Disclaimer: I don't own anything regarding "The O.C." nor am I affiliated with any of the cast and characters used in the story. Anyone or anything that you don't recognize is mine, and anyone and anything else that you do recognize is not mine.
Against All Odds
Chapter 5 – The Meaning of Friendship
"Could you just sit still for one second?" Summer yelled at him, completely exasperated.
"I did, but you said that like two seconds ago."
"Cohen, I swear, if you don't stop kidding around, I'll give you something to laugh about."
"Okay, calm down," Seth said. "I don't want to have to witness another one of your rage blackouts."
"Well, if you cut the comedy act, you won't have to."
Seth finally settled down and sat still on the chair while Summer attended to his black eye. He was sure he had an open wound surrounding it since something that Summer put in the area made it sting. A smile threatened to form on his lips, but he managed to control himself. He couldn't help but be amused at her facial expression. She looked worried and yet annoyed at the position that he was putting her in. She looked determined and yet unsure at what she was doing. He had to admit that she looked cute, but he wasn't about to say it out loud.
"Put this on your eye," Summer said as she gave him an ice pack. "It will help with the swelling."
"Thanks."
"Is there anything else I can do?" Summer asked.
"I think you've done enough," Seth said as he tried to get up from the chair, obviously still in pain. "I probably just need to lie down for a bit."
"You shouldn't be moving like that," Summer said, leading him to the couch. "You can lie down there for awhile."
"Are you sure?" Seth asked.
"Positive," Summer replied, sitting on the chair that Seth had vacated. "So what really happened? I mean, I know you got mugged, but there were so many people out and about tonight, it just seems impossible that no one saw anything."
"Well, in my case, never rule out the impossible."
"It's just so weird though," Summer said. "I mean, isn't it a strange coincidence that you just happened to be at the comic book store, and I just happened to be dining at the restaurant right across it. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you set it all up."
"Oh yeah. It was all part of my master plan. Hire a mugger, and what the heck, pay him off to mug me, and as an added bonus, he can pretend that it was for real. I was totally begging him to give me a shiner and beat the living day lights out of me. After that was done, I walked through the night, limping I might add, to a comic book store whose owner was ready to kill me, but it didn't matter. I just had to wait until you came out of your fancy restaurant so we can finally meet. Yes, Summer, it was all a set up."
"Cohen…"
"You cannot honestly believe that I would go through such lengths just so I could get your attention."
"I was just kidding," Summer replied, feeling a little guilty. "The thought never even crossed my mind. I was just saying that it was a big coincidence, that's all. Although, and I hope you don't take offense in any of this, I wouldn't put it past you to pull such a stunt."
"Why would you say that?"
"I just have this vague recollection of a young boy with a Jew-fro who used to vie for my attention back in the days."
"I wonder what happened to that loser," Seth joked. "Isn't he like rich now? One of America's most eligible bachelors from what I heard."
"I don't know," Summer smiled at him. "I heard that he was living off his grandfather's money. And did I mention that he had a bloated ego to match?"
"Ouch!" he said, laughing none the less. "One for the pretty lady. Zero for the Jew-fro boy."
"So, all joking aside, how are you liking New York City."
"To be perfectly honest, I'm liking it less and less… No… I'm hating it more and more."
"You've got to be kidding."
Seth removed the ice pack from his eye to prove his case.
"So what?" Summer said. "So you got mugged and the guy stole your money and your fancy cell phone. Big deal. That's not what New York is all about."
"Gee Summer, I thought you said that this was a traumatic experience for me."
"You've been here for like a month now," Summer said. "Haven't you done anything else?"
"I walked around."
"And…?"
"I heard a lot of noise. I saw a lot of pollution. I came across a lot of people. By the end of the year, I'm going to have agoraphobia."
"And that would be…?"
"Fear of crowd places."
"Cohen, you're missing the point."
"I think I'm right smack dab in the middle of the point."
"You are such a dork."
"That's part of my charm, " Seth said before noticing the look of disagreement on Summer's face. "Most of the time."
"You need to see the big picture."
"Is it one of an apple?"
"Your comedy act is really getting old."
"Fine, I'll stop."
"There is so much more to this city than your misguided view of it."
"Well, I don't have the time to figure out what makes this place so special," Seth told her. "It's not like the people that I know around here are jumping at the chance to show me around."
Seth looked at Summer. Maybe he shouldn't have blurted those words out that way, but he couldn't help himself. He had to let her know that it bothered him that she did not attempt to get in touch with him. He knew that in his message he stated that he was not asking her to show him around, but he knew that Summer was smarter than to take his words to heart. It was pretty obviously that part of spending time with her was for her to show him around. At least that's what he was thinking, but he wasn't really thinking in the first place when he called her that night.
"Look, Cohen, I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way," Summer said, avoiding his gaze. "I was just busy and everything. And if I wasn't busy, I really just didn't feel like hanging out with you."
"That makes me feel special."
"You have to understand that this whole situation isn't easy for me," finally looking up to face him. "I mean, even now with you here, it doesn't get any easier. I mean, how long have we really spoken to each other, and by that, I mean like really talked to each other? It's been years. I mean, yes, I can say that we're friends, but are we really? How can you be friends with someone when you don't talk to them or see them for eight years?"
"I saw you last year at the…"
"That doesn't count," Summer exclaimed, her voice full of emotion. "Don't you get it? We are two different people now. It's not high school anymore."
"I know it's not, but what we just had here, with our mindless banter and whatnot… Don't tell me that it doesn't even remind you of what we used to have?"
"And what would that be?"
"Friendship," Seth told her. "Camaraderie. Amity."
"Okay, so we banter a lot and joke around, so what? You can't base our friendship on that account alone. What do we really know about each other?"
"A lot of things."
"Things that don't matter anymore," Summer corrected him. "You don't know me anymore."
"Then why don't you let me," Seth said. "Don't shut me out, Summer. Not now. I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but you could use a friend right now, and to hell with it, so could I."
"Cohen…"
"Summer…"
"Can we not do this right now, please?" she pleaded with him. "The more you talk, the more I regret seeing you today."
"Okay, fine, I won't bring it up anymore."
There were silent for a long period of time. For Summer, all she could think about was what the hell she was thinking when she brought Seth to her place. For Seth, he didn't really know what to make of the situation.
"How's your eye?" she broke the silence.
"Better."
"Are you sure there's nothing else wrong with you? I have practically everything that you could possibly need. I have several more ice packs. Pain relievers. You name it."
"Okay, Summer, don't go all Florence Nightingale on me now."
"I was just trying to help."
"I know," Seth said. "Now that part of you has not changed at all."
Summer gave him a small smile. She knew that he was trying, but she was not quite ready to go there yet.
"How's Newport?" Summer asked.
"Doesn't Marissa tell you that?"
"Well, yeah, but I want to hear your view of things."
"It's pretty much like it always was. Sure, some of us are older and have moved on, and some of us are older and have stayed, and some of us are gone, but it's still the same old Newport. Still the same rich kids here and there, spoiled to the very end. You still have the same cliques: the athletic ones, the popular ones, the smart ones, the ones whose shoes get peed in by the water polo team."
Seth and Summer both laughed at his comment, even though it was a jab at himself.
"It's all good, clean fun on the outside, but we all know better."
"I can't believe it's been eight years since I stepped foot in that place."
"Five."
"Excuse me?"
"Five years."
"What are you talking about?"
Seth looked at Summer curiously, unsure if she was lying to him on purpose, or if she had just forgotten. It had been five years ago; that fact he was certain.
It was a sad day for everyone, more especially for him. It was dark and dreary with rain on the horizon; the perfect setting to capture the very emotion he was feeling. It was like putting a nail to the coffin so to speak. He knew that his parents were gone, but having the ceremony right then and there as his parents were about to be buried six feet under made the fact more real.
After everyone paid their respects, Seth stayed for a little while, having his own private conversation with his folks. He did not cry during the ceremony, but he let it all out this time, reserving his tears just for them. He didn't know he could feel as empty as he did at that moment. His parents snatched right in front of him. The saddest part was that there was nothing he could do about it.
He knew that Ryan and Marissa were waiting for him in the car, so he didn't take too long. He knew that he'd be paying his parents a visit for the rest of his life. The rain had by now seized, but as he gathered himself and stood up, a petite figure from a distance caught his eye. His first thought was Summer, but somehow the idea of her being there was all too surreal. He blinked a couple of times, but after the second one, the figure was all but gone. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, telling himself to get a grip.
However, something inside him just won't let go of the vision. Without further thought, he approached the figure's location. He stood at the spot for the moment, looking around for something he couldn't find. Defeated, he turned to leave when he saw an unexpected object on the ground. It was a silk scarf that he could only assume belonged to a woman. Once he picked it up, there was never a doubt in his mind as to who its owner was. He could feel the warmth of her skin on the piece of fabric. He could smell her familiar scent. It was Summer Roberts.
"I knew it was you."
"But…"
"I'm right, am I not?"
For a long time, Summer didn't think that anyone had seen her at that ceremony. She did pay her respects to the Cohens when everyone had left. She was there when Seth had stayed behind, looking from afar, but she was sure that he didn't see her. She walked away to give him some time alone. When she came back, she made sure that no one was there, and if anyone that she knew did see her, she was sure that they would have come up and said something. She couldn't bear the thought of not going to the Cohens' funeral. They had been so nice to her over the years and had meant a lot to her, especially Kirsten. It was the least she could do. No one ever found out that she was there. Even Marissa had no clue.
"How come you didn't say anything?"
"I don't know," Seth said. "I thought about it. I thought about it a lot, but I figured that we all needed space from each other at the time. Anyway, knowing that you were there, it made me feel a lot better. I don't really care if you didn't say anything to me. I know it meant a lot to my parents, and just knowing that meant a lot to me."
"I'm really sorry," Summer said, his words bringing her to tears. "I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything," Seth told her as he got up to put the ice pack on the table. "I have to go anyway."
Seth took his coat from the end of the couch and proceeded to the door. He was so close. All he had to do was turn the knob and pull, but he had to say something.
"Look, Summer, I know that you said that we're not friends anymore, and that we don't know each other anymore, at least none of the things that matter as you kindly put it. I just want to say that no matter what happens or where life takes us, you will always be Summer Roberts: the girl that I have always loved and admired, the girl who threw away her reputation because she cared about me, and the girl who became one of my dearest friends. So we didn't see each other or spoke to each other in years. So what. Not a single day has gone by that I never thought of you. That has to count for something. If that's not friendship, well then maybe we never really were friends in the first place."
Seth looked at her, her face covered in tears. It was finally out in the open. Everything he ever wanted to tell her ever since that day when they went their separate ways. All the frustration that he felt through the years. All the emotion that he had kept inside of him. Everything. He waited for her to say something, but she managed to avoid his gaze. He didn't know what got into him, but before he could stop himself, words just started to fly out of his mouth; words that he would soon regret.
"I guess I'll see you around," he uttered, using the very words that she said to him against her.
And with that, Seth walked out of the door and never looked back. He didn't know if he was pleased with himself or frustrated. How does she always make him feel like the biggest winner and the biggest loser all at the same time? He cannot even begin to process what just happened in her apartment, let alone contemplate about what he said.
"Summer, what are you doing to me?"
It was a question bathed in simplicity; one that he had asked himself so many times. Eight years later, it still remained a mystery to him.
