Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: I am looking for a beta so if anyone is interested please let me know! Thanks
Ryan and Seth had graduated from college two weeks ago. After living with each other for the past six years, they were finally living on their own, apart. Now that they each had their own careers and eventually would have their own families, it was time to get their own homes.
Sandy and Kirsten had called the boys to come over today and go through their things that had been stored in the poolhouse when the boys went off to college. "OK we are going to make two piles. One pile is what you want to keep, and by keep I mean take to your new home. The other pile is to throw away." Sandy said while surveying the many boxes that were piled high in the poolhouse.
"Umm Sandy, if it is ok I would like to take the things we do not want and give them to a children's home. The kids would really like a lot of Seth's old toys and all of this stuff looks to be in really good condition." Ryan said bashfully. Even after having lived in Newport for years, Ryan never forgot where he came from and how hard some people had it.
"I think that is a wonderful idea, Ryan. After we get done here, we will box everything up and take it to the children's home in Chino." Kirsten said smiling. She loved the fact that Ryan, like Sandy, never forgot his roots. If Sandy had forgotten his, then she would have never gained another son.
One by one, the boxes were opened and decisions were made to keep or give away. "Seth, why do you still have this?" Ryan asked as he held up a red cup that was shaped like the kool-aid guy.
"Ryan, do you realize how many glasses of kool-aid I had to drink to get that? Mom wouldn't just buy the kool-aid packets so I could send away for the cup. NO, I had to actually drink ALL of that kool-aid." Seth said while talking wildly with his hands.
"OK, so are you going to keep this cup or give it away?" Ryan asked laughing.
"Ryan, are you crazy? We can't give that away. That is...that is my childhood man. My childhood."
"Seth. you are going to have to get rid of something. So far you have kept everything. Now you are keeping a kool-aid cup. Come on man, let it go."
"Fine. But when I need to relive my childhood you are drinking kool-aid with me."
"Boys come on. Get back to looking through this stuff. We are going to be here all day if Seth explains why he is keeping everything." Sandy exclaimed.
Time passed and more decisions were made. "OK Ryan you think it is so easy to just give away a piece of your past. What about this?" Seth asked as he held up Ryan's old black leather jacket.
"Wow. I haven't worn that in...years."
Ryan reached in the pockets and pulled out an old pack of cigarettes. "Guess I won't be needing these anymore." Ryan said laughing. Ryan had started smoking again the summer that he went back to Chino and stayed with Theresa. He quit as soon as he came back home to Newport. Kirsten didn't like him smoking. But the real reason Ryan quit was that he couldn't bare the look on Sandy's face. At the time, the Nana was battling cancer and it was taking a toll out on Sandy.
"You never needed them to begin with." Kirsten said motherly.
The group continued going through boxes. No more was said about Ryan's black leather jacket. It was one of the few things Ryan had left from Chino and he was having a hard time letting it go. He was starting to understand why Seth was trying to keep everything. In a world of change, it was nice to hold on to something familiar.
Sandy came across the next interesting item. "Hey guys what about this?" he said holding up the ever famous playstation. When the boys went off to college Seth convinced his parents that he and Ryan needed a playstation at college and at home. This way he didn't have to take his back and forth when he came home for a visit.
"Ryan can have it if he wants. I have the one from the apartment at the house." Seth said.
"Seth, do you remember how many hours you use to play this thing? I use to never think we would get you to leave the house if that thing was on." Kirsten said.
"Son, are you sure you don't want to keep it? It has a lot of memories." Sandy said smiling.
"Yea, remember when you and I played for the first time, the night of cotillion, and you kept stabbing my men?" Ryan asked Sandy.
Seth spoke up, "Dad was never really good at the playstation. It is more for us younger people." Seth then laughs and turns to Ryan saying, "But you still owe me a rematch on Grand Theft Auto. I think your real life experience gave you an advantage."
"Hey stealing that car may have been the dumbest thing I ever did, but it was also the best." Ryan said smiling.
"Yes it was. Yes it was."
The gang was finally down to the last box. Kirsten opened it and pulled out an old photo of Ryan and Seth taken at cotillion. Under it was the brown choker that Ryan always wore. "Ryan, why did you take the choker off anyway?" Seth asked as he handed the photo and the choker to Ryan.
"Your parents had taken me in and I didn't feel like I needed all my things from Chino to protect my anymore. Besides, it didn't look good with the tux. I was escorting the lead deb, you know." Ryan said laughing.
"Well if neither of you want the picture, I would like to keep it." Kirsten spoke up.
"Actually..." both boys said at the same time. Seems both boys wanted the picture.
"Let me hang on to it and I will get both of you copies. That way we can all three have one. How is that?"
"That sounds great mom." Seth said while moving on to a box that was accidentally left over in the corner.
"Yea thanks Kirsten. Hey Seth, what is in that box?"
"My old comic books." Seth said while looking in disbelief at just how many comic books he had collected over the years.
"Well add it to your pile and let's go. It is getting late and we still have to go to Chino." Sandy said.
"Actually dad, I am going to give the comic books away. Ryan is right. I don't need all of this and those kids would really enjoy it. Plus, this way I am introducing more people, even if they are kids, into the world of graphic novels.", Seth said proudly.
Ryan then put his choker and black leather jacket in the pile to go to the children's home. "I am not that kid from Chino anymore. I don't need these." he said softly.
Seth then added his kool-aid cup to the stack. "Hey maybe there is some kid that really wanted a cup but couldn't have one." Then Seth turned to Ryan, "But dude, if I need to relive my childhood memories..."
"I know. I know. Kool-aid. Got it. Just come on..."
Ryan doesn't get to finish his sentence because Seth interrupts. "Not just any kool-aid Ryan. It HAS to be grape."
"Why grape?"
"Because if you drink the red kool-aid then you get a red kool-aid mustache. And really who wants to be walking around with one of those things. Come on Ry we are grown now. Kool-aid mustaches are so not cool."
"Ahhh. Yes, but still drinking kool-aid is cool."
Seth smiled like Ryan had finally seen the light.
"Fine I will have grape kool-aid. We can hang out. You can talk about Summer. We will play playstation and drink kool-aid. It will be just like old times." Ryan said smiling.
Everyone got up and walked towards the door. Sandy put an arm around each of the boys as they took one last look around the now empty poolhouse. The gang walked out and shut the door.
FINISHED