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“The plan is undeniable,” Seth claims in excitement.
“I'm denying it.” Ryan points out.
The boys are in the pool house, discussing what to do over the weekend. Ryan would rather they just go to the Comic-Con in San Diego like Seth seems to have communicated with Sandy. In reality, they’re heading down to Tijuana, Mexico. Lately, Ryan has been developing a strange twist in his stomach when he spends a lot of time with Seth. He knows he is over Marissa, no longer feeling that spark when they kiss. It seems to be just a fling.
“We have my mom's ranger. We have a perfect alibi, as I go to this comic book convention every year, and we also have my entire life never doing anything wrong.” Seth states proudly. “Which completely allows my parents to give a false sense of trust.”
Ryan sighs. “And you want to give that all away for Summer in a wet t-shirt doing body shots.”
Seth pauses. “Sorry, I thought that was a rhetorical question. Yes, Ryan, yes. On the last weekend before school, one goes to Tijuana, it is tradition, it is a rite of passage, and you know what else?” He places a sombrero on Ryan’s head. “What happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico.”
“What happens in Mexico?” He asks, instantly taking the hat off pointedly. “And I don’t wear hats.”
“I don't know, because it stays there, that's why we must go.”
“Why can't we just go to Comic-Con?”
“Okay, Comic-Con is just a bunch of pathetic virgins ogling some porn star dressed as Cat Woman,” Seth explains as he journeys toward the main house.
Ryan smirks, loving the feeling of getting a rise out of Seth. “I thought you went every year.”
Seth bites his lip. “Listen, Tijuana's a big town, I bet you won't even see Marissa.”
Ryan closes his eyes. “I don't care about seeing Marissa or not seeing Marissa.”
Seth grins wider. “Okay, therefore you should have no problem coming to Mexico.”
Sandy takes this minute to enter the kitchen. “Hey ya, fellas. You all excited about Comic-con? Seth's been going since he was ten. It's the highlight of his year.”
The boys merely smile, with Seth placing a hand to his face, unsuccessfully hiding from embarrassment. The following day, Seth wakes Ryan up with a mug of coffee. The blonde eventually perks up a bit, and Seth sees that it’s a safe point to start talking. As he does, he rattles off a Spanish book on over five hundred useful and not so useful phrases. Ryan partially listens as he pulls his signature jacket over his wifebeater and capris over his tight boxers. As he returns to where he left the chatterbox, Ryan notices some piece of brown paper sticking out of a front pocket in Seth’s shorts.
“What’s this?”
“Our itinerary for our trip.”
“Seth, it's over twelve pages long. We're going for two days.”
“Right. Well, if you're going to get over Marissa, somebody needs activities.”
“I don't need to get over Marissa. I'm over Marissa.”
As he turns to leave, Seth calls after Ryan. “Ryan? Ryan. Look at me, this is me here, okay? Amigo. Now I know you're hurting, and I think you need to unburden your soul.” He sits on the bed and pats the bed space next to him. Reluctantly, Ryan sits.
“Anytime, I’m here to help.”
“Trust me, my soul is fine.” It’s this feeling I get around you that’s troubling me…
A few hours later, Ryan is working at the Crab Shack. Seth is at the bar near Ryan, as he is drinking a virgin cocktail. For the umpteenth time, Seth motions Ryan over.
“Was she looking at me?”
“Still no,” Ryan responds, wiping down the counter.
Seth decides to eavesdrop on the table group’s conversation – meaning Marissa, Summer, Luke, and Holly. When three of the four have left, Seth drops away from his talk with Ryan to sneak over to Summer.
“Hello, Summer. Seth Cohen. I believe you remember.” He winks at her but frowns when her face remains unimpressed. “Nothing? Um, I heard you needed a ride tomorrow.”
The following morning, they are leaving. Sandy makes sure they have the numbers and all extra things are put together. It exasperates Seth, who thinks they may never get there on time. As Seth walks out, he finds Summer about to knock on the door. He moves to lift her suitcase, but he falls. Ryan comes up around him, grabbing Summer’s bag with ease. Sandy walks up with his arm outstretched.
“Hey, Summer. Sandy Cohen, I'm Seth's dad.” He shakes her hand. “I had no idea you were into comic books.”
She stares back with slight disgust. “Comic books? Eww.”
Seth quickly comes to her rescue, lest she blow the whole thing. “She goes for the anime.”
With Sandy at the door wondering what ‘anime’ means, Summer leaves to go next door and say bye to Coop. Marissa is having some trouble at home, so Summer convinces her to tag along with them to TJ. Seth is driving, and Ryan has already called shotgun. So, Summer and Marissa pile into the backseat. GPS states they’ll be driving together for three and a half hours. Summer and Seth snark at each other, while Ryan and Marissa remain silent. Marissa is upset that Ryan is on the trip, and Ryan is trapped in his mind as he wonders about the feelings he’s been having. About an hour on the road, Ryan reaches into a cooler he has up front for some water. He offers around, but Marissa silently turns it down. Summer makes a grab for a bottle.
“I'll take it. I'm so dehydrated. What is up with the AC? My hair is frizzing out, I look like Howard Stern!”
Seth grins a little. “See? You know, strangely, I think my JewFro benefits from this.”
“You’re Jewish?” She asks incredulously.
“Yes, that's why I feel so comfortable in this desert heat.”
“This is a nightmare.” She slumps back in her seat. “I'm sweating to death, driving ten miles an hour, on like a rickshaw listening to this crap you call music.”
“Hey!” Seth snaps at her. “Do not insult Death Cab!”
“It's like one guitar and a whole lot of complaining.”
Getting more irritable each passing moment, he continues. “This reminds me of someone else who's doing a whole lot of complaining, Summer. You. Listen to me, I am driving this vehicle, and I will drive at the speed I feel comfortable, okay? It's my music, it's my snacks,”
“Kudos and goldfish? what are you, eight?” She interrupts.
Seth sighs, pulling off to the side of the road. “Ryan, Marissa, say goodbye to Summer.”
“What are you doing?” Summer frowns.
“I’m dropping you off.” He answers easily.
Summer makes a mad grab for the wheel, causing the Range Rover to drive into the other side’s traffic. She and Seth struggle to control the wheel while Marissa panics in the backseat. They continue to yell over each other, and Ryan wrenches at the wheel in time to not get sideswiped by a semi-truck heading the other way. They drive into the grass as the axel breaks down. The four teenagers settle down and work together as they push the car about a mile ahead to a garage and motel. They’ll work on the car in the afternoon and they can stay in an icky room with a small bed and a mattress on the floor.
“Sweet.” Summer deadpans upon seeing the room. “Do we have to pay extra for the pubes? This is so gross, I cannot stay here.”
“Fine.” Ryan shrugs. “Go outside and hitchhike. I won’t stop you.”
She shudders. She and Seth are still fighting over whose fault it is. Eventually, they separate when the girls go searching for food. They come to a vending machine, opting between ding dongs and cheese sticks. Marissa picks the cheese sticks. In the bedroom, Ryan is in his wifebeater and boxers, and Seth is in a T-shirt and boxers, staring at the static television.
“What’re you doing?”
“Almost watching tv. This is either SpongeBob SquarePants or JAG.”
Ryan shrugs, having seen neither. He sits on the bed beside Seth, hating that the feeling has returned. They attempt to watch the television a few minutes more before Seth gets up and turns it off.
“So, sleeping arrangements?” Seth claps his hands together. “Me and Summer on the bed, and you and Marissa on the mattress?”
“Summer would rip out your jugular if you tried to get into bed with her.”
Seth moves his hand to his throat. “Yiech… well, I’m not getting in bed with Marissa.”
“Well, Summer’s going to take the bed, so you’re automatically on the floor.”
Seth frowns, knowing he’s beat. “Then, what? Summer and Marissa on the bed? And… you and me on the floor?”
Ryan shrugs. “Sounds about right.”
The blonde grabs a blanket and makes himself at home on the mattress. Seth sighs and gets under the cover as well. He turns so his back faces Ryan’s back, and he allows himself to drift to sleep. While the boys sleep, Marissa gets a call from her dad, explaining the divorce. Summer is there for her and allows Marissa to cry in her arms as they fall asleep. The next morning, the boys awake first, and Seth is cuddling Ryan. They sit up awkwardly and move to the opposite ends of the mattress.
Is that what this is? Ryan asks himself, instantly regretting the lack of warmth Seth’s body heat had given him. Am I falling in love with Seth?
The girls wake up when someone hurriedly knocks at their door. It’s the mechanic, and the car is fixed. He also has four cups of coffee and the day’s newspaper. Ryan gratefully accepts, mostly due to the needed distraction. He sets the drinks and paper on the table, as he rushes into the shower to deal with… a problem. Marissa and Summer gradually explain the reason for Marissa’s puffy eyes to Seth. They talk about the divorce for a while. Coming out of the shower, Ryan reveals he had heard it all.
“Baby, I'm so sorry. Whatever you want to do, Coop.” Summer sighs. “But if I may, speaking as a child of divorce, you do not want to be home right now. And this is our last chance for freedom, we get back to Newport and it's all just school and reality. Let's go to TJ, have fun. Life will suck soon enough.”
Ryan shrugs. “She might… actually be right.”
“Gotta be a first time for everything.” Seth mumbles. “I’ll be in the car.”
Back on the road for another two and a half hours, plus an extra forty minutes or so from the terminals at the Mexico border, Summer has a dire need for a certain medicine.
“Before we head to Boom Boom, just let me run into the pharmacy. You can get whatever you want without a prescription. I need to make a pitstop for my stepmom. I guess she's already taking all the painkillers available in Orange County.”
Seth nods. “I should probably pop in and get me some antihistamine...for me, allergies.”
Ryan and Marissa tag along, with Ryan buying a few painkillers on his own. Eventually, the quartet comes across Boom Boom. People are dancing around and making out, wearing neon paint and drinking. Ryan instantly grabs a drink from the bar, a Seven and Seven, and all four get painted green and pink on some part of their bodies. A few girls in bikinis dance by, squirting beer in their mouths and spraying some on the Americans. Marissa and Summer accept two cups of beer. They start dancing and Marissa begins to forget about her problems… until she finds someone on the upper deck. She stares in horror as Luke and Holly sloppily make out. The others catch on, and Luke finally notices them.
“Are you kidding me!?”
“I’m sorry,” Luke answers, lacking much empathy.
“That you got caught?” She scoffs, tears pricking her eyes. She turns on Holly. “Never talk to me again!”
She storms off, and Summer stabs Holly’s chest with her fist. “You are such a bitch!”
“Oh please.” Holly scoffs. “He hooks up with everyone. Freshmen girls, girls from Moderday, UCL…”
“That’s just mean,” Seth comments angrily.
Summer starts to run and kick Holly's ass, but Ryan pulls her back, talking to Holly for Summer. “Her parents are getting divorced, you stupid slut!” He then turns to Luke. “You don’t deserve her.”
Ryan punches him in the face, only to duck when Luke retaliates so he hits someone else. The club starts a fight as Ryan, Seth and Summer chase after and try to find Marissa. Summer heads back to the motel, while Ryan and Seth take to the streets. Marissa is found in the motel, humiliated and with nowhere to go. Summer discovers her like this and moves to collect their things. Marissa sees the pills in Summer’s purse, taking them and heading out into Tijuana. Summer calls Ryan when she notices she’s gone.
“Found her and lost her.”
“She gave you the slip?” Ryan asks for confirmation, turning the phone on speaker.
“And she took my stepmom’s painkillers.”
“Shit.”
They agree to meet back at Boom Boom and start searching together, in another direction. Fearful of what could happen and wishing he had just gone to Comic-Con, Seth reaches for Ryan’s hand and squeezes it anxiously. Ryan squeezes back, attempting to be comforting, and the boys race back to where they last saw Marissa. Meanwhile, Marissa is sitting at a little hole in the wall, washing down half the bottle of painkillers with some heavy alcohol. While she struggles to stay awake and the bartender cuts her off, some men begin to make advances on the poor, confused girl. She hastily runs out of the bar and into the throng of people on the street.
She staggers and trips over her own feet, and she nearly throws up. Just barely conscious, clammy and woozy she pushes through the masses and just manages to come across an alleyway where she crumples under the faint side lighting. Roughly ten minutes after, Ryan, Seth, and Summer are running around, and they find her immobile on the ground. The trio races over, falling to their knees. Summer starts crying, holding her best friend as Ryan helps carry her. Seth runs out of the alley to get cell signal to call the cops. Despite Ryan and Summer attempting to wake her while carrying her, Marissa doesn’t stir. So many feelings surge through the other three teenagers’ minds as they set Marissa in the backseat of Seth’s car and drive down the road.