One Tree Hill Season 5
It was four years ago that the high school friends stood on the river court looking down at their names sprayed on the cement. Fast forward to the present and there are those same names, only faded and distant. It seemed like a sign. Sure, standing there that night it felt like it would last forever but like those names, the friendships had grown faded and distant.
Does growing up mean that you move on from your past? Forget about friendships and mistakes made? Growing up means the opposite. It means knowing what you did and how to learn from it. It means being able to remain friends with the people who you would once give your life for. That's what growing up means and that's exactly what the once residents of Tree Hill are trying to do
"Brooke, these designs are hideous. You can't possibly think those would sell," Carolyn said after tossing the design drawings out of her hand, in disgust.
Carolyn was an old woman with no heart. However, what she lacked in the beating organ in her chest, she made up for in brains. She had helped a struggling Brooke find her footing in the fashion industry and has been with her ever since.
"Those are just some rough ideas, thanks for the encouragement, though," Brooke answered the older lady.
Although, the past four years had been successful business wise, Brooke was more lonely than ever. You could never tell it by looking at her, though, for she always had a big smile firmly planted on her face.
"You'll get encouragement when you actually come up with something decent, not this garbage. Speaking of garbage, your friend, Raquel..."
"Rachel," the young brunette corrected.
"Ah yes. Rachel, has since checked herself into rehab."
Rachel and Brooke had tried to keep in touch as much as possible over the past four years but found it more and more difficult to do so. Brooke had given the other girl jobs but they hadn't seen each other in over a year.
"Maybe I should call her," Brooke thought out loud.
"You will do no such thing. Do you know what would happen to your image if you were known to associate with people like her?"
"Right, my image. That's all that matters," the brunette sighed in defeat.
"That, and the companies image. Now go home and think of new and better designs or we can just forget about a new Spring line," Carolyn ordered as she ushered the girl out of the large office.
Once she reached her apartment and got inside, she looked through her phone until she found Rachel's name. After looking at it for several seconds, she sighed and pushed the end button, taking her back to the main screen.
"Peyton, there's a show tonight, do you want to check it out with me?" Brad asked the curly haired girl.
The blonde looked up from the mountain of papers on her desk and smiled a sweet smile, "I would love to go with you but I really have to get all this work done by the morning."
"Oh, ok. Well, maybe some other time?" He asked hopeful.
"Definitely."
After the girls answer, Brad smiled and walked off, leaving for the afternoon. Peyton just watched and wished that she had the luxury of doing the same. She didn't, so she continued to sift through the paper work.
Her concentration was broken, though, when her phone started vibrating, indicating that she had a text message.
Who would have thought such a big city could be so lonely?
Peyton smiled at the name that showed to be the sender and replied back.
B. Davis. Long time, no talk. NY not treating you so well?
Instead of getting another text back, the girl chuckled when she saw that Brooke was calling her. She didn't even get the chance to get out a hello before the girl had started talking.
"It's probably treating me just as good as LA is you."
Peyton laughed but could hear it in the girl's voice that she was, in fact, lonely and sad.
"What are we doing Brooke? I'm all the way on the west coast, swamped with pointless paperwork, trying to cut it in the music business and you're all the way in NY making a killer earning but still just as lonely and depressed as the next person."
"I hear you. My designs are starting to suck and if I don't turn things around quick, I may get fired from my own company."
"How about a vacation? Four years away from home is way too long."
The other end of the line was quiet for a few moments, causing Peyton to think the connection had been lost, when finally the other girl answered, "I'll be there tomorrow."
"Well, ok! So will I. I'm done with this assistant to the assistant crap, I'll be on the next flight out of here."
After they had said their goodbyes, Peyton looked around and smiled. This was her last day of not being appreciated, her last day doing never ending paper work. She was done and as she got up from her desk, she took one last look at the papers sitting there and raked them into the trash-can.
Rachel walked into the room one of the aids had led her to and set her suitcase down on the bed. These next few weeks were going to be hard. Not just because she was giving up drugs but, also, because she was giving up her phone and iPod. She had no connection to the outside world except for writing letters and a phone call once a week. That's the way it had to be if she was going to beat this thing.
She started unpacking her belongings and once she was done, looked around the room. The other side of the room looked just like hers. There was a twin size bed with ugly flowered bedding, a desk, and a closet. The closet was closed and she had no intention of snooping around it but the desk was another story. She walked over to it and examined some of the pictures she found.
In them was a pretty brunette with different people. In one, Rachel assumed the girl was with her parents on what appeared to be her high school graduation.
"That must be nice," the red head whispered to herself.
"Not so much," the brunette in the picture said from behind her, causing her to jump and turn around.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snoop," the girl said once she regained composure.
"Oh, no, it's cool. That's why they're out, for people to look at them," she answered as she walked the rest of the way into the room and plopped herself down on the bed. "What're you in for?" she asked nonchalantly as she examined her fingernails.
"Um...I...I have a drug problem," Rachel finally stuttered out, figuring honesty was her best chance at making a new life for herself.
"Like most everyone else in here. Except for me."
Rachel looked at the girl confused. She had thought this was a drug rehabilitation center, what could this girl be here for, if not that?
Her confused look was enough to get the girl to answer, "I cut myself a few days ago. My mom is one of the aids here and thought a little structure and therapy would be best for me. Better than any court ordered program, I'm sure."
The red head didn't know what to say. She was sharing a room with a suicidal girl, and she thought she had problems.
Both the girls were quiet for awhile before the other girl spoke up again, "Anyway, my name is Kris. It's not short for anything, it's just Kris. What's your name?"
"Rachel," was the short reply she gave, all the while, thinking that this was the most upbeat suicidal girl she had ever met but she hadn't met many of those.
"Cool. Well, dinner will be in about an hour and afterwards a list will be posted of who has what activity," and with that said the girl got up from her bed and walked out of the room, leaving Rachel alone once again.
The next day, Brooke was walking through the airport looking for the gate Peyton would be at. They set it up where they would be arriving around the same time. Brooke hadn't even let Carolyn know that she would be leaving. She figured that since she was the boss, she could do whatever she wanted but she also knew that the older woman wouldn't be very happy.
Peyton, however had told her boss that she would be leaving. It wasn't the most polite conversation but it got the job done and she was now exiting the airplane about to meet her best friend, who she hadn't seen in years.
She walked through the door and saw the brunette sitting in the chairs and walked over to her, "Been here long?"
Brooke turned in her chair and smiled at her friend before standing up and reaching for a hug. It had been a long time since the two girls had seen each other and it felt good just to hold the other. The loneliness that both girls had felt was starting to drift away.
"I have so much to tell you, Peyton," she said as she pulled out of the hug.
"How about we do some catching up over at the Starbucks?" the blonde asked.
The two girls went to grab their luggage and made their way over to the coffee house. After an hour of talking, they had more or less filled the other in on their life away from Tree Hill but Peyton still had some questions to ask.
"I saw some of your magazine ads, do you and Rachel still keep in touch?"
Brooke looked down at her now empty cup and sighed. She had hoped that the topic of the red head wouldn't come up so soon but she was only kidding herself. She knew her friends read the tabloids and heard the rumors floating around.
"Not for awhile. She kinda got caught up in the lifestyle and got lost in it."
Peyton saw that her friend didn't really want to talk about it so decided to let the subject go. Instead, the girls got up and went to find the car that Brooke had waiting for them.
The drive to Tree Hill was a quiet one, the girls feeling awkward around each other but they hoped that everything would go back to normal with the party they were having that night. It was short notice but the girls had managed to get ahold of everyone and told them to be at Tric.
Brooke had already booked a hotel room until she could look for something a little more permanent and this is where the girls were going to get ready for the night. The brunette had her hair slightly curled with a little makeup on and a very little black dress. She had been saving it for a night out on the town in NYC but figured a night with all her old friends would be just as good.
Peyton, however, hadn't been expecting to dress up quite like Brooke and had on a pair of jeans and a low cut shirt. There wasn't anyone she was really trying to impress so she wasn't that upset with her choice in clothing.
The two headed over to the club and walked through the masses of teenagers. One thing Brooke was going to miss about New York was the club scene. They made their way over to the bar and saw Nathan, Haley, Lucas, Mouth, and Skills sitting there sipping on their drinks.
They walked over to the group and got their attention by coughing. Once all their old friends had noticed them, the hugging began. When it came time to hug Lucas, both girls were a little hesitant but got over it quickly. They had missed the boy and it was good to see them all again, regardless of their history.
They all sat at the bar yelling over the music, telling each other what they had been up to since graduation. Nathan and Haley were back in Tree Hill so Haley could teach and their son, Jaime, could have a better home life. Nathan had decided against entering the NBA draft and was playing for a small semi-pro team an hour away from Tree Hill. He decided that his family was more important to him than basketball ever would be and he would still be getting paid for what he loved doing, all the while, getting to stay home the majority of the time.
Lucas was a struggling writer, trying to get his book published but not having much luck. He was still heavily involved in basketball and was hoping to get the open job at Tree Hill High.
Mouth had just graduated form UNC with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a newly acquired job of reporting on Tarheel sports.
Skills was the only one of the group who hadn't really done anything with himself. He hadn't stayed in college and he had given up on basketball a long time ago. He had a job at one of the music stores in town but that wasn't bringing him a whole lot of cash. Him, Lucas, and Mouth all shared an apartment since none of them were really making that much money.
It was clear that Brooke was the most successful out of her friends. Growing up hadn't been easy on a lot of them and she would always be grateful for the life she had and the people that helped her get there. Most of those people were sitting here, reliving past memories, but there was one missing.
Rachel lay in bed on her second night at the rehab center. She had gone through intense counseling today, trying to get to the root of her problems. She knew what the root was, she wasn't mature enough to handle the lifestyle of being a high profile model in New York City. None of her therapists or nurses would agree, though. They all thought the problem had existed before.
Sure, maybe it had. Having absentee parents, low self esteem, and very few friends tend to cause a lot of problems but none of the people here were aware of that, yet.
She rolled over to her side and looked at her roommate, Kris, sleeping. They had talked some more and started to form a friendship. It was too early to tell if it would last but, so far, Rachel really enjoyed her company. She thought that if they continued to get closer, she might tell the girl about her past but that wouldn't be any time soon.
They both had three weeks in this place and it would take most of that for the red head to open up. She figured the same about Kris, since she really didn't know that much about the girl. She knew that she was younger, 20, and that she hated her parents, something that they had in common. Other than that, though, the girl was a mystery.
She rolled back onto her back and stared up at the ceiling and hoped that the next three weeks would be the fastest three weeks of her life.