Thanks for all the great reviews for chap 32. I stole an idea from thekiller00's review - hope you dont mind! Is the drama really going to end though? Read on to find out...

Chapter 33: Drama-less Fun?

Marissa rested her head on Ryan's chest. She smiled and closed her eyes as she felt his steady heartbeat.

"Hey you know what I think?" Ryan asked. "I think we should try and just be normal. No more drama. Any more drama and someone is liable to go nuts!"

"You really think that's possible, I mean it's like I wanted any of it to happen."

"Yeah I know you didn't, but it's worth a shot."

"Drama just seems to follow us everywhere," Marissa said before frowning and correcting herself. "Well really it just follows me around. I've just dragged you into it."

"What can I say, I'm a sucker for drama. As long as I save my princess from the tower at the end."

"Trust me, I am not planning on going back up that tower ever again so you're just going to have to find another princess to save."

"Yeah but this knight has eyes for only one princess, drama or no drama." Marissa smiled and sat up on the bed.

"You know what it is worth a shot. And I think it's time I do something for you, I mean you've done more for me than I could ever dream of. So we are going to spend the day at home playing video games doing…I don't care what as long as you're happy."

Ryan sat up and wrapped his arms around her.

"Making out?" he asked kissing her neck. "'Cause that would make me happy."

Marissa pushed him off playfully.

"Uhuh, not today buddy. Today we're going to have some drama-less fun." Marissa smiled. "And maybe at the end of the day I can…" she leaned over and kissed his lips. "make you really happy." She kissed him again before jumping off the bed and stretching out her hand.

"Come on, I'm starving."

"There's probably bagels in the house," Ryan said getting up from the bed and holding onto her hand.

"Nope, sorry. No bagels today. Today we're going to make pancakes!"

"We are?" Ryan said with a slight groan. "I thought we were doing things to make me happy and I gotta tell you the last time I looked at the list making pancakes wasn't on it."

"Well the next time you look it will be 'cause we're going to make pancakes the Marissa Cooper way." They walked hand in hand into the main house.

"And what way is that?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"Ooh mysterious, I like it!"

"See we haven't even started and you're happy."

"That's because I've got you," he said, trying to wrap his arms around her. She squirmed out of his grip and turned to face him holding out the soap.

"Well now you've got me and pancakes. What more could you want?" She walked away as Ryan washed his hands smiling to himself. Was it really possible to go without any drama? He hoped so.

"Here you go."

Ryan turned around and took something from Marissa's hands. He let the material unfold and raised his eyebrows.

"You're kidding right?" Marissa just smiled at him. "You're not kidding," he said with a groan looking at the flowery apron.

"Come on! Put it on!" Marissa said with a smile.

"I am not putting this on in a million years," he said pushing it back towards Marissa.

"Not even for me?"

"No, not even for you."

Marissa's eyes sparkled as she moved towards him.

"Not even if I do this?"

She connected their lips in a sweet and innocent kiss.

"Well, maybe…" Ryan mumbled through the kiss. Marissa cut him off by gently slipping her tongue into his mouth. She held onto the apron as Ryan let it slip out of his hands as Marissa took control of him. Ryan's empty hands went to her waist and drew her closer to him, as their tongues continued to dance with each other. Marissa gradually ended the kiss. When their lips parted, she swiftly put the apron over his head as Ryan recovered from the kiss. She smiled as Ryan looked at the apron that was now hanging on him.

"That was sneaky."

"But worth it right?"

"Oh yeah," he said with a small smile that never failed to melt Marissa's heart. She snaked her arms around his back to tie the tie. Ryan hugged her closer and kissed gently at her neck. He carefully put his hand under her top and gently traced his hand around her lower back. Marissa fumbled with the tie, trying not to give in to Ryan as shivers flew up her spine. She managed to tie it up and was ready to give in to Ryan when a voice broke them apart.

"Hey guys," Seth said loudly and cheerfully.

"Uh…hey Seth," Marissa said, smiling fakely. Seth stopped in his tracks when Ryan turned to face him.

"Wo! Nice dress buddy!"

"It's an apron," Ryan said, glaring at Seth while Marissa could help but smile.

"Whatever. It's flowery," Seth said very amused by the sight in front of him.

"We're making pancakes," he said trying to justify it.

"Yeah clearly," Seth said knowing that pancakes definitely weren't on their minds.

"I was just helping him tie up the apron," Marissa added.

"Clearly."

"Well if everything's so clear then why don't you go," Ryan said.

"I am actually quite happy here," Seth said with a smile.

"You know I did see another apron….." Marissa said.

"Come to think of it I've been meaning to do my physics homework all weekend," Seth said hurrying away.

"That was impressive," Ryan said ready to snake his arms back around Marissa.

"Hey mom, dad! Marissa's turning Ryan into a domestic goddess." He drew his arms back when Kirsten and Sandy walked in.

"Good on her…wo!" Sandy stopped, Kirsten just behind him. "Nice apron," he said laughing.

"Hey guys," Kirsten said stifling a laugh. Ryan just stood there looking embarrassed and annoyed.

"Thanks," he sarcastically to Sandy.

"Hey honey did the Nana not leave that behind on one of her trips in a bid to get you to cook," Sandy said to Kirsten.

"Yeah she did actually." They smiled at each other as Ryan's eyes widened and he glared at Marissa who was ready to burst.

"Well at least it's being put to good use," Sandy said giving him a pat on the shoulder as he went outside.

"It suits you," Kirsten gave him a kiss on the cheek as she followed Sandy. Ryan turned to Marissa and glared at her. She couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing.

"It's not funny."

"Yeah it is," she said still giggling.

Ryan took the apron off over his head and handed it back to Marissa.

"Hey, hey what're you doing?"

"I quit."

"You can't quit! We haven't even started yet!"

"I still quit."

Ryan started to leave when Marissa grabbed onto him.

"Wo, wo. Don't leave." She wrapped her arms around him and drew him towards her.

"I'm sorry," she said, putting on her cutest face that she knew Ryan wouldn't be able to resist. Ryan put his arms around her.

"I'll forgive you this time but I might not be so forgiving if it happens again."

"What, you mean if I make you wear Nana Cohen's apron to make pancakes again?" she said a smile creeping onto her face.

"Funny," Ryan said sarcastically, releasing his arms from around her.

"Wait, wait. I'm sorry."

She pulled Ryan's face towards her.

"I'm sorry," she leaned forward and captured his lips in a kiss. "I've got a better idea anyway. How about you go back to the pool house, I'll make the pancakes then I'll bring them out to eat together."

"That does sound like a better idea."

"Mmhmm," Marissa said as Ryan connected their lips. Marissa pushed him away playfully before they got any further. "Go! Or I may starve to death!"

"Ok, ok. I'll see you soon."

Marissa smiled as she watched him leave. She walked over to the counter and put the apron down. As she put it down she noticed her hand start to shake. It was starting, she could feel the headache coming. She swore she would stop, especially if things were going to be like today, but her body ached for the feeling of calmness when the liquid made it's way down her throat. She leaned on the counter top suddenly feeling light headed.

"Marissa?"

She stood up straight and turned to face Kirsten

"You ok? You look a bit pale."

"What, no, no, I'm fine. Honestly."

"Ok," Kirsten said not convinced. She had to confront Marissa sometime soon, then Ryan. But they just seemed so happy.

"I need to go and get a hair bobble to tie my hair back to make the pancakes," Marissa rambled quickly leaving.

Marissa went into the bedroom and pushed the door behind her. She opened up the suitcase. She moved clothes aside to try to find them. She gradually got more frantic when she couldn't find them and started throwing things out of the suitcase.

"Where the hell are they?" she said out loud. She knew she had put them in there. Or had she? Now she was just confused. A voice at the door suddenly startled her.

"Marissa?"

She quickly turned around to see Seth standing in the door way.

"What are you doing here?" she asked accusingly.

"Uh, it felt like there was an earthquake," he said looking at all of Marissa's belongings spread out over the floor. "What are you looking for?"

"Act calm," Marissa told herself.

"Umm I had a small bag with hair stuff. I'm just trying to find a hair bobble."

"That bag there?" Seth asked, pointing at the bag on the dressing table with hair bobbles lying beside it.

"Yeah, yeah. That's it. Thanks Seth. It's always the last place you look," she said smiling fakely.

Seth nodded not quite understanding what he was seeing in front of him. She just looked at him as he stood there. Seth looked back noticing her shaking hands.

"Anything else?"

"Oh, uh no. That's all," Seth said walking away with a frown. Marissa sighed once he had left. She picked some stuff up off the floor and threw it back in the case. She reached over and picked up a hair bobble with a shaking hand. She tied her hair back and took a deep breath.

"You can do it. You've got Ryan," she said quietly to herself.

Marissa picked up the tray with a plate of pancakes covered in chocolate sauce and strawberries and two glasses of orange juice. She made her way out to the pool house passing Sandy and Kirsten on the way.

"Hey Sandy, Kirsten."

"Hey kiddo," Sandy said smiling. "Wow Ryan is a lucky man."

Marissa smiled shyly and continued to the pool house. Ryan saw her coming and jumped off the bed to let her in.

"So this is the Marissa Cooper way," he said with a grin as she kissed him.

"Yup."

Ryan joined her as she sat down on the bed, placing the tray between them. Marissa picked up her fork and ate some pancake.

"Mmm. This is really good," Ryan said, his mouth full.

"Worth the humiliation with the apron?" she asked with a smile.

"Definitely."

They sat for a few seconds just looking into each others eyes. Marissa broke it, blushing slightly. They continued to eat in silence.

"So I wonder how your mom and dad are doing. Actually I wonder how Caleb is doing," Ryan said with a smile. Marissa smiled slightly. Ryan frowned at her. "Hey you ok? You don't seem as lively as earlier."

"That's because I had to make pancakes all on my own," she lied with a convincing smile.

"Admit it, I would have just gotten in the way."

"True though I would have had fun bossing you around."

"I bet you would." Ryan put his fork down. "Those were definitely the best pancakes ever."

"Why thankyou," Marissa said putting her fork down too.

"Mmm…wait…you've got a bit…" Ryan pointed to Marissa's face.

"What?" she asked touching her face.

"You've got chocolate sauce here," Ryan said pointing to the side of his lip. Marissa touched her own face. "No the other side." She tried to wipe again but missed it. "No…let me…" They leaned towards each other and Ryan kissed the side of her mouth getting rid of the sauce then moving onto her mouth. Ryan held the side of her face, stroking her cheeks as he deepened the kiss. So much for waiting for later.

"Hello parents," Seth greeted Sandy and Kirsten as he joined them outside.

"Hello son." Sandy replied. "You know we haven't really talked about you, what with all the Marissa drama that's been going on."

"Well I never thought the day would come that someone actually asked me to talk about myself."

"How's school? Summer?" Kirsten asked.

"Good," Seth replied.

"Wow that was really convincing," Sandy said sarcastically.

"You ok?" Kirsten asked him as he looked down.

"I also thought the day would ever come when I didn't want to talk to myself. I know that the drama with Marissa has kind of taken over everything recently but I don't think it's over."

Kirsten and Sandy looked at each other.

"What do you mean?" Sandy asked him.

"I witnessed a meltdown about half an hour ago."

"What happened?" Kirsten urged him on.

"I don't know. I was in my room doing homework when there was all of a sudden all this crashing. Being nosy I followed the noise which led to Marissa's room. The door was slightly ajar so I pushed it open carefully. Marissa was sitting in the middle of the floor with her suitcase open. She was throwing everything out of it clearly trying to find something. Then she said something to herself. I think it was 'where the hell are they?'. I said her name and she looked at me. Her look scared me actually. I don't know how to describe it but she looked scared as hell. She snapped at me. I asked her what she was looking for and she made up some pathetic excuse about looking for a hair bobble when there was a whole pile on the dresser. She just laughed it off saying things are always in the last place you look, but I saw her shaking hands….I'm sorry for spewing all this out but it was weird, I thought you should know."

Kirsten and Sandy looked at each other. They knew exactly what was going on. Seth looked at his parents.

"What is it? What did I say wrong?"

"It wasn't what you said Seth," Kirsten told him resting her hand on his. "It's just…" she looked to Sandy for help.

"We know why she had a 'meltdown'," he added.

"I don't understand," Seth said confused. Kirsten looked at Sandy who nodded for her to explain.

"Last night when I went to take Marissa's stuff up to the spare room I found…" she paused the horrible feeling she had felt when she found them coming back. "I found two vodka bottles in her suitcase."

"What?!" Seth said in disbelief. Kirsten nodded grimly. "I mean I know she likes to have a few drinks but an alcoholic?"

"She's not an alcoholic…she just has some problems with her drinking," Kirsten said weakly knowing that she wasn't convincing anyone including herself.

"Aka an alcoholic."

"Seth you're not helping," Sandy said.

"I just don't understand why. I mean does Ryan know?"

"No Ryan doesn't know, not really. I mean he has his suspicions, but we don't want you to say anything to him," Kirsten said.

"Well don't you think he has a right to know?"

"Seth it's not that simple," Sandy said sternly. "We need to keep this off his radar, just for a little bit. Too much is happening."

"And what about Marissa? Has anyone even spoken to her? We can't just let her do this to herself."

"We've not spoken to her. She doesn't know that we know."

"What so you're just going to let her go crazy, kill herself with alcohol poisoning?" Seth said in disbelief that his parents were letting it continue.

"Seth! Look, like your father said it's not that simple! We need to confront her about it in the right way or we could end up making everything worse."

"You guys don't understand though. You didn't see her last night or in the room," Seth scraped his chair backwards. "She needs help….she needs help now," he said before going back inside.

"Seth!" Kirsten shouted.

"Don't."

"What if he tells Ryan though?" Kirsten asked Sandy.

"He won't. He's not stupid. He knows that Ryan would go crazy blaming himself and god knows what else."

They sat in silence before Kirsten looked up at Sandy.

"I think it's time we confront her. "She stated sadly. It's been going on too long."

"How do we do it though?" Sandy asked. Kirsten glanced at the pool house where she could see Ryan and Marissa chatting.

"I think this is something I have to do. I was too late to help my mom, but it's not too late to help Marissa."

Sandy took her hand in his.

"It's going to be ok. We'll all get through this together." Kirsten nodded solemnly.

"I'm going to go talk to Seth," Sandy said standing up.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I can't just leave it as it is. Don't worry," he leaned down and gave her a kiss before going inside. Kirsten looked back to the pool house. She was so happy earlier, happy now….so why? She was going to get to the bottom of it and she was going to do it soon. She wasn't going to let it go on for any longer.

So the drama's not quite over but don't worry there is always light after the dark, or is there...

As always greatly appreciate reviews!!