Disclaimer- I don't own the O.C.

A/N- Hey everyone! Thank you a tremendous amount of times for the reviews, they are really inspiring, and please keep writing them! This chapter was originally part of a longer one, but I decided to split it into two parts, because I found it to be more effective that way. The next chapter, which was originally part of this one, will be coming later today if you guys enjoy this. Also, there is a lot of Seth/Summer in this, but tons of R/M will be coming soon, so don't worry.

Summer poured the last drop of Pepsi into her ice filled plastic cup, and put away her Teen Vogue. She had flipped through every page, trying to cure her boredom and distract herself from Seth, who seemed to be dozing off contently listening to music. Unfortunately, pretty photos and melting ice couldn't take her mind off of him.

On the other side of the aisle, Seth pretended to be in a deep sleep, with his eyes closed and a thin blue blanket pulled up to his neck. However, he was still thinking of Summer, how close she was to him, and how distant their relationship had become. For a while, he had tried pursuing her with the notion that he actually had a chance. But overtime it started to become overdone- the trips to her bedroom, the incessant overanalyzing…it just became too much, even for Seth Cohen.

Next to Summer, Ryan and Marissa were truly asleep. Her head rested on his shoulder, and her body was curled towards his. She held his arm in hers, and his hand rested on her thigh. In his sleep, Ryan started to nuzzle his head on top of Marissa's, waking her up. She laughed and whispered over him to Summer.

"Hey."

"You're finally up! This has been such a boring ride Coop."

"Well what about Seth?"

"Cohen?" Summer nodded her head towards the other row, showing Seth, who still appeared to be sleeping.

Marissa looked at him suspiciously. She thought it was almost impossible for Seth to be in such close quarters with Summer and not be thinking about her.

"I think he's faking," she said.

Seth let out a loud, believable snore in protest to the accusation.

"Or not…"

Sighing, Summer leaned back in her chair and then drew her head forwards again, resting her arm on the tray table.

"I don't know Coop. I have a feeling this trip is gonna be so awkward…between me and him…"

Seth began listening intently, hoping that Summer wouldn't say anything he would regret hearing.

"Well, does he know about Zach and you?"

"No. Not unless Zach told him something. Which I doubt, because he'd never want to make himself look like the bad guy."

"So I mean, now that Zach's gone…would you…ever consider getting back together with him?"

Seth's head jolted sideways, but it went unnoticed by the girls. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He had dreamed of hearing Summer say it for months; that she still loved him, even when she was with Zach, she knew that he was the only one for her.

Pausing, Summer drew in a breath and laughed faintly, which alarmed Seth. What was she laughing about? This was not how it was supposed to go…never in a million years did he think she would actually laugh about the idea of them getting back together. He tried to calm himself down as Summer continued.

"You know, last year, when Anna and Seth had broken up…he came over to my house."

Marissa already knew this story, but let her friend retell it. She knew very well that Summer wasn't over Seth, and everything had been bottling up inside of her for quite a while.

"And, he told me the reason he broke up with Anna was because, it had always been me."

Great, she thinks I am a pathetic loser. That's just…wonderful. Seth cringed inside. Why am I subjecting myself to this torture? I should just turn up Boyz 2 Men really, really loud right now and cry myself to sleep.

Instead, he instinctively continued to listen to Summer.

"I know this is going to sound horrible, but sometimes…when I was with Zach…"

Here it comes...sometimes when she was with Zach she wondered why she dated a lowlife like me in the first place?

"Sometimes, I would fantasize about running back to Cohen. Telling him what he told me that day…I've tried to fight it, I've tried to deny it, but it's always been him. Always."

Seth's head jerked forwards. Everything else around him went away. This moment was perhaps the happiest he had been in months. The tension released from his body, and he smiled to himself as How Good It Can Be, by The 88, came rushing through his headphones. For the first time since the plane took off, he was able to fall into a deep, content sleep.

"Ryan. Hey. Ryan. Wake up. We're almost there."

Marissa was gently prodding Ryan's shoulder. He had been asleep the entire ride, and the plane would be landing in less than twenty minutes. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Hmmmmm…what time is it?"

"Time for you to wake up. We're landing soon."

"I slept through that entire ride?"

Marissa smiled at him, and took his hand.

"Hey, look out the window."

"What? Marissa…that's not funny."

"No really, look. It's okay."

Reluctantly, Ryan shifted his glance towards the window. Outside, green masses of land faded into the ocean, framed by a bright yellow lining. Pools of turquoise water lay still below them. The scenery put the world in an entirely different perspective, and was one of the most magnificent things Ryan had ever seen.

"It's amazing."

"It is," Marissa whispered in agreement.

He looked at her with soft eyes, taking in her appreciation for the view. Sometimes, he felt like she knew something that no one else did, like a secret she shared only with him. Looking out the window, he could feel her thoughts, and they connected.

Lifting his hand, he stroked her cheek, and she turned to face him. Ryan thought of something to say, but at moments like these, words were trivial. Instead he leaned in and kissed her gently, letting his hand travel through her hair.

"This trip is going to be amazing," he whispered

"I know. And, thank you."

Ryan looked at Marissa with puzzled eyes.

"For what?"

"For coming with me."

"Marissa, you don't need to thank me for that-"

"I know."

She looked down and stroked both of his hands with hers. Their foreheads bumped gently, and they paused for a moment before she continued. Lifting her eyes to his again, Marissa finished her thought.

"But you didn't have to."

Ryan looked at her with sincere eyes.

"I wanted to. I want to be part of your life, Marissa."

She laughed.

"If you're in it, then I want to be part of it too."