Even her reflection through the textured glass was perfect. It had been a long time since Seth had seen Marissa, but he had forgotten just how flawless she really was. On the outside, anyway. He pulled the heavy door open and smiled at her. "Hey, Marissa," he said.

She grinned slightly, waved nervously, and then spoke softly. "Hi, Seth."

It was an awkward moment, one that left Seth wishing he had let his girlfriend answer the door. But he quickly stepped aside and motioned to the interior of the house. "Come in. Please," he offered.

Marissa clutched a shoulder bag and three suitcases as she stepped over the threshold, wide eyes taking in the massiveness of her surroundings. "Seth, this is," she stopped, searching for a word that would do it justice.

"Pretentious? Ostentatious? Obscene?" he offered.

That was the Seth Cohen she remembered. Turning to face him, Marissa smiled widely and shook her head. "I was going to say amazing," she assured him.

Seth's shoulders relaxed as he moved toward her, his hands in his pockets. "It is pretty awesome. Ryan does really good work," he nodded, his eyes sweeping over the different arcs and angles of the room.

"He built it?" Marissa asked.

Seth shook his head. "Designed it. One of Newport Group's contractors built it for us," he answered, knowing that the conversation was about to die. He looked around, relief flooding him when he saw Summer bounding through the doorway from the kitchen.

"COOP!" she shouted, running for her friend and grabbing her in a bear hug. "You look great," she added.

"Thanks. The house is incredible, Sum," Marissa added nervously, though she knew there was no reason to be nervous at all. This was her best friend in the whole world, the one who hadn't hesitated to invite her in when she was released from her drug rehab program and needed a home. This was Summer.

"Did you have any trouble finding it?" Summer asked as Seth moved off toward the kitchen. "Cohen!"

He stopped, but didn't turn. "What is it, Dear?"

"Don't you think you should offer to take Marissa's stuff up to the guest room?"

Seth nodded. "Okay. But see, I have this back issue, and you know how much I love to help, but I'm afraid that if I lift anything too heavy that I might, I mean, there's a possibility that I could. . ."

"COHEN!" Summer's voice raised and he turned, a defiant look on his face. "Please?" she asked, her bottom lip pouting out.

"See," he explained to their guest, "Living with Summer teaches one a thing or two about compromise. I nod and tell her that I will be happy to do that in a minute."

"And then he waits for Ryan to show up and do it for him," Summer finished the explanation. "It's a good thing he's always around to save your ass, Cohen. God only knows where you'd be without him."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Summer regretted them. Marissa's face was stoic, but Summer had a feeling that she had felt the weight of that statement herself. It's gonna be a long ass weekend, Summer thought to herself as Seth disappeared into the kitchen and Marissa looked around, as thought trying to appear unaffected.

"So, when is Ryan getting here?" she asked.

Summer moved toward the stairs, avoiding a look into the probing eyes of her best friend. "Um, he had classes until four, and then he was gonna stop by Sandy and Kirsten's to check on Jada, so he'll probably be here in a little bit," she explained.

"Does Kirsten watch her a lot?" Marissa and Ryan had talked about his daughter on his one and only trip to visit her in rehab. But she still felt like there was so much she didn't know about the man she couldn't quite let go of.

Summer turned. This wasn't the conversation she wanted to be having. She and Marissa were supposed to reminisce about high school and catch up on the world of high fashion, not talk about Ryan. If she was going to talk to anyone about Ryan, it was supposed to be the man himself. Summer wasn't sure how to explain that she felt uncomfortable talking to her supposed-best friend about the past love of her life. Especially when that past love was one of her current nearest and dearest. The dynamic had shifted and she wasn't sure how to handle it. "Since she retired, she's been watching her four days a week. I usually take her on Fridays, since that's Guys' Night. She's been helping me with the clothing line," Summer smiled at the mere thought of Jada Atwood.

"Clothing line?" Marissa asked. She may have been done with the modeling, but fashion still piqued her interests. Probably always would.

"Oh, yeah. I was totally gonna tell you all about it later," Summer lied, forgetting that she hadn't told Marissa in the first place. She thought everyone knew. "Seth asked me to design a couple of collections based on Little Miss Vixen and Cosmo Girl. And then I'm doing a kid's line, too," she beamed.

"Wow, Sum," Marissa shook her head. "I'd love to see your sketches."

Nodding toward the stairs, Summer waved an arm. "Let's go then. Seth and I have a huge studio on the third floor. You'll love it," she smiled, leading the way.

Seth watched from the kitchen doorway as the girls made their way up the stairs. Marissa didn't seem like the girl he remembered, but she also didn't seem twitchy or crazy, either. Maybe this thing would work out after all.

"Hey!" Ryan called as he let himself in through the garage of the house he knew as well as his own. "You're home," he said, seemingly a little surprised that Seth was standing in his own kitchen.

"Dude," Seth turned and offered his friend a hand. "You got here just in time."

"Marissa here?" Ryan asked, his heart dropping to his stomach. Though he had promised to keep in touch after his visit to her treatment facility months ago, Ryan found it impossible to get in the car or pick up the phone and make good on the vow. Seeing Marissa had thrown his world into the same kind of chaotic upheaval it always had in high school, and he had responsibilities now. He couldn't ditch Jada, and rent payments, and school, and his job just because Marissa Cooper still gave him butterflies. It had seemed best to just avoid. Until Summer let him know that she was being released, and would be staying at Cohen Manor for awhile.

"Nowhere to run," Seth lead the way to the living room. "It's about to be as comfortable as a good, old fashioned Cohen family dinner, buddy. Remember those? When my grandfather would come over and my mom would try to eat through her clenched jaw? Those were fun. I miss the old days, Ryan," he said with a hint of sad nostalgia in his voice.

"Yeah?" Ryan asked, looking around the foyer of the house. "I miss the days when your dad was around to help me carry luggage to the guest room," he rolled his eyes as Seth watched him lift two of Marissa's bags. "So, where are they?"

Seth nodded for the stairs. "Summer's showing her the Little Miss Vixen line. Hey, are we still gonna go to Bright Eyes tomorrow night or what?"

The change in subject would be normally confusing, but it didn't phase Ryan one bit. Not coming from Seth. "Why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know. Because you're beautiful ex-girlfriend is fresh out of rehab and here to see you?" Seth asked, a smirk on his lips.

Ryan rolled his eyes and headed for the stairs. "Nothin's gonna happen, Seth."

He disappeared onto the second floor, his knuckles white from the death grip he had on her luggage, which still smelled like her somehow. Nothing could happen. He and Marissa were two separate people, not a matched set. Nothing was as it used to be, and they couldn't go back and fix that. He had the only girl he needed, and that was more than enough for him.