Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the OC, obviously enough...
Getting over Seth
"Nice going, Taylor."
"Yeah. Klutz much?"
Ryan's eyes narrowed at the sound of the voices. He turned the corner of the school hallway and watched the girls from afar.
"You knocked it out of my hands," Taylor hissed from between her teeth as she bent down to pick up her binder and books.
"No," Holly insisted as she moved closer to Taylor. "You dropped it."
"And you just did it again," Jess told her with a grin as her hand came down on the end of Taylor's books, pushing them off balance and onto the floor.
Taylor watched the girls for a moment before she bent down to pick her books up again.
"Nice jeans, by the way."
"Yeah," Holly corroborated with a giggle. "They almost fit you."
Even from where he stood, Ryan could hear the deep breath Taylor took, and he knew from spending enough crying sessions with Marissa and Theresa and his mother and Lindsay, that it meant the girl wasn't far from tears. Taylor was admittedly not his favourite person in the world, but she was certainly higher on his list of human beings than Holly and Jess.
He walked toward the girls, letting his eyes linger on Holly and Jess's. He left his gaze frosty and impassive. They both smirked at him, but he could tell by the way they watching him—travelling up and down his body with their gaze—that they would both be on him in a moment if they weren't worried about the rumours that would come from touching the student that was still known as the kid from Chino.
"Here you go, Taylor," Ryan said as he helped Taylor gather her books and binders.
"Thanks, Ryan," Taylor whispered.
"Don't worry about it. Some people can't see past themselves not to walk into other people."
Holly and Jess's smirks dropped, and the girls let out unhappy puffs of breaths as they twitched their heads and moved away from Ryan and Taylor. He shook his head as he watched them go.
"Don't let them bother you," Ryan told Taylor once the girls were out of earshot.
"Oh," she said in a small voice. "I don't."
"Sure, you don't," he answered with a chuckle. "But if you were, say on the verge of tears or thinking that they might almost be right about what they said, don't. The peroxide in their hair has probably made its way to their brains by now. It was their fault that your books fell, and you look great in your jeans."
Ryan stopped and shook his head when he realised what he'd just said. When he looked back at Taylor, she was staring up at him with gleeful, hopeful eyes.
"So," he said, clearing his throat. "What are you doing here anyway, Taylor?"
"Oh, I was… Um… extra… The guidance…" She let out a loud breath and her eyes fell to the floor. "I was waiting for Seth to finish with the comic book club for the day."
Ryan let out a crooked smile and shook his head. "The comic book club met at lunchtime."
"Oh," Taylor sighed.
"Yeah, so, I guess you can go home now."
"Right." Taylor nodded, her eyes drifting off absentmindedly.
"Okay," Ryan whispered to himself as he moved away from her.
"Oh, wait, so, Ryan," Taylor called as she ran after him. "Um… what are you still doing around at this time of the day?"
"I had soccer practice," he told her with a nod.
"You still play soccer?"
"Apparently." He shrugged. "I didn't realise it either until I ran into the coach earlier and he asked me where I'd been."
"Wow, so, you're like an athlete."
"I guess," he told her with furrowed brow.
"Huh, Seth isn't an athlete, right?"
"No," Ryan answered quickly with a shake of the head. "Not unless you're counting Magic or keeping up with Summer, as sports. You remember Summer, right? Seth's girlfriend?"
"Of course I remember Summer. I'm not a complete— Woah!"
Ryan reached out and grabbed Taylor's arm before she could fall down the stairway she had failed to notice. His other arm reached out until he had a good hold on her and was sure she wasn't going to fall any closer to the ground. His eyes widened as he realised how close they were.
Taylor had fallen forward, and when Ryan had reached out to stop her, he'd had to follow her movement. They now found themselves both leaning forward, their legs intertwined, his hands gripping her upper arms, her hands resting against his biceps and their faces not a breath between each other.
"Wow," Taylor finally whispered. "You've got great arms."
Ryan swallowed and quickly pulled them both up. He moved Taylor a foot away from him, and took a step back.
"Yeah, I work out."
"You just saved me… I don't know how many times today. Ryan, really you—"
"Seth," Ryan interrupted quickly. "You're chasing after Seth."
Taylor shook her head and blinked. "Yes. Yeah. Seth." She let out a puff of air and scratched her neck. "Do you think I have a shot?"
"No," he answered honestly with a determined shake of the head. "I have to go."
He left quickly before anything more could be said. The next day, Ryan quit soccer.
Summer looked over at Taylor. She tilted her head and looked back at the band on the stage. She looked over at Taylor with furrowed brow. She looked over at the band.
"What?" Taylor finally asked as she glanced over at Summer.
"You're like, really over Seth."
"What?"
"You're like, really over him. You're not staring at him anymore, or scheming or anything. Did he do something wrong I don't know about?"
"No," Taylor answered with a laugh. "He didn't do anything wrong. I guess I just finally got it through my head that there was really no breaking you up."
Summer's eyes narrowed. "Really?"
"Really," Taylor answered with a smile. "Besides, we were almost sisters. I wouldn't let a guy come between that."
"Huh," Summer simply answered as she let her eyes drift back to the stage, pausing only quickly on Seth and Ryan who were at the bar getting them all drinks.
Taylor took a deep breath as she waited for Summer's attention to return to the stage. Once it had, she too took the time to look down at the bar. She didn't look at Seth however, and she hoped she averted her eyes quickly enough so Ryan wouldn't feel her stare on him, and so they wouldn't make eye contact when he looked up in her direction.
Taylor smiled over at Summer.
"Trust me. I've definitely moved on from Seth."