Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for my very dirty car.

Thanks to StarLightX for doing a read through to catch my mistakes! And please review if you're so inclined.

Grateful that it was the last period of the day, Ryan stopped in the doorway of the classroom and looked around the room for an empty seat. Students were huddled together, talking quietly, and unpacking their books. Ryan felt stupid. He only had a couple of pieces of paper and a pen. He didn't look prepared for the rigors of the Harbor School and the class he was about to attend. He thought about turning around and just going home when someone tapped his shoulder.

"You're either in or out."

"Oh. S - sorry," he stammered. Ryan stepped into the classroom caught off guard by the man who was obviously his teacher.

"You must be the new student I just found out about. I'm Mr. Green."

The teacher was short and stout, with longish brown hair. Like many of the teachers at Harbor, he was dressed in a dark blue suit and a matching tie. He looked ready for one of Newport's famous charity functions. Back when he went to school in Chino, it was difficult to differentiate between the students and teachers. The teachers were always casual, wearing jeans, tee shirts, and sneakers. And they were so young that they hardly looked older than the seniors.

"Um. Yeah," Ryan agreed. "I'm Ryan Atwood."

"Well, Ryan you can take the empty seat over there." He motioned to an empty chair next to a studious looking girl with long red hair. Her head was buried in a book and she was wearing horn-rimmed glasses that fell to the tip of her nose. She was gnawing on her bottom lip, and the tip of her pencil was poised over a book. Ryan slipped into the seat next to her and she barely took notice until the teacher called the class to order.

"Okay, settle down. We have a lot to cover today. But first, down to business. We have a new student in our class. Let's welcome Ryan Atwood."

A murmur ran through the class. Ryan bowed his head. He recognized a couple of the kids, but that was all. He had taken a general track in his sophomore year and hadn't focused on math and science, but after hearing he had worked construction all summer, Ms. Fisher insisted he should try this track that it would ensure him a career in architecture or something similar.

"Okay, I'm going to reassign lab partners. Mr. Atwood actually rounds out the numbers so that this class has an even number. Mr. Shields, good news, you no longer have to be a third wheel."

A titter ran through the class.

"Mr. Shields and Ms. Jacobs can partner up. Ms. Gardner, I'd like you to partner with Mr. Atwood. And if you have time, perhaps you can help him catch up with what he's missed, because he's three weeks behind in this course."

Ryan looked around the room, hoping he'd figure out who Ms. Gardner was, when the girl next to him tapped his arm. "I'm Ms. Gardner," she whispered. "Lindsay."

"Oh. Thanks. I'm Ryan."

But a stern look from Mr. Green ended their conversation.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, there was a mad dash for the door as students hoped to be the first ones out of the school building and into the parking lot. Ryan folded his papers and tucked them into his back pocket and stuffed his pen their too.

"You don't look like you're very prepared for school," said Lindsay.

Ryan shrugged. "I – I wasn't expecting to be here. I thought I'd just be meeting with Dr. Kim."

They ambled out into the hall, staying clear of the rushing teens. They walked out of the building, squinting as the bright daylight hit their eyes. Lindsay headed for the parking lot and realized Ryan wasn't following. He stopped in middle of the road and was looking around. He wasn't sure who or what he was looking for. Seth was nowhere in sight and Sandy and Kirsten had each taken their cars when they left Ryan in school. He wasn't sure how he should get back to the Cohens'. It was too far to walk in the heat. And he didn't have his bike.

"Do you have a ride home?" Lindsay asked. She put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun.

Ryan shook his head. "I'll just walk or take a bus."

"I've got a car. It's not like these," she waved her hands around the shiny SUVs and sports cars. "But it starts most of the time."

"I wouldn't want you to go out of your way."

"How do you know it's out of my way?" Ryan told her where he had to go and she said, "I know where that is. My sister lives around there." She stopped suddenly and stuck a thumbnail in her mouth. Ryan wasn't sure why, but the comment made her nervous somehow. Maybe she didn't like her sister very much.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'll take you up on the ride."

He followed her to her car and hid his surprise at the rusty white vehicle; obviously, Lindsay wasn't a trust fund babe. She was probably a scholarship student, but that didn't make sense if she had a sister who lived in the same gated community as the Cohens.

"So, how come you're only starting school now?" Lindsay put her hand on the back of Ryan's headrest and turned her body halfway as she backed out of the parking spot.

Ryan breathed in sharply, aroused by Lindsay's round full breasts that were made more obvious in her current position. He looked away, hoping that his arousal didn't become too obvious.

"I – I was away," he answered.

Lindsay waited for more, but realized she wasn't going to get any. "You probably have lots to catch up on."

Ryan wished he hadn't agreed to the ride. He should have realized that it would come with excessive chatter. But he couldn't be rude, and he was grateful not to have to take the three mile trek to the Cohen's home.

"Yeah. Ms. Fisher told me not to count on any leisure time over Thanksgiving break. But in Harbor there's never any downtime."

Lindsay smiled. She had a pretty smile. Her shiny white teeth lit up the car.

"Are you new in Harbor?" Ryan steered the conversation away from himself. "I don't remember you from last year."

"I'm a transfer student. It's a lot easier to get into Yale from a prep school like Harbor."

Here she was, the same age as him with dreams about college and the ivy league, when two days ago, he was considering if he could afford to buy a new pair of work boots after he paid his rent and utilities.

She paid no attention to Ryan's silence and filled it in with idle chit chat until she turned into the gated community where the Cohens lived.

"So which street?"

"531 Hill."

The thumbnail was back in her mouth. "You're Ryan."

He rolled his eyes. "I thought we covered that back in school."

A nervous giggle burst from her lips, it pierced the air like a shrill ring of the phone in absolute silence.

"I mean, you're Ryan, who lived with the Cohens last year. I saw your picture on the fridge. Kirsten keeps it there."

"How do you know Kirsten?"

Lindsay took a deep breath. "She's my sister."

Ryan's forehead wrinkled in concentration as he tried to process what Lindsay meant; as far as he knew, Kirsten's only sister was Hailey. But Lindsay seemed to know he was. He had noticed the Chrismukkah picture hanging on the fridge the other night.

"I guess they didn't fill you in?"

He shook his head.

"Well, apparently, my mom and Caleb Nichol had an affair seventeen years ago. And then there was moi. I just found out a few weeks ago. Suddenly, I've got a dad, who doesn't acknowledge me, a stepmom and a stepsister who hate me, and two half sisters. I talked to Hailey once and I've e-mailed her a couple of times. I'm not sure what she thinks. But Kirsten seems to want to get to know me, to forge some sort of relationship.

"Wow. I had no idea. They never said anything." He wondered why Sandy had dragged him back if there was so much drama going on. He scratched the back of his head. "So you're Seth's aunt."

"Yours too."

His head snapped up.

"Kirsten told me she had two sons." Lindsay's voice dropped as she sensed that Ryan wasn't entirely comfortable with the direction the conversation had taken. "There's Seth and there's Ryan. She just told me you were figuring things out for a while, but she hoped you would be home by the holidays."

"She called me her son?"

"Why do you seem so surprised?" She pulled up alongside the Rover and put her car in park.

He shrugged. "Whatever." He unbuckled the seatbelt. "Thanks for the ride."

"I think I'll come in and say hi."

"Oh. Okay."

If Lindsay weren't trailing him, Ryan would have ducked around the back of the house and straight to the pool house. Instead, he used his key to open the front door and let her walk in front of him. She led him into the kitchen, where Kirsten was sitting at the table, a steaming mug at her side, and large blueprints spread around her.

She looked up and smiled. "Lindsay. Ryan. You've met?"

"Ryan and I are lab partners. I drove him home."

"Seth didn't wait for you? I left him the Range Rover. Sandy took me home." She shook her head. "He was meant to wait for him."

"Um, I didn't see him."

"I'm sorry, Ryan. I would have come to pick you up."

"It's okay. I had a ride. No harm done."

"So." Kirsten looked at her hands. "I guess Lindsay filled you in. I'm sorry. I didn't have a chance to tell you myself."

"Oh. The sister thing? Yeah, Lindsay told me."

Ryan stood awkwardly in middle of the kitchen. Last year, after a day of school, he would help himself to juice and snacks. The Cohens always kept a well stocked fridge and pantry. But he didn't feel like he was at home anymore; that he had the right to open their fridge and help himself to some food. What he wanted to was to make a break for the pool house, where he could be out of the way, but Lindsay was standing in his path and it would be too obvious if he tried to leave.

"I know it's strange. Lindsay and I are still trying to wrap our heads around it and feel our way to a comfortable relationship."

"More like fumble," Lindsay interjected with a short little laugh.

Kirsten smiled indulgently. "But we're doing okay. Right?"

Lindsay's lips curled into a grin. "I think so." But Ryan saw her thumbnail go straight for her mouth again. He wondered if she had drawn blood yet. "Is Seth home? I didn't see him today. I can go say hi."

"He's in his room."

Ryan didn't miss the disheartened note in Kirsten's voice. Her eyes followed Lindsay as her figure receded from the kitchen. He finally had a free path to the door and he was nearly there when Kirsten's voice stopped him.

"How were the classes you went to?"

"Okay."

"Do you think you'll be able to handle the workload? Ms. Fisher crammed quite a schedule."

"It's fine."

"Well, what about supplies?" She stood up and rolled up the blueprints. "We need to buy your school books. And you'll need a book bag, notebooks, pens, a calculator—" Her voice turned crisp and efficient as Kirsten did what she did best, organize and make lists.

"I can do all of that."

"No. I want to do it with you. It'll give us time to spend together. We can also shop for new school clothes."

"The stuff from last year is fine. Really, Kirsten, go back to work. You were in middle of something."

"Nonsense. I was just waiting for you to come home. Why don't you go get Seth and ask Lindsay if she wants to come along?"

Ryan tilted his head and cocked his brows; the look that Seth used to say conveyed everything. But it went right over her head. He didn't move right away, until she waved her hands towards the stairs, and Ryan saw she was serious at which point he was tempted to mutter something about asking Sandy to join so it would be a complete family affair. He bit his tongue and walked heavily up the stairs to do what he was told.

Lindsay was sitting on Seth's bed, rifling through his CD collection. Seth was on his computer, pecking at the keyboard with two fingers.

"Um, Seth, your mom wants us all to go shopping. You too Lindsay."

Seth swiveled around in his chair. "Shopping?"

Ryan sighed. "I need books and supplies and apparently new clothes."

Seth's mouth spread into a grin. It was the first one Ryan had seen since he had come back. "Mom shops when she's happy."

"Yeah. But I don't."

"I guess we need to humor her after what we put her through this summer. She'll be back to her workaholic self in no time." Seth turned towards his bed. "You in Aunt Lindsay?"

"Not if you keep calling me aunt." She pulled out her cell phone. "I better check in with my mom."

"Seth, I was hoping you'd help me get out of this," Ryan said desperately.

"And cross The Kirsten? I think not. Hey, it's not like she's going to buy you underpants."

Ryan scowled.

"Seth, stop picking on Ryan," Lindsay ordered with the phone still to her ear.

"Yes, Aunt Lindsay."

She threw a pillow at him.

For the first time in months, Seth felt happy. He knew it was cruel to help Kirsten coerce a shopping excursion on Ryan, but a family outing might be fun. It might be just the thing to jump start his family back to normal. Whatever normal was.

"Boys," Kirsten called from the bottom of the stairs. "Lindsay. Are you ready?"

Ryan threw one more pleading look at Seth to no avail.

They returned in time for dinner, laden with overflowing bags. Kirsten had invited Lindsay to eat with them, but her mother wanted her at home. Ryan dropped the bags by the back door, too tired to carry them any further. A day at the construction site hadn't worn him out as much as a few hours of shopping. They had picked up all his required textbooks, new school supplies, and then Kirsten had insisted on going to South Coast Plaza to add to his wardrobe. With a sly wink to Ryan, Seth had started to whine, until Kirsten appeased him with some new games for the play station and a few new Graphic Novels.

Ryan had to laugh. When Seth had avoided him the night before, he had assumed that he was mad at him. But it seemed that Seth hadn't changed. He was always trying to get something from his parents. For Seth it wasn't about what he got, but the process of the manipulation.

Sandy was at the counter, chopping onions. "Have fun?"

Kirsten turned to the boys. "We did." It sounded like more of a question.

"Yeah, it was," Ryan agreed, hoping to save a floundering Kirsten. In the presence of his father, Seth had suddenly shut down again. "And thanks for all the stuff, Kirsten."

Sandy threw the chopped onions into a pan of hot oil. It hissed and jumped. "Oouch." Sandy put his arm to his mouth. "That hurt." But he moved back towards the pan and pushed the onions around. "Hey, Seth can you hand me the chicken strips?"

Seth handed the plate to his father.

"Can I help?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. Put your bags away and then set the table. Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes."

Warily, Ryan did as he was told. He was trying to find his rhythm again with the Cohens. But he found that with every step he took the beat changed.

Sandy waited until he saw Ryan was nearly at the pool house before he said anything to Seth. "How was this afternoon?"

"Okay."

"So you got to hang out with Ryan? How was that? Was it all right?" Sandy motioned for the salt and pepper.

"It was cool."

"Good. I'm glad." Sandy searched for the words he needed with his son.

Before he could find them, Seth asked, "Um, Dad, please don't tell Ryan about Dr. Berger."

"Of course. When you're ready—"

"No. I'm not going to tell him. And he's not going to find out about any of the shit that's been going on."

"Seth, don't say—"

"Yeah. Yeah, Mom, don't say shit. Sorry."

Sandy's eyes turned dark. "I know things have been hard, but that attitude ends now."

"Fine." Seth knew he was being a brat. He just didn't care.

"We'll respect your wishes, Seth."

He looked at his mother. "Thanks."

"Go put your things away and then come help Ryan set the table."

Dinner was a quiet affair. There were no attempts at jokes about Sandy's cooking or Kirsten's lack of culinary skills. It was as if all the humor had been sucked out of the room. Seth kept his head down, concentrating hard on the chicken. Sandy was pumping Ryan for information about the classes he had attended. What did he think about Lindsay? Was he shocked about the turn of events? Ryan answered in his usual quiet way, using as few words as possible, hoping they wouldn't lead to any more questions.

Finally, the painful ordeal was over. Seth and Ryan wordlessly worked side by side rinsing and stacking the dishes into the dishwasher. The smell of onion and garlic lingered in the airs as did the oppressive discomfort between them.

For a moment that afternoon Ryan had thought that things might be okay. Maybe he'd find a comfortable equilibrium at the Cohens' and at school. Maybe he'd find a place, if only Seth would talk to him and be like they were last year.

When Ryan had first come to stay at the Cohens', Sandy had mentioned he had a son Ryan's age and he wasn't sure what to expect. He thought Seth would be stuck-up, a rich preppy nerd, who had no use for Chino trash. But instead Seth had been open, hopeful, and had put Ryan at ease. For the first time since… forever, Ryan had not felt like had to put on a façade.

Ryan snuck a sideways look at Seth. For whatever reason, Seth no longer wanted the friendship. He was barely talking to him and Ryan knew that with out Seth he had no place in the Cohen family.

Seth slunk off the moment they were done with the dishes and escaped to his room. His parents were handing out chores, something they had barely done before as if odd jobs around the house would make them a normal family again. For a moment he had thought that they could do it – be normal that is. He and Ryan were kidding around in the car. Lindsay had joined in the fun. Kirsten had refereed a number of (good-natured) arguments. But the moment he was home again, with Sandy, Seth remembered that it couldn't be okay.

Seth flipped on his computer immediately clicking on the instant messaging icon and signing off. It meant that he couldn't IM Anna, but at least he got a break from the constant harassment. There were e-mails too, but he could erase those without reading the jabs and threats.

"I had a good time with them this afternoon." Kirsten snuggled against Sandy. She ran a hand over his face. It felt scratchy like sandpaper. "But what happened? They came home and Seth shut down like a brick wall, and then Ryan clammed up even more." Kirsten sighed. "I just want everything to go back to normal."

Sandy rubbed Kirsten's back, hoping to soothe her. He buried his face in her downy hair, breathing in the scent of violets and roses, Kirsten's choice of shampoo.

"I think Seth is afraid Ryan is going to find out about what was going on."

"You mean the harassment at school?"

"Mmmhhhmm."

"And if he did?"

"Seth is obviously embarrassed by it. Have you noticed how he can barely look me in the eye? As if I think of him differently because kids are picking on him."

"Do you?" Kirsten propped herself on one elbow.

"What? How could you even think it? Of course not."

"I was just asking," she said softly.

"I was never that type of dad. I never asked Seth to be a jock. I only wanted him to be himself. I always encourage him to be who he is." His voice had turned hard and Kirsten could feel Sandy bristle.

She sighed. "I know that. I didn't mean to imply — but I've seen how he shuts down around you, and I don't understand it. Maybe we need to discuss it with Dr. Berger."

"I love our kids."

"And you're a great dad. I'm sorry that I implied otherwise." She wrapped her arms around Sandy's waist and nuzzled her nose in his neck, breathing in the scent of Irish Spring soap and cologne. "I love you."