Author's Note: First thank you to all who have reviewed, placed my story on their alerts and/or added my story to their favorite fics. Second, I want to clarify that this story is not going to be centered on any pairings, but mainly focuses on Brooke, Peyton and Faith.

[Gym

"Peyton, we're going to start now" Sarah yelled.

"I guess you have to go and practice. Don't worry about me I am still here for a while" Faith smiled at me and I smiled back before returning to where the other girls were standing, waiting for Brooke to give instructions.

"Okay girls listen up! We have a game coming up against Eastwood High School this Friday, which give us three days to come up with a routine and then turn it into perfection for this Friday. I want to show not only Eastwood but any other high school in this state which school has the best cheerleading team. This time I thought we do something a little different that we haven't done before and that is the pyramid. Okay so let's do some stretching for 10 minutes and then focus on our cartwheels, handstands and summersaults before we start on the pyramid"

I got down on the floor and started to stretch my legs and also watched Faith watching me and making funny faces. It wasn't too long before Faith realized something was moving in her pocket and she took it out to realize it was her cell vibrating. She got up from the bleachers attending the call and leaving the gym for a better reception.

"Okay girls lets start with the cartwheels and other things before we start practicing the pyramid."

I paired up with Sarah to help get the handstands right. I went first as she held my ankles waiting for me to give the cue that I had my balance and she could let go. We both took turns until we both could do it without each others help. Everyone was paired up practicing different things, Brooke with Rachel, Me with Sarah and Alex with Paige. I looked at the bleachers and still didn't see Faith there. Maybe she left or maybe she's gone out for a smoke and will be back soon, I was hoping for the second possibility.

"Okay girls, now for this pyramid to work, we need the heavier and stronger girls at the bottom, followed by two girls who have a great balance and strength and then followed by one girl whose the lightest. So Peyton, Sarah and I will be the base, then Alex and Paige you two will stand on our shoulders and then Rachel you will be on the top. Look girls, this isn't easy and it needs a lot of stamina, strength, balance and confidence. Shall we start?"

I was a little nervous considering I had to hold someone else's weight on my shoulder and not to mention I was standing next to Brooke. As Brooke, Sarah and I got into position and felt ready, both Alex and Paige started to climb and position themselves on our shoulders. I could feel like Paige wasn't balanced yet as her feet kept wobbling on my shoulders.

"Brooke, I'm going to FALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL" Paige lost balance and landed on her knees straight to the gym floor missing the mats all together.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, OH MY GOD, AHHHHHHHH" Paige was yelling and crying at the same time.

Faith ran in to see where all the noise was coming from.

"Someone call 911, she needs a doctor now" Faith yelled. Alex ran to the bench to grab her cell phone and dial 911. Brooke, on the other hand, was panicking.

"This cant be happening, we only have 3 days to come up with a routine and we're already having problems"

"Unbelievable Brooke, the girl is in pain and all you can think about is your stupid routine" Faith said looking directly at Brooke. "You're selfish!!"

"What did you call me?" Brooke got up off her knees. Faith did the same "I called you selfish" Without warning Brooke tackled Faith to the ground, thankfully there was a mat there. She swung a right punch across Faith's left cheek. Faith grabbed Brooke by the shoulders and flipped her around and swung a right punch of her own across Brooke's face. Just then Brooke flipped Faith back to the mat and gave her a left hook right across the chin. Peyton ran to where the two girls were fighting and grabbed Brooke off Faith, without even realizing Brooke pushed Peyton right across the floor and when she looked to see who she threw against the floor, Faith tackled Brooke right into Rachel. The back of Brooke's head hit Rachel's nose causing Rachel to scream and both Brooke and Rachel fell on the mat. Rachel was holding her nose as blood slowly started to come out of her nose. Brooke turned around to see Rachel bleeding.

Brooke got up and went straight to Faith, but both girls stopped in their footsteps when they heard a whistle being blown. Coach Whitey came in followed by paramedics who took Paige straight to the hospital and Alex followed them. Peyton slowly got up off the floor.

"Rachel go see the school nurse and get cleaned up, Peyton grab your things and go home, and Brooke and Faith in my office NOW" Coach yelled and went back to his office. Brooke and Faith never took their eyes off each other as they followed the coach back into his office.

Brooke and Faith entered the office to see Coach having his back against them looking outside the window.

"Have a seat both of you. Now I am going to ask you both individually what the hell happened in my gym" Whitey turned around and looked at both girls who were now seated, before he sat down himself.

"Brooke, you first."

"Paige fell, then came Faith from nowhere and calls me selfish and then you saw the rest."

"Is that what really happened Faith?"

"No! Paige fell, I came running because I heard screaming, I told one of the girls to call 911, then Brooke is panicking about her stupid routine and that's when I called her selfish and she tackled me."

Both girls went silent.

Ring Ring… Ring Ring

The phone rang and Whitey answered the call.

"hello… yeah.. uh huh.. okay.. okay.. thanks.. bye"

There was an awkward silence as Whitey put down the phone and didn't say a word for a few minutes.

"Okay girls, first that was Alex saying that Paige is going into surgery because her kneecap is out of place. So she will not be in the cheerleading team for a few months. Second, do you realize that your little fight caused Rachel a nosebleed, Peyton is probably sore from being thrown across the floor, this can all lead to an automatic suspension or expulsion? Anyways, you both seem like bright students and I don't want to suspend you, but I am obligated to give you some sort of punishment for what you girls did today. So this is your punishment, and there's no arguing about it. Faith you will join the cheerleading team since Paige is out. Brooke you are stripped of the title for being captain for the next 3 games this season. The new captain is Faith. Now both of you will attend every practice, Brooke you WILL listen to what Faith has to say, and Faith you WILL treat everyone the same in the team. IF either of you end up not following this rule, you both will suspended for 2 weeks and both your parents will be contacted. Do I make myself CLEAR?"

"yes" both girls said in a unison.

"Good, now go grab you stuff and go home"

Faith exited first. She had nothing to grab so she left towards the student parking lot and saw Peyton waiting by her car.

"In trouble?" I asked Faith as she slowly approached me with a pack of ice in her hand on the bruise that was beginning to form.

"No not really, could have been worse. Could have gotten suspended or expelled, but Coach thought it would be better for me to join the cheerleading team, become the new captain for the next 3 games and Brooke is obligated to listen to me and remain in the team. So I guess Brooke got it worse than I did. Now I have to go home and research on cheerleading as I am clueless to what it is that you guys do."

"Well if you ever need help, I'm here."

"Thanks" Faith opened her door and put the key in the ignition starting the car and I walked off to my car and we both left our separate ways.

Brooke grabbed her clothes from the change room and went straight to the nurse's room. She found the nurse talking to Rachel, as Rachel had a tissue on her nose while she held her nose tightly.

"Oh hi Brooke, Rachel is fine, no broken nose thank God. She just needs to hold her nose tightly for a little while longer and once the bleeding has stopped she's all ready to go. Anyways I will be back in 10 minutes to check up on you Rachel" The nurse left, and Brooke just laughed at Rachel.

"You look soooo sexy right now Rachel, with all that blood coming out of your nose"

"HA, real funny. You look like you just had a makeover done that went real bad!" Brooke just continued holding on to the ice and placing it on the bruise. Brooke slowly approached Rachel and gave her a quick kiss on the lip.

"MMMmmmmm!! If it wasn't for this bloody nose, I wouldn't mind a little makeout session in the nurse's office!" Brooke just laughed, and then the nurse came back in with a few forms that Rachel needed to sign.

"Okay Rachel, the bleeding has stopped. You're all good to go now. Just sign these forms and you and Brooke can go" Rachel signed the papers, grabbed her backpack and followed Brooke to the parking lot as they both head home and study for their geography test tomorrow.

[Faith's Condo

Faith threw her keys in the basket, and headed straight to the bathroom. She looked at the mirror closely as she stared at the stupid bruise about to be formed on her cheek. She turned around to see she had 2 new messages on her phone and pressed the button.

First new message.

Hey Hun, its Amanda calling. I thought I check in on ya and see how your first day of school went. School is not the same without you here Faithy! Anyways call me and let me know how your day went? Any hot guys? Anyways hope you didn't get into any trouble, love ya babe bye

End of message, next message.

Hey Faith, its Jason calling. Jennifer gave me your new number. I just wanted to say sorry about the other night. I was drunk and when I saw you with Mike I lost control. I am really sorry for hurting you Faith. I know I've hurt you before as well.. but I am really sorry! Anyways just wanted to let you know that I am coming to Tree Hill this Friday just to show you how sorry I am babe! Love you always your boyfriend Jason.

End of messages.

Faith listened to the messages especially the one from Jason. She lifted her shirt to look at the few bruises that were slowly healing on her abs from the other night. She closed her eyes as she remembered the events of that night, as Jason kicked her because she was talking to her ex-boyfriend Mike. A tear slowly crept down her cheek and now she was afraid that Jason was coming down here.

[Peyton's home

I opened the door to my house only to be surprised to see that my dad was home.

"Hey you!"

"Hey Dad! Your home today!"

"Actually, my work was transferred here so I am home for the next few months. Anyways, I've made steak, should be ready in 45 minutes. So how about you wash up and let's have some father-daughter time"

I went upstairs and threw my bag on the bed. I had a missed call from Lucas. He must be really worried about what happened today. I told myself to call him later. I turned on the hot water and got ready for taking a shower. I took off my clothes only to realize that there was a big bruise forming on my ass, from being thrown sooo hard on the floor and a big scratch on my back from sliding 2-3 meters across the floor. I couldn't believe that Brooke did this to me. I slowly walked into the shower and grabbed my shampoo.

The next day I really felt the soreness. It was hard for me to sit for too long, but I couldn't do anything but sit. I was early today for class and I sat down by the window watching the rain falling. Faith walked in with a huge black and blue bruise on her left cheek. She just smiled

"You like my makeup, I thought I go for black and blue today" She joked as she sat down next to me. "By the way how are you? Being thrown across the floor like that must have done something to you."

I laughed "Yeah, I have a huge bruise on my ass and a scratch going parallel to my spine"

"That bad ey?!" Before I could say anything I saw Brooke and Rachel entering in. Brooke looked at me, but it was different today. It looked as if she was apologetic, but when she saw Faith beside me, it went back to her 'I will kill you' kind of look. Ms Shepperd walked in.

"Okay guys I have some bad news and good news! The bad news is that test that was scheduled for this Monday after the weekend will now have to be the day after tomorrow. Sorry guys, but there is a teacher conference on Monday and therefore the school will be closed on Monday. The good news is that since you don't have that much time to study, you will only have to study chapters 1, 2, 5 & 7 and it's all multiple choice. And Faith can I see you after class please"

Class finished quickly today and Faith approached the teacher as I waited patiently for her outside.

"hey peyton!" Lucas came along with Nathan and Haley.

"Hey guys!"
"I hear there was a royal rumble at the gym yesterday!" Nathan said.

"Yeah, Brooke and Faith had a bit of a one-on-one before it ended up that I was thrown across the floor by Brooke and Rachel having her nose hit by Brooke's head as Faith tackled her!"

"Oh wow! So we pretty much missed on a great fight!" Lucas laughed. "Anyways are we eating at the caf today or no?"

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for Faith to be done talking to Ms. Shepperd and then we'll meet you guys there, okay?"

"No problem! Save you two seats!" Haley smiled. By the time they left Faith walked outside the class.

"Everything okay?" I asked a little worried.

"Oh yeah! She told me since I am new I have a choice of either taking the test on Friday or choosing one of the five symbols mentioned in chapter 7 and write a 2 page report on how it relates to me. She told me to let her know what I choose by tomorrow."

Faith and I both left for the caf waiting in line for our food. Brooke and Rachel were only a few people ahead of us, but we both kept it civilized but obviously Faith and Brooke never took eyes off each other. So much tension was in the air. We grabbed our food and sat with Lucas, Nathan and Haley.

"Okay guys, I have no clue how to be a captain for a cheerleading team. I don't even know where the hell to begin!"
"Hey chill Faith, I told you I'll help you! By the way I have some dvds from previous shows we have done, so that may help you!" We both finished our lunch and left for the lounge as I opened my laptop and place one of the dvds in there to show Faith. The program started and just when I was about to hit play, Brooke walked in.

"Peyton, can I see those DVDs?" Faith just kept giving the dirtiest looks to Brooke, but I just showed Brooke the other DVDs. Brooke took all 3 DVDs and snapped them.

"Next time Peyton, ask for my permission before you going showing some bitch things I have done!"

Faith got up, but Peyton grabbed Faith and threw her back on the couch and got up herself.

"Listen Brooke, what I do or don't do is up to me. I am only helping our team at the end of the day. She just wanted to see previous routines so we can have a routine tonight since we don't have one!"

"Whatever Peyton, how's that bruise of yours anyhow. Hope it will remind you that the next time you interfere in mine and Faith's matter that bruise will be in more places than one"

"Is that a threat Brookie?"

"No Blondie, it's a promise"
"Show me what you go Brooke!" As Brooke was about to lift her hand and slap Peyton, Faith grabbed Brooke's wrist

"Now listen Brooke, if you EVER and I mean EVER raise even a finger on Peyton I will make sure you don't get up until the next decade, do you fucking hear me?" With that Faith threw Brooke's hand and looked around to see that Peyton had disappeared.

I had to leave from there; I couldn't blame anyone else but myself for why Brooke and Faith kept having a go at each other. I just wanted to ignore everyone and come out of this tension.

School was finally over signaling it was another cheerleading practice. Faith was there along with Sarah and Alex.

Ten minutes later, Brooke and Rachel walk in laughing at each other. Whitey was sitting on the bleachers making sure things go civilized today.

"Brooke, Rachel! Two laps around the gym NOW!"

"Excuse me?"

"You both heard me; you want to show up late, you will have consequences. Now go jog!" Before Brooke could argue, Whitey told them to do what their captain said. So Brooke and Rachel went by the wall and started to jog. Peyton showed up a few minutes late.

"Sorry I'm late!"

"Give me 2 laps Peyton!"

"What the hell??" Peyton didn't say anything more as she saw Brooke and Rachel running, she ran around the gym twice as well.

As they all finished their two laps, they joined Sarah, Alex and Faith in the center.

"Listen up girls; I am your new captain for the next 3 games. Now we can all work as a team and have fun doing this or we can work where what I say goes. I'm not going to put up with anyone being late. We have the gym at 4, which gives each one of us 30 minutes to grab our stuff, talk to friends, change and be in this gym ready for practice. From now on, if you show up any time from 4:01 to 4:10 those minutes determine how many laps you will do, after 4:10 don't even bother showing up. Now any ideas on what we should do, and I'm just clarifying this right now, there will be NO pyramid in this routine."

With a little discussion mostly from Alex, Sarah and Peyton a routine was finally made. Faith told each one of them to practice as much as possible since tomorrow was the last day to get it to perfection. Brooke and Rachel just sucked their teeth and gave a dirty look to Faith before leaving and going to the change room. Sarah and Alex helped with the mats and put them in the storage room. I grabbed some water and went to Faith.

"Look Faith about before…."

"Save it Peyton, I have better things to do!" Faith left to get changed as well. Faith was upset at me and I didn't know why. I was throwing my cup in the garbage can, when an unfamiliar guy walks into the gym.

"Hey, um is Faith here!"

"And you are?"

"I'm Jason, she probably isn't expecting me today! Can you tell her that her boyfriend is waiting for her? By the way you are?"
"Pey…"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Faith yelled and terrified at the same time.

I knew something wasn't right. The tension in the air just grew thicker.

TBC only if you want!!