A/N: So, I know this really isn't a formal introduction, but whatever. Just so you know now, this is super AU. And very cliché. But who cares, hopefully it's good cliché :) So here's part two. I know it took a month to post, & I'm sorry, but...I wanted the last-second-suggested-add-in of a break up flashback to be perfect. It just took a while to sort it out. I actually re-wrote it a few times. :)
Hope you like it :)
Read and Review? Kthanks :)
Title: Last Night
Rating: T
Author: xoChic.
Summary: Last night didn't happen, Cohen...Oh, but it did. SethxSummer. TwoShot.
Genre: Romance/General
--
Shit.
That was the first word to cross Summer Robert's mind, as the bright, obnoxious light slid through the horizontal blinds in Seth's bedroom.
Shit.
She craned her neck, looking at the clothes strewn about the room, and the black sheets tangled around her, covering pretty much only what was necessary…She glanced next to her at the sleeping figure of Seth, and couldn't help but let the smile creep onto her lips. Sure, her first (and second) thought had been shit, but…still. Seth felt more like home than she'd felt in a while…and that was strange, since she knew L.A. was her most definite home.
Seth was more her home than anything. He'd always be that to her.
She slowly tried to de-tangle herself, whilst bunching the sheets along with her, but groaned inwardly as she heard Seth stirring. His arm hit her lightly in the back, and she grunted quietly in pain. "Ow," she whispered.
"Huh…?" Seth groaned, "Oh, shit."
"Last night didn't happen, Cohen." Summer said, a sting unintentionally attached to her words. She cringed, having heard herself, having heard the mean-ness in her words.
"Oh," he said, running a hand through his matted hair, "but it did." Summer ran a hand through her own static cling laden hair, clenching her jaw.
She had to get out of there, before she could admit it.
"But it didn't." She argued, snatching the sheet from him, as she'd once done many, many years ago. She wrapped it around herself, and walked around the room grabbing her various items of clothing, "where's my shirt?" she grumbled, "screw it," she walked into the bathroom. She'd have to do without it for the moment being.
"Face it, Summer," he yelled after her, shocking himself with his words, "it happened. You really can't deny it." He grabbed his plaid boxers off the floor, and put them on, then walked over to his dresser,
grabbing an old, wrinkled dress shirt out. He made his way to the adjoining bathroom, knocking lightly on the door.
"Just gimmie a sec," she said through the door, buttoning her jeans. She cracked open the door, just wide enough to stick her face out and looked up at him. "Yes?"
He held out the shirt, "Peace offering," he explained. She grabbed it from him, then shut the door loudly in his face. "Or not," He grumbled quietly. He shuffled back into the center of the room, sitting down on the edge of his bed.
His shirt looked amazing on her. More than amazing…it looked…spectacular…or at least it did to him.
"What are you staring at, Cohen?" she snapped, tossing his clothes around to find her own.
"Noth-nothing…why are you being like this, Summer? Last night you were—," he started, but she interrupted him.
"Last night, I was drunk, remember?" She slapped her hands against her knees, "Ugh," she groaned, "I can't find it, want to help?"
"You weren't that drunk, Summer…I think you know that. You want to really tell me why?" Seth put his head into his hands, resting his chin onto his palms.
She walked up to him, coming close to his face and leaning in, her curtain of hair falling over and covering them from the right side. She brushed her lips across his cheek, and then slowly, grabbed his chin so he was facing her, "No," she whispered, and then took a step back, leaving him hypnotized by her, even if she had been kidding. "What time is it?" she asked, sitting on the side of his bed and pulling her knee high boots on.
"Nine-Twenty five," He said through his palms.
"What?!" She seethed, "Shit!"
"What?" He asked, startled.
"Shit, I had a meeting with my manager and my publicist set for nine a clock! Shit, shit, shit!" she explained.
"I-I can give you a ride…if you need one…" He offered, pulling on a t-shirt. "You didn't have a car last night, did you?"
"No, I walked," she sighed into her hands. "And I guess, Cohen, if you have to, I'll let you drive me." She zipped up her other boot, and then stood, "Let's go?" she asked, a little timid. She knew she'd been pretty mean to him. She told herself that she wasn't really sure why she'd been that teasing, torturing bitch, but honestly…she felt like she had to. She had to if she wanted to keep the way she felt to herself.
"Yeah, let's go." He said, defeated. Summer cringed at the tone of his voice, a pang in her chest. The two walked outside, keeping a safe distance from one another to avoid any awkward interaction.
Fifteen minutes later, as Seth pulled into a little unknown diner a little out of the heart of L.A., and Summer immediately grasped the door handle. She pushed her sunglasses up on her nose, and patted down her still messy hair. "Well, Cohen," she said, "It's been re--."
"Please, Summer." He started, "Come on. We're just going to leave it at this?"
"…Yes," she said harshly, looking straight at him, and whipping the glasses off her face. Even though she figured he didn't notice, he saw the tears in her eyes. He knew she really didn't want to say goodbye like this. He just had to find a way to stop her. She put the glasses back onto her face, covering her eyes again. "We have no choice, Seth. We can't be like we were."
"Maybe…" he reasoned, "maybe we can be like we are, instead."
"No," she murmured, "Last night didn't happen. Have a nice life, Cohen. Maybe I'll see you back in Newport one day…" And with that, she got out of the car, collecting her things, and headed into the diner, her head held high.
What Seth didn't see, as he was slowly driving away, glancing back every few seconds, were the tears, rolling down her cheeks like pouring rain.
And what Summer didn't see, when she checked over her own shoulder as Seth's car pulled out of the parking lot, were the tears rolling down his own.
--
"Cohen, have you seen my shoe?" Summer yelled over her shoulder at Seth's bathroom. Her hair was mussed, her clothes were wrinkled, and her lips were red and swollen. This had not been her plan today.
"Not recently," Seth said, stepping out of the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, "There's a pair of converse in my closet that are supposedly 'not yours'," he said using air quotes, "that, I don't know, maybe you could wear?" He walked over to her, pulling her close to him.
"Please," she said, shoving him away harshly, a pang running through her chest, "like I'd just leave one of my Louboutin's here to get eaten by the monster under your bed."
"Hmm, I guess that may prove to be a legitimate excuse," he mumbled, looking at her oddly, "Hey," he said, looking at her in concert. She turned her head, tears collecting in her ducts, "What's going on with you?"
"N-nothing," She lied, "I…I think I might skip out of here early, tonight. I'm not really in a party mood. I might just go to bed."
"Sum, this party is for us. You can't just skip out on it. They're throwing the two of us a going away party." He said, furrowing his brow.
"I know, Cohen…I know, I just…I," She trailed off, confused and lost in her own thoughts.
"What?" He asked, wiping her tears with his thumb, "You know you can tell me, Summer. We tell each other everything."
"That's just it, Seth…I don't think I can do this anymore." She breathed, feeling a heaviness on her shoulders, not being lifted like she'd figured, but pushing down more.
"…What? W-what are you talking about Summer? I mean, if it's what I think you're talking about…then maybe you should just stop. Talking, that is." Seth stammered, reverting to the way he'd been before she'd brought him out of his shell.
"I'm talking about," she started, the tears threatening to fall, "us. I'm talking about us moving to the same place, together, and…what if we change? I don't think I can handle that. I don't think I'd be able to take it if we…if we weren't together out there. I wouldn't have anyone. So I think…I think we should just go there by ourselves."
"I…Summer," he started, trying to digest what she'd just said, "My feelings about you could never change. No matter how much I'd change as a person, the way I love you…"
"That's just it, Cohen. You say that now, but how do you know what's going to happen? You can't promise me that your feelings won't change, because how do you know they won't? How do I know mine won't? How do you know that if we're stuck in this relationship once we move there, just because we promised each other that our feelings wouldn't change, and they did anyway, we'll be fine? What if we can't do it?" She said, quickly, not wanting to lose any of her thoughts.
"…I know we can." He said, simply, hoping Summer would come to her senses.
"Well," She said, quietly, sticking her hand underneath Seth's bed and then slowly pulling her shoe out before holding it up, "I don't. I don't know if one of us, or both of us will change. And I don't know if I can risk going there and not knowing." She slipped her other shoe onto her foot, the red bottom sending a glare into Seth's wide eyes. "I'm sorry." And with that, she got up, and walked out.
Of course, he went after her, getting into the Range Rover and pulling out of the driveway in one haphazard motion. She wouldn't be at Marissa's, because Marissa didn't actually live there. She had to have walked somewhere, (was probably still walking), and Seth had to find her. Not only did he have to get her back, but he didn't want to have to listen to her complaining about her bleeding feet when he did. He drove slowly along the road, mumbling incoherently under his breath, keeping an eye out for Summer, who was clad in a mid-length yellow dress, her dark locks done up in curls. A few minutes later, when he spotted her walking, shoes in her hand, he couldn't help a soft smile from settling on his lips. She was gorgeous. "Summer," he yelled, rolling down the window, "Summer, come on."
"Go home, Cohen," she yelled over her shoulder, not even able to look at him.
"Summer," he said, his voice stern, "Summer. Don't be like this."
"Cohen," he heard the tears in her voice, "go home. I mean it. I don't want to do this anymore. I can't do this anymore."
"…Sum." He said, his voice quivering. She turned, looking at the tears in his eyes, feeling just a sharp pain in her stomach, hurting her so much she wanted to double over onto the concrete and just keep crying until she couldn't anymore. She wanted to let Seth get out of the car and come to her, hold her and tell her it was going to be alright, and be with him for the rest of their lives.
Instead, she turned on her heel, ducked her head, sucked in her breath, and didn't let herself start sobbing until she heard the Range Rover pull a safe distance away.
--
"I really, really thought I could get her to stay," Seth said, to no one in particular as he drove his way around the city, weaving and winding around other cars, "Really."
He did the only thing he could think to do, the only thing that really started to cheer him up once he came out here.
He stopped at the pet store.
He knew, it was girly, and a lot of the people behind the desk thought he was gay-er than gay, but he didn't care.
He liked the dogs.
He'd never actually struck up the courage to buy one, but in the past few months, whenever he'd been able to stop in and look around, he'd spotted this one dog, who wasn't really the cutest, but wasn't the ugliest either.
He was sort of in the middle.
Kind of like Seth himself.
The dog still hadn't been bought, and just…stayed. It was cute; to him at least, how hopeful he looked. He was sure the animal had it's reservations about the people who came into the store now, since it'd been almost three months and still, nothing, but the mid-size dog looked like he still fancied Seth.
And maybe it was Summer's whim rubbing off on him, even after less than twenty-four hours together, but today, he decided he'd do something spontaneous.
He bought the dog.
"So, I really, really thought I could get her to stay," Seth said, to the overly-ecstatic looking dog seated next to him, whom he'd immediately christened 'Cohen', whilst winding and weaving through the city streets on the way to his apartment, "Really."
Meanwhile, walking out of the diner, her sunglasses now atop her ponytail topped head, Summer stopped.
She had no fucking car.
And she was- at the least- a mile or two away from her apartment.
Again, shit.
And that's when she stumbled over to the front steps, her emotions hitting her hard, slumped over, and started to bawl.
She'd slept with Seth.
Seth Cohen.
Cohen, for Christ sake!
Seth Cohen, the boy she'd lost her virginity to.
Seth Cohen, the only boy she'd ever seen cry at a movie.
Seth Cohen, the boy who'd voluntarily helped her fix up her best friend's bedroom.
Seth Cohen, the only boy who understood everything she felt, and more.
Seth Cohen.
And she'd totally blown him off. She'd told him no.
And she didn't mean it, but she'd done it.
Ohmygod.
She couldn't breathe.
She was in love with him.
And what if she could never, ever get him to forgive her?
Seth had always been forgiving, but what if this turned out to be an exception? She didn't know if she could handle that…but then again, what if he was…himself?
What if he loved her back?
And suddenly she had to know. She thought quickly, grabbing her phone out of her clutch, and calling a cab service. And then she sat, and she waited.
How the hell was she going to do this?
--
Seth had gotten a call from the guys at the production company the second he pulled into his apartment parking lot. They wanted to discuss the changes he'd made to the script.
Shit.
He looked over to Cohen, and the dog let out a sympathetic sigh.
Seth grinned. This thing would be the ultimate best friend. He backed out of the spot he'd pulled his car into, and drove to the overly gigantic studio lot. It was the place. You know…the one where they made all the movies and stuff.
It had been Seth's dream place, until he actually started going there. Now, all it was? A place where over-paid, whiny actors whined and complained about being over-worked, and underpaid extras whined and complained about not being the over-paid ones.
It was completely nauseating.
Seth got into the office for his meeting, leaving Cohen in the car with the windows rolled down so he could stick his head out. Hopefully no one would try to steal him…though he couldn't imagine why anyone but himself would want the thing…He got out of his car, looking straight at Cohen, and pointed to him while walking backwards at a slow pace, "You don't get into any trouble you can't get yourself out of, got it?"
The dog's front end slouched in a defeated manner as he let out a low sigh, and Seth smiled a lopsided grin, "That's what I thought."
"But why is Ryan so…why does he act like everything is so full of drama, when it really isn't? Why does he act like life is so hard when, for him, it's probably the simplest thing he'll ever come across?" The suit clad man asked Seth, for the millionth time (though differently worded each time) an hour or so later.
Seth rolled his eyes. This was far more nauseating than the actors and actresses.
"…Because to him, life is hard. To a teenager, at that age, going through that type of meaningless, never-will-really-have-an-effect-on-you-later drama, that's what's important. It all makes sense to them," Seth drawled, and added silently, and to me, and probably everyone else who hasn't been sucking the creativity out of film making for the past thirty years.
"Oh…" The man said, scribbling something down on his yellow legal pad. "Listen, Cohen," Seth cringed, his mind wandering back (as it had been for the past hour) to Summer, and their awkward morning.
…As well as their less-than-awkward night.
"We think we're finally done," the man said, a crooked smile appearing on his face.
"…You're canning it? Already?" Seth asked, his eyebrows rising rapidly. "I can change it, it's not a prob--."
"No, Cohen," the man said, holding out his hand, "We're ready. Casting should begin in a week or two."
"…No more revisions? No more edits?" He asked, astonished.
"Did you want more, Cohen?" The man laughed, patting him on the back, "Get out of here. We'll give you a call when we get together a casting team."
Seth did as he was told. He walked out to his car, unlocked the doors, got in and started the ignition. Then he looked at Cohen. "Shit," he said, "…I have a movie."
The dog barked appreciatively, as Seth pulled out of the lot, the look of shock plastered to his face.
--
A knock sounded on Seth's door, about four and a half hours later.
He got up off the couch, looking to the dog confusedly, walking towards the door and looking over his shoulder to Cohen, "You didn't invite anyone over, did you?" Cohen looked at him confusedly, "I'm guessing that's a no."
He pulled open the door, to find a disgruntled looking Summer standing in the doorway. She stepped into the apartment, as Seth stood at the door, the shock look returning to his face.
"Do you know how long it took me to get here?" She started. Seth shook his head, a confused look crossing his face, "It was like…I knew which part of town you lived in, but I couldn't figure out where, and I had the cab taking me all over the place. It sucked. But…thankfully it gave me a lot of time to think."
"Think?" Seth asked, only a small hint of question in his voice, "Think about what?"
"Last night did happen, didn't it." She stated, rather than questioned. Seth stood still, "Cohen."
The dog barked.
"You're finally coming to terms with this, huh?" Seth finally spoke, as Summer glared at him, then walked into the middle of his living room, and paced in front of his TV.
"Shut up, Cohen, please?" The dog barked again, and Summer looked over at it, then slowly turned her head back to Seth, "This wasn't here last night…was it?"
"No…no," he said, "I just got him. His name is Cohen."
"……Cohen Cohen?" Summer asked, "Really, completely creative, Mr. Screenwriter."
"So we're joking now? This is what we do, we joke? We sleep together, you yell at me, you leave, and then you come back and we joke?" Seth asked, bluntly. Summer was semi-taken aback, but at the ready.
"I mean…no. I…I kind of wanted to talk to you about something," she said, her voice getting softer with passing word. Seth sensed whatever she wanted to talk about was probably serious, considering she was all fidgety and pacing, and…nervous? Wow. Summer Robert's never got nervous. Or at least, she never let anyone see her get nervous.
"…Okay," he said, letting a breath out. He gestured towards the couch, sitting down after Summer herself sat. She wrung her hands, running them once through her hair. "So?"
"…You. And me. And us." She said, a little easier than she expected.
"…I thought there was no 'us' past this morning," Seth said.
"I…I never exactly said those words," she mumbled, keeping her face aimed towards her shoes.
"…No, but you definitely implied it with the excessive use of 'last night didn't happen', didn't you?" Seth asked. It was something about her that seemed to make him more courageous. "I mean, you made it pretty obvious that it wasn't going to happen. What changed?"
"…I realized that I'm still in love with you. And that I haven't ever, ever stopped." She said in an even tone. She finally looked up at him.
The tears in her eyes, the ones that made them glisten a warm brown.
There was makeup actually running down her cheeks, which, he knew, was a tell tale sign that she was completely serious. She meant whatever she'd said.
Shit. What had she said?
Seth inhaled, "What?" he asked, his voice coming out kind of weird.
"Cohen!" she hiccupped, "Don't make me repeat it!" Seth looked at her blankly, "I'm still in love with you, retard! I've never stopped loving you, that is what I said!"
Summer gasped for breath. She'd done it. And now she was going to have an anxiety attack, because she knew he wasn't going to say it back.
She knew it.
He wasn't going to say it back.
Pause.
Pause.
Pause…
Shit. He wasn't going to say anything, and she was going to look like such an idiot. She should have said it this morning, she'd hurt him too much…
Shit.
"I…I," Seth began, but Summer cut him off.
"Don't, Cohen. If you do it now, I know it's just pity…I'll just…I'll just go before I make myself look even stupider." She stood, and was about to take a step towards the door, when he pulled her to him. She stood, in between his knees, and then suddenly, he pulled her down, onto him, and kissed her softly.
"I love you, Summer Roberts. And it's not because you said it first, and it's not because of pity, and it's not because you're the only person I know who can call me a retard and make it look absolutely adorable," Summer rolled her eyes, "but because I just do. I love you, I love you, I love you." He said, and she stared at him, then broke out into a broad grin.
And she leaned down to him, kissing him, just as powerfully as she had the night before.
"So, what does this mean?" He asked, between kisses, after the initial shock wore off.
"Must you ruin the moment, Cohen?" She asked, her lips on his.
"I must," he said, kissing her once more before pulling away. She laid down on the couch, her head and shoulders sitting on his lap.
"This means," she began, biting her lip in thought, "I think it means I love you, and you love me. And that's it." She smiled, satisfied with herself.
"That's so not it," he said, laughing at her triumphant grin. "…Are we going to…are we going to try this? Now?"
"…Cohen," Summer said, as he sighed, "would I be here right now if we weren't?" Seth looked at her, "You're into making me suffer, aren't you?"
"Well you got one right…" Seth laughed.
"Fine, Cohen, get your way," she sighed, before burying her face into his chest and mumbling, "we're together, alright? We're not trying, we're being."
"For once, I didn't have to declare my love for you while standing on top of something? Wow…" Seth laughed, then pulled Summer up to him and kissed her forcefully.
"I'll make you do that at some point…but right now I have a question for you." Summer said, the hint of a smirk on her face.
"Oh, joy," Seth said, grinning at her, "…Shoot, I guess."
"What's the movie about?" She asked, smiling back as his fell.
"…You've got to embarrass me? Really?" He mumbled, and she nodded, looking up at him with a puppy dog look. "Fine. The movie is about us. The movie…the movie is about you."
"It's…really?" She smirked, though the fact that to her, that was one of the sweetest, endearing, awe-worthy things he could ever do shone through her eyes, "I would've though you could've come up with better subject matter…" He laughed, bowing his head and shaking it, "Though it was you who named your dog Cohen Cohen. Because that's not weird at all."
"Hey Summer?" He asked, the smile still gracing his features.
"Yeah?" She asked, her eyes aglow.
"Shut up," he said, a gravelly texture to his voice.
She grinned widely as he leaned in, running a hand through her hair and kissing her.
Because no matter what had (or hadn't) happened the night before, both of them had figured something out.
They needed what the other gave to them.
It was simple as that.
--
A/N: Please review with more than "loved it srsly it was amazing"? I mean, you can say that if that's your only thought…but if you have any thoughts? That'd be much appreciated ;) I know the ending was super cheese, but when I can't think of how to end it, thats what I do.
:) xoChic.