"So, you guys, what do you want to do?" Seth said, as he jumped excitedly on the bed. Marissa and Ryan were seated on a couple of bean bag cushions, and Summer was shutting her window.
"Seth, please stop jumping on my bed, it's like, going to collapse soon." Summer said, shooting him a look.
"Good point, and then what would we have sex on?" Seth said, falling back on the bed as Summer punched him playfully.
"So, what do you guys want to do, I'm kinda bored…" Marissa said from the floor, picking a stray thread from her otherwise immaculate pink pajamas.
"Well…..we could finish watching Titanic?" Summer suggested. "Not that we actually started it…"
"I for one, am not watching Titanic." Seth said, crossing his arms, and leaning back against the headboard. "And I'm sure Ryan's with me? Right?" Ryan shrugged.
"I don't mind what we do…" Ryan said, absentmindedly stroking Marissa's arm, as she snuggled up to him.
"I know, let's ….." Marissa stopped her sentence, and thought. "…bake a cake?"
"Bake …a cake?" Summer replied. "And like get all….doughy? Ew!" Marissa smiled and shook her head.
"Well, I bet you'd appreciate it when you eat it." Marissa said. "Come on, you guys, it'll be fun!" Seth shook his head. "What else are you going to do, lie around here all night?" She asked again in desperation, as Seth and Summer leaned into one another. Marissa looked at Ryan, who shrugged.
"Lying around sounds great." Seth said sleepily, and Marissa sighed. Looking towards to Ryan, she grabbed his arm, and pulled him up with her.
"Come on, you." She said, leading him out of Summer's door. "You aren't getting out of this one." Ryan smiled, and let Marissa drag him down the stairs.
"So, it says….four ounces…of…chocolate." Marissa said, poring over the cookbook that she had found shoved at the back of the cabinet in Summer's kitchen. "And four…large eggs." She turned around at Ryan, who stood with his hands in his pockets behind her. "Well?"
He gave her a look. "What?"
"Get the stuff!" Marissa said, smiling slightly, yet impatiently and turning back around again. Ryan, again, gave her a blank look behind her back.
"What stuff?"
"The, ingredients!" Marissa turned around yet again, and shoved the book in his face. "Oh, don't worry, I'll do it." She rolled her eyes, and made her way over to the fridge. Ryan followed her, and grabbed her hand.
"No, no, just tell me what we need and I'll get it." Marissa smiled as Ryan relented, and repeated what she had said before. Ryan opened the fridge and looked for the eggs.
"Hey, Riss.."
"Hmm?" Marissa said, bending down and leaning into one of the cupboards again looking for the scales.
"There's only, three eggs..." Ryan turned around and showed her the half empty box. Marissa frowned slightly, looking up.
"Um, that will have to do." She shrugged, and took them from him. "Got the chocolate..?" Ryan grabbed the packet from the surface, and handed it to her. "Okay…now…flour." Ryan opened a random cupboard, and poked around a bit.
"What does self-raising mean?" He asked, curiously bringing out a bag of flour which he presumed would do.
"It raises its self?" Marissa replied, shrugging. "I don't know, I'm not exactly a fan of Home Ec."
"Yeah, me neither." Ryan replied, smiling. He set the ingredients on the side, and looked at the book. "Cocoa powder?" Marissa slid it to him and he set it beside the rest. "So, all set?"
Marissa nodded slowly, and then thought of something. "Oh, I forgot to ask." She said, smiling. "How do you like my apron?" She twirled around as Ryan looked at the floral monstrosity that was tied around her waist. He brought a hand to his chin.
"What can I say?" He replied, eyebrows raised, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, beautiful." He smiled again, then just burst out laughing. "You look like….Martha Stewart." Marissa opened her mouth, and slapped him on the arm. She regained her posture, and straightened out the apron.
"Well, that was the look I was going for." She glared at him humorously. "Now, where's the wooden spoon?"
Ryan and Marissa lay on Summer's sofa after they had placed their cake into the oven. Marissa's eyes were closing, and Ryan was having a hard time keeping her awake.
"So…where's Summer's ….parents?" Ryan asked, curiously. The whole time he had been at her house, he hadn't seen any sign of either her mum or dad.
"Um…Summer's dad goes away a lot, I guess." Marissa sighed as she settled in the crook of his arm. "That's why I stay round here so often, I think Summer gets pretty lonely." Ryan nodded, and glanced at his watch.
"You do know, its…gone midnight?" Ryan said, shaking his head. "This cake had better be nice."
"It will be…" Marissa smiled, as the timer beeped. "Come on, I think its ready." Ryan got up, and walked to the silver oven, peering in. Marissa opened the oven door, and reached over for the oven gloves. She took the cake out, and set it on the cooling rack.
"So what do you think?" She said, stepping back, and admiring their work.
"Smells….. good." Ryan said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "We make a pretty good team, don't we?" Marissa turned around in his arms, and smiled. She began to lean in to kiss him, when they were interrupted by the...doorbell?
"What the…hell?" Ryan said, glancing at his watch.
"Ryan, get the baseball bat from under the stairs." Marissa whispered, as she clung on to him, scared.
"What! Marissa, we don't need a baseball bat!" Ryan said, laughing amused. "Someone's just ringing the doorbell!"
"What kind of person rings the doorbell at nearly one in the morning!" Marissa hissed, as Ryan cracked up with laughter. "Argh, I'm going to get Summer." Marissa ran quickly up the stairs, and peered into her room. Great, Seth and Summer lay fast asleep on the four-poster bed. Ryan appeared in the doorway.
"Why don't you just answer it?" He said, quietly, walking silently over to the window to see if he could make out any human form in the driveway, but it was too dark too see anything.
"Because….it could be anyone!" Marissa replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "You answer it!" Ryan turned and looked at her.
"Fine!" He turned and walked out of the room, before leaning back in, and offering his hand. "Come with me?" Marissa sighed, then smiled, and walked down the stairs with him.
The porch light wasn't on, so it was pitch black, and the antique clock on the table told them it was twenty to one. They both jumped as the doorbell ran again, and Ryan reached out his hand to open the door a fraction, and the expression on his face turned to one of relief as he saw who was ringing the doorbell. He pulled the door open fully, and stepped back so Marissa could see who it was.
"Dad!" She squinted through the darkness as Jimmy stepped through into hallway of the house.
"Hey, kiddo." He smiled slightly as Ryan shut the door. "Kirsten said you guys were probably over her." Marissa nodded.
"Dad… it's nearly 1 a.m …. " She trailed off, looking at Ryan, who shrugged.
"I know, I know. " Jimmy said, before looking Marissa in the eye. "I'm catching the 4:55 am plane to Maui." Marissa remained still, as she felt Ryan's comforting hand slip gently into hers.
"What are your talking about?" She replied, eyes quickly filling up with tears, then nodding her head. "So you're leaving me."
"I'm not leaving you, Marissa, I would never leave you…. I'm…just going away for awhile…"
"And how longs awhile…a month, two months?"
"I was thinking more like around a year…" Jimmy said, looking down sadly, as Marissa's face cracked as she began to cry.
"A year!" She said, raising her voice through her tears. "Why!"
"I need to get away, from everything. To have some time to think, sort myself out…" He shook his head as thoughts of Julie flashed into his mind. "To become a better father." Marissa shook her head.
"You're leaving to become a better father?" Marissa said, Ryan standing between them awkwardly. "Nice thinking, Dad, go away, and forget about all your problems, while I have to live with Mom. Great, just great. That's not called getting away, that's called selfishness." Marissa turned and ran up the stairs, leaving Jimmy looking sad as they both heard the bathroom door slam. Ryan shut his eyes, and looked down.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cooper…" He said, smiling as best he could at Jimmy. "I'm sure she didn't mean it…"
Jimmy shook his head. "It's ok, Ryan….I guess…I just had it coming…" He looked back up, holding out his hand, and shaking Ryan's. "I'm gonna head home, and grab my stuff." Ryan nodded. "Look after Marissa, Ryan."
Ryan smiled sadly. "I will, I promise." Jimmy nodded, and turned away, hands in his pockets.
A/N:- Arghhhh! lol!You have no idea how long that took to write, I'm so sorry...I had major writer's block. But hope you liked it anway! Please read and review...I need some serious inspiring : )