Title: Not So Glamorous
Summary: Marissa Cooper describes to us what Newport is really like. The lies, the betrayal and the "glamour." Takes place in early seasons. I guess it doesn't really matter when though.
A/N: I had the idea to write this a long time ago. I was inspired by the song "Newport Living" by Cute Is What We Aim For. I decided to finally write it today, while on the overly crowded city bus coming home from school. I hope you like it. Please read and review.
Disclaimer: I do not own The O.C. If I did, do you really think I'd be writing this. No? Obviously not.
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Welcome to the glamour of "Newport Living", as I like to call it. Here we live the life of glamour. We have glamorous houses, glamorous friends, glamorous boyfriends- or girlfriends. We ourselves are glamorous. In short, life is glamorous.
Or at least that's what the outsiders think.
Because being honest, that's as far from the fucking truth as you can get. Newport Living is nothing like that. And if it really is as glamorous as they claim, I never knew hell was this rich. I never knew so much money and plastic – you know what I mean by that – was put into hell.
Our houses aren't as "perfect" as they seem. Sure they're huge and filled with expensive furniture. But you can't sit on half of it and you can't even use very much. Who pays two hundred dollars for a teapot you can't even use? It's all a fucking waste.
Our families aren't picture-perfect, as we like to say they are. Our parents fight. They argue. They lie to each other and keep secrets. They cheat. But they're trapped in the situation they're in because they have to keep up the illusion that they're perfect. If even one person finds out about your secret it's all over Newport. This couples divorce is the talk of the town. And everybody knows why they got divorced. They know who cheated and who said what. They know everything. If you want something a secret you better keep your mouth shut. Otherwise, you're screwed.
If you're not perfect everybody knows about. Keeping up with the "perfect" and "glamorous" lifestyle gets tiring. It's exhausting to make sure you look fabulous, you don't embarrass your self and more importantly your family. You can't fail at anything. Failing is "unperfect." Most people or "normal" people know that perfection doesn't exist. It's damn near impossible. But when you're stuck with the façade of Newport Living you've GOT to find a way to be perfect. You might as well not exist if you're anything less than perfect.
I'm sure some of you are wondering why I'm complaining. I have fabulous clothes, lots of money, more friends than I can keep track of and anything I want. Why would I complain? There are people out there with nothing. Nothing at all.
Can you keep a secret? Sometimes, I'd rather have nothing at all than this hell. But if anybody found out about that my family name would be ruined. Forever. Nobody in the Cooper family could show their face anywhere in Orange County, probably even farther too. Considering how fast gossip travels it wouldn't take long for the whole country to know. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But whatever.
The worst part of Newport Living though is that no one would ever admit how horrible it is. Or how much they hate it. How many tears it's caused. We all put on a brave face and pretend we love our lives. That anything or anybody less than us are practically vermin. That they're dirty. But honey, Newport Living is the dirty life. It's full of deceit, lies, backstabbing. All of it. And there's nothing you can or will do about it.
And even if you wanted to admit how hard life was to your friends you couldn't. Even if they do feel the exact same way. They're not your friends. You don't have friends in this life. You have yourself and that's it. They're all waiting for you to fall. For your moment of weakness. Then they'll pounce all over you. Because once you fall, they get the chance to move in. And if you're down there's nothing you can do to stop them from taking your spot.
That's what it's all about. Not the hokie-pokie. No it's not about that. It's about getting as high up on the food chain as you can. Nobody verbally acknowledges the chain, but you know it's there and where you stand. You know when you're on the bottom and when you're on the top. And while the bottom people secretly – like it's that big of a secret – hate whose on the top, they'll do anything to be your best friend.
I'll admit it, because there's no use lying even more, I'm on the top. And everybody knows. They all hate me. But to my face, they love me. It's Marissa this and Marissa that. The truth is, I don't care about you. I don't care about anybody else but myself because I know damn well that nobody cares about me either. You have to fend for yourself in the whirlwind of Newport Living.
Then there are those who try and tell themselves every night that they don't care that I "overpower" them. They tell themselves that they have real friends and life is okay. That they're happy with they're spot on the chain.
But I know the truth. They all want to be me because they think my life really is glamorous. They think when you're me everything really is perfect. I can tell they're lying. It's a fucking joke really. You can't even convince yourself of it, how do you think you can convince me?
I know that every single one of you wants one thing. You want to be me. You want my spot. You're all waiting for me to fall. So you can move in. So life will be easier.
You can tell yourself it's not true. That that's not what you want. You can lie to yourself. But I know.
I know that every single one of you wants what I have. You want to be me. You want at the top.
What a shame though. Too bad for you that I'm not going anywhere. You'll never be able to kick me when I'm down because I won't be down. There's nothing you or anybody else can do to make me screw up. I know all of your tricks. I've watched you betray your "best friend" just so you could get higher.
If anything, I've mastered the art of Newport Living. I know exactly what goes on inside all of your heads. You're all singing the same fucking song. Too bad for you though. Too bad that'll you'll never be where I am.
There's no way I'm backing down because as "glamorous" as it is up here, I can only imagine the view from the bottom.
Sorry to disappoint you, but Newport Living isn't so glamorous.
