Disclaimer- I don't own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Fresh Out of Heroes

I was always so caught up in Lucas that I don't think I ever really noticed the people who had been beside me my entire life. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Girl meets boy. Girl falls in love with boy. Girl proceeds to forget about her friends. Or at least forget about what they did for her.

The moment Lucas and I got together for the first official time, I forgot the girl code. The code of honor. Hoes over Bro's. Actually, I guess you could say I forgot about that a long time ago. As in the first time Lucas and I got together. You never date your best friend's ex-boyfriend. And you most certainly never hook up with your best friend's current boyfriend. I don't even know why after we stopped classifying each other as friends I started dating Lucas. You don't hurt the people you love like that, and despite what I might have said, I do love Brooke. I guess the problem was that I love Lucas too.

Does that mean I love Lucas more than I love Brooke? No, not really. Not in my eyes anyway. It's a different type of love. Lucas well, he's always saving me. At least that's what I used to think I loved about him.

But then, sitting there in the basement tied to a chair with Brooke next to me, I realized that she had saved me long before he had. Not in the same sense of course, she hadn't physically attacked anyone in order to save my life, but she had saved me in a way that meant…more.

After my mom died, I was lost and alone and I had nobody to turn to. Dad was always gone and without mom, I had pretty much nothing left to live for. Brooke gave me reason again. She came by to check on me every day after the death of my mom, and at the funeral, it was Brooke that stood beside and leaned against me so we were holding each other up. It was Brooke who cried with me and wiped away my tears. It was Brooke who made sure I was doing okay and would call me at random hours of the night just to make sure I was still fine.

She always understood that I wasn't great, and she accepted that. She just wanted to make sure that I was getting by. What I don't think she really ever realized was that if it hadn't been for her, I don't think I ever would have made it. She was everything I wasn't. She was happy and bright and loving in the places where I was lost and dark and cold. We balanced each other out perfectly and the moment psycho Derek held the knife up to her neck, I realized I couldn't really go on without her.

That's what they always say though, right? You don't know what you've got till it's gone? Well I was moments away from having everything taken away from me and I had a chance to save it. I was getting a second chance. A third if you're really counting.

I still wonder why she came back for me. It was prom. Brooke had been dreaming about this day for her entire life. I must say, it surprised me that she even gave up a few minutes to come and check on me after everything I did to her. But that's just Brooke for you. I guess she's a better friend than I ever will be. I already knew that though. That's why I knew that I couldn't let Derek hurt her.

Ah, I can hear you protesting now. I didn't let him hurt her, but I hurt her myself, right? Well trust me when I say the blows I dealt her were much softer than any Derek would have given. Does that mean I saved her? Well…I tried. Then I ran. I left her tied to a chair knowing that if I died, Derek would go finish her off before my body went cold. Not so much of a hero after all huh?

But Brooke…she was a hero. He was so close to…violating me I still get shudders thinking about it, but then Brooke saved me. Again. I don't know how she got her hands untied but a part of me wishes she hadn't.

When she hit him with the bar or whatever it was, I thought we were safe. I thought we could take him. It was all choking and hitting and scratching from there. Brooke got thrown to the floor numerous times, but she's not the kind of person who just gives up. She's a fighter. But then again, so is Derek.

I don't remember much after that, its all kind of a hazy. There was the kick from cheer camp in eighth grade and Derek went tumbling backwards over Brooke only something went wrong. His leg hooked around her as he fell and she wasn't braced for the impact enough.

Why wasn't she ready? I don't know. The doctors said her body was bruised from his attack and he must have hit a spot where she was already in pain. They said you curl in to protect yourself when you're in pain, only when she curled in she forgot that somebody was falling down the stairs on top of her. With her.

If everything was a hazy after Brooke hit him with the bar, it was a blur after that. There was screaming and crying and the thuds of my feet repeatedly kicking Derek as I yelled at Brooke to get up. Once I was sure he couldn't get up and attack her again, I rushed to Brooke's side and I think I blacked out after that.

And now? Well now I'm sitting by Brooke's bed as they get the room ready for her surgery. She's going in a few moments but I can't leave her side. She came back for me. She still loves me. I can't believe it's really my Brookie lying on the table looking so small and frail. There's still red lipstick on her lips making the rest of her face look scarily pale and white. I reach to brush a strand of hair out of her face but my hand hesitates and hovers a few seconds above it instead. I'm afraid of what she'll feel like. I'm afraid she'll be cold.

"It's time to take her in Miss," the nurse says, putting a hand on my shoulder and pulling me slightly away. I pull away from her and stand next to Brooke's bed again. It's not her. This can't be Brooke. This can't be the brave strong girl who always stood up for me looking so little and lonely now. I don't believe it. I can't believe it.

"Give me a minute?" I asked quietly, my voice cracking.

"She's in critical condition, and if we don't get her into the OR now, we might lose her." The nurse says, getting ready to wheel Brooke out of the room. Maybe out of my life.

"Please," I whisper, trying to make the lady understand without taking my eyes off of Brooke. "She came back for me."

"We have to go now," the nurse says, pushing the bed gently now like if she jolted it too hard Brooke would be lost. I can't loose her.

"You don't understand," I say, reaching out now and without hesitation brushing the hair away from her face. The lady stops the bed and I lean down to stare at Brooke's closed eyes. I will them to open. She needs to be okay.

"We have to go," the nurse repeats.

"She can't die," I whisper, refusing to close my eyes incase I miss a second of seeing her. "She saved me."