Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the O.C. No characters, shows, episodes, etc, etc.
Surprising Taylor
"Taylor?"
"This isn't weird," Taylor told him hurriedly as she dropped Ryan's wifebeater onto his bed.
"Okay."
"I swear. There is a really good explanation as to why I'm in your room folding this shirt and putting it away when you're not here."
"Good."
"This isn't weird. This isn't like the time I was stalking you in the gopher outfit, or when I was pretending to be your sleep therapist, or when I hired that guy to pretend he was dating me so you would be jealous."
"All right." Ryan nodded and closed the pool house door behind him. He dropped his backpack and moved around the room, heading toward the kitchen cupboard to grab a glass. "Water?"
"No, thank you. And this isn't like the time when I was hiding here because I thought that maybe you were getting over me and were starting to go out with other women and I wanted to be here when you showed up with them and I wanted to make you feel guilty and bad about being with another girl when you should have been with me."
"Right." Ryan nodded and took a sip of his water.
"And this isn't like the time when I was in the pool house because I wanted to see what kind of food you like so I could buy some and made sure that I had what you needed at Julie's house so you wouldn't go hungry when you came over and that if there was ever an emergency and we couldn't leave the house that there would be something there that you would like to eat." She paused and pointed to the refrigerator, her other hand resting on her hip. "By the way, if you aren't going to keep anything in that little refrigerator, you should really empty it because there's no use keeping it plugged in and using energy for no good reason. Summer would kill you if she knew what you were doing to the environment."
"Noted."
"And this isn't like the time when I was trying to find my Valentine present to make sure that you had bought me something that matched what I had bought you because I didn't want you to feel bad when your present was ten times better than mine or vice versa, and I wanted to be ready so I didn't get mad at you and then we'd both fall off the roof and spend Valentine's day in the hospital."
"Good call."
"And I'm not here because I'm leaving any weird stuff like lingerie or candles or my perfume just so you can smell me and feel me around you even when I'm not there just so I'll know that you'll be thinking of me even when we're apart because I'll be thinking of you."
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
"Not that I've ever done that."
"Taylor."
"This isn't anything bad. I swear. There's a very good reason for why I'm here. It's nothing wrong."
"Taylor?" Ryan asked as he approached his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Yeah?"
"Hi, Taylor."
"Hi."
He smiled and dropped a kiss against her cheek.
"What are you doing here, Taylor?"
"I'm bringing back your wifebeater because you forgot it at my house, or Julie's house or whatever and I didn't want you thinking that I took it from you and that I was stealing things from you. Because Lord knows I'm already weird enough and the last thing this relationship needs is for me to start stealing your things to feel that you're close to me. But now you've caught me bringing it back and I've sounded like such an idiot now and we weren't that serious anyway, I guess, and you're just going to dump me so I should have just kept it at my house anyway and maybe if I hid it you wouldn't have realized it was missing for a while because God knows how many more of these things you have and then we would only be breaking up in the future and not now and I wouldn't have to be miserable already."
"Taylor?" Ryan asked again, his hands moving up so he could grab the sides of her head and keep her from moving.
"Yeah?"
"I left that wifebeater at your house."
"I know and I was bringing it back because I don't want you to think that—"
"Taylor?"
"Yeah?" she sighed.
"I left that wifebeater at your house because I knew I'd go back and I figured it would just be easier if I had one around and didn't have to bring an extra one with me."
"Oh." Taylor's face fell, and suddenly brightened as she realized what he was saying. "We're leaving stuff at each other's houses?"
"I've already got some of your lingerie here," Ryan shrugged.
Taylor's eyes widened. "I can explain that."
"Can you?"
"I forgot it."
She moved away from him quickly and sat on the bed, looking away from him and his stare.
"You forgot your lingerie here? I don't remember ever seeing that lingerie before. You forgot your lingerie here when I wasn't around?"
"Yes?"
"Why were you taking your lingerie off in the pool house when I wasn't around?"
Taylor's mouth dropped. It closed. It opened again. She smiled.
"You want me to show you?"
Ryan smirked as he lunged toward her, pushing her flat on her back against the bed. His lips found her neck and his hands the buttons of her shirt.
"We're really leaving clothes at each other's house?" Taylor squealed.
Ryan rolled his eyes before he found a much more effective way of shutting Taylor up.