It was noon and the house was empty.

            Summer Roberts walked down the stairs and into her kitchen. The cook along with the maid and gardener had the weekends off. The only good thing about that was being able to sleep in as late as she wanted without anyone making any noises. Having breakfast at noon was a normal thing for her on weekends.

 Summer was craving a ham and cheese omelet, but she didn't dare turn on the stove. The last thing she needed was a lecture from her father for burning down the house. Instead she grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and poured herself some cereal. She took a seat at the table and munched on her cornflakes.

In her mind she went over today's plans: hang out with Coop, buy a new bikini for Holly's party, buy the new Vogue, check out the guys on the beach, make sure—RING!

She went to answer the phone and smiled at the sound of her best friend's voice.

"Coop, I was just thinking about our shopping trip. I saw this really cute green bikini and—"

            "I don't think I can go shopping with you today," Marissa Cooper said. She sounded terrible.

            "Are you okay?" Summer asked.

            Marissa let out a long sigh. "I just think I should stay home today. It's my parents, you know."

            "It's fine," Summer said. "Maybe I can stop by later with some videos."

            "Sure." It came out sounding like a shrug.

            Summer hung up with a frown. She was worried about her friend. Marissa had become withdrawn and moody ever since her mother told the family she was considering divorce. Summer wish she could help Marissa, but who was she to give out advice? Her stepmother was on other cruise around the world while her father was away on a business trip, and when they were home, they hardly exchanged any words to each other. The only thing she could offer Marissa was a night full of Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.

            She turned back to her breakfast and groaned at the sight of soggy cornflakes. She decided to get something to eat while she was out today.

**

            Ryan Atwood finished wiping down the table and went behind the counter of the Crab Shack. The California sun was high in the sky as Newport Beach residents and tourists came and went with their lunch orders. He hated the rush at lunch. People were yelling at him to do this and to do that. Customer service sucked.

            He looked up at the door just as Summer walked in. If only Seth was here now. A small smile came to his face as he thought about telling Seth Summer had stopped by today. Seth would want to know every single detail, from the color of her nail polish to the way she took a bite of food. Ryan watched as she approached the counter.

            "Hey," he said.

            She looked up at him. "Hey."

            "Where's Marissa?" he asked. He knew things were getting complicated for her lately. He hadn't seen much of her since the Debutante Ball.

            "At home," Summer said. "I'm supposed to stop by there later." She placed her hand on the counter and felt something sticky on her skin. "Ew."

            "Sorry." Ryan handed her a napkin and started to wipe down the counter. "We've been kind of busy around here."

            She rolled her eyes. "Well, there goes your tip."

            Ryan stopped cleaning and threw down his rag. Her attitude was getting on his nerves. How could someone like Seth be interested in someone as stuck-up as her?

            Summer smiled at his reaction. "Chill, Ryan. I was only kidding."

            Ryan didn't care. He walked away from her.

            "Hey, aren't you going to take my order?" Summer called after him.

            He didn't care about a tip either.

**

            Marissa opened the front door to find her next-door-neighbor on the other side. "Hi, Seth."

            Seth Cohen smiled at her and handed her a large envelope. "This was delivered to our house by accident."

            "Thanks," she said, taking the mail. The letter was from one her father's stock investors. It probably wasn't good news.

            "So, how are you doing?" Seth asked.

            "Things could be better," she said, "but I'm okay." She glanced inside the house. "How's Ryan?"

            "If you mean 'How's Ryan?' as in 'Is he still pining away for me?' then he's doing great," Seth said.

            Marissa laughed. It had been awhile since she did that.

            "Marissa, who's at the door?" Julie Cooper appeared next to her daughter. She saw Seth and smiled at him. "Hi, Seth."

            "Hi." He started to back away from the door. "I'll see you around?" he said to Marissa.

            She nodded and shut the door.

            "What did he want?" Julie asked.

            "They got some our mail." Marissa gave the envelope to her.

            "Oh, god, more evidence of how your father screwed up," Julie said, reading the address. She went inside Jimmy's office closing the door behind her.

            Marissa stood outside of the door, listening to her parents' voices grow louder.

**

            This time Summer was standing on the other side of the door. Marissa let her in with her shopping bags.

            "Did you get that bikini?" Marissa asked when they got to the privacy of her bedroom.

            "Yes, I did." Summer pulled the green bikini out from a bag. "Don't worry. I got you something too." She took out a carton of strawberry cheesecake ice cream. "I always come through for my friends."

            Marissa smiled. "Thanks, Summer, but what about—"

            Summer handed her a spoon. "Way ahead of you, Coop."

            They sat down on the bed and took turns eating from the carton.

            "One more thing," Marissa said.

            Summer reached inside a bag and took out the videos. "Your pick. Meet Joe Black or Chocolat."