thank you for all the replies and oh my god, I am on author alerts for two of my favorite Ryan/Taylor writers. :) Here's the next chapter. Have fun y'all. PS- I need a screen name for Brooke. Any ideas?
"God where did you learn how to drive woman," Seth asked as he and Taylor walked up the front walk of Harbor. "I swear I saw my life pass before my eyes and it wasn't pleasant."
"Why? Because you realized you need to get yourself a life?"
"Funny. Every time I get in a car with you I swear I am never going to do it again."
"You sound like Brooke when she's talking about Peyton's driving. I'm not that bad."
"You almost took out that van."
"They should've gotten out of the way."
"Taylor, it was a van full of nuns. You'd be in hell before St. Peter even finished reading your name."
"Wuss," Taylor teased.
"And my day is complete," Seth said as Summer passed by them.
"A glimpse of your dream girl and your 'near death' episode is forgotten. Nice to know some things will never change," Taylor rolled her eyes.
"Some things do."
"Such as?"
"Summer's not the only girl on the horizon these days."
"Oh you're not about to spring some hideous Dawson loves Joey scenario on me, are you?"
"What? No! We just ate Taylor."
"Just checking. So, who's the girl?"
"Anna Stern."
"Who's Anna Stern?"
"New girl at school and my cotillion date," Seth explained.
"You're kidding. What's she like?"
"She's kinda quirky but she's into comics."
"Score!" Taylor looked happy for him. "That's great Seth."
"I don't know if it's gonna lead to anything other than friendship but she's a good kisser."
"You kissed her? When?"
"The carnival."
"I miss everything!"
"Hey, why did you stay away so long this summer?"
"So I'd miss Cotillion and my mother's summer visit to Newport."
"Veronica I understand but why didn't you want to go to Cotillion?"
"Because this Thanksgiving I am going back to Tree Hill to be presented during the annual Tree Hill Country Club Debutante Ball," Taylor explained. "And trust me, one of these social events of the season is plenty."
"So why are you doing it?"
"So Brooke doesn't have to do it alone. It was Aunt Victoria's idea. She has this thing about Brooke and me being presented in the same town where she and Mother weren't involved in the society set when they were younger because they were merely the daughters of the local diner owner."
"Sounds like fun," Seth rolled his eyes.
"Which brings me to a favor," Taylor smiled. "I need an escort."
"Taylor," Seth groaned.
"C'mon you know if I had been here for Cotillion I would've been your date."
"One good reason."
"You love me."
"Not right at this moment I don't."
"If you don't, Brooke's going to stick me with some pervert from Tree Hill High that's going to keep grabbing my ass all night. I had to deal with that from Tim Smith all summer long and if I have to deal with it again at this thing you and Sandy will be flying across the country to bail me out of jail because I've seriously injured one of the Tree Hill 'elite'."
Seth sighed and nodded, "Okay, fine. You've got yourself an escort."
Taylor clapped her hands together, "Yay! Thank you!"
"As long as my parents are cool with it," Seth amended.
"I'm sure they'll be fine with it. We leave on Thanksgiving night after dinner, we spend a couple of hours on Friday rehearsing, the ball's on Saturday night, and we're back by Sunday afternoon."
"We gonna stay with Brooke?"
"No, I thought maybe we'd stay at Penelope's."
"Really?"
"Yeah, Brooke and I practically lived there this summer. It's amazing what that girl can get just by smiling. She had every Raven on the Varsity and Freshman team hammering away for like a month. All we had to do was provide them with lunch."
"Maybe that's all you had to provide them with," Seth teased.
Taylor gave him a dark look and he quickly apologized.
As they walked down the hall Taylor picked at her nails while Seth frowned.
"I'm sorry Taylor," Seth said again. "I was just joking."
"I'm not mad at you. I'm more worried about Brooke. You know her parents aren't any better than my mother when it comes to paying attention to their kid. She's been doing some stuff lately that makes me wonder if she's the one who's morphing into your neighbor."
"Brooke's always been a partier. This is not a new thing."
"The slutty behavior is," Taylor said.
"And that explains the dirty look when I teased you about what you provided them with," Seth realized.
"Not your fault," Taylor shrugged.
The bell rang.
"We'll talk at lunch?"
"Yeah as long as Ryan doesn't bring Marissa to sit with us," Taylor said as she turned and walked towards her homeroom.
Seth groaned a little as he walked in the opposite direction. He realized he needed to have a little talk with Ryan.
OCOCOCOCOCOC
Taylor sat down in the back of the computer lab during her study hall and opened up a chat room she knew Peyton would be in at the moment. She always went into a certain one right after she got home from school. She checked her watch, which should have been at least fifteen minutes ago.
T-Bird has signed on.
PunkSawyer: Hey I was wondering where you were. How goes life in the OC?
T-Bird: It's a little surreal being back here. I think I got too used to Tree Hill living this summer. Though it's always nice to see Seth and everyone. He says thank you btw.
PunkSawyer: Tell him he's welcome and I expect some kind of amazing drawing coming my way in the near future.
T-Bird: Will do. Come to your senses yet?
PunkSawyer: Okay, I realize you can't see me, but I'm rolling my eyes at you right now.
T-Bird: Sorry Sawyer, I just think you could and should do better.
PunkSawyer: Speaking of guys, tell me about Ryan.
T-Bird: He's from Chino, he's into Marissa, and apparently he's got a hero complex.
PunkSawyer: Well Marissa will keep him busy. Brooke told me about the OD and the six a.m. joint.
Taylor shook her head. Thank God Brooke didn't live in Newport. No one's secrets would be safe. Although with Marissa's, she wasn't all that concerned.
T-Bird: I love my cousin but dear God does she have a big mouth.
PunkSawyer: Don't worry all of her secrets, most of which are yours, are safe with me for now. Just think of it as fodder for the tell-all. ;)!
T-Bird: LOL. G2G. TTYL! LYLAS Curly Girlie. ;)
PunkSawyer: Love you 2 T. Bye.
PunkSawyer has signed off.
Taylor exited the screen and headed out of the room as the bell rung. She had just rounded a corner when she knocked into a solid body which sent the book she'd been holding to the ground along with the binder the other student had been carrying.
"Sorry, are you okay," she asked as she crouched down to grab at the papers that had slipped from the binder upon impact.
"I'm fine, Taylor."
She looked up and smiled, "Hi Ryan. Sorry about that. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going."
"It's okay. Here this is yours," he said handing her the book she'd dropped. "The Graduate?"
"It's a good book. Have you ever read it?"
"No, I haven't," he said as they straightened up. "I've seen some of the movie."
"Yeah me too. It kind of makes the book hard to read because I keep hearing Dustin Hoffman's voice in my head when I read the Benjamin Braddock parts. Although I'll probably never watch the entire movie after what happened the last time I tried watching it."
"Why? What happened?"
"Seth and I tried watching it with Sandy and Kirsten and halfway through the scene where Anne Bancroft starts her seduction of Dustin Hoffman, Sandy and Kirsten started making out. Kinda ruined the movie for us," Taylor looked vaguely nauseous as the memory came to her.
"Yeah that would do it."
"Ryan, I'm glad I ran into you. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I'm not used to knocking when it comes to the pool house. I didn't mean to interrupt you and Marissa."
"Oh, it's no problem."
"Still, next time I need a towel, I'll knock." Taylor looked over his shoulder and then back at him. "See you later," she said before turned and walked in the opposite direction.
"Bye," Ryan was a little confused until an arm entwined with his and he looked to see Marissa standing next to him.
"Hey."
"Hi," and now it all made sense. He still didn't know the story but after the way Marissa had ranted about Taylor's extreme bad timing for ten minutes he knew that any true hatred lay on Marissa's side of things while Taylor did just what Seth had said. She avoided Marissa.
Like the plague it would seem.
"Everything alright?"
"Yeah. Just trying to figure out which way to go," he said.
"Want some help?"
"No, I'll figure it out," he smiled. "See you later, okay?"
"Okay," Marissa smiled and walked away.
Instead of following her movements with his gaze his eyes drifted towards the direction Taylor had walked off in and wondered why it bothered him so much to realize that Taylor's attitude of avoiding Marissa and everyone who was close to her meant that she'd probably end up avoiding him even if they did practically live in the same house.