I walked downstairs and bumped into Seth. "Oh, sorry."
"It's okay." Seth said with a smile. I looked towards the front door as it was opened very quietly.
Seth and I glanced at each other as Sandy walked in, looking as if he was trying to sneak in.
Sandy looked up and saw us, and then his eyes widened.
"Well, you two are you early."
"Are you sneaking in?" I asked in shock.
"After curfew?" Seth added and I grinned.
"Busted. Am I grounded?"
"Perhaps if we let you off.. you'll remember this act of kindness and afford us the same leniency.. should we miss our curfew.." Seth suggested.
"Keep dreaming." Sandy stated and I laughed.
"It was worth a shot." Seth told me.
~~~~
I walked into the student lounge and saw Seth sitting on the couch.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Is that Marissa?" I asked, looking down at his sketchbook to a drawing that looked like Marissa dressed in a superhero costume.
"Yeah, or as I like to call her.. Cosmo Girl with a passion for fashion and a magical flask."
"Please tell me you aren't making alcoholism a super power." I told him and he shook his head. "It's a rough draft."
"What's my superhero name? Not Kid Chino like Ry, is it?" I joked.
"I'm not sure. I'm still trying to find the perfect one."
"It doesn't have to be perfect. It's great as long as you love it." I told him with a smile.
"It'd be hard not to love any counterpart of you."
I smiled and looked into his eyes for a moment before looking away quickly.
"Ally, Seth. I've got great news." Ben said walking over to us.
"Hey, Ben."
"What's the news?" Seth asked him.
"My dad has an intern whose uncle works at Wild Storm."
"What's Wild Storm?" I asked.
"An unbelievable comic book company. I pitched them the shape of the idea."
"Well, we don't really have an idea yet-"
"They loved the world of Orange County. They said if they like the art work, they might want to set up a meeting." Ben told us excitedly.
"Alright." Seth said with a grin.
"So get ready man, late nights, high stress, close quarters, and oh Seth, you've got to nail Ally."
"What?" Seth asked quickly and we avoided each other's eye.
"Pitch them her character, you know. Lock down her likeness. I already pitched Sums character to them and they loved her. You gotta start drawing Ally tonight."
"Oh okay." Seth said, but sort of reluctantly. I didn't know what he was worried about.
"So, I'll be posing for you tonight?" I asked Seth, who looked worried but then nodded.
~~~~
I knocked on Seth's door and tightened my robe around myself.
"Come in." Seth called and I took a deep breath before walking into his room.
"Well you certainly dressed up for the occasion." He joked and I made a face at him. He had no idea. Summer had helped me make this costume as she did hers as well. It was a short black shirt with a red top that had geometrical cut outs on it. There was also two bracelets on each of my arms which had small spikes coming out of them. A pair of black boots and tights completed the look.
Definitely way too sexy of an outfit to be posing for your ex boyfriend who you were still in love with.
"Are you ready?" I asked him, standing in front of the bed.
"Hang on just a second..alright." He told me, opening the sketchbook.
I let the robe fall and almost smiled to myself when I saw his face.
"Oh my God." He said, placing the book to his mouth.
"What? Summer helped me with the costume! I mean if it was up to you I'd be wearing shredded purple jeans and.." I trailed off as he still hadn't said anything but was just watching me.
"No this is better. This is much better." Seth said and I rolled my eyes at him, but smiled to myself.
"Okay, come on, let's try and be professional. Less drooling, more drawing." I told him.
I felt awkward just standing as he drew so I stared at him. He looked up and I looked away.
"Do you think you could turn like forty degrees but keep your face tilted towards the light and keep your arms akimbo."
"A kim what?" I asked him, as I moved slightly.
Seth stood up and placed my hands on my hips, then leaned down and pulled one of my knees slightly forward. He stood up and then looked at me.
"And kinda turn your face up just a little bit." Seth said, touching my chin and gently moving my face. I looked into his eyes, not liking this intense moment. It was making it even harder not to get back together with Seth.
Every minute I was with him, I wanted to be with him more. Then I remembered my fear and I shoved the feelings away.
"Okay, that looks good." Seth said, going back and sitting down. I looked down and saw that he had almost drawn me already.
"Wow, you did that just now?"
"It's just a rough draft."
"It's great. You know, I wish I could draw better."
"You can. Those pictures you drew the other night were amazing."
"Yeah, but not as good as yours. You have a real talent, Seth."
"So do you. Want to draw some more?" Seth asked me and I smiled. "Sure."
I sat on the bed beside him and took the sketchbook into my lap.
"You really hold your pencil like that? You're choking it." Seth said and I laughed.
"Okay, how do you hold your pencil?"
"Just loosen up a little. There you go." Seth said helping my fingers loosen and then leaving his hand on my wrist.
I turned to look at him and I realized our foreheads were nearly touching.
"I think I can do the rest from memory. I've got all the angles down." Seth told me quietly.
"Oh good, cause my costumes starting to ride up a little." I told him.
"Okay, um, well, I guess we can pick this up another time." Seth said and I nodded, although I didn't want to leave.
"Yeah. I should go." I said, forcing myself to stand up.
I stopped walking as I heard yelling. It sounded like Caleb Nichol and Ryan.
"What the hell?" Seth muttered, standing up. The two of us headed downstairs quickly and into the kitchen where the yelling was coming from. We made it in time to see Caleb clutching his chest and fall to the ground.
"Dad! Dad! Call 911!" Kirsten yelled.
Ryan and Lindsay looked frozen, so I ran forward and grabbed the phone, dialing 911.
~~~~
I sat in the hospital waiting room with Kirsten, Seth, Ryan and Lindsay. We had been waiting for news for nearly four hours now. We'd been here most of the night.
Thankfully, Seth had given me his jacket since I was still wearing the costume from earlier. It covered the top, but unfortunately I was still in the tight skirt and boots. I'd gotten a few odd looks.
"Well, that's the last time I try cooking." Kirsten muttered.
"I'm starving. There's gotta be a vending machine around here somewhere." Seth said, standing up.
"Me too." I said, standing up as well. I hated sitting.
"I'd love some coffee." Kirsten said.
"Let me get that for you." Ryan said, also standing up.
"Linds, you wanna come?" I asked her.
"I'll stay here."
Seth and I shared a glance before the three of us walked off.
"Ryan, are you okay?" I asked him.
"I'm fine. It's Caleb you should worry about."
"He'll be fine. Only the good die young." I stated, then looked over at Seth. "Sorry."
"No, it's okay, you really channelled your Sandy Cohen with that one."
"How's Lindsay?" I asked Ryan, who sighed.
"Well she just watched her father who thinks she only wants money from him nearly die, so I'd say she's not doing too good."
"I feel so bad for her and Kirsten." I murmured.
"Don't worry, my Grandpa will be okay, so will my mom and Lindsay." Seth told me.
We reached the vending machine and Seth and I got something, while Ryan went for the coffee.
"I was thinking, we should head home. Change clothes and try and get some work done, you know?" Seth suggested and I nodded. "You sure your mom will be alright?"
"Yeah."
Ryan came back with the coffee then.
"Hey, we're gonna head home. Call us if anything happens." I told him. Ryan nodded. "Be careful."
~~~~
The next morning, Sandy, Seth, Ryan and I made breakfast for Kirsten since she didn't eat anything all night in the hospital.
She had called and said she was on the way home, but she was taking a little while to arrive.
"Can you call your mother?" Sandy asked Seth, who stood up. "Yeah."
He came back in after a minute. "Hey, she said that she was gonna make a pit stop by your office then she'll be here."
Sandy's face fell and I wondered what that was about.
"Excuse me." Sandy said, leaving the room.
"What's that about?" I asked.
"Who knows?" Seth muttered.
The front door opened and I looked up as Summer and Ben walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, what're you guys doing here?" I asked, going to hug Summer.
"Hey, we wanted to stop by with the good news." Summer said.
"Good news?" Seth asked.
"I just talked to the guy at Wild Storm, he loved your drawings. I set up a meeting. We're going to San Diego, you, Ally, Summer and I." Ben said excitedly.
"That's great!" I said happily, hugging Seth before I could stop myself.
He hugged me back tightly and then we both leaned away with smiles on our faces.
"So, who's ready for a road trip?"