Disclaimer – I do not own the O.C. or any of the characters associated.

She kept telling herself it was fine, that everything would be alright. But she couldn't possibly convince herself of this, because it wasn't fine and everything would not be alright. She wasn't, at all, prepared for this and neither was her boyfriend. Girls her age weren't supposed to be worrying about this stuff. They were supposed to be getting ready to go off to college and be able to do whatever they wanted. Now she wouldn't be able to do anything at all. It couldn't have come at a worse time.

"Summer, are you ready yet?" Seth asked, knocking on the bathroom door. "What the hell are you doing in there? We're going to be late." He knocked again just to make his point.

Seth's parents were throwing a going-away party for the couple at their house. Summer and Seth had gotten an apartment together for the summer. This had been Ryan's idea, of all people. And for that, Seth really hated his brother. Living together had turned the two completely against each other. They had started to grow apart way before then and this had just pushed them over the edge. They were fighting constantly about everything. It was no longer just their usual cute bickering and both were getting very tired of it.

Summer grunted and rolled her eyes. "Just a minute, Cohen!" she shouted back. Once she was able to get rid of the few tears threatening to fall and trash the evidence of the pregnancy test she had just taken, she opened the door. "God, it's called patience," she said when she saw her boyfriend standing at the door, his foot tapping. "You should really try it sometime." She scoffed and grabbed her purse off the couch.

Now it was Seth's turn to roll his eyes. "Maybe if you didn't take a fucking hour in the bathroom, I wouldn't be so upset. My parents are throwing this party for us, in case you hadn't been told. It started a half hour ago and in my opinion, it's kind of rude to show up this late to your own party. So if you don't mind, I'd like to get going now."

Sighing, Summer stopped in front of the door and just glared at him. He had no idea how much their lives were about to change, did he? "You're such an asshole," she mumbled as she opened the door.

"Oh yeah, Summer, because you're just a real treat these days," Seth retorted. When they were both in the hallway, he slammed the apartment door and locked it behind them.

The couple didn't exchange another word on the way to Sandy and Kirsten's. They tried their hardest not to even look at one another. Summer was too busy thinking about the news she had just discovered and Seth was a little preoccupied with both driving and singing along to Death Cab. He had been so stressed lately. All he thought about was college and how he and Summer were going to move across the country and manage to make it. Their relationship had hardly survived a summer in Newport. What was going to happen when they threw in stressful college schedules and the jobs they'd have to take on to pay rent? It scared the hell out of him. Of course, he still loved Summer. But something had changed; they'd grown distant.

It was forty-five minutes into the party before they arrived. Truthfully, not many people, aside from Sandy and Kirsten, had noticed. Everything was pretty much your typical Newport scene and they were just standing around, chatting, and sipping their champagne. Sandy and Kirsten welcomed the couple with big hugs and even bigger smiles. They were immediately pulled in separate directions and didn't really mind to be away from each other. They felt like they'd suffocated in their tiny apartment for three months.

Sandy pulled his son aside and questioned him about his relationship with his girlfriend. It was obvious that the two were fighting, but Seth wouldn't tell him anything. He assured his father that everything was fine and that there was nothing to worry about. He and Summer would pull through like they always had. And he truly believed that; he just wasn't quite sure how that was going to happen.

Many people talked to Summer throughout the party. They congratulated her on getting into college and braving the big world on her own. People asked questions, but Summer barely said a word to any of them. Her mind was elsewhere and she just couldn't shake the worries, as they kept growing. Questions filled her mind and the answers could be found nowhere.

Kirsten had been standing across the room and was possibly the only one who had noticed Summer's lack of interest in typical conversation. She made her way over to the young woman, looking concerned. "Summer, are you okay? Is everything alright with you and Seth?"

Snapping out of her trance, Summer looked up at her boyfriend's loving mother. After letting the words process, Summer slowly nodded her head and waved it off. "Um…yeah, I just…I've got a lot on my mind, you know?"

Kirsten nodded her head but wasn't entirely convinced. "Sweetie, you know you can always come to me. If you ever need to talk, or just want someone to listen."

Summer forced a small smile and nodded. "I know. Thanks, Kirsten."

Not ten minutes passed after that conversation before Summer got that all-too-familiar feeling in her stomach. The one she'd grown so accustomed to over the past few weeks. Rushing to the nearby bathroom and closing the door, she lifted the toilet seat and emptied the contents of her stomach into it.

Ryan and Seth had been standing next to the drink table when Summer ran past them. They watched her slam the bathroom door and shot each other questioning glances. "Is she okay, man?" Ryan asked. "Is she sick or something?"

Seth sighed and shrugged, setting his drink down. "She spends all her time in there now. I don't know what the hell's going on with her."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you should go check it out."

"Yeah, yeah," Seth mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and making his way to the bathroom. He knocked quietly on the door before letting himself in. He, then, quietly shut it behind him. His girlfriend had just flushed the toilet and was sitting on the bathroom floor with her back against the wall. Her head was buried in her hands and she looked absolutely miserable. Seth knelt down beside her, placing a hand on her back. "Hey, what's wrong? Did you eat some bad food or something?" After all, this was his girlfriend and he loved her. He cared about her.

Summer groaned and looked up at her boyfriend, shooting out another glare. "Oh, so now you notice?" she said sharply. "When there are people around, you come running in here to check on me? But no, the last hundred times this happened, I seem to recall no one came chasing after me."

Seth sighed and stood up, helping her to her feet as well. "Summer, please just tell me what's going on. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't," she replied, throwing her hands in the air. "Because you don't pay attention to anything anymore, Seth. You just…" Summer ran a hand through her hair. When she looked back up at him, her eyes were filled with tears. "God, I don't even know what to do anymore. I'm so scared."

Seth was completely confused and it was evident on his face. "Summer, what are you talking about? Scared of what? Of me?"

"No, no," she said, shaking her head furiously. At this moment, Summer realized she was not at all ready to tell anyone else about this. Before that happened, she had to get her own head wrapped around it. She walked to the bathroom door. "Can we leave now?"

"Summer, no we cannot leave. We just got here. Do you just not want to say goodbye to all of our family and friends?" he asked. "You just want to go back to the apartment and be alone? Really?"

Throwing her head back and sighing, Summer replied, "You don't understand, Seth."

"Because you won't tell me, Summer!" He was practically yelling now and could definitely be heard outside the bathroom door. "You don't tell me anything anymore. You're always hiding out in the bathroom or bedroom. You don't talk to me anymore…and God knows other areas of our relationship have suffered because of it." He paced back and forth in the small bathroom. "I don't know what you want from me anymore. What do you want? Please, enlighten me."

Summer laughed sardonically and shook her head. "Fuck you," she said, glaring at him.

"You know what, Summer, someone should." Seth nodded his head. "Because you sure as hell aren't."

Raising her hand, Summer slapped his cheek and then opened the bathroom door. Her emotions were out of control and she was not in the mood to deal with him right now. All she wanted to do was curl up on her bed and cry. That's all. So that's what she intended to do. She took their car and drove back to the apartment. Changing out of that beautiful, yet extremely uncomfortable dress, she crawled under the covers.

Seth was mad. Very mad. Why? He honestly didn't know. He did figure part of it was the fact that he hadn't had sex in two months and he couldn't even stand to look at his girlfriend anymore. So he didn't know what was going to happen now. He stayed at his parents' house for another few hours and then got Ryan to drop him off at the apartment. When he walked in, he didn't even bother checking the bedroom. He spread out on the couch and turned the television on, drifting off to sleep.

When Summer woke up the next morning, she heard the shower running and sighed, realizing she'd have to face him at some point. Maybe if she told him, he would be a little more understanding. And everything would be fine…until a baby popped out and a whole new set of problems arose. Either way, she knew she had to do it. She got up and changed, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. It wasn't a minute later she heard the shower turn off and immediately got nervous. What if he reacted even worse than she had? What if he wanted to leave her? No, she told herself. He was still her Cohen and he wouldn't do that. Would he? It wasn't long before she would find out.

Seth walked into their bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and glanced up momentarily at Summer, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. She sat there silently as he put his clothes on and then she spoke. "Cohen, I have to tell you something." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"What?" he said rather loudly, shooting his head up. She didn't say anything. "Summer, what is it? I'm meeting Ryan and I'm going to be late."

Summer shook her head and stood up, walking over to him. Tears filled her eyes once more. "Please don't do that right now, Seth. I'm serious." She heard him sigh and he just stared at her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes momentarily. "I'm pregnant."

Seth stared blankly at her for a few moments. "Um…you're what?" He held his hands up before she could repeat herself. "Don't say it again." He walked away and then walked back to her. "You…are pregnant," he stated rather obviously. "That…would explain a lot." Moments passed.

"Is that all you're going to say? Really?" Summer asked. "God…" She rolled her eyes.

Seth sighed. "Just give me a second, okay Summer? I just need one fucking minute to process this. I'm sure it took you a while, too."

Summer laughed and shook her head. "No, actually…it would have. But, you see, I was sort of being yelled at to get out of the bathroom, so I wasn't really given an option."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Have you gone to the doctor and stuff? Because those at-home things are wrong a lot."

"No, I haven't gone to the doctor, Seth. But I guess you haven't been living here for the past few weeks," Summer stated. "While I've been puking my guts out, you've been on the couch playing video games with Ryan. I'm pretty damn sure I'm pregnant. There's been more than one sign."

"Can you like stop accusing me for maybe, like, I don't know…half a second?" Seth retorted. "This is serious."

Summer looked at him like he was a complete idiot. "Do you think I don't know that this is fucking serious? Are you kidding me?" She threw her hands up. "Believe me; I know that this is serious." She sighed and shook her head. "I can't keep doing this, Seth. We keep pretending that everything is fine, but it's not and we both know it. Something is very wrong in this relationship and until we figure it out, I can't be around you."

Seth rolled his eyes. "What the fuck are you talking about? So you're pregnant…and you're breaking up with your boyfriend? Smart, Summer…"

"Oh, my God…" Summer looked straight at him. "I never said I wanted to break up. I said I couldn't be around you like this. I just told you that I'm pregnant with your child and, somehow, I thought that might help matters. But, no, you couldn't be nurturing or caring for a minute or two. You still had to act like a complete asshole. You really should learn to think before you open your mouth."

Seth sighed. "I'm sorry. I've just been really stressed lately."

"Oh, and I haven't?" Summer asked. "Sure, I haven't been stressed at all. You better get going; don't want to be late for your date with Ryan."

"That's funny, Summer," Seth said sarcastically. "You're funny." He grabbed the car keys and walked out, slamming both the bedroom and the front doors after him.

All Summer could do after that was cry. She pounded her fists into their bed and cried. In no way, had that made anything better. She didn't know who she had just been talking to, but it wasn't her Cohen. Her Cohen would've taken her in his arms, stroked her hair, and told her everything would be alright. He would've comforted her and told her they could do it together and that he loved her. This Seth didn't do any of those things. And Summer wasn't sure that this new Seth was someone she could be with.

Please review! All are welcome, good and bad. Let me know what you think and if I should continue. I've got a lot in mind for this story. Thanks :)