Enjoy this chapter. Sorry it took so long but they're showing S3 on Soap Net and everyone hates Taylor right now so blech.

Taylor and Ryan entered the pool house just after school on Friday and Ryan raised an eyebrow as Taylor dropped her book bag and sat in what he thought of as Seth's chair, pulling her knees to her chest, the heels of her shoes resting on the edge of the chair. Normally his girlfriend went for laying on her stomach or her back on his bed. But then Taylor had been acting a little abnormally all day; starting with the fact that she hadn't said more than two words since lunch.

Ryan frowned, remembering the words she'd uttered in Santa Monica about Seth's belief that the time to worry about her was when she stopped talking. He sat down across from her and waited until her gaze shifted from the ceiling to him. She tilted her head and smiled at him when she caught him staring at her.

Well at least she wasn't mad at him.

"What's up?"

Taylor shook her head and shrugged, "Nothing."

"Try again," Ryan reached out and took one of Taylor's feet, removing her shoe and then repeating the action with her other foot. After he was done he kept both feet in his lap, rubbing his thumbs over her insteps.

Taylor smiled at the gesture and met his gaze again, "Brooke called me today."

"Everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine. She just wanted to know when our spring break was. So I told her and it's the same time as Tree Hill's break, so she was thinking of maybe coming out there and seeing all of us."

"So? I thought you liked when Brooke came to visit."

"I do. I love it when she comes out here. But it just reminded me that summer's coming."

"Summer's a good thing."

"You sound like Seth."

"You know which summer I'm talking about."

"I know and I know that summer is a good thing but it's where I usually spend the summer that I'm a little conflicted about this year."

"Tree Hill?"

"Tree Hill," Taylor confirmed. "It's a really great town and I love it but this is the first year that I've seriously considered not going and I'm just a little worried about what Brooke is gonna say to that."

"You don't think she'd understand wanting to stay here?"

"Not if I'm honest about the reason," Taylor said.

"The reason?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Yes. You know that whole 'bros before hoes' thing guys have?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Brooke and I and Brooke and Peyton have 'hoes over bros' and 'buds over studs'. I just don't think she'd take too kindly to me wanting to spend the summer in Newport because of my boyfriend."

"Why doesn't she spend the summer here?"

"In Newport," Taylor asked.

"Yeah."

"We've never done that before. We thought about it once a few years back but Seth just ended up going to Tree Hill with me that summer."

"You've never wanted to stay here for him?"

"No, I have no problem ditching his ass for the summer," Taylor smiled. "Truth is we talk a lot and we IM each other so we're still in touch even if we don't see each other.

"But you want to stay here for me?"

"No, not just for you. I think I want to stay here for me too. I get through the year and my mother's visits knowing that I can escape to Tree Hill for almost three months the minute school ends." She looked at his questioning gaze and shrugged, "I am way too good at running away from my problems, Ryan, especially when they happen to come in the form of my mother."

"Yeah, I know how that goes," Ryan said.

"Have you heard from her?"

"No and I don't think I'm going to for a long time," Ryan said.

"Are you okay with that?"

Ryan shrugged and looked down at the feet that were still in his lap.

Taylor nodded and steered them away from the road they were about to go down. The last thing she wanted to do was make Ryan uncomfortable and she'd learned very quickly that talking about Dawn or Trey caused Ryan to become even more nonverbal than normal.

"You know one of these days maybe I'll drag you to Tree Hill," Taylor smiled at him.

"That could be fun," Ryan said looking back up at her.

"Definitely," Taylor nodded as she gently pulled her feet away and got up to straddle Ryan's lap. "There's not a whole helluva lot to do but I could show you Penelope's and we could watch Whitey torture the Ravens once or twice," she smiled, arms in loose hold around Ryan's shoulders as his hands rested on her hips.

"Who's Whitey and what are the Ravens?"

"Whitey is the basketball coach in Tree Hill and the Ravens are the mascot for high school teams."

"I don't know. I'm not really into basketball."

"Oh, wow."

"What?"

"I don't think I can take you to Tree Hill."

"What?"

"Basketball is like a religion in that town, Ryan."

"Seriously?"

"They take it more seriously than Harbor takes water polo."

"That is bad. What else is there to do in Tree Hill?"

"I could leave you alone with Peyton for a while and she could make you listen to her music collection."

"What's she like?"

"Peyton?"

"Yeah," Ryan nodded.

"She's interesting. She's got the whole tortured artist thing going on so she and Seth get along pretty well. She drew that picture on my wall of me and Seth at the debutante ball and that one of me and Seth on his wall."

"I like those."

"Me too," Taylor agreed. "It's weird that Brooke and I both have best friends who are artists and into funky music."

"Well Seth does say you and Brooke are more alike than people think at first."

"Yeah, I guess we are."

"What else can you tell me about Peyton?"

"She's probably the least cheery person to ever be a cheerleader in Tree Hill High history but she does it because Anna was a cheerleader and because Brooke is a cheerleader."

"Who's Anna?"

"Anna was Peyton's mom. She died almost six years ago."

"What happened?"

"She was late picking Peyton up from school one day and she ran a red light at the wrong time," Taylor said quietly, avoiding Ryan's eyes as she remembered the day Brooke had called her sobbing hysterically. Up until that point Anna Sawyer had been more Brooke's mom than Victoria Davis ever had.

Ryan gently turned her face to his, "Hey."

Taylor smiled a little, "Hmm?"

"Tell me a good memory with Anna," he said. It was a game they played when one of them was going down a road that was going to make one of them either broody or sad.

Taylor thought for a moment and then smiled more fully, "The summer before she died was the summer Seth went with me to Tree Hill and she took Peyton, Brooke, Seth, and me to my first Bon Jovi concert."

"Nice," Ryan nodded.

"Yeah, it was," Taylor agreed. "Although Seth complained for hours that his hearing was permanently damaged. He's such a whiner sometimes."

"Yeah, I've noticed."

"I know you have. But when all is said and done, he's my bestest friend and I wouldn't trade him or change him for anything."

"Bestest," Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Taylor said. Then she leaned forward and kissed him.

"What was that for," he asked.

"For nothing," Taylor smiled.

"I'll take it."

OCOCOCOCOCOC

"So Brooke's making an appearance for Spring Break," Seth asked from his bed.

"Yeah. She's getting on a plane right after her last class and she's staying the whole week so we have to think of things to do while she's here," Taylor said as she lay on his futon with her history book open in front of her.

Seth nodded as he wrote something down in his notebook, "Beach is always a winner."

"Yeah and there's your boat."

"True," Seth nodded. "We can go to the pier."

"That's a good idea," Taylor said over a yawn. Apparently her homework was getting to her.

"You know what we should do while she's here?"

Taylor looked over her shoulder, "What?"

"Sleep out on the beach like we used to," Seth said.

"That's actually a really good idea. We haven't done that in a long time. We'll drag Ryan along with us. Summer, too, if you want," Taylor said as she turned to lay on her back, resting her head on her still open book. "By the way, nice move with the coffee cart."

Seth rolled his eyes, "I had to do something. I wasn't going to let myself be used for sex."

"Ew," Taylor made a face. "But good on you for standing up for yourself. You really are Sandy's kid."

"There have been rumors to that effect," Seth smiled. "And he did get my mom."

"She was young, impressionable, and drunk," Taylor deadpanned, repeating a statement she'd heard Kirsten make once.

Seth shot her a look and she giggled.

Knock-knock

"Yeah," Seth said.

Ryan opened the door and came in followed by Summer. Taylor smiled and sat up, making room for him on the futon while Seth scooted over and let his girl join him on the bed.

"Hey," Ryan said taking a seat beside Taylor. "What's going on?"

"Not much," Seth said. "Taylor and I were just discussing what to do with Brooke when she's here next week."

Summer nodded, "So, she's definitely coming?"

"Yep," Taylor nodded. "When she gets here I'm gonna talk to her about her coming here for the summer instead of me going there. I don't know how wild she's going to be about leaving Peyton alone all summer though."

"Maybe Peyton could come too," Ryan suggested.

Taylor nodded, "I'd have to clear it with Neil but it'd probably be okay."

"I'm sure it'd be okay. It's not like we don't have the room," Summer said.

"True and we all get along as long as we don't have to share a bathroom."

Seth spoke up then, "You're staying here this summer?"

"It's a possibility."

"Wow."

"Is that good 'wow' or a bad 'wow'," Taylor questioned, imitating Glenda's inflection with her words.

"It's a good wow," Seth said. "It'll be nice to have you around for a summer."

"As long as I don't cut into the time you get to spend with the person named Summer, right," Taylor teased him.

"Best friends over girl/boyfriends," Seth said.

"Hey," Summer poked him in the arm.

"Cornball," Taylor teased affectionately as she leaned against Ryan, her head on his shoulder. "Hey, Summer, what's with Marissa and Luke? Every time she's walked down the hall in the last couple of days he's gone the other way."

"They broke up," Summer said.

Taylor raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yeah, Marissa told me after school."

"When did that happen?"

"A couple days after the whole Oliver thing went down," Ryan said.

Taylor, Summer, and Seth looked at him, surprised that he knew anything given that the only people he generally talked to at Harbor besides teachers were his brother, his girlfriend, and his brother's girlfriend.

"Locker room," Ryan explained once he caught sight of the looks he was being given.

"Oh," Summer said.

"Right," Taylor nodded. "That makes sense."

"So, I guess this means she'll be looking for someone to help her pick up the pieces," Seth said.

"Musicians are good for rebounds," Summer said.

"We should warn the kids in band," Ryan rolled his eyes.

Seth snorted.

"Somehow, I don't think that's the kind of musician Summer meant but I have to agree, musicians can be fun, even if you're just crushing on one," Taylor said.

"What do you know about musicians," Ryan asked.

"My first crush was a guitar player," Taylor said, keeping her face directed down so Ryan wouldn't see the mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"Jake plays guitar," Summer asked. "Nice."

"Who is Jake?"

"Jake Jagielski was Taylor's first crush," Seth explained.

"Doesn't he live in Tree Hill," Summer asked.

"Yeah. I saw him last Thanksgiving. He looked really good."

"You are never going to Tree Hill again unless I'm with you," Ryan said.

That did it for Taylor. She started giggling and looked up at Ryan, "He has a girlfriend and I was twelve, so chill out. Besides he goes for the tortured type with the big weepy eyes."

Ryan finally realized he'd been semi-punked by his girlfriend and gave her a smile in return, "Very funny, Taylor."

"You're too easy sometimes, Chino," Summer said. "You really have to reign in the jealousy thing."

"Especially considering you have nothing to worry about," Taylor said. "The only other guy at school I can stand for more than five minutes at a time is Seth."

"And we all know that nothing even remotely romantic will ever happen on that front, ever," Seth said.

"Yes, you've both made yourselves heard loud and clear on that point," Summer nodded.

"Several times," Ryan added.

"Just making sure you get the message," Taylor said.

"Message received, loud and clear," Ryan said.

"Good." Then Taylor kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck while Ryan pulled her into his lap.

"Do you two have-"

"Shut up, Cohen," Summer said, pushing him into the mattress and lying on top of him as she kissed him.

OCOCOCOCOCOCOC

"So, you and Ryan are on the futon making out and Seth and Summer are making out on his bed and Sandy walks in," Brooke said over a giggle.

"Yes, he walks in and I'm assuming stops in shock 'cause hello? I think that's the most action Seth's room has ever seen. Then he clears his throat and Ryan jumps up like I stuck him with a hot poker causing me to land on the floor, while Summer looks over her shoulder and turns bright red before rolling off of Seth and the bed landing on the floor on her butt.

"Nice," Brooke said. "You know you guys can't do that while I'm there, right? It's not nice to make out with your boyfriend in front of your currently single cousin."

"We won't make out in front of you but we're not going to go an entire week without kissing each other."

"Fair enough," Brooke said.

"How could you?"

"What was that?"

"Someone screaming at the top of their lungs," Taylor said, getting off of her bed and creeping to the door of the bathroom she shared with Summer. She opened the door a crack and saw the light on in Summer's room. Then she pressed herself up against the wall so that she wouldn't be seen.

"Coop, what is wrong with you?"

"You're what's wrong with me! You're supposed to be mybest friend."

"I am," Summer said quietly.

"Really? Then why are you hanging out with the girl who stole my boyfriend?"

"Who is Luke going out with?"

"I am not talking about Luke. I am talking about Ryan. Taylor stole him and you seem to be her new best friend."

"Taylor didn'tstealanything Coop," Summer protested. "Ryan went for her all on his own. He made the first move with her not the other way around."

"She tell you that?"

"No, actually, he did," Seth's voice said and Taylor's eyebrow furrowed.

"Seth," she whispered.

"Where's Seth," Brooke asked.

"Brooke, let me call you later," Taylor said.

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye," Taylor flipped her phone closed.

"…don't know what you think you're doing here but this is none of your business, Seth, so beat it."

"Well you obviously haven't heard but Seth and I are together and the last time I checked, this was my house," Summer said. "And that means you can't kick anyone out and in case you were wondering, you can't force anyone out anymore either."

"Sum," Marissa actually sounded surprised.

"Do you know there have been times when I've actually forgotten that Taylor lives here? And do you know why she spends next to no time in this house? Because you come over so much. You have no right to force Taylor out of a house that is hers too. That's ending now."

"I can't believe you're choosing that fr-"

"You finish that sentence and I promise you, Marissa, I will hit you. I don't care if you are a girl," Seth said.

"Fine, you know what? Call me when you realize that Taylor's a backstabbing bitch just like her father," Marissa said.

Taylor closed the bathroom door quietly as she heard Marissa walk by her door. Then she got into bed with a small smile after she turned off the light and laid her cell on her nightstand. "Thanks Summer."