DISCLAIMER: I don't own shit.

TITLE: Lovers & Liars

PAIRINGS: Brooke/Lucas with Nathan/Peyton, Haley/Julian, Rachel/Jake, and Chase/Alex on the side.

A burning ember flickered in the night as two slim fingers, both with perfectly manicured fingertips, curled around the filter of the cancerous stick. Loose wisps of raven colored hair softly slapped angelic-like cheeks in the gentle nightly breeze as empty hazel eyes gazed into the distance. It was nights like these that reminded her of her youth, of her innocence. It reminded her of the days that had slowly faded away as the years drug on endlessly; the days when she had nothing to lose and everything to gain. She would give anything to be seventeen again. To go back to a time when life was simple and carefree, when she had the world at her fingertips and nothing else mattered, when she had all the answers to life's many mysteries. She was in such a hurry to grow up; to hit eighteen and be a legal adult; to be free from the wings of her over-bearing parents. She was in such a hurry to leave the place that she had always called home behind and embark on a new journey. But now that she was free, she wanted to turn back the clock and return to the years of innocence and immaturity.

She hadn't wanted her life to turn out this way. But, it wasn't an option. It was her fate, her lifelong destiny. It was expected of her. Being the daughter of a multi-billionaire and CEO of a prestigious company, she had some pretty big shoes to fill. As a child and a teenager, she watched her father deprive thousands of people of their fortunes as he and his family basked in the life of the rich and famous. She was raised a high society girl who was granted the finer and luxurious things in life. So, it was no surprise that she had copied her father's brutal tactics as she aged.

Clothes over Bro's, the current love of her life, had started as a way for her to mend her broken heart. It was her escape; the only thing that she was proud of in her life. She felt a great sense of accomplishment when she looked at her company. She had built the entire empire herself, with of course financial aid from her parents, and in just four short years she had become a multi-million dollar success. But hard work was not the only key to her success. Theft, trickery, deception, manipulation; they all played equally large parts in the formation of the fashion empire that is known as COB, America's most influential clothing line. Every day she deprived people of their fortunes, just like her father once had. She sold her clothes to companies for much higher prices than intended by the COB board, destroyed the original bill of sale, and replicated a newer bill of sale with a much lower price, allowing her to pocket a good chunk of the profit. In the process, the people that had believed in her and invested in her national corporation were being deprived of the money that they rightfully should have earned.

It was wrong. She knew that. But, she was greedy and unable to stop. She loved living the high life; attending luxurious parties on a regular basis, getting preferable celebrity treatment, taking up residence in an extravagant New York penthouse and having the ability to buy whatever her little heart desired. She had learned to trick people into thinking that she was an honest person, just like her father had. After all, she had learned from the best. Her father was a likeable man on the outside but on the inside a cold-hearted monster had awakened, fueled by greed and the drive for wealth. And she too was the same way. Some would even say that she didn't have a soul. She liked to believe that she had one at one point. It had just been ripped to shreds once she sold it to the devil in return for a prestigious life.

As a result of her heartless actions she had burned many of the bridges she had built with people that she had created some of the best memories of her entire life with. Peyton Sawyer was the one that came to mind almost instantly. The rebellious curly-haired blonde and the feisty raven-haired cheerleader had been best friends since the third grade-they were practically like sisters-although not bound by blood-and a force to be reckoned with. Every girl wanted to be them and every guy wanted to date them. Distance had torn them apart after parting ways at the end of high school. They took separate paths; Peyton heading to LA to chase her dream of becoming a well-known face in the music industry and Brooke venturing to New York to start her manipulative career as a deceptive businesswoman. After Peyton discovered Brooke's lies and deceptions, she had cut off all contact, claiming that Brooke had turned into the one thing she vowed to never become; her parents. She had become a mere shell of her pretense parents, a shell that would only expand as she learned how to make in the deceitful world of business. But unlike her father, she was determined not to burn out and end up filing for bankruptcy. She was going to prove to the man that had cut her down all her life that she was simply better than him. And she has what it takes. What he was lacking.

To most her life would seem ruthless and cold. But to her, it was enthralling and exhilarating. And despite how wrong it was. It felt good. It made her feel like she was finally enough.

AN: I know that I shouldn't be starting a new story but now that school is almost out, I needed something to keep me preoccupied until my laptop is restored and I have my other story "fix me" back. This is just a prologue, I know that there was no actual dialogue but there will be in future chapters. I won't be able to actually start the story until after school is out in June, due to departmentals. But this is just a prologue to see if there is enough interest for the story, otherwise I won't even bother with it. I'm sorry that the prologue is strictly about Brooke but Lucas and the other characters will be introduced and the story will actually start next chapter. This idea is totally AU. It should be pretty straightforward and easy to follow without giving too much background information. It's a different idea and won't be anything like the other stories I have written in the past. It's a fresh new idea and I am really excited to go with it as long as there is enough interest. Also, the way that Brooke runs her company is very similar to the way that Dan ran his company in seaso two on the actual show. So if you get confused at all, just think of Dan and his scam. I have lots of great ideas for this story so please, please review if you are interest in seeing this story progress!