"What the heck is that racket?" Teresa's mother called through the door.

"Oops," Summer told Teresa, turning down the stereo.

"Sorry, Ma!" Teresa yelled back. She returned her attention to Summer. "Are you sure Ryan likes this stuff?"

"Rage Against the Machine? Yeah, of course he does. Why, you don't like it?"

Teresa wrinkled her forehead. "I don't know. I can't really understand the words…"

"Listen," Summer turned up the stereo again. "He says, 'rally around the family with a pocket full of shells'…"

"Are you sure Ryan listens to this? He isn't really a big fan of guns."

Summer hesitated, her upbeat smile faltering for the first time since she'd shown up on the front porch a few hours ago. "Honestly? I don't think Chino listens to music."

Teresa laughed. "That's right. That's the Ryan I know."

"I was just in the record store and I saw this. I remember…Seth made us listen to the whole album, he was trying to headbang with that curly afro of his…and Chino just kept making fun of him…"

"Summer, he's going to be happy to see you."

"Chino…we weren't close. But now that Cohen's gone, I'm trying to move on with my life. I gave up a lot of my friends for Cohen and now…I'm sort of alone. But Chino was always alone, he has his head on straight and all…I just wanted to see him. To see how well…he's moving on."

Teresa nodded. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

Summer's smile was completely gone now.

"But Ryan's not really moving forward, he's sort of moving backwards," Teresa said quietly. "I know it was asking a lot of him to come back here…everyone in Newport probably hates me…"

"No, Teresa…"

"But I think we have a lot in common. See, Ryan and I…we used to be like you and Seth. I was always crushing on him, basically obsessed with him. He'd come over with his brother and hang out with my brother. He was always so cool, so collected. So gorgeous, even when he was younger," Teresa explained. "But he never gave me the time of day. And it hurt. A lot. Then I saw that he wouldn't really give anyone the time of day. His life…his life sucked, Summer, but he never let anyone see it."

"So…you were Seth and I'm Chino?" Summer smiled. Tears were streaming down her face now that she'd dropped the upbeat façade.

"Sort of. But then we hooked up. We started out, just…friends with benefits. He was sleeping around, I was sleeping around, but we always seemed to come back to each other. Then one day, we had this huge fight. I told him to get out, that I never wanted to see him again. And he left. He really left."

"That's when he came to Newport?"

"Yeah. I lost him, Summer. I thought I'd never see him again…but he turned up on my doorstep for Thanksgiving…and it was like nothing had changed. Sure, he was with Marissa, but I could see in his eyes that he still loved me."

"You love him?"

"Yeah. I do."

"I love Seth…"

"He'll come back to you, Summer."

"I can't wait for him…it's been months and nothing…" Summer sniffled.

"Summer. If he loves you, he'll come back. Sometimes…sometimes they just need a little time to figure out what they really want," Teresa said.

"So…Ryan wants you?" Summer asked, wiping her eyes.

Teresa blushed. "I…I hope so. I didn't give him much choice…I just hope I can make him as happy as the Cohens made him…"

"So, you don't feel guilty about making him come back here?"

Teresa didn't meet her gaze.

"Sorry."

"I can't do this by myself. Have a kid. With Ryan…I know I can do anything. I needed him…"

"We need him, too," Summer said quietly.

The music intensified again. Summer began nodding her head violently and Teresa joined her. When the door swung open, Ryan was staring at them with a totally confused expression on his face.

"Hey, Ryan," Summer laughed, seeing his expression.

"Hey. Is Seth…"

"No. Just me," Summer replied. He walked over and embraced her gently.

"It's good to see you, Summer."