Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The O.C..

Chapter 9 - Secrets and Lies

Seth, Summer, and Ryan went over to the brunch buffet to get their food. They were soon joined there by Marissa. Once they all had their food, they sat down at a table for four. Once they were settled in, Seth wanted answers.

"OK, Ryan, we have our food. We're sitting down. Happy? So tell us what happened yesterday. You didn't go snowboarding with Luke?"

Ryan was a little ashamed that the reason why he didn't go snowboarding was because of his fear of heights. It was so embarrassing. Everyone in Newport thought he was this tough guy, and here he was terrified to go on a chairlift.

"Um.. no, I couldn't."

Ryan gave Seth and Marissa looks, hoping that they'd understand why, without him having to say it. They both knew about his phobia. They both got it. They exchanged a look.

Seth and Marissa both said, "Oh."

Seth was a little embarrassed that he asked. He should have known that was the reason. He was a little surprised on Friday night when Ryan agreed to let Luke teach him to snowboard. Seth just thought that maybe Ryan's fear of heights had gotten better lately. The situation hadn't come up in a while.

Summer, meanwhile, was just confused. She looked around at Seth, Ryan, and Marissa. They obviously all knew something that she didn't.

Summer looked at Seth and said, "Oh what? Cohen, what's going on? I don't get it. Why couldn't Ryan go snowboarding?"

Seth gave Ryan a quick look. Ryan gave his tacit approval to tell Summer. So Seth leaned in and whispered into Summer's ear. She gave Ryan a surprised look and also said, "Oh!"

They all went back to eating, embarrassed for the moment about the shared secret. Then Seth cleared his throat and continued with the interrogation.

"OK, so, then, what did you do yesterday instead? Something about working here?"

"Um... yeah... I know this is going to sound a little weird, but yeah. After I sent Luke off to go snowboarding by himself, I was looking for something to do. The restaurant manager mistook me for someone that was supposed to come and work as a busboy."

Ryan sent Seth an amused glance as he continued, "That guy talks as fast as you do, Seth. Maybe even faster. He could probably talk you into working as a busboy."

Seth gave Ryan a disbelieving look. "That's why you did it? Because the manager talked you into it?"

Ryan shrugged. "Kind of."

Ryan looked down, away from the others. He wasn't sure if he should try to explain it further. He wasn't sure if they'd understand it any more than Luke would. There was another period of silence while everyone went back to eating.

Marissa was finally catching up with what was going on. She didn't know what Seth was asking Ryan about when it started. Now that she got it, she remembered the encounter that Ryan had with the restaurant manager at the salad bar last night.

"Ryan, what was really going on with the manager at dinner yesterday? Did that have something to do with this?"

Ryan looked up at Marissa. "Yeah. He saw me at the salad bar and since obviously he thinks I'm a busboy, not a guest, he thought I shouldn't be there. He backed down after Luke and his Dad came over."

Marissa nodded. Seth went back to doing the questioning. "And the guys you said you met and the party you got invited to -- "

"Yeah. I meant that I met the other busboys, and one of them invited me to a party he was having at his house last night."

"And you and Luke went?"

"Right."

"So Luke knew all about this?"

Seth was beginning to get a little jealous of the new closeness between Ryan and Luke. Of course, he knew it was his own fault. His new relationship with Summer didn't leave much time for Ryan. Seth vowed to himself to make an effort to put more Seth-Ryan time on the books once they got back home.

"Obviously, Luke knew I didn't go snowboarding with him, and he covered for me with that. I didn't tell him about working here, if that's what you're getting at. He came back early and saw me."

Seth nodded. "So how was the party last night?"

"Good. We had a good time."

Summer spoke up. "So nothing happened?"

Ryan was confused. "Happened?"

"You know, like you get beaten up or something and have to go to the hospital, or you get busted for something and get hauled off to juvie..."

Ryan looked at Summer strangely. How did she come up with this stuff?

"No, nothing like that, obviously. We went to a house party. There were people. There was music. There was dancing. Luke managed to not insult anybody. He got drunk. We stayed overnight and got a ride back early this morning. That's all that happened."

Well, that plus his one night stand with the girl from Chino, Kim. Ryan had to stop himself from calling her Kimmie. He knew a Kimmie once. She was hot. Ryan stole a quick glance at Marissa. He knew he was keeping another secret, but he didn't want to mention his encounter with another girl in front of Marissa. Their breakup was still too new, and he knew that she was still hoping that they'd get back together.

Marissa asked, "So is that where Luke is? Hungover?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He wouldn't wake up this morning." Seeing Marissa look worried, Ryan continued, "But he should be OK in a few hours. Don't worry."

As far as Ryan was concerned, that pretty much covered everything, so he was hoping to steer the conversation away from himself.

"So what about you guys?" Ryan addressed Seth and Summer. "How was your sleigh ride?"

Summer smiled and snuggled up to Seth. "It was so romantic, just like I knew it would be."

Seth told Ryan, "I told you, man, I had so much more to give."

Ryan was a little disgusted at the picture that formed in his mind. "OK, I don't think we need to hear any more. What about you, Marissa? How was your night at the spa with Anna?"

"It was great. We got massages and manicures. Very relaxing. And Anna and I talked. We didn't really know each other very well before, you know, like one on one."

Marissa looked quickly at Ryan then at Seth and Summer and then looked away. She didn't really want to go into what she and Anna talked about.

Ryan noticed the looks coming from Marissa and could guess what they talked about. Both girls had recently broken up. Seth realized it too. He knew it was hard for Anna to be around him and Summer.

The four of them went back to eating their brunch quietly, each thinking their own thoughts.

To Be Continued