Hand in hand with Summer, Seth strolled out through the theatre doors. Sometimes, he still got the urge to pinch himself. He was going out with Summer Roberts. He, Seth Cohen. With Summer Roberts. Seth and Summer. Summer and Seth. He never dreamed their names could be linked within the same phrase. Well, actually, he had dreamed about it. But he'd never believed it could come true. When he thought about it too much, it made him nervous and slightly wigged out. So he tried to be nonchalant about the whole thing.

This was their first real date. They had spent most of the last few weeks simply talking. Mainly at his house but a couple times at the pier. He'd learned all about his first kiss with Summer. The fact that he had initiated the kiss still surprised him sometimes. That was way cool. And then he'd learned that at one point, he'd had two girls fighting for his attention. It was so unfair that he couldn't remember any of it. More than a month had gone by now and he still had no sign of any memories returning. With school starting soon, he was slowly coming to the realization that he had no choice but to try to move forward with his life. Talking about the past was all well and good but he had to start living in the present. At least physically, he was feeling a lot stronger now and he'd gained some weight back. He didn't have to keep hiking his jeans up anymore.

They were making their way through the crowded lobby when Summer started waving to someone. "Oh look! It's Coop."

And Ryan too. Summer was calling her name and pulling Seth along. The other couple turned around, surprised to see them.

"Hi guys!" Marissa exclaimed. "Did you just come out of a movie?"

"Yeah," Summer replied. "What about you?"

"Just a few minutes ago. We were trying to decide what to do next. Hey, maybe you could join us." Marissa glanced at Ryan. "Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, if he...they want to," Ryan said, his gaze flickering quickly to Seth, then looking away.

Seth caught the uncertain look and felt a pang of guilt. "That would be great," he said. The enthusiasm was a little forced but only a little. It was, perhaps, time to get to know his friends.

"So what were you thinking of doing?" Summer asked.

"Well, there's Jamba Juice. Or the coffee place down the block," Marissa suggested.

Summer's eyes practically lit up. "Oooh yeah! The coffee place. They have a really yummy café mocha. Let's go there."

"Like you need caffeine," Seth teased her. "You're jumpy enough from the movie."

She hit his arm lightly. "Shut up."

Marissa laughed. "Why, what did you see?"

"The Village. It was sooo moronic," Summer moaned dramatically. "I wanted to see The Notebook."

"That's what we saw." Marissa placed a hand on her chest, seeming to fight back tears. "God, it was so sad, Sum. I'm going to start crying again."

"Shouldn't we get going?" Ryan spoke up, with a semi roll of his eyes.

They started heading for the doors. The girls went on ahead, chattering about the respective films they'd seen. That left Seth and Ryan to bring up the rear.

"Chick flick?" Seth asked.

"Oh yeah," Ryan replied. "Marissa was all weepy but at least she was quiet. There was one woman who, I swear, was sobbing hysterically. You could hear her through the whole theatre. People were yelling at her to shut up but she just kept going."

Seth chuckled, amused. They were outside on the sidewalk now and he was strangely conscious of the fact that he was having a real conversation with Ryan. One that didn't start and end with, 'pass the salt, please.' He was an only child and hadn't liked the idea of sharing his home turf with someone else. But to his credit, Ryan had been nothing but quiet and unobtrusive. And he had abided with Seth's plea to give him some space, which he wholly appreciated. Unlike his parents, who were watching over him with an eagle eye.

They were parents. That was their job. He realized this but their constant hovering was not helping him. For once in his life, he was actually looking forward to the start of school. He had somehow fallen into this new circle of friends and while he still had the sense to be cautious, he knew he had to start making an effort to let them in. He had never made friends easily so this experience was all new to him.

He decided to start by telling Ryan about his Summer movie experience. "The Village was actually pretty good. Summer's just covering up for the fact that it scared her and she doesn't want to admit it. She had her face buried in my shirt a few times."

"Ahh," Ryan stated, in a voice of understanding. "Good choice of movie, then."

Seth grinned, his strategy revealed. "I like to think so."

"So you've been spending a lot of time with Summer. Everything's good?"

"Yeah, I think so. We're just getting, you know, caught up on things." He gave Ryan a glance from the corner of his eye. "How are things with you and Marissa?"

"Good. We're taking it slow. But it's good."

"Good."

Not exactly a whopping, in-depth conversation, but it was a beginning. They reached the café and went inside. It was busy and the aroma of coffee and desserts was a warm, inviting smell.

"Summer and I should save a table," Marissa said, perusing the menu on the chalkboard. "Can you order for us?"

"Sure," Ryan responded. "What do you want?"

"Um, I think I'll have a café mocha too."

"Any dessert?"

"I'm full from the popcorn. How about you, Sum?"

Summer was already at the counter, peering at the cakes and pastries inside the display case. "Everything looks good," she mused. She looked back at Marissa. "Want to share with me?"

Her friend shook her head. "No, I really am full."

"Cohen?"

He and Summer had shared a medium bag of popcorn too but he could eat a little cake. "Sure," he said. "Which one?"

"I can't decide. You pick." She started walking away with Marissa but then threw a final request over her shoulder. "Something with chocolate."

As Seth dug out his wallet, Ryan ordered for himself and Marissa. Then it was Seth's turn and he chose a decadent looking chocolate concoction, along with Summer's drink. In a spaced-out moment, he suddenly realized he wasn't sure if he liked coffee. It at least smelled good to him. His parents and sometimes Ryan had a cup of the java in the morning but he had never bothered.

"Hey Ryan. Do I even like coffee?"

"Yeah, but not flavoured. And not the fancy latté stuff. You should get decaf, though, or you'll be up all night," Ryan advised.

Seth ignored the look he was getting from the older woman behind the cash register. "So I'll have a medium decaf coffee with...um..."

"Two cream, two sugar," Ryan filled in.

"Right. What he said."

They moved down to the far end of the counter to wait for their order. "Thanks, man," Seth said gratefully. "I never know when this brain of mine is going to fail me."

After a few minutes, with trays in hand, they found the girls in a booth near the back. Summer's eyebrows shot up at the sight of the dessert. "Whoa, that's a freakishly huge piece!"

"I know." Seth put down the tray. "That's why I brought four forks."

Even Marissa, who had claimed to be full, happily plucked the shiny utensil from his hand. While sipping their coffees, they all dug into the cake. They chatted some more about the films they'd seen and lamented the fact that school was just around the corner.

"Any memories coming back yet, Seth?" Marissa ventured to ask.

"That's a big N-O on that front," he replied ruefully.

"I'm sorry." She gave him a sympathetic look, chewing slowly. "That must be so weird for you."

"Yeah. It's not as freaky as it was in the beginning. But it's still plenty weird."

"Is there something we can do to help you? I know you've been talking with Summer. And I thought about calling you sometimes but..." She hesitated, with a quick glance to Ryan. "I know you wanted some space so I wasn't sure. Maybe if we all hang out like we used to, something will come back to you."

Seth considered it, licking frosting from the tines of his fork. "Honestly? I doubt it. But yeah, I'm all for hanging out. So what did we usually do? Party central? Club hopping?"

"We mostly hung out in your living room and played video games," Summer deadpanned.

He stared at her, mouth agape in disbelief. "No. Seriously?"

She laughed. "You should see the look on your face, Cohen. I'm kidding. Well, actually, we did do that a lot, didn't we?" An expression of growing horror crept onto her face. "Ew, we are losers!"

"That's not all we did," Marissa interjected. "We went to parties. Sometimes. Not as much as we used to, but so what? I liked just hanging out at the beach."

"Or watching movies," Ryan spoke up.

"Yeah." Marissa nodded firmly. "Don't worry, Seth. We had fun and we will again. Right, Summer?"

"Whatever." Summer still seemed to be recovering from the fact that she'd spent so much time exercising her hand-eye coordination. "But we should party more this year. It's our senior year."

"It's the year before college," Ryan pointed out.

Seth almost laughed at how prim and proper that statement sounded but he managed to hold back. Apparently, he wasn't the only one with that thought as Ryan looked around the table and tried to defend himself. "What? I'm just saying it probably shouldn't be party hearty all the time."

"Dr. Kim would be so proud," Summer said, her voice dripping sarcasm. Ryan chose not to respond to her dig, other than flashing her a dirty look.

Seth had a sudden thought. "Hey, what about the last weekend before school? Did we hit the ol' TJ? I wouldn't mind doing that this year."

He was answered by a round of complete silence. Looking from one uncomfortable face to the other, he wondered what nerve he had hit. "What? It's still there, isn't it? Don't tell me it was obliterated by some massive hurricane in the last five years."

Summer found her voice first. "We went last year but, uh..."

Marissa completed her friend's sentence. "I accidentally overdosed on some pills. It kind of put a damper on things."

"Oh, crap," Seth said quietly. "Sorry." He didn't know what else to say.

"You don't have to apologize." She mostly looked embarrassed as she tried to explain herself. "I was pretty messed up about stuff that was happening then. But it was an accident," she stressed. "Anyway, there's no way my mom would let me go back again. I might be able to convince my dad, but..."

Seth held up a hand. "It was a just a suggestion. We can think of something else."

"I don't think Sandy and Kirsten would let you go anyway," Ryan said.

"Why not?" Seth shot back, instantly annoyed. "I still know how to drive. I can read a map. I can't remember things that happened but I'm not helpless."

Ryan regarded him, looking calm and cool. "I know you're not helpless. And I agree that you're perfectly capable of going. I'm just saying your parents won't let you." As if suddenly aware that he'd been leaning forward attentively, he sat back against the vinyl cushion. "You know I'm right," he added.

Seth let out a breath of hot air and frustration. "You're right. They won't let me go." Apparently, Ryan knew his parents just as well as Seth did. It was a realization that bugged him but he didn't care to analyse why.

Summer nudged against him briefly. "I don't want to go anyway. Let's do something else."

He gazed down at her and could see that she was serious, as if her friend's plight still haunted her. "Yeah, that's fine." Hating to see her look so troubled, he tried to lighten the mood. "Here, one last bite of cake." He fed it to her with his fork. As she enjoyed the last bit of dessert, he was distracted by a small dab of icing near the corner of her lip. "You've got something...right there..." He tried to point it out but then gave up and used a napkin to wipe it clean.

"You're supposed to kiss it off," Summer chastised him, pulling his head down to demonstrate exactly how it was to be done.

Closing his eyes, he savoured the warmth and sweetness of her mouth, momentarily forgetting where he was. That is, until he heard a not-so-discreet cough from across the table. They broke apart to face a giggling Marissa and a Ryan who was pretending not to look.

"Bad Summer," Seth scolded. "Not in front of the children."

As everyone laughed, he was pleasantly surprised by the fact that this was the happiest he'd been in a long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The remainder of August and the first few days of September flew by in a blur. Kirsten took her boys shopping for new school clothes even though they all knew it was unnecessary. Even Kirsten. But shop they did and she was absolutely thrilled that Seth and Ryan were on speaking terms again. There were still moments of awkwardness but she didn't care and though she tried not to be overly enthusiastic, it ultimately didn't matter. Seth had always been wise enough to see through any act she tried to put on. She was just content that the communication lines in her family were open again.

After the shopping spree on Saturday, Seth and Ryan spent the evening at the pier with Summer and Marissa. They had bantered around some ideas for other places to go on the weekend but in the end, decided to simply hang out together in town. They hadn't done it all summer and now that Seth was feeling more sociable, it seemed the right thing to do. No one, not even Summer, felt like doing anything wild and crazy.

It was quiet on the beach. Most of the people their age were now partying it up in Tijuana. The sun was sinking lower on the horizon, an array of glorious pinks and purples splashing across the sky.

Marissa's head was nestled comfortably on Ryan's shoulder. They shared a blanket on the sand, while Seth and Summer claimed another blanket a few feet away.

As was usually the case, Ryan hadn't said much this evening. But she could sense an ease about him that hadn't existed since he'd returned to Newport. Although they hadn't discussed it in any detail, she knew he was on better terms with Seth now. That had to be the reason and she was happy for both of them.

Wordlessly, she found his hand and entwined her fingers around his. She raised her head a little and smiled as he glanced down at her. He rewarded her with the tiniest of smiles in return and she caught her breath in surprise as his head tilted downwards. They really had been taking things slowly and neither one had made a move to kiss the other. Until now. Her eyes fluttered closed in anticipation. His lips were as soft and inviting as she remembered in her dreams. The moment didn't last long. But it was perfect.

Summer shivered a little as the cool wind swept over her bare legs and arms. Now that the sun was disappearing, the warmth of the day was going with it.

"Cold?" Seth asked, nudging closer to her and rubbing a warm hand down her arm.

"No, I'm okay."

"You're quiet tonight," he observed. "Something wrong?"

"No."

There was something bothering her but she didn't want to admit it to him. She was sad that summer was coming to an end. The last month, they'd spent so much time talking to each other and simply being together. It was the first time that she hadn't been fighting for his attention, whether her competition was Ryan, video games or the hottest comic book. While she appreciated how horrible the amnesia was for Seth, it had actually brought them closer together. Or at least she felt closer to him. From his perspective, he was just getting to know her. Now school would be starting and they would get back to their normal routines. It just wouldn't be the same.

"What is it?" he persisted, obviously aware that her mood was off.

"Nothing." She pressed herself even closer to him. "Let's stay all night," she murmured against his chest.

"Wouldn't your father hunt me down?"

"He'll never find us. We'll disappear."

"You're just kidding. Right?" He sounded like he wasn't quite sure what was going on.

She sighed. "Forget it, Cohen. Just watch the sun set."

As she spoke, the last sliver of the distant orb dipped below the horizon, vanishing entirely from view. They sat in silence and continued to watch the shifting, darkening sky.

A/N: So the consensus for the name of Summer's father seems to be Neil. Thanks for that. And I will have to check out TWoP sometime.

This chapter isn't the strongest but it was nice to have Seth happy for a change. He's been so angsty lately! This was the transition before the start of school when more fun begins.

I know it's sounding redundant but thank you, thank you for the wonderful reviews. It makes the writing that much more worthwhile.