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missmara13Title: Friends & Other Strangers (Chapter Seven ~ Move Along)
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: The procedure for getting as protection order is true, at least as far as how it went for me and my mom getting one against my ex-stepfather. While laws vary state-to-state, I don't know the specifics of the California system, so I'm using the one I'm familiar with. Oh, and Jess' opening wisdom to Ryan? Is totally something I say... lol...
Chapter Seven ~ Move Along
"I have a piece of wisdom for you," Jess said as Ryan slid into the seat across from him.
"Oh?"
"People suck."
Ryan stared at him for a minute, then snorted. "Thanks, but I figured that out on my own a while ago."
"Never hurts to be reminded that it's everyone else who sucks, we're just stuck surrounded by them," Jess said.
Ryan sighed and took the second cup of coffee that was sitting on the table, taking a sip. "Tell me what the cops said," he finally said.
"We've got enough to get the protection order, mainly for you, but he suggested that my name be on it too so she can't bug me either," Jess said, handing Ryan the small stack of papers he'd gotten. "He said you need to list everything you can remember about her stalking tendencies, including the stuff back when you guys were still together. And it would help if we documented every single incident from now on, no matter how trivial."
"Okay," Ryan said, nodding.
"As soon as these are filed, they'll give you a temporary order of protection that will last until the hearing and will work the same as a regular one. She breaks it, she'll get arrested. Obviously she'll be at the hearing, so that won't count, but..."
"Alright," Ryan said, pulling out a pen and starting to fill stuff out.
"He also said that if there's any people regularly around us that she might target, we should ask if they want to be included, too, so I'm thinking we need to ask Brooke and Summer, especially after what Taylor pulled last night outside the club."
"Yeah," Ryan agreed, stopping writing when his hand started to shake. "How could Sandy think that locking me in a room with two people who betrayed me so totally and completely would fix anything?" he asked.
"He sucks?" Jess supplied, then shrugged and lean back in his seat. "Look, I'm not a fan of that family. What Seth did was unforgivable, and them defending him and getting upset with you was completely idiotic on their part. But... I think he did it because he actually thought it would work. And if you fixed things with Seth, you'd be willing to fix things with them and be around more. The guy's an idiot, it was the stupidest idea I've ever heard, but I think he meant well." He shook his head, making a face. "Did I seriously just defend that asshole?"
Ryan cracked a small smile, the shaking disappearing again, and went back to the paperwork. At least, no matter what else might happen, he had his friends. He could deal with losing the Cohens as long as he had Jess, Summer, and now Brooke.
<~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~>
When Ryan and Jess got back to the apartment later that afternoon, they found an answering machine filled with messages from Sandy, Kirsten, and Seth. Ryan deleted them each as soon as he knew who had left them, not wanting to deal with it, but finally, near the end, there was a message for Jess.
"Jess! We've got a publisher, hot stuff!" came the voice of Jess' literary agent. "They loved the short stories, want to put them out ASAP and get you on a book tour, but I told them about you being serious about finishing school, so they said they'll publish for the summer and you can go on the book tour then. We're talk big stops, maybe even some TV appearances! You're gonna be the new big thing, babe!"
Jess rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell her that I don't wanna do book tours? And I can't do one this summer, I've got the wedding to go to."
"Why are you telling me this?" Ryan asked pointedly. "Why aren't you telling her?"
"Because she annoys the hell out of me when she calls me 'hot stuff' and 'babe'?" Jess replied. "I should hire Summer to be my assistant and have her deal with Miranda," he added.
Ryan snorted. "She'd probably start calling you that stuff, too," he said. "Just to be annoying."
Jess groaned. "Probably," he agreed. "But at least's Summer's hot, so..."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Stop calling her hot."
"Well, she is!"
"There's more to life than how hot a girl is," Ryan said.
"But not more than how hot a guy is," Brooke said as she and Summer walked in. "That is key to life."
"Hell yeah," Summer agreed.
"How hot am I?" Jess asked jokingly, while Ryan rolled his eyes again.
The girls pretended to consider and have a hurried whispered conversation before finally Summer smirked. "Like we'd actually tell you," she said, grabbing Brooke's arm and pulling her towards Ryan's room while they both laughed.
Ryan snickered and offered Jess a beer. "You walked right into that one," he said.
"Ryan's a 9 though!" Brooke called from the bedroom.
Ryan sighed. "Don't drag me into this crap!" he yelled back.
The girls returned, both grinning. "Too late," Summer said. "How was lunch with the Cohens?"
Ryan's good mood evaporated and he sighed. "Sandy locked me in a room with Seth and Taylor. I threw a paperweight through the window to get Sandy to open the door. I told him to go to hell, that we weren't family and there was no fixing this."
"Fuck," Summer whispered, surprised.
Brooke, meanwhile, moved around to take Ryan's hand and squeeze it. "That sucks," she says.
"Worst part is, I won't get to see Sophie Rose grow up," Ryan replied. "God... it was so hard telling her goodbye," he whispered, shaking his head.
"I'm so sorry," Summer said.
Ryan shrugged. "It was time I stopped trying to please them and and focused on me," he said, trying to convince himself.
"Their loss," Brooke said, squeezing his hand again.
"Me and Ry are both kinda losers in the parents department," Jess said.
"My dad's devoted, but my mom left without saying goodbye right when I kinda needed her the most," Summer said.
"My parents were there in the physical sense, but I think they tended to forget I existed unless it was to tell me I did something wrong," Brooke added. "I think we all lost big time in the parents department."
"On a related note," Ryan said, grabbing the restraining order paperwork off the table. "Do you guys wanna be included in this thing? Keep her from being able to bug you, either?"
"Hell yes," Summer said.
"Am I gonna be around enough for it to be a concern?" Brooke asked Ryan clearly trying to get some info.
"Are you?" Ryan countered with a smile. "I'd like you to be."
"Oh my god, just stop with the cutesy flirting and have sex already!" Jess said in a tone of disgust as he got up.
"Hey! I stopped being slutty sleep with a guy on the first date girl in high school!" Brooke said.
"Too bad you two didn't meet back then, because he needs to get laid!" Jess said.
"I am seriously gonna hurt you," Ryan said to Jess. "I mean it, Jess, I will hurt you."
"I'm scared," Jess replied with a smirk.
"Okay, how about I'll hurt you?" Summer said.
"Okay, now you should be scared," Ryan said, nodding and fighting a smile. "She fights dirty."
"I stab with forks," Summer said with a grin.
Brooke bit back a laugh and looked over at Ryan again. "I better put my name down, huh?"
"Yeah," Ryan agreed, squeezing her hand.
"He does have a point though, stop flirting and get moving," Summer said as she got up. "Chino got laid like three times in the four years in Newport, and not at all since coming here. He needs sex."
"I had more sex than that in Newport!" Ryan protested.
"When?"
"I am not doing as timeline of my sex life!" Ryan said.
"Fine, all I care about is that you need a new entry on that timeline, and I think it should be Brooke."
"I am so sorry," Ryan told Brooke, who was leaning back on the couch, laughing. "You think this is funny?"
"Oh hell yes!" Brooke said, still laughing.
After a moment, Ryan joined her, again thinking that he could get through anything if he had his friends.
To Be Continued...
I need to make room and upload my Jess/Summer icon... or make an icon that has all 4 of them on it... lol... oooh... I could just reduce the soundtrack cover in size and use it! I'll have to remember to do that tomorrow... lol
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: The procedure for getting as protection order is true, at least as far as how it went for me and my mom getting one against my ex-stepfather. While laws vary state-to-state, I don't know the specifics of the California system, so I'm using the one I'm familiar with. Oh, and Jess' opening wisdom to Ryan? Is totally something I say... lol...
Chapter Seven ~ Move Along
"I have a piece of wisdom for you," Jess said as Ryan slid into the seat across from him.
"Oh?"
"People suck."
Ryan stared at him for a minute, then snorted. "Thanks, but I figured that out on my own a while ago."
"Never hurts to be reminded that it's everyone else who sucks, we're just stuck surrounded by them," Jess said.
Ryan sighed and took the second cup of coffee that was sitting on the table, taking a sip. "Tell me what the cops said," he finally said.
"We've got enough to get the protection order, mainly for you, but he suggested that my name be on it too so she can't bug me either," Jess said, handing Ryan the small stack of papers he'd gotten. "He said you need to list everything you can remember about her stalking tendencies, including the stuff back when you guys were still together. And it would help if we documented every single incident from now on, no matter how trivial."
"Okay," Ryan said, nodding.
"As soon as these are filed, they'll give you a temporary order of protection that will last until the hearing and will work the same as a regular one. She breaks it, she'll get arrested. Obviously she'll be at the hearing, so that won't count, but..."
"Alright," Ryan said, pulling out a pen and starting to fill stuff out.
"He also said that if there's any people regularly around us that she might target, we should ask if they want to be included, too, so I'm thinking we need to ask Brooke and Summer, especially after what Taylor pulled last night outside the club."
"Yeah," Ryan agreed, stopping writing when his hand started to shake. "How could Sandy think that locking me in a room with two people who betrayed me so totally and completely would fix anything?" he asked.
"He sucks?" Jess supplied, then shrugged and lean back in his seat. "Look, I'm not a fan of that family. What Seth did was unforgivable, and them defending him and getting upset with you was completely idiotic on their part. But... I think he did it because he actually thought it would work. And if you fixed things with Seth, you'd be willing to fix things with them and be around more. The guy's an idiot, it was the stupidest idea I've ever heard, but I think he meant well." He shook his head, making a face. "Did I seriously just defend that asshole?"
Ryan cracked a small smile, the shaking disappearing again, and went back to the paperwork. At least, no matter what else might happen, he had his friends. He could deal with losing the Cohens as long as he had Jess, Summer, and now Brooke.
<~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~>
When Ryan and Jess got back to the apartment later that afternoon, they found an answering machine filled with messages from Sandy, Kirsten, and Seth. Ryan deleted them each as soon as he knew who had left them, not wanting to deal with it, but finally, near the end, there was a message for Jess.
"Jess! We've got a publisher, hot stuff!" came the voice of Jess' literary agent. "They loved the short stories, want to put them out ASAP and get you on a book tour, but I told them about you being serious about finishing school, so they said they'll publish for the summer and you can go on the book tour then. We're talk big stops, maybe even some TV appearances! You're gonna be the new big thing, babe!"
Jess rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell her that I don't wanna do book tours? And I can't do one this summer, I've got the wedding to go to."
"Why are you telling me this?" Ryan asked pointedly. "Why aren't you telling her?"
"Because she annoys the hell out of me when she calls me 'hot stuff' and 'babe'?" Jess replied. "I should hire Summer to be my assistant and have her deal with Miranda," he added.
Ryan snorted. "She'd probably start calling you that stuff, too," he said. "Just to be annoying."
Jess groaned. "Probably," he agreed. "But at least's Summer's hot, so..."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Stop calling her hot."
"Well, she is!"
"There's more to life than how hot a girl is," Ryan said.
"But not more than how hot a guy is," Brooke said as she and Summer walked in. "That is key to life."
"Hell yeah," Summer agreed.
"How hot am I?" Jess asked jokingly, while Ryan rolled his eyes again.
The girls pretended to consider and have a hurried whispered conversation before finally Summer smirked. "Like we'd actually tell you," she said, grabbing Brooke's arm and pulling her towards Ryan's room while they both laughed.
Ryan snickered and offered Jess a beer. "You walked right into that one," he said.
"Ryan's a 9 though!" Brooke called from the bedroom.
Ryan sighed. "Don't drag me into this crap!" he yelled back.
The girls returned, both grinning. "Too late," Summer said. "How was lunch with the Cohens?"
Ryan's good mood evaporated and he sighed. "Sandy locked me in a room with Seth and Taylor. I threw a paperweight through the window to get Sandy to open the door. I told him to go to hell, that we weren't family and there was no fixing this."
"Fuck," Summer whispered, surprised.
Brooke, meanwhile, moved around to take Ryan's hand and squeeze it. "That sucks," she says.
"Worst part is, I won't get to see Sophie Rose grow up," Ryan replied. "God... it was so hard telling her goodbye," he whispered, shaking his head.
"I'm so sorry," Summer said.
Ryan shrugged. "It was time I stopped trying to please them and and focused on me," he said, trying to convince himself.
"Their loss," Brooke said, squeezing his hand again.
"Me and Ry are both kinda losers in the parents department," Jess said.
"My dad's devoted, but my mom left without saying goodbye right when I kinda needed her the most," Summer said.
"My parents were there in the physical sense, but I think they tended to forget I existed unless it was to tell me I did something wrong," Brooke added. "I think we all lost big time in the parents department."
"On a related note," Ryan said, grabbing the restraining order paperwork off the table. "Do you guys wanna be included in this thing? Keep her from being able to bug you, either?"
"Hell yes," Summer said.
"Am I gonna be around enough for it to be a concern?" Brooke asked Ryan clearly trying to get some info.
"Are you?" Ryan countered with a smile. "I'd like you to be."
"Oh my god, just stop with the cutesy flirting and have sex already!" Jess said in a tone of disgust as he got up.
"Hey! I stopped being slutty sleep with a guy on the first date girl in high school!" Brooke said.
"Too bad you two didn't meet back then, because he needs to get laid!" Jess said.
"I am seriously gonna hurt you," Ryan said to Jess. "I mean it, Jess, I will hurt you."
"I'm scared," Jess replied with a smirk.
"Okay, how about I'll hurt you?" Summer said.
"Okay, now you should be scared," Ryan said, nodding and fighting a smile. "She fights dirty."
"I stab with forks," Summer said with a grin.
Brooke bit back a laugh and looked over at Ryan again. "I better put my name down, huh?"
"Yeah," Ryan agreed, squeezing her hand.
"He does have a point though, stop flirting and get moving," Summer said as she got up. "Chino got laid like three times in the four years in Newport, and not at all since coming here. He needs sex."
"I had more sex than that in Newport!" Ryan protested.
"When?"
"I am not doing as timeline of my sex life!" Ryan said.
"Fine, all I care about is that you need a new entry on that timeline, and I think it should be Brooke."
"I am so sorry," Ryan told Brooke, who was leaning back on the couch, laughing. "You think this is funny?"
"Oh hell yes!" Brooke said, still laughing.
After a moment, Ryan joined her, again thinking that he could get through anything if he had his friends.
To Be Continued...
I need to make room and upload my Jess/Summer icon... or make an icon that has all 4 of them on it... lol... oooh... I could just reduce the soundtrack cover in size and use it! I'll have to remember to do that tomorrow... lol
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Date: 2008-03-18 02:06 pm (UTC)