A/N-Long time no update. Yes,I know. I hope to update the last few chapters before possibly going on to do a sequel. That's up in the air. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. It has been ahwile but I will finish it up soon, so get what you can and if you have the inclination, leave me a review.

"W-What?" Ryan stammered. Sure they had been having problems but he definitely wasn't expecting anything like that to come out of her mouth. "You're considering going to a university halfway across the country and you didn't TELL me! You just thought it could wait?" Ryan's mixture of pain and anger had Marissa scared to respond.

"Look, I just couldn't tell you I needed a backup plan. When we were applying, we were a bit rocky and I thought to myself, should I really only apply to a university that Ryan is going to? Should I limit my potential just for him? And I knew I needed to do something for me. And then I forgot about it because time passed and I moved in. But then I found out I got in, and I saw that living together wasn't exactly working, and I thought to myself, maybe it's a sign." She brushed a piece of hair out of her face and looked into his eyes.

Ryan's body felt like it was shutting down. So many things to process, so many ways Marissa had just hurt him. All these 'what ifs' that hadn't even occurred to him. He struggled for a breath as she stared at him. She was waiting for a response but he didn't know what he could possibly say.

"So… this was for you? Did you consider maybe I would apply to a university nearby? Maybe I would change for you? Because I would have, I would follow your dream if it meant I could be with you. But not if you don't feel the same way. You say you had to do it for yourself, well fine… do it. Do whatever you feel needs to be done so you have your space. I'm not going to hold you back from university. I'll go to one here, since that's all I applied to. I'll see you a couple times a year. It'll be great." Ryan's hurt had just come pouring out and then halfway through; all of a sudden anger was spilling from him.

He stood up, stared at the girl he thought he knew. He hadn't known her at all. Turning to leave his own poolhouse he paused at the door. "Oh, congratulations." His half-smile had her blood cooling.

"Ryan, wait. We can talk about this. I know it's hard to believe but we need…"

Ryan whirled around. He had thought he had said all he needed to but clearly he had more to get out and she wouldn't let it go. "We need? WE NEED? No, what we needed was to talk to each other before this was an issue. I thoughtthis was serious. SERIOUS.Marissa I would have done anything for you. But I can't keep chasing after you, once you make a bad choice and fix it. Not always. It works both ways." He paused and turned to stare at the ground for almost ten seconds. "Or, at least it should. I;m not going to wait around until your ready to decide what you might want. I'm done waiting." He was satisfied now. And he just walked away, even as he heard her protests, her demands for him to come back, he walked on.

81818181818181818181818181818181818181818181881

"And then he was gone." Marissa finished her story to Summer. She took a minute to blow her nose and collect herself. "What do I do?" She was just getting her breathing back to normal and a massive headache was developing.

"Well Coop. You can't DO anything. You messed up. Huge. Why would you even want to go somewhere Ryan wasn't? When you're together, sure you fight but when you aren't… all you ever do is pine for him. I don't think it's him that makes you unhappy, I'd say it was you who wouldn't let yourself be happy. So I guess maybe you need some time alone. Apart." Summer sat on the other end of the line, and for the first time, she was truly disappointed in her best friend. She had ruined her relationships before but this time, she had hurt Ryan deeply, and for seemingly no reason.

"But Sum… I live here now. Do I have to move out? I think I indicated I wanted to but I don't think that's what I want. I got scared. And I pushed him away. Now I'm losing everything. My boyfriend, my soul-mate, my family." Tears started to roll down her face again.

Summer's heart went out to the dumb girl. "Look, you did it. You can fix it. I don't know how, but I'm certain you'll think of a way. We only have a few months left in our senior year. Then college hits. So make them great and if you split up before, after or during, at least you had now." She finished painting her nails and blew on them to dry.

"Thanks Sum, you're right." Marissa smiled a little and wiped away her own tears.

"Yep, I normally am. I gotta go finish up here, I'll talk to you later, okay Coop?"

"Yeah, good night." And she hung up and put her cell down on the edge of the end table. IF she left it there, she could go back down in the morning and get it, giving her an excuse to explain. It was a weak plan, Ryan would probably see through, but it was a plan and she desperately needed one. She turned out the light and left the poolhouse and headed into the main house.

181818181818181818181818181818181818181818181818118

Marissa awoke the next morning, with puffy red eyes and a giant headache. She didn't even want to pull herself out of bed. The only thing that made her consider it was the fact that Ryan was probably in the poolhouse, and she needed to get her cell. She pushed herself out of bed and stretched. A faint smile was lighting her face as she looked into the mirror. She still had some time with Ryan, why ruin it with what if's and maybe's.

She turned towards the door but was stopped in her tracks. On the table by the door sat her cell phone. Her eyes widened, and her heart constricted. There was no note, nothing to say how or who had brought it to her; all she knew was Ryan had been behind it. Her mission was definitely going to be harder than she had anticipated. And it would start at school.

As she showered, she went over her plan in her head. She would find him and convince him that some time together was better than none at all and if they were truly in love, it would happen and if it wasn't meant to be, it wouldn't.

1818181818181818181818181818118818181818181818181

Ryan smiled at the redhead sitting beside him. It had been awhile since he had just plain had fun. Of course he had enjoyed himself with Marissa, but there was always an underlying sexual tension. Right then, he was just smiling, joking around and laughing with another girl but they were only friends. It felt great.

"So, who knew Ryan Atwood, champ brooder and tough athlete… knows I Want it That Way by BSB." She smiled and chuckled at him. "That's something to put down in my memory." Ryan shook his head.

"No, I don't think you need to remember that or you know, repeat it." He crossed his arms, mocking a pout.

"Ha, pouting? Oh come on Ryan. Just let it out, I know you want to… here it comes… " She paused as she felt the music build to the chorus line that everyone knew.

Just as the loud drum beat hit, they both exploded…

Don't wanna hear you…say… They both screamed…

Ain't nothing but a heartache

Ain't nothing but a mistake…(don't wanna hear you say, Ryan echoed

I never wanna hear you say,… (oh yeah, Ryan echoed again) I want it that way

Tell me why? Abby sang, Ain't nothing but a heartache, Ryan finished.

Tell me why? Ryan asked. Ain't nothing but a mistake… Abby finished for him.

Tell me why, I never wanna hear you say, (Don't wanna hear you say)

I want it that way.

They both burst into long fits of laughter. Ryan was the first to stop. He was amazed. Never in his entire life would he have thought thatmaybe, MAYBE a backstreet boys song could apply to his life. The fact it did, and the fact it was making him think, was a little alarming.

"Hey, you okay? You look like somebody pants-ed you in the middle of the playboy mansion while you wore tighty whities. Dude?" Abby nudged his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry. Had a moment. That was so weird." Ryan shook his head.

"Thinking about your girlfriend man? Did you guys work it out yesterday? She seemed pretty steamed." Abby angled her head to look at Ryan.

"Oh, well, uh, no. Not really. I, um, I'm not sure there is an 'us' right now. She's going to go to Penn State when we graduate." Ryan covered his hands with his eyes.

"Oh, sorry man, that's rough." Abby put a hand on his arm. "But what did you fight about?"

Ryan raised his head. "That! And… she didn't exactly tell me she was applying there. Or just didn't mention it at all." Ryan shifted a little in his chair.

"Ohhhh… um. Well maybe she just didn't want to let anyone know in case she didn't get in. Cuz when I went to get my license I didn't tell anyo…" Abby started but Ryan interrupted.

"Oh, no that wasn't it. She just needed a backup plan in case we didn't work. She's not sure we're long-term material." Ryan's heart hurt just when he said the words.

"Ah, so she's practical." Abby bit her lip as Ryan's gaze whipped to her face. "oh, and that broke your heart. Sorry man but it can happen. And what if you both ruined your lives basing it on each other. I see where she is coming from. It's totally why I don't have a boyfriend. I want to make my own decisions right now, I have plenty of time in college and stuff to have a serious relationship. That's just me. I keep things light. But man, you should just have fun, isn't that what it's all about, it's not like people end up with the people they date in high school. Besides, how is she supposed to know what she'll want in ten years,I don't even know what I want for my meals," She smiled and stood up. "Anyway, I'll be late for class, this was fun, we should chill again. Good luck with everything." And then she was gone.

Ryan stood and decided he would go home early. He had lots to think about.

He caught sight of Marissa pulling into the parking lot. He could run or hide. He didn't know what to say to her but he had never run from her and he decided not to start. He saw her walk up. She was wearing sunglasses; he figured it meant she had been crying. Funny how he knew all of her habits. She got out of the car and spotted him. This was going to be interesting. She approached him without hesitation.

"We need to talk. These are our futures…" Marissa started to speak.

Ryan looked at her for a minute and then interrupted.

"Want to go mini-golfing?" He smiled. She hadn't seen him smile like that in a long time.

"What? We have school plus we need to talk about…"

"Yeah, I know. Want to go mini-golfing?" He repeated.

Her confusion made him laugh, he reached out and dragged a completely baffled Marissa to the car.

"I don't have a car, so we'll take this one. Just relax. This should be fun." He smiled as he heard Abby's words echo in his head. As Marissa turned the car on, the sounds of BSB and them singing It's gotta be you made Ryan smile and nod. It just fit.

Look for the next chapter some time this week. Hope you enjoyed!