Seth x Summer

Seth x Summer is the het ship between Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts from The O.C. fandom.

Canon
Presumably, Seth and Summer met as children, when they were schoolmates. Seth fell in love with Summer with her upon hearing her read a poem that everyone believes she wrote to their class.

Summer: Was I really mean to you?

Seth: ''No. That would require you to speak to me. Or anyone speak to me.''

- The total lack of interaction between Seth and Summer over the years. Seth's love for Summer persists throughout his life. He often watches her, remembers everything about her, and feels bad about himself when she doesn't come to his Bar Mitzvah. But he never finds the courage to go after her her, so by the time they reach high school, Summer doesn't even know Seth exists, let alone about his feelings for her.

At one point, Seth gets a sailboat that he names after Summer, calling it Summer Breeze.

Ryan's arrival
Seth's father, Sandy Cohen, is a public defender. One of his clients is Ryan Atwood, a boy Seth's age, who tried to steal a car with his brother. Sandy manages to get him released, but Ryan's mother, Dawn, is unable to take care of him. When her partner throws Ryan out of the house, she does not object strongly. Ryan has nowhere to go and therefore has no choice but to ask Sandy for help, who had told Ryan to call him if he needed help. Not having the heart to leave him in the middle of the street, Sandy decides to take Ryan to his house for the weekend.

Seth is a lonely, introverted boy. He is addicted to comic books and is not athletic, meaning he has no friends. But he and Ryan hit it off right away, with Seth even telling his new friend about his crush on Summer.

Marissa Cooper, Seth's neighbor and Summer's best friend, is immediately impressed by Ryan and invites him to a party that he brings Seth along to. Summer is also attracted to Ryan, which upsets Seth when he finds out. However, he pretty much gets over it when Ryan defends him from bullies.

When Sandy brings Ryan back to his mother, the two find the house deserted, so he decides to keep Ryan at home for a while longer. Seth later goes to see Marissa and runs into Summer by chance, staring at her and complaining when Marissa doesn't make him look good in front of her. Summer and Seth later go to a casino-themed party, and she decides to use him as a "lucky charm" since she wins craps twice with him close by. Seth is delighted that she wants him near her, but she can never remember his name.

Eventually, Seth's parents decide to adopt Ryan. This makes Seth very happy, and he immediately asks his new brother for advice on Summer.

At the debutante ball, Summer finds herself paired with Seth. She is annoyed by this turn of events, while her partner is elated. At her friend Holly's pre-party for the ball, Summer tries to bribe her to switch chaperones with her, but Holly refuses. Summer doesn't even want to talk to Seth, which disappoints him. At the prom, Seth befriends Anna, a comic-loving girl who recently moved to Orange County. Summer finally manages to replace Seth with Luke, Holly's chaperone, which makes him very sad, but Anna helps him understand that he doesn't have to be Summer's doormat. Summer find herself alone when Luke leaves after arguing with Marissa. She tries to get Seth to be her date again, but he refuses. Some time later, Seth and Ryan accidentally run into Summer and Marissa. Summer asks Seth to take her to his grandfather's birthday party and Seth gladly accepts. His grandfather, Caleb Nichol, is one of the most powerful men in Newport, and Summer wants to go to his party to meet rich and influential people. Seth later brags to his family that he landed a date with Summer Roberts.

Seth: This whole night, all you've done is use me to meet rich older guys.

Summer: ''That's not true. Okay. Maybe a little.''

Seth: Do you have any idea how pathetic it is to listen to you talk about mergers, while some guy just stares at your boobs?

Summer: Which guy was staring at my boobs?

Seth: ''Who cares? The point is, if that guy doesen't know you, he doesn't care about who you really are. He has no idea that every day of third grade you shared your lunch with a skinny squirrel whose nuts were stolen by a fat squirrel.''

Summer: I hated that mean squirrel.

Seth: None of those guys were there when you read your poem aloud in class, and your hand was shaking because you were nervous.

Summer: ''Poem? What poem?''

Seth: "I wish I was a mermaid."

Summer: ''You remember that? That was, like, sixth grade.''

Seth: "I wish I was a mermaid. And... was friends with all the fish. A shiny teal and seashells, that's...

-Seth makes Summer realize how well he knows her and how deep his feelings are for her. After a while, Seth gets tired of introducing Summer to people. When she asks him why, he complains about her exploiting him. Seth explains that no one there knows her like him and recounts moments from their childhood. Summer is surprised that he knows her so well and kisses him. She tells Seth that he doesn't need to introduce her to anyone else, but later go back to ignoring him.

On the last weekend before the holiday ends, Seth tells his parents he's going to a comic convention so he can go to Tijuana. Many of his schoolmates are making this trip, including Summer, who agrees to go with him. Seth hopes to be able to kiss Summer while on the vacation. Summer and Seth start teasing each other, but due to a quarrel, they end up off the road and have to stay in a motel overnight. The two find themselves having to share a bed, and Summer orders Seth not to hit on her, and he obliges. The next morning, while they are having breakfast, Seth tries to get Summer to admit she likes him, but she rudely denies it. Despite all this, once they arrive at their destination, Summer and Seth seem to get along well.

After Marissa finds out that her parents are getting a divorce and that Luke is cheating on her with her friend Holly, she overdoses and ends up in the hospital. Perhaps hoping that this shared trauma has brought them closer, Seth finally finds the courage to ask Summer out. But Summer sees Seth being teased by some of her friends and tries to politely refuse. Seth, however, takes the hint and bitterly states that he won't ask her for anything more. Summer seems sorry to have hurt him. Knowing that Marissa's mother wants to have her interned, Summer decides to ask for Ryan's help. Not being able to find him, she asks Seth for help, and he admits that he feels unable to face Marissa's horrible mother. Despite the situation, the boy still tries to flirt with Summer, to which she still responds negatively, but without as much malice. Summer, Seth, and Ryan then work together to get their friend out of the hospital, which allows Summer and Seth to get to know each other better.

Eventually, Marissa convinces her mother to let her stay with her father. Meanwhile, Summer seems to be growing fond of Seth. However, back at school, Summer goes back to ignoring Seth, but he is now confident he will be able to woo her.

Summer's jealousy and the triangle
Anna, the girl Seth met at prom, has started attending their school. When she and Seth see each other again, they hug, which makes Summer jealous. Seth asks Anna for help making Summer fall in love with him, but Anna's constant presence at Seth's side begins to make Summer nervous. She later sees Anna kissing Seth and seems to feel badly about it. When Seth comes to say hello, she says that she wants someone to ride the roller coaster with her, and he immediately volunteers.

Seth realizes he's always talking about Summer, boring Ryan and Anna, so he decides to invite Anna to a charity party organized by his grandfather, Caleb, promising not to mention Summer. When he tells Summer he's going to the party with Anna, Summer immediately tells him that another guy has invited her and walks away, bumping into Anna on purpose as she goes.

Summer: ''Oh, God! No.''

Seth: What's happening here?

Summer: I like Seth Cohen.

Seth: You--You what now?

Summer: ''Nothing. I wasn't talking to you. But if you tell anyone what you heard here, I'll kill you.''

- Summer (more or less) admits her feelings for Seth. Summer becomes increasingly jealous and complains to Marissa about how close Seth and Anna are, and Marissa immediately realizes that her friend has fallen in love with Seth. Summer finds Seth when he is alone and kisses him, admitting that she has a crush on him. Seth is shocked, but Summer walks away, saying that if he tells anyone what just happened, she'll kill him.

On Thanksgiving, Anna comes over to Seth's house, but Summer also comes uninvited. Seth attempts to navigate his awkward situation, trying to keep the girls from finding out about each other's presence. Summer kisses Seth again, but finds herself unable to explain why she is attracted to him. Seth tries to go further with her, but she refuses. Eventually, Summer and Anna both find out that the other is there and become furious with Seth. ''Seth: Hi, you guys. Can I speak to you for a minute, please? Because I owe you both an enormous apology. I guess, technically, I owe you two apologies, each one tailored to specific wrongs visited upon the specific person. But since you two seem to be a package deal --''

Summer: Cohen!

Seth: Right. ''I'm sorry. And I'm sorry. And I'm also sorry that I apologized to her first. It just, chronologically, I --''

Anna: Cohen.

Seth: ''Right. Stupid, I know. Well, let me start by saying nothing in my life, nothing, prepared me for the events of that fateful Thanksgiving day. But I'm not gonna make any excuses for what I did. I just wanna say one thing in my defense, which is: you can't really blame me for wanting the company of either of you two. And I know that I hurt your feelings and I feel bad about that. I do, but please believe me when I say that it wasn't intentional, okay? I would never do anything to ruin our friendship, or "-ships." I know I have no right to ask, I just hope that some day you can both forgive me. Okay. So, yeah, thanks for your time.''

- Seth apologizes to Anna and Summer.

Fearing the wrath of Anna and Summer, Seth pretends to be ill to skip school, but is soon caught and forced to go. Both girls are still hurt and angry, but after a few days, Seth apologizes and the two forgive him, but go back to competing for him.

Summer: Hi.

Seth: Hey.

Summer: That apology, aside from being the first being the first I've received from a boy, was also the nicest.

Seth: ''Well. Well, I meant it, so, good.''

Summer: So, what are you doing Saturday?

- Summer forgives Seth. Summer then thanks Seth for his apology and asks him to go out on Saturday, which he immediately accepts. When Chrismukkah (Seth's hybrid of Christmas and Hannukah) arrives, Seth prepares two identical gifts for Summer and Anna. Both girls want to go to Caleb's Christmas party with Seth, but he doesn't want to ruin anyone's holidays, so he decides not to go with anyone and just meet them at the party. Both girls go against this agreement and show up at Seth's house, both wanting him to escort them to the party. Luckily, Seth manages to prevent a fight from breaking out. When they are left alone, Summer tries to seduce Seth by dressing up as Wonder Woman, but learns that Anna made a comic for him. The two are interrupted by Anna, and Summer tells Seth that he has to choose one of them.

Seth doesn't know who to choose and tells both of them that he just wants them to be friends, but they refuse. Summer goes with Marissa to a New Year's Eve party, where she runs into Anna.She pretends that she no longer cares about Seth, but she hasn't gotten over him at all. She later asks a random guy to choose between her and Anna to make herself feel better. She even kisses him, but doesn't like it since he's not Seth.

At this point, Seth has gotten together with Anna. He tries to tell Summer about his decision, but puts it off since he doesn't know how to tell her without hurting her feelings. Anna offers to tell Summer for him but he refuses, wanting to talk to Summer in person. However, Summer tells him that she already figured it out. Surprisingly, she seems to be fine with it and agrees to remain friends with the others. But Summer is actually very angry about this new development. When the group goes on a weekend trip to Palm Springs, she gets between Anna and Seth constantly.

Seth soon gets bored of his relationship with Anna, since they're just so similar. Summer starts dating a guy named Danny in a very obvious attempt to replace Seth, which annoys the latter. Summer and Danny's relationship doesn't last long, possibly due to accidental sabotage on Seth's part.

Unable to spend much time with Marissa, Summer continues to hang out with Seth and Anna a lot. Seth starts to favor Summer over Anna, neglecting his own girlfriend. Anna realizes that Seth never truly got over Summer and dumps him.

Become a couple
Seth: ''Actually, Anna and I broke up. And I wanted to see what you're doing tomorrow.''

Summer: So you guys broke up.

Seth: Yeah.

Summer: ''Coffee. You're single now and you want to know what I'm doing for Valentine's.''

Seth: Yeah.

Summer: So Anna dumps you and you think you can choose me and I'm still interested in you?

Seth: ''First of all, what makes you think that Anna dumped me? Never mind. Second of all, kind off. Yes.''

Summer: ''Yeah. No. No way. I'm not gonna be your sloppy seconds, ass-face.''

- Summer finds out that Anna and Seth broke up. As Valentine's Day nears, Seth asks Summer about her plans for the holiday, telling her that he and Anna broke up. Summer seems happy about the breakup, but then angrily tells him that she's not going to be his rebound.

Seth: ''Wait, wait. Before you kick me out, can you please give me a second to explain? Okay listen. Summer... it's not like now me and Anna broke up I'm now choosing you. Okay? Beaucase the whole reason that we broke up is because, for me, it's always been you, Summer. It's always been you. I've tried to fight it, and I've tried to deny it. And I can't. I can't do it. You're undeniable.''

- Seth declares his love to Summer. After school, Seth goes to Summer's house and explains that she is not a rebound for him, but that he and Anna broke up because he's only ever truly had feelings for Summer. Summer is delighted and kisses him, which leads to them having sex for the first time.

Later, Seth confides in Ryan that he is not sure if he was able to satisfy her. He then asks his father for advice but it doesn't help much, so he decides he wants another attempt at the whole thing. Summer agrees, but it doesn't go very well. Seth is convinced that Summer doesn't want him anymore, so at the Valentine's Day gala, he tells her that he might be ready in a few years, but he is ready to call it off until then.

Summer: ''The other night when we... had sex.''

Seth: Yeah.

Summer: You weren't the only virgin in the room.

Seth: ''There was someone else in the room? Like, filming us?''

Summer: ''Me, jackass. I'm a virgin. Or, I was a virgin,''

Seth: Why didn't you tell me?

Summer: ''I don't know. I guess I felt like I had this reputation to uphold and I figured you think less of me.''

Seth: ''No. Are you kidding? Not at all. I'm just--I'm shocked. God. Never in a million years would I think that you, of that people, not that-- That is not what's important here. That was a huge moment in our lives and we just blew past it.''

Summer: Really quickly.

Seth: ''Hey, not that quickly. Pretty quickly, yes. And it was a big deal.''

Summer: ''I think that it should've been special. And we rushed it.''

Seth: ''What if we were to slow it down a little bit? Maybe start from the beginning?''

Summer: What do you men?

[Seth puts on some music]

Summer: You are so cheesy, Cohen.

Seth: Come on, I'm sweeping you off your feet.

Summer: Well the sad part is you kind of are.

- Seth and Summer clear things up.

After the party, Summer goes over to Seth's house and tells him that she was also a virgin before they had sex and that she didn't tell him because she thought he might think less of her. The two realize that they've been rushing their relationship, and decide to slow down and start over.

"I just don't know why he likes me. I mean, he's way smarter. And we have like, less than nothing in common. And he's just gonna get bored with me, because, pretty much all boys do. ''If everybody knows we're dating they'll know when he breaks up with me, which he will. I mean, dumped by Seth Cohen? It's real good for my reputation." -'' Summer admits she doesn't feel enough for Seth.

Summer agrees to work a kissing booth to raise money for their school's water polo team. She doesn't tell anyone that she and Seth are together, which makes him think she's ashamed of him. He decides to avoid her until she stops keeping their relationship secret. Summer admits to Anna that she's convinced Seth will break up with her one day and that a public relationship means a public breakup, which would only add to the pain she would feel after a potential breakup.

Seth: I need to talk to you.

Summer: I'll IM you later.

Seth: ''Okay. Let's talk up here.''

Summer: ''Oh, my God. No''.

Seth: Summer, I know you 're scared.

Summer: Yeah, of you.

Seth: ''You kiss these other guys, but you won't kiss me? Acknowledege me now or lose me forever''.

Brad: You're dating this emo geek?

Seth: ''Yes, Brad, she's dating this emo geek. Yeah, that's right. I'm a big dork and I listen to emo. And I'm dating her.''

Summer: Why are you doing this?

Seth: ''Because, Summer, I like you this much. And if you feel the same way about me, then...Someone will have to give me a hand down. It's high up here and I could fall and that would be embarassing. More embarassing.''

[Summer joins him]

Summer: I can't believe this.

Seth: It's all over but the public make-out session.

- Summer and Seth go public with their relationship. Anna encourages Seth to tell Summer how much he loves her. Seth climbs on top of the kissing booth and publicly declares his love for Summer, who kisses him in front of the whole school. When Anna decides to move back to Pittsburgh to live with her relatives, Seth believes that he's the reason she's leaving. Summer realizes that Seth is feeling guilty and tries to comfort him about the situation. However, she starts to become jealous again. Seth assures her that there are no romantic feelings behind his desire for Anna to stay. Summer tells him to go talk to Anna, but he is unable to convince her to stay.

Summer and Marissa accidentally run into Grady Bridges, one of the stars of Summer's favorite TV show, The Valley. Bridges invites the two to a party in Los Angeles, which they decide to bring Ryan and Seth to. Seth becomes jealous of Bridges, believing that the actor is trying to seduce Summer. In turn, Summer becomes jealous as Seth catches the eye of a wealthy socialite. Seth's suspicions turn out to be correct. Bridges was actually trying to get Summer to sleep with him, but she angrily rejects him. Meanwhile, Marissa finds out that her ex-boyfriend, Luke, is in a sexual relationship with her mother and she runs away, horrified.

Having heard that Seth's grandmother, Sophie, is coming to town for Seder/Passover, Summer decides she wants to meet her. However, Seth thinks it's not a good idea, since his grandmother is very politically and socially active, while Summer has never been interested in that kind of thing. The leads Summer to believe her boyfriend is ashamed of her, but he assures he that he is only trying to protect her. Summer goes to Seth house anyway and gets mad at her boyfriend when she discovers that his grandmother is actually very nice. However, it comes out later in the night that Sophie has actually contracted lung cancer and was trying to hide it from her family. Meanwhile, Summer is trying to learn what it takes to join the family dinner. Marissa moves in with her father and Summer helps her get her bedroom ready, convincing Seth to help. While they are rearranging things, Summer finds their 2002 yearbook and decides to flip through it. While she does so, she realizes how long she'd been completely ignoring Seth and feels guilty.

Seth discovers that Summer has a very close relationship with her father, Robert, and asks to meet him. Summer has never introduced any of her boyfriends to Robert as she thinks it is a very important step in a relationship, but she agrees to introduce Seth.

Seth: ''Hey, you're avoiding me. That's cool. I kind of like it. It's kind of a throwback. It feels very eighth-grade. So I'm guessing that this has something to do with me bombing with your father.''

Summer: It was a training wreck.

Seth: I was nervous.

Summer: You didn't stop talking.

Seth: ''I know. I get chatty when I'm completely terrified. Look, next time I'll be-- I'll be the strong silent type. Or I'll just be silent, okay?''

Summer: ''Look, my dad and I are best friends. We've been through everything together. And he's never been wrong. I mean, he's my dad.''

Seth: And he hated me?

Summer: You just weren't what he expected.

Seth: ''Yeah? What was he expecting? Someone taller? Blonder? Presbyterian? What?''

Summer: Just different. My dad's really protective of me.

Seth: ''Look, I'm sorry if your dad doesen't think I'm good enough for you. Really, I am. If that's way he feels, that sucks. But you know what? It doesn't matter. I don't really have to be his type, because the only thing that matters is me and you. Right?''

Summer: I have to go.

- Summer isn't sure she wants to date a guy her dad doesn't approve of.

Seth tries his best to connect with Summer's father, but sadly Mr. Roberts doesn't have a good impression of him. For Summer Neil's opinion matters a lot and the next day she makes it clear to Seth that maybe she doesn't want to go out with him anymore which hurts the young Cohen.

Summer herself is devastated and begins to avoid Seth. A few days later Seth queues up at his grandfather's bachelor party in Las Vegas and when he tells Summer where he's going he leaves when he realizes she seems willing to do nothing about their relationship.

Summer: ''Cohen. Listen, I've been thinkhing.''

Seth: Yeah.

Jenn: Hey, I have to kiss you again.

Summer: What?

Marissa: What?

Summer: ''Cohen? What is going over there?''

Jenn: You're an amazing kisser.

Seth: ''Hold that thought, please. Hey, Summer. Hello?''

Summer: ''He's kissing another girl. Yes. Right in front of me on the phone. I can't believe this. I have been crying actually tears over that ass, and he's kissing randoms''.

Marissa: ''Okay, you know what? We're gonna have a girl's night out. Theresa's coming over. We can do whatever you want''.

Summer: ''Really? Because all I want to do right now is go to Las Vegas and kick Cohen's ass.''

Seth: She's gonna kick my ass.

- The misunderstanding that brings Summer to Las Vegas.

After Seth's departure, the girl dissolves in tears and after a while she decides to call him, but unfortunately she catches him just as a girl is pretending to be with him in order to stay on the beach of the hotel where he is staying (it is possible only access if you are with a hotel guest) and kisses him in the middle of the call. An angry Summer then decides to go to Las Vegas to teach him a lesson, and Seth immediately deduces that the girl will make him pay.

Seth: ''I was entrapped. This is your fault. You broke up with me.''

Summer: So you hire a call girl?

Seth: What, your dad wouldn't approve?

Summer: This has nothing to do with my dad.

Seth: ''Right. It doesn't.''

Summer: ''Okay. So may I overreacted a little.''

Seth: Yeah, a little.

Summer: If you didn't try so hard with him--

Seth: I only did that because I knew it was important to you.

Summer: You swear nothing else happened with the ho?

Seth: I swear.

-Seth and Summer make up. Seth makes friends with this girl, Jenn and in the evening she tries to kiss him. He seems hesitant at first, but begins to enjoy it when Summer arrives. The girl yells at the blonde to get away from Seth, but at that moment three other women arrive and it turns out that Jenn is a prostitute who has hooked Seth and since she has organized a party of her, her pimp demands prepayment. With the misunderstanding cleared up, Summer agrees to help Seth and Ryan pay and she and her boyfriend make up.

The departure of Ryan and Seth
Seth is very happy to have solved things with Summer, but back home the boys have another shock: Theresa an ex of Ryan with whom he has had a casual relationship is pregnant and does not know if Ryan's or another man, Eddie.

Fanon
Seth x Summer is one of the most popular ships in The O.C. . Even though they both dated other people throughout the show, it was always clear that they only truly loved each other. It rivals Ryan x Marissa and Rylor (Ryan x Taylor) as the show's most popular ship.

There are numerous videos and fanfictions dedicated to this couple.

Fandom
FAN FICTION


 * Seth/Summer on Fanfiction.net
 * Seth Cohen/Summer Roberts on AO3