Hey guys. I hope this chapter's okay. I'm not thrilled with the ending but I think it works. As always reply and go read WaltzVenus and ObsessedRomantic's stories and Whitelily's latest one shot. Oh my God these guys are awesome.

We are family…

Taylor reached over and grabbed her phone without looking up from her homework and opened her phone, "Hey B."

"So, I have to hear the latest gossip from Seth of all people?"

Taylor made a face as she erased her words and rewrote the sentence she'd just written.

"Hello, Taylor? You still there?"

"Yeah, but I'm a little busy. What's the gossip?"

"You're dating Chino."

"You sound like Summer," she said distractedly. "And when did you talk to Seth?"

"Last night and stop trying to change the subject."

"Sorry. What's the subject?"

"You and Ryan," Brooke sounded exasperated.

"What about us?"

"You're dating! I swear you're doing this on purpose," Brooke said and Taylor could hear the frown that was currently making its way across Brooke's face.

"Brooke, can we talk later? I'm in the middle of my English assignment."

"This is important."

"As opposed to my English grade which I'm assuming isn't important?"

"Grades last a semester but a relationship with a guy like Ryan? That could last forever."

"Brooke, we're fifteen. Why is it that everyone wants to marry us off already? You'd have to be insane to get married before finishing high school or college or any schooling, really. Marriage is tough enough without the added pressure of things like midterms and finals and papers and-why am I having this conversation with you? I have homework to do. I will call you later. Bye."

"Wait, don't-"

Taylor shut her phone and shook her head as she tried to concentrate on her assignment.

Knock-knock

"I'm busy."

The door opened and Taylor turned to yell at whomever, she was assuming it was Seth, was coming in after being told that she didn't have time to talk and caught herself before she could because it wasn't her best friend it was-what was Ryan these days anyway?

"Hi," he said coming in and shutting the door.

"Hey," she returned as she got up on her knees at the edge of the bed and gave Ryan a hug when he got close enough. "I didn't even hear the bell."

"I knocked and your maid let me in."

"Oh. Did we have plans tonight," she asked, pulling back to look him in the eye.

"No. I just felt like seeing you. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Taylor nodded. "Hang on," she got off of her bed and closed the door to the bathroom she shared with Summer and then turned to face Ryan. "Privacy."

"Is Summer home?"

"No. The privacy's for when she comes home."

"How's she doing?"

"Since Seth started going out with Anna you mean," Taylor got back onto her bed and made some room for Ryan to sit down as well.

"Yeah," he said as he took off his shoes and made himself comfortable.

"She's okay, I think. She's over at Marissa's right now," Taylor said, laying back and snuggling into her pillows while Ryan sat facing her. "So, what's up?"

"I was just sitting at home thinking that I haven't seen you in a while."

"Ryan, you saw me at school. We had lunch together, remember?"

"Yeah but we had Seth and Anna with us."

"Oh, I see. You vant to be alone," she said with a mock Garbo accent.

"Yes, because I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?"

"We've been out on more than a few dates, right?"

"Right."

"And I'm not dating anyone else."

"Neither am I," Taylor said.

"Good. So, I think we should make it official."

"Official?"

"Yeah."

"So, you want me to not date anyone else and you don't want to date anyone else, is that what I'm hearing?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Ryan looked a little nervous.

"So, we're going steady?"

"For lack of a better term, yeah."

"Took you long enough to ask," she smiled as she sat up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She smiled at the look on his face when she pulled back, "You okay there?"

"You were waiting for me to ask you? Why didn't you say something?"

"Ryan, I may have next to no experience with guys and dating but while you a lot of experience with girls from everything you've told me the only experience you have with actually dating is limited to Theresa from Chino and Marissa and from all accounts it hasn't been good, especially the most recent part of your dating history. So, if I want to make sure you're sure by waiting for you to make a move, I'm gonna do just that. Don't worry, if you take too long, I'll give you a heads up."

"Good to know," Ryan nodded.

Taylor giggled and then got serious for a moment before a smile spread across her face, "We're alone."

"What?"

"Summer's at Marissa's, Veronica left this morning, and Neil's at the hospital. We're all alone," she said shifting so she was on her knees in between Ryan's legs on her bed, her arms loosely around his neck and his hands coming up her back to rest on the back of her shoulders.

"Are we really?"

"Yep," Taylor nodded. "And we haven't been all alone since last Saturday."

"Before we take advantage of this time, I want people to know about this. Right now the only ones who do are Seth, Anna, and Sandy and Kirsten. I want all of Newport to know you're taken."

"As are you," Taylor said. "You sure you want that known? You'll be ruining the fantasies of many girls at school and their mothers for that matter."

"Don't go there," Ryan warned.

"Okay. Sorry. So, how do you want to do this?"

"I figure we start kissing and while you're distracted I'll get you on your back," Ryan started.

Taylor swatted him lightly, "Not that! I mean, how do you want to let people know about us?"

"Oh that," Ryan said. "Well, how about kissing tomorrow in the hallway before homeroom?"

"I think I like that idea," Taylor said. "Now that that's decided, I believe you were saying something about kissing now?"

"I believe I was," Ryan nodded.

Taylor raised an eyebrow, "So, what are you waiting for?"

Ryan raised a hand to cup his girl's face and drew her closer.

OCOCOCOCOCOC

"Hey T," Seth said as his friend sat down on the couch next to him.

"Hey. Where's Anna?"

"Ladies room. Where's Ryan?"

"Coffee run," she said lifting her legs to stretch them across Seth's lap and leaning back against the arm of the couch, ignoring the frown she got from Seth for her actions. "I am so tired."

"Why? Ryan got home at a decent hour."

"I was up late finishing a draft of my English paper."

"Oh. So, he told me about the decision you two made last night."

"Yeah," Taylor smiled as she thought of last night. Damn that boy could kiss.

"Yes and stop it."

"Stop what," she looked at him.

"You've got the same look Ryan got on his face when we talked about last night this morning before school. I know what that look means and it tells me that I don't want any details. So stop thinking about what you're thinking about."

"Was that English," Taylor teased him, tilting her head so it rested against the back of the couch, her arms folded across her stomach.

"I don't need to know you two are thinking dirty things about each other, especially not this early in the morning," he pretty much whined at her.

"Okay, I'll stop thinking dirty things about Ryan. But I'm telling you right now that I will be the only girl in school not thinking dirty things about Ryan, with the possible exception of Summer, and considering that we're now 'going steady' that's just wrong."

"Why wouldn't Summer be thinking dirty things about Ryan," Seth asked.

"I talk too much," Taylor said.

"Answer me."

"Not saying another word," Taylor said before she clamped her mouth shut.

"Taylor," Seth rose an eyebrow at her.

"You look just like Sandy when you do that," Taylor said.

"Stop trying to change the subject," Seth told her.

"Hi Ryan," Taylor said suddenly. "What took so long?"

"Long line and stupid people," Ryan said sitting on the couch across from them. "You look comfortable."

"Seth's been my footrest for so long it's kinda hard to break the habit. Sorry."

"Well, why don't you switch couches because Anna's coming? Let Anna sit with her boyfriend and you come sit with me," Ryan invited with a smile.

Taylor smiled back at him and got up. She took her bag and put it next to Ryan's before she sat on the couch next to him. She hesitated a minute before she shifted to stretch her legs out across Ryan's lap. He smiled at her and lightly rested his hands on her shins. She gave him a soft smile in return as she once again rested her head against the back of the couch.

"You're not a bad footrest," she told him.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

OCOCOCOCOCOC

Summer and Marissa walked down the hall towards Summer's locker. Once they'd stopped in front of it, Summer took a look at her friend's face and sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Marissa said leaning against the row of lockers adjacent to her friend's.

"Liar."

"What?"

"You don't have 'nothing' face. You have 'something' face. So, what is it?"

"Luke came to see me last night. He wants another chance."

"And you said no, right?"

"No, I said I'd think about it."

"Marissa! Have you recently suffered massive brain damage?"

"Sum," Marissa rolled her eyes.

"No. He cheated on you and, if Holly can be believed, he did it more than once. Why would you ever take him back?"

"Because he's not a bad guy and we were kind of fun most of the time."

"You deserve better," Summer said.

"Better doesn't want me at the moment," Marissa said.

"Is that what this is about? You and Chino breaking up? One boy breaking up with you is not a reason to go back to someone who treated you like Luke did. If anything, it's a reason to keep looking because I promise you that Luke and Ryan are not the only guys in the world-oh my God," Summer's diatribe suddenly broke off as she caught sight of something going on down the hall.

"What," Marissa asked before following her friend's gaze. Her mouth made a perfect 'O' shape when she saw what had captured her friend's attention.

Ryan was kissing Taylor against a row of lockers down and across the hall from them. Not only was he kissing her, he was doing it like there wasn't another soul in the room. Marissa flashed back to the times he'd kissed her at school. They'd been quick; nothing little kisses as a way of greeting or saying bye. Nothing like what she was currently witnessing.

That jerk.

That bitch.

Marissa turned from the sight before her and stormed off down the hallway.

Summer frowned and followed her friend after shutting her locker door. She came around the corner just in time to see Marissa pull Luke aside and say something to him. The blonde jock smiled and closed his arms around Marissa, whispering in her ear.

Summer rolled her eyes, "Great. Just freakin' great."

OCOCOCOCOCOC

"I think I need a root canal. I definitely need a long, slow root canal," Taylor said as she entered the pool house followed by Anna, Seth, and Ryan. Taylor dropped her bag at the end of Ryan's bed and lay down on it, her legs hanging over the side, bent at the knee.

"Little Shop of Horrors," Anna said as laid across Ryan's bed on her stomach so that she was facing the entrance and the boys and so that she and Taylor made a kind of 'T' shape. "If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone."

"Godfather II," Seth said as he sat in the chair while Ryan took a seat on the floor between Taylor's legs. "Good choice by the way."

"Thanks. Your turn," Anna told him.

"And no animae," Taylor told him.

"You're severely limiting my choices here, you know that, right?"

"Just play, Cohen," Taylor told him.

Seth thought for a moment and then said, "You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word."

"The Untouchables," Ryan said after a moment.

"You're good," Taylor said as Ryan took off her shoes for her. "I don't think I would've gotten that."

"Me neither," Anna piped in. "Your go, Ryan."

"How long are we gonna play this?"

"Until one of us stumps the other three," Seth told him.

"How long does it usually last?"

"I think the longest Seth and I ever played was two hours. Granted, we were in the car on our way from Tree Hill to Charlotte at the time."

"Hey, you know next time we take a car ride, we should teach these two the radio game," Seth said.

"The radio game?"

"Brooke actually came up with that one. You ask the radio a question while turning the dial and whatever song you land on is the answer to your question."

"You guys have way to much free time on your hands," Ryan said, earning him a foot in the arm from Taylor.

"Be nice," she said. "You have to understand something. It was the two of us for so long that we had to come up with ways other than video games and comics to pass the time otherwise we would've killed each other somewhere around the eighth grade."

Anna giggled. "Hey Ryan, it's still your turn."

Ryan nodded and thought for a moment. "This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time."

"Fight Club," Seth said almost immediately. "Dude, you have got to expand your movie horizons. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen that movie."

"Really?"

"Taylor's fault," Seth defended. "She has a thing for Brad Pitt."

"I do not," Taylor protested. "I just like seeing guys get all bruised and sweaty. It's kinda hot."

"Well then, you've definitely chosen well in the boyfriend department," Anna said.

"Hey, I haven't gotten into a fight in at least a month," Ryan defended himself.

"Yeah but you're still kinda hot," Taylor teased.

Ryan retaliated by tickling her feet, causing Taylor to squirm and laugh.

OCOCOCOCOCOC

"Where are the kids," Sandy asked.

"Pool house. They came in through here with Seth saying something about armed robbery and Taylor responding with Thelma and Louise," Kirsten said.

"Movie quote game," Sandy smiled. "They must be breaking in Ryan and Anna."

"God help them," Kirsten said with a smile.