Julie waited a few minutes to ensure that Ryan really had gone, then went back into Marissa's room. Good; she's still sleeping. Gives me a chance to get rid of these flowers.

Julie looked down at the letter in her hand; it could contain some interesting information. Best not dispose of it just yet. She slid the letter into the inner pocket of her coat, which was draped over the chair beside Marissa's bed.

After checking that Marissa was still sleeping, Julie crept out of the room and dashed out of the hospital, flowers in hand. She looked around for the nearest dumpster and ran over to one beside the car park, where she disposed of Ryan's flowers. With a satisfied smirk on her face, Julie turned on her heels and briskly walked back towards Marissa's room.

--------------------------------------

Ryan lay wrapped up in the covers of his bed. He'd been there since arriving back from the hospital yesterday afternoon, and hadn't eaten anything since lunch at school. The peace and quiet the pool house offered was abruptly broken into with the arrival of Seth.

"Yo bro, hows it hanging?" Seth asked.

Having received no response whatsoever from Ryan, Seth tried a different approach.

"So, dude, what happened yesterday? You don't have to bottle it up anymore; Seth/Ryan time is here!"

This remark earned Seth a glare from Ryan. Well, it's a response.

"Dude, look, I know that you're bummed because Marissa's in hospital and you haven't seen her for a while…"

Ryan glared at him again.

"…and you're probably blaming yourself for the accident because that is what you always do, Ryan, you blame yourself. Look, dude, there is nothing you could have done. It just…happened. You can't get mad at yourself for not giving Marissa a lift or anything, because you offered but she said no because her car was already with her and it would complicate things. It's not your fault. Okay?"

Ryan shifted slightly under the covers and grunted. It is my fault though. I should have given her a lift; we could have picked her car up later. If I had given her a lift, this would never have happened…we'd still be together.

"Right, buddy, now that we've cleared that up, lets see if we can solve my problems. Summer. Ryan, what do I do about Summer? Because right now, she's not with me, and she's not with Zach. She's with no one!" Seth paused for breath.

But what happens if she decides she doesn't like being single…but she won't ask me or Zach out because of what happened at the launch party. So she finds another guy, Ryan, another one. Then what do I do? How do I compete against 2 people at the same time for the right to have Summer as my girlfriend? It's just not ethical."

At the mention of the word girlfriend, Ryan groaned. I don't think I have a girlfriend anymore; if what Julie said is true. Of course its true, she's not gonna lie about something like that. And it explains why Marissa won't see me…kind of. What can I do?

Ryan rolled over and realised that Seth was still talking at him.

"Granted I've got Jesus and Moses on my side…but we work as a team, and when there's two enemies in the picture; we have a problem! So, what do you think I should do? The Fantastic Four cannot be apart for long; it's just not right."

Ryan looked at him. "I dunno; why don't you try talking to her?"

Seth looked back at Ryan. "I could try that; talking is one of my strong points. We all know that I'm very good at talking. Yes, I think I like where you're going with this Ryan; as the brains, I should go and figure the rest of this out. Oh, and dude, you look kinda rough. Go take a shower and get ready, cause we're meant to be at school soon. I'll be inside."