Marissa pulled her car into the parking lot and gazed around. She looked around, knowing she had to find Ryan but something inside told her he wasn't there. The wind whipped the sand around her as she got out of the car and she felt caught in a force greater than her. Last night had been the first night where she hadn't been plagued by Trey as she slept. It was just, being able to talk about it made it feel less scary somehow. Like, maybe then if she got everything out, there would be nothing left.

Sighing, she closed the door and stepped onto the curb. She walked towards the diner and saw Seth sitting in a booth by himself. She went in and moved towards his table.

"Hey, what's up?" she inquired.

"Oh, not much, you know just deciding whether the walls are baby blue or sky blue, can't really tell you know how that goes… it's rough. Like Ryan was supposed to be here a half hour ago, seriously man. I dunno where he is. Speaking of, you're cool after going AWOL last night?"

"Oh, yeah. So you haven't seen him? That's too bad, we need to talk. If you see him.." she trailed off.

"Oh, yup, sure."

"K, good. Uh, you tried his cell?"

"K I'm a nerd, not an idiot."

"Alright, just checking."

And with that, she turned and left the table, then the diner. She couldn't tell if she was happy or sad. She didn't really know what she was. She knew the talk would have to come and she knew Ryan would be upset over her spending the night with a different guy, even Johnny. Ryan probably wouldn't overreact though, at least she didn't think so. So it wasn't like she was worried about that. The truth was, she didn't know why she was dreading talking to him, except that she was.

Looking out at the sea, the waves crashing together, suddenly she just knew. She was beginning to think that maybe this was something that couldn't be overcome. This was something that had the power to destroy her relationship with Ryan. That little trickle of fear spun through her system and weighed her down on the spot for many seconds.

'No' she thought! 'Not after everything we have been through. It has always been something or someone but it will not be because of us, it just can't.'

They were in love with each other, that much was clear. And she definitely wasn't ready to give up on their relationship yet. In fact, she was going to make it happen.

'Think Coop, think!' she said out loud. "Where would Ryan go?"

"Well, he would go to the lifeguard tower hoping to talk things over with his girlfriend first. Then he'd spend the night there thinking maybe she would at some point go there. After finding out that she had been with a different guy the entire night, he'd wander the shore deciding whether to be angry, sad or relieved." A voice behind her said and as soon as the voice started, she knew it was Ryan.

She turned slowly to face Ryan. She glanced up and down him; he looked so tired and worn. Immediately all her previous fears were erased, just seeing how worried he had been made her realize what she said. Unsure of herself she decided to start off with the basics.

"And what did you decide?" She looked down and away, couldn't bear to hear him say he was disappointed, wanted to know he was okay with it or at least angry… anything other than the hurt she saw on his face.

"I don't know…" He said and just looked away too. A shutter had seemingly been closed around him. Marissa saw it come down but was powerless to stop it.

"Don't… don't shut me out. We need to talk about this," Ryan still didn't look up. "Please… what did you decide?"

Ryan sighed. "A bit of all three I guess." Looking into her deep blue eyes.

"I…I'm sorry" she said " We fought and everything was going wrong, I didn't know what to do… I just had to talk about it and I went to a place where I could…" She started.

"No wait," Ryan interrupted, "Don't be sorry… it's not your fault. I was relieved because you're all right Marissa and I spent the entire night thinking maybe… maybe you wouldn't be and I had said all that stuff. We fought… I couldn't bear to think that maybe, maybe… you wouldn't be coming back to the poolhouse or something. So, I'm sorry. I was sad because we have a problem here and we just can't seem to get rid of it. And then I was angry…"

"Well, I know why, for that…" Marissa interrupted.

"No, you don't," Ryan replied and reached over to touch her cheek, then putting the hair that the wind was blowing around, behind her ear. "I was mad at myself…because it's messed up because of me… I just, I don't talk so much and it's hard… but like I've always said I wanna make this work, no matter what. If I need to talk, then I will. This is the best thing in my life right now and I don't wanna lose you."

A single tear fell down Marissa's face. She was speechless. Something lingered in the back of her mind but she pushed it away, figuring they could talk about that later, after everything he had just said, she needed to absorb it.

"You won't. She said, simply. I know just because… I love you, Ryan Atwood. You make me smile when I get up in the morning and smile when I go to bed."

Grinning, Ryan leaned over, and their lips met in a passionate kiss that held in a promise of more for later. He kissed her and time seemed to stop for them both.

"I'm sorry." Ryan said as their lips came apart. "But we can make this work, I know it." He wrapped his arms around her and gave her his sweatshirt when she shivered. "So, why don't we go back to the poolhouse for, uh a little while. I've missed you."

"Don't think I don't know what you're asking for." Marissa smiled at him. "But I think I have some free time right now, if you can make it quick." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

Turning to her, Ryan said "Well, I do better when I take my time but I can do quick."

"Oh, I know" Marissa said and laughed as they separated to drive their cars back to the Cohen house.

An hour and a half later, Marissa was gathering all her things from around the poolhouse, looking slightly dishevelled. Ryan stood watching her, in only his boxers.

"Do you have to go?" He asked. Kissing her for a long time, again. She broke away.

"Yeah, can't do that to Summer two nights in a row, besides I do have some homework to do. And a Chem Test."

"Another one?" Ryan asked, looking doubtful. Marissa looked away guiltily.

"Okay, fine. The other day I didn't have one, I just… didn't want to fight or argue so I just…avoided the situation."

Ryan breathed in deeply and closed his eyes and brushed his hands over them.

"I get it," He said after a lengthy period, "But it's all better now, we know we can talk to each other about anything. Everything is fine now." He smiled.

As she turned to go, it hit her like a slap in the face. What had been bothering her before suddenly was clear. They had gotten over their fight, but they hadn't talked about what caused it at all. They hadn't talked about Trey. And that was what she needed most.

Ryan might think everything was perfect but it was far from it. How could she tell him that?