A Second Chance (The O.C./Modern Family/All-American)

Mike pulled into the venue in his Porsche with Melissa in the passenger seat. She was wearing a black cocktail dress with a slit that hugged her body and showed off her curvaceous figure, she also wore black high heels and a pearl necklace and earrings. Michael stepped out of the car, handed the keys to the valet, and helped Melissa step out of the passenger seat. He wore a black two piece suit and a black tie. 

They walked into the charity event with their arms linked as they headed to the area to donate money for chips. The maximum in chips they would give you was $5000, anything extra people gave was simply extra money given to charity. He handed over a check for $2000 and received his chips in a plastic chip holder. 

"You wanna play something, babe?" Mike asked Melissa.

"Not right now, I think I'll just watch you," she said with a giddy smile, ecstatic that he had called her 'babe'.

They made their way over to a blackjack table where Michael played for the next thirty minutes earning over $300 'dollars' worth of chips, after they headed to the bar and both got a drink, no one questioned them when they ordered. The drinking age seemed to be a suggestion at the two events he had attended in Newport. No one gave them a second glance when they received their drinks and they certainly didn't check for ID. Rules were for poor people after all. 

They carried their chips and drinks over to the slot machines where Melissa spun and lost $350. After that she led him over to some friends and her cousin Holly, who couldn't help but glare at her cousin jealousy. Standing with the group was Luke Ward, who Mike had gotten in a brawl with last time he was in Newport. Luke didn't say anything but walked away when he glanced to his right and saw his girlfriend Marissa walking after him. It looked like they were having some relationship problems but that was none of Mike's business.

He separated from Melissa for a bit while she caught up with her friends and he went searching for Seth or Ryan. He saw Ryan first who was playing roulette, so he went to join him and to bet some chips as well. 

"Hey man, pretty cool event huh, how you been?" Mike asked.

"Seth didn't tell you?"

"No? I was busy, my football team had a 2 week training camp."

Ryan hesitated for a moment but decided to tell Michael what happened, it's not like it was a secret, everyone knew and he'd rather he heard it from him instead of one of these Newpy gossips. So he told Mike how he and Luke and some other guys got into a fight because Luke was jealous of Marissa hanging out with Ryan. He was hiding out in a home that was being built by Mrs. Cohen and during the fight multiple lit candles started a huge fire and they burnt down the place. 

Mike couldn't help but laugh. "No fucking way. That's crazy! Were the cops involved?"

"Yeah… I went back to juvie for a bit, but the Cohen's thankfully got me released."

"Uh-huh," Mike said with a nod. "Mr and Mrs. Cohen are good people, definitely."

"17 black," the roulette dealer said.

Michael had bet on black, he collected the chips he had bet and won and placed another bet, placing $250 on 19-36. 

"So you gonna be staying with the Cohen's for the foreseeable future?"

"Nah… my moms here… somewhere," Ryan said even though he could clearly see her. But his mother was an embarrassment and he didn't want to point her out. She was an alcoholic that had time and time again disappointed him. She claimed that she had changed, she told Ryan that she left her piece of shit boyfriend and she was working and trying to do better.

But when he spotted her across the room at another table she was getting increasingly drunk as she chugged a glass of champagne and quickly snatched another glass from a tray carried by a waiter. 

"30 red."

"Alright!" Mike exclaimed.

He collected his chips and just as he was about to place another bet Melissa came up behind him and cuddled up to him on his right side. 

"Come on babe, let's check out the craps table," she said.

"I don't know how to play craps."

"That's okay, I do," Melissa said as she whisked him away.

"I'll catch you later Ryan."

They walked over to the craps table and joined in, Melissa tried to explain the game to Mike but none of it made any sense. Something about crapping out and passing or not passing and sevens out and a bunch of terminology that went in one ear and out the other. 

"And how the hell do you know so much?" Mike asked with a grin.

"My dad loves craps and I just picked it up watching him play," she replied with a shrug.

He let her handle the bets as he just stood there and watched as a shooter rolled the dice. They rolled five times until they stopped for reasons Mike didn't understand. It was time for a new shooter to roll the dice and somehow it was his turn. Melissa explained to him how both dice had to hit the back wall on the other side of the table for it to be a legal roll.

He rolled the dice and it was a 9. She explained to Mike that this was the 'come out' roll meaning that 9 was the 'point number'. This meant that he had to roll a 9 before a 7 was rolled in order to win. Still not understanding he just nodded his head unconvincingly as he was ready to roll again after people around the table had finished placing their bets. 

"Wait!" She grabbed his hand and stopped him. "Don't you want me to blow on them?" she said with a sheepish grin.

He opened his palm and held his hand near her and she blew on the dice for good luck. He threw them to the other side of the table and he rolled a 6 the hard way to the cheers of one couple on the other side of the table. "The hard way" was what they called it when both dice were the same number, so since he rolled a hard 6 he threw two threes and someone bet on this which was a 10 to 1 bet meaning that person who bet $20 won $200. People were getting real excited even though they weren't betting real money. 

He threw the dice five more times, winning bets on some of the throws but on his sixth throw he rolled a 7, and since he rolled this before he rolled his point number of 9 he and the rest of the table that bet on the pass line lost, but one guy who placed a bet on 'Don't Pass' won his bet. 

Some people left while others joined the table and the person standing to his left was now the new shooter. He recognized her, it was that girl that Seth had a crush on, Summer Roberts. She threw the dice and landed on 5. People placed their bets down. She was getting ready to throw the dice again but then she somehow dropped them on the ground. Seth happened to be walking by and he dropped down to pick them up. 

He had a look of shock on his face when he looked up and saw Summer standing over him with her hand reaching out for her dice. Seth couldn't help but take in her appearance as she wore a cute red dress and high heels.

"Hi Summer… Seth Cohen," He said, trying to sound confident as he handed her back the dice.

"I'm superstitious, blow on these." 

"Wh-what?"

"Blow!" She demanded as she held out her palm.

Seth blew on them and she turned around and threw the dice landing on a six and earning money on a bet she placed down. She cheered in excitement and when she was given the dice back she had Seth blow on them again. She placed a hardaway bet and rolled the dice again landing on a six the hard way. She jumped for joy and yanked Seth into her, somehow he was her good luck charm.

"You're not going anywhere Sid!" she said.

"Seth…" he said awkwardly.

"Whatever!"

Mike who was standing right next to them pressed up against Melissa holding her by the waist couldn't help but shake his head watching their interaction. He looked at Seth with an expression that clearly said 'really dude?'.

Seth just shrugged. He didn't care. He was a certified Summer Roberts simp and he was just happy that she was finally talking to him for once in his life. 

Summer rolled again and again and again and again. Seth really was her lucky charm. "You rock Stanley!" Summer exclaimed as she gave him a big hug. Seth didn't even care that she kept getting his name wrong; he was simply too stunned by her sudden embrace.

The whole table was having a good time as everyone was making 'money' from Summer's rolls.

Melissa too was excited and had unconsciously begun to wiggle her ass into Mike's crotch as he held her from behind. A moment later she felt his hard cock pressing into her. She turned her head and whispered to him, "Looks like someone's happy we're winning." 

He moved one of his hands lower to her thigh and squeezed it while whispering back to her. "Why don't we get outta here?"

"Mhmmm, I like the sound of that. Let's just wait until she loses." 

As Summer had not lost yet she was still the shooter. They had to wait for eight more rolls until she finally lost on her twenty eighth roll. They took their chips and were going to head out before Mike saw someone he decided to give his chips to. He spotted Mary-Anne Fischer, Holly's mother, playing at a roulette table. 

He walked over to her with Melissa as he led her by the hand. "Hello Mrs. Fischer, we're about to leave so I figured I'd give you my chips."

"Hi auntie." 

Mary-Anne turned towards the two. "I thought I told you to call me Mary."

"Right, uh, Mary, here you can have these," Mike said as he handed her the tray of chips.

"Well I won't say no to that, I want that grand prize," Mary said. "So you don't need a ride Melissa?"

"No…" she said shyly with a blush on her face. "Mike is taking me home."

"Oh is he now," Mary said with a knowing smirk. "Well be safe you two… and I don't just mean your driving young man," she said with a wink.

"Auntiiieee…." 

They walked off as Mary gazed at them watching the handsome young teen escort her niece to the exit of the venue. 'Oh to be young and in love.'

Dawn Atwood, Ryan's mother, had made a plan to earn some money tonight. She had donated $300 and received her chips and was planning on winning one of the prizes, a two night couples retreat at The Retreat Hotel at the Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland.

She had no need for a couples retreat and she certainly had no means of flying to Iceland, but when she found out the normal price of the stay would be well over $5000 dollars she knew she could make some serious cash by selling the tickets to one of the moms here. 

At one point her earnings had been up to $3000, but she knew this wouldn't be enough chips to win the prize so she kept playing and kept enjoying the open bar. As the night went on she continued to get drunker and drunker, as she was upset that she was losing more chips. 

She was at a roulette table while a waiter with a tray walked past her. "Hold up!" She said as she wasn't able to grab a drink off his tray. She stumbled on over to where he was and tripped into him, knocking him onto a table and spilling the drinks on the tray everywhere while she fell on the ground herself. 

Everyone turned to face the commotion as the crash of the table and the drinks made a loud noise. She was drunk off her ass and started laughing hysterically, her drunken self finding humor in what happened. 

"What the hell is your problem?" The waiter said as he was confused at her laughter.

"What's my problem?" She slapped his hand. "What's your problem? Back off!"

Ryan made his way to his mother, clearly embarrassed at her drunken antics. 

"Ah… Ryan! I musta tripped, it's these damn shoes! Oops!" She laughed again.

Seth saw this go down from across the room. He was in 'love' (read: lust) with Summer but Ryan was his friend, and he was quickly becoming his best friend, and he knew that helping him was more important than any girl, so he left Summer and went running over to him.

Luke also saw this and when his girlfriend Marissa, who he had been fighting with, gave him a stare that seemed to say 'Aren't you gonna help?' He rushed over to help Ryan's mom. 

"Why don't you just quit staring and help me up, okay?" Dawn yelled at her son as Ryan hesitated to help her up. He was supposed to be leaving the Cohen's tomorrow and going back with his mom. He certainly didn't want to leave, but the Cohen's were not his parents and he was not their problem. He knew he shouldn't have placed any faith in his mother, he knew she would let him down like she always did. 

Dawn became erratic as her son froze up and wasn't helping her and she began to scream. "GET ME UP! HELP ME UP!" Seth and Luke made their way over and they each grabbed an arm and helped her to her feet. "FINALLY! JEEEZ!" 

Mr. Cohen approached Seth and handed him the keys to his car and told him to bring it out front so they could take Dawn back home. 

While this was all going down Mike was standing by the exit with Melissa simply staring at the ruckus. Melissa worried about him as he had an unreadable expression on his face. He was thinking about both of his mothers, thinking about how sorry he felt for Ryan. And he was wondering whether it was better to have a trainwreck for a mother or to have no mother at all. 

Melissa squeezed his hand and put her head on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… C'mon let's go."