Author: Redlance

Disclaimer: Ryan Murphy created them. I just like playing with the moulds.

A/N: Do you ever get that feeling, when your halfway through writing something, that you've either had the idea for the story and written about it before, or you've read a story with the same kind of idea to it? Well, about two pages into this, I had that and thought "Crap, well now what do I do?". I decided to finish and post it anyway, but I just want to say that if there are super close similarities between this and another story, I swear I didn't intentionally rip anyone off. I would actually love it if someone did recognise it and told me what story they saw it in, just to put my mind at rest.

The mall had become a living, breathing entity in the time it took to sniff. They sat and watched as lights blinked sleepily on, shutters yawned open and escalators stretches and shifted until they moved smoothly. The doors were opened, allowing the mall to breathe, sucking more people in with ever inhale. They milled around like frantic blood cells, sifting through the heart of the mall - the food court - and keeping it alive as they hurried to other areas.

They sat observing in between bites of food, watching nameless faces blur past them and almost tripping over either their own bags or those belonging to the person they'd almost collided with. And why were things so crazy? It was the mall's annual 'Sale Insanity' event. Six hours, one day only, everything at least 25% off and reaching all the way to the big 7-5. Sam's eyeballs had almost rolled right out of her head when the floodgates had opened and the masses had swamped the place. Insanity, in her opinion, was spot on. And why was she there? Because she'd needed new news and Brooke had told her it would be fun. Why she'd believed her, she didn't know, but it had actually turned out okay. They'd beaten the rush and gotten in before the place had even opened thanks to a connection Brooke had that was in the form of a sandy-haired, obviously smitten young man, allowing them to line up in front of the store Brooke was there for. An hour later after opening, Sam had been shocked to find them finished, Brooke carrying five bags to her one, and ready to go. Until Brooke's stomach had announced itself. Brooke had shrugged nonplused and explained she'd skipped breakfast in favour of arriving early.

One stop at the Chinese takeout and one at the Greek counter later, they were sat people watching and finishing their food.

"I will never understand the need to shop until your feed bleed." Sam confessed, eyes on a woman who had stopped to sit on the fountain structure across from them. She'd hauled off one of her knee-high boots, tossed it to the man with her, who was so laden down with what Sam assumed were her bags, he had to pretty much catch it with his face, and was rubbing her foot with both her hands. Brooke followed her gaze and grinned.

"It's an acquired taste. Like sushi." Brooke lifted a leaf of lettuce coating in some kind of dressing and piled precariously with feta cheese to her mouth. Sam pursed her lips.

"And the manic, psychotic attitude these people have. Its like they're out for blood." Brooke made a noise in the back of her throat and then held up her fork, indicating that she had something to say, while she chewed and swallowed.

"There is no 'like' when it comes to women and clothing and or shoe sales. Get in their way, they will cut you down and stomp on you until you're one with the tile, just in case you happen to be going to the same store they are, allowing for that tiny chance that they could find the holy grail of sale items before you do."

"You have no idea how much it frightens me that you sound as though you're talking from experience."

"I never stomp." Brooke informed her, pushing her plate away and interlocking her fingers so they provided a bridge for her chin to perch on. "I'm strictly a hair-puller slash serial shover." The grin that stretched her lips was a mischievous one.

"You know, if you channelled this into something productive like, say, roller derby, you could make a killing." Sam followed Brooke's example and quit playing with her leftovers to push the plate aside. The cheerleader shrugged again.

"Yeah, but then I'd have so much money I wouldn't care about sales and I'd miss out on all if this." Dark eyebrows rose high enough to brush a matching dark hairline.

"Sure, yeah, all of this." Sam said sarcastically and waved a hand in the air, gesturing towards the fast moving things she was 80% sure were people. "Who'd want to skip over all the numerous near death experiences that only sale-crazed women-" She paused as a man wearing neon pink hot pants and a tight canary-yellow t-shirt sporting the slogan 'Your boyfriends likes that thing I do with my tongue', caught her eye. "And overtly homosexual males can provide." Brooke's hands dropped to the table with an audible slap and an overly excited noise escaped the back of her throat.

"I'm so glad you understand." She said, feigning enthusiasm. Sam's brow creased in a look that conveyed sympathetic understanding. A look that was ruined by another eye roll seconds later.

"Laaadies." The word, drawn out to three times it's normal length, was said in a way that they supposed was supposed to be sexual, but just came off as slimy. "I'm about to make your day. Maybe even change your lives." Brooke and Sam exchanged amused expressions.

"Oh yeah?" The blonde asked once her attention was back on him. He looked older, college older, and was dressed nicely. At least, his top half was. They couldn't see anything below the counter they were sat at, the one he was currently leaning over. Apart from his 70's porno-style pony tale and sideburns, he looked okay. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh yeah." He drawled. "Just so happens I'm throwing the biggest shindig this town has ever seen." Seemingly from nowhere, College Guy produced a flyer and held it out for Brooke to take. Hazel eyes stared at him unimpressed, not once looking down at the offered sheet of paper in the ten uncomfortable, for him, seconds during which they looked at one another. Slowly, College Guy's smile faded and he swivelled his body until it was turned towards Sam. "What about you, hot stuff? How's about you bring those beautiful brown eyes to my frat house of love?" The laughter that erupted from Sam was as sudden, and probably as painful, as an unexpected slap to the face.

"Oh my god." She managed, taking in gulps of air. "Are you for real?" Seeing the bewildered look on his face, she tried to compose herself, not wanting to totally destroy his manly pride. "I'm sorry-" She took the flyer and glanced down at it. "Mark, but seriously. Frat house of love?" Sam's eyes creased in the corners as she failed at containing another bout of uncontrollable giggles. "It sounds like a ride at Date Rape land. You have got to find a different line, especially since you've already had to resort to scoping out the mall for potential party-goers, which I'm guessing means you don't have a whole lot of people on the guest list right now." Mark blinked a few times in rapid succession, looking as though he didn't quite understand what was being said to him.

"So… will you come?" Sam just dismissed him was a wave of her hand and, judging from his smile, he'd somehow taken her speech as a good sign. "Awesome. Hey, see if you can convince your friend to come." His eyes darted to Brooke, who had been looking in the other direction, and she snapped her head to the side to stare at him again. And it was Sam's turn to look bewildered.

"Oh we're not-" But Mark the College Guy was already looking for his next attendee, his flyer now hanging limping in Sam's slackened grip. "Did he just-"

"Yeah." Brooke's head bobbed absently as they both watched him go.

"He said we were-"

"Uh huh."

"Friends."

"Yup."

"But we're not."

"I didn't think so. Did you?"

"Nooo." Sam's eyes were wide as her pursed lips elongated the word.

"Huh." There was a long moment of silence as both of their brains malfunctioned and shut down, this new information overloading them. Finally, whirring back into life, their brains caught up and they glanced askance as one another, then quickly looked away.

"Well, are we?" Sam asked snappily, not sure if she was mad at Brooke for somehow tricking her into this, or herself for not seeing her doing it, and the blonde's eyes flared with ire.

"I don't know!"

"You don't know?" The reporter replied in a mocking tone, as though not knowing made Brooke obtuse, and hazel eyes flared brighter.

"Do you know?" She challenged, and to her surprise, Sam backed off. Her body relaxing and a sigh escaping her lips.

"He seemed to think so. Why would he say that?" She half laughed, like she was nervous. Brooke's shoulders twitched in a shrug as she thought it over.

"Maybe because we're sitting here eating lunch together. Maybe he's seen us hanging out all morning, or maybe he saw us arrive together in the same car this morning." Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Brooke's head lolled to the side and she offered Sam a wry smile.

"Well how the hell did this happen?" Sam suddenly exploded, outraged, and drawing the attention of a few shoppers as the hurried along in front of them. Brooke discreetly held the ends of her thumb and forefinger together and lifted them to her mouth, making the universal sign for 'don't worry, she's high' as way of explanation. When she turned her attention back to Sam, the brunette was pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. Thumb moving over the keys in a blur, Brooke only had a few seconds to read over the other girl's shoulder, but it was enough.

Did you know Brooke + I are FRIENDS?

"Who are you sending that to?" Part of her was just as weirded out by this revelation as Sam appeared to be, but another part of her was too busy falling over laughing at Sam's frenzied reaction to really care.

"Lily." Her hands came up to tug her hair behind her ears and then moved to rest either side of the phone. "I can't believe this." Tongue poking the inside of her cheek, Sam stared at the mass of people unseeing, trying to figure out when the turning point had been and why she'd cut the corner so blindly.

"You don't have to be so abhorred by this. I'm not that bad to be friends with, despite what newspaper editorials might say. You shouldn't believe everything you read, Sam." Sam groaned at Brooke's gleeful gloating tone and rolled her head back in a half circle.

"Aren't you freaked out by this?" She almost shrieked. "I was screaming at you last week because you put the empty milk carton back in the fridge! Friends don't do that!" A deep line appeared between Brooke's eyebrows as she frowned.

"That was like a month ago."

"What?" Alarm bumped the pitch of her voice up a few octaves as the reality that she had missed the entire evolution from enemies to friends really hit her. It had just flown by and she'd been too busy blinking. Brook was concerned Sam was going to hyperventilate and pass out, and then she was weirded out by the face that she was concerned, but that was fleeting.

"Will you calm down? We might be friends now, but if you pass out and embarrass me, I won't bring you to the mall again." She resisted the urge to wag a finger at Sam, slightly afraid the girl had come unhinged and might bite it. Sam glared at her, then visibly took a breath to calm herself. A breath that left her noisily when her phone vibrated loudly against the table. She reached for it and hit the green button to open the new message.

Have u been drinking?

A snort from her left told her Brooke was once again reading over her shoulder. She typed a reply that consisted of two words; I'm serious, and put it down again.

"I don't even remember when this happened. When we became… this." She batted the air with her hand as she, calmer now, spoke with genuine puzzlement.

"Yeah, me neither. Maybe it was Josh." Brooke mused thoughtfully.

"What?" And voicing her thought aloud only caused Sam's confusion to grow.

"When I had my um…" Her eyes darted around the wide space surrounding them. "My pregnancy scare." She whispered, then Sam's mouth formed a silently 'oh' and she looked contemplative.

"I guess if anything was going to do it, it would be the mind-numbing fear of unplanned teenage parenthood." Another message announced itself with a buzz and Sam hit the button again, this time holding the phone so Brooke didn't have to snoop.

Um, yeah. Y? Is this a test or some kind of PR announcement?

This time Sam laughed.

"How did we miss this when no one else did?" Sam queried, and Brooke lifted an arm to rest her chin on her hand.

"Maybe we're just really dense." The blonde offered with a playful grin that showed her teeth.

"Speak for yourself." Sam scoffed, smacking Brooke's arm out from under her head and laughing when it dropped a centimetre or two before she caught the motion.

"Oh, come on. I hear best friends speak for each other all the time." Sam's eyes were so wide, Brooke was sure that had it been possible they would have popped right out of their sockets.

"Best friends?" Brooke's laughter rang in Sam's ears and for the first time, consciously, she realized she found it infectious.

"So what now?" The cheerleader asked once the giggles had subsided. Sam shook her head, seemingly at a loss.

"Try and live our lives normally despite this?" She offered with a coy smile as they both stood and gathered their things, grabbing two of Brooke's bags without explanation.

"I meant, what do you want to do now? Here in the mall." Brooke elaborated with eyebrows raised in amusement.

"Oh." She couldn't be sure, but she thought Sam was bushing. "Movie? Friends watch movies together."

"That's right, Sammie!" Brooke's words left her mouth with an air that would usually accompany someone praising an intellectually challenged dog that had finally learnt what 'sit' meant. "You get a gold star.""Screw you, Princess." Sam bumped the blonde's shoulder as they exited the food court and disappeared into the crowd of people heading for the escalator.

"Ah, ah, ah." Brooke reprimanded and this time did wag a finger at Sam. "You can't say stuff like that anymore, we're friends now."

"Please, I say that to Harrison all the time."

"You're a really bad friend, you know?"

"Too late. If you don't return me within fourteen days, you're stuck with me." Brooke hugged as they mounted the moving stairs and pursed her lips.

"Does it make a difference if I didn't really know I had you to return until today?"

"Nope. Tough luck. Stuck with me."

"In that case, I demand compensation for future emotional abuse in the form of a movie ticket." Sam chuckled and stepped off the final step onto the second floor.

"Dream on, Princess."

"Friends buy friends stuff all the time." Brooke argued, shooting another wide grin at Sam.

"Okay then. How about we buy each other's ticket then?" Brooke rolled her eyes, knowing she was fighting a losing battle.

"Sounds great."