Suddenly, Summer's mind clicked again.

"None of your business, Cohen." With that, she haughtily walks past Seth, leaving him bewildered and curious. He skates up the driveway and walks around to the poolhouse. Without knocking, he opens the door, and sees Ryan lying on the floor.

"Hey, Ryan, buddy, we have these things called chairs now," said Seth, as he plops himself on Ryan's bed.

Ryan rolls his eyes at Seth, and gracefully scrambles to his feet. "What's up with you?" asks Seth.

Silence.

"Okay. Let's try this again. Did you know Summer was just here?"

Damn. Ryan gives Seth a blank look, which Seth interprets as confusion and shock.

"Yeah, dude. I don't know what's up with her. Maybe she has finally succumbed to my irresistible charms."

Ryan rolls his eyes again. "Yeah. That's it," he says dryly.

"So, do you want to go sailing? Or to the boardwalk? Or, hey, even to my room. Doesn't the poolhouse feel stuffy?"

Ryan looks at Seth. "Yeah. Right."

"Dude, work with me here! Okay. You can't stay here forever brooding over Marissa. You're young. You have the rest of your life to brood. But now? Now is the time to be happy-go-lucky and enjoy your days."

"Right."

"Fine. You have to come out tonight anyway. My mom's throwing a party for some random charity. You have to make an appearance."

"Right. And then I can run into Marissa. And share awkward dialogue." Ryan rolls his eyes.

"Dude. Look, after we make an appearance, we can have, like, a boys' night out or something. We can even invite Luke. We can buy beers, go to the pier, get wasted…but not too wasted. Friends don't let friends drive drunk."

"Yeah. Whatever."

"That's the spirit! So, I'm going to pick out my outfit. Summer is probably going to be at my mom's thing."

Ryan shakes his head as Seth jauntily walks out of the poolhouse. What am I going to do? I have to tell Seth, I know, but it would crush him. I'm supposed to be his best friend. "Bros before hos", he mutters wryly.

At the party

"Dude! There's Summer!" Seth exclaims when he sees Summer near the entrance of his front door. Marissa is with her, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. When she spots Ryan, he looks away guiltily. He can't help noticing how hot Summer looks, and how uncomfortable and depressed Marissa seems to be. Ryan feels Seth fidgeting excitedly next to him, and when Ryan glances over, he notes how much he looks like a desperately overeager puppy.

"Why don't you just go over there and talk to her?" Ryan finally asks.

"You should follow your own advice," Seth replies. But he finally makes his way towards the girls, with Ryan reluctantly trailing behind.

"So, Summer. Nice night, huh?"

"It's supposed to rain, Cohen," Summer says snidely.

"I like rain. Rain is awesome. It's sweet. It rocks," Seth babbles.

"So, where's Anna?" Summer asks.

As Seth tells Summer an unnecessarily long explanation, Ryan finally initiates a conversation with Marissa.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey," she replies.

"So…wanna go to the poolhouse?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure."

They make their way to the poolhouse. When they're inside, they both sit on Ryan's bed. Could the awkwardness be any more tangible? Ryan contemplates this for a second. Obviously not. He can feel Marissa's eyes boring the side of his face. One of us has to say something.

"So…" Ryan begins.

"So." Marissa answers.

"Um, how's school?" Wow. Lame.

"Fine." Marissa was obviously expecting a more personal question than that.

"Marissa," Ryan says softly, "I'm still not over the whole Oliver thing. We can't be together right now."

"But, Ryan," Marissa says, voice cracking. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Really, I swear."

"I know," Ryan replies gently. "I think it will be good for us, you know? Our relationship has been kind of intense."

"Yeah," Marissa sadly answers. She then stands and makes her way back to the main house. Ryan lies back on his bed and stares at the ceiling. I wish Summer was here.

"Summer, listen to me," Seth pleads.

"Cohen!" Summer snaps. "You can't keep expecting me to forgive you every time you hurt me. You just can't."

"But, Summer. I just want us to be friends!"

"Friends don't screw other friends over, ass." She leaves Seth to search for Marissa so they can ditch. She finds her by the staircase.

"Coop, let's roll."

"Okay," Marissa says sullenly.

"Guys suck," Summer surmises as they approach Summer's car. Except for Ryan.

"Definitely," Marissa replies, still brooding over Ryan.