+NOTE: I do not own any of these characters… you can thank FOX. If you have any questions or comment you can e-mail me at liverbrain22@hotmail.com+

(Thanks for those of you who reviewed!)

Chapter Two: The way we get by

"Is he home yet?" Cole asked, as he walked over to Wilma who was sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Not yet." She whispered.

"Cole, why don't you just go wait in your room." Tom said and then Cole went back upstairs. Tom looked over at Wilma. "What are we going to do when he does come home?" He asked.

"We'll do what we have to do. We'll handle this just as if he was one of our own, Tom. I'm not giving up on him already." She whispered, clinging onto the phone incase Ryan was to call. She knew he wouldn't because he didn't know the phone number for the house yet.

"Willie, it hasn't even been a day and he's already picked a fight with Josh. Maybe this is not the best place for Ryan." He stated.

"You know how Josh is, Tom. He has a bad temper. We've heard his side of the story and so now we need to hear Ryan's side when he comes home. Then we'll punish him just like we punished Josh. Fair is fair, Tom. I can't give up on that boy…not yet." She added. "I wish he'd call." Just then the phone rang and Wilma jumped. "Hello?" She asked.

"Hi Wilma, its Sandy."

"Sandy, is Ryan with you?" She asked quickly.

"No, I was just calling to see if he showed up yet…I guess not." Sandy said.

"No, not yet." Just then she heard the front door open and Ryan appeared. "Oh, he's here!"

"Thank God, can you get him to call me later?" Sandy asked.

"Yes, I'll make sure he does. Bye." Wilma said, hanging up the phone. She then stood up and faced Ryan. "Ryan, where have you been?" She asked, putting herself into her authority mode.

"I – I just was out…Walking." Ryan replied. He looked back and forth between Tom and Wilma. "I'll go if you don't want me here." He added.

"I never said I didn't want you here, Ryan. We're just upset that you would pull something like this on your first day with us!" Wilma exclaimed.

"Sit." Tom demanded to Ryan, pointing to the couch. Ryan took off his jacket and sat down on the couch. "What happened at the basketball court with Josh this morning?" He asked.

"We were just playing a little game of one on one and it got rough." Ryan admitted. Both Wilma and Tim nodded their heads as Ryan explained everything. It was the same story Josh had told. "I just lost control…It won't happen again."

"It better not." Tom said, sternly. He raised his hand to his face and Ryan cringed. Both Tom and Wilma noticed Ryan's reaction and looked at each other. "I'm not going to hurt you, Ryan." Ryan nodded his head at him and tried not to look at him. "You're grounded until school starts up, you'll do your chores and not go out unless we say it okay to, understand?" Ryan nodded his head. "Go clean up your face and then come get something to eat. You must be hungry." Tom said. Ryan got up quickly and left the living room and then headed towards the bathroom.

"At least he talked to us." Wilma whispered to Tom then walked into the kitchen and started nuking up some leftover spaghetti for Ryan.

Ryan stood in front of the mirror and stared at his face. It wasn't that bad than what he thought it looked liked. He wondered how much damage he did to Josh. He deserved it anyway, Ryan thought to himself. After cleaning up his face Ryan returned to the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Here you go, kid." Wilma said, putting down a plate of spaghetti in front of him. She then sat down with him and watched him eat. "Go anywhere interesting?" She asked. Ryan shook his head as he shoved some food into his mouth. "After your done you have to call Sandy, okay?"

"Okay." Ryan mumbled and then Wilma left him to eat alone. Ryan scarfed down the rest of his spaghetti. He was dying of hunger all day. It was almost like he was back in Chino with his mom. They never had enough money to buy food, so he would have to starve himself for days on end. In a way he worshiped these spoiled rotten Noopsies.

Ryan picked up the phone in the kitchen and dialed the Cohen's phone number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Seth." Ryan said.

"Dude, where the hell have you been? I heard that you got into a brawl with a kid and ran off…Is that true?" He questioned.

"Yeah, well I didn't really run off, Seth. I just had to clear my head and go for a walk."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever, so how is it there?"

"Fine. They are nice…I'm grounded though until next week when school starts up."

"Dude, that sucks…So I guess I can't come and visit you in Chino then."

"I'm not in Chino, I'm in Newport."

"Shit! Are you serious! Even better, man!" Seth exclaimed.

"Yeah…So we'll hang out then…After I'm grounded and all…" Ryan replied.

"Yeah." Seth replied dryly. "I don't know why you couldn't have stayed here…I live in like a mansion and there's only three people that live here. It's boring without you."

"Seth, I was only there for like three days, not even." Ryan laughed.

"Three very long days." Seth commented. "What school are you going to?"

"Uh, they said some public school up the road."

"Dude, that's awesome. At least you don't have to go to some prep school and pretend like you belong to a culture of water polo jocks." Seth said. He heard a knock at his door. "Hold on." He told Ryan. He walked over to his bedroom door and opened it. "What?" Seth asked.

"Is that Ryan?" Sandy asked.

"Yeah…We're talking. It's what friends do; talk." Sandy raised his eyebrow at Seth and shot him a look. Seth put the phone back up to his ear. "Hey, I'll talk to you later…My Dad wants to talk to you." He said and then handed the phone over to his dad.

Sandy took the phone and walked off, hearing his son's door slam shut. "Ryan…"

"Hey, Sandy." Ryan replied. He didn't want to talk to Sandy right now. He wasn't in the mood for any lecture his lawyer was going to give to him.

"How are you?"

"Fine."

"Fine?" Sandy asked. "You're on probation, Ryan. You shouldn't be getting into any fights. You need to take control of those fists of yours and use your head. You're smart, Ryan."

"Yeah." Ryan mumbled. How could Sandy possibly know what he's going through, Ryan thought to himself. This guy had no clue how tough it was for him to move into a group home and try to get along with everyone, while faking a half-ass smile to please them.

"Don't do it again." Sandy said and then continued. "Well, I'll talk to you later and make sure you call if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay." Ryan replied and then hung up the phone.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was the first day of school today. All week Ryan had been cooped up in the Miller's house doing chores because he was grounded. He had tried to stay out of Josh's way but that was difficult because it was such a small house. They said a few words to each other, but that was about it. Seth had called him almost every single day because he wasn't able to see him. They had made plans today after school though. Seth was going to pick Ryan up right after school. Ryan hadn't told the Miller's yet, but he would.

"Morning, Ryan. Help yourself to some cereal." Wilma said, placing a bowl out in front of him. Ryan settled into the chair next to Cole in the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cheerios. "So, you and Josh are going to be in the same grade…Maybe you will have some classes together." Wilma commented.

"He's a year older than me." Ryan responded, shooting Josh a look.

"I flunked last year, asshole." Josh stammered and then left the kitchen.

"Boys, try a little harder and be friends, will you." Tom shouted out at Josh and Ryan. Ryan shrugged and continued eating his Cheerios.

"So, uh – I'm going to meet up with a friend after school today. Is that okay?" Ryan asked.

"Who is this friend?" Tom questioned.

"Seth Cohen, the one who's been calling. My attorney's son. Is that okay?"

"Sure it is, Ryan. Just be home before six, okay." Wilma said, patting him on the back. "You boy's best be going…You don't want to be late for your first day of school." She said, and then Cole and Ryan got up and grabbed their backpacks.

Ryan, Cole and Josh walked to school together with little conversation between the three of them. Cole was doing all the talking and Ryan wondered if Seth would want to hang out with Cole sometime. He wasn't a bad kid at all. He found out the other day that Cole's parents died five years ago in a car accident and he's been with the Miller's ever since. Ryan felt bad for him and tried to be friends with him as much as he could.

When they got to school all three of them split up. He noticed Cole and Josh had their own separate group of friends, while Ryan didn't have any. He knew it was going to be a long day, heck a long two years at his 'new' high school. The morning classes were easy for him and he was only in one of Josh's classes. But, in the afternoon he was practically in every single class with Josh, except one. Ryan was the immediate topic of conversation in all of his classes with Josh. Josh had a lot of friends, and so therefore, Ryan had a lot of enemies. Ryan knew he was never going to survive two whole years here.

The last bell of the day rang at three o'clock and Ryan waited outside in front of the school parking lot, waiting for Seth to come and pick him up.

"Hey, Ryan." Ryan heard someone shouting his name, but couldn't see who it was. "Ryyyannn." He heard his name again and put a name to the voice. It was Cole.

"Hey." Ryan said, as he saw Cole walk up to him.

"You see those kids over there." Cole said, tilting his head. "Wait, don't look…but like you see them right?"

"Yeah…" Ryan replied. There were a group of kids around Ryan's age, maybe older than him, standing in front of a car looking at them.

"Well, you see…If I walk by them I'm going to get my ass kicked in and possibly get chased and have my underwear hang on the school flag pole…So I was wondering…Can you walk home with me?" Cole asked.

"Uh – I can't. Why do they want to beat you up, anyway?"

"Long story…You see, last year I kind of humiliated them…Why can't you walk me home? You got a hot date or something?" Cole laughed at him. "Come on, it's like two blocks."

"If it's only two blocks then why don't you just run home?" Ryan questioned.

"I'm not athletic…But they are." Cole said, turning around, looking at them. They didn't look like they were going to leave until Cole left. "I'll do anything for you."

Just then Seth pulled up in his Dad's Range Rover. "Dude, hop in…" Seth shouted out to Ryan.

"Please?" Cole pleaded to Ryan.

Ryan went up to the Range Rover. "Is it okay if we drive him." Ryan pointed over to Cole. "Some kids are going to beat him up if he walks home alone."

Seth laughed, "Yeah sure, no problem…I know exactly how it feels."

"Okay, you're getting a drive." Ryan shouted out to Cole, but he was already hopping into the backseat.

Seth pulled out of the parking lot and the kids that were going to beat up Cole pulled out as well. "Uh, guys…" Cole shouted from the backseat. "We've got company!" Seth pressed on the accelerator and swerved around traffic to try and lose them. "Maybe home isn't such a good idea, guys. If they know where I live, then I'll for sure never sleep again for the rest of my life!"

Seth started to laugh and turned to Ryan. "Sweet company you have there, Ryan. He can tag along if you want. We're just going over the crab shack and grabbing some food. Then I thought maybe we could go back to my place to eat junk and play some Playstation."

Ryan shrugged and turned around. "You like crab and Playstation, Cole?"

"Uh, sure…" Cole replied, still looking out of the back window. He didn't see the kids anymore. "So…uh, who's this, Ryan?

"Seth Cohen…Seth, this is Cole Jenkins." Ryan introduced them.

"Oh, so this is Cole…" Seth laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cole demanded. Neither Ryan nor Seth said anything.

"Hello!" Cole shouted from the backseat.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sandy was in court all day today. It was a long day and all he wanted to do was go home, sit down and relax. But he knew that was never going to happen. He had to go to his office because he had people waiting for him. The youth of California were waiting for him in files spread across his desk. He finally made it over to his office at three thirty, hoping the day was soon over.

"Sandy, where have you been!" His secretary demanded.

"In court, where else?" He laughed. "Do I have any messages?"

"A Dawn Atwood called and she – ."

Sandy cut her off. "Did she leave a number? Anything?" He asked

His secretary handed him a piece of paper. "Phone number and address…What would you do without me?"

"You're the best, Gwen." He shouted out to her, closing the door to his small office. He pulled out Ryan's file he had in his briefcase and opened it up. He then called Dawn's number that was scribbled on the piece of paper.

"Hello?" A male scratchy voice answered the phone.

"Hello, is Dawn Atwood there?" Sandy asked, keeping his voice calm and cool. He couldn't wait to tell Ryan that he had found his mother. Poor kid, Sandy thought to himself.

"Who's calling?" The guy asked.

"Sandy Cohen, Ryan's attorney."

"What's the shit done now?" The guy yelled into the phone.

"He has done nothing…. Mr.?"

"Mr. Nothing…So you want to talk to Dawn, is that it?" The man questioned.

"Yes." Sandy replied.

Sandy heard the phone crackle a bit and then some yelling. Seconds later he heard a woman's voice. "Who's this?"

"Sandy Cohen, Ryan's attorney. You called me earlier, remember."

"Yes, I did…I just wanted to let you know, well…to let Ryan know that it's over. I want him in the system."

"What?" Sandy asked. How could she just give up on her son?

"You heard me." She bickered into the phone. "I don't want him. So quit trying to find me and harass me, okay. I don't want him." She yelled at him and then hung up the phone.

Sandy smashed his phone down and slouched back into his worn down leathered chair. It creaked with every movement he made. He contemplated on calling Ryan right now, or driving over to visit him and talking to him in person. He decided that he would go over to see him. He knew he couldn't tell Ryan over the phone. It wasn't Sandy's nature to do such a thing.

Sandy left his office ignoring the stack of files that were scattered across his desk and drove to Wilma and Tom Miller's house. It was the first time that he had been to the group home. He contemplated on visiting him earlier, but changed his mind when Tom had told him that he was grounded.

He pulled up into the Miller's lane way and parked his car. He then went up to the door and knocked. A boy around Seth and Ryan's age answered the door. Sandy could tell right away that it was Josh because he had faded bruises on his face.

"Hi, I'm Sandy Cohen…Is Ryan around?" Sandy asked Josh.

"No. He hasn't come home from school yet." Josh replied, through the screen door. Wilma then appeared next to him and Josh backed away from the door.

"Sandy! What are you doing here?" Wilma asked, opening the screen door and letting him in.

"I came to talk to Ryan." Sandy replied, looking around the house. It looked like a nice place to live. Small and cozy compared to his mansion.

"Oh, I'm sorry he's not going to be home until dinner time. He's at your house."

"My house?" Sandy repeated.

"He told me he was going to hang out with Seth, your son."

"Right, of course. Okay, well thanks." Sandy said, turning around and walking over to his car. "Take care, Wilma." He said, as he drove off. Wilma smiled at him and waved. Sandy made his way home, hoping for Ryan to be there.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"There's an art to eating Crab, you know." Seth explained to Ryan and Cole. "Eating anything is an art."

"You're very odd, Seth. Very odd." Ryan commented.

"I'm odd?" Seth repeated. "I'm not the one eating Crab with a salad." Seth laughed at him. "A salad, Ryan? You sure are trying to fit into the Newport scene, aren't you?"

"I like salad." Ryan retorted.

"Whatever, Ryan." Seth replied, focusing on his Crab. "This Crab I have before me…We are one. Like the body and the blood…" Seth mumbled to himself before he devoured the Crab.

Ryan laughed at Seth and then looked pass him, as he saw Luke and Marissa walk into the Crab Shack. "We've got company…." Ryan said, putting his napkin down on his salad.

"Huh?" Cole asked.

Seth turned around and spotted Luke and Marissa. "Don't worry…We're in a restaurant. It's not like he's going to pick a fight with you in this place." Seth commented.

"Who are they?" Cole asked.

"When I was staying over at Seth's house we got into a little brawl with that guy." Ryan pointed over to Luke, who was coming their way.

"Yeah and he also has a little crush on Marissa…Don't think I didn't notice, Ryan." Seth laughed and Ryan glared at him.

Marissa took a seat at the booth across from them, while Luke noticed Seth was with Chino and some other kid. He walked up to them. "What the hell is Chino still doing here?" Luke demanded. "I thought I made it clear to you that I didn't want to see your face around here."

"Get used to it." Ryan shot back.

"You're going to have to get used to my fist in your face then." Luke said, Marissa was now behind him, holding him back.

"Luke, come on. We came here to eat. Hi Ryan." She said, nodded at him.

"What's this?" Luke questioned, turning to her. "Why are you talking to a piece of shit like Chino. He doesn't deserve to be looking at someone as beautiful as you are." Marissa blushed at the comment and sat back down in her booth. "Get out of here." Luke demanded.

Seth took out his wallet and put down his money and slid out of the booth. Cole followed him but Ryan remained seated. "Free country, Luke. I like eating here…So, I'm going to eat here."

Luke laughed nervously. "You sure about that, Chino?" He asked. Ryan nodded his head and stayed put. Seth and Cole were near the restaurant door waiting for Ryan.

"What the hell is he doing?" Seth asked to no one in particular.

Cole shrugged. "Proving a point, maybe?" Seth nodded.

Luke stood at the booth waiting for Ryan to leave. "I said get out, Chino." Ryan didn't move and Luke grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him out of the booth. Marissa came running up to him and yelled at him. Luke ignored her and continued dragging Ryan out of the booth.

"Boys, take it outside." A waiter yelled at them.

"Luke!" Marissa yelled. "Leave him alone!"

Luke turned around, "Marissa, why don't you just go back to the booth and wait!" Just then Ryan punched him square in the face. Luke pulled at his shirt even more and punched him back.

The manager then came running out onto the floor. "Don't make me call the police, boys!" He yelled at them/

Luke punched Ryan again and then let him go after he was pleased with what he saw. Ryan's face was bloody. Ryan turned away from Luke and started to walk out of the place. "Get lost, queer." Luke shouted out to him. Ryan turned around and jumped him again.

Cole came running up to them and split them apart. "Let's get out of here, Ryan!" The manager was screaming at them, threatening to call the cops. Ryan looked back at Luke and was pleased to see him still on the ground. "Let's go!" Cole shouted again. Both Ryan and Cole ran out of the restaurant and met up with Seth who had already started the Range Rover. They got in and drove to Seth's house.

When they got to Seth's house they pilled into the den and started playing Tony Hawk Pro Skate: 4. "Okay, who wants to get beaten?" Seth asked.

"Cole, you go ahead…I know he'll kick my ass." Ryan said, and then slouched back into the couch and watched them battle on the television. Cole was pretty good at the game and was almost beating Seth. "Watch out, Seth. We have a pro here." Ryan commented. Just then Sandy came into the den.

"Hey Seth, hey Ryan…hey." Sandy waved at the three boys.

"Hey Sandy, this is Cole." Ryan introduced him.

Cole nodded his head and continued focusing on the game.

"What happened to you, Ryan?" Sandy asked pointing to his bruised and bloodied face.

"Nothing." Ryan replied, trying to ignore Sandy's look.

"Yeah right it's nothing, Ryan. Come here and let me take a look at your eye. You're going to need some ice. Come on." Sandy said, walking into the kitchen. Ryan followed him into the kitchen and sat down on the stool at the kitchen island. Sandy gave him a packet of ice. "Here." He said, giving it to him. "So, what happened?"

"We ran into Luke, it was nothing."

"Ryan, you know you shouldn't be getting into any fights."

"Yeah, I know…He started it though. But I promise, no more fighting." He then got up making his way back to the den, but Sandy stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Sit, we need to talk." Sandy said, motioning for him to sit back down.

Ryan sat back down in the stool. "What?"

"I got in touch with your Mom, Ryan and – "

Ryan cut him off. "Where is she?"

"She's living in Chino, Ryan."

"Great, I mean…I can go back to her then and leave the group home, right?" Ryan questioned. The ice was starting to melt in his hand and the cut above his eye was starting to sting.

"Ryan, she called to tell me that she wanted you in the system. Living with her right now may not be the best solution to all your – her problems right now, Ryan. The Miller's are great people, Ryan." Sandy reassured him. Ryan dropped the ice pack on the counter and put his head in his hands. "Are you okay, Ryan?" Sandy asked. He walked up to Ryan and put his hand on his shoulder.

Ryan stood up. "I'm fine." He said, staring at his feet and walking back into the den. "Come on, Cole. We have to go."

"What are you talking about? Just when I've started beating him, we have to go?" Cole asked, pausing the game.

"Dude, stay awhile." Seth said. He realized something was up with Ryan. "What's wrong, man?"

"Nothing – Cole we have to go!" Ryan ordered. Cole and Seth exchanged looks at each other.

Sandy walked into the den. "I'll drive you boys home." He offered.

"No, it's okay…We can bus." Ryan replied.

"No, I'm driving you." Sandy said, sternly. Sandy left and Cole followed him.

"What's wrong, Ryan?" Seth asked.

"I'll tell you later, Seth." Ryan promised him and then left.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ryan lay on his bed in his new room and stared up at the ceiling. He had been laying there ever since he got home over an hour ago. Wilma had called him down for supper, but he wasn't hungry. He didn't tell her that he had already eaten, but Cole didn't say anything. When Sandy dropped him off he kept on asking him if he was okay. Of course he wasn't, Ryan thought to himself. He didn't believe what Sandy had told him about his mom. It couldn't be true, he thought to himself. His Mom had loved him, hadn't she?

Ryan sat up in his bed and grabbed his bag. He then went over to his dresser and shoved some clothes in. He didn't know if he was ever going to come back or not, but he took his clothes anyway.

All of a sudden there was a knock on the door and Ryan shoved his bag under his bed. "Come in." He shouted out, taking a schoolbook out and pretending to read it on his bed.

"Hey, kid." Tom said, walking into the room. "Are you okay?"

"What? I – I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Ryan asked, his eyes were glued to the book, pretending to read.

"We know about your mother, Ryan. If you need to talk to anyone, I'm here."

"Okay."

"Hey, why don't you come downstairs…Josh and Cole are starting up a movie in the basement, why don't you join them." Tom suggested.

"I have homework." Ryan replied.

"On the first day of school?" Tom laughed at him. "Come on, it's a horror movie…I'm sure you love a good horror flick."

Ryan closed his book and sighed. "Okay, I'll be right down." He said and then Tom left the room. "Great…" Ryan mumbled to himself as he left his room.

He went downstairs and found Cole and Josh waiting for him. "Hey, can you get the lights?" Cole asked. Ryan shut the lights off in the basement and sat down next to Cole on the couch. Josh was ignoring him, as usual. "So, what happened today…At Seth's house?" Cole asked.

"Shut up, Cole…The movie's on." Josh spat out at him.

"It's the previews, Josh…So what happened." Cole asked again.

"Drop it, Cole…Seriously…" Ryan was getting ticked off.

Josh started to laugh. "What's the matter?" He snarled. "Found out your folks ain't coming to get you?"

Ryan clenched his fists. "Yeah, like you…"

"At least I know they ain't coming to get me, unlike you. You think you're different than I am? Well you're not…we're all the same, except for Cole…His parents didn't flip out on him; they died."

"Shut up." Cole yelled at him. "Let's just watch the movie!"

"No. So you really think you're tough don't you, Ryan?" Josh stood up in anger. "You think you have it all figured out? Is that it?" Ryan ignored him and continued watching the previews. "So what is it?" He asked

"Let's just watch the movie!" Cole yelled at him and stood up to face him. "Just stop it!"

"Make me." Josh replied, shoving Cole back on the couch.

"Hey, watch it." Ryan said, standing up from the couch. "Is it me you're really talking about or is it you? Do you have everything figured out? What happened to you're folks? Did they split – "

Josh ran towards him and sucker punched him in the stomach. Cole got up from the couch and ran upstairs to get someone. Ryan and Josh were both on the couch throwing punches when Tom came running downstairs to stop the fight. "Boys!" He yelled at them, pulling them apart from each other. Ryan's nose was all bloody. "Go to your room, Ryan." Tom ordered. Ryan left the basement and went to his room, storming pass Wilma on his way up. He grabbed his bag out from under his bed and fled the house. Wilma was calling out after him but Ryan ignored her and continued running.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Seth was sitting at his desk downloading music, when his dad walked in on him. "Have you ever heard of knocking?" Seth asked, closing his browser.

"We Cohen's do not believe in knocking…Haven't you noticed?" Sandy said, sitting down on his bed. "Anyway, I came to explain to you what happened today with Ryan."

Seth swiveled in his chair and faced his dad. "What did you tell him in the kitchen?" He asked.

"I got a call from his mother today and she practically told me she doesn't want Ryan in her life." Sandy sighed. "Can you believe that?"

"No, I can't. I also can't believe you sent him off to some group home!" Seth expressed. "You dumped him like garbage!"

"Seth, you have to understand though – ."

Seth cut him off. "No, Dad you have to understand! He hates it there! Can't you see it…God." He threw his hands in the air. "I wouldn't be surprised if he ran away!"

"Seth." Sandy scowled and was about to say something, but then the phone rang. Sandy got up and walked over to Seth's night table. He picked up the phone, "Hello?" He asked.

"Is Seth there?"

"Ryan, is that you? Are you okay?" Sandy asked. He wished he were downstairs because there was caller ID on the phone in the kitchen. Seth didn't have call display and Sandy thought for sure he was calling from a pay phone, but it was hard to tell.

"Yeah, it's me…I'm fine." Ryan replied.

"Great. Well, here's Seth." Sandy passed the phone over to Seth and left his room.

"Hey, what's up?" Seth asked.

"Look, I need you to do me a favor." Ryan asked, the phone was crackling a bit and Seth could hardly hear him properly.

"Where are you, Ryan?"

"Can you do me a favor or not, Seth?"

"Uh, yeah, sure…Anything, what is it? What do you want me to do?" Seth questioned. There was a long pause on the other line and Seth wondered if Ryan was still there. "Ryan, you there?"

"Yeah, sorry…So can you do me a favor, without letting your Dad find out?" Ryan asked again.

"Yeah, what is it?"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++