Ryan walked into the kitchen and stopped when he caught sight of Sandy and Kirsten standing at the counter waiting for him.

"Is everything okay?"

"I talked to your mom yesterday," Kirsten said. "We've decided that you're going to stay with us from now on."

"You did?" He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Wait what else had she said? "I'm staying here?"

"If you want to," Sandy was smiling gently because he hadn't missed the desperate hope that flared in the young man's eyes. "If you like, we'd be your legal guardians."

"What if," he swallowed, remembering how he seemed to be cursed when it came to the good things in his life. "What if something happens?"

"Like what," Kirsten smiled, expression teasingly innocent. "You steal a car, burn down a house get in a fight?" The boy blushed, and she tried not to giggle at how adorable he looked.

"Those ships have sailed, my friend." Her husband stopped smiling for a minute, trying to look serious. "Just promise us one thing: no more trouble."

"I promise."

"So that's a yes?"

"Yeah." He nodded with the enthusiasm he was too shocked to put into his voice. He couldn't believe his luck.

"Great." Sandy clapped his hands together, smiling again. "Go get Seth; we're all going out to breakfast to celebrate."

Nodding again, he headed upstairs to find Seth. He was just about to open the door when he heard,

"Ow."

"Sorry."

He froze, hand extended towards the doorknob.

"It's okay," her voice was a little breathless, but he knew that voice. "I didn't know they could get so big." Ryan felt sick, hearing Taylor say that, in that tone.

"Well, they do." Seth grunts and Ryan flinches. "It's in there a little tight."

"No kidding." Taylor gasps. "Just go for it."

Ryan turns and stumbles back downstairs, feeling dirty and ashamed, ungrateful and jealous as hell.

"Ryan?" Kirsten had just come in, holding the newspaper. "Is Taylor here?" He nods, swallowing.

"Upstairs," a weird, dark look crosses his face, "with Seth." There's a sharp cry from the upper floor and he winces. "I'm hungry." He heads into the kitchen.

Kirsten goes upstairs, knocking before she opens Seth's door. She sees her son applying a bandage to Taylor's thigh with a bloody demon claw on the desk.

"Everything okay?"

"I'm going to be walking funny for a while but everything's okay."

"Good. Breakfast," she said.

"Good, I'm starved." Seth dropped the claw into a drawer. "That thing's not gonna regenerate or grow or anything, right?"

"It might." Taylor teased him, trying to minimize her limp as she left the room.

He paused, opened the drawer, pulled a plastic horse out, and set it carefully on the nightstand before closing the drawer and following his friend downstairs.

--xxx--

It's disgusting, Ryan fumed, keeping his eyes on his plate; as his new "brother" made jokes about what being a Cohen would be like. She's even covering for him, saying she hurt herself riding her bike. And the jerk just smiles and nods, like it was believable. He wanted to rant at her about putting up with that kind of abuse, but his experience told him it wouldn't do any good. Why should I care anyway? He poked at his food, his appetite almost nonexistent ever since he'd heard what he'd heard. I just met the girl, why should I care if she throws it away on a guy who's got it bad for that Summer chick?

"Seth, that's disgusting," Taylor giggled as she swatted her friend who closed his mouth and swallowed.

"Hey, don't you guys have to get going?"

"Get going," Ryan asked.

"Do I have to do this Cotillion thing," Taylor groaned.

"If I'm dusting off the tux to walk you down the stairs, the least you could do is show up so I don't have to go down alone," Sandy smiled.

"What's Cotillion," Ryan asked.

"An exercise in humiliation for girls and a breeding market for guys," Taylor said. "It basically says 'I'm of good breeding and marriageable age, and I will now parade around in front of young men of similarly good breeding and marriageable age so they can all take a good long look at me.' It's pointless and stupid-"

"And you are not getting out of it no matter how much you whine because we already had Aunt Hailey's dress altered for you and if you don't show up, there's a good chance that Mom will make me wear it."

"So I'll have the house to myself," Ryan asked.

"Don't you wish," Sandy smiled.

"Looks like someone's getting conned into putting on a suit and filling in for one of the girls who don't have a white knight," Seth said with a grin.

"What?"

"Do you waltz, Ryan," Taylor smiled at him.

"Do I what?"

"This is gonna be great," Seth said, grinning in anticipation.

"Seth," Kirsten said warningly. "A waltz is a dance, Ryan."

"I don't dance," Ryan said, going pale.

"Well you can't not go," Taylor informed him. "Some poor dateless girl needs you to be her white knight."

"Does she need me to step on her feet?"

"Are you good at math?"

"What?"

"Are you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Great. So, what you do is just break it down into steps and keep counting in your head," Taylor smiled. "It's easy."

"I have no rhythm," Ryan protested.

No one was paying any attention.

"I need my sneakers."

"I thought you had to wear heels so you could get used to dancing in them."

"I do but there's no way I can ride my bike in heels. You will be holding my heels on the way there," Taylor informed Seth.

"We'll meet you two there," Sandy said. "Ryan, why don't we go get you a suit?"

"Seriously I cannot dance."

"Anyone can dance," Kirsten assured him. "Have fun you guys."

--xxx--

Ryan looked at the room full of teenagers dancing and felt himself start to panic. Behind him was the hall leading out to the parking lot. Not good. His luck, he'd run into Seth and Taylor coming in. He'd just started heading for one of the doors on the far side of the room when Marissa called his name.

"There you are," Marissa planted herself in front of him with a clipboard and a determined smile.

"Hey." He wished Sandy hadn't told her he would be a 'white knight'. He didn't want to make even a girl with a 'good personality' cry when he told them he wasn't going to be there.

"So, I've got your Deb," she signaled to her crowd of friends and his eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Sum, here's your White Knight."

"Nice to meet you," her eyes were frankly appreciative as she stuck out her hand. "I'm Summer Roberts."

"Hey." She was hot, but his first instinct was still to say 'no'. Seth had named his boat after her: there was no clearer sign that his new brother was totally gone. "Ryan Atwood." He was opening his mouth to apologize for having to reject her, when he remembered what it was he'd heard the guy doing that morning. Ryan took the hand being offered and smiled at the girl. "If you don't mind having to teach me to waltz, I'm your man."

"Seriously?"

"I can't dance to save my life," Ryan said sheepishly.

"I think we can fix that," Summer said. "C'mon."

Ryan followed her.

"First thing? Relax," Summer said. "I will not bite. At least not right away."

Ryan raised an eyebrow at her, "Good to know."

Next Summer showed him where to put his hands.

"So, I thought you had a boyfriend."

"I didn't really want to go to this thing with Chip."

"Can I ask why not?"

"He's a jerk and he tends to get drunk at things like these."

"He won't mind you going with me?" He was thinking of all the jealous boyfriends he'd had to fight over the years. He didn't want to cause the Cohens any trouble.

Well, any more trouble.

"I doubt it. He's currently in Palm Springs and by now," she checked her watch, "he's got some beach blanket bimbo hanging on his every word."

"Sounds like a great guy."

"He's a biology experiment gone wrong but he's a good buffer. If I'm dating him none of the other guys at school will go near me and that's a good thing for right now."

"Why?" A possibility occurred to him and he smirked at her, "You don't like guys?"

"I like guys just fine, thanks," Summer looked at him darkly. "I just don't know anyone who holds my interest for more than thirty seconds at a time."

"How long have we been talking?"

"This is a 'getting to know you' conversation. It doesn't count."

"Oh." Guilt gnawed at him, but he pushed it back with the memory of how Taylor'd been limping. Anyone who treated their girlfriend like that didn't deserve a chance at anyone else. "Well, you should probably know where I'm from."

"Where's that?"

"Chino."

"Really," Summer looked surprised. "So how'd you end up here?"

"My lawyer took me home with him."

"Your lawyer?"

"Sandy Cohen."

"You live with Seth Cohen? Ew."

"He's not that bad."

"He's dating Taylor Townsend. She's like, a complete bitch. Ow!"

"Sorry." Ryan loosened his grip, wondering why he'd tightened it in the first place.

"It's okay. I'm tougher than I look."

Ryan nodded.

"So, where are they," Summer asked, looking around. "Those two disappear for hours on end and then they just appear out of nowhere."

"What do you think they're doing?"

"Ew!" The slap to his shoulder was familiar, like the blows Theresa had dished out when he was 'misbehaving'. "Thanks for that mental image. Not."

"You're welcome," he smirked at her, welcoming the distraction she offered.

"Speak of the devils," Summer said, looking over Ryan's shoulder.

Ryan followed her gaze and saw the door open, admitting Seth and Taylor.

"Gimme a minute," he said.

Summer nodded and he separated from her, touching her shoulder as he left, and came over.

"Hey."

"What's going on," Taylor asked, staring over at Summer.

"Oh, I'm taking her to Cotillion."

"You're taking Summer," Seth's voice went a little higher.

"Yeah. She didn't want to go with Chip and I didn't have a date, so," Ryan shrugged. "Marissa said it was a white knight or something."

"Or something" Seth mutters

"Something wrong?"

"No," Seth smiled as best he could. "C'mon Tay, let's go practice so I don't kill your feet tomorrow."

"Good idea," she smiled at him. "Just give me a minute to use the ladies" room."

"I'll be here."

"Chino!"

"Excuse me, the mistress beckons," Ryan, with a very not-nice smile as he walked back to Summer.

Watching him, Seth wondered what had happened to the guy he'd spent hours playing video games with; the guy who'd told him his plans for Tahiti were "cool"; the guy who hadn't blinked at stepping between him and physical violence. That guy was great, the first friend he'd made entirely on his own.

This guy was kind of a jerk.

--xxx--

"I don't see the point in wearing white." Taylor fussed with the skirt of the dress, trying to get it to settle properly. "It's just going to end up with demon blood or vampire dust all over it."

"It's tradition to wear white, Taylor. You look lovely."

"I think I should wear red. At least then no one would see any stains."

"There aren't going to be any stains, because there's not going to be anything to slay." Kirsten offered the gloves to the girl, who took them with a frown. "This is a night for you just to be a normal teenager."

"Yeah, right, because that always works out so well," Taylor snarked, being careful not to yank on the gloves too hard.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

"What?"

"I've never heard you complain so much. Something's wrong."

"It's nothing." She smoothed the fabric over her arms, frowning at her image in the mirror, "Except that I have sausage arms."

Kirsten rolled her eyes and smiled ruefully, "When did Veronica get home?"

Taylor shrugged, "Last night. She wasn't all that happy when I got home before considering I hadn't been home all night.

"Did you use studying with Seth or on a date with Seth as your cover? So I can tell him which story to use if she talks to him."

"I told her we fell asleep in front of the TV," Taylor said, "which then led to a lecture about watching too much television and trying to find a more socially acceptable boyfriend."

"Socially acceptable," Kirsten shook her head, amazed the other woman could keep up her venom for so long. "I suppose she'd prefer you dated a drunken spoiled infant like Chip Saunders."

"Yeah, but what she doesn't realize is that most of the guys she deems acceptable are still afraid of me because I broke Luke's arm last year-purely by accident mind you-and won't come near me."

Kirsten had to laugh at that. "Well, at least now none of those boys mess with Seth."

"Good." Taylor looked in the mirror, smoothing her dress over her stomach with one hand, "I like Seth."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself it's true."

"Kirsten, Seth's my best friend. There's no convincing necessary."

"But you two aren't children anymore and pretending to date is going to become complicated when one of you finds someone else you want."

"I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon. What other boy could deal with what I do at night?"

"That is a consideration."

"Besides the one girl Seth really truly wants has no idea he's alive and is going to be on Ryan's arm tonight."

"I'm amazed. I thought for sure she would change her mind once she found out where he was from."

"Maybe she's not as shallow as people think she is. I'm hoping so for Seth's sake anyway. I'd like her to be as perfect as he thinks she is."

"I hope so, too," Kirsten smiled, thinking of the love spell she'd caught him trying when he was ten. Thankfully, he'd taken her warnings to heart and never tried it again. "I'm just worried about what will happen to you if he starts to date her."

"Oh, I'll be fine. Between Slayer-strength and my training, I can handle the solo patrols and you weren't talking about demon-fighting, were you?"

"No, I wasn't," Kirsten said. "I was talking about your arrangement with my son."

"We 'break up'," Taylor shrugged. "It was going to happen sooner or later but we will always stay friends."

"Good, because I've never believed that isolating the Slayer was in anyone's best interest." Kirsten put her arm around the girl and squeezed affectionately. 'That and I'd miss you terribly. You're like a daughter to me.'

"Oh." Taylor felt herself tearing up and dropped her gaze to her hands.

"No tears, we'll have to redo your make-up and it's almost time to line up," Kirsten said. "You look lovely."

"Thank you Kirsten," Taylor smiled.

"See you out there."

--xxxx--

"My face is going to freeze like this," Taylor muttered as she and Seth smiled toward a photographer, heads tilted together.

"Try having these shoes on," Seth returned.

"I'm in freaking heels, Cohen."

"You wear heels all the time."

"Not that often." Taylor looked over to the other side of the dance floor, where Ryan was shaking Doctor Roberts' hand and looking even more uncomfortable than Seth.

She looked back when she heard Seth sigh and caught the slightly pissed look on her friend's face. "You okay?"

"No. I think I was wrong about him or at least a version of him."

"Ryan has different versions? I don't think he talks enough for him to have different versions."

"He was just being a little jerk like before with the whole him being Summer's escort thing."

"You're jealous."

"No, I'm not."

"Seth."

"He doesn't even know her, and he's all over her." He scowled down at his feet, "He's just like all the other jock assholes around here."

Taylor put a comforting arm around her friend, glancing back across the dance floor. Ryan was making a sour face in their direction, swiftly changing to a polite smile as he returned his attention to his date.

Taylor sighed as she glanced around the room, holding a glass of watered down punch carefully in her hand. Just as she was about to take a sip she caught a glimpse of Holly Fischer and Kyle Nordlund dancing across the room. She furrowed a brow when she remembered Kyle had been AWOL for the last two days of practicing.

"Seth?"

"Yeah?"

"I thought Marissa assigned Holly a different White Knight."

"She did but I guess Kyle came through after all."

"For a night event," Taylor looked at him.

Seth blinked at her a few times then rolled his eyes, "Why do we even bother coming to these things?"

"Because your mother would kill us if we didn't."

"Are you sure you have to save Holly?" Taylor glared at him. "Right. I'll just go tell my mom we're leaving, then."

"I'm gonna go grab my purse," Taylor said walking over to the table where she and Seth had been sitting and taking her purse in her hand.

"Leaving so soon," Ryan's voice said from behind her. She turned and saw him standing there looking mildly curious.

"Seth and I are bored. Think we might go change and take a ride," she said.

"Oh." Ryan told himself it wasn't deliberate. She wasn't blowing him off, because he hadn't actually managed to ask her to dance, as he'd come over here intending.

"We'll probably be out pretty late. Riding out under the moonlight..."

"Well you two kids have fun then," he snapped at her, his face dark and stony when she looked up, (startled by his angry tone) from checking the supplies, stake, flask of holy water, in her purse.

She was about to ask what was wrong when she remembered the look on Seth's face when he'd seen Ryan dancing with Summer and decided that she didn't really care. "You two have fun, too. I hear Summer's a really good time." Then she turned and walked away from him.

Ryan watched her walk away, enjoying the view. Well, at least until her boyfriend joined her, he was enjoying it. Then, all the pictures his imagination had applied to the things he'd overheard came rushing back and his gut clenched.

"There you are." Summer took his arm, following his gaze to the empty door. "We were all just about to go to the after party. Holly's beach house, again; but it's sure to be more fun than this. You up for it?"

"Yeah." Teenagers with no adult supervision and money to burn. This party was probably gonna be like the ones in Chino, just with fancier booze. And he could really use a drink, just then. "Yeah, sounds like fun."

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