Title: The Sky Went Black
Author: Heath07
Rating: R -language, sexuality
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the people at FOX and the wonderful Josh Schwartz.
Summary: Sequel to "Filament and Flash bulbs." (It would probably be a good thing to read that fic first.) Summer went back to Newport. Ryan stayed in Chino. What happens when they see each other again?
Feedback: Always appreciated. ;)
Notes: I didn't think it would take me this long to start the sequel, but it did. And, well, here it is. Heh.
Chapter 1
Summer Roberts had been rebelling her whole life. It just so happened that no one had taken the time to notice until her sixteenth birthday...
Being tracked down by her father's secretary in a strip mall and having her ass hauled back to Newport Beach was not the embarrassing part. That she could deal with. The realization that she could have avoided all of it had she not been so stupid? That was the part that really smarted. Credit cards were the devil's play things.
It was a hot night in August when her life had changed. That long night spread to another day and in those two days her entire perspective on the world and the people in it had collapsed. Because she'd met a boy. Ryan wasn't just any boy, though; in fact, he was more of a man than anything... And he'd changed her idea of what was valuable in this world.
She was getting the hell out of Newport and out from under her step-monster's drug-hazed scrutiny and going to the one place where she didn't have to pretend to be anything she wasn't. She was on her way to see Ryan.
It had been three months. Long enough for anyone to forget her, but she harboured hope that their connection had been real. She, at least, had not forgotten him or the way he made her feel. This time she'd planned more thoroughly, more wisely. Money her father gave her for clothes, tanning and entertainment had all been stashed away for this very moment.
When she'd gotten back, for once in her life her Father had begun to pay attention...that lasted a week. Then he got bored. Sixteen-year-old girls just didn't have a lot in common with fifty-three-year-old plastic surgeons. Well, that was untrue. But since Summer was fairly happy with her body and had never considered a nose job or any other form of plastic surgery, that pretty much solidified their total lack of common ground. Maybe if Summer were grotesque, or one of her boobs were bigger than the other, her father would take a larger interest in her life. Not that she wanted her dad anywhere near her boobs... 'Cause? Eww! She supposed she should resent him for that, but she didn't have it in her anymore. Her thoughts were consumed with escape. There was an entire world out there that she didn't know existed until Ryan showed her. And she wanted to see it all. With him.
The comfort of her new BMW was a welcome change from the mode of transportation Summer had first used to get to Chino. If she never got on a bus again it would be too soon. Traffic thinned out as she headed down the stretch of road that was going to lead her to Ryan's home.
She'd thought about Ryan a lot over the past few months. Wondering how he was... If he thought about her... It was a stupid mistake not to get to know him better, to at least get a phone number or something. Summer had tried to look it up in the phone book, but the number was unlisted and her step-mother had taken a latent interest in what she did while she was at home. It was like being under house arrest. Every room she went into her step-mother seemed to follow. She supposed her father had put her up to it. Anything to get more pills.
It was at school that Summer had begun to plot her escape. She'd even preregistered at Chino High using the name on her fake I.D. It was easy to remember. Only her last name was different and some of her birth information. Summer Stephens. So it wasn't that original. She'd practised using her new name in front of the mirror until she could say it without missing a beat.
Summer pulled into the driveway of the familiar house. At the end of the drive, there was something big and bulky covered under a tarp. It was difficult to see in the dark. Keeping the motor running, the headlights illuminated it, piquing her curiosity. Getting out of the car, Summer stepped up to the curious item and pulled at the green covering. Underneath her fingers found cool metal. Instantly, she knew what it was. Ryan's motorcycle. Lifting the material away, she examined the bike. The chrome was shiny and felt smooth under her fingers. Closing her eyes, Summer remembered being on the back of the bike, clutching onto Ryan with the wind in her hair and a weightlessness flowing through her body. Smiling faintly, she covered it back up and walked back to the car, cutting the engine.
The night was cool, the October air smelling faintly of rotting wildflowers from the overgrown garden. The porch steps creaked a little under Summer's weight. The house was in darkness.
Maybe Ryan was asleep.
She felt her pulse speed up, her heart skip. Taking in a breath, she knocked on the door. There was no response. After she'd tried again a few times, she felt lost. This time, she'd come with a plan. She just hadn't anticipated that Ryan wouldn't be around to take her in.
Looking around the empty, quiet street, Summer wasn't sure what to do. Standing in place, something on the lawn caught her attention. Squinting through the darkness, she realized it was a 'For Sale' sign hammered into the ground. Her stomach dropped.
Glad that she'd had the sense to wear a sweater, Summer wrapped her arms around herself and sunk into a chair beside the door. She rocked back and forth. What if Ryan was gone? What was she going to do now? The chair held her in its rusty arms, wobbling as she shivered against the light wind.
The tears came without notice and not until one slid down her cheek did she realize that she was crying. Why did Chino always have this effect on her?
Everything had depended on coming here and reuniting with Ryan. She hadn't really even considered that Ryan wouldn't be around anymore.
He'd promised her.
Summer took in a shaky breath. It had just occurred to her that she really didn't know him at all. It wasn't the first time a man had lied to her and it probably wouldn't be the last.
Ryan felt numb. Due in part to the half-a-dozen beers he'd consumed since walking through the door. It wasn't his nature to drink so much. Usually, he just had one or two with the boys after work, but tonight he felt all the pressure that had been consuming him for the past few months come crashing down on him.
He spent his nights watching the door at The Hole- no, wait, it had been renamed Rhythm and Brews by some out of state yuppie looking to fix up the joint and make it more hip. Ryan still hadn't gotten used to it. This was the very place where he had first set eyes on Summer. The very place he hoped to run into her again. Most nights he nursed a beer while enduring taunts from Layla and the rest of the guys. Sure, he knew the chances of Summer walking through the door were slim, but that didn't mean that it couldn't happen.
After one month had gone by, followed by another, Ryan's hope began to disintegrate. But Summer had sworn that she would run away again and the earnestness with which she'd said it and the determination in her eyes, had convinced him that she would. Now, though, he just wanted to forget about her. She was probably on a beach somewhere laughing about the poor guy in Chino she'd snowed over. Ryan shook his head. Summer wasn't like that. There had to be a reason she didn't come back. Still, he knew he was kidding himself if he expected her to walk through those doors after all this time.
Ryan felt a hand on his shoulder. He'd been too distracted to hear anyone approach.
"Hey, Ryan. Haven't seen you around here much."
Ryan looked up and met the eyes of Adelina Ramirez --a girl he occasionally saw during a dry spell. Her big, brown eyes were full of promises.
He sighed, it had been so easy to take a girl home before he'd met Summer. So easy to allow himself to get lost and caught up in the pleasure and to never have to think of tomorrow or of commitment. But now, things were different. He hadn't gotten laid in over three months. He could track it back to the exact day Summer stepped into his life and made him believe he was worth more than a one-night stand.
"Hey, Lina." He used his old pet name for her. "Been busy."
Picking up his beer, Ryan took a long pull, barely tasting the liquid as it slipped down his throat. He set it back down, shifting his weight.
Adelina's hand moved from his shoulder and slid down his arm, touching the skin where his work shirt ended. She moved her fingers up and down, raising the hairs on his arms. It had been too long without the touch of a woman. "So, you maybe wanna hang out tonight? It's been a long time since we... Well, you know."
Christ. Ryan knew he should just say no, get up and walk away. But three months was a long time to go without sex. And, despite all Lina's flaws, she had always been good in the sack. Forget that he'd called it off after she'd started to get too attached and mistook their sexual relations for an actual relationship.
Could he do this? Could he go back to the guy he used to be before Summer had turned his world upside down? It would be so easy to revert back to his old habits, simply give in. In Summer's eyes he was a stand-up guy and as much as he hated being mislabeled he wanted to be that guy, a hero...at least to her.
But three months was three months. And Summer wasn't coming back. He had to accept that. Ryan could use some release. A chance to forget, if just for a little while.
The debts kept accumulating and Ryan was in over his head. He'd gotten a call from his mother a month back and wasn't surprised to learn that she'd found herself a new boyfriend and had no intentions of coming back. After Trey got busted and sent to jail, there wasn't much point in keeping up the house payments. The best thing to do was to sell the house and get what he could out of it. Possibly start his own life fresh. Seventeen years on this earth and he already had the responsibilities of someone twice his age. At least Randy, his boss at the shop, had given him an opportunity. Letting Ryan apprentice as a mechanic after he'd gotten busted trying to boost a car was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
He picked up his beer from the dirty table -despite the new sign outside, things were still pretty much the same on the inside. Ryan drained the bottle and stood. "Let's go," he said and led her out the door.
He was almost thankful the motorcycle had broken down. Because he certainly wouldn't be able to drive like this. It was a good thing Adelina had her own car.
Ryan got into the passenger's seat and strapped on the seatbelt. The car was old and the motor hummed a little too loudly for there not to be a problem. Adelina settled into her seat, putting on her own seatbelt. One hand went to the steering wheel, the other landed on Ryan's thigh. Maybe after everything was over he'd take a look under the hood for little Miss Ramirez. It was the least he could do.
Unrolling his window for much needed air, Ryan took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. The wind rushed over him, cooling his face and helping his stomach settle. From the moment he'd gotten into the car, he'd had a bad feeling.
Adelina was nibbling on his ear and unbuttoning his greasy work shirt even before they made it onto the porch. Forgetting was going to be easy tonight.
A noise to his left drew his attention. He looked, blinked and then blinked again, not believing what he saw.
The first thing he said was from the thrill he got of seeing his Princess on his doorstep waiting for him. The second thing? he probably should have put more thought into. "Summer?! Fuck!"