The Drama-less College Years….. Right?

By: jvogel54321

Disclaimer: Still not so much with the owning.

A/N: Since this is my first fic, I figure I owed you a quick second, full-sized chapter. Please R&R.

Episode One: The Future Now (Chapter Two)

Seth and Ryan are alone in the kitchen, trying as hard as possible to not look at each other. Ryan sits quietly at the small kitchen table and distracts himself by looking around the apartment. The kitchen is actually much more put together than the living room. There are no boxes lying around. All the appliances and dishware and cups are all in their places. It reminds him of a smaller version of the Cohen kitchen. Of course the two-dozen bagels now sitting on the table in front of him help with that comparison. The kitchen only has the three walls, opening up to the living room. Besides the TV and Playstation he noticed earlier on the wall opposite the kitchen, there really isn't a lot set-up yet. The only piece of furniture is the navy blue couch set a few feet from the TV.

At first he only notices the Cohen-y things: the TV and Playstation, the open boxes of games next to it, the cardboard cases full of comics in the far right corner next to the tv, the half-organized record collection and boxes labeled SETH BOOKS sitting in front of three unopened, unassembled boxes of shelves. Then he sees other things mixed in with Seth's things. There are boxes labeled COOPER FAMILY PHOTOS and RIS'S BOOKS. There is the Sex Pistols poster in the far left corner on the inside of the door that Caitlin and Marissa walked through just a minute ago. There is a two-inch thick pile of fashion magazines next to the couch that definitely doesn't scream "Cohen". And sitting there in front of the comic boxes, why didn't he see it before, Share Bear and Captain Oats, sitting side-by-side.

Ryan takes another long look around the room from right to left. On the other side of the wall in front of him is the hallway that leads to the bathroom and bedroom. And Ryan just sits there a second thinking about it. The one bedroom. He is woken from his haze as Seth turns around and sets a cup of coffee in front of him and sits down next to him.

It was after another moment, Seth who decided to try and be the brave one.

"So."

"Yeah, um, I don't suppose you have an ashtray?" Ryan asks, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket.

"Actually no, I don't smoke anymore. Not anything. Gave it up over the summer," Seth answers. "You know... allergies and all. When did you start again?"

"I started working on a couple of construction jobs over the summer to pay some bills, help with Mary. And I just kind of picked it up again. That's how is goes I guess," Ryan replied. "But that's good. You know, that you aren't—"

"High as a kite? Yeah I gave that up not too long after… well obviously Sethummer ended more Bennifer and less Garfleck."

Ryan took a drink of his coffee, hesitant where the next step in the conversation would take him. Seth mostly stared at his own cup, knowing he left the door open.

"How… um, how long after I left…"

"The next day. Come on man, you know I'd never just move right in."

"Well apparently you both did. Here." Seth had never heard such venom in Ryan's voice before. At least not since the Oliver situation three and a half years ago.

"Look, you left. Again, I might add. School isn't out less than 48 hours and you give up our last summer as the fantastic four and head to Atlanta for three months. And I know why and I don't hold it against you; not for a second. But I got a chance to realize what we did to Summer and Marissa before. I got to be one of the people left behind. You left and I didn't even leave the house for two weeks. Summer calls it off and that is a whole story I can't even wrap my head around to this day. So there we were alone and broken, all four of us. And-and-and… I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't be depressed anymore. The whole Lone Wolf thing wasn't working out. I went outside, which I admit is a phenomenon in Orange County even before you left."

"Are you coming up on the part where you hooked up with my girlfriend yet!"

"I know you called a few times, Mom was glad to hear from you. So was Dad, but Marissa and I just felt worse. And we just decided not to fall apart. I got together my money from the first run of Atomic County and the two of us took a road trip and then—"

"A road trip. You and Marissa. My Marissa."

"Well ya know three months ago it wasn't Your Marissa, so much as Your Mary."

Seth had always wondered how Ryan could always take down bigger guys, like Luke even, in one punch. Right then he found out.

Caitlin sat down next to her sister on the bench in front of the building. She was wondering how things were going for Seth inside. Probably not good knowing Seth and knowing Ryan. Marissa had barely pulled on a pair of sweatpants before she and Caitlin were out the door, both happy to leave the room behind them. This was not going to go well on a multitude of levels. But all she could do to help is put her arm around Marissa and watch the tears start to build up behind her eyes. She decided to pull a move out of the Seth Cohen handbook.

"So I guess I'm not that special anymore, not being the only bearer of the secret anymore. Just when I was feeling good with all my well-developed stealth skills." Marissa laughed over the building tears at her sister's joke. Marissa took her sister's hand and squeezed a little. This summer started out like the worst ever. Ryan left to spend the summer with his daughter and Theresa. Summer broke up with Seth and took an extended vacation in Hawaii before heading east for college. And with the success of her business, Julie was starting to turn from the relative cool person she grew into back into the evil Julie Cooper-Nichol again. But just as she thought it was going to fall apart her heroes stepped up to the plate. Caitlin pretty much gave up on her Johnny-infatuation and pulled a 180 into full sister-who-loved-me-and-doted-over-me mode. Caitlin was the first person to make her feel like the world was, in fact, not going to end. Then there was Seth and their road trip. The Pancake Tour of North America. Or at least up the west coast and east all the way to Pennsylvania, where they ran out of both time and money and made a bee-line home to Newport last week. Marissa had actually been happy and content. Should have known it was too good to last. This would be some great time for some sisterly advise.

"Don't cry okay?"

Marissa half-grunted a reply, "That's the best advise you got?"

Taking a deep breath, Caitlin blew into it. "Alright, here you go… Get Over It! I mean come on Marissa, you can't get this wrapped up over Ryan coming back. That's so stupid. I mean look at your pathetic love life over the past decade. First there was Luke, a relationship so demeaning and destructive, I never even liked you with him, and you barely got out of it alive. And I'm not saying that just because I had the biggest crush on him back then, that's just the facts. Then Ryan. Or at least sort of, I mean where you guys ever a solid couple for more than three weeks at a time, it was this idiot rollercoaster that you barely got off of without jail time. Throw your friendship with Oliver in the mix. I never even met the guy and I know he should be committed. And then more Ryan that ended in disaster. And DJ was nothing but drama, just like all the rest. And then Ryan again, more disaster. And then there was that whole Trey fiasco and yet more Ryan which again ended with you in tears and again nearly in prison. Then there was the surfer punk whose name I don't even mention. Ugh. And we wrap up senior year with more Ryan-based drama."

"You know, counting down my greatest hits might not be the best subject at the moment."

"Greatest hits, Marissa? Please they were the crappy warm-up band. Then Seth stopped by and took us out for pancakes. You were happy. You were apparently so happy you took off for two months to repeat the process. And you came back so couple-y and cute. I honestly don't know how I was the ONLY one who noticed." Caitlin playfully nudged her sister. "I mean have you actually not smiled since that morning he showed up?"

"It has been pretty perfect."

"I told ya. Now just don't let the whole 'And then Ryan…' Thing come up again and you might keep this good streak going. Repeat after me… No More Drama."

"Have you forgotten where we live? No More Drama and the OC don't exactly go together."

"Technically, you live in L.A. now, not Newport. And well, just because I am about to start my first year of OC drama, doesn't mean you can't have everything you always wanted."

"When did you become so wise?"

"Well obviously I take after Mom."

"Obviously," Marissa got out before she and Caitlin began laughing.

In a flash Ryan jogged out the door not even looking over at them. After he stepped into the Range Rover he looked over and saw them. Marissa decided not to be weak anymore. No More Crying. No More Drama. She stood up and faced him, her face resolute. As he reached to turn the key she spoke up, "I'm sorry you feel bad Ryan. I really am and so is Seth. But I'm not sorry for what happened. We didn't do anything wrong and you're a big enough a person to know that's true."

Ryan looked away from her and drove away without a word and even though she felt bad, the hurt of Ryan leaving was something that she got over months ago.

"Way to go, Marissa!" Caitlin said. An infectious smile on her face was spreading to Marissa's. "Come on, let's go see how many pieces he left Seth in."

As Marissa led them back into the apartment, Seth greeted them at the door holding an ice pack over his left cheek. "Seth! Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I decided the best way to defend you would be trying to break Ryan's fist on my face. As a plan it has some faults." Marissa brushed her hand against Seth's soon-to-be bruise before gently kissing it. "And yet there is the bright side," he added.

"I don't suppose you mentioned how we were all coming back to Newport for the day, huh?" Caitlin questioned. Seth and Marissa looked at each other squeamishly. This was going to be there one day to go back to Newport show up at their parents' party as a couple, effectively dropping the bomb on the Newport social elite before taking off for three months at school. Worried they might try and back out, which the were actually both thinking of doing at the moment, Caitlin continued, "Well there's no backing out now guys. I am not spending another night on your ratty couch."

"She's right, Seth. No backing out now."

"Wow, we haven't even gotten to the party and already we made with the violence. There's the Orange County, I remember and loathe."