13 Lyrically Tragic Ficlets
Apr. 15th, 2009 11:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missmara13Here's the deal... I was listening to my 'all songs' playlist on random last night, and got several angsty songs in a row (which isn't susprising... i sorta have a LOT of angsty songs on my playlist... lol) and ideas kept hitting, so I wrote the first two and picked the next 3 lyrics to use as titles. This was gonna be one of those 'Five *Blanks*' things, but... I kept finding GREAT lyrics. So it expanded to 13 ficlets with 13 song lyric titles.
Most of these are in brand new universes you guys either haven't seen, or have only seen a tiny glimpse of (Two are kind of part of the 'Orange Hill' Universe, along with '#3 - The Prom' in 5 Memborable First Dates Between Ryan And Brooke post a did a few weeks back). A couple are universes I've talked about, but either haven't written yet. A very few are connected to well established universes of mine, but aspects that aven't been explored, or at leats not in this way. In no cases should these ficlets be considered canon for any universe they appear in, they are just randomness I bored from various universes for... also, while I tried to make all the universes different, there's at leats two that are at least in a similiar universe if not the same one.
Some are mildly disturbing. Some are heartbreaking. Some are bittersweet. Some are hopeful. I do promise, however, that Ryan does not die in any of them. He may be hurt, he may come close to dying, but he DOES NOT DIE. Also, none are particularly graphic with violence or sex (actually there's no sex in any of these... lol) but there's some bad language.
Most are The OC fics, but there's one other fandom in there. I don't identify the fandom, but I'm pretty sure you guys will know what fandom it is... lol... especially since I tagged it... lol
1. maybe that's the way i should go...
"Oh my God," Mouth said. "Is that Ryan?"
The whole group turned, Brooke's mouth dropping open as she saw Ryan approaching, and Lucas staring in shock.
"Why didn't you tell us he was back?" Peyton asked.
"I didn't know," Lucas replied, locking eyes with his brother for a moment before Ryan looked away again. "I'll be right back," he said, jogging towards Ryan. "When did you get back, little brother?"
"Last night," Ryan replied.
"Why didn't you call?"
"Would you have answered?" Ryan said.
Lucas nodded. "Probably not," he admitted, looking away. "Are you back for good?"
"Haven't decided," Ryan said. "It kind of depends on whether anyone can forgive me."
"You don't need forgiveness," Lucas said. "It was an accident..."
"And Marissa died."
"That wasn't your fault."
"Tell Peyton that," Ryan said, gesturing back towards the group, where the blonde was glaring in their direction. "I was driving, so as far as this town is concerned, I'm the bad guy. No one cares about what really happened, all they care about is that the town delinquent killed the town princess."
"Not me."
"That's not what you said the night I left," Ryan replied. "Or did I imagine you yelling at me that I killed her and that I should have been the one in the ground?"
"Ry..."
"I get it Lucas, I burned my bridges, just like always. I guess it's a good thing I never really needed friends, because I'm right back where I was a year ago, when you and Blair were humiliating me for shits and giggles."
"I'm sorry."
"So am I," Ryan said, looking down. "But hey, I can live with being the villian, maybe that means everyone will just leave me the hell alone."
2. it was only one hour ago, it was all so different then...
Ryan walked out of Harbor, his shirt stained red with blood, and froze when he saw the Cohens watching anxiously behind the barriers. They spotted him and their faces filled with relief, before they seemed to realize Seth wasn't with him. He wanted to go to them, to have them wrap their arms around him and tell him it was okay, but he knew that wasn't what would happen.
No, he'd go to them, and he'd tell him that Seth was inside, laying on the hallway floor, that Seth had bled to death in Ryan's arms an hour ago, crying that he wanted his mom and dad, and they'd hate him for being the one who survived when their son died. He took a shuddering breath and walked over to them, trying to hold himself together. "I... he... I'm sorry," he finally whispered, his voice cracking.
Kirsten let out a strangled sob, then grabbed Ryan and pulled him into her arms, holding on tight, one hand clutching his shirt, the other cupping the back of his head, holding on like her life, or maybe his, depended on it. After a moment, Ryan felt Sandy's arms encircle them both, and let himself break, sobbing against Kirsten's shoulder.
~~~
Ryan ran. Even though he knew it didn't change anything, no matter how hard, fast, or far he ran, Seth would still be dead and buried. And he would still be the one who lived, who walked out of Harbor that day with barely a scratch on him, while a dozen kids died, including his brother.
He tried to keep it together, for Kirsten and Sandy's sakes, since they weren't handling it well. They pretended they were okay, they told him they were and they tried not to let him see them cry to often, but he had heard Kirsten crying at night, when they thought he was asleep, and he'd heard Sandy venomously hoping the shooter was burning in hell for what he did.
So Ryan tried to keep it together, tried to be strong, to hold the family together, and it was killing him inside.
So he ran, wishing he could run hard, fast, and far enough to escape everything.
And one day... he did. He didn't stop when he reached the pier, he didn't stop when the city petered out behind him, he didn't stop until his legs couldn't carry him anymore, and then he collapsed to his knees, fingers digging deep into the sand as sobs wracked his body.
Sobs for the brother who died because he stepped between Ryan and Oliver in the hallway.
3. so let in the morning light and let the darkness fade away
Brooke was angry and didn't want to give Lucas the bags of gift shop gifts, so she found another room, another person, to give the gifts to. It was complete chance that she walked into his room, the one room on the floor that had a patient but no visitors or flowers or balloons or anything to wish the sleeping boy well. She fixed that, though, setting up everything she'd bought for her lying cheater of a boyfriend around the room.
There was a groan from the bed, and She turned to look, her eyes meeting the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. "Hey," she whispered in greeting, smiling.
"Do I know you?" he asked.
"No," she replied. "I'm Brooke."
"Ryan."
"So, what's with the previously empty room?" Brooke asked, shifting a blue teddy bear on the bedside table.
"They took everything out after I threw a vase at my foster brother's head," Ryan replied.
"Huh," Brooke said. "Well, maybe they'll let you keep the soft stuff to throw at him instead."
Ryan smiled slightly. "Maybe."
"What're you in for, anyway?"
Ryan frowned, looking away. "I was in a car accident."
"Yeah?" Brooke said. "I'm suppose to be visiting my boyfriend, who was in a car accident, but I caught him getting a little oral rehab from my best friend. That's why you get his gifts, hot boy."
Ryan looked back towards her, raising an eyebrow and trying not to smile again. "Oh."
"How bad was your accident?"
Ryan shrugged. "It's been six weeks and I still can't feel anything below my waist," he said.
"Oh," Brooke said. "I... I'm sorry..."
"Not your fault."
"What about your family? Why aren't they..."
"Foster brother had a court date. Drunk driving and vehicular homicide because the driver in the car he hit didn't get off as lucky as me."
"So you were the passenger?"
"I got in to try and talk him into giving me the keys," Ryan said. "He hit the gas and went straight into traffic, and a truck smashed into the passenger side of our rover. I went through the windshield, the other driver was trapped, bleeding out, for 3 hours. Seth walked away with a bruise on his forehead, and that's it."
"Sounds like your brother is getting what he deserves."
"Maybe."
"You mind if I hang out with you for a while?" Brooke asked. "You'd be doing me a favor, because I will tear every strand of Peyton's curly blonde hair out of her head if I see her too soon."
"Yeah, you can stay," Ryan agreed.
Brooke smiled, then her eyes fell on a book on the shelf across the room. "What's this?" she asked, going to get it. "The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe?"
"My foster mom found my battered copy, she got me that expensive monstrosity," Ryan said. "It sounds stupid, but... when I'm having a bad day, painwise, she reads it to me an I get distracted enough for the pain meds to kick in."
"I think it's sweet that she does that," Brooke said. "I think Lucy grew up and became a animal rights activist," she added.
Ryan laughed. "You think she's blue haired and carrying a 'fur is murder' sign?" he asked.
"Hell no! Lucy would grow old gracefully and let her hair go grey or white," Brooke replied.
"You're right, I don't know what I was thinking," Ryan said.
4. when darkness turns to light, it ends tonight
Ben stepped out of the hospital as the sun came up, wondering why he'd sabotaged himself by staying there all night instead of going home to sleep. But it was morning, and he had gotten maybe 2 hours of fitful sleep all night and now he was back on duty in 3 hours. He scrubbed a hand over his face, heading for his car, and thumping the blue book against his thigh as he went.
He'd somehow, despite throwing up after seeing the rotting body, despite freaking out over shooting the gunman, managed to impress Cooper. He couldn't figure out how the hell he'd done it, and part of him kept saying it didn't matter how, just that he did. The other part wanted to know how he pulled it off so he could try not to fuck up that impression. He didn't want Cooper to seriously think he was some spoiled rich kid who felt guilty for being rich.
Yeah, he'd had a lot of luxury in his life, and a lot of stuff just handed to him, but he'd never felt like he was entitled to anything, and he sure as hell didn't feel guilty about the family he had. It wasn't his fault his parents had money, he didn't chose them. He'd taken advantage of the money on occasion when he was in high school, including hanging out with guys like Wade, even hanging out with Wade himself at a party once.
But when he got a little older, when he actually saw the world beyond the insulated one he had grown up in, he had grown up and realized that he didn't want to be another spoiled rich kid who thought he could do whatever the hell he wanted. He became a cop because he wanted to do something good with his life.
And no one was going to take that away from him.
5. if i could go back in time, i'd say the sweet words
Ryan slammed his fist into the wall over and over again, not noticing as his knuckles turned bloody. She was gone. She was gone and the last time they'd talked he hadn't told her that he loved her, he'd just said he'd talk to her later. He'd give her a quick kiss on the cheek, then run out to get to work on time.
He was a fucking cop. If one of them was gonna get killed, it should have been him. He was a fucking cop, he should be the one dead on a slab, not her. Not his beautiful, sweet, funny, and full of life Isabella.
"Fuck, kid!" Cooper yelled, grabbing Ryan's arm to pull him back from the wall. "She wouldn't want this!"
"She's dead, she doesn't fucking want anything!" Ryan replied.
"She would kick your ass for this, and you know it," Cooper said firmly. "Sit the fuck down and let me look at this."
"It should ahve been me," Ryan said.
"It should have been any of us," Cooper replied. "We're gonna find the son of a bitch that did this. We're gonna make him pay, trust me on that. The entire shift is out for blood."
"I just want her back."
"I know."
6. pour me a glass of wine, talk deep into the night, who knows what we'll find
"Seriously?" Ryan asked as he sat on the floor, leaning back against the couch and trying not to burst out laughing.
"Seriously," Brooke replied, downing a gulp of wine. "I stripped in the back seat of his car to get his attention and left my bra behidn so he'd have to talk to me again."
"You were a slut!" Ryan said, unable to keep from laughing this time.
"Yes, yes I was," Brooke said. "Come on, your turn, hot guy."
"My turn?" Ryan said, considering for a moment then gulping down his own wine. "Okay. When I was Junior in high school, I got stuck in a mall over night with some friends, and we played street hockey all over the main area."
"Street hockey?!" Brooke said, laughing.
"Yes, street hockey. Complete with goalie masks for all players involved. And then we slept in tents in the sporting goods store."
"Why couldn't I have known you in high school?"
"Opposite coasts," Ryan said. "Your turn again."
"Okay, let's see... Oh! When I was a junior, I worked a part time job as a lobster mascot for a restraunt."
"A lobster?"
"A lobster."
Ryan shook his head. "My turn, huh?"
"Uh-huh."
Ryan looked down at his empty glass, then grabbed the bottle and took a swig, much to Brooke's amusement. "When I was 18... my high school sweetheart died in my arms."
Brooke immediately sobered. "What?"
"Our relationship was always... volatile. And we'd been broken up for a while, during which she'd been seeing this other guy. But he cheated on her, and her and me were friends, so I was driving her to the airport to fly and meet her dad for some quality time. The guy she'd been seeing... he ran us off the road, and my truck caught on fire, and she... she died in my arms."
"Oh my god..."
"Yeah."
Brooke pulled the bottle from Ryan's hand and moved closer, putting an arm around him. "No more alchohol for you," she said.
"Good idea," Ryan agreed.
"It's 4am, there's no point in going back to our rooms to sleep when we won't actually get much before we've gotta get up again," Brooke said. "How about some coffee?"
"Sounds good."
7. i feel the dream in me expire and there’s no one left to blame it on
Ryan sat on his couch, staring at the bottle of booze he'd bought six hours earlier and been staring at since getting home.
Home. What a joke.
His last home had been with the Cohens, and it had been good while it lasted. Then came the Oliver mess, and the call from Marissa, and he'd stupidly gone by himself. He hadn't expected to find the door of the suite unlocked, or hear a gunshot as he walked in. He hadn't expected to run into the bedroom and see Marissa laying naked on the bed, her face obliterated from the close up gunshot. He hadn't expected to see Oliver with the gun, but he'd reacted on instinct, tackling the boy and struggling with him for the gun, hitting him a few times before he managed to grab the gun adn wrench it away, holding Oliver at gunpoint as he reached for his phone to call the police. To call Sandy.
Except hotel security arrived first, Sandy in tow. And Oliver sobbed that Ryan had caught him and marissa together and killed her, then tried to kill him.
Security believed Oliver. The Police believed Oliver. The Prosecutors beleived Oliver. The Jury believed Oliver.
Hell, even Sandy and Kirsten and Seth believed Oliver.
15 years into a life sentence, Oliver was arrested for killing a girl who'd rejected him, and he'd gloated to the arresting officer that he got away with murdering the last girl to reject him and sent his competition to jail for the death, too.
Ryan lost half his life, lost his only chance for a good future, lost everything.
Sandy had been there when he'd been released, but Ryan had walked right past him, ignoring the man's pleas for him to come to dinner so they could 'talk'.
Ryan didn't want to be like his father and his brother. He didn't want to let his world become about the booze and drugs, but as he sat in his apartment, contemplating the bottle in front of him, he wanted to drown in it. He wanted to forget 15 years of hell. He hadn't exactly been a naive kid when he'd been locked up, but Trey had protected him from a lot of the bad stuff in the world, stuff that hadn't seemed to exist in Newport, so he hadn't been prepared for prison.
He hadn't been prepared at all.
With a sigh, Ryan got up and grabbed the bottle, shoving it unopened into the back of a cabinet, hiding it in the corner behind the box of cereal.
He wans't like his parents and his brother. He would find a way to live that didn't involve becoming them.
8. this one was the last one, i don't remember how, but I remember blood and rain
He never really remembered the accident. He knew he'd been in the rover with Kirsten, driving her to an AA meeting because Sandy was busy with The Newport Group. He knew she'd stood up at the meeting and called him her son, saying that she may have decided to get help because of her biological son, but she was fighting so hard to stay sober because Ryan deserved more from a mom than what she had been giving him while she was drinking.
He knew that before they got in the car, he'd hugged her and told her she was a good mom. Then he'd gotten behind the wheel and she'd climbed in the passenger side and it had started to rain.
He knew he was driving carefully because of the rain, slow and alert. But he must have missed something because Kirsten screamed and then...
Then there was nothing.
He woke up in the hospital 3 days later, Kirsten holding vigil by his bedside even as she sat in a wheelchair, a gauze pad taped to her forehead. She said another driver ahd lsot control and crashed into them. That she'd gotten a cuncussion and broken wrist, but he'd been pinned in the rover and lost a lot of blood before they got the car door open nearly two hours later. That his heart had stopped right after they opened the door. That his left leg had been crushed, almost severed, by the twisted frame of the car. That they'd had to put on a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Then she told him that they'd had to amputate the leg because of the combination fo the damage and the tourniquet.
Sometimes, usually when he felt pain in his no longer there leg, he could close his eyes and remember the warm sticky feeling of his blood as it coated his lower body. He could feel the rain falling heavily through the smashed windshield, and he would shiver from it.
But he could never remember the accident itself.
9. you're just in sight, will you save my life again?
Ryan struggled with his seatbelt, trying to get it free as the water flooded into the car. He was starting to panic, his eyes continually drawn to Marissa as she lay slumped in the passenger seat, oblivious to the water as she stared with wide, dead, eyes. He let out a strangled sob as he tugged again, the water up to his shoulders and rising faster all the time.
Then he heard it, a thump on the window, and he looked up to see Lucas outside the car, trying to smash the glass with something. Finally, the glass gave way, flooding in just as Ryan took one last gulp of air. Lucas tugged at the seatbelt, tugged at Ryan, but couldn't get him free. After several long seconds, Ryan's lungs burning as he wondered how Lucas could still be alright without air, Lucas grabbed his chin, looking him straight in the eyes and squeezing for a moment before pushing bakc and disappearing.
Ryan wanted to scream, beg Lucas to come back, to not leave him in the car to die, but he couldn't hold his breath any longer, not when he began to be overwhelmed with panic, tuggign at the seatbelt frantically until his vision began to black out and he stilled.
~~~
Lucas burst up onto the surface, taking a deep breath of air and looking up at the bridge but not seeing anyone besides his Haley and Nathan. "I can't get him out!" he yelled up to them before taking another deep breath and diving back down. As he got to the car and reached inside, his eyes went wide with panic at the sight of his little brother, still in the water. He started tugging, desperate, only to be shoved aside by Nathan, who had a knife and sliced through the belt, allowing them to haul Ryan out of the car and up tot he surface.
"He's not breathing!" Nathan yelled to Haley as they tugged Ryan up onto the shore and began CPR.
~~~
Ryan's lungs were burning and his chest was aching, but suddenly he could breath, and as he coughed, gagging as he expelled the water from his lungs, he realized Lucas was the one steadying him, telling him it was okay, that he was okay. But it wasn't okay. "Marrissa..." he managed to rasp out. "She was..."
"Oh god..." Nathan said before turning and running back towards the water again.
But Lucas stayed, holding Ryan steady and thumping him on the back as he kept coughing up water, the sounds of ambulances growing closer by the second.
10. i pretend to be everything they like, i've been here before, i've seen you before
Ryan was always a quick learner, and Rosewood was no different. He knew that if he ever wanted out of this hospital, he had to play their game and do what they wanted, be who they wanted. So, he played along. He let them think that he'd accepted that he'd hallucinated seeign Caleb shooting Sandy. That he'd confused a fight between the men earlier int he night with the fite between Sandy and the unknown intruder.
But he knew that was bull. He knew it was Caleb who'd shot Sandy at the Newport Group Offices. Ryan had been right there, walking down the hall after going to grap something that Sandy had forgotten in the car, and hoping that Kirsten liked the insane surprise Sandy had convinced Ryan to help him with, a couple dozen roses in all shades, placed all over her office. But as he'd walekd towards Kirsten's office, he ehard the raised voices, then the gunshot. he saw Sandy suddenly fall tot he ground, half out of the office, and froze, hidden int he shadows.
He saw Caleb step out and sneer down at Sandy before wiping the gun clean with a handkerchief and dropping it in the hall, leisurely walking away.
No one wanted to believe that though. Caleb ahd even pretended to be concerned for Ryan's sanity, so noble considering what he was being accused of by the boy.
Ryan played the hospital's game, though. He 'accepted' his delusions, he 'apologized' for blaming Caleb, and he cried about the fact that they'd never catch whoever it was, because he couldn't remember their faces.
But that only lasted as long as it took to get released.
Ryan stood over Caleb's body, gun still in hand, as the old man took shuddering breaths, blood bubbling at his lips. "Admit you did it," he whispered to the man.
"He was going to destroy my family," Caleb replied, coughing as blood choked him.
"And?"
"I shot him," Caleb admitted. "Please... I need an ambulance..."
Ryan stared down at him coldly and aimed the gun again. "Go to hell," he said before pulling the trigger. This time when they locked him up, at least he'd actually done something worthy of it.
11. there's a space kept in hell with your name on the seat, with a spike in the chair just to make it complete
No had expected the kid from Chino to be the one who toppled Queen B for good, but in the end, that's how it happened.
Blair hadn't counted on how many people had come to like Ryan Atwood in the few months he'd been in New York. She also hadn't counted on Chuck, of all people, siding with the Chino scum over her when the chips fell, but he did and that's how her life completely fell apart. Because Chuck knew things even Serena didn't, and he used every single one of them to hurt her in revenge.
It took less than 6 hours for word to spread that Blair had driven Ryan to the suicide attempt, that she'd badgered him and pushed him and accused him letting his brother die so he could be the soul heir to his adoptive mother's money. 6 hours from the moment Chuck and Nate froze in the hallway outside the Cohen Penthouse because of a gunshot from inside to the moment Blair walked up to school and found a ring of hateful glares directed towards her.
Nate had turned to Jenny, and Chuck to Vanessa, and the girls had done the rest, sending a copy of the viscious email Blair had sent Ryan, the one that said she was going to tell everyone that he was a car thief, and that he had just stood there while his biological brother shot and killed his adoptive brother. The one where she said everyone would know he was just trying to get all of his adoptive family's money for himself, and they would see him for who he was and get rid of him for good. The one that said everyone would be better off when he was gone.
There were notes of well wishes stuck on the walls around both schools, and the hateful glares continued through out the day, culminating with Blair being called into the headmistresses office and expelled for her actions.
But it was running into Chuck outside, waiting for her at the bottom of the steps, that destroyed her.
"You know, I've destroyed a lot of people, Blair, but none have ever deserved it as much as you do right now."
"Is he alright?" Blair asked, her voice cracking. "I never meant to..."
"You told him the world would be beter off if he was dead like his brother," Chuck said. "Please, tell me how else should I interpret that, Blair?"
"Just tell me, is he..."
"He sat down on his bed, with a picture of his family back before his brother died inhis free hand, and then he put a bullet through his skull," Chuck said coldly. "That's all you deserve to know." With that, he turned away to climb into his waiting car.
"Chuck!" Blair called. "Please!"
"He's alive," Chuck said, pausing with one hand clencing the doorframe. "He's not brain dead. He's breathing on his own."
"He'll be okay?"
"He wasn't okay before you did this to him," Chuck said, turning back. "Why would he be 'okay' now?"
Blair watched Chuck leave, vaguely hearing him tell the driver to take him back to the hospital, but not full aware as the full impact of what she'd done hit her. She had tried to destroy Ryan, tried to make everyone see that he wasn't one of them, instead she had destroyed herself, and this time she didn't think there was any way to come backfrom it.
12. i'll be the one to protect you from a will to survive and a voice of reason
It happened slowly, Ryan breaking down and not being able to keep hope that the Cohens were looking for him and would come. It took months, but that finally died and he gave up, not fighting Frank, not looking for a way to escape, not caring what happened around him.
It took almost a month afterwards for Frank to realize that he had gotten his son's presence and obedience, just like he'd wanted, but something was wrong. He tried yelling and screaming, but Ryan just sat there and passively listened, not arguing, not showing even a spark of defiance or any other emotion. He tried hitting his son, smacking him across the face so ahrd he fell from his chair and hit the floor with a crash, the links of chain around his ankle clinking together as they moved.
Ryan didn't even try to catch himself. Didn't make a sound except for the slight huff of the air leaving his lungs and a crack as his a bone broke.
Of all the things he'd done, it was this that Frank felt a twinge of regret over. He'd killed his wife. He'd kidnapped those other women, beaten them and killed them, dismembered their bodies and dumped them in the cellar. He'd killed that nosey sheriff.
But this, turning his son into an empty shell... that he regretted. That made him walk away, leaving Ryan on the floor, laying there limpl, even though his eyes were wide and staring, his chest rising and falling.
He even called the police himself, so they'd find Ryan before the boy just let himself starve to death.
13. i sleep all night right by your side, i love to hear your breathin', the morning light, opens my eyes, it's nearly time for leavin'
Ryan wished he could stay with Brooke forever, not just the occasional night, but he didn't have a choice. His marriage to Marissa had effectively been dead for a long time, since before he met Brooke, but he couldn't admit it to the public, too much was at stake for too many other people if he did. Julie had married a man with enough power to destroy the Cohens if he made her angry, and leaving Marissa would make her very angry. Hell, having an affair would make her very angry.
It didn't matter that Marissa screwed pretty much anyone male who she crossed paths with, and even a few women. Ryan was held to a higher standard, apparently. Marissa was born into money, so she could be a whore, but Ryan was suppose to be the loyal husband who never strayed, even after Marissa flew into a rage at him for flushing her pills down the toilet. Even when she had her lovers in their bed when he came home from work.
Even when one of her lovers beat him unconscious.
"Don't go," Brooke whispered, clasping Ryan's hand in her own.
"I have to," Ryan replied. "I should have left yesterday morning..."
"They know what's happening to you, and they aren't even trying to help you!" Brooke protested. "Kirsten told me to my face that she knows about us, and that I should end it before Marissa and Julie got really mad."
"Brooke..."
"I told her about what happened night before last. ABout how bad you were hurt, and she said it was your fault!" Brooke said. "They don't care about you, Ryan, so why the hell do you care about them?" She pulled him close again, careful of the bruises. "We'll run. You and me, we'll go somewhere that they will never find us, and we'll be happy."
"We'll be broke," Ryan pointed out.
"We'll be together."
Ryan hesitated, taking a deep breath, then nodding. "Okay," he whispered. "Okay."
Brooke smiled sadly and kissed him. "I packed bags yesterday. We just gotta toss them in my car and go."
Ryan nodded again. "Let's go," he agreed.
End Of Ficlets
Take a guess about what songs the titles came from! I tried to pick either obscure songs or at least lines that aren't part of the chorus and therefore won't be as memorable... lol... One song I couldn't find a lyric I liked better than one I think almost everyone will recognize, so... whatever. I think some of them are chellenges... lol
If anyone wants to know more about each universe, let me know! You guys know I love randomly babbling... lol If there's a universe you want more of, let me know and I may write more... I also ahve a playlist of the inspiration songs, and I'll upload a mix of the songs by the weekend if people want them...
Most of these are in brand new universes you guys either haven't seen, or have only seen a tiny glimpse of (Two are kind of part of the 'Orange Hill' Universe, along with '#3 - The Prom' in 5 Memborable First Dates Between Ryan And Brooke post a did a few weeks back). A couple are universes I've talked about, but either haven't written yet. A very few are connected to well established universes of mine, but aspects that aven't been explored, or at leats not in this way. In no cases should these ficlets be considered canon for any universe they appear in, they are just randomness I bored from various universes for... also, while I tried to make all the universes different, there's at leats two that are at least in a similiar universe if not the same one.
Some are mildly disturbing. Some are heartbreaking. Some are bittersweet. Some are hopeful. I do promise, however, that Ryan does not die in any of them. He may be hurt, he may come close to dying, but he DOES NOT DIE. Also, none are particularly graphic with violence or sex (actually there's no sex in any of these... lol) but there's some bad language.
Most are The OC fics, but there's one other fandom in there. I don't identify the fandom, but I'm pretty sure you guys will know what fandom it is... lol... especially since I tagged it... lol
1. maybe that's the way i should go...
"Oh my God," Mouth said. "Is that Ryan?"
The whole group turned, Brooke's mouth dropping open as she saw Ryan approaching, and Lucas staring in shock.
"Why didn't you tell us he was back?" Peyton asked.
"I didn't know," Lucas replied, locking eyes with his brother for a moment before Ryan looked away again. "I'll be right back," he said, jogging towards Ryan. "When did you get back, little brother?"
"Last night," Ryan replied.
"Why didn't you call?"
"Would you have answered?" Ryan said.
Lucas nodded. "Probably not," he admitted, looking away. "Are you back for good?"
"Haven't decided," Ryan said. "It kind of depends on whether anyone can forgive me."
"You don't need forgiveness," Lucas said. "It was an accident..."
"And Marissa died."
"That wasn't your fault."
"Tell Peyton that," Ryan said, gesturing back towards the group, where the blonde was glaring in their direction. "I was driving, so as far as this town is concerned, I'm the bad guy. No one cares about what really happened, all they care about is that the town delinquent killed the town princess."
"Not me."
"That's not what you said the night I left," Ryan replied. "Or did I imagine you yelling at me that I killed her and that I should have been the one in the ground?"
"Ry..."
"I get it Lucas, I burned my bridges, just like always. I guess it's a good thing I never really needed friends, because I'm right back where I was a year ago, when you and Blair were humiliating me for shits and giggles."
"I'm sorry."
"So am I," Ryan said, looking down. "But hey, I can live with being the villian, maybe that means everyone will just leave me the hell alone."
2. it was only one hour ago, it was all so different then...
Ryan walked out of Harbor, his shirt stained red with blood, and froze when he saw the Cohens watching anxiously behind the barriers. They spotted him and their faces filled with relief, before they seemed to realize Seth wasn't with him. He wanted to go to them, to have them wrap their arms around him and tell him it was okay, but he knew that wasn't what would happen.
No, he'd go to them, and he'd tell him that Seth was inside, laying on the hallway floor, that Seth had bled to death in Ryan's arms an hour ago, crying that he wanted his mom and dad, and they'd hate him for being the one who survived when their son died. He took a shuddering breath and walked over to them, trying to hold himself together. "I... he... I'm sorry," he finally whispered, his voice cracking.
Kirsten let out a strangled sob, then grabbed Ryan and pulled him into her arms, holding on tight, one hand clutching his shirt, the other cupping the back of his head, holding on like her life, or maybe his, depended on it. After a moment, Ryan felt Sandy's arms encircle them both, and let himself break, sobbing against Kirsten's shoulder.
~~~
Ryan ran. Even though he knew it didn't change anything, no matter how hard, fast, or far he ran, Seth would still be dead and buried. And he would still be the one who lived, who walked out of Harbor that day with barely a scratch on him, while a dozen kids died, including his brother.
He tried to keep it together, for Kirsten and Sandy's sakes, since they weren't handling it well. They pretended they were okay, they told him they were and they tried not to let him see them cry to often, but he had heard Kirsten crying at night, when they thought he was asleep, and he'd heard Sandy venomously hoping the shooter was burning in hell for what he did.
So Ryan tried to keep it together, tried to be strong, to hold the family together, and it was killing him inside.
So he ran, wishing he could run hard, fast, and far enough to escape everything.
And one day... he did. He didn't stop when he reached the pier, he didn't stop when the city petered out behind him, he didn't stop until his legs couldn't carry him anymore, and then he collapsed to his knees, fingers digging deep into the sand as sobs wracked his body.
Sobs for the brother who died because he stepped between Ryan and Oliver in the hallway.
3. so let in the morning light and let the darkness fade away
Brooke was angry and didn't want to give Lucas the bags of gift shop gifts, so she found another room, another person, to give the gifts to. It was complete chance that she walked into his room, the one room on the floor that had a patient but no visitors or flowers or balloons or anything to wish the sleeping boy well. She fixed that, though, setting up everything she'd bought for her lying cheater of a boyfriend around the room.
There was a groan from the bed, and She turned to look, her eyes meeting the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. "Hey," she whispered in greeting, smiling.
"Do I know you?" he asked.
"No," she replied. "I'm Brooke."
"Ryan."
"So, what's with the previously empty room?" Brooke asked, shifting a blue teddy bear on the bedside table.
"They took everything out after I threw a vase at my foster brother's head," Ryan replied.
"Huh," Brooke said. "Well, maybe they'll let you keep the soft stuff to throw at him instead."
Ryan smiled slightly. "Maybe."
"What're you in for, anyway?"
Ryan frowned, looking away. "I was in a car accident."
"Yeah?" Brooke said. "I'm suppose to be visiting my boyfriend, who was in a car accident, but I caught him getting a little oral rehab from my best friend. That's why you get his gifts, hot boy."
Ryan looked back towards her, raising an eyebrow and trying not to smile again. "Oh."
"How bad was your accident?"
Ryan shrugged. "It's been six weeks and I still can't feel anything below my waist," he said.
"Oh," Brooke said. "I... I'm sorry..."
"Not your fault."
"What about your family? Why aren't they..."
"Foster brother had a court date. Drunk driving and vehicular homicide because the driver in the car he hit didn't get off as lucky as me."
"So you were the passenger?"
"I got in to try and talk him into giving me the keys," Ryan said. "He hit the gas and went straight into traffic, and a truck smashed into the passenger side of our rover. I went through the windshield, the other driver was trapped, bleeding out, for 3 hours. Seth walked away with a bruise on his forehead, and that's it."
"Sounds like your brother is getting what he deserves."
"Maybe."
"You mind if I hang out with you for a while?" Brooke asked. "You'd be doing me a favor, because I will tear every strand of Peyton's curly blonde hair out of her head if I see her too soon."
"Yeah, you can stay," Ryan agreed.
Brooke smiled, then her eyes fell on a book on the shelf across the room. "What's this?" she asked, going to get it. "The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe?"
"My foster mom found my battered copy, she got me that expensive monstrosity," Ryan said. "It sounds stupid, but... when I'm having a bad day, painwise, she reads it to me an I get distracted enough for the pain meds to kick in."
"I think it's sweet that she does that," Brooke said. "I think Lucy grew up and became a animal rights activist," she added.
Ryan laughed. "You think she's blue haired and carrying a 'fur is murder' sign?" he asked.
"Hell no! Lucy would grow old gracefully and let her hair go grey or white," Brooke replied.
"You're right, I don't know what I was thinking," Ryan said.
4. when darkness turns to light, it ends tonight
Ben stepped out of the hospital as the sun came up, wondering why he'd sabotaged himself by staying there all night instead of going home to sleep. But it was morning, and he had gotten maybe 2 hours of fitful sleep all night and now he was back on duty in 3 hours. He scrubbed a hand over his face, heading for his car, and thumping the blue book against his thigh as he went.
He'd somehow, despite throwing up after seeing the rotting body, despite freaking out over shooting the gunman, managed to impress Cooper. He couldn't figure out how the hell he'd done it, and part of him kept saying it didn't matter how, just that he did. The other part wanted to know how he pulled it off so he could try not to fuck up that impression. He didn't want Cooper to seriously think he was some spoiled rich kid who felt guilty for being rich.
Yeah, he'd had a lot of luxury in his life, and a lot of stuff just handed to him, but he'd never felt like he was entitled to anything, and he sure as hell didn't feel guilty about the family he had. It wasn't his fault his parents had money, he didn't chose them. He'd taken advantage of the money on occasion when he was in high school, including hanging out with guys like Wade, even hanging out with Wade himself at a party once.
But when he got a little older, when he actually saw the world beyond the insulated one he had grown up in, he had grown up and realized that he didn't want to be another spoiled rich kid who thought he could do whatever the hell he wanted. He became a cop because he wanted to do something good with his life.
And no one was going to take that away from him.
5. if i could go back in time, i'd say the sweet words
Ryan slammed his fist into the wall over and over again, not noticing as his knuckles turned bloody. She was gone. She was gone and the last time they'd talked he hadn't told her that he loved her, he'd just said he'd talk to her later. He'd give her a quick kiss on the cheek, then run out to get to work on time.
He was a fucking cop. If one of them was gonna get killed, it should have been him. He was a fucking cop, he should be the one dead on a slab, not her. Not his beautiful, sweet, funny, and full of life Isabella.
"Fuck, kid!" Cooper yelled, grabbing Ryan's arm to pull him back from the wall. "She wouldn't want this!"
"She's dead, she doesn't fucking want anything!" Ryan replied.
"She would kick your ass for this, and you know it," Cooper said firmly. "Sit the fuck down and let me look at this."
"It should ahve been me," Ryan said.
"It should have been any of us," Cooper replied. "We're gonna find the son of a bitch that did this. We're gonna make him pay, trust me on that. The entire shift is out for blood."
"I just want her back."
"I know."
6. pour me a glass of wine, talk deep into the night, who knows what we'll find
"Seriously?" Ryan asked as he sat on the floor, leaning back against the couch and trying not to burst out laughing.
"Seriously," Brooke replied, downing a gulp of wine. "I stripped in the back seat of his car to get his attention and left my bra behidn so he'd have to talk to me again."
"You were a slut!" Ryan said, unable to keep from laughing this time.
"Yes, yes I was," Brooke said. "Come on, your turn, hot guy."
"My turn?" Ryan said, considering for a moment then gulping down his own wine. "Okay. When I was Junior in high school, I got stuck in a mall over night with some friends, and we played street hockey all over the main area."
"Street hockey?!" Brooke said, laughing.
"Yes, street hockey. Complete with goalie masks for all players involved. And then we slept in tents in the sporting goods store."
"Why couldn't I have known you in high school?"
"Opposite coasts," Ryan said. "Your turn again."
"Okay, let's see... Oh! When I was a junior, I worked a part time job as a lobster mascot for a restraunt."
"A lobster?"
"A lobster."
Ryan shook his head. "My turn, huh?"
"Uh-huh."
Ryan looked down at his empty glass, then grabbed the bottle and took a swig, much to Brooke's amusement. "When I was 18... my high school sweetheart died in my arms."
Brooke immediately sobered. "What?"
"Our relationship was always... volatile. And we'd been broken up for a while, during which she'd been seeing this other guy. But he cheated on her, and her and me were friends, so I was driving her to the airport to fly and meet her dad for some quality time. The guy she'd been seeing... he ran us off the road, and my truck caught on fire, and she... she died in my arms."
"Oh my god..."
"Yeah."
Brooke pulled the bottle from Ryan's hand and moved closer, putting an arm around him. "No more alchohol for you," she said.
"Good idea," Ryan agreed.
"It's 4am, there's no point in going back to our rooms to sleep when we won't actually get much before we've gotta get up again," Brooke said. "How about some coffee?"
"Sounds good."
7. i feel the dream in me expire and there’s no one left to blame it on
Ryan sat on his couch, staring at the bottle of booze he'd bought six hours earlier and been staring at since getting home.
Home. What a joke.
His last home had been with the Cohens, and it had been good while it lasted. Then came the Oliver mess, and the call from Marissa, and he'd stupidly gone by himself. He hadn't expected to find the door of the suite unlocked, or hear a gunshot as he walked in. He hadn't expected to run into the bedroom and see Marissa laying naked on the bed, her face obliterated from the close up gunshot. He hadn't expected to see Oliver with the gun, but he'd reacted on instinct, tackling the boy and struggling with him for the gun, hitting him a few times before he managed to grab the gun adn wrench it away, holding Oliver at gunpoint as he reached for his phone to call the police. To call Sandy.
Except hotel security arrived first, Sandy in tow. And Oliver sobbed that Ryan had caught him and marissa together and killed her, then tried to kill him.
Security believed Oliver. The Police believed Oliver. The Prosecutors beleived Oliver. The Jury believed Oliver.
Hell, even Sandy and Kirsten and Seth believed Oliver.
15 years into a life sentence, Oliver was arrested for killing a girl who'd rejected him, and he'd gloated to the arresting officer that he got away with murdering the last girl to reject him and sent his competition to jail for the death, too.
Ryan lost half his life, lost his only chance for a good future, lost everything.
Sandy had been there when he'd been released, but Ryan had walked right past him, ignoring the man's pleas for him to come to dinner so they could 'talk'.
Ryan didn't want to be like his father and his brother. He didn't want to let his world become about the booze and drugs, but as he sat in his apartment, contemplating the bottle in front of him, he wanted to drown in it. He wanted to forget 15 years of hell. He hadn't exactly been a naive kid when he'd been locked up, but Trey had protected him from a lot of the bad stuff in the world, stuff that hadn't seemed to exist in Newport, so he hadn't been prepared for prison.
He hadn't been prepared at all.
With a sigh, Ryan got up and grabbed the bottle, shoving it unopened into the back of a cabinet, hiding it in the corner behind the box of cereal.
He wans't like his parents and his brother. He would find a way to live that didn't involve becoming them.
8. this one was the last one, i don't remember how, but I remember blood and rain
He never really remembered the accident. He knew he'd been in the rover with Kirsten, driving her to an AA meeting because Sandy was busy with The Newport Group. He knew she'd stood up at the meeting and called him her son, saying that she may have decided to get help because of her biological son, but she was fighting so hard to stay sober because Ryan deserved more from a mom than what she had been giving him while she was drinking.
He knew that before they got in the car, he'd hugged her and told her she was a good mom. Then he'd gotten behind the wheel and she'd climbed in the passenger side and it had started to rain.
He knew he was driving carefully because of the rain, slow and alert. But he must have missed something because Kirsten screamed and then...
Then there was nothing.
He woke up in the hospital 3 days later, Kirsten holding vigil by his bedside even as she sat in a wheelchair, a gauze pad taped to her forehead. She said another driver ahd lsot control and crashed into them. That she'd gotten a cuncussion and broken wrist, but he'd been pinned in the rover and lost a lot of blood before they got the car door open nearly two hours later. That his heart had stopped right after they opened the door. That his left leg had been crushed, almost severed, by the twisted frame of the car. That they'd had to put on a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Then she told him that they'd had to amputate the leg because of the combination fo the damage and the tourniquet.
Sometimes, usually when he felt pain in his no longer there leg, he could close his eyes and remember the warm sticky feeling of his blood as it coated his lower body. He could feel the rain falling heavily through the smashed windshield, and he would shiver from it.
But he could never remember the accident itself.
9. you're just in sight, will you save my life again?
Ryan struggled with his seatbelt, trying to get it free as the water flooded into the car. He was starting to panic, his eyes continually drawn to Marissa as she lay slumped in the passenger seat, oblivious to the water as she stared with wide, dead, eyes. He let out a strangled sob as he tugged again, the water up to his shoulders and rising faster all the time.
Then he heard it, a thump on the window, and he looked up to see Lucas outside the car, trying to smash the glass with something. Finally, the glass gave way, flooding in just as Ryan took one last gulp of air. Lucas tugged at the seatbelt, tugged at Ryan, but couldn't get him free. After several long seconds, Ryan's lungs burning as he wondered how Lucas could still be alright without air, Lucas grabbed his chin, looking him straight in the eyes and squeezing for a moment before pushing bakc and disappearing.
Ryan wanted to scream, beg Lucas to come back, to not leave him in the car to die, but he couldn't hold his breath any longer, not when he began to be overwhelmed with panic, tuggign at the seatbelt frantically until his vision began to black out and he stilled.
~~~
Lucas burst up onto the surface, taking a deep breath of air and looking up at the bridge but not seeing anyone besides his Haley and Nathan. "I can't get him out!" he yelled up to them before taking another deep breath and diving back down. As he got to the car and reached inside, his eyes went wide with panic at the sight of his little brother, still in the water. He started tugging, desperate, only to be shoved aside by Nathan, who had a knife and sliced through the belt, allowing them to haul Ryan out of the car and up tot he surface.
"He's not breathing!" Nathan yelled to Haley as they tugged Ryan up onto the shore and began CPR.
~~~
Ryan's lungs were burning and his chest was aching, but suddenly he could breath, and as he coughed, gagging as he expelled the water from his lungs, he realized Lucas was the one steadying him, telling him it was okay, that he was okay. But it wasn't okay. "Marrissa..." he managed to rasp out. "She was..."
"Oh god..." Nathan said before turning and running back towards the water again.
But Lucas stayed, holding Ryan steady and thumping him on the back as he kept coughing up water, the sounds of ambulances growing closer by the second.
10. i pretend to be everything they like, i've been here before, i've seen you before
Ryan was always a quick learner, and Rosewood was no different. He knew that if he ever wanted out of this hospital, he had to play their game and do what they wanted, be who they wanted. So, he played along. He let them think that he'd accepted that he'd hallucinated seeign Caleb shooting Sandy. That he'd confused a fight between the men earlier int he night with the fite between Sandy and the unknown intruder.
But he knew that was bull. He knew it was Caleb who'd shot Sandy at the Newport Group Offices. Ryan had been right there, walking down the hall after going to grap something that Sandy had forgotten in the car, and hoping that Kirsten liked the insane surprise Sandy had convinced Ryan to help him with, a couple dozen roses in all shades, placed all over her office. But as he'd walekd towards Kirsten's office, he ehard the raised voices, then the gunshot. he saw Sandy suddenly fall tot he ground, half out of the office, and froze, hidden int he shadows.
He saw Caleb step out and sneer down at Sandy before wiping the gun clean with a handkerchief and dropping it in the hall, leisurely walking away.
No one wanted to believe that though. Caleb ahd even pretended to be concerned for Ryan's sanity, so noble considering what he was being accused of by the boy.
Ryan played the hospital's game, though. He 'accepted' his delusions, he 'apologized' for blaming Caleb, and he cried about the fact that they'd never catch whoever it was, because he couldn't remember their faces.
But that only lasted as long as it took to get released.
Ryan stood over Caleb's body, gun still in hand, as the old man took shuddering breaths, blood bubbling at his lips. "Admit you did it," he whispered to the man.
"He was going to destroy my family," Caleb replied, coughing as blood choked him.
"And?"
"I shot him," Caleb admitted. "Please... I need an ambulance..."
Ryan stared down at him coldly and aimed the gun again. "Go to hell," he said before pulling the trigger. This time when they locked him up, at least he'd actually done something worthy of it.
11. there's a space kept in hell with your name on the seat, with a spike in the chair just to make it complete
No had expected the kid from Chino to be the one who toppled Queen B for good, but in the end, that's how it happened.
Blair hadn't counted on how many people had come to like Ryan Atwood in the few months he'd been in New York. She also hadn't counted on Chuck, of all people, siding with the Chino scum over her when the chips fell, but he did and that's how her life completely fell apart. Because Chuck knew things even Serena didn't, and he used every single one of them to hurt her in revenge.
It took less than 6 hours for word to spread that Blair had driven Ryan to the suicide attempt, that she'd badgered him and pushed him and accused him letting his brother die so he could be the soul heir to his adoptive mother's money. 6 hours from the moment Chuck and Nate froze in the hallway outside the Cohen Penthouse because of a gunshot from inside to the moment Blair walked up to school and found a ring of hateful glares directed towards her.
Nate had turned to Jenny, and Chuck to Vanessa, and the girls had done the rest, sending a copy of the viscious email Blair had sent Ryan, the one that said she was going to tell everyone that he was a car thief, and that he had just stood there while his biological brother shot and killed his adoptive brother. The one where she said everyone would know he was just trying to get all of his adoptive family's money for himself, and they would see him for who he was and get rid of him for good. The one that said everyone would be better off when he was gone.
There were notes of well wishes stuck on the walls around both schools, and the hateful glares continued through out the day, culminating with Blair being called into the headmistresses office and expelled for her actions.
But it was running into Chuck outside, waiting for her at the bottom of the steps, that destroyed her.
"You know, I've destroyed a lot of people, Blair, but none have ever deserved it as much as you do right now."
"Is he alright?" Blair asked, her voice cracking. "I never meant to..."
"You told him the world would be beter off if he was dead like his brother," Chuck said. "Please, tell me how else should I interpret that, Blair?"
"Just tell me, is he..."
"He sat down on his bed, with a picture of his family back before his brother died inhis free hand, and then he put a bullet through his skull," Chuck said coldly. "That's all you deserve to know." With that, he turned away to climb into his waiting car.
"Chuck!" Blair called. "Please!"
"He's alive," Chuck said, pausing with one hand clencing the doorframe. "He's not brain dead. He's breathing on his own."
"He'll be okay?"
"He wasn't okay before you did this to him," Chuck said, turning back. "Why would he be 'okay' now?"
Blair watched Chuck leave, vaguely hearing him tell the driver to take him back to the hospital, but not full aware as the full impact of what she'd done hit her. She had tried to destroy Ryan, tried to make everyone see that he wasn't one of them, instead she had destroyed herself, and this time she didn't think there was any way to come backfrom it.
12. i'll be the one to protect you from a will to survive and a voice of reason
It happened slowly, Ryan breaking down and not being able to keep hope that the Cohens were looking for him and would come. It took months, but that finally died and he gave up, not fighting Frank, not looking for a way to escape, not caring what happened around him.
It took almost a month afterwards for Frank to realize that he had gotten his son's presence and obedience, just like he'd wanted, but something was wrong. He tried yelling and screaming, but Ryan just sat there and passively listened, not arguing, not showing even a spark of defiance or any other emotion. He tried hitting his son, smacking him across the face so ahrd he fell from his chair and hit the floor with a crash, the links of chain around his ankle clinking together as they moved.
Ryan didn't even try to catch himself. Didn't make a sound except for the slight huff of the air leaving his lungs and a crack as his a bone broke.
Of all the things he'd done, it was this that Frank felt a twinge of regret over. He'd killed his wife. He'd kidnapped those other women, beaten them and killed them, dismembered their bodies and dumped them in the cellar. He'd killed that nosey sheriff.
But this, turning his son into an empty shell... that he regretted. That made him walk away, leaving Ryan on the floor, laying there limpl, even though his eyes were wide and staring, his chest rising and falling.
He even called the police himself, so they'd find Ryan before the boy just let himself starve to death.
13. i sleep all night right by your side, i love to hear your breathin', the morning light, opens my eyes, it's nearly time for leavin'
Ryan wished he could stay with Brooke forever, not just the occasional night, but he didn't have a choice. His marriage to Marissa had effectively been dead for a long time, since before he met Brooke, but he couldn't admit it to the public, too much was at stake for too many other people if he did. Julie had married a man with enough power to destroy the Cohens if he made her angry, and leaving Marissa would make her very angry. Hell, having an affair would make her very angry.
It didn't matter that Marissa screwed pretty much anyone male who she crossed paths with, and even a few women. Ryan was held to a higher standard, apparently. Marissa was born into money, so she could be a whore, but Ryan was suppose to be the loyal husband who never strayed, even after Marissa flew into a rage at him for flushing her pills down the toilet. Even when she had her lovers in their bed when he came home from work.
Even when one of her lovers beat him unconscious.
"Don't go," Brooke whispered, clasping Ryan's hand in her own.
"I have to," Ryan replied. "I should have left yesterday morning..."
"They know what's happening to you, and they aren't even trying to help you!" Brooke protested. "Kirsten told me to my face that she knows about us, and that I should end it before Marissa and Julie got really mad."
"Brooke..."
"I told her about what happened night before last. ABout how bad you were hurt, and she said it was your fault!" Brooke said. "They don't care about you, Ryan, so why the hell do you care about them?" She pulled him close again, careful of the bruises. "We'll run. You and me, we'll go somewhere that they will never find us, and we'll be happy."
"We'll be broke," Ryan pointed out.
"We'll be together."
Ryan hesitated, taking a deep breath, then nodding. "Okay," he whispered. "Okay."
Brooke smiled sadly and kissed him. "I packed bags yesterday. We just gotta toss them in my car and go."
Ryan nodded again. "Let's go," he agreed.
End Of Ficlets
Take a guess about what songs the titles came from! I tried to pick either obscure songs or at least lines that aren't part of the chorus and therefore won't be as memorable... lol... One song I couldn't find a lyric I liked better than one I think almost everyone will recognize, so... whatever. I think some of them are chellenges... lol
If anyone wants to know more about each universe, let me know! You guys know I love randomly babbling... lol If there's a universe you want more of, let me know and I may write more... I also ahve a playlist of the inspiration songs, and I'll upload a mix of the songs by the weekend if people want them...
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Date: 2009-04-16 12:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-17 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 01:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 09:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 09:41 pm (UTC)Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of country music on the list. :)
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Date: 2009-04-16 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 09:30 pm (UTC)And #9 is the same universe as #1, and when you combine them you see that yeah, Ryan's hurting and broken, and yeah Lucas was viscious and cruel in blaming Ryan before Ryan left, but Lucas was TERRIFIED when Ryan was trapped, he was DESPERATE to save his brother and didn't even see Marissa because he loved his brother and wanted to save him... and Lucas clearly regrets his past visciousness, because he DOES love Ryan, no matter what.
And #13! Yeah, Ryan's sort of broken and trapped, but in the end he choices himself over the manipulative people in his life, and he's gonna go wtih Brooke and yeah, it'll be tough, but they'll be together and they'll be okay...
Sorry... ::sheepish smile:: I'm justifing, I know, but... but... there's hope in some of these! lol
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Date: 2009-04-16 09:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 07:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-17 12:00 am (UTC)I also only recognized It ends Tonight lol.
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Date: 2009-04-17 01:41 am (UTC)so glad you put these stories up especially the gossip girl crossover one the one with ryan trapped in a house ah what the heck I loved them all. For the gossip girl one is that the same universe as the other stories because in those I though Oliver killed Seth. I know you have a lot on your plate and hope eventually you will continue all the stories because they are each good in their own way. Ps is nathan related to ryan in the one tree hill story
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Date: 2009-04-17 02:11 am (UTC)I don't really know if Nathan and Ryan are related in that universe... I haven't decided... although sicne my idea was that Dan Scott is Ryan and Lucas' shared parents, it would so make sense for there to be a THIRD brother because Dan is just that kind of ass... lol...
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Date: 2009-04-17 01:06 pm (UTC)All of these were lovely, thanks for sharing :D
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Date: 2009-04-17 09:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-18 02:18 am (UTC)