Disclaimer: I don't own The OC or any of its characters, etc.

Summary: A Kirsten/Summer fic set before The SnO.C.

A/N – I wasn't sure about posting this – there are some parts of it I like and others I don't. I don't usually like to ask for reviews, but any comments would be gratefully received on this one!

I hope you like it!

Satin and Sequins

Kirsten sighed. She had been shopping all day, her feet were sore and her arms ached from carrying around so many bags. She had spent the day at the mall, moving from store to store, searching for Chrismukkah presents for her family, and she had had enough.

Kirsten loved her family more than anything, but shopping for three men was not fun. Computer games and comic books; sports gear and music stores. Who was Death Cab For Cutie anyway?

She was stood outside one of the many designer fashion stores that Newport offered, her eyes wistfully wandering over the collection of dresses that were modelled in the window. A self-confessed shopaholic, Kirsten couldn't resist the sight of the fabrics, the colours and the sequins. She lifted her foot and it hung over the entrance to the store.

She paused.

She could spare ten minutes, couldn't she? Didn't she deserve a break from present shopping? A dress. She would need a new dress for the annual Newport Group Christmas party. She dropped her foot and the other followed. She was in.

-----

Summer sighed. She was bored. She had been searching every department store for a dress for the upcoming SnO.C dance, with her father's credit card in her purse and no limit on how much she could spend. The old Summer Roberts would have loved this; the old Summer Roberts was born to shop. But Summer was a different girl now. Her perspective on life had changed.

In the past year Marissa had almost died of an overdose, Luke had left town, she didn't speak to Holly or many of her old friends any more, and she had fallen in love with the emo-loving, comic book geek Seth Cohen. Then Theresa fell pregnant, Ryan left and Seth ran away on his boat, leaving her heartbroken. Marissa had spent the summer in a drunken haze and Summer had eventually started dating again.

Zach. The anti-Cohen. He was smart and popular; he played water-polo; he read four different newspapers; her dad loved him. Did she love him? She wasn't sure of that yet, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be in love with him. Falling in love meant getting hurt.

She pushed aside her thoughts and tried to concentrate on the task in front of her. She entered the next clothes store, hoping that it would be the last. The SnO.C. was going to be the first dance that she went to with Zach and she wanted to look good. No, better than good – she wanted to look hot. She searched the rails, picking up as many dresses as her arms could carry and headed to the changing rooms, determined to find the perfect dress.

The first…no. The second…definitely not. The third…ew! And so it went on, dress after dress. By the time she reached the last dress, her spirits had fallen and she was thinking of giving up altogether. She zipped herself into the dress and tilted her head slightly as she contemplated how she looked. She moved backwards out of the small cubicle to get a better look and bumped into someone behind her.

"Oh, sorry," she apologised.

"Summer?"

Summer turned around to find a familiar face looking down at her. "Hi, Mrs Cohen."

Kirsten smiled fondly at her. She liked Summer. She liked the effect that Summer had had on Seth. With Summer, and also Ryan, in his life, Seth had grown up and become more confident. He was no longer the loner whose only friend was a plastic horse. But Seth had ruined that when he had run away. Kirsten remembered the day that Summer had come to their home, looking for Seth, and they had broken the news that Seth had disappeared on his boat leaving nothing but a couple of scribbled notes. She had seen the girl's expression glaze over in confusion, then anger and watched her face crumple before she ran out of the house. If she hadn't been caught up in her own sadness, Kirsten would have run after her; but, at the time, she hadn't had the strength to cope with her own grief, let alone somebody else's. Now Seth was home, but Summer had moved on.

"How are you?" Kirsten asked.

"I'm good, thanks, Mrs Cohen," Summer answered politely. She felt a little awkward, considering everything that had happened over the last year. "You've been shopping?"

Kirsten glanced behind her at the bags that were overflowing from her cubicle. "Chrismukkah presents."

Summer smiled, remembering Seth's super-holiday. "Eight days of presents, followed by one day of many presents, right?"

Kirsten nodded. "Right. Times that by three and that's a lot of presents. I learnt my lesson last year and started early."

"You're shopping on your own?" Summer asked, curiously.

"The boys aren't really into shopping, and believe me, Sandy's not much help either. He spends most of the time buying presents for himself," Kirsten laughed. "What about you? You're buying a new dress?"

Summer looked down at her body. "Yeah, we've got the SnO.C. coming up."

"Ah, when winter comes to Newport," Kirsten said. "Is Marissa with you?"

"No, it's just me," Summer said. "Marissa's busy with DJ…"

She stopped and looked up at Kirsten, realising that Ryan might not have told her about Marissa's new boyfriend. If she was surprised by the news, Kirsten didn't show it. In fact, it looked like she was actually listening to Summer's answer. It made a change from her stepmother, who never pretended to be interested in anything Summer had to say.

"My stepmom wasn't feeling well," she lied, "and Mrs Cooper, or Mrs Nichol, sometimes used to come, but since she and Marissa aren't really getting on…"

Summer trailed off again, realising she was saying more than she probably should. She dropped her head and stared at her bare feet, embarrassed. Kirsten noticed and tried to move the conversation on before an uncomfortable silence settled.

"So have you found anything to wear yet?"

Summer sighed and shook her head. "I've tried on so many dresses but none of them have been quite right, you know?"

Kirsten looked down at her own choice and nodded. "Yeah, I know. I don't know what came over me when I picked this up. I think I've spent too long in the men's departments today."

"Are you buying your own Chrismukkah present?" Summer asked.

Kirsten laughed. "No. I needed an oestrogen boost and decided to buy myself a new dress for the holidays. We've got the Newport Group Christmas party coming up and this year it's even more important to dress to impress."

It was Kirsten's turn to be embarrassed. The scandal with her father wasn't exactly a secret, but she still wasn't comfortable talking about it. She paused, thinking.

"You know, I could do with another point of view. How about we look together?" Kirsten offered.

Summer was surprised at the offer and convinced herself it was only because Kirsten felt sorry for her.

"Oh, it's ok, you don't have to…" she tried to argue.

"Please?" Kirsten interrupted. "I think I need the help. And I'd like the company."

Summer relented. She didn't really like shopping alone and Seth's mom had always been nice to her. "Sure, I'd love to."

"How about we dump these dresses and move on to another store. I've had enough of this place," Kirsten suggested.

They both changed back into their own clothes. Summer offered to carry some of Kirsten's shopping and Kirsten gratefully accepted.

"How do you manage to buy so many presents for one person?" Summer enquired as they walked through the mall, poking through the bags she was carrying.

"Years of practice," Kirsten answered. "Seth's easy – he practically gives me a list of what he wants; Sandy pretty much gets the same every year – ties, cufflinks, golf balls. Ryan's the tough one. I haven't had so much practice with him."

"I guess there's only so much you can buy a guy whose only hobbies are brooding and punching people," Summer said.

Kirsten laughed. "Exactly."

They walked through the mall. It was a Saturday afternoon and busy, full of people like Kirsten and Summer, shopping for Christmas presents and party outfits.

"So, how's school this year?" Kirsten asked.

"It's school, you know," Summer answered with a shrug. "They're trying to get us to think about colleges."

"Ms Fisher's been talking to Ryan about it. I have no idea what Seth is planning to do. What about you? Have you thought about what you want to do?" Kirsten asked.

Summer looked across at Kirsten, surprised that she genuinely seemed interested in her plans. In Kirsten's mind, she realised that she didn't really know much about Summer, except the snippets of information that Seth had told her.

"I don't know. I'm not really the academic type, you know?" Summer answered. "How did you decide?"

"I always knew I wanted to study Art History. Berkeley I chose because I knew my dad wouldn't like it," Kirsten laughed.

"You didn't study business?" Summer asked, surprised.

"No. My dream was to open an art gallery and fill it with all the artists and all the paintings I loved," Kirsten answered, smiling at the memory.

"What happened?" Summer asked.

"Well, my mom got sick and I came back to Newport to look after her and help my dad out. I never planned on working for my dad forever, it just happened."

Summer paused. She felt like she was bombarding Kirsten with questions, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Do you miss her? Your mom?" Summer asked quietly.

"Yeah, I do," Kirsten answered instantly, regret haunting her voice. "I miss telling her things that have happened, about the boys or Sandy or even work. We used to talk about everything."

"Having a stepmom isn't the same," Summer stated.

"No, it's not," Kirsten agreed.

They were silent, caught up in their own private thoughts about their mothers.

"My stepmom, she, uh, she's a little 'out-there'," Summer said. She felt embarrassed about her display of vulnerability and was trying to lighten the mood. What was it about these Cohen's that made her sentimental?

"Yeah? Mine too," Kirsten joked, glad when she heard Summer laugh.

"Are you happy?" Summer's eyes grew wide, suddenly mortified. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

Kirsten smiled. "It's ok. Yes, I'm happy. I mean, things are hard at the moment, but I don't have any regrets."

"That's good," Summer said. She was quiet, thinking. "I hope I don't have any regrets when I'm older."

Kirsten studied the young girl, realising that there was so much more to Summer than people assumed.

"Just do what feels right for you and you won't," Kirsten said.

Summer looked up and smiled at her, nodding her head in contemplation. "You're very smart."

Kirsten chuckled. "Thanks. Can you tell Seth and Ryan that?"

Summer smiled to herself. She knew that Seth thought the world of his mom and she guessed that Ryan felt the same. Why wouldn't they? She couldn't help but compare Kirsten to her stepmother, whose daily routine consisted of heavy medication and not much else.

They continued walking silently, this time a comfortable silence. Finally, Kirsten stopped outside one of the many clothes stores that cluttered the mall. "How about this one?" she asked.

Summer nodded. "Let's try it."

They headed straight for the evening dresses and wandered around silently, stopping every now and again when they found something that caught their attention. Eventually their arms were full of dresses of various colours and they headed for the changing rooms. They tried on dress after dress: some good, some not so good, but none of them just right.

Kirsten pulled on her last choice – a long, green satin dress. It slipped easily over her body, shimmering under the artificial lights. The strap wrapped around her neck, pinned at the front with a circle of diamonds. A sash wrapped around her slim waist and hung down the side. Kirsten smiled at the reflection. This might just be the one.

Next door, Summer sighed with frustration. This was the last dress she had picked up and she was running out of options. Maybe the perfect dress just didn't exist. She emerged from her cubicle and found Kirsten studying herself in a full-length mirror.

"Wow."

Kirsten turned round. "Really?"

Summer nodded. "It's gorgeous," she breathed. She stood watching Kirsten as she considered her appearance in the mirror.

Kirsten was like satin. Exquisite and lustrous; she shined in the light. Rich in texture, she had a glossy appearance that created a sense of awe, but was innocently unaware of it.

Summer looked down miserably at her own dress. "Well, this is the last one. I'm never going to find anything to wear."

Kirsten smiled and reached into her cubicle, pulling out a dress. "Try this one. I saw it when I was looking around and I thought of you."

Summer studied the dress. It was a pale blue, with a halterneck strap, hung low at the back and decorated with silver sequins. She took the dress, disappearing into her cubicle. When she came back out, her face was plastered with a huge grin.

"I love it!" she declared.

"Oh, Summer, it's perfect," Kirsten gushed.

Summer spun around in front of the mirror, trying to get a view from behind. She was pleased with what she saw. Zach would love her in this dress. A wave of guilt washed over her. She shouldn't be thinking about Zach while she was shopping with Seth's mom. It felt wrong, like she was cheating.

Kirsten was enjoying watching Summer's excitement. In a house full of men, Kirsten missed female company. She had loved having Hailey back at home for six months, but now she had gone to work in Japan the only female company Kirsten had was Julie. While Kirsten had learned to tolerate Julie – and even, in some ways, like Julie – they weren't close and didn't have much in common. Except Caleb, and that wasn't something Kirsten liked to think about too often.

Kirsten watched as Summer beamed at her reflection.

Summer was like sequins. Bright and fun, she added life wherever she went. She glittered in the light, dazzling onlookers with her presence.

The two women changed and paid for their dresses, feeling exuberant at their eventually successful shopping trip. They headed out of the shop and once outside, they paused. Summer shuffled her feet.

"So, thanks. For helping me find a dress," Summer said, suddenly feeling shy.

"Dress shopping – something else I've had years of practice of!" Kirsten laughed. "Thanks for the company."

Summer shrugged. "I had fun."

"Me too. Well, I'd better get home. I have to hide these presents before Seth starts snooping around," Kirsten said. "Do you need a ride home?"

"No, thanks, I have my car," Summer answered, feeling a little disappointed that they had to go their separate ways.

Kirsten nodded. "Enjoy the party. Bye, Summer."

"Bye, Mrs Cohen."

Summer watched as Kirsten turned and walked away. She would have to tell Cohen how lucky he was.