A/N: Thanks for reviewing. You guys are cracking me up – lifting my spirits and building my confidence. It's awesome! I once had a professor who taught that effective storytelling is really just another form of journalism. You allow your characters to live and breathe in the direction of their choosing and simply document it for your readers. I always thought it was kind of a bull shit statement. If I am the creator of the story, then I am in control of my characters' destinies, right? All this story has done is prove why he was the one making the big bucks as a college prof, and I'm the one with outrageous student loans and an addiction to soap operatic melodrama. Ryan and Marissa are kind of veering off the path I've set for them, seemingly of their own accord. Damn rebel kids from The OC. Anyway,I am hereby flushing my original outline down the toilet for the remainder of the story. Hey, maybe Connor's dad can find it for me!
"So, be honest," Ryan smiled when he and Macy finally had a moment alone. "It's not as bad as you thought it would be, right?"
She dangled the champagne flute between her fingers and leaned against the balcony railing. From outside, the party seemed like a million miles away. So did the phoney-ass smile her father had put on when he met Ryan. She didn't know how he knew, but somehow he sensed that the boy wasn't cut from the same insanely expensive cloth that they were, and she would have to hear about it later. "It's okay."
"Ah, come on," Ryan chided, resting his arms on either side of her as he pressed against her back. From behind her, he couldn't see how high up they were, and that was always good – hard to look like the tough guy she knew and loved if he was losing his breath and envisioning a long, bloody, awful fall to his death. "It's not like anyone's sucked your soul out through your ear or anything," he encouraged.
Macy felt his lips around her earlobe and her stomach did a flip. "If you stay right there, maybe they won't be able to," she giggled, closing her eyes. There was a reason she never came to these things, a reason she hated them so much, but she was having a hard time remembering that reason at the moment.
"Hey, Ryan," a voice sounded and he pulled back, smiling as he shook hands with Connor. "This must be the infamous Macy Campbell," he said, turning and offering a hand to her.
Macy gracefully switched her glass from her right hand to the left and accepted his gesture. "Mace, this is Connor. He's on my soccer team at school," Ryan introduced.
"It's nice to meet you," she said with a genuine smile. Aside from Kirsten and Sandy, Ryan hadn't introduced her to anyone he knew. It was nice to be on this side of the meet-and-greet for once.
"And this is my girlfriend, Marissa," Connor said, his hand on her back as she stepped forward and smiled.
"Marissa Cooper," Macy said with a knowing smile. "You've grown up a lot since ninth grade."
Marissa blushed and nodded, trying her best to avert Ryan's gaze. "Yeah, I guess. You look amazing," she said honestly. No wonder he's in love with you. As the words passed through her brain, Marissa found herself internally cringing. What did it matter? She had Connor now. Things were going to be good – normal in no time.
"I didn't realize you guys knew each other," Ryan said, winding his arm around Macy's waist. Of course, he had done everything he could to avoid talking about Marissa with his new girlfriend, and he didn't have a lot to say to his "ex" as of late, so it wasn't a big shocker that the subject hadn't come up.
"Yeah," Macy nodded, smiling back at him. "I was a senior, she was a freshman, we were on the Social Committee together."
Marissa forced asmile. She knew that her cheeks were growing flush, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. "Macy was the Social Chair," she added.
"Really?" Connor boomed in. "Marissa's the Social Chair now," he informed proudly, taking her hand in his. He could feel her tense, but he chose to ignore it, draining the contents of his glass in one chug.
"I am not surprised," Macy commented graciously. "So, your mom married Caleb Nichol, huh?" she asked. Marissa rolled her eyes and nodded. "I'm guessin' not the easiest step-dad to have, huh?"
"To say the least," Marissa agreed, easing a little bit as she took another drink from the passing waiter. She was doing better with the "not drinking," but moments like this made it impossible to resist.
Ryan shifted uncomfortably. There was no way for Macy to know how hard this was for him. Until that moment, he had no idea how hard it was for him. Watching them fumble through a conversation was painful, and he wanted to run away from it. But why? He liked Macy – things were going so well. No – he was not going to think about how a huge hug would make Marissa feel better at this point.
It was Seth and Summer, creeping into his head. All that "meant to be" bull shit was just rolling around his head because of them. He didn't have feelings for Marissa, not real ones, anymore. Macy's back under his fingertips made him feel a little more stable. He would have to talk to Seth about this when he got home – make sure he knew that the topic was off-limits. No more planting these little seeds of "what if" and "maybe" in his brain any more.
As if on cue, the Dynamic Duo slid into place with the group. "Well, look at this," Seth said loudly. "Everybody hangin' out, makin' friends. This is great."
Ryan shot him a look, Connor rolled his eyes, while Macy and Marissa looked away at the Newport landscape over the balcony. "Um, did we interrupt something?" Summer asked. "Macy, that dress is fantastic," she commented without waiting for a response to her previous question.
"Thanks, Summer. You look great, too," Macy said with a small smile, wondering why the hell everything got so quiet all of the sudden. Sure, they all went to school together, and she had been the hidden girlfriend for awhile, but it didn't take a brain trust to know that this was not a happy gathering of friends. She turned to Ryan and put a hand on his arm. "I'm going to find a restroom. Can you grab me another drink when the tray comes by?"
He nodded, kissed her quickly and then turned back, his eye meeting Marissa's for a split second too long. He turned away again, but the only direction to look was over the balcony. Dammit. His breath hitched in his throat and he steps slightly the left, just to avoid the "straight down" of it all.
"Do you wanna dance, Connor?" Marissa asked quickly, pulling on his arm until he followed.
Ryan turned to Seth and Summer, anger evident in his eyes. "What the hell are you two tryin' to pull?"
"Don't even think you're blamin' that debaucle on us," Seth pointed to the places where the others once stood. "We were nowhere around when that awkward series of unfortunate events took place."
Summer smacked his gut and turned her big eyes to Ryan. "So, I guess Marissa and Connor didn't break up, huh?"
Ryan shrugged, scanning the ballroom for Macy again. "I don't really care, Summer," he snapped.
She didn't buy it, though. Or chose to ignore it. "And you and Macy are doing well," she added.
This time, he tried a different avenue. "Have you ever heard the saying, Summer, that insanity is repeating the same action multiple times and expecting different results?" She nodded. "That's what Marissa and I were, okay? Insanity. We tried. We failed. Miserably. Several times, in fact. I'm not doin' it again." He grabbed her shoulders and made sure that she was looking in his eyes. "Leave. It. The. Fuck. Alone."
He stalked off and Seth glanced down to be sure he hadn't wet himself. He hadn't seen Ryan that upset in a long, long time. "Forgot how scary he can be," he muttered.
But Summer turned with a huge smile. "Did you hear that, Cohen?"
"The part where he said it was insane? Or where you told you to butt out, yet again?" She was shaking her head. "That's what I heard, Summer."
"Read between the lines, Dumb Ass. He's scared. They tried before and they failed. He doesn't want to get hurt again. But he never said he didn't want her anymore."
"I thought that's what the "I'm not doin' it again" was all about," Seth muttered in confusion. He loved Summer, really loved her, but at some point, she had stopped being reasonable. And he wondered if that was the point where he was supposed to have his best friend's back.
"Don't worry, Cohen. By homeroom Monday morning, we will be watching those two all over each other in the hallways at school. Now," she said, twirling on her heel and grabbing his tie. "Come dance with me."
There were so many things he wished he was brave enough to say at that moment, but Seth watched Summer's hips sway toward the dance floor, and dammit if all of the wit and confidence he'd ever felt rushed right out of his body.