Best Friends

Summer 1996

The sun had just begun to set, bringing with it a warm reddish orange hue that seemed to engulf the sky. The warm summer breeze flowed through the trees and lightly touched the faces of the children playing at the Tree Hill Rivercourt. It had become tradition, that summer of their 4th grade year that Saturday nights belonged to them. Brooke, Nathan, Haley and Lucas were inseparable. They called themselves the "4 aces." (A name thought up by Lucas). It was at the Rivercourt that they imagined themselves as survivors on a deserted island, pirates rescuing princesses, and often got married and played husbands and wives.

"Nathan! You have to be my husband!" shouted Brooke, "Lucas said that he'd be Haley's…"

Nathan chose to ignore Brooke's ranting and tried focusing on perfecting his layup. His first 4th grade basketball game was that weekend and he wanted to make sure he looked good out there since he knew his dad was coming.

"Nathan! Come on… You can't keep a girl waiting!" Brooke shouted even louder.

She noticed that he was not paying any attention to her and was more focused on his basketball shot. How stupid! Why would he want to continually shoot the same shot over and over? That seemed ridiculous to her. Well that and the fact that Haley had already claimed Lucas as her husband. It just infuriated Brooke even more. With his sandy blonde hair, bright blue entrancing eyes and perfect smile, Lucas Scott was every girl in the 4th grade's crush, including both Brooke and Haley. Both girls had told each other of their crush and constantly fought over him to be their "husband." This time Haley had won, which made Brooke jealous right down to the tip of her toes. If that wasn't bad enough, she was stuck with Nathan, Lucas' little brother. Although younger than Lucas, Nathan was taller with brown hair, very long legs and a goofy smile. Recently, he didn't play as much with the others and focused all his summer nights on playing basketball.

"B, come play. You can be our daughter, since Nathan doesn't want to play." Haley called out.

Brooke frowned. That statement made her fume inside. Haley and Lucas' daughter? No, not happening! She was going to get Nathan to play if it took her all night.

Her wish came true. She sat on the picnic bench watching Nathan Scott shoot his 100th layup of the night. She had tried every tactic in the book to try to get him to come and play with her. She had whined, cried, yelled, and screamed at him, but here he stayed shooting the same basket over and over while she watched Lucas picking dandelions for Haley. Brooke wished she could be anywhere but there at that moment. She felt terrible. They way Lucas and Haley played together was making her feel sick to her stomach. The sky grew dark and the court lights turned on, which meant it was time to go home. Lucas had offered to walk Haley home which came as a surprised to Brooke. She watched as the two walked side by side while Lucas made jokes and Haley giggled. She desperately wished Lucas would have asked her. But there she sat on the picnic bench sulking and feeling sorry for herself. She realized that without Lucas to walk her home, she was stuck going alone.

"Well Goodnight Nathan," Brooke called over her shoulder, "Thanks for nothing…" she mumbled as she walked by.

"Hold up B." Nathan called after her. "Do you want me to walk home with you?"

His words caught her by surprise. That was the first thing he had said to her all night. She knew that it was dark and that the walk home was pretty scary all by herself, so she quickly agreed.

The walk home was silent, except for the rhythmic dribbling of Nathan's basketball. As she walked, her mind couldn't help to wander to Lucas. She couldn't understand why he had walked Haley home tonight. Usually he walked Brooke home because he only lived a block down from her, but tonight had walked with Haley who lived three streets down from them. Brooke's breath caught in her throat. " Maybe Lucas liked Haley and was going to tell her he liked her." Ooohh… the thought made Brooke's stomach turn. He wasn't supposed to like Haley! He was supposed to like her. She felt nervous thinking about him and Haley. She was so deep into thought that she didn't realize that they were now standing on her front porch.

"Well, thanks for walking me home Nate." Brooke sighed sadly and turned towards the door.

"Wait… Brooke… there is something that I have to tell you." Nathan said quickly.

Surprised by the urgency of his words, she turned around and for the first time that day looked into the deep brown eyes of the sun-kissed boy that stood beside her. His brown hair was tousled and his face was smeared with dirt. She couldn't help but think how cute he looked at that moment. Standing in the moonlight, he looked at her with a nervous expression and she could almost see that his cheeks had begun to flush. Without another word, Nathan took a deep breath, slowly bent his head and brushed his lips softly against hers. Shocked, Brooke opened her eyes widely and looked at him. His eyes were closed and his hand was lightly holding her upper arm. She began to pull away from him but soon felt the warmness of his lips against hers, a feeling she had never felt before. She couldn't explain the feelings and the slight tingling sensation that were running through her body at that moment. His lips tasted so sweet and they felt soft like velvet. She was just about to close her eyes when he suddenly stepped back and ran off the porch toward his house.

Brooke stood there alone for a few seconds trying to review in her mind what had just happened. He had kissed her… HE HAD KISSED HER! Nathan Scott had just kissed her and was her first real kiss. Up until that point, she had never thought of kissing Nathan; it had always been Lucas who she dreamed would be her first real kiss. As she walked through the front door, she felt a smile creep on her face and her cheeks flushed red. She had gotten her first real kiss.

Present Day

Brooke felt another yawn creep up on her. All day meetings would do that to you. Being the president of her fashion line "Clothes Over Bros" had its perks, but this definitely wasn't one of them. Fall fashion week was upon her and she was getting ready to launch her new designs on the runway. She couldn't wait for this day to be over.

Fashion was Brooke's thing. In high school, Brooke discovered her true love in fashion design. She loved the feeling of making a dress for someone and seeing their face light up when they saw her creation. She had attended the most prestigious fashion and design school in New York and launched her brand "Clothes Over Bros", which now was one of the most sought after dress designs on the market today. Her brand had attracted all of Hollywood and she found herself becoming a worldwide celebrity. Being a celebrity also had its perks. Parties, clubs, movie premieres, had all become a part of her busy and hectic life. Love however, had not.

"Thank you Miss Davis and the board for your time. I'll look forward to hearing from you soon."

The whole room was filled with clapping as Brooke's eyes began to focus back into what was happening around her. She found herself daydreaming a lot during these sales pitch meetings. Clearing her throat, she nodded to the young man in the black Armani business suit who stood in front of her.

"Thank you Patrick. The board and I will discuss what we have heard and let you know by the end of the week. Thank you for the lovely presentation," Brooke smiled. He nodded, smiled back at her and left the conference room. Brooke looked at the men and women seated around the table next to her.

"Well, I am going to need a few days to decide how I feel about the product and if it will work for our company. We will reschedule the meeting for this afternoon to next Friday at 11 am." Brooke announced. As soon as she finished speaking, the board members began gathering their things and leaving the room. As Brooke walked out of the conference room toward her office, she was greeted instantly by her personal secretary and best friend, Millicent.

"Milly, please tell me that you took notes in there because I don't have a clue as to what Patrick Patterson said." Brooke stated as she sat down behind her desk. Millicent smiled.

"I have them right here. I typed them so it would be easier for you to read." Millicent responded and handed the papers to Brooke.

Brooke got up from the chair and engulfed Millicent into a hug. " Ahh…Thank you so much, Mil. You saved me! What would I do without you?"

"Just doing my job," Millicent hugged back and sat in the empty chair across from Brooke's massive desk. "So… What did you think of Patrick?" Millicent waited for Brooke's response hoping she would say how handsome or good looking she thought he was.

"Well the part of his presentation that I heard was good," Brooke responded, " I just don't know if what he's trying to sell will really help the company… You know? But we'll see, I guess."

Millicent scowled. " No, I wasn't talking about his presentation. I mean, did you see how incredibly good looking Patrick was? Oh my… Did you see his eyes? They were the deepest brown eyes I've ever seen… and that smile. Wow, talk about gorgeous! I couldn't stop staring at him the whole time he was speaking." said Millicent dreamily.

Deep brown eyes. Those words stuck in Brooke's mind. Immediately she pictured the one person with the most beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen, Nathan. She remembered whenever she looked into them, her knees would go weak. If she was honest, they probably still would. She quickly pushed that thought from her head.

" I guess I didn't notice him that much Mil," shrugged Brooke. " He looked pretty average to me. But I mean… if you liked him, I'd say go for it! Although I'm not sure how Mouth would feel about it?"

Shaking her head, Millicent replied, "Brooke, I'm not talking about me. I was thinking more along the lines of… you. You haven't been dating recently and you're always focused on work. Why not go and have some fun? I mean you do have the new Twilight movie premiere coming up in a couple of weeks. And you don't have a date… Who knows… maybe he would like to join you?"

Brooke looked at Millicent with a dirty scowl. "Mil, I love you. But seriously, how many times am I going to have to tell you to stop trying to set me up with these guys. I'm fine… really. I like being single."

Millicent's look told Brooke that she didn't believe a word coming out of her mouth, but that she would drop the subject ,for now. " Alright, I'll stop. But you have to promise me that you will go out with us this Friday. Some of the girls and I are going to Fritz, that new club that just opened in town. Promise that you'll come? Because I don't want to hear of you going home alone and watching Dirty Dancing for the 3 millionth time."

Dirty Dancing. Again, Nathan's face came to Brooke's mind. She smiled as she remembered the countless times she had forced him to watch it with her. How he always made fun of Patrick Swayze and how it "gay" he thought it was to be that "into dancing." Brooke's memory was cut short by the sound of Millicent impatiently tapping her gorgeous Prada black patton leather pumps

. "Maybe. I'm not making any promises." Brooke replied. Millicent sighed and went to answer the phone ringing the next room.

Brooke shook her head as her best friend left the room. What was so wrong about being single? Had people completely forgotten the Sex and the City TV series? They were all attractive single girls living in a big city, just having fun and no one was feeling sorry for them. Why couldn't people treat her the same way? She dated. She had fun with guys. Sure… I mean no of the guys she had dated had been serious relationships. And Milly was right. She hadn't gone on a date in a long time. She just didn't feel that spark with anyone.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Millicent buzzing on the intercom.

"Brooke, you have a call on line 1. It's your best friend/want-to-be husband."

Brooke's face lit up. Nathan Scott, her best friend in the whole entire world was on the phone. Sure, they hadn't remained the closest of friends with her living in LA and him traveling all over with the NBA, but they had promised to keep in touch every now and again.

Nathan and Brooke had become best friends in 10th grade after Brooke's break up with Lucas. Lucas had finally realized that Haley was the one that he wanted to be with so he ended it. The break up was very devastating for Brooke. She and Lucas had dated for 2 years. But luckily for her, Nathan had been there for support and encouragement through the whole thing. They had gotten to know each other again for real in their 5th period History class. He told her funny stories and made her laugh. He seemed to ease her broken heart and she enjoyed spending time with him. They became fast friends and found themselves doing everything together. It was like old days… way back in the 4th grade when Nathan, Haley, Brooke and Lucas were the 4 Aces and played together every Saturday at the River court.

Neither one had ever spoke of Nathan surprising Brooke with her first kiss that summer. But Brooke would always remember that day. That was the day she fell in love with Nathan Scott.

"Hello?"

"Hey Brooke! It's Nathan."

Just hearing his voice made Brooke's heart beat faster.

"Nate! What happened? 58 points 10 rebounds last night. You're slacking on me bud." Brooke grinned.

"Oh, you saw the game, huh? I know it was a rough one," laughed Nathan. "Well I think I would have done better if my best friend would come to a game every now and then. If not for me, I'm sure the paparazzi would love to have her there to photograph." Nathan replied sarcastically.

Brooke laughed, "Well maybe next game. I'll be in town for a fashion shoot."

"Oh that works out perfect. Maybe we could grab some dinner at Roy's on 5th Avenue like always after the game. There is something I need to tell you anyways and would like to do it in person," Nathan replied hastily.

"Alright, You're killing me with the suspense but I guess I can wait to hear your juicy gossip later. I'll be staying at the Plaza Hotel as usual."

Brooke could tell Nathan was smiling through the phone as he answered, " Great. We'll see you on Friday then. Later, B!"

Brooke hung up the phone and smiled to herself. A happy feeling came over her that put her in a good mood. It was exactly what she needed after the day she had. She was glad that Nathan had called and that they were going to see each other this weekend. She needed to get away from work and spend some time with her best friend. While thinking back through the conversation, suddenly, Brooke remembered the last thing Nathan had said to her before hanging up, "We'll see you on Friday." It hadn't fazed her until right then. He had said "we'll", implying that someone else would be joining them for dinner. She reassured herself that she had possibly heard him wrong and that there was nothing to worry about. However, she couldn't help feeling a pang of anxiety and worry run through her body as she thought of the other option. The option she thought might indeed be the truth. Her stomach dropped and she felt anxiety begin to creep up on her.

"No need to over think this Brooke. He might have just miss-spoke," trying to reassure herself that she was way over thinking the whole situation. However, she needed to talk to someone about this. So she called Millicent into her office immediately.

"So he said we'll? As in you, him and someone else?" Millicent asked puzzled. Brooke had repeated the entire conversation to her and was now anxiously awaiting a response.

"I don't' know! I mean he made it sound like it would just be him and I; but now I don't know! Uggh...What am I going to do Mil?" Brooke asked exasperatedly.

Millicent looked up at Brooke's nervous expression. She knew that Brooke had always been in love with Nathan Scott and that she was too afraid to admit it to him because it would ruin their friendship, or so Brooke thought. Millicent could tell that this was eating Brooke up inside not knowing what to expect when she got to New York. However, she wanted Brooke to finally have a good time and not worry so much about this situation.

"Ok B this is what you're going to do... not worry about it. I'm sure he just misspoke and there is nothing to be anxious about. You guys will have a good time like you always do and maybe this time you could FINALLY tell him how you really feel."

Brooke glanced up from her sketches at Millicent's knowing smile and groaned. "Oh why did I get drunk that night and tell you that I still loved him?"

Millicent laughed, "I'm glad that you finally told someone. But I think that you need to tell HIM. He is, after all, the only person who doesn't know."

As much as Brooke hated to admit it, Millicent was right. Brooke had told Haley after she realized that she loved him and was sure that Lucas already knew. So if everyone else knew,why was it so difficult to tell him?

Anxious, happiness, joy, fear, and a little nauseous, Brooke didn't know how to feel as she stepped out of the cab onto 5th Avenue. All she knew is that for some reason, this time seeing Nathan made her more nervous than she had ever been. She looked down at the new dress she had designed for herself. It was a black strap-less dress that was cut to the top of the knee (Nathan's favorite color on her). She paired it with black strappy heels to show off her great tanned legs. She wore her hair down and curly the way Nathan liked it. Giving herself a glance over she breathed in deeply. Walking down the sidewalk, she was sure she looked good because of the constant stares from guys that passed by her. She reached the entrance of the restaurant and was greeted by the restaurants very well dressed VIP coordinator.

" Miss Davis, we are thrilled that you chose to dine with us this evening," the tall dark- haired man stated. "If you'll follow me this way, Mr. Scott is waiting at the table reserved especially for you."

Brooke followed the man feeling her stomach fill with butterflies. She didn't understand why she had become so nervous to see him. She rounded the corner and suddenly remembered why she felt so anxious. "We'll see you on Friday." Sitting with Nathan was a beautiful blonde-haired woman. She looked like a Victoria's Secret Supermodel. Her long blonde hair was straight and incredibly shiny. She was wearing a white dress that fitted her body perfectly. Needless to say, she was gorgeous. Brooke found herself standing still, staring at this flawless woman. Suddenly, it felt like she had been broadsided by a car as Nathan wrapped his huge manly arms around her. Her body froze for a second, but quickly melted into his embrace. She breathed in deeply only to be intoxicated by his smell. His scent was exactly how she remembered it. She knew it too well. It was the same cologne she had bought him for his 18th birthday. R

"Brooke! It's so good to see you! Boy have I missed you!" Nathan exclaimed happily while tightening his arms around her. She closed her eyes and smiled just thinking about how great it was to have him hold her again. He pulled his face back and smiled her favorite smile. As she stared at his perfectly handsome face, all her built-up feelings came flooding back and she felt herself falling in love with him all over again.

She felt a sudden coldness as his warm body released from hers. She frowned and looked up to see Nathan swiftly leading her back over to the table where the beautiful blonde sat. He caught the woman's attention and reached his arm out towards her as to introduce Brooke to her.

"Brooke, this is Paige, my fiancée," Nathan stated proudly.

Brooke's heart stopped. Had he just said that she was his fiancée? Or was that her imagination? She glanced back and forth between the two of them as they stared lovingly at each other. Nope. She was pretty sure he had said it. Her whole body froze and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

Nathan's hand slightly touched Brooke's arm as he gestured toward her. "Honey, this is Brooke."

Brooke felt a slight tingle as his arm touched hers. The tingle quickly went away however when his hand left her arm and found its way back into Paige's.

Brooke glanced at the woman in front of her who was now reaching her other hand out to shake Brooke's. Without hesitation, Brooke reached out and shook her hand. Her eyes never left Paige's. She felt like the whole room was spinning. Still in shock from the news, Brooke glanced over at Paige only to realize that she was saying something to her.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Brooke. Not only do I love your fashion line. Nathan, here, couldn't stop talking about you." Paige smiled at her and looked at Nathan lovingly.

Brooke sat there in silence for a second watching Nathan looking back at her. She cringed inside. It was the same way he used to look at her. She looked down at the menu and glanced back up at two pairs of eyes staring back at her.

"Oh, thank you, Paige. It's nice to meet you too." Brooke voiced nervously. Her brown eyes finally met with Paige's enticing blue ones. Everything about this woman was breathtaking. Her angelic face, perfect blonde hair, long skinny legs. No wonder Nathan chose her. She was trying not to make it obvious by staring at Paige. But she found her eyes shifting towards Paige every chance they could get. She was so deep into examining every aspect of Paige that she hadn't realized that Nathan was talking to her. She luckily caught the tail end of his question.

"… rough out there tonight. Did you see the game at all?" Nathan's eyes finally found Brooke's and smiled.

Brooke stomach flopped. She felt herself getting lost in his deep brown eyes but quickly realized that she needed to be strong. His fiancée was sitting right there. Brooke felt herself blush.

"Oh you know, I unfortunately didn't get to see the game." Brooke smiled back unsure of Nathan's previous statement. She was going to ask him if they won but wasn't sure if he had already said that while she was scoping out the competition.

"Well, maybe the next game you can actually come to will be a win." Nathan said sarcastically. He smiled at her as she hit his arm playfully.

"Yeah, you guys are going to need me to start coming to games. Maybe with me there, you guys can actually win a game." Brooke shot back playfully.

They joked around and made fun of each other for the next few minutes. He told her a funny story about the game and she laughed whole-heartedly at him. A feeling of happiness filled her heart. It felt like the old days to Brooke. She was unexpectedly pulled back into reality when she quickly looked up to see Nathan lean over and kiss Paige on the cheek. Pain crept back into her stomach making her feel nauseous again. She felt lost and all alone again. Her Nathan was no longer her Nathan. He belonged to the stunning woman who was now whispering in his ear making him smile.

Dinner seemed to drag by. Brooke thought maybe it was because of how uncomfortable she had felt sitting there watching the love of her life be in love with someone else. Brooke realized half-way through dinner that Paige was a very pleasant and friendly person. "Another reason to hate her," Brooke thought to herself. Paige was not only beautiful outside; she was perfect inside as well. Brooke felt her heart drop just thinking about how Nathan had looked at her. She had never seen him look at a woman like that before; like he was madly in love with her. Brooke deeply sighed. How could she compete with Paige? She played basketball, loved water-sports, loved watching scary movies and had a body like a supermodel. Everything that Nathan could have wished for was right there in perfect human body form.

After saying goodbye to the happy couple, Brooke excused herself and raced quickly outside to the awaiting limo. She had to get out of there and call Millicent. When she reached the limo, she sank back into the cold leather seat and felt her eyes start to fill with tears. She sniffed and grabbed for some tissues. With tears streaming down her face, she dialed Millicent's cell number.

"Brooke! I was wondering what happened to you! How'd dinner go with Nathan?" Millicent's cheerful voice rang through the phone.

Brooke sniffed. "Nottt…. Ssssooo gooddd. He'sss… he'ss getttting marrrieedd."

Brooke let out a deep cry and felt a tear hit her bare leg.

" Hold on…What?! …Did you just say he's getting married?" Millicent responded confused.

"Yes. Nathan's getting married Mil," Brooke blew her nose. "He introduced me to his fiancée at dinner tonight."

Millicent let out a gasp. "Brooke, are you serious? Oh honey. I'm so sorry! Well…What did she look like?"

"Oh you know, just the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life." Brooke sighed as the tears continued down her face. "She's perfect Mil. Absolutely perfect. I couldn't find one thing wrong with her. And he is so in love with her. It makes my heart break just thinking about it."

Brooke began to cry harder thinking about how he looked at Paige. She blew her nose again.

Millicent felt horrible hearing Brooke's crying through the phone. It broke her heart to know that Brooke was in so much pain right now. "I'm so sorry B. I know that this can't be easy for you. Do you want me to try to get you on a plane to LA tonight?"

"No, thanks though, Mil. I think that Nathan wants to have lunch with me tomorrow. Just him and I. I don't know how I'm going to make it through without crying. I feel terrible right now! How can I act happy for him getting married when I feel as crappy as I do right now?" Brooke said irritated through the tears.

"I don't know B. Wow. That's gonna be hard. I wish I could be there with you tomorrow." Millicent said sadly.

Brooke wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Thanks Mil. I'm so glad that you answered your phone. I was so upset and needed to talk to someone. I think I'm at the hotel now and need to go in a take a shower. I'll call you tomorrow ok?" Brooke replied while trying to wipe the remaining tears off her mascara smeared face. "So much for waterproof," she thought.

"Ok. I love you B. Call me if you need me ok. Don't cry alone. Call me if you need to cry and I'll cry with you." Millicent offered kindly.

"Haha..Love you too." Brooke laughed lightly and closed her cell phone. She felt a headache coming on. She pulled the mirror down to examine her face. Peering into the mirror she saw the lines of where the tears had streaked down her face. She touched underneath her eyes and closed her eyes slightly. Sighing deeply, she quickly dabbed on some powder from her purse and put her sunglasses on to hide her red puffy eyes. She knew that the paparazzi would be at the entrance and wanted to make sure she looked presentable so they didn't get a picture of her crying. She could just see it in the headlines the next morning. "Brooke Davis returned home upset and crying. Broken heart perhaps?" But little would they know that headline would be exactly right.