Disclaimer: I don't own The OC or the movie Stepmom to which I owe my inspiration for this story. I do however own any original characters, and the story itself. If you want to use this, or add it to your fan fiction archive/site, please email or IM me so I can have a link. Thank you, and enjoy!
"Can you close up shop tonight?" Summer asked her best friend, as she leaned over the sales counter. Marissa turned away from the pile of sweaters she was folding.
"Sure, no problem," Marissa grinned, "Need to buy cookware again?"
"Shut up," Summer laughed, opening the cash register in order to count the day's profits, "I actually have to pick up the kids from school. Seth has a late meeting, so I volunteered to get them."
"How's it working out anyways?" Marissa questioned, moving on to a rack of mini skirts, "Did Livvy set your couch on fire yet?"
"Nope, so far everything and everyone has remained unburned," Summer reassured her, stopping for a second to greet a customer, "But she's not the one I'm having trouble with anyways."
"Let me guess," Marissa stroked her chin in fake puzzlement, "You know, I'm really taking a gamble here, but is it Lena?"
"Ding ding ding," Summer applauded, "You've hit the nail right on the head."
"So what do I win?" Marissa inquired, "A new car? A all expenses paid vacation?"
"Absolutely nothing," Summer shrugged, "That or a broken toaster oven I found in my stuff when I moved to Manhattan. Your pick. But anyways, it's been tough with her. If I try to be nice she hates me. I try to let her be, and she still hates me. I feel like I can't win."
"That's because you really can't," Marissa explained, "She can't begin to like you until she accepts the fact that you're here to stay. She's probably still traumatized by the whole divorce. Plus, she's a teenager. Believe me, you've probably got the sweet end of the deal. It's Anna who most likely gets most of her attitude."
"Yeah, I guess," Summer sighed as she glanced at her watch, "I better get going. So I'll see you tonight?"
"Oh yeah, around 8?" Marissa replied, taking over the cash register.
"Yep, see you then!" Summer answered, grabbing her car keys out of her purse.
Lena made her way across the busy school parking lot as quickly as she could. It had been an extremely long day, and all she could think about was her fight with her mother. The ride to school that morning had been dead silent, and she knew her words had really cut to the bone. At least she spoke the truth and got her feelings out; that was what mattered. In the distance, she spotted Summer's black two door, and quickened her pace.
"Hey Lena," Summer waved as she rolled down the passenger window, "How was school?"
"Boring," Lena at least attempted a smile before she got into the car. Devon and Livvy we're already in the back seat; Devon was busy with his GameBoy and Livvy was consumed by Summer's cell phone. "How was work?"
"Boring," Summer laughed, "But at least I'm getting paid for it."
"Boring? How could you be board?" Lena questioned, "I mean, you've got like the best job ever! You get to design your own clothes, and sell them yourself. What's better then that?"
"Your right," Summer nodded, pulling out of the parking lot, "It is a pretty awesome job. Are you interested in fashion?"
"Yeah, kind of," Lena nodded eagerly, "Dance and music are more my thing though. But I've seen your stuff, and it's really good."
"Thanks," Summer grinned, "So what kind of music are you into?"
"Classic rock, emo, alternative," Lena listed off, "And a little bit of country, just don't tell my dad that."
"I promise," Summer replied lightly, "But it seems I was right the other day. The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree."
"Well, growing up anything classified as pop wasn't allowed in the house," Lena admitted, turning up the song on the radio, "So I kind of had to like the same music as my parents. Apparently, I was listening to Death Cab while still in the womb."
"I'm not surprised," Summer shook her head. Suddenly she heard her cell phone go off in the backseat.
"It's beepin'!" Livvy announced, holding it out in front of her, "I swear I didn't touch no buttons."
"I believe you, Liv," Summer replied, trying to grab the phone and pay attention to the road at the same time. Glancing down momentarily, she realized it was a text message, and not a call. "Do you think you could open it for me?" Summer asked Lena, handing her the phone.
"No problem," Lena answered, surprised Summer really trusted her enough to check her messages. Clicking a few different buttons, Lena opened the message and began to read.
"It's from Uncle Ryan," Lena announced, her eyes glued to the small device, "He wants you to set an extra place at dinner."
"That's weird," Summer raised an eyebrow as she changed lanes, "Who do you think it could be?"
"No idea," Lena shrugged, "It could be pretty much anybody."
Chelsea Cooper gripped her single suitcase tightly in her hands. She'd never been to JFK alone, and frankly, it was frightening! Sweeping her shoulder-length blond hair out of her face, she glanced around. When she realized that not one face looked familiar, her stomach began to churn. Where was her sister? She had promised to be right there waiting. What if something happened? What if she forgot? Chelsea closed her eyes as tight as she could, and tried to clear her mind.
"Chelsea!" Her eyes snapped open, but still she found a faceless crowd. She held her bag closer to her, slowly surveying the crowd. Carefully, she reached into her coat pocket, and searched for her cell phone, ready to call home. Just as she began to dial, someone tapped her shoulder, sending her ten feet into the air.
"Ohmigod," Chelsea said with a ragged breath as she clutched her heart.
"Did I scare you?" Her brother in law smiled, lifting her bag effortlessly over his shoulder.
"Scare me?" Chelsea panted, "You gave me a freaking heart attack, Ryan!" Though she still hadn't caught her breath, she pulled him into a hug anyways. "So where is everyone? I was hoping to see my niece and nephew."
"They're at home with Marissa," Ryan replied, leading her away from the baggage claim, "So look at you, your not a munchkin anymore!"
"Watch it!" Chelsea warned, trying to keep up, "I'm nearly 16, I think I left munchkin territory a long time ago."
"Yeah, but you we're like 4 feet the last time I saw you," Ryan explained as they finally reached the parking garage. Ryan loaded her suitcase into his black truck, before they both got in.
"But you saw me in June," Chelsea reminded him, as she adjusted her jean skirt, "That was what? Three months ago?"
"Then you must have hit a growth spurt," Ryan reasoned, putting the car into drive, "Because you were barely taller then Grayson."
"Okay, now that's just rude," Chelsea shook her head as she watched the sights of New York City speed by.
"So how are your parents?" Ryan inquired after they stopped at a stoplight.
"Alright," Chelsea responded lightly but her eyes clouded over, "They're planning on going back to Japan again."
"Wow, really?" Ryan asked, surprised, "And this is just a guess, but you're not happy about it, are you?"
"Are you kidding me?" Chelsea laughed, picking at her brick red nail polish, "I'm furious! I mean, do they really think they can give me a taste of happiness and a normal American teenage existence, and then just rip it away like it meant nothing?" It wasn't that Chelsea didn't love Japan; It was where she was born, and was the place she had spent the bigger portion of the first 5 years of her life. But it wasn't like she had spent the last ten years sitting around in California. In her short life she had lived in over 6 cities, and in 5 different countries. Frankly, she was sick of it! And right about then, all she wanted was to buckle down and set up roots permanently.
"So when are you guys moving?" Ryan asked as he pulled up to the parking garage. Applying a quick coat of bubble gum pink lip-gloss, she turned to him with a tempered look.
"They are moving sometime in January," Chelsea explained, "I, on the other hand, am not leaving American soil. No matter what." And she meant it completely.
Summer stood in the doorway of the girl's room, watching Seth with an amused smile. He had spent the last half hour trying to help Livvy do her hair, and quite frankly, it wasn't going so well.
"Okay Liv, just hold still for two seconds," Seth instructed the four year old as he pulled a rubber band around a small section of her wispy hair, "There, all done." Livvy smiled, and kissed him on the cheek, before running off to dirty herself up again.
"Wow…that was just, wow," Summer laughed, "I've never seen anything that horrible."
"What? She looks cute," Seth said in defense, "I did a good job." Summer rolled her eyes as she walked over and sat down next to him.
"I'll go fix it in a second," Summer responded, giving him a coy smile, "Your so lucky you have me."
"Lucky is an understatement," Seth replied, pulling her to him. Summer wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. Forgetting that company was coming in about 15 minutes, they became lost in the moment.
"Sorry to interrupt," Lena cleared her throat as she stepped into the room, "But why does Livvy look like a coked up chimp did her hair?"
"Oh come on," Seth groaned as he and Summer jumped to their feet, "Those pigtails are perfectly fine."
"That's what that is?" Lena gaped, "Because I have no idea what's going on with her hair. It's really pretty frightening."
"Don't worry, I'll go make her look acceptable," Summer laughed, as she smoothed the wrinkles out of her dress, and finger combed her wavy hair. "It's a tough job, but someone has to do it."
"You're a courageous woman, Summer," Lena responded with mock magnitude, "Be careful."
"If I don't come back in 20 minutes, assemble a search party," Summer saluted, and then left the room in search of her soon-to-be stepdaughter.
"You two are just a riot," Seth rolled his eyes, as he threw an arm around Lena's shoulders.
"It's nice to finally have someone who can make fun of you as well as I can," Lena remarked, leaning into her father.
"So you've warmed up to her?" Seth asked, studying his daughter's youthful face. She actually looked happy for once, which hadn't happened in quite some time.
"Yeah," Lena nodded after thinking about it for a second, "Do you have a minute?"
"Several," Seth replied, raising an eyebrow, "Why, what's up?"
"I was wondering…" Lena trailed off, unsure of what she really wanted, "…if maybe I could move in here, permanently."
"Really? Why?" Seth questioned in puzzlement, "I mean, we'd love to have you, but why don't you want to live in Jersey?"
"Mom and I had a fight," Lena answered, cringing just thinking about it, "And I don't mean a little fight, it was a blow out."
"Yeah, but, sweetie, you can't just move out because of one fight," Seth explained, taking one of Lena's hands in his.
"There's no way I can stay there," Lena stated so quietly it was barely audible, "She's just…really hard to live with right now. I need some space."
"I'll talk to her about it," Seth agreed, "But I can't promise anything. Your mom still has partial custody; I can't and won't, change that."
"Thanks Dad," Lena exhaled slowly, as she headed towards the door.
"And Lena?" Seth added, "You can't let one fight come between you. She's your mother and she loves you more than you know. She's also a person who's allowed to make mistakes, so just keep that in mind."
"I will," Lena nodded slowly, her green eyes glued to the floor as she pondered what he had just said.
"Can you braid hair?" Livvy asked as Summer carefully combed out her pigtails.
"Yes I can," Summer replied, as she separated her hair into two equal sections, and made two pigtails that hung loosely from the top of Livvy's head. "Do you want me to braid your hair?"
"No," Livvy shook her head calmly, "My mom usually braids my hair. She's going to teach me how soon. Did your mommy teach you?" Summer felt a pang of grief jilt her heart as Livvy asked the question. Suddenly, instead of seeing Livvy's brown eyes staring back at her, she saw her own. A wave of memories hit her, each one was missing something important: her mother.
"No, she didn't teach me," Summer replied sullenly, "You see, my mommy left when I was a little girl."
"Really?" Livvy inquired, turning to face Summer, "Why?"
"I don't know why," Summer answered honestly, "She just did."
"Oh," Livvy nodded as if she fully understood, "I bet you were very sad. I'd be sad if my mommy left. Are you still sad?"
"Sometimes," Summer replied, "But it's not so bad."
"I'm sorry," Livvy apologized as if it was in her own hands, and crawled into Summer's lap. "It's not fair that you had to be sad. But I'm happy that I get to have you as my mom too." Livvy snuggled into Summer, breathing in the smell of her shampoo. It was different then her mom. Her mom smelled like lavender and roses, but Summer smelt like strawberries. She liked it, and Livvy suddenly felt bad for all the little girls that only got to have one mom. Because somehow, she had been lucky enough to get two.
A/N: Okay…this chapter was originally really long. Too long, if you ask me, so I split it into two chapters. The next chapter will have more Chelsea, a little RM, and the big family get together this was leading up to. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I really hope you review and give me a little feedback. Also, I need requests!!! I've got a general outline for the story, but any ideas would be great!
Lots of Love,
Stephanie