Leave It To Fate

by IWishIWasAMermaid

Based on the movie 'Serendipity', starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Two people meet unexpectedly one night where love is unmistakeably in the air. But whether they ever meet each other again... is left to fate.

1. Just For Tonight

Title: Leave It To Fate

Summary: Based on the movie 'Serendipity', starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Two people meet unexpectedly one night where love is unmistakeably in the air. But whether they ever meet each other again... is left to fate.

Author's Note: So, this is my first O.C story, and after re-watching every episode again (plus some major arm-twisting from BeMySpiderman) I decided to give it a go. It's by no means perfect, but hopefully you'll like it. It'll most definitely be a SummerSeth story (eventually) and it's totally AU. They've never met before... well, until you read the sentences in which they do. Then they'll have met. As for the other pairings, I think RyanMarissa may be involved, but I'm not sure about that yet. You'll be the first to know when I decide. Plus, this chapter is very like the opening scenes in the movie, and that was because I couldn't think of any other way to set it up. Hopefully the rest of the story will be different, and I'm doing my best to try and make it so. I don't want it to be identical, with just the names changed around. And I promise, that after reading all of this, the actual story won't be this weird and rambly. I'm not usually like this. Honest.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own neither the O.C or Serendipity, because if I did, do you really think that I'd be sat writing this? No. I'd be out there writing the fifth season, duh.

Music: Just For Tonight by One Night Only

"Just for tonight, just maybe we've made it"

"I don't know 'Riss..." I said into my cell phone as I made my way down to the bottom floor of the department store, navigating my way through the hoards of people getting Christmas presents. "It's difficult deciding what to get him, you know? We've only been together a few months, so I don't want to get him something too big. But I want something nice."

Marissa sighed on the other end of the line, and I knew that she was having the same problem with what to buy Luke, though for a very different reason. They'd been dating ever since high school, and needless to say, things were getting old. "I don't know, Sum. Just... get him something that feels right."

I rolled my eyes at her helpfulness, and narrowly avoided bumping into a shop assistant who was restocking the shelves. "I suppose you're right. And I have another few days anyway, right? I'll find something."

"Okay. And if you see anything - " Marissa started, but I already knew how she was going to finish the sentence.

"If I see anything for Luke, I'll grab it straight away," I finished, stepping outside into the cold New York air, and beginning to walk down the street, scanning the road for any taxis.

"Thanks Sum," she said, before hanging up.

I flipped the phone shut and shoved it in my bag, just as a taxi drove past. Flinging my arm out, I co-ordinated my yell with it, like I'd grown accustomed to in the past few years. "Taxi!"

The weird thing was the echoic effect that seemed to occur just after I yelled, and I turned to see a guy that looked around about my age putting down his arm after calling. He noticed me at the exact same moment, and quickly motioned to the car that had stopped on the sidewalk.

"You take it. I'll wait for the next one."

I shook my head. I could wait; it wasn't like I was in a big rush. Plus, he might have seen it before me. I was on the phone, after all. "No, no. It's okay. You take it."

"Seriously, I'm sure you saw it first. You take the taxi." He said, looking at me with such a sincere expression on his face that I probably would have jumped in the taxi and been driven away had I not been sure that he should get in.

"Y'see, I think that you should get the taxi, because of your chivalry," I said; maybe this angle would work.

He smiled. "Whoever said chivalry was dead..." Pausing, I could tell that he was trying to think of a suitable way to finish that sentence. "... was wrong."

I burst out laughing at the lame-ness of the last two words - and that was after he had paused to think about it.

"Okay, so that wasn't exactly my smoothest line, but it wasn't one of the worst," he laughed too, and the taxi appeared to be forgotten about for a few seconds. Until, that is, a beep from the frustrated driver attracted our attention. "Go on, take the taxi."

I sighed. If chivalry really wasn't dead, then this guy would probably keep telling me to take the taxi, and the driver would get bored and drive away. "Where are you going?"

"Excuse me?" He asked, leaning forward as though he didn't think he'd heard me right.

"Where are you headed?" I repeated, speaking slightly slower so that he could be sure of what I was saying.

"Um... 5th Avenue," he said, still looking slightly weirded out by me asking where he was headed.

Right on my way. How coincidental is that? "Well then we can share. I have to go a bit further than that, and you could be waiting ages for another one to come along." I ran over to the taxi and pulled open the door. "C'mon stranger, get in the cab before I change my mind."

He didn't seem to protest, and climbed in the taxi and shuffled along to the seat the furthest away, letting me get in. I did so, closing the door behind me and leaning forward to talk to the driver, who looked kind of annoyed at the fact that we'd made him wait. Hell, he was getting paid. Why would he care? "Um... 5th Avenue, please. I'm not sure where..."

"The far end of 5th Avenue," the guy cut in, leaning forward so that his head was beside mine. "Are you sure about this?"

He was obviously speaking to me, and so I turned to him, wrinkling my nose. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, sure I'm sure. Unless you're like, an axe murderer, in which case I might have to go kung fu on your ass, because I'd much rather be alive, thanks."

This guy looked seriously amused by that, and raised his eyebrows at me. "Kung fu on my ass?"

"It means I'd go all Jackie Chan on you. Kick your butt. But if you're not an axe murderer - or any type of murderer, come to think of it - then you won't have to worry about that."

He laughed, shaking his head. "So, what were you up to tonight? Just leaving Bloomingdales, I noticed."

"Christmas shopping," I shrugged. Just like every other person in the department store. "I'm finding it harder than I usually do. Then again, I usually only have to shop for my dad and Marissa. Hardly many presents to try and find."

He nodded, as though he was in agreement. "So what's different this year?"

I shrugged, not really wanting to reveal that I had a boyfriend to this guy. Especially a boyfriend that I knew so little, that I was actually having to resort to asking Marissa about presents. "Just... everything. What about you? Busy this time of year?"

"Kind of. I'm not as in the spirit as I used to be though - nobody here in New York seems to appreciate the magic that is Christmukkah. There's only Ryan, and even then, I think he just goes along with it to shut me up."

I raised my eyebrows, looking at him. "Christmukkah?"

"I'm half Jewish," he said, and I got the feeling that it probably wasn't the first time that he had to explain. "My dad is Jewish, my mom is Christian. They didn't know how to raise me, so I raised myself, which isn't as bad as they make it sound. And thus, Christmukkah was born."

I laughed. Well, this guy was definitely something. Christmukkah? Definitely original. "Well that's... kinda strange. But cool nonetheless."

"It's very cool. I especially like the fact that nobody else celebrates it. Makes me feel all special inside," he carried on, apparently not bothered at all by the fact that we're still complete strangers.

"Well, I guess you'd need something that made you feel special - doesn't look like you've got much else going for you," I joked, not even having to think about what I was saying. It was kind of surprising actually, to be able to have such a free conversation with some random that I'd literally just met.

"Oh, ouch. Do you mind giving me prior warning before you start dishing out zingers like that? I think I just got burnt."

The comment was so out there, that I had to laugh, and it was while I was laughing that he looked at me strangely, obviously having the same thought that I'd had seconds before.

"Just so we're not complete strangers... I'm Seth," he said, just as the cab driver turned around to face us, and I noticed that the car had stopped. What, we were there already? We couldn't be.

We weren't. "There's been an accident up here. Road's completely blocked. You'd probably be faster walking." The driver said, and I nodded in agreement.

After digging in my bag for some money, I handed a ten dollar bill to the taxi driver, and then opened my door, looking expectantly at Seth when I was out of the car. "Are you coming then?"

He didn't need to be told twice, and a few seconds later the cab was driving away and we were walking along the cold street.

"I could have paid," he piped up as we turned a corner and I pulled my coat a little tighter around me to keep out the cold. That was the one downside of moving to New York from California. Always immensely cold in winter.

I turned to look at him and smiled slightly. "Yeah, you could have. But it was nothing, really. I'd have had to pay it anyway, so it's no problem."

Not seeming to understand this, he didn't drop the subject like I'd intended him to. "Well at least let me pay you back."

"Why?" I asked, my breath fogging up the air in front of me for a few seconds before dissolving.

He shrugged. "Because it seems like the right thing to do. And because there's a coffee shop just there, and I don't know about you, but I need to get warmed up."

Well... when he put it like that... "Fine. I guess that's a good plan."

Seth led the way into the coffee shop, holding the door open for me to follow him in, and then stood at the counter, waiting for me to tell him what I wanted. I scanned the chalkboards that detailed what they served, and quickly made my selection. "I'll just have a hot chocolate, thanks."

After getting the drinks, we made our way to one of the booths, the hot liquid warming our fingers through the cups. I slid in, and blew lightly on the drink, not wanting to burn my tongue. I've done that before, and let me tell you, I do not like it. I took off my coat, and put my bag down on the floor, waiting for it to cool. When it was cool enough to drink, I took a sip and then tried to think of something interesting to say.

Seth got there before me. "So, do you want to play a game?"

"What sort of game?" I asked, unsure of whether I should fall for this one. I barely knew this guy - he could be being totally perverted right now... though I kind of hope not.

"Actually, it's more of a 'I'll ask you a question and then vice versa' type thing, but calling it a game just made it sound way more interesting, don't you think?" Seth said, tilting his head slightly and watching me intently.

Oh. Well that's not perverted at all, so I guess I can join in with that... game thing. "Sure, why not. Are you gonna go first?"

He nodded, before screwing his face up slightly, in thought. "Okay, favourite band?"

"Favourite band that I'll admit to liking, or favourite band that I like to dance around in my underwear to at home?" I asked, the words only sinking in when they'd already escaped my lips.

Seth looked surprised at my query, and then wiped the astonishment from his face by shaking his head slightly. "The last one. Because I'm more intrigued by that one."

"Then I guess your answer will have to be the Spice Girls. Which makes me sound like a total saddo, and like I'm still living in the 90s, but hey, the 90s was a good era for me." I took another sip of my hot chocolate, and then began to think of what question I'd ask him. "Favourite place?"

"That could have a few answers. It depends when you ask me."

I rolled my eyes slightly, and after drinking some more, I replied. "Well I'm asking you now, aren't I? So what's your favourite place, right now?"

"Here." He stated almost immediately, and I got the distinct feeling that he'd just done what I'd done previously. Talked without thinking. "I'm a live-in-the-moment kind of guy," he quickly tried to cover up what he'd said, but didn't manage to conceal the slight blush that had come over his face. Clearing his throat, he looked down at his cup on the table, and then moved on swiftly. "Favourite book?"

This one was easy. "Definitely Pride and Prejudice, though I love Madame Bovary. I used to have to read Madame Bovary to this guy in hospital because it was his favourite, so I became kinda attached. Um... favourite song?"

Draining the last of my hot chocolate, I put the cup back on the table and waited for Seth to reply.

"Wonderwall. I'm partial to the Ryan Adams cover, though you really can't beat Oasis. But I have a lot of songs that I will absolutely never tire of." He said. "Okay... what about your favourite TV show?"

I laughed, the answer springing into my mind almost immediately, even though I hadn't actually seen an episode since I left California. "The Valley. I used to watch it all the time, but have sort of given up now. When I moved to New York it was one of the things I no longer had time for. Is it even still on TV? I'm going to have to go home and do some online research now, just to see what happened with April and that other guy."

"Oh, you're a Valley girl?" he said, wrinkling his nose up slightly to show me exactly what he thought of that show.

I nodded, laughing again. "Used to be. As I said, I haven't watched it in a while. Favourite movie?"

"God, must I only choose one? I watch too many movies to only pick one! Just because it's a classic in Japanese cinema, I'll have to say the Yakuza films."

Never heard of them. "I have no idea what happens in those movies, or even that they're real, but okay!" Seeing that he'd finished his coffee, I motioned to the door. "I kind of have to go."

A fleeting look - was it disappointment? - flashed across his face, but a mere second later he nodded and stood up as I put my coat back on. We were back in the street again before he spoke. "So are you going to meet your boyfriend now, or what?"

I turned to him, unsure of how to even answer that. "No. I think he's probably out doing a similar thing to you."

"What, hanging out with an amazing girl?" Seth asked, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. At my glance, the smile faded away. "I just meant I had fun. And I think that you should give me your phone number... just in case."

"In case of what?" I asked, protesting more than I felt I should.

He shrugged, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Life. Look, I know I've known you for about half an hour, but I just had a really good time, and I probably won't be able to find you again."

I turned away and continued walking up the street, knowing that he was following me. "If we're meant to meet again, we'll meet again."

"What?" He said incredulously. "We're going to leave it to fate? I have to admit, me and fate aren't the best of friends, and it would just be so much easier..."

I cut him off by turning back to face him. "Have you ever heard that saying: if you love something, let it go; if it's meant to be, it'll come back to you?"

He nodded, a look of curiosity on his face.

"Well then. If it's meant to be, we'll meet again. It's just not the right time right now."

Understatement. I had a boyfriend. And for all I knew, he had a girlfriend. And we'd known each other for half an hour!

Seth rolled his eyes. "You're just repeating the same thing. What about telling me something that you haven't repeated. Like your phone number - or even better: your name!"

I rolled my eyes, attempting to conceal the smile on my face, and carried on walking.

"Okay, listen to me. When I say 'hey, my name is Seth' does that make you want to say something to me?" He caught up to me again, and was still talking. He seemed to talk an awful lot.

Turning to him for what I thought would be the last time, I gave him my nicest smile. "Merry Christmas Seth."

"It's Christmukkah!" He called after me as I crossed the road and left him standing there.

After I'd put enough distance between us, I shot a glance back to where I'd left him, and saw that he'd gone. Sighing slightly, I decided to call Marissa, and see whether I could stop by and talk, but upon looking down for my bag so that I could retrieve my cell phone, I realized that it wasn't there. My bag. Ugh! I'd left it on the floor, in that coffee shop. Spinning around, I hurried back to the cafe, praying that somebody hadn't seen it and stolen it.

I pushed open the door to the shop, my eyes falling on the table that we'd been sat at. But it wasn't unoccupied. Someone was just reaching down to pick up a scarf, that had obviously been left on the floor; forgotten about. And he came up, holding my bag too. Turning around, he looked shocked when he saw me standing there, watching him, but there was a definite smile wanting to break over his face.

"Hey."

"Hey," I replied, taking a step forward to take my bag.

"Let's go and do something."

I didn't protest.

---

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I said, as I scrawled my number on a scrap of paper that I'd had in my bag.

Seth laughed. "Hey! This is what fate wanted, remember? You said that if we were meant to meet again, we would. That fate would help us along. If that stunt with the scarf and the bag wasn't fate, then I don't know what is."

"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes, finishing the number with a flourish and then holding the paper out to him. Before his fingers could close around it however, the paper had flown out of my hands and into the air. It was too high for him to reach within seconds, and both of us watched in shock as it disappeared into the inky sky.

He turned back to me, holding up a hand. "You have to write that down again."

"I can't!" I shook my head and began walking up the street again, a major sense of deja vu striking me. "That was a sign."

I heard the groan he gave, before he began talking again, telling me that this was all just stupid. "Okay. So, we're just going to walk away? No names, phone numbers, addresses... no anything? What? Is your information just going to find its way to me? Fate will FedEx it to me?"

An idea striking me, I stopped dead, pulling open my bag again.

"Hey, you're going to write it down again! I knew you'd see things my - wait. What are you doing?"

I pulled the ten dollar bill out of my purse and handed it to him. At his confused expression, I pushed the pen into his hands and explained: "Write your name and number down."

"On money?" He asked, looking at me as though I'd grown an extra head. I probably had; this was so unlike me. It was though another brain had taken over for a little while. At my nod, he began writing, stealing a weird glance at me every two letters or so. When he'd done, he handed it to me, and without even looking at it, I ran over to the nearest street vendor. "Hey! What - what the hell are you doing?"

Taking the chewing gum that I'd bought, plus my change, I shrugged. "If that ten dollar bill finds its way back into my hands, then I'll be able to call you, won't I?"

"You are insane." He stated, shaking his head. I just stood and watched him, and after a few seconds his face softened again. "Well, what about me? I need to be able to find something with your name and number on it, right?"

That was fair. I looked around, trying to think of something that I could write my details on. Something that would circulate. Something that he'd have a chance of finding. I glanced back in my bag, and pulled out the book that was in there. I'd bought it from a charity shop a few weeks before, and had been planning on taking it to a second hand book shop once I'd finished it. Which I had. "Okay. I'm going to give this book to a second hand book shop tomorrow. After I've written my name and number inside it."

"Well which book store are you giving it to?"

I stared at him. "If I told you that, wouldn't it defy the purpose?"

"What purpose? I see no purpose! Look, if you didn't have fun tonight, just tell me. Don't make me go through all of this..."

"That's not it! I cannot judge whether I'm meant to be with someone after spending only an hour with them. So, if that ten dollar bill finds its way back into my hands, then I'll call you. If you find the copy of this book with my name and number in it, then you can call me. And then we'll know."

"Know what?"

I sighed, trying not to look exasperated. After all, this was my doing. He just wanted things to be simple. But sometimes simplicity isn't the wisest route, and I just... I have more belief in fate, than in love at first sight. "Whether we're meant to be together."

Seth looked at me for a few seconds, almost as if he were trying to work out whether I was really saying all of this, or whether he was just imagining it. "I don't understand this."

"You don't have to understand it," I whispered, taking back the pen that was still in his hands and stepping away from him. "You just have to believe." Sticking my hand out to attract the attention of the taxi driver who was coming along the road, I watched as his face became even more confused.

"Believe in what?" He called, obviously still unable to believe that this was even happening.

The cab came to a stop beside me. "Destiny!" Climbing in, I closed the door behind me in one swift movement, and opened the window. "Oh and by the way: it's Summer. My name. Summer."

He looked like he was about to begin protesting again, and so before he could, I rolled the window back up and told the driver where I wanted to go. And then... he was gone. Swallowed up by the night. And only fate would tell me if I'd ever meet him again.