A/N: Hey people, okay first off this is just a test run. I don't have an official plan for it. Normally I'm not committed to my stories and I often get bored writing midway. I had another O.C story here dubbed "Entangled" and after four chapters it was deleted due to my lack of interest. This is my new project. I will try and work hard at it and make it as long as possible but if I decide to cut it short and end it at a wierd point don't get mad at me. I don't think I will do that this time but its not the first time its happened so you've been warned. Also if someone wants to volunteer to continue it incase I decide to can it please send me a message. By the way my dad might cut me off the internet pretty soon so I won't be able to update for a while but I'm surely going to try my best and submit these chapters. If you don't see an update in a while expect a bunch of chapters to come in at once because I will be writing daily. Wow long author's note. Anyways enjoy: (and if you don't enjoy just critisise and I'll do my best to be better)

Chapter 1:

"Come on Ry you've been studying all day" A black haired youth stated. "I don't feel like playing soccer Damon." Ryan said, normally he would jump at the chance to play but these days he was stuck in a rut and it was starting to get conspicuous.

"Okay Ryan what is it with you? You haven't been yourself these past few days- no actually weeks now that I think about it."

Ryan was silent.

"This is clearly not some phase. What's wrong with you man? In my four years of college with you I've never seen you so depressed." Damon stated his caramel eyes throwing a look of concern over Ryan. Despite having his back turned to Damon he could feel his friend's gaze penetrating the wall he had built around himself.

Ryan gave in and turned, he tried to appear nonchalant but deceit wasn't his best of qualities and so his comrade didn't budge from where he was standing.

Damon scrunched his lips and sighed before rapidly taking out his cell phone and punching a few numbers. Before he could finish Ryan interrupted his actions.

"Man, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He said giving a look at his black haired friend. "I just need to be alone." Ryan admitted turning back to his pile of papers which were all over his desk.

"Okay but we ARE going to talk about this." Ryan heard him say. He mumbled something and waved him off then a clatter of footsteps ensued before the door slammed shut.

Ryan was now alone and not for the first time either. It was funny how things turned out. Looking back he remembered that this was the exact same date where he met Sandy Cohen and parted with life in Chino altogether. So by this time seven years ago he would be sitting in Sandy's car as he revealed to him the world of Newport Beach.

If he had been asked, at that time where he would see himself in seven years. The answer would definitely not have been UC Berkeley; studying architecture. How much time had passed? So many events; friends were made; as were enemies.

Seth; Luke; Julie; Oliver; Theresa; Eddie; Lindsay; Trey; Jess; Johnny; Volchok; Sadie…his father and many more. The memories flashed in less than a second but he refused to acknowledge the recurring images of two spouses he was dearly attached too.

--Marissa Cooper and Taylor Townsend. Marissa's death was affecting him to this day. As Sandy had said he would not get over it. But he did get used to it. The nightmares were less frequent but they still occurred from time to time. Especially when he was feeling a bit down and these few weeks he hadn't really been feeling all that cheerfully.

Taylor; on the other hand was a different story. He missed her smile and her quirky ways. He still longed for her enthusiasm but it was definitely not meant to be. They had tried many times to re-install their relationship but there was always something missing. They could never go back to the way it was. She was still the same person but not the same personality he was driven to.

After that earthquake had happened they got so close to each other that they finally understood each other and from there it went downhill. After that they couldn't agree on anything and were stuck in a rut. She decided to go to Sorbonne after all and he went obviously went for Berkeley.

Berkeley was a dream. He met Damon, his roommate for four years who came from Riverside so he could relate to him. At first it was difficult because Ryan didn't trust him. But he warmed up to the guy after a few conversations. Apparently they had much in common. Both soccer fans and had a nice history with women. The difference was that Damon's life was pretty much the way Ryan wished his was. Not that he was jealous or anything because although Damon had some qualities about him which Ryan desired he still didn't have Ryan's experience which, he believed made him the man he was today.

Still he missed Seth sometimes. He had been receiving e-mails from him and he felt sorry for Seth because, from what he could tell, he was incredibly lonely. He had seen him last during the Christmas holidays and he didn't really like what he saw.

His sarcasm and good natured spirit was not as resilient as it had been. He was miserable but he didn't complain one bit which was the part that Ryan didn't like. If Seth didn't complain then he wasn't Seth Cohen. He sometimes wished he could be there for him and even though Damon was a fun guy to be around he really didn't share his feelings with him like he did with Seth.

It was also unfair that Ryan got to be with Sandy, Kirsten and Sophie when he got home while Seth was up there all alone without even Summer to lift his spirits. He sometimes felt guilty about not being there for him; who knows how many people there were giving him a hard time. It made him boil up inside. Ever since that day where he donated his blood to him his friendship with him had evolved but the worst part was that he couldn't enjoy that sort of evolution.

Ryan sighed, at least this was his last year here then he could go wherever he wanted and be with whomever he wanted to be. Not that he was complaining. This place was great but it wasn't Newport. He wanted his old pool house back, the lovely beach and the hangouts there that would exonerate his worries. He planned on rebuilding the Cohen house and taking the family back to Newport Beach.

Kirsten wouldn't mind and neither would Sophie Rose and once they agreed it would only be a matter of time before Sandy also pitched in.

He would bring his mother back with him too. God he hadn't seen her in so long. Ryan Atwood wasn't one who cried in his pillow every night for his mother but he certainly missed her. He worried about her constantly. Trey was also a concern he had. Despite their differences and that fateful event, he still missed his brother deeply.

After all if it wasn't for Trey teaching him the way of life in Chino he would be just like him. He didn't want Trey to die in some horrific accident knowing they had never made amends. Every time someone would give him a hard time back then, Trey would be the first to rally up his troops and start a war against that person.

He had been thrilled when he thought that Trey was going to settle in Newport. At first he had had doubts (and with good reason) but after a while, Trey appeared to have been adjusting. He had been rightfully angry with Trey but he now knew he should've known better then to go after him. Had someone gotten killed that day because of him, he would've regretted it for the rest of his life.

Frank had planned to find him but when he had heard of Julie's pregnancy. His hands were tied. So it was up to Ryan to aid his mother and brother. He was also treading slowly when it came to his relationship with his father.

After all it was his fault that Trey and his mother ended up where they were. But he was clearly sorry for his actions and even though Ryan had already given him a second chance he still didn't consider the man as a father.

His son Adam didn't seem to share his opinion though. Ryan couldn't believe how lucky his half-brother was to not have the old Frank Atwood and Julie Cooper or otherwise he would have turned out worse than he or Trey had ever been. After he finished college he planned to get close to Adam as much as he could. However it would be difficult with Kaitlin around. She and the boy were inseparable. Marissa would've been proud the change that had occurred in her sister.

She was now an engineer working in Gordon Bullit's company. She still hung out with the Ward brothers who were now following in Luke's path to become water polo players. From what Ryan had heard Luke didn't have sufficient talent to make in the water polo game so he opted to become a coach instead but he had reunited with his brothers and was now guiding them to avoid letting them make the same mistakes he had made in his path.

Seth had told him this information during Christmas. Apparently he had still kept contact with Zach about Atomic County. Zach being the water polo fan that he was had presented the information to him. The gang had all gotten together that Christmas. Ryan smiled as he remembered the happiness that had welled up inside him seeing all those old faces.

Luke and Zach were pretty much the same from his point of view and he had enjoyed catching up with them. The holidays would have been perfect if Seth had been his same old self. The distance between him and Summer had taken its toll on Seth. Anna visited him often to make him feel better but Ryan knew it only made things worse having dealt with the same experience when Theresa had kept visiting while he was with Marissa.

Ryan sighed and rotated his head so he could see the sun descend, it threw off a mixture of ginger and crimson light towards the blonde's eyes which blinded him temporarily. The sun had set on his love life long ago. His first two years at Berkeley he had been trying to get into a relationship but after going on several flings which never worked out, he decided to remain a bachelor.

Then he decided to rekindle some of his old flames. That had been the last time he and Taylor hooked up but after a week their main break-up occurred as they mutually agreed that they shouldn't hang on to something which wasn't meant to be.

He had tried to contact Lindsay in Chicago. Kirsten had kept in touch with her and arranged a meeting quite easily but after years of not seeing each other things were awfully awkward. The reunion consisted of the both of them sipping coffee silently and shyly asking each other questions.

After that he hadn't heard from her and counted the meeting as a potential disaster. After that incident he decided not to revive any of his old flames. He figured that his blasts from the past didn't have a good record anyhow.

Before Ryan's memories and thoughts could go any further there was a click behind the door and when he glanced at the door he saw Damon covered in sweat with a somnolent expression on his features.

Ryan smiled at his friend. He highly doubted his experience at Berkeley would have been this good if he hadn't met him.

"Hey Ryan, I'm beat, you're on your own at Sandy's tonight. Say hi to Sophie for me." Damon admitted as he went to the shower.

"You sure" Ryan asked, shouting a little so that Damon could hear him in the other room.

"Yeah I'm sure." Ryan comprehended the answer and then heard the familiar sound of the water colliding with the shower.

Damon was going to be a lawyer so he knew Sandy from his lessons. After meeting Ryan he got to know Sandy better and Kirsten insisted that Ryan invited Damon to their household. After all she didn't like that Sandy knew Ryan's friend and she didn't. Being the competitive parent that she was she demanded that Damon come every time Ryan did. Ryan was content with his foster mother for making Damon feel at home.

Unlike Ryan he didn't really have any family in Berkeley and even though he wasn't exactly a black sheep among his peers, he didn't really have anyone he was close to inside Berkeley. So Ryan was more than happy to help. In exchange Damon helped him out with his socialising skills and they were both better off.

The 23-year old looked at the time: 7.15. He was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago. He hastily put on a jacket and brushed his hair before making his way to the door. Ryan closed the door silently behind him and inhaled deeply. The nightly urban street was so different from Newport. It wasn't home. But it was a nice place to live.

As Ryan made his way to his car he contemplated on whether or not he should tell Sandy and Kirsten about the sudden wave of nostalgia. Before he could come to a decision he saw someone peering inside his Range Rover. They were clad in a cloak and a hood so he couldn't make out who it was.

The person had a thin frame and the stature was oddly familiar. What was the person doing looking inside the car? Either they were planning on stealing it or were admiring it.

Naturally Ryan Atwood who was born and raised in Chino assumed the individual was going to steal the car. "Hey! Get away from my car" Ryan yelled from a few feet away stepping up in his stride.

The person jumped in shock and was alerted by his presence. "Ryan…"

The youth halted for a second. He knew that voice. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. Before he could gather his thoughts and go further the person turned the other direction and sprinted as far away from the scene.

"No! Wait who are you" Ryan shouted after the distant form which was getting further and further away. He briskly got into his range rover and tried to feel for the keys. They weren't there!

He couldn't believe it. He left the keys in the apartment. Ryan got out of the car as fast as he could but the person had already gone. It was too late to get the keys.

"Crap!" He cried and kicked the rim of his range rover in frustration.

Suddenly his life had gotten a lot less boring…

A/N: Sorry for the double Author notes but I forgot to mention that this is taken from Ryan's POV (3rd person) so there won't be any S/S for a while.