Title: Rain Will Go Away

Author: ThanksForTheMemories

Rating: K

Pairing: Ryan/Marissa/Taylor

Summery: Separate lives in separate cities, they see each other again. Ryan/Marissa/Taylor story.

Author's note: I know I had an identical story to this, I made some adjustments—but I wanted to put more drama into it so I decided to keep Marissa in the story!

Whether it fades or crashes, every song ends.

-

Taylor settled into Yale perfectly, her room mate was the typical college girl, and Taylor related to her very well—and they had actually forged a strong bond with each other, BFFL'S was what they called each other. It had been 3 years since she left for college, and today was the first time she decided to go home for thanksgiving break—anxiety filled her as she thought about seeing Marissa and Ryan again, she never really did say a proper goodbye to him, she just left a message on his answering machine and got on a plane without another word. And as for Marissa—she really hadn't kept in touch with her, she knew Marissa and Ryan would be attending Berkeley together in the fall—and she didn't want to witness that, making her decision even easier.

She thought about her new life at college, and she smiled, she was studying journalism and hoping that she would write for a newspaper when she finished with Yale's journalism program—it was a comforting thought—she had accepted her scholarship, and was happy with her decision, she just understood that all things come to an end and this was no different, and even though it hurt—she had never regretted her decision.

Her love life consisted of dating several partners at a time—but one morning she woke up and decided to stop serial dating, and to her surprise, last month, she had bumped into Tyler Flores—she had met him when she collided into his chest on campus, and in English class... He was the typical nice guy and she knew he was perfect. They had been dancing around the possibility of a relationship for the past weeks and she needed a break—thus, her return to California.

"So how's Tyler?" Michelle winked at Taylor

"I haven't called him yet—he's spending thanksgiving in Louisiana with his family"

"Why haven't you? I'd tap him if I wasn't off the market" she winked

"It's complicated" Taylor laughed—she steered clear of him for the past couple of days, hoping that they wouldn't be caught in an awkward moment again.

"He's cute, those adorable grey-blue eyes and messy brown hair—I'd totally go for him"

"God, Stop talking like that"

"It's the truth"

"Whatever" Taylor shook her head

-

As Ryan and Marissa drove down the streets of Berkeley—they neared the Cohen home, where they celebrated thanksgiving every year.

She had returned from her year long journey of discovery and resumed college with Ryan—she never really got over him—she still really loved him, but she had to go—all explained in her letter to him. She was now studying fashion design and she loved every second of it. Ryan and she remained close friends—she wanted whatever she could get, and told herself that they would get a second chance sooner or later, so she waited…

Ryan was reading Taylor's blog on his laptop as Marissa drove down the street—'so she's coming back, better late than never' he shook his head—Ryan let his mind wonder to Connecticut and to Taylor, she told him in her stupid message that they needed to discover each other at college, and she needed to do it by herself—he was angry at first, then upset, but soon, he discovered her blog and began reading it when he had spare time. He became happy for her, she deserved everything she wanted in life and he hoped from the bottom of his heart that she would achieve all her dreams, even if he weren't in them.

"Ryan? What's up?" Marissa's voice broke him out of his thoughts—he knew that she still had feelings, but he just wasn't looking for a romance with her anymore. He had moved on when she left.

"Nothing" Ryan smiled

"It just seemed that you were drifting off"

"Looks like we're here" Ryan watched Marissa turn off the engine and open the door "Good to be home"

"Yeah, it's nice to spend time with the family once in a while" she agreed and walked up those familiar concrete steps.

'I just hope she'll stop running away this time' he let his mind wonder to the certain girl that stole his heart "Taylor's coming back for thanksgiving" he blurted

Marissa turned around in shock "What?! Are you serious?" she asked incrediously "Are you glad she's coming back?"

"I guess when she walked away from me, she walked away from the likelihood of a friendship" he shrugged "But we recognized that we were too different—we were holding onto something that never was supposed to happen in the first place"

"Why wasn't it supposed to happen?" Marissa wondered out loud

"You know… you left, I came back for thanksgiving—Taylor and I got close, and spent the rest of the summer together, we were young and naïve, we didn't know what we wanted… but she came and she showed me that I won't get hurt if I let people help" he smiled over at Marissa "But then college was starting again and I realized that our relationship turned into a chore and we fought more than we smiled—but I never regretted starting a romance with Taylor"

"You 2 were in love, I know how it feels to give everything to the person they love—only to get ripped apart" she sighed and thought back to all her past romances—out of all of these, Ryan was probably the only one she truly loved "Finally…" she turned around to a jiggle of the door knob

"What took you guys so long?" Ryan walked over to Summer and smile "We've been waiting for so long"

"We were all in the back yard mucking around with the kids—come on in" Summer stepped aside and let the 2 walk in "I haven't seen you 2 since Easter—that's like, a million years ago!" Summer had gone to GEORGE for the year long trip and rallied with her hippy friends before she returned to Rhode Island and picked up her romance with Seth—who was doing very well in graphic design.

Marissa smiled widely and hugged her best friend tightly "Sum, I've missed you so much"

"Me too! Kaitlin and Julie are at the back—your mom won't shut up about seeing you again… while Kaitlin has been doing her own thing" Summer rolled her eyes—she had grown close to the other Cooper sister while Marissa was on the boat, but Kaitlin could be very direct when she wanted to be.

Kaitlin walked in "I see you're back, you haven't really contacted me while you were away at college—but only coming back for 3 or 4 visits a year—priceless" Kaitlin smiled and caught a glare from Marissa "Just kidding—I just wanted to make you uncomfortable—because I love seeing Marissa Cooper squirm"

"Oh, how have I missed you too" Marissa rolled her eyes "How's Williams? I hear you're studying journalism—doing well at it I presume?"

"Seems as though you're the next Taylor Townsend" Ryan commented and smiled—Kaitlin had always reminded him of a part of Taylor—her independence and confidence shone through and he had grown to build a strong friendship with the nineteen year old.

"Taylor's hilarious—she's so cool" Kaitlin laughed "She's coming back for thanksgiving, that's why I've been in such a good mood"

Marissa frowned 'never did she say that about me'

"C'mon—let's go outside, I know mom really wants to see Marissa—and I need to get to the airport" she led the group outside to the festivities.

-

As Taylor and Michelle got off the 6 hour flight from the east to the west, they went their separate ways—Michelle was off to Sacramento to visit her family while Taylor was on her way to Berkeley and then heading down to Newport to visit her mom.

"So we part ways here" Michelle dropped her bag and embraced Taylor "I'll miss you"

Taylor giggled "I'll miss you too" she paused "We haven't really spent this long away from each other since we met"

Michelle thought about it "I know—I've just realized"

"See you in a couple of weeks"

"Bye" Taylor picked up her bag and saw a long white limousine drive up and the younger Cooper sister step out "Kaitlin!"

"Taylor! I finally get to see you again; the whole family has missed you so much" The 2 best friends hugged and squealed "Let's get you home"

-

They were on their way back and talking about their lives at college and how much they enjoy studying journalism and writing; how much they dated and how much parties they've gone to.

"So is Ryan there?" Taylor wondered

"Actually, he is—and so is Marissa"

"It's okay; I'll have to see him sooner or later right? And it's only for like 10 days before I go back to Newport"

"Stay longer—you're like the only person I look forward to seeing" Kaitlin frowned

"How about Marissa?" Taylor wrinkled her eyebrows

"She's my sister; I'm supposed to like her—but you're hilarious… and one of my best friends"

"That's sweet, but I promised my mom that I would spend some time with her—and she's so excited" Taylor shrugged "but you'll always be my number 1" she offered

"I better be"

-

The family had spent the afternoon laughing and enjoying Berkeley's sunlight before getting ready for dinner and drinks—Marissa and Julie caught up with each other, mother and daughter time was much needed, Julie filled Marissa in about her perfect life while Marissa told her about college.

"So how is the architecture program?" Kirsten and Sandy sat down from hours of playing with Sophie and Lucas

"It's really tough, but I like the challenge—it keeps me on my toes"

"It's good to hear—Sandy's been busy with law"

"I know, but I never see you around campus"

"I'm always correcting papers" Sandy shook his head "but I enjoy it"

"So Ryan, any girls in your life?" Kirsten wondered out loud

Ryan took it by surprise, the question was a bolt from the blue "Not really—I'm too busy with school, I just don't have time"

"It's good to have a break from girls—you've never been single for too long since you arrived in Newport; Marissa, Theresa, Lindsay, Sadie, Chloe and Taylor" Sandy listed all of Ryan's past loves

"Thanks for bringing it up again" Ryan said sarcastically

"No problem" he sniggered

-

As Taylor stepped out of the limo and walked up those steps, her stomach filled with fear of rejection—rejection from Ryan and she didn't know if she could cope with that—they hadn't seen or spoken to each other for almost 3 years and she wondered if he was still the same guy she dated back then.

Kaitlin opened the front door and they stepped in—and there she was met by his baby blue eyes, they didn't really stare at her, he seemed as though staring through her—the baby blues were filled with sadness and emptiness, that it made her feel sick—sick that she caused that much hurt to him.

'I knew this was a bad idea' she sighed and forced a smile for the family.

-

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