As she waited to arrive at Holly's beach house, Summer couldn't help but think about her life. Truth be told, she lead a perfect Newport life. Her dad was the best of the local plastic surgeons, and she had a huge house, and her dad gave her all the money she wanted. The only thing that she missed was being able to talk to someone other than her dad or Marissa. As much as she loved her life, she didn't know if this was all that the world had to offer, or if she really wanted to be a Newport princess her whole life. She couldn't admit this to Marissa, but something about Ryan felt like the anti-Newport. She thought that everyone in the town had this crazy idea that she was just the product of Dr. Neil Roberts and another boring Newpsie. She couldn't really remember her mother that well, but she remembered thinking she was the prettiest mom of all her friends. She hadn't told anyone how horribly she felt when her mom left her and 13. She had to be perfect, like all of the other women that her dad worked on. After this realization, which she decided was too deep for the start of another Newport party; she put on her perfect Newport smile and hoped tonight would be different.

Summer and Marissa got to Holly's house first, and started to drink some margaritas. They'd also changed out of their dresses and into bikinis. By the time Seth and Ryan arrived, the party was in full swing. Seth forgot to mention that these parties were best appreciated without a suit on, but Ryan didn't really care. He was at this party, and it seemed so much better than the charity event from earlier in the night. There were no adults there, and the alcohol flowed freely. Ryan walked in, and without thinking told Seth, "Welcome to the dark side."

Since Summer had invited Ryan to the party, he wanted to make sure that he said hello before he figured out his next move. To his surprise, he couldn't find her for the first ten minutes of the party. Feeling really awkward, Ryan looked for Seth, but realized that finding him was going to signal everyone that he was a total loser. After another lap around the house, Ryan finally noticed Summer outside on the patio. She was talking to Marissa, again.

"Man, that boy is fine. I want to play him hot and cold."

"What Sum? You don't even know him."

"I know, Coop! That's the point. I'll go over and talk to him and then have a little fun with him." Inside her head, though, Summer knew that she had another reason for wanting to talk to Ryan, not that Marissa, or anyone else at this party would care.

Marissa looked on disapprovingly, but knew there wasn't anything stopping Summer once she made up her mind.

"Well, Sum, I'm going to talk to Holly. I'll find you later. We still need to do those tequila shots."

"Right you are Coop! Find me later."

As Summer left Marissa, she say that Ryan was coming over to her. She decided that she was going to play hard to get with him first.

Ryan walked up to her saying, "Hey! Thanks for the invitation."

"Oh don't worry about it. These parties are pretty standard around here, and I'm always looking for some way to liven up the party."

"Oh, really. So bringing in total strangers is a way to liven up a party?" Ryan said wryly.

"Totally!"

"Alright then. Since I seem to be the entertainment, what can I do to make this party less dull?" Ryan said without realizing that he was flirting with the same girl that Seth had been eyeing since he was 10. Something in Ryan's head, though, didn't really stop him from continuing to look at Summer with bated breath.

"Hmm. I'm going to have to think about that for a minute of two. I'm going to go get another drink and then decide on your punishment, I mean, your next move."

Ryan had a feeling this was going to turn out badly, but he wanted to have some fun. "Sounds fair. I'll meet you back here in five minutes."

Summer, after leaving Ryan dangling, headed over to tell Marissa that her plan was already in motion. As she walked up to Marissa and Holly, Summer thought better than to reveal her new project, and, instead, made a line for the bathroom.

Ryan, as soon as Summer left, thought better of his decision to come to this party, but decided that he didn't really care; he was out of Chino and that was the best part. He didn't have to worry about some drunk guy deciding that he was hitting on his girlfriend, and that was a relief.

Before Summer could continue her quest for Ryan Atwood, she had to make sure that she looked like the perfect Newport girl. She checked to make sure that there wasn't anything in her teeth, and she found some perfume in her purse and sprayed some on.

As she walked out of the bathroom, she noticed Ryan standing by the couch where a group of guys was passed out from too much weed. It reminded her that she needed another drink before, and she ran to find Coop for their promised tequila shot.

Marissa was standing by Luke at the bar; he was having his tenth beer of the night, and starting to yell loudly at the fellow water polo players at the party. Marissa, Summer thought, did not look happy. With that in mind, Summer decided that Marissa needed another pick-me up.

"Coop! I'm ready for that shot now. Are you?"

"Sure, Sum, but let me make sure that Luke doesn't make a huge ass out of himself."

Summer understood that Marissa needed to look out for him, but it seemed odd. Wasn't it the guy that should take care of his girlfriend she wondered? She decided that that conversation wouldn't do anyone any good, and quickly forgot it. Once Marissa returned, the two friends did their shots, and Summer told Marissa she was off to find Ryan again.

Ryan, while waiting for Summer, looked at the party in amazement. He never realized that parties could look like the ones he always saw in movies; nothing in the house looked out of place, and everyone was buzzed, but not belligerent. He tried to find Seth, but thought better of that, as he didn't want to risk being associated with Seth at his first party. He stood by a group of guys with a huge bong and wished he could take a hit. Alcohol was not going to be enough for this party, he thought, but he couldn't change that now.

Summer came barreling up to him with a huge smile and a look like she was going to make trouble.

"Miss me?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to try and find Seth."

"Smart move; I'm sure some of the guys on the polo team have found him and are doing something to him."

"Shouldn't I be worried?"

"Nope! It happens all the time, so I'm sure Seth has a good way to fight back."

Ryan, even after knowing Seth for a day, knew that Summer was full of it, but he was going to enjoy her company. He hadn't had any time with a girl in months, and he thought this was easy enough in a new environment.

It took him a minute to realize that he'd been thinking in his head, and he looked at Summer, who had a strange look on her face.

"Sorry about that! Since I'm the entertainment, how can I entertain you?" he said with a look that suggested he wanted to leave the party and go somewhere, private.

Summer noticed the look on his face, and knew that she had to cool things down quickly. "Well, I was thinking you could find me some weed off those guys next to you. I need a hit, badly."

A girl after his own heart; he was craving the feeling of being high. "Certainly, Summer. These guys look so baked, I doubt they'd miss a dime bag." Without hesitation, Ryan stealthy picked the pockets of the three guys and showed Summer three dime bags.

"Impressive; I didn't think anyone related to Seth would know how to pick a pocket."

"Well, let's say I'm from the bad sign of the family." Ryan knew that more subtle hints like that would blow his cover, but he didn't care too much. It didn't seem like Sandy or Kirsten would find out about this party.

Summer was intrigued by Ryan's ability, and decided that she could flirt again. "Is that so? Maybe you'd like to show me how bad you can be?"

Ryan took that as an open invitation. He took her hand, walked into the kitchen and grabbed some chips, then walked back out to the guys on the couch, picked a pipe off one of them, and took her upstairs.