Title: Apples and Trees

Description: Ryan is in danger of following in his brother's footsteps.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The O.C.. Not for profit.

Chapter 8

Ryan tried to explain it all to Marissa. Why he felt he had to leave, and that it was not because of her (well, a little bit, but she didn't have to know that). The fact that he was coming back. The fact that he was not breaking up with her. She didn't seem to understand, or maybe she didn't want to. But he kept trying.

"Marissa, I supported you when you were going to leave to go to Hawaii with your parents, remember? I understood what you were saying, why you had to leave, and that while you were leaving town, you weren't leaving me."

Marissa smiled at Ryan, seductively. "Yeah, and I remember what we did the night before I was supposed to go."

She moved forward into his arms and started to kiss him passionately. She put her hands under his jacket, and worked her way under his wife-beater. Ryan felt himself respond to her touch. After a few minutes of making out, Ryan moved away to catch his breath.

"What are you doing?"

She smiled again. "Trying to make it harder for you to leave."

She started kissing him again, but he pushed her away gently. Marissa started to cry softly. "But I need you. My life doesn't work without you..."

Ryan sighed. He took both of her hands in his, and looked straight into her eyes. "We hardly see each other these days, Marissa. You see your new friends more than you see me –"

Marissa reacted to that. She pulled her hands out of his. "That isn't my fault. It wasn't my choice to get kicked out of Harbor. It wasn't my choice to come here."

Ryan narrowed his eyes at her. What was she implying? "And I wanted to get expelled? Is that what you're saying?"

"You're the one who punched the Dean."

"To protect you!"

Marissa stood up and took a step away from the bench, then turned on him. "I didn't ask you to! I told you, I don't need you to help me, I don't need you to protect me!"

Ryan stood up, too. They were both yelling now. "You know what! You don't have to worry about that any more!" Ryan threw his arms out to the side. "I'm done trying to protect you! I'm done trying to help you!"

Ryan took a step towards Marissa, but suddenly from out of nowhere, Marissa's friend Johnny was there, stepping in between them, pushing Marissa behind him, edging them both away from Ryan.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Johnny ignored Ryan and turned to Marissa. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I could hear you guys from way over there." He took a quick look at Ryan, and then turned back to Marissa. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Ryan was getting fed up with this. He was barely holding back his rage. He told Johnny between clenched teeth, "She said she was fine. Stay out of this! This is between me and my girlfriend. Why don't you go and take care of your own?"

Johnny turned to face Ryan, with Marissa behind him, and stood his ground. "I'm not leaving."

Ryan could feel his anger boiling over. "Yeah? You want to go, let's go!"

"Fine!"

Ryan took off his jacket, in preparation for a fight. He'd teach this ass to stay out of his business.

"Ryan, don't! Please." When Ryan didn't stop taking off his jacket, Marissa grabbed Johnny's arm and pulled. "Johnny, you don't want to do this. Believe me."

Johnny turned partway to be able to look at Marissa, without taking his eye off of Ryan.

"I'm not going to let this brute hurt you." Marissa started to protest, but Johnny grabbed her hand. "I know you said he's never touched you, but you have to leave him before he does. He's always angry at you –"

"Johnny! Johnny, Ryan would never hurt me. He's not like that."

Ryan was completely taken aback. He couldn't believe that Johnny thought that he had to protect Marissa from him. He was the one who did the protecting.

So was that how Marissa's friends saw him? As some perpetually angry, potentially abusive, leather-jacketed brute from the wrong side of the tracks who was a threat to his girlfriend? Ryan took a step back. Thinking back on it, he guessed that yeah, pretty much every time he saw Marissa's friends, he ended up getting angry about something or another. Starting from that first time that he saw Johnny and Marissa together and misjudged the situation.

Ryan looked at Marissa. What had she been telling her friends? Did she tell them about Trey and what he did? Did they think that he'd follow in his brother's footsteps and do the same thing one day? Ryan locked eyes with Marissa. She was giving him a pleading look. Did she think he was capable of that? Ryan decided he didn't want to find out.

Ryan grabbed for his jacket and started putting it on. "You know what, forget it. I'm done. I'm gone."

Ryan picked up his duffle bag and started walking fast in the other direction. Marissa called after him. He kept going. He heard Johnny call after Marissa a moment later, and so wasn't surprised when Marissa ran up to him and grabbed his arm. When he stopped, she threw her arms around him and kissed him deeply.

"Ryan, ignore him. He doesn't know what he's talking about. I know you would never hurt me. Please don't leave."

Ryan held her tightly for a moment then shook his head. "I have to go. For lots of reasons."

"Just stay one more night, please? One last good-bye?"

Ryan held firm. If he spent the night with her, he wasn't sure he could leave. "I'm sorry. I can't. I have to go, but I'll be back next summer. Promise."

Tears were running down Marissa's face, but she nodded. She leaned in and kissed him one last time. "I'll be waiting."

To be continued.