Chapter 8

Okay, I got very angry with the designportion of the updater because it just won't let me find a way to let you know there is a new scene starting so look for the bold first word of the scene....

Friday

"Man, you are an idiot," Fai shakes his head at Ryan from across a table at Mickey's.

Ryan sighs, "you've been telling me that all week." It was Friday and Fai and Lei Mei had suggested they meet Ryan for dinner to discuss the Summer situation. Summer had refused to even look at Ryan for the entire week but Ryan knew that she had explained the whole thing to Lei Mei.

"I don't think you're an idiot," Lei Mei states, "and neither does Summer." The only thing Lei Mei told Ryan about her conversations with Summer was the reassurance that Summer wasn't mad nor did she had Ryan.

"Hear me out?" Fai questions.

Ryan shrugs, "fine."

"Summer won't get back together with Seth, she's made that very clear. Won't Seth eventually get over it? He was the one to leave in the first place."

"If you knew Seth Cohen you wouldn't even have to ask that question." Ryan lets out a long frustrated breath and then asks, "but she's okay, right? She won't talk to me and it's driving me nuts."

"She's hurting and she needs time, she wants to stay friends but she needs to get her emotions under control first." Lei Mei bites her lip and a torn expression crosses her face, but finally she asks, "what happens though, when Seth comes back? You're feelings and Summer's feelings aren't just going to go away."

Ryan sighs, "I don't know."

"Hey."

"What are you doing here Ryan?" Summer looks startled to see Ryan at her door.

"I just had dinner with Fai and Lei Mei and I had to come here."

"Ryan..."

"No, hear me out, please?" Ryan echoes Fai's words from earlier.

Summer sighs in resignation, "fine, come in."

"Lei Mei asked me what it would be like when Seth came back. It made me realize that my feelings for you aren't just going to go away because Seth comes back. I'm still going to want to kiss you every time I see you, whether Seth is there or not."

"Ryan, all you're doing is making this harder on both of us."

"I don't want to."

"Well, you are." Summer snaps. "All I askedfrom youwas time."

"I'm not giving you anymore time. Because being away from you is driving me crazy. Somewhere along the line this summer I started todepend on you, and that scares me because I learned not to depend on people a long time ago."

"Ryan, please." Summer begs tears streaming down her cheeks.

"But I want to be with you Summer."

"Ryan?"

Ryan closes the distance between him and Summer, cupping Summer's face in his hands Ryan repeats, "I want to be with you, Summer."

"What about Seth?"

"I'll figure out how to handle that when I have to."

"But..."

Ryan kisses Summer before she can say anything else.

Saturday

"It took you guys long enough," Lei Mei states when Summer and Ryan walk up to her, Jason, her fiancé, Fai and his girlfriend, Lisa, at the movie theater close to Lei Mei and Fai's house Saturday night.

"Sorry," Summer apologizes. "We got caught in traffic."

"Brain traffic," Fai snorts.

Ryan and Summer glance at their clasped hands as Lisa states, "I've never met either of you and I've been expecting you to get together."

Summer shrugs and laughs lightly, "we're from Newport, kids there aren't known for their intelligence."

"Right, says she who is verging on being fluent in Chinese."

Summer shrugs again and leans into Ryan, "so what movie should we see?"

"I am so tired," Summer yawns. The group had gone to see Stepford Wives and then headed back to Mickey's for a late dinner.

"You want me to take you home?"

"No," Summer snuggles closer to Ryan in the booth and he places a gentle kiss on her forehead. At that moment Summer felt more at ease with herself than she had for as long as she could remember.

"So I was thinking about the traditional dinner we are supposed to prepare for our families and lao shi Meng," Ryan states. "It hought maybe the four of us could cook for our families at the Cohen's."

Summer lifts her head to look at Ryan, she knew he was doing this for her sake since her father still wasn't back in the country. "Really?"

Ryan nods "I figure the Cohen's order Chinese in all the time, why don't we just do it together? Instead of making lao shi Meng come to all three of our houses kill three birds with one stone."

"Are you sure?" Fai asks.

Ryan nods, "of course, the Cohen's would love it."

"But they don't even know us, or our parents," Lei Mei responds.

"First of all, your parents took us camping without knowing us," Summer points out. "And second, hello? They had Ryan move in with them even though he'd been in juvie."

"Well if they are okay with it, it sounds cool to me." Lei Mei nods.

"I still don't understand why we have to do this stupid dinner in the first place," Fai complains.

"Who cares," Summer shrugs. "We don't have to do the verbal, in front of the class, part of our final if we do this."

Sunday

"I think it's great you all decided to do your dinner here," Sandy states enthusiastically the next morning.

"Yeah," Kirsten nods, "it'll be nice to meet your friends."

"Plus, seeing Summer cooking will be entertaining." Sandy adds.

"I dunno." Ryan responds, "she claims to have the ability to cook."

Sandy laughs, "so did Kirsten. I think it's the Newport mind set, they think they can cook, mostly because they've never actually done it before."

Kirsten lightly smacks Sandy, "shut up." Kirsten takes a sip of her coffee and then, "oh. I meant to tell you, Ryan, we had dinner with my dad and Julie last night. Julie said that Marissa is doing a lot better in rehab and she should be out within the next couple of weeks."

Ryan's heart drops, "oh really? Uh, I've got to get a shower."

Once Ryan had left the kitchen Sandy and Kirsten exchange glances and arching an eyebrow Kirsten states, "told yah."

"This proves nothing," Sandy shakes his head.

"The look on Ryan's face said it all." Kirsten retorts, "either their dating or Ryan would like them to be."

"I think you're wrong," Sandy shakes his head. "First of all, Ryan wouldn't do that to Seth, you know how strong his sense of loyalty is. And secondly, Ryan and Summer have nothing in common."

Kirsten raises both eyebrows this time, "do you remember what everyone said about us when I brought you home that first summer?"

A knowing expression crosses Sandy's face, "they're dating. They're definitely dating."

"Hey," Summer yawns and smiles up at Ryan from the vantage point of her couch. "You're late." Ryan was supposed to have come over after he had breakfast but she had fallen asleep waiting for him.

"I know, sorry, the Cohen's insisted we go to the club for breakfast."

Summer kisses Ryan lightly before commenting, "that's random."

Ryan nods, sitting next to Summer, "they were really weird. I asked themabout our dinner, they loved the idea, then I went to my room to get a shower and when I got out Kirsten had left a note insisting I go with them to dinner. Then they seemed really interested in what we've been up to."

"Do you think they know?" Summer asks, mildly amused at the thought of what Ryan had to endure during breakfast.

"Of they know," Ryan nods, "but they are waiting for me to tell them."

"Do you want to tell them?" Summer questions.

Ryan nods, "I think so, I don't want to lie to the Cohen's. Beside I think Sandy might be able to help me figure out the Seth situation. I thought maybe we could tell them after the dinner is done on Thursday."