OC Fic : The Care and Feeding of Ryan Atwood for Dummies (1/4)
Title : The Care and Feeding of Ryan Atwood for Dummies
Author : Helen C.
Rating : G
Summary : Four cool things Seth did for Ryan.
Disclaimer : The characters and the universe were created and are owned by Josh Schwartz. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
AN. Some of it is just venting, some of it is because Seth can be nice and attentive too. Yes, he can.
Many thanks to joey51, who beta'd this.
The Care and Feeding of Ryan Atwood for Dummies
Helen C.
Part One
"Dude. You're a Cohen now. Welcome to a life of insecurity and paralyzing self-doubt."
Seth Cohen, The Debut
Before Ryan arrived in Newport, Seth didn't think of himself as a spoiled kid.
Sure, he was used to getting pretty much everything he asked for, but since his parents made him live in this hellhole they called home, it was the least they could do, wasn't it? With the jocks making his life hell and the girl of his dreams totally ignoring him, he figured he was more than entitled to a little compensation.
Besides, he didn't get absolutely everything he wanted. He had asked his parents for permission to enroll in another school countless times (after the jocks had thrown his clothes in the toilet during PE, after they had put shaving cream in his locker, and after they had threatened to throw him out of the locker room with only a towel wrapped around his waist, for example). But his parents held firm in their belief that Harbor was better than any other school, no matter what.
So, compared to the rest of the Newport kids, life wasn't easy for Seth Cohen, comic book nerd.
Then he met Ryan, a kid his age who'd had a life Seth couldn't even begin to imagine. He had always known that people like Ryan and his family existed-because of TV, and because his rich family and their even wealthier friends threw fundraisers several times a month to help such people. But until he got to know Ryan, the knowledge had remained theoretical. Poor people existed, domestic violence existed, but it all happened so far from his home that it might as well have happened on another planet.
Oh, of course, the words "domestic abuse" weren't mentioned when talking about Ryan, at least not when Seth was within earshot. Ryan himself never said much about his life in Chino. A few things slipped here and there-sobering glimpses into another world, that made Seth uneasy and wary of saying the wrong thing.
Seth's parents didn't say much either; they merely explained that Ryan had had a rough life and could use a break, and that Seth wasn't to broach the subject with Ryan unless Ryan started the discussion.
Seth wasn't stupid, though.
He could read between the lines and he could see that a mother who coldly abandoned her child hadn't become dysfunctional only recently. It was clear that the trouble in the Atwood household had certainly started a long time ago.
So, yes, compared to Ryan's life in Chino, Seth's life had been a bed of roses-not easy, but certainly not as bad as drunken mothers who allowed their boyfriends to deal drugs from their living rooms.
He had, indeed, maybe, if he looked at it with this new hindsight, been spoiled and sheltered in many ways. And it was entirely possible that he had grown up to become a whiny, self-centered kid, as he discovered once the honeymoon was over, when the changes Ryan had brought in the family dynamics started to make themselves known.
Seth had always wanted a sibling-at first, when he was young, he wanted a kid brother, someone he could impart wisdom on. Later, as years went by and he grew more lonely, he became less picky. Boy or girl, anyone would do, just as long as he wasn't an only child anymore.
He hadn't considered the changes someone else would bring to his life.
He hadn't considered that his parents would need to split their attention between two kids, would have less time to sympathize with his problems, would need a lot of time at first to deal with the new kid. The fact that "the new kid" was a self-sufficient teenager didn't change the equation. Seth's parents needed to get to know him, needed to get clothes and furniture and supplies for him, needed to make a place for him into their lives.
At first, it didn't bother Seth. Having a friend he could call a brother without being cheesy or wildly off-base was everything he had ever dreamed of and his parents were granting him more freedom than before since they needed to make sure Ryan got used to his new house. Not having overbearing parents to worry about was always a plus for a teenager.
But having to share his parents with someone else also meant that they would have less time to listen to his complaints and to help him fix his problems. It became clear shortly after school started. Seth wanted to complain about the creative writing teacher who had hated what he had turned in and had asked him to do it again. Unfortunately, his parents noticed that Ryan was even more subdued than usual, and spent all dinner grilling him for information, eventually dragging out of Ryan that he felt seriously overwhelmed and was rethinking going to Harbor.
Seth didn't begrudge Ryan for feeling out of his depth (did cultural shock apply since Ryan was still living in the US? Or was there any other way to put what Ryan was going through?) He just wished his parents had some time for him too.
He should have seen it coming. Having another teenager in the house, and one who had issues, and trust problems, and who needed to be reassured and guided in many subtle ways, was bound to change a lot of things.
But while he wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, not even to Captain Oats, to himself, Seth had to admit that deep, deep down he was a little resentful.
It wasn't jealousy.
It was just that taking Ryan in had changed things in ways Seth hadn't anticipated.
After everything he had been through, Ryan deserved parents who gave him their undivided attention.
It wasn't jealousy.
***
To Seth's credit, the feeling of being left out didn't last long.
There were several moments when he felt a slight flash of non-jealousy twist his guts, but he never allowed himself to dwell on it (being self-centered was one thing, acting like it was something else entirely).
And then, about two weeks after Ryan had admitted to feeling a little overwhelmed, Seth started to notice that the pool house light stayed on very late at night. He studied Ryan's shadow through the blinds for a few days (maybe he was just working? Trying to stay afloat in Harbor could be challenging) and came to the conclusion that his friends spent most of his time sitting with his head in his hands, or sometimes pacing.
The light stayed on increasingly late during the following week, until it reached the point where it never went off.
Seth tried to talk about it with Ryan, who shrugged off his concern and said he had too much work to do and was too keyed up to sleep.
His mom tried to talk about it with Ryan, who smiled unconvincingly and said he was fine, just a little worked up and he'd shut off the lights if it bothered them.
His dad tried to talk about it with Ryan. Ryan looked down and mumbled an apology, saying he hadn't meant to worry anyone.
Seth started to worry, and if the hushed conversations his parents had whenever Ryan wasn't around were any indication, so did they.
***
The light stayed on at night in the pool house for another week.
The circles under Ryan's eyes deepened.
Seth's parents looked increasingly worried and tired.
Seth himself was growing frantic-what if Ryan had serious problems? Would he tell them? Did he trust them enough to confide in them at this point? Should they push him to talk or wait for him to come find them? Did his parents have a clue, or were they as lost as Seth was?
***
Things finally came to a head on Friday night.
The pool house lights were on, and around one in the morning, the quiet of the night was broken by Ryan's yelling-something about Dawn, and AJ, and fuck was she ever going to change, and shit, don't call back. Ever.
All three Cohens gathered in the kitchen, exchanging worried glances as Ryan paced the short distance between the pool house and the kitchen, holding the phone to his ear.
Seth's dad sighed and joined Ryan near the pool, approaching carefully as Ryan paced, holding the phone tightly enough to break it. He had stopped yelling but from the way his chest heaved, he obviously didn't like what he was hearing.
Ryan looked up when he saw someone approaching him and he dropped the phone as if he had been burned. From the kitchen, Seth watched his dad get even closer to Ryan and put an arm on his shoulder while Ryan talked (was he apologizing? He apologized all the time). He couldn't make out what was being said, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
Ryan dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged on the cold tiles, shoulders hunched.
Sandy picked up the phone and put it to his ear, then set it back on the ground and crouched next to Ryan.
"Maybe he went out on purpose," Seth's mom said, as if talking to herself. "Maybe it was his way of calling us for help. He had to know we'd hear him."
Or maybe Ryan had just been tired and angry enough that he had forgotten they were there. Still, his mother was right. Maybe it was a step in the right direction.
And while there wasn't much Seth could do to help Ryan deal with his past, if sharing his parents helped, then he would gladly do so.
It was, after all, the least he could do.
Watching on as Ryan leaned into Seth's father for support, Seth thought that it might be a small thing, but it was at least a start.
Part Two
Author : Helen C.
Rating : G
Summary : Four cool things Seth did for Ryan.
Disclaimer : The characters and the universe were created and are owned by Josh Schwartz. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
AN. Some of it is just venting, some of it is because Seth can be nice and attentive too. Yes, he can.
Many thanks to joey51, who beta'd this.
The Care and Feeding of Ryan Atwood for Dummies
Helen C.
Part One
"Dude. You're a Cohen now. Welcome to a life of insecurity and paralyzing self-doubt."
Seth Cohen, The Debut
Before Ryan arrived in Newport, Seth didn't think of himself as a spoiled kid.
Sure, he was used to getting pretty much everything he asked for, but since his parents made him live in this hellhole they called home, it was the least they could do, wasn't it? With the jocks making his life hell and the girl of his dreams totally ignoring him, he figured he was more than entitled to a little compensation.
Besides, he didn't get absolutely everything he wanted. He had asked his parents for permission to enroll in another school countless times (after the jocks had thrown his clothes in the toilet during PE, after they had put shaving cream in his locker, and after they had threatened to throw him out of the locker room with only a towel wrapped around his waist, for example). But his parents held firm in their belief that Harbor was better than any other school, no matter what.
So, compared to the rest of the Newport kids, life wasn't easy for Seth Cohen, comic book nerd.
Then he met Ryan, a kid his age who'd had a life Seth couldn't even begin to imagine. He had always known that people like Ryan and his family existed-because of TV, and because his rich family and their even wealthier friends threw fundraisers several times a month to help such people. But until he got to know Ryan, the knowledge had remained theoretical. Poor people existed, domestic violence existed, but it all happened so far from his home that it might as well have happened on another planet.
Oh, of course, the words "domestic abuse" weren't mentioned when talking about Ryan, at least not when Seth was within earshot. Ryan himself never said much about his life in Chino. A few things slipped here and there-sobering glimpses into another world, that made Seth uneasy and wary of saying the wrong thing.
Seth's parents didn't say much either; they merely explained that Ryan had had a rough life and could use a break, and that Seth wasn't to broach the subject with Ryan unless Ryan started the discussion.
Seth wasn't stupid, though.
He could read between the lines and he could see that a mother who coldly abandoned her child hadn't become dysfunctional only recently. It was clear that the trouble in the Atwood household had certainly started a long time ago.
So, yes, compared to Ryan's life in Chino, Seth's life had been a bed of roses-not easy, but certainly not as bad as drunken mothers who allowed their boyfriends to deal drugs from their living rooms.
He had, indeed, maybe, if he looked at it with this new hindsight, been spoiled and sheltered in many ways. And it was entirely possible that he had grown up to become a whiny, self-centered kid, as he discovered once the honeymoon was over, when the changes Ryan had brought in the family dynamics started to make themselves known.
Seth had always wanted a sibling-at first, when he was young, he wanted a kid brother, someone he could impart wisdom on. Later, as years went by and he grew more lonely, he became less picky. Boy or girl, anyone would do, just as long as he wasn't an only child anymore.
He hadn't considered the changes someone else would bring to his life.
He hadn't considered that his parents would need to split their attention between two kids, would have less time to sympathize with his problems, would need a lot of time at first to deal with the new kid. The fact that "the new kid" was a self-sufficient teenager didn't change the equation. Seth's parents needed to get to know him, needed to get clothes and furniture and supplies for him, needed to make a place for him into their lives.
At first, it didn't bother Seth. Having a friend he could call a brother without being cheesy or wildly off-base was everything he had ever dreamed of and his parents were granting him more freedom than before since they needed to make sure Ryan got used to his new house. Not having overbearing parents to worry about was always a plus for a teenager.
But having to share his parents with someone else also meant that they would have less time to listen to his complaints and to help him fix his problems. It became clear shortly after school started. Seth wanted to complain about the creative writing teacher who had hated what he had turned in and had asked him to do it again. Unfortunately, his parents noticed that Ryan was even more subdued than usual, and spent all dinner grilling him for information, eventually dragging out of Ryan that he felt seriously overwhelmed and was rethinking going to Harbor.
Seth didn't begrudge Ryan for feeling out of his depth (did cultural shock apply since Ryan was still living in the US? Or was there any other way to put what Ryan was going through?) He just wished his parents had some time for him too.
He should have seen it coming. Having another teenager in the house, and one who had issues, and trust problems, and who needed to be reassured and guided in many subtle ways, was bound to change a lot of things.
But while he wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, not even to Captain Oats, to himself, Seth had to admit that deep, deep down he was a little resentful.
It wasn't jealousy.
It was just that taking Ryan in had changed things in ways Seth hadn't anticipated.
After everything he had been through, Ryan deserved parents who gave him their undivided attention.
It wasn't jealousy.
***
To Seth's credit, the feeling of being left out didn't last long.
There were several moments when he felt a slight flash of non-jealousy twist his guts, but he never allowed himself to dwell on it (being self-centered was one thing, acting like it was something else entirely).
And then, about two weeks after Ryan had admitted to feeling a little overwhelmed, Seth started to notice that the pool house light stayed on very late at night. He studied Ryan's shadow through the blinds for a few days (maybe he was just working? Trying to stay afloat in Harbor could be challenging) and came to the conclusion that his friends spent most of his time sitting with his head in his hands, or sometimes pacing.
The light stayed on increasingly late during the following week, until it reached the point where it never went off.
Seth tried to talk about it with Ryan, who shrugged off his concern and said he had too much work to do and was too keyed up to sleep.
His mom tried to talk about it with Ryan, who smiled unconvincingly and said he was fine, just a little worked up and he'd shut off the lights if it bothered them.
His dad tried to talk about it with Ryan. Ryan looked down and mumbled an apology, saying he hadn't meant to worry anyone.
Seth started to worry, and if the hushed conversations his parents had whenever Ryan wasn't around were any indication, so did they.
***
The light stayed on at night in the pool house for another week.
The circles under Ryan's eyes deepened.
Seth's parents looked increasingly worried and tired.
Seth himself was growing frantic-what if Ryan had serious problems? Would he tell them? Did he trust them enough to confide in them at this point? Should they push him to talk or wait for him to come find them? Did his parents have a clue, or were they as lost as Seth was?
***
Things finally came to a head on Friday night.
The pool house lights were on, and around one in the morning, the quiet of the night was broken by Ryan's yelling-something about Dawn, and AJ, and fuck was she ever going to change, and shit, don't call back. Ever.
All three Cohens gathered in the kitchen, exchanging worried glances as Ryan paced the short distance between the pool house and the kitchen, holding the phone to his ear.
Seth's dad sighed and joined Ryan near the pool, approaching carefully as Ryan paced, holding the phone tightly enough to break it. He had stopped yelling but from the way his chest heaved, he obviously didn't like what he was hearing.
Ryan looked up when he saw someone approaching him and he dropped the phone as if he had been burned. From the kitchen, Seth watched his dad get even closer to Ryan and put an arm on his shoulder while Ryan talked (was he apologizing? He apologized all the time). He couldn't make out what was being said, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
Ryan dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged on the cold tiles, shoulders hunched.
Sandy picked up the phone and put it to his ear, then set it back on the ground and crouched next to Ryan.
"Maybe he went out on purpose," Seth's mom said, as if talking to herself. "Maybe it was his way of calling us for help. He had to know we'd hear him."
Or maybe Ryan had just been tired and angry enough that he had forgotten they were there. Still, his mother was right. Maybe it was a step in the right direction.
And while there wasn't much Seth could do to help Ryan deal with his past, if sharing his parents helped, then he would gladly do so.
It was, after all, the least he could do.
Watching on as Ryan leaned into Seth's father for support, Seth thought that it might be a small thing, but it was at least a start.
Part Two