THE REASON

So wipe that smile off your face
Before it gets too late
There's only so much time
For you to make up your mind

-Things don't Always Turn Out That Way
-The Calling

Marissa was pacing back and forth in Seth's room as he watched her with weary eyes from his bed. She had not stopped moving since they had gone upstairs, clearly worried about what was happening in the pool house at that very moment.

"You keep walking like that and you're the one that's gonna have to replace my floors when they turn into a pile of dust," Seth spoke.

Marissa didn't stop. "I'm sorry," she admitted wringing out her hands. "But I'm really worried about Rachel. I haven't seen her like that since…"

Seth looked to the floor slightly. "Since Chino. I know."

Suddenly stopping her movement, Marissa looked up at her friend and for what seemed like the first time ever, she truly saw his heart. Seth did not only care for Rachel as a lover, he cared for her as a friend.

"Seth," she said quietly causing him to look up at her.

"Yeah?"

"You know what's going on, don't you?" The tone of her voice was one where Seth knew that there was no point in lying to her. She was genuinely concerned.

Seth was silent for a moment, his mind flashing through the many wonderful moments that he had shared with Rachel before he spoke. "Rach and me met a guy while we were in Vegas," he said as Marissa sat down on his computer chair and listened. "Ryan flipped when he saw her with him and went all Protector Commando on her."

"He only does that if he has too," Marissa stated.

Seth shrugged slightly. "Yeah, well this time I can say I honestly don't blame him. He refused to tell her who the guy was."

"So, who was he?" Marissa asked honestly. She wanted to know the truth, even if Rachel didn't herself.

Seth hesitated for a while before letting out a long sigh. "Their father."

Her eyes went wide at the revelation, the news not sinking in automatically. Though she did not know a lot about Ryan's history with the man, she assumed that it would not have been a good one considering his reaction to finding out that he had gone near his sister.

Marissa was frowning in thought now. "So I'm assuming that either she and Ryan just had a huge falling out over it, or he finally told her the truth," she stated.

"What do you honestly think would have made Rach that upset?" Seth asked knowing that Marissa already knew the answer.

The moment that Ryan walked into Seth's room Marissa ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. Seth sat by in silence as the two exchanged a much-missed kiss between them. When they had finally broken apart Marissa looked Ryan directly in the eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Ryan shook his head at her as she moved away from his embrace. "Don't be," he said.

Seth looked up then seeing that at that moment Ryan looked different, almost worn out. Confessing had taken a lot out of him, and seeing his sister's reaction had only taken more.

"How is she man?" He asked.

Ryan glanced at his friend. "Sleeping," he said. "I'll take the couch tonight if you wanna stay in the pool house with her."

Seth took the question in but did not reply. Instead he moved out of his room and walked downstairs.

Marissa and Ryan stood in silence for a moment as Seth left them alone. Neither of them knew what to say. Marissa was having an internal debate over wether she should comfort her boyfriend or not. She had never been in a situation like this before.

"So Seth told you?" Ryan asked suddenly snapping Marissa out of her trail of thought.

She nodded slightly and looked directly at him. "I never thought about your father, I always just assumed that none of you knew him," she spoke honestly.

Ryan only shrugged. "I didn't know him as well as Trey did, but yeah, he was still there."

Marissa was shaking her head now. "It must be so hard for Rachel, after all this time and she suddenly realises that he is actually out there."

Ryan sat down on the bed with a long sigh. "You know her though. She's a fighter," he said, but it sounded to Marissa that he was more trying to convince himself than her.

Rachel walked into the pool house the next morning, trying her hardest not to think of the previous night's events. She didn't want thoughts of her father to plague her mind, especially now when a new semester of school was about to begin.

At times it surprised her to think that even after the incident between herself and Anna inside the walls of Harbor, the students and teachers didn't seem to be fazed by her return. In ways Rachel thanked them for that, but she was still quick to admit that at times she wished she had taken up Luke's offer to attend Pacific High and started over new.

Walking over to the bed she knelt down beside Seth's sleeping form and couldn't help the smile, which grew along her face at the sight. He looked so peaceful and content in his spot that Rachel felt guilty for being the person that would pull him from that world.

She leaned over, gently running her fingers over the side of his face before kissing him softly. It did not take long for Rachel to notice the wide grin, which had developed on Seth's face as he lazily pulled her closer and returned the gesture.

"We're gonna be later," Rachel whispered, her lips barely brushing his as she spoke.

Seth groaned loudly and rubbed furiously at his eyes, begging them to open. When they finally did he let them come to rest on Rachel who was getting off the bed.

"Where were you last night?" He asked curiously, climbing off the mattress and stretching beside it.

Rachel cursed inwardly as she paused her movements. Of course he had noticed that she had been missing most of the night, after all, he was sleeping right beside her. But despite knowing this, Rachel still hated the fact that she had been caught out.

When Seth received no response he tried again. "Were you with Ryan?"

It occurred to Rachel that she could just lie to Seth, agree that she was with her brother and leave it at that, thus saving the painful lecture she knew she would get from both of the young men if they knew where she really was.

But as she turned to face Seth their eyes locked and all thoughts about being dishonest evaporated in an instant. Rachel didn't have the heart to look at him and not speak the truth. She loved him too much for that.

"I went out," Rachel said. "Down to the beach for the night."

Seth's features grew troublesome for a long while. "By yourself?" He asked shocked, but before she could answer he added. "Anything could have happened! You could have…" Rachel raised her eyebrows. "…Been eaten by a shark." Seth ended. "A huge shark and no one would have known."

Rachel couldn't help but give him an amused look, which turned into a simple smile. "Seth," she began walking up to him and placing both of her hands on his arms in a reassuring fashion. "This is Newport. The only shark that lives here is your grandfather." She tilted her head slightly. "And I wasn't alone. Luke was there."

These last words caused a large knot to twist inside Seth's stomach. He knew that Rachel and Luke had developed a close relationship over the course of time that they had known each other, but that still didn't mean he liked it when they were alone. Seth knew about the incident down at the beach after Rachel had broken up with him. He knew that Luke had kissed her, that he had made the moves on her. It sickened him.

"Luke went with you," he repeated. "Why didn't you come and get me?"

Rachel shrugged. "I didn't want to wake you."

"Oh," Seth said. "But it's okay to wake up Luke?"

Rachel could barely believe what she was hearing. "He called after I fell asleep and asked me what I was doing for the rest of the night. I was still really upset so I told him I was heading down to the beach. All that he did was offer to come and make sure that nothing happened to me," Rachel insisted before her eyes went wide in realisation. "Oh my God," she spoke pointing at Seth. "You're jealous."

Busted, Seth thought. Dammit!

But he did not let this reaction show on the outside. "Pfft," he spoke. "Me? Jealous?"

Rachel stood there and watched him knowing that what she had said was true. Soon enough Seth began to ramble, the first sign that he was lying.

"I mean, why should I be jealous? I'm the one that goes to bed with you every night. And I'm the one who loves you. But, you know, Luke is a nice looking guy, with a good sense of…uh…direction. Plus you both have a lot in common, like music and sport, and he's really…sporty."

"Seth," Rachel said suddenly cutting him off. "Nothing is going on between me and Luke. I love you, you know that, I just needed to get out, clear my mind." She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into his embrace as he pulled her closer. "I want you to be able to trust me."

"I trust you," Seth stated. "I don't trust Captain Hair."

Rachel looked up to his face with a slight twinkle of mischief in her eye. "Captain Hair?"

"Yeah," Seth said placing his head chin atop her head. "His hair does that annoying flippy thing at the front."

Rachel raised a single eyebrow and for a moment all that she did was listen to Seth's heartbeat as it drummed softly in his chest. "Unlike you Seth, I don't pay that much attention to his looks."

The statement nearly made Seth let his hold on her break even though it was now his arms around her slender waist which kept Rachel balanced as she stretched against him, trying to work out the kinks in her joints.

"I don't…" Seth began. "Why would I…? Who said that…?" Seth's face was now one of shock but Rachel simply smiled at his sudden anxiety.

"Who said, what?" She asked innocently, entwining her fingers in his hair and pulling his down toward her. "I didn't say anything," she whispered before feeling Seth's resistance die out as he pressed his lips to hers.

"Next time," he murmured as his lips began their slow journey toward her neck. "Come and get yours truly. I am known to be able to fend off sharks."

"You'd scare them off by just looking at them," Rachel smirked.

Seth poked her in the rib causing Rachel to squirm. "That comment was your payback for my jumping to conclusions," he stated, still moving his lips on her flesh. "Now we're square."

Rachel tilted her head slightly. "I still have one left," she spoke.

"And why is that?" Seth asked curiously.

"Because you just poked me in the rib." The statement was filled with a cunning, devious tone which only made Seth smile.

"By th' blaser's she be righ'," he spoke in his best pirate accent.

Seth barely had enough time to finish his sentence before Rachel began her assault, ruthlessly tickling him and causing them both to go tumbling onto the bed. Seth was trying to stifle his laugh, as he lay pinned beneath her, being helpless to stop the attack.

"Okay…okay…okay," he said between breaths. "You win. We're square."

Rachel smiled. "Deal," she said before taking in a sharp breath and pushing away from Seth as he nipped her collarbone lightly.

Seth's eyes showed a mix of apology and confusion. "Did I hurt you?" He asked concerned.

Rachel stopped short at her reaction, exhaling loudly and running her fingers through her hair. "No," she assured him. "It's just." She hesitated for a moment before Seth leaned up on his elbows so he could get a better look at her where she sat on his lap. "Kurt used to do that," she admitted. "It's kind of out of the comfort zone now."

Seth nodded his head. He knew that Rachel had never fully been able to get over the revelation that her ex-boyfriend was violent. On her return to Chino and to his arms, she had learned quickly the secret, which Ryan had kept from her since the moment she met her first love. There was nothing that he wouldn't do to get what he wanted.

Seth could still remember the look on her face when he had layed eyes on her upon her return to the Cohen house. The cut along her brow, the bruise on her cheek. Everything that he did not understand about her past was written before him. The violence, the heartache, the broken promises.

"I didn't know," Seth whispered, pulling her into his embrace again, feeling her relax against him. "I'm sorry."

Rachel rested her head soundly against his shoulder and spoke with a pure honesty and calmness. "Don't be," she said. "It's not your fault." She pressed closer into him savouring the feeling of his loving arms around her.

Seth felt her give him a light kiss on the neck before Rachel disentangled herself from his arms, grabbed her bag and spoke. "You should get ready," and left him to the task.

That day at lunch Marissa and Summer sat at the cafeteria talking quietly.

"So you're totally going to go through with it?" Summer asked as she took another sip of her ice coffee.

Marissa couldn't help the smile that came over her face. "Yeah."

She let her eyes wonder over to where Ryan was making an ice cream from the machine and grinned even wider when she saw the playful exchange between him and his onlooking sister. As Ryan went to remove the cone from beneath the nozzle, ice cream ran all over his hands causing Rachel to let on a smirk of amusement. His eyes quickly narrowed at her and soon she found the mess on his hands being wiped on her face.

"That's what they call 'brotherly love'?" Summer asked. "That is totally not cool."

Marissa turned back to her friend. "But look at them. He is such a good brother to her."

Summer raised her eyebrows. "He just put ice cream on her face," she stated.

"It's not about that," Marissa insisted. "He is so amazing, and not just to Rachel."

Summer rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I get it, he's great." She began to swirl her plastic spoon through her coffee making patterns with the sprinkle of chocolate atop it. "Are you sure you want to like, go through with this or whatever? Not that I am not totally supportive or anything," Summer spoke.

Marissa took in a deep breath and gazed back over at her boyfriend who was now somewhere between being hit by his sister and running from an angry Seth.

"Tonight," she stated confidently smiling as Ryan caught her eye and winked at her. "It's happening tonight."

Walking into the kitchen that afternoon Seth saw what he thought would never be possible; Hailey and Rachel were sitting down, having a civilised conversation.

Rachel laughed at a comment from her companion and Seth had to shake his head to realise that what he was seeing was not just his imagination.

"It's official," he said causing both females to look up at him. "The world as we know it is doomed."

"I dunno about that Seth," Hailey spoke with an amused grin. "I thought you'd be happy to find your first chest hair."

Rachel had to force herself not to laugh again simply out of sympathy for her boyfriend who now stood there looking mighty peeved at his aunt.

Seth forced on an extremely fake chuckle. "I'll have you know, that that would be chest hair's. Plural." He moved toward the table where they both sat and leaned against it, folding his arms. "So what have you two been talking about? I honestly thought after your first meeting you would be killing each other by now."

Hailey raised an eyebrow at him. "No Seth, we have no intention of mud wrestling our differences away."

Seth closed his eyes, pressed his palms together and bowed slightly. "Don't take away the dreams of a small boy."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "That dream only applies to one of us," she murmured.

"Ah, indeed you are correct," Seth answered placing a small kiss on her cheek.

Hailey went to offer another of her comments when the front door slammed and an angry looking Kirsten walked in, arms full of grocery bags.

"Could you help?" She asked with an annoyed voice to the three people in the room.

Seth was quick to take the bags from his mother and place them on the counter top as she let out a long sigh.

"Everything okay?" Hailey asked.

Kirsten gave her a deathly glare, which instantly caused any further remarks to disappear before they even began. "Seth go and tell your father that if he doesn't hurry up we will never eat."

Rachel watched Seth as he glanced at his mother with the slightest hint of pain in his eyes before walking out the front door to find his father.

"Kirsten, sit down, relax for a minute," Rachel said. "You looked stressed."

"I wonder why that would be Rachel," Kirsten growled. "Maybe it's because Sandy refuses to help my father with legal issues that could land him in jail, all because of what happened between you and him."

Rachel was taken aback by her sudden outburst. Kirsten had never spoken to her like that before. Her voice was filled with such anger and disapproval.

"That has nothing to do with Rachel," Sandy voiced as he and Seth walked back in with more bags. "It is my own decision, not hers." He walked up to Rachel and handed her a letter with a weak smile. "This was in the mail."

Rachel didn't look at him as she took the envelope and played with it slightly in her hands. She could feel Seth's eyes on her, filled with sadness and regret from what he had heard his mother say to her.

"Well Sandy," Kirsten said whirling around on her husband. "If it was not her decision then why do you keep insisting on bringing up what happened between her and my father?"

Sandy glared at her. "Because it plays a role in what I have decided to do."

Hailey was now looking from Kirsten to Sandy and then back again with both of her eyebrows raised. "What's going on?"

"Caleb asked me to help him through some financial matters," Sandy informed. "And I am refusing due to personal matters."

Rachel looked up then at Sandy with a frown on her face. "Don't make me the excuse for not doing something Sandy," she said, shocked at the words as they came out of her mouth. "I can deal with it."

Sandy looked at her with compassion and shook his head. "It is not you, Rachel, it is my own choice."

Kirsten stormed up to her husband, her temper flaring. "If you do not help him out he will go to jail Sandy. This is not a lot to ask. Just sit down and listen to what he has to say."

The word 'jail' caught both Seth and Rachel's attention and they instantly locked gazes.

"And the reason that he will go to jail is because of what he did by himself!" Sandy yelled.

The tension in the room was now mounting to one that was uncomfortable and within minutes Seth had exited to his room. Hailey offered Rachel a small smile before tilting her head toward the stairs.

"Go on," she said.

Rachel gave her a last look before following after him. When she had finally reached their room she saw Seth sitting quietly on the single sofa in the corner by the window. His face was unreadable, even as he held his hand in a fist in front of his mouth.

She moved over silently and said nothing to him as she sat down on his lap and wrapped both of her arms around his neck. She rested her head against his and twirled his wavy locks around her fingers before kissing him lightly on the head.

"What's that?" Seth asked her quietly hearing the paper in her hand crinkle as she drew closer to him.

Rachel took in a deep breath. "I don't wanna know," she replied kissing him again.

Seth gazed up at her with a curiosity in his eyes. "How come?"

Rachel flipped the envelope over and handed it to him. Seth could clearly see the handwritten return address on the back and let an understanding smile come over his face as he read the name. Steve Atwood.

"You have to open in eventually," he said.

Rachel looked down at Seth with almost sad eyes. She knew that he was going through so much at the moment and it pained her to think that he would put her own issues before his own. For her current problem seemed to come not even close to his. He had two loving parents that had raised him from birth and now as they had falling out after falling out, he had begun to realise that they may not be together forever.

Now as she sat there in his arms she felt almost small, as though her problems were only minute in comparison to his.

"Come on," he began. "Do it while I'm here."

Rachel smiled down at him before throwing the envelope onto the bed where neither of them could reach it. "Right now is Seth Time," she murmured.

Seth raised an eyebrow at her. "It's always Seth Time."

"Maybe," Rachel said contemplating his comment. "But now it is for real." She leaned her forehead onto his and closed her eyes. "Talk to me."

Seth couldn't resist but kiss her at that moment. It was not to distract her from getting an answer from him, it was because he simply had too. He never thought that he could love someone as much as he did her. And to see her, sitting on his lap wanting more than ever to help him made Seth's heart leap.

"What do you want me to say?" He asked.

Rachel looked at him. "What you've been wanting to for a while but didn't think you could." Seth took in a deep breath. "You can trust me."

Seth didn't need to say anything to let her know that he did. He simply gazed up at her, his arms encircling her waist as he did, holding her close to his body. At that moment, he felt something that he didn't think he had ever felt before from a female. He felt safe. Sitting there now, there was no thought in his mind that anything could hurt him.

He wanted more than anything to make everything go away and he knew that Rachel felt the same. She had been through the pain before, though from different circumstances, it had still, on some level, been similar.

"I used to get scared about stuff like this," he whispered feeling Rachel's warm breath against his neck as she leaned into him. "My parents never fought, they were perfect."

Rachel nuzzled his neck slightly. "No one's perfect Seth."

Seth let out a long, shaky breath, all of the comical tone that normally bathed his voice, gone. "Everyone said that they were. It was the match of all matches. The beautiful rich girl together with the Jewish pro-bono lawyer. I can't believe I actually used to believe all of that."

"You don't know that," Rachel insisted bringing her hands back from around his neck and placing them in his. "People go through hard times. We wouldn't be human if we didn't."

"They don't."

Rachel watched him through sad eyes. She hated to see Seth like this and it suddenly occurred to her how he would have felt when their roles had been switched. So helpless, wanting to make this better but not knowing how.

"I'm so scared something's gonna happen," Seth whispered, suddenly feeling like he could show every emotion that he had kept bottled up for so long.

Seth's head fell against Rachel's chest and he felt her stiffen from a moment before her muscles loosened and allowed her to comfort him. "Shh, Baby," she murmured, running one hand through his hair and the other down his arm. She had never seen him like this and in some place, deep inside Rachel, it worried her. "It's okay to be scared."

A while after the initial arrival of Sandy and Kirsten, Ryan walked upstairs and into Seth and Rachel's bedroom with every intention of making his presence known. He stopped, however, when his eyes took in the sight inside the room.

Seth was fast asleep on the single sofa, his head tilted as though it had previously been leaning against something. Rachel sat on the bed, her knees tucked up to her chin and arms wrapped around them. She was watching Seth intently as his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.

"Is everything okay?" Ryan asked when he registered the scene before him.

Rachel only shrugged and continued to watch Seth. "Kirsten and Sandy were at it again," she replied quietly. "I took a bit out of him."

Ryan nodded his head slightly. "I was gonna go around to Marissa's, but I can stay if you want."

Rachel looked over at her brother. "No, go have fun." She smiled at her comment as she realised what she had implied. "You know what I mean."

"The more you hang around Seth," Ryan began. "The more I don't."

Rachel shook her head playfully before her eyes fell on the envelope which lay beside her on the bed. It only had her name on it, not Ryan's and it took her a moment to decide if she should tell her brother about it. She quickly thought that it would not be a good idea. He didn't need to deal with her life. And, although at times the emotions that Rachel felt when she first found out about the man came back, the majority of the time she felt nothing toward him.

"I'll have my cell on if you want me," Ryan said, failing to pull Rachel from her thoughts.

Her eyes were still fixed on the paper. "Okay," she said absently. "Say 'hey' to Coop for me."

"Will do," Ryan replied. "Try and get some sleep, you look tired. I'll see you tomorrow."

The moment that Ryan walked into Marissa room she pulled him to her, wrapping her arms securely around his neck and kissing him with a passion she didn't know she could muster.

When Ryan finally pulled away he looked at her questioningly, not sure of the intentions of the gesture.

"I love you," she whispered kissing him again, this time moving to rid him of his shirt. "You know that, right?"

Ryan was a little overwhelmed with her actions. He had never seen Marissa like this before. "Yeah," he answered truthfully capturing her lips with his, wanting to show her that she was not the only one that could show affection.

"I love you not just because of everything we've been through together," Marissa continued, finally undoing the last button and slipping the piece of clothing off. "I love you because of everything we haven't been through together."

She had now managed to move them over to the bed, pulling Ryan down to sit beside her as she did. Again Marissa kissed him, but this time it was not as forceful, not as wanting.

"I think you're such an incredible guy Ryan," she spoke. "And I love that you're my boyfriend."

Ryan frowned slightly at the statement. "I love being your boyfriend," he replied hesitantly, knowing exactly where this was going but not wanting to say anything just yet.

"I love when I'm alone with you, and when we're together with our friends," Marissa continued placing a small kiss on his lips. "And I love watching you be an amazing brother to Rachel. You're always there for her, no matter what."

"Marissa…" Ryan tried but she cut him off by placing her finger to his lips.

"I've wanted this for a long time now but I never had the courage to ask, mostly because I think I was scared that you would say no," she said.

Her lips met his again, but this time she pushed him back into the sheets as they did. Ryan was quick to pull back causing Marissa to look down at him with hurt eyes.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Ryan asked calmly.

Marissa frowned deeply at him. "This is what I want Ryan."

That wasn't the answer he was looking for. "Marissa, we can't go back on this."

"Why would I want to?" She asked in an almost demanding tone.

Ryan shook his head trying to find the right words. "That's not what I meant."

"Ryan," Marissa said strongly. "I'm sure about this."

They lay there for a moment gazing into each others eyes, none of them making an attempt to say any more when Ryan leaned up and kissed Marissa strongly, pulling them both back into the world where nothing else mattered but each other. As he rolled over on top of his girlfriend, Ryan reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Marissa asked.

Ryan switched the device off before throwing it onto the bedside table and turning his attention back to Marissa.

Dear Rachel,

Please don't be upset with me. The circumstances which led to us being here were out of my hands. I managed to talk the hotel staff into giving me the details which I required to get this letter to you, but if I could have asked you myself, I would have. I promise you that the past is just that. I have changed. I am married now, with two beautiful children; Keith, 3 and Alysa, 2. My new home is in Atlanta and I am very happy there.

I am not writing to try and apologise – though I do. I am writing to let you know that I love you and always will. To have been able to see you in Las Vegas, no matter how short or unfriendly the meeting may have been, was something that I have wished for too long. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that I never thought about you or your brothers. I did and still do. Every day.

Things may have been different in the past but I have changed and become the man I should have been all along. I see now what it is in the world that I missed so much, and that was my children.

I am sorry that it has taken me so long to find you and that it was a simple 'change encounter' that I finally did but I had no choice. For the past years I have been rebuilding my life. I now have a respectable job, a home and a wonderful family.

Which brings me to the reason why I am writing to you. I see now, after laying eyes on yours and your brothers faces, all that I have missed. I want to change that, starting now. I am making you an offer which I am sure you will not refuse. Rachel, I want you and Ryan to come and live with my family in Atlanta. I want to give you the life that you should have had all along. I want to be your father.

Steve.

Rachel stared down at the words on the page and felt her heart stop. The breath caught in her throat and nothing seemed to move, not even Seth's rising and falling chest in the corner.

She immediately scrabbled for the phone, throwing the contents of her handbag down onto the bed in an attempt to find it. When she did she punched in Ryan's number without any hesitation and waited as it rang.

"Come on Ry', pick up," she whispered desperately as the phone continued to ring. "Dammit, pick up the phone Ryan."

Eventually, after a long while it clicked over to his voice mail and Rachel silently cursed.

That's the last time I trust you about keeping your cell on,, she thought.

The tone beeped.

"Ry' when you get this call me back," she spoke urgently. "I have to talk to you."

TO BE CONTINUED………

(Wow, these past chapters have been long. Few. Okay, hope you liked it. I think what I was trying to do with this chapter was kinda focus in more on the relationships between the characters and not just how they interact because I think that sometimes that kinda gets overlooked. Plus this story has a lot to do with those kinda things. Next chapter sees the revealing of the future of one of the characters indefinitely. Jimmy comes more into the picture with things involving Hailey and the beginning of the Ryan/Marissa plots kicks in. Please review. I STILL WANT THOSE SONGS!!! LOL)

SparkiMonkey: Wow, long review. LOL. I'm sitting here going 'is this ever gonna end?' Nuh, seriously, I love it. Thank you so much. And yay 4 you for guessing who Steve was. Lol. When I was writing it I was sitting there thinking 'ooh she's gonna love this.' I totally agree with the whole Caleb thing. I hate him too, don't get me wrong but I couldn't really shut him out entirely in this story, mostly because I have a little something planned. Mwahaha. Hmm…yes I think the count of you telling me I am a great writer is hitting the hundreds mark. Not that I don't appreciate it, but hey, wow, I've never been told it that much before. Interesting thing about how you would fall in love with Rachel. I've definitely never gotten that one from a girl before. All my guy friends are like 'damn she sounds hot, I wanna piece of her'. Lol. Thanks for the music by the way. I actually found it really easy to find songs for the last story, probably because it was all about pain and anger and stuff…you pretty much just head straight for the punk rock for that one. But I will definitely be checking out the stuff you suggested. Big thumbs up. And if you have any fave songs that you think (though you don't really know what's gonna happen) that would go with the general theme of the story, let me know sista. Anyway, I think I have written back as much as you did, not that I couldn't go on forever about absolutely nothing. But thanks again. Keep those kick ass reviews coming. And I seriously hope that I don't disappoint you with the story, though from the sounds of it I honestly don't think I can. Lol. Peace out.

 Wow, long review. LOL. I'm sitting here going 'is this ever gonna end?' Nuh, seriously, I love it. Thank you so much. And yay 4 you for guessing who Steve was. Lol. When I was writing it I was sitting there thinking 'ooh she's gonna love this.' I totally agree with the whole Caleb thing. I hate him too, don't get me wrong but I couldn't really shut him out entirely in this story, mostly because I have a little something planned. Mwahaha. Hmm…yes I think the count of you telling me I am a great writer is hitting the hundreds mark. Not that I don't appreciate it, but hey, wow, I've never been told it that much before. Interesting thing about how you would fall in love with Rachel. I've definitely never gotten that one from a girl before. All my friends are like 'damn she sounds hot, I wanna piece of her'. Lol. Thanks for the music by the way. I actually found it really easy to find songs for the last story, probably because it was all about pain and anger and stuff…you pretty much just head straight for the punk rock for that one. But I will definitely be checking out the stuff you suggested. Big thumbs up. And if you have any fave songs that you think (though you don't really know what's gonna happen) that would go with the general theme of the story, let me know sista. Anyway, I think I have written back as much as you did, not that I couldn't go on forever about absolutely nothing. But thanks again. Keep those kick ass reviews coming. And I seriously hope that I don't disappoint you with the story, though from the sounds of it I honestly don't think I can. Lol. Peace out.

Kitotterkat: Haha, man you guys crack me up. Ramblings, I got nothing against them, I do it all the time. Just look at how much I write in reply. I sit there going, okay girl don't write a lot they'll think your nuts and wham it's like a full on story. You have it so sussed, it is fully starting to freak me out. I totally agree with what you are saying and I am so happy that I didn't need to spell out what Rachel was feeling for you to be able to understand it. I think that's the most important thing in writing about anything, it's what's between the lines that should matter. I'm glad you liked the Rachel, Ryan scene because I was honestly thinking of so many different ways to do it and I didn't even know if I liked the final product. Yay Finding Neverland. I've seen it twice now in one week and the second time I was fully sobbing, plus I won a bet with a mate that they would cry. $50 richer!!! Woohoo. But it is a really beautiful story and I was amazed at how much I totally related to Peter (how awesome is Freddie Highmore by the way!!) because I'm a lot like him in the weirdest of ways. Like our backgrounds are nothing alike and our families are completely different but I could feel what he was feeling because it is so similar to myself. In a way it is almost like you and Rachel. Strangely enough. It's that, we have barely anything in common but I get what's going on with them. And Johnny Depp kicks major ass!!! I just wish that people didn't only like him for doing Pirates, cos I can still remember sitting down and watching What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (which I've seen like 50,000 times)when I was like 5 and just falling in love with him. It's kinda disappointing that some of his earlier work, which is some of his best, is completely forgotten because people only see him as this rouge pirate or the next Willy Wonka. Damn I'm starting to sound too much like an adult actor, man, I'm a freakin teenager for Gods sake. Anyways, see now you've got me rambling. Damn that!! Keep the reviews coming, and make them as rambling filled as you like. I love it.

 Haha, man you guys crack me up. Ramblings, I got nothing against them, I do it all the time. Just look at how much I write in reply. I sit there going, okay girl don't write a lot they'll think your nuts and it's like a full on story. You have it so sussed, it is fully starting to freak me out. I totally agree with what you are saying and I am so happy that I didn't need to spell out what Rachel was feeling for you to be able to understand it. I think that's the most important thing in writing about anything, it's what's between the lines that should matter. I'm glad you liked the Rachel, Ryan scene because I was honestly thinking of so many different ways to do it and I didn't even know if I liked the final product. Yay . I've seen it twice now in one week and the second time I was fully sobbing, plus I won a bet with a mate that they would cry. $50 richer!!! Woohoo. But it is a really beautiful story and I was amazed at how much I totally related to Peter (how awesome is Freddie Highmore by the way!!) because I'm a lot like him in the weirdest of ways. Like our backgrounds are nothing alike and our families are completely different but I could feel what he was feeling because it is so similar to myself. In a way it is almost like you and Rachel. Strangely enough. It's that, we have barely anything in common but I get what's going on with them. And Johnny Depp kicks major ass!!! I just wish that people didn't only like him for doing , cos I can still remember sitting down and watching (which I've seen like 50,000 times)when I was like 5 and just falling in love with him. It's kinda disappointing that some of his earlier work, which is some of his best, is completely forgotten because people only see him as this rouge pirate or the next Willy Wonka. Damn I'm starting to sound too much like an adult actor, man, I'm a freakin teenager for Gods sake. Anyways, see now you've got me rambling. Damn that!! Keep the reviews coming, and make them as rambling filled as you like. I love it.

Meezardra: Hey there. Thanks heaps for the compliments and I will definitely drop you a line in your reviews. I'm doing it as I write this actually cos as soon as I get these I write back. LOL, I had to make Hailey show up. How could I not? She is pretty awesome. You know I'm still waiting for the negative review from someone. I haven't got it yet. I need some criticism ppl!!! Anyways. Thank you again.

Leentje: Aww, it's good to know that someone likes Ryan and Rachel's relationship cos I am always trying to change it, just cos with everything in their lives it wouldn't stay the same all the time. Thank you for liking the chapter cos I was kinda a bit iffy about it. Will post asap. Promise.