I walked into the kitchen and walked over to the bowl where the bagels were usually kept. I reached in for one, but pulled my hand back when the bowl was empty.
I turned and glanced at Hailey, who had a plate of bagels and a large glass of orange juice and was reading the newspaper.
Sandy walked in then, looking for a bagel but I shook my head at him. He turned and glared at Hailey as well. Ryan and Seth both came in, each looking for a glass of orange juice and fhs newspaper, both of which Hailey had.
The four of us all glared at Hailey, who was completely oblivious of us as she had headphones in. Kirsten walked in and gestured for us to follow her from the kitchen.
"She's eating us out of house and home!" Sandy whispered.
"Sandy, it's just a bagel." Kirsten whispered back.
"No, no, it's never just a bagel." Sandy told her, which I nodded along to. Funny how fond I'd become of bagels seeing as I'd never had one before moving here.
"Mom, as someone who's basically been a shut-in his whole life I can say with perfect authority that that woman never leaves the house!" Seth told Kirsten, gesturing to Hailey.
"She's got nowhere else to go."
"Yeah, because all her friends wanna kick her ass. Oh, sorry for the language." I added quickly.
"Don't be. I'd like to kick her ass." Sandy told me, making me grin.
"Kirsten!" Hailey yelled from the kitchen. The four of us groaned and rolled our eyes.
"Coming!" Kirsten yelled back cheerily.
"There's no more coffee, will you make some? The good French kind, not the harvest blend!" Hailey called, to which Sandy shook his head and mouthed 'no' repeatedly.
"I'll talk to her." Kirsten promised Sandy.
"Oh, that means I'll have to survive on English muffins." Sandy called as he walked off.
I followed after as Seth did, going to get dressed for school. I got dressed and grabbed my bag, going to the pool house and finding Seth already there.
"Marissa? Marissa, hello! She's gotta be here somewhere!" Seth called and Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Hilarious."
"Yeah, kay listen to me. Hailey is always in fhe living room and Marissa is always here. What happened to good old Seth-Ryan quality time?"
"Seth-Ryan quality time? Spend time with my sister." Ryan stated, making me laugh.
I looked up as Marissa walked in, grinning widely. We had been riding to school with her since Ryan and her starting dating.
"Hey, you all ready to go?"
"Hey, Marissa." I greeted with a smile.
Ryan walked over to Marissa, smiling at her.
"Oh wait, you forgot your balls!" Seth called to him and I smacked him on the shoulder.
"Whatever, Cohen, like Ally doesn't keep yours in her purse." Marissa snapped and I laughed.
~~~~
The day of school passed pretty quickly and soon I was walking outside with Ryan and Seth.
We reached the parking lot and saw Luke examining his truck.
"Hey man, what's going on?" Ryan asked him as we walked up to him.
"I've got a flat tire."
"Did you run over a nail or something?" I asked, leaning down and looking, then stood up.
"No, somebody slashed it." Luke told me.
"Hey, you want some help?" Ryan asked him.
"Thanks, I got a spare in the back." Luke told him.
"Hey, Luke, why doesn't your dad help with that tire, I'm sure he'd like to bend over!" A guy called as he walked past.
"Screw you!" I called to him, making the guys look at me in shock.
"What, you know I have rage issues." I told them casually.
"New Year's resolution, why don't we all punch people less?" Luke suggested.
"Yeah I had the same one." Ryan told him.
"Doubt it lasts." Seth muttered.
"You think I'm getting what I deserve? All those years of being a jackass?"
"Definitely." Ryan, Seth and I said at the same time.
"But do you wanna get out of here? The tire can wait." Ryan told him.
"That sounds terrific."
~~~~
I stood with Seth and Ryan as we watched Luke play a video game.
I could tell Seth wasn't too happy about Luke hanging around, especially since all of the hell he'd caused him growing up.
"Hey, Cohen check out the replay on this tackle! I broke this bitch in half!" Luke called, to which Seth cringed and I elbowed him.
"He's having a bad day, come on!"
"Can't wait to see it buddy!" Seth called back, way too enthusiastic.
"Happy?" He asked turning to me, making me smile.
"Ecstatic."
I walked in with Seth and sat with him on the couch. It was a little boring watching Luke play games but I felt bad enough for him to put up with it.
"Hey, how do you guys feel about Moroccan?" Ryan called to us.
I glanced at Seth and shrugged. Anything to get away from this video game.
~~~
We went to Marissa's friend Oliver's hotel, which he lived at. He and Marissa apparently had therapy together.
We all sat in a circle on the floor around the food except for the host himself. I looked up as Oliver came and sat down between Marissa and I. I saw Ryan's eyes narrow and so did Seth's.
I rolled mine at their jealous behavior. "Where's the silverware?" Ryan spoke up.
"No man, Moroccan you eat with your hands." Oliver told him, in a tone that implied it was obvious.
"Well, we didn't eat a lot of Moroccan growing up." I told him in my fake nicest voice ever.
Oliver glanced over at me. "You're Ryan's sister, right?"
"How'd you guess?" I asked him sarcastically and he rolled his eyes at me before turning to Marissa. I decided then I didn't like this guy.
"How good is the cous cous?"
"It's amazing." Marissa told him.
"Yeah, it's pretty good." Ryan added.
"No, that's that's the kefta, cous cous is the other thing." Oliver said dismissively, which pissed me off, especially as I saw Ryan looked uncomfortable.
"Dude, I can't believe you live in a penthouse." Seth told Oliver.
"Yeah, it's always been my fantasy to live in a hotel like Eloise." Marissa chimed.
"Oh well, I guess, but uh, my parents travel a lot and it can get kinda lonely." Oliver stated.
"Hey, man if you ever need any company-" Seth said, gesturing to himself. I rolled my eyes slightly. I'd have to warn Seth away from Oliver.
"Thanks, cause you know they might be gone for a while, they're opening a new hotel in Paris."
"I love Paris." Marissa stated, making Ryan look over at her.
"Me too." Seth stated and I glanced at him.
"You've been?" I asked.
"Once for vacation with my grandad."
"You two ever been to Paris?" Oliver asked Ryan and I, making me narrow my eyes at him.
"No, we haven't, but I hear the Louvres cool." Ryan told him.
"Oh, do not go near that place man. Totally overrated. Now the Rodin museum and the Musee Picasso.. amazing." Oliver bragged.
I met Ryan's eyes and grinned as he rolled his eyes as if to say, this guy.
"But you know where my family's been spending most of their time.. Switzerland. Snowboarding the alps is unreal."
"You boarded the alps? Man, the closest I've came is Whistler." Luke spoke up, clearly impressed.
"Oh, my family's got a place there. We should go one weekend." Oliver suggested.
"Hey, you think you could teach Ryan and Ally to board?" Marissa asked.
"Yeah, if you can get them on a chair lift." Seth stated and I slapped him on the arm. "Thanks babe."
"Babe?" Oliver asked in surprise and I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Something shocking, Oliver?" I asked him and he shrugged.
"No, not really."
"That's what I thought." I said lowly, but loud enough for Oliver to hear. He glared at me momentarily and I smirked. Oh, yeah, we were going to get along fine.
Oliver leaned over and turned up the radio.
"Oh, I love this song." Marissa said with a grin.
"You know they're playing tomorrow." Oliver told her.
"Yeah, but it's all sold out." Seth corrected him.
"I'll call their manager tomorrow.. they're amazing live."
"You know Rooney?" Marissa asked him.
"That would be awesome." Seth said with a grin, looking over at me. I quickly looked away, not wanting to ruin his enthusiasm.
"I've never heard of him, but I got nothing so I'll go." Luke stated.
"Ryan? Ally?" Oliver asked, looking at me, then Ryan.
I glanced at Ryan and we shared a look.
"It'll be fun, we'll all get to hang out." Seth urged.
"Yeah, sure." I said half-heartedly, and Ryan nodded as well.
"Alright then, it's settled. We're going." Oliver said.
~~~~
The next morning I sat by Seth at the table eating breakfast when Ryan walked in.
"Hey, now you two are using silverware. Next thing I know I'll see you at the Louvre." Ryan joked, making me laugh.
"No you won't because like Oliver said, it sucks." Seth stated, making me jab him.
"What was that for?"
"Don't praise that little son of a-" I was cut off by Seth.
"Whoa, what did Oliver do to you?"
"Nothing. I'm just not kissing his ass like everyone else!" I snapped at him.
"At least we're going to see Rooney." Seth told me. I sighed. That was at least a silver lining.
"Rooney, I saw them open for The Vines in L.A. last year." Hailey told us, walking into the kitchen.
"Yeah? Big whoop, we're seeing them tonight." Seth told her.
"I thought it was sold out."
"It so happens they are.. but you know that I have all the hookups. Or at least Oliver does."
"Oliver as in.. Oliver the guy who wanted to kiss your girlfriend on New Year's." Hailey stated to Ryan.
Ryan shook his head. "Morning Hailey."
"It's not like that, he's got a girlfriend." Seth defended and I rolled my eyes.
"Have you seen Marissa? Of course it's like that."
"I agree with Ally. Besides if he's got a girlfriend, why is he always hanging out with yours?" Hailey asked Ryan.
"Couldn't tell you, but thanks." Ryan told her.
"Hey the guy seems cool." Seth stated, and I glared at him.
"He's a total jackass." I told Hailey.
"He's not. We just don't seem to have a lot in common." Ryan said, but I knew he was lying.
"Except your girlfriend." Hailey teased.
"Thanks, keep twisting the knife." Ryan told her.
"Whatever, he got us backstage passes, that's good enough for me." Seth muttered.
"Backstage. So now you have to worry about your girl with Oliver and rockstars." Hailey told Ryan.
"Mind if I finish the cornflakes?" Hailey asked as she poured the rest in her bowl.
Seeing my look, Seth grinned. "Hey, at least she asked, it's a start."
~~~~
I stood outside the huge line waiting to go into the concert with Seth, Ryan, Marissa and Luke.
"I don't see him." Marissa said, looking at the crowd for Oliver.
"Maybe he's inside." Ryan suggested and we walked to a girl holding a list of names.
"Excuse me, are you on the list?" The girl asked us.
"Yeah, we're with Oliver Trask." Marissa told her.
The girl looked through the list then looked up.
"Who's Oliver Trask?"
"You don't have his name or-" I trailed off as the girl looked at me. "No, I don't have his name. I've never heard his name or I wouldn't be asking who Oliver Trask is."
"Wow, thanks bitch, you've been very helpful." I snapped, to which the girl glared at me. Seth pulled me by my waist back to him.
"I'm just gonna call him and see where he is." Marissa told us.
"Sure are a lot of freaks here, Cohen." Luke said loudly, causing Seth and I to look at him.
"Yeah, that's sure gonna make us a lot of friends." Seth told him, then looked at his watch. "Damn it."
"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"They're gonna go on soon. If Oliver's not here in the next couple minutes, we're gonna miss their first song. They only have like one album so that means like twelve songs."
"It'll be okay, I mean if we don't get it, maybe we'll still be able to hear them from out here." I told Seth.
"It just goes straight to voicemail." Marissa complained, turning to us.
"Hey man, look at that freak!" Luke practically yelled, pointing at someone in the line.
I glanced back at him in disbelief, then shook my head.
As we walked to the parking lot, Seth seemed really disappointed and I felt bad, although I didn't mind not seeing Oliver.
"Hey." I heard and groaned internally as I saw Oliver was standing at the back gate, waving us all over.
"Hey." We all said slowly, walking over to him.
"There you guys are."
"What's up?" Luke greeted.
"We thought you were a no show." Seth told Oliver.
"What happened? I thought I said back door." Oliver stated, making me roll my eyes.
"No, you didn't, actually." I told him.
Oliver and I glared at each other for a moment until I heard car doors shutting.
"The bands here!" Marissa said excitedly. I looked over as the band members all walked up to us. Seth seemed absolutely starstruck, which I thought was cute.
"What's up guys?" Oliver greeted, to which several of the band members replied.
"Which ones Rooney?" Luke asked.
"They're all Rooney members." Oliver corrected and everyone but Luke, Ryan and I laughed. Was Luke seeing through Oliver's act as well?
"Hey man, this is my posse." Oliver told the door man. Luke walked forward immediately and so did Seth, so I followed behind him.
Seth and I watched the concert and I smiled as he seemed to really like the band. I did as well, especially for never having heard of them before.
About halfway through the concert, Oliver walked up to Ryan and Marissa and pulled Marissa away.
Ryan glanced over at me once before following after the two of them.
After a while Ryan returned, but without Marissa. Seth and I were being forced to listen to Luke's terrible singing.
"Ally, can you come with me for a sec?" Ryan asked. I glanced at Seth quickly. "I'll be right back, okay?"
Seth nodded and looked upset to be left alone with Luke's singing. I walked off with Ryan.
"What's up?" I asked him, seeing he looked really mad.
"Oliver. He's trying to get between Marissa and I. I know it."
"So do I. Just don't let him do it, Ry." I told him as we walked outside of the concert.
I jumped as I heard a loud noise. Ryan and I glanced at each other before following the noise.
"What the hell, man?" I heard Oliver yell.
Ryan and I rushed towards him to see him being held to a fence by a big guy.
Ryan grabbed the guy and shoved him off of Oliver.
"Get off of me! I'm a cop!" The man yelled, shoving Ryan away. He held up his badge.
I immediately walked forward and grabbed Ryan, pulling him back a little. The last thing we needed was to violate our probation.
"What? There's got to be some sort of mistake." Ryan stated.
"Yeah, his. He just tried to buy three grams of coke from me."
I watched in surprise as the cop handcuffed Oliver.
"Ryan, Ally go back inside. Don't tell anyone!" Oliver called as the cop lead him away. Ryan and I turned to each other in shock.
Ryan and I made our way back inside and found Seth standing at the bar trying to get a drink. The bartender wasn't having it.
As Ryan and I walked up, the bartender turned to us. "What can I get you two?"
"How do you do that?" Seth asked in envy.
"Hey, I need your phone and your keys, man." Ryan told Seth.
"Yeah, here. You okay?" Seth asked me.
"We're fine. Oliver isn't." I told him.
"Why, what's happening?" Seth asked me.
"We'll tell you later, okay." Ryan stated, grabbing the keys and phone.
"Okay, but you're gonna miss a hell of a show. Be careful, okay?" Seth called and I nodded at him before following after Ryan.
Ryan and I ended up going to the police station and calling Sandy.
After a while, Sandy walked out and walked over to us.
"So, they're gonna let him go." Sandy told us, sitting down between us.
"Really? How'd you manage that?" I asked him.
"I'm just that good. And I used to play poker with these guys." Sandy stated, making me smile.
"Thanks for doing this, you didn't have to." Ryan told Sandy.
"Is this kid a friend of yours, Ryan? Ally?" He asked us.
I immediately shook my head.
"He's a friend of Marissa's. They met in therapy, and he said he's been clean for a while.. but.." Ryan trailed off.
"Well, they busted him trying to buy coke, and then he told me his parents are out of the country for a month. Can you believe that? Apparently the kid lucked out on his own."
"Imagine that." I said suspiciously.
"I'll never understand it." Sandy said with a laugh.
"I'm glad you two called me." Sandy added and I smiled at him.
"Of course, you're the only badass lawyer we know."
I looked up to see Oliver being led out by the officers.
"I'm gonna finish your paperwork. Sit tight, I'll be right back." Sandy told him, standing up.
Oliver nodded and came to sit where Sandy was.
"So thanks. Seth's dad seems cool."
"He is." I told Oliver.
"So why would you two do this for me? I mean you don't really like me. And it's obvious that she doesn't like me." Oliver said, and I shrugged.
"We don't really know you." Ryan told him.
"Well, if it's any consolation, I don't really like myself very much right now either."
"So, what happened?" I asked Oliver.
"I don't know.. Natalie didn't show and then I saw you and Marissa and all your friends and they all hate me. I have no one. My parents are gone, and my friends- if I can even call them that- they all disappeared when I got clean." Oliver told us.
"Look, there's Marissa. Seth likes your taste in music... and Luke, well he pretty much likes everybody at this point." Ryan stated, trying to make him feel better.
"What about the two of you? I mean, you must like me a little if you came and bailed me out."
"No, that was Sandy." Ryan said with a slight smile. I still didn't trust Oliver, but I was going to attempt to be civil, so I smiled as well.
The phone rang and Ryan glanced down. "Marissa."
"Oh, you gonna tell her?" Oliver asked.
"No, you are." Ryan said, handing Oliver the phone. I stood up and walked away with him.
"You trust him now?" I asked Ryan, who shrugged.
"He's not a bad guy, he just seems to be confused. He's screwed up just like Mom and Trey are, Ally."
I sighed at the mention of Mom and Trey.
"I know. Let's just forget about it, alright? I'm sure I'm just imagining it anyways."
Later that night, I went and sat down beside Seth on the couch.
"Did you enjoy the concert?" I asked him.
"Yeah, but it would have been nicer if you were there. Did you enjoy the police station?" He asked me and I grinned.
"Yeah, it brought back lots of beautiful memories."
"Hey, remember that time you and Ryan beat up that guy who was messing with my mom?"
I laughed as I remembered that. "Oh yeah, that was when you and I weren't even dating yet. It feels like so long ago."
"I don't know how I ever was happy without you." Seth told me, making me smile.
"Well, now you do have me."
The rest of the night Seth and I just talked and laughed. If felt nice to have someone to laugh with.