The Talk, part 3

OK, here's an attempt at a talk for Seth. This is set after "The SnO.C."

xxxx

Ryan checked the clock by his bed and then peered through the pool house windows toward the house. 12:55, lights still on. Seth had five minutes before curfew. Ryan weighed his options. Maybe he'd just go over and get a glass of water, check out the Late, Late Show. Yeah, he grinned to himself, that's the ticket.

He'd just poured himself some juice when he heard the front door open. Ryan bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as he leaned against the counter waiting for Seth to come in.

"Dude!" Seth was grinning from ear to ear. He held up a hand for a high five, and Ryan obliged him.

"What's that for?" Ryan asked, genuinely curious.

Seth bobbed his head up and down, a smug smile peeking out. "Oh, nothing. Just a little make out time with…," he paused for dramatic effect, and Ryan raised his eyebrows at him.

"Summer?" Ryan guessed. He finally noticed the black eye. "Did she give you that?" he asked, pointing.

"What?" Seth brought his hand up to his fact. "Oh, this? No, Zach punched me."

"What? Why?" Ryan was distracted – for the moment – from his anticipation of Seth getting the sex talk from Kirsten.

"He showed up at the SnO.C., and saw Summer and me, and just…" Seth had started a rambling explanation, but drew himself up short. "No! No, that's not what I want to talk about! The making out, that's…" He couldn't contain himself any longer. "Alex!" he blurted. "I made out with Alex!" He pumped his arms into the air. "Ask me what happened?"

"What happened, buddy?" Ryan was reminded forcefully of what Seth was about to face, and in light of Seth's evening, it made the coming conversation even sweeter in Ryan's mind. He grinned encouragingly, resisting the urge to snicker.

"Hey, guys." Sandy's sudden appearance stopped Seth cold.

"Father."

"Ryan, we need to talk to Seth." Sandy said. His eyes went from Seth's flushed face to Ryan's gleeful expression.

"Uh, sure." Ryan started toward the stairs. "I'll just wait in Seth's room." There was no way that he could eavesdrop if went outside – stupid windows everywhere. But he knew if he could get around the corner into the living room….

"Ryan." Kirsten knew exactly what he was up to and gave him a mock scowl. "Pool house."

He froze, busted. "Oh." He turned and slouched toward the back door, glancing reproachfully at Kirsten through lowered lashes as he went past her, pouting. She smothered a smile.

"Close the door," she said as he walked through it. He obeyed, but made a face at her briefly through its glass before turning and sprinting back to the pool house. She shook her head.

"Seth, sit down. Your mother and I have something we need to discuss with you."

Seth had watched the exchange between his mother and Ryan with bemusement, and he was still confused as he climbed on to one of the bar stools.

"Is everything OK?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sandy scoffed. "Yeah, everything's fine."

Sandy looked at Kirsten, who leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. She returned his glance coolly.

Yeah, he thought.

"Listen. Your mother and I had a talk with Ryan this evening about…," Sandy looked at Kirsten, who again just stared at him. "Well, about sex." Seth's mouth dropped open. "And about what our expectations are for you boys about sex." The idea of his parents trying to give Ryan a sex talk boggled his mind. Seth choked.

"You guys talked to Ryan about sex!" He started to laugh. "Did he have any pointers? No wait. On second thought, I don't …"

"Seth!" Sandy's voice cracked across the kitchen, startling his son. "That's enough."

Seth stilled, surprised by his father's tone and by the angry glances exchanged by his parents.

"This is not funny, Seth." Kirsten spoke quietly, but her voice was sharp.

"Sorry," Seth mumbled. What the hell?

Sandy ran a hand through his hair. "Seth, when I said 'listen' a minute ago, I meant 'listen,' OK? Don't talk. Just listen. You'll have a chance to respond, but I need to get some things on the table before you start speaking." He gave Seth a look.

"OK." Seth conceded in an aggrieved voice. He'd thought the make-out session with Alex would be a great end to the evening. No such luck.

Sandy paused. There was no easy way to do this.

"You're mother and I have decided to lay down some rules for you and Ryan about sex and what we expect from you boys in that area of your lives."

Seth's eyes shifted to his mother. She was watching his father.

"Dad, we've…"

"Seth, listen," Sandy snapped.

Scowling, Seth lifted a shoulder, and subsided.

"After our talk with Ryan, I talked to your mother about the conversation I had with you last year."

Seth's mouth fell open. He shot a horrified glance at his mother. Kirsten gave him the same expressionless stare she'd been giving Sandy, and arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him.

Seth turned crimson, and Kirsten felt a surge of satisfaction at having managed to fluster her usually overconfident – with his parents anyway – son.

Rendered speechless at this development, Seth dropped his head onto the counter. Oh my God, he thought.

"In hindsight," Sandy continued, "that now seems to have been a remarkably inappropriate conversation to have had with my 16-year-old son." Sandy felt his cheeks heat slightly at the memory of Kirsten's reaction.

"Honey, I was just proud of him," he'd tried.

"Proud of him?" she'd exclaimed. "Proud of him? Because he'd lost his virginity?" She'd gaped at him, stunned.

"Yes. No! Of course not. It was just… He'd gotten the girl. He'd gotten Summer. He'd finally…" Sandy trailed off. "I don't know."

Kirsten stared at her husband, struggling with what he was saying. She knew, in her heart, that there was more to this for Sandy than just Seth's getting Summer. She knew it wasn't the "conquest" he was proud of. That wasn't him.

"He'd finally what?" Kirsten started softly. "He'd finally made it? He'd finally hit that mark that defines coolness among teenage boys? Seth was finally cool?"

Sandy stared at her. No. That couldn't be it. That couldn't be the explanation for the thrill he'd felt at Seth's revelation – the pride, the feeling of accomplishment that his son had become a "man." He didn't care that Seth wasn't one of the "cool" kids; he didn't want his son to fit in here among the pod people. And yet… He remembered the rush of pleasure he'd felt as he'd helped Ryan with his tie. When Ryan, this hurting boy, this stranger, had declared Seth "cool," his eyes meeting Sandy's briefly before they'd skittered off, unwilling – or unable – to hold the contact for long. Here was someone who recognized his son's worth, who saw the interesting, funny kid Sandy knew that he was. And Sandy had been thrilled.

"Sandy…"

He wouldn't meet her eyes. "I'll talk to him."

"So, I think that we need to re-visit the subject of sex."

Seth groaned. "Please, no. I get it, I do. Sex is bad. I won't do it again. Can I go now?"

"Seth." In spite of himself, Sandy was amused. Even Kirsten had the ghost of a smile on her face.

"Honey, sex isn't bad."

"Mom, please, I'm begging you." Seth had put his hands over his ears.

Kirsten reached out and tugged, pulling one free. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The sooner you let us say this, the sooner you get to go. I assure you, we are having this conversation. Tonight."

Defeated, Seth lowered his hands. "OK. Go. Just please, make it fast."

xxxx

When it was over, Seth fled to the pool house, seeking out his fellow victim and, evidently, his parents' accomplice in sex talk crime.

"You are so dead."

Ryan was grinning when the door opened.

"So, did you have a nice conversation with your parents?" he asked innocently.

"I can't believe you didn't warn me!" Seth said accusingly. "You just stood there, asking about Alex."

Ryan's goofy smile was infuriating, and to Seth's surprise Ryan started to giggle. "It was just too perfect. You're all, "Ask me about Alex! We made out! We're going to have sex!" Now Ryan was almost incoherent. "And then your dad walks in…" Ryan trailed off overcome with laughter.

Seth's scowl was thunderous. "You're going to pay for that, Atwood," he said coldly.

"I'm shaking in my boots, Cohen," he smirked.

"What are you? Channeling Summer now," Seth huffed.

He sat down on the bed.

"What are we going to do?"

Ryan turned to Seth, still smiling. "About what?"

"About the 'no sex' rule, man, what do you think?"

Ryan scratched his head, eyes flitting away from Seth. "I don't know."

"You don't know? We're not obeying it!" Seth was incredulous. "Are we?"

Ryan bit his lip, still not meeting Seth's eyes.

"Dude, we can't go back, can we? I mean, once you've done it, you can't not do it any more, can you?"

Ryan grinned, "What physically?"

Seth rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah." Ryan paused. "It's just… I want to think about what they said. Maybe… I don't know… Maybe they know something."

Seth's snort of derision rattled the windows. He didn't believe his parents knew anything. About anything. "Dude, they're old. What do they know about young guys like us headed into our sexual prime? They're trying to repress us, bro'." He pointed a finger at Ryan. At Ryan's look, Seth raised his fist into the air. "Down with the Man!"

Ryan faltered somewhat, internally, at Seth's determination not to listen to his parents. He shrugged.

"It's not like it makes a difference for me right now. Lindsay and I are nowhere near that anyway." He got up off the bed.

"Yeah, well, Alex and I…"

Ryan held up a hand.

"Please. I really don't want to know."

Seth grinned and stood.

"Well, you think I can get up to my bedroom without running into the parents again?"

Ryan glanced toward the main house.

"Looks like it."

Seth held out a fist and they bumped knuckles.

"See you in the morning."

"'Night."

Ryan got ready for bed, and turning out the light, slipped under the covers.

In his mind, he went over the conversation he'd had with Kirsten and Sandy earlier in the evening.

This is because we love you, OK? I know you don't believe me right now, but it is.

The thing was, he did believe her. He'd just never had love expressed to him this way – love demonstrated by being told "no." In the past love had been all indulgence, all "yes" – a toy, anything he wanted, to show him his mother still loved him even after she'd let one of her boyfriends beat on him; fumblings in the dark with Theresa, letting him go where she hadn't let any other boy go, comfort after a terrifying night with AJ and his drug-dealing buddies screaming and shooting and Trey kicked out of the house.

He'd been getting used to this new kind of love; this love that made him feel safe, more sure of himself, of Sandy, of Kirsten. A love that manifested itself in talks and gentle hands and words that encouraged and challenged and were consistent with the actions he saw around him. So, what did it mean to be told "no" in love? What did he do with that?

Ryan sighed, turning over on his side and pulling the covers up around him. He didn't really have to worry about this right now. But, when he did… he'd have some things to think about.

The End.