Disclamer: I don't own anything related to the O.C.
A/N: So after a lot of debating with myself I finally decided to write something and post it. The whole idea came to me in a dream I had a while ago, which I know sounds weird but that is how it happened. Some of you may be confused with what is going on with Summer, but that is the idea, and everything will clear up in the future chapters.
He was trying to finish the third chapter of his book, but he was kind of stuck in the plotline. He had way too much stuff in his mind. That was a lie, because he only ever had two things on his mind, the first and most important one being Summer, and the other one the current book he was writing. He knew he had a deadline to meet, but how could he concentrate when Summer wasn't home yet. He had tried to call her cell about twenty times, leaving more than six voicemails and still no word from her.
She was supposed to come home at six, six thirty if the traffic was bad, and now it was way past one in the morning. He was starting to regret not going to look for her, but the more he thought about it, he could picture her coming home and finding it empty, which would only make everything worse. The last time she had come home late and had not found him there she had freaked out and disappeared for two days straight. After she came back, Seth had asked her where she had been. She only responded with hysterical crying and grabbed onto him like he would disappear if she let go. Two hours later when she had calmed down a bit, she made him promise he would always be there when she came back home. He had immediately promised he would, because there really wasn't anything he would do or at least try to do to make her happy.
Just when the tears had started falling down his face, he heard the front door open. He thanked God for bringing her home and then tried to gather himself a little because one of the things Summer hated was seeing him cry, that and have him worry about her. He would always tell her he worried because he loved her, and she would answer with a smile and telling him he was being silly.
When she didn't come into his office he figured he should go see her. He entered their room and saw that she was in the bathroom so he decided to wait for her to come out. When she finally came out he was sitting on the edge of their bed, she looked him straight in the eyes, gave him a hint of a smile and then gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Hey I thought you had fallen asleep in your office again" she said.
The first thing Seth noticed was that she had been crying, but he figured she was just going to pretend everything was fine so he said "I called you".
She sat beside him and said "yeah I know, I just needed to get away for a while".
"I get that Summer, you know I do, but all I'm asking is for you to call me so I know that you're okay and not lying dead in the middle of nowhere."
"God do you have to be so blunt?!"
"Do you have to pretend that everything is just fine?"
"No I don't, I mean I'm not! You know I'm not okay!" She couldn't help but raise her voice. She hated when Seth got like that. He was supposed to be the calm one, and she was supposed to be the emotional wreck.
"Of course I know you're not okay, but I don't think you do. You've obviously being crying, but you just waltz in here pretending like it is okay for you to come at one in the morning and that I just won't notice that you have probably being crying since you got out from work."
And that was when she got the look in her eye that told him she was done with the argument, she was closing up once again, and she wouldn't say anything more.
"I'm going to bed" and with that she got under the covers and turned her back to him.
"Fine if you won't talk to me, then I'm going to sleep on the couch".
When he was turning the door knob he thought she heard him say "Please don't". He turned around and went to her side of the bed. She looked up to him with tears in her eyes and said "stay with me, I need you to hold me."
He couldn't help but remember those were the first words she had said to him when they first met "I need you". That had definitely been a completely different situation, one that he could never imagine turning out like this.
Two years before….
He was walking through the aisles of the bookstore; he was trying to find his recently published book. Someone had told him they were selling it here, but so far he wasn't having any luck finding it. He also wasn't willing to go up to the employees and just casually ask them if they had Seth Cohen's new book. After all his picture was on the back of the book, and he wouldn't be caught death looking for his own book. That for him was way too embarrassing. He still couldn't believe that someone had actually agreed to publish his book. Even if his books always got great reviews, he still didn't believe they were good enough. But he had to admit he did enjoy seeing them in bookstore shelves.
He was passing another section and still his book was nowhere to be found when out of the corner of his eye he saw her sitting on the carpeted floor with a bunch of books around her. He couldn't help but stare at her. She looked almost childlike with everything around her and trying to pick out a book. And then he realized he had probably being staring at her for more than two minutes so he decided to resume the quest of his book. Just when he started walking away she looked up at him and said "hey I need you".
He almost thought that one of the bookstore employees was behind him, but then she smiled and said "will you help me?". He would later tell her that that smile was what made him fall in love with her in the first place. He walked over to her and said "I don't work here".
"Well that is why I called you in the first place, and since I just let you stare at me for more than five minutes, I guess the least you can give me is some assistance".
"It wasn't five minutes, and do you charge all people who stare at you?" He said with a grin.
Summer would later tell him that his ability to keep up with her was the first thing that made her like him. "No, in fact I don't but you I am charging".
He put out his hand and said "What can I do for you? And your name is….?"
She shook his hand and said "Summer, my name is Summer and you are…?"
"Seth Cohen".
"Well Seth, I kind of need you to help me pick one of these five books to read. See I love reading, but the part where I choose the book has always being an issue to me."
"Don't you want me to get you one of the employees, I mean they probably know which one is better than I do."
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" she said with her smile once again.
"No, not at all, I just think they are actually trained for this way more than I'll ever be."
"That is exactly why I called you. I don't like bookstore employees they are always giving me technicalities when all I really want to know is which book seems more entertaining. So will you please just read the back of these five books and tell me which one do you think is better. And thank God you didn't pass this aisle an hour ago, because you would have seen me with twenty more books around me. I have now narrowed them down to five. Now all you have to do is choose one among these five."
"You have been here more than an hour?"
"Like I said I have trouble with the choosing part."
Seth sat down beside her and started looking through the books. When he got to the third one he realized it was his new book. He immediately put it back in the bookshelf and said "Definitely not that one".
She grabbed it back. "Hey I was actually leaning towards this one, I have read a book about this author before, but I'm terrible with names. Let me see his name is…" And that is when she realized it was the guy sitting in front of her. "You wrote this?"
"The picture kind of gives it away, doesn't it?" He smiled.
"Why would you try to hide it? I read your last book, and I loved it 'My Girl Alba'."
"Thanks, that is really kind of you. This one is actually the sequel 'Holding on', but I'm not so sure about it."
"Then I'll be the judge of that." She picked up the book and said "Walk me to the register?"
He got up too and followed her, but then he realized the mess they had left on the floor. "Aren't we supposed to pick that up?"
"One of those employees you were so desperate to get me will pick them up for us." She continued walking.
She paid for the book and they both walked outside.
"It was nice to meet you Summer and I apologize beforehand for you not liking my book."
"Stop being so modest, you know what let's make a deal, give me your number and I'll call you when I've read at least two chapters. Then we can go out for coffee and I can tell you what I think about it."
"Great excuse Summer, you could have just asked me out on a date."
"Yeah Cohen that is exactly it" She said sarcastically. "If there is something you should know about me is that if I want something I'll just say it and what I'm saying know is that I want to have coffee with you to discuss your book and that is it."
"Sorry" He said kind of embarrassed and gave her his number on a card.
"Don't worry about it, you'll learn as you go. I kind of have to go now so I'll call you. Goodbye Seth."
"Bye Summer". He just stood there for a while and then said to himself "what that hell did just happen?" He decided to trust Summer and learn about this girl that had just charmed him as he went.
Today…
He climbed into bed and grabbed both of her hands in his own and hugged her from behind. He then laid a kiss on her neck and said "I love you."
She gave him her usual response of "I know".
When he thought she had fallen sleep she surprised him by murmuring "I promise everything will be better tomorrow."
He just hugged her tighter to himself and hoped what she was saying was true.