A/N So I actually wrote this chapter last week and posted it on the OC addicts message boards but since I was with my dad, I couldn't post it on here so sorry for the wait….though it wasn't really long. Review if you do read please and I hope you enjoy.

Marissa walked into her house and was greeted by none other than her best friend Summer Roberts. "Coop!" Summer practically yelled at her friend. She had been sitting on the couch watching a rerun of the Valley, a show that she'd loved ever since it started years ago. It was pretty far into the show, almost like the next 90210.

"Hey Sum." She replied a little sadly to her friend. She put down her purse and her keys and turned to her friend who was giving her a look. "What?"

Summer dragged her to the couch and made her sit down then took a seat next to her. "Okay Coop, spill, what's going on?"

She looked at her best friend like she was crazy and said, "Nothing."

Summer raised one eyebrow and said, "I've been your best friend for years and I know when there's something going on." She picked up a pillow and said, "Now I think you should tell me voluntarily before I have to beat it out of you."

She laughed and said, "Well you know that shooting at the event a while back?"

Summer looked at her strangely and said, "You're still hung up on that?"

Marissa sighed and said, "I'm the therapist for the survivor…"

"There was a survivor?" Summer asked, trying to remember something about the shooting.

"Yeah, Ryan Atwood." She said, trying to see if her friend remembered seeing something about that.

Summer thought and then said, "Oh, I remember now. I saw him on TV or something….that guy is hot." Marissa recalled Ryan's image in her mind and smiled a little. He definitely was good looking. Summer was watching her the whole time and said, "Coop, what was that?"

"What?" She asked, not sure what Summer was talking about.

"That face that you made." Summer said, analyzing her friend. "It happened when I said that the guy was hot…" Summer gasped and said, "I know your problem!"

"What's my problem?" She asked, not sure if Summer understood.

"You totally have a thing for the guy!" Summer said, standing up. "Oh my gosh Coop, you have a crush on the guy!"

"I do not!" She replied defensively. "I'm just his therapist Sum!"

Summer paced around and said, "That's what you're telling yourself, but deep down you have feelings for him." She looked at her best friend and said, "I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, and I know that what I'm saying is true."

"Well I guess you don't know me as well as you thought you do because I don't have feelings for him." She thought about Ryan and their dinner the other day and how easy it was for them to have a conversation together without getting uncomfortable and tried to shake the thoughts from her mind but all she could think of was him. "That would be very unprofessional."

Summer gave her an exasperated look and said, "So what? If you like him Coop, you gotta tell him."

"I don't like him so there's nothing to tell." She replied, crossing her arms in front of her body.

"Okay, let's go along with what you're saying. What's your problem then?" Summer asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well we had dinner the other day…" She attempted to start, but of course was interrupted by Summer.

"See, therapists and clients don't have dinner unless there's something else going on!"

She glared at her friend and said, "That's the problem. I was just…vulnerable at the time, and he was there and he was hurt also. It was like we just connected…" She said, thinking back to her and Ryan's feelings that night.

Summer looked at her friend and shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Mhmm, and this is a problem because?"

She glared once more at her friend and said, "well if you would've let me finish…"

"Sorry, I'm all ears now." Summer said, putting up her hands in surrender.

"okay, so after our dinner the other night…we had therapy and he ended up asking me to go to this event with him…" She said, trailing off, remembering the hurt in his voice when she told him that she wouldn't go. She never meant to hurt him…far from it actually. She just didn't think it was a good idea for them to be involved as more than a therapist and client.

"Wait, wait, wait. He asked you to an event and you said no?" Summer asked, eyes wide and hands on her hips.

"Yeah." She said, not understanding why it was such a big deal.

"When was this party?" Summer asked.

She looked at her watch and said, "In like an hour and a half."

Summer's eyes got even more wide and she said, "You're going to that party."

"No, I'm not." She said firmly.

"yeah, you are." Summer said, dragging her friend to her closet. "And I'm going with you."

"Why would you do that?" She asked.

"Because I want to see how it all works out." Summer said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Summer started going through her closet and she sighed. "This is going to be a long night."

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Ryan arrived at the party alone and rather bummed. He always used to have someone to talk to and it was hard to get over the fact that he now had no one to talk to, well, except for the Newpsies of course. But come on, who ever wants to talk to the Newpsies. He walked around, observing everyone. It was weird being at another part after his last. He almost expected that whenever someone would reach into their jackets or pockets that they'd bring out a gun or another weapon. He sighed and went to the bar and ordered a drink. He wished Marissa was here.

He continued for about half an hour, just walking around, hearing people whisper behind his back about him. He was just about to leave when he saw someone he hadn't expected to. He watched Marissa for a while, a smile slowly coming onto his face. She was wearing a strapless black dress with her hair pulled up in a bun. He noted how beautiful she looked, her eyes reflecting all the lights from the party. He walked up to her and said, "I thought you weren't coming."

She saw him and he saw her hesitate with herself and then finally smile. "I got convinced to go by my friend." She said, turning her attention to a short brunette that was getting drinks at the bar.

"Oh, so it had nothing to do with me?" He said with a small smirk.

He saw her hesitate again and start to struggle with what to say. "Well…I..um.."

He smiled and noted how adorable she was. "I was joking." He said.

She blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Oh." She said.

Just then Summer came back and she turned her attention to Ryan. "I've seen you on the news before." She said with a nod of her head. "I was just telling Coop over here earlier how hot you were."

He grinned and said, "Thank you." He turned to Marissa who was shooting a death glare at her friend.

Marissa turned to Ryan and said, "This is my best friend Summer Roberts. Summer, this is Ryan Atwood…my client."

He noticed the way Marissa said client as if there was nothing more going on between him but didn't let it get to him. He'd make her realize her feelings for him, and if she didn't have any, he'd make her have some. "It's nice to meet you." He said, holding out his hand for Summer to shake.

She shook it and gave him a smile. "Nice to meet you too."

He let go of her hand and said, "Well whatever the reason you came…I'm glad you did." He looked at Marissa and gave her a smile. "I don't want to do this alone."

He saw her slowly start to give into him but she was still holding onto her resolve to stay client-therapist. "We'll make sure you won't, won't we Coop?" Summer asked, giving her friend a look that didn't go by him.

She nodded and said, "yeah, I'm here for you."

He smiled widely and said, "That's all I ask for."

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Marissa had been fighting it all night, but she knew she couldn't for much longer. She'd made sure she kept her distance from Ryan, keeping at least a foot in between them, making sure their hands didn't brush each others. She didn't want to give anyone the wrong idea….or so she told herself. That's when it dawned on her that she wouldn't be trying so hard to pretend that they weren't something more than therapist and client if she didn't have some sort of feelings for him. So that's when she finally let herself look at him without a fear of him getting the wrong idea. They were already something more than what she thought they were before…there was no need to fight it.

She looked at his shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes observing the scene in front of him and smiled softly to herself. He really did fit in here despite everything he'd said about not doing so. He looked at her and smiled. "What?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked, unsure of what he was implying.

"I mean…what?" He said. "Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm not staring." She said, emphasizing the word staring. "I'm just observing."

"yeah, right." He said with a smirk.

"I am." She said defensively. When he just rolled his eyes, she playfully pushed him, feeling his strong muscles beneath her hands. She gulped and pulled her hand away.

He watched her and then said, "What are we exactly?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused to where he was going.

"Me…and…you…us…" He said, shifting his weight to lean on his right foot. "What are we?"

She thought about it and took a sip of her drink. After a while she looked into his eyes and said, "Friends."

He smiled and said, "You mean it?"

She nodded and smiled back. "I can't deny it anymore."

"I don't want you to." He said. He looked at the scene in front of him and then said, "Come with me."

"Where?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

She thought about it and then nodded. "yeah, I guess I do."

He grabbed her hand and said, "Then the rest doesn't matter."

She let him take her away from the party and into his car where he drove off. He didn't let go of her hand the whole time, something that she didn't know what meant. She didn't pull back either, which she really didn't understand as well. She was surprised at how her hand seemed to fit perfectly into his and felt so right there, like that's where it belonged. She looked out the window and watched him drive through all the familiar streets of Newport until he came up to a cemetery. She turned and looked at him confused and said, "What are we doing here?"

He didn't look at her, just softly said, "You'll see."

They drove into it, driving along the roads that led through the place until they came to a place with a tree overhead and benches nearby. He stopped the car and they got out and then he held her hand again, this time as if he needed her. She clung to his hand as well, still a little freaked out by cemeteries and a little depressed to be in one after her father and sister's death. They walked for a little while until they reached an area beneath a large tree and there Ryan stopped and looked at the headstones. That's when she understood.

Sanford Cohen, Kirsten Cohen, Seth Cohen
Taken too fast
Beloved father, mother, and son

"For a while there was a funeral every day." He said softly, still staring at the stone. "So many dead bodies, they couldn't possibly do it all quickly. They'd have three funerals a day. I went to every single one of them." He looked at her and said, "I felt that I owed it to them." She was going to say something but he put a finger to her lips. "Don't say anything." He practically whispered. He pulled his finger away and said, "I gave a eulogy at their funerals." He looked at the stone again and said, "A lot of the town was there. Everyone had something to say, something to give. The Cohens were amazing and helped so many people.

"Sandy's funeral was filled with people who he'd defended. There were people there like me that he'd given a second chance, people that he saved. Some of them spoke and gave a few words, others just looked down at the ground and cried. Everyone there though was affected by Sandy one way or another. Sandy was an amazing man, a better one then I'll ever be." He sighed and she could see him fighting the tears and she squeezed his hand gently, letting him know that she was still here for him. "I miss him a lot…he was the only dad I really had, the one that I always imagined having as a kid. I'll never forget him.

"Kirsten's funeral was filled with people from the Newport Group and different people from all over town that she used to hang out with or plan events with. She was really an amazing woman also. She was born in Newport, unlike Sandy. When I first came, she was against me staying in the house. She believed that I would do something to hurt Seth, but then she was the one there when my mom left me saying I could stay with her and Sandy. She made me feel welcome and I loved her for that. She was a much better mom than my own and of course, as all people, she wasn't perfect, but if you ask me…she was pretty close to it.

"Seth…what can I say about his funeral?" He asked with a small laugh. "It was probably the most interesting thing I've ever seen, in a good way of course…well, not really, I don't know. Anyways, he had a lot of his fans from his comic books come and they left things from their own drawings to copies of his comic book that they loved so much. There were a lot of people that really thought he was a cool guy, more than I thought before. He had everyone there from the place he worked at and everyone had something good to say about him. That's Seth though for you though, he had a good heart."

He looked at her with watery eyes and said, "I loved them so much…and it's hard to imagine my life without them sometimes." Then he smiled through the tears and said, "But I'm glad we can be friends. You have no idea how much that means to me."

She smiled back at him and said, "I kind of have a clue." She let go of his hand and suddenly hers felt wrong without his around hers but she hugged him and tried to comfort him. "It's going to be okay."

"How can you be sure though?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her and letting her embrace him. "How do you know it's going to be okay?"

She thought back to earlier and repeated his words, "Do you trust me?"

He nodded and said, "Of course."

She gave him a small smile and pulled back from the hug but still kept her arms on his shoulders and said, "Then the rest doesn't matter."