I own nothing.

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Seth Cohen had thought that dating Summer Roberts would be an adventure. She was beautiful, witty and in addition, had sacrificed a lot of her popularity to be with an emogeek like him. Even though they were as different as night and day, he'd taken up an interest in her inane television shows like The Valley , while she'd acquired a taste for Captain America. At first. Now it was all about going to the beach, which he didn't mind if he got to surf, but all she wanted to do was sunbathe and people watch. He honestly didn't care if the statuesque lady in red was wearing a suit that was "sooo, last millennium" or that the stumpy lady in green had obviously had her boobs done. Plus, he was sick and tired of hearing about how comic books were " totally dumb. Like, are we actually suppose to believe that he actually shoots fire from his eyes?"

So there he was on a Friday night, holed up at the comic book store checking out the latest editions. Going to a party every now and then was great, but partying every night of every weekend was pushing it. He realized that their relationship was barely surviving on its last legs and it was just a matter of time before they broke up for good. As he fingered a copy of the brand new Astonishing Xmen #1, he thought of a better time.

Being with Anna had been one of the most natural things he'd done in his life. No wonder I took her from granted, he thought. They'd had many things in common that as a result, their relationship was one with minimal conflict. But at the time, he mistook it for boredom. And he regretted it.

He didn't know what it was but he missed her. Maybe it's because as some say, absence made the heart grow fonder, or because he'd only realized how important she was to him after she left. Either way, he wanted her near. For example, at that moment, instead of smiling to himself when saw the comic, he would have shared it with her because she'd have been pleased that her favorite television writer - Joss Whedon had penned it. But instead, he had to experience it alone.

Even though Seth was happy with his find, he kept looking around the store because he had to check out the Phantom Lady section. He knew he wasn't going to buy it, and even though he knew it was silly, he sort of felt it would make him feel closer to her. He grabbed #17 and laughed as he remembered Anna's disgust with the cover. He could almost see her frown at the sexual exploitation of a character she loved and cherished. He sighed. Anna always looked good when she was angry. Seth got a whiff of a familiar scent and knew that he was losing his mind - he'd begun to smell her.

He quickly dropped the comic and turned to leave. He didn't walk two feet before he bumped into a body.

"I'm sorry," he said - he knew he was at fault for not looking where he was going.

"Seth?" he heard in a voice he'd only been hearing in this fantasies. Just to make sure he wasn't imagining things, he looked up.

"Anna?" Now he knew he was nuts. He pinched himself but he didn't wake up.

"Funny running into you here..."

"Anna?" He repeated.

She let out that cute laugh. "Yes, Seth, it's me."

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just here to see my parents. I flew in a few hours ago. I was going to call you tomorrow."

He smiled. Tomorrow would have been too long a wait.

Instead of walking her home, they decided to visit the local ice cream shop and catch up. As he sat there, watching her lips move as she told him all about Pittsburgh, all he could think of were ways to make her stay.