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.

Note: Thanks to all of you who are reading this and for all your reviews. It's nice to know that you are enjoying reading this story as much as I am enjoying writing it.

Against All Odds
Chapter 7 – The Education of Seth Cohen

If there was one thing that Summer prided herself the most, it would have to be being prepared in any given situation. She already had the dress, the shoes, the hair, and the make-up. Everything was well in order, except for a couple of minor details: Seth Cohen and dinner. She just remembered half an hour ago that she failed to mention to him what show they were watching. It wouldn't be much of a problem if they were watching a film in some movie theater, but they were watching a Broadway show, meaning that there were at least thirty-five theaters Seth could be in.

To add to her miseries, she did not have Seth's phone number or address, so getting to him before six o'clock was not an option. He did say that he would come early, so for all she knew, he could be up there already looking all kinds of stupid.

"I'm such an idiot," she told herself. "And how could I forget to make dinner reservations?"

It wasn't so much that she was hungry at the moment, but eating after the show was not an option. The show starts at eight o'clock and should end well after eleven. Being that it was always a busy night in New York City, getting into one of the restaurants around town would definitely be a challenge. With a sigh, Summer looked at her watch and saw that she had thirty minutes left before meeting him, granted that she would find him along the way.

"This night going to be a disaster."

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If there was one thing the he believed the most in this world, it was that nothing was perfect, and if you're a Cohen, mistakes and misfortune are always around the corner. For this reason alone, it did not surprise him that the moment he walked out of his condo, he just realized that he had no clue what show they were going to watch. He knew about Broadway and the many theaters that it comprises. Luckily, he had enough common sense not to go into every theater to see if Summer happened to be there. Without giving it anymore thought, he decided that the only way to get around the situation was to pick up Summer. He rarely used the car that was provided for him by his grandfather, mostly because he didn't really need it. In addition, a white gold crystal Lexus SC was too classy for his taste, but it certainly became useful for him that night.

He was grateful that the traffic was not terrible at the moment. It gave him enough time to get to Summer's place, as well as enough time for him to get lost. He'd consider himself lucky if he got anywhere near her building. As he turned the corner of Lexington Avenue, he spotted Summer getting out of the building. It took a lot of restraint on his part not to keep his eye on the road. Summer was wearing an elegant stretch velvet dress, with a criss-cross draping at the bustline making for a dramatic entrance. The crystal and chain straps add a brilliant detail to the dress. Seth didn't really care much about the detail, although he noticed that her dress was in the shade of midnight blue.

Seth waved from the car as he closed in on Summer. She waved back at him, unsure about what to do and yet somewhat relieved to see him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Cleaning up your messes," Seth grinned. "Hop in."

"Cohen, you are a lifesaver," Summer smiled at him gratefully as she sat on the passenger side.

"Which flavor?"

"It has to be lime."

"Why?" Seth asked. "Is that your favorite?"

"No," Summer playfully swatted his arm. "It's because it's the closest one to lame."

"No, Summer, that was lame," Seth laughed. "Anyway, I saved you from embarrassment tonight, although technically it would be me looking stupid instead of you, but you know what I mean."

"You have no idea how worried I was. I thought I totally ruined the whole evening."

"Well, everything's okay now."

"Actually, there is one more thing," Summer started. "You see, I totally got caught up in the Broadway thing that I forgot to make dinner reservations."

"Wow," Seth said. "You're totally ruining this night left and right."

"You could be a little more sympathetic here," Summer said. "Your jokes are really not making me feel any better."

"Well, let me ask you this," Seth said. "How do you like Italian food?"

"I love Italian… Wait… You didn't… Oh my God, you made reservations?"

Seth just smiled at her. She looked so cute when she she's excited.

"You are my knight in shining armor or knight in stunning tuxedo, whatever," Summer couldn't contain herself. "I cannot thank you enough."

"Just tell me you have the tickets, because I don't have any more tricks up my sleeve."

"I have the tickets."

"Okay, well then, we're ready to roll."

Before he started the engine once again, Seth raised the top of the convertible.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't want you to mess up your hair," Seth explained. "You look great by the way."

"I didn't even do anything to my hair," Summer said, gesturing to the wavy hair falling down her shoulders. "I'm just wearing them down."

"I like it that way."

"You don't look half bad yourself."

"Chicks dig the Jew-fro."

"I'm sure they do," Summer laughed, waiting for Seth to finally get moving.

"Let's go."

"Um, Seth, when you say let's go, it usually means stepping on the gas."

"I know," Seth said. "I'm just waiting for you to tell me which way to go because I have no idea where I'm going."

"You found my place."

"After getting lost along the way."

"Just when I thought you had everything down pat…"

"Just give me the directions, woman," Seth joked before Summer arched her eyebrow. "Please?"

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After dinner, Seth decided to leave the car at a nearby parking garage, seeing that the theater was only of walking distance.

"So what show are we watching exactly?"

"The Phantom of the Opera."

"The Phantom of the Opera?" Seth made a face.

"You don't like it?" she asked, looking upset and disappointed at the same time. "I guess I should have asked you. Now I feel really bad. I really wanted this to be a great experience for you. Maybe if we hurry…"

"Hey, Summer, calm down," Seth grabbed a hold of her shoulders. "It's fine. I'm cool with it. You are the teacher. I am the student. This is what the night is all about, right? The education of Seth Cohen? So don't feel bad about it. I'm your guest. I'll go where you go with a smile in my face… A genuine smile on my face."

"Thanks Cohen."

"No problem," Seth said as they continued to walk. "What kind of friend would I be? I should be thanking you."

"Here we are," she exclaimed.

"Shall we?" Seth offered his arm to her.

Summer laughed, linking her arms in his. As they walked into the theater, Summer chatted away while Seth just listened, hanging on to her every word. A few minutes before taking their seats, they came across an old couple.

"How are you, Summer, my dear?"

"Mrs. Kirkwood, how are you?" Summer gave the old lady a hug. "It's nice to see you both again."

"You have a guest, dear?" Mr. Kirkwood asked as though surprised.

"Um, yeah."

"Well, don't you want to introduce your friend?"

"I'm sorry," Summer gave an apologetic smile. "Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood, this is my good friend Seth Cohen. Seth, these are the Kirkwoods, George and Sarah."

"Good evening to you both," Seth shook their hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too, young man," Mrs. Kirkwood said. "I hope you enjoy the show. Take care of our dear Summer."

"I will," Seth smiled, taking a quick glance at Summer. "Good night."

"Good night," Summer added as the two left.

"So who are those two?"

"They're pretty much regulars around here," Summer said. "I see them about once a month."

"They seem nice."

"They are nice," Summer said. "Are you ready?"

"After you."

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"I guess I should have brought a box of Kleenex."

"I have allergies, so sue me."

"Whatever makes you feel better."

"You were the one bawling, and you've seen this many times before."

"What can I say, Cohen? I'm a sucker for romance."

"I'll make a note of that."

"What do you mean?"

"Just in case you're inviting me to another play or movie. I'd never watch one with you again."

"So you can cry by yourself?" Summer retorted.

"I do not cry," Seth protested.

"I think it's kind of cute when guys are in touch with their feminine."

"Emasculating me again now, are we?"

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Wherever you go, I'm there."

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"So what do you think?" Summer asked once they found an empty bench.

They've been walking for a good thirty minutes. The New York skyline still had a profound effect on her. How could anyone not fall for the lights everywhere, especially with a full moon on the horizon? It was a perfect night. She turned her attention back towards Seth, who was patiently waiting to get her attention.

"I'm not totally in love with it yet, but it's been fun so far with you around. It's definitely better than walking around with my… What did you call it…? Oh yes, misguided view of the city."

"What that harsh?"

"I thought you were actually quite nice about it," Seth said. "You really love this place, don't you?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I just notice the way you look around and how your face brightens when you see something that you think is pretty or marvelous or breathtaking."

"If you take the time to look around instead of observing my facial expressions, maybe you'll learn to love it as much as I do."

"So the Kirkwoods…"

"What about them?"

"Well, I don't know if it was just me, but he seemed surprised that you had someone with you."

"He did seem like it."

"You don't go watch these shows alone, do you?"

"You know what…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I guess it's really none of my business."

"I can't believe I'm telling you this, but yeah, I go solo for the most part," Summer looked down, before meeting his eyes. "Pathetic, isn't it?"

"Well, I guess it's better than going with others for the sake of just having someone to go with, if that makes any sense," Seth said. "Things have certainly different now. I remember back in high school when you have this throng of people dying to follow you around."

"I kind of like it better now. Not to sound egocentric or anything, but it's not like any of them wanted to go with me as opposed to wanting to be seen with me."

"Doesn't it make you lonely?"

"Sometimes, I mean, walking around here by yourself and seeing all these people with somebody does make you feel that, but I don't like the idea of needing people to make myself happy. I guess it helps to some extent, but life doesn't quite work that way, you know. You have to learn that down the road you have to learn how to make yourself happy first."

"Ryan and Marissa always drag me around to places, but most of the time, I'd rather be alone by myself. I guess I understand what you're talking about, although sometimes I'd have Captain Oats with me."

"I miss that horse."

"If you want, you can come and visit him one of these days."

"No way! You brought him with you?"

"I can't leave Newport without him."

"Some things never change," Summer said. "If I feel like it, I might bring Princess Sparkle with me."

Neither of them spoke for a while as they took in their surroundings. It was indeed a perfect night, even Seth had to admit it. He glanced at Summer, who was looking up at the moon. Something had been bothering him for a while, but he never could quite decide if he should bring it up. He knew that it was a touchy subject for both of them.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You might as well," Summer said, turning towards him.

"Did you think that I made a mistake by breaking up with you back then?"

"Wow," Summer muttered. "You sure know how to ask a question."

"You're regretting giving me permission, aren't you?"

"Actually, this is probably as good a time as any to get it out in the open," Summer told him. "After you broke up with me, I hated you for a long time. I hated you, and I hated myself for crying over you. You broke my heart, Seth, and it nearly killed me. Being with you was all I cared about, and you took that away from me. I had all these plans, but the problem was that they all involved you. I was left with nothing after that. I was lost. I didn't know what to do with my life."

"Breaking up with you was the hardest thing that I had to do. It was so gut-wrenching that I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror without wanting to strangle me."

"You didn't let me finish," Summer told him. "Despite all of that, as strange as this may seem, I have to thank you for it."

"Why?"

"If you hadn't broken up with me, I wouldn't be here right now. I'd still be in Newport instead of New York. I'd still be stuck in the Newport standard of living instead of living a life of my own. You have no idea how good it feels to make my own decisions without the pressure of everyone's expectations around me. It was hard at first, but for the first time in my life, I was finally free without anyone holding me back. It was then at that moment when I fully understood what you were trying to do."

"But you still hated me nonetheless."

"It's not that I hated you still. I guess it just saddened me that my heart had to suffer at the expense of it all."

"Can you ever forgive for all that stuff that I put you through?" he looked at her, almost pleadingly.

"Deep down, I forgave you a long time ago, but truth be told, I was never the one to admit it."

"I'll keep your secret," he smiled at her before getting up. "You ready to go?"

"It is getting pretty late," Summer said, shivering a little.

"Here," he offered his coat. "I know you're going to say that I didn't have to, but I'm going to tell you right now that I'm a gentleman and you obviously need this more than me."

Summer didn't say anything as he put his coat around her. They continued to walk in silence knowing that one word out of any of them would just ruin the moment. They had a lot to talk about and were just starting to scratch the surface. After the conversation that they just had, it was obvious that they both needed time to process everything.

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"We're here!" Seth announced.

"Thanks for the ride."

"I wasn't going to leave you out there to walk by yourself, although that would be highly amusing."

"I better go."

"Wait," Seth grabbed her arm. "I have something to give you."

Seth rummaged through his glove compartment and took out a piece of paper.

"It has all my contact information and everything, including my address and new cell phone number."

"I was actually hoping to have gotten this earlier tonight. It would have saved me a lot of precious time and unnecessary worries."

"So did you have fun tonight?" he asked. "I mean, with the opera and everything, you said that you usually go solo. How was it like to have some company?"

"It was great, especially having someone to cry there with me."

"It was fun for me, too, except that crying part because I have no idea whatever gave you that false impression."

"I'll see you around," Summer stepped out of the car.

"Give me a call some time," Seth called out before breaking into a song. "Summer, that's all I ask of you."

"Cohen, you're such a goofball," Summer laughed at his own rendition of one of the opera's songs. "In a good way though."

"So how did I do today, Ms. Roberts?"

"You got an A."

"No plus?"

"When you broke out into song, that just made the plus fall off."

"I have to remember that next time."

"Good night, Cohen."

"Good night, Summer."

Seth waited until Summer was inside the building before leaving. He was about to sing again, but he stopped himself. Instead, he drove into the night, this time just humming.