Chapter 2 – Second Thoughts

Newport – present day – a few moments before Marissa barges in

Ryan turned on his side and tried to get comfortable. He had been in bed for over an hour and sleep still wasn't coming to him. With a heavy sigh, he sat up and turned on the lamp. Clearly he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. Theresa wasn't far from his mind.

He had actually been looking forward to seeing her at the dance, so he threw on a suit and did his tie like Sandy showed him. He'd been used to these black tie events by now. Though a little disappointed that he couldn't hang out with her more at the dance, he was glad to have finally introduced her to Seth. She was becoming a part of his life again.

After Marissa had tried once more to start over with him, he'd gone out to get some fresh air. He couldn't deal with that. Not yet. Theresa had appeared behind him, obviously weirded out by what she saw. Even Ryan barely recognized himself these days. Cotillions, Fashion Shows, Benefits; it seemed like the only reason there were different themes was so they could throw the same party every week. His life had become an endless costume ball, not to mention a soap opera.

Only in Newport.

He'd felt almost normal when Theresa had tosseled his hair and laughed at him. Despite the fancy duds and Newport lifestyle that he was now somewhat accustomed to, she had managed to make him feel as goofy as he did when they were kids. He didn't want to lose that feeling. Realizing that he might not get another chance, he had invited Theresa over to the house. After showing her around, he drew the shades down, something he'd never done before. He wasn't even sure why he did it. A part of him didn't want Marissa to see them together if she decided to stop by. But once he and Theresa had started talking, he realized maybe he did it so he wouldn't have to look at Newport. It sure didn't feel like Newport. With the shades drawn and Theresa there, it was just like old times. They could have been anywhere in the world.

When she had mentioned how amazing it was that they were with each other on Valentines Day, he didn't know how to reply. But he knew Theresa. She wasn't about to make it more awkward for him, so he wasn't surprised when she hurriedly made her departure. He had walked her to her car, gave her a hug, and waved goodbye. It was all completely innocent. Ryan grabbed a book and fumbled through its pages.

Completely innocent, he thought. We're just friends. We're still friends.

Even the little voice in his head sounded unconvincing.

His door flew open.

Chino – 1 month after Ryan and Theresa's first date – 7:00 PM

"Ryan!" Theresa's mother threw her arms around him.

Though he'd been getting these hugs from her since he was a kid, it never felt less weird to be shown such affection. It sure wasn't something he was used to at his house.

"Don't you look handsome?" He was wearing a faded suit, the only one he owned.

Ryan smiled and started to say something, but his vision was quickly blurred. Theresa's mother looked at him from behind the Polaroid and looked apologetic.

"Sorry, Ryan. Mother's duty."

He squinted, "Is she ready?" Her mother threw her hands up in the air and turned toward the kitchen. Ryan shut the door behind him and followed her.

"Oh, you know my Theresa. On any given day she'd throw her hair up and run

out the door, but tonight..." she stopped and looked grave. "Do you know where she asked me to take her?"

Ryan shrugged. With a dramatic pause, she continued,

"...The beauty salon."

Ryan looked up in shock to humor her. She nodded in fake disappointment.

"I should've known better than to let her date you, Ryan," she teased. "You're too charming for your own good."

Ryan grinned. Just then Arturo came in from his room.

"Man," he gave Ryan the once over and shook his head. "My little sister must have some hold on you. Ryan Atwood, in a suit." Ryan motioned towards his collar. Arturo laughed and added, "And a tie! Ah, never thought I'd see the day..."

CLICK

This time Arturo was the one rubbing his eyes. "Ma, what are you doing? I'm not even going to this dance!" She looked at her son and waved him off,

"Minor detail." She turned back to the kitchen.

The two boys shared a laugh as Arturo headed to hug Ryan. He clasped him on the shoulder and looked him in the eye. "You know you're the only one I trust with my baby sister."

Ryan nodded and tried not to grin. He was glad to have the respect of Theresa's brother. As Arturo turned to leave the room he called back, "But your tie ain't on for shit."

Ryan looked down. He never did get ties... He tried to fix it, but was immediately blinded by another flash of the camera. Purple dots were bouncing in front of his face.

"Cheese!" Theresa's mother grabbed the Polaroid from the end of the camera and shook it.

"Ah. A little late for that." He staggered towards the living room and fell in a chair, wiping his eyes to focus. As he looked up, his vision came crashing back.

There was Theresa. Her hair was swept up on top of her head with ringlets loosely dangling from her face, a vision in a long black dress, her grandmother's diamonds hanging around her neck and on her wrist.

At this moment he was glad that he was never much of a talker. He was at loss for words.

Theresa smiled shyly and made her way across the room. Pausing to look at him, she nodded with approval and began to straighten his tie.

"Look at you." She stepped back to examine him. "You clean up real nice."

Ryan nodded in agreement and mirrored Theresa's examination. "So do you."

They shared a look before Theresa rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, dragging him to the door.

"Hurry, let's go before mama—"

CLICK

"Oh no you don't!" Theresa's mother came running in flailing her camera above her head. Ryan and Theresa both stumbled, still dizzy from the light.

"This is your first dance together! You need to be able to look back on it!" Ryan and Theresa exchanged glances. "Now c'mon, Ryan you put your arm around Theresa...yes, and Theresa, you hold Ryan's hand...great perfect."

Ryan had his arms around Theresa as she leaned against him. She placed her hands on his and glanced upward to find him staring at her. He couldn't get over how beautiful she was. He was already smiling by the time he heard, "Cheese!"

The rest of the night was a blur...