Note: I guess I don't own The O.C. :(
I've changed the format of the dialog a little to make it more reader-friendly. Hope everyone likes it, please R&R.

"So, Cohen," Summer said as she threw back a shot of Tequila. The New Year's party had turned out to be more than she could handle; seeing all the people she knew she was going to miss had already justified four drinks. "How long after I leave are you gonna hook up with some Harbor skank?!"

"Summer, YOU go to Harbor. How can you call Harbor girls skanks?"

"Well, if you're hooking up with them, then they're skanks to me," she said as she motioned to the bartender to get her another drink.

"Yeah, well, it's not gonna happen," Seth said as he turned toward the bar and stared straight ahead. Summer looked at him, realizing how much he cared about her.

"Aww, Cohen," she slapped his shoulder. "That's so sweet!"

Seth tried to hide how upset he was that Summer was leaving, but his face showed it all. He tried to be strong for her, but all he could think about was how far away Baltimore was.

"I don't want you to leave, Summer. I'm trying to be happy so we don't have to think about it, but I can't imagine life without you."

"I'll be back, I'm totally gonna visit like all the time," she reassured him. Now Summer was trying to be strong for Seth. "Let's dance, Cohen," she grabbed him and dragged him out to the middle of the room. She held him tight while they danced, she wanted this moment to last forever. She decided to stop drinking so she could remember this night.

Right before midnight, Seth and Summer met up with Ryan and Marissa at a table near the bar. As they counted down to the New Year, Marissa sat on Ryan's lap and Summer was cuddled up in Seths chest.

10 . . 9 . . 8 . . Ryan looked up at Marissa and mouthed "I love you" to her . . 7 . . 6 . . Seth pushed Summer's hair out of her face and gently stroked her cheek . . 5 . . 4 . . 3 . . both couples looked into each other's eyes . . 2 . . 1 . .

"Happy New Year!!!" everyone in the room yelled to each other.

Marissa put her arms around Ryan and kissed him softly.

Seth guided Summer's face upward and kissed her passionately. It might be the last Newport event they ever spent together.

"Cal," Julie called as she walked into the living room.

"Yes, Juju?" he asked, not looking up from his paperwork.

"I thought we were going to have lunch today at Aubergine," she said in a whiny tone when she realized he was in the middle of something that looked important. "Cal," she whined.

"I'm sorry, dear; I have a lot of work to take care of today," he still hadn't looked up.

"Fine," she pouted, "but you owe me. Maybe tomorrow we can have lunch at Pavilion."

He ignored her as he was deep in thought and work.

With only two days before she was to board a plane for Baltimore, Summer was sulking around her mostly packed-up house as if her life was over. Seth came over to spend some time with her, but she looked like she needed to get out.

"Do you want to go sailing?" he asked

"Eww! No," she said.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Fine. But you need to get out of this house, it's . ." he looked around and made a sour face, "kinda creepy in here with all the boxes and everything covered in sheets and –"

"Okay, Cohen. I get it. Let's get out of here," she grabbed her jacket and purse and they walked out the door.

Ryan was in the poolhouse with Theresa and her baby, Samantha when Marissa came over. Kirsten walked her out back, and Marissa came into the poolhouse to find Ryan cleaning spit-up from the baby off of his shirt. Marissa and Theresa both laughed at him.

"Yeah, thanks," he said sarcastically.

Theresa had just finished getting ready to leave and she took Samantha from Ryan.

"Where ya going?" Ryan asked.

"Kirsten's taking us shopping," she said. Ryan kissed Samantha on the forehead and said goodbye to them as they left.

"Well, look at you," Marissa said grinning. "You're a regular baby magnet. She likes you."

"Yeah, what can I say?" Ryan joked. "Girls like me, it's a gift."

"Ha ha," Marissa said, playfully hitting him with her purse. She looked over at the bed, then Ryan did too. It was the bed, their bed. The bed they first made love on not long ago. Ryan gave Marissa a suggestive look and nodded toward the bed. She bit her lower lip and dropped her purse to floor as she took her sweater off, revealing a small tank top. Ryan locked the door, just in case. He knew Sandy was at work and Kirsten had gone shopping with Theresa, but he also knew from experience you couldn't be too careful when it came to locking bedroom doors.

He and Marissa stood and held each other while they kissed. Then she sat on the bed and took her shoes off while Ryan procured a condom from the bathroom.

"Who would have ever thought," Marissa said when he came back, "when you came here from Chino we'd end up together?"

"I did," Ryan said as he sat down next to her.

Marissa threw her arms around him and tackled him to the bed. She couldn't help but smile at how wonderful things had turned out between them.

Seth and Summer ended up on The Summer Breeze anyway, although they didn't sail anywhere. They were sitting on the docked boat eating fast food out of bags.

"I'm gonna miss this," Seth said.

"Yeah, me too," Summer agreed as she fed him a french fry. "I'll be back when I turn 18, you know? I'm not staying in Baltimore forever."

"A year, huh?" Seth pondered how the time apart would affect their relationship. Then he realized what it was Summer had wanted to hear from him, and he knew it was what he wanted to. "I'll wait for you," he said matter-of-factly.

She looked at him, surprised, and smiled as she started to cry. "Really?"

"Yes, really. I've waited so long to be with you, and I'm not gonna let 23 hundred miles and less than a year mess that up for me. . . For us."

She crawled over and sat on his lap. "I love you, Cohen."

"I love you too, Summer," he said as he put a french fry in her mouth.