DISCLAIMER: I do not own the OC or have anything to do with FOX. If I did, the OC would have never ended.
Just to make it easier for everyone to understand, most of this story will be told in Kaitlin & Seth's POV's. All characters will be in it. But, its not where the show left off, its before that. It takes place right after Marissa's death, where the show didn't really go into depth about. It will change a lot of things, and pairings. And there will be a lot of dark and sexual themes. So if you have a closed mind, or prefer not to read explicit sex scenes and adult language don't bother reading. Reviews and criticism is greatly appreciated, I want to know what you think. I am here to become a better writer, so please, be brutally honest with me. However, don't flame me just because you don't like my pairings or storyline. Thank you! Hope you enjoy!
And on a total side note, yes the fic is named after Cassie Steele's Album "How Much For Happy" which if completely amazing, and I hope everyone checks it out. The chapters are all the songs, in order. Enjoy & Review.
Prologue
I guess I should tell you a little bit about myself.. The name is Kaitlin Cooper. I grew up as a rich spoiled bitch in Newport Beach, California. My mother Julie, and father Jimmy gave me pretty much whatever I wanted. I didn't ask for much attention, so they didn't give it to me. Instead, they gave it to my sister, who was 3 years older than me, Marissa Cooper. I'm sure you've heard that name before right?
Anyways, I grew up and I was pretty content with my life. When I was 12, my father got into some pretty serious trouble, not that I knew that at the time. I didn't know anything was wrong, they told me they told me everything would be fine. They sent me away. I called it prison, most just call it boarding school. I hated everything about that place, sure, I fit right in, I was one of them. The chosen ones as they referred to themselves as. The ones that didn't have to do a damn thing, just snap their fingers to get whatever they wanted. Its what most girls dream of, being away, a dorm with your closest friend, boys everywhere, rich boys at that.. But that's not what I wanted. I wanted my family. I knew something wasn't right. I got a few emails here and there, but mostly, they forgot me.
But that's the life you live when your big sister is a drama queen, your dads a thief and your mother is a whore.
At the age of 14, I left my boarding school after stealing money from my ex boyfriends brother to get home. I acted clueless. I wanted them to tell me themselves. We lived in a trailer, which wouldn't had bothered me so much if I hadn't found out about it when it was all over my school because a friends dad owned the lot.
It was midwinter break when I finally got home, though my mother and sister were completely shocked to my homecoming, they seemed excited. They finally confessed to the trailer, and everything else they'd been hiding, we fought, there were tears, then we became a family, minus my father of course. Marissa and I finally started to bond, and I couldn't be happier. She then introduced me to Johnny, who I liked instantly. Problem was, with Johnny, like most people in my life, everything was about Marissa. I didn't know much of their past, but apparently they had dated. Marissa still had feelings for him, though she was dating on and off boyfriend Ryan Atwood, and he of course was still in love with her. I didn't care though. If anything I had fun seeing the bit of pain in my sisters eyes.
After a while I started to get annoyed by the fact that Johnny hid our almost nonexistent relationship from Marissa, so I tricked him. That caused yelling, tears and ended with death. To explain, on a late night, Johnny and I had a date with tequila and a fire, where he climbed a cliff drunkenly talking about his feelings for Marissa. I got scared and called Marissa and Ryan, who came to the rescue. But the only person they rescued was me. We tried to talk him down from the cliff, Ryan even climbed up after him, he fell, Ryan jumped to save him, but then the bottle broke and Johnny was dead.
I left a few days after Johnny's funeral, still feeling completely guilty for everything that had happened. Its something I'll never really forgive myself for. Marissa and my mother promised to stay in touch better, and they did. I even came back for Marissa's graduation, and decided to stay in Newport and take over The Harbor School, where my sister and her friends had left off.
My plans quickly changed when on the night of graduation, my sister got in a car accident that ended in her death.
I think that leads us to today. Me, sitting at her gravestone, staring at it. Trailing my fingers over the engravings. Marissa Maria Cooper. September 24th1988- June 3rd 2006. Cherished daughter, sister and friend.
Looking at the words, it still hard for me to believe. My sister is gone. Not just for college like planned, but gone. From my life, from my future, from the planet She's completely gone, and as far as I'm concerned, nothing else matters.