A/N I'm not from the U.S. so I've had to wing it with the whole Thanksgiving thing. Please R&R. Thanks again.

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"Aah…Turkey Day, T-Day, either way you say it, you know what today is Summer...?" Seth beamed as he looked out onto the balcony into a bright November morning.

"Thanksgiving. Hey look, I think I'm getting pretty good at this." Summer said as she gave herself kudos for operating the electric mixer."

"Aw, my very own Martha Stewart." He teased as he walked over to her on the kitchen bench and kissed the side of her head. "What've you got there, my dear Summer?"

"Well while you were snoozing you're ass off, I've been up since seven and got started on what we're going to eat today. Here we have, Pumpkin Pie a la Summer." She displayed proudly, as he went to grab a fork, and attempt to take a bite. Like a built-in reflex she slapped his hand away. "Seth it's for the guests."

"What guests? Ryan and Marissa aren't guests." He argued.

"I just want everything to be perfect you know. This is like our first Thanksgiving away from home, and I know it's your favorite holiday next to Chrismukkah and I just want to do a good job." Summer said hopeful.

Seth grabbed her hand and led her towards him, and held her close, "You will do a good job. I have faith. If not, I have Mr. Wong; open everyday including public holidays, 10 'til 7." She laughed at his comment but was thankful for his underlying sincerity.

"I'm off to Ryan's." Seth said as they pulled away from each other, with Summer going back to her whipping the cream.

"Hey, aren't you going to help me?" she asked.

All of a sudden a knock came at the door and Seth went over to reveal who their morning arrival was. "Why, hello friend." He said rather chipper.

Summer poking her head out of the kitchen, asked "Coop, what are you doing here so early?"

"Kyle left yesterday night, it was getting kind of boring back at the apartment, so I thought I'd come by early and help at least. I hope you don't mind." Marissa said as she walked in and took off her jacket.

"See, Marissa's here, she'll gladly help you"; Seth's cheerfulness going up a notch.

"Cohen, why can't you just do your little Seth-Ryan time, another day, or here even?" Summer questioned.

"Then that would put us at greater risk of actually having to do something."

Summer rolled her eyes as he walked out the door, and Marissa walked over, taking a spot opposite her and continued with chopping vegetables that had already been started on.

Marissa was actually glad that Seth had left for she desperately needed to vent some frustration she'd kept in for a week. "I hate men!" She cried out.

Summer looked up abruptly from whisking the eggs, "Okay, a little left field, but I'll bite. What'd Ryan do now huh?"

"It's not Ryan. It's Sarah. It's Ryan and Sarah." She tried to explain.

"There's a Ryan and Sarah now?" Summer trying to clarify.

In Marissa's frustration she began chopping the carrots vigorously, in uneven pieces, becoming more violent as she neurotically muttered sentences to herself that Summer could barely keep up with. "'Oh sorry, is that your beer, here I'll just drink from it and we can exchange saliva!' 'What's not to get? He like double crossed them and went rogue!' Whatever that means 'Sorry no Mandy Moore, but I thought Frankie Potent was just as good!'" Marissa finished as she completely decapitated the remainder of the carrot brutally.

"Franka Potente?" Summer corrected.

"Well…Whatever!" Marissa snapped. She took a deep breath, "Sorry Sum." She said calmly, now having at least released some of her anxieties. "Sometimes he just makes me so…Aargh!"

Summer understood something must've happened for Marissa to be so – Un-Marissa like. She looked to Marissa to see if it was okay for her to talk yet, as if she had needed permission. "Coop, that was a little…uh…"

"Scary?" Marissa finished for her.

"Actually I was going to say violent. You want to try this again, with like whole sentences and less sharp objects?"

Marissa began explaining to her the entire day they spent together the previous week, the breakfast, the old man, the shopping, the near kiss, the sunset, as Summer held on to every word and would occasionally throw in a comment of how sweet it must have been.

"…then we came back to his place to watch some movies, and Sarah joined us."

"She's a little…you know, but couldn't have been that bad." Summer responded.

"They were flirting." Marissa stated bluntly but rather sullen.

"In front of you? They would not! That skank"

"That's just it, I don't really know if they were doing it on purpose."

"Oh she knew what she was doing…" Summer said now getting a little worked up.

"I don't know…I guess I was just a little hopeful that we would get back together, maybe that was just my wishful thinking. Maybe he thinks it was a mistake."

Summer's face grew with empathy, "Maybe he doesn't, have you talked to him…"

"No, not since the day I last saw him."

"Talk to him." Summer encouraged.

"Say what? I want to get back together when he probably still doesn't" Marissa said as if she were losing hope.

"Are you just going to keep this in?"

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"Too bad your parents couldn't make it to Thanksgiving."

"I think they're just thankful we're not there to walk in on them making out in the kitchen anymore."

Ryan and Seth were going back and forth with light conversation as they sat on the floor trying to behead each other's warriors on the television screen.

"Besides, I think they've got Julie Cooper, and some other socialites coming by the house." Seth continued.

"Hey have you seen Marissa at all this week?" Ryan wondered.

"Saw her in class, and as I was leaving to come here, she arrived at our place. Why?"

"I don't know, just haven't heard from her since last week."

"What happened last week?"

Although Ryan was well aware Seth was hardly the person to tell secrets, he was still one of the only people he could really be truthful with. "We, ah…sort of, almost…kissed."

Seth pausing the play-station, turned his head to face him, "Almost?"

"A dog came…"

"This is huge." Seth exaggerated now turning back to resume their game play.

Ryan didn't sound so convinced that it was, "…not that huge."

"Dude, this is like, the closest you guys have gotten ever since you broke up."

"We didn't break up, we're on a break."

"Same thing. When did it happen?"

"Last week, when we were out together?"

"You're going out?"

"No, we're not going out, we went out." Ryan said making it clearer.

"So...?"

"What?"

"Are you getting back together?"

Ryan sighed and thought about the question just posed to him, "I don't know yet…I just think we just got caught up in the moment." He answered.

"An 'I love you, please kiss me now' kind of moment?"

"No, just when you're that close to someone and everything's familiar. I just don't think it necessarily means we're ready to get back together."

"Is it going to be awkward with you to over for Thanksgiving?"

Ryan barely gave it another thought, "No, we were fine last time I saw her, I think she and I both know we just got caught up, and it was a lapse of judgment."

"If you say so, buddy."

"Hey guys, isn't it a little too early for that?" Sarah said walking in as she observed the two of them on the floor, in rigid positions from playing.

"It's never too early to kick Ryan's ass."

"So, what are your plans today?" Ryan called out to her in the kitchen.

She came back with a bowl of cereal in hand and sat down on the single armchair near them to eat breakfast. "I don't know. I'll probably just stay home, why?"

"On Thanksgiving?" Seth asked as if it had been the most confounding thing he'd heard.

Sarah just replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, well we've never really celebrated Thanksgiving, or any other of the major holidays. Our family wasn't really big on it."

"What about your brother, or Roy?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah like I said, our family wasn't big on the holidays, and Roy's not really big on anything really. Besides, he probably won't be up 'til the crack of sunset."

"You're going to stay home and alone on Thanksgiving?" Seth asked once more, dramatizing the situation further.

She swallowed another bite out her cereal, "It didn't seem that bad until you said it."

"It's Thanksgiving. No one should be alone on Thanksgiving. You can come with us." Seth said as he sliced the head on his opponent in one swift motion.

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"Isn't it beautiful?" Summer looked in amazement at the golden brown turkey as it sat on the oven tray; looking proud at her culinary achievements as if it were her first born.

"It's great…but I think just leave it back in the oven, it might get cold or something." Marissa smiled sincerely; quite pleased they managed to pull this off.

"The guys better be on their way here."

"I'm sure they won't be long, Seth especially wouldn't miss this", Marissa now making her way to start on mashing potatoes. "I think we've made too much though, there's only like four of us."

Rustling of keys were becoming more and more audible, as its possessor seemed to be coming closer and closer to approach their destination. The door knob began turning and Seth walked in bearing a huge smile on his face as if he'd open up the door to a candy store, upon seeing some of the food that was laid out on the dining table.

"What do you think, Cohen?" Summer asked in great spirits while she washed up some used utensils.

He walked up from behind quickly giving her a kiss, "It's beautiful, very impressed. I told you, you could do this."

"Oh your parents called earlier, just wanted to wish us a happy Thanksgiving."

"Where's Ryan?" Marissa asked, wondering why Ryan hadn't been a step behind him.

"Oh they're coming up" Seth said apathetically as he made his way and stopped in front of the oven.

"They?" Summer and Marissa said in unison, rather surprised.

"Yeah, Ryan and Sarah." He said casually, now opening up the oven to inhale the fragrance of the turkey. He stood there with his head bowed into it with eyes closed as if he were in complete bliss.

Marissa stopped with the potato masher in her hand by the counter, and Summer a knife, she was in the middle of rinsing at the sink, both standing there unaware of their raised utensils as if they had been put on pause.

"Did Ryan invite her?" Marissa now asked.

With his head still by the turkey and his eyes still closed, "No, no, I did…She had no one to spend Thanksgiving with, so I invited her" he expressed as if he had done a good deed.

"Oh you invited her?" Summer asked rhetorically, clearly not at all pleased. She looked on as he was completely oblivious to what he'd done. "I wouldn't stick your head too close to that oven, Cohen." She said, slightly coming off as a threat.

He stood upright and opened his eyes, confused as to what she was talking about.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Ryan called out as he entered through the door with Sarah closely behind.

"Happy Thanksgiving, guys", she said with an uncertain smile.

Summer and Marissa stood there with fake smiles indented onto their cheeks. Summer was the first to speak up, "Oh, the food isn't ready yet, so just…uh…relax and uh…make yourselves comfortable." 'But not too comfortable' she finished off as a thought in her head, aimed toward the beauty a few feet away.

"Everything looks great", Sarah complemented as she walked over to the living room and sat on the couch to watch some parade that had been on in the background, as did Seth.

Ryan walked over and into the kitchen to greet the girls, making his way toward Marissa first. "Happy Thanksgiving", he said, pulling her into a hug. She returned his embrace a little distant, not wanting to get too close.

"Happy Thanksgiving", she repeated without much effort, patted his back, and went back to the task she'd been distracted from, and Ryan sensed that their embrace was a little awkward, but let the notion pass.

"I haven't heard from you since last week, where've you been?" Ryan asked, trying to start a conversation.

She kept her eyes focused to the deconstructed vegetable in the bowl in front of her, purposefully not looking back at him as if she were too busy. "Oh, you know, just school. Its getting busier in the final stretches." She said directly.

"Yeah, I know what you mea-"

"-Summer, are these done?" Marissa said cutting him off and turning her back on him to face her with the mashed potatoes held up.

Summer sensing Marissa not wanting to talk to him, "Yeah, looks good. Ryan where's my hug?" She asked only to get him out of Marissa's way; which worked as he smiled back at her and made his way over.

"What do you have Summer? I need a drink." Marissa said bluntly when it were only the two of them in the room, searching through their cupboards.

"We have a case of champagne Kirsten sent over. She thought we should at least have them in case for special occasions and stuff."

While Summer and Marissa worked quite bitterly in the kitchen at the thought of their fifth guest in the house to rain on their parade, and Marissa became a bottomless pit for alcohol, Seth and Ryan decided that they would teach Sarah the wonderful ways of the Ps2. Ryan sat behind her on the couch as she sat beside him on the floor, occasionally leaning down over her to explain some of the controls.

"Okay, so this is to what?" She asked looking up into his eyes.

"That's to maneuver the sword." Ryan replied.

She returned to her battle with Seth, getting over excited at certain points when she would do something good. Marissa and Summer could hear her shrieks from the kitchen and would take turns rolling their eyes at each other as they continued to slave away in preparation for dinner.

"Did I win! Did I just win?" She exclaimed

Seth shook his head unable to admit defeat, "That was beginners luck."

Ryan laughed, "Actually, she was pretty good" he said as he nudged her knowingly.

"See Seth, I have potential." She said in mock arrogance. "You should practice with me when we're back at our house." Sarah said casually.

He gave her a friendly smile, "Yeah, of course, so you can beat Seth more often" he laughed.

Summer made her way out to the dining table to set the table, laying out the plates and cutlery. Her facial expression was almost exuding anger as she would observe from the corner of her eye, the little physical gestures and body language Ryan and Sarah would do toward each other. Her head beginning to steam as she would look on to see how Sarah would always let her hand find a way back to Ryan's leg or another part of his anatomy.

"What's she doing?"

"I knew you couldn't trust anyone who's willing to drop their pants in front of strangers." Summer said bluntly and Marissa couldn't help but laugh. They could hear Ryan and Sarah laughing and Marissa began shaking her head.

"I'm like the fifth-wheel" Marissa said as she took another gulp out of her flute.

Summer began feeling bad for her, and made her way out to the main area. "Seth, can you help me with something please?" She called out sweetly.

Seth got up rather quickly, "Yes, Summer my love?" he said as she nudged her head in direction of the bedroom, and he smiled at the thought of what Summer may have in mind.

She closed the door behind them making sure they weren't to be heard.

"I love how you think Summer, but we have guests, I don't think we shou-", he said in a calculated whisper before she cut in.

"Believe me, the last thing you're getting is me flat on my back Cohen, so don't even go there!" she whispered back clearly angered even further. "How could you do that?" She continued as she pinched his ear making his face twist in an awkward pose.

"Ow! Do what? What are you talking about?"

"You invited that flirting hyena!" Summer said as she let go of him.

"Who?" He asked still totally ignorant.

"Sarah! She's out there flirting with Ryan, right in front of Marissa!"

"They're not flirting, even if, Ryan wouldn't do that; and she's not a hyena"

"Her laugh allows me to beg to differ" She said straightforward. "Open, your eyes Cohen it's happening right in front of you."

"She's harmless, and even if they're on a break, Ryan wouldn't do anything."

"Oh yeah, the first time they went on a break, he slept with his old girlfriend who almost had his baby."

Seth sighed, "Well what am I supposed to do, she was alone on Thanksgiving, and we were there, we couldn't just leave her knowing she was by herself."

Although Summer knew he meant well, she just shook her head and walked out of the room; disappointed at the thought of how her best friend, who was undoubtedly becoming more drunk, was spending her Thanksgiving.

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A/N to be continued…