Clay and Grant pack up for their covert trip to Santa Barbara to “settle some business”. Clay points out that even if things don’t work out with Chrissy, there’s a ton of girls up there to distract them.

Meanwhile in Santa Barbara, Chrissy and Kylie talk about the male drama in their lives. Kylie admits she had fun with Chase in Newport, but she’s not sure she wants a relationship. Chrissy was happily surprised by Billy at her party, but what about her status is with Clay? Sounds like a new love triangle is forming between Newport Harbor and Santa Barbara!

Chase drops a bombshell on Samantha, telling her that he’s definitely going to from Newport Harbor to Santa Barbara. And yes, it has to do with Kylie. They may not be officially together, but Chase is very happy with her. When Samantha brings up Taylor, Chase tells her that he’s made his choice and it’s Kylie.

At school, Chrissy is in the process of calling Clay when Billy stops by to chat. His friend’s throwing a party that weekend and he wants her to swing by. Might put a damper on that surprise visit Clay was planning.

Chase calls Kylie and invites himself up for a visit. Despite his enthusiasm, Kylie tells him she’s got too much studying to do and he should wait and come up the next night. But wait…as Chrissy and Allie get ready to go out, they comment that Kylie’s going to meet them at the party after her study session. Maybe she’s not so busy after all…

The subject quickly turns to the Chrissy-Clay-Billy situation. Chrissy admits she feels bad about it, but not too bad; she and Billy aren’t anything and really, neither or she and Clay. They’re just seeing if they can make the long-distance thing work.

Little does she know that Clay and Grant have just arrived in Santa Barbara. But when they knock on Chrissy’s door, Kylie informs them that Chrissy’s already at the party. She’s flustered, wondering if Chrissy knew Clay was coming, but agrees to take them with her.

The party’s bumping when the girls arrive, but Billy drops everything else to take Chrissy around and introduce her to his friends. When Allie quizzes Chrissy on her status with Billy as opposed to Clay, Chrissy comments that she likes Billy because he’s become her “Clay away from home”.

Too bad her actual Clay has arrived at the party just in time to catch her making out with Billy. Before Chrissy can respond, Clay and Grant bolt. When Grant asks Clay what he’s going to do, Clay shrugs and says he’s over it.

The next morning, Kylie fills Chrissy in on Clay and Grant’s arrival. Chrissy is clearly distressed, wondering where the boys even slept that night. Cut to Clay and Grant passed out in Clay’s car. They talk about it and agree they probably should have thought out their road trip a little more.

Both the guys and the girls talk about what the night’s events mean for Chrissy and Clay’s relationship. Chrissy admits she needs to end things with someone…and that someone is probably Clay. Grant points out the “I told you so” on how much relationships suck and Clay agrees — at least when it comes to long distance relationships. Chrissy calls Clay and they arrange to meet up and figure out once and for all where they stand.

In Santa Monica, Samantha tells Allie about Chase’s decision to move to Santa Barbara. Samantha fears she may have irked Chase for warning him against moving for Kylie, but Allie agrees that it’s a bad idea. Especially since Chrissy told Allie that Kylie was the “girl version” of Chase and might not want a relationship. Allie might be right because when Chase talks to Kylie chat about his upcoming move, he seems a lot more into than she does.

It’s time for the big Chrissy-Clay talk. Chrissy apologizes for Clay having to sleep in his car, but Clay hints that he didn’t want to crash at her place if Billy was there. Getting to the heart of the issue, Chrissy tells him that she and Billy aren’t in a relationship yet, but she feels that she and Clay are at different places in their lives. She wants to enjoy her first year of college and she wants him to enjoy his last year of high school. Clay isn’t as enthusiastic, but agrees that they’re done. There’s a quick hug goodbye and an insistence from Chrissy that it’s “nobody’s fault” before Newport Harbor’s sweethearts go their separate ways. Will it last?