This is my first Orange County story. I'm not sure exactly when its set but the basic idea is that Marissa and Ryan haven't done anything yet, Marissa and Luke have broken up and nothing else complicated has happened yet. Its only supposed to be a one off but if anyone wants a second chapter then please review and let me know cos I'll be happy to do one. And without further ado, enjoy.
***
He closed the door quietly behind him, anxious not to awake anybody from upstairs. His shoes squeaked on the polished wood flooring as he crept through the hallway into the lounge. As his feet hit carpet the sounds stopped and silence filled the house. He made it to the kitchen without distractions but looked across at the fridge.
'My mistake,' he muttered under his breath. He walked towards it and pulled the handle, flooding the kitchen with light as he did so. His eyes flicked from one item of food to another as he tried to work out what his stomach felt like ingesting at that time of the morning. The answer came quickly enough as he picked up some cheese and pastrami from one of the shelves and closed the fridge door with a nudge of his hip. He walked over to the bread box on the counter and pulled out a few slices of white bread. He put all the food together as quietly as possible, still afraid that someone would wake up. He wasn't used to being part of a family unit and still found it weird that someone would care if he came home late at night.
As he left the kitchen he picked up his bag with one hand, the sandwich in the other. He pushed the door open and walked across the small area of paving till he reached the edge of the pool. He sunk into one of the lounge chairs and looked out at the scene laid out in front of him. The house below him looked silent, the windows were all dark and there was no sign of movement. Beyond the house and the expanse of lawn which was dark in the night atmosphere, the beach glowed silver under the moonlight and cloudless sky. Waves lapped gracefully against the shore and Ryan was almost sucked into the image of perfection that Newport and its inhabitants had worked so hard to build up. He thought his family was dysfunctional and though at the moment none of the families in Orange County could hold a candle to his problems they were still putting up a fair fight. He figured their issues seemed bigger because they had further to fall, they had so much more to lose.
He leant back into the cushions of the chair and felt his muscles relax. They had been so tense that evening, or atleast the early part of it. Even when he had been relaxed later on he had still felt a certain amount of tension, like what was taking place couldn't last forever, it was too good to be true and he was scared that if he allowed himself to get too used to it it would all disappear and fall apart and he would be left with nothing.
He took a bite out of the sandwich, relishing the tastes that mingled in his mouth. But nothing could beat her macaroni and cheese. He smiled. He never thought that anything so innocent could be happening to him. Not that it was innocent of course. They had both been thinking some slightly impure thoughts throughout the night but it was so much less grimy than the rest of his life. He felt like his past was something he had to wash away. He wasn't ashamed of it and he would always remember the things he had been through because they had helped him in so many ways. He wasn't a great believer in fate but it was a reasonable explanation. If he hadn't have been assigned Sandy as his public defender he would never have met Kirsten and Seth and he would never have stayed in their house and he wouldn't be living there at that exact moment, watching the sea whilst eating a sandwich in a huge back garden that was the size of his whole house back in Chino. Fate had done a lot for him over the past couple of weeks and he would always be extremely grateful.
The sandwich finished and his eyelids starting to grow heavier he pushed himself off of the lounger and walked across the yard to the pool house, his own sanctuary away from the bustle of everyday life in the main building. It kept him separated from the people who had taken him in but he wasn't bothered. He had lived so long in his own little world, one he had created to get away from people like A J and his mother that he found that he needed the space, he needed to keep a little bit of his life to himself.
He pushed the door open and walked in. He quietly pushed the door closed, aware that no one could really hear him but not wanting to break the silence of the night anyway. He could still smell the chlorine from the pool as he turned and walked further into the pool house. He dumped his bag on the floor and made his way over to the bed. As he lay down on it he could feel himself start to drift off. The second his head touched the pillow he was comfortable and he relished the idea that in just a few minutes he was going to be asleep.
'So, you were at Marissa's?' came the voice from across the room. Ryan's eyes shot open and he sat up, looking around him as he did so. He saw Seth sitting on the couch in the corner of the room and rolled his eyes before dropping back down again.
'Yeah?' he said questioningly, knowing what Seth was getting at but wanting to make him wait. He wasn't used to having people he could confide in and he still found it difficult to voice his feelings. Seth on the other hand didn't have that problem.
'What happened over there? Cos you know, you've been gone for a while and its late at night and...just tell me cos until Summer realises that I'm the perfect guy for her I'm gonna have to live vicariously through your love life.' Seth looked at Ryan expectantly.
Ryan smirked a little at Seth's admission and placed one of his arms beneath his head.
'We talked,' he answered. He raised his eyes to look at Seth's face and saw the look of dismay on it.
'You're not gonna tell me are you?' he said.
Ryan shook his head and watched as Seth stood up, walked over to the pool house door and wandered back across the yard to the main building. Ryan rolled over onto his side and thought back to earlier that evening. He could have said a lot more about it but he wanted to keep what had really happened to himself.
He had gone round just as the sun was setting to talk to Marissa about something. What it was wasn't important and even if it had been he wouldn't remember. But the truth was it had just been an excuse to see her anyway. He had just wanted to spend some time with her, to watch her as she moved and talked and the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear when she was nervous. He wanted to look into her eyes and see them looking back at him with the same desires that he felt.
Kaitlin had opened the door. She was like a mini Marissa, the same delicate features reflected in the younger sister, neither of them resembling their mother in that respect. She was so much more sure of herself, so much more confident than both the girls put together. Though the fact that Kaitlin was her mothers daughter meant she was already beginning to take on some of the characteristics that Julie possessed.
Ryan had been shown into the cavernous hallway of the house where he had been forced to make the usual polite chat with Julie, who, it was clear still despised him. He didn't quite know what he had done to cause her to feel such distaste everytime she saw him but he had a feeling that it wasn't anything he had done but where he had come from.
Eventually Marissa had descended the stairs, an expectant look on her face, embarrassment of her mother setting in before she had even heard the thinly veiled insults thrown at Ryan and his past in Chino. Soon after that Julie, Jimmy and Kaitlin had all left the house, the two former to another one of Newport's social events, the latter to the house of one of her equally privileged friends. Marissa and Ryan had been left all alone.
He remembered how awkward things had been when he had first arrived. Marissa had tucked her hair behind her ear more times than he could count and he was constantly looking anywhere but her eyes. But gradually as the evening had worn away into the dusky gloom of early nighttime they had both softened towards each other. Laughter had filled the house as they talked, all pretenses at Ryan coming round for any other reason than to see her gone from both their minds. They had talked about their respective lives, his in Chino with his alcoholic mother and her abusive boyfriend; Marissa in the wonderful world of Newport with all the attractions of dysfunctional families but without any acknowledgment of them. They had both, for once been open about their pasts. It was weird for both of them. Marissa couldn't ever say the things to Summer or Luke that she had revealed so quickly to Ryan. With him it was different, it was like there weren't any barriers between them because he saw, more so than anyone who lived there what Newport was really like. And Ryan had never talked so much in his life, not even to Seth.
The next time either one of them looked outside a window they had talked for hours non-stop and it was a suprise to see the darkened sky above them. They had both stood in Marissa's garden, a light breeze with the tang of the salt from the sea floating over them for half an hour atleast, neither one of them saying a thing, neither one of them needing to. They both knew that there was something between them and they both wanted to act on it, but neither one of them was prepared to take that vital next step for fear that everything would be screwed up. It was a fear Ryan had been only too aware of ever since he had arrived in Orange County. It seemed like wherever he went he brought trouble.
Eventually they had both turned at the sound of the key in the lock of the front door, signaling the arrival of Marissa's parents, home from another night of elegant Newport socialising. Marissa had led Ryan through the garden to the back entrance. They had both been eager to avoid the Coopers. They had both had quite enough polite conversation with Julie for one night and the thinly veiled barbs at Ryan occasionally hit a little too close to home. They had both had a great evening and didn't want it ruined, or for them to be brought down from their euphoric high.
Ryan had walked through the gate and had turned back to say goodbye to Marissa when she had leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the mouth. It wasn't supposed to turn into anything major but the kiss had lingered slightly too long to just be between friends. As their lips parted they both looked into each others eyes, foreheads touching, both breathing in the smell of the other. Ryan remembered that Marissa had smelt fresh. She didn't smell like she had showered in perfume, like so many of the orange County women. She smelt like the air after it rained and he had drunk her in as much as he could before Marissa had heard her name being called and had been forced to turn around and run back towards the house. He had stood there, outside her gate for a few minutes while he tried to process what had just happened. Eventually he turned around and jogged home.
Ryan still couldn't believe it. Marissa had kissed him and he had kissed her back. The night had been perfect and he had the distinct impression that he would be walking on air for the next few days.
***
He closed the door quietly behind him, anxious not to awake anybody from upstairs. His shoes squeaked on the polished wood flooring as he crept through the hallway into the lounge. As his feet hit carpet the sounds stopped and silence filled the house. He made it to the kitchen without distractions but looked across at the fridge.
'My mistake,' he muttered under his breath. He walked towards it and pulled the handle, flooding the kitchen with light as he did so. His eyes flicked from one item of food to another as he tried to work out what his stomach felt like ingesting at that time of the morning. The answer came quickly enough as he picked up some cheese and pastrami from one of the shelves and closed the fridge door with a nudge of his hip. He walked over to the bread box on the counter and pulled out a few slices of white bread. He put all the food together as quietly as possible, still afraid that someone would wake up. He wasn't used to being part of a family unit and still found it weird that someone would care if he came home late at night.
As he left the kitchen he picked up his bag with one hand, the sandwich in the other. He pushed the door open and walked across the small area of paving till he reached the edge of the pool. He sunk into one of the lounge chairs and looked out at the scene laid out in front of him. The house below him looked silent, the windows were all dark and there was no sign of movement. Beyond the house and the expanse of lawn which was dark in the night atmosphere, the beach glowed silver under the moonlight and cloudless sky. Waves lapped gracefully against the shore and Ryan was almost sucked into the image of perfection that Newport and its inhabitants had worked so hard to build up. He thought his family was dysfunctional and though at the moment none of the families in Orange County could hold a candle to his problems they were still putting up a fair fight. He figured their issues seemed bigger because they had further to fall, they had so much more to lose.
He leant back into the cushions of the chair and felt his muscles relax. They had been so tense that evening, or atleast the early part of it. Even when he had been relaxed later on he had still felt a certain amount of tension, like what was taking place couldn't last forever, it was too good to be true and he was scared that if he allowed himself to get too used to it it would all disappear and fall apart and he would be left with nothing.
He took a bite out of the sandwich, relishing the tastes that mingled in his mouth. But nothing could beat her macaroni and cheese. He smiled. He never thought that anything so innocent could be happening to him. Not that it was innocent of course. They had both been thinking some slightly impure thoughts throughout the night but it was so much less grimy than the rest of his life. He felt like his past was something he had to wash away. He wasn't ashamed of it and he would always remember the things he had been through because they had helped him in so many ways. He wasn't a great believer in fate but it was a reasonable explanation. If he hadn't have been assigned Sandy as his public defender he would never have met Kirsten and Seth and he would never have stayed in their house and he wouldn't be living there at that exact moment, watching the sea whilst eating a sandwich in a huge back garden that was the size of his whole house back in Chino. Fate had done a lot for him over the past couple of weeks and he would always be extremely grateful.
The sandwich finished and his eyelids starting to grow heavier he pushed himself off of the lounger and walked across the yard to the pool house, his own sanctuary away from the bustle of everyday life in the main building. It kept him separated from the people who had taken him in but he wasn't bothered. He had lived so long in his own little world, one he had created to get away from people like A J and his mother that he found that he needed the space, he needed to keep a little bit of his life to himself.
He pushed the door open and walked in. He quietly pushed the door closed, aware that no one could really hear him but not wanting to break the silence of the night anyway. He could still smell the chlorine from the pool as he turned and walked further into the pool house. He dumped his bag on the floor and made his way over to the bed. As he lay down on it he could feel himself start to drift off. The second his head touched the pillow he was comfortable and he relished the idea that in just a few minutes he was going to be asleep.
'So, you were at Marissa's?' came the voice from across the room. Ryan's eyes shot open and he sat up, looking around him as he did so. He saw Seth sitting on the couch in the corner of the room and rolled his eyes before dropping back down again.
'Yeah?' he said questioningly, knowing what Seth was getting at but wanting to make him wait. He wasn't used to having people he could confide in and he still found it difficult to voice his feelings. Seth on the other hand didn't have that problem.
'What happened over there? Cos you know, you've been gone for a while and its late at night and...just tell me cos until Summer realises that I'm the perfect guy for her I'm gonna have to live vicariously through your love life.' Seth looked at Ryan expectantly.
Ryan smirked a little at Seth's admission and placed one of his arms beneath his head.
'We talked,' he answered. He raised his eyes to look at Seth's face and saw the look of dismay on it.
'You're not gonna tell me are you?' he said.
Ryan shook his head and watched as Seth stood up, walked over to the pool house door and wandered back across the yard to the main building. Ryan rolled over onto his side and thought back to earlier that evening. He could have said a lot more about it but he wanted to keep what had really happened to himself.
He had gone round just as the sun was setting to talk to Marissa about something. What it was wasn't important and even if it had been he wouldn't remember. But the truth was it had just been an excuse to see her anyway. He had just wanted to spend some time with her, to watch her as she moved and talked and the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear when she was nervous. He wanted to look into her eyes and see them looking back at him with the same desires that he felt.
Kaitlin had opened the door. She was like a mini Marissa, the same delicate features reflected in the younger sister, neither of them resembling their mother in that respect. She was so much more sure of herself, so much more confident than both the girls put together. Though the fact that Kaitlin was her mothers daughter meant she was already beginning to take on some of the characteristics that Julie possessed.
Ryan had been shown into the cavernous hallway of the house where he had been forced to make the usual polite chat with Julie, who, it was clear still despised him. He didn't quite know what he had done to cause her to feel such distaste everytime she saw him but he had a feeling that it wasn't anything he had done but where he had come from.
Eventually Marissa had descended the stairs, an expectant look on her face, embarrassment of her mother setting in before she had even heard the thinly veiled insults thrown at Ryan and his past in Chino. Soon after that Julie, Jimmy and Kaitlin had all left the house, the two former to another one of Newport's social events, the latter to the house of one of her equally privileged friends. Marissa and Ryan had been left all alone.
He remembered how awkward things had been when he had first arrived. Marissa had tucked her hair behind her ear more times than he could count and he was constantly looking anywhere but her eyes. But gradually as the evening had worn away into the dusky gloom of early nighttime they had both softened towards each other. Laughter had filled the house as they talked, all pretenses at Ryan coming round for any other reason than to see her gone from both their minds. They had talked about their respective lives, his in Chino with his alcoholic mother and her abusive boyfriend; Marissa in the wonderful world of Newport with all the attractions of dysfunctional families but without any acknowledgment of them. They had both, for once been open about their pasts. It was weird for both of them. Marissa couldn't ever say the things to Summer or Luke that she had revealed so quickly to Ryan. With him it was different, it was like there weren't any barriers between them because he saw, more so than anyone who lived there what Newport was really like. And Ryan had never talked so much in his life, not even to Seth.
The next time either one of them looked outside a window they had talked for hours non-stop and it was a suprise to see the darkened sky above them. They had both stood in Marissa's garden, a light breeze with the tang of the salt from the sea floating over them for half an hour atleast, neither one of them saying a thing, neither one of them needing to. They both knew that there was something between them and they both wanted to act on it, but neither one of them was prepared to take that vital next step for fear that everything would be screwed up. It was a fear Ryan had been only too aware of ever since he had arrived in Orange County. It seemed like wherever he went he brought trouble.
Eventually they had both turned at the sound of the key in the lock of the front door, signaling the arrival of Marissa's parents, home from another night of elegant Newport socialising. Marissa had led Ryan through the garden to the back entrance. They had both been eager to avoid the Coopers. They had both had quite enough polite conversation with Julie for one night and the thinly veiled barbs at Ryan occasionally hit a little too close to home. They had both had a great evening and didn't want it ruined, or for them to be brought down from their euphoric high.
Ryan had walked through the gate and had turned back to say goodbye to Marissa when she had leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the mouth. It wasn't supposed to turn into anything major but the kiss had lingered slightly too long to just be between friends. As their lips parted they both looked into each others eyes, foreheads touching, both breathing in the smell of the other. Ryan remembered that Marissa had smelt fresh. She didn't smell like she had showered in perfume, like so many of the orange County women. She smelt like the air after it rained and he had drunk her in as much as he could before Marissa had heard her name being called and had been forced to turn around and run back towards the house. He had stood there, outside her gate for a few minutes while he tried to process what had just happened. Eventually he turned around and jogged home.
Ryan still couldn't believe it. Marissa had kissed him and he had kissed her back. The night had been perfect and he had the distinct impression that he would be walking on air for the next few days.