Peyton saw her one night down town and, up until that moment, that very individual snapshot in time, the night had been like any other: Good because Peyton was home in Tree Hill again, and for that reason only. Everything else had seemingly gone to hell, and every other night with it.
But apparently not this night.
Peyton froze, stopped nearly in the street, unable to comprehend the woman within the earshot of a good yell. Surely if Peyton would just call out her name, the woman would turn, smile, and walk over. So she tried it.
"Brooke!!" Peyton called, raising her hand to distinguish herself from everyone else in the surprisingly dense down town Tree Hill crowd. And, sure enough, the brunette turned, smiled, and began to walk over. No. Not walk. More like run. But not even that. It was more of a beyond-impressive full-on sprint in dangerous (lethal) 4-inch heels over a concrete sidewalk whose stability was questionable: Peyton feared Brooke would lose her footing, fall, break her neck and die right there. But the brunette never faltered once and was in Peyton's arms in such a rush that it took effort from both women to keep from falling onto the ground.
"Peyton…" Brooke murmured, refusing to let go of her old friend. She took in the warmth of her skin against the cold winter night and smiled at the familiar smell of her hair. "How long has it been?" she asked, still not pulling away. Peyton sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Too long," she said at first, and then she went to calculating. "…Almost 6 years," she said, and the number was heavy on her heart. Brooke finally pulled away, her heels allowing her to look Peyton straight in the face; There were tears in both of their eyes.
"Never again," she said. Then she paused, backing up a fraction just to look her friend over so she'd never forget a single detail. "Let's promise never to let that much time go by without seeing each other, okay?" Peyton nodded, a tear rolling down her face. She caught it before Brooke could reach for it. The brunette hugged Peyton again. "God, I missed you, P. Sawyer." She said, finally stepping back.
"What are you doing tonight?" Peyton asked, her eyes big and hopeful. Brooke faltered, knowing she had a lot to do for her company and not a lot of time to do it in. But she knew that this moment, this night, was more important to her than all the money in the world, and so she let a small smile melt onto her face.
"Nothing," she said confidently, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulder. "Let's go have fun."