Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: Here is the second installment of my new story, I guess I will be continuing it, due to the reviews asking for more. Thanks, guys! I know this chapter is really melodramatic and kinda lame, but hopefully it will serve its purpose and answer a lot of your questions as to why Seth and Summer are headed towards divorce and how their relationship ended up so strained. The song that goes along with this chapter is Nothing Better by The Postal Service. Enjoy! Keep letting me know how the story is going.

Still Fighting It

Chapter 2: you've had your chance so say goodbye

Tell me am I right to think that there could be nothing better than making you my bride and slowly growing old together.

Don't you feed me lies about some idealistic future
Your heart won't heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures

I admit that I have made mistakes
And I swear I'll never wrong you again

You've got a lure I can't deny,
But you've had your chance so say goodbye,
Say goodbye
---

Long before Seth Cohen had become a semi-god amongst men in the music industry, he had been an ordinary husband, working hard on his music, hoping to make it big. Seth had never known what he wanted to do with his life. All he knew was that he loved playing the piano and guitar, and that he was pretty good at it. Fortunately for him, he had a sizeable trust fund, so he could do anything he wanted and still have enough money to live very comfortably. In college, he had formed a trio with two guys and they continued to play around with demos and songs, gaining a pretty large following on campus. Summer was his biggest groupie.

He married her just weeks after they graduated from USC. There was no planned wedding, just a quick elopement to Las Vegas. Silver Bells wedding chapel. It was a spur of the moment, fly by the seat of your pants idea. Maybe he was a little too drunk and having far too much fun, but it was the best decision he ever made. He had been 22 years old and without a plan. But now he was armed with a purpose, a wife, a family to take care of and live for. And life was still fun and carefree. That was before the music took over. Before the industry meddled in his affairs, making a mess of his life. It wasn't that he was ungrateful, because he was grateful for every ounce of success he achieved. But things could have, and should have been handled differently. Everything should have been different.

They had been so happy. Summer worked as an interior decorator for the Newport Group, in Julie Cooper's design team. She loved her job, and she loved her husband. Their life was perfect. She had all these dreams, when they were first married, about the three dark haired children that they would have. That was something she wanted more than anything in life, a real family. Something that she had never had before.

Eight years ago, her dreams had started to come true. Summer became pregnant, and Seth was the happiest man in the world. Not only was he going to be a father, but his band (they became official)'s demo tape had been picked up by Warner Bros. Records. They were to begin recording their debut album as soon as Summer had the baby. Success and love were in the stars for the both of them. But everything is always too good to be true. Something is always waiting to throw a kink in the plans.

Or someone rather. And her name was Jennie Martin. She was a hot, young singer/producer who had worked with John Mayer, Jason Mraz, and Maroon 5. Of course, the record company wanted to make their band successful with the same formula. Cute singer-songwriting boys with catchy hooks and funky beats. Add in some indie looking music videos, and you have a hit band. And it was soon to happen, under Jennie's direction.

It just so happened that Seth had written a song in college, after he and Summer had broken up for what seemed like the thousandth time, only to end up getting back together the following week. Jennie was in love with it--it was a fight between a couple, in which they sparred back and forth, taking one shot after the other. That's how most of Seth and Summer's fights were, verbal boxing matches. The song called for a female voice in the duet, and Jennie decided that she wanted to do it. And of course, the band had agreed. It was all they ever hoped for, getting to work with a major producer, cutting a major record.

Seth remembered it like yesterday. A moment like that was not something that one could forget. Summer had just given birth to their perfect son, Daniel Sanford Cohen, a few weeks before. He had to go to the studio to start recording the album, as the record label were pressing them for time. They had already given him time to spend with his wife while she was expecting, but now that the kid was born, it was back to business. The music industry stopped for no one. You had to grab your opportunity and go with it.

He worked all day and all night for weeks. They didn't seem to be getting that much done. It was a tediously slow process, but they were so excited to be apart of everything that was happening. Their label had so much faith in their sound that they started getting invites to Hollywood parties, where their music would be played for hot A-list celebrities and trendy LA jetsetters. It was amazing. It was actually happening. They recorded everyday, and partied every night. Being a musician had it's perks, definitely. His bachelor band mates found different models and actresses to be seen with every night. Seth tried to stay away from those girls as much as possible, driving home after parties to spend it with in his own bed, with his own wife. Summer, having become a mother, underwent a change that no one could ever imagine from her. She was patient and caring, always waking up at whatever time of night Seth came home to cook him something to eat or to just watch TV with him or do whatever. She was the ever-loving, supportive wife. She was so proud of him.

Seth spent many moments during those trips home just watching his son sleep. It was such a miracle that something so innocent and perfect could come from him. He always sang to his son, often falling asleep with him in their rocking chair singing some of the songs off the album. Everything was so innocent then, no one could have any idea that a furious storm was brewing under the radar.

When the album was in it's finishing stages, the record company leaked out the single, "Nothing Better," Seth's duet with Jennie, to the media. Everyone loved it. Especially Summer, she knew it was her song. The band did tons of press with Jennie for it, they went everywhere. Parties, signings, radio shows. Their album wasn't even complete yet, and they were already blowing up. It was rare to find success as quickly as they had. But according to Jennie, they were such great songwriters, that of course things could come more quickly. Seth should have learned long ago to never listen to anything that Jennie had to say. The two were seen everywhere together.

Rumors had to start sometime. It was their album release party--almost one year from the day his son was born. All of their friends and family were there to celebrate--well all except their son, he was at home with Summer's grandmother. He was having a blast, drinking probably too much. Everything was a big blur. His music was on loudly, he was singing at the top of his lungs, and his wife was laughing, embarrassed at how drunk he was getting. But she loved it. He couldn't find her through the crowd, he remembered searching for her. He had run into Jennie instead.

And so was the beginning of the end.

Jennie had wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him closer. She acted drunk, but he never recalled an instance that he had ever seen her drink alcohol before. For some reason, these parts were so clear to him. She was dancing, or more like grinding with him. And for some stupid reason, he was letting her. It was all his fault.

And then she kissed him. And for some odd reason, he kissed back. He thought it was the booze, but that was no reason. He was to blame for everything.

He had never meant for it to happen. He never saw it coming. And what was worse was the sound of flashbulbs clicking for what seemed to be forever. All he could see after parting from his attacker was the stunned look on his wife's face. And an angrier one coming from her best friend, his sister in-law's face. Summer had not looked angry, which frightened him. She looked scared.

And she was.

The one thing that had ever eluded her was the concept of family. And the reason for why she never had a normal upbringing with her mother and father was infidelity. Her mother had cheated on her father, and then left without so much as saying goodbye. It was her worst fear come true. She was being left behind again.

The camera men waited for a reaction from anyone. This was too good to believe. Their album had just been released and there was already a scandal. Marissa was the first to act. She calmly walked over to Seth and slapped him. Hard. She grabbed Summer, who was already shaking from the tears that were building up in her throat, and left, with Ryan and his parents closely behind. If it had been one little instant, Seth could've explained it to Summer, and maybe she would have forgiven him.

But the media works in mysterious ways. On every gossip page across the nation, his "affair" with his duet partner made the headlines. Every internet chat room was abuzz with the news that the hot singer from 'that band who sang that one song' was leaving his wife for this younger and hotter celebrity. And Jennie sold his ass out. She had claimed that it was a tumultuous love affair, and that it had to end. Slowly, more and more "sources" came to surface about how the two were seen doing this and that at a coffee shop in Silverlake or a hotel in Pasadena. Jennie had explained to Seth that there were no hard feelings, it was all for the sake of publicity. He had never wanted to hit a girl more. His marriage was sacrificed for his career. The sad part was that Seth could not convince anyone else of the real truth. Everyone believed that the innocent coffee runs were secret rendezvous and that lunch meetings were foreplay for sexual interactions. His two bandmates knew the truth, yet they agreed that the publicity was getting their record sold.

So that's when Seth went solo. He couldn't be in a band with guys he couldn't even trust. They were willing to give up everything, even sell him out, for their own success, and Seth hated them for it. It was a cutthroat business, and he learned many lessons from this betrayal. But it didn't matter much anyway, neither was heard of in the industry again. He was pretty sure one of them was teaching music somewhere in the Midwest, and another worked at an independent record shop, but he didn't really care all that much.

Everything that had ever mattered to him--the music, the fame, the money paled in comparison to what mattered most--his family. And with one stupid move, he was about to lose it all.

He came home to Newport to face the music. Summer was surprising calm enough to see him, although her guard Marissa wasn't as forgiving. What was said that day changed the course of his life forever. He remembered every minute detail of that day when he lay awake during another sleepless night on the road. He relived it many times. As he sat in his desk, he closed his eyes, and relived that night once again…

Nothing Better by the Postal Service