Chapter Two: Breakfast Blues
Ryan walked into the main house, showered and fully dressed for the day. Seth was up, standing over the kitchen island in his bath robe and pajamas, with his coffee, bagel, and Leisure Section in hand. "Hey man…good morning." Seth said,, raising his coffee cup in Ryan's direction. All Ryan could mumble was a measly "hey" in return. Seth set down his mug and paper and leaned into the island. "I take it things aren't better with you and the ladies…yet another love triangle in our midst?" he asked, locking his fingers craftily. Ryan didn't lift his head from the counter…just sat and poured his cereal, grunting along with Seth's comments. " Come on man…" Seth pleaded. "You're 18 now. We're supposed to be having fun at times like these, not beating ourselves up over girls. "
Ryan sighed and flopped his spoon around in the milky cereal. "Being 18 just wasn't all I thought it would be." he said, disappointment evident. "Well it's kinda hard to judge it already." Seth stated. "Your birthday was last weekend." Ryan shrugged and nodded, smacking the back of his spoon atop the crunchy goodness. "I know-I just…" Seth reachd to pat Ryan's arm in an encouraging manly manner. "Dude, being 18 will be awesome!" he said, trying to hype up the excitement a little. "You can uh…live on your own…you can-you can vote!" Ryan just looked at Seth and rolled his eyes. Voting was probably the last thing he could or wanted to do right now. He can't even chose between girls to date…how would he pick some one he wanted to run the country for every one else? Seth leaned back, defeated. "Alright well, since you're so talkative this morning…Summer and I are gonna go to the diner for lunch today and you're coming. No objections…we're putting some more Seth/Ryan time in the books along with a little Seth/Summer/Ryan time. That'll be fun, right?"
Ryan stared at his cereal. "Right? …Buddy?" Seth held. "Okay, I'll meet you down here in a few minutes so we can hang out. I'm just gonna go get dressed…" Seth took another sip from his mug, set it down on the counter and turned the corner to walk up the stairs. When Seth reached his room, he sat on his bed and surveyed the situation that was completely engulfing his friend. He had never seen Ryan this way before…so upset and confused. Seth knew how Ryan felt about Marissa. He could see it; sense it in the air whenever they were in the room together. They belonged together. Plain and simple. But who was he to decide who Ryan should date? As much as he wanted the fantastic four to be together forever, he knew Ryan was doing this for a reason...just one not he nor Summer could understand. Seth sat for another minute and sighed. He glanced over at his bedside table where Captain Oats was stationed and picked him up.
"When did things get so complicated, Oats?" he asked, shaking his head. " I remember the days when it was just you and me…" Seth placed Captain Oats back in his normal spot and leaned back against the head board of his bed. He picked up his cell phone and dialed, putting the phone to his ear and waiting for a reply from the other end. " Hey, it's me." he said, when the receiver muttered a lazy hello. "I uh- I was actually hoping you could come over a little early." he said, tilting his head so the phone would rest between his ear and arm. "I need your help."