A/N: An idea I've been pondering for a while… I'm trying to keep it anything but OOC. It's AU post-season 1/pre-season 2.
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Fate Stopped By
Pairing: Ryan/Summer
Rating: PG-13
Setting: AU – post-season one/pre-season 2.
Summary: When Ryan goes back to Chino after Theresa's pregnancy, Summer decides to visit and things go wrong. But can a friendship develop and stand tall through it all?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the OC. They belong to their rightful owners.
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It had been twenty minutes since Summer arrived at Chino. In front of Ryan and Theresa's place, to be exact. And it'd also been twenty minutes since Summer turned off the radio, took the keys out of the ignition, and stationed herself in the car, staring up at the house. She hoped that perhaps she wouldn't have to get up and knock and deal with the awkwardness of waking everyone in the household up at—she glanced down at her watch—3 A.M. But after twenty minutes of waiting, she realized that Ryan's 6th sense radar wasn't going to pick up on her.
Sighing, she unlocked her door and stepped out of the car. She took a minute to breathe, straighten out her shirt, and tell herself that she's a complete moron for doing this. She ran her eyes around the area, noticing that she was not in Newport anymore. There were no parties in the backyard. There were no Range Rover's and BMWs parked in the driveway. And there sure as hell wasn't a single mansion in sight. Instead there were garbage bags in the backyard, bicycles and rundown cars in the driveway, and identical houses lining the streets. She sighed. No, this was not Newport, and she was not at home anymore.
After gathering up all the courage and energy she had at that time in the night—or rather, morning—she stepped up to the door and knocked lightly, cursing every time her fist came in contact with the door.
Summer wrapped her arms around her body, protecting herself from the cool breeze and what she imagined to be the dangerous streets of Chino. But truth be told, it wasn't as bad as she'd imagined. The streets seemed pretty empty and quiet. Peaceful, even. She guessed that the streets were loud and violent when there was trouble… kind of like Ryan.
Finally, the sound of a lock cracking sounded in the air, and the rusty door handle twisted. Summer drew in her breath and glued a smile on her face, hoping it was Ryan. But her smile instantly faded away into a frown of confusion when an elderly woman stepped up to the door, muttering in some foreign language.
"Hi," Summer said, waving her hand awkwardly. "Is R-Ryan here?" she stammered, squinting at the lady that was still murmuring incoherent things.
"Ryan?" the woman repeated, almost disgusted.
"Atwood?" Summer offered hopefully.
"Ah!" the woman exclaimed, her eyes lighting up for a moment before they went dim again. "Ryan Atwood," she pondered. Patting Summer's back, the woman grinned, showing off her chipped teeth and darkened gums. She pointed at an identical house next to hers. She smiled at Summer and repeated, "Ryan Atwood."
Summer understood and smiled. "Thank you," she said slowly. She began to walk away when she stopped and turned back, waving at the woman and smiling apologetically. "And sorry!" She sighed, watching the woman disappear into her house and within seconds, the whole house went dark again.
Walking up to the house next door, she prepared to knock with a long breath, but before she could, a figure hidden behind a thin layer of curtains caught her eye. Her eyes cringed, looking thoughtfully at the figure. "Ryan?" she murmured softly to herself.
She made her way to the window and took a closer look. It was Ryan… only it seemed like an older, more worn-out version of Ryan. His hair was beginning to crawl to his shoulders and soon enough, his beard would too. His eyes were shut and circled by a dark grey that added to the overall weary state he seemed to be in. Her eyes traveled down his body and she spotted a half-empty bowl of macaroni in his hand, carefully placed in his lap. Why was he holding the bowl if he was going to sleep? Or maybe he didn't know he was going to sleep. Maybe it just happened. Like Theresa and the baby just happened.
She hesitated for a few moments, but when she realized that she had driven all the way from Newport at 2 in the morning, she knew she had to do what she'd come for. She raised her hand to the glass and knocked ever-so-softly, somehow hoping for Ryan not to wake up, but at the same time willing his eyes to open.
It took her a few more knocks to get his eyes to flutter open. When they did, she noticed the blood-red nerves were more visible and his blue eyes barely shone under the dull layer of plain fatigue.
She expected his eyes to light up when he saw her, but they just stared back at her boringly. He sat up, took hold of the fastened shut window, and dragged it upwards.
"Hey," Summer said simply, but her voice came out more concerned then she wanted it to be. She didn't want her to think that she pitied him. Even though his state was pitiful.
"Hey," Ryan responded, his own voice sounding low and unhopeful. "What're you doing here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes on her.
"Um," she began. "Do you think I can come in, maybe?"
"Yeah, ofcourse." They both made their way to the front door. Summer waited outside as Ryan fumbled with the lock and finally opened the door, moving aside for Summer to come in. "Sorry about the mess, we don't really have time to clean this place."
"Oh don't worry about it," Summer said, looking around. He was right. The place was a mess. There were blueprints spread across the ground along with hammers, tools, nails and pieces of wood. She looked over at a corner and noticed an unfinished project… it looked like a crib, or something.
"So… what brings you here?"
Summer looked back at Ryan and sighed, digging in her purse for something. She pulled out a small envelope and handed it to him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's from Seth," she explained. "He left us all notes."
"Left us?"
"Didn't Sandy tell you?"
"No…"
She sighed. "He sailed away."
Ryan's eyebrows furrowed with utter puzzlement.
She rolled her eyes at the memory. "He left to Portland 'cause you aren't in Newport anymore. His knight in shining armor. He has nothing to live for anymore," she said in mock-desperation, her voice dripping with sarcasm and irritation.
"Oh."
Summer looked Ryan over once again and saw that he was still holding the half empty bowl of macaroni. "Late night snack?"
Ryan didn't realize what she was talking about until she pointed at the bowl. He sighed, rubbing his temple with his empty hand. "No, I uh… I fell asleep."
"What time?"
Ryan looked down at his watch. "7 hours ago."
Summer's eyes widened slightly and then her eyebrows crunched up in concern. "You fell asleep at 8?"
Ryan laughed. Not a happy laugh, or a 'oh-that's-funny' laugh. But a sorrowful one. An 'I'm-laughing-because-I'm-too-tired-to-cry' laugh. "Yeah, you'd be surprised when Theresa sleeps."
Summer raised questioning eyebrows.
"6."
"Wow!" she exclaimed. "Do they have a local curfew system in Chino, or something?"
"No, not really," Ryan said, sitting down on a used up couch. It was a faded brown color with rips on its arms. The butt-marks on it were visible, probably because it was overused. He signaled for Summer to take a seat and she hesitantly accepted. "Theresa works at a coffee shop down the street. She doesn't come back till five. She cooks, takes a shower and goes to bed. She can't do much with the baby… it wears her out."
"Oh…" Summer mused, thinking it over. "How about you?"
"I barely have time to eat when I get home. I usually am back by six, Theresa's already in bed, the foods cold, the hot water in the shower is used up." He snickered. "Today I had to work overtime though… came back an hour late. Took a cold shower… and I ended up sleeping at the window."
"Do you usually sleep at the window?"
Ryan considered the question and shrugged, thinking about the washed-out bed he shared with Theresa. Or the one he sometimes refused to share with her. He never told her that, of course. He just decided some days that he would sleep on the couch. Or the window. The floor, even. "Sometimes."
Summer nodded her head slowly, wondering what she should say to him. I'm sorry; I hope the baby's not yours? They never tell you what to say when it really counts. They only teach you things like "Thank you," or "Please," or "Charge it to my credit card." They don't teach you what to say when someone's telling you how shitty their life is. So she decided to stay silent.
They both stayed silent, in fact, until Theresa appeared in the bedroom doorway, and she looked almost as exhausted as Ryan did. "Ryan…" she muttered, making her way into the living room. Summer stood up, smiling awkwardly. "Oh," Theresa said, surprised. "I'm sorry, I, uh, I didn't expect company." She turned to look at Ryan. "When I heard the voices I thought you were watching TV."
Summer nodded. "I'm sorry, it's my fault. I should get going, let you guys go back to sleep."
Theresa's eyebrows popped up. "Back to Newport?"
Summer nodded.
Theresa shook her head. "It's 3 am, you really shouldn't drive now. You can sleep here tonight, tomorrow morning you'll be freshened-up and wide awake so you can keep your eye on the road."
Summer looked over at Ryan, unsure, and Ryan nodded.
"She's right," he said. "You can sleep next to Theresa. I'll sleep on the couch."
"Oh, no, really," Summer began to object, but was stopped by Theresa.
Theresa had a sad smile playing upon her face. "Don't worry. He's used to sleeping on the couch."
Summer didn't quite understand what that meant, but it seemed like Theresa and Ryan knew pretty well. She simply nodded as Theresa led her into the bedroom.
Ryan reclined onto the couch, throwing his feet up. He realized he was still wearing his construction boots, but he was too tired to take them off. He looked over the envelope that Seth left him. He read his name, "Ryan", written across the front of the envelope and sighed. Ripping it open, he read through the letter.
Dear Ryan,
Hey man. How're you? I mean, other than having a pregnant woman with her hormones flying all over the place living with you, how does it feel to be back in Chino? Okay, well, stupid question. It's not like your going to answer it anyway.
Well, I'm off. I realized Newport wasn't for me. It never was until you came along. Hey, we ordered Chinese and we got fortune cookies. I decided this is for you.
"He who knows he has enough is rich."
You hear that, Julie Cooper?
Take care, man.
Seth.
That night it wouldn't have made a difference if Summer drove home or stayed in Chino, because either way she didn't sleep. Neither did Ryan… but what was new there?
It was the shrill scream a few hours later that made them realize that fate was stopping by for a while, and it had some life-changing news for them. Again.
TBC.
