Ryan sat at his desk, lazily going through all the work that he still had yet to accomplish today. He didn't know why his mind was persistently in another place today, all he could do was stare out the window, looking at the waves as they continuously crashed onto the shore, the same way every time. He turned back to his computer and came to the conclusion that he was not going to get any work done. He picked up his phone and called a familiar number, waiting for a voice to answer.

"Hello?" a preoccupied voice answered, the sounds of loud banging quite apparent in the background.

"Hey… it's me" Ryan said quietly, turning in his chair with a small smile on his face, still hearing the loud banging in the back. "Am I interrupting something? Are you beating Caitlin with a frying pan perhaps? Because knowing you, there would be no other use for that cooking device." Ryan asked with a smirk.

Marissa mockingly laughed, "You're a funny one Ryan…maybe I'll use the frying pan on you next time" Marissa said and Ryan laughed. "I'm trying to put the pans away, and somehow, I keep on banging things together and making the most aggravating noises" she muttered.

"Well it sounds like you're doing a great job" Ryan said, allowing his smirk to sneak through once again. Marissa couldn't help but let a laugh pass through her lips. "Mr. Atwood, aren't you a funny one today" Marissa teased. She could hear the flirtation in her voice and almost felt as if she was doing something wrong, so she knew she had to get straight to the point in their phone call. "So what's up?" she asked as she swirled the bubbly water with her finger tip. "Well I'm actually in the transition of moving into my new apartment, and I need to paint my bedroom… and I was wondering if you would come over and help me? I think Seth and Summer are coming too" he asked hopefully.

"What time?" Marissa asked as she dried off her hands and went to her bedroom. "Like around 7ish…why? Do you have something?" he asked, hearing a beeping sound in the phone. He looked and saw that Kiley was calling on the other line, but chose to ignore the call. "Oh no, I just need to figure out when I can schedule my fry beating with Caitlin" she said with a smirk, and Ryan burst out in laughter. "I'll just see you at seven. Bye Ryan" she said with a smile. "Okay…bye Marissa" he said as he hung up the phone. He looked the phone and saw the missed call from Kiley… and started to realize that he was in big trouble.

Marissa stared at the soft pistachio green paint on her hand, wondering where she could put the paint so it wouldn't stay on her. Ryan was turned; quietly painting the wall with a paint covered t-shirt, and realized that was the best target. She grabbed the back of his t-shirt and rubbed her hand with it, continuing until most of it disappeared. "Can I ask what you're doing to my t-shirt?" he asked as he turned his head to see her putting his t-shirt back into place. "Well you're t-shirt has so many other paint colors on it, so I thought this green with blend in nicely" Marissa said sweetly and he smirked at her as he turned around.

"Oh thanks Marissa… you always do know how to be considerate" he said sarcastically as he rolled more paint onto the white wall, covering the remnants of someone else's life. "I try" Marissa said with a sigh as she glanced around the room, seeing how they had barely made a dent. "Where is Seth and Summer? It's already eight o'clock" Marissa said as she moved to another wall, trying to spread out their progress.

"I don't know… I called Seth a couple times but he didn't answer" Ryan answered vaguely. Things quieted down between them for a few minutes and for some reason, Marissa felt the curiosity of Ryan's relationship coming through her.

"So Ryan… tell me about Kiley… I hardly know her" Marissa requested suddenly and Ryan felt tension seep through his veins. He hadn't expected her to ask him about Kiley, he thought it would remain something hidden between them, almost as if it didn't exist. He didn't know why but he just felt that with Marissa, discussing any relationships was something he would rather stray far away from.

"Well I met her about a year and a half ago at a party, and we started talking and soon enough we were dating. She's kind… beautiful, and just easy to be with" Ryan said softly turning to watch Marissa as she continued to paint, he couldn't see her face but for some reason, he was glad he couldn't. Looking into her eyes at this point, seemed like a painful thought. "I mean it's hard though sometimes… just because… it may be easy, but I don't feel that connection" he said quietly. Marissa turned to him, "what do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"There's a type of connection, or chemistry that you feel when you're with someone and I guess I just don't feel it completely with her. I'm searching for that connection but it seems like the only person I could ever find it with was…you" he said as he searched for her eyes. They continued to stare at each other, until someone coming up the steps broke their moment. "Hey guys… sorry we're late" Summer's voice yelled as they came down the hallway. They both turned back to their walls and continued to paint, allowing their conversations to fade.

Seth and Summer filled up most of the conversation for the next hour or so, but after that, it simmered down and the tension that seemed to exist before had arisen once again.

Marissa didn't know what she felt, but when she realized it, it was anger. How could he do this to her after all this time? How could she ever respond to him after that? She had only managed to spend time with him because she thought that nothing would ever come from it, but now, all her thoughts were crushed. "So Coop, what do you think of the color?" Summer asked, pointing towards the wall.

Marissa glanced toward the cool mint green paint, "I don't know… I mean after having the same color for so long, why would anyone just make an advance on an old color that just needs to be left out of things? Green is tired and hurt… but the white was fresh and nice…so I don't know..." Marissa finished, not noticing the Seth and Summer staring at her oddly. Ryan turned to her from the wall, "well maybe I just wanted to give it a try and see if the green still worked for me. It used to be my favorite color…anyways I didn't try it out because I was hoping the green would want to be on the walls forever… I just wanted to see what it was like."

Both Seth and Summer stared at the two oddly, not having any idea as to what they were talking about. "Well…that's umm…two very unique opinions…how about we go to the pier for some ice cream?" Summer asked, trying to change the subject. Marissa lazily dropped her paint brush on the sheet covering the hard wood floors, "yes please… I'm getting a headache in this room" she said as she left the room quickly, with Summer moving right behind her. Seth turned to Ryan, the confusion dancing all across his features.

"What the hell was that?" Seth asked. Ryan simply shrugged and stared at the color on the walls, wondering if everything she said was true. "Dude?" Seth uttered quietly, breaking Ryan out of his trance, and once again, Ryan merely shrugged and moved towards the door. "A letdown Seth… that's what it was" he quietly said before leaving the room.

Marissa sat on the bench facing the dark beach, her black raspberry ice cream slightly melting in the ice cream cup. She turned to see Seth and Summer still staring at the flavors on the wall, unsure of what they wanted. Ryan held the cup of ice cream in his hands and slowly made his way over to her, tentatively taking the available seat on the bench. Marissa turned to him, surprised when he had mint chocolate chip instead of his usual cookie dough, "no more cookie dough?" she asked quietly and he turned to her.

I found God on the corner of First and Amistad..
Where the west was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette.
I said, "where've you been?"
He said, ask anything.

"No… this is my new favorite" he said with a small and forced smile, a smile that Marissa could see right through. The silence of the moment tore right through them, and she could almost feel the tension screaming all around them.

"Why'd you have to do that?" she asked, her eyes blazing with anger as she turned to him. He sighed and turned to her. He simply stared at her for a few moments, looking at all the beauty that never left.

"The other day when I dropped you off and walked you to your door, I lost all of it. I had my life back together Marissa after you left, I was able to rebuild after everything was shattered. It seemed like nothing could ever ruin that… but that day… everything seemed to disappear" he said quietly as his put the ice cream down on the ground, no longer hungry. Marissa stared at him, the confusion still running through her veins.

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me…
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded.
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late.
You found me, you found me.

"What do you mean?" she asked. He turned to her and felt the day run through his head…

Ryan pulled off his leather jacket, "well when I say run, follow me to my car, I can just drop you off" he said. "Are you sure?" she asked, not wanting to bother him. "Of course I'm sure… you're right next door" he said with a smile and put the leather jacket over both of them, causing Marissa to get extra close to Ryan. "Run!" he said loudly and they both ran towards Ryan's car, hastily jumping in the car, trying to wipe off the excessive amount of rain from their bodies.

They drove quietly back to Marissa's house, Ryan being the gentlemen he was, walker her to her door with the leather jacket over their heads. As soon as the roof covered them, he pulled his jacket down, smiling softly at her. "I had fun today… I missed talking to you" he said and she felt a genuine smile come easily onto her face. "Me too…I don't leave here for another few weeks, so give me a call… so we can do this again" she said and he nodded his head. He leaned in and softly kissed her cheek, and pulled back slowly looking into her eyes for a brief moment, taking in her beautiful face, before putting the jacket back over his head and running back to his car. She waved to him as he backed out of the driveway, and she went inside.

"When I walked you to the door, there was a moment when I just stared at you and I just felt like I was home…" he said quietly and Marissa felt eyes her eyes start to cloud over. "I felt everything come back… and now here I am…" Ryan said with a small and fake smile. The continued to stare at each other, neither knowing how to react.

But in the end, everyone ends up alone,
Losing hope… the only one who's ever known.
Who I am, who I'm not, and who I want to be.
No way to know how long she will be next to me...

"Tell me what to do…" Ryan pleaded as he grabbed both her hands in his. She felt the tears start to pour down her pale cheeks, and sobs release from her throat. She shook her hand and tried to stop from crying, but she couldn't. "All I know is that there are two very amazing women in my life… and-" but before Ryan could finish, Marissa broke through her quivering lips.

"Please don't… don't ask me…" she said and tried to wipe her eyes. She felt Ryan pull her in close and she dug her head into the crook of his neck. She continued to cry for a few minutes, knowing that sometime, she needed to give him an answer. However, some part of her knew that she could never give the right answer. She pulled back from his neck and stared at him, seeing the young boy from when she was just sixteen years old. "This is something I can't decide for you…" she said before tucking her hair behind her ear. "Believe it or not Ryan, I came back here thinking that I could look at you… and not be upset that I didn't have you anymore."

Marissa shook her head, and a small and cynical laugh escaped through her lips. "You know, my entire life… people have been telling me that I was lost. That I was constantly living my life in a maze that I would never find my way out of… and for once, I thought I had found the way out…and then this" she uttered, turning to see Seth and Summer coming towards them. "Maybe everyone was right…" a statement that Ryan never expected to hear. Maybe when she was a teenager, she was lost, but he thought it had all changed.

The pain invoking her ever-lasting tears seemed to amount her rationality, and she stood up, and for no reason, she ran. She heard her name being called out after her, but she kept going, ignoring every voice and just ran.

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me…
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded.
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late.
You found me, you found me.