Hey~ Thanks to those (TWO) of you who reviewed, I really appreciate it. I try to review all the fics I read, I know how helpful they can be. I tried to make this chapter a little longer, hopefully to capture some more interest and build up some suspense..keep reading and reviewing, thanks!! =)

The next morning, Ryan woke up, with high hopes that maybe, this could still be a dream. But when he saw his chair beneath his windows, he was forced to accept what he'd mistakenly seen last night. Seth and Marissa kissing. Okay, enough already! He inwardly chided himself. He got out of bed and dressed, and went to the house to join the Cohens for breakfast.

When he entered the kitchen, Ryan saw both Sandy and Kirsten chattering frantically into cell phones. Seth was pouring himself some orange juice, and grinned when he saw Ryan. He looked at his parents, then back at Ryan, still grinning, and rolled his eyes.

"'Morning," Seth said, sliding a glass of juice towards Ryan.
Ryan mustered a smile and nodded.
"So what's your pleasure?" Seth asked, rummaging through the cabinets. ".Toaster Strudel.or are you a Pop-Tart man?"

"Anything would be fine," Ryan said. He hadn't even heard of Toaster Strudel.
"Right," Seth said, dropping two Pop-Tarts into the toaster.
"So how was your first night in your new place?" Seth asked.
Ryan raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly at Seth.
"It was..different. I sometimes take awhile to get used to new..situations."
Seth nodded slowly.

"Speaking of new situations, I'm going to give you the grand tour of Orange County today, since you never officially got one!" Seth said brightly.
"That's cool of you, man," Ryan said, downing his orange juice.
What he was really thinking was this would give him a chance to try and trip Seth up, get him to confess something. Whatever that something was.

As Ryan and Seth headed out to Seth's car for the "grand tour", they were met by Marissa, who had gone out to check her mailbox.
"Hey, guys," she said cheerfully, waving.

"Hey, Marissa. Ready, Ryan?" Seth said, using his usual off-putting tone whenever it came to Marissa. Nothing new there.
"Yeah.actually, I have an idea. Marissa, you wanna come with us?" Ryan asked.
This would be perfect. He could observe them together. Again. But this time he'd know what to look for.

Seth looked like he wanted to protest, but before he could, Marissa spoke up.
"Where are you guys going?"
"Oh, I'm just showing him around, pretty boring, actually," Seth said quickly.
"Sure, I'll go."

Seth plastered a grin on his face, and he and Ryan got into the car. Marissa hopped in the backseat and they were off.
"And over to your left would be Orange County High School. I could just end the tour now, buddy, since this is most definitely the most exciting attraction," Seth said as he drove by a massive building.

"Yeah, right"! Marissa scoffed.
Seth glared at her in the rearview mirror.
"Sarcasm, Marissa. I realize you don't converse with me often, but every other word out of my mouth falls into this category. I'd expect you to recognize it."
Marissa sighed and rolled her eyes.

Ryan didn't get it. They acted the same exact way they always had, at least it seemed that way to him. Why would they have been kissing?! He was positive it was them, it was nearly daylight bright when he'd witnessed it. These two both had a future in acting.

"Jeez, you guys fight like you're married!" Ryan laughed, glancing at them sideways to observe their reactions.

He thought he saw a glimmer of apprehension on Marissa's face as she looked at Seth, but it was so infinitesimal that he could've imagined it. Seth simply scrunched up his nose, as if to say, "Ew! Marissa has cooties!". The exact reaction he'd expect from his pseudo-brother.

Two hours later, as Seth pulled back into the drive, Ryan had a vast knowledge of where the best burger joints and worst crack houses in Newport were, but not a single clue to explain the kiss between Seth and Marissa. It was time to execute Plan B.

*
That night, Ryan was hanging out in Seth's room after dinner. Seth was messing around with his computer, and Ryan was lying on his bed, watching.

"So you and Marissa don't get along too well for people who've lived next door to each other their entire lives," he said casually.

"Ryan, please," Seth replied. "You just answered your own question. Marissa and I don't get along well because we've lived next door to each other our entire lives. I don't know about you, but I tend to have a distaste for people who blatantly ignore me."

"Liar," Ryan said coyly.
"Huh?" Seth asked, turning around in his desk chair.
"Hello? Summer Roberts?"

Seth's face broke into an embarrassed grin and he tossed a pen at Ryan.
"She doesn't always ignore you," Ryan argued.
"Summer?"

"No," Ryan continued cautiously. "Marissa. She talks to you sometimes."
"Come on," Seth retorted. "She uses me as an excuse to talk to you."
This both added to Ryan's confusion and perked his interest.
"What do you mean by that?" Ryan asked.
"You don't see it?" Seth asked incredulously.

"See what, Seth?"
"Isn't it obvious to you that Marissa has a thing for you?" Seth said, exasperated.
"She does not. She's going out with Luke," Ryan said.
"Like that means anything," Seth said, under his breath.
"What?"

"I just said that Marissa's relationship with Luke is a dead end. She doesn't love him, it's all smoke and mirrors. She shows him off, like Mommy and Daddy's good girl. But she likes you."
Ryan sensed a darker undertone to Seth's voice, but he couldn't identify what it was exactly. Jealousy? Sadness? Fraud?

"Did she tell you that?" Ryan asked quietly.
"Oh, yeah. During one of our hour-long gossip sessions she totally dished!" Seth gushed sarcastically.

"Hey, man. What's your problem? Does it bother you? If it were true, that is," Ryan said.
"No, it doesn't bother me," Seth said flatly. "Wait. Yes, it does."
Ryan's heart skipped a beat. Was this what he'd been waiting for?
"It bothers me because you obviously dig her, too, and I'd hate to see you end up with such a superficial bitch."

With that, Seth shoved his chair out and left the room.
*