It is finally Friday and all the students of Harbor School are very excited about their fair this evening. Because this moment for everyone was a moment of liberation, of being happy and enjoying the last moments of happiness, it was an excuse to be able to be a child again, to be crazy, silly or happy. For the first years it was a way to make friends and meet those who will accompany all their classes the rest of the year and for the second and upper years it is time to make history, to be remembered for something in front of your friends and colleagues.

And for some people it also means doing a grand romantic gesture like the one Ryan Atwood did for Marissa Cooper the year before at the Ferris Wheel where they shared their first kiss. That grand romantic gesture can also mean winning a price for someone or buying dinner to them but everyone had their expectations very high.

To Summer and Seth it is just a time to have fun and an excuse to have a date while it also means that they have to keep an eye on their best friends that were HERE together but not as a couple and they know what this fair does to them so they keep them distracted and away from the big Ferris Wheel.

"Coop, you outdid yourself this year! This looks brilliant and there's so much things to do!"

Seth looks at his girlfriend smirking and follows on her steps "Yeah, you did a very great job Marissa, congrats!"

The fair looked spectacularly beautiful. There was not only light due to the attractions but also because of the hundreds of lanterns that Marisa had arranged on all the roads. The Ferris wheel was in the middle of the enclosure and it changed color with each turn it made and around it were the coolest attractions of the fair such as the roller coaster, the Carussel, the pendulum or the bumper cars and all the sounds that these produced mixed and created a beautiful melody, it was the sound of happiness, of freedom and fun.

"Why don't we go to the bumper cars and get some energy off? I am sure we can beat the girls Ryan"

Ryan agrees with Seth so they take a couple of rides, Seth sharing a car with Ryan and Marissa with Summer. Just at the start of the attraction Summer goes directly to the boys's car and bump them with all the energy her tiny but strong body can produce and Marissa laughs very hard when Ryan's head bump against his seat so he smirks at her and try to get revenge on them. For the next hour neither of the exes think about what this festival means to them. And when they leave the bumper cars Marissa wants some cotton candy so they go to the stall and wait for their turn: Marissa is first while Ryan is the last, Seth and Summer in the middle making out and that's when Ryan feel someone bumping into him and he lose his balance and push into Seth who immediately separate from Summer's lips and stop her from falling to the ground.

"Man! You could have told me to stop kissing Summer without being so rude! There's no need to push!"

"I am sorry, it was not your friend's fault, it was mine" says a redhead smiling guiltily at the group of friends and Seth sees how Ryan looks at this girl like if he is seeing an angel "My name is Lindsay by the way and I just arrived at NewPort"

"Hello, I am Seth Cohen and this is my girlfriend Summer Roberts and our friends Marissa Cooper and Ryan Atwood. Well, technically Ryan is my brother, obviously he is my adootive brother because we don't share surnames and oh"

Summer hits him in the abs to make him stop. "Sorry but he rambles, like a lot"

Lindsay waves at all of them and then turns to Ryan to apologize again but he dismiss her with a shrug "Don't worry, I was also distracted. Are you alone?"

"Ehm, yes, I am afraid I am, I was hoping that this festival would help me make some friends" she looks shyly at them, analyzing them and Summer knows what she is thinking: she sees Summer and Marissa as social queen bs that can probably bully her while Seth would be someone that can be her friend and she has the hots for Ryan.

"You can spend the rest of the evening with us, Coop and I want to go to the roller later while the boys take our purses because let me tell you that they are chickens when it comes to rides"

"Eh, we do ok with bumper cars and carrousel and they are not totally for little kids"

Lindsay laughs at Seth's joke and is so glad that she came to meet this group of friends. At first, like Summer guessed, she was intimidated by the girls but they seem great and funny, well, at least Summer seems funny because Marissa has been very quiet since Lindsay came, analyzing Ryan's face through the conversation.

"I suppose that you do great with Ferris Wheels right? They are not dangerous unless you are afraid of heighs"

And Lindsay suddenly wants to dig a hole on the ground and disappear on it because Ryan's face turn a very white color and Marissa seems about to cry and Lindsay had no idea why.

"Oh, great, it's our turn. Cohen, do you want to share one with me?"

Seth nods and kiss Summer's nose, what makes Ryan looks the other way and in the other side of his vision is Lindsay so he smiles at her and says "Do you want some cotton? My treat"

"We can share, if you want"

"No, I don't like cotton but it would be my pleasure to treat you to one Lindsay"

So the five of them, once they have their cotton, walk around the enclosure and tell Lindsay anecdotes about the school and about them and she is very comfortable talking to them, mostly to Seth and Ryan while Summer tries to distract Marissa from something and she is amused by Seth and Summer's relationship because they can't be more than five minutes without arguing but then they forget in seconds.

Lindsay goes with the girls on the roller coaster and then vomit all over Ryan's shoes what makes Seth almost vomit too and before they can decided what to do next, Marissa screams and run to the arms of a latino man in a balck shirt and jeans that is smiling at her and after hugging him she kisses him on the lips and that confuse Lindsay even more because she thought that she was with Ryan but they were arguing or something.

"Guys, this is DJ, DJ these are my friends: Ryan, Summer, Seth and Lindsay" the guy shakes Seth and Ryan's hands and wave at the girls "We met this summer because he works in Caleb's house and we have been dating for a month"

Ryan nods and smiles at Marissa but to Lindsay it seems like a forced smile. To cut the tension Summer decides that is time for Seth to win her some teddies so the six of them goes to the shotgun stalls and all of them takes a turn. Lindsay and Marissa are very bad at the game while Summer wins a key chain and then Ryan wins a teddy of a lion, Seth a medium horse teddy and DJ wins Marissa a ginormous teddy bear.

While they are walking back to the rides Ryan takes Lindsay's arm and take her a little away from the rest of the group to give her the teddy and Lindsay looks at him confused.

"I don't have a girlfriend and I like you and I also want to be your friend so have this, please" Ryan smirks "Looks at it as a welcome gift and also, its hair is red like yours so it's made just for you"

Lindsay accepts it with a very big smile what makes Ryan even happier because it seems like she has always been a lonely girl and, well, everyone knows that Ryan likes to rescue lost girls.

They take a ride in the Pendulum and then another one at bumper cars and after that and some hot dogs the time for the Ferris Wheel has come. While at the line Ryan hesitates and finally says that he would wait for them because he is not in the mood for heights right now and Lindsay, knowing that she would have to take a ride alone decides to stay with him.

"We just eat those hot dogs and I don't want to vomit again so I would stay wity Ryan down here"

So Marissa take a ride with her boyfriend and Seth with Summer. When the Ferris start Summer put her head on Seth's shoulder and he kiss the top of her head, putting his arm around her shoulders also, so her body is leaning against his chest and contrary to what everyone might believe Seth's muscles are defined, it's just that he is not as muscular as Ryan or DJ and to Summer, his arms are the best refuge.

"That was awkward right? Marissa and DJ and Ryan filtring with Lindsay?" Summer looks at Seth so she can see his expression " It wasn't weird for you?"

"Yes, of course it was but like you said we have to let them find their own path either if it is together or not" Summer kiss his lips "What matters is that they are happy and that we sre happy"

"I am so proud of you, the Seth from last year would be plotting something to make them get back together again"

"Well, I mean, if I find any clue from either of them that they want to be together I would plot but now I don't"

Summer smiles at him and they make out until suddenly the attraction stops and the couple is on top of the Ferris Wheel and they have the best views of NewPort. When Summer looks down she sees Ryan talking to the man in charge of the attraction and grins.

"This was all Ryan's idea, he is a hopeless romantic even if he appears as a tough boy"

"Well, let's enjoy the view then" Seth makes Summer snuggle onto his chest and after a while he kiss her and they take advantage of their alone time on top of NewPort.

Meanwhile on the floor Lindsay is trying to find more about Ryan and Marissa's relationship because she was curious about their interactions and of course she was curious about Ryan because she has a crush on him.

"You know, at first I thought that you were Marissa's boyfriend but that you were just fighting or something"

"Hm, I used to be Marissa's boyfriend but we broke up three months ago. It's also weird for me but I guess that she is happy so I am happy and I just want to be her friend"

"That's very mature for your part and I am sorry that you too broke up, I am sure that you looked very good together as a couple"

"Oh well, yes, we were the golden couple at Harbor"

Then they talk about Harbor and their respective first days and they realize that they are together in a couple of subjects like calculus and advanced maths.

"That's good Lindsay, in that way I would not be alone in those and you can help me if I fail or I struggle because I am not so sure about that subjects yet"

Before she can reply their four other companions are back and ready to go home for the night. Dj is taking Marissa home so Summer would drive to her house alone but Seth have an idea.

"Ryan why don't you take Lindsay home and I stay the night at Summer's, I don't want her alone in that big house of hers"

"Yeah, I am sure that that's your main concern"

Seth looks horrified at Marissa and Summer slaps her best friend's arm in revenge but at the same time smiles at Marissa because all of them know that their intentions are not so innocent.

"Seth, you call Sandy because I am not lying for you"

"Ok man"

Seth picks up the phone and dials her father's number and goes to talk to him in private, just in case he decides to embarrass him while Lindsay looks nerviously at Ryan because they would be alone for twenty minutes and she is not very good at conversations with good lookings boys but then she says to herself that Ryan looks great.

"Done, my father is ok with me going to your house Summer but just if we are careful"

Summer's cheeks turns a deep shade of red in embarrassment but she takes Seth's hand and the six of them walks to the parking lot where at some point they separate from Marissa and DJ and some minutes later they stop besides a Range Rover and a BMW and Lindsay can't believe that she is actually in a school for very rich people.

They say their goodbyes and once in the car Ryan looks at her smirking.

"I know what you are thinking"

"Probably not"

"You are thinking that you can't believe that you are in a school of rich people, sitting in a car that costs more than all the things you owe and you feel like you would never fit in that world"

"Well, yes, how do you know that? You obviously have been living this life a long te"

"No, I went to live with the Cohen's a year ago and I felt exactly the same as you. I am from Chino and my birth family is crap so the Cohen's took me in and I would be forever grateful for them but at first, I felt exactky the same as you now"

"How did you realized that you finally fitted?"

"Seth, Summer, Marissa and a couple of other kids from Newport had been supporting me all this time and I fit in their group and they made me feel like I am one of them and they are really not the image everyone have of rich people. Seth hates NewPort and wants to leave it as soon as he finish school and Summer had changed a lot this year, she is like another person and Marissa, well, she would prefer to live with her father in his small house than where she lives now."

Lindsay smiles at him.

"Then, I am glad I met you tonight"