AN: Just something stuck in my head. Enjoy
Discaimer: I do not own anything One Tree Hill affiliated, nor the song featured by Augustana.

Chapter 1- You Don't Wear My Chains


In the light of the sun, is there anyone? Oh it has begun.
Oh dear you look so lost, eyes are red and tears are shed,
This world you must've crossed, you said:
You don't know me, you don't even care,

Brooke sat with her legs curled up against her chest, staring out as the waves broke and flooded on to the sand, frothing and barely touching her toes before receding again. The beach was empty at this point, the sun has started its descent and most of the people had headed home to clean themselves off from one of their final days at the beach.

Brooke was dressed in a baggy hoodie and a pair of cheerleading shorts, the summer was coming to an end so the evenings were chillier and the breeze on the beach a little stronger, at least in the terms of a Californian. Brooke pulled her hood up as silent tears fell from her eyes. Today had been the last straw.

Brooke was tired of carrying the world on her shoulders, tired of getting hurt, tired of putting on a smile with all the whispers around her and tired of fighting with her parents. She needed out.

She said
You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains.

He found his best friend sitting on the beach, right on the stretch that was easily accessible from her house. The Davis' were one of the many wealthy who lived on the block, along with his own family, the Morello's. He knew he would find her there, it was her favorite place to go and think, or tan, or relax, or on rare occasions, it was her place to cry.

Frankly, he couldn't blame her distress. From afar, someone like Brooke might appear to have it all: she was head Cheerleader, Class President, founder of the 'DW not I's', had one of the biggest beach houses in Malibu, and the money to get her places.

Aside from the material goods, anyone could look at Brooke and see she was flawless. From head to toe, she was the epitome of perfection. Even her personality, if one would give her a chance to show her true self, was magnetic. She was friendly, compassionate, selfless, independent, talented, and intelligent.

But that's where the problem laid. Brooke was all of those things and so much with, with so much potential and great things coming for her. But in Malibu, where you lived, and how pretty you were automatically put you into a stereotype that was hard to escape from. And Brooke never dared to break the mold that people has set for her, whether it was the mold her parents set for her, or the school, or her friends, or her boyfriends.

To everyone else she was just a pretty girl who was too dumb to care if you talked about her, and who was too rich to care if you used her. Brooke's reputation in school was the typical ditzy cheerleaders who you could hit, then ditch. Relationships with her were out of the question, because they were too narrow minded to see any substance in her.

Instead of home being a place where Brooke could be herself, instead she had to play perfect daughter, putting on a smile when her parents handed her some cash: their way of showing they loved her. Each and every time she disappointed them, her parents would take it upon themselves to remind her how lucky she is that her parents didn't get rid of her like they wanted, because when she had came around business was booming.

It was sad, people walked all over Brooke Davis for most of her life. But what was even sadder was that Brooke let them.

Essential yet appealed, carry all your thoughts across
An open field,
When flowers gaze at you, they're not the only ones who cry
When they see you. You said
'You don't know me, you don't even care'

She said
'You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains'

"You okay lil bit?" he asked sitting down next to her, seeing her quickly try to wipe the tears from her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied in a raspier voice than usual. "Just watching the sunset."

"You don't have to pretend with me," he said pulling her into his arms, "You know you've never had to."

Brooke nodded against his chest before the letting the tears fall freely. Of course she knew she could be herself with Owen Morello, he had been her rock since middle school and he was the only one to ever see her cry. He was the only one who knew the real her, because he was the only one who had given her a chance to prove her wrong. For that, she would be forever grateful.

"Why can't anyone ever see me like you see me?" Brooke asked choking back her sobs. "Why can't they see that I'm more than just a worn out mattress and a shiny plastic credit card?"

"Because they're idiots Brooke," Owen replied. "I knew from day one that there was more to you, if they can't see that then fuck them."

"If they don't see it now, then they'll never see it," Brooke said sadly.

Owen wondered what had pushed her to this point. It wasn't often that Brooke let things get to her, which amazed him, but the few times she had been driven to tears there was always a tipping point. As if she had read his mind, Brooke whispered, "I walked in on Chase having sex with Lacy."

Owen's grip around his best friend, shaking his head at the shit people put Brooke through. He couldn't understand how people could be so heartless.

"He told me that him and I were never going to work. That I didn't understand what it meant to be in a relationship, and that I was fun but that's all," Brooke whimpered. She had been what she thought was dating Chase for about a month now, she had really started to open up and thought that someone was finally giving her a chance to show who she really was. Turns out for him it was just doing whatever it would take to get her into bed.

"He's a jackass," Owen said honestly. "I never liked that kid, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt cause I saw the way you looked at him. You have no idea how much I wanted him to prove me wrong. What a douche."

Owen cleared his throat trying to break the silence that was suddenly upon them, Brooke had stopped crying but didn't move from his arms. The sun was just about to disappear behind the horizon line, purple and pink hues slowly giving way to the sparkling waves that seemed more daunting than serene at that point. "School starts in a week, maybe this year will be the year that people will finally see you for you Brooke. It's not too late to change things. It's our senior year, let's make the most of it."

It was then that Brooke pulled away and looked at Owen with a look that he couldn't read.

"Owen," Brooke whispered, "I'm leaving."

She said I think I'll go to Boston
I think I'll start a new life,
I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name,
I'll get out of California, I'm tired of the weather,
I think I'll get a lover and fly em out to Spain...
I think I'll go to Boston,
I think that I'm just tired
I think I need a new town, to leave this all behind.
I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset,
I hear it's nice in the Summer, some snow would be nice.

"What?" Owen asked her, incredulous. "To where? Brooke don't do this. You don't have to do this," he said putting his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm not doing it because of anyone else, it's just something I have to do for me. I need to prove to myself that I'm as much of that person that you say I am. I need to love myself again."

Owen sighed. He was angry at his friend for wanting to run from it all, but he was trying to understand. "When are you leaving?" he asked quietly.

"Tomorrow," Brooke replied just as quiet.

Owen disconnected himself from her, now he was pissed. "When the hell were you planning to tell me Brooke?" he yelled as Brooke flinched. Owen was usually calm, he barely raised his voice at her, so she felt the guilt quickly settle in her stomach.

"It was too hard to," Brooke admitted tears springing up again, "I didn't want to have to…." She trailed off.

Owen scoffed and shook his head. "So you were just gonna leave?" he asked.

Brooke didn't answer. She didn't have to; Owen already knew. "Where are you even going?" he asked angrily.

"Away from here," Brooke said. Owen rolled his eyes. "When's your flight?" he asked.

"7 am," Brooke answered biting her lip.

"Un-fucking-believable," Owen mumbled. But he swallowed his pride, he forced himself to. His best friend was leaving him and he couldn't be angry when she was about to leave him.

"I'll be here at 6:00 to pick you up," he said getting up, suddenly needing a walk.

Brooke just nodded in response, staring out and saying goodbye the Pacific before leaving also to finish packing.

Boston,where no one knows my name,
Where no one knows my name,
Where no one knows my name,

Owen kept his promise, which made the goodbye at the gate a lot harder than it would've been had the driver dropped Brooke off.

"I can't believe you're leaving me," Owen whispered into her hair as he held her tightly.

"Neither can I," Brooke admitted not willing to let him go. "I love you O," she said looking up at him.

"I love you too lil bit," he said wiping a stray tear from that fell from her eye.

"Is it too late to ask you to come with me?" she whispered. He chuckled. "I don't live in the luxury like jet setting B does," Owen said with a smirk. While he was wealthy, his parents actually liked him around and he couldn't just skip town so easily.

Brooke pouted as her flight was called. "That's me," she whispered.

Owen nodded before giving her another kiss on her forehead, his face in her hands. "Take care of yourself. You know where to find me. If anything happens I won't hesitate to fly right over B."

Brooke nodded, "I love you," she said one last time.

"Love you too," he assured before she pulled her luggage to that gate, disappearing in a crowd of people.

Yeah Boston...
Where no one knows my name.

But instead of Boston, Brooke Davis was headed to a small town, where she hoped people could see her for the person she really was: strong willed, outspoken, and the player instead of the slut. She thought it would come easy in the town located on the opposite coast.

Too bad she decided to go to Tree Hill.


AN: Reviews are always welcome. -T