Title: A Spot Of Trouble
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The O.C.. Not for profit.
Description: Ryan gets into a spot of trouble with a girl. (set in early season 1)

Chapter 1

As Ryan sat in the Chief of Police's office, trying not to make any eye contact with the girl sitting next to him, he beat his head against the wall (figuratively) and called himself an idiot (silently).

Ryan leaned forward in his seat and rubbed his eyes. He still couldn't believe that he got himself into this mess. He couldn't understand how he could be so stupid. No, wait, yes, he did. Stupid hormones. God-damn Teen Male Hormones, as the (lady) health teacher back at Chino Hills used to call them. Ryan groaned to himself. He could just hear her in his head, saying it, with disgust dripping from her voice.

Ryan sighed and sat back, fiddling with his wristcuff. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the girl -- Jane he thought her name was -- turn her head towards him. He turned to look at her as well, meeting her shy smile with a brief half-smile of his own before he quickly turned away again. The daughter of the chief of police. God. Couldn't he have picked another girl -- any other girl -- at that party? There were dozens there. But no, the daughter of the chief of police had to catch his eye, and vice-versa. Just his luck.

And so they were here, the two of them, sitting in the Chief's office, waiting for him to arrive. Ryan almost wished that those beat cops had arrested him instead. That way, he could have avoided The Wrath Of A Father, and The Wrath Of A Cop, all rolled into one.

Ryan got up and walked over to the window behind the Chief's desk. He crossed his arms and looked out over the parking lot.

And what about the Cohens? What were they going to say? Ryan had only been with them for ... Ryan looked up at the dark sky and thought for a moment. Wow, had been two months already? It didn't seem that long. It seemed like he had just gotten there. Well, in some repects it felt that way. In other respects, it felt like a lot longer. A lot had happened since that night that his brother bullied him into stealing that car.

And here he was in trouble, again. After he had promised the Cohens no more trouble. Ryan put his hand over his face. It just figured. He knew -- he just knew -- that someday he'd screw things up for himself, get into some kind of trouble, and ruin the chance for a new life that the Cohens had given him. It looked like that day had arrived sooner than he expected.

And all because Ryan answered the phone the other day.

.oOo.

Ryan had just gotten home from soccer practice, dead tired. As he entered the pool house, the phone was ringing. Ryan quickly dropped his school bookbag and his duffle with his soccer stuff in it and went over to answer the phone. It still felt weird. It still took a little getting used to that the pool house had its own phone number, which was his now.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Ryan, my man!"

Ryan smiled. One of his co-workers at the Crab Shack. "Hey, Rick. What's up?"

"What are you doing Saturday night?"

Ryan thought for a moment. Seth had said something about a ninja marathon, but...

"Nothing, why?"

"How would you like to go to a party? Everyone's going."

Ryan considered. He hadn't been to a party in a little while, and this could be fun. "Sure."

.oOo.

And that was how it started. Ryan turned around and leaned back against the window and shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked over at the girl and she looked back at him. Their eyes met and they both smiled. Just like it happened at the party.

.oOo.

Ryan and his Crab Shack co-workers had carpooled to the party in Rick's old second-hand SUV. After parking down the street, which was packed with cars -- most of them old and rusted out -- they all piled out of the car and headed in the direction of the loud music.

When they reached the house, it was packed. Ryan followed Rick and the others through the house and out into the back yard, where the kegs were. He got himself a beer and stood back and looked around. He nodded to himself. Not bad. Lots of nice looking girls. Most wearing too much make-up and not enough clothes, although that was par for the course in places like this. It reminded him of the last party that he went to with Trey back in Chino.

Ryan didn't come here looking for a girl, specifically, athough he wouldn't say no if the opportunity arose. He was still hoping to get somewhere with Marissa, even though she was still waffling between him and Luke. Anything he found here would have to be one-night-only and he'd have to keep it to himself. Ryan smiled. That he could do.

After hanging around for a while, drinking a few beers, and talking to a number of different girls -- and avoiding dancing which he hated -- Ryan finally saw the girl that he couldn't take his eyes off of. Not because she was the most beautiful girl there. In fact, studying her, Ryan decided he'd have to characterize her as quietly pretty.

He figured that most guys would probably look right past her, with her long straight brown hair, her glasses, and her ordinary-looking t-shirt and jeans. But there was just something about her that Ryan couldn't explain, but he couldn't ignore. In some ways, she reminded him of Theresa. The down-to-earth type who would care more about what was going on in the Middle East than what the latest fashion trends were in Paris.

And Ryan seemed to have caught her eye, too. He could see her giving him shy little glances, then quickly looking away and giggling with her girlfriends. Finally he was able to catch and hold her eye. He smiled at her, and she returned his smile. That gave him the confidence to approach her. He took a deep breath, threw away his now-empty beer cup, and set out.

.oOo.

Ryan smiled to himself as he remembered. Then he moved away from the window and walked around the desk and sat back down on the leather couch next to Jane to wait.

To Be Continued.