Seth drove the five minute ride to school, with Ryan fiddling with the radio. There was never any good music on in the morning, only those stupid talk shows. Seth finally broke the silence like usual,

"So bro, were seniors? How cool is that? We now rule this school." Seth asked rambling on about how cool it is that they are now seniors.

"Yea, Seth, it's awesome." Ryan said shaking his head, who cares if we are seniors? He asked himself. It is not going to be any different.

Seth and Ryan got to school and got to park in the senior parking lot.

"C'mon Ryan, park this close to school, before we had to park a mile away, isn't this the best?" Seth questioned rambling on again.

Ryan just rolled his eyes and kept walking towards the school building. Luke spotted him and called him over.

"Dude, how's it going?" Luke asked giving Ryan a handshake and a pat on the back.

"I'm living." Ryan said in a monotone.

"I take it you're grounded from last weekend? I haven't talked to you since." Luke questioned.

"Yea, not to bad, a week." Ryan replied "I got away with the drinking, they didn't even know, it was just because I was so late."

"That rocks, we are having another bonfire this weekend, you know it wouldn't be the same without ya." Luke chuckled.

"Yea, I will see if it goes down with my parents." Ryan said before Seth approached the group of guys hanging around Luke and Ryan.

"Yo, I was looking all over for ya." Seth said to Ryan as he came up to the group of boys.

"Oh, what's up Cohen, broke up with Summer I see, come out of the closet finally? Good cover up though man, I would bang Summer even if I was a queer too." Andrew joked while the other boys started in a fit of laughter.

"Why do you hang out with this fag Ryan?" Brandon asked after he got his laughter under control.

"Guys, chill, Seth I'll catch up with you later." Ryan said, not knowing what to say, he really liked hanging out with these guys, they were his type but Seth was his brother. He didn't know who to defend?

School went quite normal for the first day. Ryan didn't have any classes with Seth which wasn't surprising since Seth was in all A.P courses while, Ryan was only in two. They didn't even have lunch together this year. Seth was extremely disappointed, while Ryan was actually relieved. Seth was a great friend, but he was more of a brother now, then a best friend. They were arguing more and more with each day that passed. Ryan needed to expand out and that was what he had been trying to do over the summer. He became pretty close with Luke and the rest of the jocks from the soccer team. While Seth got a job at this new music club called that Bait Shop down at the pier. Summer and he did break up after that lunch with Summer's father. He was devastated at first but soon got over it and was getting pretty friendly with his co-worker Alex. Ryan was still with Marissa but often thought about breaking up with her but didn't want to, because he knew what it would do to her. He just wanted to hang out with his guys friends, it felt like old times when he hung out with Luke and the other guys, he felt like his was hanging with his buddies back in Chino. They were like him, they shared the same interests as he did, sports, sex and partying.

As Ryan was heading to the locker rooms to get changed for soccer tryouts, Lorraine stopped him.

"Hey, Ryan" Lorraine called running up to her older brother "Will you please do me a big favor?"

"It depends what it is?" Ryan said curiously.

"Will you tell mom and dad that I am going over to Erin's after school, and I will be home later?" Lorraine asked.

"Sure, why where are you really going?" Ryan asked not liking the sound of this.

"To John's." Lorraine replied.

"I am not lying to your parents for you." Ryan said and started to turn around.

"C'mon please." Lorraine pleaded.

"I am already in trouble, if they know I knew about this, they would kill me." Ryan said not bugging.

"Ryan, c'mon how many times have you broke the rules?" Lorraine said chuckling. "How many times did you come home drunk this past summer and I knew about it, but I never said anything." Lorraine said realistically.

"Fine, but I knew nothing about this." Ryan started "You told me you were going to Erin's, that's all I know." Ryan said again starting to walk away.

"Thanks, I love you so much. Where were you like the past 14 years of my life, you are so much cooler than Seth." Lorraine said as she pulled Ryan into a quick hug and ran off down the hall.

Ryan just shook his head as he walked into the boy's locker room.

Sandy kept his word and was waiting outside of school at promptly 5:00. Sandy would never admit it, but he kind of liked the fact that Ryan was rebelling a little and talking back to him and Kirstin. It showed that he finally felt at home. He was making some of his own friends, even if it was Luke, who Sandy wasn't particularly fond of.

Ryan entered the car and Sandy asked the usual after school questions. How was school? Do you like your classes? Do you have any homework? How were soccer tryouts? The same questions were asked daily and the same two syllable answers were giving, okay, okay, good, not much more than that. Ryan still wasn't into the talking thing, well at least not when it came to expressing his feelings.

When he got home, he went to the family room and practiced mastering his playstation skills. Seth was at work and Lorraine was where ever with John and since Ryan was forced to be at home, he had to entertain himself somehow. He was glad Sandy didn't tell him that while he was grounded he couldn't play playstation or watch t.v. He did that to Seth one time and Seth was going insane, he was unbearably annoying the whole time, Sandy took back those restrictions for the sake of keeping his family's sanity in tact.

Seth came home an hour later and totally ignored Ryan's greeting of "Hey man," and ran upstairs and retreated to his room. Ryan just rolled his eyes, he knew what this was about and he figured Seth would be over it by now.

Not long after, Sandy announced that dinner was ready and for the first time noticed that Lorraine was not home. He hated having a big house sometimes.

"Where is Lorraine?" Sandy asked to no one in particular.

"Oh, I forgot to tell her, she told me to tell you she went to Erin's, she will be home later." Ryan replied looking down at his food, he was never a very good liar.

"At least she could have had the courtesy to call and tell us she would not be joining us for dinner." Kirstin said irritably.

"So how was your day boy's?" Kirsten asked Seth and Ryan.

"Okay" Ryan replied while picking up a spoonful of Thai noodles.

"Oh, my day was pretty good until I got to school, where I was made fun by my best friend's new friends and my best friend stood there and didn't do a thing about." Seth started "Way to have a friend's back right?" Seth said showing how mad he was at Ryan.

"Seth, get over it." Ryan said picking up another spoonful.

"Dude, you stood there." Seth said furiously.

"What the hell did you want me to do?" Ryan said throwing down his fork. "Punch him? Ah, no Seth, not gonna happen. What did you do for the 15 years I wasn't here and they did the same thing to you." Ryan shouted. "Start to stick up for your self."

"You didn't have to like just blow me off though." Seth said obviously still upset.

"I was talking to my friends, I am sorry you don't get along but they are still my friends." Ryan stated much more calmly.

"And what am I, just your best friend and your brother right man?" Seth exclaimed.

"Okay, enough, what is going on here?" Sandy finally broke in completely clueless.

"Nothing, I am finished can I be excused?" Ryan asked Sandy becoming extremely angry.

"No, not until someone tells me, what is wrong?" Sandy said becoming angry himself.

"Ryan's friends were mocking me today and he stood their laughing at me." Seth said in a very hurt full voice.

"I did not laugh Seth, and I am the ones who stopped them. You are just mad because I am friends with them." Ryan exasperated.

"I am not, I have my own friends too." Seth yelled "I am mad because you didn't stand up for me."

"You are 17 years old, stand up for your self." Ryan shouted before getting up and throwing his plate in the sink and ignoring Sandy's requests to sit his ass back down as he retreated to the pool house.

Sandy immediately got up to follow him out there but Kirsten suggested he wait till Ryan cooled down. Seth had enough too and followed Ryan out of the kitchen and to his room.

Sandy and Kirsten decided to pop in a movie while they patiently waited for Lorraine to come home.

"And where the hell have you been? It is 9:00, you don't even call." Sandy started as he jumped off the couch at the sound of the front door opening.

"Dad, calm down, I was at Erin's, didn't Ryan tell you? We were doing a project, we were busy sorry I didn't call." Lorraine said taken back by her father's reaction.

"I called Mrs. Higgins, Lorraine, so tell us where you really were." Kirsten said in a much calmer voice than her husbands.

Lorraine looked at the ground, shit she thought, she didn't know if she should tell them the truth or come up with some believable lie.

"You were with that guy weren't you?" Sandy said finally putting it all together.

"God damn it, I told you Kirsten, I told you letting her hang out with that kid was a bad idea." Sandy continued after seeing her reaction to his hypothesis.

"Go to your room, your grounded." Sandy said shaking his head.

"Dad, why is it such a big deal that I am hanging around a guy?" Lorraine started obviously upset at her new sentencing. "How many times did Ryan and Seth sneak Marissa and Summer into the house, but because I am a girl, it's not okay."

Sandy quickly cut her off now yelling, "No, it's not because you are a girl, it is because you are 14 Lorraine, your brothers are 17. When are you going to understand that they will get more privileges than you do?" Sandy finished.

"So what I am 14, that doesn't mean that they can't get Summer and Marissa pregnant the same way I can get pregnant. You are so clueless Dad; you have no idea what they do right in front of you." Lorraine said now yelling back.

Sandy was a little taken back, he really didn't care if it was just any guy who was around his daughter, but the fact that he was three years older and most likely more experienced, just worried him. This kid could influence her more than others and she was his little girl and he wasn't ready to let her go.

"DON'T YOU EVER RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME! I don't care what your brothers do, this is not about your brothers it is about you." Sandy said now furious.

"Of course you don't care what they do, they are your boys, you favor them so much" Lorraine exclaimed.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding, Seth did not have a credit card at the age of 14, Seth did not have a cell phone at the age of 14, Seth did not have an 11:00 curfew at the age of 14, you are such a spoiled little brat."

"Right dad, whatever, I am spoiled; I don't have half as much as my friends do."

"I know Lorraine, you are so deprived. This is not a discussion, your grounded and I don't want to see that kid around again." Sandy finally stated before walking out to the back door, he was on the war path and Ryan was his next victim.

As soon as he walked in the pool house after one small knock at the door, his angry escalated.

"Marissa?" Sandy asked in shock?

"uh Hi, Mr. Cohen, see you later Ryan" Marissa said in a hurry as she ran out the door with her shirt half off.

"Tonight was not the night to piss me off Ryan." Sandy started in a very high voice. "Start packing your things, you're moving into the house tomorrow, right after school, no soccer."

"Sandy" Ryan said in a soft voice.

"Don't Sandy me, first you're grounded and you know there are not supposed to be any visitors, second you know the rules of this house, we had this talk before Ryan."

Sandy walked out of the pool house, he needed to get away, maybe a walk on the beach would help him ease his mind.