Winding Road

Chapter One: I Want So Badly to Believe

"Where am I?" asked Brooke Davis in confusion, reacting with surprise to the room that was not her own.

Haley looked up and smiled. Thought she'd long since gotten used to it, it never failed to amuse her that Brooke could be counted on to have no memory of the previous night at least twice a month.

"At my house," said Haley, walking over to the bed.

"Why?"

"Beats me. All I know is that I was having a perfectly nice evening with my boyfriend when I got a call from a cheerleader saying you needed a ride home," said Haley.

"Right. Sorry about that. Why didn't they call Trevor?" asked Brooke.

"Probably because you broke up last week," said Haley, rolling her eyes and holding back a smile.

"I knew that. Where's Peyton?" asked Brooke.

"She'll be here soon. Are you going to throw up?" asked Haley curiously.

XxxxxxX

Peyton Sawyer laughed as she walked into her best friend's bedroom and saw Brooke back asleep in bed.

"Didn't you say she came to?" asked Peyton.

"She did. And then she didn't. And now she's taking up my entire bed," said Haley.

"It's not like you need it except to sleep in," teased Peyton. Haley elbowed her gently.

"I'll be ready when I'm ready, and not before. So quit it," she said easily, with the air of someone who'd said the same thing many times before.

"Hey, she's waking up again," said Peyton eagerly. Brooke sat up again in bed.

"Is it a school day?" asked Brooke.

"No. Thankfully, seeing as we know how academically concerned you are, it's finally summer holidays. We can go downtown or something if you're up for it," suggested Haley.

"Right, summer holidays. My cousin Davis is visiting. It's going to be a blast," said Brooke.

"Davis? Her name is Davis Davis?" asked Peyton skeptically.

"No, but she's kind of a freaky Paris Hilton Angelina Jolie hybrid and when she devoted her career to this she decided thatShannon Davis wasn't LA enough so now she's Davis something else," explained Brooke.

"Davis Ryan. Everyone from here to Canada knows that," said Haley.

"Right. Anyway, she's coming," said Brooke, sounding exhausted from the whole ordeal.

"Davis Ryan sounds like two first names or two last names," said Jake Jagielski, coming into the room. Peyton smiled over her shoulder at him. He was the fourth of their quintet. In addition, it was painfully obvious to everyone but Peyton that he was in love with her and always had been.

"She's not too bright," said Brooke helpfully. "And Haley's not supposed to have boys in her bedroom."

Haley blushed and threw a pillow at Brooke, who collapsed back onto the bed in her inebriated state.

"We'll go somewhere else. Come on," she said, leading the four of them out of the room.