Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, and also, even though I use the names of real high schools in Orange County, I do not base any of my characters on anyone from those schools.

Note: Here's the next chapter, please keep reading and reviewing. To Jenny: you got ahead of me…I was planning on talking about how Marissa and Summer became friends in this chapter--so don't worry, there is background on how they met even though they are from different backgrounds. Also, Jimmy Cooper has never had any financial troubles in my story. Thanks & enjoy…

Lady in Red

Chapter 2: girls and boys

"Oh my god, Summer, you will never guess what we got in the mail today." Her friend's shrill voice echoed through the empty room. She moved the receiver a little further from her ear so Marissa's squealing wouldn't deafen her. Summer was trying to get her homework done, but Marissa was preventing this from happening.

"What?"

"An invitation to the Winter Charity Fire Ball!"

"Oh, I thought it was something life altering or important. Should've known." Summer rolled her eyes. Her best friend could be so lame.

"Sum, this is important. It's at the Balboa."

"Yay. So I'll be working, while you and your rich friends parade around in thousand dollar gowns. And then maybe afterwards, I can be on clean up duty! Sounds great, Coop."

"Quit being such a pessimist. You're not working that night, I already checked. And plus, I get to bring someone."

"Really. Who, Ryan, Luke?"

"NO way, I'm so over boys right now. They are too much trouble to handle. I want you to come with."

"Coop..no. I hate those things and you know how Newport's elite would react to me being there. Could you imagine? They'd all be like, what the hell is the towel girl doing here? EW! Your mom totally hates me; she'd freak."

"That's the beauty of this party. The theme is masquerade, so no one will see you. And my mom hates everyone, so don't think you're special."

"I still don't want to go."

"At least think about it. It's a few weeks away, so you don't have to decide now, but please. Don't leave me there by myself."

"You always go to these things by yourself. You should be used to them now."

"You never get used to the Newpsies criticizing your every move."

"So, now you're going to subject me to that."

"Yeah, throw fresh meat into shark infested waters."

"Thanks for being such a great friend."

"No prob. Oh, I saw this dress that would look so great on you at BCBG. You'd love it."

"Even more than I love spending time with your mother? Where would I get the money to buy a dress like that?"

"We can figure it out, Sum. Don't worry about that kind of stuff. Everything turns out fine in the end. I gotta go help Caitlyn with her homework, but I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Summer loved Marissa, she really did. But Marissa was the epitome of the Newport Beach teenager. No worries, no cares. She had no concern in the world besides parties and boys. It was a wonder how the two girls ever became friends in the first place. They came from two different places. Marissa attended Harbor, with all the other rich kids, while Summer attended Marina--also filled with rich kids, but not as many. Marissa drove a Mercedes; Summer drove a Honda Civic, which she paid for entirely. They met in girl scouts in the first grade, when Marissa offered to share her Beauty and the Beast fruit snacks with Summer, whose father had forgotten to pack snacks for her. It was a random way to meet, but it showed the beginning of a symbiotic relationship. Summer watched out for Marissa and counseled her from afar, while Marissa helped Summer relax and try to forget her problems for awhile. She shared everything with Summer from fruit snacks to homecoming dresses.

Summer went back to her homework and cringed as she heard her step mother's footsteps creak into the master bedroom. In about 20 minutes, her step mom would pass out onto the bed from the mixture of prescription drugs and alcohol. Same time every night. At least she was too wasted to even bother with cutting down her step daughter. The door slammed and Summer was left in silence. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to get out of the house. She did work hard in school and in her jobs. One night couldn't do that much damage. The only things she was afraid of were her coworkers/bosses and the patrons of the club finding out that she had attended one of these events. The co-workers would sneer at her and chide her for crossing over to the dark side, while the members would be insulted and appalled to find that they had been at a party with the same person who had sometimes served them their drinks. But Marissa was right, it was a masquerade ball. No one would know. She'd make sure no one would know.

***

Marissa had been talking about the ball endlessly for days. Summer had to admit though, she was kind of psyched. Apparently, it was the biggest event in Newport besides Cotillion. It sure looked that way from the manner that all the little social planners ran around the club. Summer stepped up onto the ladder to hang up another brightly colored Indian fabric on the wall. The event was tomorrow which meant that she had to work all day and most likely all night to get the ballroom ready. She reached for another scarf to hang up as Kirsten Cohen walked into the room with a parade of men behind her carrying more decorations. More stuff to do. Perfect.

She didn't really mind Mrs. Cohen though. Of all the women who were involved with the project, Kirsten was the only one who acknowledged any of the employees' presences. She was accepting and kind; she didn't yell at them when one chair was out of place. Summer often wondered what it would be like if she had a mother like Kirsten. She had gotten into another fight with her stepmother last night. Shayna didn't appreciate the fact that Summer was working late every night this week. In fact, she didn't really believe that Summer was working at all. Summer winced at the memory of being called a whore who was spending the nights with different guys. Her stepmother should be the one to talk. She cheated on Summer's father all the time. Bitch.

They were a very happy family.

Continuing to put up the yards of fabric, Summer moved at a brisk pace. She reached up to hang another piece up when she felt the ladder wobble a bit under her. She grabbed the top rung and held on, but the ladder was dangerously close to tipping over. Summer tried to steady herself and evenly distribute her weight, but she had leaned over too far. She was going down and it was going to hurt.

"Hey…hey I gotcha." A strong arm steadied her back and steadied the ladder. She latched onto his arm as he helped her off the ladder.

"Thanks," she was visibly shaking. Upon gathering her bearings, she looked at the boy. Just her luck. Staring right back at her were the beautiful brown eyes of Seth Cohen. She turned pink as she realized that she was still clutching his arm tightly. He smiled.

"No problem, you should really have someone spotting you while you do that. It's a pretty dangerous thing." Seth thought it was cute that she was turning all kinds of red. It made her face glow even more.

"Yeah, I know." She cast her gaze downward. Summer wanted this moment to end now.

"Well, um, be careful next time. I might not be there to catch you before you fall." Seth remembered the girl from the front desk. What was her name? Sammy? Sarah? Shelly? Damn his bad memory. He could remember a face, but never the name that went with it.

"Yeah, thanks again. I gotta get back to work, but maybe not on the ladder."

"Okay. By the way, have you seen my mom, she's a blonde woman about this tall?" He motioned Kirsten's height.

"Yeah, I know who she is, she's over there," Summer pointed over to the stage where Kirsten was talking to the deejay.

"Thanks…" Seth paused and waited for her to tell him her name. He normally didn't wait around for the answer to this question, but this time he wanted to know.

"Summer."

"Well, thanks Summer. I'm Seth, nice to meet you." She gave him a small smile and then hurried off. He looked after her. She was a sweet girl, a little intriguing to him. But she worked at the country club. He'd never hear the end of it from his friends.

Summer sighed. He hadn't even remembered that they had met before at the front desk. I guess guys like that don't notice girls like me. She picked up another box and continued with her work. There was no time for thinking anything more about the exchange that just occurred. That would be saved for later, while she was happily dreaming of a life that she could not have.