The Rescue

"I have three sesame and one plain." Kirsten motioned to the bagels in front of her.

Kirsten was the only one that had really spoken since we'd got back. Seth had called her from the hospital, he'd explained to her what had happened as I sat by Marissa's beside, holding her hand willing her to wake up. After that not much had been said. Julie had us leave once she'd arrived, despite Jimmy's protests. Since then we'd just sat up in the kitchen, drinking coffee waiting for news.

I hadn't let go of my cell since I left her room. As we sat in the kitchen I stared down at it on the counter in front of me waiting for it to ring, waiting for it to give me some news.

"Look we're not gonna hear from the hospital for a while, why don't you guys get showered and dressed, and you," she looked at me, "can't be late for your meeting with the dean."

"I'll take them to school." Sandy told her.

"You can't be late for your first day." She told him.

Nobody moved however. Seth simply stared down at his hands, I watched my phone and Sandy just sipped from his coffee.

"Well if we're not gonna eat lets – lets just, let's just go." Kirsten sighed, grabbing her coffee and heading out of the room.

Seth and I got up and crossed paths, trying to get to our rooms, when the phone rang. I looked around the room, everyone looked as worried as I felt. Kirsten answered it, barely said a word and hung up.

"She's awake." She told us. I looked up at her, my eyes pleading to her. "Come on."


None of us said much more in the car. The radio started up when Sandy fired up the engine, but Kirsten promptly turned it off. I was holding my cell in both hands, willing her to text me for her to tell me that everything was okay. I don't know why I was so sure she would text me though, given that she'd never text me before. I just needed her to let me know she was okay.

I watched the scenery go by without seeing any of it. All I could see was her lying in that Mexican ally, alone and unconscious. All I could see with her.

I barely waited for the car to stop before leaping out of it and running back to her. I found Jimmy beside her, quietly stroking her hair as she slept. Quietly. Quiet. Yet more noiseless waiting.

I walked round the bed and occupied the chair opposite him and took hold of her hand once more.

"Hey." Sandy was barely audible yet Jimmy and I both jumped at the sound.

"Hey," Jimmy smiled sadly back at him, standing up to take his hand, "she, uh, she just fell back to sleep but she was awake and, uh, aware. Thanks for calling the hospital," he turned to me and spoke to me for the first time since coming home, "finding her if they hadn't airlifted her out she, uh…"

"When can she go home?" Sandy asked him, causing him to turn back round to the doorway.

"Uh, they said in a – in a day or so, they want to keep her under observation."

"That's hospital policy." Kirsten told him, holding Seth's hand something I'd never seen her do before.

"So I guess there's no need to worry, right?" Julie sighed out as she passed the Cohen's into the small room, "I mean a teenage girl palms a dozen pain killers and washes it down with tequila… its perfectly normal right?" She sat down her cheap cup of coffee before turning round to face them, her arms folded tightly across her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I called them." Jimmy explained, his hands dough deep into his pants pockets.

"What Marissa needs right now is to be with her family. No visitors." I didn't need to look up at her to know how she was looking at when she said that.

"Well let's go…" Sandy said awkwardly, "we should go."

"If you need anything." Kirsten offered Jimmy, taking his hand in both of hers.

"Thanks." He smiled glumly at her.

"Come on, Alex." Kirsten eased, moving round the bed to stir me out of the chair, just as she had done just a few hours earlier.

I looked up at her, begging her to let me stay with my eyes, she simply stirred me harder. Reluctantly I got up. Reluctantly I let go of her hand once more as she lead me through the room and back out into the hall. The door was closed behind us.

"Don't take it personally. Julie's just been through… every parents nightmare." Sandy told me as we walked down the corridor.

Kirsten was still guiding me, an arm around my waist. Out of comfort. Out of fear that I would try and go back to her.

"I'm sure she'll apologise." She told me, squeezing me tighter as she said that.

"You are?" Sandy looked at her surprised, "Its Julie Cooper we're talking about."

"Excuse me, Alex," we all turned round, all surprised to hear her voice calling out to me, "can I talk to you for a sec?" Kirsten reluctantly took back her arm, letting me go talk to Julie. "I don't know what happened in Mexico, but here's what I do know. Since you showed up Marissa's been a wreck, comes home crying, doesn't want to go to her own cotillion, having problems with her boyfriend." Julie stopped, the malice she felt towards me showing through both her tone and the fire behind her pale eyes. "And now you can add another shining accomplishment to your list of achievements. In addition to stealing cars, burning down houses… You've almost killed my daughter."

"I would never do anything to hurt Marissa." Those were the first words I'd spoken since I'd called out to Seth.

"Well you're not going to get the chance because you're never going to see her again, you even try and I'll make sure you're thrown back in Juvie where you belong."

She walked back into Marissa's room, just leaving me there in the hall with her words ringing through my head. I felt Kirsten's arm come back around my waist as she led me back towards the car.


The Cohen's talked around me, to me, once we were back in the car. Talking about Marissa, what would happen, what could happen, what could have happened. I simply sat staring out the window. The conversation changed, though I remained outside of it. They started talking about the school, placement essays, classes, respectability. I simply cupped my phone in my hands waiting for her to contact me. Let me know she was okay; I still had no idea.

"Seth, why don't you show Alex around?" Kirsten offered as we stepped out of the car.

I looked up at the building in front of me, it was more like a country club than a school, a thought that did not dissipate as I followed Seth through the grounds.

"Hey," he said after a while of me just nodding to his ramblings, "you're even more quiet than usual."

"Marissa just took an overdose. One of the last things she said to me was 'You're the reason for a lot of things', Julie's blaming and you know what? I think she's right." I smiled, almost sickly, at him as I pulled out my cigarettes and lit up.

Before I could even exhale he'd snatched the stick away from me, dropped it and extinguished it with his toe. "There's no smoking here."

"What kind of school is this?"

"A good one." He half smiled leaning against the fence looking up at the sky. "Its not your fault." He said eventually.

"I know," I sighed, shaking my head as I did, "but, I feel so powerless."

"And blaming yourself is going to fix that?"

"No but-"

"Lets get some coffee." He said walking towards one of the buildings.

"Where from?" I asked, jogging gently to catch up.

"The Common Room, where else?"

"You have coffee machine? You have a Common Room?" I added as an after thought.

"No," he frowned as he held open the door for me, "we have a dude that serves us coffee, kind of like Starbucks." He pointed at the man behind the counter, that was indeed very Starbucks esque. "Can I assume you didn't?"

"We had metal detectors and security guards." I shrugged at him. "Oh and a vending machine, but that was put out of order within its first week."

"Odd." He shook his head as he walked up to the counter, coming back a few moments later with two cups of coffee. "I have to go and actually register for classes. The dean's office is over in the next building, think you can find it?" He asked me as he passed me my cup.

"If not I'm sure it will be signposted."

"You didn't have signposts?"

"No." I said simply, walking back the way we'd come.

I found Kirsten outside the building, sitting in the sun, fiddling about with her PDA.

"Hey."

"Hey," she smiled up at me, "how you doing?"

"Better." I nodded at her, joining her on the bench. "More caffeinated anyway."

"Well you're speaking again, so that's a plus." She smiled gently at me.

"I'm just very overwhelmed." I sighed, throwing my coffee cup into the trash before dropping my head into my hands. "When I got out of jail again, I didn't think my life could get anymore crazy. And yet Marissa's in hospital and… Can't I just go to public school?"

"Everything's gonna be fine." She reassured me.

"Its just, it's you know, at Hills you sort of showed up, no essays, interviews, tests…" I told her, looking up from my hands, "hell, half the time I didn't even show up. And here I can't even smoke."

"Alex, the Harbour school is one of the best private prep schools in the country; if you graduate from here you can get into any college in the UC system, maybe even an Ivy League."

"I don't really think I'm an Ivy League kind of girl."

"After a year or two here you will be." She told me, giving my knee a small squeeze.

"College huh?"

"Yeah." She smiled back at me before a shadow was cast over us. "What'd you get?" She asked Seth.

"Uh, AP history English calculus and physics and French four, good thing I don't have a life," he turned his attention to me, "what is wrong?" I looked at him. "Stupid question." He shook his head as if re-thinking that one. "Are you nervous?"

"Seth would you please tell Alex that Dr Kim is very nice."

"Oh yeah, she is sweet!"

"Sweet?" I questioned.

He opened his mouth to reply but shut it again when he saw the door opening. An Asian woman, wearing a tight, fitted suit walked out and instantly held her hand out to meet Kirsten's.

"Kirsten, how are you?" she asked.

"Hi, nice to see you." Kirsten smiled back at the woman.

"Good to see you." She looked over at Seth, standing awkwardly between us, "Seth always interesting to see you. And you must be Alex, why don't we step into my office." I handed Seth my cell before following Kirsten and Dr Kim into the building.

She indicated for Kirsten and I to sit at a conference type table rather than in front of her desk, she joined us a second later carrying my permanent record with her. She sat down opposite and opened up my file.

"Weak grades, truancy," she said after a while, "notation regarding some criminal activity."

"It was a misdemeanour, probation." Kirsten interjected quickly.

"None the less, not exactly Harbour school material."

"Dr Kim, Alex's had a lot to overcome, but Sandy and I feel that in the right environment she could really excel."

"There's no doubt that Miss Atwood has extraordinary promise. I'm just concerned that she hasn't had, adequate preparation for the rigors of our curriculum."

"Or are you concerned about the pressure from parents who don't want Alex here."

Dr Kim shot her head up from my record, surprised as to what Kirsten had just said she opened and closed her mouth several times before replying: "That's definitely a consideration, but not a decisive one," I looked over at Kirsten and watched her roll her eyes, "Kirsten you know as well as I do how bright and motivated our students are. Those that aren't bred for USC go off to Harvard and Yale. I just think a place like Newport Union might be a better fit for a student with Alex's background."

"My background?" I frowned at her, "Wouldn't you rather phrase it 'white trash'?"

"Alex," Dr Kim leant her arms on the table, "you understand that if you did fail you would lose a year, not to mention self confidence."

"I've been arrested twice for crimes I never committed," I mirrored her actions and leant in closer to her, "I've been abandoned twice by my mother now; I think my self confidence can handle this one."

"You got great test scores. I definitely responded to your personal essay. Your grades are… borderline… but acceptable. If you could pass a placement exam… It's not an aptitude test, it measures your preparedness, what you've learnt not how bright you are."

"I will bring my very own Number Two pencil."

"Very well, we will give you some time to prepare, and we shall start the placement exam at 2pm this afternoon."

"Thank you very much Dr Kim." Kirsten shook her hand and led me out of her office. I followed Kirsten back out of the building. "I love it," she sighed, shaking her head at me, "you barely say anything all day and when you do its to be cheeky to the Dean of Admissions."

"I thought of it more of as charming." I told her, holding open the door for her.

"How'd it go?" Seth asked, handing me back my cell.

"Placement exam." I told him, not looking up from my phone as I checked for texts.

"They're always fun!" He deadpanned.


I sat in my room, my arse on the floor, back against the edge of my bed surrounded by old papers of Seth's.

"It's a good thing I never through anything away." He smiled down at me from one of my chairs. I simply nodded back at him as I tried to make sense of his answers and furthermore his handwriting.

"Gah!" I threw down the paper I was holding, "This is senseless."

"Too hard?"

"No, its your answers." I got up and showed him his paper, "how you got into that school without the use of grammar I will never understand."

"What's wrong with my answers?" He snatched the paper away from me.

"Apart from the answer being wrong and your hand writing being illegible, you mean?" He shot me an evil glare. "Well," I leant over and pointed over shoulder, "World War Two ended May 8th 1945, it was World War One that ended November 11th. However, that's just the Europe date-" he held up his hand to silence me.

"I get the picture," he sighed placing his paper one the table next to him. "So you're going to do fine?"

"Well if they let you in." I smiled at him.

"How do you know so much, you never went to school."

"I read a lot." I shrugged at him.

"Like Will Hunting?"

"Nothing," I pointed at him, "like Will Hunting."

"Whoa!" he raised his hands defensively. "Didn't know that was going to cause such offence." He laughed.

"Hmmm." I looked at him sceptically as my cell started to vibrate on the floor amongst all his papers, I grabbed it and answered it as I flung myself upon my bed. "Hello?"

"Hey." I instantly stood up again. "Alex its my mom…" I could hear she was close to tears,

"What is it Marissa?"

"She won't let Dad see me anymore. She's gone back home for a bit. Please come over Alex. I need you."

"Alright, um okay I'll be there, bye." I hung up, stuffed my cell in my back pocket and headed for the door. "Marissa's upset, something with her parents, and her moms going home for a little while so-"

"What about the test?" Seth asked me, I simply looked at him. "Yeah, you'll do fine."

"See you later." I smiled at him as I practically ran through the yard to my bike.


On my way I stopped off at a gas station and picked her up a small bunch of flowers. I threw a five at the man before jumping back on my bike. I chained it to the hospital sign before running up the six flights of stairs to her room.

"Hey." I said breathlessly as I entered her room.

"Smoking will kill you, you know." She smiled at me. "And I should know."

"I thought the role of supplying inappropriate humour was mine… Or maybe Seth's." I added as an after thought. "These are for you by the way." I passed her the small bunch of dying tulips. "Gas station." I explained as she looked at them.

"It's the thought that cou-"

"I really don't think it does with these." I sighed taking them back and dropping them in the trash can next to her bed. "Saves your mom the trouble." I smiled at her, sitting down next to her. "So…" I shrugged, "how you been?"

"Had my stomach pumped, you?"

"Been told that because I'm poor I shouldn't got to Harbour." I nodded back at her.

"I didn't want to kill myself…" she said after a while. "I didn't… I just wanted to… escape."

"I… I…"

"Who knew it would take me chasing pills with tequila to get you to stutter." She smiled at me.

"If this was your way of getting me back for the way I acted I could possibly have recommended less life threatening ones." I smiled back at her.

"Excuse me nurse," I looked between Marissa and the door, "when you get a chance lunch please."

"You should…" she pointed towards the en suit and I'd just pulled the door to when Julie moved to where I had been standing.

"Ooh, sweetie you're awake. How are you feeling? Your sister sends her love."

"Throat hurts." Marissa told her, stroking the base of it as she did so.

"It's because they had to pump your stomach honey," I watched as she moved a strand of Marissa's hair before her attention was caught by something in the garbage. "Where did those come from?" She asked Marissa, ducking down to bring out the flowers.

"Just that Chino kid." Marissa shrugged. "Can you put them back in the trash please?"

"With pleasure." Julie said, dropping the tulips back down. "I mean the nerve of her-"

"She's not the reason for… I mean, why I took the pills."

"No just the reason for everything else." I sat down on the toilet seat, that was the second time in two days that had been said about me. "You know ever since that girl's got here," I looked up and saw her shaking her head, "I mean, you used to be happy."

"You think I was happy?"

"Well if you weren't you never told me about it."

"I tried! But y-"

"I need to talk to the nurse," she cut in, "the security in here is appalling." And just like that I watched her walk out of the room again, I waited for the door to close behind her before stepping out of the tiny bathroom.

"And there was me thinking I was out of the dog house." I sighed, digging my hands deep into my pockets.

"You are." She leaned forward and tried to reach for my hand. "I just… with my mom and all."

"I know." I half smiled at her. "You know, I really am sorry about… well, everything. I treated you app-"

"Look no one likes a death bed apology." I looked at her. "I was trying more of that inappropriate humour you love so much." She tried to smile at me.

"Like I said mine and Seth's thing. Anyway," I looked at my watch, "I have to go take a placement exam if I'm going to make it into rich society. I'll come by later?"

"I'd like that," She smiled at me, "but with my mom-"

"I can take her. I mean," I shrugged, "if it comes to a fist fight, I grew up in Chino!"

"I don't know, she's from Riverside."

"Oh, I may have to rethink this." I laughed at her. "I'll see you later."


I was back on my bed and looking over Seth's notes when Kirsten knocked gently on the open door.

"Hey," she smiled at me, throwing me a Red Bull, "Seth's notes helping?"

"If I had a red pen." I smiled at her. "Can I assume that this is a 'ThunderCats are go!' situation?" she frowned at me. "Is it test time?" I rephrased.

"I swear you weren't this weird when you first got here. But, yes," she nodded before pointing to the can in my hand, "hence, the Red Bull."

"There's nothing more fun than a placement exam after staying up all night." I forced a smile as I rose from my bed.

"When we get back, we're talking about that shock trip to Tijuana you know that right?" She told me as she shut the door behind us.

"Was expecting it earlier." I told her, fishing for my cigarettes.

"You still not stopped?" she asked me as I popped a stick in my mouth.

"I was going to talk to you about that," I smiled as I lit up, "why are you sending me to a school where I'm not allowed to smoke?"

"You could smoke at your old school?" she asked me, unlocking the Range Rover.

"No," I conceded, smoking quicker to not waste the cigarette before having to get into the car, "but the teachers didn't really try to stop us."

"You're right, we should be trying for public school, you're never going to make it at Harbour. Come on." She said, starting up the engine.

"Wait I still have to take the test? But the whole 'never going to make it' speal."

"Oh yeah," she smiled at me, "you're going." I tossed half of my cigarette into the bushes and ran round and jumped in beside her. "We're going to need another gardener if you're not going to quit."

"You know, if you want to cut costs you could send me to U-"

"You're going." She laughed as she started off down the drive.


I knocked on Dr Kim's office door and waited for her to call out before I walked in. I had R.E.M.'s 'Bad Day' running through my head for some reason, walking in and seeing Dr Kim staring me down like some sort of oddly well dressed Asian James Bond villain knocked my confidence right out of me.

"I'm, uh, here for the test."

"Great. Well I hope you prepared well Alex." She said as she lead me into an empty class room.

"Well, I thought I was." I replied under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Uh, yeah!"

"Great." She pulled out a chair for me and motioned for me to sit down. She placed a test paper face down in front of me. "You have one and a half hours. I've got to pop out to my office for a moment but I will be back to check up on you. Good luck." She told me, backing out of the door and shutting it behind her.

I flipped it over and read over the questions. They covered everything from American History through to Spanish.

"Great." I sighed. I crossed out the Spanish section and explained that I couldn't answer those questions, in French. Given the large amount of Hispanic students back at Hills, they didn't really see the need to teach it.

I was half way through my answer about the causes for the Civil War when Seth leaned over my shoulder.

"Dude, is that French?"

"Yeah. And what the fuck are you doing here?"

"Marissa called." Summer said leaning over my over shoulder. "How do you know all this?"

"I know its weird huh?" Seth agreed, "She never went to school in Chino."

"Like Will Hunting?"

"Guys?!" I interjected them. "Marissa?"

"Oh yeah," Seth said, as if he'd forgotten about the reason he'd barged in on my test.

"Her mom's gone psycho, she's having her committed." Summer finished for him.

I stood up quickly just as Dr Kim walked into the room. "What is going on here?" she asked, her arms folded.

"Hi Dr Kim, this is not what it looks like but there's kind of an emergency." Seth tried to cool her mood.

"Yeah we just need to borrow Alex for a little while."

"We're gonna bring her back." Seth finished over Summer.

"Alex is not going anywhere." Dr Kim told them both.

"Okay, but there's kind of an emergency-" Seth tried again.

"You don't understand-" Summer took over for him.

"You two out, out now, goodbye, goodbye." She said pushing them out the door and closing it behind them.

"Actually I got to go too."

"Have you finished the test?"

"No but I-"

"Alex if this is to difficult tell me, if the Cohen's are pressuring you to go to this school-"

"Its not too difficult, well the Spanish part… but they're not and I do… just not right now." I stumbled as I tried to get to the door.

"Just sit down finish the test."

"I can't."

"Alex if this is the level of commitment you plan to bring to your studies here at the Harbour school-"

"Dr Kim I really don't have time to argue with you right now so I'll guess I'll just have to see you at varsity." I smiled at her before I slammed the door behind me and ran to meet Seth and Summer out on the yard.


Summer drove to the hospital like my brother when he was running from the cops, I was so relieved when we actually made it to the hospital in one piece, I was convinced we were going to be entering via the E.R Once she'd dragged us both past reception she instructed Seth not to move and me to follow her. She took me to the toilets and presented me with a Candy Striper outfit.

"Oh Seth's going to love this." I sighed, walking to the cubical beside hers. I changed hurriedly, stuffed my clothes behind the toilet and met Summer, who was fixing her dress, in front of the mirrors. "You know I haven't been in a dress this short, since it would have fitted me perfectly." I told her redoing my hair.

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"Just follow my lead." She told me, holding open the door for me to go back to Seth.

"Oh dear God." Seth laughed, "I don't know which is funnier, you in a dress," he smiled at me, "or the new found knowledge that you're a Candy Striper." He laughed at Summer.

"What? I told you I was a Candy Striper." She told him, grabbing an abandoned book trolley and pushing it towards the elevator.

"I thought you were kidding." He said, still trying to stifle his laughter.

"It's for charity, all the girls do it."

"I should be hospitalised more, I-"

"Well if you need any help!" she smiled at him, stepping into the lift.

"Ok guys," I turned Summer, "can you get us onto the Psych ward or not?"

"Just try to keep up with me, oh and you'll have to put this on." She told me, stepping out of the elevator on the third flood, "Hi Gloria," she smiled at the woman behind the desk of the nurses' station, "I know it's my day off but I just cannot get enough of sick people and I thought I'd help the new girl out," she pointed back at me and Seth, "and this guy is gonna help us with the sponge baths."

"Hmm, dibs on that guy!" Seth pointed at one of the old men pushing an I.V drip around.

We followed Summer to Marissa's room, she pushed me in whilst she and Seth kept watch outside.

"Good Lord." Marissa said staring at me in my new outfit.

"That seems to be the sentiment of the day."

"And you're wearing it because?" she asked continuing to stare at the dress.

"We're busting you out of here."

"And the dress?" she laughed

"Summer's plan."

She opened her mouth to say something more but then we heard Julie outside and I headed back into the en suit.

"So we have agreed to send you to San Diego. I know this may be difficult for you to hear but Dr Bourke and I think it's for the best." I heard Julie tell her through the door.

"Well what about Dad?"

"Well he just wants what's best for you to sweetie. Now Dr Bourke and I have to finish some paperwork so you should get dressed okay." There was a pause, "I'm glad you're taking this so well Marissa."

"Yeah well, if it's for the best right."

"Mm, I love you honey," there was another pause, "Okay, get dressed I'll be back."

"Bye." I came out of the bathroom just as Marissa was getting out of her bed with a huge smile on her face "How'd I do?"

"You almost had me convinced! Here…" I handed her a bag, and she pulled out another Candy Striper dress. "As I said it's uh, its Summers idea, it's for uh, for cover."

"Sure," she smirked at me, "Summers idea." She smiled at me and I turned round to give her some privacy, but couldn't help but to look over my shoulder. "Hey! No peeking." She laughed at me pulling the dress over her head.

"Are you ready?" I asked before turning back round.

"Yeah." She got up off the bed as I went to open the door and check the coast was clear.

"Ah hey your mum and the doctor are on the move." Seth warned us poking his head round the door.

"Stairs?" I asked them.

"I've been lying down for like over 24hours, I could do with the exercise." She nodded, following me and Seth down to the end of the hall. We grabbed Summer on our way past and ran down the stairs to her car.

"Where we going?" She asked us as we piled in.

"My house." Marissa said simply, "If we're running away I think I need to where something a little more inconspicuous."


The drive back to the community was not fun, Seth and Summer kept quizzing me on my general knowledge trying to figure out why I knew so much, apparently my explanation of 'Just read a lot' wasn't good enough to them. When we pulled into Marissa's drive Marissa, Summer and I jumped out to get changed whilst Seth rummaged around Julie's dresser trying to find out the address of Jimmy's new place.

Once we were all back in the car Summer sped off out of the gated community and towards the smaller houses.


"So this is my dad's house." Marissa smiled half heartily as she pushed open Jimmy's back door. "Just as well he hasn't got out of the habit of hiding a key under the mat." She sighed pocketing it.

I flipped on the lights, the main room was still half painted, but furnished. I sat down on the couch with Seth, whilst Marissa dug her hands into her pockets and paced nervously.

"Coop, you're wearing a hole in the carpet."

"And seeing as your dad only just got it." Seth finished for Summer.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly sitting on the futon.

"So," I clapped, "who's up for a nice game of Kerplunk?" Everyone just looked at me, "Or we could just sit here and twiddle our thumbs."

"Don't tell me that would have been funny in Chino?" Summer frowned at me.

"It went down better certainly." I sighed, sliding down further into my seat though I shot back up again when I head the key turn in the lock. "Maybe you dad will-"

"Alex shush." Marissa said quietly as she rose to meet her dad.

"What, what are you doing here?" He asked, frowning at the four of us in his living room.

"I, uh, I checked out." Marissa said walking over to him.

"Does your mother know about this?"

"We're gonna wait in the car." I told them leaping up.

"Yeah." Seth and Summer agreed, following me out of the apartment.

"So," Summer spun round and smiled at me, "you like Coop, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said simply, leaning against her convertible and lighting up.

"Are you ever not smoking?" Seth asked me, climbing into the back seat.

"Well House says it makes me look 30 percent cooler."

"Who?" Seth frowned at me.

"Dr Gregory House, god Cohen don't you know anything?"

"You like House?" I frowned at Summer.

"I like Hugh Laurie anyway." She shrugged.

"And there was me thinking you would be more of a Cameron girl." I smiled back at her.

"Why would Summer be into Cameron?" Marissa frowned at me stepping past me to get into the back with Seth. We all just looked at her whilst she buckled up. "You two going to get in or what?" she asked Summer and I, "My dad's going to be out any second."

"And we're running again." I laughed at Summer, climbing over the driver's seat into mine.

"Where to, Coop?"

"Anywhere." She replied simply as Summer sped off.


"What'd you want to do now Coop?" Summer asked taking a bite of her slice of pizza as we walked along the peer.

"I don't know what to do, I mean what can I do?"

"We could hide you in one of my mum's developments," Seth suggested.

"Cause that worked out so well the last time." She sighed.

"It was a joke." He muttered into his pizza.

"How is any of this even possible?" Marissa asked us, clearly exasperated from everything the past 26 hours had thrown at her, "My mom wants to lock me up in rehab while my dad can't even do anything about it!"

"Well, we'll figure something out." I tried to reassure.

"We better hurry cause she just escaped from a Psych ward wearing a Candy Striper outfit, if they didn't think she was crazy before they…" she stopped realising what she'd just said. "Sorry Coop. I'm gonna go get another slice." She said quickly, walking back up the peer.

"As will I." Seth told us before running to catch up with her.

"You know, the model home plan isn't the worst in the world, I mean Luke-"

"You're spending too much time with Seth."

"It's a theory." I tried to smile at her. "Look," I said slowly and quietly after a while of silence between us, "if your mom's doing all this just to keep me away from you I, I'll stay away."

"I don't want that." She smiled at me to which I smiled back.

"So what're we gonna do?"

"If I could just get her to listen." She sighed, leaning against the edge of the peer.

"Hold that thought." I smiled at her, pulling out my cell from my back pocket and dialled Sandy's number.

"Who are you cal-"

I put my finger to her lip to silence her.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's Alex."

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Uh I'm with Marissa and I need your advice. We need to get Julie to let Marissa live with her dad."

"Well if I've learned anything today... you don't want to go to court with this, your going to want to settle. Come over here and lets see if we can't sort something out."


I waited in the kitchen for Julie to arrive.

"Why don't you sit down kid?" Sandy suggested, tired of watching me pace up and down the small space.

"Right, sitting." I nodded at him pulling out one of the breakfast bar's stalls. However, as soon as the door bell rang I was back on my feet.

"Who knew that Julie Cooper could make you so nervous." Sandy laughed at me as he headed out to let her in.

"What is going on?" I heard Julie ask Sandy angrily.

"Come with me." He responded simply.

"I don't understand what does this have to do with Marissa, do you know where she…" she stopped when she saw me. "Well no surprise you're involved in all this, where is she?"

"I don't know, at a bus station," I shrugged, "on a tropical island somewhere."

"Alex." Sandy warned.

"I cannot believe that you're chaperoning this farce." Julie snapped at Sandy.

"Julie, sit down." He offered her the stall I'd chosen to ignore.

"No I don't want to sit down."

"Alright, lets all talk." Sandy sighed, tiring of her tone.

"Talk about what-what is there to talk about?"

"Well if you ever want to see your daughter again." I shrugged again.

"Watch it!" he said to me before turning his attention back to Julie "Julie I-I-I know you've been through a lot but-but Alex isn't the problem."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she turned to me again. "You tell me where she is and them I am taking her home, she just ran away from a hospital."

"She ran away from you!" I told her in a tone not dissimilar from hers. "Look your from Riverside, right? Well that's not to far from where I grew up-"

"I am calling the police in, like, two seconds." She cut in her arms folded tightly across her chest.

"AND I know this place has everything we never had and I know your afraid your gonna lose it all, everything you've ever wanted."

"I'm done!" she said turning away.

"But what you want, and what your daughter wants are two different things." I called after her.

"YOU! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE WANTS." She snapped at me as she spun back round.

"I KNOW WHAT SHE DOESNT WANT." I slammed my hands down on the counter in front of me, before trying to lose the anger from my voice. "She doesn't want to go to San Diego," I saw Marissa appear behind her mother, "and she doesn't want to live with you."

"I don't know what I'm suppose to say to any of this…"

"Just say yes." Marissa said from the doorway.

"Oh honey, no-no you don't mean that." Julie said, spinning round to hold her daughter.

"Yes, I do," Marissa sighed, freeing herself from her mother's arms, "look I know you're only trying to help, you're just making everything worse."

Julie started to cry and went to hug Marissa. "You have no idea how scared I was."

"I'm sorry…" She said, taking a step back, "but look I'm okay, and it was an accident, I'll even still see a therapist if I must, but I want to do it here… and I want to live with Dad… I mean, at least for now."

Julie looked between us all, Sandy in the corner, me behind the counter and Marissa's pleading eyes. I watched as she opened her mouth, fire flashing behind her eyes, she shook her head before pointing to her daughter: "This isn't over Marissa. I'll show myself out." She told Sandy and I as she walked back through the house.

Marissa walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me, before kissing me on the cheek. "Can I have a word please?" I simply nodded and followed her into the next room.

I sat down on an arm of one of the sofas, I opened my mouth to ask her how she was feeling but was instantly stopped when her hands were either side of my head and pulling my face towards hers. She took my lower lip between hers and kissed me softly.

"Yes." She smiled at me, once she'd let me go.

"I'm sorry?" I frowned back at her.

"I'm ready to deal with the fact that I might just like you," she smiled at me, "and I'm saying 'yes.'"


Next up: The Heights... (just so you know there is more to come!)

R&R, thank you. Circus.