Safe With You || Seth Cohen

||44||

"He's got his own place, he's out of our lives. Why can't you let him go?" Ryan asked me and I stiffened.

"He's our brother. I can't just 'let him go.' And I know that you can't either."

"Ally, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't condescend me, Ryan. In case you've forgotten, I lived with Trey my entire life too. I know how he is, and I also know that he's changing. So I'm willing to give him a chance. Why can't you?"

Ryan and I glared at each other for a moment before he scoffed. "I can't do this." He said before walking away.

I rolled my eyes and turned to Seth and Marissa, who looked concerned.

"What?" I asked.

"It's weird, the two of you never fight." Seth told me and I sighed. "Well, there's a first time for everything. Come on, we should get to class."

~~~~
I stood outside Trey's apartment with Marissa. I'd told her I was going to visit him and she wanted to come with me. She and I bought Trey a lava lamp as a housewarming gift.

Trey opened the door and looked surprised to see us there.

"Hey."

"Marissa. Ally." Trey said in surprise and I smiled.

"Hey, Trey. We brought you a little something." I told him, handing him the bag with the lava lamp inside.

"We figured this place could use a little sprucing up." Marissa told him.

"Wow, a lava lamp. That's great." Trey remarked, looking in the bag.

"Ryan wanted to come but he had this thing after school." Marissa lied and I glanced over at her.

"Uh-huh." Trey stated, not believing her.

I glanced back at Trey and he opened the door more. "Come in."

Marissa and I walked in and I noticed the apartment was very empty except for a yellow bean bag in the corner of the living room.

"I still haven't bought chairs and tables and stuff." Trey told us.

"Nice bean bag." Marissa said with a smile and I grinned at Trey.

"I remember you always used to talk about how much you wanted one."

Trey laughed and nodded. "Yeah I know it's a stupid first thing to buy, but like Ally said, I've always wanted one. It's kind of an early birthday present to myself."

It was then I realized. Treys birthday was Saturday. How could I have forgotten?

"When's your birthday?" Marissa asked him.

"Saturday. The big two one, though after being in prison, being able to buy beer feels a little anticlimactic." Trey told her and I smiled.

"Um, do you two want something to drink? Except I just have one glass."

"No, that's okay. I should probably get going, but I'll see you later." Marissa told him.

I nodded too. "Yeah, I'll see you later, Trey. Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks again." Trey told the two of us as we left the apartment.

~~~~
I walked into the kitchen the next day to see Seth and Ryan already in there. I avoided Ryan's eyes and walked straight over to Seth.

"Good morning." I told him, kissing him on the cheek. "Good morning." He replied, looking between Ryan and I nervously.

I walked over to the cabinet and made a bowl of cereal, pointedly ignoring Ryan as I did. It was only after a few minutes of silence that Ryan finally sighed.