Summary: It's 10 years reunion at Tree Hill High, and the fab 5 are back to face long lost friends. Everyone of them is just a fragment of what they once were, the next more disturbed than the last. In order to gain a peace of mind, they have to face their darkest secrets; skeletons that would be better off in the closet are walking out to face the darkness that are engrossing the characters that you've grown to love. For one last time, they have to face each other!
Authors Note: The rating is T. There are hints of some controversial topics, and this will for the most part be a dark fiction, different (or maybe the same) from what you've read before! Don't say I haven't warned you! It is also AU, so these are NOT the exact characters that you watch every week. What I mean is that they are faced with situations that you might not agree with them being in, and that you don't think they would be in. That's okay. but this is fiction, and this is not going to be a fic where everyone sits around the bonfire, singing camp songs. It's dark. The characters are dark. They're different, but I believe I've still managed to keep them in character! I don't want to be flamed because they're not fluffy like you want it to be!
Special thanks to my beta! )
Skeletons in the closet
Prologue
Does this darkness have a name?
The air was heavy, a gloomy atmosphere that was lost on the ignorant crowd in the blue and white decorated gym. Everyone was in their finest attire, wearing a smile they had been practicing in the mirror before they left home. The women's make up was pefectly made, and the men's jokes were rehearsed to the tee.
The reunion was beautifully decorated. The school colors were the theme of the decorations, along with everything typical 2007, whatever that was. The reunion committee had tried their hardest to get everyone to take a walk down memory lane, to their senior year where almost everyone was care free.
The talk went freely amongst the people in the gym, chatting about wives, husbands, exes, children, careers - things that meant the world to some, but nothing to others. They knew that every word was being carefully examined, as everyone tried to outdo each other with who were the most succesful out of the whole class. Some said that Haley and Nathan had made a good life for themselves, balancing family life with their succesful careers. Others meant that Lucas and Peyton probably were rich with 2.5 kids, and a house with a white picket fence. The rest said that Brooke was living the life she had always dreamed of, flying first class from one fashion show to the next with not a care in the world.
Amongst the few that had gotten the news, the chatred went quitely, hushed voices that were silenced by the echoing of the laughter floating in the room. It was a tragedy, some said. Well deserved, others said. The rest didn't care, it was only new gossip to whisper about. Nothing personal. Just business.
This cruelty, this hatred?
Brooke just scoffed at the rumblings, and at the lame attempt to bring them back to 2007. It was a year she'd rather forget. In fact, she wanted to just forget them all. Get a lobotomy or something, erase everything. She took another sip at her drink as she stood outside the main entrance, glancing every now and then at the new arrivals. She hadn't spoken to any of her friends since they all left for college. She had exchanged e-mails with Haley every now and then, and met up with Rachel whenever she was in the South. But other than that... nothing.
A shadow approached her, smoke seeping through the dark . It was tall, mysterious... it was familiar.
He took a drag of the cigarette in his hand, as he cocked his eyebrow and gave her a quick nod.
"Lucas," she said simply, acknowledging his presence.
How did it find us?
She downed her drink, before nodding towards the cigarette in his hand, "May I?"
He looked her in the eye, trying to make out if she was serious or not. She smiled deviously at him, and nodded once again at his hand. He grinned and took one last drag of the cigarette, before handing it to her. "Knock yourself out."
He watched the smoke whirl around in her mouth, before she let it out through her small lips, shaped like 'O's. He took a moment to study her. Her skin was as flawless as always, and her perfume was still the same. Yet, there was something different about her. Her hair was straight, and ended right above her shoulders. Her make up was harder and darker than he remembered, as were her clothes. But that wasn't it...
"What?" she asked when he kept studying her, trying to figure out the petite brunette that was standing before him. He put his hands in his pockets, and turned his head to look at no one in particular.
Did it steal into our lives, or did we seek it out and embrace it?
"You've changed," he stated simply. Brooke nodded her head, before eyeing him up and down, giving him the same amount of attention as she had just gotten from him. His hair was longer, and he clearly hadn't shaved in days. His clothes were neat and clean, and he still had the boyish charm from what she remembered from high school. But still, the features of his face, the lines and bags under his eyes gave away that he had led a hard life.
"So have you," she answered, stomping on the stump of the cigarette. She flashed him a smile, one that wasn't very unlike the ever so famous Brooke Davis smile. But as everything else, it was different. It had a hint of sadness, a little remorse... Maybe it was the same smile? He thought to himself, a frown covering his features as he studied her some more.
"I should go inside", she said, "It's kind of chilly out here". She wrapped her coat tighter around her, her small fingers gripping the rough fabric, looking like they would break in the process. It was then he realized what it was. The skin on her hands were so pale, as was the flawless skin in her face. In certain angles, she almost disappeared, the darkness engrossing her in a way he hadn't seen of anyone else before, other than himself.
He knew what she was. She was like him.
What happened to us, that we now send our children into the world,
like we send young men to war?
Haley sat at a table, clinging to the purse in front of her. A frown was covering her features, displaying the few wrinkles she had gotten over the past years. She had seen them walk in, Lucas and Brooke, and now she watched them walk over to Mouth. She couldn't help but feel annoyed. Two of the people that had meant a lot to her in her senior year, not to mention her childhood, had never bothered to call her, but they had obviously not had any problems finding each other. A jolt of jealousy ran through her body, but she quickly shook it off. They were not about to ruin her night. Besides, the pain in her side did that enough for her anyway.
Hoping for their safe return, but knowing that some will be lost on the way.
"What is it?" Nathan asked, barely looking at her. She couldn't quite pinpoint whether his concern was sincere or not.
"What do you mean?" she asked, clearly annoyed.
"You're acting crazy. Even more so than usual, I mean," he said, his voice dripping with resentment.
"Oh my, does Nathan Scott actually care about anything besides himself?" The sarcasm rolled off her tongue after years of practise, and her eyes rolled themselves automatically everytime he opened his mouth, even if it was just to yawn. Nathan sighed, his eyes narrowing. They were piercing through her, and for a second, he remembered when he was looking into her eyes and was able to see her soul. Now as he looked into her eyes, he just saw the devil herself.
"Look, you're the one who asked me to do this. I can walk away and tell everyone what a bitch and a lousy mother you are if that's what you want." Haley just raised her eye, turning her head slightly towards him.
"No, we're doing this. If you back out, I swear, I have no problem spilling your dirty little secrets. It looks bad enough for the rest of the people here that we're not together anymore, we can at least pretend to be civil towards each other for one night," she hissed, her face inching towards him with each word spoken.
"Now," she said with a clearly fake cheery voice as she stood up, "I just saw Brooke and Lucas walk in. Let's go and say hi." She smiled sweetly at him, which earned her a glare in return.
"Remember," she continued, her voice lowering, a devious smile playing on her lips. "Always.."
"And forever," he finished mockingly. Haley looked satisfied at this, and started prancing towards Mouth, who was now sitting awkwardly in the middle of the table, with Lucas and Brooke on each side. Nathan followed after, feets lagging behind as he was binded by shackles. Oh, the irony, he thought to himself, as he found his place next to Haley.
When did we lose our way?
Peyton stood in the corner of the room, the dark hugging her thin form. With her black long sleeved top and matching black pants, she was practically invisible. She had seen the exchange between Nathan and Haley, and she couldn't help but be confused. What she had overlooked was clearly not just a regular lover's quarrel. Their looks had been anything but affectionate, and if she hadn't known any better, she'd say that Nathan and Haley hated each other like the plague.
Consumed by the shadows, swallowed whole by the darkness.
She lifted her arm, the shirt inching up her left arm, displaying one of her many scars.. She put the glass of scotch to her lips, enjoying the stinging sensation of the alcohol gliding down her throat. A drink was definitely needed in this crowd, and a boost of confidence wouldn't be the worst thing before she would be reaquainted with her past.
She decided to suck it up and go for it, and slowly made her way through the crowd to the table in the back. Conveniently, the light was dimmed and it was even darker there than it was in the rest of the room.
Does this darkness have a name?
The clicking of her shoes made the heads turn, and she gave a half-hearted wave to the group. She stopped in her tracks and let her hand drop down to her side.
No one said a word. No one dared to breathe. As the tension surrounded them, mocking them, they sat there in complete and utter silence. They watched the friends that had once been their whole lives, turn into just a fragment of what they once were.
To lonely skeletons, in a dark and empty closet.
Is it your name?