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

(Please read and review!)

Chapter Eighteen

After telling Colin all about his cousin Josh, Ben invited Colin over. Colin told him that he would stick up for him if Josh tried to do anything else to him.

When Ben walked into the door after school with Colin, he found his mom in the kitchen baking cookies with Amy and Josh. They were all laughing and having a great time together. Ben was jealous.

"Mom!" Ben yelled, walking into the kitchen. "You remember my friend Colin? Can he stay for dinner again?" He asked.

"Does your mom know you're here?" Marissa asked Colin.

"Yeah." Colin lied.

"Okay. Oh Ben, can you do me a favor?" Marissa asked. "Conner's upstairs looking for his Spiderman outfit. Can you help him? I'm kind of tied up at the moment." She said, placing more cookies on the trey. Amy and Josh were eating the cookie dough – Ben's cookie dough.

"I don't know where it is!" Ben shouted at her and left. Colin followed him outside to the backyard.

"What's the matter?" Colin asked.

"Them." Ben pointed to the house. "They're all driving me nuts."

"Well, then lets go do something." Colin offered, looking around the backyard. He saw a hockey net placed up against the house. "Road hockey. We'll have Josh and Conner play with us. Come on! It'll be fun!"

Ben shrugged. "Fine."

They went back inside and found Conner, with his Spiderman outfit on, and got Josh from the kitchen and played road hockey. They only had one hockey net, so they used shoes for the other net. It was Ben and Colin vs. Conner and Josh. They were only playing for five minutes and Ben and Colin were already winning by three goals.

"Do they not have hockey in Chino?" Colin asked, shooting on the net and scoring.

Josh glared at him. "The game of hockey is Canadian, not American. Now if we were playing football, I'd be beating your sorry asses." Josh smirked as he shot the tennis ball and missed the net.

"Let's play football then." Colin offered.

Ben glared at Colin and whispered, "I don't play football."

"So?" Colin whispered back.

"Okay, let's play football." Josh shouted.

Conner dropped his hockey stick and ran into the garage with his Spiderman outfit on and got a football. "Here!" He raised the football up to Josh.

"Ready to get creamed?" Josh asked Ben and Colin. "You ready Spiderman?" He asked Conner.

"Yeaaaah." Conner shouted. "Let's cream them!"

They went over into the backyard and played a lousy game of football. Ben didn't even know how to play. Colin just told him to get the ball and run in the opposite direction. It wasn't as easy as it sounded. Josh had the ball most of the time and Conner just stood there cheering him on, while Ben and Colin tried to tag-team him.

Ben fell to the ground and watched Josh run off with the ball. "Damnit." He mumbled, getting back onto his feet.

Colin, who was chasing Josh, stopped to bend down and catch his breath. "Damn, he's fast." He mumbled to himself.

"Give up already losers?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, give up already?" Conner shouted.

"Not a chance." Colin replied and grabbed the ball from him. He then walked over to Ben. "He's going down."

"Yeah, with you and what army?" Ben joked.

"Come on, you want to shut him up don't you? Here's the plan…" The two boys huddled together and Colin explained the plan, while Josh and Conner watched on in amusement.

"You girls ready?" Josh asked. "Or should we start boiling our afternoon tea?"

Ben and Colin split up and began playing. Within seconds Josh stole the ball out from under Ben's grip. Ben started chasing Josh, with Conner chasing after him. Colin was to the side of Josh, chasing him. Ben leapt for Josh's feet and both Josh and Ben fell to the ground. Ben quickly peeled away from Josh and Colin, who caught up to them, and threw his body on top of Josh. Colin's elbow dug into Josh back and Josh screamed.

"Get off me you fucking queer!" Josh yelled at Colin. Colin got off of him and Josh rose to his feet. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Josh demanded, poking Colin in the chest. "Huh?" He inched closer to him.

"Guys…" Ben separated them. "It was an accident. Game's over. Come on, Colin." Ben said, trying to drag Colin away from Josh.

Connor sat down in the grass and looked on at the three of them fighting.

Josh pushed Ben over. "Quit being a little pussy…"

Colin jumped Josh and they both fell to the ground. They were both swinging at each other, while Ben was trying to stop them from fighting. Finally, with all of Ben's strength, he separated them with a few minor blows to his face. "Quit it!" He screamed at them.

Conner ran into the kitchen and got Marissa.

"Boys!" Marissa yelled at them.

Josh shoved Ben and Colin off of him and stood up. "This is fucking bullshit." He yelled at everyone and then left the backyard.

"Colin, I think you should go." Marissa said,

"Sorry." He mumbled to Ben and then left.

"Ben, go to your room." Marisa demanded.

"But Mom – "Ben began to protest. He knew he hadn't really done anything wrong. He was the one who tried to separate them. And now he was getting in trouble? None of this seemed fair to him.

"Ben, just go to your room!" Marissa yelled at him. Ben mumbled something to her and then stormed off. "Lift your feet!" She yelled after him.

Connor stood next to his mom and asked, "Am I in trouble?"

Marissa patted him on the head. "No, sweetie…" She took him by the shoulders and guided him back into the house. "So, second day of school...Do you have homework yet?" She asked.

"Nope." He replied.

"Well then, I'll just have to give you something to do until supper time."

"Can I go swimming?" Conner asked.

"No, but you can go tidy up your room." She told him.

"Alright." Conner mumbled. He then lazily made his way upstairs to his room.

Marissa went back into the kitchen to see how Amy was doing with cutting out the cookies. For a four-year-old she was pretty smart, she thought to herself. She continued to help Amy cut out the cookies, as she thought about what had just happened in the backyard. Things weren't looking too good. Josh ran off on her and now Ben was mad at her.

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

Seth stood in front of the mirror fixing his hair. He had everything planned out. Summer was to come home, then they were to eat the unexpected dinner and then he was to take her to her bedroom where she would be in awe. Perfect. Seth smiled to himself in the mirror. "Perfect…" He said and then left the bathroom. He then sat down at the kitchen table and waited for Summer.

"Is it hot in here, or is it just me?" Seth said out loudly to himself. He took off his vest and threw it to the side of the living room. He was getting all nervous because he knew Summer would be walking through the door at any minute.

Speak of the devil. Summer walked into the apartment and froze. "What?" She asked Seth, who was standing there waiting for her. "What's wrong, Cohen?" She asked again.

"Nothing." He said, taking her bags and putting them in the living room. "Did you have fun shopping?" He asked. His clothes were stating to itch on him.

"Shopping was good, as usual." She said and then laughed at Seth. "Cohen, what are you up to?" She asked. "I know you're up to something…" She walked into the kitchen. "Oh my god…What's all of this?" She looked at the food on the table.

"Well, I thought maybe you'd be hungry." Seth replied, pulling a chair out for her.

"So, we're having Sloppy Joe's?" She laughed at him and took a seat at the table.

Seth moved around the table and sat down, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants. "Don't you remember the first time we had Sloppy Joe's? It was when – "

Summer cut him off. "When you first spent the night here." She finished for him. "Of course I remember, Cohen. I was so excited about the new apartment that you and I went on a Sloppy Joe's binge."

"Oh and what a fun time that was." He added.

"Yeah, minus the time we hurled everywhere…" She laughed. "Wow that was a long time ago, Cohen."

"Yeah, well…You know…" Seth stumbled on his words. He made her a Sloppy Joe and put it down on her plate. "Let's hope tonight we don't hurl."

They then ate their Sloppy Joes while discussing the new baby. Summer had told him that she picked up a few cute blankets for the baby. She wasn't sure if she should get blue or pink, so she bought white.

"I'm so full." Summer held her stomach.

"I told you not to eat too much. There's only one bathroom in this apartment so you better not take it up all night."

"Cohen! I'm not going to hurl everywhere like last time."

"I sure hope not. You've been busting your ass off for weeks cleaning this place. The last thing you need is for someone to hurl everywhere."

Summer slid her plate away from her. "Can we not talk about throwing up, Cohen?"

Seth held up his hands. "No problem." He got up from the table and took her plate. "So, uh…Hey, how about we go to your bedroom and play a little hooky?" Seth joked. So far the plan was working. He had everything under control.

"Hooky? Yeah, you wish, Cohen." She laughed at him, but still got up and went to the bedroom. When she opened the door she gasped. "Cohen!" She jumped on the bed and smelt the roses. Seth stood at the doorway and watched on. She was like a little girl in a field of flowers, smelling each and every one of them. "Did I miss something?" Summer asked.

"No, why do you think that?" He asked, sitting down on the bed with her.

"Dinner…Roses…I don't know." She replied, while she smelled the roses.

Seth tucked a few stands of her hair behind her ear and kissed her. "You didn't miss anything." He assured her.

Summer rolled over him and started kissing him. "This is sweet, Cohen." She whispered into his ear. "I love you." She said and then kissed him more.

"Me too, Summer…Me too." He said in between their lip locking. While Summer was kissing him, Seth's reached over the side of the bed and pulled out Captain Oats. "I have something for you." He told her after they were done kissing.

Summer was sitting on top of Seth. "What is it?" She asked.

Seth pulled out Captain Oats and gave it to her.

"Captain Oats?" She asked.

"Hey, why don't you take a look at one of his hooves…I'm sure Princess Sparkle wants to know how big they are, you know…" Seth replied.

Summer frowned at him and looked at Captained Oats hooves. She noticed a ring around one of them and removed it. "Cohen, oh my God!" She shrieked and started crying.

Seth took the ring from her shaking hands. "Summer Roberts, will you marry me?" He asked. "That's, of course, if Princess Sparkle's will let me."

Summer laughed and wiped her tears. "Yes! Of course I will marry you!" She practically yelled at him. Seth slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her.

"Oh my God." Summer repeated over and over. "I can't believe this. Seth you are so…THE BEST!" She hugged him. "I'm definitely a very lucky girl." She kissed him again and then they both rolled over on each other and started making out.

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

"Hey, I have dinner." Ryan said, walking into the kitchen and then giving Marissa a kiss. "Where is everyone?"

"Conner and Amy are upstairs playing, Ben's in his room and Josh, well I don't know where he is." Marissa replied.

"What?" Trey asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Ben and his friend got into a fight with Josh and Josh ran off on me." Marissa explained. "I don't know what happened. I tried talking to Ben but he keeps telling me that he didn't do anything."

Just then Josh came walking into the house.

"Where have you been, Josh." Trey asked.

"No where." Josh mumbled to his dad.

Trey grabbed him by his arm and pulled him up close to him. "I asked you a question, Josh."

Josh tried to pull away from his dad's grip. "Like you give a fuck what I do. You never know where I am, Dad!" He yelled him. "You're just trying to act all fatherly in front of them…" He mumbled.

Trey shoved Josh against a wall. "Don't talk to me like that." He pointed his finger at Josh. Josh flinched away from him. Ryan saw this and stepped forward.

"Trey." Ryan interrupted. "Just talk to him, you don't have to hurt him." He stood in between Trey and Josh.

"Well then, Josh, you want to tell us all what happened to make you run off?" Trey asked.

"I got into a fight with Ben and his friend." Josh spoke up. "They started it. I was just trying to play a friendly game of football and then Ben tackled me and his friend jumped me. I didn't do anything." He held up his hands. "I swear, Uncle Ryan."

"Okay." Ryan sighed. "We'll talk about this after dinner. Let's just all eat. I'll go get everyone else." Ryan went upstairs to get Conner, Ben and Amy.

Marissa started unloading the takeout food on the dinning room table, with Trey helping her.

"Sorry, Marissa." Trey told her.

Marissa smiled at him. "It's okay." She lied.

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

"Ryan, they have to leave." Marissa said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

Ryan put aside the dishes he was washing and turned to her. "It's only for a little while longer. Trey got a job at Sandy's restaurant and once he gets his first pay he's out. I promise, okay?"

"What about the boys? I'm not going to be the referee between Ben and Josh. Did you to talk to Ben? We haven't heard his side of the story yet." She replied.

"I know, I know…I'll go talk to him." Ben said, putting down his washing rag. "I'll finish these up later," he told her as he walked out of the kitchen and to Ben's room. On his way there he stopped at Conner's room. Amy and Conner were playing dress-up with all of Conner's outfits. Conner had changed out of Spiderman and was now wearing a Batman outfit.

Ryan knocked on Ben's door and then walked in. Ben was sitting at his desk looking over a magazine. "Hey, what are you up to?" Ryan asked, walking over to him.

"Nothing." Ben closed his magazine and turned to Ryan. "I didn't do it." Ben quickly said.

"Tell me what happened."

"We were just playing football and he got mad at us." Ben explained. "He's just a sore loser."

"Well, he said you and your friend tackled him down."

"Dad, its football." Ben exclaimed, getting up and going over to his bookshelf. "It's not like we were playing tag football or soccer."

"So, playing football means you punch people?" Ryan asked.

"I didn't punch him purposely. He's the one that punched me first, you know. I was just trying to separate him from my friend."

"Who's this new friend of yours? Do I know him?"

"No. His name's Colin Armstrong. He's my only friend at the new school you put me in." He replied and then grabbed a book of his bookshelf.

"Well, can you try not to get in his way, Ben? Your mother's pregnant and she doesn't need to be separating daily fights in the backyard."

"Dad, I didn't fight him!" Ben yelled at him. "He's the one that started it all!"

"This discussion is over." Ryan yelled back at him.

"Fine, don't believe me." Ben mumbled as Ryan left the room. Ben took the book in his hand and hurled it across the room. How could his dad not believe him? Clearly, he was blind. Everyone was blind.

Ryan heard Ben throw something in his room, but ignored it. He went back downstairs to the kitchen and continued doing the dishes.

"So?" Marissa asked.

"So, he said he was sorry and that he wouldn't fight with him anymore." Ryan lied. He just didn't want to hear it from Marissa anymore. He knew Ben was going to watch himself and not get into any fights with Josh.

Marissa went up behind him and grabbed the cloth away from him. "We have a dishwasher you know." She said, hiding the cloth from him.

"I know." He snagged his cloth back from her. "It's better to wash in the sink. This way I know they're coming out clean. Plus, it's great for the joints." He added.

"Whatever you say." She laughed at him and then smacked his ass. "I'll be in the bedroom once you're done with those dishes of yours."

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