Ah! Fifteen chapters! This is so exciting, ;)! I honestly didn't think I'd get this far, and it's going further, if I get to chapter twenty, I'm going to party, yes lame, I know, but summer's boring, lol. Thanks for all the reviews, they are awesome! Enjoy, and leave your comments!

Broken Seatbelts

Chapter 15: The Aide of The Unexpected and The Heart of The Expected

Ryan rapped on Seth's door.

"Go away, Cohen!" Summer's muffled voice could be heard.

Ryan opened the door without any more warning to its occupant.

"I said go away, Cohen!" Her voice was now loud, irritating and clear.

"I'm not Cohen." He gave her a smirk.

"Look, Ryan, I really don't want to talk to anyone right now, so…" Summer said from her seated position on Seth's bed, hugging his blue pillow case clad pillow, her legs out, looking comfortable, yet troubled.

"Yeah, well you don't have to talk." Ryan said casually and grabbed a stray comic book; part one of the Jay and Silent Bob mini series and sat down at Seth's desk, propping his feet up on the bed.

Summer shrugged it off and ignored his presence, or rather, tried. He was just sitting there, himself, ignoring her presence.

"So, that's it? You're not going to grovel at my feet until I tell you the sordid details?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Not to sound conceited, but it would have been kinda nice."

"Oh, Summer! Please tell me of Zachary Stevens's violent history!" He said deadpanned.

"Nice attempt, needs a little work." She smiled than started fidgeting.

"Look, Summer, if you don't want to talk that's fine, but in my experience with things like this, it helps if the people who care about you know."

"Right, I almost forget, Ryan Atwood is savior to all women in need of saving." She joked, smiling to let him know she didn't mean it to be a catalyst for a fight.

"Yeah, well…"

"It wasn't that big of a deal." She said softly, not looking at him. He put the comic he was reading down and listened intently.

"It's always a big deal."

"No, it wasn't, it didn't matter to me. He just… made out hard, I guess, left me with a few bruises here and there, but it wasn't like forced me to do anything, he was just… rough." She took a deep breath before continuing. "But that night, at the car; he was down right scary, ask Marissa! God, why the hell did she get in that stupid car? I don't know, he was just… wasted. I tried to get the keys from him, but he pushed me away… and then he grabbed me by my upper arm and literally lifted me into the car and slammed the door on me, if I hadn't moved my foot it would have hurt like a bitch. And then he got in the car, I tried to grab the keys again but he pushed me so hard I flew into the window, I'm still surprised I didn't break it." Summer paused, she partly forgot Ryan was there, just reliving the night that changed hers and their lives. "He was driving like a maniac, the last thing I saw were your headlights."

Ryan didn't say anything. He just nodded and let her think for awhile, but didn't get up, figuring if she wanted to be alone she'd ask him to leave.

"What the hell is taking so long?" Seth asked while pacing back and forth at the top of the stairs.

"Seth, chill out!"

"Did you know about this? Did she tell you?"

"No, I only saw what happened that night. Look, Seth, I'm sure it's not as serious as your thinking, Summer would never let someone do something like that to her, she's strong."

"Yeah, I know she is, but she doesn't have to be all the time." Seth sighed and sat back down on the stairs next to Marissa. "I just wish she would let me help her."

"She will. She's going to need you a lot. You're her boyfriend who she loves very much, and needs you more than a sale at Barney's."

"I don't know if I should be offended by that or… offended." Marissa laughed.

"Oh, trust me; a sale at Barney's for her is like a sale at a comic book sale for you. It's a big deal."

"Well, I guess it is." Seth put his head in his hands. "Is she going to be okay?" He asked her so softly that she had to strain to hear. But someone else responded before her.

"I'm going to be fine, Cohen." Summer said from behind them, Ryan beside her, sitting down behind his girl, parting his legs so that she could lean into him.

Seth stood up and embraced Summer, which she gladly returned.

"Let's go talk." Summer said. After Seth nodded, Summer leaned down gave Ryan a big bear hug. "Thanks, Atwood." Then she gave him a kiss on the cheek and followed her boyfriend to his room.

"And what was that?" Marissa asked Ryan, only slightly jealous. Ryan just laughed and kissed her.

"Are you okay?" Was the first question out of Seth's mouth upon entering his bedroom.

"I'm fine. I've dealt with all this crap a long time ago." Summer reassured him and touched his cheek with the back of her hand as he put his hand on her waist and led her to the bed to lie down. Once comfortable, Seth had his arm around her and her head was resting her head on his shoulder.

She told her story for the second time that day and was nervous of his reaction; she'd felt him tense at certain parts. She knew he wouldn't go ballistic and find Zach and beat him to a bloody pulp, or try to beat him to a bloody pulp, rather. But she didn't want him to pull away from her because of it. But he surprised her and pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry." She turned to face him.

"Oh, no, Cohen, it's not your fault."

"Yeah, I-I know… I'm just sorry you had to go through that."

"It really wasn't that big, Seth. Just a few bruises, nothing to even fuss over."

"No, Summer it is a big deal, you can't just ignore it-"

"I'm not ignoring it! I know it happened, and I know it was wrong, but that's all it was; wrong. It would have been worse if it had been someone I cared more about, but Seth, he really didn't mean much to me, so his actions, while wrong and regrettable, didn't have that big of an effect on me. Yes, he got scary, and I got scared, but that's all. And it's not your fault, or mine, it's his. I get it, I get it all. Seth, I'm okay."

"But-"

"Seth. I'm okay. Please, just… accept that."

"Sum, I do… I'm just worried about you, okay?"

"I know, and it's sweet, but like I said, it's dealt with."

"I hope so, 'cause I don't want to talk anymore." He said winking at her.

"Really? Then what do you want to do?" She said suggestively.

"Well, there just so happens to be a View Askew Marathon on Comedy Central tonight, what do you say we get jinky with it?"

"Cohen, you tease!"

"Hey, I just can't deny me some weed, dick, and fart jokes." Summer laughed and kissed him passionately then pulled back randomly and jumped off the bed.

"Oh, c'mon! That's cold!" She turned back innocently.

"What? I just can't deny me some Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Jason Lee."

"You forgot Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes." Seth said monotone and got up to follow her.

Hey, yeah I just had to promote my favorite movies! Hope you like!