*****

Two months go by and there is no word from Ryan. Sandy has filed all the necessary paperwork and he's classified as a runaway. The police are also looking for him for violating his probation. Seth has become quiet and solemn, a faded version of his former self. He doesn't forgive his parents for driving Ryan away.

Marissa, devastated by Ryan's abrupt desertion, is now Seth's close friend. Seth, Summer and Marissa spend a lot of time together but don't associate with the Newport elite anymore.

Seth is waiting for Summer and Marissa to return from the bathroom of the Crab Shack when he glances up and sees the figure slide into the booth across from him. Sunglasses. Shaggy blond hair curtaining his face. Jagged scar across his neck. Unshaven stubble on his chin.

"Hey," He mutters.

"Holy shit," Seth barely recognizes Ryan.

"Can you talk?" Ryan lowers his sunglasses to reveal his blue eyes.

"Marissa and Summer are coming right back…what are you doing here?" Seth whispers, shocked but happier than he's been since Ryan left.

"I told you that I'd try and check in. Or I meant to tell you. Here. Give me a call when you can talk…" Ryan scribbles a number on a napkin as he stands up.

"Wait, I can talk, don't leave…" Seth protests.

"I'm still lying low, Seth. I don't want the girls to see me. Call me and we'll meet up." Ryan smiles at him. "It's really good to see you." Seth stands up and embraces him heartily before he disappears.

"Seth? Seth? Who was that, Seth?" Marissa is beside him in seconds.

"Uh…an old friend…" Seth stutters.

"Too skinny to be Ryan," Summer mutters. "Sit down, girl and cool your jets."

"Was it him? Was it Ryan?" Marissa demands.

. "No, Marissa. It was an older friend than Ryan," Seth lies, sitting down. He's pale.

Summer gasps. "It was Ryan! What did he say?"

Seth is silent. He shrugs.

"I hate you. You're trying to be him or something," Marissa hisses, flushed because he won't tell her.

"I'm trying to protect him. He didn't want you guys to see him…"

"How'd he look?" Marissa asks, putting her hand on Seth's arm, apologetically.

"Old. He looks old."

Seth takes the girls home and sits in the Range Rover holding his cell phone. He dials the number.

"Yeah."

"Ryan?"

"Must be Seth. Hey."

"Damn, man…damn…"

Seth can hear the smile in his friend's voice. "If I give you my address, will you come alone?"

"Yeah, man, yeah…you've got a place?"

"Don't get too excited, it's like a slum. But it's mine." Ryan gives him an address and Seth immediately pulls back onto the street. An hour later, he pulls the truck up to an apartment building. Ryan meets him on the sidewalk, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"Goddamn, man…you look good," Ryan grins, embracing him.

"It is damn good to see you, man…god…" Seth replies.

"Come on in," Ryan says, leading him into the building.

Ryan's studio apartment is painfully small but Seth immediately feels at home. Ryan has a new black couch pulled out into a bed and that is all his furniture. The walls are plastered with movie posters and concert fliers. Even though there is no furniture, the kitchen is stocked with food.

"Damn, man, you're doing…what are you doing? How are you staying here?"

"I'll tell you everything, Seth, but…you know you can't tell anyone. I mean, I should be in juvie for this and I really don't want to go there…" Ryan hesitates.

"Ryan, damn…I'm not going to tell…"

Ryan smiles and sits down beside him on the sofa bed. He pulls out his wallet. "Look. I'm not Ryan Atwood anymore. I'm Brian Wood. I'm twenty and I have all the paperwork to prove it…"

"What the fuck, man, how the hell did you do that?"

"I met this guy and he really helped me out. He got busted right after me, though. So, since I'm legal and all, I got a job working construction. I just got this place last week," Ryan admits.

"Where were you staying before that?"

Ryan stands up and goes into the kitchen. "On the street. Not shelters, the cops check there. I did okay." He holds up a beer and Seth nods. Ryan brings him a beer, already drinking from his own. "What about you? How much wreckage did I leave?"

"Damn, man. Mom and Dad broke down. They tried to make me go to counseling because I was so pissed at how they handled the whole situation…"

"It's not their fault…" Ryan replies.

"I know, but it's not yours either. They just couldn't understand how I would take your side…"

"You took my side? Thanks, man, but I don't deserve your loyalty," Ryan interrupts.

"Do you want to hear my story?" Seth grins.

"Yeah," Ryan replies.

"Anyway. They ended up in counseling and I ended up with Summer and Marissa watching me like I'm about to break down. But I knew you'd be okay," Seth says. "Somehow, I knew."

"I'm not okay, Seth. This sucks. It's really hard," Ryan replies. "But it means a lot that you supported me. I thought…I thought you'd be pissed…"

"Well, I am pissed. You ditched me…but you really didn't ditch me, that's what I realized. You had to get out of there. I'm sorry, and I don't really agree with it, but shit…you did what you had to do." Seth smiles at him slightly, nudging him. "You've done pretty damn good for yourself."

"God, man, I'm so tired…" Ryan admits. His eyes are sunken in from exhaustion and he is thinner. "Are you hungry? I've got a couple of hours before I go to my night job."

"You've got a night job, too?"

"Hell yes. I don't go to school anymore, kid, what else am I supposed to do?" Ryan jokes. He stands up and starts to pace nervously.

Seth is glad to see that Ryan's spirits are up but he is worried about his friend. Despite the amount of food in the kitchen, all Seth notices in the trash can is beer cans and liquor bottles.

"So. Is it better? Are you better?" Seth asks.

Ryan sits down again and sighs. "You really want to know?"

"Yeah. I do."

"This really sucks, Seth. I really think I screwed up," Ryan admits.

"Really? How come?"

"Look at me, Seth." Ryan meets his gaze. Seth's eyes immediately drop to the scar on his neck. "I'm not Ryan anymore. I'm Brian Wood. I don't exist. I dropped out of school. I'm going to work my ass off for the rest of my life and I'll never get any further than I am right now. The cops are looking for me." His eyes dull for a moment. "You know my mom died?"

Seth gasps. "What?"

"Overdosed. I haven't seen her since that night. I heard from Trey…" Ryan replies. "So…so, what is all this for, Seth? I mean…I threw everything away…I'm just fucked now…"

"Come on, Ryan. It can't be that bad," Seth replies quietly. "Things will get better."

"Yeah, I got this place, right? I might be getting a promotion at work next week. So I guess life goes on for Brian Wood, right?"

"Ryan. If you want me to talk to my parents…"

"That's not why I asked you here. I wanted to see you. I wanted to show you that I was okay," Ryan replies.

"But you're not okay."

"I'm closer."

"So what are we going to do now?"

"I'm going to make dinner and you can eat," Ryan replies, going into the kitchen.

Seth feels like his old self as he fills Ryan in on the Newport gossip. Ryan cooks and they eat side by side on the edge of the sofa bed.

"Where are you working at night?"

"It's a 24 hour tow truck place. The owner's great, he's like an old grandpa. I fix cars. I'm good at it, Seth. It feels good to be good at something."

"What about your mom? Are you okay with that?"

"At least she died doing something she loved," Ryan responds indifferently.

"Ryan…"

"No, I'm cool with it. That part of my life is over. I've moved on." Ryan nods.

Seth's cell phone rings and he answers it. Ryan disappears with a handful of clothes.

"Seth," He answers.

"Seth, it's your mom, where are you?"

"Oh, I'm out with Marissa and Summer…what's up?"

"I already called Marissa and Summer. Where are you?" Kirsten demands.

"I'm on my way home. I'll see you in a little while, I can't talk while I'm driving…" Seth lies.

"Goddammit, Seth. Tell me where you are right now…"
Ryan appears, concerned, wearing a blue mechanic's uniform.

"Damn, I'm at the bar, chill. I'm not drunk and I'll be home in an hour or so. Damn." Seth hangs up.

"You talk to your mom like that?" Ryan asks, surprised.

"I've changed a lot, too. I guess I'm more jaded now. Marissa and Summer say I'm more like you," Seth says quietly.

"Dude, don't do that. Man, you are the coolest dude I know," Ryan says. "You're always so upbeat and enthusiastic about life…"
"Yeah, but I had my best friend by my side. I was the funny one and he was the broody one. Now, I know what life's really all about," Seth replies.

Ryan lowers his gaze.

"Don't worry about it. I've got your number. We'll hang out. If you think that can be done…" Seth starts.

"I don't want to get you in trouble, Seth…"

"You won't. Do you think we can hang out?"

"Yeah. I'm actually off all day on Sunday," Ryan replies.

"Cool. I'll call you."

"Seth. How's Marissa?"

"She misses you."

Ryan opens the door and walks with Seth to the street. "If you trust her, Seth. She can come. If she wants."

Seth smiles. "Good. Can I bring Summer?"

Ryan raises an eyebrow.

"If I trust her?" Seth smiles.

"I want to hear that story," Ryan says. "Sure." They shake hands and Seth leaves for home.

When he gets home, Sandy and Kirsten are waiting for him.

"You're grounded. Give me your phone." Sandy takes the phone from his hand and puts it in his pocket. "Where were you?"

"I was…"

"Seth, dammit…just tell us where you were? You were supposed to be here three hours ago…" Kirsten says, frustrated.

"…Shit…" Seth had forgotten about his meeting with his grandfather to discuss college.

"Where were you, Seth? This was really important to your mother and your grandfather…" Sandy sighs.

"I was…I'm sorry. I spaced. I totally forgot about it…"

"Have you been drinking?" Kirsten asks suddenly. "Beer? Seth…"
"You have, like, supersensitive smell, Mom, you should be a superhero…" Seth starts.

"This isn't funny…" Sandy starts, pausing. "Wait. Why are you in such a good mood?"

"I'm grounded. You have my phone so I can't call Grandpa and apologize so I'm going to my room and think about what I've done. Goodnight." Seth goes to his room and locks the door behind him. And smiles.

*****

The next day at school, Seth is in an upbeat mood all day. At lunch, Summer can't take it anymore. She yanks his sandwich out of his hand and drops it on the grass, grinding it into the dirt.

"You aren't eating anything else until you tell me what the hell happened to you last night? Did you get laid? Are you on drugs?" Summer demands.

"What?" Seth chokes, laughing.

"You! You've been all depressed guy for weeks and now…"
"What are you guys doing on Sunday?" Seth asks, turning to Marissa.

"I think my social calendar is clear," Marissa replies, slowly.

"Good. That's good. You guys will find out on Sunday why I'm happy. Until then, I'm grounded." The bell rings for class and Seth vanishes.

"What was that all about?" Summer asks Marissa.

"He's going to take us to Ryan," Marissa says, breaking into a small smile.

"Oh. Never mind. You've got the disease, too," Summer sighs.

*****

Seth calls Ryan's number Sunday morning. He leaves a message with Marissa's cell phone number and gets a call back an hour later. He's at Marissa's apartment with Summer. Jimmy is out of town.

"Seth?"

"Hey, man. We still on for today?"

"Yeah, if you're not busy. I even splurged and bought a TV and a DVD player. I mean, I've got a surfboard, too but I can't really go to Newport Beach with you or anything."

"Why don't we decide when we get there."

"You bringing the girls?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll keep an eye out for you."

Seth hangs up and turns to the girls. "Ready?"

"He's really…he's really okay?"

"He's got a place. Really ghetto, but its his. I mean, I think he's still really messed up but he's doing the only thing he can. Let's go. You'll see." Seth leads them to the Range Rover.

Seth pulls the truck up to Ryan's building a while later. He stops the truck and Marissa's door swings open and Ryan pulls her out of the truck into a hug. Once she gets over her surprise, she hugs him tightly in return and starts to cry.

Seth locks up and waits with Summer for them to separate. Finally, Summer clears her throat.

"I need air conditioning," Summer announces.

Ryan pulls away from Marissa. "I don't have much. But I do have air conditioning," He says. He leads them to his apartment.

"Damn, this isn't what I expected. No rats. No roaches. Nice, Chino," Summer nods.

Marissa is holding Ryan's hand and once they are inside she turns around and starts to examine him. "You've lost weight. What happened to your neck? Oh my God…" She tugs on his shirt collar to expose the long scar.

"Hey. It's cool," Ryan says, taking her hand away. "Things were rough for a little while. But they leveled out."

"How'd you get the day off?"

"Man, 10 hour nights at the garage and then all day at the construction site…I'm due a day off," Ryan replies, passing out beers to everyone.

"How do you swing that?" Seth asks, confused.

"Five days a week at the site and four nights at the shop. I usually work Saturday and Sunday and get to catch up on my sleep."

"How much is this place?" Marissa asks.

"Not too much. I need the money, though. I'm trying to save up money," Ryan replies. He lapses into an explanation of his fake credentials and new name.

"Brian Wood. Clever. And you answer when people call you Brian?" Marissa smiles.

"It sounds enough like my name that it's not a big deal. I answer when Summer calls me Chino," He smiles.

Ryan pulls the couch out and they sprawl out to watch bootleg DVDs that Ryan had bought from the movie theatre across the street. They keep the conversation light but Seth and Marissa seem to notice that Ryan is drinking and not eating and that he's exhausted.

Summer and Marissa finally doze off and nap and Ryan and Seth got to the fire escape. Ryan lights a cigarette.

"You don't like me as much today," Ryan says quietly.

"I'm just worried about you."

"You think I should call your dad?" Ryan asks.

"What do you think?" Seth responds.

Ryan takes a long drag off his cigarette. "I think about it all the time. All they did for me and I just bounced. You said they took it hard and I hadn't really…I didn't think that it would actually bother them."

"They consider you their son," Seth says slowly. "He's not going to be mad…just really relieved. I mean, you kind of fucked up your probation so you'd have to go to juvie…"

Ryan sighs. "Living with my mom was tough. Juvie was worse. But living on the streets, Seth…God…there are a lot of different kinds of evil," He shudders.

"How'd you get the scar, Ryan?"

Ryan flicks his cigarette into the street. "You think that scar's rough?" He pulls his t-shirt off and turns around. Seth gasps, seeing the slashes across his back.

"Fucking creep sliced me up for picking his pocket. I mean, I shouldn't have been stealing, but this was really harsh punishment," Ryan snorts, pulling his shirt back on.

"You're working to keep your mind off how fucked up your life is," Seth says quietly.

Ryan nods. "Yeah. I do shit that's cut and dried. I put buildings and cars together. That's what I do all the time and I'm good at it. But I wish…I wish I believed all those things that your parents believed…that I could go to college…that I could be something more…"

"Let me talk to my dad, Ry. I won't tell him where you are. I'll just find out…I'll test the waters a little, okay? See what I can find out about your options with your probation and all," Seth offers.

"I don't know. What I have now is pretty good for me. I don't want to fuck it up."

"I won't. I won't even tell him that I've talked to you…"

"Seth. I can't make any promises. I don't think that after the way I left…I can't go back," Ryan says seriously.

"I'm not asking you to come back. Just let me talk to my Dad. If you think…"

"Seth. The only think I'm asking is that you don't tell him where I am. Don't tell him my name…I don't know…dammit, Seth…"

"Hey. You're tired. I'm going to take the girls home. I want you to do something for me."

Ryan lights a cigarette and looks at him, expectantly.

"Sleep. Please. When's the next time you're off?"

"I'm off…shit…I just got another job at the movie theater over there on my free days," Ryan remembers.

"You can't make time for me?" Seth asks quietly.

"Leave me some numbers. I'll let you know. I mean, you're always welcome, man. I'd give you a key, but the door doesn't really…lock," Ryan smiles.

"Really?" Seth asks, surprised.

"Yeah. I don't want you running away and thinking you can stay here or anything," Ryan replies, seriously. "But if I come home and you're here, it'd be like coming home to the pool house." He slaps Seth's hand. "'Cause we're family, right?"

"Yeah."
Seth takes Marissa and Summer home, reluctantly. Ryan gave Marissa his number but also a warning that he was rarely home. Seth is surprised to find both his parents home when he gets back later that night.

He walks into the house and his parents are sitting in the den.

"Hey. Dad, can I talk to you?" Seth asks.

Kirsten and Sandy look up in surprise. Their son hasn't wanted to 'talk' to anyone in weeks.

"Sure." Sandy follows Seth to the patio and they both sit down.

"Everything's cool and all…I just have a few hypothetical questions," Seth says quietly.

"Okay. Are you sure everything's cool?" Sandy asks.

"Yeah. It's all cool."

"Okay. Just checking. Ask away," Sandy replies.

Seth sighs. "Hypothetically…if Ryan were to turn up one day and face up to his probation violations…what would happen?"

Sandy's face is surprised but he doesn't immediately burst out with questions, careful of the situation. "It depends. He could go to juvenile hall if no one assumed responsibility for him. Kirsten and I are his legal guardians. It's very possible that he could avoid juvie…conditionally. It might depend on what he's been doing for the past two months."

"How possible is it that he could avoid juvie?" Seth asks.

"It's a good possibility, Seth," Sandy replies.

Seth nods, thoughtful.

"Can I ask you, hypothetically, of course…if Ryan's okay?" Sandy asks, cautiously.

"I've…hypothetically…talked to him. He's doing okay. He's on his own. His mother's dead and…he's working…he's supporting himself…"

"How? He's just a kid…"

"Hypothetically, he might have a new identity with fake credentials…" Seth mutters.

Sandy is silent. "He's a smart kid. Damn…but he's okay?"

"I'm trying…I'm going to try and talk to him. I just wanted to have something to tell him. Something that I could trust."

"His mother's dead…he's not in school…" Sandy mutters, processing.

"Dad. Let me try and fix this…give me a few days…let me talk to him…"

"Will you…okay, Seth. Trust goes both ways. I should have listened to you when you tried to talk to me about Ryan. Just…will you try and get him to call me? If I could just talk to him…" Sandy says.

"I'll talk to him, Dad. I'm just trying not to scare him away," Seth admits. "Are you going to tell Mom?"

"Not tonight. I'll give you a few days."

"Thanks, Dad," Seth replies, sincerely.