Sorry this took so long. With a mix of not knowing where I wanted it to go, school, friends, and a disgusting block, it took a while. And I still don't think it came out perfectly. I'll try to keep it going faster, but I can't promise anything. Because I want to give y'all long chapters. So remember: Si tu es patient, tu as récompenses. J'ai rien; Josh Schwartz a beaucoup. Paix et amour...

His hands were sliding up her thighs. His breath was in her ear; his lips were barely grazing her hair. And it didn't feel like it should. At all. It felt...wrong. Like he was a thirteen year old boy trying to flip her skirt up. Like she shouldn't be letting him touch her.

But it wasn't like she had asked him to stop. It wasn't like she could ask him to stop. It had been a week. You don't just say to someone after a week that you never want them to touch you again. Especially when they technically hadn't done anything wrong. It just felt wrong.

"Seth."

"Yeah?"

"Stop."

"What?"

"Stop."

He rolled off of her, looking at her with confused eyes through the curls that were falling into his face. She shrugged and slipped off of her bed.

"Summer? Is something..."

"Do you love me?" She turned her face to look up at him. He kind of shook his head as if he didn't hear her.

"What?"

"Do you love me?"

"Summer, this is a..."

"It's a yes or no question. Do you love me?"

"I..."

"Yes or no?"

"Summer, you can't just expect me to answer a question that..."

"No? That's fine. Just say it and you can get some."

"But I..."

"Say it. No."

"Summer..."

"No. I can take it. Just say it. You don't love me."

"I can't...I should...go."

He kept his eyes locked on the ground, shuffling his feet as he stumbled out of the pool house. Summer watched the glass door slam from the floor and thought how it would've been so much better if he had just admitted that he didn't.

Seth fell onto the couch in the living room next to Ryan, cradling his head in his hands on the arm of the couch.

"Tired?" Ryan glanced lightly over, craning his neck to see Seth's face.

Seth just shrugged and pulled his legs up onto the couch too, gently kicking Ryan's feet. He didn't notice, or if he did, he just didn't care. Random reruns were playing, but Seth couldn't comprehend a single line. He didn't love her. He didn't. He shouldn't. And it didn't even matter if he did, because she needed more than him. She needed someone who could marry her and live happily ever after in a castle in the clouds. Seth couldn't give her that. He'd hurt her, sometime, someday. He wasn't anyone's Prince Charming.

Jenn strolled into the room, slipping in between Ryan and Seth's feet. She pushed Seth's feet off, and curled up along his stomach. She snuck her head against his chest and pulled his arm around her shoulders. His thumb stroked the tanned skin of her upper arm, too lazy to move drastically. He didn't even think about how he hadn't seen these kids for the first nine years of their lives, because they were as much his niece and nephew as Ryan was his brother.

But he had no idea what Summer was to him. And it wasn't fair.

"Jenn!" All three of their heads turned to the front hall, seeing Marissa run into the room.

"Hey guys." She said, a little out of breath. "Jenn, you left your book in my room." Marissa tossed a paperback onto Jenn's lap and sat down after pushing Seth's elbow away from the arm of the couch.

Jenn flipped open the cover and scrunched up her eyebrow until finally recognizing the book. "Oh. Thanks Aunt Marissa. I should go read this."

She stood up and walked out of the room, staring at the back cover. Marissa flicked her hand at Seth, gesturing for him to slide over. He sort of flopped, but she kicked him one last time so she could sit.

"Ryan, did you get...Riss. Hey." Summer smiled quickly at the couch, diverting her eyes away from Seth as quickly as she could.

"Hey. Summer, sit." Marissa slid even farther over and tapped the couch next to her. Summer glanced for a second at Seth again, but shrugged and sat next to Marissa. They sat in silence, each one checking their watch every now and then. Marissa rolled her eyes and looked from Summer, to Seth, to Ryan.

"Ryan. Truth or dare."

"What?"

"Truth or dare."

"Truth."

"Did you ever think Mrs. Cohen was hot?"

Seth crinkled his nose and slunk down in his seat. Ryan's eyes had widened and he looked absently forward at Marissa. He shook his head and fell back against the couch.

"Maybe."

Marissa giggled. "Keep going."

"Not, like, when she was my mom."

"But..."

"I don't know. When I first got here. Maybe. A little."

"God, dude. Uh." Seth shook his head rapidly and let his head fall to his hand.

"Seth. Truth or dare?" Marissa raised her eyebrows and Seth quivered.

"Dare."

Marissa looked over to the t.v. still playing some reality show.

"Kiss her." She pointed at the t.v. at a castmate grinning at the milkman.

"Uh, how?"

"Kiss the t.v."

Seth shrugged, walked over, and, without any hesitation, licked the t.v. He gagged for a second and shook his head. "Dust."

Marissa laughed, "Gross" as he sat back down.

"Marissa. Truth or dare." Seth muttered, swallowing.

"Truth."

"What's it like being married? Honestly."

She shrugged. "It's not as big a difference as people think it is. People just stop looking quicker."

"What do you mean?"

"Guys stop checking me out."

"Do you ever wish you didn't do it?"

"Maybe sometimes."

"Why?"

"Because, I don't know. Brendan's not around a lot. I miss him when he's gone."

"If you had to do it again?"

"I'd probably wait a little longer. But actually...probably...I would. Do it again."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You'd marry Brendan?"

"Yes."

"What if you could choose between him and Ryan? You guys were pretty close."

The smile had slipped off of Marissa's face and she shrugged. "That's another question."

Ryan had looked the other way, pretending he couldn't hear. Seth watched him and watched Marissa look the other way.

"What happened?" Seth looked at Summer, but she shook her head. He looked back around at Ryan.

"Nothing. It was just...ended." He looked away again and Seth didn't bother looking back to Marissa.

"Oh."

"Um, Riss, Chris is at Mike's house. Would you, um, come with me?" Summer nodded and picked up Marissa's hand, tugging her out of the room.

Seth slouched down on the couch, Ryan mimicking him.

"So what did happen?" Seth nodded his head slightly forward, but Ryan just lifted his shoulders.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean? You were there."

"It just wasn't the same. I had a kid. She had waited too long. Just stuff."

"Meaning?"

"We didn't match. I mean, we never really did, but we were too different. And not in the good opposites attract way. Like we couldn't understand each other anymore. And it ended."

"Did you do it?"

"I don't remember. I didn't love her like I used to. It was over. We both knew it. It was, like, a given."

"A given."

"It was just understood."

"Oh."

"We just don't talk about it. Apparently, she wasn't really ready to let go, because she was having a hard time with love and whatever. She was always with Summer, so...after a while, I mean, she got over me, obviously. I mean, she loves Brendan. A lot. And he loves her too. And it's good for her. So, yeah."

"You never talk about it? That was, like, a storybook romance thing and you just threw it away? Like it was nothing?"

"We know it wasn't nothing. It's just not important anymore. There are more significant things currently happening in our lives. So we push it back a little."

"How do you do it? Just ignore the fact that anything happened."

"We have to. It was never really a problem, because we just knew it was something that we had to do."

Seth shrugged and looked back at the screen, trying to distinguish the cast members from the cast members' play toys.

"Why?" Ryan mentioned, following Seth's gaze.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just interested."

"Because..."

"Just curiosity."

"Right. Because you don't care about what might potentially shatter your relationship with Summer, because you're not having a, well almost, an affair with her."

"Yes. Wait. What?"

"Yeah. You guys suck at that sneaking around thing."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So that's why you're interested?"

"No."

"No."

"I have to break that thing off anyway."

"Oh yeah. That's what you said before."

"And I did break it off."

"For, like, a day."

"How'd you know?"

"Oh. After I saw you guys, I talked to Kirsten."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Seth looked away again.

"So. You're not going to get all preachy and say that I should just pick whether or not I want to be with her?"

"I don't think I have to."

"Why not?"

"Because you just said it."

"Doesn't mean I'm going to do it."

"Yes you will. You care too much about what's best for her."

Ryan nodded and stood up, walking out of the room.

Summer pulled into a driveway that was noticeably shorter than the others. She tossed her keys into her purse and pulled Marissa up with her to the front door. She knocked sharply, and let a hand slip to her purse's strap. The door opened and she smiled.

"Hi. I'm Chris's mom. Summer. You're Mike's mom?"

The woman was very obviously in her mid forties, with a wrinkle in her forehead for nearly every year she had been alive. She smiled back and nodded, taking Summer's hand, after a moment's hesitation.

"Yes. Chris is a really good boy. I hope some of him rubbed off on Mikey."

Summer smiled and nodded. "He is a good boy."

"Chris! Your mother's here." The woman yelled in an almost singing voice behind the door. She looked back at Summer.

"I'm Charlene."

"Summer."

She nodded and lay her hands on Chris's shoulders when he came to the door with a dramatically blonde boy a head taller than him. Summer's smile extended.

"Hi Mike. I'm Chris's mom."

The boy crinkled his forehead. "How old are you?"

"Michael!" Mrs. Mikey's mom shoved his shoulder. "That's not a question you ask."

"What? She's younger than you." The boy's lip slightly curled, knowing he had shut up his mother. He looked back at Summer.

"She's twenty five." Chris said, walking away from the woman, and holding Summer's hand.

"That's really young! That's how old Jake's sister is."

"Michael, please. Go play with your father." Mrs. Mikey's mom tapped his shoulder again and gestured behind her. Mike took one last look at Summer before running off.

"I'm really sorry about him. He does have horrible manners."

"No. It's really okay."

"Okay. I am very sorry. It was nice to meet you. Chris, honey, whenever you want to come back, just call, okay?"

Chris nodded and held Summer's hand a little tighter. She squeezed it briefly and caught his eye before saying goodbye to the woman and walking with him to the car. Chris grinned up at Marissa.

"Guess what, Aunt Marissa."

"You've become president of the United States."

Chris laughed and shook his head. "No. Look."

He stuck his finger into his mouth and probed his cheek until she could see the back of his mouth. The fifth tooth back was just a hole.

"Oh my god. Are you sure you're not ten?"

He nodded. "I'm seven."

"You're so old."

"That's why my mommy's so young."

Summer sighed and nodded. "Yes, honey."

"But it's a good thing. Because my mommy's prettier than all the other mommies."

Marissa laughed. "You're right, Chris. She is."

Chris nodded. "I'm very good at percepting people."

Summer and Marissa both giggled. "Did Uncle Ryan tell you that?"

"No. Grandpa."

Summer nodded. "Grandpa's right."

"I know."

"Okay."

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Did you make up with Seth when I was gone?"

"What?"

"Did you guys kiss and make up?" Chris winked at Marissa. She covered her mouth with her hand, visibly biting her cheek.

Summer stared at Marissa. "What are you saying, Chris?"

"Nothing."

"Chris..."

"Nothing."

Summer stopped the car and pulled over to the side. "Seth Christopher, I'm not going to ask again."

"I saw you guys. Me and Aunt Marissa did."

"What?"

"You guys were at the driveway. And you thought we didn't see you, but we did."

"And Aunt Marissa didn't tell me?"

Marissa stopped laughing and turned back around in her seat. "Maybe Aunt Marissa never had the right moment to tell you."

"Mmm." Summer looked away from Marissa, sighed, and pulled the car back onto the road.

"Funny. That's what you said with Seth on the driveway." Chris's eye gleamed.