Disclaimer: These characters are not mine and all rights to "The OC" is completely entitled to Josh Schwartz.

A/N: With this new, third installment of my SS series, I'm going to take a different approach. Things are going to be explained as the story progresses, rather than in the very beginning chapters. So if you have questions or are slightly confused, remember that that was my plan.

If you have it all figured out, then that wasn't my plan and I failed miserably.

Read. Confuse yourself. Or don't.

But review and tell me if you liked this new approach or not.

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Summer stood outside Brown University with the sun shining down on her slightly tan body making her skin glow. She felt the breeze whipping through her hair as she glanced around the campus, waving and smiling at friends, acquaintances, and even people she had never seen before.

She had never viewed the field from the perspective she was currently standing at. It was large from an onlooker's point of view but to Summer, as she was standing in the middle, it looked small and unfamiliar. It didn't look as spectacular as it once did. Come to think of it, Summer concluded, the entire campus held neither excitement nor beauty to her anymore. Maybe she had gotten too used to it that she now took it for granted. Maybe it just couldn't make her smile like it did for the past four years. Maybe her life had changed too much for even the beauty in nature to help her feel better in any and every situation that had arisen.

Maybe everything had just gotten too complicated.

"Summer!" Dr. Roberts shouted, knocking Summer from her thoughts. "Summer, you're glowing! Look at how happy my little girl is!"

Summer winced as her father embraced her in a hug. If only he knew how wrong his last statements were.

"Thank you, daddy," Summer said as she pulled out of Dr. Roberts' arms, looking over his shoulder at Julie and Kaitlin. "Hey."

"Hi, sweetie," Julie plastered a smile upon her face. "I'm so proud of you."

Summer knew Julie hadn't wanted to come out to Rhode Island for this cause of celebration. And it wasn't because of her hatred for any state that wasn't California, it was instead the fact that this could have been her own daughter's big day – even though by now she considered Summer her daughter as well. It also didn't help matters that in three days it would be the fourth anniversary of her aforementioned daughter's death – the same person that was Summer's best friend for twelve of her nearly twenty-two years.

Summer couldn't help the tears that stung at her eyes. "Thanks, Julie." Summer turned to Kaitlin, "Hey, Katie – excited for USC in the fall?"

"Oh, yeah," Kaitlin replied half-bitingly and half-sarcastically eyeing Julie. "Then I won't be watched over every second of the day."

Summer had heard from her father that Julie was being especially protective of Kaitlin these last few months. She knew that Kaitlin was hating it and resenting her mother for it but Summer had a sense of understanding. (After her various therapy sessions four years ago, she better have had some understanding for it all.) Julie didn't want Kaitlin falling into the same downward spiral Marissa had before her death. Julie wanted to prevent it all so she became an overprotective mother for her only birth daughter left, not letting her get away with anything.

"Oh, Kaitlin," Julie scoffed, "This is Summer's day. Lay off with the teenage mood swings."

Kaitlin rolled her eyes as Summer grinned at her family. "Well, I should be going now… I think they were just trying to wave us all over."

Dr. Roberts nodded, pulling Summer in for another hug. "Good luck, sweetie."

Summer smiled as she watched the three of them walk off towards their seats. She then glanced around her, at her now former classmates. Many people were with family members but just as many were with their significant others. Summer tried to shrug it off and pretend that pain wasn't rising within her as she walked off towards her seat. She plastered on the biggest smile she could, trying to convince herself that she wasn't upset that he wasn't here, beaming up at her with awe and amazement written across his face. She walked tall and proud, passing more former classmates wishing them luck, tucking her memories away.

Summer felt her smile begin to break as she saw a girl from her Senior Thesis class smell a bouquet of roses from her long-term boyfriend. The girl then smiled up from the flowers, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's neck, whispering supposed words of gratitude to him as he held her waist, grinning widely.

Suddenly Summer's thoughts of her life six months ago couldn't be pushed to the back of her mind. Instead these memories flooded her senses as she fell into a daze while she took her seat within the crowd.

"Don't say anything – just listen," Seth covered Summer's mouth as she sat on the couch and he sat down next to her. "So I have a plan." Summer tried to speak but Seth smirked, keeping his hand firmly planted on her mouth. "I said listen, Summer." Summer rolled her eyes but obeyed her boyfriend. "In two weeks, in addition to going to Newport for Thanksgiving, we're taking a few extra days for some R&R and heading to Vegas."

Summer tried to pull Seth's hand from her mouth and Seth let her. "Vegas? Like, as in, Las Vegas? In Nevada?"

"Wow, baby! I didn't know you were such a geography bee!"

Summer swatted Seth's arm lightly as he falsely grimaced, rubbing his arm.

"Yes, Summer, I'm taking you to Vegas for a wonderful two night, three day stay in Las Vegas' very own Caesars Palace. But if you're gonna continue hitting me like you just did I might have to rethink this entire getaway trip."

"Seriously? We're gonna go to Vegas?" Summer asked excitedly.

"And why exactly are you acting like you've never been there?"

"We haven't been there together."

Seth wiggled his pointer finger in the air and shook his head. "Not true, my darling. We were in Vegas a few years back if I do remember correctly."

"Oh yeah?" Summer laughed. "You remember those hookers I helped you pay off too?"

Seth leaned over, pushing Summer gently backwards onto the couch so she was resting beneath him. "Nope. I only remember the grand finale of the trip where me, you, and Ryan walked the Strip and then you and I came back to the hotel to spend time making out on the bowling alley in my hotel room. Now, that was an adolescent fantasy come true for me."

"Cohen," Summer sighed, reaching her hands up to wrap around his neck and play with his curls. "This is, like, a real couple's trip. Just you and me on a vacation. I don't think we've ever done one of those."

Seth paused, staring at Summer for a moment as she continued threading her fingers through his hair. "Huh. You know, we haven't. Guess it's a first."

"We don't have a lot of those left," Summer frowned.

"What? Firsts?"

Summer nodded her head as Seth stared at her questioningly. "You know, like, we had our first kiss, first date, first fight, first anniversary – you know, all that stuff. So we don't really have a lot of firsts left. It's all just gonna be routine now."

"Summer," Seth connected his forehead to hers, looking deeply into her brown orbs, "We have the rest of our lives. There's plenty of firsts to be had."

Summer wiped the growing frown off of her face, replacing it with a smile, and pulled Seth's neck closer so her anxious lips could finally touch his dry ones.

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"Summer Roberts," the Dean of Brown University announced proudly, as if she had personally known Summer, grinning from ear to ear.

Summer stood up, turning towards her father, Julie, and Kaitlin before giving them a small smile and making her way up to the front of the auditorium.

She took the diploma from the Dean's hand, turning back around to her beaming family and random friends throughout the sea of people. Summer smiled back as she walked off the stage, returning to her seat, gripping her diploma in her hand.

Was that really it? Was that the whole graduation scene she had been working towards for the past four years? Her proud moment faded as soon as it came as she realized that the things she had most wanted in life were not the things she needed at all.

Speeches were continued to be made, camera flashes went off like the paparazzi, and Summer sat in her daze wondering where she had made her biggest mistakes. Trying to pinpoint the exact moment where everything had gone wrong – had completely left her alone and isolated from the dreams she had always held closest to her heart.

It was no wonder Summer was shocked when her dad was racing back up to her once again, wishing her congratulations and words of more encouragement.

"Summer, you have your whole life ahead of you! Isn't that amazing? You're a college graduate!" Dr. Roberts beamed, handing her a bouquet of flowers.

"Of Brown University, no less!" Julie added in.

"It's really something," Kaitlin murmured honestly under her breath, giving Summer a faint smile.

"Thank you," Summer hugged her dad and then smiled at Julie and Kaitlin. "All of you. You guys are amazing. But it's just a graduation. I've already graduated once before," Summer tried to joke.

Dr. Roberts began to quip. "Yeah, but not from college! Now my baby girl is going to be starting a career in New York City! Your life is just beginning!"

"That's what I was afraid of," Summer scoffed quietly.

"Summer," Julie rested a hand on Summer's shoulder. "Don't be afraid. You'll be wonderful in New York. An asset. It'll be like a completely new you. Like Extreme Makeover or something!"

"I don't want a new me," Summer soured the mood of happiness all around her even more. "I want the old me. I miss my old life."

There was silence for a few moments when Summer realized she shouldn't have brought up issues that hadn't been fully explained or even understood yet. She just couldn't help it. With everyone surrounding her, hugging the people they longed to see the most, she was here missing the one person who made her who she was today. Who made her go to Brown University. Who made her go and take the internship last summer that helped her land her upcoming job in New York City. And she was becoming extremely resentful at all the people around her who were getting what they wanted, just how they wanted it and here she was being left to pick up the pieces the best she could and just deal with the outcome.

"If you want to talk about it…" Julie tried but Summer swatted her off, plastering on her smile once again.

"No. Forget I said it. You guys are right. This is my day. And it's a big day. I think I should go back to my apartment, change, and we can all go out to eat. Is that all right?"

"Summer, I'm sure if you had asked him to come he would have…" Dr. Roberts added.

"I said forget it," Summer told her father seriously. "I'm going to just say goodbye to a couple of friends and then head back to the apartment. Meet me there in a half hour, okay?"

Before either Dr. Roberts, Julie, or Kaitlin could stop her, Summer was racing off towards auditorium in an attempt to find a bathroom to collapse in tears in. But before she could make it that far, the same friend she had seen earlier with her boyfriend that had sent Summer into a flashback of her past she was willing herself to forget, stopped her happily.

"Summer Roberts!" The girl wrapped her arms around Summer's shoulders. "I'm going to miss you!"

"Aw," Summer pulled out of under her grasp. "Me too, Sarah."

"Just think – no more group projects together that last until six am the morning it's due!"

"I know! What am I ever going to do without those?" Summer attempted a laugh.

"I don't know!" Sarah laughed full-heartedly as the man Summer suspected was her boyfriend pulled up. He wrapped his arm around Sarah's waist, pulling her closer. "Oh, Summer. This is Tom. My fiancé."

"Fiancé?" Summer blurted abruptly. "You're engaged?"

"Just proposed two nights ago," Tom – the fiancé – intervened. "Why? Are there some other guys I should know about?" Tom joked.

"No. Oh, God no. I just… wow… umm… congratulations," Summer replied, still clearly stunned.

"Thanks," Sarah answered. "You okay, Summer?"

"What? Me? Oh, yeah. Seriously. Umm… I'm sorry but I told my family I'd meet them somewhere and I'm already running late so I really have to go. It was really nice to meet you, Tom. And good luck."

"Expect an invitation in the mail, Summer!" Sarah shouted after her.

"Of course, yeah!" Summer shouted back, walking away at a fast pace.

Summer began walking even faster, eventually sprinting towards the auditorium, reaching the bathroom. She pushed open the door with full force, almost ramming into an older woman leaving, and locked herself in a stall, crying quietly to herself.

Summer Roberts was now a graduate of Brown University. She was an adult with a full-time job lined up in New York City that she was to start in three weeks, a wonderful apartment she was to be living in that overlooked the Brooklyn Bridge and only a few blocks from a main subway line, and friends and family that she cared for. She had everything any possible college graduate could ask for.

Except the one thing she wanted more than any amount of money, luck, or material possession could give her.

Seth Cohen.