Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to The OC.
Summary: AU Season 3. A chance encounter after the Sweatshirt Party opens the door to an unexpected friendship between two unlikely people... Ryan and Taylor.
Author's note: I would like to say a special "Thank You" to XWaltzforVenusX and Obsessed Romantic for their support and encouragement to share this story! There are so many talented writers on this site that I admire. So many of you have inspired me with your love for Ryan / Taylor that I had to try and join in on the fun. I hope you like the result and please let me know either way.
Atonement
Ryan had taken a walk along the beach after Sadie had left; in fact all of his friends had left some time ago. He enjoyed the solitude, walking along the edge of the water, hoping the sound of the waves crashing would drown out the thoughts in his unsettled mind. It had only worked for so long though and then he began to reflect on how strange the night had turned out over all. Things were still terribly awkward between Marissa and him. It was difficult to carry on a conversation with her, there was so much distance but he had wanted her to know that he wasn't completely abandoning her. No matter how badly he wanted to sometimes. He hated that she seemed to be on a never-ending downward spiral but he was really quite sick of being her savior.
He wasn't all that surprised though when Seth sought him out to let him know that Summer had broken up with him, not because Seth had told finally told her the truth about Brown, which is what he had advised him to do earlier. No, she broke up with him because Seth had chosen to avoid conflict and acted like a total jerk instead, by claiming he didn't see a future for them anymore. Ryan didn't agree with his method or his reasoning either. And of course he was spending more time focusing on what was wrong with his best friend's current romantic relationship rather than his own.
Of course, he was a fine one to criticize anyone about avoiding conflict. Wasn't that exactly what he had done after his conversation with Sandy a few hours ago? When he had arrived at Sadie's to pick her up for the College Sweatshirt party he should have told her immediately that he was having doubts about them moving to Berkeley together, that maybe that hadn't given the idea enough consideration. She had given him the perfect opening but instead he had forced a smile and told her she would be fine without a sweatshirt, acting like he had no reservations about moving to a new place with a girl he had known for only a couple of months. It was no wonder why Sandy and Kirsten had been strongly opposed to the idea. What the hell had he been thinking anyway? Apparently he hadn't been, well certainly not with his brain at any rate, as his earlier conversation with Sandy proved.
Ryan paused briefly as he finally noticed his aimless wandering had brought him back to the life guard chair, where Sadie had told him he was a nice guy but it wasn't going to work out after all. Hearing those words echo inside his head should have made him feel a loss of some kind but it was difficult when he knew her words were the truth. If they hadn't been he would and could have talked her out of it, convinced her to stay, but he had watched her walk away feeling nothing but relief.
He looked around and took note of the fact that the beach was quiet, deserted of all wild Harbor High students celebrating their excitement about the prospect of college and looking forward to the future. Despite tonight's turn of events, he shared the sentiment! Since everyone had gone home, he figured it was getting late and he was sure Seth would be waiting for him, all needy and demanding some major Ryan/Seth time.
He climbed up the sandy incline that led to the parking lot. As soon as he cleared his way of the beach, he noticed that another car was parked several spaces down from his own. He wouldn't have paid too much attention to this fact despite that no one lingered on the beach, except the hood of the red convertible was propped up. He had a vague recollection of seeing this car before. He noticed a female figure leaning over to look inside. He took a moment to appreciate the view of a very fine ass in tight jeans before he slowly made his way over. As he approached his gaze traveled up from her ass to her back, which was covered with long wavy auburn flowing locks over a green hooded sweatshirt. It was the combination of her ass, hair and car that inspired recognition of her identity and his suspicious were confirmed as he neared her once he heard the sound of her voice.
He paused a few feet away from her to listen to her ramble, "…education today! You would think they would want to teach students applicable things that will actually help one get by in life, like how to fix a car. No, instead we spend hours in classroom learning about the history of our country, which is fine, I suppose. I mean I love America and what it stands for as much as anyone else. I enjoy freedom and the pursuit of happiness! Okay so maybe that was a bad example, since you should know the origins in order to appreciate the journey of where we are now. We need foreign language given how diverse our country is and how much business we do overseas. English is a must for obvious reasons, as well as science. It is also practical to keep Physical Education and Health as part of the system to emphasize the importance of fitness and nutrition if one wants to live a long and healthy life. Not to mention keeping up with the impossible standards the media sets forth, for women especially. So what does that leave us with to eliminate, ah yes, math. Math is pointless beyond knowing how to balance your checkbook and deciphering stock reports. I mean seriously who the hell needs to know the answer to the Pythagorean Theorem anyway, when does that come up in everyday life?"
"Taylor?" Ryan interrupted her rant despite being thoroughly amused, convinced she could go on for hours on the subject of the educational system.
Taylor jumped at the sound of his voice, so caught up in her own world that she forgot there was a huge piece of metal above her and proceeded to knock her head up hard against the hood of the car as she tried to straighten.
"OW!!" She exclaimed sucking in deep breathes to manage the pain exploding inside her skull. It was a wonder the thing hadn't collapsed to decapitate her, she thought grumpily.
"Are you okay?" Ryan asked concerned and trying not to laugh at the same time as he crossed the remaining distance to stand beside her.
Taylor backed out inside of the engine very carefully before attempting to straighten to her full height, her hand rubbing gently at the back of her head. "No," she answered in an almost pitiful whine. Her head ached but the worst of her suffering came from embarrassment as she met the striking blue eyes that belonged to the hottest guy in school. Maybe he hadn't been standing there for very long. It wasn't like he could just sneak up on her; she consoled herself with that positive thought.
"Why don't you sit down for a minute?" He suggested, reaching out to place a hand on the small of her back prepared to guide her down to a seat on the grass that separated the edge of the parking lot from the pathway.
Continuing to rub her head, and ignoring the tingles of electricity his touch triggered, she replied, "no, thank you. I will fine in just a minute."
Ryan dropped his hand from her back and turned to peer down into the open hood. "What seems to be the problem? Maybe I can help you."
"Every time I try to start the car all I get is a clicking noise."
"Hmm."
Taylor watched as he reached in to fiddle with a couple wires, examining various gadgets. She forced herself to keep focused on the task at hand and not get distracted by his strong hands and the fantasies watching them invoked in her very vivid imagination. "Easy girl," Taylor whispered breathlessly in an attempt to get her hormones under control.
"Would you mind trying to start the car for me?"
Taylor complied with his request jumping into the driver's side and turning the key in the ignition. Ryan stood at the hood of the car, hands on hips assessing the situation. After a few unsuccessful tries he motioned for her to abort the action. She exited the car standing by the door and awaited his conclusion.
"It's your starter."
"Can you fix it?"
"Yes, but not tonight." He removed the metal stick that had been propping open the hood and slammed it shut. "Come on, I will give you a ride home."
"Oh, um, no I couldn't possibly impose on you like that. I can call someone to come get me or something." Like a cab she thought since she didn't exactly have that many friends, certainly none that would go out of their way for her, and her mom was out of town on a business trip.
"Taylor, its fine. Unless you have a hot date or something?"
"No, of course not." Oh now why did she have to say it like that? She didn't really need to remind him of her pathetic social life or lack thereof.
"Then I will take you home."
"Thank you." She collected her purse from the passenger seat as well as the keys before securing the car.
On the short walk to his vehicle he said, "you know if you are going to rearrange the general education curriculum you may want to suggest adding a self-defense course for women as well as Automotive 101."
Taylor stifled the urge to moan in utter embarrassment, there went all hope that he hadn't been listening to her for that long. She took a deep calming breath before asking "why is that?"
"You were completely oblivious to the fact that I stood there for a good two minutes before I even said anything." He scolded her.
"Not oblivious, just focused," she corrected him.
"It is dangerous for a girl to be out alone on a beach or in a parking lot late at night. You need to be more careful, starting with being more aware of your surroundings. You could have been hurt."
After Taylor got passed her initial shock over the fact that Ryan Atwood was actually lecturing her on safety guidelines she replied, "you may have a point. Self–defense and learning about cars should be added as mandatory classes. I wonder when the next board meeting is." Never breaking her stride Ryan watched as she opened her brown Coach purse and searched for a pen and tablet. She wrote down a quick note reminding herself to research the date of the next meeting. "And if you were so concerned with my well being, why didn't you say something sooner?" She asked as she returned the items to her bag.
"There didn't seem to be a good time to interrupt you." He said as he opened the car door for her.
Taylor murmured a polite thank you as she climbed in the passenger seat all the while glaring at him for his comment.
"You know I don't think you even took a breath once." He continued before shutting her door.
Taylor crossed her arms in an effort to look affronted and bit down gently on her lip to keep from smiling at his teasing observation. Who knew Ryan Atwood could be so funny. He was even more dangerous than she had anticipated him to be.
Once he had settled himself beside her he started the SUV and backed out, casually asking "so why were you out here all by yourself ?"
"I had to stay to make sure the fire was properly put out and clean up after the party."
"Don't you have a clean up committee for that kind of thing?"
"Oh please! No one wants a job that lacks glamour. So that falls on me, just like everything else does for all our school events." Taylor replied trying not to get frustrated all over again at the lack of response for that particular assignment.
"Didn't you come to the party with someone? I think Sadie mentioned you speaking dirty to some guy in Korean."
Taylor could feel herself blush which was absolutely ridiculous given how much of an open attitude she had in regards to sex. She had never agreed with the idea of sex being something to be done but not discussed. She had no trouble admitting that she was a very sexual person, she thoroughly enjoyed everything about sex and she certainly wasn't ashamed to talk about it. But for some unexplainable reason she was mortified to know that Ryan knew all about her naughty talk with Sung-ho. She sat up straighter in her chair, meeting his piercing gaze directly, refusing to give in to the sudden urge to squirm in her seat and clear her throat. "I will admit this wasn't how my night was supposed to end. Unfortunately there was an emergency at the restaurant and Sung-ho had to go attend to it." She explained.
"He couldn't have come back for you?"
"Ryan, it is fine."
"No, it is not!" He insisted. "A young girl should not be alone on the beach at one o'clock in the morning. It isn't safe, in fact it is very stupid and you are definitely not a stupid girl."
"Thanks for noticing!" Taylor replied sarcastically. "Perhaps you would care to explain why it is okay for a young boy to be out on the beach alone late at night when it is just as likely that you could be hurt. Isn't that just as stupid?" She demanded.
"No because unlike you, I know how to defend myself."
It was hard to argue with that logic since it was completely true. Ryan's fights were legendary at Harbor. She had once been witness to him punching out the Dean of Discipline, an incident for which she was partially responsible. That was a time in her life she was not proud of and preferred not to dwell on often. She liked to think she had matured since then. It was this personal growth that helped her to realize she was heading into bitch-mode, so she took a couple deep breaths to calm down. This was her first real conversation with Ryan where he was actually initiating it and treating her like a person, she didn't want to spoil the moment. She wanted to have a memory to treasure later on. She sighed. "The fact that you know how to throw a punch doesn't make it any more acceptable for you to be out on the beach alone at night. You are not invincible even if you do have your own comic book character. This is real life! The way I see it, everything turned out well enough, no one was hurt so there is no point carrying on about it anymore. However I will promise to take proper precautions in the future. How does that sound?"
"If that is the best you can do," he grumbled not sure why he was making such a big issue out of the incident. She was right, she hadn't been hurt or in any real danger so he couldn't explain why he was lecturing Taylor Townsend, a girl he barely even liked!
A silence followed in the car. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable but Taylor felt compelled to break it. It wasn't everyday that she had the chance to talk with a guy she had secretly had a crush on since he first began attending Harbor, it didn't matter that she already knew how out of her league he was. She was not one to let opportunities slip by and she was determined to take advantage of this one. She liked the sound of his voice even if he spent most of the time reprimanding her. If she weren't careful it would be incredibly easy to imagine that he had an invested interest in her well being.
"So I don't mean to pry," she began and pretended to ignore the look of disbelief he shot her way. "But I couldn't help but notice your girlfriend Sadie is suspiciously absent. Now I am sure you didn't abandon her on the beach and I am basing that assumption on the strength of your convictions for that particular subject, so…" she trailed off, turning to face him in the seat as she patiently waited for him to fill in the blanks.
"Sadie is not my girlfriend," was his only response.
"Ah," Taylor replied suddenly understanding the situation a bit more clearly.
Ryan refused to give her the satisfaction of asking what the hell that meant and what she thought she knew.
A couple more minutes passed with no exchange of words until Taylor once again broke the stillness by stating gently "you know I am almost as good at listening as I am at talking. I am sure Seth and Summer would be glad to provide you with references if you doubt my ability."
"I think those two are going to keep you pretty busy."
"That's okay. I have a lot of free time."
"Those two are a complete mess!"
"Currently, yes, but I will come up with a plan, I always do! There is no need to worry about them." She assured him with a smile.
"So you have no plans to take advantage of the situation and make a play for Seth?"
"That was long time ago."
"It was four months ago."
"As I said, it was long time ago. A lot can happen in that amount of time."
Ryan silently agreed. A lot had changed in his own life in that amount of time.
"In any case, it didn't take me very long to discover those two are meant to be, which is why I have complete faith they will work things out. Nice try by the way, but it's not going to work."
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Your little effort to distract me with Seth and Summer in the hopes that I will forget about your own problems with a girl named Sadie."
Ryan frowned. "The strategy would have worked with Seth," he complained.
Taylor laughed enjoying the fact that Ryan was practically pouting. "At the risk of pointing out the obvious, I am not Seth. I just think that since you got to inquire about my date for the evening, it is only fair that I receive the same courtesy."
"That was different. I was only asking the reason why you were alone."
"I am asking out of curiosity to determine why you were alone brooding on the beach rather than spending time with a lovely girl such as Sadie and not enjoying a party."
Ryan sent her one of his death glares he reserved for Seth.
Taylor smiled again, not intimidated in the least. "How about this then, I will drop the matter entirely so long as you promise to talk about whatever happened with Seth."
They both knew that would be impossible given how self-involved Seth was by nature and his present situation with Summer.
"You know I wouldn't be able to keep my word."
"This is exactly why I am offering to listen. It seems most of your friends are going through their own issues at the moment. From what I have observed, you always try to be there for them, so if you can tell me right now that someone will be there for you, I will not say another word about it." She challenged.
Ryan knew she had him cornered and he didn't like it one damn bit! "Why do you care so much?"
She wasn't comfortable revealing the secrets of her heart, so she settled on a partial truth. "I owe you."
"Taylor, no, you don't."
"You're wrong! What I did to you and Marissa was horrible and undeserving. I have never formally apologized to you. You have no idea how much I regret my actions and being involved in that mess last fall."
"You made up for it by helping Marissa finish her senior year at Harbor with her friends." He reminded her.
"I haven't done anything to make it up to you and this is the only way I can think of."
"It isn't necessary."
"Ryan, please." She entreated softly.
He pulled up into her driveway and she was too preoccupied with him to comprehend he had never once asked for directions to her house. Later, she would wonder about the significance of that.
"There isn't much to say," he evaded; trying not to fall victim to her pleading hazel eyes and knew he was failing miserably.
Taylor didn't believe him but rather than express her doubts she said, "I would still really like to listen."
Ryan debated as he put the car in park. He could tell this meant a lot to her, though he wasn't certain why. Nor was he sure why he was even entertaining the idea of indulging her request. There wasn't anything he needed to talk about, that just wasn't his way. Even if he had wanted to talk he conceded she did have a point that all of his friends were presently involved with their own messes. He didn't feel comfortable confiding in Sandy and Kirsten simply because they had been right about everything after all, not that they would ever bring that up though. However, it was enough for him to know that they were in the right to discourage him from opening up to them. He did not need anyone he reminded himself so there was no rational reason for him to even consider humoring Taylor, a girl he was barely even acquaintances with before tonight. He was beginning to feel as if he had entered into an alternate reality or something, the way this night kept going.
He looked away from the stare they were locked in; he had suspicions her eyes saw way more than he was comfortable with. He played with the keys in the ignition as he said, "it's late."
Taylor sensed victory in that one tiny statement. "Come on inside Ryan. My mom is out of town on business with a client so we won't be disturbed. I will even fix you some hot chocolate."
"Hmm, do you have any whip cream? Because no whip cream would definitely be a deal breaker." He warned with what she could only term a half smile.
"Then it is a very good thing that I happen to have an extra large unopened can in my refrigerator, extra creamy, I believe." She replied with a smile of her own, as she hopped out of the utility vehicle. She turned around to face him framed by the open door. "How anyone can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate without whip cream is beyond me? I mean seriously, who does that?"
Ryan smiled a full on smile and Taylor thrilled at the way his eyes sparkled in response to something she actually said.
Ryan shook his head as she closed the door and began to walk away. Life was definitely full of surprises. Who would have thought the night would have ended with him following Taylor Townsend into her house about to share pieces of him self when it wasn't easy for him to let anyone in. That was something he would ponder in the days to come.