Note: Okay. So. The OC kind of is my holy grail best tv show ever kind of thing. LOVE IT. I recently started on Gossip Girl, what I in all honestly love as well but not nearly as much as The OC. But... I can't be the only one who has ever imagined Kirsten Cohen and Lily Rhodes to have been friends in their youth. Think about it. It makes sense. Doesn't it? I think it does! Anyway, I've been on this trip down memorylane once again, re-watching The OC for like the 100th time and this idea started coming up... I've always been a huge Kirsten/Sandy fan, and as some of you may know (see Queen of the East) I'm a newly found Rufus/Lily fan as well. So… There came the idea of a story with *drumrolls*…. Kirsten, Sandy, Rufus AND Lily. Haha, I hope there are people somewhere still interested in this, I'm most definitely enjoying writing this. Kirsten & Sandy and Rufus & Lily probably are my two favorite tv couples in like, ever, so I figured I should give it a good try and write something, because, well, someway it seems appropriate for them to know each other. Okay I'm rambling so much so I should probably stop and let you guys just read. Please let me know your thoughts and ideas, they are always greatly appreciated. I'm not sure how many people are still reading stories from both fandoms, but, hey, I love writing it even without tons of readers. Please enjoy! X.

Summary: Lily Rhodes and Kirsten Nichol are best friends, currently residing on campus at Berkeley University. Kirsten is a Art History student, Lily is studying Journalism while trying to make a career in photography. Kirsten and Jimmy just broke off their relationship as he made another girl pregnant back in Newport Beach. Lily and Kirsten vow to stay single for the rest of their time as a student while going out on adventures together and trying their best to graduate in time. What happens when to run into a cute musician and a just graduated law student that's trying to help all underdogs?
Rating: It's T-rated max, if it ever goes up, you'll hear it…
Spoilers: None, AU obviously.

Glory Days

Prologue

"Hey beautiful!"

"Hey yourself, God I love those shoes on you."

"Thanks, you're looking good in your shorts."

"Thanks gorgeous, I bought them yesterday in one of those vintage shops. Such a good find."

Lily Rhodes and Kirsten Nichol chuckled before Lily said: "Jesus, people probably think we're insane when they hear us talk like this."

"We are." The girls smiled as Lily handed Kirsten an iced latte. "Here, got you a latte."

"Perfect."

The girls took a stroll along the beach, watching the sun set. It was something they both loved; seeing that beautiful orange sun dissappear into the sea.

Lily and Kirsten looked a like with their sunglasses on. Both were blonde, skinny, tall, with long, tanned legs and pretty smiles. Their eye colors definitely set them apart though; Kirsten's piercing eyes were blue, while Lily's were light brown with a green halo around them. They appeared to be one of a kind though, and the girls happily took advantage of it every now and then.

They decided to sit down in the sand for a moment when they reached a quiet part of the beach. Lily noticed dolphins a bit off the coast and smiled. She loved this. She took a look to her left, noticing Kirsten staring into space. Lily grabbed her hand, getting her attention, before saying: "Hey. You okay?"

Kirsten nodded and sighed at the same time. "Yeah…"

"You're thinking about Jimmy, aren't you?"

Kirsten grumbled. "It's so fucking frustrating. I want him out of my head, but he just seems to pop up everywhere, all the time. If I go eat ice cream I'll think of times we had ice cream together, whenever I'm at the beach I think of all the sunsets we've seen together… It's just, argh!"

Kirsten's frustration made Lily almost chuckle. She was glad she didn't though; she knew her friend was still hurt. Lily threw her arm around Kirsten as she said: "You're right, you should get him out of your head. He's a fucking idiot. But sometimes it just takes your heart a little while to get used to all that. Give yourself some time, you'll be good eventually. And you will always have me!"

A small smile appeared on Kirsten's lips as she rested her head on Lily's shoulder. "Thank God I have you! You know, I think we should just forget all those freaking guys for a while. Just you and I, going all out on adventures on our own."

Lily chuckled. She'd been without a guy for a while now. In all honesty, she just really didn't feel like being with someone at the moment. Every guy she met seemed to have something that turned her off completely. Perhaps she just needed to wait until she ran into Johnny Depp some day after all. "That sounds perfect!"

Kirsten moved herself so she was facing Lily, an exited smile on her lips as she said: "Pinky swear! You, Lily Rhodes and I, Kirsten Nichol, hereby vow to go out on adventures together forever!"

Their pinky's collided while Lily chuckled and added: "And perhaps will both be graduating as well!"

"Yeah, that's a good one too."

The girls chuckled as they sat down in the beach. This year would be perfect. Absolutely perfect!

1.

"Kirsten, what is that smell?" Lily crinkled her nose while making her way over to the kitchen of their dorm. Kirsten had said she was going to make them some grilled cheese, but this smelt more like burnt cheese.

"Jesus, Kirsten, what are you doing?" Lily chuckled loud when she saw Kirsten's red face above their stove, which was fuming while something had obviously already been baked a bit too long.

Kirsten shrugged and yelled: "I don't know."

Lily made her way over to the stove, figuring the grilled cheese couldn't be saved anymore as she threw the entire pan in the sink. "I never thought I would meet a worse cook than myself."

Kirsten stuck out her tongue. "Well, I'm glad there's something I can defeat you in."

The girls both chuckled before Kirsten said: "So… Maybe we should go out for lunch after all…"

Lily shrugged. "Hmm, it is Friday after all." She looked at the clock, noticing her next class would start in an hour. "My next class is in an hour… You think I'll make it?"

"If you're okay with me coming with you dressed like this…" Kirsten pointed to her outfit, making Lily chuckle. Kirsten was wearing her fluffy flip flops, baggy joggers and an oversized t-shirt, her hair put up in a messy bun. "Well, if you at least pretend to hurry up a bit then I can at least try to be there in time. Shoot!" Lily ushered her friend into her room, hoping she'd hurry up. She had European Literature on Friday's, and despite her actually enjoying those classes, Fridays weren't the best days for them. Fridays were for celebrating the weekend.

Lily tried cleaning up the mess Kirsten had made while she was changing, hoping she wouldn't take too long. She really was starving.

Lily therefor was happy to find them in their favorite off-campus lunchroom, sipping coffee and eating tuna melts. They were in the middle of laughing about some silly thing that had happened the night before when Lily noticed him. This couldn't be happening. Kirsen couldn't see him…. Oh fuck, he had seen them. This was bad. Very bad.

"Lil… Hey… Earth to Lily?" Kirsten snapped her fingers in front of her friend, not sure why she was zoning out all of a sudden.

"Eh Kirsten, I think we should go."

"But I haven't even finished my sandwich yet..." Kirsten stayed put, eating her food while looking at Lily with a questionable frown on her face. "Kirsten!"

Lily really wanted to get Kirsten out of this place, but she knew she had miserably failed. He was coming over to them, and Lily wasn't sure how her friend would respond.

"Lily, Kirsten! I was hoping to run into you here."

The voice made Kirsten cringe; she knew exactly to whom it belonged and she wasn't at all interested in seeing the man.

"Matthew, hi!" Kirsten faked her smile, trying to ignore the guy behind her and continue her conversation with Lily. If only she had remembered what they were talking about. Ever since it had become known to the public that Kirsten Nichol was single again, he had been trying to get her to go out with him. Matthew looked good; that really wasn't the problem. The guy was just so annoying. And so dumb… Kirsten hated calling people dumb, but this guy really just topped pretty much everything she had ever seen before. What he was doing at Berkeley had always been quite a question.

"So, girls… What are you up to today?" Matthew grabbed a chair from the table next to them and joined them. Lily sighed; she knew Matthew was asking Kirsten but decided to answer anyway. "We, have class in a few minutes." She'd stressed the we, hoping Matthew would get the point.

"You too Kirsten? I thought you had Fridays off." He raised his eyebrow while looking at Kirsten, who seemed slightly shocked. How was the guy even aware of her schedule. Lily had answered before she could though. "Yes, we. Come on Kirs, we have to go. Now. Bye, Matthew." Lily gathered her things quickly, happy to see Kirsten doing the same.

The moment they got out of the diner, Kirsten chuckled. "That guy is so persistent."

Lily frowned. "I know… For real though, how does he know your schedule? It's…. Odd."

"I know."

The girls made their way over to campus as Kirsten said: "You know what, I'll go to the library. I have this paper due on Monday, maybe it'll be a good idea for me to work on that for a while. We can meet after your class? It'll be happy hour at Marcy's then." Kirsten wiggled her eyebrows, making Lily laugh. "It's always happy hour at Marcy's! But that sounds good, We can meet at four in front of the building."

It was obviously Friday. The usually packed library was almost empty, giving Kirsten plenty of space to start working on her paper. She made her way to one of the large wooden tables, spreading all her books and papers on the table, making sure everything was far enough from the carton cup filled with coffee. Would be awful to spill that all over her stuff, and –luckily,- Kirsten knew that always was a possibility when being Kirsten Nichol. She could be so clumsy someties.

Kirsten loathed the stuff she needed to write about within thirty minutes. Jesus, this was horrible. As an art history student, Kirsten usually read about stuff she adored. She loved pretty much everything that had to with it. A little pressure from her father though had caused her to choose some electives regarding America's legal system and justice. It had obviously been a mistake.

"Looks like someone could use a little help here."

"I think I'll manage perfectly fine on my own, but.." Kirsen turned her head while making her snappy comment, annoyed that a guy apparently thought he could once again be here savior. What was it with guys that always thought she needed their help? She most definitely didn't. When she met a pair of piercing blue eyes though, Kirsten cursed herself for sounding so cold and bitchy. She had never seen this guy before, he seemed… Nice.

Kirsten's lips formed into a small smile as she continued. "But I have to admit this paper is killing me. You don't need to get worked up over that though, I'll be fine."

The blue eyed guy didn't say a word as he took a look at the books and papers scattered around the table, giving Kirsten some time to get a good look at him. His hair was dark, a little bit on the long side, but nice. He wore a pair of faded jeans and sneakers, a grey sweater on top. Nothing special, but it suited him. Kirsten knew she was caught staring when the guy suddenly turned back to her, a grin on his face as he said: "Well, since you said you'll manage perfectly fine on your own, I won't bother you anymore… I'll just suggest you only use this book right there, chapter 11 and 12 and this paper over there to finish your own paper." He pointed to some stuff on the table before adding: "It'll be enough. Trust me, I've written this paper too." He still had this grin on his face, making it impossible for Kirsten not to smile back.

"Eh… Thanks, I think… That's… That's kind."

"No problem."

As soon as the guy had showed up, he dissapeared again. A little to Kirsten's dismay though. She wondered who that guy was; he most definitely wasn't in one of her classes. She shrugged before getting back into her paper again, most definitely keeping in mind what the blue eyed guy had told her seconds before.

Kirsten fled the library a little too late; she knew Lily was probably waiting for her already. She didn't really see where she was going as she was so lost in thoughts. She was taken aback when a guy suddenly turned in front of her, wanting to hand her a flyer. She didn't even hear what he was saying as she said:

"No, thanks." It was then that it hit her; that was the guy. The guy that had been heping her out in the library.

"What are you, a Republican? Oh, I'm sorry, did you catch it from your parents? I hear it's hereditary?"

Kirsten couldn't help but smile; this guy was rambling. She tucked her hair behind her ear, not sure what to say. She wasn't even sure if he recognized her. "I guess I did…"

Their eyes locked and she smiled at him. He smiled back. What was that spark she was feeling? This was weird. She was about to continue her way when she heard him say: "Well if you don't want a pamphlet, here, have a pin on me."

She accepted the reddish pin, taking a good look before she said: "I might wear it, but only because it's stylish."

Their eyes locked once again, and Kirsten wasn't sure if she was supposed to say something about their encounter earlier. Thank him, perhaps, for his help. She really had only needed the information he had pointed out to her. He beat her to it though.

"You know, if you're not a pamphlet reader, I could take you to coffee...tell you all about why Mondale and Ferraro are gonna lose."

Ah. Charming. Most definitely a ladies man, Kirsten assumed. Smooth talk he had there. She could play that game too. "If you're so sure they're gonna lose, then why bother?"

"I don't know… It feels right. So… Coffee?"

Kirsten couldn't help herself. This guy… His dark hair, blue eyes, grey sweater… He was too cute. She nodded, a small smile forming on her lips as she said: "You know, I think it should by my treat. Your help on my paper has been greatly appreciated."

A grin appeared once again on the guy's face. "Ah… So my help was welcome after all?" He winked and she chuckled. "Yeah, sorry for being so bitchy. Habit sometimes, I guess. But… Coffee. Sounds good."

"You're free tomorrow afternoon?"

Kirsten nodded. "Sure. Tomorrow's good. We can meet at the Coffee Bean at three."

"Sounds good to me." Their eyes were still locked as Kirsten said: "Good. I'll see you there."

She turned around, knowing Lily was waiting for her and planning on quickly making her way over to her friend when she heard the guy call out for her again. "Hey!"

Kirsten turned around, looking in his blue eyes once more, as he said: "I didn't catch your name…" Kirsten smiled. That was right. They never caught each other's name. She handed out her right hand, glad he accepted it immediately as she said: "I'm Kirsten." His hand felt soft and warm and she was surprised to find herself wanting to hold on to it. "Hi Kirsten, I'm Sandy."

Meanwhile, Lily was waiting quite impatiently. Kirsten was late, something that didn't usually happen. The sun was shining, so Lily really didn't feel that bad about waiting at all. It was just that she was wondering what the hell was taking Kirsten so long. She was a good fifteen minutes late now. Lily figured she'd light a cigarette. She was so caught up in firing the thing that she didn't notice a familiar figure standing next to her.

"Hey, can I borrow a light?"

Lily rolled her eyes when she recognized the voice; Matthew again. "Sure." She handed her lighter over to him without looking at him, hoping he would go away soon. He wasn't planning on that apparently. "So, who are you waiting for… Kirsten?"

Lily looked at the guy next to her, frowning, as she said: "I don't think that's really any of your business."

The guy shrugged. "Sorry… It's just that… I don't understand why she doesn't want to go out with me."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Honey, she just broke up with the guy that has been her boyfriend for years. Cut her some slack… If she wants to go out with you, she'll approach you. Don't push her." Lily came off sweeter then she had intended to; she suddenly felt a little bad for the guy, who obviously had the hots for her best friend.

Matthew sighed as he handed her back her lighter. "Maybe you're right. Thanks Lily, appreciate it." He then took off, leaving Lily on her own again to wait for her friend.

Kirsten showed up the moment Lily had finished her cigarette, her face flushed. "Lil, I'm so sorry…"

Lily smiled. "No worries. What took you so long, I was afraid you were like, passed out in the library or something."

Kirsten shook her head as the girls started walking off of school property. "Nothing like that. At all. I think I'm going on a date tomorrow."

"Wait, what?" Lily's jaw dropped as she looked at Kirsten, who shrugged.

"I know, I know, we said to forget men for a while and focus on other stuff. But this guy… I don't know, he just… God, I think he actually left me speechless."

Lily chuckled; Kirsten did seem speechless. She linked her arm in her friend's as she said: "Okay, maybe you should get yourself together again and then tell me all about this. What the hell happened in that library?"

Note: So, yess, I stole that little Sandy/Kirsten scene from the show. But, hello, it was the cutest thing ever! And yes, there's a reason for them to meet this early on in the story ;) . I hope you liked it, please let me know, I love reviews... Just like everybody here, haha :) XO.