Chapter Two: Did She Meet Your Expectations?
Disclaimer: I don't own the O.C. or its characters. All I own is my piece of the story line, which has been done…too many times to count.
Rating: PG for now. May change in later chapters.
Summary: We all know Ryan's "fish out of water" story. But what if Marissa was the fish out of water?
A/N: This is my first fanfic, so please be nice. The first few chapters are going to be somewhat short, but they will get longer and more detailed. Again, this is my first story, so I'm not 100% sure where I'm going with this.
"Be outside when I get there," Seth said. "That way, I won't have to wait an hour while you get ready."
Summer giggled. "Okay. I'll be waiting." She put the phone back in its cradle and surveyed her bedroom, which was a complete disaster. About half her wardrobe was on the floor; a Saturday spring-cleaning project gone awry. Summer was never the diligent type. Setting goals and sticking to them was not her style. Unless her goal was, say, going to L.A. and spending at least a few thousand.
After putting on a white flounce mini skirt and a magenta tube top, Summer grabbed her purse and went downstairs. Rapping her knuckles against her father's closed office door, she yelled, "I'm going to South Coast Plaza with Seth. Love you."
There was no response. Summer shrugged, slightly bummed that neither her dad nor Ashley ever wondered where she was going. Then she shook her head, grinning. Other kids would kill to be in her situation. Her parents were never there, so they could never not let her go out. And besides, the Roberts family motto was practically, "Don't ask, don't tell."
Summer sat down on the front stoop to wait for Seth. Her father opened the front door and peered out. "Summer," he said, seeing his daughter.
"Oh, daddy, hi," Summer's face brightened. "I didn't think you were home."
"I forgot to tell you, sweetheart, but Marissa's coming today. I need you to be here to let her in, as I'm going to be tied up in a conference call meeting for a few hours," he said.
Summer threw a death-glare at her father. "But I'm going to the mall with Seth," she whined.
Mr. Roberts sighed, running his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair. "You still can. Just wait until Marissa comes. I'm sure the boy won't mind waiting."
Shrugging, Summer considered this. "Fine. But as soon as she gets here, I'm, like, so out of here!"
He blew a kiss at Summer and went back inside, shutting the door behind him. Summer sat there for a few more minutes, until Ashley's BMW convertible pulled up. Ashley waved excitedly to Summer, and said something to the person in the passenger seat. They both got out of the car, heading towards Summer.
"Sum-sum," Ashley squealed, "Meet Marissa."
Summer stared at Marissa critically, giving her the famous Roberts once-over. Diesel skirt, James Perse shirt. Not bad, for a supposed street kid. Then she noticed the Saks Fifth Avenue shopping bags in the backseat. Apparently Ashley had taken Marissa shopping before bringing her home to Summer. Smart move, stepmom, Summer thought. At least Marissa had a chance of being accepted by her, now that she wasn't wearing whatever poor people wore.
"Hi," Marissa glanced at Summer, then looked down at the ground.
Summer bit her lip and decided to be nice. "Hey, why don't we get your bags, and then I can show you around." Turning to Ashley, "Since Marissa's going to be here for a while, I think we need to have her room painted and furnished. It will be fun. We can go shopping for a whole new wardrobe, of course."
Ashley and Summer grinned at each other. Another chance to shop? Hell, they were on the next bus out. Marissa stuck her hands in the pockets of her skirt, eyes still firmly planted on the ground. She shrugged, and walked back to the car to get her things.
"So, you're from…?" Summer asked, grabbing one of Marissa's bags and peering inside. The lucky bitch. Ashley had sprung for the Marc raincoat, which Summer had had her eye on for weeks. Of course, who needed a raincoat when the sun shone all year round? Oh well. If she and Marissa got to be good friends, maybe Marissa would let her borrow it.
"Chino," Marissa replied emotionlessly. "Have you ever been there?"
Summer wrinkled her nose, trying to hide her disdain. "No," she answered as nicely as possible, "but I hear it's nice."
"It's not terrible," Marissa admitted, "but compared to this…it's nothing."
Summer smiled. Of course Chino couldn't hold a candle to Newport. Few towns in the whole country did. "Let's go put this stuff in your room."
Marissa plopped down on the bed, with its cream colored bedspread. The walls, floor, and furniture were also cream colored. In a word, blah. Summer surveyed the guest room, which was right next to hers. They were exactly the same size, but Summer's was far more interesting. Of course, Ashley had no sense of style when it came to interior decorating, but she'd insisted on cream colors for the entire house. Except for Summer's room. Summer wouldn't let her touch her precious pink room.
"We're going to fix this up," Summer assured Marissa, sitting down on the bed next to her.
Marissa looked at her curiously. "Why? It's fine."
"You've got a lot to learn," Summer sighed. "This is boring. This is bland, tasteless decorating. If it's going to be your room, you'll want to put your own personal touch on it. I'll have daddy arrange a meeting with the interior decorator, Karen. She's great."
Just then a car honked. Summer smacked her head. She'd completely forgotten about Seth. "That'll be my boyfriend," Summer told Marissa. "We're going to South Coast. It's a mall. You can come if you want."
"Okay," Marissa agreed. "If you don't mind. I mean, you probably want to spend time with him."
"No. I've got enough time with Seth as it is," she laughed. "It'll be fun."
"Seth, this is Ashley's cousin's daughter, Marissa," Summer said. "Marissa, this is my boyfriend, Seth Cohen."
Marissa raised her eyebrows. "He's Jewish?"
Arms crossed against her chest, Summer began to get a little defensive. "Yeah, he is. So what?"
"No…it's just that, my dad was Jewish. Which makes me half, I guess," Marissa said, bringing herself back into Summer's good graces.
"Cool," Seth grinned, "Jew number two has finally arrived at Harbor. You can join the Jewish Club. We've got a Christian one, and Muslim one, even a Wiccan one. I'm the president of the Jewish club. And its only member," he added.
Summer rolled her eyes as Seth looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "We would all join, but Dr. Kim insists that to be part of one of the Religion Clubs, you've actually got to be that religion."
"Enough with school talk," Seth decided, as Summer and Marissa got in the car. Summer sat in the passenger seat, Marissa in the back. Feeling a little bit bad for leaving Marissa in the back, Summer thought about moving to sit with her. Then she thought against it.
"Here we are," Seth announced, pulling into a spot directly in front of Nordstrom. They got out of the car and went into the store.
Summer immediately ran off, leaving Seth and Marissa with only each other. "Is she always like this?" Marissa asked. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything."
Seth laughed. "It's okay. She's like this pretty much all the time. She's great, isn't she?"
Smiling slightly, Marissa shrugged. "I barely know her." Personally, Marissa didn't think she was going to get along with a girl whose whole life revolved around shopping. Marissa had better things to do with money than buy enough clothes for four people. She could be helping out her mom, or her dad. Or she could use it to save for college…if she ever went. The chances were slim to none, she knew. Her parents needed her, and honestly, it was just a waste of years that could be spent earning a living. Marissa doubted Summer would ever have to worry about working, or budgeting for that matter.
Marissa blinked and she realized Seth was no longer standing next to her. Great, she was in a strange place and knew hardly anyone. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Seth, with his curly black hair, waving wildly to her.
She walked over to him, and this dirty-blonde haired boy that was him. "Marissa, this is Ryan. Ryan, Marissa. She's Summer's step mom's cousin or something."
Ryan acknowledged her with a slight nod of his head. Apparently he wasn't much of a smiler, or talker for that matter.
God, he was cute, Marissa thought. Just then Summer shrieked for Seth to get in the dressing room. Seth smiled sheepishly and ran off to help his girlfriend, leaving Ryan and Marissa alone.
"So, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked. Marissa was pretty…goddamn it she was hot.
"I came to stay with Summer and her family for a while," Marissa offered. Ryan accepted it, assuming he wouldn't get any other explanation out of the girl. Yet.
A petite girl with golden hair came up to them and laced her fingers through Ryan's. "Hi, I'm Grace, Ryan's girlfriend," she emphasized the word girlfriend, shooting a suspicious look at Marissa.
"I'm Marissa, Summer's step-cousin," Marissa told her. So he had a girlfriend. Of course he had a girlfriend. How could he not?
Grace brightened up. "Oh, Summer is like, I don't know, my best friend," she giggled. "Funny, she's never mentioned you before."
Marissa shrugged. "Uh…we should get going. I guess I'll see you around," Ryan waved helplessly at Marissa as Grace began tugging on his arm. She waved as well and led him away.
***
"Marissa? Can I come in?" Summer's voice, soft and full of concern, could be heard from the other side of the door. Marissa froze. Quickly she put away the pills and stuffed the plastic baggy underneath her pillow.
"Just a second," Marissa called, running into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her hands. She emerged a minute later. "Come in."
Summer peeked into the room. "Hey, are you okay? You didn't look so good before."
"Sorry that I had to cut your shopping trip short. I guess I ate something that didn't agree with me," Marissa lied. She couldn't tell Summer that she'd been craving. Again. She'd taken a quick look around Summer's house and had been delighted to find an abundant supply of all sorts of pain-relievers. Besides her own stash, of course.
Summer sniffed. "Does it smell funny in here to you?"
"No," Marissa said. "It's just you."
Summer shrugged. "Okay. Well, I'm going to go order a pizza; Seth and Ryan and Grace are coming over. If you're feeling better you can join us."
"Thanks," Marissa said. "Maybe I'll see you later."
It seemed to Marissa that Seth, Summer, Ryan, and Grace were the best of friends. That could get annoying. Especially if Summer kept inviting her to hang out with them. The last thing Marissa wanted was to feel like the fifth wheel.
The effects of the pills were beginning to show themselves. Marissa decided to take a nap, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
She heard them, but she couldn't see them. She felt them, but she didn't know what they were shaking. Marissa was numb.
"Marissa," Summer cried, "wake up."
Slowly, Marissa opened her eyes, quickly shutting them as the bright light hit them. "What?" she demanded.
"Oh my god, for a second there, you like, wouldn't wake up," Summer told her. "We were freaking out."
Marissa counted the still hazy figures standing around her. One, Summer, two, Seth, three, Ryan. Where was Grace?
Pointing to who she hoped was Ryan, she asked, "Where's your girlfriend?"
Seth laughed, pointing to Summer. "Right here. But if you're wondering about Ryan's girlfriend, she's at a SAT prep course. Her parents are making her take two classes a week even though she's not taking them for months and months. It's crazy."
"Oh," Marissa said, feeling stupid. Goddamn pills. If only she could stop…but then things would get worse. She'd have to face reality. Her mother was dead, lying in an alley somewhere. Her father was out of jail on $10,000 bail, but nowhere to be found. It was so much easier when she could pretend that there were no problems.