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: In case you didn't know or just forgot, the Nana's real name is Sophie.
Against All Odds
Chapter 10 – Thanksgiving Surprise
She looked outside the window. The lights were as bright as ever, and the November breeze was as crisp as it has ever been. She had looked out her window countless of times before, and it had never failed to cheer her up. This time however, it could not shake her out of her misery. It was Thanksgiving, and she was stuck in her apartment with nothing but some turkey and mashed potatoes that she got from a local store. Her co-workers did invite her, but she told them all that she already had plans.
"Some plan you got here, Sum," she mumbled as she threw away the food.
She barely ate anything. She didn't even want to eat anything. She looked at the clock. It was almost seven o'clock. She knew that all the stores in the city were closed for the holiday, but ultimately, she decided that getting out of the apartment was better than anything she planned on doing. After getting dressed in her favorite sweater, jeans, and boots, she grabbed her coat and got ready for a cold walk outside.
"Cohen?"
To say that she was surprised was an understatement. Her she was opening the door to go for a walk and wallow in her loneliness, and all of a sudden, she sees him getting ready to knock on her door.
"What are you doing here?"
"Hey Summer! You going anywhere?"
"You didn't answer my question," she pointed out. "I thought you were going to Newport."
"Well, obviously I'm not in Newport."
"So what the heck are you doing standing in front of my door?"
"Happy Thanksgiving to you, too."
"Cohen, seriously, what are you doing here?"
"Summer Roberts, I am here to kidnap you," Seth said as he pulled out a scarf from his pocket. "Now, if you could help me out here, I would really appreciate it."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Oh no, Summer, I am dead serious here. Now please turn around so I can blindfold you."
"Why are you doing this?"
"I can't tell you that, but just trust me on this one," Seth tried to assure her. "Trust me."
"Just don't ruin my hair," Summer finally caved in, turning around.
"The thought didn't even cross my mind," he said as he placed the scarf over her eyes. "Can you see anything? I just want to make sure."
"No, and it's really starting to freak me out."
"Don't worry," he said. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"Cohen, you do know that we are on the third floor, right?"
"I know."
"There is no elevator."
"I know that as well."
"Are you expecting me to go down three flights of stairs without seeing anything?"
"That's not such a good idea, is it?"
"No!" Summer cried out. "Maybe you should have thought this out before blindfolding me."
"Well, I know one solution."
"And what would that be?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
The next thing she knew, Summer felt herself lose balance as she was implanted from the floor. Suddenly, it dawned on her that she was in his arms. To her surprise, he was carrying her pretty steadily.
"Okay, just hold on to me," Seth said as Summer slowly placed her arms around his neck. "I promise I won't drop you."
"You better not, because if I fall, I swear I'm going to kill you."
"I'm sure you will."
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"Here we are in our final destination," Seth announced.
"Which would be…?"
"Nice try, Roberts," he chuckled as he unbuckled her seatbelt. "Okay, take my hand."
"I can't see, you moron."
"I really love it when you call me those names," he said, this time grabbing her hand and helping her out of the car. "It really touches my heart."
"So where are we?" she said, ignoring him.
"Patience, Summer," he said as he helped her up a small flight of stairs. "We're almost there."
Summer waited as she heard him open a door. While she still had no clue as to where he took her, she could definitely smell the food and had a feeling that they were going to be celebrating Thanksgiving after all. For all she knew, it could just be her mind playing tricks on her. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but smile, and even though it was dark in the room, Seth noticed it and smiled as well.
"I'm going to take your blindfold off, but keep your eyes closed."
"Okay," she said excitedly as she kept a firm grip on his arm.
"Now you can open them," he said after he turned on the lights.
"Coop!" she shrieked as she ran into her best friend's arms. "Oh my God! You're here."
"Happy Thanksgiving, Sum," Marissa greeted, hugging her back.
"And Chino… Ryan…" Summer muttered as she gave him a hug.
"Either one is fine," he laughed. "Happy Thanksgiving!"
"Thank you," Summer replied before spotting a familiar, old woman. "Nana…"
"How are you, Summer?" she said, meeting Summer halfway. "It's so good to see you."
"You too."
"Happy Thanksgiving," Sophie greeted her.
"I can't believe this… All of you… You're all here… And I'm here with you…"
"Well, this is Thanksgiving after all," Seth exclaimed as he joined the group. "And what better way to celebrate it than with friends and family."
"This is so great, you guys," Summer said, hugging Marissa again. "I still can't believe it. I haven't seen you in years. You… You look great. You both look great!"
"So do you," Marissa laughed.
"I did work out a bit," Ryan joked.
"I thought all of you were going to be in Newport right now," Summer said, on the verge of crying. "I never would have… I mean, this, having all of you here right now… I was just missing everyone and… I don't even know what to say."
"It was all Seth's idea," Marissa told her.
"Don't give me credit for anything," Seth said. "This was a joint effort by everyone."
"Don't be modest," Sophie said.
"Well, enough with all the praises," he changed the topic as he started to get uncomfortable. "The food is waiting patiently for us to eat it."
"Why don't you lead us on a prayer?" the Nana asked him.
"Me?" Seth asked, not quite sure if he should be the one starting until he saw Summer looking at him as if to say that he could do it. "Well, okay, I'll give it my best shot."
Seth waited for everyone to gather around the table. He sat on the end with Ryan and Sophie on either side of him. Summer was next to Sophie, and Marissa was next to Ryan.
"May we be thankful for all we have," he started before taking a deep breath. "For the ability to love and laugh. For every bite that we have to eat. For life itself. For every heartbeat. For our shelter and for our warmth. For what we've learned. For the way we've grown. For what we've seen and the way we've shown. For what we have shared. For our hopes and prayers. For integrity and compassion. For humanity and humility. And most of all, for our friends and our family. Amen."
Seth looked up to see everyone looking at him. He didn't know if they liked his prayer or thought that he was rambling again. Either way, he did not like the attention at all, and once again, he turned the attention towards the food.
"Let's eat."
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The Thanksgiving dinner was a success, and by just looking at Summer, Seth knew that he made the right decision. They didn't really get a chance to talk during the whole dinner. For the most part, Summer talked to both Ryan and Marissa throughout most of the night. When the table was cleared, Seth excused himself to help the Nana with the dishes.
"What you did was very nice. I'm proud of you."
"It was really nothing," he told his grandmother as he put away the plates. "I mean, that's what friends do for each other."
"You still care about her, don't you?"
"Of course I do. I care about all of my friends."
"But you care about her more."
"That's crazy talk, grandma," Seth said. "Besides, you don't even know Summer. You haven't seen each other in years. I was surprised that you two got along really well."
"Didn't I tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"Summer was responsible for all the decorations around here."
"Really?"
"Yes," she smiled. "She helped me out a ton."
"That explains everything. I was wondering about that for a second."
"Summer is a great girl."
"She is, isn't she?" Seth smiled.
"And you still love her."
"What?" Seth cried before lowering his tone. "What are you talking about?"
"Grandmothers know things that their clueless grandsons are too stubborn to realize."
With those parting words, Sophie left Seth in the kitchen with more questions to ponder.
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Everyone stayed at the Nana's house for one more hour before they said their good-byes.
"Thank you so much for having me here," Summer said as she gave Sophie a hug.
"It was my pleasure. Come again any time."
"Thanks. Have a good night."
"It was also good to see the two of you again," Sophie said to Ryan and Marissa. "When are you getting married? I'm not getting any younger here."
"We don't know, but we'll keep that in mind," Marissa laughed and gave her one final hug.
"Nice seeing you, Nana," Ryan said. "Thanks for the great dinner."
Seth waited until everyone had gone a safe distance before approaching his grandmother.
"I don't know what theory you have going in that head of yours, but it is so not true."
"Just come here and give your grandmother a hug."
"I love you, grandma," Seth told her. "Thanks for everything."
"I love you, too," she said before letting him go. "Take care of her."
"Grandma…"
"Promise me that you will. No matter what happens."
"Is there something else that I don't know about?"
"Seth, please, do it for me."
"I will. I promise."
Seth headed towards the trio once his grandmother had entered the house. He was actually getting worried. It was either his grandmother was crazy or something was definitely going on. When he reached the group, he was met by a bunch of smiling faces. Even Ryan was smiling.
"Are you okay, man?" Ryan asked.
"I'm fine. Grandma is just being weird."
"So what are the plans for tonight?" asked Marissa. "Are we still staying at your place?"
"Of course," Seth said. "I have enough room for the both of you. In fact, if I feel like it, each of you will get your own room."
"You have three rooms in that place?"
"Yes, bro, there are three rooms. Don't ask me why. It was there when I got to the place."
"I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow then," Summer said.
"Whoa… Wait a minute," Seth said. "If you want, you can stay at my place. I don't think these two will mind shacking up together in the same room…"
"Hey!" Marissa protested.
"You know I'm right."
"The man's got a point," Ryan said.
"As I was saying before I got interrupted," Seth continued as he jokingly glared at Marissa, "you can stay in the other room. In that way, we can all spend some time together."
"I think that'd be great," Marissa said. "What do say, Sum?"
"I'm all up for it, but…"
"But what?" Seth asked.
"I have to get a few things from my place first."
"It's not going to be a problem," Seth told her. "Ryan… Marissa… You know where I live, so can you two meet us up there?"
"It's not a big deal," Ryan said. "We'll find our way."
"Hopefully," Marissa added before laughing. "See you guys later."
Seth and Summer watched as Ryan and Marissa walked hand in hand towards their car.
"I understand if you want to puke."
"I don't really feel like seeing my dinner again," Summer laughed.
"Are you ready?"
"You're the driver."
"Okay, let's go, but on one condition…"
"What's that?"
"Keep in mind that this is only a one-night stay, so don't carry a whole luggage with you."
"Funny," she said, snatching the keys away from him.
"What are you doing?"
"I feel like driving," Summer said casually as he headed towards his car.
"Um, Summer, I don't think… Oh, you're starting the car already."
"Are you coming or what?"
"Yeah, I'm coming."
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"That was awesome."
"Uh huh," Seth said as he tried to pry his hands off the side door. "That was intense to say the least."
"Are you okay?"
"Seeing that no cops arrested us, I think I'll be fine."
"You were driving really fast."
"Or maybe you just drive really slow."
"Can we just get your stuff before I hurl?"
"Good idea."
Seth sat on Summer's couch as he waited for her to finish packing. She was taking a little longer that he expected, but he wasn't about to get into another argument with her. He'll probably lose anyway.
"Okay, I'm ready."
"It took you long enough," he got up. "Are you ready to go?"
"Didn't I say I was ready?"
"Right."
Seth walked over towards her and grabbed her bag.
"Hey Cohen…"
"Yeah," he looked up.
"I didn't really get a chance to talk to you tonight."
"We've been talking for weeks now."
"I know, but about tonight…"
"Look, it's really…"
"I just want to say thank you."
"You're welcome."
They stood in silence for about a minute before Seth spoke up.
"Just hug me and get it over with. You know you want to."
Summer laughed but still hugged him anyway.
"You don't know how much this meant to me."
"Well, that's what back-up best friends are for," he gave her a warm smile. "Now let's go. If we hurry, we may even beat them, but…"
"But what?"
"I'll drive," he said, this time snatching the keys from her.
"That was a pretty good snatch."
"I learned from the best."
"Oh, by the way, here's that scarf that you blindfolded me with."
"Keep it. It was yours in the first place."
Summer looked at the scarf before it dawned on her that it was the one that she had left at the cemetery.
"You kept this all this time?"
"You know me. I'm a pack rat."
"But it's a scarf… And you brought it with you… To New York."
"Well… I… I guess I just wanted something to remember you by."
"Right."
"Please don't freak out," Seth pleaded. "I'm not like stalking you or anything."
"Cohen, it's fine."
"Can we just go now?"
Summer just nodded as Seth walked out of the door. She looked at the scarf once again.
"Why are you making this complicated?"
"Summer!" he yelled from the hallway.
"I'm coming," she called out, leaving the scarf on the couch.
The last thing that she needed was more questions.
