You're a Good Man, Ryan Atwood
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Chapter 1 – Home Again
Chino - 2 & ½ years before Ryan's fateful run in with Sandy - 10:46 A.M.
"What the shit is this?"
The smell of bacon and eggs filled the shabby kitchen. The aroma actually made the place seem a lot nicer than it actually was. Or wasn't.
"Hey! Did you hear me? What the hell are you doing?" Ryan looked up from the stove. He shrugged.
"Making breakfast." Trey shook his head in disapproval and headed for the kitchen table.
"I see that, I asked you what the hell you're doing? That's woman's work, little bro. Are you a woman?" Ryan gave Trey a look and motioned toward the living room.
"Well, who's gonna do it, mom?" The two boys looked over at the moth eaten sofa. Their mother was passed out as usual, empty beer bottle still clutched in her hand.
Trey turned back to Ryan.
"Look kid, just cuz mom don't know how to be a mom, that don't mean you gotta do it for her." Ryan gave Trey one of those looks he knew all too well, the kind that was supposed to give you an answer, but actually left you still wondering what the hell that kid was really thinking. Ryan began scraping the scrambled eggs onto a plate. Trey paused to look at him, a sly smile forming on his face.
"I'm goin to Arturo's. We're gonna try to fix up the piece of shit out back. The truck. Says he'll give it to me if we can get the engine goin, so I'll have a car of my own." As Ryan turned back to the stove, Trey reached for the plate of eggs and toast. Stuffing the food in his mouth, he added,
"And you're coming with me." Ryan turned quickly, as if to protest, but Trey went on,
"No more of this girl stuff Ryan, I'm teaching you to be a man, show you the kinds of things that men do. You gotta quit with this cooking, apron wearing sissy shit."
Ryan's gaze turned to his plate of food half devoured by his brother. He sighed and started to wipe up.
Trey grinned.
"Theresa'll be there you know." He chuckled. He was well aware of his brother's crush on her. Ryan looked up. Trey could see a glimmer of a smile in Ryan's eyes, but with that brother of his, it was always hard to tell.
Ryan threw the dishtowel in the sink and turned to Trey.
"Alright, let's go."
Trey nodded his approval and jumped up from the table. Ryan began to follow him, but stopped short.
"I'll be there in a sec!" he called out the door. Trey had already made his way around back.
Heading to the living room, Ryan eyed his hoody hanging of the edge of the sofa. He made a grab for it and looked at his mom. Slowly he pulled the small blanket near his mother's feet up over her body. With one last glance, he was out the door.
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"Trey?" Ryan walked over the uncut grass. The beat up truck was in the distance. He could see someone working behind the hood. "Arturo?" No answer. Ryan began to jog over to the car.
"Hey! Did you hear me, I wa—"
The hood of the truck slammed shut. Theresa smiled at him from behind the oil smudges on her face.
"Hi Ryan."
Surprised, Ryan looked down and tried not to grin. "Hey, uh...what are you--why are you out here?" he leaned against the side of the truck, trying his best to look even remotely cool.
Theresa walked towards Ryan and leaned beside him.
"Well," she said as she attempted to wipe off the grease with a rag, "I wanted to know what you boys found so fascinating about cars, with dad being a mechanic and all, so Arturo told me he'd teach me a few things.
Left me to fiddle around with these plugs and wires while he talked to your brother." She laughed and wiped her brow with her hand.
Ryan's smile crept through. He couldn't help but feel goofy around her. Even with the oil stains on her overalls and sweat running down her face, he thought she looked as beautiful as ever.
"Yeah, me and Trey, we're gonna help Arturo with the car, you know. Fix it up maybe."
Theresa gave him a look and raised an eyebrow.
"Ryan Atwood. Do you mean to tell me that after all these years of knowing each other, you somehow caught an interest in cars that I never picked up?"
Ryan tried to look nonchalant about it.
"Yeah, cars, are you kidding me? I...I love cars." He hoped like hell he looked like he knew what he was talking about. "I'm always uh, reading car magazines, you know, and um...well thinking about cars, I do that a lot. Yeah, I...can't get enough of cars."
Theresa nodded along. Ryan found himself nodding as well.
"Okay, well do you think you can help me with this?" Ryan blinked a couple times and looked from the engine back to Theresa.
"Yeah, sure. I mean, I could take a look at it," he walked over to the front of the car, "I can't guarantee anything, you know engines and cars, it's all very complex, you know, so I mean, I wouldn't—"
Theresa popped open the hood and looked at Ryan expectantly.
"Well?" she said. Ryan stared at the engine. He didn't know what the hell was going on in there. Everything looked the same.
"Uhh...okay. Well...you see this thing here," he said pulling out a spare plug, "It should actually be...over here." Ryan shoved it somewhere, hoping Arturo hadn't told Theresa anything important about cars. She needed to be as clueless as he was if he didn't want to look like a jackass.
"And um...well we should put, uh...oil in here." He reached for the canister on the ground. Theresa eyed him as he began to pour the oil into one of the gauges. His hands were shaking.
He's so cute when he's nervous, she thought. Noticing Theresa smiling at him, Ryan tried to focus on pouring the oil straight.
"RYAN WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!" startled, he fumbled the canister. Oil went everywhere. Ryan and Theresa jumped back as the oil spewed back at them. Trey came running over to the truck with Arturo following close behind. Ryan went seven shades of red.
Trey stared at the oil-covered engine in disbelief. "Ryan, you moron! What the fuck were you thinking, you know nothing about cars! Why were you trying to do anything without me here with you? Jesus CHRIST, Ryan, how could you fuck this up!" Trey was super pissed. Ryan, though used to it, felt ashamed. He didn't like to disappoint his brother.
"If my mama heard you use the lord's name in vain, Trey..." Arturo kissed his fingers and raised them upward.
"Just get the hell outta here, Ryan. I can't teach you to be a man. Just forget it." Ryan looked at his brother for a moment, turned, and silently walked away.
Arturo patted Trey on the back. "He didn't mean anything by it, man."
"Yeah, he never does." As the two boys headed back to the house, Theresa looked after where Ryan had gone, a concerned expression on her face.
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I'm an idiot, Ryan thought. He had wanted to impress Theresa so badly that he didn't even realize how stupid he was being. Oh, she must really be impressed now. He kicked an empty can on the ground and muttered to
himself. Still clouded in his thoughts, it took him a few moments to realize someone was calling for him. He turned around, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Hey!" Theresa finally caught up to him. "You okay?"
Ryan shrugged and looked at his feet. Theresa knew Ryan wouldn't say much, so she was used to trying to get him to open up.
"Did you really think I'd believe you were into cars? I know you too well, Ryan."
He looked up, still embarrassed. "I'm sorry...I...don't know why I did that. I was just stupid." He bent down to sit on the edge of the curb. Theresa watched him for a few moments before joining him. It was a few
moments before she spoke.
"...You're not stupid, Ryan," she smiled. "...And I know why you did it."
Ryan looked at her. They locked eyes. Almost as if they had just realized they were staring at each other, they shyly turned away and grinned. Ryan knew that Theresa wouldn't make this awkward for him. She always had that way about her.
"So," he asked, "...What happens now?" Theresa seemed to be thinking it over before she looked over at Ryan and slowly got to her feet. Reaching for his hand, she answered.
"Well," she said, pulling him up, "What happens now...is you're going to go home. And I'm going to go home. And after we've taken a shower and gotten all of this oil off of us, you are going to take me out on a date." Ryan looked down at Theresa's hands still laced in his. Apparently she noticed too because she threw her hands up in the air, her cheeks tinged with a shade of pink. Turning on her heel, she gave a quick wave in Ryan's direction and headed back towards home.
Ryan was still waving when she turned her back. He found himself smiling again. She always had that way about her...
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Newport – present day – after Theresa & Ryan's run in
Theresa headed to her car. Work had taken a lot out of her, but she was a little happier than she was exhausted. It was a long drive back to Chino, but she had plenty to think about. That plenty being Ryan Atwood. She had almost forgotten how much she missed him.
Almost.
Running into Ryan had been exactly what she hoped for. She figured in this Newport bubble, all the rich people had to gather someplace, and Ryan was pretty much one of them. Sort of. He had definitely changed since he'd left home, but she couldn't decide if it was for the better. The last time she had seen him, he was a completely different person. This time around, he seemed more like the Ryan she always knew and loved. She hadn't really
known what to expect when they first bumped into each other, but after awhile it was almost like old times. When he told her about the whole Oliver fiasco, despite all the craziness, it was nice to know that he had confided in her. She had doubted the strength of their friendship when he left Chino.
She remembered, quite well, the feeling when Ryan had come back home after months of not hearing from him. She could have killed him. She had been worried sick about him, and then to find out that he'd just moved somewhere else without telling her, and gotten a new girlfriend to flaunt in front of her face, no less...it had hurt. A lot. She knew it wasn't intentional, because she knew Ryan, but it still hadn't hurt any less to know he'd forgotten about her and gotten himself another girl.
I never should have broken up with him, she thought.
She pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Rolling down the window, she put it to her mouth.
God, I need to quit. She thought of Ryan. He had always smoked in Chino, but she thought he only did it for the image. The Ryan Atwood she knew was never really a troublemaker. His brother was accountable for most of the shit he got Ryan into. She took another drag and shook her head, throwing the cigarette out the window.
Earlier, Ryan had invited her to his new house, or mansion to be more accurate. Theresa had never been in such a nice place, aside from coming to Newport where everything was so nice. This place was huge. First he had showed her around the main house, telling her the story of how he came to live there as they went along. He explained how he tried to adjust. Apparently they had a maid, which Ryan was still a little uncomfortable about. Theresa had agreed. Next he showed her the pool house, where he slept. After the tour, she had joked about his clothes again, causing him to yank his tie off and scatter his fancy clothes to the floor. They had reminisced about old times for quite awhile before she realized she had to go. When she had mentioned the audacity of them running into each other on Valentines Day, things went quiet. Valentines Day was their special day...they had both lost their virginity to each other.
Theresa had been so preoccupied with her thoughts she was surprised to find that Chino was only 20 minutes away. She sighed as her mind drifted back to Ryan. She was almost home.
Almost.
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Chapter 1 – Home Again
Chino - 2 & ½ years before Ryan's fateful run in with Sandy - 10:46 A.M.
"What the shit is this?"
The smell of bacon and eggs filled the shabby kitchen. The aroma actually made the place seem a lot nicer than it actually was. Or wasn't.
"Hey! Did you hear me? What the hell are you doing?" Ryan looked up from the stove. He shrugged.
"Making breakfast." Trey shook his head in disapproval and headed for the kitchen table.
"I see that, I asked you what the hell you're doing? That's woman's work, little bro. Are you a woman?" Ryan gave Trey a look and motioned toward the living room.
"Well, who's gonna do it, mom?" The two boys looked over at the moth eaten sofa. Their mother was passed out as usual, empty beer bottle still clutched in her hand.
Trey turned back to Ryan.
"Look kid, just cuz mom don't know how to be a mom, that don't mean you gotta do it for her." Ryan gave Trey one of those looks he knew all too well, the kind that was supposed to give you an answer, but actually left you still wondering what the hell that kid was really thinking. Ryan began scraping the scrambled eggs onto a plate. Trey paused to look at him, a sly smile forming on his face.
"I'm goin to Arturo's. We're gonna try to fix up the piece of shit out back. The truck. Says he'll give it to me if we can get the engine goin, so I'll have a car of my own." As Ryan turned back to the stove, Trey reached for the plate of eggs and toast. Stuffing the food in his mouth, he added,
"And you're coming with me." Ryan turned quickly, as if to protest, but Trey went on,
"No more of this girl stuff Ryan, I'm teaching you to be a man, show you the kinds of things that men do. You gotta quit with this cooking, apron wearing sissy shit."
Ryan's gaze turned to his plate of food half devoured by his brother. He sighed and started to wipe up.
Trey grinned.
"Theresa'll be there you know." He chuckled. He was well aware of his brother's crush on her. Ryan looked up. Trey could see a glimmer of a smile in Ryan's eyes, but with that brother of his, it was always hard to tell.
Ryan threw the dishtowel in the sink and turned to Trey.
"Alright, let's go."
Trey nodded his approval and jumped up from the table. Ryan began to follow him, but stopped short.
"I'll be there in a sec!" he called out the door. Trey had already made his way around back.
Heading to the living room, Ryan eyed his hoody hanging of the edge of the sofa. He made a grab for it and looked at his mom. Slowly he pulled the small blanket near his mother's feet up over her body. With one last glance, he was out the door.
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"Trey?" Ryan walked over the uncut grass. The beat up truck was in the distance. He could see someone working behind the hood. "Arturo?" No answer. Ryan began to jog over to the car.
"Hey! Did you hear me, I wa—"
The hood of the truck slammed shut. Theresa smiled at him from behind the oil smudges on her face.
"Hi Ryan."
Surprised, Ryan looked down and tried not to grin. "Hey, uh...what are you--why are you out here?" he leaned against the side of the truck, trying his best to look even remotely cool.
Theresa walked towards Ryan and leaned beside him.
"Well," she said as she attempted to wipe off the grease with a rag, "I wanted to know what you boys found so fascinating about cars, with dad being a mechanic and all, so Arturo told me he'd teach me a few things.
Left me to fiddle around with these plugs and wires while he talked to your brother." She laughed and wiped her brow with her hand.
Ryan's smile crept through. He couldn't help but feel goofy around her. Even with the oil stains on her overalls and sweat running down her face, he thought she looked as beautiful as ever.
"Yeah, me and Trey, we're gonna help Arturo with the car, you know. Fix it up maybe."
Theresa gave him a look and raised an eyebrow.
"Ryan Atwood. Do you mean to tell me that after all these years of knowing each other, you somehow caught an interest in cars that I never picked up?"
Ryan tried to look nonchalant about it.
"Yeah, cars, are you kidding me? I...I love cars." He hoped like hell he looked like he knew what he was talking about. "I'm always uh, reading car magazines, you know, and um...well thinking about cars, I do that a lot. Yeah, I...can't get enough of cars."
Theresa nodded along. Ryan found himself nodding as well.
"Okay, well do you think you can help me with this?" Ryan blinked a couple times and looked from the engine back to Theresa.
"Yeah, sure. I mean, I could take a look at it," he walked over to the front of the car, "I can't guarantee anything, you know engines and cars, it's all very complex, you know, so I mean, I wouldn't—"
Theresa popped open the hood and looked at Ryan expectantly.
"Well?" she said. Ryan stared at the engine. He didn't know what the hell was going on in there. Everything looked the same.
"Uhh...okay. Well...you see this thing here," he said pulling out a spare plug, "It should actually be...over here." Ryan shoved it somewhere, hoping Arturo hadn't told Theresa anything important about cars. She needed to be as clueless as he was if he didn't want to look like a jackass.
"And um...well we should put, uh...oil in here." He reached for the canister on the ground. Theresa eyed him as he began to pour the oil into one of the gauges. His hands were shaking.
He's so cute when he's nervous, she thought. Noticing Theresa smiling at him, Ryan tried to focus on pouring the oil straight.
"RYAN WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!" startled, he fumbled the canister. Oil went everywhere. Ryan and Theresa jumped back as the oil spewed back at them. Trey came running over to the truck with Arturo following close behind. Ryan went seven shades of red.
Trey stared at the oil-covered engine in disbelief. "Ryan, you moron! What the fuck were you thinking, you know nothing about cars! Why were you trying to do anything without me here with you? Jesus CHRIST, Ryan, how could you fuck this up!" Trey was super pissed. Ryan, though used to it, felt ashamed. He didn't like to disappoint his brother.
"If my mama heard you use the lord's name in vain, Trey..." Arturo kissed his fingers and raised them upward.
"Just get the hell outta here, Ryan. I can't teach you to be a man. Just forget it." Ryan looked at his brother for a moment, turned, and silently walked away.
Arturo patted Trey on the back. "He didn't mean anything by it, man."
"Yeah, he never does." As the two boys headed back to the house, Theresa looked after where Ryan had gone, a concerned expression on her face.
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I'm an idiot, Ryan thought. He had wanted to impress Theresa so badly that he didn't even realize how stupid he was being. Oh, she must really be impressed now. He kicked an empty can on the ground and muttered to
himself. Still clouded in his thoughts, it took him a few moments to realize someone was calling for him. He turned around, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Hey!" Theresa finally caught up to him. "You okay?"
Ryan shrugged and looked at his feet. Theresa knew Ryan wouldn't say much, so she was used to trying to get him to open up.
"Did you really think I'd believe you were into cars? I know you too well, Ryan."
He looked up, still embarrassed. "I'm sorry...I...don't know why I did that. I was just stupid." He bent down to sit on the edge of the curb. Theresa watched him for a few moments before joining him. It was a few
moments before she spoke.
"...You're not stupid, Ryan," she smiled. "...And I know why you did it."
Ryan looked at her. They locked eyes. Almost as if they had just realized they were staring at each other, they shyly turned away and grinned. Ryan knew that Theresa wouldn't make this awkward for him. She always had that way about her.
"So," he asked, "...What happens now?" Theresa seemed to be thinking it over before she looked over at Ryan and slowly got to her feet. Reaching for his hand, she answered.
"Well," she said, pulling him up, "What happens now...is you're going to go home. And I'm going to go home. And after we've taken a shower and gotten all of this oil off of us, you are going to take me out on a date." Ryan looked down at Theresa's hands still laced in his. Apparently she noticed too because she threw her hands up in the air, her cheeks tinged with a shade of pink. Turning on her heel, she gave a quick wave in Ryan's direction and headed back towards home.
Ryan was still waving when she turned her back. He found himself smiling again. She always had that way about her...
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Newport – present day – after Theresa & Ryan's run in
Theresa headed to her car. Work had taken a lot out of her, but she was a little happier than she was exhausted. It was a long drive back to Chino, but she had plenty to think about. That plenty being Ryan Atwood. She had almost forgotten how much she missed him.
Almost.
Running into Ryan had been exactly what she hoped for. She figured in this Newport bubble, all the rich people had to gather someplace, and Ryan was pretty much one of them. Sort of. He had definitely changed since he'd left home, but she couldn't decide if it was for the better. The last time she had seen him, he was a completely different person. This time around, he seemed more like the Ryan she always knew and loved. She hadn't really
known what to expect when they first bumped into each other, but after awhile it was almost like old times. When he told her about the whole Oliver fiasco, despite all the craziness, it was nice to know that he had confided in her. She had doubted the strength of their friendship when he left Chino.
She remembered, quite well, the feeling when Ryan had come back home after months of not hearing from him. She could have killed him. She had been worried sick about him, and then to find out that he'd just moved somewhere else without telling her, and gotten a new girlfriend to flaunt in front of her face, no less...it had hurt. A lot. She knew it wasn't intentional, because she knew Ryan, but it still hadn't hurt any less to know he'd forgotten about her and gotten himself another girl.
I never should have broken up with him, she thought.
She pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Rolling down the window, she put it to her mouth.
God, I need to quit. She thought of Ryan. He had always smoked in Chino, but she thought he only did it for the image. The Ryan Atwood she knew was never really a troublemaker. His brother was accountable for most of the shit he got Ryan into. She took another drag and shook her head, throwing the cigarette out the window.
Earlier, Ryan had invited her to his new house, or mansion to be more accurate. Theresa had never been in such a nice place, aside from coming to Newport where everything was so nice. This place was huge. First he had showed her around the main house, telling her the story of how he came to live there as they went along. He explained how he tried to adjust. Apparently they had a maid, which Ryan was still a little uncomfortable about. Theresa had agreed. Next he showed her the pool house, where he slept. After the tour, she had joked about his clothes again, causing him to yank his tie off and scatter his fancy clothes to the floor. They had reminisced about old times for quite awhile before she realized she had to go. When she had mentioned the audacity of them running into each other on Valentines Day, things went quiet. Valentines Day was their special day...they had both lost their virginity to each other.
Theresa had been so preoccupied with her thoughts she was surprised to find that Chino was only 20 minutes away. She sighed as her mind drifted back to Ryan. She was almost home.
Almost.
