Title: The Game, Part Four
Author: Kate Monster
Rating: PG to be safe
Summary: Set between "The Secret" and "The Best Chrismukkah Ever". The fall soccer season is over, and it's time to... celebrate? Or at least shake things up a little.
Disclaimer: Characters by the great and powerful Josh Schwartz. Pay no attention to the chick behind the curtain.

PART FOUR

Ryan winced as he watched Seth setting his shot.  Now he went for the 11-ball?  He had a good ricochet shot with the 14...  Well, at least better than the 11.

"I haven't played a game like this since I was fourteen," Ryan heard his own voice saying urgently.  Seth shot him a look that seemed like it would say shut the fuck up, motherfucker, if Seth was capable of ever saying that.  But it was definitely in the subtext of the expression.

"Fourteen, man," Ryan said again, his voice weaker this time.

He swallowed, feeling how dry his mouth suddenly was.  He ran a hand through his hair as Seth's shot missed the 11-ball.  He wove around the table, until he could whisper into Seth's ear.

"What are you doing?" Ryan hissed to him, away from the others.  "I just gave you the damn shot."

"Oh," Seth said with dawning realization, "The fourteen.  I get it."

"No, you don't," Ryan snapped.  "You don't get it, Seth."

"But you said no help-"  Seth blinked, shuffled his feet, and looked down.  "Hey.  Sorry."

Ryan heaved a sigh.  "Fine.  So we're not psychic, just – next shot, watch me already."

"I will, I promise," Seth promised sincerely.

"I'm not letting you down just cause some dickhead decides to call rules halfway through the game."

Ryan leaned on his stick and turned to see Thomas take his shot, spinning the cue ball to the 4, which didn't quite make it, but did manage to disrupt the 14 in the process.  Ryan moved in to study the table.  Truth was, he'd had far, far better nights.

But then, he'd had far worse nights, too.

He glanced up at the smoky corner by the stairs.  Nordland and Saunders were watching, whispering, concerned.  The last vestiges of Luke's crowd.  He glanced back at Luke, who was watching him intently, and raised an eyebrow at him.  If Luke cared, he wasn't showing it.  That was the way to go.

Sometimes Ryan remembered that there had been a reason for Luke's popularity in the not-so-distant past.

Ryan set his jaw as he approached the table.  "Eleven in the corner?" he asked Luke.

"Yeah," Seth said automatically.  Ryan glanced at him.  "What?  I'm a shark, man."

Befuddled, Ryan glanced at Luke, who just pointed at the table to confirm his choice of shots.  He nodded and bent over the table.

It was a long shot, and he knew it, and he wasn't disappointed to miss.  Especially not when Javier missed right after him.

Luke managed to sink the 11 at last, looking quite pleased with himself before he scratched on his follow-up shot. 

Andy strolled to the table.  "Andy, you suck," Thomas laughed out loud, causing Andy to scowl furiously and sink the 3.  Ryan eyed the balls left on the table.  The 4, the 14, and the 8.  And Andy didn't have a blessed chance at the 4, thank god.  He was going for a long shot, with a ricochet, there was no chance in hell that he would-

"Fuck," Luke muttered, speaking for their entire team.

"Who's sorry now?" Andy crowed at Thomas, who didn't look unhappy.  "Hell, yeah.  Corner pocket, here we go."

Last shot of the game.  Ryan sighed and turned to Seth, who had re-materialized beside him.  "I'll pay you back, man.  I'm sorry."  The 8-ball and cue-ball were in perfect alignment with the corner pocket.

"No, you won't," Seth said firmly.

"Seth, look-"

"You won't have to."

Ryan scoffed, then squinted at him.  "What are you talking about?"

Andy was starting to line up his shot.  "No helping," Ryan reminded Javier, who shot him a dirty look.  Ryan found himself holding his breath as Andy aimed.

And aimed.

And drew.

"Wah-chooo!"

Ryan jumped at the loud sneeze from Seth that broke the silence that had settled over their corner of the room.  Andy jumped as well, and his ball veered to the side.

Andy leapt back, whirling around to face Seth, his nostrils flaring.  "Cohen!  What the fuck was that?"

"The smoke, man, my allergies – hey, look, I'm sorry, but if Saunders isn't gonna ventilate this place properly..."

"I'll show you ventilated," Javier said, cutting in front of Andy and leaning dangerously close.

"Hey, back off," Luke barked, stepping in between Javier and Seth and rising to his full height.  "So the guy sneezed.  Not his fault Andy can't focus.  Are we playing like boys or like men here, anyway?"

"Ask the cheater," Thomas snapped.

Ryan set his jaw, watching the scene silently.  He knew.  Seth sneezed on purpose.  It was a shitty thing to do, totally underhanded, and he knew it.  Because he knew Seth.  The other guys could speculate; Ryan knew for sure.  It was something Seth Cohen was absolutely capable of doing.  But Luke was right.  Andy could have ignored it.  Wasn't Seth's fault.  Well, not entirely.

His eyes quickly studied the scene in front of him.  He didn't need to step in.  Luke was doing a decent job for him, staring Javier down, and the last thing Seth needed right now was Ryan jumping in to defend him.  There had been quite enough of that already this year.

Seth was fine on his own.

Well, if on his own involved cowering behind a hostile Luke.  Which was a step up in the cosmic sense of things, Ryan was fairly certain.

Seth was fine on his own.  For a minute.  With Ryan watching from a few feet away.

"I'm sorry, I really am, but it's my turn now," Seth stammered.  "So better luck next time, but can I please take my shot?  Please?"

Andy whirled away from Luke, whose shoulders visibly slumped in relaxation as Seth bent over the table.

"There's no shot," Ryan whispered to Luke as he leaned over.

Seth was squinting at the table.  "Okay.  I can go – no.  Or – oops.  Maybe..."  His voice trailed off.  "Okay, I got nothing."

"They're not allowed to help you," Andy snapped.

"Chill," Luke said, annoyed.

"'S okay, they're no help anyway," Seth said.  Ryan rolled his eyes from behind him.  "Hmm, but this is..."  His stick shot out and Ryan winced automatically, watching as the cue ball careened across the table...

Ricocheted backwards...

Spun off of the 8-ball...

And sunk the 14.

"Shit!"  Luke screeched, jumping up uncharacteristically.  "Cohen!  Dude!  Rock it!"

Even Ryan had to smile in spite of himself.  "Good shot, buddy.  You really never played pool?"

"Not like this," Seth confirmed.

Ryan paused.  "I don't think I've ever played pool quite like this, either."  They exchanged a brief half-grin, and Ryan saw his own expression mirrored in Seth's. 

No.  No, he didn't want Trey here.  He didn't want Trey here in the least.  In fact, the only person he wanted on his team right now, in this moment, was Seth Cohen, who was indeed standing across from him wearing an identical expression.  It was fine.

"Now call the pocket," Ryan muttered to Seth from the corner of his mouth.

"Oh.  Right.  8-ball.  Side pocket."

Ryan turned back around to the table, trying to hide his satisfaction.  He didn't need to set up any shot for Seth.  The shot worked just fine as it was.  Two balls on the table, a straight-on shot, and...

"Cohen," Luke groaned as the 8-ball bounced off the edge of the hole. 

"What?" Seth asked defensively.

"So much for being a shark," Ryan snapped.  He felt all of his brotherly feelings for Seth suddenly draining away.

"I told you.  I told you I sucked!"

"Yeah," Luke said.  The warning tone in his voice was evident.  "Yeah, you sure did."

"Corner pocket.  Right there."

Thomas settled in for the easy shot and sunk it as Ryan, Luke and Seth watched in horror.  He leaned over to swoop the money from the table, handing forty each to Javier and Andy. 

Game over.

Ryan turned around slightly to hide his disgust.  No, it was fine.  Twenty dollars.  Nothing.  Pennies.  There were days when he was pretty sure the food he ganked out of the Cohens' fridge cost more than twenty dollars.  Around here, it was nothing.  Spare change.  Seth probably wouldn't even care if he never paid him back.

"Better luck next time, Luke," Andy said.

"Better luck, better cheating," Javier added.

"We were not cheating," Seth protested.

"Seth," Ryan said in a low tone.  "It's over.  Don't-"

"Give me one example," Seth said, his voice rising.  Ryan closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.  Better to keep an eye on this one.

"Oh, I'll give you one."  Thomas strode up to face him, towering over him, threatening.

"Seth," Ryan said, a little louder.  "Come on.  Let's just go."

"No, I got honor.  I got pride."  Seth's words were already slurring a little.  Not good.

"Not like this you don't," Ryan said, stepping to his side and lowering his voice.  The last thing Seth needed was having Ryan baby him in front of these guys.  But if he didn't-

"He's calling me a liar," Seth protested, pointing.  "A liar."  He stared defiantly up at Thomas, who had a good six inches on him.

Ryan had to bite back the inevitable confirmation that Seth actually was a liar.  "Yeah.  He is.  And we're leaving.  Now."

"I don't think so," Seth said, his head rolling back and forth.

"We don't need this," Ryan said as quietly as he could.  And then, even quieter:  "I don't need this.  C'mon.  Stop it."

Seth froze in mid-scowl and turned to him.  His face softened as the consequences struck him.  "Oh," he said.  "Oh.  Yeah."

"Oh, yeah, what?" Andy asked, moving in closer.  "You punks chickening out on me?"

Newport guys trying to act tough still made Ryan want to laugh hysterically, but he knew that was the wrong reaction.  Definitely the wrong reaction, if he wanted to get out of here without a fight.

"We're leaving," Ryan said, his voice tight.  "Now."

"But the party-" Seth whined.

"C'mon, Cohen, we'll make our own party," Luke said boldly. 

Ryan shot him an appreciative look as he inched closer to Seth.  He grabbed Seth's elbow out of sight, to make sure that he didn't bolt or do anything else sudden or unexpected.  "Yeah.  Our own party.  C'mon, Andy, you got your money already, what else is there?"

"Don't you try to hustle me again," Andy said, jabbing a hostile finger.

"Don't worry," Ryan hissed.

"Worry?  Oh, he should worry all right," Seth said, and Ryan felt him trying to free himself casually.  Ryan tightened his hold in response.

"We're. Going," Ryan said, and shoved Seth towards the stairs.  Seth stumbled as they started to move.

"We could totally take them-"

"Going," Ryan said firmly, blocking the stairway so that Seth couldn't get past him again.

Frustrated, Seth turned and stormed up the stairs, shoving his way past Nordland and Saunders.  Ryan stomped up behind him, and heard Luke clomping at his heels.

"What was that?" Ryan demanded as they cleared the stairwell.  "Seth, c'mon!  You know I can't-"  He lowered his voice, glancing around.  "Can't get in any fights," he added quietly, out of hearing range of everyone else.

"Yeah.  Okay.  I know that, but they don't.  You don't think we scared 'em?  Just a little?"

Ryan bit his lip as he glanced down.  "You're scarin' me, man."  He shook his head.

"Sorry?" Seth said weakly.

"Yeah, you better be."

"You're totally a pussy, Chino," Luke said, shaking his head as he caught up to them.

"Yeah," Ryan said grimly.  "Yeah.  That's it.  Pussy Atwood.  There's a new one.  Just what I need."  He rolled his head back, staring at the ceiling of Chip's hallway.

"Trust me," Luke said grimly.  "It could be worse."

"Oh yeah," Seth chimed in, his voice eager. 

"And I mean, it's not like we had much face to lose at this point, right?" Luke asked, offering up half of a grin.

Ryan had to grin back.  "You got a point."

Seth turned to Luke.  "Gee.  Wow.  Welcome to the geek side, Luke.  Have a pleasant ride."  His face quickly fell.  "Um.  That wasn't meant to be a gay slur, you know, or..."

"It's fine," Luke said, cutting him off with a hand.

"Yup.  Bigger they are, harder they fall," Seth murmured.  "Oh.  Crap.  Sorry.  That wasn't innuendo, either."  Ryan had to swallow a snort yet again.  Seth was clearly enjoying this more than he was letting on.  Which, to be fair, was maybe a little justified.

"So.  Luke," Ryan said, eager to get the subject off of Seth's subtle needling, "Ever thought about joining Lit Mag?  Cause I was thinkin' about it.  Now that we're all outcasts, you know."

"Speak for yourself, Chino, I'm still a team captain."

"Yeah, and I'm not so sure I'm up for another season of this," Ryan said.  He was a little surprised at himself.  He wasn't usually that candid with anyone but Seth, and only Seth.  It was the beer, definitely.

"Don't worry about it," Seth said, rubbing his hands.  "Cause, you know, we got what we need right here, and that is a party, and that party is now moving to the Ryan Atwood Poolhouse of Love.  C'mon, follow me."

Ryan had never been so glad to breathe fresh air in his life as he stumbled across Chip's lawn with Seth on one side, Luke on the other.

"I think I parked – somewhere over here," Luke said, glancing around.  "There – no, that's Carpenter's car..."

"Okay, you know what?" Ryan cut in.  "If you don't know where you parked?  Maybe you shouldn't be driving."

"Whaddareya talking about?" Luke protested, stumbling a step.

"Luke," Ryan sighed.

"What?"

"My house is walking distance to here," Seth said.  "Call your folks or whatever."  He winced immediately, glancing at Ryan to see if he'd caught the gaffe.  But all Ryan did was shake his head.  Luke really wasn't paying that much attention.

Luke shrugged.  "I've stayed out all night before."  He jogged a couple of steps to catch up, having fallen behind again.  "Mom knew I was goin' to a party."

"We can set him up on the futon in the poolhouse," Seth suggested.

Ryan winced tightly.  "Great," he said.  "Or the guest room again."

"In the Big House?  Are you kidding?  If Mom and Dad knew he stayed over cause he was drunk?  They're already fussy enough about letting us lead semi-normal lives."

"Your parents are totally strict, man," Luke said.

"You don't know the half of it," Seth grumbled.

"They're not that bad, you know," Ryan countered.  "You can reason with them.  They'd rather have us take him home than send him out drunk, right?"

"I can drive," Luke argued again.

"Give it up, Tarzan," Seth said.  He jogged ahead another step and Ryan stuck to his side, not even missing a beat as they left Luke behind yet again.

No question.  He'd take Seth over Trey any day.  He knew that, really.  To think anything different was just ridiculous.