By third period Brooke had put her personal life out of her mind as much as she could. For once all she wanted to do was focus on schoolwork, and with Haley as her lab partner she thought things would work out perfectly.

She thought wrong.

The one time Haley didn't want to stick to science, Brooke wished she did. They had gotten out their microscopes and slides and sat down to start the lab when Haley started talking.

"I know you're not taking this mess nearly as well as you're pretending too."

Brooke didn't flinch. "I'm fine, Haley."

They were sitting next to each other at their station, peering through their microscopes. It had seemed like such a good idea pairing up with Haley as lab partners back in September. This way she would get to know her boyfriend's best friend, who would probably end up her boyfriend's sister in law. And then that day two months ago had happened.

Haley's voice interrupted Brooke's thoughts. "Last night at the party you looked miserable. Even Nathan noticed."

"Well if I managed to distract Nathan from you even for a second I must really be slipping."

"Not that I don't love hearing my boyfriend's wandering eye is only wandering over me but we're talking about you."

Brooke sighed. "This amoeba looks like Uncle Fester."

"Brooke…."

"You know, from the Adams Family." Brooke pushed her microscope towards Haley. "I'm not kidding. See for yourself."

Haley sat up, ignoring both microscopes and meeting Brookes gaze. "You looked like hell when you saw Lucas. I didn't think someone could look worse until I saw your face when he hugged Peyton."

Brooke looked down at her lap, trying to think of some kind of denial. This was Luke's best friend. There was no way she could confide her true feelings.

Haley took a deep breath. "They were wrong. They are wrong."

Brooke could only blink in disbelief. "You're Luke's best friend."

Haley shrugged. "I'm your friend too, and I know what's right and what's not. No matter what his intentions were…" She added quietly.

Brooke could feel her control slipping. Confiding in Haley was so tempting. But if she told Haley, Haley would tell Lucas, Lucas would tell Peyton....

"Excuse me for a minute." Brooke grabbed her bag and stood suddenly.

The teacher who'd been consumed by the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine noticed Brooke's commotion and started down the aisle towards her.

"Ah, Miss Davis, leaving Miss James to do all the work once again, are we?"

"She's not feeling well, Dr. Keller," Haley explained, keeping her concerned gaze on Brooke.

"And I shall excuse her provided she tells me the genus and species of what she's been observing for the passed five minutes."

Brooke cleared her throat. She so did not need this right now. "It's an amoeba…"

"Correct, and the species?"

An empty chair behind Dr. Keller skidded a few inches into him and he turned around, startled.

Haley flashed Brooke her notebook, a giant PROTEUS scrawled across the page.

"Proteus. Amoeba Proteus." Brooke said.

Dr. Keller looked nonplussed when he turned back around. Considering the man had a doctorate Brooke thought it was odd he didn't figure out Haley had used the cover of the lab table to hook her boot onto the underside of the chair and pull it into him.

But the really sad part was Haley had done something a good friend would do; something Peyton and Brooke had done for each other all the time up until two months ago, and Brooke could do nothing about it.

Even though Haley had just said Lucas was wrong, she was Lucas' friend, not Brooke's.

After Dr. Keller excused Brooke she hid out in the little alcove in the library for the rest of the period.

She wouldn't tell Haley how upset she really was. She wouldn't tell anyone. Her front of control was all Lucas and Peyton left her with. That much she wouldn't let them take away from her.

It felt like a year had gone by when Brooke was leaving her last class. She wasn't even going to her locker, which was right across from Peyton's. On days she could pull it together enough to look like she didn't care she went to her locker. The days she couldn't she went straight home. Today was definitely one of those days. It was just as well she had gotten a ride with Peyton this morning. Brooke could use the walk home to wake up. What she didn't expect was Haley and Nathan waiting outside her classroom.

"Hey, here she is," Nathan said, nodding to Brooke.

Haley smiled at Brooke. "We need to talk."

Brooke tried to smile back and hoped it was convincing. "I'm really tired Haley—

"Well no wonder, you look like you haven't gotten a good night's sleep in about two months," she said meaningfully.

"This sounds like girl talk is coming. I'll leave you to it." Nathan leaned forward and kissed Haley on the cheek. "See you later, Hales. Bye Brooke."

Brooke waved as Nathan left and looked back at Haley.

"C'mon," Haley said. "It almost feels like Spring today. You up for a walk?"

The girls stopped at the cafe near their school before heading back out into the cold January air.

Haley took her regular hot chocolate from the vender and joined Brooke at the side counter where she was adding vanilla syrup to her vanilla hot chocolate. "I still don't understand why you're adding vanilla syrup to vanilla hot chocolate," she repeated for the third time.

"Because I like vanilla." Brooke answered for the third time. Normally something like this would get on her nerves but she liked Haley's stubbornness.

"But it's already vanilla," Haley shook her head.

"You can never have too much of a good thing. And I like vanilla."

They grinned at each other and left the warmth of the coffee shop, crossing the street and walking through the West entrance of Tree Hill Park.

"So," Brooke said after a minute of silence.

"So…what is wrong with you?"

Brooke nearly choked on her hot chocolate. She met Haley's eyes and the two of them burst out laughing.

"Okay, maybe not the best way to phrase it."

"No, it's okay. It's refreshing. You're the first person who's not afraid to ask me about it." Brooke shook her head. "Even though everyone's wondering how I'm taking it so well. The thing is…" She took a deep breath, wondering if she could say it. "I'm not."

"Before last night I really thought you were okay."

"So did I." Brooke shrugged. "You can't understand—

"That's for sure." Haley shook her head. "Luke and Peyton were supposed to be your best friend and your boyfriend and they betrayed you. The two of them are still together and you've never even given them one good screaming fit. I've heard Luke's side and I still think they deserve that much. The Brooke I know would never let anyone get away with that especially the two people she loved most."

Brooke smiled without humor. "Exactly."

"What?"

"They are the two people I loved most, so I let them get away with it."

"Brooke that's ridic—

"If I leave things this way I won't loose any more than I already have. They won't see what they've done to me. If I don't leave it alone I'll just ruin what's left."

"But is what's left worth keeping?"

Brooke shook her head. "I haven't made many good friends, Haley. I was...sort of…wild before you knew me."

It was Haley's turn to shake her head. "Oh, trust me. I know."

"They you know I was always good at making trouble and margaritas and not much else. Peyton and Luke may be terrible as far as best friends go, but they're still the only two I have. Even other friends I have, you and Nathan…everyone. You're all Lucas' friends, really. If I give Lucas and Peyton the kind of hell you're talking about, I loose the only two close friends I ever had and all of my other friends...and what little pride i have left."

Haley stopped in her tracks. "What would ever give you the impression anyone would turn on you for giving them what's been coming for two months?"

"Because…well…"

"Because nothing. You'll never move on until you get this out. Sooner is better than later. The longer you wait, the worse you'll feel and the angrier you'll get. And despite the face that your friends are Lucas' friends, they are still your friends, too. And as far as pride goes I think you would end up getting some of that back."

Brooke took a minute to gather her thoughts.

"Peyton is…not as strong as she seems, Haley. Her attitude is just that, an attitude; she's not really that tough."

"Then she shouldn't have dished out more than she can take." Haley shook her head. "That sounds harsh, I know. I like Peyton but she has to find a way to be strong on her own. She has to find her own boyfriend. She can't keep counting on you for things, including giving up Lucas without a fight."

The girls continued walking in thoughtful silence, letting the conversation sink in. It left Brooke's mind swimming with possibilities. She thought of what could happen if she told Lucas and Peyton exactly what she thought of what they did and the pain they had caused her. She even pictured what would happen if she told Lucas exactly how she felt. She still loved him, but she didn't know if she'd ever trust him again. And she doubted she'd be able to keep up the "just friends" act for much longer.

Anything could happen, but something definite was a new camaraderie with Haley. It could end up being the only positive thing to come out of this whole mess.

"One more thing," Haley said as they neared the East end of the park, "it might be a good idea if you talked to Lucas alone...just to hear his side of things without Peyton there. He said you never talked to him about it. If you asked him, he would tell you."

"If I asked him? I think Peyton made it clear the day she told me, and Luke just stood there. If he had something to say he should have said it then."

From the way Haley paused to think of how she should continue Brooke knew whatever was coming next had to do with something Lucas had told Haley in confidence.

"I'm not saying he was right in what he did, but," Haley paused, "but it might help if you knew his intentions. He's not as strong as he looks either. He tries to do what he thinks is right." She looked away and seemed to talk to herself more than Brooke. "Sometimes he's just so misguided."

"I don't know, Haley. I'm not the same person I used to be."

Brooke was trying to figure out exactly what Haley meant when they came to the East end of the park.

Brooke snapped back to the present. "I only live a few minutes away from here. If you want to walk to my house I could give you a ride home."

"Thanks, but I'm meeting Nathan before he goes to practice. He moved into that empty duplex right off of Main Street two weeks ago."

"Oh, he took it? Good for him. I can't believe he's an emancipated minor. If I had his work ethic I'd divorce my parents too."

Haley laughed. "He hated working at the Main St. Bakery at first, and the boys on the team didn't make it any easier the way they carried on when they saw him in his apron. But now that he has enough saved to actually support himself he brags about the bakery every chance he gets." Haley leaned in conspiratorially. "You know who's renting the other half of the duplex?"

"Who?"

"Principal Mallory."

"Eww," Brooke cringed. "What a buzz kill."

"That's what we thought until I met Nathan for a jog one morning and we caught Miss Carter sneaking out."

"Miss Carter!"

"Yup."

"But he used to date Miss Andrew's and she's Miss Carter's best friend. Well. They're just a regular Peyton and Lucas, aren't they?"

Haley rolled her eyes and Brooke found herself laughing. She had made a joke out of the worst situation she'd ever been in.

Maybe she was closer to being her old self then she thought.