CHAPTER THREE:
"I never sleep
I been awake for what feels like a year
'Cause when I dream,
it my mind puts a face
to each one of my fears
I'm exhausted by my imagination…"
Exhausted – Joseph Arthur
"Hey Luke…what are you doing here?" Ryan was surprised by his visit.
"Oh…Mr. Cohen let me in. Thought I'd drop by." Luke said, taking a seat on a couch. "Shit…" Luke mumbled to himself. "This is quite the place you got here." He said looking around the pool house.
"So you came here to inspect?" Ryan questioned.
"No…I thought you might need some company." Luke said. Ryan could tell there was something else. "Actually…no one's home at my place. My mom's gone with my brother's to her mom's place and well my dad…he's out of town." Luke stood up and went over to the small fridge at the far corner of the pool house, pulling out a bottle of water. "I'm bored, okay…where's Seth. I thought that maybe you know we could play some playstation. Well kick his ass is more like it."
"We're not talking."
"Oliver?" Luke questioned, sipping the bottle of water and walking back over to the couch. "That kid's a bitch. You know what he's doing, huh? Luke asked.
Of course he knew what Oliver was up to, he wasn't stupid. "Yeah Luke, he's trying to steal Marissa from me. And I've also had a bit of time to think about it." Ryan said, referring to the week suspension he was given, plus the two-day suspension.
"I can help you, like I said before. I'll kick that kid's ass if you want."
"So you believe me?"
"Of course I do. I saw how he acted in Palm Springs. That kid is messed up."
"Yeah I know…the Cohen's are making me talk to some doctor…they think I'm overreacting about everything…" Ryan trailed off. "Seth doesn't even believe me."
Confused, Luke stood up. "Come on let's get the hell out of here. Let's go get drunk—do something."
"Hold on. I don't know if I'm allowed out. I'll go ask." Ryan said, and left the pool house leaving Luke all by himself there.
Ryan walked into the house and heard the playstation on in the den. He walked into the den. "Where's you dad?" Ryan asked Seth.
"Him and mom just left. They'll be back with supper soon." Seth said, not looking up from his game. "Want to play?" he asked.
Surprised by the invitation he said, "Luke's over…we were about to head out somewhere."
"Luke's over?" Seth replied puzzled. "Why would Luke be over?"
"Who knows…why would you be mad at me?" Ryan questioned.
"I'm not mad…just disappointed."
"Disappointed?"
"Yeah…from what you've been doing this past week. I'm more concerned really. I'm not mad or angry with you anymore. I just want to help a buddy out." Seth said, turning off the TV. "So…what are you and Luke doing?"
"Going out. Doing stuff…I don't know. Just geting out of here or something—anything."
"Can I come? I mean…well if it's okay? Is stuff okay with us?" Seth asked
Ryan stood there for a moment. "I don't know Seth. I don't know what else to do to make you and your family and everybody in this place believe me. Luke seems to be the only one who does." Ryan stopped. Maybe he should let Seth come along. He wasn't exactly sure what him and Luke were going to do tonight. But maybe if Seth came along with them, Sandy and Kirsten wouldn't mind letting him go out tonight. "Fine. You can come, but you have to call your parents and tell them we won't be home for dinner."
"Okay!" Seth sprang up from the couch and grabbed the phone. After a short conversation with his parents, Luke, Ryan and him went off to the Crab Shack to have dinner.
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"How was dinner guys?" Sandy asked as the boys walked in. "Must have gone well, since you two are now talking."
Seth glared at his dad. "Dinner was fine dad. And yeah… if you must know…Ryan and I are now on good terms. Isn't that right Ryan?" Seth asked, punching his buddy in the arm.
"Yeah…" Ryan replied walking off to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He felt so relieved that Luke and him had finally convinced Seth that Oliver is psycho. Oliver had gone to Crab Shack tonight and confronted Ryan in front of both Luke and Seth. Oliver mentioned that he was picking up dinner for Marissa, who was back at his penthouse waiting for him. The tone in Oliver's voice had convinced Seth right there and then that he was up to something. The way he smirked at Ryan really pissed Seth off.
Sandy walked into the kitchen, while Seth walked off to his room to continue studying for a test.
"So…we never got to talk about what happened at Mr. Harris' office. Want to tell me why you were so mad?" Sandy asked, pouring himself a coffee. Kirsten walked in on them and was now leaning against the counter facing the two of them.
"I'm not up for talking…especially to strangers. He doesn't know anything about me. Do I really have to go see him again? I mean…" Ryan trailed off and shut his eyes. He couldn't look Sandy and Kirsten in the face. "…If you want me to talk…I'll talk. Just no more doctors okay? We just don't get along together."
Kirsten was surprised of what Ryan had said. Could he really be telling the truth? She never thought Ryan would open up to them.
Sandy was silent for few moments. "Okay. You don't have to see him anymore. I just wanted you to get help for…whatever is going on with you right now. You have to promise Kirsten and I that you will talk to us. And right now would be a good time to start." Sandy added.
"You want me to tell you guys how much I screwed up? How much I fear that you guys are going to kick me out? Is that it?" Ryan said, playing with the cuff on his wrist.
"Is that what you think?" Kirsten said.
"Well I did get suspended…twice. And then you send me to some shrink. What else am I supposed to think."
"Look Ryan…" Sandy looked for the right words. "You did screw up." Kirsten shot him a look…not the right words he was thinking of, Sandy thought. "But there are times for mistakes. And you have made a few of those. But we would never think about kicking you out of here. You are family. Just promise that you will not fight Oliver again. And that you will come and talk to Kirsten and I if anything comes up, okay?"
"Okay, I promise." Ryan replied, half believing himself.
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"Don't you think it's kind of weird that Luke is driving the boys to school this morning?" Sandy asked Kirsten putting on his tie in their bedroom.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Ever since his dad came out of the closet he's been different. Seth and Ryan are probably the only one's at Harbor that except the fact that Luke's father is gay. So I guess in a way were kind of lucky to have two wonderful young men in the family."
"Not three?" Sandy asked, moving closer to his wife who was buttoning up her blouse.
"No, just two." She laughed and kissed her husband on the forehead.
Down in the kitchen Seth, Ryan and Luke were getting ready to head out. Seth was still sitting down at the kitchen table reading the Art and Leisure section of the newspaper, drinking his coffee.
"Come on Cohen…were going to be late." Luke said, looking at his watch.
"Whoa, poster boy actually wants to be on time for school…that's a first." Seth said, surprised that Luke didn't mention the fact that he had called him 'poster boy'.
**
Ryan and Luke walked into their first period class together. They paid no attention to their English teacher, who was blabbing on about some dead poet. Each, were thinking of a way to show Marissa that Oliver is bad news for her. Luke had the idea of just beating the shit out of him until he confesses…Ryan on the other hand, thought of a better plan. He needed to get Oliver alone. He needed Oliver to confess his feeling for Marissa, with her listening…but how he thought to himself.
"Tape recorder…" Ryan whispered to Luke, who was doodling on a piece of paper. Luke gave him a confusing look. "I need to talk to Oliver and tape the conversation, he'll…"
"Ryan, Luke…please pay attention." The teacher yelled out to the boys.
As soon as the teacher turned his back, Luke said, "Shit…why didn't I think of that?"
Did Ryan really need to respond to that? "Do you have a recorder I can borrow?" Ryan whispered.
"My dad's got one. We'll swing by his place after school today."
"Thanks." Ryan replied
"Ryan, can you please go out in the hall." The teacher yelled out from the chalkboard, without turning around to face him.
Luke gave him a sympathetic look and Ryan headed out of the room. As soon as he walked out he bumped into Marissa.
"Sorry…" Ryan mumbled.
Marissa stopped and for the first time in two weeks she spoke to Ryan. "My fault…I'm just getting a book from my locker." Ryan nodded and leaned against the lockers. "What are you doing out here?" She asked.
"I…We're doing…you know one of those experiments…where I can't listen to something and I go back in…you know…" Ryan trailed off, hoping that Marissa would buy his story. She gave him a curious look. Ryan didn't want to tell her that he got kicked out of the classroom. It would just make her more mad at him. "So…I'm sorry."
"I know." Marissa gave him a promising look. "It's just that…I was scared when you went after Oliver. He didn't deserve it." Ryan bit his lower lip. He didn't want to fight with Marissa. "He's sorry you know?"
"Yeah?" Ryan said without meeting her eyes.
"Yeah…look I better get going."
"Okay."
"Okay."
Just as Marissa turned the corner, Mr. Schmidt walked out the classroom and closed the door behind him. Ryan stood against a locker with his arms crossed, waiting for a lecture from his English teacher.
"Mr. Atwood, you're a smart student. Every assignment you hand in is very well done and so therefor, I'd like more communication from you in the classroom…and that doesn't mean talking and disrupting the class. You have a 5,000 words essay due tomorrow morning on the importance on communication. Get back into class, before I change my mind and report you to Dr. Kim" Mr. Schmidt said. And with that Ryan walked back into class right before the bell rang.
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It was after school….
"Seth! Wait up!" Summer called out to him the hallways. "Can I take you up on your offer?"
"Um…and what offer would that be?" Seth questioned
"TiVo and John Stewart…my parents aren't home and well…Marissa is going over to Oliver's tonight and I have nothing to do."
"Oh right! TiVo and John Stewart, how could I forget." Seth said, nudging Summer's shoulder. "Sure…um yeah. Sure." Just then Anna came up behind Seth and closed her hands around his eyes.
"Guess who?" She said.
"Um…Ryan? Is that you?"
"No silly, it's me!" Anna said, laughing and splitting up Summer and Seth's confrontation. "So what are you doing tonight?"
Seth glanced at Summer. "Um…Ryan and I…we have this thing. You know guys' stuff. Curling our hair, putting nail polish on…the whole bit. You could join us, but I'm not so sure if Ryan would be comfortable. You know how he gets…"
"Right…well I've got to go then. Call me later." Anna said, then left.
"Cohen?" Summer questioned. "Why did you lie?"
"Look Summer…no questions, okay? TiVo and John Stewart…that's it…that's all. Come on lets go…" Seth said, pulling Summer by his side.
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Luke and Ryan drove over to Luke's dad place to search for a tape recorder. They searched high and low, but still no tape recorder. After about an hour of searching the two boys settled down on the couch and turned on the TV.
"Sorry, I thought my dad had one. Maybe he took it with him…I don't know. I guess we'll just have to buy one." Luke said, flipping through the channels. "Hey wait a second…" Luke got up and found the tape recorder on top of the VCR, next to a tape labeled Brian, Luke's dad, and Charlie. Luke threw the tape recorder at Ryan and put the tape into the VCR.
"What's that?" Ryan asked, looking at Luke who didn't seem to notice he was talking to him. "Luke?"
Luke pressed play and noticed that the tape showed the display of the living room. He fast-forwarded it a few minutes and some guy walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch. Then he noticed his dad come in and sit next the man.
"Luke…maybe you should turn that off." Ryan said to his friend, realizing that this wasn't just your ordinary family home video. Luke didn't respond. Instead he fast-forwarded it more. "Come on Luke, turn it off." Just then on the screen, his father had begun kissing the other man. "Luke?" Still nothing. This time Ryan stood up and turned off the TV. Luke just stood there for a second then grabbed the tape out of the VCR and chucked it across the room, smashing it into a wall.
"He told my mom that he was taking a break and…he'd stopped seeing guys, so that he could spend more time with the family…you know to figure things out…" Luke trailed off and Ryan could tell that he was almost at the verge of tears. "Fuck him." Luke shouted. "That fucking bastard…come on lets go, we have the tape recorder."
Ryan was speechless. He didn't know what to tell Luke. "Uh…come on…lets just head back to my place…figure things out."
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"So Summer…want to check out my room, I got this sweeeeet ceiling fan. The wind on it…uh it's the best!" Seth said, swirling his index finger in the air.
"Sure Cohen…can't wait!" Summer said, sarcastically. "What does that mother of yours feed you!"
"What was that?" Seth said, making his way up to his room. When he got to his room he flipped on the switch for the fan. "Look at…the rotation…the…Summer?" Before Seth could say another word Summer gave him a kiss.
"Sorry…" Summer blurted out.
"No." Summer gave him a curious look.
"No?"
"Don't stop…I like it." Seth said, attacking her with his lips. "You know how long I've been waiting for this? Well I mean since…the last time this happened…" He trailed off, kissing her more.
Summer pushed him away. "Wait…no…what about Anna? I mean we're friends." Seth gave her a sarcastic look. "Okay…maybe not friends but still…"
"Summer, I have been thinking about you. About you a lot…and well I think I made a bad decision. No a terrible decision. Anna and I…were like…you were right when you said that we are like brother and sister. I mean…well you know what I mean. I like you, a lot." Seth said, sitting down on his bed. "You didn't just come over to my house to watch some John Stewart did you? You like me too…I know you do."
"Cohen…" She sat down next to him on his bed. "You're right, I think you're funny, cute, adorable…kind of a dork…we have to tell Anna. You have to tell her, if this is going to work."
Seth was shocked. "So I'm adorable?" Seth nudged her side.
"Ewww…no." She said sarcastically.
"That's my girl." Seth went in on her to kiss her more. Then there was a knock at the door. Ryan and Luke walked in on the two.
"Cohen…Summer?" Luke said, looking at the two of them sitting on Seth's bed. "Um…what are you guys up to?"
"Do we even need to ask that question?" Ryan mumbled to Luke.
"Studying…we're studying for a test. Oh my…look at the time. I have to go guys! Bye boys!" Summer said. She then left the room.
Seth had a smirk on his face. "What can I say? So…what's up?"
Ryan pulled out a tape recorder and flashed it at Seth. "We're going to tape record Oliver. He'll confess to me…he thinks no one will believe me. Which is true…so now I have proof."
"Awesome." Seth responded
Ryan glanced at Luke who was still a little shaken from the video he had just watched. Luke told him in the car that he didn't want to go home. He couldn't face his family right now.
"Do you think your mom and dad will let Luke crash here tonight?" Seth looked at Luke, who seemed to look okay, given the conditions that his head was probably contaminated with too much water from playing water polo. Ryan could see the look of confusion on Seth's face. He looked at Luke.
"Family issues." Luke replied to Seth's unspoken question that lingered in the air. "So who's up for some playstation? We'll talk Oliver business while we're at it."
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Sandy walked into the house. It was just after dinner and he had promised Kirsten that he would be there for dinner. Lately he had been skipping dinner, with his new business, plus his job at the firm. He was beginning to tire himself down. When he was about to head home from his office he got a phone call by Dr. Kim, which ruined his night. He didn't want to fight with Ryan anymore, but he knew that something had to be done.
"Hey Sandy…" Kirsten shot him a look. "Dinner's in the fridge."
"Thanks." He said, pulling out a plate of chicken stew. He set the plate down in the microwave and walked into the den. He was a little shocked to see Seth, Ryan and Luke all getting alone. "Hey guys."
Ryan and Luke gave him a nod.
"Hey dad." Seth said, without looking away from the television.
Sandy walked into the kitchen and grabbed the hot food out of the microwave and sat with his wife at the dinner table.
"So—" Kirsten began, but was cut short.
Sandy held out his hand to stop her from talking. "Don't, I've had a long day."
"Did you think owning a restaurant would make your life less hectic than it already is?" Kirsten questioned.
"No it's not the restaurant." He said, pulling his fork out of his mouth and pointing in the direction of the den, where the three boys sat and played playstation. "It's Ryan."
"What about Ryan?"
"He ditched detention. Dr. Kim is not too happy with him right now. She told me that if Ryan doesn't straighten his act out, he's gone. Real soon." Sandy explained to his wife. "God—I hate fighting with him. But how could he miss detention and just sit there in front of us acting like we don't know anything!"
Kirsten didn't say anything.
"Why am I always the bad cop?" Sandy asked, standing up to take away his plate of food that he had picked away at.
"Because you are good at it."
Sandy sighed. "Guess I'll go in for the kill to get it over with."
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*I know this wasn't the best chapter…but I tried. Don't worry next chapter will be action filled!
Thanks for those who reviewed!
