Sorry for the delay. But hey, it's not 8 months this time! You'll be glad to know that the rest of the story is written, except for the last chapter...
Thanks to Sister Rose for beta-ing.
I don't own it.

Seth still wasn't talking to Ryan the next day. Not even for a simple request that Ryan pass the salt. Instead Seth reached across the table, only to get an admonishing glare from his mother in return. He had sat back down, but refused to apologize, which only made Kirsten let out an exasperated sigh.

On the way to school, the silence in the Rover was thick and heavy, like a black cloud of factory smoke, lingering in the air. Ryan tried to apologize a few times, but Seth shut him out each time by turning the music louder or changing the CD.

Ryan was ready to give up. As soon as they arrived at school he looked around and was grateful to spot Lindsay talking to Summer off in the distance. He had to raise his brows at that, because he hadn't know that Summer even knew Lindsay, but they would probably be better company than an angry sullen Seth.

"Cohen."

Ryan stopped when he heard the familiar brusque voice of the coach.

"Cohen," the coach repeated, when Seth didn't answer him. "I expect to see you in PE today. If I don't, I'm going to call your parents in for a conference."

Ryan bit his lip. Now that he finally understood why Seth was skipping PE he was ready to cover for him, but this was out of his hands. Unless Seth wanted Sandy and Kirsten on his back even more than they were of late. Ryan hadn't missed how hard the Cohens were riding their only child.

"I'll be there," Seth mumbled.

"Good." The coach noticed Ryan. "You make sure your friend comes, Atwood. I know you wouldn't try anything funny."

"No, sir," agreed Ryan. He waved and ducked away to finally join Lindsay and Summer, who had stopped talking when they realized the coach was talking to Seth and Ryan.

"Everything okay?" Lindsay asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I need some coffee. Care to join me?"

He didn't tell Lindsay about the night before or what he had discovered about Seth. He watched things more closely though, his eyes following Seth and the water polo players to make sure nothing happened on his watch. No one was going to mess with Seth while he was around.

Ryan didn't see Seth again until PE. He was changing in the locker room, one eye on the water polo jocks and the other looking out for the elusive Seth. The late bell was about to ring, and most of their classmates had already started to shuffle out to the field. Seth hadn't shown.

Ryan chewed on his lip, stopping just before he tasted blood. The coach hadn't sounded like he was fooling around earlier that morning. He had sounded dead serious. Why would Seth chance the PE teacher's wrath? He was about to follow the last of the stragglers on the field, when Seth sauntered into the locker room. Seth had waited until he'd be alone to change, Ryan realized. Was he was avoiding the water polo players?

He threw a shy wave at Seth, but it wasn't returned. Shoulders slumped, Ryan finally went to join the rest of the class.

"Atwood," barked the coach. "Where's Cohen?"

He felt like retorting, "Am I my brother's keeper?" but saw the impatience etched on the coach's face. "He's changing," answered Ryan. "He'll be here in a minute."

While he stretched, Ryan heard snickers coming from Saunders and his teammates. He shot a glare at them as and started the laps around the track. Again, he kept one eye trained on the door to the locker rooms waiting for Seth to come out.

Seth wasn't out to antagonize the coach. He came out a minute later in full gym gear. His knobby knees and matchstick legs stuck out from the standard issue gym shorts. His pale arms without any muscle definitions jutted out of his maroon colored Pirates' T-shirt.

Ryan stopped running; hoping to let Seth catch up, but the coach told him to hustle along, so he kept going. Still vigilant, Ryan noticed the water polo players were quickly catching up to their target. They whizzed by, purposely bumping into Seth, knocking him off balance.

Ryan watched, nostrils flared, as Seth stopped but didn't say a word. At least before Ryan had come to town, Seth would retaliate with a zinger the jocks were too stupid to understand. His brother was a shell of his former self.

He slowed down enough to allow the jocks to get ahead, but not so much as to gain the teacher's attention. He let Saunders pass and then sped up, making sure to knock into him.

Watch it," Chip grumbled. Ryan said nothing, just continued at a steady gait so Saunders couldn't catch up with him again. He ran until he was at Seth's side.

"You okay, man?"

"I can take care of myself."

"They're being a bunch of asses."

"Whatever. The coach is calling you. I have to do another lap," and Seth sped up.

At least he had talked to Ryan.

The coach yelled at Ryan for his behavior on the track. He didn't defend himself; just muttered an apology so that the coach was satisfied. Then Ryan waited for Seth to finish before joining the rest of the class as they kicked around the soccer ball.

Saunders was on Ryan immediately, kicking the ball at him – hard – trying to get his ire up. But he wouldn't bite. Seth stayed on the outskirts, jogging in the direction of the ball, making it look as if he was participating. He was working so hard at playing the part, he didn't notice Saunders pulling his leg back and kicking the ball with all his might -straight at Seth's gut.

Ryan ran over when Seth grunted and fell to the ground. "Are you okay?"

Seth gasped for air. "Dandy," and waved Ryan away.

Ryan looked over his shoulder, waiting for the coach to come over. He was talking to Saunders, but Ryan thought the coach had put a lot more effort in reprimanding him for a simple shove. And why wasn't anyone making sure that Seth wasn't seriously hurt?

The coach patted Chip on the shoulder and ambled towards Seth. Ryan's eyes blazed as Chip and his buddies were laughing and slapping each other five. He shook his head and ran over, tackling Chip to the ground.

He had taken the other boy completely by surprise and had an easy advantage. Ryan pulled back his arm and slammed his fist into Chip's nose.

"What the F-"

Chip lashed out his feet, kicking at Ryan, but before he could do any serious damage, the coach was pulling them apart.

"Atwood, in my office now," roared the coach.

Without a hint of remorse, Ryan jogged off the field. He caught a glimpse of Seth, who only had contempt in his eyes.

Both Sandy and Kirsten came down to the school for the conference with Dr. Kim. Ryan sat between them in a straight-back wooden chair, his hands folded in his lap. His chin hung low to his chest, and his eyes were cast down at the carpet.

"Ryan was doing very well," Dr. Kim was saying. "Honestly, this is the last thing I expected."

"It's been a difficult time in our family," Kirsten started. "Not that that's an excuse and Ryan will be punished at home. I just want you to understand."

"I do," the principal was saying carefully. "But we can't overlook this." With her eyes, she pinned Ryan to his chair. "Ryan, would you care to explain?"

Briefly, he looked at the principal but quickly shook his head while shaking his head.

"Did those boys provoke you in any way?" Dr. Kim leaned forward, her tailored tweed jacket pulling and accentuating her chest.

Ryan shook his head again.

"You leave me no choice. I'm going to suspend you for the rest of today. Starting tomorrow you will serve two weeks of detention after school. The detention will go on your permanent record. The suspension won't."

Ryan could hear Sandy expel a breath of relief. Though it still felt like a small boulder was sitting in the pit of his stomach. Even if Dr. Kim hadn't pressed for an explanation, he knew Sandy and Kirsten wouldn't allow him to get out of one. He racked his brain for a plausible story as he dragged his feet from the principal's office, following Sandy and Kirsten. He hung back a moment as they had a short quiet conference between them.

"I'll drop you and Kirsten home." Sandy turned to Ryan. "But I need to go out again and meet with a client. I can't reschedule."

"I'm sorry."

"Save it for later," Sandy's voice cut like ragged glass. "When you tell us the whole story."

He opened his mouth to answer and then closed it again. He really didn't know how to defend himself. The ride home was quiet. Kirsten and Sandy were communicating silently, with slight gestures and their eyes, but neither pressed Ryan to talk.

"You should stay in your room," Kirsten said when they were alone in the kitchen. "Take a snack with you."

"Okay." He didn't move though. Kirsten was opening the pantry, rummaging through them and jotting down notes on a pad of paper, presumably to make a shopping list. "Kirsten," he said. She looked up, surprised to see him still there. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble."

She sighed. "I know. I'm just worried. Nothing has been right since this summer. I just want to go back to how it was, and I don't know what to do in order for that to happen."

"I'm sorry," he said again. By now Ryan knew he sounded dull, but he didn't know what to do or what to say. How was he to make things better? How was he supposed to make things right?

He finally understood, or so he thought, what was keeping Seth so distant from him. He had tried to help, like he used to last year, and that had only backfired.

"I know you're sorry," Kirsten was saying. He refocused, setting his eyes on her. "But that doesn't make things better. When Sandy comes home, we'll all talk. I'm not pushing you off, but this is a conversation you need to have with both of your parents."

"Okay." It seemed that the boulder in the pit of his stomach got a little smaller and just a bit lighter. "I guess I'm grounded."

Kirsten quirked her brow and tilted her head. "It's safe to say that you are grounded at the very least until we talk.

He smiled shyly and waved as he left the kitchen. In his room, Ryan dropped his book bag near his desk and pulled out a couple of books so he could start on his homework. He was engrossed in Fahrenheit 451, one of the books on a supplemental reading list for his Humanities class, when Seth barged into the pool house, slamming the door so hard all the windows rattled.

Startled, Ryan looked up. He didn't say anything, certain that any of his words would surely set Seth off. His eyes were smoldering, and a curl was falling into his face.

"What the hell was that all about today?" seethed Seth through clenched teeth.