Hi guys. Here's another chapter. Now, there's been a lot of questions about OTH storyline and where it fits in. I'm writing this as if both Taylor and Brooke are sophmores in HS so that means no Lucas yet and that also means that Lucas & Peyton haven't screwed Brooke over so please keep that in mind while reading this. Also keep in mind that Ryan is a fifteen year old boy and a slave to his hormones so try not to slam me too much for his thoughts later on. Happy reading

We are family...

Taylor groaned and reached out for her cell phone. Flipping it open she put it to her ear and sighed, "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"And good morning to you to Taylor," Brooke said perkily.

"Brooke, there is a three hour time difference between here and Tree Hill. We are fifteen years old. You should have telling time down by now."

"I am just calling to say hi."

"At six on a Saturday morning, which makes it nine in Tree Hill. Why aren't you hung over or still passed out from whatever rager one of the Ravens threw last night?"

"Taylor Penelope Townsend, I am hurt. Is that all you think I do on weekends? Drink?"

"Brooke, I realize there's probably a point to your call. Make it before I fall back asleep."

"Or before I reach through the phone and kill her," Seth grumbled from his bed.

"Sorry Seth. Hold on Brooke," Taylor said as she dragged herself from the futon and then from her friend's bedroom. Years ago Sandy had suggested that Taylor make the guest room her own but she'd declined saying that they needed to save it for The Nana and whatever other guests they had. Right now she was wishing she'd taken the offer. Seth was a pain when he didn't get enough sleep. Taylor sniffed the air and headed for the kitchen and the coffee it held. "Okay, keep talking."

"I just miss you that's all."

Taylor stopped just before she entered the kitchen and made a face. She knew that tone. "Brooke, what did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Every time you 'miss me' in that tone of voice, it means that you've gotten yourself into some sort of trouble and need help getting out of it. If that's the case, why are you calling me? I live three thousand miles away. Call Sawyer. She lives three blocks away. Are you seeing the distinction," she said as she went into the kitchen. She gave Sandy a wave as he headed out the door with surf board and then got a coffee cup and poured herself some before taking a seat at the counter. "So now, I repeat. What did you do?"

"Something kind of stupid," Brooke admitted.

"Okay, so why are you wasting our minutes telling me about it? Go talk to Peyton."

"I can't."

Taylor yawned, "Why not?"

"Because if she knew what I did, she'd probably never speak to me again."

"What, did you sleep with Nathan or something," Taylor teased.

Silence.

"Brooke," Taylor put her coffee cup down.

More silence.

"Brooke, tell me you didn't sleep with Nathan."

"There wasn't a whole lot of sleeping involved."

"Oh my God I think I might be sick. Are you out of your mind? Nathan? Nathan freaking Royal freaking Scott? He's Peyton's boyfriend."

"They broke up."

"Again," sarcasm reigned in Taylor's tone.

"Taylor," Brooke groaned.

"No, this is not funny. Please tell me this is some horrible non-funny really stupid joke that you are playing on me here because the Brooke I know would not sleep with her best friend's boyfriend even if they were technically no longer together."

"Please don't be mad at me. I can't take you being mad right now. I can't talk to Peyton and I really need someone to talk to about this."

"B, I love you, but seriously have ever considered therapy?"

"For what?"

"For what? For this self-destructive streak you seem to have."

"Taylor, be serious."

"I am. Peyton has been your best friend since we were six. You've known her longer than I have known Seth. You've been through three absentee parents, one dead mother, puberty, and freshman year so far and you risk it all for sex? You know that she would never do something like this to you."

"In my defense, I was really drunk."

Taylor's eyes narrowed, "How drunk? Because Brooke if you were so drunk you don't remember saying yes then Nathan-"

"Stop. I was not that drunk. I fully remember being into it. Nathan is not that much of a jerk, okay? He wouldn't do that to a girl."

"Okay. Sorry."

"There's one more thing."

"What? You let him go bareback?"

"What? Ew! No!"

"Okay, so what is it?"

"I think I let him tape it."

"Never run for public office," Taylor said.

OCOCOCOCOC

Ryan looked up from his book when someone knocked on the pool house door.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened and Seth walked in.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing," Seth said settling himself in a chair. "Just a little bored. Taylor went to her house and the parents are out doing their thing."

"So you came to bother me?"

"Pretty much yeah," Seth smiled. "What are you reading?"

"The Graduate," Ryan said as he laid the book aside.

"That's weird. Taylor just finished that book."

"Yeah, I know. She lent it to me," Ryan said.

"Oh," Seth nodded. He looked around the room and smiled. "Finally got a frame for the picture, huh?"

"Yeah, I went yesterday after school."

"Came out nice," Seth observed.

"Tell that to Marissa," Ryan said. "She wasn't too thrilled about me having a picture of another girl in my room even if you were in the picture, too."

Seth sighed. "Can I ask a favor?"

"Sure."

"Don't give Marissa a reason to mess with Taylor, okay? Yes, Taylor can take care of herself, but Marissa has this thing about making people she perceives as the enemy suffer."

"And if I see Taylor as anything other than your best friend she'll see Taylor as the enemy? That's crazy."

"She's Julie Cooper's daughter, Ryan. Crazy is kind of encoded in her DNA."

"Marco!"

"Speaking of crazy," Ryan raised an eyebrow when Taylor's voice was heard shouting.

Seth shook his head and then tipped it back, "Polo!"

A few moments later Taylor came through the door of the pool house in a T-shirt that said 'Ravens" on it, a pair of cut offs, and flip-flops carrying something in a Tupperware container.

"Thank God, normal people," she said, unceremoniously dropping what she carried into Seth's lap before she flopped down onto the end of the bed, her legs dangling over the side, her upper body flat on the bed, and her hands over her eyes.

"Everything okay?"

"I know I'm probably interrupting Seth and Ryan time but I had to get out of my house."

"You just left three hours ago."

"Yes, I know. I went home, baked those coffee and white chocolate blondies in your lap, and then I went upstairs to try and put my conversation with Brooke into some kind of perspective. Unfortunately I chose the wrong damn house to do it in because, for the third Saturday in a row, SoapNet is having a marathon of 'The Valley' and Summer's squealing was starting to get on my nerves. If you two make me leave, I'll have to go home because Anna and I aren't good enough friends yet that I can go over and hang at her house for hours. And if that happens there's a good chance I'll be throwing Summer's TV out the window, followed closely by Summer."

"Can't have that," Ryan said. "Seth would have no one to drool over."

Taylor giggled insanely.

"Hey, I do not drool," Seth protested.

"Liar," Taylor said as she uncovered her eyes. "So, what did I interrupt?"

"Not much. Seth was bored so he came in here to bother me."

"And then you came in to bother both of us," Seth said around a mouthful of the baked goods Taylor had brought over.

"So, we're all bored," Taylor surmised.

"Entertain us. What did Queen B want this morning?"

Taylor sighed as she propped herself up on her elbows to look at her friend, "B made a colossal mistake last night. We're talking epic proportions here."

"What'd she do," Seth asked.

"More like who did she do?"

"Oh no. Which fellow cheerleader's boy did Brooke screw around with?"

"If I tell you, you cannot say anything," Taylor warned.

"Who besides you do I talk to that would care?"

"Think about that for just a minute."

Seth's eyes widened, "She didn't?"

"She did. She slept with Peyton's boy," Taylor said, flopping back down on her back.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"She didn't."

"Oh but she did. Technically they were broken up but this is Peyton and Nathan we're talking about. They broke up and got back together at least three times over the summer." Taylor sighed. "Brooke's freaked. She doesn't want to lie but she also doesn't want to lose Peyton and she knows she will if she tells her what happened." She suddenly bent her head at a strange angle to look at Ryan, "And we're being very rude. Sorry Ryan."

"It's okay. This is actually kind of entertaining. I thought Newport had drama," he smiled as Taylor shifted so she was on her stomach, chin resting on folded arms and facing Seth.

"Tree Hill's got plenty of its own, trust me," Seth said.

"So, Brooke is the cousin, right?"

"Yeah. My mom and hers are sisters. Brooke and I are the same age."

"And Peyton's the best friend?"

"Since we were six. They've know each other longer than Seth and I have. They've been through three absentee parents, one dead mother, and nine years of school together."

"And Brooke risks it all for a guy who is probably the biggest jerk you will ever meet and I am including Luke in that assessment," Seth said.

"Well in Brooke's defense she was impaired," Taylor said.

"Not much of a defense," Ryan said.

"Yeah, I know."

"How impaired," Seth asked. "Because if she-"

"Stop. I had the same thought. But Brooke fully remembers being into it and as much as I don't like Nathan, she's right. He's not that much of creep. He wouldn't do that to a girl." She frowned, "I just don't know what to do about Peyton. I've known her so long she's pretty much another cousin. I don't want to lie to her but at the same time Brooke's family. I can't betray her." She groaned in frustration. "I need something to take my mind off of this. Ideas?"

"Boardwalk," Seth suggested.

"Actually I'd like that," Taylor pushed herself up on her knees. "I haven't kicked your butt at air hockey in forever." She smiled and looked over at Ryan, "You wanna come?"

"I don't know," Ryan protested half-heartedly. He'd been hoping to hear from Marissa. They'd fought the day before and he wanted to make up if only to make out.

"C'mon," Taylor said. "I'll even let you drive."

"Now that is an offer that does not come around every day. I still haven't gotten it."

"Yes and you never will because The Nana drives faster than you do," Taylor smiled as she got off of the bed. "What do you say Ryan?"

"You have a Mustang right?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go."

OCOCOCOCOC

"Thank you," Taylor took a twenty from some guy and turned back to Seth and Ryan. "I think I'm done guys. Want dinner?"

Ryan shook his head as the teens left the small pool room on the boardwalk. "How did a girl from Newport learn how to shoot pool like that?"

"When we were thirteen Brooke decided we should have at least one skill that'd make a guy sorry he'd messed with us. Pool was it. It's actually a lot of fun to see the look on a guy's face when he realizes he's just been conned by some little rich girl," Taylor smiled. "By the way, this belongs to you," she handed him the twenty she'd won off of him when they'd played.

"You won it," Ryan held up his hands.

"Yeah but you didn't know who you were playing and besides I get the feeling that before you saw that I knew what I was doing you were going to let me win."

Ryan ducked his head with a smile.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Taylor said as she took his hand, put the twenty into his hand and folded his fingers around it. "Next time we'll have a more level playing field."

"Deal."

"Okay, now that that's settled, let's eat. I see a burger place," Seth pointed.

"Sounds good," Taylor hooked arms with him and Ryan as they walked.

OCOCOCOCOC

"Tired," Taylor said as she, Seth, and Ryan walked the Cohen house. "Thanks for driving home Ryan."

"No problem," he handed over her keys.

"Hi guys. Did you have fun," Sandy said as they all walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah. I beat like six guys at pool," Taylor giggled.

"Seven if you count me," Ryan said.

"Doesn't count, you got your money back," she said, her eyes half-closed.

"Taylor, go upstairs and go to sleep," Seth said. "I'll try not to wake you."

"Okay," she agreed. "Night everyone."

"Night."

Ryan yawned a moment after Taylor left and said his goodnights before retreating to the pool house. He toed off his shoes and took off his shirt before reaching into his pockets to clear them of money and other things. He pulled out two strips of pictures and smiled. One was of him and Seth and the other was of him and Taylor.

Beep-beep

Ryan heard his cell and picked it up. One missed call but no voice mails. He checked to see who had called him.

Marissa.

Ryan sighed and put the phone back down. As he looked at the picture strip of him and Taylor, Seth's words came back to him. He picked up the picture Kirsten had taken of him, Seth, and Taylor and opened up the back. He laid the strip of pictures of him and Taylor face up against the photo before closing the frame up and putting it back down on his nightstand. He laid the pictures of him and Seth on the nightstand before he finished getting ready for bed.