Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.
When Seth Cohen had told his girlfriend, Summer Roberts, that he thought they should spend more time together, this was not what he had in mind. Truthfully, he didn't know what he had in mind, except for maybe hanging out on the couch playing video games and eating all the junk food in the house but in the back of his mind, Seth knew that Summer would never go for such an idea. He was right.
So where had his idea for a little quality time gotten him? Standing in the women's department of some trendy clothing store Seth couldn't remember the name of holding Summer's purse and watching her tear through the clothes racks like something possessed. Any minute now, he actually expected her to sprout horns and a tail and knock all the other unlucky women shoppers out of her way just to keep them from possibly getting their hands on something Summer might want. The clothing store was having a sale, though for New Port Seth knew that meant they had knocked off a few bucks, and Summer had sworn that she had never seen the store so crowded before. Seth had heard stories about women that killed each other trying to get the latest designer outfits and now he believed them.
At the moment, however, Summer was browsing through the racks, every so often taking down a shirt, examining it and then tossing it back on its hanger. Seth watched her and sighed, shifting his weight, trying to ignore the fact that he was holding her purse and the looks he got once and while from the other shoppers. "Summer," he began slowly and she turned to face him, "Don't you think it's time to go do something else?" Anything else Seth had wanted to say but kept himself from doing so.
Summer looked at him for a moment before abandoning the rack in front of her and walking over to her boyfriend. "Cohen, you were the one that wanted to spend time together, remember?" She raised an eyebrow.
Seth nodded. "I know but this isn't spending time together." He chose his words carefully, fearing a rage blackout. "This is me watching you pick out clothes."
Summer rolled her eyes. "Well, shopping is more fun then playing those stupid video games you like so much." She pointed out before turning on her heels and returning to the rack she had left minutes ago.
"For who?" Seth mumbled but Summer didn't hear him, which he figured was probably a good thing. Maybe he should have asked Ryan what he did when he hung out with girls.
Summer pushed aside several hangers, studying the clothes upon them before choosing a top and turning around to face Seth. "What do you think of this one?" She asked, demonstrating it by holding it in front of her.
"It's great." Seth said, which, in truth it was. "So you can get it and lets go do something else."
Summer ignored the last part of his sentence and scrutinized the shirt she had chosen. "Are you sure it would look good with my eyes?" The top was red, one of her favorite clothes, but she wasn't quite sure it was the right kind of red. "And I don't have any nail polish that will match." She returned the shirt.
Seth had no idea how much went into buying a shirt. Good thing he didn't have to worry about how something would look with his eyes or matching nail polish. "I think you look good in anything." He said to her, which was how he really felt but at the moment, the line was meant mainly to put a sweet smile on Summer's face and get her to abandon her seemingly never-ending pursuit for shirts and jeans.
Summer smiled, but only slightly, and returned to the rack, choosing a blue top this time. "What do you think-"
"It's great." Seth said before she could even finish her sentence. "It goes great with your eyes and I'm sure you have nail polish to match. Now, please Summer, can we go somewhere else? How 'bout I take you to lunch?"
Summer studied the top for a minute. "Calm down, Cohen, just be patient." She mumbled, tossing the shirt aside, switching gears. "I need a new pair of shoes." And with that, she headed toward the other side of the store toward the aisles of shoes. Seth followed after her, trying to hand Summer her purse but ended up holding it anyway.
The multiple shoe aisles were located next to the children's section of the store, where most people dropped their toddles off while they went shopping, leaving the kids to climb around on the massive stuffed animals and toss shoes at each other. Seth looked at the kids with a bit of envy; they didn't have to follow their parents around, hearing about nail polish and carrying their purses.
Summer picked up a pair of leather go-go boots and examined them for a moment. She kicked off her own sandals and stuck her feet in the boots, which made her a good three-inches taller, and zipped them up. "What do you think?" She asked Seth.
With a sigh, Seth said, "I think they make you look like a hooker." Summer raised an eyebrow. "Just kidding, they're great. They'd look good with that red shirt."
Summer narrowed her eyes. "What do you know, Cohen?" She mumbled, looking away from him, her eyes falling on a massive stuffed dog in the kids section. "How cute." She said, shuffling over toward the stuffed animal. She realized she could never buy the boots on her feet because they were impossible to walk in and as soon as Summer thought this, she tripped over the heel of the right boot and landed on her hands and knees.
Seth looked over at her. "What are you doing?" He questioned, going over and helping Summer to her feet. "Are you all right?"
Holding onto Seth with one hand, Summer bent over and unzipped the boots, kicking them off. She felt much better when she was her normal height again and headed over toward the stuffed dog in her bare feet. Seth raised an eyebrow, his eyes going wide, when Summer hefted the dog off the floor. "Isn't he cute?" She questioned from behind the massive animal, struggling to peek out from behind it.
"That dog is bigger then you are." Seth said and the stuffed animal was indeed. Summer was completely hidden behind the fur and stuffed body and the animal's stuffed paws flopped on the floor.
Summer peered above the dog's head. "But it's so cute." She smiled, almost mischievously. "Cohen, will you buy this dog for me?"
Seth couldn't figure out if she was serious or not; sometimes it was hard to tell. "Why do you want that thing?" He asked instead, figuring it was a safe question.
"Because it's cute." Summer said as though it was the most obvious thing anyone had ever heard. "Will you?" She tried to do a pouty look but she was smiling too large to pull it off.
"You're not serious." Seth decided finally. "No, I will not buy that dog for you."
Summer frowned. "Fine, I'll buy it." She told him, knowing very well that she would never buy such a thing. "But you have to carry it." She tossed the dog at him and Seth caught it, surprised by just how heavy the animal was.
"Geez, this thing has to weigh ten pounds." He mumbled, managing to keep the animal from dropping to the floor.
Summer smiled. "C'mon, I want to go back and try on some more shirts." She grabbed his hand and tugged him back the way they came, snatching up her sandals as well.
Seth attempted to see past the massive furry head as he followed his girlfriend. As if shopping weren't punishment enough, he thought to himself, dragging the stuffed animal behind.
Summer choose a handful of shirts off the rack and said, "I'm going to try these on. You can wait there." She pointed to a chair in front of the changing rooms.
Seeing no other choice, Seth took a seat and then placed the massive stuffed animal in the chair next to him. The clerk behind the counter looked at him with a bemused, yet humorous expression on his face. Seth looked down at the ground, realized he was still holding Summer's purse and then tossed it into the chair with the large dog.
Summer tried on each outfit and Seth felt like she had been in the changing rooms for an hour; she finally emerged, deciding to keep two shirts, the red and blue that she had first picked out. "I need some jeans." She told Seth and they were off again, with Seth carrying the massive animal through the aisles of the store, apologizing every time the dog knocked into someone or knocked something over.
It took Summer nearly twenty minutes to pick out several pairs of jeans, with Seth standing beside her holding both the dog and the purse. A few members of the Harbor High football team happened upon them while Summer was debating two different pairs of jeans and had a good time laughing at Seth for nearly five minutes. I am never going to live this down, Seth thought but, then again, what sort of reputation did he have anyway?
Summer again returned to the fitting rooms with her jeans and Seth was once again forced to sit outside with the huge dog sitting beside him. It didn't take Summer nearly as long to decide this time and she had decided to purchase two pair of jeans to go with her two shirts.
"And your dog." Seth reminded her as they headed toward the checkout lanes. "Don't forget the dog."
Summer couldn't help but smile. "I don't want it." She told him and Seth's mouth dropped open. "You can put it back."
Seth stared at her. "You mean that you made me carry this huge thing around and get laughed at by everyone in the store and now you don't even want it?" He questioned, his voice gaining a bit of volume as he spoke.
Summer paid for her outfits. "Chill, Cohen." She told him, forcing him to set the dog down as she pulled him out the store.
"Summer, you could have at least told me you weren't really going to buy it before you made me lug around that psycho hairball." Seth continued.
Summer looked at him. "You're right, I shouldn't have made you carry it." She apologized. "But you looked so funny dragging it around." She grinned.
Seth rolled his eyes and started down the side walk; Summer jogged to catch up, wrapping her arms around his waist and forcing him to turn around. "I'll make it up to you." She said with a slight smile, kissing him when she finishing speaking.
When the kiss was broken, Seth smiled as well. "You know, that dog wasn't that heavy," he kissed her again, "so if you need someone to carry anymore freakishly large stuffed animals, I'm your man." Another kiss.
Summer rolled her eyes. "You are such a dork Cohen." But she couldn't help but give him another kissed, keeping her arms wrapped around his waist.
Seth attempted to shrug nonchalantly as he smiled. "It's all part of the Cohen charm."