Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Note: A few people have asked if Alex will be appearing in the story, and I'm going to try to work her in later on, but I make no promises. I know things with Ryan and Lindsay are taking a lot of turns, but just be patient. :-)
The next morning, when Ryan got into Lindsay's car, she attempted to smile at him, but it was clearly forced and she couldn't meet his eyes. "Did you get the reading done for English?" he asked, desperately trying to break the silence. Normally he didn't mind it, but for some reason, it felt weird today.
"Yeah, I skimmed it. I actually read The Scarlet Letter last year, so I'm just reviewing. Did you?"
"Yeah. I was up really late doing homework last night."
Lindsay parked the car and the walked into school together. "Really? I never would have pegged you as the studious type."
"I'm not," he replied, amused. "Well, I wasn't. But the Cohens are paying for me to go to this school, so the least I could do is try as hard as I can."
"So how do you know the Cohens?"
"Uh..." Ryan said a silent prayer of thanks when the five minutes warning bell rang. "I've gotta get to homeroom."
She knew it wouldn't take him that long to walk down the hall, but she decided to just let it go. For now. She went to homeroom, sitting in the same place she had yesterday. When the girl who she'd seen Ryan kissing walked in, she quickly looked away and tried to focus on the book in her hands, but all she could think about was the feeling of jealousy and anger that filled her as she saw Holly's bright smile.
"Isn't he that kid from Chino?" Lindsay heard a girl sitting with Holly ask. "That's just...ew! I mean, he's hot and all, but Chino?"
"Trust me, with the way he kisses, I couldn't care less where he's from."
The girls giggled and Lindsay felt like she was going to be sick.
Lindsay dreaded lunch all morning. When it came, she sat at a table way off to the side, hoping she wouldn't be noticed. She didn't want to have to face Ryan. She could at least admit it to herself now: she was jealous. But she could never admit that to him. Not when he clearly felt nothing for her.
"Lindsay!" she heard Seth greeting her.
She hesitantly turned to look at him. "Hey."
"Where's Ryan?"
"I don't know, probably with Holly," she replied bitterly.
"Why would he be with Holly?"
Lindsay rolled her eyes, and over Seth's shoulder, she could see Ryan walking towards them. "Nevermind."
Ryan smiled at Lindsay, and she tried to smile back, but it was a sad smile. "Hey."
"Hi," she replied awkwardly as he sat down beside her.
Summer stood behind Ryan, holding her tray. "Mind if I sit here, Chino?"
Ryan smirked, knowing that Seth, who was on her other side, was the reason she wanted to sit there. "Yeah, no, sit."
"Hey Summer," Seth said nervously.
"Cohen." She opened her milk, then turned to him, her eyes showing a hint of hurt and/or anger. He couldn't quite tell which."Where's Tinkerbell?"
Seth was confused and looked to Ryan for help. He mouthed Anna, and Seth nodded in understanding. "Anna? Haven't seen her yet today."
Lindsay sat quietly watching the exchange, but when Holly came to the table, she visibly stiffened. Luckily, no one noticed.
"Hey Ryan!" she pulled up a chair between him and Summer, kissed his cheek and sat down.
He almost growled at her, but decided that if she was going to get the message, he couldn't say it in any uncertain terms. "Holly, can we talk? Over there?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Sure." She winked at Summer then eagerly followed him away from the group. "What's up?"
"Why don't you tell me?"
She looked at him as if his words had deeply hurt her. "What?" She reached out and rested her hand on his arm, which he quickly shrugged off.
"We're just friends. Actually, not even that. I get that you want to make Luke jealous so that he'll fall in love with you or whatever, but I'm not going to be part of it. If you touch me again, next time I won't have the courtesy to pull you aside and tell you to get the hell off."
"It's working." She pointed to Marissa who was staring at them with interest, but when Ryan turned around, she quickly looked away.
"I can't believe you," he sighed, wondering at the ruthlessness of the girl. She looked at him with pleading eyes, but they had no effect on him. "Just stay away from me from now on." Before she could argue, he walked away and joined Seth, Summer, and Lindsay at the lunch table. They all stared at him expectantly.
"What was that?" Seth finally asked.
"Nothing." Ryan saw Seth and Lindsay exchange a knowing look, but when he tried to look at Lindsay, she looked down at her food. "We just had to clear something up."
An awkward silence filled the table. "So, I'm gonna get to pre-calc," Summer said standing up with her tray.
Seth stood up with her."Okay, I'll walk you."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I can walk myself."
"Good, then you can walk me too," Seth replied, not missing a beat.
Ryan and Lindsay only said a few words to each other during class. When Ryan got to his locker after school, Marissa was waiting for him. "Hey!" she greeted him with a flirty smile.
He half-smiled. His mind was on Lindsay. Something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. A part of him suspected that it had to do with Holly, but he refused to let himself entertain the implications of that thought. "Hey, what's up?"
"We're going to need to get together and work on that lab report after school."
Ryan nodded distractedly. "I have soccer try-outs until five."
"I have a social committee meeting until five, so that's perfect. You could come over to my place. I think my mom's going to be out most of the day."
"How about we just meet me in the library?"
She sighed, the rejection stinging. "Sure."
They parted waysand he walked to Lindsay's locker. "Hey."
"I'll be ready in just a second..."
"Actually, I've got soccer try-outs today."
"Oh." She tried to hide the hurt in her voice. It was just soccer try-outs, it's not like he was blowing her off to makeout with Holly. "Okay, then I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
Luke saw Holly walking down the hall, sniffling and looking like she was fighting back tears. "Hey, what's wrong?"
She shook her head and started to walk away, but he caught her arm.
"Does this have something to do with that Chino punk?"
She sniffled again and looked up at Luke. "He said I'm nothing but a rich, spoiled, brat and he doesn't want to see me anymore." Luke looked a bit surprised, but wasn't about to question it. He pulled her into a hug. "I can't believe he said that after we..." She started sobbing.
"Shh, it's okay."
"I just feel so stupid."
Luke's heart ached for her. "Why? You didn't do anything wrong. He's an idiot if he can't see what an amazing girl you are."
"Thanks, Luke." She gave him a small smile.
"I've got to get to soccer try-outs. See you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay." As soon as Luke walked away, she smiled to herself. Despite Ryan's refusal to cooperate, it seemed to be working out to her advantage.
"So what was going on with Holly at lunch today?" Marissa asked Ryan.
"Nothing." Marissa raised her eyebrows at him and he decided on an explanation that was half true and didn't include Holly's plan to split up Marissa and Luke. "We sort of...well I ran into her at a party a few weeks ago, and I was a little drunk. She got the wrong idea and I've been trying to let her down easy, but that didn't work, so I had to just be blunt."
"It's weird, because I was getting the feeling she was into Luke."
Ryan tried to look surprised. "Yeah, weird." He silently pulled out his notebook.
"So how are things going with your mom?"
"Good. She's got a job managing a restaurant. She really seems to be getting it together. How are you doing with the thing with your parents?"
"The divorce?"
He half-smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, that."
"I'm dealing," she shrugged. "I somehow managed to convince my mom to let me live with my dad. A part of me's still hoping that they'll get back together though."
Ryan nodded knowingly.
Seth lied on his bed with Captain Oats on his chest. "I know I should forget her, but I can't." He sighed letting his head fall back. "You're right, Anna's great, but Summer is...Summer." Placing Captain Oats aside, he stood up from his bed and walked to the window, looking out at the ocean. It was almost like if he watched the waves roll in and out long enough, they would give him the answer.
He was with Anna...sort of...and she was really great. Their interests were freakishly similar and they always found things to talk about. Her biggest fault was that he couldn't find one worth mentioning. Except for the whole not being Summer thing.
For the first time since Casino Night, Seth felt like there may be hope with the Summer situation. After walking her to class, when they parted ways, she'd caught his gaze for a moment and he could've sworn he saw something like longing.
He heard a car door shut and looked over to the Coopers' driveway. "Grandpa?" he whispered in the dark. He watched Caleb ring the door bell and the Dragon Lady emerged. She pulled him into a kiss before ushering him inside.
"Well that's just...awesome."
Please review!
