A/N I meant to write on Sunday, but I kept getting distracted, so that was my bad. I was very pleased with my reviews coming so quickly, so you guys deserve a big thank you for that. I made myself sit down and plan out the whole story today so that I knew which chapters go where and when the big things are going to happen. Remember, the faster you review, the faster I'll write. So again, thanks for my reviews, and I hope you like this chapter!

Ch. 5: Wash Your Hands Before You Eat

Marissa couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she made her way towards her friends Monday morning. She'd spent most of the weekend hanging out with Ryan, getting to know him a little better. He wouldn't come out and talk about his past openly, but with enough prodding she could figure out a few aspects of it without causing him any pain or sorrow remembering it. In fact, he seemed almost happy to talk about some things like his old best friend Theresa and the things they used to do together. She even got him to open up about his first kiss, after offering him quite a few of her own.

She leaned back on his bed and played with a soccer ball he had in his room. "Oh, I have one for you: who was your first kiss?"

He snorted and looked over at her. "I am not telling you that."


She turned and looked at him. "Aw, come on, why not? I really want to know!"

He shook his head and said, "Nope, not going to tell you. It'll be too awkward."

"And what's going to be awkward about it?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "I have you now, and I plan on keeping it that way, so there's no need to worry about that. I'm really curious. Was she pretty?"

He sighed and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. "I don't know, I guess. I did kiss her, after all."

"Oh, so you kissed her first, she didn't kiss you?" she asked with a smirk, her eyes sparkling at this little bit of information.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

She patted the spot next to her on the bed. "Come here."

He raised and eyebrow. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed a little. "Just get your shy ass over here so I can kiss you." He willingly obliged and fell onto the spot next to her. She leaned in and kissed him passionately on the lips, hovering over him, his fingers gently raking through her hair. "Did you kiss her like this..." She gave him a quick peck, then asked, "Or like this?" She leaned in and kissed him deeply, sliding her tongue into his mouth. He moaned a little and ran his hands up and down her back as they kissed, not sure where he wanted them to rest. She pulled back and grinned at him. "So?"

He sighed and said, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

She shook her head and smirked. "You should just tell me now. I'm known to be pretty persistent."

He looked at her for a long moment, debating whether or not he should tell her. She gave him the puppy dog look and he couldn't help it. "Okay, Jessica McCormick in seventh grade. We had just finished the first day of school and I asked her out, she said yes, so I leaned in and kissed her." He spoke slowly as he told the story, remembering the moment. He looked at Marissa again and asked, "There, happy?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yes, very. Thank you."

"And while we're at it, I lost my virginity to Jessica also," he said with a smirk, looking over at Marissa.

She turned red and looked away from him. "Okay, enough sharing about your love life."

"You don't want to hear all about it?" he asked, laughing a little as he rolled over so he was on top.


She shook her head and made a face. "Definitely not."

"But you wanted to hear all about my first kiss..."

"Yeah, because that's back when you were innocent..." She said. She made a face. "And doing that..."

"Having sex?" he prompted with a smirk.


She nodded. "Yeah, not so innocent."

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Okay. But for now, I have other things on my mind..." He raised his eyes suggestively at her.


"Hmm, what could that be?" she asked, wrapping her arms around her neck as her heart pounded hard in her chest. He leaned in and kissed her softly, officially ending their conversation.

Marissa arrived at the usual table and sat down next to Summer. "What's up?" Everyone stared at her with smirks on their faces. Well, everyone but Sarah, who instead had a glare fixed on her face.

"Okay Coop, spill. What happened between you and Ryan this weekend?" Summer said, looking at her best friend excitedly.

"I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about," she said with a smirk, looking at the group of mostly eager eyes.

"Come on! We all saw you making out with Ryan Atwood on the ferris wheel at kick-off. And you call that nothing?" said a black haired girl named Allison.

Marissa smiled widely and said, "Oh right, that. What about it?"

Summer scoffed. "Give us details! Is he any good?"

Marissa nodded and smiled dreamily, remembering her kisses with Ryan. "Of course." In fact, he was the best kiss she'd ever had, but she wasn't willing to admit that.

Allison sighed dreamily. "So, did you guys, like, do anything else?"

Marissa knew what she was referring to. "We hung out the rest of the weekend just talking. Aside from the occasional make out session, nothing happened." She was so not ready to have sex yet, even with the totally gorgeous and adorable Ryan Atwood.

Sarah seemed happy by this piece of information,but didn't say anything. Summer looked at her best friend and asked, "So, what are you guys? I mean, are you friends, or..."

Marissa caught sight of Ryan walking into the lounge and smiled widely. He turned and saw her, then smiled a little at her too and waved. She waved him over and got up from the table. "Hold that thought." She walked over to Ryan and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hey you," she said, looking into his eyes happily.

He smiled and asked, "How has your morning been?"

She leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "Much better now." She pulled back and only took one of his hands, lacing their fingers together. "So, I have some people I want you to meet."

He frowned a little and said, "I hate meeting new people..."

She gave him a look that told him he didn't have much of a choice. "You're new, and these people are my friends, so you need to know them." He shrugged and offered her a small smile. She grinned and pecked his lips quickly, murmuring, "Good boy." She walked over to the table where her friends were sitting and smiled at all of the stares. "So, guys, I want you to meet someone..." She rested her head on his shoulder and said, "This is my boyfriend, Ryan." She smirked at Sarah, who was sulking in the corner. "Ryan, this is Summer, Allison, Alice, Sarah, and Jackie."

Ryan nodded at all of them and said, "Nice to meet you all."

Everyone nodded and smiled dreamily at him, too caught up in staring at him to say anything else. Marissa rolled her eyes and laughed, turning to her boyfriend. "So do you want to join us?"She asked. She winked at him, "Or do you need to get to class?" She lowered her voice so no one could hear her but him and said, "Use that as your excuse to leave, or else they'll all keep staring."

He smiled at her and said, "I should probably get to class. I want to get there early today." He leaned in and kissed Marissa gently on the lips, making the butterflies in her stomach go into overdrive. "Thanks," he murmured into her ear before kissing her cheek and starting to walk away.

"Okay, well, you owe me," she said, pulling him back to her and kissing him one last time. She finally let him go and smiled as he walked away, checking him out with a smile. When he left the room she turned to her friends and sat back down. She waited for what she knew was coming.

"Oh my god, Coop! He is so hot!" She rolled her eyes, but had to agree that, yes, her boyfriend was pretty damn hot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That afternoon when she got home from school, Marissa was met by the annoying screaming of her mother. "Marissa Cooper, get in here right now!" She sighed, wondering what she could've possibly done this time to illicit this much anger from her mother.

"Coming, mom!" she called back, making her way to where she presumed her mother would be; the living room. When she got in there she saw her mother sitting on the couch with her arms crossed over her chest and eyes blazing. "Yes?"

"I just got a call from one of my friends. Apparently her daughter saw you and that new boy from Chino making out in the lounge this morning. You care to explain?"

Marissa sighed and plopped herself down on the large recliner. "What's there to explain? If they saw me, it must be true, right?"

That seemed to piss Julie off more than she already was. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?!"

"Um, I don't know...what do you want me to have to say for myself?" Marissa asked with a sigh.

Julie sighed and glared at her daughter. "Do not even start copping an attitude with me, Marissa."

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"For what? Your attitude, or kissing that boy?"

Marissa sighed and rubbed her eyes, finding she was beginning to get a headache. "My attitude, I guess."

"But not for kissing the boy?"

Marissa sighed once again, her head starting to pound. "It wasn't real, mom. It's all part of a bet."

Julie paused, looking interested. "What kind of bet?"

"One of those stupid, 'if you can make so and so fall in love with you by whenever, you win' bets," Marissa said honestly. Her mother was quite the competitive bitch, so she figured she'd actually allow Marissa to continue if she knew her daughter would win something.

"Oh, well, why didn't you say that before?" Julie said, waving her hand in the air. "I thought you were trying to get back at me or something. Or worse, that you were actually falling in love with him."

Marissa rolled her eyes at her own mother's stupidity and then at how stupid she used to be. "What would be so wrong if I fell in love with him?" She asked with a sigh. "What could it hurt?"

Julie eyed her daughter suspiciously. "We've been over this before, Marissa. I just want you to have a better life than I did when I was your age. I want you to always be safe and secure, and that boy from Chino will never be able to provide that for you. He's too dangerous, you have no idea what people are saying about him."

Marissa rolled her eyes once more. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to believe everything you hear? And besides, you've kept me away from a lot of outsiders, not just Ryan. Did people say bad things about them too?"

Julie shook her head. "This boy is worse. No one else had rumors floating around about them, but he does. A lot. Dangerous ones."

Marissa smirked. "Like what?"

"Like, he killed someone," Julie informed her daughter with a sigh. "He shot someone in cold blood."

"Who?" Marissa asked, not believing her mother for a minute.

Julie sighed and shrugged. "Who knows, but the point is that he did it."

"Okay, so let's pretend like I do believe you; why isn't he in jail?" Marissa asked, raising her eyebrows at her mother. "Why is he living with the Cohens next door and attending Harbor High School if he's a murderer?"

Julie threw her hands in the air exasperatedly. "How am I supposed to know?! The law is weird; it let's killers off the hook all the time!"

"Well, like it or not, I'm dating him because I want to win this bet," Marissa said after a minute, never taking her eyes off of her flustered mother.

"And afterwards?" Julie asked with a defeated sigh. "What are you going to do about your relationship then?"

Marissa shrugged. "I don't know just yet, I have until January to think about it. However, I will be careful." Her face softened. "I promise, if he ever does something to hurt me, whether it be physically or emotionally, I'll end it and call off the bet, okay?"

Julie smiled and said, "I guess that's all I can really ask for."

Marissa looked at her mom, completely shocked. "I thought you would take this a whole lot worse than you are."

Julie shrugged. "I don't want to make your life miserable, Marissa, I'm just looking out for you. If what you want to do is date this boy, then so be it, I just feel like you could do better." She let out a small smile. "And besides, your father's parents always hated me, so I guess I know how it feels to be on that end of the stick. I suppose I can be nice to the boy."

Marissa smiled genuinely at her mother. "Thanks, mom, it means a lot."

Julie held out her arms and gave Marissa a hug. "No problem. However, I have one condition to this."

Marissa groaned inwardly. "What?"

"I have to meet him. I have to know that he's suitable for my daughter, away from all the gossip," Julie said, pulling back and looking Marissa in the eyes. "This weekend."

"No way!" Marissa exclaimed. "I just started dating him, there's no way he'll be up to this already."

Julie stood and shrugged. "Take it or leave it, that's the only way." She started to walk away, then turned back. "Oh, your father said we're eating fish for dinner. He's making it himself. I'll call you when it's done." With that, Julie went upstairs, leaving Marissa to stare after her, biting her lip and wondering what she could do to convince Ryan to meet her mom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ryan was doing his homework later that night when he heard a knock on the pool house door. "Come in!" he shouted, his eyes still glued to his book. He heard his door open and someone step in, but he didn't bother looking up, figuring it was Seth.

"Um, hey," he heard a soft voice say. His eyes immediately darted up to be met with Marissa's dazzling ones. She smiled at him and played with her hands nervously.

He set aside the book and quickly got up, walking over to her. "Hey," he said with a surprised smile. "I didn't think you were going to stop by tonight..." He placed his hands on her waist and pecked her lips, then just wrapped his arms around her and hugged her for a few seconds.

"Well, I wasn't planning on it, but then I wanted to talk to you about something," she said, pulling back and looking at him as she bit her lip nervously.

He took her hand and led her to the bed, letting her sit down so she'd become more comfortable. "What's up?" he asked gently, looking at her curiously.

She looked away from him and sighed a little. "So you know how I told you my mom isn't really big on new people?"

He nodded and softly said, "Yeah, I remember." He was thinking the worst; her mom banned Marissa from talking to him.

However, when Marissa blurted out, "Well, she wants to meet you," he was beyond shocked.

"She uh..." He trailed off, unable to speak from the shock. "She wants to meet me? Seriously?"

Marissa nodded and looked over at him, biting her lip again. "Yeah, she told me today when I got home from school. I was going to call you and tell you, but I figured since you were just right next door I could come over...." She trailed off, studying his face, looking for some kind of answer. "So, what do you think?"

He spaced off for a second, thinking about meeting Marissa's mom, but then he looked over at her. "Um, I don't know," he honestly said, offering her a small smile, though he wasn't really feeling it. "When does she want to do it?"

Marissa sighed and gently said, "This weekend, either Friday or Saturday." When Ryan didn't say anything, she gently took one of his hands and held it in both of hers. "I only ask because she said either she meets you, or we can't go out." She placed one of her hands on the side of his face so that he would look into her eyes. "And I know we've only been going out since Friday, but I don't want that to happen. I like you...a lot." She blushed slightly, but didn't tear her eyes from his.

Ryan had never had a girl tell him she wanted to be with him, or even that they liked him a lot. He'd had girls drunkenly tell him he was hot and they wanted him, but this was different; a good different. He lifted the corners of his mouth in a soft smile and quietly said, "I like you too."

She smiled and gazed into his eyes in what he perceived as a hypnotic way, almost as if she was trying to put him under a spell. "So, what do you say?"

He remained silent for a long moment, then said, "Well, I suppose I could meet her this Saturday..."

She grinned widely, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Really, you mean it?" she asked, her face just centimeters from his.

He nodded, which made their faces brush. He closed the gap between them and gently pressed his lips to hers, once again getting the chance to taste her delicious lips. "Of course," he murmured. He leaned her down onto the bed, deepening the kiss by sliding his tongue into her open mouth. Marissa moaned and gently pulled on the soft hairs on the nape of his neck in pleasure. After a few minutes of intense kissing, he pulled back and lay on his back. He stared up at the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath, reaching out and taking hold of Marissa's hand. After a minute of silence he said, "I've never met a girl's parents...well, other than Theresa."

Marissa rolled over so that she was on her side looking at him. "Really?" she asked softly, feeling lucky to be his first girlfriend as well as the first girl he was going to meet the parents of.

He nodded, then wrapped an arm around her shoulder so that she was closer to him. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. "Yeah, I was never a boyfriend, and girls never wanted me to meet their parents because I was definitely not boyfriend material."

"I think you're a good boyfriend," she said, turning so that she could look into his eyes. He smiled back at her and she pecked his lips.

He kissed her back, then just held her. "Thanks," he murmured. He wanted to say thanks for thinking he was a good boyfriend, for wanting him, for letting him talk as much or as little as he wanted to, for letting him hold her, for making him think that life could go on after everything he'd been through. But since he still had so much to tell her, so many secrets to reveal, he decided that he could thank her later, assuming she didn't run when she knew the truth.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Marissa held onto Ryan's hand tightly as she led him to her parent's house. She could tell he was nervous, and even though she was supposedly only doing this to win a bet, she was pretty nervous too. She would be lying if she said everything she told Ryan wasn't true; she really did like him a lot, and she did want to be with him. However, she also wanted to win the bet, and at the moment she didn't know which reason was motivating her more. Before she got to the kitchen, she pulled on Ryan's hand so he would face her. She smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him gently, hoping that would help his nerves. "Thanks for doing this," she said for the millionth time that week.

He gave her a nervous smile. "Hopefully your parents like me."

"My mom's going to be the tough one, though I'm sure she'll like you once she gets to know you," Marissa told him semi-honestly. "My dad likes a lot of people."

Ryan nodded. "At least I'll have someone on my side," he said with a sigh.

"Hey, you have me on your side," she said gently with a small smile. "Isn't that all that matters?"

He nodded and gave her a half smile. "I suppose...."

She giggled a little and said, "Come on, let's get this over with already." She led him into the kitchen where her parents were doing various things all around the kitchen. "Alright, mom, dad, I have someone I'd like you to meet..." Jimmy and Julie immediately turned and looked at Marissa, then the blonde-haired, blue eyed boy holding their daughter's hand. "Guys, this is Ryan, Ryan, these are my parents, Jimmy and Julie Cooper."

She let go of Ryan's hand and gave him an encouraging look, so he plastered a smile on his face and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Cooper. I've heard so much about you both."

Jimmy was the first one to greet Ryan. He smiled and walked over to Ryan, shook Ryan's hand while saying, "It's nice to meet you, Ryan. Isn't it, Julie?" He glanced over at his wife and raised his eyebrows.

Julie snapped out of her small daze and smiled politely at Ryan. "Yes, it is." She walked over to him and opened her arms for a hug. Ryan awkwardly stepped closer to her and patted her back, giving a half hug. She laughed a little. "Not a hugger, huh?"

He shook his head and laughed a little. "Not really, ma'am."

"Enough with this ma'am stuff, it makes me sound old. Call me Julie," she said with a smile that Marissa actually thought was genuine.

Ryan smiled his half smile and said, "Okay, Julie."

Jimmy came up to Ryan and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "So, Ryan, have you ever grilled hamburgers before?"

Ryan nodded and said, "I used to cook for my mom before I moved in with the Cohens." His eyes darkened for a moment, but then he shook the thoughts of his mom away and smiled and Jimmy. "Why?"

Jimmy grinned. "Because you just earned a spot helping me grill. Sound good?"

Ryan nodded and said, "Okay, just let me wash my hands."

Jimmy nodded and turned to the girls. He winked at Marissa and said, "Alright, we'll be cooking out back." Ryan washed his hands and then went out back with Jimmy to grill up the burgers.

Marissa turned to her mother and asked, "So, what do you think?"

Julie looked out back where her husband was giving her daughter's boyfriend instructions. She saw the way Ryan nodded and took the instructions seriously, looking at Jimmy with respect, unlike a few of Marissa's other boyfriends. She then looked back at her daughter, who was looking at her anxiously, obviously caring about what decision she made. Julie shrugged and smiled. "You could do worse." She didn't think she'd ever seen her daughter more pleased.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Individual replies:

Marissa Davis: The results for the bet won't be for a while. Most of the story is during the duration of the bet. I think the last three chapters all have to do with the results of the bet and what happens afterwards.

Bwunnies: Haha, well thank you, I've never been given five stars before.

Snowwygirl4: How does your friend like the book?

Juzzy88: Hmm, I wonder who this bitch you speak of is...

sabotage0: I can do angst. There will be angst soon enough.

oc_bunney: I'm glad you think so.

Ninpinpin: I hope this is soon enough..

kellybby: I personally can't wait until the next chapter.

Elly: Thank you.

G: Why thank you.