Fire Bad, Tree Pretty (9/15: For All It's Worth)
Angelus [email protected]
See first chapter for disclaimer, etc.
~*~
Seth was still in shock. He had just kissed Summer Roberts. Twice. Within the last five minutes. If he had thought that his head was spinning before, it was going at it double-time now. Strangely, though, his headache had subsided. If that wasn't a sign, he didn't know what was. For a few silent minutes, he just stared out the poolhouse door, even after he could not longer see the retreating forms of Summer and Marissa. Finally, he collapsed back onto the bed with Ryan and Hailey.
"I can now die happy," he announced.
"What happened to swearing off of girls?" Hailey asked. Seth grinned and shrugged, hoping she'd stop there, but Hailey shook her head.
"You're not getting off that easily," she said. "I'm covering for you two - I might as well know what I'm covering you for."
"Ahem," Seth began. "Well, it was your average teenagers-getting-smashed party weekend," he said. "We drank. And drank. And drank. And played Twister. And Summer made out with me in the kitchen." He grinned as Ryan shot straight up out of bed, instantly regretting the move as he cringed and brought his fingers up to rub his temples.
"Damn," he muttered, then turned back to Seth. "When the hell did that happen?" he asked. "You never told me!"
"Friday night," Seth answered, still smiling. "Middle of the night, we both woke up - you and Marissa were passed out cold on the floor of my room." Ryan grinned slowly, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Congrats, man," he said, extending a fist for Seth to bump against his own.
"So, Twister and kitchen rendezvous on Friday," Hailey piped up. "What happened yesterday?"
Seth and Ryan shared a look. Each of them opened their mouth to say something, then thought better of it and closed it again. They did this several times, the blank looks on their faces clearly conveying the fact that they had absolutely no idea what had happened. Hailey laughed her ass off as the boys glared.
"I'm sorry," she exclaimed. "It's just that when I was in high school and someone said that, it usually meant that someone had purposely gotten them drunk and made them do something really embarrassing."
"But it was just us and the girls. What would they have done to us?"
~*~
There were times when Summer was glad that she had parents that could care less what she did with herself. Like this past weekend. Because if they had needed to call her for some reason at Marissa's, where she had said she was, they would have gotten an answering machine clearly stating that Julie Cooper was on business in London for the weekend, but you could reach Marissa at the Roberts' house if need be. Not that she was at all worried they would call - she and Marissa had worked out the kinks of that trick years ago.
Summer flopped down dramatically onto Marissa's bed, leaving her bag in the middle of the floor. "I'm exhausted!" she exclaimed. Marissa quirked an eyebrow, shooting her best friend a half-smile.
"Maybe that's from too much lip-locking with Seth." Rolling her eyes, Summer threw a pillow at Marissa.
"I wasn't the only one he was lip-locking," she reminded her. Marissa snorted with laughter and dug through her bag until she found the camera.
"This is going to be priceless," she said. "Come on - let's go get these developed now."
~*~
Ryan had always been good at lying. Lying to his mom, to his teachers, to the cops.... The ability to keep cool in any situation was one that came in handy living in Chino, where there was trouble lurking around every corner. That made lying to the Cohens a piece of cake. Seth, however, was having difficulties.
"Did you two have fun this weekend?" Sandy asked. Seth nodded vigorously, then stuffed his mouth full of food so that when his father asked "Well, what did you do?" he was unable to answer. Ryan rolled his eyes at him across the dinner table and took it upon himself to answer.
"Played video games and swam, mostly," he said. "We went to the Crab Shack with Summer and Marissa yesterday afternoon." Sandy gave an approving nod as he took another swig from his wineglass. Kirsten, meanwhile, turned to Hailey.
"What about you?" she asked. Hailey snorted.
"Please," she said. "I have better things to do with my time than spend the weekend alone with two high-school boys."
"Gee, thanks, Aunt Hailey," Seth piped up. Hailey rolled her eyes. Seth stuck out his tongue. Hailey threw a roll at him, but it missed, landing instead in Sandy's lap. Sandy picked it up and threw it at Ryan, who blocked it with his spoon, sending the roll straight into the salad. Kirsten groaned.
"I swear, it's like I have four children," she muttered.
~*~
Marissa and Summer were sitting cross-legged on the concrete sidewalk outside the 1-hour photo, take-out cartons balanced in their laps as they ate dinner while waiting for their pictures, bathed in the setting summer sun. Kids played on the beach, couples walked hand-in-hand along the shoreline, and teenagers partied. Meanwhile, people of all ages jogged, biked, or skated along the boardwalk, while vendors closed down shop for the night. Summer took it all in with a wistful smile.
"I've decided that I'm never leaving California," she declared.
"*Why*?" Marissa asked. "I mean, I get why, but - don't you ever get tired of it? Of all the snobby rich people who only care about themselves?"
"Like us, you mean?" Summer asked with a grin. "Yeah, I guess I do. So maybe I won't stay in Orange County the whole time. But definitely somewhere in California." Marissa regarded her thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I could see you staying here," she said, just a tinge of sadness in her voice.
"You, however, wouldn't stay," Summer said. "I could see you in Chicago. No, Chicago suburbs. Some nice, small, Midwestern town where you could go to a good school, get married, start a family, but still be able to go into the city." Out of the corner of her eye, Summer saw Marissa smile.
"You know me so well," she agreed, and they just let it hang there in the air. Even though they were almost seniors, and going through all kinds of junior-year college-prep stuff, they hadn't really talked about what would happen when they had to split up. Theirs was a friendship of opposites; they complemented each other. Summer was bold and outgoing, where Marissa was more subdued. Marissa was usually described as sweet. Summer was usually described as a bitch. Summer wasn't afraid to stand up for herself, whereas Marissa sometimes got walked on without even realizing it. But at the same time, they had things that tied them together - living in Newport, for one. Screwed-up home lives. And an amazing ability to understand. Summer wasn't sure she would ever be able to find someone who got her like Marissa did; accepted her, no questions asked. And no, Cohen didn't count. Speaking of....
"Where do you think Chino will end up?" she asked. Marissa thought about it for a minute.
"Chicago," she answered finally. "He'd want that quiet, Midwestern life, too."
"Not to mention he'd follow you anywhere." Marissa looked down, blushing, but Summer could see the smile on her face. For a second, she was envious. Marissa had that perfect person, that shot at a perfect life. Summer had never been able to see that in the cards for herself. "I see Cohen in New York," she said emotionlessly. "Going to concerts and museums every week, dating some emo chick with pink hair."
"Me too," Marissa said, and Summer pretended not to be hurt by the fact that she was agreeing with this. Marissa saw it anyway, though, and laughed, giving her best friend a nudge. "But," she continued, "I see him coming back. Or you going there. Maybe you'll do the long-distance thing for awhile, maybe you'll break up for awhile. But in the end, neither of you are going to give up. You're both so damn stubborn - I don't think anything could ever truly stand in the way of you two." Summer grinned, and leaned over.
"C'mere, you," she said, giving Marissa a huge bear hug. Marissa laughed as the force of the hug knocked her over sideways, her food spilling on the ground. Both girls giggled, reverting back to third grade for a minute as they just lay there, sprawled out on the sidewalk. They were still laughing and clutching each other when the owner of the 1-hour photo place stepped out of the door, locking it behind him. He gave the girls a look before silently handing them their envelope of pictures and taking off in the opposite direction. It was California, the land of the fruits and the nuts - he'd seen far stranger. Summer grabbed eagerly at the envelope, shoving Marissa off of her and sitting up to rip it open. Marissa sat up behind her, peering over her shoulder as she flipped through the pictures until she came to the one she wanted. The girls exchanged a grin.
School next week was going to rock.
Angelus [email protected]
See first chapter for disclaimer, etc.
~*~
Seth was still in shock. He had just kissed Summer Roberts. Twice. Within the last five minutes. If he had thought that his head was spinning before, it was going at it double-time now. Strangely, though, his headache had subsided. If that wasn't a sign, he didn't know what was. For a few silent minutes, he just stared out the poolhouse door, even after he could not longer see the retreating forms of Summer and Marissa. Finally, he collapsed back onto the bed with Ryan and Hailey.
"I can now die happy," he announced.
"What happened to swearing off of girls?" Hailey asked. Seth grinned and shrugged, hoping she'd stop there, but Hailey shook her head.
"You're not getting off that easily," she said. "I'm covering for you two - I might as well know what I'm covering you for."
"Ahem," Seth began. "Well, it was your average teenagers-getting-smashed party weekend," he said. "We drank. And drank. And drank. And played Twister. And Summer made out with me in the kitchen." He grinned as Ryan shot straight up out of bed, instantly regretting the move as he cringed and brought his fingers up to rub his temples.
"Damn," he muttered, then turned back to Seth. "When the hell did that happen?" he asked. "You never told me!"
"Friday night," Seth answered, still smiling. "Middle of the night, we both woke up - you and Marissa were passed out cold on the floor of my room." Ryan grinned slowly, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Congrats, man," he said, extending a fist for Seth to bump against his own.
"So, Twister and kitchen rendezvous on Friday," Hailey piped up. "What happened yesterday?"
Seth and Ryan shared a look. Each of them opened their mouth to say something, then thought better of it and closed it again. They did this several times, the blank looks on their faces clearly conveying the fact that they had absolutely no idea what had happened. Hailey laughed her ass off as the boys glared.
"I'm sorry," she exclaimed. "It's just that when I was in high school and someone said that, it usually meant that someone had purposely gotten them drunk and made them do something really embarrassing."
"But it was just us and the girls. What would they have done to us?"
~*~
There were times when Summer was glad that she had parents that could care less what she did with herself. Like this past weekend. Because if they had needed to call her for some reason at Marissa's, where she had said she was, they would have gotten an answering machine clearly stating that Julie Cooper was on business in London for the weekend, but you could reach Marissa at the Roberts' house if need be. Not that she was at all worried they would call - she and Marissa had worked out the kinks of that trick years ago.
Summer flopped down dramatically onto Marissa's bed, leaving her bag in the middle of the floor. "I'm exhausted!" she exclaimed. Marissa quirked an eyebrow, shooting her best friend a half-smile.
"Maybe that's from too much lip-locking with Seth." Rolling her eyes, Summer threw a pillow at Marissa.
"I wasn't the only one he was lip-locking," she reminded her. Marissa snorted with laughter and dug through her bag until she found the camera.
"This is going to be priceless," she said. "Come on - let's go get these developed now."
~*~
Ryan had always been good at lying. Lying to his mom, to his teachers, to the cops.... The ability to keep cool in any situation was one that came in handy living in Chino, where there was trouble lurking around every corner. That made lying to the Cohens a piece of cake. Seth, however, was having difficulties.
"Did you two have fun this weekend?" Sandy asked. Seth nodded vigorously, then stuffed his mouth full of food so that when his father asked "Well, what did you do?" he was unable to answer. Ryan rolled his eyes at him across the dinner table and took it upon himself to answer.
"Played video games and swam, mostly," he said. "We went to the Crab Shack with Summer and Marissa yesterday afternoon." Sandy gave an approving nod as he took another swig from his wineglass. Kirsten, meanwhile, turned to Hailey.
"What about you?" she asked. Hailey snorted.
"Please," she said. "I have better things to do with my time than spend the weekend alone with two high-school boys."
"Gee, thanks, Aunt Hailey," Seth piped up. Hailey rolled her eyes. Seth stuck out his tongue. Hailey threw a roll at him, but it missed, landing instead in Sandy's lap. Sandy picked it up and threw it at Ryan, who blocked it with his spoon, sending the roll straight into the salad. Kirsten groaned.
"I swear, it's like I have four children," she muttered.
~*~
Marissa and Summer were sitting cross-legged on the concrete sidewalk outside the 1-hour photo, take-out cartons balanced in their laps as they ate dinner while waiting for their pictures, bathed in the setting summer sun. Kids played on the beach, couples walked hand-in-hand along the shoreline, and teenagers partied. Meanwhile, people of all ages jogged, biked, or skated along the boardwalk, while vendors closed down shop for the night. Summer took it all in with a wistful smile.
"I've decided that I'm never leaving California," she declared.
"*Why*?" Marissa asked. "I mean, I get why, but - don't you ever get tired of it? Of all the snobby rich people who only care about themselves?"
"Like us, you mean?" Summer asked with a grin. "Yeah, I guess I do. So maybe I won't stay in Orange County the whole time. But definitely somewhere in California." Marissa regarded her thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I could see you staying here," she said, just a tinge of sadness in her voice.
"You, however, wouldn't stay," Summer said. "I could see you in Chicago. No, Chicago suburbs. Some nice, small, Midwestern town where you could go to a good school, get married, start a family, but still be able to go into the city." Out of the corner of her eye, Summer saw Marissa smile.
"You know me so well," she agreed, and they just let it hang there in the air. Even though they were almost seniors, and going through all kinds of junior-year college-prep stuff, they hadn't really talked about what would happen when they had to split up. Theirs was a friendship of opposites; they complemented each other. Summer was bold and outgoing, where Marissa was more subdued. Marissa was usually described as sweet. Summer was usually described as a bitch. Summer wasn't afraid to stand up for herself, whereas Marissa sometimes got walked on without even realizing it. But at the same time, they had things that tied them together - living in Newport, for one. Screwed-up home lives. And an amazing ability to understand. Summer wasn't sure she would ever be able to find someone who got her like Marissa did; accepted her, no questions asked. And no, Cohen didn't count. Speaking of....
"Where do you think Chino will end up?" she asked. Marissa thought about it for a minute.
"Chicago," she answered finally. "He'd want that quiet, Midwestern life, too."
"Not to mention he'd follow you anywhere." Marissa looked down, blushing, but Summer could see the smile on her face. For a second, she was envious. Marissa had that perfect person, that shot at a perfect life. Summer had never been able to see that in the cards for herself. "I see Cohen in New York," she said emotionlessly. "Going to concerts and museums every week, dating some emo chick with pink hair."
"Me too," Marissa said, and Summer pretended not to be hurt by the fact that she was agreeing with this. Marissa saw it anyway, though, and laughed, giving her best friend a nudge. "But," she continued, "I see him coming back. Or you going there. Maybe you'll do the long-distance thing for awhile, maybe you'll break up for awhile. But in the end, neither of you are going to give up. You're both so damn stubborn - I don't think anything could ever truly stand in the way of you two." Summer grinned, and leaned over.
"C'mere, you," she said, giving Marissa a huge bear hug. Marissa laughed as the force of the hug knocked her over sideways, her food spilling on the ground. Both girls giggled, reverting back to third grade for a minute as they just lay there, sprawled out on the sidewalk. They were still laughing and clutching each other when the owner of the 1-hour photo place stepped out of the door, locking it behind him. He gave the girls a look before silently handing them their envelope of pictures and taking off in the opposite direction. It was California, the land of the fruits and the nuts - he'd seen far stranger. Summer grabbed eagerly at the envelope, shoving Marissa off of her and sitting up to rip it open. Marissa sat up behind her, peering over her shoulder as she flipped through the pictures until she came to the one she wanted. The girls exchanged a grin.
School next week was going to rock.