The New Beginning

Chapter Three: The Complication

Ryan instinctively stepped in front of Marissa, his eyes burning into Oliver's. He glanced back at Seth and Summer, who had been shocked into silence. They stood next to the pool table and stared, awestruck, at the boy they believed to be locked up in a mental ward somewhere. Ryan turned his attention back to Oliver, not comfortable looking away from him for more than a moment. He felt Marissa's hand on his arm, though whether it was to keep him from introducing his fist to Oliver's face or for comfort, he couldn't tell.

"Get out of here. Now." Ryan said, his voice strained.

"Just calm down." Oliver said, and for once he wasn't wearing that smug smile of his. "I'm… better. My parents co-own this hotel, and I'm staying here while I undergo therapy. It's a funny coincidence you came here."

He smiled then, though Ryan noted that, for once, it seemed genuine. His eyes had lost that glint that had made him initially wary of the boy, though Ryan didn't let his guard down in the least. He wouldn't let the psycho near Marissa. Period.

"It's a funny coincidence that you're gonna be staying somewhere else, starting tonight."

"I can't." He said, no longer smiling. "They've got me on suicide watch."

He motioned to a man sitting nearby with his head. The man was watching Oliver impassively, though it was obvious that Trask was the object of his attention.

"They call it 'manic depressive attachment', or something like that. I'm on medication for it, and of course, seeing a therapist."

"Good for you. You can be on your medication away from us."

"Well, I was just wondering if I could talk to Marissa." He said, smiling shyly. "You're welcome to be there, of course."

"Hell no." Ryan said bluntly, taking his girlfriends hand.

He strode away from Oliver, heading straight to their rooms. No doubt Oliver would know which rooms they were in. His presence there was no coincidence, as he claimed it was. He could only be after one thing: Marissa. The last thing Ryan would do was let him get to her.

Once Ryan had gotten Marissa settled down, as she was shaken up by the entire exchange, he left her to talk with Summer in his room, and walked through the door to the other one. He left the portal open, not willing to let her out of his sight. He wouldn't be comfortable doing it for the remainder of their time in San Diego, however short that may be.

Seth was sitting on the bed, with the television on. He wasn't watching it though, merely staring off into space. They'd only been back for ten minutes or so, after Ryan stormed out of the lounge and left the bags for Summer and Seth. Neither complained about having to carry them. They understood the situation. Ryan walked over and sat on the side of the bed near his friend, and buried his forehead in his hands.

"I'm feeling a little Seth/Ryan time is needed." Seth said, turning off the set.

"Yeah."

"What do you wanna do about this?"

Ryan looked up at him, his eyes shifting around the room.

"Violence." He said simply.

"Okay, yeah, we could do that." Seth said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. "Maybe I asked the wrong question. Let's try not what you want, but what you think we should do?"

Ryan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He paused for a moment, thinking over his options. He wasn't willing to risk allowing Oliver to be around her, at all. He didn't trust the boy as far as he could throw him, which was something he was debating on doing.

"We should leave tonight." He said finally. "Right now."

"Okay." Seth said calmly.

"Okay?" Ryan asked, frowning and looking over at Seth. "You're not gonna try and talk me out of it?"

"Hey man, you were right about Oliver last time. I'm not gonna argue about it now. If you think it's best we go, we should go. We need to tell the girls though."

"Right. I'll take care of Marissa, you tell Summer?"

"Yeah." Seth said, making a fist and aimed it at Ryan. "Right here buddy."

They pounded. Ryan got up, ran his fingers through his hair, and walked into his own room. Summer took a cue from his return, smiled, and left. Marissa was sitting on the bed, staring at the floor.

"Hey." Ryan said quietly.

She smiled up at him, both arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. He took one hand and pulled it toward him, gripping it tenaciously. She squeezed his hand tightly, a sigh escaping her lips.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Apparently Ryan's doubt showed on his face, because she went back on her word. "I mean, I will be. I just wasn't ready for… that."

"We're heading back to Newport."

"No." Marissa said simply, her expression locked in place.

"What?" Ryan asked, incredulous. "I'm not letting him near you, Marissa."

"Believe me, I don't want to be around him. Especially now that we're… better. But I'm not gonna let him ruin this weekend. We came here to get away from Newport, and have fun, right? So let's do that. We'll have fun."

"It's hard for me to have fun when he's staying in the same county as us, let alone the same hotel."

"Then I guess I'll just have to make you have fun." Marissa replied, smiling devilishly.

Ryan stared at her for a long moment, a slight smile forming despite their situation. She was taking it very well, considering all that Oliver had put her through. Maybe this little trip was just what they all needed. He considered her words silently, before finally turning to look back into Seth's room.

"Seth. We're staying."

"Mmm, okay man."

From the sound of his response, he was most likely lip locked with Summer. Ryan knew they didn't want to leave, and to be honest, deep down, he didn't either. But he did not want to contend with Oliver. They'd just have to get out of the hotel and avoid him completely. San Diego was a big city, and it shouldn't be a problem.

It had to be the shortest shower in history. Ryan took only long enough to make sure he was clean, and wash his hair, before bounding from the combination bathtub and shower. The bathroom was cold, and he couldn't help but shiver as he began to dry off. He wasn't willing to hang out in the shower for long, not with Oliver on the loose. Ryan wasn't about to let that creep anywhere near his girlfriend this time around.

He had instructed her to leave the door between the rooms open while he showered, Marissa having already taken hers, that way all four of them were within earshot of each other. He doubted seriously that Oliver would take it as far as invading their room while he happened to be showering, but he wasn't about to give him the chance.

That's why he was so surprised when, still drying off near the bathroom door, he heard a door close loudly. Ryan wasted not a second, wrapping the towel around his waist. He didn't know why Marissa had closed the door, unless Oliver really had made it into their room. He didn't even want to think of that possibility.

Yanking the door open, water still dropping from his disheveled blonde hair, Ryan burst into the room. Again, with only a towel around his waist. His eyes immediately darted to the door separating the two rooms, which was closed now, as Marissa walked away from it. She stopped in her tracks, a quizzical look forming as she gazed at Ryan's mostly naked form.

"Ryan, you're wearing a towel."

"Why did you close the door?"

"I didn't want to hear Seth and Summer debate on tomorrow's plans anymore."

"Yeah, but Oliver." Ryan said, his voice holding an edge to it he didn't intend on.

"Relax." She said soothingly, walking over and sitting on the bed. "I've got it covered."

Marissa gestured to the door to the hall, Ryan's gaze following it. A glance told him that it was locked, but that wouldn't prevent somebody with a master room key from entering. What would, however, was the chair that had been leaned against it, beneath the handle. Ryan turned to look back at Marissa, a slight smile touching his face.

"You're catching on."

"Learned from the best." She said with a grin. "I had Seth to the same thing in his room. Nobody can come in without us knowing."

Without warning the door between the two rooms swung inward, Seth's voice leading the way. Ryan and Marissa both looked over, unsure of what to do about Ryan's lack of clothes.

"Hey Ryan, I was thinking that tomorrow we could-" Seth stopped in mid-sentence, after fully opening the door and seeing Ryan in only a towel. "Sweet Moses, my bad. I really need to learn to knock."

"What did you do now, Cohen?" Summer asked, stepping next to him and into view.

"Yeah, we're uh, gonna go back in our room now." Seth stuttered, beginning to close the door.

"I knew it! You walk in on Ryan changing."

"It's only happened twice! Do they have ESPN Classic in this hotel?"

As soon as the door was closed, Marissa sprang up and moved to it. She locked it, turning to lean against the door.

"Well, that was…"

"Awkward." Ryan said, finishing her sentence.

"I was gonna say wrong." She replied, nodding her head and smiling.

Ryan smirked, glad they were able to joke about events that weren't so far in the past. He glanced down, letting his breath out in one long exhalation.

"Yep, you're still in a towel."

"At least it's not awkward now." He said. "Or wrong."

"Good to know." Marissa said, walking over to him.

She kissed him lightly, both hands on his bare chest. Ryan returned the affection, shivering as the air conditioned breeze ran across his still damp form. Ryan finally pulled away, clutching the towel tightly to him.

"I need to get dressed."

"You know, I'm not so sure you do." Marissa said, tracing one finger over his stomach.

Ryan searched her eyes with his own, trying to sort out if she was serious or just messing with him. The directness of her gaze immediately conveyed her intentions, and Ryan leaned in to kiss her again.

"Then maybe I don't."

Author's Note: So they're staying, and the awkwardness of Ryan and Marissa sharing a room seems to have been washed down the drain. Like the pun? I gotta say, jokes pertaining to the episodes before are as funny, to me, as the joke was then. By all means, I'm open to criticism as well as praise, so feel free to critique the chapter without restraint. A proactive reviewer pointed out that Seth and Summer don't ALWAYS argue, and this is something I know. There's a reason for their constant bickering, which will begin to be explained in Chapter Four. It was also pointed out that Ryan didn't win the Angry Trucker Hat until after The Proposal. That was something I missed, so good looking out. I've since corrected the error.