Chapter

4

Brooke exhaled a small, delicate sigh as she sat in her empty clothes store. She reached for the cup of Starbucks hot chocolate that was on her table and sipped from it. Why was everything so messed up right now? Why had Lucas told her he loved her?

"Brooke? ? Hey, where are you?" She heard a cheery, laughing voice burst through the door.

"Peyton?" Brooke looked through all of her costume stuff for Unkindess of Ravens to see her friend.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Oh. Hey, there, girlie." Brooke grinned, trying to restore her former cheeriness. She knew she had to bounce back from this. She was Brooke Davis. She was strong, independent and had been managing without Lucas for over five years. She would be fine.

"Okay, so guess what happened? No, you'll never guess cause it's so incredible! Lucas was, like, we need to step up the date on the wedding. I want to marry you as soon as possible. And of course I said sure." Peyton grinned at Brooke, happily, oblivious to Brooke's dismay.

"Hm." Brooke continued sewing a button one of the dresses she was working on for the scene where the Tree Hill cast went to Dan's annual basketball party.

"Aren't you happy?" Peyton leaned over the table to stare at Brooke.

"Fine. I'm just busy." Brooke responded, harsher than she'd intended.

"Okay. Don't mess with . What's up, Brooke? You seem mad?" Peyton sat down, finally and grabbed the cupcake Brooke had bought at Starbucks.

"Peyton, that's mine. Can you just give me back what you know is mine? Because it wasn't really fair for you to have taken it in the first place! It was mine and it always has been mine!" Brooke couldn't see anymore with the tears streaming down her face. She knew she wasn't talking about a stupid double chocolate cupcake.

Peyton gasped. The confused look wiped off her face. She dropped the cupcake on the table and stood up.

"I cannot believe you! You hypocrite!" Peyton shouted, glowering at Brooke.

"Excuse me?" Brooke wiped the tears off her face and glanced at Peyton's figure looming over her.

"Don't play stupid with me! Though, you weren't playing stupid when you failed Calculus and then cheated, were you?" Peyton smirked at her.

"I'm not playing anything. I just wanted the cupcake back." Brooke laughed and took a bit of the infamous cupcake. She could feel her hands growing clammy and her heart rate speeding up.

"Fine. Whatever, the saddest part is you can't even admit you're mistake." Peyton glared at Brooke one last time before she opened the door to leave.

"Wait! Peyton!" Brooke called.

Peyton spun around, her blonde curls flying with her. "What?"

"I didn't want to…hurt you." She replied, softly.

"What?" Peyton snapped, her eyes raging with anger.

"No. It's just I do love him, Peyton. I do." Brooke confessed, she felt amazingly lifted, revealing this information.

"Seriously? Are you seriously doing this right now?" Peyton asked.

"You know, I never really fought for him, Peyton. He always fought for me. The summer of senior year, he fought for me. But then when you kissed him in the library that messed everything up again. It was the same way when we began dating. Your kiss messed everything up. Do you notice a pattern, Peyton? He never fights for you. He fights for me." Brooke replied, growing stronger with each passing moment. She knew clearly what she had to do. She had to do something wonderful to win Lucas back.

"Brooke!" Peyton yelled out in angry protest.

"No. Peyton, you've done this to me before and now I'm doing it to you. Do you like it, Peyton? Do you?" Brooke hollered.

"I'm----

"Stop talking and get out!" Brooke yelled at her.

"I----"

"GET OUT!" Brooke glared at her and pounded her fist, loudly on the wooden table in front of her.

Tears in her eyes, Peyton left the premises.

Brooke slumped down into her chair and finished off the cupcake. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe Lucas didn't still love her. She had thought perhaps fear had made him run. But it was foolish to keep dissuading herself from the absolute truth. Nothing was worse than lying to herself about this.

"Hey, Brooke." She heard someone say, softly, apologetically.

"Come in." Brooke sighed.

"Brooke, hey." Haley walked in in a pair of dark jeans and white three quarter length blouse. She wore gold hoops and a pair of blood red heels.

"Tutor Girl! Hey!" Brooke grinned and happily greeted, again feigning joy. She knew that Haley knew the whole story. But she didn't need her to think she'd been wounded and duped so easily by Lucas.

"I wanted to come in and check up on you." Haley replied. She set down two corn muffins on the table and two coffee cups.

"I already had a cupcake and a hot chocolate, but thanks, Hales." Brooke smiled at her effort to make her feel better.

"Sure." Haley nodded and nibbled on her own muffin.

"Haley, really, I'm fine. I think Lucas was just…confused or something….," the room was silent for a moment, "have you talked to him yet?" Brooke looked down at her nails and waited for Haley's response.

"Um, yeah. Just this morning, actually." Haley replied, fidgeting with the top of her coffee cup.

"What did he say?" Brooke prodded, needing to know.

"Just that…he was sorry he let you go." Haley replied, awkwardly.

"Oh." Brooke's gaze fell to the floor and her heart rate slowed. She hated this, this feeling she got when she thought about Lucas abandoning her. It was as if all her dreams were being crushed and he was leaving her with nothing.

"But I have some…bad news." Haley gulped and stared at Brooke.

"Huh?" Brooke looked up into Haley's sad brown eyes.

"They're eloping. Tonight."