Teresa Jones shuffled her 105 pounds uncomfortably from one small foot to the other. Her pretty face had scrunched up beyond recognition as she desperately had to remind herself to breathe.

"Dude, I don't know if I should even ask but what the hell?" Peyton Sawyer, a fellow cheerleader, grinned and approached her.

"Don't ask because it's really hard for me to talk right now", Teresa whimpered. "I have to pee so bad I can taste it."

Peyton frowned.

"Bathroom is that way", the blonde pointed.

So close but so far.

"I can't", Teresa whined.

"Dude…"

Before another word could be spoken, their presence was graced by a pretty brunette, her hair and make up perfect as she stood in front of them arms, folded, perfectly arched eyebrow raised.

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

"Teresa was just on her way to the bathroom."

"No, she wasn't."

"Brooke…"

"We don't have time and truthfully, Friend, I am not in the mood for any whining. We have a competition to win, like right now. No time for the unimportant stuff."

Peyton rolled her eyes at her best friend. She loved her to death and normally underneath all the flair, Brooke Davis had a heart of gold but Brooke the ruthlessly determined cheer captain was another story. Hitler had nothing on her.

"Unimportant? Brooke, come on. She's about to wet her pants."

"Ladies, where is your spirit? Your drive? Your dedication, determination and motivation?"

"Whoa", Peyton chuckled.

Brooke continued on and ignored her.

"There is no I in team and the team comes first. This is a very important meet and to lose concentration for something so petty and trivial as say, a potty break would be like turning your back on your cheerleading sisters. You wouldn't want to do that, now, would you, Teresa? Where's your heart? Where's your soul? Where is your spirit? It's all in your mind. Take a deep breath. Meditation and positive thinking lead to pure and good outcomes", Brooke stated proudly.

"And holding pee leads to UTIs and accidents. Dude, I'm at the bottom of that pyramid", Peyton reminded her.

Brooke opened her mouth to respond but the girls were soon joined by a fourth. Her perfectly thin body bounced in all the right places, fiery red hair that looked like it belonged in one of those damned Herbal Essence commercials.

"Well, well, well", she grinned saucily, pom poms in hand. "If it isn't my favorite group of ladies. Looking good. Who's here to win a cheering competition?"

The other cheerleaders flocked to her like bees to honey and moths to flames. They all eagerly raised their hands.

"That's the spirit", Brooke emphasized the last word.

Rachel Getina, the pretty red haired co captain, made a face.

"Teresa, you look like you just spent the last hour sucking on a lemon. What's up with that awful face?"

"I have to pee", the darker hair girl replied meekly.

Rachel shrugged.

"Bathroom is that way. What's the problem? Are you waiting on an invitation? I mean, I know we're here to get an invitation for the Sparkle Classic and all but last time I checked, there was no need to RSVP to the restroom."

She folded her arms and her merry band of cheerleaders giggled, hanging on to her every word.

"Brooke said I had to hold it."

"And I say you don't."

"But…"

"Go", Rachel pointed. "And make it fast. We go on in five minutes. I want that routine absolutely perfect."

Brooke shot her an icy glare but Rachel paid no mind as Teresa scurried off to the ladies' room.

"Rach", Brooke said in a high pitched voice, her best fake grin plastered all over her beautiful face. "Can I see you? Over there? In private?"

Rachel shrugged and followed her.

"Make it quick…"

"What the hell was that?" Brooke demanded.

"What?"

"Hel-lo! We have a major competition to win, we're up next, it's a new routine and Claire Young and her ho posse of slut vultures are waiting in the wings licking their grubby, stubby little chops just praying for one of us to miss a step or God forbid fall. It's like one of the most important nights ever and only two schools from our county will be invited and I made an executive decision that totally affects our preparedness and you have the nerve to one up me, in front of the team at that. What is your problem? This is my squad, you know."

Rachel stepped closer and grinned.

"Actually, it's our squad in case you forgot."

Brooke scowled, cursing the day at the beginning of senior year when Rachel instead of Peyton had been named co captain along side of her.

"How could I forget when you keep reminding me?" she asked through pursed pink glossed lips.

"Then take a chill pill, Brookie. Relax. We came here to kick ass and we're totally gonna. Don't get your thongs in a bunch. This is cake. Have a little faith."

With that, she sauntered back over to the rest of the group. Brooke groaned. After knowing her a year and a half, she still hadn't got used to Rachel's personality. But the red head had grown on her and they had begun to tolerate one another and dare build the most unstable friendship in high school cheerleading history.

All her life, Brooke had been the top dog. She had always been the prettiest and the richest, the one with the coolest clothes, the one all the guys wanted and all the girls wanted to be like. It was grand at the top but all that changed the beginning of junior year. There all of a sudden was a new kid on the block and the queen bee's throne was instantly threatened.

She was pretty and confident and smart…a lethal weapon triple threat Brooke immediately frowned upon. It didn't help matters when she caught the new girl flirting up a storm with her then boyfriend, Lucas Scott. Boy had Brooke been upset but fighting over Lucas would tragically prove to be the least of their worries months later when the handsome cad sheepishly admitted to making out with Kelly Dillard, the bubbly and too cute blonde sophomore Brooke had once taken under her cheerleading wing.

School began and one cheerleader short, and a room full of non promising hopefuls, there was light at the end of the tunnel when Rachel crashed tryouts and wowed the girls with her sexy moves in an original routine. For the sake of the squad, like any good captain, Brooke had sat on her hands and held her tongue as she reluctantly welcomed the newest addition. From then on, Rachel had just been apart of her life. They had gotten to know each other and the relationship had progressed in a series of highs and lows ranging from Lucy and Ethel to Itchy and Scratchy. Only after Brooke had tearfully dumped Lucas and Rachel had been nearly raped after a game by a drunken rival Pinkerton point guard, had the two formed a bond beyond arguing over shoes and dance routines. It was a common ground where they came together to comfort and help each other out. Mutual respect and a shared soft spot had been formed but the ever present rivalry often tested it.

For Rachel the move to Tree Hill had changed her young life in so many ways. She was used to the hero worship that seemed to follow her wherever she went and she totally got off on the rivalry and jealous, competitive banter with Brooke. But more than that, she had grown up. Long gone was the lonely, quiet, sullen, fat girl with no friends. She had been replaced by the surgically transformed pretty, outgoing, popular, gorgeous cheerleader. For a while she had enjoyed being at the top, a place she had often dreamt about when she was alone at the bottom. But life was funny and in a heartrending instant, Rachel was instantly brought back to reality when a testosterone filled jock, unwilling to take no for an answer almost took things too far. It put life for Rachel in a new perspective. It was hard to deal with but with the love and support from the cheerleaders and even from Brooke and the added support from a special friend by the name of Marvin "Mouth" McFadden, she had come through relatively unscarred. Brooke had been weary and outspokenly critical of Rachel's romantic interest in her friend, Mouth but she had eventually let it go, seeing how happy Mouth was and that Rachel actually seemed genuinely interested.

Fast forward to senior year to the invitational to the annual Secret Sparkle State Cheerleading championship. The two captains had butted heads on everything from which uniform to wear to what routine to perform but in the end it had all come together. It was now or never as the announcer took the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, up next, please give a warm Secret Sparkle welcome to the Tree Hill Ravens."

The girls gathered for a quick huddle.

"We're in it to win it, guys", Rachel said. "On three…"

"Ravens!"

The girls assumed their position center stage and Rachel looked over and gave Brooke a final wink before they began. They began to clap and cheer.

"The one, and only. Blue, black and white. The best of the best. That's right!"

There was a brief pause before the CD began and Rachel and Brooke looked up in the stands. Family, friends, classmates and the Raven's basketball team were all in attendance but there was one special face in particular. He grinned and gave a reassuring nod as if to say, "you can do it!" Brooke sighed. There was a time when that look would have been for her only but she knew that time was different. And judging by the gleam in Rachel's eye, she knew it as well. But there was no time to dwell as the funky "Kung Fu Fighting" mix began to play and the girls started their routine. It was a series of spins, kicks, flips and twirls, all done with bright smiles as they strutted their stuff for the judges. Two minutes of solid cheering perfection ended with a standing ovation. Giddy, the girls all ran and hugged each other. It felt good, despite the dissention on the team between Brooke and Rachel and most especially, Brooke and Kelly. For a brief jubilant moment, they were united. One for all and all for one.

"That was awesome guys", Rachel acknowledged.

"Can you believe it?" Bevin Thomas jumped up and down.

"We did it!" Teresa chimed in. "I just know we did!"

Peyton looked over at Brooke.

"Fantastic", Brooke winked with a smile. "I mean it."

There was little time to celebrate as the judges conferred quickly and a decision was rendered.

"How about another hand for all our teams who performed here today. Ladies, you were all terrific and there are no losers here as we wish we could send you all to State but as we know, only two teams can be chosen to represent the region in Charlotte. So without further ado, a big congratulations are in order for the Bear Creek Warriors!"

Claire Young and her squad screamed and giggled and hugged as the blonde captain walked past Brooke and snidely bumped into her.

"The New Hanover Wildcats were pretty good. Looks like we'll be seeing you in Charlotte…in the stands."

Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, bitch."

But she, along with everyone else, knew it would come down to Tree Hill and New Hanover. The girls locked hands and crossed fingers as time seemed to stand still.

"And the second team chosen is the very beautiful and very talented ladies of the Tree Hill Ravens."

They looked at each other in silence for a second before breaking out the hysterics, much to Claire and her girls' dismay. All the fans and supporters rushed the gym floor to congratulate them on a job well done. Mission accomplished. In spite of and despite of the, the Ravens cheerleaders were officially headed to the Classic in Charlotte.

"Hey, Rachel?" Brooke approached her co captain after a few minutes.

Rachel turned.

"Yeah?"

"Good job. I just wanted to say thanks for your help with the choreography. You did good."

"Thanks."

"And uh…I guess it wasn't so bad working with you…most of the time."

Rachel nodded and smiled before turning to join her beloved Mouth. She and Brooke seemed to share their very own language sometimes, one only they could understand. She knew exactly what she meant. It was one of many sweet moments in the mix of lots of other not so sweet moments, including the various hair pulling, bitch slapping, cat fights the two had been known to engage in every once in a while.

"Yeah", she winked. "It was pretty cool working with you, too."