As Ryan and Seth head home the song "Hey Mickey" comes on the radio, and they both wonder why a station that plays cheer music would even be on in Ryan's car.

The roads are pretty vacant and nothing interesting ever comes in sight.

Ryan notices Seth shivering so when they stop for a long slowing train to pass, he reaches into the back seat and drops his leather jacket / hooded sweater combo into Seth's lap but sees that he doesn't put it on.

He wasn't cold nor scared, not really anyway. At first he shook for affect but now he really couldn't stop.

Ryan was about to ask Seth how his night went but didn't because of how idiotic that would sound. He was racking his brain for something to say, anything to say and before he realized it he blurted out,

"So, how are things with Summer?"

Smooth, Atwood.

Ryan thinks with a suppressed laugh.

"We broke up" Seth reveals calmly as if it were nothing at all.

"What?" Ryan was definitely caught off-guard on that one and it showed in his voice, "When did that happen?"

Why hadn't Marissa told him?

"A week ago" He answers emotionless; his head never lifting from the window it was resting up against.

Though Seth had been sleepy earlier, he was wide-awake now.

"Oh" Was all Ryan could muster.

Seth nods his head because it's all he can muster.

"Hey Mickey" is still playing and both boys think it's been on for an awful long time now.

"This song is long," Seth declares just before Ryan was about to.

"Yeah, I know." He agrees with a smile.

He reaches over to change the station but Seth stops him by saying gruffly,

"No, leave it. It grew on me,"

Ryan notices how hoarse sounding Seth's voice is.

Was he getting sick?

"Are you feeling okay?" He asks with concern evident in his tone and eyes.

Seth has zoned out. He's staring out the window again so Ryan taps his shoulder. Seth's head whips around to look at Ryan with surprise almost fear in his eyes.

"What?" He enquires offensively.

"I-I was just asking if you were feeling okay..."

"Oh..." He nods with guilt, "I'm fine"

As he's peering into Ryan's sad blue eyes, he doesn't understand what's wrong with himself.

He wants Ryan's attention yet he doesn't because he knows it's hurting him. He hates Marissa yet she hasn't really done anything to him but be his friend. He loves Summer but at the same time he wants her to suffer, like he was.

While these thoughts keep racing through his head, he feels the corners of his eyes sting and his bottom lip quivers involuntarily.

"Seth..." Ryan starts but really he has nothing else to say but his name.

Seth tries to stop himself from breaking down. His throat aches from the lump that formed there.

This wasn't the plan.

He needed to get a hold of himself before Ryan could catch on and try to stop him.

Stick with the plan and pull yourself together now!

With the car still parked in front of the lengthy train, Seth opens the passenger side door and stumbles out into the empty road where he doubles over and vomits.

Ryan is instantly at his side, patting his back and grimacing at the sound.

But Seth isn't throwing up solids or liquids anymore. He's dry-heaving and his face is red from straining.

Ryan doesn't know what to do. He keeps whacking Seth's back, harder with each strike.

"That's...not...helping..." Seth manages to inform Ryan between heaves.

Ryan immediately stops and soon after, the vomiting subsides. Seth rinses his mouth out with hot murky water that Ryan had offered him.

"How long has this water been in your car?" He questions.

"A couple days..." Ryan replies with a slightly cringed expression.

"Oh, that's wonderful." Seth scornfully utters.

Seth, who is now standing upright, gargles more of the water in his mouth, and then spits it out. He looks over to Ryan for a moment then lets his head drop down and makes his way back to the car with his hand across his lower abdomen.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asks to Seth's back.

He sees Seth's mop of curly black hair bob and then he plops himself back into the passenger seat. Ryan walks over and shuts Seth's door and then circles to the drivers' seat where he slides in and drives off just as the train finally disappears.

As they head back out onto the dark road, the radio is now off and the car is painfully silent. Seth feels sick and mad and tired and conflicted. A couple hours ago he didn't value anyone's feelings besides his own but now in this car he can imagine Ryan's aggrieved and guilty face. Seth's decision had nothing to do with Ryan. If anything, Ryan was holding him back and he hated that.

Home was nearing fast and the day was ending just as quick. Seth hadn't planned on writing some cliché suicide note but now it seemed like the thing to do. Seth never wanted the words, "I should have known. I could have stopped him." To ever escape Ryan's mouth.

The car stopped and Ryan had cleared his throat two times now, the third louder then the second. Yet Seth didn't figure out that he was only doing it to get his attention until the fourth one came along.

Once Seth's eyes finally connect with Ryan's, he says, "We're home" and takes the key out of the ignition.

When Seth opens his door, it nearly hits a small white vehicle in their driveway which he later identifies as Marissa Cooper's car.

He slips out of the vehicle so not to hit her car even though he secretly wished he had "accidentally" given her perfect car a nice big indentation.

It annoyed him beyond anyone's comprehension that she was there. He hears Ryan curse himself about something and then he sees him jog up to the house, leaving him behind in the driveway.

Before he even makes it to the door, Marissa has already emerged from the house with open arms. They hug and Ryan immediately tells her he loves her for not saying it before. He tells her he's sorry for not calling like he said he would.

Seth's teeth clutch as they do this.

Marissa's attention turns to Seth, and she asks with genuine worry, "You alright, Seth?"

But to Seth this question from her seems phony.

He holds back a sneering laugh and walks right past the both of them and into the house where hechildishly slams the front door.

Ryan and Marissa watch him do this and then they exchange looks. She squeezes his hand and gives him a weak smile.

"I should go" She tells him quietly, squeezes his hand again and plants a kiss just above the hidden dimple on his left cheek.

She moves around and makes her way to the driveway, shooting him a sideways glance just before she gets into her car and drives off.

Ryan is fuming. He understands that Seth had a rough night but he didn't have to act like an asshole to Marissa for no reason at all.

When her car is out of his view, he trots up to the house, practically storming into the foyer, closes the door and enters the living room where he finds Seth lying on the sofa, turned on his side so his face is toward the back cushion.

As Seth curls into the fettle position, he feels Ryan's presence hovering behind him.

"Hey" Ryan furiously calls out and when Seth completely disregards him. He grabs his side and rolls his body so he's lying on his back.

"Where do you get off treating Marissa like that?" Ryan orders.

Seth is staring off at the blank television screen.

"I'm talking to you!" Ryan shouts at his unresponsive adopted brother.

Seth lifts himself up and off the couch and as he's standing at his full height, he shoves Ryan back,

"Where do you get off telling me how to conduct myself?!"

"Oh, I don't know- maybe because I just dropped everything I was doing so I can go an hour out of my way to pick you up!"

"Now when you say you dropped everything you were doing..." He trails off, quirking his brow tauntingly.

Ryan's head snaps at that remark and it was his turn to shove but much fiercer then Seth's lovetap. In fact, Seth was on his ass.

Both were silent but you should cut the tension with a gust of wind.

Seth picks up his battered body, looks straight into Ryan's burning blue eyes and says,

"I hope you're happy..."

And with that said, he turns on his heels and leaves the house with a skateboard under his arm.

I'm ready now.