Wow. It's done! Thanks to Sister Rose for beta-ing. Thanks tostorymom for her input. Blame them if you don't like the end. I asked them...
I don't own it.
Ryan and Seth sat in the Range Rover in middle of Harbor's parking lot. The sun was beating down on them through the glass, causing Seth to narrow his eyes into tiny slits. He needed to invest in a pair of sunglasses. Seth and Ryan watched the students climb out of their designer cars, some stopping to talk to a group of friends, while others bowed their heads, hugging books to their chest and scurrying into Harbor's main building. Neither Seth nor Ryan was eager to join the crowds.
Finally, Seth broke the silence and said, "Dad will kill you if you let people think that you were in juvie when you were really in Chino."
Ryan tapped the door handle. "If he finds out."
Seth shook his head. "He always finds out. He has this way about him. It's crazy. It's like parents have an inborn lie detector. Of course, when it comes to you, you don't need one." He turned to Ryan. "You're the worst liar ever. But I'm pretty good at it. After all, I am Caleb Nichol's grandson. Still, Mom and Dad always manage to know when I'm stretching the truth. It boggles –"
"Seth! I get the point. And Sandy won't find out. I promise."
"It's not a good idea. I'd rather face Chip Saunders for the rest of my life than witness Dad tearing you apart for disobeying his orders. Have you noticed how his chest was all puffed out this morning at breakfast? And how he sat at the head of the breakfast table – since when do we all sit around the table for breakfast? – like father knows best?" Seth shook his head so that a curl fell into his eyes. "He's way too excited about our sudden rec-" Seth stopped abruptly. "Well, we weren't exactly fighting and I don't know what we should call it."
Ryan tilted his head to the side, waiting to see when Seth would run out of breath. He hoped it would be before the bell rang for homeroom.
"Anyway," Seth continued, not bothering to wait for Ryan's answer. "When Dad feels confident that all is well with his family, he becomes a bear to deal with. Watch it. Tonight, at dinner, he's going to want to know what we did in school. How our classes are going? He's going to make at least one comment about my chewing and talking at the same time-"
"Because it's gross, Seth. And I get your point already. Sandy's happy and Sandy's going to be really pissed if I go against him. I won't do it. We'll just have to find another way to deal with Saunders and his friends."
Ryan sighed. He wanted to help Seth, but didn't know how, short of decking Saunders, and that had not gone over too well the other day. He was lucky Sandy and Kirsten had been too wrapped up in the problem between him and Seth to remember to get back to his problem at school.
He was also thrilled with how the tension had finally relaxed at the Cohens'. He could finally start calling it home again. It hadn't been home since Sandy had dragged his scrawny behind off the construction site in Chino. He didn't know how long it would last, but just for a while, Ryan thought it would be nice to please Sandy and Kirsten and do what they asked, instead of going against their wishes.
He'd find another way.
"Look," Ryan finished. "Why don't we just get out of the car and go to class? I'll meet up with you at PE?"
"Sounds like a plan."
"Then we'll eat lunch together."
"Great. And I'll meet up with you after dismissal and we can go home together," Seth added.
"But I have detention after school."
"I'll wait. I can do my homework in the library."
"You can go home. I wouldn't mind."
Seth shrugged. "Nah. I don't mind." He pulled the keys out of the ignition. "Home equals grounded. It's a sad, sad day when I actually say this out loud, but right now I prefer school."
"Definitely a sad day." Ryan opened the door and swung his legs around so he could start climbing out. He paused for a moment and then turned around briefly, where he caught Seth exiting on his side. He wished he knew a full-proof way to stop the bullying, but deep down he knew it might not stop.
That was when he caught a glimpse of Summer and Lindsay walking together. They were in the midst of an animated conversation. Lindsay's red hair was glinting in the sun. She looked relaxed and happy. So did Summer. He knew that he and Seth together would make things a little better, but the four of them as a team…. There were no hard and fast solutions, but Trey had drilled it into him growing up in Chino, there was always safety in numbers. Always make sure you have a crew.
"Hey, Seth," Ryan broke the silence. "Let's go catch up with the girls."
Seth followed Ryan's gaze. "I don't know, Ryan. Summer and I…" His voice trailed off. "I'm not sure where we stand."
"Well, if you want to make things better, you need to start as friends again. I think she wants to be your friend. Why else would she have let herself get so close to your aunt?"
Our aunt, Seth wanted to correct. But Seth knew that Ryan's interest in Lindsay was more than friendly. Reminding him of the familial connection would be cruel. "You make a good point. Okay, let's go."
They each slammed their car doors, hoisted their book bags over their shoulders and walked up to the girls.
Two weeks passed quickly. Seth and Ryan went out to a movie followed by a late-night snack at the diner to celebrate the end of their grounding, though they still owed Kirsten a clean attic and garage. They hadn't been allowed online for the entire two weeks. Kirsten had gone so far as to unplug the router, so only Sandy's computer could go online -- so Ryan wasn't sure if the Internet taunting had stopped. He was afraid to ruin things by bringing it up, because things had been going so well between him and Seth. Finally, he decided to take the plunge.
"So, Seth, when I was back in Chino, did you ignore my e-mails because you were just trying to stay clear of the computer?" Ryan leaned back in his chair, watching Seth's reaction. He saw Seth sink in the bucket seat.
"No," he replied, shaking his head. "I told you, I was embarrassed you'd find out about everything. It's stupid, I know."
"Has it gotten better? Saunders steers clear during PE." Ryan sipped his soda. He should have asked for caffeine-free. He'd probably be up all night.
"It's fine. Not perfect, but a million times better." Seth slid forward, pushing his plate out of the way. "I know how gay this is going to sound, but just knowing you're here. Just knowing you're willing to have my back makes all the difference."
Seth would never tell Ryan, but having Ryan close by made him feel like he could stand on his own two feet. He could handle Saunders and Saunder-like jocks on his own, when he knew he and Ryan was on his side.
"It's been fun again at school hanging out with a posse," Seth continued. "Summer and I are doing great as friends and Lindsay's cool. She likes you."
Red rushed to Ryan's cheeks.
"You like her too."
Ryan played with the packets of sugar in the center of the table, avoiding making eye contact with Seth.
"Mom would get over the sister thing eventually."
Ryan shrugged. "I know. But you're changing the subject. Are you being harassed on your e-mail? IMs? Chat rooms?"
"Don't you remember Mom making a big show of pulling the router out and putting a halt to our time online? I know you were there, because your jaw hit the ground as fast and as hard as mine. I for one thought we should get a pass on this whole grounding thing, given that we managed to bury the hatchet and put all these awful months behind us."
"You're doing it again, Seth."
Seth threw up his hands. "Doing what?"
Ryan sighed. "Changing the subject." He threw a packet of sugar at his brother. "Come on, answer the question already."
Seth scooped the sugar packet off the table and tore the top open. He spilled the sugar out onto his plate and then started to shred the paper in front of him. To Ryan's surprise, he wasn't answering right away. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. I haven't been online. I tried to sneak, but mom caught me. And I sort of welcomed the reprieve. It doesn't matter anymore. I can handle it. I really can."
Ryan believed him. "Okay. But if you can't, you come to me. Or Sandy or Kirsten."
"Yeah. I will."
They held each other's eyes, not saying anything. The silence was interrupted by Summer's lilting voice.
"There you are, Cohen. Your mother said you were out on parole and that we might find you here."
Both boys looked up to see Summer and Lindsay standing on top of them. Ryan and Seth scooted over, so that there was room for the girls on either side of them. Lindsay immediately slid in beside Ryan, and to Ryan's amusement, Summer sidled up rather snuggly to Seth's side. It looked like she was starting to do more than forgive Seth for the summer's misadventures.
"Thank goodness, we can finally hang out outside of school. You bozos better toe the line at home, or you'll have to answer to us, not only to Kirsten." Summer's voice carried over the din in the restaurant.
"Well, if Lindsay is at all like her sister, I'm afraid," Ryan answered.
Lindsay smacked him. "You better be afraid, buster. Getting our lab reports done without e-mail or phone access was trying. On top of that you had detention."
"Well, it's all over." Ryan curled his lip in amusement. "We can work on the lab reports whenever."
Lindsay ran a hand over Ryan's chest and walked her fingers up to his hair, raking them through the tousled locks.
"Good, because I was definitely pulling more than my share."
"Oh. Yeah?" Ryan grabbed Lindsay's wrist. "Are you sure about that?" Giggling, Lindsay nodded, holding fast to her opinion. "Really?" He lifted the arm he had captured and used his other hand to tickle her where he knew it would make her go wild. "Are you still going to say that?"
Lindsay was laughing so hard, trying to writhe out of Ryan's firm grip, that she could barely catch her breathe. Summer leaned into Seth and let him wrap a protective arm around her.
"You wouldn't torture me like that, would you, Cohen?"
"Never." He shook his head solemnly and then crept his fingers under Summer's chin and started to tickle. She laughed wildly, scooting out of Seth's reach. But he followed.
Some of the other customers turned to see what the spectacle was about. Some shook their heads and rolled their eyes, thinking "Teenagers today." Others just smiled, amused by the display and enjoying the innocence of youth.
Fin.