missmara13 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
missmara13) wrote2007-09-16 08:41 pm
missmara13) wrote2007-09-16 08:41 pm
Entry tags:
Friends & Other Strangers (Chapter Five ~ In The Air Tonight)
Title: Friends & Other Strangers (Chapter Five ~ In The Air Tonight)
Author: Mara
Fandoms: The OC/Gilmore Girls/One Tree Hill
Rating: R
Warnings: Language, Sex in later chapters.
Summary: Four college students try to map out the way to deal with their lives as things become ever more complicated and intertwined.
Notes: Remember the preview snippet I posted for the 'WIP Meme' awhile back? Well, it folds into this chapter, with a couple lines mildly changed to fit better now that I've reread everything and realized a couple things were off... lol... anyway, new chapter of the Ryan/Brooke and Summer/Jess story!
Chapter Five ~ In The Air Tonight
They left the club at 3am, everyone but Brooke nicely toasted, and since she'd paid for her drinks as she ordered them, she went ahead outside while Jess and Summer tried to convince Ryan to let them pay for him, since it was his birthday and all. As she took a seat on a low stone wall, she couldn't help smiling. It had been a long time she'd really been able to go hang out with a group of people and have real fun. Since junior year of high school, she'd always found herself wondering which of her friends would realize she wasn't good enough to be their friend next, and hadn't been able to have as much fun. And with boys she'd always worried that they were going to get bored with her soon and that would be it.
But Ryan and his friends... Ryan seemed to think she was funny and definitely didn't look at her like he thought she was stupid. Jess hadn't seemed afraid to tell stories about his high school years that made him look foolish. Summer was like Brooke, the shallow girl who grew up and got some depth after a lot of angst. And somehow she felt like she could be friends with these people.
"He has a girlfriend, you know."
Brooke turned to see a girl with light brown hair and preppy clothes standing behind her, lips pursed in annoyance. "Excuse me?"
"Ryan Atwood, he has a girlfriend," Taylor said.
"And you know this how?"
"Because I'm her."
"That's funny, because Ryan never mentioned a girlfriend while we were dancing."
"He does that sometimes, leads poor naive girls on..."
<~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~>
"Shit," Jess said as he, Ryan, and Summer finally left the club. "Stalker girl is talking to Brooke."
"What?!" Ryan asked, turning away from his conversation with Summer. "Shit!" he swore, taking off at a jog, followed closely by his friends. "What the hell, Taylor?"
"I was just talking to this very sweet girl..."
"Let me guess, saying you're my girlfriend?" Ryan said before turning to Brooke. "I broke up with her a year ago, when I caught her in bed with my brother. I don't have a girlfriend, Brooke, partly because every time I try to go out, Taylor scares them off."
"She's practically stalking him," Jess said. "I keep telling him to get that restraining order, but does he listen..."
"Yes, I do," Ryan said, looking over at Taylor again. "I didn't want to take it this far, Taylor, but I'm tired of this shit. I'm tired of looking out my window to see what the weather's like and seeing you across the street, I'm tired of coming out of class and finding you sitting in my jeep, and I'm really tired of you scaring off really nice girls that I really like. I'm gonna go fill out the paperwork tomorrow, I want you to stay away from me, Taylor. I don't want to have to call the cops on you."
"You don't mean that..."
"Yes, he does," Jess said. "I'm going with him tomorrow, make sure it gets done. And if you show up, then I'll call the cops even if he doesn't. Because this is bullshit, Taylor, leave him alone, stop screwing with his life."
"Ryan, I keep trying to tell you, that he is a bad friend for you!" Taylor said. "Doesn't that prove it? He's making you do this..."
"No one is making me do anything, except you, Taylor," Ryan said. "If you'd just stopped when I told you that I couldn't forgive you, I wouldn't be doing this. If you'd never gone further than sitting across the street, I might not be doing this. If you'd stopped when I caught you in my jeep and told you to leave me alone, I wouldn't be doing this! But you just keep going, keep getting more extreme, and I'm tired of it, Taylor."
"You just need to try harder to forgive me..." Taylor began.
"I can't even forgive my brother, Taylor, why would I forgive you?" Ryan asked. "I barely speak to Sandy and Kirsten, and when I do it's tense, because they defend Seth. The only relationships of any kind that I have right now that you haven't completely messed up are my friendships with Jess and Summer. So why, why, would I just decide to take your side of my best friend's?" Ryan asked, gesturing at Jess. "Explain that to me? Or better yet, don't. Just leave me alone."
"Ryan, I would do anything for you!"
"Then stay away from me!" Ryan snapped. "You're making me miserable, Taylor, and I can't take it anymore."
"Come on, guys, I'll take you all home," Brooke said, stepping over to wrap an arm around Ryan's back and guide him towards her car. "If anyone pukes in my car, I will hurt them," she said.
"Right, no puking," Jess agreed, nodding.
<~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~>
"So..." Brooke said once they got back to the apartment and Jess went to his room while Summer went to Ryan's, and Ryan had taken them each a glass of his 'Atwood Hangover Cure', she and Ryan were alone in the living room.
"So... that was Taylor. My ex-girlfriend who fucked my brother in my bed," Ryan replied as he walked over to peek out the window.
"She seemed a little... unbalanced," Brooke said.
"That's putting it nicely," Ryan replied.
"What are you doing?" Brooke asked, changing the subject as she sat down on the folded out couch
"Checking to see if she came back to watch from across the street like usual," Ryan said. "This was the last thing I needed with what's on the schedule for tomorrow."
"Restraining order," Brooke said, nodding, as Ryan joined her.
"Actually, lunch with my former foster parents, who took the side of their biological son over me when he fucked my then girlfriend," Ryan replied. "I haven't talked to them in weeks, except when they called to ask me to lunch and I just... I adore their daughter, she's my baby sister, and I miss her so much..."
"So you agreed to go for her," Brooke said. "That's so sweet."
"Or stupid, one or the other," Ryan agreed. "So... I'm sorry. About Taylor."
"Not your fault," Brooke replied. "I mean, clearly you had a lapse in judgement when you started going out with her, but..."
Ryan laughed, then turned serious. "That year, when I started dating her... it was a bad year. You see... the previous spring, this kid fell off a cliff right in front of me, and everyone seemed to think I was or should be happy because he'd been in love with my girlfriend, who dumped me for not being upset enough. She thought that because I wasn't openly expressing it, I wasn't upset. Then, just when her and me were getting to be friends again, there was this accident..."
<~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~>
When Jess woke up in the morning, it was with a thankfully minimal hangover and a surprisingly chipper Summer bouncing on the end of his bed. "Huh?"
"You gotta see what's going on in the living room," Summer said.
"If Ryan got laid, good for him, but I don't wanna see it," Jess said, pulling the blankets over his head.
"Nothing like that," Summer said, yanking the covers back and pulling Jess to his feet. She pulled him all the way down the hall, stopping just before the living room and pointing to where Ryan and Brooke were sitting across from eachother on the couch, talking animatedly and smiling widely. "Isn't that so cute?" she asked. "He likes her and she likes him!"
"Great," Jess said. "Now can I go back to sleep?"
"Nope," Summer said, yanking him into the living room. "Morning!" she said. "You two are up early."
"What time is it?" Ryan asked.
"It's almost 11," Summer replied.
"We didn't exactly ever go to sleep..." Ryan said, shrugging.
"And sadly, that is not as dirty as it sounds," Brooke said. "We literally stayed up all night talking."
"If you ever meet, in authors' circles, a guy named Lucas Scott from north Carolina? Hit him," Ryan told Jess.
"My ex," Brooke explained. "Cheated on me with my then best friend, not once but twice. As in two separate affairs with a break up and getting back together in between."
"Scum," Summer said. "I'll hit the bitch for you if I ever get the chance," she promised Brooke.
"Thanks," Brooke said, smiling.
"Well, I should take a shower and get ready for lunch," Ryan said, making a face at the prospect.
"I'll call and see what we need to do to get you the restraining order," Jess said. "And I'll call you when I know so you'll have an excuse to leave if you want it."
"Thanks man, I appreciate it," Ryan said.
"Call me once you know more about that stuff, okay?" Brooke said, leaning forward to kiss Ryan's cheek. "I'll see you around, hot boy," she added as she got up and grabbed her purse.
"You totally like her," Summer said, flopping down on the couch beside him.
"Yeah, I think I do," Ryan agreed, smiling.
To Be Continued...
Author: Mara
Fandoms: The OC/Gilmore Girls/One Tree Hill
Rating: R
Warnings: Language, Sex in later chapters.
Summary: Four college students try to map out the way to deal with their lives as things become ever more complicated and intertwined.
Notes: Remember the preview snippet I posted for the 'WIP Meme' awhile back? Well, it folds into this chapter, with a couple lines mildly changed to fit better now that I've reread everything and realized a couple things were off... lol... anyway, new chapter of the Ryan/Brooke and Summer/Jess story!
Chapter Five ~ In The Air Tonight
They left the club at 3am, everyone but Brooke nicely toasted, and since she'd paid for her drinks as she ordered them, she went ahead outside while Jess and Summer tried to convince Ryan to let them pay for him, since it was his birthday and all. As she took a seat on a low stone wall, she couldn't help smiling. It had been a long time she'd really been able to go hang out with a group of people and have real fun. Since junior year of high school, she'd always found herself wondering which of her friends would realize she wasn't good enough to be their friend next, and hadn't been able to have as much fun. And with boys she'd always worried that they were going to get bored with her soon and that would be it.
But Ryan and his friends... Ryan seemed to think she was funny and definitely didn't look at her like he thought she was stupid. Jess hadn't seemed afraid to tell stories about his high school years that made him look foolish. Summer was like Brooke, the shallow girl who grew up and got some depth after a lot of angst. And somehow she felt like she could be friends with these people.
"He has a girlfriend, you know."
Brooke turned to see a girl with light brown hair and preppy clothes standing behind her, lips pursed in annoyance. "Excuse me?"
"Ryan Atwood, he has a girlfriend," Taylor said.
"And you know this how?"
"Because I'm her."
"That's funny, because Ryan never mentioned a girlfriend while we were dancing."
"He does that sometimes, leads poor naive girls on..."
<~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~>
"Shit," Jess said as he, Ryan, and Summer finally left the club. "Stalker girl is talking to Brooke."
"What?!" Ryan asked, turning away from his conversation with Summer. "Shit!" he swore, taking off at a jog, followed closely by his friends. "What the hell, Taylor?"
"I was just talking to this very sweet girl..."
"Let me guess, saying you're my girlfriend?" Ryan said before turning to Brooke. "I broke up with her a year ago, when I caught her in bed with my brother. I don't have a girlfriend, Brooke, partly because every time I try to go out, Taylor scares them off."
"She's practically stalking him," Jess said. "I keep telling him to get that restraining order, but does he listen..."
"Yes, I do," Ryan said, looking over at Taylor again. "I didn't want to take it this far, Taylor, but I'm tired of this shit. I'm tired of looking out my window to see what the weather's like and seeing you across the street, I'm tired of coming out of class and finding you sitting in my jeep, and I'm really tired of you scaring off really nice girls that I really like. I'm gonna go fill out the paperwork tomorrow, I want you to stay away from me, Taylor. I don't want to have to call the cops on you."
"You don't mean that..."
"Yes, he does," Jess said. "I'm going with him tomorrow, make sure it gets done. And if you show up, then I'll call the cops even if he doesn't. Because this is bullshit, Taylor, leave him alone, stop screwing with his life."
"Ryan, I keep trying to tell you, that he is a bad friend for you!" Taylor said. "Doesn't that prove it? He's making you do this..."
"No one is making me do anything, except you, Taylor," Ryan said. "If you'd just stopped when I told you that I couldn't forgive you, I wouldn't be doing this. If you'd never gone further than sitting across the street, I might not be doing this. If you'd stopped when I caught you in my jeep and told you to leave me alone, I wouldn't be doing this! But you just keep going, keep getting more extreme, and I'm tired of it, Taylor."
"You just need to try harder to forgive me..." Taylor began.
"I can't even forgive my brother, Taylor, why would I forgive you?" Ryan asked. "I barely speak to Sandy and Kirsten, and when I do it's tense, because they defend Seth. The only relationships of any kind that I have right now that you haven't completely messed up are my friendships with Jess and Summer. So why, why, would I just decide to take your side of my best friend's?" Ryan asked, gesturing at Jess. "Explain that to me? Or better yet, don't. Just leave me alone."
"Ryan, I would do anything for you!"
"Then stay away from me!" Ryan snapped. "You're making me miserable, Taylor, and I can't take it anymore."
"Come on, guys, I'll take you all home," Brooke said, stepping over to wrap an arm around Ryan's back and guide him towards her car. "If anyone pukes in my car, I will hurt them," she said.
"Right, no puking," Jess agreed, nodding.
<~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~>
"So..." Brooke said once they got back to the apartment and Jess went to his room while Summer went to Ryan's, and Ryan had taken them each a glass of his 'Atwood Hangover Cure', she and Ryan were alone in the living room.
"So... that was Taylor. My ex-girlfriend who fucked my brother in my bed," Ryan replied as he walked over to peek out the window.
"She seemed a little... unbalanced," Brooke said.
"That's putting it nicely," Ryan replied.
"What are you doing?" Brooke asked, changing the subject as she sat down on the folded out couch
"Checking to see if she came back to watch from across the street like usual," Ryan said. "This was the last thing I needed with what's on the schedule for tomorrow."
"Restraining order," Brooke said, nodding, as Ryan joined her.
"Actually, lunch with my former foster parents, who took the side of their biological son over me when he fucked my then girlfriend," Ryan replied. "I haven't talked to them in weeks, except when they called to ask me to lunch and I just... I adore their daughter, she's my baby sister, and I miss her so much..."
"So you agreed to go for her," Brooke said. "That's so sweet."
"Or stupid, one or the other," Ryan agreed. "So... I'm sorry. About Taylor."
"Not your fault," Brooke replied. "I mean, clearly you had a lapse in judgement when you started going out with her, but..."
Ryan laughed, then turned serious. "That year, when I started dating her... it was a bad year. You see... the previous spring, this kid fell off a cliff right in front of me, and everyone seemed to think I was or should be happy because he'd been in love with my girlfriend, who dumped me for not being upset enough. She thought that because I wasn't openly expressing it, I wasn't upset. Then, just when her and me were getting to be friends again, there was this accident..."
<~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~>
When Jess woke up in the morning, it was with a thankfully minimal hangover and a surprisingly chipper Summer bouncing on the end of his bed. "Huh?"
"You gotta see what's going on in the living room," Summer said.
"If Ryan got laid, good for him, but I don't wanna see it," Jess said, pulling the blankets over his head.
"Nothing like that," Summer said, yanking the covers back and pulling Jess to his feet. She pulled him all the way down the hall, stopping just before the living room and pointing to where Ryan and Brooke were sitting across from eachother on the couch, talking animatedly and smiling widely. "Isn't that so cute?" she asked. "He likes her and she likes him!"
"Great," Jess said. "Now can I go back to sleep?"
"Nope," Summer said, yanking him into the living room. "Morning!" she said. "You two are up early."
"What time is it?" Ryan asked.
"It's almost 11," Summer replied.
"We didn't exactly ever go to sleep..." Ryan said, shrugging.
"And sadly, that is not as dirty as it sounds," Brooke said. "We literally stayed up all night talking."
"If you ever meet, in authors' circles, a guy named Lucas Scott from north Carolina? Hit him," Ryan told Jess.
"My ex," Brooke explained. "Cheated on me with my then best friend, not once but twice. As in two separate affairs with a break up and getting back together in between."
"Scum," Summer said. "I'll hit the bitch for you if I ever get the chance," she promised Brooke.
"Thanks," Brooke said, smiling.
"Well, I should take a shower and get ready for lunch," Ryan said, making a face at the prospect.
"I'll call and see what we need to do to get you the restraining order," Jess said. "And I'll call you when I know so you'll have an excuse to leave if you want it."
"Thanks man, I appreciate it," Ryan said.
"Call me once you know more about that stuff, okay?" Brooke said, leaning forward to kiss Ryan's cheek. "I'll see you around, hot boy," she added as she got up and grabbed her purse.
"You totally like her," Summer said, flopping down on the couch beside him.
"Yeah, I think I do," Ryan agreed, smiling.
To Be Continued...