Author's Note: Happy Halloween! I told everyone I wouldn't post this until I wrote about half the fic or at least two chapters because I don't want that this wouldn't be continued and I'd leave my readers hanging. I tried to fight it, I did... but it's undeniable. It wants itself posted. This is going to be my first chaptered fanfic in a long time, and I really, really hope you will enjoy this. I've already planned this out and I have quite a lot in store for you guys. So... have fun reading and let me know what you think! It starts out slow (especially these first few chapters, as I'm sort of establishing the characters), but we'll get to the smut soon enough. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of The O.C. characters, unfortunately. I do own Kirsten's best friend, and I realize her name is close to Marissa, but it wasn't intentional. And... I guess I somewhat own Paul, Sandy's best friend too. Character-wise, but the name is all from Josh Schwartz. Also, title and lyrics by Dashboard Confessional.

STOLEN

Where on earth had Larissa disappeared to?

Behind the obviously fake smile she had plastered on her face, Kirsten Nichol looked annoyed as she said good-night to one of her best friends' buzzed party guests as he left for the night. "Thank you for coming!" She called out, accompanied with a slight roll of her cerulean eyes before she closed the door and heaved out a long, tired sigh. Thank you for nothing, that is.

Larissa definitely knew how to throw a party, that was for sure. Kirsten leaned back against the door as she looked around the room that was once her dormitory. They had spent all afternoon putting up streamers and blowing up balloons, making Kirsten remember the excitement she felt watching a party being set up back in Newport. Along with Larissa's contagious enthusiasm, Kirsten couldn't help but feel excited herself as well. Plus, Larissa told her that this party was different from all the other ones they've been to. For one, they were actually serving food that weren't just chips poured into bowls.

"It's not going to be one of those parties where all we do is drink shitty beer, KiKi!" Larissa had told her earlier. "Everyone's going to get dressed up and mingle with each other! It'll be like Newport all over again!" Of course, Larissa knew that the reason why Kirsten was in Berkeley of all places was to escape from Newport, but she also knew all too well that Kirsten missed the chaos sometimes, even though she would never admit it out loud.

"Where's Rissa?"

The blond spun around in her heels, and automatically put on her fake smile again. And I thought I'd never have to do this anymore, she thought to herself. Oh, it was definitely Newport all over again.

Kirsten found herself fiddling with her thumbs as she struggled to answer the question herself. Where is Larissa? "I actually don't know where she is right now. But if you're leaving already, I'll be sure to tell her you said good-bye." The last sentence came out sounding too hopeful on Kirsten's part, and she cringed inwardly. Luckily for her, the jock merely nodded. "Yeah, whatever. I'm out." He had the decency to excuse himself before showing himself out the door, leaving Kirsten to stare at him incredulously. Who did these people think they are anyway?

Still, she resisted the urge to pull the bloke back into the room and spit in his face. These people here weren't really her crowd anyway – they were more of Larissa's friends than hers. Kirsten's best friend was the life of the party – friendly, outgoing and, more often than not, outrageous. As for Kirsten, pretty much everyone knew who she was, but not for the same reasons as Larissa was notorious for. Kirsten was considered as one of the prettiest girls on the campus, but the fact that her father practically owned Newport Beach was something that hadn't escaped the knowledge of the student body.

But unlike Larissa, Kirsten was more withdrawn and preferred not to have attention drawn to her. The roommates couldn't be more different from each other, and yet they were the best of friends anyway. Larissa was more real than any of the friends Kirsten had back in Newport. They were roommates ever since their first year in Berkeley, and they have been practically inseparable ever since.

Ever since… except for now. Kirsten allowed herself another eye-roll as she made her way back to the crowd to look for Larissa. Still no sight of her. The only good thing about the current situation was that at least, the party had somewhat thinned already. Her eyes flickered from the throng of people to the clock on the wall, and the time that flashed back at her made her sigh once more. Even though she could already start throwing people out, it was still going to be a long, long night.

Nearly three hours later and her cheeks hurting from too many fake smiles, Kirsten could finally throw herself on the couch without worrying about the partygoers. "Finally!" She exclaimed triumphantly, kicking her high heels from her feet and closing her eyes to enjoy the silence in the room. Larissa had never surfaced, which led Kirsten to conclude that her best friend must've sneaked off with a guy somewhere, which was typical of her. Why didn't I see that coming? Larissa always had a tendency to do that, and Kirsten guessed that she wouldn't exactly make exceptions for her own party. Larissa was… well, Larissa, after all.

Fatigue was slowly starting to seep into her system, and for a moment, Kirsten felt a brief flash of anger at Larissa for leaving her with the clean-up duty. Who knows when her roommate would be back anyway? Groaning, she pushed herself off from her comfortable position on the couch and started making her way towards the kitchen in her bare feet, gathering trash along the way. Kirsten was obviously not going to let Larissa get away so easily, but she didn't want to wake up to a smelly dorm room. The least she could do at the moment was to gather the trash and stuff the leftovers in the fridge. Then she could take off the rather revealing party clothes Larissa had lent her to wear for the night, step into the bathroom for a warm shower, and sleep until tomorrow afternoon. She was already fantasizing about her plans when she heard a sudden, unfamiliar cough from the kitchen counter, causing her to drop one of the plastic cups she was holding.

Startled, Kirsten turned around. The deep cough had come from a tall guy with a mop of jet-black hair and rather distinctive bushy eyebrows. Beneath them, though, were strikingly kind blue-eyes which were looking at Kirsten with amusement. He jumped off the stool and picked up the fallen cup, before approaching her.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." He had a thick, unfamiliar accent, and while his voice was deep like his cough, there was something about them that was soothing. He held out the bright blue plastic cup, which she accepted with her much smaller hand. Regaining her composure, Kirsten forced another smile and walked away from this man.

"It's okay. I, uh, I thought I was, I was, you know, alone?" Inwardly, Kirsten chastised herself for suddenly being so tongue-tied. She distracted herself by segregating the trash, dumping all the recyclables in one bin, and the rest of them divided between the biodegradable and the non-biodegradable bins. The stranger looked rather amused at this display, unaware that girls in California like her even cared about the difference between the three.

Kirsten could hear him shuffling around the kitchen, but she busied herself with her task, not willing herself to look his way. But eventually, she had to ask him to leave. Not only did she not know who he was, but she really wanted to have that shower and crawl into her bed now.

"So," She started awkwardly, washing her hands to the tune of Happy Birthday in her head (apparently, the duration of that one song was the appropriate time enough to wash ones' hands). Kirsten tilted her head to the side, capturing the attention of her guest. He smiled shyly at her, and for once, the smile that she returned back to him was a genuine one. "I guess I'll, err, show you to the door?" She offered kindly, drying her hands on some tissue paper before facing him completely. She found herself eyeing him, from his scuffed shoes, to the jeans that looked rather old but fitted him perfectly, then to the sweater he was wearing that not only brought out the color of his eyes, but emphasized a strong body beneath the fabric. Kirsten forced herself to look further upwards; startled upon realizing that he had caught her in the act and was grinning knowingly at her. She blushed and coughed distractedly, annoyed at herself for letting him see her checking him out.

Striding purposefully, Kirsten walked out of the kitchen and expected him to follow. But when she didn't hear the sound of his footsteps at all, she whirled around to face him once more. "This way?" She emphasized, gesturing to the wooden door. She gave him The Look, which clearly said she meant business. It had never failed her on several occasions before, but this man standing before her was completely unaffected. Instead, he gave her another one of his smiles again, which was only aggravating her.

"Look, what is—?"

But before Kirsten could finish her question, both of them heard a loud thumping noise from the other end of the dormitory room. She exchanged a curious look with her guest before heading into the direction where the noises were coming from. Before she could get there though, the man had grabbed her arm and was stopping her from proceeding further. "I wouldn't go there if I were you." He warned, just as a squeal pierced through the otherwise quiet environment.

"Oh, oh, OH MY GOD, Paul!" Kirsten's eyes widened. That voice sounded rather familiar to her ears. Too familiar, in fact. More thuds came from the direction of the bedrooms, this time, now accompanied by loud, helpless moans.

Kirsten turned to her dark-haired companion, looking up at him with questioning eyes. She hadn't realized she had been gripping his arm all this time until now, and she let her hand fall. "Who—?" She sputtered, tugging her other arm away from his grasp.

"Come for me, baby!" A masculine grunt, unfamiliar this time, and while it wasn't a high-pitched squeal, it was still audible enough for Kirsten. The reality of the situation finally made itself clear to her, and her eyes widened again, this time in horror. Larissa's scream echoed around the small dormitory room, causing Kirsten to blush furiously. She buried her face in her palms in an effort to disguise it, then quickly thought better and covered her ears instead as moans continued to be heard from Larissa's bedroom.

She felt the stranger place a comforting arm over the small of her back, and she impulsively leaned into him. Even from this angle, she could smell his very masculine scent, some sort of a pleasant mixture of a woody fragrance and soap. "I'm sorry." He whispered softly. As the moans decreased significantly in volume, Kirsten removed her face from her hands and faced him. Her face was still flushed, but she was smiling sheepishly now. "What do you have to be sorry for? I guess... I'm not alone as I thought I was after all…" She didn't say it out loud, but she was actually thankful for this guy's presence. There was something awkward about being on your own while your best friend was having sex with some guy in the other room.

He also had the decency to look uncomfortable himself. "Actually, Paul is kind of with me. We share a dormitory together, but, uh, he has the keys. And I can't actually get in without my keys, can I? If I were rich enough, I would probably get a hotel room until he decides to emerge from that bedroom and/or goes home, but, well, I'm not. Plus, it would be incredibly rude to knock on the door and ask for keys while they're at it. It would be…"

"Awkward." They said in unison. There was a moment of silence before the both of them collapsed into giggles. All of a sudden, Kirsten didn't feel so threatened with this guy's presence anymore. They were both put in the same predicament by their friends, after all. The giggles persisted, until both of them had doubled over the kitchen counter, already breathless.

"This is rather embarrassing, isn't it?" He commented, a goofy, endearing grin on his face. Kirsten was feeling extraordinarily light-hearted after a good laugh, and following that comment, another fit of giggles was dangerously close to escaping from her lips. She tried hard to stifle it, but managed to let out a chuckle anyway.

Kirsten made her way towards the mini-bar and leaned against it, her face scrunched up into a rather adorable expression of contemplation. Despite the situation, she knew that Paul's friend couldn't stay here for the night. She could ask some of her guy friends to take him in for the night. They wouldn't mind, would they? Besides, for sure they were already friends with him anyway. The sooner she could get him to leave, the sooner she could take her bath and go to bed, and forget all those seriously disturbing noises she just heard moments ago.

She looked up and saw that he was standing awkwardly where she left him. The poor guy looked lost, obviously not knowing what he could do right now. Kirsten felt slightly regretful as she made her way over to tell him of her plans, but even before she could open her mouth to speak, the loud thuds started up again. She looked dismayed and completely horrified as Paul and Larissa worked their way towards another climax.

"Oh, my God. Not again." Kirsten wailed. What kind of vitamins were they taking anyway? Making a face, she politely excused herself from the man, telling him she would be right back. Braving the groans that had now accompanied the thuds, she rushed into her bedroom and immediately looked for her purse. For a moment, her eyes flickered to one of the picture frames nailed on her wall. It had already shifted to an odd angle, clearly caused by the thudding on the other side of the wall – Larissa's bedroom. She made yet another face, this time directed towards the frame before emerging from the room, nearly running into Paul's friend in her haste. For some odd reason, it was only then that she realized she actually didn't know his name.

"Hey, your name?"

He looked at her with those piercing blue eyes, clearly thinking she was insane for asking him that question at this particular time. "Pardon?"

"I meant, what's your name?" Kirsten tapped her foot impatiently as she rummaged through her purse, making sure that she had everything inside it while attempting to block out the moans and the groans from the other room. Forget the vitamins; she was positively sure that Larissa had slipped some Viagra into Paul's food, if the noises were anything to go by. When Kirsten was finally satisfied, she snapped her purse closed and looked up, only to see him looking down at her with another one of his bemused smiles that had somewhat gotten less annoying.

"Sandy." He answered. "My name is Sandy Cohen."

"Sandy?" This time, she was the one who looked bemused. It temporarily distracted her from the situation at hand, not to mention the noises that were escalating in volume. After all, it wasn't everyday she met a good-looking man with that name. "But that's a girl's name." Kirsten stated as she searched for her heels.

Sandy smiled knowingly. "Typical response. But it's actually short for Sanford."

"Okay, Sandy Cohen. I'm Kirsten," Just then, they heard more moans of ecstasy coming out from Larissa's bedroom, which probably meant her best friend was close. After strapping her shoes on, Kirsten immediately turned to this Sandy Cohen and spoke in a rush. "who, unfortunately, is the best friend of the girl that your friend is doing right now. I don't know about you, but I don't really want to listen to Larissa climaxing again. Once was bad enough."

He nodded sympathetically and immediately understood. Kirsten didn't want to put up with the noises anymore. He led them to the door and opened it for her. Then, he stepped back and offered his arm to her in a gallant gesture. "Let's go. I'm taking you out of here." He said roguishly, wiggling those eyebrows at her as he grinned.

"It's not a date, alright? Don't get any big ideas." Despite her blunt words, Kirsten smiled back and hooked her arm around his'.

Invitation only, grand farewells
Crash the best one, of the best ones
Clear liquor and cloudy eyed, too early to say goodnight

What do you think so far? Let me know. Hit that pretty purple button, please. Reviews are sex. ;)