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 the Reviews!)

Chapter Nineteen

"Rejected...since day one
My name is...bastard son
I've been damned...so many times I've lost count!
Blue collar...working man
Devices...master plan
Bi-polar...with a mental side arm…"

River Below – Billy Talent

"Okay, I think we've studied enough Bio for tonight" Seth groaned, closing his book. He was sprawled out over Summer's bed. "How about we do some human biology now?" He offered.

Summer laughed. "That's one area where I know you fail the most, Cohen."

Seth put his hand up to his heart. "Ouch…But, then again, I guess I need some practice in order to get good at something, right?" Seth said, inching his way closer to her.

Summer took his face in her hands and kissed him. "Not tonight, Seth."

"Aw, why not?"

"Well, it's a school night and I know that if I start something here, I know I won't be able to end it." She admitted. There was then a knock on Summer's door. "WHAT!?" She yelled out. Summer's step-mom opened the door.

"Phone's for you and your father told me to tell you that he won't be able to have dinner with you tomorrow night." Summer rolled her eyes and then her step mother left the room.

"I hate her…" Summer mumbled to Seth, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Summer." Marissa said, over the phone. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing, I'm just doing some studying with Cohen." She replied, sticking her tongue out at Seth. He was making faces at her. "What are you doing?"

"Well, actually, I need to talk to Seth. Can I talk to him?" She asked.

"Uh, okay?" Summer said, passing the phone over to Seth. "Marissa wants to talk to you."

Seth accepted the phone. "Hey…"

"Hey, do you know where Ryan is? I've been trying to call him…I haven't talked to him since last night, before his mom came over. And before that, we weren't really talking. Is there something wrong with him?"

Seth hesitated. "He's in Chino."

"Chino? What is he doing in Chino?" Marissa asked.

"Visiting his mom…He should be home soon, I'll tell him that you called, okay?" Seth replied.

"Uh, sure…Just make sure he calls me. I really need to talk to him."

"Okay." Seth said, hanging up the phone and throwing it at Summer, who placed it back on the handset. "That was weird." Seth commented.

"Hmm?" Summer said, lying down on her bed.

"Marissa needs to talk to Ryan. You know what it's about?" Seth asked.

Summer shook her head. "Ever since Oliver came along, we haven't really been talking as much as we used to. All I know is what you know." Summer said, and then asked. "What do you know?"

"Well he did tell me the other day that he wasn't sure if he was ready to get into a relationship with Marissa….Something about not being meant for each other."

"Why did he go to Chino?" Summer questioned. "I thought he hated it there…"

"Well, I think he just wanted to get away from Newport. He said something about how life in Chino was different from here." Seth laughed to himself. "I think he's just on one of his 'journeys' of self-discovery." He added waving his hands in the air.

"Well, he's really got to talk to Marissa. The girl is going crazy…" Summer said, throwing a pillow at Seth. "Come on, I'll drive you home…"

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

Sandy walked into the Chino police station and spotted Ryan right away. He was sitting in one of the chairs to the side of the police station with three other kids. Sandy glanced at him before talking to the police officer.

"Hey, Marty." Sandy said, offering his hand. Marty accepted the handshake. "What happened?" Marty was a good friend of Sandy's.

Marty Levesque glanced over at the four kids. "They were driving a stolen vehicle. And there was possession of marijuana." Marty explained. "Brandon and Chantal Keeler claim it's their dad's car and they didn't know it was stolen. We've tried to get in contact with their parents but no one's shown up but you."

"Who had marijuana on them?" Sandy asked.

"Chantal Keeler. They were all smoking when the car was pulled over." Sandy nodded his head. "I just pretty much scared the crap out of all them. They can all go home, except Chantal, I have to release her into the custody of a guardian."

Sandy nodded his head. "Okay, thanks. I'll take rest of them." Marty laughed at him. He was always the caring one, Marty thought to himself. He was really into these kids and he wondered why he quit in the first place. He was damn good at what he did.

Sandy walked over to the four of them and Ryan dared not to look at Sandy. He knew he was disappointed. Ryan wished that Sandy wouldn't come, but he did, and now he was in for it. If he didn't feel like leftovers before, he definitely felt like it now. "Okay, come on. I'll drive you kids home." Sandy said, they all stood up but Chantal, who knew she had to wait for her Mom or Dad. She knew that was going to take awhile.

The ride to Brandon's house was very quiet, except for the part where Brandon had to explain where he lived. Ryan sat in the passenger seat, fixing his gaze out of the window, trying to ignore Sandy's glares at him. Once Brandon was dropped off, Jess was the only one in the back of the seat.

"Where do you live?" Sandy asked, turning around to Jess.

"On Fairview." Jess replied and then added "46 Fairview." Ryan turned around to meet her eyes. That was not where she lived. He wondered why she had lied to Sandy. Sandy made his way to her street and Jess got out.

"I need to talk to her." Ryan said, leaving the car. Ryan ran up to Jess, just before she opened the door to the house. "This isn't where you live."

"It's a friends place." Jess replied. "I don't want to go home 'cause I know my Dad will be mad and right now I know I can't take that."

Ryan nodded his head. "Sorry, about—"

"Ryan, this was not your fault. I was stupid to bring you along….I should have known. I just hope you don't hold this against me and never come see your Mom."

Ryan shook his head and shrugged. "It wasn't your fault. And as for coming back to Chino, maybe…But from the looks of it, I doubt it. I think the Cohen's won't let me. But I would love to see you again." Ryan couldn't believe he had just told her that. Did he like her? Ryan didn't know. She was not like Marissa at all. She was very bold and wasn't afraid to express how she felt. Ryan liked that. "Well, what I—what I mean…is…" Ryan tired to explain himself.

Jess punched his right arm and he didn't flinch. He had totally forgotten about his arm. He never felt it anymore. "Dude, you're, like, cute. Shut up." Jess said, and then smiled. "Maybe I'll come visit you." She added, then walked away inside. Ryan stood there for moment, and stared off into space. He had totally forgotten about everything. He was just Ryan Atwood, nothing else. His thoughts were interrupted by Sandy's car horn.

Ryan walked back to the car with his head down and sat down in the passenger seat. Sandy started the car and back out of the lane way. Ten minutes had passed by until Sandy spoke up. "Who was that?"

"Jess, my Mom's boyfriend's kid." Sandy nodded and then Ryan said, "Sorry, about everything."

Sandy kept his eyes on the road. "Did you know the car was stolen?" He asked. Ryan shook his head. "Did you smoke pot?" Ryan nodded his head. "I used to smoke a lot of pot when I was younger, did you know that?" Sandy asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, Seth told me."

"Promise me you won't ever smoke pot again?" Sandy asked.

"I promise." Ryan said in a whisper.

"Good." Sandy said, and then paused. "How's your arm?" He asked.

Ryan was relieved. Not that he wanted to talk about his arm, but that the conversation with 'running away and smoking pot' was over. "Fine." Ryan lied. He knew he should have told Sandy that he hadn't felt it all day. Ryan changed the subject. "Can you not tell Seth about - about what happened?" Ryan asked Sandy.

"I'm not going to tell Seth anything; how's that? You can tell him what you want, but I'm sure he'll want to know where you were all day. It's Seth, you know." Sandy said, laughing. Ryan couldn't help but smile. "Takes after his father…."

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

Seth woke up to the sound of birds chirping away. He mumbled incoherently to himself and hit his alarm clock. He fell back into a heavy sleep, only to be awakened by his dad. Sandy came around his bed and pulled his sheets off of him. Seth laid on his belly, face down in his pillow in his white T-shirt and boxers.

"You have ten minutes to get ready before Summer comes and picks you up." Sandy commented, leaving the room. Seth rolled over onto his back and stared up at his ceiling. He was really tired from last night. He ended up staying at Summer's past midnight and getting home shortly after that. He didn't even know if Ryan was home or not. He didn't bother checking up on him. He didn't want to wake him, if he was home. Seth finally threw his feet over his bed, stood up and made his way over to his bathroom to take a quick shower. When he got out Summer was lying down on his bed.

"We're going to be late, Cohen." Summer commented, sitting up and straightening her hair.

Seth ran his hands through his 'Jew-fro'. "Just trying to make some magic happen..." Seth replied. "Did you see Ryan downstairs?" He asked, gathering his school books and putting them in his bag.

"Yeah, but he just left with your dad. He's getting a drive with him." She replied, standing up. "Come on, we don't want to miss our Bio test."

"We don't?" Seth asked.

Summer went up to him and kissed him. "After all that studying we did last night? Of course I don't want to miss it. I better get a good grade, Cohen!" She exclaimed, leaving Seth's bedroom with him trailing behind her.

When they got downstairs, Kirsten was at the kitchen table. She was still in her pajamas and was wrapped in her robe.

"Don't you have work, Mom?" Seth asked, grabbing two juices from the fridge and handing one to Summer.

"I'm sick with a cold." She said, taking out a tissue and blowing her nose. "Your dad can't bring Ryan to physiotherapy today. Do you mind taking him?" She asked.

"Sure, I don't think I have plans." He turned to Summer. "Do we have any plans?" Summer shook her head. "Okay, I'll take him. Bye Mom." Seth said, leaving with Summer.

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

"Ryan, what's up?" Luke asked, slapping him on the shoulder. Ryan placed his books inside his locker and then locked it.

"I've got to go to my stupid physiotherapy..." Ryan replied.

"Huh. Want me to come with you? I've got nothing better to do." Luke said.

"What about Anna? She was telling me about some fun-filled night that you two were going to have. What happened to that?" Ryan asked.

"I cancelled it." Luke replied. Ryan looked at him then continued. "Long story, man…So do you want me to come or not? Maybe after that we could just hang…Get out of here, do something."

Ryan shrugged. "Seth was going to take me to physio, but I'm sure he doesn't want to go." Just then Seth and Summer came up to the two of them.

"Hey, you ready?" Seth asked.

"Actually, uh, Luke said he could take me. I'm sure you don't want to come anyways." Seth nodded his head and looked at Summer. "And…" Ryan knew that Seth knew nothing about what happened last night. He could get away with anything right now. "Could you tell your mom and dad that I'm going to go over to Luke's after to study for a History test? I should be home by nine."

"Um, yeah…Sure. Have fun." Seth said, walking off with Summer.

"We have a history test?" Luke asked.

Ryan shook his head and laughed at Luke. "No, long story…Come on, let's go."

Luke and Ryan drove to Ryan physiotherapy and talked the whole time about Anna. Luke wasn't sure if he wanted to date her anymore. Ryan had agreed that he still found it a little odd. "So, you're going to break it up then?" Ryan asked, as they pulled into the parking lot.

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, I think I will tomorrow."

Luke and Ryan walked into Chelsea's office. Luke had never been there before and as soon as he saw Chelsea, he pulled Ryan aside. "Shit, that's Chelsea? She's hot." Luke whispered.

"Too old." Ryan commented, and then walked up to her. "Hey, I'm not late, am I?" Ryan asked.

"You're never too late, kid." Chelsea said. "How's the arm? Are you using it as much as I want you to?" She asked, looking at his arm. Before Ryan could respond, Chelsea grabbed his arm and pulled up his sleeve. "You're losing color, Ryan."

Ryan shrugged. "I haven't felt it for awhile…I thought it would go away. Is there something wrong?" He asked. Ryan looked over at Luke, who was sitting in a chair eyeing Chelsea.

"Well, it's not good, Ryan. It's telling me that you are not using your arm. In order for your arm to heal, you have to use it!" Chelsea exclaimed. "I'm sure you don't want me calling Sandy or Kirsten, so, by Wednesday, I want to see that arm in use! You hear?"

Ryan smiled, "Yes ma'am." Chelsea smiled back at him.

"So, I was talking to Sandy earlier and we've both agreed that you don't need to be coming here three times a week….but this." Chelsea pointed to his arm. "This, I'm not so sure of now and—"

Ryan cut it. "I'll use it, I promise." Ryan pleaded. He liked Chelsea, but not enough to be all bubbly about going to physiotherapy three times a week.

Chelsea rolled her eyes at him. "Okay…So, Sandy and I, we agreed that every Wednesday you will come. Is that good for you?" She asked. Ryan nodded his head. "Okay, let's get started…."

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

Seth came walking into the house with Summer and Marissa. He hadn't planned on Marissa coming over, but Summer insisted she come over and somehow, Seth was blaming Ryan for all of this. If it wasn't for him, Marissa wouldn't be there with him. But, no…Ryan decided not to talk to Marissa all day long and ignore her. Now Seth was caught up in Marissa's sob stories. Summer kept on glaring at him as he made his oh-so-casual boredom face.

They all walked into the kitchen. Sandy was standing in the middle of the kitchen, watching Kirsten unload dinner out of styrofoam boxes. "Hey!" Sandy greeted everyone. "Are you all here for supper?" He asked.

Seth looked at both the girls, "Uh, yeah, I guess. What are we having?"

"Fajitas." Sandy replied, looking at Marissa and wondering where Ryan was. "Where's Ryan?" He asked.

Seth snatched a piece of chicken from one of the Styrofoam boxes and ate it. "He's out with Luke. He told me to tell you he'll be home around nine."

Kirsten looked at Sandy. There was a clear disappointment on her face. She had asked Sandy to punish him for his little 'run away' to Chino and with the whole ordeal at the police station. But, Sandy wanted to wait until after school to start dealing out punishments.

Seth could see something was up with his parents. He knew they weren't telling him something. He suspected it had something to do with last night, because neither his parents nor Ryan spoke of what happened. But Ryan wouldn't have told him anything, anyway. "Okay, what's with the devil looks?" Seth asked his parents. Summer and Marissa walked off into the den. They weren't going to stick around.

Kirsten hesitated as she transferred the food over to plates. "Nothing," She replied, trying to sound convincing. But, it wasn't going to work for Seth. Seth put his hands on his hip and stared at both of his parents.

Sandy took a plate from full of chicken and handed it to Seth. "Your mother's right. It's nothing; now go put this on the table."

Seth took the plate from his dad, "Something's up…" He mumbled to himself and walked over to the dinning room table. Summer and Marissa had joined him.

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

"So, do you think Chelsea has a boyfriend?" Luke asked, hoping into the truck. Ryan started to laugh at him. "What?!" He asked, starting up the truck. "She's hot."

"I don't know, Luke…Come with me Wednesday afternoon and find out for yourself." Ryan replied.

"Maybe I will. So where are we headed?" Luke questioned.

"Not home." Ryan answered. Ryan wondered what Jess what up to. He liked hanging around with her. She didn't ask questions, which Ryan liked. "Can I borrow your cell?" Ryan asked Luke. Luke handed him his cell and Ryan dialed his mom's number praying that she wouldn't pick up.

"Stop calling me." The person answered the phone dryly.

"What?" Ryan asked.

"Who's this?"

"Ryan…Atwood." He replied.

"Oh, hey…Sorry. It's me, Jess. Why are you calling?" She asked. She was kind of glad he did call her. Dawn and her dad was up her creek all afternoon yelling at her for getting caught, especially with Ryan.

"I just want to know if you wanted to do anything. Are you busy?" Ryan questioned. He looked over at Luke, who kept his eyes on the road. Ryan was sure Luke wouldn't mind if they went to Chino. Luke would probably like it there too, since he was a player and girls there were 'easy'.

"Uh, nothing. Your Mom and my Dad just went out for the night. You want to come over here? We can order a pizza and watch a movie." Jess replied.

"Can I bring a friend?" Ryan asked.

"Your -," Jess hesitated. "Your…girlfriend?"

"No, my friend, Luke. He's…" Ryan stopped and looked over at Luke. "He's cool…" Ryan added. "Is that okay?"

"Sure. Come on over."

"We'll be there in an hour." Ryan said, hanging up the phone and passing it over to Luke. "We're going to Chino." Ryan told Luke.

"What's in Chino?"

Ryan shrugged. "Chino or home….Which one?"

"Chino."

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