Peyton sat down at the end of Brooke's bed. It was late, and the moon was dark and new. The blonde sighed.
"Remember when everything was easier?" She asked. Brooke look at her from her vantage point of her pillow and nodded slowly.
"Yeah…" She said quietly, and then she paused, thinking for a moment. "But I don't think it was ever easy, Peyton. I think it was just out obliviousness." She said cooly. Her voice was raspy: She was tired. "I remember when you and me used to hang out together every day." The brunette said. "We were always laughing."
"Do you miss us?" Peyton asked. Brooke looked right in the blonde's eyes.
"Sometimes." She said, and she was silent for a minute. "… Yeah. I miss us every day." Peyton shifted, still keeping a careful distance from the brunette.
"Do you think we'll ever be friends again?" The blonde asked. Even as she questioned Brooke, she didn't know why she was in the shorter girl's bedroom. She knew it wasn't going to fix anything… She knew their friendship was still too rocky to mend right now. But she was curious, and so she stayed. She watched Brooke watch her, sure the brunette was reading her face, trying to get inside her head.
"I do." Brooke said finally. She didn't know how true her words were, but she wanted to believe them. She was angry with Peyton, sure but… She wanted to not be anymore. "I think it'll take time, but I think we will."
"When?" Peyton wasn't even looking at Brooke anymore, just the shadowy floor.
"… I dunno. Tonight? Tomorrow? Three weeks from now?"
"One day at a time, huh?" Peyton asked, her voice hinting at sadness. Brooke nodded.
"One day at a time." At this, Peyton sighed, leaning forward to stand up and leave. Her steps were heavy but quiet, her inner emotions loud and clear in them. As she passed under the doorframe, she heard Brooke call out to her.
"Wait, Peyton." The brunette said, turning and sitting up in her bed. Peyton turned, her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. "C'mere." Peyton hesitated massively, her feet seemingly glued to the floor. But she looked Brooke in the face and was suddenly unable to stay away. She approached the bed again, her eyes locked with Brooke's. "Why don't you stay with me tonight." The brunette asked. Then she paused, looking briefly away. "I… I miss you." Peyton didn't smile, but a warmth came about her face and she nodded, leaning against the brunette's bed.
"Okay." She said, removing only her jacket and her shoes. Peyton climbed into the bed with Brooke, still keeping a safe distance from the brunette. She knew this whole ordeal was insanity. Ex-friends didn't talk. Ex-friends didn't smile at each other, and ex-friends certainly didn't cuddle in the same bed. But Brooke found a way to break every aspect of that rule, easily closing the gap between the two of them, huddling as close to the blonde as she could. Peyton cooperated, abandoning the rule altogether, and wrapped a protective arm around the brunette, letting their foreheads touch. She closed her eyes. "I miss you, too." She whispered, and they both quickly fell into a deep sleep.