get everything back, my mind was swamped with just one thought. Theresa.


BIG GIANT DISCLAIMER: Yes (rolls eyes) I know I didn't write the ending, but its the perfect getting back together scene (with the possible exception of 'You're a wanker number nine!') and consequently nothing I could have writen would have compared. It belongs to Mutant Enemy et al.

A/N: Also I'm sorry its short and sweet, still battling the block. The next couple will probably be about this length too.