Chapter 17

A.N. Originally I planned on making this one very long final chapter. But seeing as how I leave for the beach for a week in the morning and I have a fairly lengthy chapter written now and a good ending place I decided I'll let you guys have something to tide you over until I get back, and I promise it should be done by then!

"Hey, Ryan," Seth walks into the kitchen, phone in hand. "It's that friend of yours, from that night."

Ryan sighs inwardly, that night. The night, three days before, when Seth had come home. "Thanks," Ryan nods taking the phone, "hey."

"Hey. So how are things?" Ryan hadn't spoken to Fai since he had taken Summer home that night. "We were starting to think things exploded, or something, but Seth sounds okay."

Ryan glances at Seth, "no."

"No what? No things didn't explode? Or no Seth isn't okay?"

"No," Ryan replies simply.

"So that leaves c, no you didn't tell Seth."

"Yeah...no..." Ryan would have liked to discuss the situation but he'd spent any time in Seth's presence trying not to act guilty or suspicious, and disappearing to talk on the phone when Ryan rarely used the phone would definitely draw Seth's attention.

"Chicken shit," Fai mutters. "Have you and Summer at least figured out how or when to tell him?"

"Actually... " Ryan's not sure how to tell Fai that he hadn't so much as exchange a text message with Summer since that night.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Fai exclaims and there's the sound of Fai muffling the phone and then speaking.

"Ryan?" The phone has obviously been passed to Lei Mei.

"Hey, Lei Mei."

"So you haven't talked to her?"

"No," Ryan repeats the word for what must be the 10th time in the conversation.

Lei Mei sighs, "I wasn't calling her to give you guys space but I'll give her a call tonight."

"Thanks, tha'd be great."

"Oh, and Ryan, one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"She loves you. I mean honest to God loves you. She looks at you like I look at Jason. You'll work through this."

"Thanks," Ryan says before they both hang up.

"So, Ryan," Seth had been hanging around the kitchen through the conversation. "Speaking of that party you guys had for Summer then night I came back."

"Speaking of?" Ryan asks, they hadn't talked about and Ryan was amazed Seth hadn't brought up the topic sooner.

"So you and Summer hung out while I was gone?" Seth asks, ignoring Ryan's comment.

"Yeah," Ryan had no intention of denying or lying about his and Summer's relationship - but he sure as hell wouldn't be bringing it up until he talked to Summer first. "A lot, I guess, we took a Chinese class together and hung out."

"So wha'd she say about me? I mean she had to have said something, right? What with the distance between us this summer."

"You mean with you disappearing this summer?" Ryan asks.

Seth nods, "well yeah. So?"

"Well you haven't really been the topic of conversation lately."

"So she's not royally pissed at me?" Seth asks relief edging his voice.

"No," Ryan shakes his head. "Last time we talked about you she was still pretty pissed."

"I'm going to have to do something pretty showy to prove how much I love her. Similar to the kissing booth last year, but something, something fresh." Seth sounds inspired then turns to Ryan, "do you have any ideas?"

Ryan balls his fists and shakes his head, "nope. Not a thing, sorry."

"I'll figure out something, 'cause we're like Mary Jane and Spiderman." Seth responds with an assured nod.

"Yeah, I guess."

"She's that mad?" Seth sighs, deflating. "I've got to think of something though."

"You could just give her time..." Ryan suggests.

"No," Seth shakes his head, "I've been gone all summer. I have to make up for lost time, not give her more. Besides, I have to think of something quick because she is going to be here in 15 minutes."

"Summer's coming here?" Ryan does nothing to hide his surprised at Seth's nod Ryan realizes he can't handle all of this right now. "I'll be in the pool house."

"Great," Seth nods. "I thought maybe we could grab something to eat, you know the three of us...neutral territory and a witness in case Summer decides she's mad enough to kill. She's got those rage blackouts you know."

"Yeah, sure." If Ryan had been in the right state of mind and not wracked with guilt he never would have agreed to the meal, but he knew Seth and in this knowledge he knew now that he'd agreed he would never be able to get out of it.

"Hey," Summer's greeting startles Ryan the minute he walks into the pool house and leaving Seth to prepare for lunch with Summer.

"Hey," Ryan quickly walks toward Summer and pulls her to him.

"I wanted to call," Summer whispers, "but..I don't know why I didn't."

"I could have called too," Ryan responds.

"We need to figure out how to tell Seth," Summer sighs.

"This is going to kill him," Ryan states recalling his conversation with Seth minutes ago.

"What are you saying, Ryan?" Summer pulls away from Ryan and her dark eyes lock on his light ones.

"Just that it's not going to be easy, he's going to be upset."

Summer bites her lip, "do you not want to tell him?"

"No," Ryan shakes his head, "because if we don't tell him we might as well break up. And I definitely don't want to do that, I just have to trust that Sandy's right and that Seth will get over it."

Summer nods, "so when should we tell him?"

Ryan shrugs, "might as well get it over with as soon as possible, so probably at lunch today. Before he comes up with an insane idea of how to win you back."

Summer nods, "I should sneak back around to the front of the house," Summer kisses Ryan lightly, "I'll see you in a minute."

"So Summer," Seth begins, as he sits at a table at the Crab Shack with Summer and Ryan. "I know you're probably pretty pissed off at me about the whole picking up and leaving thing."

"Cohen..." Summer interrupts, she felt bad enough without having to listen to whatever Seth's reasoning behind him leaving was. She was over being mad at him and now she just felt slightly guilty for dating Ryan and one glance at Ryan and she knows that his feelings are about 10 times worse.

"Just hear me out before you condemn me, please?" Seth request.

"Cohen..." Summer interrupts again before she, herself, is interrupted.

"Hi guys." And suddenly as if from some freakishly twisted nightmare that belongs to both Ryan and Summer, Marissa is standing there.

"C-coop?" Summer asks, jumping to her feet and automatically hugging her friend.

"Hey, look, Marissa's back," Seth observes candidly. "It's just like the old days."

"So what's going on?" Marissa asks taking a seat next to Summer.

"You know we were just talking about how Summer should forgive me for leaving this summer," Seth states.

"Oh," Marissa nods and turns to her best friend, "well, I think you should forgive him."

"I..." Summer trails shooting Ryan a panicked look, "zhongwen yijie ke."

Ryan's eyes search Summer's face and he wishes her could save her from all of this, but he doesn't know how to respond either. "English would be good for those of us who didn't spend the whole summer taking Chinese class."

"I...I have to go. I'm sorry, I realized that I have to meet with my Chinese teacher about a grade. We'll have to have lunch another time, I'm sorry." Her last words are directed at Ryan before she hurries out of the restaurant.