(Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all. So don't sue me. Please.)

A Note from the Author: And what's (or who's – hee) Luke doing? Not a lot of people asked this, but he's an important part of the teen group dynamic, so I had to throw him in here. I know I'm delaying the Ryan/Summer stuff by trying to cover everyone, but I swear, this will all be relevant later. And is it wrong if I say that I just find writing Luke's POV a really fun activity? Oh, yeah, and squeals the number of reviews hit the 100 mark! Thanks so much you guys, seriously. I'm really glad I have such generous reviewers! Okay, onwards (and expect a reward next time)…

Chapter Sixteen

Luke casually entered the pool house, his emotions on a high. He had been at the Mermaid Inn that morning, with a certain someone. Okay, not just a 'someone'. Julie Cooper. MILF extraordinaire. The ultimate fantasy.

It was hard not to get his boxers in a twist whenever he thought of her. And when he was actually with her, well, boxers were not needed. And speaking of which, the sex was hot, man. Like, really hot. He had discovered the reason why her hair was red, naturally or not.

And she wasn't like the other girls – er, women – he had gone out with. Marissa, Holly, all the girls at Harbour… They were so complicated. He didn't like the games they played, the ones when he had to guess at what they wanted to hear. Instead of "Let's hook up," he had to say, "Would you like to go out with me?" Instead of "Let's do it," he had to say, "I really like and admire you." Instead of "Ugh," he had to say, "Those pants don't make your butt look big, I swear."

It was a crude generalization, but it was the truth. Whenever he wanted something from them, and especially if that something concerned 'intimacy', he always had to overcompensate, to become considerate of their feelings. Sometimes he didn't even really like the girl herself, only for her body. Sometimes he really liked the girl. Either way, they all inevitably wanted to hear him say the same thing: "I love you."

Out of his entire dating and hooking up history, there was only one girl that he had felt tempted to say those three little words to. Marissa Cooper.

But that was all over now. He had been looking for a quick fix, a quick wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, and he had found that in Holly. He never expected Marissa to find him in Tijuana like that, never expected to lose her as quickly as he had. Especially to Ryan.

He had seen the looks the two had been exchanging, the looks of longing. At first, he tried to ignore it. Then all he could think about, irritably, was 'why don't you two just get a room?' It got under his skin, the way the boy from Chino could so sway his girlfriend like that.

Luke wasn't stupid; he wouldn't say that he was driven by Marissa to cheat on her, that he had no choice. But the way that she left him, at the first possible moment of fault on his part… How she had slept with him for the first time, how it was supposed to be so special, but it was all because she wanted to get back at Ryan… It made Luke feel used.

And he had resented her for that.

Once he had seen how happy Marissa and Ryan made each other, however, he began to change his mind. He saw how genuinely happy she was with Ryan, how she became strong enough to face her personal demons. Then Oliver came along. Luke had noticed the very same looks between Marissa and Oliver, the secretive smiles. He didn't want Ryan to be hurt the same way he was, because, even though he was loath to admit it, he had actually found a friend in him. It ended badly anyway.

It was different this time. Somehow, Luke didn't find the idea of Marissa being single so appealing anymore. He didn't think that he'd really care about the Cooper name anymore. Then Julie came along.

It was weird. When she laughed, the corners of her sparkling eyes turned upward, Luke could have sworn she looked like Marissa. The two resembled each other uncannily, if you knew them well enough.

And oh, Luke definitely knew Julie well enough.

With her, Luke knew that there would be no complications. He didn't have to watch what he said around her (except when he had to refrain from calling her 'Mrs. Cooper') and when he told her that her ass looked fantastic in the dress she was wearing, he meant it. Their meetings were just an endless string of booty calls, and both of them understood that their 'relationship' (a loose term) wouldn't go farther than that. There was Marissa to think about, of course, not to mention Julie's ambitions.

No, they wouldn't go farther. They shouldn't. Which was why for the past few days, Luke was wondering about what he should tell her. That he cared about her. The thought scared him, because he was going to have to lay his soul bare (not to sound sappy or anything, but… that was what he was doing). He wanted to tell her that he had feelings for her, familiar ones that he had felt with Marissa.

Luke didn't know what it was about Cooper women that made him feel this way. Maybe it was in their genes.

Maybe he should wait until Caitlyn's a bit older to decide whom he liked best.

The thought made Luke chuckle. Okay, maybe not. Luke decided that he had done enough thinking for the day, and it was time to come back to Planet Earth. He spotted Ryan sitting on his bed, speaking softly into the phone. Was that a new girl? Did Ryan actually blush? Nah, must be the lighting.

Actually, though, Ryan had been surprising him an awful lot lately. He was brooding a lot less, and Luke could swear that he had started to pay more attention to his appearance. He'd been wearing clothes with a colour palette of something other than black, grey, or white; and don't get him started on the accessories. The leather wrist cuff, the nice watch…

At first this had come as a shock. Luke wanted to scream, "Who are you and what have you done with Chino?" and shake him roughly by the shoulders. But that feeling soon passed. Circumstances change. People change. Luke understood that now.

When Ryan noticed Luke loitering in the doorway, he quickly muttered, "Be there soon," and ended the phone call a bit anxiously. Luke grinned. Yep, it was definitely a new girl. He felt a bit proud of Ryan. Congratulations to him, for beginning to finally heal. He deserved it. If he ever felt like actually sharing about this mystery girl, maybe Luke could tell him about Julie. Maybe.

Now all that was left was for Seth to get a girl. That wouldn't be so hard, would it? All the comic books and that dinky little plastic horse would have to be burned, of course, then a couple of trips to the gym. And he could get a haircut, then some hair gel to tame those curls. Plus, he should really pluck those eyebrows. They were getting so out of control, it was scary. At the thought of Seth with Groucho Marx/Sandy Cohen eyebrows, Luke burst into laughter.

Ryan just gave him a strange look. Maybe Luke really should stop bleaching his hair – the chemicals must be getting to him. But anyway, what was important now was for Luke to leave so Ryan could race over to Summer's house. She had just called him, crying.

Something about her mom, she had said.