Brooke Davis reached into the over head locker for her black and white Prada bag and slid it onto her shoulder. Checking her seat for any forgotten items, she began to exit the plane. She had just endured a three hour flight from New York to North Carolina and she wasn't sure if she could feel her feet.

Breathing in the familiar scent of home she scanned the crowds waiting in the arrivals lounge and spotted a mass of curly blonde hair waving frantically at her.

"Brooke!" Peyton Sawyer called, and grinned, rushing over to hug her best friend tightly.

"I missed you P.Sawyer," Brooke muttered as their arms wrapped around each other.

"Well," Peyton drew back to inspect her "I like the new do, B.Davis," she gently pulled a strand of Brooke's newly shortened chocolate brown hair.

"You too," Brooke responded "Who thought Blondie would come to the dark side, even if it is just a few lowlights."

"Yeah," Peyton ruffled her own hair "Guess I just needed a change." For a moment Brooke saw a flicker of sadness and regret in Peyton's eyes but it disappeared as soon as it had appeared. "We should get going," Peyton slipped an arm around Brooke's waist "Everyone's really excited to see you. Haley practically baked a cake."

"I love cake!" Brooke exclaimed as they headed out of the terminal.

---

"So I have something to show you," Peyton smiled as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Where are we, P.Sawyer?" Brooke enquired, creasing her eyebrows.

"Don't worry, I haven't brought you out here to kill you," Peyton clambered out of the car and hurried round to Brooke's side to open the door "Well, probably not."

"Okay, now I'm worried," Brooke pulled her shoulder bag out of the car with her "What's going on?"

"Follow me," Peyton took her hand and lead her over to the door of a huge and beautiful house. Slipping a hand inside her pocket, she produced a key and opened the front door.

"Don't tell me you became a realtor while I was away," Brooke laughed as they stepped inside.

"This house has two bedrooms, three bathrooms, one kitchen, three reception rooms and a view of the harbor," Peyton paused "And… it's all ours.""

WHAT!" Brooke exclaimed, spinning round to face her best friend "You bought us a house!"

"I did!" Peyton laughed and they both jumped up and down ecstatically, hugging the whole time.

"This is…" Brooke let go of her best friend and looked around the house in amazement "So beautiful Peyton."

"I know," Peyton nodded slowly, following Brooke's gaze absently and leaning against the banisters.

Brooke dumped her bag down on the floorboards, then walked into the kitchen, her high heels clattering on the tiles. "I always wanted a breakfast bar!" she squealed pointing at the kitchen counter that stretched across one side of the room.

Peyton didn't reply, just seemed to be staring into empty space.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Brooke folded her arms across her chest and leant her hip against the counter.

"Nope," Peyton shook her head "Why would there be?"

"No reason," Brooke shrugged her shoulder and ran her fingers along the granite worktop "So where's the wine?"

"I haven't even shown you the best part of the house yet," Peyton smiled, heading upstairs.

"There's more?" When Brooke caught up with her they were standing on a wide balcony with impressive views of the harbor. The sun was painting the sky a pinky-orange color as it set and when Peyton had fetched the white wine, they sat down and toasted."To new beginnings," Brooke grinned.

"And old friends," Peyton replied as they clinked their glasses together and sipped. She reached over to put her hand on Brooke's shoulder and Brooke smiled, squeezing Peyton's palm in her own.