Fix You
Author's Note: I've been on a roll this weekend with tearing apart the couple I threw together. Of course, it does pain me to have what happened to them happen, but we all know that sometimes what is broken can very well be fixed. At least, we hope so right. Thus endeth my author's note and he second part of the story also known as the break down.
Chapter 15: Snapshots (Interlude the second)
You're in control, is there anywhere you wanna go?
You're in control, is there anything you wanna know?
Below the tree, just outside a familiar meeting place for the rich and fabulous of Newport, Seth kissed Marissa Cooper with all he had in him. At twenty-two, he could say that he'd been in love before, but right now he was kissing his best friend and he could honestly say that this might really be love.
They'd been together for three weeks.
Three weeks and more than once a week they'd met at this spot, the spot of their first kiss and relived the moment. At least, that's how it was viewed in Seth's eyes. Reliving the perfect moment they'd spent when he'd finally gathered up enough of his Cohen courage to kiss Marissa Cooper, something he'd been thinking about for long enough.
Something he rather enjoyed doing.
"Smile for the camera," the cheerful voice of Caitlin Cooper said just as she clicked the button on her camera.
Marissa and Seth pulled apart. Caitlin was grinning from ear to ear as she turned on her very expensive Prada heels and paraded back into the party.
The secret was out.
The future's for discovering
The space in which we're travelling
Seth Cohen paced the room with a nervous anticipation. He wore the habitual suit for an evening such as this one, his hair neatly fixed and his hands in his pocked as he wore the floor down with his going back and forth along the same place.
Anna Stern sat to the side of the room with a small smile, arms crossed, shaking her head at him, "She's going to say yes Seth."
"What if she doesn't?" he wondered, "What if she doesn't want to be with me for the rest of our lives. I wouldn't want to be with me, why would she? She's Marissa Cooper."
Anna stood up and walked over to him, tightening the knot on his tie, "Confidence Cohen."
Seth chuckled, "The sage words of Anna Stern. They never change in time."
"You never learn," she reminded him, "Now go win Marissa Cooper's hand in marriage."
Seth nodded and walked out of the room, digging the velvet box containing the ring he was going to offer Marissa out of his pocket.
"Cohen!" Anna called out; he turned just as the shutter of her camera sounded, "Remember, confidence."
From the top of the first page
To the end of the last day
Marissa Cooper stood nervously as Anna and Alex along with Caitlin, Kirsten and her mother all fussed around her getting things ready last second to make certain that nothing went wrong for her and Seth on their big day. Her dress, her flowers, everything was just perfect. Just like she had always imagined it would be.
Still, there was a certain haunting behind her eyes, a certain memory of once upon a time, of how things had been seven years ago.
A best friend, a first love both lost. Both left for parts unknown. For a life they formed away from them.
She was going to be a Cohen though. Something she had always wished she could be. Something she dreamed of because being a member of the Cohen family would be so much better than being a member of the Cooper-Nichol family, a family of lies, deceit and cheating.
"Okay, I was all the girls together," Julie announced ushering Marissa towards her friends, "One last picture of you all before Marissa joins the wife club."
Standing in between Alex and Anna, Marissa forced herself to forget the memories of seven years ago and smiled. She was getting married to Seth Cohen and that was all that mattered anymore.
From the start in your own way
You just want somebody listening to what you say
Seth ran a hand over Marissa's swollen belly.
Growing inside of her right now was his child, their baby daughter. In just a matter of days, he would become a father to a new small creature. It had taken both of them much time to wrap their minds around the idea of them being parents, but now they were both excited.
Seth knew he couldn't be self-centered. He had to always think of his new family.
Marissa vowed to never be like her mother. To not be the mess she had been at seventeen anymore.
Together, they knew they would be he best parents they could be. Kirsten and Sandy were great parents, but if they could be Seth and Marissa would be better. Their daughter would not be shipped off to boarding school, the thought of it would never even rise up, she would never be put down or ignored, would be whoever she wanted to be and they would love her no matter what.
She would be as normal as anyone in Newport could be, that they promised.
"Allison Bean Cohen," Marissa smiled, putting her hand over Seth's, "I like the sound of that."
"So do I," Seth nodded, leaning over to kiss his wife, "How do you like your name Allie Bean, the super baby?"
Marissa laughed, "Our daughter's a superhero now?"
"Of course, and we're her superhero parents," Seth nodded; he reached over and showed Marissa his latest drawing. It was of the two of them, clad in their superhero outfits, but there was also another character drawn in, their baby girl.
Under the surface trying to break through
Deciphering the codes in you
The late night screams of Allison Bean Cohen sounded through the entire house. The digital clock in the kitchen read 3:07, the lights were out, but both mother and father were present with the screaming child. Marissa sat at the island, rocking Allie gently. Seth was across from her, finishing a stack of pancakes for himself and his wife.
It was their late night snack of choice, the resolution to any problem including a screaming baby.
"I present you with the Cooper-Cohen specialty," Seth pushed the stack of pancakes forward, "Syrup?"
"Of course," Marissa half-nodded, reaching over and plopping two pancakes onto her plate.
"Here you go," Seth poured the sugary liquid over Marissa's pancakes, "Much like the cream cheese on the bagels, I think there's a certain art to the syrup pouring."
"I know, you only mentioned it the entire road trip," Marissa laughed lightly, "And every time we've eaten pancakes since then."
"We should go on a road trip again," he mentioned, "When Allie's older."
"We should," she agreed, looking down at their three and a half week old daughter, "We should."
Seth smiled, "I love you."
"I love you too," Marissa returned the sentiment, smiling right back at him. Blue eyes sparkling as the moonlight hit them.
Together, they sat in silence as Allie's screams died down. Eating their pancakes and just generally enjoying the moment, even if it meant that they weren't getting much needed sleep after so many nights much like this one. It didn't matter though.
On the fridge, pictures were stuck up. Snapshots of their lives that Anna insisted belonged where they would always see them and remember them. Their kiss beneath the three the night Caitlin caught them, a picture of Seth on his way to propose, Marissa on their wedding day with her friends and sister, the two of them married, and so many more. The door to their fridge told a story of their romance, leading right up the he first hours of Allie's birth and after.
This was love. This was their life.
