It has been a month since the school year started and Ryan Atwood can't believe his luck: he is part of the soccer team again; he is learning to be friends with Marissa even if at first it was hard because he kept picturing their happy moments together as a couple but that changed when he saw her with DJ and saw the smile that she used to share with him; he and Seth has a brother ship stronger than ever and he also has Summer by his side whom always makes him laugh and share his funny side with them.

But the truth is that what makes Ryan really happy are two other things.

The first one is that he is starting to feel more like a Cohen than ever: Sandy Cohen is his hero, the person that he wants to be some day when he is older because even if Ryan knows that he has his flaws he also knows that Sandy never said the opposite, he wants to care for everyone and help people in need like Sandy always has done and he also wants to be a dad as half as good as Sandy one day and that's why he thinks of him as his father, the father who took care of him when he was homeless and frightened at just 16, the father that gave him a roof and then took him under his wing and gave him his name, Sandy made Ryan a Cohen. And Kirsten, he is starting to see Kirsten in a different light, a light that it's so much like his that he gets scared sometimes, not because they share blonde hair and blue eyes but because Kirsten is a woman that never fitted in the world she grew up in but always wanted to live to the expectations of her father and that has a wall bigger than the best fortifications and that's so much like Ryan: he has always been brighter than all the people on his neighborhood and always had greatest dreams but he lived to the expectations of Trey until he betrayed him and his mother made him leave his home so Ryan's walls grew in heigh. So Ryan sees himself in Kirsten and that helps him think of her as a mother.

The other thing that makes him really happy is the fact that Lindsay said yes to a date with him. The past month they have been sharing a few classes and even if at first he got mad because she thought he was silly, after talking to her about it they worked very well together and she hang out with them between classes and share comic book passion with Seth so they get along well. And he has been smiling at her and thinking of her nonstop for the last two weeks so he asked her the day before and today here he was, waiting for her at the diner with Seth and Summer because she told him that she prefers to have some background in case things got awkward between them but the couple would be no help, the five minutes they have been sitting on their usual booth waiting for Lindsay to arrive they have been making out in front of Ryan. It is a full make out session, Ryan can see their tongues fighting and he is starting to feel very uncomfortable so he says something:

"Guys! Can you stop? I am fighting my impulse to vomit right know and I don't want Lindsay to feel uncomfortable"

"Ok Ryan, but we are sacrificing our sex live here dude, Summer's dad is away on business trip so we have the house for ourselves" Seth's moves his eyebrows in a funny way "You know what that mean Ryan"

"Seth, I promise that after you have dinner and Lindsay discover that this would go well you can go and have as much sex as you want with Summer, I would even pay for the dinner"

"Oh, I was counting on that bro" Seth gives one final kiss to Summer's lips before Lindsay arrives out of breath "Hey Lindsay, great that you finally arrived"

"Sorry guys, my car decided to not work tonight and until it did, I was already running late, I am very sorry" She hugs Ryan and smiles at Seth and Summer and they soon find themselves in a very funny conversation about some of their classmates, only interrupted by the waitress taking their order and then serving them dinner "So, I am curious, how you met Seth, Summer?"

"Well, we have been classmates since first grade but, well, Seth was kind of a weirdo and I was trying to be popular so I didn't speak to him, I never insulted him or anything but I contributed to people not talking to him or hummiliating him so I feel guilty now. Well, Ryan came, we took notice of him and he was always with Seth so Marissa went out with the two of them and eventually the four of us hang out together. I kissed Seth in one of his grandfather's birthday party and we had chemistry during TJ trip but after that he started dating Anna, who was an exact replica of him, and it wasn't until a few months later, on February, that we didn't started dating" Seth kiss her nose and Summer smiles at him adoringly "until today"

"Well, she forgot to tell you the grand romantic gesture of climbing the coffee cart so I could express my love in front of the entire school and asked her to be my girl or lose me forever. Oh, and a month later she left me because her father hates me"

"Oh Cohen! He doesn't hate you, he just thinks that I deserve better but I am with you, ok?"

They start bickering so Ryan tells Lindsay to let them be and starts talking with her about her oboe classes and about adapting to the life in Newport and it is not until Seth and Summer stops their argument that the four talk about surf, comic books and classes.

When they finish dinner and before ordering dessert Seth and Summer excuse themselves because "they have to study for the incoming exam" and left the dinner.

"They are not going to study right?"

"Nope, Summer's house is empty so…they are going to fuck as bunnies" Lindsay laughs at his joke and Ryan smiles because of it "It's the only exercise Seth's likes" Lindsay laughs again and Ryan decides that he would make her do it again and again for the rest of the night.

Meanwhile Seth and Summer are having a full make out session in the front of Summer's convertible and it's not until Seth's hand wander under Summer's skirt that she decides that this should continue on her bed so she drives them to her house as fast as possible without breaking any traffic rules and once she parks in the garage of her house Seth's grabs her hand and drag her upstairs at a fast pace but Summer is very impatient so once they are in the middle of the stairs she takes off Seth's polo, throw it to the floor and he starts unbuttoning her shirt while kissing her passionately.

"Cohen, I need you, now" surprising Summer, Seth's grabs her by her butt and takes her to her room what make Summer desire Seth more. It's true that once there he is breathing like if he just run a marathon but Summer doesn't care, she is soo in love with him that she doesn't care "Wow, now I REALLY need you"

So Seth takes her skirt off, what leaves her in just her underwear and he is just in his jeans so Summer flips them so she is on top of him and his hands immediately goes to her bottom, massaging her cheeks and Summer is suddenly hit by a wave of passion for him that distracts her of her goal that is taking off Seth's clothes and once he is in all of his naked glory she goes down on him what always make him stop babbling and this time is not an exception.

"Summer, oh, god, you are gorgeous, I love you" he says once she has finished and he takes her by the hair and gives her a very powerful kiss that takes her breath away and makes her smile at him. He takes her by the waist and flips them again so he is on top and enjoy twenty minutes of torturing her with every possible pleasure his mind can find and they spend the rest two hours in each other company, loving and pleasuring each other.

Ryan and Lindsay have a very good date after Seth and Summer leaves: they share a milkshake and then they walk through the pier and laugh a lot. Ryan discovers that Lindsay has always been a very lonely girl and that she plays the clarinet since she was five, that she loves to read and to swim and that she prefers cold winters to hot summers. Ryan surprises himself sharing things with Lindsay that he has only ever shared with Marissa before and she listen to him and just hug him because she says that she can't say anything to change his past but she can bright his future and that's when he kiss her and he is surprised to learn that she does it very well.

On Sunday morning Seth arrives home from Summer's house smiling as if it is the happiest day of his life and Kirsten can't help but hug her son and asks about his day and she invites Summer to dinner.

"Ryan is at the pool and he was smiling this morning so he must be happy too"

"Ryan Atwood smiling? Mother, I think you are hallucinating this morning because that boy has never smiled before"

Kirsten just laughs and rubs his curly hair like she has been doing since he was like four years old and it always make Seth feel weird because he feels loved and annoyed at the same time but he smiles at his mom and goes to his room to change into his swimsuit before joining Ryan at the pool. He grabs a floating mat and get on it once he is inside the pool, meanwhile Ryan is whistling and humming a song so Seth looks at him weirdly.

"What?"

"Who are you and what has Lindsay done to you?"

"She just makes me happy Seth, she has such a big heart that it makes me happy and I actually spent a very good night yesterday"

"You hooked up?"

"No, we are taking things slowly and I am not as pervert as you or Summer by the way, she could have ate you right there if it were not for Lindsay or me"

"Well, I told her some cute romantic things before going to dinner and she can't resist me, what could I do Ryan?"

They spend the rest of the morning talking and relaxing sunbathing at the pool until it was time to eat when they changed clothes and went to the pier to grab some burritos and watch an IMAX movie and once out of the theater Seth was smiling like he has never smile before because he feels quite happy. He has realized that he has everything he has always dreamed of: he has a brother and a best friend in the same person that actually enjoy his time with him and with whom he has fun, he has the most beautiful human of this world as a girlfriend and she is the girl he has crushed on for years, he also has a couple more friends than years before in Luke, Anna, Marissa or Zach and he finally did that boat trip with which he has been dreaming on for years with the addition that he had Summer with him.

A couple of months later, before the WINTER BALL, Seth and Summer has been fighting because of Zach; Seth has the theory that he likes Summer because he is always looking at her dreamily, laughing at all her jokes (that are NOT THAT FUNNY according to Seth) and he is always sitting at their table at lunch time and not to mention what he said when he and Seth met but Summer says that he is only her friend and she loves him and only him so even if Zach try to act on it she would say no.

The problem came when Seth had to cancel on the ball because he, Ryan and Sandy has to go visit the Nanna because it was her last day of chemo and then they would bring her to Newport for Christmas and even if Summer understand why he has to cancel she is annoyed because she has been very excited to go.

"Summer, I almost lost my Nanna six months ago, I, I have to cheer her and be there for her but of course I wanted to go to the ball with you and see you in a beautiful dress and dance slowly and in our own unique manner"

Summer smiles at him and kiss him, forgetting, for the day at least that she is disappointed at the situation and they have a great Saturday at Summer's pool and then at the cinema sharing popcorn and crying because of the movie but next Monday at school the banners for the ball are hanging on the halls and Summer, that is missing Seth a lot, is sad about not being able to go with him so she talks about it later at the lunch table where she is having lunch with Zack and Marissa.

"Don't worry Sum, I think DJ would not like to come but even if he finally goes as my date I would have time for you, I promise"

"Coop, most of the songs would be slow and romantic and even if you are tall and scrawny, you don't have curly hair or soft lips"

"Well, we can just sit and drink, like the old good days"

"Ok, ugh, I hate that Seth has to play the good grandson this week"

They talk over the phone all days and Summer never complains about him not taking her to the ball and he doesn't talk about it either.

One morning before class on Wednesday, two days before the ball Zack comes to Summer and after small chat he propose something to her.

"I know I am not scrawny or have curly hair and we would of course not kiss but what wpuld you say if I go as your date to the winter ball? So you can dance and have a great time, just as friends"

Summer stays in shock for some minutes until the irrational part of her mind, the part that was dying to go or to not go alone, says yes to Zack, to Zack Stevens, the handsome and geek water polo player that makes Seth's insecurities comes to the surface, the boy that Seth is jealous of and that's what Marissa says a the next day .

"What did Seth said?"

"That he was ok with it, obviously" Summer avert Marissa's eyes but she forgets that Marissa has known her since they were three years old and over the years her friend has learned to read her facial expressions, like Summer can do with Marissa.

"That's bullshit Summer, I can't believe that you didn't tell him"

"He called me yesterday and we talked for over an hour but I, I don't want him to get jealous or insecure over something that is not going to happen"

"Summer, Seth has suffered bullying since he started school, and we were part of that remember it, so it is normal that he would feel jealous or insecure around Zach that is everything he has always feared and represents the people that beat him or made fun of him and you as her girlfriend just have to talk to him and reassure him of your intentions"

Summer knows that Marissa is right and that Seth has every reason to be insecure about their relationship and she feels guilty and mad that he had the shittiest childhood in part because of her and her group of friends.

But she still did not told Seth so on Friday she is leaving her car and walking to Zack that is waiting for her at the entrance of the school. He kisses her cheek and she look around, she can't help but be nervous because she knows that she is doing something completely wrong and that would mean a big argument with Seth but she prefers to ask for forgiveness than for permission.

A couple of hours later she is dancing with Zack, when someone touch her shoulder and there she finds curly brown hair and the most expressive brown super handsome dressed in a tux but she can't stop to admire his attire because she just focus on his eyes and how they say "I am so sad and disappointed with you"

"Cohen?! What are you doing here! You was suppose to arrive on Sunday!"

"Oh, I came to surprise you but I am the one surprised"

And he left the room.