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: Everything that took place up to the Chrismukkah episode of Season 2 happened in this story, except the Julie/Jimmy fiasco. Also, Jimmy left town as well. Some things may be a little confusing, but all will be explained in good time. This is my first O.C. fic, so I hope I can get some feedback.

Against All Odds

Chapter 1 – A Chance Encounter

New York City. Ever since he could remember, those three little words always managed to paint a whole new lifestyle. It can destroy an individual, or it can fulfill him. He often recalled a quote by Thomas Wolfe when talking about the city: "It was a cruel city, but it was a lively one, a savage city, fighting a constant ceaseless warfare of men and machinery." To him, it is a miracle that New York City works at all. The whole thing was just far-fetched.
"Finding an available hotel during this time of the year is also a bitch," he thought.

It was mid-December the whole town was filled with what can only be described as half of the nation's population. It was indeed fortunate that he carried the Cohen name. Well, it wasn't really Cohen as opposed to being the grandson of the owner of one of the leading real-estate developers in the nation. It wasn't his intention to use the name card, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his family. He just wanted to keep his business trip low-key and private.

If somebody told him that he would be involved in the family business seven years ago, he would have laughed at their faces. He ultimately decided to go to UC-Berkeley, a decision that made his father proud. After a couple of years being undecided, he found his nitch in mass communications and finally decided to declare it as his major. While he had no experience regarding the family business, Caleb managed to take him under his wing and named him the Newport Group's corporate vice-president of communications and public affairs. In a nutshell, he basically oversees the company's executive communications, media relations, industry analyst relations, and internal communications.

Since the Newport Group had expanded its business nationwide, Seth has been on a whirlwind tour across the country for the past three years. And now here he was in New York City in another one of his plentiful business trips. He also attended meeting with various charities and organizations that was affiliated with the company. His last stop was at Mount Sinai Hospital to make an appearance and support the American Red Cross. Although it wasn't part of his job description at the company, he took it upon himself to help others in a way that his dad did as a lawyer. While Caleb was not thrilled at the fact that his money was going somewhere else, he savored the good publicity that it gave the Newport Group.

"To end my case, I encourage all of you to please donate blood as often as possible, especially if you're one of the rare cases. Donating blood is a gift of life. I know this sounds cliché, but it's really the least anyone can do. Thank you for listening and for your support."

After mingling with the Board of Directors and talking to a few people from the crowd, Seth made his way out of the building to get ready for a flight back home which was in a couple of hours. A few of the nurses noticed and waved at him, and as he waved back and continued to walk, he was definitely aware of the giggles that followed suit. Ever since People Magazine came out with America's Most Eligible Bachelors this year, he barely came across women without them noticing. It was embarrassing really. I mean, Seth Cohen as one of America's Most Eligible Bachelors? Ryan never let him off the hook when the issue came out. Nowadays, it was a topic that he always avoided discussing.

As he turned the corner, a person came out of nowhere and ran straight into him. Given that he wasn't gifted with an exceptional sense of balance in the first place, he immediately lost his footing and went straight to the floor. Ignoring the pain, he looked around and noticed a mixture or worried and amused faces around him, at least that's what he managed to make out without his glasses. Four years of college took its toll on his vision, and as if being a 'geek' was not enough, he managed to upgrade his status to 'four-eyed geek.' As he searched for his glasses with his left hand, he looked up at the blurred face of his culprit.

"Boy, you sure know how to sweep a guy of his feet."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Anyone who didn't see the beauty of New York City was a fool. That is what Summer Roberts thought as she walked along Fifth Avenue. It's true that what you find in New York is something other than America, but to Summer, that is what makes the city great. It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. Sure, she always managed to get herself lost now and then, but she also found shortcuts to the best shops and restaurants in town. No matter where you sit in the city, you always feel the vibrations of great times and of great things to happen.

"And best of all, it wasn't Newport Beach."

Summer cursed herself for thinking of her home again. Wait. Former home. She hasn't been to Newport in years, and it was likely that she would not return in the immediate future. She hated that place and everyone who lived there. Well, except for Marissa Cooper, her best friend, everyone had disappointed her. She barely kept in touch with her father. Her mother was nowhere to be found. All her so-called friends in high school did not really make any attempts to get in touch with her. And as for him, well, he was history.

Even though Marissa opted to stay close to Newport, choosing UCLA over NYU, they maintained their relationship throughout the years. She figured it was more of being close to Ryan that she chose to stay rather than her excuse of being close to her family. First off, she hated her mother, and second, her father left town. She still can't believe that the two of them are still together after all this time after everything that went on with D.J. and Lindsay. She wouldn't be surprised if they got married tomorrow. He already proposed, and it has been seven years and counting. Chino and Marissa. Blissfully together for seven years. Who would have thought?

Before she could even open the door to her apartment, the phone was already ringing.

"It better not be work."

Summer worked at a well-known interior decorating company in the city. At the start of her senior year, she managed to get an internship at Newport Group under the guidance of Kirsten Cohen. As much as she heard about Julie's talent at interior decorating, she was amazed at Kirsten knowledge of the subject, even hiring a professional to teach Summer the basics and show her around. Summer eventually decided to go the New York Institute of Technology and majored in interior design. It was actually Kirsten who encouraged her to pursue her current career, and for that, she will always be grateful to his mother.

"Damn!" Summer thought. "There he is again popping out of nowhere. I hate him."

Maybe she would have hated him less if they didn't get back together mid-junior year. They were becoming good friends, but hormones and attraction got in the way, and before she even realized what was going on, the damage was done. To be fair, she really did love him then. It was a good thing since it was the happiest she had ever been. It was a bad thing since the stupid jerk always hurt her in the end. The ringing of the phone snapped her from her thoughts.

"Hello?" Summer said as she picked up the phone. "Hey D… What…? No, please tell me it can't… Are you sure…? Well, what do you…? Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes."

In a flash, Summer grabbed her keys and bolted out of the door. As she climbed down the stairs, she had a sick feeling in her stomach.

"This cannot be happening," Summer said to herself.

She sighed in relief when she saw a lady getting out of a cab. She immediately took her place and told the driver her desired location. Within a few minutes, she arrived at the place as promised, thanking the driver before going inside. She looked around, noticing that the place was more crowded than usual, but she figured that since it was a hospital, it was bound to be crowded some time. She checked with the front desk before getting the go ahead to go to wherever she needed to be.

She walked along the crowded hallway before turning left when she ran into a wall. A wall that came tumbling quickly to be exact. A familiar looking wall. Before she was able to gather her thoughts, he revealed his face to her.

"Boy, you sure know how to sweep a guy of his feet," he said to her with a smile before looking around the floor to search for something.

For the first time in who knows how long, she was speechless. What should she say? Did he know it was her? 'What the heck is he doing…?' she thought. 'Glasses? Since with did he wear glasses?'

"Summer?" he said, blinking twice to check if she was really there or if the impact of getting knocked to the floor was worse than he thought. "Is that really you?"

"Cohen… Hey," she managed to say. "What are you doing here?"

"Thanks for the concern, and oh yeah, thanks for knocking me down to the floor."

"My pleasure," Summer retorted at his sarcasm. "Again, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," Seth said.

Summer sighed and ignored him, remembering what she was there for in the first place.

"Hey, Summer, come on, I was just…"

"Seth, I don't have time for this right now," she said, not looking back.

"Business meetings and public appearances and charities and donating blood."

Summer stopped in her tracks, letting his babble sink into her brain. She figured that she was being rude, so she turned around and acknowledged him again.

"I'm sorry for being rude. I was just coming to see a friend."

"Oh," he said. "Is everything alright? What's going on?"

"I don't know, but that's why…"

"You're here," Seth finished her sentence, "and I'm keeping you from him… Or her."

Summer just nodded and continued on her way when he said her name again.

"Hey Summer…" Seth started. "It was nice seeing you."

"You too," she replied, thinking of something else to say to change the subject. "I hope I didn't break your glasses."

"Oh these…" Seth laughed off as he took them out. "These are just props. No worries."

"I guess I'll see you around."

As she walked away from him, Seth could not help but recall the last time the encountered each other…

"What's going on?" Summer asked nonchalantly as she sat on his bed.

Seth looked down at her with a sad look in his eyes as he attempted to speak.

"This is a lot harder than I thought," he mumbled.

"Are you okay?" Summer asked as she reached out to touch him.

"Please don't…" he said, flinching away from her. "Don't touch me. You are only making this a lot harder."

"You're scaring me."

Summer paused to look at him. Usually she could tell what he was thinking, but he was avoiding her eyes, making the task difficult. The silence had grown unbearable that she decided to lighten up the mood.

"You're not breaking up with me, are you?" she said jokingly.

Seth did not reply. Instead, he resumed his melancholic look again but this time, he met her gaze.

"Cohen, answer me."

"It's for the best…"

"No…" she interrupted. "No… You can't… Why are you doing this? What did I do wrong?"

"It's not you," Seth told her. "It's me."

"Then why are you doing this?" she stood up from the bed so that she was closer to him. "You can't possibly mean it. Tell me what's going on?"

"I said no, okay?" he yelled as he backed away from her. "No."

"So that's all you have to say?" she asked him. "Do you honestly think that I would agree to break up with you..."

"I'm not asking for your damn permission," he cut her off. "You have no say in this. I made my decision… Summer, it's over."

"Why are you doing this?" she cried. "Why are you hurting me?"

"It's for the best. It's for your own good."

"Since when did you start making decisions about what's good or not good for me?"

"Summer…"

"Why?" she asked again. "Did you meet someone else? Is that why…"

"I will not be the reason that you throw away your future."

"What?"

"Your dad said that you got into this prestigious school in New York, and I think it's great, but if we stayed together…"

"Is this about my dad?" she asked. "Cohen, you don't have to listen to him."

"Summer, could you please just listen to me?" he said. "It's not about your dad. It's about you and me and our future. This is your dream. I refuse to let you throw it all away just so you can stay close to me."

"I'm not throwing away anything," she said. "There are a lot of great schools here in California. I can always go to New York."

"No."

"No?"

"You can't do this," Seth said. "It's not fair to you."

"So what are you saying?" she asked. "If I go to New York, then you won't break up with me?"

"That doesn't change anything. Long distance relationships don't work."

"We can make it work if that's what you're afraid of."

"No."

"Why do you keep saying that?" she said, irritated.

"Don't you get it? We can't be together. I have to do what is best for me, and you have to do what is best for you. We need to be…"

"I want to be with you. We can still…"

"Apart from each other," he said emphatically. "Me over here. You over there. Not we."

"Why are you being so mean?" she asked as tears fell down from her face. "Who are you?"

"I'm the guy who loves you enough to let you go."

"No," Summer said firmly. "No, you're not. The guy who loves me would not do something stupid like this. The guy who loves me respects me enough to let me make my own the decisions."

"Summer…" he reached out to touch her.

"No!" she yelled. "The guy who loves me would never hurt me this way. In fact, maybe he never really loved me at all."

Seth attempted to reach out to her again, but she pushed his hand away.

"Don't you dare touch me," she said slowly, her voice filled with emotion. "I hate you. I will never forgive you for this."

"You're being unreasonable."

"So it's my fault now?"

"What do you want from me?"

"Apparently nothing that you can give me."

"We can still be friends."

"No."

"No?"

"I already have enough friends," she said, giving him a cold look.

Summer stood up and grabbed her purse before walking out of the room. She turned around one last time; the anger in her face replaced with complete sadness.

"I guess I'll see you around."

Seth did not respond. Instead, he remained at his spot as he watched her leave the room.

If he knew that her words meant not being in contact with each other for another seven years, maybe he would have stopped her. He thought about it every once and a while, but the logic in him insisted that he not dwell on the past. As he watched her disappear around the corner, he could not help but feel the unhappiness that plagued him seven years ago.

"Famous last words," Seth said under his breath as he put his glasses back on and went his separate way.