A little later than planned but I finally got there in the end.

The banging and crashing is becoming increasingly louder as he nears the top of the stairs. He doesn't worry or panic, for he already knows the cause of the loud noises. He leans against the door frame as he watches the brunette frantically throwing items of clothing into her bag, slamming draws and closet doors along the way.

"You nearly ready Davis?" Nathan asks. The mere sound of his voice causes her to jump a little. He watches as she turns and scowls. He hadn't meant to startle her, just like he hadn't meant to scare her earlier. He just hadn't thought, especially what with her being in the safety on her own home or whatever she wanted to call it.

"Does it look like I'm ready? It won't all fit." She huffs. "That's the last time I ever let a guy decide how many bags I can take."

She has packed and unpacked three times now and no matter how many times she does it, it just wouldn't all fit. Each time she has tried a different approach, the first time packing jeans first then followed by other items of clothing, the problem being that when it comes to her shoes there is simply no room left.

"Brooke no offence but if you had your way then there wouldn't be enough room for everyone. It's going to be a squeeze as it is." Nathan reminded her as he surveyed the room, his eyes falling on the numerous items, which currently remained unpacked. They had decided that each person could take a maximum of two bags, despite Brooke's protesting. But as she had been outnumbered there was nothing she could do.

She lets out a deep sigh as she looks at the bed before her, items scattered across the plain lilac bed cover. She knows there is no way she can squeeze all the items into her two bags, which she had had to sit on just to get the zip to go across.

"I guess I'll have to unpack everything and start again then" She sighs, making her way over to the packed bags.

Nathan edges out of the doorway and further into the chaotic scene. "You're kidding right? Brooke we don't have enough time." He warns. Haley is waiting for them to pick her up and they are already running late, which he hates. He doesn't want to give her or the other waiting. The sooner they get going, the sooner they can get there find Mouth and be on their way back. He knows he is over protective of his pregnant wife but he just hates the thought of something happening to her, like it did before.

"It's your fault that I'm only allowed two bags so either you let me take another bag or I'm going to have to unpack everything" She states, knowing all to well that Nathan is not about to let her unpack the other two bags.

"First off it wasn't me who said you could only take two bags, that was Lucas, and second of all very clever Davis" He smiles. He knows how she works, she is the master of getting her own way, she didn't work her way up to become one of the most popular girls in school on being a pushover that was for sure. She wanted to be captain of the cheerleading squad, she did it. She wanted to be student body president, she did it. So Brooke wanting to take an extra bag seemed pretty small in comparison.

"So I can have another bag?" She asks peering up at him as she speaks.

"You can have another bag." He concedes. She squeals, jumps off the bed and flings her arms around his neck.

"If the others ask just say it's mine" He adds. A warm smile appears on her face. It's there not because he has given in, nor is it because she can now take everything she needs. It's there because in that moment she realises that she can always count on him, no matter how messed up things get or how hectic life is, some things just never change.

"So I'm guessing I shouldn't use this bag" Brooke laughs as she holds up the fluorescent pink bag for Nathan to see.

"Yeah I think they might work out that it isn't mine. Don't you have something more I don't know manly?" He asks although he doesn't hold out much hope, this is Brooke Davis he is asking after all.

"I have this" She smiles awkwardly as she holds up another bag, this time a pale blue colour and flings it across to him.

"I guess I could pass that off as mine" Nathan replies as he inspects the bag "Although I think the Justin Timberlake tag is going to have to go."

"Oops yeah sorry I forgot about that" She smiles as she takes the bag back from him and rips the tag off. She doesn't want to tell him but she is really glad he has come with her to get the car. The house seems so empty, it just doesn't feel right anymore now that Rachel's gone. And she isn't going to lie to herself, she knows the fear that has consumed her since the attack is yet to go away, she know she still jumps at the slightest of sounds or a door slamming. But having him there makes some of that fear disappear, if only for a while. She just wishes the redhead was there also, as she knows she would feel so much less alone with the redhead by her side.

Nathan has always had a way of making her feel safe, ever since they were little. Nathan had always been adventurous, wandering off here and there, not caring about what could happen to him. They had ended up in the woods one time after he had insisted he knew a shortcut home, of course once inside the woods Nathan had lost his bearings and sure enough they were lost. At first it hadn't been too bad, but as the sun set and the dark clouds rolled in she had begun to panic. Nathan simply took her hand in his and promised to get them home, and although they were just words she had instantly felt better, knowing that she wasn't alone, that she had him by her side. And he kept his promise.

"So you think you can be ready to go in five?" He asks, glancing at his watch for the first time since he has entered the bedroom but for the sixth time since he had entered the house.

She looks from the bed back up to the younger Scott. "Sure let me just throw this lot in. You know you could help by carrying my bags down, they're way too heavy for me" She remarks fluttering her eyelashes a little as she does so.

"I'm not even going to comment." He mutters to himself, bending down to pick up the two bags she had placed on the floor.

"God Brooke what do you have in them? Bricks?" He quips as he struggles with the bags. He knew she had said they were heavy but heavy for her and heavy for him were usually two very different things.

"Just the essentials" She shrugs, continuing to place the items from her bed into the blue bag.

"I hope Haley's idea of packing the essentials is different from yours Davis" Nathan comments as he makes his way out of the bedroom and down the hall.

She can hear his footsteps and the creaks of the floorboards as he works his way down the stairs with her bags. She sighs and turns to face the empty bed nearest the window, the bed which once contained the redhead.

A few months ago she would have laughed at the thought of missing Rachel, but now that she was gone she really did miss her. She missed the snide remarks, the blunt responses, she missed hearing about who the redhead had hooked up with the previous night, and most of all she missed having that someone she could turn to for advice. Rachel had become such a good friend over the last few months, people could say what they liked about her, she didn't care. Rachel had been there for her more than anyone recently, she was the one to console her when Nick had cheated on her, Rachel was the one who tried to pick up the pieces after the break-up with Lucas, and Rachel was the one who had put her own neck on the line to save the brunette's future. Sounded like a pretty good friend to her.

She shakes her head and smiles as the voice of the redhead telling her to get a grip and stop being so sentimental pops into her head. She flings what is left on her bed into the open bag as quickly as she can before running down the stairs to the waiting car with Nathan already at the wheel.

"You got everything?" He asks as she slams the car door shut having placed the bag in the back with others.

She nods and gazes ahead.

"Well I'm not letting you go back in even if there is something you've left. If I step on the gas we should still make it on time"

He pushes his foot down on the accelerator and pulls out of the driveway. He knows his wife will be wondering where he is and he doesn't want her to worry.

She glances back at the house wanting to get one last look at it before they go. She knows she still has to go back and move all of her things out before Rachel's parents return but she can't help but feel sad knowing that she and the redhead were no longer going to be roommates.

He can tell the brunette's mood has changed since he last saw her. She seems deep in thought, worried even and he doesn't like to think she is keeping things bottled up.

"You ok?" He asks hoping for some sort of reassurance that she is, but also hoping she feels able to tell him the truth if things aren't ok.

"Yeah." She answers, her voice is soft. She doesn't really want to talk about the redhead to him, or anyone for that matter. She knows neither Haley nor Nathan were fans of Rachel to say the least, so neither of them could even remotely understand her feelings on the redhead's departure. Only one other person would really miss Rachel like she was going to and that one person just so happened to have left with her, so not only was she going to miss the redhead but now she had to do it alone.

---

They have been on the road for 45 minutes. She glances back at the others to see what everyone is doing, Lucas and Peyton sit side by side just behind her seat, Skills and Haley sitting further back. As she looks back she can't help but be grateful to the brunette who was currently driving. For if it wasn't for him she would bee sitting next to Skills in Haley's place. Thankfully it was her turn to drive next and Nathan had suggested that she should ride up front with him and be the navigator until it was her turn to take over.

"Taking a trip down memory lane" Haley comments as Lucas flips through one of the many year books he had brought along.

"Something like that" He mumbles. He's not ready to tell anyone the truth about why he has brought them along for the ride. He doesn't think they will understand. He hasn't had a chance to give it much thought the last few days what with both girls staying at his house but now he thinks is the perfect opportunity.

"What was I thinking" Haley mutters to herself having taken one of the yearbooks from his pile and located herself.

"Bad picture?" Peyton asks, turning her attention away from Lucas.

"You know when you think something looks really good at the time and then you look back and realise hoe terrible it is?

"Yeah"

"Well that sums up most of my yearbook pictures" Haley laughs half-heartedly. She has never been one to care about her yearbook picture. She would just dress as she usually did, apply minimal if any make-up, brush her hair through and that was it, nothing special. But now looking at the pictures of everyone else she was beginning to wish she had made more of an effort. She looks at the picture of Peyton, the blonde curly locks flowing down just below her shoulders, she looked beautiful but in a less obvious way than Brooke., She flicks through the pages to relocate the brunette, everything about her was just perfect, from her brunette waves to the immaculately applied make-up. She was gorgeous in every sense of the word, every guy wanted her and the majority of the girls wanted to be her. She then turns her attention back to her own picture and frowns.

"Well if it makes you feel any better I think we've all had our fair share of bad pictures" Peyton chimes, in an obvious attempt to cheer up the pregnant blonde behind her.

Brooke coughs making Peyton aware of her error.

"Ok well except for Brooke." Peyton corrects herself almost immediately.

"Thank you" Brooke replies a satisfied smile emerging.

"You don't have one bad picture?" Haley replies in disbelief. Sure Brooke looked great in the yearbook picture she had seen but was it really possible to go through her entire school life without having one bad picture?

"Nope" She answers proudly. It's not that she thinks it's a big deal, at least se doesn't anymore, but right now she needs something to make her feel better about herself. Something to make her feel good again.

"How do you do it?" Haley asks.

"Come on, Brooke starts preparing for it weeks in advance, her hair, clothes, make-up, everything" Peyton answers for the brunette, having seen firsthand Brooke's preparation.

"Why?" Haley questions not understanding why anyone would put in so much effort for a yearbook picture.

"Because she wants everyone to remember how hot she is." Peyton laughs as she recounts Brooke's exact words from years gone by.

"So I guess that means everyone will remember how terrible I look then" Haley comments seemingly determined to put herself down.

"Haley you look gorgeous and who cares what anyone else thinks, you have a husband that adores you, a baby on the way, your life is perfect. It's just a picture, it's not like it means anything." Brooke remarks. She would do anything to have a guy who loves her as much as Nathan does Haley. She just wishes Haley could realise how lucky she is.

"Yeah that's easy for you to say 'Miss I look hot in all my pictures'" Haley counters.

"Well I've changed my mind. It doesn't matter, none of it does. Who cares what some geek thinks of you when he looks back at some crappy old picture" Brooke replies, letting out a frustrated sigh as she finishes. She can't help but feel somewhat to blame for Haley's new outlook, telling the blonde how she needed to change her hair and how she had no fashion sense can't have helped and now she regrets these comments. She shifts uneasily in her seat wishing for this conversation to be over and for Haley to go back to how she once was, not caring about what anyone thought about her.

"I guess you're right." The pregnant blonde admits knowing she is just being stupid. She wishes it didn't bother her, that she could just be happy and not worry about superficial things like the style of her hair or colour of her eye shadow but deep down she is insecure like everyone else. And having a husband who is so popular just adds to her worries, the fear that he could find someone else, someone more attractive.

"Yeah I am. You have any music P.Sawyer? Brooke asks. It was going to be along journey and she has already had to witness Peyton whispering various things in her boyfriend's ear. It was hard to think that a few months ago that would have been her in Peyton's position. Snuggling up to Lucas, feeling the warmth of his body, resting her head on his chest and listening to his heart beat. But that was then, and now she was no longer the one sitting beside him, her place had been filled with her once and maybe again best friend. Lucas had moved on, now she needed to do the same. If only it was that easy though.

"Of course" The blonde replies digging her hand deep into her bag.

"This better not be depressing" She warns as she takes the CD from the blonde's hand. The last thing she wants is an hour of listening to Peyton's dark depressing 'I want to kill myself' music. She wants, no, she needs, something happy, something uplifting. Something which makes her forget all the crap that is going on.

"Ha-ha" Peyton mocks.

"Ha-ha yes it is, or ha-ha you're so wrong?" The brunette ask turning to look over her shoulder at Peyton.

"I guess you will have to put it on and find out" Peyton answers refusing to give the brunette any hints as to what is on the disk.

She inserts the disk still not sure if she really wants to hear the contents of the disk. The music begins and she instantly recognises it, it's impossible for her not to. She doesn't realise her facial expression has changed until her former best friend speaks.

"What's wrong? I thought you liked this one" Peyton asks clearly confused as to why the brunette is now frowning.

"I did, I mean I do... I guess I've just gone off it" She attempts to explain not wanting to draw any more attention to herself than she has already done.

"You can skip it if you want. There must be something else you like on there somewhere" The curly haired girl suggests.

Brooke nods and goes to hit the skip button. She knows Peyton means well, it's not like she had done it on purpose, but just hearing the song again has brought all these memories flooding back, memories which she had tried oh so hard to keep away.

"Leave it" Lucas's stern voice sounds just as Brooke is about to press the button. She slowly moves her hand away and places it back in her lap. She doesn't say anything, she is too scared to.

Peyton's attention is once again firmly back on Lucas.

"I haven't heard this song in ages" He states hoping to stop his girlfriend from looking at him the way she currently is. And it works. She smiles lightly completely oblivious of the real meaning of the song to him. And more importantly to Brooke.

She sits there wishing for the song to end, she can't bare it, she can't even pretend to. She doesn't want to remember all the good times, it just makes her more aware of how much she has lost and what she no longer has. Inside she is breaking, she knows she misses him but there is nothing she can do. She was the one who decided to end it and now he has someone else, he is happy and that's all she could ever want for him. All she can do now is wish that one day she can be happy again.

She digs her fingernails into her skin hoping the pain will draw her attention away from the music. It doesn't work and now she is left with horrible red marks in her arms as a reminder of that. She doesn't understand why Lucas made her leave it on, she wonders if he is trying to torture her and is enjoying seeing her suffer like this.

The tears are threatening but she knows she can't cry. She can't let Lucas know he has got to her and more importantly she can't let Peyton know anything is wrong.

She had managed to last all this time sleeping in the same bed as him and yet one single song has been able to destroy her inside and make her feel like she is having her heart ripped out all over again. Life is so unfair. And the worst past is that it didn't seem like that was going to change anytime soon

I hope you liked it. Hopefully I will be able to update quicker but it all depends on my work load. Please review if you can as it means a lot to hear what you guys think.