Disclaimer: Nada.

A/N: I'm trying. I really am. Again – sorry to all the other writers of SS out there, I really do want to catch up on reading and reviewing your stories but this semester is kicking my ass. Thanksgiving break is soon though so I promise I will then. And that's also when another chapter will be up of this so only 2 weeks! (Hey, it's better than I have been posting lately.)

Read, enjoy!, and review because it means oh so much in these stressful times.

P.S. Do not make a plan to travel the world (and 11 countries plus Hawaii) in 100 days. It's difficult and time consuming. But I can't help but think that it will be so, so, so worth it. :)

That is all. Here is the chapter.

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Summer woke up the next morning smiling amidst the mess of familiar smelling sheets. She reached her arms out to her side, trying to feel for Seth's body, before she bothered opening her eyes. When Summer was greeted with more messy sheets, she squinted her eyes, looking for Seth. It took a few more seconds for Summer to realize that Seth wasn't anywhere around. Summer sat up, glancing around the room for any sign of Seth.

Or any sign that everything that she thought had happened last night hadn't been a dream.

She glanced underneath the sheets, discovering her naked body, smiling as she looked back up. The smile quickly disappeared when she spotted a folded note up on the dresser in front of the bed. Summer stood up, wrapping the sheets around her body, walking towards the dresser to read the note. She picked it up, seeing her name scribbled on the front in Seth's handwriting and opened it.

Summer –

Lots of apartment and job hunting to do today. Phone's dead. Won't be around for lunch or dinner. See you around at some point.

Summer stood dumbfounded for a few shocked moments before finally blurting out loud, "What?!"

How could he just leave like that? After last night? After their reunion that Summer had been wishing for ever since the day he left last January?

And how in God's name could he be suddenly apartment searching?!

"What?!" Summer reiterated into the dead silence of the room. "He has got to be kidding!"

Summer scrunched the note up in her hand angrily and threw it into the wastebasket next to the dresser. She then let the sheets fall to her feet as she searched into her dresser for clothes for the day. Irately she threw one of her bright red tank tops on and zipped up her jean shorts. She stormed out of the bedroom, grabbing her cell phone off of the kitchen counter, dialing Seth's number. Immediately it went straight to voicemail.

"It's Seth. Leave a message or hang up the phone. Thanks."

"Are you kidding me, Seth?" Summer barked into the phone. "Apartment searching? Leaving me with a half-assed note after we slept together? 'See you around at some point'?! You better find a way to charge your phone and listen to this voicemail and get back to this apartment within the next two hours or I'm gonna go hunt you down and kick your sorry and insensitive ass!"

Summer hung up the phone and threw it onto the sofa, mumbling furiously under her breath. It only took a few more seconds of growing increasingly angry that she realized she wasn't really all that angry – she was feeling more upset and dejected than anything else.

Last night was supposed to be the turn of something good. Not the return of her depressed state from before Seth moved in. She and Seth were supposed to reconcile and live happily ever after. They were supposed to move on from their terrible months apart and get back to the happiness they had had all those years before. They were supposed to get engaged, have a wedding, and become parents to their beautiful baby girls and baby boy that Summer always dreamt about when she imagined her and Seth growing old together. That was what was supposed to happen.

Or at least that was what Summer had wanted to happen.

Summer started thinking back to the events leading up to last night. Maybe she had forced Seth to go too far too fast. Maybe he had been drinking and wasn't clear on what he was doing.

Maybe he regretted it.

Summer didn't realize she had been crying until she felt a few teardrops hit her legs' skin.

She had gone so long without crying since Seth had come back. She almost forgot what it had felt like to cry – the hurt and the pain consuming her every breath.

Summer broke into heaves of cries at this thought.

"Why…" Summer slipped into a horizontal position on the sofa, bringing her knees to her chest, sobbing. "Seth…"

Why couldn't things just go back to the way they used to be?

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Seth trudged through the streets of downtown Manhattan, peering at all the large and busy buildings surrounding him. He hadn't known where he was going that morning; all he knew was that he had to go. He wasn't planning on looking for an apartment or a job, but he needed to tell Summer something so she wouldn't send out a search party for him.

Not that she would really do that, but he was sure if he hadn't left her some kind of note she would have kicked his ass.

He reached down into the pockets of his pants, letting his fingers graze over his cell phone.

Seth's phone wasn't dead. He had lied on that account. But he knew Summer was going to try and call him and he just didn't want to explain himself to her just now. Not when he wasn't even sure about everything himself.

Seth instantly grabbed the cell phone out of his pocket, turning it back on – ignoring the display stating that he had a new voicemail, knowing it was from Summer – and searched through his contacts list for his familiar friend, dialing his number instead.

"Cali-boy," Nick greeted. "What's up? Feeling up-to-par yet?"

Seth found a quiet area amidst busy lower Manhattan and spoke into the phone calmly. "I slept with Summer."

"You what?" Nick barked. "Dude – you did what?!"

"I know, I know…" Seth groaned, even though he wasn't sure he knew anything at all. "I made a mistake, right?"

"Yeah, you made a mistake!" Nick yelled. "How?"

"There was this guy who came by her apartment yesterday and he said I was taking advantage of her and then when we were in bed later I just kept thinking about it and – and – I'm not taking advantage of her, you know?"

"First off – 'when you guys were in bed'? You sleep in the same bed?"

"I didn't want her sleeping on the couch every night…" Seth trailed.

Nick laughed, a little ironically, "You do realize that was the whole point of you moving in with her, right?"

Seth leaned against a brick wall, silent. He hadn't thought of that before. Maybe he hadn't wanted to.

"And secondly," Nick continued on, "You kind of are taking advantage of her if you haven't moved out yet. It's going on six weeks. The doctor said you'd be better to be on your own again in four."

"That's what Ryan said."

"It's true."

"I feel comfortable living with her."

"So that's why you slept with her?"

Seth let the phone drop from his ear down to his chest, as he lifted his head up towards the sky. Why had he allowed things to go as far as they did last night? Did he want it? Did he love her? Was he ready to forgive and forget and hop back into their committed relationship again?

Could he forget everything that happened?

"Cali-boy," Nick shouted through the earpiece. "Seth!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Seth lifted the phone back to his ear. "I'm here."

Nick sighed, determination coming to his voice. "Okay. This is what's gonna happen. You need to get out of there. You can move back in with me for the time being until you find somewhere else to live. You can't keep being this spineless idiot who gives in to someone he doesn't love anymore."

Seth opened his mouth to argue his friend's last statement but then he realized he wasn't sure he needed it corrected.

"I knew this entire thing would blow up in your face," Nick persisted through Seth's thoughts. "You can't keep pretending you're gonna go back to Summer. She's gonna start thinking something's gonna actually happen between you two and, even though I'm not Summer's biggest fan, that is pretty low. I mean, you don't want to do that, right?"

"Ah…" Seth stuttered, his thoughts racing, "I… umm… well…"

"You want to hurt Summer like that? I know she hasn't been the most sensitive person in the world, but -"

Seth immediately interrupted him, "No! I'm not talking about hurting her."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"I just…," Seth scratched his head, "What if I wasn't pretending?"

"You want to get back with Summer," Nick answered in reply as more of a statement, deadpanned.

"Well…"

"Seriously, Cohen?" Nick spoke deeply; angrily.

Seth knew Nick was upset. He was the only one who ever called him by his last name when he was disappointed. And Seth really didn't know what choice he should make, and he didn't know if his heart was aching for Summer – or just some kind of female companionship. So he listened to Nick and shook his heart's thoughts.

"No," Seth laughed lightly, unconvincingly. "I don't want to get back together with Summer."

"Seth…"

"I don't. I was just… you know… seeing how you were gonna react. Scaring you a bit."

Nick grew silent for a few seconds longer than Seth was anticipating and heaved a sigh. "I'm coming to New York."

Now it was Seth's turn to laugh. "You're not coming to New York. You hate it more than I ever hated it."

Nick ignored Seth's comment. "Go back to Summer's apartment. Pack up your stuff and tell her goodbye – for real this time. Don't let her argue with you – just tell her how it is. Tell her you're gonna move in with me for a little while until you can find an apartment of your own again in Providence. If all else fails or if she pulls the crying hysterically card, lie to her and say you got a job offer in Providence. That should seal the deal. She can't complain when you're talking about your career. I mean, it would be extremely hypocritical of her if she did that seeing as that's what she pulled when she decided to abort your child."

"She didn't have an abortion, Nick," Seth told him quietly.

"Right. Whatever," Nick cleared his throat. "She still cares a lot about her career. She won't force you to overlook yours because it's not in New York. That's not her mindset. Right?"

Seth heaved his chest, letting the one-word question float through his mind. "No. She'll understand."

"Good. I should be there in three hours."

"I know," Seth replied solemnly.

"Dude," Nick's voice boomed through the earpiece, "Honestly. Tell me. Do you love her?"

Seth shook his head, then upon remembering Nick could not see him, spoke quietly, "I don't think I'm in love with her. I don't know. I love her, but… we're not healthy for each other. Like, we hurt each other and we just don't want the same things. We're not right for each other… you know?"

Nick held off saying anything until he knew Seth was finished. "I'll be there in a few hours. Good luck, Seth."

Nick hung up the phone leaving Seth to feel more alone in this city of eight million people than he ever had in his entire life.

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Summer gathered herself together after awhile; coming to the realization that crying over Seth wasn't going to bring him back any faster. She began cleaning furiously, trying to make the apartment look spotless as a way to ignore her pain. After about an hour, Summer was fidgeting and couldn't find anything else to clean or organize – due to her commanding skill at keeping the apartment always in tip-top shape – and she reached for her phone, this time calling Matt, as she paced around the room waiting to hear his voice through the receiver.

"Hey Summer," Matt greeted. "How's New York been treating you these past few months?"

It was at this that Summer stopped her pacing, realizing that she hadn't spoken to Matt since he drove her to New York back at the end of May. So much had gone on since then – so much that Summer wasn't even sure she could explain – and she wanted to tell Matt everything. She wanted to put it all out there because, although they had grown apart in the past few months and left on semi-awkward terms, Matt had been there for her when Seth left her. And he never once asked for an explanation, instead just hanging out with her so she wouldn't have to feel so alone. He deserved some answers and at this point, Summer just wanted to let everything out.

"Summer?" Matt questioned into the phone making Summer realize she had paused in her thoughts a little too long.

"Remember when you asked me if I had been pregnant? And if that was the reason Seth and I broke up?"

"Uh…" Matt trailed.

"It was," Summer replied immediately. "I was pregnant. And Seth and I were married. But I didn't want to be pregnant – or married for that matter – and I told Seth I was getting an abortion. And I went to the abortion clinic and realized I was being immature and ruthless and I cancelled the appointment. But then when I was leaving I ended up having a miscarriage. And I was scared and upset and after I got back to our apartment I tried to tell Seth about the miscarriage and he didn't want to hear it so I just let my friends in California think that I had had an abortion. But I didn't. I thought Seth was mad at me about the miscarriage. But then I went out to California for Lana's baby shower – because now she's pregnant – and I found out that Seth never knew I had a miscarriage. That he never listened to my voicemails or read my emails. So I told him. But he just wanted to stay friends. Which, I was like, that's not possible because we've never been just friends but he said that's all he could do right now so I agreed. And I came back to New York and hadn't heard from Seth so I thought he was just a bunch of bullshit and I started trying to move on with this guy named Kyle. But then Ryan called – that's Seth's brother – and told me that Seth was sick. He had pneumonia and then his lung collapsed and I just went out to Providence to stay with him, calling in an immediate vacation from work. And then he lost his job and he didn't want to take his parents money to pay for an apartment so he ended up agreeing to move out here with me in New York. And it's been working out great. Like, really great. I mean, we hadn't gotten back together but I felt like it was coming. That it was just around the corner, you know? And then that guy Kyle stopped by and I think Seth heard me say some things to him – good things, like I was still in love with Seth – and Seth ended up leaving for the rest of the day but I thought that was a good sign. Like, that he needed to sort out his feelings and stuff and then he'd come back and realize that he loved me too and that we just needed to forget what had happened and move on. Together. And he did come back last night and we slept together. And he initiated everything. And we kind of talked afterwards and it felt like everything was so right and that it was all going to work out and then I wake up this morning and he's gone and all he left was some stupid half-assed note telling me that he was out apartment searching and that he wasn't going to be around for the rest of the day and that he'd see me whenever. So what I want to know is – what does that mean? I mean, I told you everything. Truthfully. But I need a guy's opinion and I know this explanation is a long time coming and that I should have told you everything months ago but I need your help, Matt. I need Seth back. And I need to know what to do. So tell me what to do and I'll do it. Because I miss him and I want him back in my life – for real this time – and I can't fuck this up so tell me what to do.Please, Matt."

"Summer… I-I…" Matt paused, for a moment, sighing into the phone, "Why didn't you tell me all of this back when you two broke up? I could have tried to help you. I could have… I don't know… I could have done something."

"I know. I'm sorry, Matt. I really am. But you really helped me out by just being there. Honestly. I couldn't have asked for a better friend."

There was silence on the phone for a few lingering moments as Summer waited for Matt's reply, waiting for some kind of insight as to how to win Seth back in these circumstances.

"Everything will work out, Summer."

Summer stood shocked for a moment, gasping at Matt's "insight." "That's all you got for me? That everything will work out?"

"I'll talk to you later," Matt barely spoke above a whisper.

Summer grew angry. "No. That's not all you're going to tell me. You're going to tell me what you're really thinking. That's what you're going to tell me."

"You don't want to know what I really think. You only want to hear what you want to hear."

"What do you really think?" Summer asked him sternly.

More silence ensued before Matt took a deep breath, answering Summer's question. "That Seth thinks he made a mistake by sleeping with you."

Summer let that resonate in the silence, before Matt tried to comfort her, "Summer…" Summer hung up the phone, standing in the middle of the hallway in astonishment.

Was that really what this all meant? That it was all a mistake in Seth's eyes? Of course Summer had had a fleeting thought that that could be running through his mind, but Summer didn't think that that was really the answer. That that was the real reason Seth had bolted out of the apartment and left that meager note early this morning.

But maybe Summer just didn't want it to be the answer, just like Matt said. Maybe she was just searching for something she wanted to hear. Maybe that's why she had called Matt in the first place.

Suddenly, the door's lock clicked and Summer swirled around hoping to see the one person she most wanted to see. Sure enough, a drained looking Seth slinked into the apartment shutting the door behind himself before glancing over to Summer, noticing her worried and anxious eyes.

"Seth…" Summer whispered, afraid to move. Afraid to know what Seth was going to do or say. Afraid to find out that Matt was right.

Seth took some deep breaths and a loud sigh as he threw the keys on the kitchen counter and stood a few feet in front of Summer. "Summer, we need to talk."