Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I do not own the O.C., nor will I ever.

Life, Love, and Coming Home

Chapter Five

The rest of lunch was fine. No more lies or made-up stories at least. Summer had kinda blanked out after "the kiss". Stupid Matt. I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him, played over several times in her mind. She let Matt do most of the talking since he was doing such a good job anyways. There was no point in trying to stop him. He was enjoying embarrassing her and making her life a living nightmare. It is one of the few things he's good at anyways. She occasionally looked up from her plate to nod or smile, and pretend to be happy and joylessly in love.

She moved the fork aimlessly around her plate as she listens to the conversations around her. She lifted her head and looked across the table at Seth. He was also staring intently at the plate in front of him. He had stayed quiet throughout most of lunch. Ryan and Marissa had also notice and tried several times to start a conversation with him. But the only words that came out of his mouth were "Sure." "Fine." and "I guess." Summer let out a sigh as she took a look at her watch. Only another hour or so, she kept telling herself. But somehow she felt like she was going to burst. She needed air. No. She needed a cigarette. She excused herself from the table and grabbed her purse with her. She made her way out of the restaurant and sat herself on one of the steps. She pulled her lighter out and lit the cigarette in her hand.

Smoking was like therapy to Summer. Cheap and effective. Matt had suggested she take up yoga or something if she wanted therapy. "Or maybe go to a therapist for therapy instead of killing yourself with those cigarettes," he had said once. She inhaled in the soothing nicotine and took a breath. She heard the door open from behind her but didn't bother turning around to see who it was. She silently prayed that it wasn't Seth. She already had made such a big mess, explaining things would be beyond her reach now. "Hey. What are you doing out here?" Marissa asked down she sat down besides Summer.

"Just needed to get outside for a little bit," Summer replied with a sense of relief.

"God, I haven't smoked a cigarette since high school," Marissa let out a sigh.

"Yeah."

"High school. Do you remember the drama of high school?" Marissa asked with a laugh.

"Yep. How could we forget the drama that was Ryan Atwood and Marissa Cooper," Summer said with a grin.

Marissa let out a laugh, "It's nice to have you here. I miss this."

"Me too."

Marissa had missed having someone to talk to. Summer was usually the only person she confided her secrets and troubles with. But it seems somehow that over the years they just grew apart. They were still good friends but it was never like it was back in high school.

"So when do you head back?"

"Later tonight. I'll probably spend some time at the beach first. Get a little tanning done. The only tan I get in New York is sadly the spray-on kind. Makes you kinda appreciate Newport," Summer said as she drops the cigarette butt on the steps and rubs it down with her Manolo Blahniks.

"New York city apparently had a big influence on you though. You're like the ultimate city chick now," Marissa said as she nudged Summer.

"Kinda hard to believe that we actually became mature adults," Summer laughed.

"Yeah, who would have thought it?" Marissa laughed back.

"We should probably get back. I have a meeting with the wedding planner in like an hour," Marissa said as she looked at the watch on her hand.

"Yeah, sure" Summer sighed with relief. Finally.

Lunch ended. Goodbyes and hugs were exchanged. And Summer felt a rage blackout coming. Luckily she was able to contain herself until they reached their hotel room.

"OW!" Matt screamed as Summer whacked him with her purse.

"What the hell were you thinking!?"

"WHAT!"

"The totally unbelievable story! The KISS! What were you thinking!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought I was doing you a favor," he said looking intently at her.

"Making up a ridiculous story was not doing me a favor. And fate. I don't even believe in that shit. It doesn't exist!"

"Fine. Be cynical. I just was hoping to hear praises for my story. Who knew I was such a good story teller?" he said while smiling at a fuming Summer. He knew how much Summer hated to see so calm when she was piss at him.

"Ugghhhhhh," Summer groaned loudly as she stomped her way over to the bed. "I hate you!"

"The feelings mutual," he replied coolly.

"You just had to make things more complicated didn't you," she fumed.

"I was just doing what you told me to do and what's with you and the best man. Ex of yours," he asked.

"None of your damn business!" she shouted as she slammed the door of the bathroom door.

She quickly changed into her bathing suit and slipped a shirt and jeans over. It was common for her and Matt to fight. It is like second nature for them to piss each other off. This was one of their smaller fights. They have had worst, especially when Summer was experiencing her one of her rage blackouts.

"You okay man," Ryan asked as he waved his hand in front of Seth's face.

"Huh...?" Seth asked as he shook off his daze.

"I see you're still hung over Summer," Ryan said as he flipped through one of Seth's comics.

"How can you tell?" he muttered as he buried his head in the pillow.

"I need to talk to her. But what am I gonna say to her, Congratulations," he scoffed.

His chances with Summer seemed so far out of his reach now. He had held out hope for a slight possibility of getting back with Summer. But now, all was lost. However, he felt a need to talk to her about something, anything.

"Well you better talk to her soon, she's leaving today. Chasing her through the airport might be effective," Ryan said with a smile.

"Ha, ha, ha" Seth forced out a laugh. "Airport chases...not my kind of thing man." He still remembered the night when he had chased Anna to the airport. He didn't care what people said about airport chases....it isn't romantic and it didn't bring the girl back. At least not for him. He had seen it numerous times in several cheesy romantic movies where the guy chases the girl through the airport to declare his undying love for her before she heads off to some other country, like Paris. That would never be him.

"I'm going for a walk," he declared getting up from his bed.

"She's probably at the beach," Ryan said coolly, looking up from the comic. "Marissa told him." He said, answering the confused look on Seth's face.

Seth nodded his head and headed out the door.

The fog was starting to roll in. And the sun was covered up by a bunch of clouds. Great. Tanning was out of the question now. The sky was turning grey and a burst of wind came towards her. She pulled her sweater closer to her body as she continues toward the beach. She walked a little quicker hoping to reach the beach before it start to drizzle. It hardly rained in Newport, and when it did, it hardly ever last for more than half an hour or so. Perfect timing for the beach, she muttered to herself as she finally reached the beach. The usually busy beach was now desolate and empty. The tides were rolling in strongly now, and somehow the crashing of waves seemed very soothing. She closed her eyes and took in the familiar salty smell of the ocean and listen as the waves crashed into each another.

It began to rain lightly, and everything felt so right for Summer at that moment. She lifted her face up and let the rain fall on her face, washing away all her makeup an all her worries. The rain came harder. And everything felt okay and not all fucked up. She heard the footsteps of another person walking towards her. She slowly turned her head and squinted through the rain, "Cohen?" she asked with one familiar word.

"Hey," he spoke back breathlessly as he approached her.

"What are you doing here? You're all wet."

"So are you," he replied back, quivering a little.

"I don't get sick as easily as you do," she responded a little worried.

She remembered during their senior year when they had lined up for some tickets to a concert. It started to rain and Summer suggested they go home. Seth, however insisted upon staying, got the tickets, and came down with acute pneumonia and had to stay in bed for a whole week. She, however, was perfectly fine.

"My immune system has grown somewhat stronger since the last time I had stood in the rain," he replied back with a slight smile.

"I doubt it," she smiled back.

"I wanted to catch you before you leave."

"I'll be back, you know," she smiled, sensing nervousness in his tone

They stood there, wet and everything, as Seth searched for the next few words to say. But nothing came, and they stood there, perfectly still.

"You look beautiful," he blurted out on pure impulse. And she did. There's just something so natural of how rain makes a person look.

"Seth..."

And on impulse again, he took a step forward and capture his lips with hers. And, she kissed him back. Her hand cradled the back of his head as he pulled her closer to him. They slowly broke apart to catch their breath, and both stood still, not saying a word. Their eyes stayed on each other's, and there was something just so surreal and perfect. He swept a strand of hair from her face and continued to admire the girl in front of him. She noticed his lips quivering, which could only be from the rain and dampness.

"I love you," he whispered. Her knees became very weak all of a sudden, kinda like they were giving up on her. She broke away slowly and took her eyes from his. "I can't....I'm sorry," she whispered and turned and walked away. He didn't move. He didn't stop her. He let her go, which was all he could do for now.

to be continued

Sorry for the long wait. This chapter took longer than expected for me to get out and plus things have been a little hectic for me lately. So, I hope you like it. And hopefully a faster update next time. Thanks again for all the reviews from the previous chapters and please, please keep the reviews coming! :)