Chapter 7: Could this be it?
Disclaimer: It might come as a shock…but I don't own the O.C.
A/N: No, this is not the end of Ryan/Marissa…not that they ever were. And the butt-kicking action? Next chapter, I promise. I know, I promised last chapter too…but this one just got too long, and I didn't want to skip around too much. So the next chapter should be up in a few hours. I've got everything written, I just need to type it up. Wow! So many reviews! Thank you guys so much, you make writing worth it!
Sis2ACesarSalad- thanks!! Glad you like it, and that it's in your favorite stories list. You made my day. Don't worry about Ryan, the whole thing is going to work out…eventually. Hey, nothing's ever as simple as it seems on the O.C.!
Lora- No offense taken. Thanks so much! I guess you cant judge a book by its cover. Yeah, I'm trying to put a lot of S/S moments in, because they are so cute and easy to write. The Summer/Ryan thing is not going to be an issue…it was just a way of Sum telling Marissa that the secret was safe with her.
Benzbabidoll- how's this for a fast update?! (not really…I was planning to post this two days ago but my computer got a virus..so, yeah. I'll try to post another chapter today to make up for it)
Natalie- I'm so happy you like it!
Theresa- thanks!!! That's an idea…I'll think about it. I've already got most of this story written/outlined. But I will take that into consideration, because I was kind of stuck on that one point of getting Ryan and Marissa together.
Ben lover—nah…not yet, anyway. They're going to get together soon…but not immediately. Expect more stolen kisses and whatnot.
Ryansosexy—aw thanks!! No, Grace isn't going to die (sorry) but she'll be out of Ryan's life in no time!
"Marissa," Ryan started, putting his hand over her slender one.
"You don't have to say anything," Marissa silenced him. She squeezed his hand.
Ryan parked and turned off the engine. He hopped out of the car, and before Marissa could even unbuckle, he'd opened the door for her. She smiled, realizing that he wanted to prove he could be a gentleman, just like Rocky.
"Two Balboa bars," Ryan told the woman at the ice cream stand, handing her a five.
"What about Grace, Rocky, Summer, and Seth?" Marissa asked, taking the ice cream bars from the woman's hand.
"We'll get theirs after we're done," Ryan told her, getting his change and taking his treat from Marissa.
They walked down the sand covered wood stairs to the beach. In a moment of bravado, Marissa took Ryan's hand, then thought better of it and stuck her hand in his back pocket. Ryan did the same.
"This is really good!" Marissa said, taking a bite out of her ice cream.
"Mmhmm…" Ryan responded, stealing a chunk of Marissa's Balboa Bar.
"Hey!" she shoved him playfully. She leaned over to grab a piece of Ryan's ice cream, but he was too quick. Marissa bit the empty air and stumbled, falling on her butt into the sand. "Help me up."
As Ryan bent down to give her a hand, she yanked him over her feet, and he tripped as well. Soon two Balboa Bars lay covered in sand, forgotten by their owners.
"Get off of me!" Marissa shrieked, laughing as Ryan pinned her down. Ryan obliged, and rolled next to her. They laughed, realizing that their legs were still entwined with each others'. However, neither made an attempt to untangle them.
"Marissa…" Ryan began. Marissa positioned herself on top of him, laying her head on his chest. She could hear its heartbeat, and, unless she was going crazy, it was beating rapidly. Was he nervous about something? Of course he was. He was at the beach, in plain view, with a girl on top of him. That's no problem, right? Only the girl wasn't his girlfriend and the beach was a popular night hangout for the town's teens.
Marissa tried not to blink as a pair of strikingly blue eyes focused on her. "Yeah?" She whispered, inching her head up so that their noses were touching. She could feel his unsteady breathing on her pale face.
"I wish we could stay like this forever," Ryan told her. "But we can't. This is hard…believe me, I want you. How can I do that to Grace, though?"
It's easy, Marissa wanted to say. If you want me, you'll find a way to get rid of her. But apparently you don't want me that badly. Instead, "I understand. It's not fair to Grace. I should go…" Slowly, she untangled her legs from his, and stood up. It was just languid enough to make Ryan practically salivate with lust.
"We came in one car," Ryan pointed out, not trying to sound too mean. He could tell she was upset, but did she not realize how hard it was for him? Marissa could have any guy she wanted…and a few had already expressed their interest. Ryan, he was taken and couldn't break away. He just couldn't. It was Grace, after all. There was a somewhat comforting appeal to her; they'd been dating since fifth grade.
"I'll go wait in it, then," Marissa crossed her arms and stalked off. Ryan sighed, walking back to the ice cream stand. Quickly, he paid for the bars and went to the car, thanking himself for remembering to keep the keys. Marissa seemed like the sort of girl to drive away with your car and your heart. And God knows she'd already done one of those.
Silently, she took the bars from Ryan and held them, keeping quiet for the duration of the ride home. Ryan wanted to say something, anything, to it all better. But he couldn't. What would he say? He wanted Marissa, but if they were going to be, it couldn't be some secret liaison. It would have to be real and right, so the guilty feeling in his chest would dissolve.
They walked into the poolhouse to find Rocky sleeping and Grace attempting to play Mortal Kombat.
"I thought you guys were studying," Ryan said, handing a Balboa Bar to his girlfriend.
"We decided to take a break. Rocky can't handle too much information at once," Grace giggled, cheering as she killed one of the characters on her team. "I'm really getting the hang of this game!"
Marissa rolled her eyes. "Here, I'll take those to Summer and Seth," she said, grabbing two ice creams out of Ryan's hands. "Wake Rocky up so he can have his before it melts, okay?"
She walked past the pool and into the main house, stopping to say hi to Sandy, who was in the kitchen with an apple pie. "I don't think Mrs. Cohen wants you to eat that. She told Seth to 'keep his grimy little hands away'," Marissa told Sandy.
"Marissa," Sandy shook his head, "when will she learn? Leaving a pie—especially one from the bakery—on the counter in the kitchen, is practically a gilded invitation to eat it. By the way, please call her Kirsten."
Marissa smiled. A certain bushy eyebrow-ed man was going to be in trouble later. She'd have to stick around. She walked up the stairs to Seth's room, knocking three times on the door. She'd been forewarned by Ryan to always knock; Seth and Summer seemed to have problems keeping their clothes on when in such close proximity. Go figure.
"Come in," Summer yelled, as Marissa opened the door. Seth was sitting at the computer, Summer on his lap. Apparently he was showing her something on the Internet.
"We brought you guys ice cream," Marissa said, holding out the dripping treats. Seth and Summer eagerly grabbed them, muttering their thanks in-between mouthfuls of the heavenly sensation.
"Thanks, Marissa," Seth grinned, ice cream already on his nose. Summer laughed and wiped it off with her finger, then sucked on her finger.
"I'll be downstairs…" Marissa told them, as they launched into an ice cream fight. She didn't particularly want to stick around for that. Things could get messy…
Walking down the stairs, Marissa heard one loud, strident voice and a low, soothing voice coming from outside. Keeping out of sight, she crept closer to the doors leading to the backyard.
"Ryan, I'm serious," Grace shrilled.
"I can't do that, Gracie, she's my friend," Ryan sighed. Marissa had a feeling they were talking about her.
"I don't want you hanging out with her, Ry. It's obvious she's got a huge crush on you."
Marissa imagined Grace pouting and Ryan running his hands through that soft hair of his.
"Look, Grace, you want me to just stop talking to her? That's really not fair to either of us…" Marissa knew that Grace was getting to Ryan, cracking him underneath. "Fine, you know what? Fine. You tell her that I can't hang out with her anymore, because you're being a jealous, worrisome girlfriend. Then I won't hang out with Marissa, okay?"
The footsteps got louder as Ryan walked inside. Quickly, Marissa ran into the kitchen and flung open the fridge. And not a moment too soon; Ryan walked in and sighed when he saw the classic beauty. Did he mention, the one that stole his heart?
"Hey," Marissa smiled, pretending she hadn't just heard Ryan's girlfriend forbidding him to talk to her. "I was thirsty."
Ryan gulped and allowed himself to nod. "I—uh…this isn't easy for me to say, Marissa. But,"
Marissa cut in at this point. There was no point in hearing him repeat Grace's words, especially after she'd already heard them. "Save it, Ryan. I overheard you and Grace talking. We can't be friends anymore, I know."
Agape, Ryan started angrily, "So you were eavesdropping on me and my girlfriend?"
"No. I was walking back out to the poolhouse, you know, that place you invited me to tonight? And I heard you guys talking. It was kind of hard not to; Grace's got such a high-pitched voice," Marissa snapped. So this was what he did? Instead of focusing on the fact that he couldn't stand up to his girlfriend, Ryan was trying to lay the blame on her? For something totally unrelated to their friendship? That was bullshit.
"Don't talk about my girlfriend like that," Ryan warned. Was he really having this fight with Marissa? It was their first fight. God, now was so not the time for that. "And just so you know, we were never friends. We never could've been just friends."
What the hell did that mean?
"That's it, then," Marissa mumbled, grabbing a Sprite from the fridge and closing it. "See you."
"See you," Ryan spoke softly, but she was already gone. Again.
Ryan shifted his books from one hip to the other. Normally, he'd carry them in his backpack, but the strap had snapped this morning from the heavy load. He spotted Marissa walking along the quad, and hurried to catch up with her.
"Marissa," he called. She turned around, golden-brown hair astray. God, she was beautiful, Ryan thought. "Wait up."
Putting her hand on her hip, Marissa adjusted the Chanel bag on her shoulder. It had been an early birthday gift from Summer's father, who insisted that she accept the overpriced tote.
"Hey," Ryan said, twisting his arm to stop the math textbook from falling. It fell, naturally, and both he and Marissa bent down to pick it up.
"I've got it. Besides, your hands are full," Marissa pointed out. Ryan bent forward to grab his planner, which was open. "I'll get it." Marissa snatched the planner from the grass before Ryan could pick it up. She flipped open to a page as if interested in Ryan's daily schedule. Wait…what was that circled in red pen?
"I…uh," Ryan, not surprisingly, was at a loss for words.
But instead of the Why do you care when my birthday is and why'd you circle it interrogation he expected, "How did you know when my birthday was?"
Ryan grinned sheepishly. "I asked Summer for it…You know, I like to keep track of my friends' birthdays."
Ugh. There was that word. Friends. And Ryan had said it himself. He and Marissa could never just be 'friends'. That much was clear. But did this mean he was ready to drop the girl he'd been dating since…forever? Marissa didn't think so. Besides, as much as she lacked in brains, Grace had in guile and cunning. Marissa knew that Grace wouldn't give Ryan up without a fight. Ryan wasn't even ready to give up Grace. So forget that.
"Oh," Marissa decided not to press further. "Here's your English journal." She handed Ryan the black spiral notebook, trying hard not to look him in the eye. Which was really hard to do, considering his lips were just centimeters away from hers.
"Ryan?" Grace squealed, interrupting what could've been. Marissa sighed and stood up, straightening her jean skirt. It wasn't meant to be, she reasoned. Otherwise, Grace would be out of the way and interruptions wouldn't be so commonplace.
"Hey, Grace," Ryan hoped his face lit up when he saw her, because he and Marissa weren't…they couldn't… "I dropped my books, and Marissa was nice enough to help me pick them up."
"I try," Marissa shrugged. "So, Grace, we're on for this weekend?"
"Totally. I can't believe you've never been to Fashion Island. And we so have to go to L.A. You're going to love Fred Segal," Grace gushed.
"Wait…you two have plans?" Ryan asked, putting two and two together.
"Um, yeah," Grace said. "We're, like, friends now. It was all a big misunderstanding, really. I thought Marissa liked you so I didn't like her. But turns out, she's been really into Rocky the whole time. Go figure!"
Ryan studied Marissa's face. The girl was shrewd; he'd give her props for that. But to make friends with Grace? How were they ever supposed to have a chance now? Ryan shook his head, causing both girls to stare at him strangely. Why was he thinking that? Marissa seemed to be okay with their relationship, why shouldn't he be happy? No more confusing thoughts over Marissa, Ryan told himself, knowing full well that this would be impossible.
"Oh, and Ryan? We're having a party for Marissa's birthday at Summer's house on Saturday night," Grace added. "I've got to run…tutoring session with Mrs. McGraw," she made a face.
After Grace walked off, Ryan turned indignantly to Marissa. "You weren't going to invite me to your birthday party."
"Yes, I was," Marissa lied. "Okay, so I wasn't. I figured it wasn't my place to ask. After all, Grace is your girlfriend and therefore your date."
"Whatever. I've got to get to class. You coming?" Ryan asked. Marissa sighed, threw her hands up in the air, and followed Ryan to the building.
"Here, let me carry that," she insisted, grabbing Ryan's math textbook before he could complain.
"You really weren't going to invite me," Ryan repeated, receiving a playful slap on the arm from Marissa. "I'll take that as a no."
A/N: So, like I said, this was longer than I intended, so the interesting bits are going to be in the next chapter. And expect more Rocky, Summer, and Seth as well. Review!