Disclaimer: Josh is the man. The song's Five For Fighting's. Listen to it! It's all about the "100 years", baby. Ministolli's mine, though.
Summary: "And it all started when he first laid eyes upon Summer Roberts." Seth lives one hundred years.
He always watched her, admired her.
She was the most beautiful in the school, the most confident. What she lacked in faults, she made up with her exuberant personality and wit. She was always with him.
Even if she barely acknowledged him at all.
Seth Cohen was fifteen and in his sophomore year of high school. He sat in the back of his algebra class, slouching in his seat, trying to find an excuse to concentrate to the day's lesson. But he couldn't find a reason to.
Not when she was sitting in the desk to the right of him.
"Mr. Cohen, would you mind sharing your work for number 7 on the board please?" the teacher asked. She stood in the front of the room, trying to gain Seth's attention. A hand made way onto her hip and she quirked her eyebrow in impatience.
"Mr. Cohen? Mr. Cohen?"
Seth couldn't hear the teacher. He wasn't paying attention to the class, the lectures, the math computations. His palms felt wet with sweat, his heart was pumping wildly in his chest, and his head felt light. Seth felt relatively hopeless and pathetic. To think that small eye contact with the girl of his dreams could lessen his attention span was incredulous.
But it never stopped his body from going into complete overdrive.
"Mr. Cohen!" Mrs. Jamison tightened her grip on the overhead pen she was holding in dire impatience. Seth Cohen was never one to pay attention in her class. She had spoken to his other teachers but they proclaimed that he was the most excellent student in all his other subjects. That it was just probably her own class that he couldn't concentrate in.
But why?
"Yeah, c'mon, emo geek. Hurry up and get your ass over to the board. You're wasting our damn time here," quipped Brad from the other side of the room. He smirked at Seth and then at his friends sitting close by Seth's desk. Mrs. Jamison sent a glare towards Brad and his smirked lessened, yet still remained on his face.
"Brad, please refrain from the profanity in this classroom. You know the rules," she scolded. Brad nodded and turned back to Seth as he got up from his desk and slowly walked to the front of the class.
A leg jutted from the side of Bobby McDonald's desk just when Seth came passing by him. The sudden action took Seth by surprise and he stumbled forward, grabbing onto a nearby chair to balance his fall. He panted as he stood back up and craning his neck upwards, looked to see if Mrs. Jamison saw the event that had taken place a second ago.
She hadn't. Her back was to him and she was writing something on the board.
Brad and Bobby shared a laugh from their respective sides in the classroom, as did some of the other students in the class. Seth walked briskly to the front of the room, his head down in quiet embarrassment. He quickly jotted down the work and answer to the number seven question on the board and turning around, stalked back to his desk.
"Fag," Bobby whispered as he passed by. Seth looked at him and Bobby grinned, turning back his head to look at the teacher. More quiet chuckles erupted from the class and hanging his head lower, Seth continued walking.
As Seth walked back to his seat, he dared look at Summer in the face. But he heard her. She was laughing along with the class, but distinctly, he heard a difference in her tone than in the other's in the class.
But she was laughing, nonetheless.
Sometimes he wondered why he even liked her in the first place. At times, she seemed to be just like all the other Newport kids.
As he bent his legs and slid back into his seat, his hand knocked over the pencil on his desk. Sighing, he scooted to the right and bent to retrieve it, only to be stunned that another had picked it up before he had. Seth raised himself up and looked into the face of the retriever.
Summer.
She held the pencil out to him with her left hand and raised herself to look at Seth, just as he did to her. Her eyes looked desperately sympathetic and her lips were curved into a guilty grimace.
Seth's heart pulsated wildly in his chest and he stared at Summer for what had felt like an eternity. He extended his right arm and slowly stripped the pencil away from Summer's hand. She still looked at him sadly and before turning back to the teacher, whispered a quiet "I'm sorry."
Sometimes he forgot why he liked Summer at all.
But then it was the little things that made him remember.
I'm 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
They were in their senior year of college. Both attended USC and both had worked hard to get where they were today. They had faced many trials and tribulations to finally reach their goals and they were happy.
Happy about their futures, their present lives, their past.
But most of all, happy that they were together.
Seth had requested that both he and Summer go out for dinner one night. Summer looked on at him in disbelief. They both were in the campus cafe and sat in a lone booth in the corner of the store. They sat together on one side of the booth, bodies pressed closed, hands entwined.
"Are you serious?" Summer shockingly asked. "This coming from the guy who likes to spend his Friday nights in front of the television playing Grand Theft Auto for five hours straight."
Seth grabbed his heart in mock hurt. "Ouch. That hit me right here, Sum." Summer rolled her eyes in response.
Seth focused on a rebuttal. "I do have a life, you know. Grand Theft Auto is definitely ranking in the life category. It's like being Ryan in Chino. Only more murders and Mafia. And no pregnancies and abusive boyfriends. That so counts as life."
He raised the cup in his hand and took a sip of his coffee. Summer rolled her eyes once again and pressed her body more closely to Seth's side. Both sat in mild silence for a moment, comfortable with just being with one another.
"What's up, anyway? Why are we going out tonight again anyway?" Summer craned her neck to look at Seth and looking back down at his girlfriend, Seth grinned and shrugged.
"I don't know. It's a secret."
Summer threw herself out of Seth's arms and looked at him in confusion. "What kind of secret?" she asked raising one eyebrow. In response, Seth grinned even wider and shrugged once again.
"Seth!" Summer pressed. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared at her boyfriend in waiting. "Well?"
Seth's grin turned into a small smile and her grabbed Summer closer and kissed her forehead. "Can't say. Gotta go to class." He scooted out of the booth, leaving Summer in disbelief. "Be ready by eight. I'll come pick you up at your dorm."
He walked away from the booth and Summer stared at him as he walked away. "Can't you tell me?" she shouted from her position at the table.
"It's a secret!" Seth yelled back as he opened the cafe's door and stepped outside.
----------
It was already eight and Seth had been sincere in his promise to pick Summer at eight. They climbed into Seth's Range Rover and Seth drove Summer to Ministolli's, an expensive Italian eatery in the middle of Los Angeles.
They had a delicate meal, with champagne and live violinists in the restaurant. Summer looked around at her surroundings in slight awe. The walls were adorned with Italian paintings and culture. A crystal chandelier hung in the center of the main room and flowers scattered the corners.
Seth stared at Summer in wonder. The fact that she was his and he her's was unbelievable. The fact that she, his childhood wish, actually came true still compelled Seth and sometimes he still couldn't believe that he had found someone like her to light up his life.
He couldn't believe Summer Roberts was his love.
More compelling, that he was hers.
Summer felt Seth's eyes boring into her and raised her eyes to meet his in slight confusion. Seth's palms began radiating sweat and he felt it collected on his temple. Summer recognized Seth's sudden mood change and crinkled her eyebrows in confusion and worry.
"Cohen? Cohen? Are you alright?" Seth stood straight ahead, his mouth clamping and unclamping, the action reminding her of a fish out of water.
Just as she was about to stand and walk over to his side of the table, Seth fell from the chair and onto the floor. He bent on one knee and Summer recognized the stance immediately.
He was proposing.
Seth reached down into his jacket's pocket and slowly, hesitantly, pulled out a black, velvet box. Opening it, the box revealed the most beautiful diamond ring that Summer had ever seen in her life. Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes glazed over at the sight of it.
"Summer Roberts," Seth's voice cracked and he struggled to get out the words he had been dying to say in the longest time, "Will you marry me?"
Summer's mouth cracked into a wide grin and she bent down and pulled Seth to a standing position. Eyes twinkling, she vigorously nodded her head.
"Yes, yes!"
Seth's hesitant face contorted into one of pure joy and he slipped the diamond ring onto Summer's waiting finger. Both mirrored one another's face and Summer grabbed Seth's face to her own and kissed him with all the love she possessed in her body.
They were young, in love. And getting married.
Nothing could have been more perfect.
I'm 22 for a moment
She feels better than ever
And we're on fire
Making our way back from Mars
15... there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15...there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live...
Seth paced around the waiting room. He had his hands deeply stuffed into his pockets and his brain was racked with thousands of thoughts.
Is Summer okay? Is everything all right? Is he a he or is he a she? Boy or girl?
I'm going to be a father in a matter of hours?
Ryan looked on from his seat near the window. He watched as Seth looked at the ground, with his face contorted in deep consternation, his back-and-forth walking appearing to bore a hole in the ground.
"Seth, relax. It's going to be okay. Summer's probably fine. And so is the baby. A few more hours and you're gonna be good to go."
Seth turned to Ryan and briskly walked over to him. He situated himself next to his brother and started gesturing wildly with his hands.
"Just a few more hours, right? I mean, you should know, right? You've probably dealt with the stuff tons of times." Ryan shot Seth a sidelong glare. "She's probably fine. You know, the labor's just probably pretty bad. And then after, pop! There comes the baby. Jesus and Moses, the baby." Seth turned in his seat and shook Ryan by the shoulders.
"I'm gonna have a baby. A baby! A baby!" Seth continued to shake Ryan in his arms until Ryan swatted him away. Seth didn't mind, but rather stood up and began whispering to himself, much less to Ryan.
"I'm going to be a father. I'm gonna have a little guy. I'll teach him how to skate, teach him a thing or two about the comics, introduce him to video games. Oh. My. God. A baby Cohen."
Ryan felt his lips quirk up into a small smile. Seth was really one of the best men he had ever met and he deserved to have everything he ever wanted in life. A baby Cohen would be the perfect addition to Seth's ever-growing life.
A nurse rushed into the waiting room and smiling widely, she informed both Ryan and Seth that Summer was ready to deliver the baby. Seth turned to Ryan and smiled in great anticipation and in return, Ryan stood smiling and nodded.
Running to his wife's room, Seth breathed heavily in a mixture of wonder and excitement. He entered the room and lying on the bed was his wife, his Summer. She was panting and huffing, her chest heaving in quick breaths. As her eyes scanned the room and landed on her husband, she gave a little smile.
In awe, Seth walked over to Summer and grabbed her hand. He kissed her nose and stood looking at her.
"You ready?" he asked her.
Summer looked up at him and grinned. "I was born ready, Cohen. I---"
A large pain gripped Summer's lower half and she shook in shock. A scream fell from her lips and her hand mercilessly gripped Seth's. Seth grimaced in pain as the grip tightened and tightened with every contraction.
"Push, Summer! Push!" The doctor instructed. Summer pushed and pushed, sweat dripping from her forehead and onto her face. She pushed until she could push no longer, Seth next to her whispering comforting words and encouragement.
And then it happened.
A head, and then a torso, and finally, a baby.
Ten fingers and ten toes. All small, all delicate.
A little baby boy. A little baby Cohen.
The baby's cry echoed in the room and in exhaustion, Summer drooped her head back onto the hospital bed. The nurse, after cleaning, handed the little boy to Summer, who took him in her arms and stared at him in awe.
Seth stared at his wife and newborn son in amazement. Mentally, he took a snapshot of this moment. A beautiful snapshot, which he knew he would refer back to whenever need be.
He had a wife. He had a child.
Seth knew no other moment could make him any happier.
I'm 33 for a moment
Still the man but you see I'm a they
A kid on the way
A family on my mind
It was twelve years later after Dylan was born.
Seth was forty-five. He was an executive music producer at Warner Bros., a job that suited him well and offered good pay, something beneficial to help him raise he and his family.
Summer, after years at college, made an important decision to be a stay-at-home mother. Seth had no objection to her decision; after all, Summer's working positions would always be her own decisions. At first, Summer tried to adjust to staying at home all the time. She was a usual busy person, and with no real purpose at home, she grew relentless and tried to find things to do.
She tried shopping, but eventually, that grew boring. She tried to spend time with Marissa, but Marissa was always so busy with her interior decorating that she never really had time to do anything.
And so, scrapbooking became her latest craze. She recorded every memory she could come up with and put it into miles and miles of scrapbooks, all reserved in her and Seth's bedroom.
It was 10:30 at night when Summer was sitting in Seth's home office desk making another scrapbook. She heard the front door creak open and listened as Seth's footsteps echoed throughout their large house. He opened the door to his office and tried to smile as he spotted Summer in her pajamas at his desk.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Hi," she replied in a quiet tone. Dylan was asleep upstairs and both parents dared not waking him up.
Seth sighed and dropped his briefcase on the floor. He threw himself on a nearby chair and with his elbows on his knees, held his face in his hands.
Summer stood and walked over to him. She rubbed his back as he held his face and climbed into his lap. Seth held her for the longest time in silence, his head resting on her chest, her chin atop his head.
"Tired?" Seth nodded along her collarbone.
"I'm going to quit my job," he mumbled against her skin. Summer widened her eyes and she bent her head to look at her husband.
"What?" she asked. She had thought Seth loved his job. After all, he was an executive. And he loved his music.
"I'm quitting," Seth breathed. He raised his head to look at his wife, and seeing her puzzled expression. "It's too hard, Sum."
"Cohen, of course it's hard. It's the music industry." Seth shook his head.
"Ryan Dorf left the label today. He said that Warner Bros. wasn't his style. I don't know why or how he got that idea, but he did. And he left. Which left me in deep shit. Mr. McAllister got totally pissed at me and demanded that I get Dorf back. Well, after much begging and pleading that Ryan kid still wouldn't come back. If I don't get him back, I'm fired."
Summer looked on at her husband sadly. "Seth, but you love this job."
Seth grimmaced. "Yeah, but Sum. C'mon. We both know Ryan-whatever won't come back to us. And that my ass will somehow get kicked to the curb. I might as well quit before I get fired."
Summer narrowed her eyes at him. "And where would you go if you left?" she challenged.
Seth shrugged. "I don't know. The comic book store. The record store. Ryan's construction company. The pudding company--Jello or whatever."
Summer rolled her eyes. "Okay, Seth. The pudding company? The pudding company will support this family?"
Seth sighed. "Okay, so no pudding company. But it's just so fun to say. Pudding. Puudding." Summer rolled her eyes once again, but stopped when she thought of something.
Unwrapping herself from Seth's arms, much to his complaints, Summer went into her and Seth's bedroom and pulled a scrapbook from the shelf. She stalked back into the office and dumped the book into Seth's arms.
"Okay, Sum. I don't think now's the time to gawk at pictures of Dylan when he was a baby. We sort of got a crisis going on here."
Summer sighed and flipped to a page in the book. A picture lay in the middle of the page and Summer pointed it to Seth, her fingers grazing the page. "Look," she told him.
It was a picture of Dylan at his school's science fair when he was eight years old. Clad in a blue dinosaur shirt and brown corduroy shirts, Dylan was a splitting image of his father. He stood proudly next to a rocket ship display and he was smiling proudly, pointing to the rocket next to him.
"You pushed Dylan so hard and never allowed him to give up. Dylan wanted to quit, remember? He said he had no chance of winning the fair, but you believed in him, you pushed him. And surprise. Our boy won first place. Because someone believed in him and knew he could go the distance." Summer looked down at Seth, who turned his eyes from the picture and onto her.
"I'm pushing you, Cohen. Regardless if it's hard, I'm pushing you. 'Cause I love you and I believe in you." She bent down and kissed his cheek. Seth smiled and closed the scrapbook.
"You always have a way of manipulating me, Roberts." Summer stuck out her tongue and quirked an eyebrow.
"What can I say? It's the Cohen charm. You rubbed off on me."
Seth smirked. "Speaking of rubbing..." Summer crossed her arms over her chest.
"Seth Cohen, you are so not asking for sexual favors right now." Seth looked at her wide-eyed, then slowly grinned in cockiness.
"I was asking for a massage, you know." Summer felt her cheeks grow pink and she tried to play it off.
"I knew that. I'm not stupid, just shallow. Duh."
Seth scoffed. "Sure, you did, honey bunches. But if you're suggesting, you know..."
"Save it, hot stuff."
I'm 45 for a moment
The sea is high
And I'm heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life
15... there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose yourself
Within a morning star
15... I'm all right with you
15... there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live...
Seth walked hand in hand with his wife on the warm sands adjacent to their Newport home. Both were now sixty-seven years of age. Wrinkles and freckles covered both their faces, but still, they managed to look ten years younger.
Summer, small and fragile, walked with a slow beat. She no longer fashioned herself with tight clothing and stilettos, but rather more comfortable clothing: looser shirts and form fitting trousers. Her hair began to pale, it's usual raven tint to it fading into a dull gray. Wrinkles dotted the sides of her eyes, but they came not from worry or stress. Happiness completely filled her life and the wrinkles came from smiling all the time, her husband and grandchildren usually making her happiest the most.
Seth, still tall and lanky, walked a small slouch in his back. He looked the same as he did thirty years ago, however, more wrinkles adorned his face and his hair was no longer brown, but white. He was no difference in personality, still having Captain Oats sitting on his dresser at home. Seth Cohen was the same man, the only difference in experience and age. He was the happiest a man could be, having fulfilled everything he wanted in life.
"We should go back, Cohen." Seth smiled at the nickname. Even after all these years, Summer never failed to call him by the name he was referred to by her in high school and the times after that. "We need to get ready for the reunion."
Seth nodded and turned back to the house, his left hand laced with Summer's right. "I wonder how tall Aiden and Becca are now. The last time we saw them was, like, what...Chrismukkah?" Summer nodded.
"I know, huh? I bet you they're both taller than me."
"Everyone's taller than you."
Summer smacked him with her free hand. Seth grabbed his arm in reflex. "Hey!"
"Are you calling me short, Cohen?" She lifted an eyebrow and straightened her lips.
"You are!" Seth responded with alert. Summer nodded thoughtfully.
"That's only 'cause I have no heels on." Seth scoffed.
"Well, I'd advise you not to walk around in heels any longer. I mean, I don't want you falling and breaking your hip or anything. If you hadn't taken notice, we're kinda old, Sum."
Summer laughed. "If we're so old, why is it that you still read comics and play video games? They don't even make games for Playstation 2 anymore. Those are so, like, outdated."
"Well, for your information, Playstation is timeless. It's like vintage. Everybody's just lining up on the street to play mine; vintage things like these are classics, Sum."
Summer giggled. "Whatever you say, Cohen, whatever you say."
A moment passed and silence overwhelmed the two. It was neither uncomfortable nor awkward, but rather simple and uncomplicated. The nicest kind of silence anyone could have.
"This is nice. Our bantering is nice. It's like we're 16 again. A throwback or something." Summer looked on at Seth.
"Well, we'll always be young at heart, Cohen."
Half time goes by
Suddenly you're wise
Another blink of an eye
67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We're moving on...
Seth Cohen had lived through it all.
He had loved.
He had a child. Who had other children. Who had other children.
He was successful in life. He had a great job, he lived well.
He faced trials and tribulations, obstacles in life he had to overcome. And eventually did.
Through it all, he realized he had everything he ever truly wanted.
He knew if he died today, he would die in peace. He would die happy.
And it all started when he first laid eyes upon Summer Roberts.
The reason for his 100 years.
I'm 99 for a moment
Dying for just another moment
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
15... there's still time for you
22... I feel her too
33... you're on your way
Every Day's a new Day
15... there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to choose
Hey 15... there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live
That's all folks. Thanks for reading.