A/N- Thanks SO much for all the great reviews! You guys rock!
Today, Tomorrow, and Always
Chapter 2
~*~
Ryan and Marissa walked out to the dance floor, standing much farther apart than the rest of the couples dancing. Marissa tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear, looking at him with a slightly hesitant expression.
"Ryan…I don't know about this. You don't think it will be too weird?"
"Come on, Marissa, we're not getting married, it's just a dance. We're going to have to learn to live with each other eventually." Ryan shrugged.
"I guess you're right." Marissa put one hand on his shoulder as his hand slid to her back. They started to dance to the soft, romantic music that was playing.
"So you break up with me and you start wearing heels?" Ryan smiled, looking to see that Marissa was about two inches taller than him in his stilettos.
"First of all, you broke up with me. And I can't help it if you're short." Marissa said, still joking but it sounded a little forced.
They danced in silence for a while, having absolutely no idea what to talk about. So Marissa decided on the safest topic between them.
"So, did Seth tell you before he proposed?"
"Yeah. I had to help him pick out the ring…which was a little weird. Everyone at the ring store thought Seth and I were getting married."
Marissa giggled.
"Really?"
"Yeah, but finally he ended up picking it out anyway. He was a nervous wreck before he left the night that he actually did it."
"Yeah, Summer told me. She thought he was high or something when they went out to dinner."
"She had no idea?" Ryan asked, glad that they were at least talking.
"Well, I mean, five years, a girl starts to wonder. But no, she had no clue that it was going to be that night. Seth is surprisingly stealthy." Marissa grinned.
"That's so weird that they're actually married." Ryan shook his head.
"I know! I still feel like I'm in high school, and our two best friends get married. It's insane."
"Everything seemed so much easier back in high school." Ryan said softly.
"Yeah, drugs, divorce, drinking-it was an absolute blast." Marissa rolled her eyes.
"Well, you just described my junior high years, so it wasn't that traumatic going through it with you." Ryan pointed out.
"You're the only reason I survived high school." Marissa said, their eyes locking for a moment.
Ryan cleared his throat, looking away.
"I'm thirsty. You want something to drink?"
Marissa looked down, smiling somewhat sadly.
"Sure, Ryan."
Ryan nodded, and disappeared into the crowd.
~*~
"I'm wiped." Summer whined, leaning against Seth's shoulder as they sat at their table eating cake.
"Chug a Red Bull, sweetie. We've got lots to do tonight-and our plane leaves at 6:30 tomorrow morning." Seth pointed out.
"Geez, Cohen, this is the last time I let you make our travel plans. Six freakin' thirty? Are you mentally deranged?"
"You know, technically, now I could call YOU Cohen." Seth observed.
"I never thought about that! Weird! I guess now I have to call you by your actual name." Summer smiled at him.
"Call me whatever you want, baby." Seth said in his low voice that always made Summer laugh.
"You're so sexy." She giggled, leaning towards him and kissing him.
Suddenly, they both heard a very familiar voice.
"Congratulations, you guys!"
They broke apart reluctantly, looking up at the last person Summer wanted to see right now.
"Hello, Anna." She said, forcing a smile onto her face.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything!" Anna said cheerily, plopping down next to Seth at their table.
"Oh, no. Nothing at all." Summer said slightly under her breath.
"So, sorry I couldn't make the wedding! My flight from Pittsburgh got a little delayed."
"I'm shocked you didn't sail here." Summer grinned falsely.
Seth kicked her hard under the table.
Anna looked at Summer, sighing patronizingly.
"Summer, I really hoped we were past all this. I mean, come on, we're twenty-four years old."
"I'm sorry, Anna. You're right. Thanks for coming." Summer finally caved in, smiling for real this time.
"So, Seth-you're a married man now!" Anna shook her head in wonderment, looking at her ex.
"Oh, is that what we're doing here?" Seth looked around, pretending to be shocked.
Anna giggled, punching him in the arm.
"You haven't changed at all, Seth."
"Not for lack of trying on my part." Summer grinned, putting her arm through his.
Anna nodded, laughing again.
An uncomfortable silence fell.
"So, I'll just leave you guys' present on the table."
"Thanks so much for coming, Anna." Seth gave her a one-armed hug, smiling.
"Sure thing. Best of luck, you two." Anna gave them a little wave, prancing off.
Seth looked at Summer disapprovingly.
"You can't even PRETEND to like her?" He shook his head.
"Sorry." Summer said, though she was obviously not.
Seth sighed, looking away from her for a second.
"Hey, Ryan and Marissa are dancing!" He nudged her.
"Yay! I wish they would just get back together so we could all hang out. I hate this like stagnant middle period." Summer rolled her eyes.
"I know! I talked to Ryan about it-"
"I talked to Marissa about it!"
"-and he totally freaked."
"She didn't really freak. Just basically said she didn't think they had a snowball's chance in hell. So that didn't really give me much hope." Summer said.
"Well, that would kind of take the wind out of your sails. But come on- we'll be gone for a week, they're kind of reconnecting tonight, you never know."
"Always the optimist." Summer looked at him, grinning.
"Won you over." Seth pointed out.
"That's true. Not even my most vicious rejections could slow you down." She giggled.
"It's pretty hard to slow a Cohen down." Seth raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, really?" She smiled as he leaned towards her to kiss her again.
"So, I'm taking off." Marissa was suddenly sitting at their table.
"Get off, honey." Summer pushed Seth away, turning towards her best friend.
"Coop-you cannot just bail."
"I'm not bailing! I'm really tired-it was a gorgeous wedding, Sum. Really. Have such an awesome time on your honeymoon and call me from there, okay?" Marissa hugged Summer tightly.
"Coop! Come on! Can't you just talk to him?"
"We talked! We even danced! And it was incredibly awkward and terrible. I'm sorry, babe. It's just not going to work." Marissa said regretfully.
"Don't give up on him that easily." Seth suddenly interjected.
"Oh, and why not?" Marissa looked up at Seth challengingly.
"Because you obviously still have feelings for each other. And it's even more painfully obvious that you guys are miserable without each other."
"I am NOT miserable." Marissa told him, glaring.
"Okay, Coop, I'm going to have to side with my husband here. It is really obvious you guys still want each other…and sorry to get all sappy, but you also still need each other."
"Look, I don't need love advice! Not from either of you!" Marissa said, getting angry.
"Yes, because we're doing so terrible in the love department currently." Seth indicated Summer's wedding dress.
"Shut up, Seth." Marissa said, taking a long drink from her champagne glass.
"Oh, great, it's high school all over again." Summer rolled her eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're getting to get all wasted, but this time, Ryan won't be there for you." Seth said somewhat harshly.
"I don't need Ryan to save me. I'm FINE. And I'm not wasted."
"Not yet." Summer pointed out.
"Have a great honeymoon." Marissa practically spat at them, storming off.
"You know, I don't think she really meant that." Seth said with mock hurt.
"Aargh! I can't do this if I'm worried about Coop all night!"
"I'll go talk to Ryan. I'll be right back." Seth patted Summer's bare shoulder, practically sprinting off.
~*~
"Ryan, my honeymoon's ruined unless you help us." Seth said dramatically, running up to Ryan out of breath.
"Whoa, what?"
"Marissa's all upset and getting drunk, and now Summer's worried that she'll…you know, pull a Marissa, and so you really need to watch out for her. Give her a ride home, whatever."
Ryan looked hesitant.
"PLEASE, man." Seth put his hands on Ryan's shoulders.
"All right, all right. I'll make sure she's okay."
"Thank you, thank you, my man! You rock!"
Ryan gave him the two-pat man hug, smiling.
"Have a great time, man."
"Will do."
Ryan watched Seth walk off. He wanted to say that he'd miss the best roommate and brother he'd ever had. He'd miss all their late nights sitting around and doing nothing. He'd miss eating cereal every morning while reading the latest comic books. But he didn't say any of those things. He was still Ryan Atwood, after all.
~*~
A/N- Sorry for the short update! School just started, but more will be up soon! Please still review!
Today, Tomorrow, and Always
Chapter 2
~*~
Ryan and Marissa walked out to the dance floor, standing much farther apart than the rest of the couples dancing. Marissa tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear, looking at him with a slightly hesitant expression.
"Ryan…I don't know about this. You don't think it will be too weird?"
"Come on, Marissa, we're not getting married, it's just a dance. We're going to have to learn to live with each other eventually." Ryan shrugged.
"I guess you're right." Marissa put one hand on his shoulder as his hand slid to her back. They started to dance to the soft, romantic music that was playing.
"So you break up with me and you start wearing heels?" Ryan smiled, looking to see that Marissa was about two inches taller than him in his stilettos.
"First of all, you broke up with me. And I can't help it if you're short." Marissa said, still joking but it sounded a little forced.
They danced in silence for a while, having absolutely no idea what to talk about. So Marissa decided on the safest topic between them.
"So, did Seth tell you before he proposed?"
"Yeah. I had to help him pick out the ring…which was a little weird. Everyone at the ring store thought Seth and I were getting married."
Marissa giggled.
"Really?"
"Yeah, but finally he ended up picking it out anyway. He was a nervous wreck before he left the night that he actually did it."
"Yeah, Summer told me. She thought he was high or something when they went out to dinner."
"She had no idea?" Ryan asked, glad that they were at least talking.
"Well, I mean, five years, a girl starts to wonder. But no, she had no clue that it was going to be that night. Seth is surprisingly stealthy." Marissa grinned.
"That's so weird that they're actually married." Ryan shook his head.
"I know! I still feel like I'm in high school, and our two best friends get married. It's insane."
"Everything seemed so much easier back in high school." Ryan said softly.
"Yeah, drugs, divorce, drinking-it was an absolute blast." Marissa rolled her eyes.
"Well, you just described my junior high years, so it wasn't that traumatic going through it with you." Ryan pointed out.
"You're the only reason I survived high school." Marissa said, their eyes locking for a moment.
Ryan cleared his throat, looking away.
"I'm thirsty. You want something to drink?"
Marissa looked down, smiling somewhat sadly.
"Sure, Ryan."
Ryan nodded, and disappeared into the crowd.
~*~
"I'm wiped." Summer whined, leaning against Seth's shoulder as they sat at their table eating cake.
"Chug a Red Bull, sweetie. We've got lots to do tonight-and our plane leaves at 6:30 tomorrow morning." Seth pointed out.
"Geez, Cohen, this is the last time I let you make our travel plans. Six freakin' thirty? Are you mentally deranged?"
"You know, technically, now I could call YOU Cohen." Seth observed.
"I never thought about that! Weird! I guess now I have to call you by your actual name." Summer smiled at him.
"Call me whatever you want, baby." Seth said in his low voice that always made Summer laugh.
"You're so sexy." She giggled, leaning towards him and kissing him.
Suddenly, they both heard a very familiar voice.
"Congratulations, you guys!"
They broke apart reluctantly, looking up at the last person Summer wanted to see right now.
"Hello, Anna." She said, forcing a smile onto her face.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything!" Anna said cheerily, plopping down next to Seth at their table.
"Oh, no. Nothing at all." Summer said slightly under her breath.
"So, sorry I couldn't make the wedding! My flight from Pittsburgh got a little delayed."
"I'm shocked you didn't sail here." Summer grinned falsely.
Seth kicked her hard under the table.
Anna looked at Summer, sighing patronizingly.
"Summer, I really hoped we were past all this. I mean, come on, we're twenty-four years old."
"I'm sorry, Anna. You're right. Thanks for coming." Summer finally caved in, smiling for real this time.
"So, Seth-you're a married man now!" Anna shook her head in wonderment, looking at her ex.
"Oh, is that what we're doing here?" Seth looked around, pretending to be shocked.
Anna giggled, punching him in the arm.
"You haven't changed at all, Seth."
"Not for lack of trying on my part." Summer grinned, putting her arm through his.
Anna nodded, laughing again.
An uncomfortable silence fell.
"So, I'll just leave you guys' present on the table."
"Thanks so much for coming, Anna." Seth gave her a one-armed hug, smiling.
"Sure thing. Best of luck, you two." Anna gave them a little wave, prancing off.
Seth looked at Summer disapprovingly.
"You can't even PRETEND to like her?" He shook his head.
"Sorry." Summer said, though she was obviously not.
Seth sighed, looking away from her for a second.
"Hey, Ryan and Marissa are dancing!" He nudged her.
"Yay! I wish they would just get back together so we could all hang out. I hate this like stagnant middle period." Summer rolled her eyes.
"I know! I talked to Ryan about it-"
"I talked to Marissa about it!"
"-and he totally freaked."
"She didn't really freak. Just basically said she didn't think they had a snowball's chance in hell. So that didn't really give me much hope." Summer said.
"Well, that would kind of take the wind out of your sails. But come on- we'll be gone for a week, they're kind of reconnecting tonight, you never know."
"Always the optimist." Summer looked at him, grinning.
"Won you over." Seth pointed out.
"That's true. Not even my most vicious rejections could slow you down." She giggled.
"It's pretty hard to slow a Cohen down." Seth raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, really?" She smiled as he leaned towards her to kiss her again.
"So, I'm taking off." Marissa was suddenly sitting at their table.
"Get off, honey." Summer pushed Seth away, turning towards her best friend.
"Coop-you cannot just bail."
"I'm not bailing! I'm really tired-it was a gorgeous wedding, Sum. Really. Have such an awesome time on your honeymoon and call me from there, okay?" Marissa hugged Summer tightly.
"Coop! Come on! Can't you just talk to him?"
"We talked! We even danced! And it was incredibly awkward and terrible. I'm sorry, babe. It's just not going to work." Marissa said regretfully.
"Don't give up on him that easily." Seth suddenly interjected.
"Oh, and why not?" Marissa looked up at Seth challengingly.
"Because you obviously still have feelings for each other. And it's even more painfully obvious that you guys are miserable without each other."
"I am NOT miserable." Marissa told him, glaring.
"Okay, Coop, I'm going to have to side with my husband here. It is really obvious you guys still want each other…and sorry to get all sappy, but you also still need each other."
"Look, I don't need love advice! Not from either of you!" Marissa said, getting angry.
"Yes, because we're doing so terrible in the love department currently." Seth indicated Summer's wedding dress.
"Shut up, Seth." Marissa said, taking a long drink from her champagne glass.
"Oh, great, it's high school all over again." Summer rolled her eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're getting to get all wasted, but this time, Ryan won't be there for you." Seth said somewhat harshly.
"I don't need Ryan to save me. I'm FINE. And I'm not wasted."
"Not yet." Summer pointed out.
"Have a great honeymoon." Marissa practically spat at them, storming off.
"You know, I don't think she really meant that." Seth said with mock hurt.
"Aargh! I can't do this if I'm worried about Coop all night!"
"I'll go talk to Ryan. I'll be right back." Seth patted Summer's bare shoulder, practically sprinting off.
~*~
"Ryan, my honeymoon's ruined unless you help us." Seth said dramatically, running up to Ryan out of breath.
"Whoa, what?"
"Marissa's all upset and getting drunk, and now Summer's worried that she'll…you know, pull a Marissa, and so you really need to watch out for her. Give her a ride home, whatever."
Ryan looked hesitant.
"PLEASE, man." Seth put his hands on Ryan's shoulders.
"All right, all right. I'll make sure she's okay."
"Thank you, thank you, my man! You rock!"
Ryan gave him the two-pat man hug, smiling.
"Have a great time, man."
"Will do."
Ryan watched Seth walk off. He wanted to say that he'd miss the best roommate and brother he'd ever had. He'd miss all their late nights sitting around and doing nothing. He'd miss eating cereal every morning while reading the latest comic books. But he didn't say any of those things. He was still Ryan Atwood, after all.
~*~
A/N- Sorry for the short update! School just started, but more will be up soon! Please still review!
