A/N So, you guys are incredible. This is the worst week of the year for me cause my uncle died two years ago Friday. That's one reason I'm writing so much – to keep my mind off it. But most importantly, I'm writing because you guys are so amazing with your reviews. As long as it's in my power, if you keep reviewing this fast, I will continue updating this fast. Maybe even sooner (like tomorrow). Maybe. So, read and review, and enjoy!

The next morning Ryan and Marissa were at Marissa's locker bickering about an upcoming charity event. As far as Marissa could remember, she made Ryan go to the events with her. Ryan always argued that he lived in the numbered streets, was the Newport 'outsider' despite living in town all these years, and he wasn't even officially invited. But, as always, Marissa pulled the best friend card and said she was inviting him.

"But Marissa," Ryan said, drawing it out to be longer. "I don't like going to these events. I hate getting dressed up."

Marissa looked at herself in her locker mirror, rolling her eyes at Ryan's reflection. "And Ryan," she said, impersonating his emphasis. "I love making you dress up. It's so much fun to watch you squirm in a suit and tie all night long. Remember Cotillion?"

Marissa didn't date a lot. All of her relationships pretty much lasted a week, if that. It wasn't for a lack of trying; Marissa really wanted a boyfriend. She figured the sooner she could start dating someone, the sooner she could get over Ryan Atwood for good. But she must have some sort of time clock or something on her, because guys always broke up with her within a week of their relationship. Just I'm sorry and they were gone for good. Ryan told her it was only because they were all idiots and didn't know how good they had it. Marissa had spent many nights crying in Ryan's arms after being dumped.

So, naturally, Marissa didn't have a boyfriend during her debut when she turned sixteen. After a lot of pleading and puppy dog eyes, Ryan agreed to be her escort. Dawn rented him a tux and he was the most amazing boy in the room. Definitely the most handsome. Marissa had a picture of the two of them from that night on her nightstand, and that was easily the best night of her life. For once, it was just about her. None of Ryan's girlfriends, none of their friends – just about making her debut perfect. And he did. Ryan always came through.

Ryan groaned. "Yes, I remember. I had to dance and bow in front of everyone. It was embarrassing."

Marissa laughed and closed her locker. "You did a good job." She turned and grinned at him. "And you'll do wonderfully this Friday night at the charity event." She kissed his cheek. "I'll pick you up at seven. You better be ready."

"Or what?" he challenged, raising his eyebrows.

She opened her mouth to reply, but they were interrupted. "Marissa! Ryan! Fancy meeting you two here!"

Marissa turned and saw Andrew. "Hey, Andrew. What's up?"

Andrew looked between the two and grinned. "I'm glad you two are here. I have someone to introduce you to." He turned around and pulled a girl from behind him to stand in front of him. "Ryan, Marissa, I introduce you Katerina O'Brian."

Ryan stared at Andrew, both annoyed that he had interrupted his conversation with Marissa and could dramatically roll the R in Katerina. Marissa, on the other hand, smiled at the tall skinny brown haired girl standing in front of her. "Hi, my name is Marissa."

The girl had Andrew's hazel eyes, and Ryan figured they were related. The girl smiled shyly and said, "Hi. You can call me Katherine. Andrew just likes to be a goober."

"A goober? Aw, baby sister, I wouldn't say that," Andrew protested, patting her shoulder. He addressed the two seniors now. "My baby sister here is a junior. She was number one in her class back in Maine, as well as varsity tennis and swimming."

Marissa raised her eyebrows. "Wait, you're from Maine?"

Andrew tilted his head and gave her a look. "Yes, I'm from Maine. Back to what's important here! My baby sister – "

Katherine rolled her eyes and said, "Andy, just cut it out, okay? God you're such a weirdo."

Andrew grinned widely, his dimples showing. "Kat, Kat, Kat, I'm merely making an introduction here."

Seth walked over now, and looked at all of them. "Introduction? What introduction?"

Andrew's eyes brightened and he grabbed hold of Katherine's shoulders, turning her to face Seth. "Seth, I would like to introduce you to my baby sister Kat –"

Before he could do his whole spiel over again, Katherine rolled her eyes and cut him off. "Hi, my name is Katherine."

Seth's eyes looked her up and down and he visibly gulped. Like her brother, Katherine looked like she was just out of a movie. "Um, hi. Seth Cohen. I'm just going to go awkwardly hide over here now."

He walked over to Ryan and whispered, "Holy crap."

Ryan rolled his eyes, not amused by all this Andrew stuff. "Seth. Remember Summer? The girl you've been pining over for the last ten years?"

Seth snapped back to reality. "Yes. Summer. Right."

Seth had been in love with Summer since shortly after Ryan arrived, though the feelings weren't totally mutual. Yet. Ryan and Marissa had been trying to set the two up for years, but no dice yet. Meanwhile, Andrew and his sister started bickering. "Kat, be nice. I'm just trying to introduce you…"

She rolled her eyes. "Then introduce me, you freaking dufus, don't recite my dating profile."

He paused, seemingly alarmed. "Wait, you have a dating profile?"

She buried her face in her hands. "Oh god just shut up."

"Which site?"

"I'm going to class!" she yelled over her shoulder, walking away.

Andrew looked at all of them and quickly said, "Well, older brother duties are calling. See you later!" He ran off after his sister. "Hey, which site!"

Marissa laughed and turned back to Ryan, who was just staring in boredom at everything, glad Andrew was finally gone again. "So, Friday. Seven. You'll be ready?"

Ryan groaned, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Fine, seven." He gave her a look. "But, you owe me."

She rolled her eyes and looped her arm through his, knowing he would walk her to her first period class today. Casey had a conference with a teacher, so he didn't have to be the dutiful boyfriend and hang out with her until lunch. "Don't I always?"

XXXXX

Since it was Thursday, it was Casey's turn to have Ryan at lunch. They grabbed their treys from the lunchroom and headed outside to eat. They searched for a table but stopped when they heard lots of laughter. "What was that?" Casey asked, turning to Ryan.

Ryan shrugged. "I don't know. Let's check it out." They followed the noise and found a table with a bunch of people surrounding where Marissa, Andrew, Katherine, Summer, all of Marissa's friends, and even Seth were sitting. Ryan pulled Seth aside. "What's going on?"

Seth gave him a confused look. "What do you think is going on? We're all having lunch."

Ryan gestured towards the table, particularly Andrew. "Since when do you sit with Marissa and Summer?"

Seth patted Ryan's shoulder. "Calm down, man. Andrew invited me to sit with him, so I said yes. Then Summer saw Katherine and kind of freaked out about her purse or something?" He gave Ryan a 'girls are weird' stare. "And then Marissa sat with Summer, and everyone else sort of filed in." He leaned in closer to Ryan. "The way I see it, I get to sit with Summer without her protesting. It's such a win-win situation."

Ryan silently glared at Andrew. Seriously, who was this guy and why did everyone find him so freaking charming? He hadn't even been here a whole week yet and he had all the popular girls swooning after him, possibly Marissa, and Ryan just wasn't liking it one bit. He turned to get Casey and go, but much to his consternation, his girlfriend was engaging in a conversation with the group and already sitting down.

Andrew looked up and saw Ryan. "Hey, Ryan! Pull up a chair. Maybe you can help me here, because no one is being really helpful."

Ryan pulled up a chair and placed his tray on his lap. He forced a smile. "What's up?"

Andrew took a sip of his Fiji water before gesturing dramatically. "I know you're from out of town like me, but you've been living here longer. Can you explain to me the point of this… water polo?"

Ryan just gave him a look. "It's a sport."

Andrew laughed and shook his head. "I know, I know. It's a 'sport.' Probably a very important sport, like soccer."

Ryan's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with soccer?"

Andrew took a bite of his apple, chewing as Ryan spoke. He swallowed and shook his head, holding out his hands in surrender. "Oh, nothing, nothing. Just like there's nothing wrong with American football. But honestly, you're kicking a ball around trying to make it into a net. Where's the skill?"

Marissa had been looking between the two, kind of fearing Ryan would get a little defensive. "Well, Ryan's a really good soccer player. You should see him."

Andrew grinned, seeming to lighten up. "You play soccer? That's really cool, man. I don't mean anything bad towards it. Just not my game, you know?"

Ryan rubbed his hands on his knees, trying not to get upset. "Right, right." He forced a smile again. "Do you play any sports?" he asked, trying to sound polite.

Casey rubbed Ryan's shoulder, kissing his cheek and wrapping an arm around him. Casey liked to be really touchy feely, but Ryan wasn't all that into it, especially right now with this asswipe in front of him. But he was too upset to even protest Casey's touch.

Andrew, meanwhile, nodded. "Oh, yeah, yeah. I play basketball. I love basketball." Ryan tried not to roll his eyes. Kicking a ball was so different from dribbling. Right. "And I swim. Swam a lot back home."

Summer piped in. "They had pools in Maine? I thought it was so cold."

Andrew laughed. "Yes, we have pools in Maine. They're indoor, and heated. So that way we don't freeze to death, which is always good."

Ryan looked at Andrew. He was definitely lean, and maybe athletic looking, but he didn't look like a swimmer. "You don't look really like a swimmer," he commented nonchalantly, taking a sip of his water.

Andrew nodded, shrugging. "It's true, it's true. I don't have the broad shoulders of a swimmer." He made a point of pointing to his shoulders and shrugging dramatically. "But I am fit. I work out a lot. I'm not the best swimmer, but I'm not going to lie – I'm pretty good."

One of the girls at the table rubbed Andrew's shoulder and smiled flirtatiously. "Show us."

Even Katherine laughed now, and shook her head. "Aw, that's too much for you girls. Andy has killer abs. Used to drive all the kids back at school crazy."

The girls protested, which Ryan found kind of pathetic. Seriously, who were these girls just throwing themselves on this guy? But much to his surprise, even Seth said, "Ah, come on man, don't be humble. Show us these supposedly killer abs."

Ryan gave Seth a look – or rather, a death glare – but no one noticed. Andrew shrugged and stood, lifting up part of his shirt. All the girls gasped at his abs, and he blushed, quickly, dropping his shirt again and laughing nervously. "Um, you guys are weird. You literally almost made me strip in school. Is this how all of Southern California is?"

Marissa laughed and said, "Only Newport Beach. Girls here love their eye candy."

Andrew laughed, shrugging and biting into his apple again. Ryan didn't see what the big deal was about this guy. He was just so awkward. Like Seth. Like a swimming, basketball playing, literary, poetic Seth. "So, basketball and swimming," Ryan said, steering the conversation away from Andrew's body. "Those are nice."

Andrew looked back at Ryan. "Oh, I wasn't finished. Right. I also really like to run. Short or long distance, doesn't really matter. Just helps me clear my head." Andrew paused, looking up to think about more sports. "I love to play tennis, but not really watch it."

"Aw, Ryan can't play tennis to save his life," Marissa said with a cute grin. Ryan shot her a death glare, but she just shrugged and winked at him.

Andrew grinned and turned to Marissa. "You're probably a pro, right? Marissa Cooper, professional tennis player. I can see it now." He stood and dramatically stretched his arms out, as if showing a banner. "Newport princess makes it big. And the crowd goes wild!"

Everyone laughed. Except Ryan, because what the hell was funny? Andrew sat back down and Marissa said, "I'm okay."

Ryan had to cut in now. No one, not even Marissa, would be modest when it came to his best friend. "Marissa's won every tennis match she's ever played. She's better than okay. She's amazing."

Marissa smiled softly in Ryan's direction and mouthed 'thanks' to him. He just shrugged and gave her a serious look. She had to know how amazing she was. He would brag about her forever. Katherine now patted her brother's knee, and said, "Andy is pretty amazing at tennis."

Andrew shrugged. "I'm all right." He grinned broadly. "Now, hockey."

Katherine rolled her eyes and groaned. "Oh god, save us all. Don't get him started on hockey."

Andrew gave his sister a look. "Kat, hockey is the best sport ever."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Really? Hockey?"

Andrew looked at him, appearing very serious. "Yes, Ryan. Hockey is the best sport in the history of all sports. Not even Pheidippides' run compares to the amazingness that is hockey."

Pheidippides? Who the hell was this guy? Taylor Townsend, a distant friend of Marissa's and Summer's, rubbed Andrew's bicep. "Wow, hot, athletic, and smart."

Ryan gritted his teeth. He turned to Casey, but she was also staring at Andrew like he was some dreamy god. What the hell was it about this guy that had everyone, even freaking Seth, ogling him? Finally, the bell rang and Ryan everyone stood to leave. Andrew caught Ryan's arm before he could walk off, and said, "Hey, maybe me and you could play a little one-on-one soccer at some point?"

Ryan gritted his teeth and forced a smile. "Thought you didn't like soccer."

Andrew waved him off with his hand. "Oh, I still play though. It's a good way to pass the time." He started backing away, but pointed at Ryan. "Remember, you-me, some soccer? We'll set up a time."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, totally." He turned around and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, never. Dumbass," he murmured under his breath. With that, he walked to class, entirely pissed off.

XXXXX

After work that night, Ryan was lounging in Casey's room in his boxers after a couple of rounds of activities. Casey was sitting cross-legged next to him dressed in a tank top and panties, flipping through her history homework. Ryan never particularly liked history or literature or any of those social science things. Instead, he preferred physics and math. He liked having an explanation.

"So that new Andrew guy seems nice," Casey said, landing on a page and pulling out a notebook.

Ryan shrugged, rolling his eyes and blowing a strand of hair from his eyes. "He's whatever."

Casey wrote something down, then turned to him and smiled. "He was definitely interesting at lunch today. Maybe we should have lunch with him and Marissa more often."

Ryan liked the idea of he and Casey having lunch with Marissa more often. He loved spending time with Marissa. But throwing Andrew into the picture? "I don't think so."

Casey raised her eyebrows, obviously confused. "Why? I thought you'd like to hang out together with Marissa more often."

That was one of the things Ryan liked about Casey. She didn't try to question his relationship with Marissa like a lot of his other girlfriends did. Casey seemed a little reluctant sometimes, but she knew spending time with Ryan meant tolerating Marissa, and he was grateful for that. It was one of the most important things about his relationship: if you didn't like Marissa, you didn't get to date Ryan. That simple.

But they weren't talking about Marissa. They were talking about that annoying new kid Andrew. "I just don't really like Andrew," he finally admitted.

Casey smirked and came over to him, straddling his lap. "Why? Because you're jealous, right?" Ryan's eyes widened. Jealous? Of that prick? Whatever, he didn't deserve Ryan's thoughts. He and Marissa were only friends, and Andrew wasn't even friends with Marissa yet. Wait, was he friends with her? "It's okay, baby, I barely even look his way. You know I have eyes only for you."

Oh, right. Casey. Had Andrew even looked Casey's way? Ryan merely forced a smile. "Oh, you know me. Always looking out for you."

Casey grinned widely and kissed him, but Ryan wasn't really into it. When she finally pulled back, she climbed off him and went back to her previous position taking notes. After a few minutes, she said, "Besides, I think Andrew has a thing for Marissa."

Ryan's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. Ryan hated when guys had crushes on Marissa. It infuriated him to no end. Marissa was so much better than all the airheads and dumbasses that walked the earth. They came into her life with a smile and some sort of weird charm that she actually fell for, and it was always up to Ryan to fix things before she got hurt. And he just knew she would get hurt. All guys were absolute jerks, and Marissa was so much better than all of them. She deserved the best in the world, not the scum water polo players she attracted.

Or straight-out-of-Maine annoying dumbasses, either. Ryan cleared his throat, trying to calm down. "You think so?" he asked as casually as possible.

Casey nodded and laughed a little. "Oh it's so obvious. But Marissa doesn't see it. She's too busy with…" Casey abruptly shut her mouth, glancing Ryan's way. "Um… school."

Ryan relaxed a little, but not much. He was so on edge ever since lunch today, and he just wished things would go back to the way they were before. Marissa was free to have whatever friends she chose, and Ryan could do nothing about that. But if that Andrew guy even looked at her wrong, Ryan would…

Well, he'd take care of that. He always did.

Ryan noticed Casey giving him a strange look, and he forced another smile. "You have a lot of homework?"

She glanced down at her notes, then shrugged. "Not any more than usual. Just have reading to do."

Casey, like Marissa, always read her assigned textbook chapters. Ryan, like everyone else, did not. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'll let you do that then. I should probably do my own homework." He laughed a little for the first time all night. "Marissa would kill me if I keep slacking."

Casey smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. Ryan didn't even notice, already getting dressed. "Right."

He finished getting dressed and slipped his boots on. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Casey nodded, flashing him a small smile. "Yeah, see you."

Ryan left and mounted his bike, wondering what to do. He started riding, not really thinking, just feeling kind of frustrated. Why were things always so annoying these days? Things had been going wonderfully. No guy had even looked Marissa's way since that idiot Cameron at the beginning of senior year. After that brief relationship, Ryan seemed to finally get across that Marissa was off limits. No one was good enough. He'd let Marissa cry, hurting for her, but knowing at the end of the day he had been right. Cameron wasn't right for her. No one was. Not yet. And especially not Andrew.

Who seriously even played that many sports? And Maine? People even lived there? So stupid.

Before he realized it, he was climbing through Marissa's window, same as always. She wasn't on her bed, but he heard the shower running so he figured she must have been showering. He went to his drawer and pulled out a pair of sweatpants, throwing off his jeans and throwing them into her hamper before pulling his sweatpants on and going to her bed. He climbed onto his side and slid under the covers, leaning his head against her pillows.

At least Casey had said Marissa didn't appear to have a thing for Andrew. That would really piss him off. It always made him mad when Marissa liked the wrong guy. Couldn't she see what idiots all men were?

The shower shut off and Ryan closed his eyes, trying to relax. Something about Marissa's room made him feel better. Maybe just knowing Marissa was nearby made him feel better. He felt the stress and annoyance dissipate as he just lay there. There was no problem with Andrew. And if there ever came to be a problem with him, Ryan could very easily fix that. None of the guys Marissa had dated before could withstand him before. What made Andrew any different?

And Marissa and Andrew were friends. Even if Andrew was a complete dumbass.

The bathroom door opened and Marissa's voice rang out. "I was almost thinking you were actually going to go to your own house for once."

Ryan opened one eye and saw Marissa throw her clothes into a hamper. Her hair was wet and she wore a pair of pajama pants and a plain white tshirt. He smiled seeing her. Marissa always made him feel better. "Now where is the fun in that?"

"Maybe we should just have my parents adopt you already," she said, wriggling her eyebrows at him.

Ryan frowned. He and Marissa were friends – best friends – but that didn't mean he saw her like a sister. Something felt wrong about that. Dirty. "Um, I think we're fine the way things are."

She gestured towards her hair. "Blow dry or let it air dry?"

"Um, air dry."

She gave him a look. "That means I'm either going to have to straighten it in the morning, or let it go wavy."

He shrugged. "You look fine either way. I don't know why you spend so much time with your hair anyway."

She rolled her eyes and turned out the bathroom light before walking over to the bed and slipping under the covers on her side. "Girls don't just wake up looking beautiful."

"You do," he said, giving her a look.

Marissa was glad Ryan couldn't really see how deeply she blushed at that comment. "Thanks," she said quietly. They both stared at her ceiling for a long time, content to just be there together. Ryan liked hanging out with Marissa. He really liked sleeping over. It wasn't that he couldn't sleep alone, because he could, he just didn't always want to. Marissa reached over and grabbed his hand, letting it rest on her stomach. Sometimes they just wanted some sort of contact with the other. Seth always gave Ryan a weird look when he mentioned that, but it just made sense to Ryan. Why wouldn't you want to feel a connection with your best friend?

"Andrew's sister Katherine seems really cool," Marissa commented. Ryan tensed at the mention of Andrew again, which Marissa noticed and locked away for comment later on. "We're actually going shopping this Saturday with Summer."

Ryan glanced over, and Marissa turned to look at him too. "You made plans without me?" he asked, pretending to sound hurt.

Marissa laughed and smiled. "Yes, I did." She turned on her side and rested her hand on his chest. "But, you can totally come with us! You'll be like our own personal fashion judge. Telling us what looks good for guys."

Ryan frowned. "You don't need to be thinking what looks good for guys."

Marissa rolled her eyes. Ryan was always acting like the overprotective best friend, telling her not to bother with guys until after college. He was such a hypocrite. How many girlfriends had he had? "Fine. You can just come and tell me what looks good to you."

Ryan thought about that, not really liking the idea. But he grinned suggestively and said, "Or I could just sneak into the changing rooms while you guys are changing. Now that's worth my while."

Marissa laughed and shook her head, slapping his arm. "You are horrible."

He laughed, blocking her assault, then placed his hands on his stomach. Marissa came over and rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her. "Nah, go with Summer and Katherine. We'll do something later on."

"You need to rest after the super exhausting charity event tomorrow night, anyway," she said, raising her eyebrows at him and turning her head so he could see her eyes sparkle.

Ryan groaned, shaking his head dramatically. "What do I get myself into?"

She laughed and rested her head back on his shoulder, snuggling into his side. She rested her hand on his stomach, fitting her body against his. Ryan closed his own eyes, completely comfortable and content. "Goodnight, Ry," Marissa murmured sleepily.

"Night, Riss," Ryan murmured back, and both fell comfortably asleep.

XXXXX

I already have the next chapter sort of planned out, so it shouldn't take me long to write once I get started. Review fast, post fast :)

Individual Replies:

TVDaddict22: Oh gosh, TVD lately. Is it bad that I just shut my TV off these days? I haven't watched a whole episode in weeks haha. I feel bad, but it's just not catching my attention. And season 4 of the OC isn't part of the OC in my mind. It's The OC 2 – standing for "Oh crap" (yeah, I might've come up with this in like the seventh grade, so go easy on laughing at me lol).

Riss11: Yes, and I may even post tomorrow. Maybe.

Kendal: Aw, you're much too nice to me. I'm glad you like them!

RMforever: Oh you know I'm so gonna make an Eponine reference at some point lol. As long as your life isn't bad crazy, it's good to be busy. And thank you :)

Jen: Luckily, you don't have to wait long.

Sara: Oh, this post is just the beginning of overprotective and jealous Ryan lol.

Devon: I actually like writing quickly! I used to do post all the time when I was in middle school (yeah, I've been writing that long haha). It's fun to be able to post again.

Skillz37: What about Wednesday, Thursday, and possibly Friday ;)

FlyingForward: Oh gosh, you don't even understand how often the damn song plays in my head because of the story haha. Whenever I get a new review, it starts playing in my head. Whenever I check the story's stats to see how many people have been reading (I also post based on that), I get it stuck in my head. Whenever I start writing, it gets stuck in my head. It's like my life's soundtrack these days haha.

Maddy: Marissa has had boyfriends, but they seem to randomly break up with her. Why? We'll see later on :) And Marissa, of course, loves The Notebook. You better believe she's going to make Ryan watch that a lot with her in the future too lol. And look for some Les Mis wonderfulness as the story progresses :)

Guest: The way I see it, if you guys can take the time out of your busy lives to let me know what you think, the least I can do is take the time to let you know I appreciate it.

Nadine: Oh, of course Ryan's gonna get jealous. It's just going to get worse and worse. And it's going to be fun. I'm glad my story helps you chill. It helps me chill too :)

xoElle23: It's definitely what I dream of lol.

Jenbunney: Well that means a lot, though I still think your trip is like a million times cooler than my stories haha.

: I will definitely take your ideas into consideration. Hmm. My mind is already trying to create scenarios in my head haha.