"New Way To Be Human"

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own the O.C. or the song "New Way To Be Human". The lyrics and rights to that song belong to Switchfoot.

Scrunching her nose, Molly used her arm to push everything off of the counter and into the trash. Lately, the house had been getting worse and worse. It seemed like every time she cleaned something, there was a new trail of dirt and garbage to tend to. Living with three guys was obviously going to be harder than she thought. Cringing, she used the end of her broom to roll a half eaten apple off of the table and into the waste bin, resulting in a practically clear counter top.

"Hey, where'd all the food go?" Seth raised an eyebrow as he wandered into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge. Molly smirked slightly, and pointed to the garbage can in front of her, which was nearly filled to the brim. "What? A lot of that stuff was still salvageable."

"No, Seth, that stuff was disgusting," She replied, dramatically rolling her eyes, "I don't think I'll ever figure out how you guys manage to make such a huge mess."

"Okay, so tell me this, what are we going to eat?" Seth questioned, folding his arms against his chest, "I'd love to hear an answer to that."

"I guess a trip to the grocery store is in order then," Molly shrugged, tying a knot at the top of the trash bag. "And in the mean time, you can take out this trash."

"Whoa, wait, you know who loves taking out the trash?" He questioned, nodding to the patio door that Ryan had just entered through. "Ryan, tell Molly how much you adore your weekly trips to the garbage can." Seth's rambling was meant by a confused glance from Ryan, who was also in the pursuit of breakfast.

"Okay, fine, one of you can take out the trash, and the other…" Molly trailed off, stopping to take a drink of her water, the last sanitary thing in the house. "…gets to come grocery shopping with me."

"You know Seth, you're right," A devious grin developed on Ryan's face, "I really do adore taking out the trash, so I'll do just that." Grabbing the bag, he began to back out of the room. "And you, buddy, can accompany Molly to the grocery store." And with a slight snicker, Ryan disappeared into front hall.

"I feel like I've been deceived…Molly, have I been deceived?" Seth shot a glance in her direction, wondering why it felt like he'd been tricked. Without another word, Molly just beamed and started making her grocery list. "You know, I'm beginning to dislike this brother/sister team thing…it's getting kind of creepy."

"This is a country club, not a school," Molly sighed, glancing around Harbor High, trying to grasp the reality that she would soon be attending such an elaborate school. Attending school in general seemed improbable, much less going to a top rate school for rich kids.

"Don't worry, you'll love it," Ryan assured, as they climbed the steps to the registration area. Unlike him, Molly wasn't required to meet with Dr. Kim upon registration, but knowing his sister, they'd be getting to know one another soon enough. It wasn't that she meant to get into trouble; it just tended to follow her around like a shadow. Plus, getting used to all the jocks and prepsters? Molly was not going to adapt easily.

"Oh yeah, what's not to love?" She arched an eyebrow as a giggling cheerleader bashed into her arm and kept straight on walking. Yep, Ryan thought to himself, there was going to be trouble.

"Chino!" A female's voice came from behind, prompting Ryan and Molly to turn. A feisty brunette stomped towards them, with a sweet but malicious smile playing on her face. "So, you don't happen to know where Cohen is, do you? Because he was told to meet me by the south entrance, and guess what? He's not there." A Jimmy Choo covered foot tapped furiously as she spoke, but the smile stayed firmly in place. Even though she tried to be evasive about it, Molly could feel brown eyes giving her the once over, and evaluating her in a matter of seconds.

"Nope, haven't seen him since we got here," Ryan shook his head, scanning the crowd for a few moments before returning his eyes to Summer. "He went looking for you. Maybe he got caught up."

"I waited for 20 minutes, as in 1200 seconds of my valuable time, wasted," Summer sighed, trying to calm herself in order to avoid a rage blackout. It'd been awhile, but with the recent stress and uprising of problems, they had begun to make a comeback. Letting out an unnerved sigh, she racked a hand through her flowing hair, and set her eyes on Molly. "You must be Molly." Of course as Marissa's best friend, Sum had heard every little detail about her meeting with Ryan's "secret" little sister. This information both intrigued her and worried her. If getting through the summer hadn't been a big enough obstacle, now Marissa would have to deal with making an enemy out of her boyfriend's sister. But as she studied the possible threat in front of her, she couldn't see what Marissa was so afraid of. The girl was tiny, almost as small as herself, and honey blonde hair and deep blue eyes weren't exactly traits of a horror story. The chick just didn't seem like someone who could manage any ass kicking or even intimidation at it's simplest.

"You must be…?" Molly trailed off, tilting her head as she waited for someone to finish her sentence. Unsurprisingly, she had no idea who she was starring at, and didn't have the energy to try to act like she did. The thought of trying to fit in at a new school was daunting enough. "Sorry, you'll have to help me here."

"Summer Roberts," The brunette said with a nod, before remembering to offer a polite smile. Sure, maybe friendship wasn't what she was looking for, but it couldn't hurt to be nice. Especially if Molly would be living with the Cohens. "I'm Seth's girlfriend and Marissa's best friend." The statement came out a little robotic, as if it was a second part of her name- a character description that needed to be interpreted immediately.

"Nice to know," Molly nodded, but then caught herself, "I mean, nice to meet you Summer." She almost felt like rolling her eyes at Summer's introduction. It had to have been obvious that the spirited young woman belonged to Marissa in the form of a confidant, but this was Seth's girlfriend? For some reason, that was harder to believe. They just didn't seem…like a match. More like two puzzle pieces that you cram together, just because you're too tired to put the puzzle together correctly. But they had to see something in each other, and she knew whatever that was was none of her business.

"There you are," Seth said in a singsong voice as he moved towards the group, slinging an arm around Summer as he continued to read his schedule. But as soon as his arm landed across her waist, he was pushed away and given a demanding look.

"Where were you?" Summer questioned, folding her arms against her chest, "I've been looking all over for you." Looking up from the piece of paper, Seth returned her angry look with one of bewilderment.

"I was as the East entrance, where you told me to wait," Seth explained, raising an eyebrow at her, wondering how he had gotten into trouble this time. "You, Summer, are the one who failed to show up on time."

"South entrance Cohen, south entrance," Summer exhaled, a discontented look on her face. "God, I'm going to start writing these things on your forehead, then maybe you'll remember."

"Hey, if it works, I'm all for it," Seth shrugged, handing her the schedule to look over and compare with her own. "So I see you've meant Molly, and hopefully, haven't scared her into moving back to Chino."

"Nope, if I leave, it won't be Summer's fault," Molly nodded, glancing at the rest of the students passing by in their polos, mini skirts, and inflated egos to match. Then again, it wasn't like the teens in Chino were any different. They felt just as invincible and acted like they were untouchable…the only difference was that in Chino kids broke the law to get the things they wanted, and in Newport, all one had to do was pout to their parents.

"Believe me, you'll get through it," Seth replied, looking over his shoulder at the other kids. "It's difficult, but if you have the right friends, high school is a piece of cake. And you've got all of us."

"One thing though," Summer put a finger to her lip as she looked Molly up and down once again, "You'll get through it much easier once you dress the part. Because…I mean camisoles and jeans can only take you so far…and we're passed that line already." Glancing down at her clothes, Molly blushed a bit, tucking her hair behind her ear as she tried to think of an excuse to walk away. "So you know, you and I should hit south coast plaza, get some serious shopping done."

"Sounds…good, actually," She nodded, knowing this wasn't something she could turn down. Money would be an issue, but maybe she could go and try some things on, just to humor Summer. Maybe they could even forge some kind of friendship, even if it was less than likely.

South Coast plaza was a hell of a lot different than anything Molly had ever seen before. Normally, a shopping trip in Chino consisted of going to one of the various Second Hand stores or K-Mart, or if you were lucky, you could drive the 45 minutes to the nearest Old Navy, but even the Old Navy was a bit of a splurge for the Atwood family. Whether she was proud of it or not, Molly relied on the "five finger discount" if she ever really wanted something since it was one thing that had never failed her. She didn't shoplift for sport though, just for necessity, except maybe once or twice when she'd help a friend steal some Marlboros or a bottle of Jameson's. It was just a plain fact that growing up, any extra money went to her mother's escapades or was used for old debts. So plainly said, this was a whole new world for her, and a bit of a shock. Every store was perfectly lit, with energetic salespeople and mounds of clothes sorted by color and purpose. What was even more of a shock was looking at herself in the mirror as she tried on each piece of clothing. Currently, Molly was standing in front of a long glass mirror in a spacious fitting room located in Robert Cavalli, trying to figure out who the girl in the mirror could be. Because looking back at her, well, it couldn't be her own reflection, not a pretty looking girl dressed in designer jeans and the most ridiculously, yet eclectically beautiful top she'd ever seen.

"How are you doing in there? Anything you like?" Summer called from outside the door, obviously done trying on her selections. Molly's eyes finally drifted off of the mirror and to the door of the dressing room, which was currently barricaded by the many bags of clothes that she had already purchased.

"Yeah, but you know, I don't know about this one," Molly replied a bit hesitantly, ready to put back on her same pair of ratty jeans and faded camisole. She was getting a serious kick out of the fact that every time she walked into a store, the salespeople seemed to gawk and roll their eyes at her, that is if they paid her any attention at all. But as soon as they saw Summer, their expressions completely changed, as they cheerily said their greetings and offered help. To her it seemed, that Summer was royalty as far as their customers went, and her father's almighty credit card only fueled the fires of their greed.

"Let me see," Summer demanded, but her voice was still calm and cool, in a way only Summer could manage to pull off. She was definitely the only person Molly knew who could be demanding and not actually seem pressuring.

"Okay, okay," Molly sighed, moving the bags out of the way with her bare foot, before pushing the wooden door open. Arms straight at her sides, she stood before the brunette, waiting silently for a response. "So?"

"Don't just stand there, pose, your supposed to wear the outfit," Summer explained, putting a finger to her lip, "It's not supposed to wear you." Cocking an eyebrow, Molly wasn't quite sure what that was supposed to mean, but followed the advice anyways. Standing up straighter, she put one hand on her hip, and bent one leg slightly, trying to imitate the stance of the girls in the catalogue.

"Now?" She asked, using her free hand to bring her blonde hair out from behind her ears, so that her long sweeping bangs shaded her right eye. Yes, even if it was tragically overdone, Molly had allowed her best friend to give her the scene cut, causing her to look like every other emo girl out there at the moment. Except for one small fact, there was no way Molly would ever let her hair go any shorter than shoulder length, seeing as she felt it'd make her look like a 12 year old boy. And that was no way to go.

"You are certainly a diamond in the rough," Summer nodded, evaluating the entire appearance of Molly with acquired skill. "With the right clothes, and maybe a little less eyeliner and a little more bronzer, you're totally Harbor material. Now get dressed and give me the outfit so I can go check out."

"You know, I don't need this though," Molly began to argue, her fingers gliding over the soft threads of the shirt. Then again, she hadn't need the other 6 bags full of clothing that Summer had insisted upon, but now, she just felt like a total mooch.

"Do you understand how perfect that was on you? It's like instant fashion gratification," Summer told her, her voice dramatized without her even realizing it. "Trust me, you need it. Desperately."

"But you've already spent well…more money than I've probably ever seen at one time," Molly replied, just as dramatically, "All on clothing for me. I don't think I'll ever be able to wear all this stuff. And I mean you don't need to spend so much on me. In fact, you shouldn't be spending any money on me."

"And why not?" Summer folded her arms against her chest, "You're Chino's sister, and you know, Chino has done a lot of good for all of us. And you're going to need these if you're going to fit in in this place. You're like me new little project, my protégé." Oh no, that didn't sound good. Sure, Summer was a nice girl, and definitely had a unique personality that Molly respected, and was sure she wouldn't find again in Newport, but did she want to be a Summer Roberts clone? No, not exactly. She could probably use to learn a few things, but she still wanted to be her own person.

"How do you have that much money though?" Molly inquired, heading back into her dressing room before closing the door. Slipping out of the jeans, she threw them over the top of the door, along with the shirt once that was off. She then picked up her crumpled jeans out of the corner and pulled them on.

"My dad is a plastic surgeon, and you know Newport, botox and boob jobs are in high demand," Summer explained, picking up the jeans and shirt and then proceeding to fold them neatly. "Plus, I'm kind of ticked off at him right now for being a controlling bastard. So an extra huge credit card bill is in his destiny, and after 17 years of living with me, he knows that."

"What did he do?" Molly asked, adjusting her top and glancing one last time in the mirror before scooping up her bags and stepping out into the small corridor that led back into the main part of the store. "I don't really know much about having a father, so I can't exactly cope with you."

"I don't know, he's just trying to ruin my life piece by piece," Summer responded, visibly exasperated by it. Her emotions shifted from happy-go-lucky to somber within a matter of seconds, but tried to hide it. "Okay, let's go pay, this credit card seems to be burning a hole in my purse."

"You know, you can tell me," Molly shrugged as she leaned against the counter, reaching up to play with the dangling key chain of an overpriced shoulder bag. "It's not like I'd have anyone to tell anyways, I mean, to like spill your secret. I don't exactly know anyone but the Cohens."

"Exactly," Summer said with a frown, as she pushed the credit card towards the cashier and tapped her manicured nails against the wood. "I kind of wasn't planning on telling Seth about it."

"Oh," She returned quietly, not really knowing how to respond. "You guys seem so…close though, I mean, why wouldn't you want to tell him?" The cashier handed Summer the credit card back, and began to bag up the items, which Molly retrieved once he was done.

"Because I'm moving to Miami," Summer told her, her voice even, but sullen, a hint of anger attached to her voice. "And I haven't been given a choice, not in the least."

"So what, you're planning on just skipping off to Miami without even telling your boyfriend?" Molly raised an eyebrow, pushing the door open with her elbow, since all of her hands were impossibly full. "Sure, that makes a lot of sense."

"He did it to me!" Summer argued, but realized it was something she had wanted to say out loud. "No, I'm going to tell him, when I'm ready."

"What do you mean he did it to you?" Molly questioned, her eyes narrowing in thought, "Seth moved to Miami? When?"

"No, not literally," Summer rolled her eyes, leading the way down the sunny sidewalk, in pursuit of the next store, "Last summer, as in last year, he ran away, or more specifically, sailed away, with nothing but a letter to tell me he was gone. And you know, I've put it behind me, but it still hurts sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess it's not something anyone would take easily," She agreed with a slight nod. It was hard to know what to say back to that, since she didn't really know either Summer or Seth that well. But they seemed to love each other, and really, that had to be all that mattered.

"Can I be honest?" Summer inquired, biting her lip as she glanced over at Molly.

"Go ahead, lay it on me," Molly replied, trying to offer a comforting smile, "You can confide in me, I promise. Expert secret keeper here."

"I don't want to leave, but I'm not stupid. It's only a matter of months before we all head our separate ways and start new and more complicated lives," Summer sighed, an obvious melancholy tone to her words, "The clock is ticking, and high school is almost over. Maybe I'll be saving myself a lot of pain and hardship if I just go now." Even though it seemed like a sad thought, Molly understood what she was saying. Why spend a year pretending that everything was going to stay the same forever? Their glory days were numbered, and before they knew it, it'd be time to leave the comfort of High School.

"You've got a point there," Molly responded, trying her best to dig up some words of encouragement, but it was hard to find any. Every part of what Summer had said was right, so what could she really say? "Just follow your heart. If that leads you to Miami, than maybe that's where you need to be."

"Go long!" Molly shouted, her voice ringing through the aisles of the super market, causing several shoppers to send her bewildered and angry looks. It didn't faze her though, since right now, her only concern was getting the box of Hamburger Helper into the shopping cart at the other end of the aisle. Winding up, she threw the box as hard as she could, the same way Trey had taught her to pitch a baseball. The box whirled through the air, all the way down the aisle until it began to descend towards the cart. But instead of landing in the cart, it struck Seth in the shoulder, and bounced onto the linoleum floor. "Holy cow, I'm sorry!" Molly couldn't suppress a laugh as she jogged to the other end of the aisle, swooping down to grab the box before straightening up. "You okay?"

"I have to say," Seth winced, rubbing his shoulder as he watched the box falling into the cart, "I never expected hamburger helper to bring such pain." Shaking her head, Molly simply moved in front of him in order to maneuver the cart out of the aisle, but glanced at him as she did so.

"You wouldn't expect it, but that little white glove dude had a lust for blood," Molly nodded, a sarcastic smile forming on his face, "You'll be okay though, we can even pick up some Batman band aids for you, just in case."

"Seriously, is that a promise?" Seth's eyes widened in excitement, but were only meant with an amused look from Molly. "Hey, not fair, don't get my hopes up like that. Especially not after you hurl an extremely hard box of food at me. Not nice Mol, not nice."

"Hey, I said go long," Molly rolled her eyes, turning the cart around in order top push it into the next aisle. Passing down the aisle, she stopped every few moments to put something new in, and to then check the item off on her list. "You should have expected it."

"Okay, so I'm a little athletically challenged, and whether you want to admit it or not, you throw like Mariano Rivera," Seth groaned, still rubbing at his shoulder, even thought it no longer hurt.

"Mariano Rivera? Whoa, you snuck in a Yankees reference, I'm shocked," Molly said with a laugh, throwing a box of cereal into the cart, "Good job!"

"You wouldn't believe how much MVP Baseball we played on play station in Portland last summer," Seth explained, grabbing a few bags of bagels as they entered the bread aisle. Bagels and coffee, the two things that had to be fully stocked in the Cohen household at all times. "So how did things go with Summer today?"

"Good," Molly nodded; smiling despite the fact that conversation she had had with Summer earlier that day began to play in her mind. Thinking back on it, she realized that she had blatantly lied; she was horrible at keeping secrets. But this was one she had to keep. "We had a really fun time, you definitely know how to pick 'em, Seth."

"Yeah, she's pretty cool," He nodded, not really sure how else to describe her. Summer was a lot of things, some bad, but predominantly good qualities, and it was no secret that he loved her. But the past few days, well, they had been awkward between them, without a doubt. He wanted to talk to her about it, but why look for a problem? If something were up, she'd have to come to him with it this time. Digging up bones was just never worth the emotional turmoil. "I'm glad you guys get along. Much better than you and Coop at least…"

"Don't call her Coop," Molly frowned, rounding the corner towards the front of the store.

"Dude, you've spent too much time with her already," Seth laughed, following her towards the checkouts. Even though it was supposed to be a good thing, he didn't exactly like the idea of Molly being friends with his girlfriend. There wasn't really a reason that could warrant this, but for one reason or another, he felt it spelled out disaster. The two girls just seemed to be storm fronts, and from past experience, he knew that two storm fronts should never collide.

Everything was perfectly in place. The floral printed Moschino dress was pressed and fitted just right to her body, and was matched perfectly with the black bolero Summer had suggested she wear. A pair of dark cowboy boots were already on her feet, clicking softly against the wood floors of the kitchen. Glancing at her relfection in the kitchen window, she inspected her hair, which was loosley curled, with one side pinned back. Her makeup looked nothing like the way it normally did, instead of bright eyeshadow and smokey black liner, she had simple bronze shadow with a matching brown liner that was plain, but pretty. Other than that, she was instructed to keep a tube of lip gloss close to her at all times, and to reapply after every class. In other words, Summer's fashion regime took time and skill, and quite frankly, was getting Molly a little fed up. All she wanted to do was roll out of bed and head to school in her pajamas, but that would be less than accepted at Harbor. But hey, no pain no gain, right? Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she sipped it carefully, as not to ruin the lip gloss she already had on. But by the time she was done with the first sip, must of it had come off onto the coffee cup, only making her want to give up even more. She wouldn't quit though, not this soon. She was going to at least try to be the model Harbor student, or at least give it a chance. This wasn't something she could screw up, which meant no fights, no talking back to teachers, and no skipping class. This was going to have to be done right.

"Ready to go?" Ryan asked, car keys in hand as he breezed through the kitchen.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Walking through the halls of Harbor High, Molly did her best to balance all her books, as well as the Fendi bag Summer had given her that morning, insisting her outfit wouldn't be complete without. Not knowing how to turn her down, Molly graciously accepted the bag, but was now regretting the decision. The minute bell rang, signalling that she had only 60 seconds to get to the other end of the hall. If she picked up her pace, she'd be able to make it for sure, which meant making it to her final class safely. After scanning the halls for teachers, Molly began to jog, holding her things tightly against her chest as she kept her eyes on the prize- the door to her Music Theory class. But as she made it just within feet of the door, something got tangled up between her feet, causing her to fall, and faceplant on the floor.

"Wow, for a hardcore Chino chick, she sure does go down easily," A bleach blonde cackled, as her group of friends giggled right along with her. As Molly slowly rolled over and looked upwards, she realized that it was the blonde's Manolo covered foot that had gotten in her way. "How's the view from down there, Miss Ghetto Fab?" Propping herself up on her elbows, Molly could think of a thousand good things to say back, but more than anything, she wanted to haul off and punch the witch. Nothing would be better than the feeling of her fist agaisnt the girls face, but she had promised herself that she was going to try not to screw things up, so it couldn't happen. God, this just sucked.

"Reagan, oh my god, what's with the huge red pimple on yourlip?" A voice said from behind the group. The girls parted, only to reveal Marissa Cooper, poised to attack. "It's huge! Bigger than anything I've ever seen! Seriously, you should really do something about that."

"What?" Reagan exclaimed, her hand flying to her face to cover up her mouth. Her eyes were bugging nearly out of her head, as if they were going to pop out at any minute. "Are you serious?"

"Oh wait, maybe it's a herpies outbreak," Marissa bit her lip, as if she was trying to think about it, "Yeah, that's probably what it is, sorry to scare you." A smile spread on Marissa's face, as Reagan continued to look at her in horror.

"Bitch!" Reagan spat, beginning to storm off, her friends following closely behind her.

"At least I'm not a skank," Marissa called back in a sing song voice, watching as they continued down the hall. Once they were out of sight, she stepped forward, kneeling down to help Molly collect her things. "You okay?" Instinctively, Molly wanted to chew her out for helping her, when she could have saved herself. But deep down, she knew that Marissa was just trying to be nice, and that's what mattered.

"I'm fine, thanks," Molly sighed, picking up the last of her things before rising to her feet, "Thanks for that, too. I probably would have socked her in the face if you hadn't have stepped in."

"No problem, they're just dumb whores with low self esteem," Marissa shrugged, an amused, but caring expression on her face. "Don't take what they say to heart, it's just their way of building their self worth."

"Noted," Molly nodded, returning Marissa's smile for a split second, "Well, I'll see you around." Pushing her hair out of her face, Molly made her way towards the classroom she was originally headed for, but then stopped as she reached the door. "By the way, I'm sorry for treating you like crap. You don't deserve it." Without waiting for a response, she opened the door, and went inside, just as the bell rang.

With all of our fashions
We're still incomplete
The God of redemption
Could break our routine

There's a new way to be human
It's nothing we've ever been
There's a new way to be human
New way to be human

A/N: Again, thanks for all the great reviews. I totally love you guys. If you haven't noticed, each chapter is titled after a song, so now I've went back and added lyrics to every chapter (from the song it's titled after) except for one. So check those out, some of the lyrics fit amazingly.

Thanks for reading, but please review to let me know how I'm doing! It's a great help!