Okay now before I write anything, even the disclaimer, I have to apologize for the SUPER long wait. I went to Disney World for Spring Break so obviously I couldn't write while I was riding the Tower of Terror or meeting Mickey and all of his friends. I actually had this chapter written before spring break but the day before I was leaving for Florida the server was overloaded or something because I couldn't log in. I know, I know it's just excuses and excusese. But seriously I couldn't get in to update. But that actually worked out in my favor because this chapter was originally different so I made some changes to it today after I got back from Spring Break and I think it's a lot better now. So once again, I apologize and there are no more major breaks from school until summer so I shouldn't keep you waiting that long ever again haha. And now on with this little story of mine.

Disclaimer: Fox and Josh Schwartz own The O.C. not me. Don't sue.

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Summer took a deep breath before walking into Jerry's apartment. She knew what was coming.

"Have you looked at the newsstands? Or the magazine racks? Or the supermarket check outs?" Jerry asked, slapping a magazine down on his desk.

"Actually, no," Summer replied sounding very small.

"You're on the cover of all of them!"

"I'm guessing that's not a good thing."

"It depends what magazine you read. Some say you're an official Oscar nominee…and others say you're the fiancé of some nobody," Jerry sighed, sinking down into his chair.

"Oh," Summer said, sinking down into one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"We have to set up a big interview. 60 minutes or, or 20/20, or Larry King Live," Jerry said more to himself than to Summer.

"It'll be ok, Jerry."

"What are we going to do? I tried to fix this. I really tried!"

"I know you did…and I appreciate what you did, but it was bound to get out sooner or later," Summer reasoned.

"US Weekly has a picture of you and Seth from the premiere plastered on its cover with the headline 'Hollywood Hottie Scandal: Breakup and Makeup'….this is labeled as a scandal. It's not finding your true love or going back to your high school sweetheart. It's a scandal. People don't even care if you really love him. They care that he's not Matt Evans. National Enquirer says that you're on the rebound and Seth's taking advantage of that. Star Magazine says that you're the bad guy. You're just using some poor naïve nobody to get over Matt Evans, the real love of your life. Globe has a beautiful picture of you and Seth with the headline 'Oscar Attention Scheme: True Love or True Publicity'…we've got our work cut out for us, Summer," Jerry ranted.

Summer just groaned and began massaging her temples as she felt a major headache coming on.

"I've been dodging phone calls all morning. Every magazine wants a piece of what has been called the scandal of the year. We have to fix this," Jerry said, letting his head drop to the desk with a thud. "Ow."

"So we'll set up some reliable interviews," Summer suggested.

"Do you really think that will help? I don't think it will."

"Well what do you want me to do about it, Jerry?" Summer snapped.

"I don't know! I don't know what to do! This has never happened to a client of mine before!"

"That's because you've never had a successful client before!"

"So!"

Summer just rolled her eyes.

"What are we going to do? We have a huge celebrity scandal on our hands! What am I supposed to do with this? How do we fix this? Who should we get interviews with? Oh no! What about the Oscars? He'll be your date. Everyone will have question and it will be horrible. What if you win? Then you have to thank him. What if you lose? Then you've lost. What are we-," Jerry kept questioning.

"Jerry! Stop it! You're giving me headache!" Summer exclaimed.

"Well I've had a headache non-stop since the night of premiere."

"It's not my fault."

"You just had to tell him, didn't you? You couldn't have waited until some other night or some time when there wasn't a big crowd of people at a party," Jerry hissed.

"You're blaming this on me? That's ridiculous!" Summer fumed.

"You're right. This whole situation is ridiculous! I'll make some phone calls. I'll talk to these magazines. If they have official statement that you're not engaged then maybe it'll blow over before the Academy Awards."

"Ok. Good."

"But you can't wear that to the Oscars," Jerry said firmly, pointing to her ring.

"No! Jerry, no! I'm wearing it! I promised Seth!"

"No! Everyone will be looking for it!"

"Then everyone will see it! Maybe we don't have to worry about this. Maybe I should just tell the truth. People will eventually accept it," Summer shrugged.

"No! Not now! Not with the Oscar hanging in the balance! You can't do this now! After the Academy Awards do whatever you want, but until then we're keeping this hidden. We need time to explain the situation and I do not want this jeopardizing your chances."

"They don't give out Oscars based on your squeaky clean image or who you're in love with," Summer snorted.

"No, but people will tear you both apart on that red carpet. Win or lose, that night can be hell for you or it can be good. There's so much that can go wrong or so much that can go right. Focus on one thing at time. Right now, you need to focus on winning an Oscar not having a fiancé," Jerry explained.

"I'm not revolving my life around the Oscars!"

"Do you want to win or not?"

"Of course I want to win, but I'm not going to give up my whole life for one night and one stupid award!"

"Summer-,"

"Jerry, listen to me. I am going to the Academy Awards with Seth Cohen as my date. I am wearing my engagement ring. If anyone asks about it, I will tell them the truth. I'm done trying to hide this. I'm not ashamed of Seth and I refuse to act like I am. I think that people will get more worked up over the fact that I'm trying to cover my engagement than the fact that I'm actually engaged," Summer pointed out.

"We'll agree to disagree. It's your life. It's your career. I'm just here to try to help you. That's my job. I don't agree with and you don't agree with me. But whatever," Jerry snapped.

"Agree to disagree…but I'm actually being the logical one here," Summer smirked.

"You're welcome to think that," Jerry said, trying to still sound angry even though his anger was slipping away.

"I have to go. Pop some Advil, drink a little coffee, and relax. If people have too many questions after the Academy Awards, I'll just go on Oprah or something," Summer teased, standing up.

"I'll hold you to that."

Summer just smiled at him as she slipped out the door.

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Two days later.

"This is E! News Live. Tonight we'll chat with Oscar nominees, talk about Spielberg's latest project, and what's up with Angelina Jolie's new look? We'll also take a look inside your favorite shows. What can we expect for the spring's sweeps? Up first we're talking to Spielberg." Patrick Stinson said.

Summer sighed as she sat on a big comfy couch.

"So you ready for this?" Giuliana DePandi asked. (AN: yeah just pretend that she's still one of the hosts of the show years from now ok.)

"Yeah. You're not going to drill me too hard on my personal life, are you?" Summer teased.

"I'll try not to."

"Thanks."

"And now it's Oscar buzz. Who's been nominated and how do they feel? First we'll check in with some of your favorite celebrities on the red carpet and in New York City as well as L.A. Then we'll zip it on over to Giuliana and one of the nominees here in our very own studio," Patrick said, before they rolled the clip of the interviews with the other nominees.

"You have many more interviews today?" Giuliana asked.

"No, not today. Yesterday was crazy. Next week should be pretty interesting too," Summer replied.

Giuliana laughed.

"And now to you, Giuliana," Patrick said as the cameras turned on to Summer and Giuliana.

"Hi. I'm here with best-actress nominee, Summer Roberts. Thanks for joining us today, Summer."

"Thanks for having me," Summer smiled.

"So congratulations are clearly in order. This is your first nomination and critics have the odds stacked in your favor. How does it feel to be nominated?"

"It's really….mind-blowing. This is something that every actress dreams of. This is the Academy Awards. Ask anyone, they'd all love for the chance to take home an Oscar. I just feel so incredibly privileged right now. I don't think it's really even set in yet."

"Critics are loving your performance in The War. I've gotta say, I was impressed."

"Thank you. I really loved working on that film. The atmosphere was so great to work in. The cast was just fabulous. We all really had that chemistry that just made the whole film work. And Jim Fontell, the director, had such a wonderful vision for this film. He really knew how he wanted to portray this story and I was so fortunate to be a part of it. And to be recognized for my work, is just…wow," Summer beamed.

"So how does it feel to not only be nominated but to possibly be the top pick for the Oscar?" Giuliana asked.

"Honestly, I can't even wrap my head around that concept. I think if you're nominated then you're automatically one of the top picks for the Oscar. I have some real competition in this category. The other three actresses are phenomenal. I, truthfully, think that it can go to any one of us. The other three ladies are soo good. I don't know how it will go down," Summer replied.

"But you've got to be hoping that you'll walk away with the award."

"Well of course. I mean I can only hope for the best, right?" Summer laughed.

"Your personal life has been talked about just as much as your nomination. Do you feel that this almost takes away from everything? Do you feel that your personal life questions are almost overshadowing all of the congratulations that are in order?"

"It is frustrating to have everyone talking about your personal life because that's the thing that's just for me. But it's all part of the job. When I decided to make movies and be in the spotlight, I knew what I was getting in to. Privacy is limited and that's all part of the territory. Would I prefer that all of these questions would arise at different time when I'm not nominated for an Academy Award? Yeah, of course I do. But I understand that this is just another aspect of being a celebrity and I can't let that take away from my happiness over this nomination."

"You refuse to discuss your personal life at this time. Do you think it's fair to your fans to leave them in the dark? Especially now when their support is what got you to where you are," Giuliana asked.

"I love my fans. I've never been the type of person to turn away a fan. I'm always happy to give an autograph or a hug or take a picture or just spend time with my fans. If I see you at a coffee shop, I'll gladly have coffee with you. If I see you at the bar, I'll gladly have a drink. If I see a fan at the mall, I might not spend my whole shopping adventure browsing for clothes with you, but I'm always happy to spend time with my fans. They got me where I am. But at the same time, I feel that some things I need to keep to myself. It's no secret that I am in a relationship now with someone who is not usually in the public eye. I have no problem sharing myself with my fans…but I try not to share him with them as much. I just don't feel right about forcing my life on him," Summer explained.

"A lot of controversy surrounds you right now. Rumors of engagements and rumors again about your past break up with fellow celebrity, Matt Evans, are you avoiding most relationship talks to try to prevent this from happening in the future?"

"In a way, yes. But honestly, I have no problem talking about my relationships. I don't mind telling people that I'm in relationship. There are a lot of rumors circulating and I know that people are curious as to why I haven't denied or admitted to any rumors. I think that people will have their own ideas about me regardless of what I say. So if I just refuse to comment either way, then it saves me a lot of unwanted attention and more rumors. I'm just trying to focus on my career and the Academy Awards and once all of this is over with, then I'll discuss my personal life. But right now, I'm just trying to focus on what's really at hand."

"But you will eventually comment on your relationship with Seth Cohen?"

"Eventually. Just right now, I feel that people should be focusing their attention on my work and on my nomination and my career, not my personal life. That gossip is for my down time," Summer laughed.

"Well thank you for your time and congratulations again. We here at the studio wish you the best of luck," Giuliana smiled.

"Thank you."

"And now back to you, Patrick."

"That was pretty much painless," Summer joked after the cameras went back to the other part of the studio.

"I'm sorry about all of the sticky personal questions."

"It's your job."

Giuliana smiled and nodded, "Well thank you for doing the show with us."

"You're welcome. Thank you for having me."

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Two months have a passed and Summer has done countless interviews and gracefully avoided most of the personal questions, leaving the general public in the dark about whether or not she was actually engaged. The rumors were starting to die because the way Summer answered her questions gave the impression that even though she wouldn't comment either way it was because she was just trying to keep Seth from the spotlight and she wasn't really engaged. It also helped that Jerry put a different spin on the situation. The more press Summer has had, the more people began to doubt an actual engagement was going on. Seth was happy because Summer never actually denied him. Summer was happy because the public was finally starting to back off some just in time for the Academy Awards, which were quickly approaching. The paparazzi, however, were constantly trying to snap shots of Seth and Summer together for another outrageous article in the sleazy gossip magazines. At least the other magazines had backed off a little.

Also a lot of the engagement buzz had be taken away from Summer as Billy and Nicole grew pretty serious about each. Plus, David had proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer, and had openly told the public about it. But even the press over his engagement was starting to become overshadowed by the press surrounding the approaching Oscars. Both guys weren't nominated but we going anyway to support Summer and the film which wasn't up for best picture but was nominated in several other categories like best original screenplay.

The Academy Awards were now only a week away. Seth had been in New York for the past two weeks for a conference at his old office since he got transferred to the Newport office. Seth's work load has really caught up with him lately. Taking off all of that time for Ryan and Marissa's wedding and then calling off for Summer's premiere and other press events they've attended since then, he's had to work over-time. Summer even went to the SAG Awards with her dad because Seth couldn't get off work since he was taking off for the Academy Awards.

"Have you decided who you're wearing?" Marissa asked.

"Well I wore Stella McCartney to the SAG Awards and I took that one home so I figured I'd better stick with the same designer," Summer replied.

"Are you nervous?"

"A little…ok a lot. I only have week. I'm not sure if I'm just ready to get this over with or if I'm completely dreading it. I just wish that this week would go quickly….and I can't wait to see Seth."

"He's coming back tonight, right?"

"Yes," Summer beamed.

"That's good. You're obviously excited about that," Marissa laughed.

"Oh my God, I didn't think it'd be like this. I haven't seen him for two weeks and I'm going crazy. I don't know what I'm going to do in three months when I have to go to Australia for that movie."

"You know he'll come visit you."

"I know but I want him to just come with me," Summer confessed.

"He can't. They're on him enough about how much work he's missed."

"I know."

"He should just quit. He hates his job anyway," Marissa grinned. "You could be the supporter of your family."

"I wish. Cohen would never quit his job. He may be pretty girly sometimes but he's till got this manly pride in him that he wants to be the provider for our family," Summer said the last part in deep manly voice.

They both erupted into giggles.

"You never know, Sum. He'd do just about anything to make you happy. Besides, I'm sure he's been suffering for the past two weeks too."

"Oh I know he has. He's called like every night practically begging me to fly out and see him," Summer smirked.

"See."

"Yeah but the sad part is, if I hadn't been so busy trying to prepare for all of this Oscar stuff, I probably would have flown clear to New York just for the night."

Marissa just laughed at her.

"I'm serious, Coop. I'm pathetic. What are we going to do when I have to go places? Australia's gonna suck without him…and I love going to Australia."

"You'll work something out."

Just then the door opened up.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to get back to Newport," Seth announced.

"You're back!" Summer exclaimed, jumping up and throwing her arms around him.

"I thought you weren't coming back until tonight," Marissa said with an amused look on her face.

"I wasn't going to. I was supposed to have meetings all day…but that fell threw," Seth said glancing to the floor, embarrassed.

"What happened?" Summer asked narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Well the head of my department apparently complained to the head of the corporation who then recognized why my name seemed so familiar. Apparently his granddaughter is a huge fan of yours and knows everything about you including every rumor and who you're currently involved with. He questioned me about all of my absences, which I guess it's my fault for always asking for time off…," Seth trailed off.

"You got fired," Summer said guiltily.

"I wish. I got demoted…but they did make Newport my official base so that's good."

"You got what?" Marissa asked in shock.

"I got demoted…you know, they gave me a lower position company. It sucks. Less pay. Less time off. But they did guarantee that I have Oscar Night off. So I guess that part doesn't suck as bad as the rest of it," Seth explained.

"They gave you a crappy job and a pay cut but then gave you that night off?" Summer asked incredulously.

"Well like I said, the head of corporation's granddaughter is a fan so…,"

"So what did you do?" Summer asked narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing…well ok so maybe I had to do a little persuading with the boss man…yeah…we're going to his granddaughter's birthday party next month," Seth said sheepishly.

"We're what?"

"It's not a big deal. It's not even a big party. She's like twelve or something."

"Cohen! Wh-what were you thinking? I'm not some sideshow circus freak or like a clown or something!"

"Huh?" Seth asked laughing at her.

"Don't laugh at me! I'm serious! There'll be like little teenagers gawking at me at some kid's birthday party!"

"Little teenagers gawk everywhere you go."

"That's not the point!"

"Look, it was the birthday party or my job because there's no way I'm missing the Oscars," Seth pointed out.

"Yeah but- that's not fair…but whatev. I guess I'll have Jerry pencil it into my schedule," Summer muttered.

"That's my girl," Seth grinned.

"Shut up, Cohen!"

"Yes ma'am."

"So what just happened here? You're doing birthday parties now? Because my birthday's coming up in a few months and if you're into that type of thing I was thinking we could rent you a clown suit," Marissa smirked.

"Coop!" Summer shrieked.

Marissa burst into giggles.

(AN: Yep long wait for an update. Hey that rhymed. Anyways, I have two chapters for ya this time and I'll be working day and night on giving you two new chapters soon. Hope you enjoy these. Keep on reading!)