Title: A Twist of Fate
Ratings/Warnings: In this chapter- very minor swearing and of course...Ryan angst
Beta: loracj2
Disclaimers: I own nothing in relation to The O.C. All mistakes are mine
Summary: Beginning of Season 1, AU, In The Pilot, Kirsten asks Sandy "What if this is all a scam? What if he's just using you to case the house?" In this story it is the truth, but not by Ryan's choice. For the purposes of this story Dawn is dead and there never was a Trey.
Twist of Fate: Chapter Ten
They had been driving for ten minutes when Ryan realized they weren't heading back to the Cohens' home.
"Where are we going?" he whispered to Seth.
"We're just completing another Cohen family tradition."
"Which is?"
"Every Sunday we go out to lunch and then to the grocery store."
"You don't mind, do you, Ryan?" Kirsten turned around in the front passenger seat so she could see him.
"No, of course not."
"Thank you." She turned slightly to face her son. "We had to start this little tradition when Seth turned twelve."
"Yeah. That's when they got sick of me complaining that there was never anything to eat."
"No, son. That's not why." Sandy joined in the conversation.
"Your father's right. It was when we pointed out over a dozen different things you could have to eat, all you did was change your whining and complaining to there was never anything good to eat. That's why we started making this a family affair."
"I didn't whine."
Sandy cleared his throat and Kirsten gave him a look.
"Okay, maybe a little. Anyway, Ryan, now I can pick out my supplies for the week."
"Under the condition that if we have to hear one word of complaint, he loses his Playstation for the night."
"You mean you get to pick out whatever you want?" Even though Ryan had spent the better part of two days with Seth, he still couldn't quite grasp the other boy's freedom and privileges.
"Well, within reason. They never let me buy lobster. And they're right about the complaining. Yeesh! My ears are still ringing from the last lecture about starving children in Africa."
"Ryan," Kirsten said, ignoring her son. "While we're there, why don't you pick out what you want for breakfast? We usually just have bagels and cereal during the week. Is there any particular cereal you like?"
"That's all right. I appreciate it, but you'd just be wasting your money. After all, I'm leaving tomorrow morning."
No, you're not. Sandy thought, but said, "Don't worry about it, kid. I'm sure whatever you don't eat, Seth will manage to finish off."
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Ryan stood in the super market, gazing at all the different choices. He couldn't believe how different even this was from home. The store in Chino didn't even carry name brands.
"Come on, man. As much as I love food, I don't want to spend all day here." Seth grabbed a cart and started heading down the aisle.
"Sorry." Ryan followed Seth throughout the store, watching as his new friend filled the cart until it was overflowing with food.
"You eat all of this in a week?"
"It is the summer. I'm home a lot, and like I've said before, playing video games can really work up an appetite. What's the big deal?"
"It's just that this is more money than we spend on food in a month, maybe two."
"Oh," Seth said awkwardly. Ryan had only mentioned his home a couple of times, and each time it left Seth feeling uncomfortable. He felt guilty for complaining about his life, since it was obvious that Ryan's was pretty rough.
"You boys ready to go?" Sandy asked as he and Kirsten rounded the corner.
The boys each nodded their head in agreement.
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Ryan and Sandy loaded the sacks into the back of the Rover, while Seth played with the radio. Kirsten had stopped just outside the doors of the store to chat with a Newpsie about the upcoming charity event. Ryan turned to grab the last sacks, and then he saw him.
There, half- hidden behind a SUV, was a kid not much older than himself. He was eyeing up Kirsten with a look Ryan knew all too well. He watched as Kirsten said goodbye to the Newpsie and start walking towards the car. The other boy emerged right on cue.
Ryan dropped the groceries and took off at a dead run. He knocked into the boy at full force, causing both of them to fall to the pavement.
"What the hell?" the boy sputtered.
"Sorry. I didn't see you."
"I suggest you watch where you're going next time." He stood and glared down at Ryan who was still trying to stand.
"What's going on here? Ryan, are you all right?" Sandy asked, as he helped Ryan up.
"Everything's fine, Mr. Cohen."
"It's not fine. This punk could have broken my arm running into me like that. I might sue."
"Good luck with that one," Ryan replied sarcastically, holding out a wallet. "Is this yours?" He didn't let either Cohen see that the driver's license didn't belong to the boy. He smiled knowingly. "Bob?" Ryan finished. "You must have dropped it when you fell."
The other boy eyed Ryan suspiciously, before a look of comprehension crossed his face. "Yeah, it is." He snatched the wallet from Ryan's hand and began to look around the parking lot nervously. "Look, maybe it's not that big of a deal. I've got to get going, anyway. Just try and be more careful next time, would ya?"
"Sure. No problem," Ryan replied.
When the boy was out of sight, Kirsten asked Ryan again. "Are you sure you're okay? You hit him and the ground pretty hard."
"I'm fine, Mrs. Cohen. Thank you." He looked down and noticed that Sandy's suit had not fared as well. The left leg was torn beyond repair. He looked at Sandy. "But your suit's not. I'm really sorry. I'll try to pay you back."
"I don't care about the suit, kid. What I do care about is what really just happened here?"
"What do you mean?" Ryan began to fidget.
"I mean most people don't run full speed ahead across an empty parking lot to accidentally run into another person." He raised his eyebrows and spoke with a stern tone. "I want the truth, Ryan."
Ryan looked at the asphalt, the stripes of the parking spaces, the tires of the parked cars, anywhere but at Mr. Cohen.
"Ryan," Sandy repeated sharper than before.
Ryan sighed. He had managed to back himself into yet another corner. Once again, he decided to go with as much as the truth as he could; hopefully, without letting the Cohens know too much about him.
"He was going to steal your purse." He looked at Kirsten. Her eyes widened and she held her purse tighter.
"How do you know that?"
"Purse snatching is a fairly common occurrence in Chino. I could tell he was scoping Mrs. Cohen out. Some guys can be pretty smooth about it. They wait until a woman is distracted and then slice through the straps. You wouldn't even realize your purse was missing until they're long gone. But not that guy. He was going to knock you down and rip the purse from your arm." He looked at Kirsten. "You could have been hurt."
Kirsten's reaction to his story shocked him more than anything ever had before, as she pulled him into a fierce hug. The embrace caused pain to go shooting through his back and he tried to pull away, but she held on tight. Finally she pulled back, but held onto his hands. This embarrassed him almost as much as the hug.
"Me? What about you? You could have been hurt. What if he did have a knife? You matter to me much more than a purse."
"But..."
"No buts, kid. Kirsten's right. The purse and everything in it are material things. They can all be replaced. They're not as important as your safety."
Ryan didn't know what to think. Never in his life had anyone shown as much concern for him as the Cohens had in the past five minutes. His eyes began to sting and he blinked, trying to keep back the unwanted moisture from forming in his eyes.
"Ryan." Kirsten squeezed his hands. "I don't want you to ever put yourself in danger like that again. Do you understand?"
Ryan nodded. He did understand, but he knew in less than twenty-four hours, he would be putting himself in harm's way. Only that time he would be the thief.
"Good. Now let's go back home. I've had enough excitement for one day."
"Me too, honey. Not to mention my fudge ripple is melting."
"You know, that fudge ripple might be the reason that this suit..." She rubbed the arm of Ryan's jacket. "no longer fits you."
"I keep telling you. I don't wear it because I don't like it. Why don't you believe me?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because of your love of ice cream, bagels schmeared with cream cheese, cheese puffs... should I go on?"
Sandy laughed. "I give up. Ryan, if you learn one thing in life it better be to never argue with a beautiful woman, especially if she's your wife."
They returned to the car to find Seth sitting in the back seat of the Rover, playing his Gameboy. He looked up when the doors opened.
"Hey, you guys totally missed it. I almost saw that BMW rear-end that Jag." Seth shook his head. "I can't believe the one exciting thing that happens around here and I'm the only one to see it."
Sandy rolled his eyes and chuckled. "We're sorry we missed it. I guess you're just the lucky one."
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They had barely left the parking lot when Kirsten's phone rang.
"Hello, Dad. How's Japan?"
Sandy let out a loud groan, which earned him a dirty look from Kirsten.
"Grandpa and Dad don't exactly get along." Seth explained to Ryan.
"No, Dad. I don't have those numbers in front of me. It's Sunday."
"Slave driver," Sandy said, loud enough for Caleb to hear.
"Sandy, hush," Kirsten ordered.
"Grandpa owns the company where my mom works. He's overseas doing business right now, but he still manages to keep everyone on edge, including Mom."
"All right, Dad. I'll swing by the office and get the numbers and call you back later. Bye." She turned to Sandy. "Honey..."
"No, let me guess. Your father wants you to work today."
"Not exactly. I just need to look up a couple of numbers. It'll take me five minutes. Then no more work the rest of the day. I promise."
Sandy looked at his wife with skepticism. "Sure. I'll believe that when I see it."
"What do you do exactly?" Ryan asked, and this time it was Seth's turn to groan.
"Dude, don't ask."
"I tried explaining it to Seth once and he fell asleep halfway through. My dad is in real estate development. He owns the Newport Group."
"Wow, you guys built the Pacific Auditorium and the baseball stadium."
"That's right. However, I don't usually work on those projects. I'm in charge of residential development."
"So, you deal with the contractors and the architects."
"I'm impressed, Ryan."
Ryan smiled and looked down. He wasn't used to praise and he wasn't sure how to react. He was saved from further worry when Seth's loud and clearly fake snoring interrupted the silence.
"Very funny, Seth. You can wake up now. We're here." She turned to Ryan. "Would you like to come in?"
"Really?" She hadn't seen him look so excited all weekend.
"Sure, there's nothing going on right now, but you can still see what the place looks like."
"Thanks."
Once they reached Kirsten's office, she started flipping through her filing cabinets in search of the documents she needed. She watched Ryan out of the corner of her eye studying the blueprints on her desk.
He looked up when he felt her watching him.
"Sorry," he mumbled and backed away from her desk.
"Don't be sorry. I think it's great. How do you learn about blueprints?"
"Before my mom married Art, she dated a construction foreman. When he was in a good mood, he would let me look at the blueprints and explain things to me."
She smiled at him encouragingly. This was the first time he had voluntarily told her anything about his life.
"I always thought it would be cool to be the guy who drew them."
"You want to be an architect? Ryan, that's wonderful."
"Not really." He saw her surprised look. "I mean it's never going to happen."
"Why not?"
"You have to go to college to do that kind of stuff. I'll probably just end up working at one of the local garages or at the factory, like everyone else in Chino."
"Ryan, those jobs are important. I know that, believe me. Personally, I don't know what I'd do without our mechanic, but if that's not what you want to do with your life..."
"It doesn't matter, Mrs. Cohen."
"Yes, it does. Now, I don't know about your grades." She looked at him, trying to see his response to the mention of school, but he kept his head down. "But there are scholarships, grants, even student loans to help pay for the cost of college."
"It's not just the money. Even if I won the lottery, no college would ever accept me."
"Why not?"
"I'm not smart enough."
"Ryan." She put her hand on his arm and waited for him to look at her. "Why don't you think you're smart enough to go to college? I may have only known you for a couple of days, but you seem very bright."
He smiled at her sadly. "Thanks, but like you said you don't really know me."
Kirsten was trying to think of something else to say when her phone rang. She flipped it open, but didn't speak for a few seconds. "Seth, we have not been in here for forever, and you're not going to die from boredom...Yes, I can hear your father singing show tunes...fine, we'll be down in a couple of minutes."
"I'm sorry, Ryan."
"It's okay."
"No, it's not. I'd like to talk more about this later."
"If you want to, but talking is not going to change anything."
He paused at the door and motioned back in her office. "Thanks for showing me your office and letting me look at the blueprints. I really appreciate it."
He was looking up at her through his bangs, and Kirsten decided to take a chance. She slowly raised her hand and brushed the hair from his eyes.
"You're welcome, Ryan."
tbc