Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

smartiepantz: thanks for the review, glad you liked the chapter, yeah I am British, I knew that the bonnet was called something else, just couldn't remember what! lol!

xGoingUnderx: I'm so glad you didn't guess (oh, that sounds mean, I didn't mean it to!) but I wanted it to be a total surprise, I gave it to my sister to readand she guessed straight away, so I'm glad you were surprised! Yay! glad you love my updates! ;)

KC-Chick: lol, you're so funny! Glad I could entertain you! lol, hope you like this!

BrSoccerChic: Thanks for your reviews for chapters 7 and 8, glad you liked Summer in chapter 7. The bit in your chapter 8 review about dinner with her dad, I'm glad you said that, I figured she would just get so excited she would forget!

IluvDanBen33: I have to admit the bit about him buying her a playstation sort of came to me all in a flash when I was trying to get to sleep one night! Glad you liked it!

Sis2ACesarSalad: Hey, thanks for reviewing, glad you're liking it so far, and glad you're liking the cuteness, I love writing it!

EVCLGSB: OMG, your review made me laugh so much, i loved it! I'm thinking you liked it then! lol!

I-Believe-In-The-Butterflies: you guessed? clever you! I deliberately didn't describe the size of the box so that people wouldn't guess, but once again great minds eh!

slimkay: thanks for reviewing, glad you liked it!

GalootMaster: would I be cruel enough to suffocate a puppy! lol, that made me laugh! Really glad you liked that chapter!

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Marissa spent the rest of her birthday in a blissfully dreamy daze. It was one of the best she could remember and not just in a shallow, superficial way. Sure, she got some beautiful girts including; a limited edition pillar box red Chanel purse from Summer, a gorgeous watch from her Dad and Hailey and, of course, the PS2 from Ryan. But it was more than that. For the first time in a long while she was truly happy, which usually meant something dreadful was about to happen but she wouldn't let that thought enter her head and ruin her day.

"You ready kiddo?" Jimmy shouted up the stairs, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah, coming!" Marissa replied, quickly squirting herself with her favourite perfume, before going downstairs.

"Wow, you look beautiful." Hailey gasped.

"Thanks, so do you." Marissa smiled genuinely, she really did look gorgeous. "Now, let's go! I'm starving!" She giggled.

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"So how was dinner last night?" Ryan asked at lunch the next day.

"Mm, ok." Marissa said passively.

"Only ok?"

"No, well, I mean it was great." She explained. "But part of me - and I know this sounds really ungrateful - just wanted to be sitting at home playing PS2 with you."

"Aw, you're so cute." Ryan teased leaning over and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"You won't be saying that later when I beat your ass."

"I hope you haven't been practising Cooper." Ryan said mock sternly wagging his finger.

"Nope, it's still in the box, as promised."

"Good." He smiled, he had made her promise not to play on it without him, and although she had been sorely tempted to, she had resisted.

"What time do you wanna come over?" She asked through a mouthful of sandwich.

"When d'you want me?"

"How 'bout never?" She winked

"Seven sounds fine!" He grinned.

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"Urgh! Why won't - oh my God, just get in there." Marissa said angrily as she tried to set up the PS2, maybe it was just her, but all these wires and sockets were really confusing. "Ow!" There was a loud crash. Ryan decided it was probably best to stop listening outside her door and show himself. He opened her bedroom door.

"Everything ok in here?" He asked brightly.

"No." She snapped "I can't do it."

"I'll have a go." Ryan volunteered walking over toward her.

"No, it's ok, I can do it by myself." She said defensively.

"Ok, go on then." He said holding up his hands in surrender, he knew better than to mess with her while she was in this mood.

"There!" She exclaimed a couple of minutes later, all traces of bad mood vanishing immediately. "Done it! Let's go christen Percy."

"Percy?"

"Percy Playstation." She explained, as if naming your games consoles was the most natural thing in the world.

Ten minutes later Ryan was on the verge of being beaten by Marissa for the first time ever, she could hardly contain herself.

"Oh, yes!" She shrieked throwing down the controls victorious, when the deed had been accomplished. "You're dead, I beat you." She jumped up and did a little jig. Ryan smirked, trying to ignore her.

"Ok, Percy dude." He said addressing the playstation "You failed me man. The guys are s'posed to stick together."

"Oh, no, Percy's a clever PS2, he knows who his Mommy is, don't you Perce?" Marissa asked.

"I still can't believe you named it." Ryan said shaking his head in disbelief.

"You're just bitter cos you lost." Marissa said cheerily "C'mon, rematch!"

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By the time he left at neary eleven, Ryan still hdn't managed to beat her. "Percy," Marissa explained "is obviously a very loyal playstation." She smiled to herself as she got ready for bed, that had been so much fun. She suddenly remembered she hadn't said goodnight to her Dad or Hailey, she left her bedroom and could hear them talking in hushed voices. She listened for a few seconds before clattering loudly down the stairs.

"What's going on in here?" Marissa asked brightly "You two going somewhere? I could swear I just heard Maui mentioned - hey, are you guys eloping? That is so romantic." They both looked at her guiltily. "What's going on?" She asked warily. Jimmy looked at Hailey who nodded gravely.

"You wanna sit down?" He asked seriously.

"Everything ok?" Marissa said, not moving.

"Un, well, yeah. Why don't you just sit down?" She sat. Jimmy cleared his throat. "Well, as you know, Hailey found this yacht company for sale a couple of weeks ago. The one in Maui, you remember?" Marissa nodded slowly, she knew exactly where this was headed.

"So you bought it?" She asked coldly. They nodded, bracing themselves for a reaction. "I thought your exact words at the time were 'wow, that's a bargain, if only it wasn't so far away.'" She said through gritted teeth, making air quotes with her hands.

"Well, the thi-"

"So, what? You're just gonna leave me here with Mom and Ca-" She interrupted.

"What? No, kiddo, we want you to come too. It'll be a fresh start."

"I don't need a fresh start. I'm not going. I'm staying here, I like it here. "

"Well, of course you can stay then." Jimmy said calmly. "You're old enough now to make you own de-"

"I am. And I'm not going." Marissa choked. "This is my home." And without another word she grabbed her car keys from the dresser and left the house before either of them could stop her. She ran to the car, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks, her mind reeling. She didn't know where she was going, she didn't even care. Fifteen minutes later, she realised her subconcious must've taken over, she knew exactly where she was headed, and it wasn't Summer's.

K, so you can probably guess where she's going and I hate to do this to you guys,but I'm going on holiday tomorrow, and won't have access to a computer until I get back, in 14-16 days time. :( BUT, I will be writing lots while I'm away so should be able to post a few chapters as soon as I get back. Sorry :( Love Claire xxx