Disclaimer: The OC doesn't belong to me, I'm just a fan. Although this Lauren character is mine, so if you wanna use her, ask, please! By the way, I won't be posting this in every chapter, so take it now!
Everything about today had been planned into Summer's head all up until she and Kirsten actually saw each other. When Summer woke up she took a brief shower and changed into faded jeans and an off-the-shoulder top. It reminded her of Kirsten, in a way. Summer then called the Cohen home number at precisely 11:37. If she called at 11:30 she thought it might seem like she was anticipating calling, which she was.
After one ring a panicked Kirsten answered with "Hello, who's this?"
"Hi, Kirsten, it's Summer. Can I come over today?" Summer asked simply.
Kirsten automatically felt a pang of sympathy in her stomach. She was going to get some work done today, but it would have to wait.
"Yeah, of course. That'd be great. Come whenever you like," Kirsten invited warmly.
Summer smiled. "Thanks. I'll see you soon," she said.
She quickly hung up the phone and got into her car. Here it went. She had planned everything except for this.
Kirsten waited in the kitchen. Her body was a little tingly with anticipation. She was strangely excited to hear Summer's story, or at least what she was feeling. Kirsten knew more about this young and scarred girl then Summer knew she did. Kirsten knew Summer before she became Seth's girlfriend.
The doorbell rang. Kirsten took a final sip of her water, with ice, but only two cubes. She didn't like a lot of ice, but for some reason thought the other ice cube would feel...lonely. It was an odd fixture she'd had ever since she was younger. She swung open the heavy door.
"Hi," was all Summer could muster.
Kirsten smiled warmly. She wanted Summer to feel at home. She had never been good at that. Ryan had ran back to Chino. No matter how much Kirsten knew it was because he felt a loyalty to Theresa or didn't want the child to grow up like he did, in the back of her mind, she felt a part of it was because she hadn't been too welcoming at the beginning.
"Come in," Kirsten invited as she motioned Summer to the living room.
Summer followed and took a seat on the couch, her back straight. Kirsten sat on the chair, leaning forward and her legs close together.
"What's on your mind?" Kirsten asked and tried to have Summer open up.
"I just...I want to get out. I don't want to stay home all day, thinking about Seth. Can we go out for brunch or something?" Summer asked nervously.
Kirsten nodded. "Where to?" she asked and Summer shrugged.
"How about the Back Bay Café? It's pretty inexpensive, I doubt you've ever been there," Kirsten suggested.
"No, I have. My mom used to take me to it when I was little. Every Sunday. I loved the patio," Summer explained with a faint smile at the memory.
"We'll sit on the patio," Kirsten decided.
"What would you ladies like to drink today?" the waiter asked, reciting the routine with no charisma.
He looked at Summer for her order. "Just a glass of water, with two ice cubes. Just two...I don't want the other to get, um, lonely," Summer said slightly embarrassed.
"Me too, especially the ice cubes part," Kirsten said.
The waiter smiled and walked away swiftly.
"So, have you been talking to Marissa recently?" Kirsten asked. She found it strange that Summer was with her, and not Marissa.
Summer shook her head. "I'm sort of scared. I know I shouldn't be, and I should be there for her," she sighed.
Kirsten knew it would take a little to get her to open up. It was actually a guess. She had only raised boys, and had many insecurities about her parenting skills. Her son was a social loner and ran off to Tahiti when his friend left, and her foster son didn't really trust her and ran off to Chino when his ex-girlfriend got pregnant.
"Why are you scared?" Kirsten enquired. It was better to let Summer do the talking.
"Marissa...she doesn't do well with pain and, um, loneliness. She wants to be with her dad and not with her mom. That's pretty obvious. But I know how much she misses Ryan. She depends on him a lot, even when they weren't together. She hated when they broke up. And I know she'll do something, bad. I mean, like drinking or whatever. I get really freaked out when I see her like that," Summer explained.
Kirsten nodded. She wanted to say something comforting, but decided continuing with questions was good for now. "Have you ever seen her drinking?" Kirsten asked.
Summer bit her lip. "I used to. I was afraid to say something. Now she does it less, and I don't see her, like, drinking. I see her after. When she's been crying and drinking. Sometimes, not a lot, but she'll have taken a few pills. Usually just stuff to make her numb. I found her diary a year ago or something, it had a lot of bad stuff in it. She'll usually call me as she's crying and I know something's up. To see her...It reminds me of something," Summer said quietly.
Kirsten knew exactly what Summer was reminded of, but would save that for another time. "I'm sorry you have to see that," Kirsten sympathized.
Summer shrugged and returned to her usual, upbeat demeanor. "Yeah. So, tell me about your life," she stated with a complete change of topic.
The waiter came by and set the drinks on the table. "Have you decided what you're ordering?" he asked.
They both nodded. "French toast with bacon," Kirsten ordered.
"Short buttermilk pancakes with a side of fruit, I want strawberries, grapes, and melon. Put the butter puffs, you know how the butter's in puffs when it's all whipped, on top of the pancakes and the syrup on the side. Thanks," Summer ordered, getting every detail down.
The waiter nodded and walked away the same way he had arrived.
"What were you saying?" Kirsten asked.
"Tell me about your life," Summer stated clearly.
"What do you mean? Work? Newpsies? Sandy? Ryan? Seth?" Kirsten asked, a little confused.
Summer got a quick jumping feeling in her stomach when she heard Seth's name. It had become normal. She soon remembered that Seth was gone. She stopped thinking of him and replied, "Everything. I don't know a lot about you,"
"Okay...Well, once a month on Saturday afternoons a bunch of Newport wives and businesswomen come over for drinks and little snacks, nothing too big because they're all on Atkin's, and we talk about the next event where Ryan can get in a fight," Kirsten said with humor in her tone.
Summer was enchanted with the seemingly simple life of Kirsten. She wanted something similar. Her life had never been simple. It was always complicated, but she hid it with false smiles and bitchiness most of the time. But there were a few people in her life who saw past that, and while it scared it at first, it showed her who she could really depend on and love. Summer hadn't let herself love anyone for a while.
The meal passed quickly and Kirsten stretched out all of the details of her life to take up more time. Kirsten drove Summer back to the house.
"Thanks for brunch," Summer said as the car stopped in the driveway. The car ride had been pleasant, not as awkward as the first one.
"No problem, it was fun. Would you like to meet up tomorrow again? Whenever you like," Kirsten suggested.
It wasn't just that she wanted to make sure Summer didn't become very lonely over the summer, but she also wanted to hear Summer's story so badly, even if it came out piece by piece, or if it took a while to get it all out in one time.
Summer smiled a genuine smile. "Sure. I'll call, or you can call me. I don't want to be the only ice cube in the glass," she agreed.
With that, the two went their separate ways, with a feeling of a beginning.
A/N: And the bonding begins. The Back Bay Cafe is actually a restaurant in Newport, I went online and looked. I didn't see the menu, so all of that is imagination, but I'm guessing they would have similar items. I also doubt they would only put two ice cubes in a glass, but this is fiction, people! Please give me feedback and tell me how I'm doing, you guys have been so awesome with that!