Chapter 1: A Step Away From You

AN: This story is set in an alternate universe where some things are the same as the show, some things vastly different. If you read our other story when we were still writing it, you'll notice some similarities, but that's only because we are once again getting inspiration for our former roleplay, but we promise, this is a much different story. The main characters are Brooke and Chris, but Peyton and Lucas will be featured a lot as well. Anyway, we hope you enjoy and please review!

~Alyssa & Kasey

~ C & B ~

Letting out a breath of preparation, the young brunette hoisted the brown box into her arms for the fifth time in a row. This time she had a good grip on it, nothing inside falling out. Of course Brooke Davis's heaviest box of things sported her makeup.

It was Sunday. Usually on Sundays, Brooke was locked up in her home with a carton of Chinese takeout, a cherry lollipop and a liter of sprite working on new designs. Not much of a social life there but anything to get Victoria off of her back, right?

Looking around to see if she missed any other boxes in her former bedroom, the brunette headed outside and slid the cardboard box into the trunk of her car. The wind picked up, locks of chocolate brown blocking out hazel orbs. Shivering from the fall air, Brooke looked up at the house and bit her lip. So this is what it's come to, huh? Another best friend's betrayal and another time in Brooke's life where she was stuck picking up the pieces to her own heart.

~ C & B ~

Brooke wore a wide smile, her clipboard hugged against her chest as she looked around at the filled racks of her store. Her new designs had come in that day and for the first time in her life, Victoria sported a proud smile, though that died out after a few seconds of course. But they were seconds Brooke would never forget. For once in her life she finally felt like she was going in the right direction. She had best friends, Lucas Scott as her boyfriend, a successful company, wealth, and a satisfied mother. What more could a girl ask for?

Instead of texting Lucas the news of her latest success, she informed her assistant Millicent that she'd be taking an extra hour on her lunch break before quickly heading out with that bubbly Brooke Davis smile everyone in town loved to see.

"..No just one eggroll. Boyfriend doesn't like them," Brooke said with a light laugh, waiting patiently at the counter of the Chinese restaurant. Her phone buzzed and she slid it out from her purse and opened up her messages. Her smile only widened when she read the text message Chris sent to her in return of the news.

That's great, Dimples! Drinks on me later with the wife and Luke to celebrate.

Letting out a breath, the brunette happily tucked her phone back into her bag and was finally given her food in a brown paper bag.

"Thank you," Brooke said politely, tipping a nice wad of bucks as she headed out of the restaurant. Her phone buzzed again, the name Haley lighting up. Still happy, the brunette was also a little confused as to what was taking Peyton so long to answer. Their lunch break was the same hour. She didn't dwell too much on it, however, nearly speeding to Luke's in anticipation.

She would've rung the doorbell but that wouldn't be as fun as a full on surprise. Still, Brooke had a hard time finding the spare key. Had it really been this long since she's visited her boyfriend at his own home? Luckily for her, the front door was already unlocked. That was weird, she thought, Lucas never had it unlocked unless someone else entered and didn't lock it behind them.

Brooke heard familiar giggles and light laughs in the distance, the woman raising a brow. She still smiled, setting the Chinese down on the side table. Heels quietly clanked against the wooden floor as the brunette entered the living room to see her best friend and her boyfriend facing away from her on the couch.

It went quiet then, both blondes staring at each other. Brooke recognized that stare. Somehow, she felt what was about to happen. Somewhere inside of her, she could feel the pain surface. But it was too late. Her best friend leaned in and pressed her lips to her boyfriend's. Brooke watched on as Lucas pushed her away on instinct.

"Oh my gosh, Luke.. I didn't me-" Peyton stopped mid-sentence and followed Lucas's pained gaze to Brooke. Soon her own green eyes sported a pool of heavy guilt. "Brooke."

Instead of flipping out and pouring her hurt out in front of them, she pushed it all back. The selfless girl shook her head, taking a slow step back. Voice raspy, she spoke softly, "After everything he's done for you as a husband, how could you do this to Chris?"

Realization finally hit the young blonde and she stood up, her head shaking. Before she could explain herself, however, Brooke was out the door. She turned to Lucas who was also standing up. "Luke… I'm so sor-"

"Get out."

Without arguing, Peyton grabbed her bag from the armchair of the couch and was out the house without a glance back.

~ C & B ~

Now here Brooke was, exactly one month from that day. She'd ended up forgiving Lucas, giving him the benefit of the doubt that he hadn't kissed back. It wasn't his fault.

As for Peyton, well, they weren't enemies. The enemy game stopped after high school. They were adults now. Were they best friends? Absolutely not. Friends? Not a chance. Two women that lived in the same town? Pretty much.

Though they were back together, Brooke still distanced herself from Lucas. Not that he even noticed. Self preservation was something she never realized she had so much of. The same man is the reason why she is so guarded today. Nothing hurt more than giving someone your whole heart and them returning it in a million pieces.

But who wants to be alone? Loneliness was another thing Brooke was expert at. Loneliness was the reason she just shoved a brown box in her trunk.

When she first moved back to Tree Hill, she bought the house in a matter of minutes after looking inside. The power of wealth was on her side and she used it for as much fun as she could get. But one night about two weeks ago, she actually sat down in her living room and listened. She heard nothing. And that scared her. Being alone in a big house. Was it all necessary?

It never occurred to her why she and Lucas had never moved in together. It wasn't something she actually thought about a lot until now. And even now she wondered why she put out money for a small apartment when she had a boyfriend who had his own place.

Her phone buzzed and Brooke blinked a few times, quickly snapping back to reality. She looked down and smiled slightly at the text message she'd just received from Haley.

Hey, B. Your Godson misses you. xoxo.

Attached to the text was a picture of four-year-old Jamie with chocolate ice cream all around his cheeks and nose. He always brought an automatic smile to her face. She'd sell her soul to the devil for him.

Getting into the car, Brooke tucked her phone away and started the engine. She knew exactly where she needed to be right now. It didn't take her very long to get to her destination, the brunette smiling widely as she exited the car and walked up to the front door of the house.

"Aunt Brooke!"

~ C & B ~

Chris Keller Divorced!

Chris Keller… relationships issues?

Is this man with Chris Keller's wife… her lover?

A heavy sigh snagged in Chris' throat and he slid the tabloids across the mahogany table. Clay barely even glanced before tossing them in the trash, in a heated game of monopoly with someone on his phone. His eyes lifted for a moment and he raised his brows, "Well what did you expect? At least now the divorce is final and you don't have to worry about her sullying the Keller name."

His eyes returned to his game and a smirk slid over his lips, "At least not any worse than you already have, man whore."

The musician laughed and kicked his friend's shin before standing, "Suck it! The Keller name is golden. People love me."

"People also love Justin Beiber, and I don't understand that either," he said smoothly.

Chris rolled his eyes and grabbed his jacket, "Whatever, asshole, you love me and you know it."

He grabbed his guitar case from the corner of Clay's living room and shoved the last piece of his muffin in his mouth, "Hey I'll see you at Tric tonight with Brooke and Haley. I have to stop by Lucas's place after work, but I'll meet you there."

Clay glanced up sharply, eyes narrowing a little as he looked at his friend as if he was crazy. Chris caught the look and sighed, "Dude, come on, it's not his fault Peyton cheated. It's not like he kissed back. I'm not gonna punish him because she chose him over me… that's not who Chris Keller is anymore."

~ C & B ~

"You kissed my best friend? So what, do you love him now?"

"It wasn't…" she bit her bottom lip, "He didn't even kiss me back, Chris. I was lonely!"

The head shakes and clenched jaw she'd expected; the opaque gaze and broken guitar slammed to the floor, she hadn't been prepared for. Tears gathered in hazel eyes as if they belonged there, dripping in uneven streams down a face that hadn't truly smiled in months. Peyton Sawyer-Keller knelt on the scratched hardwood floor and avoided those blue, blue eyes that had made her fall in love with this man all those years ago. Her long, agile fingers stroked the shattered wood along the autographed name of her husband's favorite musician.

The gold of her wedding ring caught the light and for a moment she remained there, enraptured in memories of what once was and what she was almost certain would never be again.

Her husband's gangly form seemed to melt into the cream walls he'd once begged her to paint green. A brokenness resided deep within each splash of navy in those baby blues – something she would never forgive herself (or him) for causing. Her eyes careened south over the wrinkles in his pants and the mismatched buttons of his favorite plaid shirt; green and blue, two colors she would forever associate with the boy turned man she had spent the last 4 years of her life being married to. The man who seemed to lose a little more of himself every single day.

Finally Chris spoke, voice a raspy mess, "How could you cheat on me? And with my best friend? I… I would have done anything for you, Peyton. I didn't deserve this!"

The broken guitar clattered to the floor again as Peyton stood, her fiery eyes turning on him, "Don't you dare! Don't you dare try to act like I was the only one at fault here! If you had actually shown me for two seconds that you care-"

"You think I don't care?" He looked at her as if she was crazy, arms gesturing around their home as his voice rose, "I gave up my career for you, Peyton! I treat you like you are a goddess. So don't act like I was some horrible husband! YOU cheated! Not me."

"Chris…"

"We're done."

He stepped back, eyes falling to their wedding picture on the wall, "You can have the house. I'll be out in a week. I just can't do this with you anymore. We've been over for a long time, and I just can't…"

It was the last time he'd look at that picture and the last time he'd look at her and still be a husband.

~ C & B ~

Chris shook the memory away and shot Clay a smile, eyes falling to his bare ring finger for only a moment before he finally headed out the door.

He'd stayed with Clay for the first week, and then on Brooke's couch for two days, before finally just deciding to rent an apartment near the studio. Sure, he could afford to buy a new house, but it seemed wrong to him somehow, just buying a new place and pretending like he didn't miss the old one.

That was probably the saddest part of their divorce… realizing he'd miss their house more than he missed her. To be honest, he didn't miss her much at all anymore.

They'd fallen in love in high school and gotten married three days before Chris's 19th birthday. And for three short years, they were happy together. They had their problems and petty fights, but they always found their way back to each other. They'd believed their love to be fate. That they were inevitable.

At least until Chris left for his second tour. And then everything went downhill with no way to fix it.

Neither made time for the other, and when they did talk, Peyton was moody and avoided anything serious. It was like someone flipped a switch and their happy, cheery marriage became a den of deceit and avoidance. They'd fought it for months but nothing ever seemed to really get any better. Chris still felt like Peyton wasn't trying enough. And Peyton still resented him for leaving her for music.

So he stopped.

He came back to Tree Hill two months early, broke his contract with the recording agency, and focused solely on making their marriage work at all costs. He was miserable without the music, but he'd always said he could give it up if something better came along.

Too bad his something better didn't end up working out.

He shut the door to the studio and pulled out his newest guitar, fingers sliding over the glossy wood for the first time. He'd spotted it a week ago at an antique store and had to have it. He was going to get the real Chris Keller back again:

Cocky. Fun. Happy.

He would be those things again. No more broken marriage… no more unhappiness.