IT'S THE HOLIDAYS!

"Hey, just have to stay an extra hour in class so I don't have to do anything over the holidays. I'll be done around 2, I'll call you" Marissa texted Ryan.

"Looking forward to that call" he replied.

/

Ryan was in his dorm, busying packing. He and Marissa would go back to Newport and spend the holidays there. As he was organizing his suitcase, his phone began to ring.

He looked at the caller ID and smiled, "Hey you."

"Hey. So I'm at my dorm now, just give me 30 minutes and I should be ready."

"Wow, it'll probably take me another 2 hours...I guess the roles have switched this time, I'm here doing the last minute packing."

"Ryan! We have to be on the road by 4. We don't want to arrive late and have to wake up Summer to let me in..."

"Or you could just come with me to the Cohen's, in the pool house. Just spend this one night?"

"You know I'd love that. But Sandy and Kirsten aren't expecting another guest for the holidays and I also promised Summer I'd be there around 10. We've got some catching up to do: girls' night."

"Fine, I'm assuming Seth is ready for some 'Seth-Ryan' time as well..."

"Perfect! So... on the road by 4! Quickly finish packing and I'll meet you at your dorm in 30 minutes?"

"I'll be waiting..."

/

Ryan had been driving for almost 6 hours now and was almost at Summer's. Him and Marissa were talking for the first hour of the trip, but she eventually fell asleep.

He pulled up into Summer's driveway, "Hey Riss, we're here."

Marissa stirred in her sleep then turned over to see Summer's house, all decorated in Christmas lights. "Wow, that was fast."

"For you. Picture me for almost 4 hours, nothing but driving."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you."

He turned over and met his lips with hers, "Mmm, what'd you have in mind?"

"Not now silly. Maybe tomorrow, Summer's waiting for me."

"Fine, need help with your stuff?"

"Quite the gentleman. But it's okay, I can manage. Drive safely okay?" she gave him one last kiss before she took off.

/

DING DONG!

The front door flew open and Summer attacked her best friend with a hug. "Coop! I've missed you so much!"

"Sum, you saw me like, last month during Thanksgiving.."

"But imagine that time in between? I have no one to talk to about the Valley, cute guys in my classes... only princess sparkle."

"Hey how about that nerdy boyfriend of yours...what was his name..."

"HA HA. No Cohen's not much into all the girl stuff... well... he does cry in movies and has no knowledge in sports or anything masculine for that matter... I guess he could be another Coop..."

"Summer." Marissa snapped Summer out of her little ramble. "I ramble a lot to Ryan, now I know where I got it from."

"Sorry Coop. I just really missed you!" She hugged her again, "C'mon, I don't care if you're tired, we've got season one of the Valley to re-watch, nails to be done, and a lot of gossip to cover." Marissa rolled her eyes but followed Summer anyways.

/

Summer was painting Marissa nails on her bed. "So how're things with Ryan?" she asked.

"Great! No drama, no fighting, more talking...and making out" she blushed. "Really great"

"Alright! That's my Coop! Speaking of making out... did you guys do it yet? like any...? You know...? because I know you haven't since Volchok or anything."

"No, none of that. We're taking our time... well, I am. I don't know. After Kevin I just, really want every time I do it to be meaningful and special. I mean, I love Ryan, but... I don't know, we'll see."

"It's okay, Coop, I understand."

"How about you? Seth and you..?"

"Well..." Marissa lifted her eyebrows at her. "Okay yeah, but I don't know. It's not just a physical thing, I actually feel... like it's... I love him."

"I'm happy for you guys."

"Thanks..." Summer stayed silent for a while.

Marissa noticed and broke the silence, "Summer? What's going on?"

"Huh? What?" Summer snapped out of her thought. "Okay, listen, yes I love Cohen. But lately our... relationship has been really...weird. Look I know, its Cohen, everything is weird with him, but it's different. I can't really explain."

"Well, Ryan and I once had that. Before we got back together it was weird. But it turns out, all the awkwardness was just because of some big misunderstanding. He thought I was seeing Antonio and I thought he was seeing Lily."

"Wait... Antonio like Caitlin-Antonio?" Marissa nodded and laughed. "and like Lily as in, his boss at that architecture firm?" Marissa nodded again. Summer burst out laughing and Marissa joined her.

"Yeah, so just talk to Seth. This could just be a whole big misunderstanding."

"Thanks, Coop. And you and Ryan now okay with it? No more weirdness?"

"Well actually...now that you've mentioned it, a week ago when Ryan came over to do home work–"

"And by 'do homework' you mean 'do you,'" Summer teased. Marissa rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I'm not interrupting, go on.."

"Anyways, when he came over to do homework, he left for the washroom. His phone kept dinging, so I checked it for him. He came back quickly so I didn't really get to read all the messages but they were all like 'I'm really excited you chose me', 'I'm working hard for this, you better be thankful!', and OH! One was like 'it'll be worth it;)'" Summer had her thinking face on. Marissa began to look worried, "He's not cheating. I know he wouldn't do that... would he? I don't know, I thought about it but...I DON'T KNOW!"

"Coop! Ryan. Loves. You. Don't you ever doubt that. He would never cheat on you." Summer assured her. "Do you know who was sending all these text messages?"

"It was just a number, not saved onto his phone. So no name on it. But you're right, I trust him and love him. He's not."

"Good, this person probably has the wrong number then... now let's finish our nails and start season one! It's only 12am, we've got a whole new day!"

/

Ryan pulled up into the Cohen's driveway. He opened the front door and saw Seth sitting on the stairs. He had his PJs on with a Santa hat on.

The brunette quickly went over to greet his brother. "Ryan! Man, I've been waiting here since I got here! Finally, now some Seth-Ryan time."

"Seth, you do know everyone in Newport is probably asleep by now, which means we should be too. Can't Seth-Ryan time wait till the morning?"

"Nope! We've got to get a head start. I've got a lot to tell you. I would have told you more about it in the emails and phone calls we've shared, but this is a face-to-face kind of thing."

"Fine, pool house now. You've got till...1 am."

"Perfect, lots of time."

They headed over to the pool house. The bed was nicely made with fresh sheets and a note was on top.

"Ryan, in case we've fallen asleep by the time you get here, Welcome back!

I've already changed the sheets and filled the mini fridge with little snacks for you. We've missed you.

Sandy and Kirsten"

"That's nice of mother." Seth commented and flopped his whole body on the bed. "You know, she hugged me at the airport to greet me, then kissed me on the forehead! She still thinks I'm 5."

Ryan laughed, "Seth, she misses you. Let her show you how much she loves you. I'd die to have my father or mother welcome me like that."

"You do. They're asleep in the house. The just left you a cute little note.."

"Yes but I meant... Like my other..."

Ryan didn't finish and Seth saw him slowly becoming sad, so he quickly tried to change the subject.

"So how was the drive here?"

"It was...okay. And how was the flight?"

"Was able to watch this really good Japanese movie about ninjas and assassins and stuff. So AWESOME!"

"Is that what you wanted to talk about? Because Seth, I am really tired." Ryan yawned.

"Hold your horses dude, no that's not what I was gonna talk about. This is serious. You ready?"

Ryan sat down on the bed next to Seth, he gave a weary nod, almost falling asleep.

"Sometime during the holidays, maybe Chrismakkuh, I'm going to ask Summer to marry me."

Ryan's eyes shot open and looked straight at Seth. "Whoa, man. Are you sure you... you're ready?"

"Dude, I've known I was going to marry Summer since I was like, a foetus. I love her with all my heart and I don't ever want to let her go. Ryan, all those high school drama episodes: with Anna and Zach and Reid, with the whole getting-into-Brown situation, we're still here. And I still can't get enough of her."

"Well, no need to convince me. I was just making sure. Congratulations, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. But convincing you wasn't why I needed you to stay up with me until 1am... We need to come up with a plan. Two plans to be exact: Operation Propose-to-Summer and Operation Get-The-Parents'-blessing."

"Seth, you plan to do it over the holidays, yet you still haven't asked for Dr. Roberts' blessing?! Good luck with that man."

"NO! You can't sleep now. Dude help me out here."

"Okay fine, I'll help you but you owe me!"

"Deal! When you propose to Marissa, I'm your guy! Speaking of which... when will you pop the question to her?"

"What?!" Ryan was caught by surprise.

"Why, you don't want to marry her?"

"No it's not like that. That's not what I meant. I mean, yes I do see my future with Marissa. She's all I see in my future. I just, I guess I never really thought about the whole marriage in the next 5 years."

"Dude, you can't just picture yourselves in 10 years together and expect her to live with you without a ring on her finger. She'll want to be married by then."

"I know and me too but... look let's just focus on your proposal."

"Okay but–"

"SETH! Focus."

"Right... Man! This is going to the best Chrismakkuh ever!"

"Actually, you're right.." Ryan kicked the thought of marriage aside and thought back to his plan, "it may actually be the best Chrismakkuh ever."