A/N- The story is finally done. I wanted to write something short and now I'm finished. It's kind of hard to believe. Thank you all for writing reviews and showing me that someone was actually reading my story. I appreciate that so much and I'm so glad you guys liked it.
Song title is by the Valli Girls.
Chapter Fifteen: Always There In You
Brooke took a deep breath before knocking on the door softly. Her plane ride went by quickly, maybe because she was so nervous about coming back. No one knew she was coming except for her mother who had picked her up at the airport and had immediately driven her to the apartment complex.
"I'll get it!" She heard Haley's voice through the door and had to grin to herself at the chipper voice coming from her sister.
The door opened quickly and Haley stopped moving when she caught sight of a person she didn't think she would see this soon. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "B-Brooke?"
Brooke smiled, "Surprise?"
"Oh my God!" Haley exclaimed before enveloping Brooke into a huge hug. "What are you doing here?" She started to pull back but Brooke held on a little tighter.
"I missed you a whole lot," Brooke admitted before letting Haley go. "And I just couldn't figure out why."
Haley had to let out a laugh at the words, "Well, don't just stand there, come in and explain." She moved aside and let Brooke in, closing the door behind them.
"Hales?" Nathan's voice shot out from the bedroom. "Who's here?"
Haley smiled as she turned to him. "My sister."
"Is it the crazy one?" Nathan yelled back. "I could have sworn she hit on me the last time I saw her."
Brooke had to stifled a grin at them. "Come out here Boy toy and give me a hug!"
Brooke's voice brought Nathan out of the room in confusion. He appeared at the doorway and his eyes widened at the sight. "Brooke? I thought you were in New York?" He stepped into the room and allowed Brooke to give him a hug.
Haley smiled as she ran her hand through her hair before sitting on a stool. "So tell me, what's really going on?"
But Brooke's attention was on something else. Something like the gold band wrapped around Haley's finger. She grabbed Haley's left hand and raised it up to see it better then she turned to Nathan and grabbed his left hand, showing an identical ring. She placed the two side by side as if trying to figure out any other reason why they would be wearing matching rings.
"Uh, Tigger?" Haley glanced at her nervously, not knowing what exactly what her reaction was going to be. No one else knew of what they had planned and her sister was definitely one of the few people who mattered on this.
"Did you…are you guys…what's going…married?" Brooke sputtered out incoherently.
Haley had to laugh at Brooke's rambling. She shared a look with Nathan who shrugged innocently. "Nothing's happened."
"You guys are wearing rings!" Brooke exclaimed, finally able to complete her sentences. It wasn't often that she was caught without something to say but this was huge.
Nathan wrapped an arm around Haley's waist as he moved closer to her. "I proposed to her last week and we bought these last night."
"You guys can't get married, you're not even legally allowed to," Brooke's eyes widened. However, as the news sunk in and she saw the happy faces, she couldn't help but also feel happy for her older sister. It wasn't often that someone found their one true love so young and she knew that Nathan and Haley had found it.
Haley nodded. "Our birthday is next month Tigger, in case you forgot." She shrugged. "And besides, Nathan's emancipated."
Brooke stood there silently before throwing herself at Haley into another huge hug. "I'm so happy for you two!"
"Really?" Nathan sounded surprised, his clear blue eyes catching Haley's quickly.
"You guys love each other," Brooke started to feel the onset of tears and she scolded herself for getting so emotional. "And you belong together, everybody knows that. And okay so you guys are like really young and all but why delay something that's only gonna happen anyway?"
Haley smiled and wrapped Brooke in another hug. "Thank you."
"I was going to be invited to the wedding right?" Brooke eyed her sister carefully. "You guys weren't just going to elope, right?"
"Who else would be my maid-of-honor?" Haley laughed.
Brooke smiled. Though she had thought she was going to the one full of surprises today, Haley had definitely shocked the hell out of her. And she wasn't a bit mad, she was only happy that she could be here to celebrate. It was right there and then, that she knew she made the right decision.
The second she walked up the driveway she was starting to regret ever coming here. Though this was the only place she had been to more than a million times and though this was one of the places she ran to when she couldn't go anywhere else, she was uncomfortable being here.
She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell, an action that seemed foreign to her. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever rang the doorbell, if she ever had before. She heard the footsteps and suddenly the door opened revealing a person who she hadn't talked to in over two months. "Hey."
Peyton almost took a step back in shock. She must've been seeing things. "Brooke?"
Brooke nodded uncertainly. "The one and only."
"What are you doing here?" Peyton could not believe what she was seeing. "I thought you were in New York?"
Brooke gave her a small smile, "Just wasn't enough drama there for me, can I come in?"
"Yeah," Peyton let her in and closed the door walking up the stairs to her room. "What's going on Brooke?"
"I'm sorry," Brooke stood by the doorway not venturing in any further. "For not letting you explain anything. And I wanted to tell you that I forgive you."
Peyton swiveled around on her desk chair to glance at Brooke, "You serious?"
Brooke nodded softly. "Completely."
The room went silent before Peyton finally spoke up. "I'm so sorry, you don't understand how sorry I am for doing that to you. I can't believe I ever did that, and I want you to know that nothing's going on between me and Lucas."
"I know," Brooke whispered. "And I believe you."
Peyton nodded and she eyed Brooke suspiciously. "Why are you back?"
"Just realized how much some people really mean to me and I couldn't spend the rest of my senior year moping in some state that didn't have those people," Brooke grinned at Peyton who could only smile back.
Both smiles faded when they heard a male voice shout out from the bottom of the staircase. "Peyton! You ready to go?"
Brooke winced at the voice and she could only hope that he didn't come up here because she knew she wasn't ready to deal with him just yet. Just then she realized her luck wasn't as good as she thought it was because he appeared behind her instantly.
"Brooke?"
"Lucas," She replied curtly. She obviously hadn't forgiven him yet.
Lucas stepped closer. "What are you doing here?"
"I moved back," Brooke stepped into the room and away from Lucas. She wasn't in the mood to hear him grovel and beg for forgiveness and she wasn't sure what she would do if he even started.
Peyton glanced nervously between her two friends and decided to run interference. "Hey Luke, can you wait for me downstairs, I'll only be ten minutes, I promise." She watched him nod before retreated back downstairs and turned to Brooke. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Brooke replied, anger still evident in her eyes. Only this time it wasn't directed at the skinny blonde in front of her.
"Does this mean we're friends again?" Peyton asked hopefully. She had missed the perky brunette more than she could have ever imagined and she hoped that they could go back to what they had before.
Brooke nodded softly. "I'm willing to try again, if you are."
"Of course I am," Peyton took it further and gave Brooke a hug, finally ending the drawn-out fight between them. "I'm glad you came back."
Brooke smiled into her shoulder, "Me too."
A month later and Brooke found herself sitting alone on the docks simply staring out into the ocean and the moon. It had a calming effect for her and it gave her the relaxation she needed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day and the day after would be even better.
Haley stood behind her sister before letting herself be shown in the moonlight. "Hey."
Brooke nodded and glanced at the seat next to her, inviting the other girl to sit beside her. "Hey."
"Couldn't sleep either?" Haley asked quietly as she sat down staring out into the vast ocean. She leaned back into the backrest and let out a sigh.
Brooke gave her a slight nod. "I have a lot of things on my mind." She shrugged. "And I just needed to clear my head."
"Yeah?" Haley asked as she let the scenery around her overtake her senses, her emotions. She was feeling relaxed just sitting there beside her sister, watching the waves roll around beneath them. "Anything in particular?"
"Isn't it funny how far we've gotten, just the two of us?" Brooke asked her quickly. She shrugged again. "Everything's been going by so fast and I guess I just haven't taken the time to just sit and think about it."
"I know what you mean," Haley muttered. She closed her eyes briefly before catching her sister's gaze.
Brooke gave her a smile before linking their arms just like they had so many nights ago when they first learned of their relation with the other. "We got through it all though."
"Yeah," Haley grinned. "We have. Together, just like we promised."
"I can't believe you're getting married!" Brooke tried her best not to squeal in happiness. "Who knew I would ever get to be this happy for my sister's wedding?"
Haley had to smile at that. "I guess. I mean, I never thought I would get married this young." She caught the look on Brooke's face and continued before the other girl could say anything. "I'm not having second thoughts, I promise. I love Nathan with all my heart and I know he's the one for me. I just wish my father was here to see this."
"You know he's always watching over you Hales, right?" Brooke questioned.
"I know," Haley answered softly. She suddenly turned to Brooke. "Did I ever tell you that I'm glad you came back?"
Brooke shook her head, "Maybe only once or twice."
Haley smiled. "Well I am. I knew it was only a matter of time before you came crawling back." She shrugged playfully. "You just can't run away from this place."
"Yeah," Brooke nodded in agreement before placing her head on Haley's shoulder as they sat there in silence. She started to feel the sleep overcome her and she struggled to stay awake.
"Brooke?" Haley broke the silence as she questioned the other brunette. She glanced down at her watch.
Brooke opened her eyes but kept her head on Haley's shoulder. She was just starting to get comfortable. "Yeah Hales?"
"Happy Birthday."
Brooke smiled at the words. "Happy Birthday to you too…sis..."
The two sisters smiled as the night started to fade away. For years, they hadn't known of each other as sisters but on that one night so many months ago, things had changed dramatically for them both. And they had chosen to go through it together. Neither regretted ever having made the choice to have her sister by her side. Things were looking up for them and on their eighteenth birthday was a great day for both to finally realize that.
Brooke kept her eyes open as they sat there still huddled up before finally speaking again.
"I still can't believe you're older."
Haley laughed, "Yeah well, get over it."
The two girls lost themselves in their laughter knowing that no matter what, they were in this together.
The End.