Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they belong to Mark and The WB. I don't own anything they could take anyway. Though, if James Lafferty ever knocks on my door, I can promise the world won't get him back.
Summary: Future Fic. Brooke returns to Tree Hill to help Peyton plan her wedding to Jake. Several encounters with a very bitter and drunken Nathan lead to confrontation and maybe a bit more.
Rating: Each chapter will vary in rating. I'll post before hand. The first is pretty much PG, if that.
Notes: Thanks to all my girls for reading my fics and especially Janine for getting my NB juices flowing again. I hope everyone enjoys and please R R!

Whiskey and Weddings
Chapter One

Brooke's patience was wearing thin as she followed the beat-up Chevy down Maynard Lane. Who drove 15 miles an hour anymore? No one in New York City, that's for sure. If the rest of her time in Tree Hill was going to be this damn slow, she was just going to have to relocate Peyton's wedding. Brooke had been so excited to hear about Jake and Peyton's engagement and even more so when Peyton asked her to come down and help plan it. The two girls had remained close over the years, but they had spent way too much time apart.

After high school, Brooke had moved to the Big City and Peyton had opted to stay close to home in favor of being with Jake and Jenny. Both were still happy with their decision, but missed spending time with the girl that had been their other half for so long. Brooke was grateful to have the next two months to spend with her best friend. Four years of working holidays had proved to be worth it now.

Brooke loved her job and she was good at it. Years of reading fashion magazines had paid off and now she was working on her own line to be displayed during Fashion Week next Spring. People in the industry respected her and took her seriously. It wasn't something she was used to, but then again she had never really applied herself in the past. Leaving Tree Hill was the hardest thing she had ever done, but she knew now it was the best. Her future wasn't here. She'd found everything she'd ever longed for in NYC, well almost everything. She still hadn't found love. There were lots of guys in New York and most of them were fabulous. They were educated and cultured. Kind and understanding. Some of them had loved her. She'd hoped to love a few of them. She hadn't. Brooke was yet to find someone that made her heart flutter and her blood boil. Sometimes she ached for that special someone, but most the time she was content with just knowing he was out there. In the mean time she was going to have fun with all the males that came her way.

"Finally," she huffed as the car in front of her turned into a drive-way. Not a minute later, she pulled in the Sawyer driveway. Though Jake had bought a house, Peyton was still living with her dad. Brooke was going to be their guest for the next few months. She had sold her parents home after her mother passed away last fall. Apparently, the lavish lifestyle the Davis couple had led caught up with them. Her father died of a heart attack her sophomore year to NYU and her mother, who refused to ever visit a doctor, had fallen victim to the evil known as breast cancer. Brooke wished she could say that she missed them, but the truth was she never really knew them.

She reached into her backseat and pulled the first, of many, suitcases from it before heading to the Sawyer front door. Brooke could hear Peyton's god awful music from outside. "Some things never change," she mumbled as she walked inside. "I thought you would have grown out of this crap by now."

"I thought you would start using the doorbell by now? Do you just walk into people's houses in New York City? You know you can get shot that way."

"You should know, P.Sawyer, that B. Davis does whatever she pleases."

"Including referring to herself in the third person?"

"If she wants." Peyton just smiled, happy to have her best friend in her home once again. "So, are you just going to leave me standing here or are you going to hug me already?" Brooke asked, setting her bag by the door.

"I guess we can hug."

"I hope you give Jegelski more love than this."

"When he deserves it."

"And when has he ever not?" Brooke asked pushing a blonde girl behind Peyton's ear.

"You'd be surprised."

"Do tell!" Brooke squealed and hopped on Peyton's bed like she had so many times before. "I knew Jake had to have at least one bad habit."

"Oh, he has many."

"Well, let's start with the most interesting."

"He continues to be friends with an asshole."

"You're going to have to be a little more specific, Peyt. Last time I checked, Tree Hill was full of them."

Peyton sighed. "Nathan."

"Nathan? He's still living here?"

"I wouldn't really call it living."

"Well, what would you call it?"

"Drowning his sorrows in booze and blaming the heart Haley broke on every female in a 200 meter radius of him."

"He's still bitter about that?"

"Bitter doesn't come close. The boy is insane. Everyone's tried to help him, but he doesn't want help. He just wants to sit in that disgusting apartment and rot away."

"Does he work?"

"Yeah. For Dan. He's just so happy that Nathan's not married that he doesn't care what he does."

"Really? I figured after Nathan lost his scholarship, Dan would disown him."

"Me too, but no. I think Deb has something to do with it."

"Ahh, Deb. Now that lady has some demons."

"Why do you say that?"

"Oh, just something I heard floating around the NY circuit. All I can say is those all her "charity" work has helped her make a name for herself."

"Oh, really. Do tell."

The two girls continued to gossip about the Scott family, minus Lucas who both had lost touch with over the years, and everyone else they had known. It felt like old times. The only thing missing was a blow-out party and Brooke was pretty sure she could cook that up in no time.