SF Chapter 95: The O.C. Girls
Daniel arrived in his black Lamborghini Murciélago at the Primetime Emmy Awards party, an event centered around celebrating television series and the biggest names on TV.
The event was being held at the Shrine Auditorium, near the University of Southern California.
After stepping out of the car and immediately drawing attention around him, he checked a message on his phone from Lexi saying she was with her The O.C. co-stars and giving him the direction.
"Hey, Lexi," he said as he approached his friend.
"Dani," she greeted him, stepping forward to hug him.
He leaned closer and whispered jokingly, "I know where you live. I'm definitely going there tonight. You are way too sexy in that dress."
"Behave," she replied, pinching him lightly before speaking louder. "Let me introduce you to them."
"With pleasure," Dani replied with a grin.
"Mischa Barton and Rachel Bilson," Lexi said, gesturing toward the beautiful brunette and the stunning girl beside her.
"Dani Harper," he introduced himself with an easy smile.
Rachel was the first to shake his hand.
"Nice to meet you. It's still unbelievable to me that a teenager boy made Mean Girls," she remarked.
"Hi," Mischa shook his hand next, appearing a bit more reserved.
They talked for a while at first, until Rachel decided to joke about a conversation they had been having before he arrived.
"So, Dani, who would you choose? Summer or Anna?" she asked playfully.
Daniel looked between the two girls with a deeply conflicted expression (obviously, he was faking. He would choose Anna - Lexi - any day).
"Anna. No, Summer. Anna. Oh man, I understand Seth now. Can I choose both?"
Rachel Bilson smirked. "And can you handle us both?" she teased.
"Of course I can!" Dani replied confidently. "I promise it'll be the best five minutes of your life!"
Rachel burst into a delightful laugh. "Five minutes?"
He glanced at her, then at Lexi, then back again.
"Okay... fine," he said with a resigned expression. "Three minutes... and a half." He emphasized the 'half,' making it clear that part was important.
That made the brunette laugh even more.
Alexandra merely shook her head.
Then Mischa also joined the conversation. "How about Marissa? What would you do?"
"Run. Run fast. Don't look back because her beauty could trap me. But run."
"Excuse me?" Mischa protested. "Marissa is a sweet girl."
Daniel stared at her for a second. "Marissa needs therapy and three responsible adults supervising her at all times."
Lexi immediately made a sarcastic remark. "How is that any different from you?"
"I know how to make money," Dani replied, not even denying he was also a little troublemaker. "That alone would solve half of her problems."
"But Marissa's life wasn't easy even when she had money," Mischa pointed out. "She only really changed after meeting Ryan."
"It wasn't the money's fault," Daniel corrected her. "It was because she was surrounded by shallow, vain, and useless rich people."
Then he added, "Well... she herself was dating a muscle-brained jock."
She raised an eyebrow. "And she would do better dating someone like you?"
"I would never date Marissa," Daniel chuckled. "I'm not into babysitting. Not only does she not know how to solve her own problems, she goes around creating more of them while trying to fix everyone else's."
"Really? You don't like problematic girls?" Rachel joked.
Daniel corrected her. "Nah, I like complicated girls. I do NOT like girls who make their dysfunction everybody else's responsibility."
"Suppose you wanted to save her? How would you do it?" This time, it was Lexi asking.
"I think she needs one great friend who stays firmly by her side," Daniel commented.
"Marissa feels like the loneliest person there. But she also needs a friend willing to tell her to take responsibility for her own dumb decisions."
"I once met a girl who was kind of lost like her," he revealed. "We took a trip to Whitehaven Beach in Australia."
[Daniel commentary]
"It's a true story," Daniel commented. "Last year, I met this girl, Quinn Garvey. She was a year older than me."
"She was trouble. I went to Australia with her, accompanied by Charlie and Quinn's sister."
Dani finished, "Needless to say, her sister was also very beautiful."
[Commentary ends]
Daniel paused for a moment and gestured with his hand. "Just imagine this scene: almost fluorescent white sand, absurdly turquoise-blue water, a perfectly clear sky, and the feeling of total isolation from civilization."
The description alone already gave them an idea of how surreal the beach was.
"I sat beside her and told her how incredible life could be, and how taking life seriously can sometimes just mean stopping for a moment and admiring things a little. A beautiful view. A quiet conversation."
Mischa looked genuinely surprised. "And then?"
"We had a lot of sex," Dani answered casually. "God, we were like animals-" he couldn't even finish the sentence because Lexi stomped on his foot.
Rachel laughed while Mischa looked momentarily speechless.
"Do you always have to ruin a beautiful moment with your crude jokes?" Alexandra scoffed.
"Hey, it wasn't a joke. This is also part of the beauty of life," Dani defended himself.
"Beautiful beaches, emotional reflection, appreciating life... and absolutely destroying the hotel room afterward. I can see the appeal," Rachel said with a mischievous grin.
"See?" Dani looked oddly proud of himself.
"Let's go talk to Ben and Adam. I saw them over there," Lexi deadpanned.
But before Rachel could follow along, Dani leaned closer and whispered to her, "I never said anything about a hotel room."
Her mouth opened slightly while he just stood there smirking.
[Mischa Barton commentary]
"What do I think about Dani Harper?" Mischa repeated the question.
She thought about it for a moment before answering. "At first, I thought he would just be another LA playboy. I mean, I literally saw him getting out of an expensive sports car."
"He comes in flirting with everyone, but then he suddenly gives this surprisingly thoughtful description of Marissa. I especially liked the part about her being lonely."
"But at the end I was like, 'why did you completely RUIN a beautiful moment with a sexual joke?'" Mischa said, still slightly in disbelief.
[Commentary ends]
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Rachel Bilson (played Summer Roberts in The O.C. TV show)
Mischa Barton (played Marissa Cooper in The O.C. TV show) - Mischa Barton was already quite well known at the time, even though The O.C. had only been on the air for a short period.
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