Chapter Nine.

Ryan threw his head back, and let out an annoyed groan. He closed his eyes, wondering what he was still doing in that damned airport, and why he even thought that going to see Marissa Cooper, was such a pleasant idea. As Ryan watched Seth ambling through the gate, his voice let out an oppressive call, that made Seth turn his head, "Seth, come back," Ryan said, his voice slightly annoyed, still. However, Ryan understood that if it hadn't been for his quirky friend, he would not have moved an inch out of the pool house for God knows how long. Seth looked up, and sighed walking over to Ryan as though hiding a superior grin.

"I know you needed me," Seth smiled, "I'm flattered, Ryan. Flattered."

"Shut up, Seth," Ryan said, as he watched the line advance slowly, and readily. Seth stood there beside him, silenced by the thought of another one of Ryan's anger-relapses. As the crowd buzzed around them lazily, for it was merely three in the morning, Ryan and Seth soon reached the front of the line, handing the flight attendant their tickets eagerly. The lady gave the two boys a peculiar stare, as though she suspected them of fleeing from a mass murder or something, "Is something wrong?" Ryan said, his voice a little quivery.

"Nah," she smiled, in an almost understanding manner, unable to take her eyes off Ryan. As they turned to leave the lady, for the last step of their departure, the lady smiled up at Ryan, and said,

"Go get her, boy," she said, and winked. Ryan was amazed at the fact that she had guessed directly at the source of the problem, but before he could question the lady, Seth was dragging him toward the narrow hallway leading to the entrance of the plane. Ryan continued to stare at the peculiar woman, watching her as she resumed her work busily. How had she known? Was it completely obvious that he was absolutely heartbroken?

He shook his head lightly, trying to obliterate the awkwardness of the situation from his mind, "Ryan, you alright?" Seth asked quickly, seeing how pale Ryan suddenly turned. Ryan turned to him abruptly, and nodded vigorously taking a gulp of his cold spit.

"Yeah, fine," he mustered more confidently, as he continued to walk with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Once they finally got to the airplane, as much as Ryan doubted the event to come, he had no choice but to remain seated with his seatbelt tight against his waist like the stewardesses liked. He sat there, enthralled in a mass rage of thoughts that he could neither control nor understand. He continued to wonder why that lady knew so much, and he looked around nervously to see if she was anywhere in the airplane's premises. He caught a glimpse of her golden-brown, aging hair as she attended to one of the flyers needs. He studied her few wrinkles that added to her wise, and confident persona. As she came down the aisle, Ryan pretended to busy himself looking up at the precise moment that she hovered over him.

"Is everything alright here?" she said, that peculiar smile of hers plastered on her lips. Ryan looked up and nodded, and as the lady turned to leave he grabbed a hold of her arm, tugging on it with only so much force as to get her attention.

"Miss," Ryan said politely, looking up at her inquisitively, "How did you know? About the girl?"

She smiled a warm, and comfortable smile that seemed to extend as long as it would go, "Honey, a woman can always see the tale of heartbreak in a man's eyes," she said, her smile never fading nor faltering, "Good luck," she said, looking down at him intently, feeling a sense of pride as though she had answered a multitude of questions. She continued to walk down the aisle. Ryan was still left confused, and bewildered, and only Seth's questioning voice cracked the immense thoughts that were straying about his mind.

"Do you know her?" he said, his eyes wide and wondering.

"No," Ryan muttered quietly in reply, and yet he decided to shake it all off, like dust from a pair of new shoes. He decided that his main goal at the moment, was to arrive at New York without letting his whirling stomach get the absolute best of him in a potential nausea.

Seth decided that now would be the moment for quiet reflection. Before the air plane started, he decided to leave a message on Summer's cell phone. He knew her oh-too-well. At three o'clock in the morning, her cell phone was usually on a silent vibrate, so he had nothing to worry about. He figured however, that his girlfriend would like to know why he's out of the state.

To his surprise, a very crabby, a very moody Summer Roberts clicked open the cell phone, muttering incomprehensible words into the phone, "Hey Sum, are you sleeping?" Seth asked dumbly, knowing that upon his return, Summer would kill him for cutting her beauty sleep short. Summer groaned on the other line, not bearing to answer him, so he continued, "Well, to make a long story short- Marissa moved tonight, Ryan couldn't take it, now I'm at the airport with Ryan, and we're going to have a cute little reunion with Marissa. So I'll see you in a few days, okay Summer?"

Summer seemed to almost dash upward, as she sat up, "Cohen!" she shrieked, not realizing how quiet and deserted her house was. Her voice seemed to echo endlessly throughout the darkness, "Why didn't you take me? Coop is my best friend, you idiot. What's she to you? Ryan's girlfriend?" she barked snappishly, glaring straight ahead of her, "Are you on the plane?" she demanded to know, with a sense of authority.

"Yes, Summer, I'm on the plane," he replied queasily, his stomach churning. Why hadn't he thought of his petite, tiny companion that he had grown to call his own? "Do you want me to stop the plane for you, Summer?" he asked almost mockingly, trying to calm her down.

"Cohen, don't play a smart ass. I'm your girlfriend, and you don't take me on your little road trip thing?" she continued to speak in her specific tone of voice, "I'm just letting you know, Seth that the minute you come back, I'm going to shove something down your throat- maybe your comic books, cause I don't like them much," she said. Her voice was lazy and tired, and she could barely muster the energy to continue yelling at him, "While you're there, tell Coop that I would be there had I been invited. But whatever, say hi, tell her I miss her, and please tell her to take care of herself, okay Cohen? Don't forget. Love you, creep. Bye," she said, hanging up the phone intently, as she crashed back down against her pillow. Seth shoved his cell phone into his front pocket before a flight attendant would tell him to do so.

"Was that Summer?" Ryan asked casually, as he folded his arms across his chest boredly.

"Yeah, that, that was Summer," he said, pressing his lips together as he nodded, "Note to self Ryan, next time we plan some sort of getaway, let's invite the Misses," he smiled gently. He couldn't help but imagine how cute she looked all angry and moody.

"Was she that mad?" Ryan seemed to smirk at the thought.

"Well, annoyed, mad. I presume she's going to shove a comic book down my throat when I get back," he said, his voice light and cheery.

"How do you know that?" Ryan stifled a weak laugh, as he listened.

"'Cause she told me," Both Ryan and Seth smiled, and within a matter of time, the plane darted off the airport's smooth, gray plains of pavement. Soon, the familiar hum of the airplane climbing further into the air enveloped them, droning on with infallible persistence. As the two started to accustom to the noise, the weariness of the hour began to stir the tiredness within them. As Seth laid his head back against the seat, Ryan continued to look around crisply, preoccupied with the various matters that blanketed his tired mind. As he listened to the quiet whispers of the people around him, his heavy eyelids started to weigh down as he slowly fell into a deep, and exhausted sleep.