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The Truth Hurts - 4
Title: The Truth Hurts - 4
Author: Mara
Rating: PG-15
Warnings: God... mentions of violence, nothing too bad.
Summary: It's not the best result, but it could be so much worse... Seth's POV
Notes: An AU to 'The Truth'. This one wound up relatively short, not sure why...
The Truth Hurts - 4
Seth had been a lonely child. It was almost impossible for him to make friends, and the few he did make always ended up turning on him. That's why, when Ryan had sat down beside him in front of the playstation, Seth had latched onto the other boy, seeing him as a ready made friend who was tough enough to protect him from the likes of Luke Ward and his cronies.
"Dude, united we're unstoppable!"
They made a great team, watching eachother's backs, even though Seth's tended to be the one who needed his back watched. But after the shooting, Seth was scared of Ryan. Or, more accurately, he was scared of seeing Ryan in a hospital bed with tubes running into and out of his body. Ryan who wouldn't wake up and later Ryan with blank eyes staring at nothing. He didn't see anything in Ryan's eyes, and that was almost worse than the coma, though it gave that glimmer of hope.
"He's gonna be okay, right?"
At first, Seth spent as much time as possible at the hospital, keeping his parents company while they watched over Ryan. He'd give Luke and the other guys from the soccer team updates on Ryan's condition, he'd always told them Ryan would be okay, he just needed some time to rest and recover. That was all, Ryan would wake up any day and he'd be fine.
"Cohen, how can you think about movies when Chino's... the way he is?"
Then, after three months went by, Seth tried to pretend everything was okay and normal, dragging Summer to movies and buying his comics like nothing was wrong. He refused to go near the poolhouse or even look at it, almost pretending that Ryan didn't exist and wasn't laying in a hospital, maybe dying, maybe already dead in all the ways that mattered. Summer got mad at him, yelled and screamed and said he was being stupid and selfish and his mom and Ryan needed him to be there for them since his dad had walked out on them, and he was just as bad as Sandy, even if he was still there. And he'd called her a bitch and told her to get out of the house and not come back.
"I can't mom! I wanna sit with him but I can't!"
His mom would come home and tell him how things had gone at the hospital, and he'd ignore her until she asked him to sit with Ryan and read to him, then he'd try to make excuses. Finally, he told her that he was scared of what he'd see, and he just couldn't face Ryan in his condition. He confessed that he thought Summer was right, that he was just as bad of a person as Sandy because he wouldn't go see Ryan and didn't even want to talk about it. And Kirsten had told him that she'd stop asking, if he promised to talk to her sometimes.
"Seth, he's awake."
Once Ryan's eyes opened, Seth could handle being at the hospital more, and he took some of his backlog of comics with him, reading them aloud and exagerating the voices. And one day, he happened to glance up at just the right time and saw Ryan had turned to watch him, eyes open and... and alive. Ryan was really seeing him. Seth had faltered, falling silent when he realized his mom was right about Ryan still being there, and the light had seemed to dim, so he had frantically started talking, wanting the light to come back and be there. Wanting Ryan to be there.
"I'm glad your back because Ryan's glad your back, but that doesn't mean I forgive you for leaving us, Dad."
It was hard to forgive Sandy when he finally came home from New York. Ryan's eyes had lit up more when he saw Sandy, and had stayed alive longer with all three Cohens there, and that made Seth unbelievably happy, even if the doctors and nurses said it was all in their heads, Seth knew better. But at the same time, he was angry at Sandy for leaving them for seven long months. They'd needed him there, Ryan had needed him, and he'd been on the other side of the country, wallowing in guilt and self pity, and it made Seth mad. It made him want to yell and scream at his dad for being a jackass. It also made him realize how big of an apology he owed to Summer, because now he understood why she'd been so pissed at him.
"I'm an idiot. Just like my dad."
Summer didn't forgive him right away, she called him an ass and told him to go to hell the first few times he tried to apologize, and he didn't really understand why she couldn't forgive him until the day he walked up to Ryan's hospital room and found Summer sitting on the edge of Ryan's bed, gently combing his hair with her fingers and telling him how much she missed him, how weird things were without him there to make subtle faces when Seth was an idiot or Holly was extra slutty. She was soft and tender with Ryan, like he was a broken being that she was trying to find a way to piece back together, and when she bent to kiss Ryan's cheek and pulled back, wiping a tear off of Ryan's face, and telling him it was okay, she knew he'd be there soon, he just needed more time, Seth started to understand. Summer knew what Seth had missed. Ryan knew that Seth hadn't been there, it hurt Ryan just as much as Sandy's abscence had, and Ryan didn't deserve anymore hurt.
"You'll be okay, Ryan. I know it."
The End
Summer's POV is next.
Author: Mara
Rating: PG-15
Warnings: God... mentions of violence, nothing too bad.
Summary: It's not the best result, but it could be so much worse... Seth's POV
Notes: An AU to 'The Truth'. This one wound up relatively short, not sure why...
The Truth Hurts - 4
Seth had been a lonely child. It was almost impossible for him to make friends, and the few he did make always ended up turning on him. That's why, when Ryan had sat down beside him in front of the playstation, Seth had latched onto the other boy, seeing him as a ready made friend who was tough enough to protect him from the likes of Luke Ward and his cronies.
"Dude, united we're unstoppable!"
They made a great team, watching eachother's backs, even though Seth's tended to be the one who needed his back watched. But after the shooting, Seth was scared of Ryan. Or, more accurately, he was scared of seeing Ryan in a hospital bed with tubes running into and out of his body. Ryan who wouldn't wake up and later Ryan with blank eyes staring at nothing. He didn't see anything in Ryan's eyes, and that was almost worse than the coma, though it gave that glimmer of hope.
"He's gonna be okay, right?"
At first, Seth spent as much time as possible at the hospital, keeping his parents company while they watched over Ryan. He'd give Luke and the other guys from the soccer team updates on Ryan's condition, he'd always told them Ryan would be okay, he just needed some time to rest and recover. That was all, Ryan would wake up any day and he'd be fine.
"Cohen, how can you think about movies when Chino's... the way he is?"
Then, after three months went by, Seth tried to pretend everything was okay and normal, dragging Summer to movies and buying his comics like nothing was wrong. He refused to go near the poolhouse or even look at it, almost pretending that Ryan didn't exist and wasn't laying in a hospital, maybe dying, maybe already dead in all the ways that mattered. Summer got mad at him, yelled and screamed and said he was being stupid and selfish and his mom and Ryan needed him to be there for them since his dad had walked out on them, and he was just as bad as Sandy, even if he was still there. And he'd called her a bitch and told her to get out of the house and not come back.
"I can't mom! I wanna sit with him but I can't!"
His mom would come home and tell him how things had gone at the hospital, and he'd ignore her until she asked him to sit with Ryan and read to him, then he'd try to make excuses. Finally, he told her that he was scared of what he'd see, and he just couldn't face Ryan in his condition. He confessed that he thought Summer was right, that he was just as bad of a person as Sandy because he wouldn't go see Ryan and didn't even want to talk about it. And Kirsten had told him that she'd stop asking, if he promised to talk to her sometimes.
"Seth, he's awake."
Once Ryan's eyes opened, Seth could handle being at the hospital more, and he took some of his backlog of comics with him, reading them aloud and exagerating the voices. And one day, he happened to glance up at just the right time and saw Ryan had turned to watch him, eyes open and... and alive. Ryan was really seeing him. Seth had faltered, falling silent when he realized his mom was right about Ryan still being there, and the light had seemed to dim, so he had frantically started talking, wanting the light to come back and be there. Wanting Ryan to be there.
"I'm glad your back because Ryan's glad your back, but that doesn't mean I forgive you for leaving us, Dad."
It was hard to forgive Sandy when he finally came home from New York. Ryan's eyes had lit up more when he saw Sandy, and had stayed alive longer with all three Cohens there, and that made Seth unbelievably happy, even if the doctors and nurses said it was all in their heads, Seth knew better. But at the same time, he was angry at Sandy for leaving them for seven long months. They'd needed him there, Ryan had needed him, and he'd been on the other side of the country, wallowing in guilt and self pity, and it made Seth mad. It made him want to yell and scream at his dad for being a jackass. It also made him realize how big of an apology he owed to Summer, because now he understood why she'd been so pissed at him.
"I'm an idiot. Just like my dad."
Summer didn't forgive him right away, she called him an ass and told him to go to hell the first few times he tried to apologize, and he didn't really understand why she couldn't forgive him until the day he walked up to Ryan's hospital room and found Summer sitting on the edge of Ryan's bed, gently combing his hair with her fingers and telling him how much she missed him, how weird things were without him there to make subtle faces when Seth was an idiot or Holly was extra slutty. She was soft and tender with Ryan, like he was a broken being that she was trying to find a way to piece back together, and when she bent to kiss Ryan's cheek and pulled back, wiping a tear off of Ryan's face, and telling him it was okay, she knew he'd be there soon, he just needed more time, Seth started to understand. Summer knew what Seth had missed. Ryan knew that Seth hadn't been there, it hurt Ryan just as much as Sandy's abscence had, and Ryan didn't deserve anymore hurt.
"You'll be okay, Ryan. I know it."
The End
Summer's POV is next.