Author's note: Chapter four! More Angry!Seth, more Angsty!Ryan, and a little bit of mothering thrown in for good measure.

Disclaimer: Not mine *sob*. Please don't make it worse by suing me.

Simple Geography, chapter four: Dinner of the damned.

"So Ryan," said Kirsten over dinner that night, "I was thinking, if you're not working tomorrow you might like to come over to the new development and look over some of the plans."

"Uh, yeah, thanks. That sounds great."

Seth spoke up nastily from the other side of the table. "Better make sure you don't already have other plans, dude. I mean, you wouldn't want to disappoint my mom, would you? Because that would be, like, totally uncool, right?"

Kirsten and Sandy took in Seth's glare, Ryan's downcast eyes fixed on his plate, and exchanged worried looks. To break the tension Sandy asked, a little bit too heartily, "So, fellas, what did you do today? Anything interesting?"

Still glaring at Ryan, Seth snapped, "Well dad, I'm not sure what Ryan here did today, but I went down to the pier to hang out with all the other losers and freaks. Just like old times. Hey Ryan, what did you do? Did Marissa call? Come over? Fun in the sun, lounging by the pool?"

"Uh, no...may I be excused please?" Ryan stood, gathered his dishes, and went into the kitchen.

Kirsten turned to her son. "All right, Seth, you want to tell me what that was all about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, mom. Just a little pleasant dinner conversation. Now, 'if I may be excused'" exaggerated eye-roll, "I gotta go...somewhere." And with that, he stomped off in the direction of the den.

"I'll go," said Sandy in response to Kirsten's glance.

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When the knock sounded on the poolhouse door, Ryan glanced up in alarm. Seth coming back for another round? No, just Kirsten, which wasn't much better, all things considered. He sat up and motioned to her to come in.

She sat down on the bed next to him. "Ryan, did something happen between you and Seth today? Did you boys have an argument?"

"I...yeah, kinda, this morning. I'm sorry."

"May I ask what it was about?"

Ryan grimaced and thought, Oh, yeah, like I can say, "Well, see, it's like this, Mrs. Cohen. Seth and I have been sexing it up in the poolhouse ever since Marissa's been away, and now she's home and Seth is scared and jealous because he thinks I used him as a fuck buddy substitute for a real girl and I can't fix it because I don't know what the hell I'm doing or what I'm feeling, and, oh yeah, he accused me of being a Newport pod person and told me to fuck off. Oh, and I think I may be in love with him, which is just not right, and what's worse is I think he's in love with me, too. And there's Marissa and this...thing between us that I'm pretty sure isn't love but maybe could be." He took a breath and said, carefully, "I think Seth is worried that we won't hang out as much now that Marissa's home."

Kirsten sighed, then said, "I was afraid it was something like that. Listen, Ryan, Seth is, well, sometimes his mouth runs away with him before his brain can follow. I know you boys are close, and I know that somehow this will all work itself out. Seth's never really had to share anything with anybody before, and I'm sure he finds it difficult, but I have faith in the both of you." She stood up then, and reached out a hand to brush the hair back from Ryan's face; a gesture so simple and so comforting that it threatened to bring tears to his eyes. "Goodnight, Ryan."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Co-" she raised an eyebrow at him, and he finished, "Kirsten."

He fell back on the bed, the threatened tears finally coming. That's what's at stake. A family. Trust. Faith. Love. I know these things are precious; I know what their absence feels like. That's what I was trying to explain to Seth. That's what I have to make him understand.