Hey there here's chapter 4. Thanks to everyone reading and a special thank you to those who reviewed.

Just a quick note; I know everyone wants to know what the pairings are going to be but I really want the story to build up all the relationships - both friendship and romantic - rather than giving it away now even though I'm sure that people love to read only about their favourite couples, this one's going to be about more than one pairing and more than just romance.
As for any concerns about Laley getting together, I'll just say that this story is about the friendships as well and it's quite slow paced so no one's jumping into relationships just yet.

Hope you enjoy :)

On their friend's insistence both Haley and Peyton had agreed to stay at Brooke's on the night of her store opening so that the following morning they could have a quick breakfast together and discuss the night's events. Neither were too keen on the idea as Haley had work early on the Friday morning and Peyton didn't like the idea of waking up early for a powwow, but both were loyal friends so they met her wishes.

Brooke who hadn't drunk a drop of alcohol the previous evening was up first, pumped with adrenaline following her successful opening. She showered and dressed in a fitted blouse and pencil skirt ready for her first day at the office. She hummed a quiet tune as she moved around her kitchen getting breakfast ready for the girls. In thanks to her friends she had ensured that she had their favourites in; strong coffee and a bacon sandwich for Peyton, and lucky charms and juice for Haley.

Haley, the most sensible person Brooke and Peyton had ever met had an extremely odd palette. They constantly teased her for it but it didn't bother her in the slightest. Unlike her friends she had grown up in a family that revolved around children, and her diet reflected it. As she'd moved into adulthood she'd had to wave goodbye to Saturday morning TV, making dens with her brothers, tying her hair with colourful accessories and her cuddly toy collection, but the one thing she'd been able to hang onto were her favourite meals. In the comfort of her own home she could prepare whatever meals she wished and gorge on the tastes of her childhood without being judged. It was a way of indulging on her upbringing without feeling lonely over the absence of her large family; it was like going back but without the dinnertime squabbles her siblings always initiated.

Peyton's favourite breakfast was also a reflection on the rest of her diet; unhealthy. Like Haley though it didn't bother her in the slightest, she preferred to eat what she liked rather than suffer through health food. Her childhood on the road had allowed her to enjoy all of the foods that housewives frowned upon and all kids wished they could eat. Fast food was a popular choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner; she had grown up thinking that Thanksgiving dinner was just something that people in films invented, home-cooked wasn't in her vocabulary. It therefore wasn't much of a surprise that Peyton was a horrible cook and to solve that problem she ate out most of the time much to the envy of her two friends.

Brooke was unlucky in the fact that she worked in the cutthroat world of fashion where image is everything. Although she wasn't a model and she had a policy of not letting size dominate her work, she still cared about the way she looked. She enjoyed the forbidden foods that her two friends lived on but she was from a different world. Growing up in LA under the same roof as Victoria Davis had caused Brooke to think about everything that passed her lips. It wasn't a habit that she was particularly proud of but she was thankful that she had an inbuilt system when it came to calorie counting. She wished that she could be carefree and eat whatever took her fancy but it wasn't in her nature and she hated the feeling whenever she indulged.

It was for that reason that Brooke started her morning with fresh fruit and green tea. Her line of work had shown her some of the more extremes in dieting and she only had to walk the streets to see some of the startling obesity ravishing the country. It was a fine line she walked trying to keep to a happy medium when it came to her own diet. Breakfast though was an easy decision, fruit had no end of good qualities but her favourite was the way it woke her up and got her ready for the day and green tea while an acquired taste was something that Brooke enjoyed and had a stream of health benefits with it.

As Brooke was brewing her tea, Haley appeared in a manicured suit and a bleary look in her eye.

'Good morning!' Brooke beamed, 'I've got your favourite but I also have coffee if you'd prefer.'

Haley put a hand to her head with a sleepy smile, 'Coffee actually sounds pretty good right now, thanks. How was your night?'

'Like a dream, it was amazing! I'm still tingling from all of the compliments I got; some of them were from real geniuses in fashion. I can't believe it!' Brooke was on cloud nine and Haley couldn't have been happier for her.

'What time did you get in last night, you seem wide awake.' Haley sighed thinking of the long day she had ahead of her with loud students.

Brooke smirked secretly, 'Late enough. I think I'm having one of those natural highs, I only had a few hours sleep last night.'

'I was tucked up by twelve and I look like this!' Haley cried, 'It's not fair.'

'I got you Lucky Charms.' Brooke sang shaking the cereal box in Haley's eye line.

Instantly her face lit up, 'Ohh, gimmie! There is nothing better; food of Gods.'

'You're like a pre-schooler.' Brooke remarked but it fell on deaf ears as Haley had heard it all before. 'I'm dying to hear about your date, Peter Pan.'

A shy smile inched to Haley's lips, 'Peyton's not up yet.'

'It could take decades for her to roll out of the coma she's no doubt in!' Brooke whined, 'Come on, just a little teaser!'

'He's really nice; like really nice. We got on well.' Haley offered disappearing into her coffee mug.

'Well I guessed that from your goofy smile!' Brooke sighed, 'Come on! It's six-fifteen, Peyton won't be up for hours! You can't make me wait.' Brooke groaned.

Haley brought her hand to her mouth and closed an invisible zip across her lips, sealing her silence. Brooke huffed in response but knew arguing would be futile so sat down to enjoy her meal.

As the pair went to their private thoughts of the day ahead and the night before, they ate in a comfortable silence. The calm was interrupted by a click and a stumble.

'Seriously?' Haley questioned in her best teacher tone.

Brooke couldn't help but laugh, 'Friday morning walk of shame, it's a new low, Peyton.'

In response the blonde merely grunted, her head clearly heavy from consuming a lot of alcohol the previous night. She sank into a seat at the table and groaned into her hands.

Brooke and Haley shared a look they had used many times before.

'Here, it's fresh.' Brooke said setting a black coffee down, she pulled the fallen strap of the purple dress back onto Peyton's shoulder and shook her head. 'So, who did you hook up with?'

Peyton laughed a short, sharp snigger, 'That's the funny thing; no one.'

'Then what happened to you?' Haley questioned in a slightly fearful tone.

It seemed to take Peyton a few moments to recollect what had occurred in the previous hours, 'I went to a few clubs, maybe a strip club too and for some reason I think Central Park.'

Haley couldn't even speak, she didn't know what question to start with, Brooke on the other hand did.

'You went running around a park in that dress?' Brooke cried in shock in disgust.

'And I rolled around in the mud then jumped in the pond.' Peyton shot back sarcastically, 'I've actually spent the last hour in a café, sobering.'

'Clearly.' Haley mocked.

'So you don't want a bacon sandwich then?' Brooke questioned playing Mom as she brushed the blonde curls from Peyton's face.

'Bacon?' Peyton's ears pricked, 'Yeah, I'm starved.'

'Only if you tell us who you were with.' Brooke countered devilishly wagging her finger.

Peyton shook her head before instantly regretting it, 'No. Last night was all about you and of course Haley's date; we'll save my tale for another time. I want to hear about what happened with you guys.'

'Well I am desperate to know how it went between Haley and Lucas.' Brooke admitted, 'but we are not letting this go, Peyt.'

'Go figure.' Peyton muttered.

As she groaned into her hands and Haley polished off her cereal, Brooke fried the bacon and toasted the bread to just the way her friend liked it. She delivered a condensed version of the night's events in a language that her friends would understand as she worked. She'd sold lots of pieces and struck some deals with some independent traders and big department stores; it was success that both her friends could appreciate.

She set Peyton's meal onto a plate and passed the treat over to her worse for wear friend. The blonde offered a mumble of thanks and a soft smile in reply.

'So, what did you think of the store?' Brooke asked unable to hide her smile.

'I'm so proud of you, Brooke.' Haley gushed, 'It's amazing that you've done all this on your own.'

'Ditto.' Peyton smiled, 'Exactly, we're like ecstatic parents right now.'

'No offence but you couldn't look less ecstatic if you tried, Peyt.' Brooke said lightly.

'Inside I'm dancing, it's like a party in there.' Peyton offered smirking, 'Sorry, I'm just a little delicate.'

'We noticed.' Brooke laughed handing her friend the ketchup that was just out of reach. 'Now, Teacher Girl, we want the dirt.'

Enquiring green and hazel eyes fell on Haley and she knew that she was cornered.

'He's great, we talked for hours and he made me laugh a lot. We're going out again tomorrow.' Haley told her friends.

'Haley, that is not dirt!' Peyton suddenly came alive, 'We want details about what happened after the party, you know, at the after party.'

She pouted in response, 'He was the perfect gentleman. We shared a cab which he paid for and he kissed me goodnight.'

'And then he snuck into Brooke's apartment?' Peyton pushed, wide eyed.

'No!' Haley said defiantly, 'He really was a gentleman.'

'He sounds a bit boring.' Peyton muttered, still not sober enough to think through her words before she spoke them.

Brooke wagged her finger, 'Don't listen to her, Haley, she's just jealous because I doubt her guy paid for a taxi or was in any way a gentleman. Lucas is wonderful.'

'Hey, for your information my guy gave me a piggyback from the café three blocks away!' Peyton retaliated then immediately looked ashamed, 'No cabs would stop for us.'

'I'm not surprised; no one wants puke in their car.' Brooke snorted.

Peyton shook her head, 'I'm sorry Haley, I'm sure Lucas is great, I'm a mess, ignore me.'

'Just wait until your memory comes back; we're going to enjoy grilling you.' Brooke warned.

'I bet.' Peyton groaned.

Haley cleared all the breakfast things away in a gesture of thanks to Brooke for her hospitality. She was feeling much more awake having eaten and finally felt ready for the day ahead discussing Macbeth and To Kill a Mockingbird. It was still early but she liked to get to school in plenty of time so that she could catch up on marking to ensure that she had a light weekend ahead of her.

'I'm going to head out.' She announced to her two friends, grabbing her purse from the side, 'I'll be back by about four I think, then we can interrogate Blondie.'

'Don't start without me!' Brooke pleaded, 'I probably won't be finished until later.'

'Promise.' Haley committed, holding up her pinkie to seal her word.

'Later, Teacher Girl!' Brooke called after her as she left the room.

'Bye!' Peyton added as an afterthought.

Brooke was also looking to get an early start, but something was holding her back and it had something to do with the individual slumped over her kitchen table.

Peyton, feeling eyes on her, peeked through her veil of golden curls, 'What?'

'You're hiding something.' Brooke accused.

Peyton cursed the fact that Brooke was the only person on the planet with the ability to read her like a book. Peyton had a similar talent when it came to Haley's hidden thoughts and feelings just as Haley in turn could always tell when Brooke was covering something up.

'I'm not.' Peyton said fiercely but it did nothing to deter Brooke.

'Did something bad happen?' Brooke asked knowing that the concern in her voice would cause Peyton to feel some guilt.

'No.' She replied lightly, 'Nothing like that.'

'Well then who did you sleep with?' Brooke questioned.

Peyton sighed, 'No one, I promise. We just had some drinks and then we ended up in the park and we just talked for hours.'

'About what?' Brooke asked, not really believing her friend.

'Things.' Peyton twirled her pendant between her fingers, avoiding Brooke's eye. 'Can't we do this later? You and Haley can double team, you know that you'll enjoy it more that way.'

'True.' Brooke smiled, 'But it'll be better on you if you spill your little secret to me before you face the firing squad. I know you, Peyton, there's something else.'

Peyton sighed, 'I was with Lucas' brother, he's the guy I went off with.'

'Peyton!' Brooke gasped, 'Don't tell me you like him. You cannot like him.'

She put a hand to her head, 'I don't, honestly, I don't, we just had some stuff in common but it's not like that.'

Peyton was beginning to feel the effects of her heavy night and could do without a lecture. She wasn't stupid; she knew the unspoken rules of friends. She knew that she couldn't date Lucas' brother or any of his friends for that matter; it would only lead to a complicated web of mess. She hadn't intended on dating Nathan for a moment – well, perhaps a moment, but that was all – she knew better than to get involved with someone close to Lucas.

'As long as that's all it was.' Brooke folded her arms, 'I really think that Lucas and Haley could go the distance, and before you say it I really mean it, it's not just me being optimistic.'

'I know, I could see it in her face.' Peyton assured her.

'Okay.' Brooke was finally satisfied, 'I really need to get going now. You can stay here just stay out of my bed and drink lots of water.'

Peyton smiled a silent thank you.

Haley chewed down on her thumbnail and jiggled her knee nervously as she tried to get comfortable in the rigid, plastic chair she was sat in outside the Principal's office. She was sure that she hadn't been summoned because she was in trouble but her mind couldn't help but worry. She scoured her brain for a reason, always reverting to the worst case scenario; maybe Principal Graves thought that she was hungover which was unacceptable on her watch; maybe her students were underachieving due to poor teaching; or perhaps she'd forgotten to turn in an assessment of some kind. She went over every possibility in her mind which only caused a pit of dread to form in her stomach.

Since she was a little girl Haley had hated being in trouble, she was sure that no one liked it but others seemed to cope with it better. When she was six she'd been caught throwing mud at her neighbour's car by her father – it hadn't been her idea, she'd just tagged along but her siblings had the sense to run when they saw their family estate pull into the road – Jimmy James rather than shout at his youngest daughter had told her how disappointed he was, that had been more hurtful than any punishment she could have been given. The look in his eyes when he said he'd expected better from her had stayed with her for years and years. From that moment on she'd worked her hardest never to disappoint anyone again. When she'd told her father how much of an impact his words had had on her he'd laughed saying that he couldn't remember the event. In hindsight she'd realised that it had been the most feeble of crimes and it paled into insignificance when compared to her siblings' antics but it had created a complex in Haley that she'd never shaken.

'Miss James.'

Haley jumped up smoothed her jacket before entering the brightly lit office.

Principal Graves smiled and Haley relaxed a little, 'Thank you for coming in, Haley.'

'Not at all.' She replied politely even though she'd have preferred that her lunch break hadn't been cut short.

'I just wanted you to be the first to know about the reading material we have for next year.' She explained.

Haley frowned, 'Oh. Thank you.'

The Principal chuckled, 'Particularly this one.'

Haley watched as she reached into a draw and revealed a paperback copy of An Unkindness of Ravens.

'You were right in what you said in your proposal, it's a very good coming of age book, especially for young men.' Graves smiled, 'I'm afraid that this is going to mean that you'll have to brief the rest of the department as I doubt any of them are as interested in modern day teen literature as you are.'

Haley blushed, 'Of course.'

'Good, I'll leave the arrangements to you then.' Graves nodded.

Haley went to leave, a proud smile across her lips.

'Oh and Haley?'

She turned expectantly.

'It might be better for your career if you stay out of the newspaper.' Graves held up the style supplement of The New York Times and Haley met her own face staring back at her. It was the picture of the three girls that Peyton had hassled the photographer for.

She felt herself go red from head to toe, 'The New York Times?' She sank weakly into her recently vacated seat.

'I thought that you knew.' Graves said lightly, 'It's not an issue with me but this kind of think can often end up as playground gossip although in this case I can't see anything negative coming from this. At least it's not like Edison High.'

Haley shuddered at the mention of Edison High where an unsuspecting teacher had ended up in the middle of a sex tape scandal that had hit all the papers.

'Nothing like that at all.' Haley shook her head, 'I didn't even drink much. Brooke, the girl in the middle, she's my friend and it was her store opening, I never thought for a moment that this would end up in a paper.'

'It's okay, Haley, it's best that you know though.' Graves said wisely, 'Now, I've got to deal with a graffiti artist.'

'Of course.' Haley said jumping from her seat. 'Thank you.'

She rushed from the room pleased to reach the cool air of the courtyard that led towards her classroom. She wasn't sure why she was so panicked but the thought of her picture in the paper wasn't a pleasant one. Once in the privacy of her own room she dug her cell phone out of her purse.

Brooke answered on the forth ring, 'Hey, Teacher Girl!'

'Brooke, have you seen the paper?' Haley asked.

'Isn't it fantastic?' She could feel Brooke smiling even though she couldn't see her, 'That photographer has done me more favours than my whole marketing team, you would not believe how many calls I've had this morning.'

'From that one picture of me, you and Peyton?' Haley asked perplexed.

'Yep, I didn't realise at the time but it shows off everything; the company name, the clothes, me, the store and just the feel of the place, it's perfect.'

'But it's just us, no celebrities.' Haley pointed out.

'Exactly! Nobodies are the new celebrities. People are bored with reading about the stars, it's the age of reality TV, the story of the everyday person is what people want to hear now.' Brooke explained, 'I've got interview after interview lined up already, I've just got to think of an angle.'

'An angle?' Haley questioned.

'Like what makes me different, what's my story? I'm trying to work out the best way to sell myself.' Brooke replied.

Haley sighed, 'Brooke, you can't invent your story, it's already been written to this point.'

'But don't you think it's a bit boring?'

'I would never describe you as boring, Brooke.' Haley shook her head, 'I think that you should use this opportunity to inspire rather than try and be someone you're not. The biggest audience out there is surely the average person; you could encourage them to do whatever they want.'

Brooke was silent for a moment, 'You know if you weren't such a fabulous teacher I'd demand that you be my agent.'

'Thank you, I think.' Haley laughed. 'Have you heard from Peyton at all? She'd be impressed with the picture making the papers.'

'Are you kidding me, Haley? It's lunchtime she'll still be in bed. Remind me to thank her later though, she's a creative genius.'

'Sure thing, I'll see you back at yours.' Haley answered.

'Bye Teacher Girl.' Brooke said before hanging up.

Brooke sat her cell phone down on her diary that was rapidly filling with appointments and interviews; she smiled at her friend's wisdom, wondering why she hadn't called Haley herself for advice on the issue. It was a much better idea to be herself than be someone she wasn't; she hoped that she would be able to inspire someone in the same way that Haley had her many years ago.

It had been an extremely busy morning for Brooke, nothing like she'd expected but thrilling all the same. She'd thought that being in fashion would mean days discussing clothes, designing and going to catwalk shows but the reality was very different. She'd been caught up in meetings all morning and had numerous missed calls and e-mails to reply to even though her assistant had passed on only the most important ones. It was one o'clock and still she hadn't managed to escape the office and visit the store on it's opening day. Thankfully she'd been receiving regular updates of how everything was going but she was still anxious to see it for herself.

It was strangely disconcerting that in the past ten minutes no one had bothered her about any problems, her phone hadn't rung save for Haley and no one was rushing about the office floor like a maniac. She assumed that everyone had taken their lunch hour at the same time, something that she'd have to bring up at the next meeting. As everyone else was doing it though, Brooke decided to take the opportunity to catch a break.

Besides visiting the store and grabbing some food, there was something that Brooke was desperate to do at the first available moment she got; buy a photo frame for her first article in The New York Times. When she'd first seen the spread she'd screamed aloud causing her assistant to throw her a bemused look. Brooke hadn't cared though, it was her dream realised.

Once she'd recovered from her shock and excitement she'd had the brainwave to frame the piece. In preparation for the opening of the store all the focus had been on what the store looked like and the way the company was presented which meant little attention was paid to the décor in the offices. Brooke had been meaning to throw a painting party but had never got around to it due to her ridiculous schedule. She figured that until she found the time to redecorate she would just hang one of Peyton's masterpiece's on the wall to brighten her room up a bit, and then she'd seen the article and thought it suited her needs perfectly. Not only did it show the success of the company but it was a great picture of her, Haley and Peyton; it would serve as the ultimate stimulation if she was ever feeling uninspired.

Peyton, although she'd prefer for nothing more than to stay in bed all day, knew that she had to check in with her boss on Friday afternoon. Thankfully he was in LA so the time difference gave her three hours grace but by one o'clock she knew that she could avoid him no longer.

She hauled herself from the warm folds of Brooke's bed, not bothering to rearrange the sheets to disguise the fact that she'd slept in the forbidden bed. She padded to the kitchen and made herself a coffee before logging onto the computer to video call her boss.

Julian Baker's face materialised on the screen before her and a deep laugh erupted from the speakers. Peyton rolled her eyes in response, she still had last night's make-up on, her hair was more than a mess and she was wearing a t-shirt inside out, she knew that he wouldn't fail to pass comment on her appearance.

'Very chic, Pey.' He chortled, 'And everyone thinks that this business is all glamour.'

'It was a long night.' She offered as an excuse.

'About last night.' He began.

Peyton put her head in her hands, 'Can we please not talk about last night?'

'For once, just once mind, I'm not doing this to torture you.' He raised his eyebrows, 'Have you seen the papers this morning – or afternoon in your case?'

'No.' She sighed.

'I printed this from the New York Times site this morning.' Julian said, holding a piece of paper to the camera. Even in her state, Peyton recognised it as the picture Noel had taken of the three girls.

'It came out well.' Peyton commented.

'This Noel guy, I know him; he's an amateur; he doesn't know the first thing about photography.'

Peyton laughed, 'He's doing pretty well then considering the fact that he's a photographer by trade.'

'You set up the photo.' He said boldly.

She shrugged, 'I liked the lighting.'

In response he slapped his hand hard onto his desk, 'Damn Peyton! Do you know how much he got for that picture? He sold it to the papers and got himself some exposure. All of that should be yours, ours.'

'He took the picture!' Peyton argued back.

'Any monkey can press a button, Pey.' He sighed, 'You've got talent, real talent. I can tell your work whenever I see it; you've got a real eye for light. If you weren't so gifted I'd fire you for being useless.'

Peyton frowned, 'Thank you?'

'Now this party, dare I ask, did you make any good contacts?' He asked.

'I'm an artist not a socialite.' She answered.

Julian gave a look of despair, 'What am I going to do with you?'

'Give me a mountain of work?' Peyton assumed.

'You got that right!' He laughed, 'We're nearly done shooting this so I need you to get moving on the artwork. I've sent you all the stills I want drawn up, your deadline is Friday.'

'Friday?' Her eyes bugged.

He smirked, 'You lost us some good exposure so now I'm making sure you realise how much it meant, I'm too soft on you, Pey.'

'Soft!' She scoffed.

'You could always redeem yourself by getting Miss Davis to call me and share some of her celebrity acquaintances' numbers with me' Julian suggested.

Peyton shook her head, 'Like I'm going to let you speak to Brooke.'

'Come on, don't you trust me?'

'No.' She answered bluntly.

'Brooke and I could be good together though, even you must see that?' Julian probed.

'We've been through this.' Peyton puffed, 'You travel too much and you're my boss, it's never going to happen.'

He narrowed his eyes, 'I think you enjoy playing Cupid's twisted evil twin.'

She smiled, 'I think you're right.'

'Well, I've got a million things to do.' Julian called an end to the call, 'Get working on that art. I need to start promotion for this movie like yesterday.'

He disappeared from the screen before Peyton could argue; a tactic he used time and again.

Peyton had met Julian she was in her last year of college. He was older, worked in the movie business and had a job offer that she couldn't refuse. He understood her passion for music and art as he felt the same way about film and story-telling. They made a good team as they understood each other for the most part. It was a unique partnership, Julian loved Peyton's style of drawing and whenever he could he used her talent to promote his movies. It was becoming his trademark, something that was invaluable in his line of work. When people saw her inky interpretations on billboards and trailers they instantly knew that it was a Julian Baker movie; it was a kind of publicity that he couldn't buy.

Although from time to time Julian liked to wind her up and give her near impossible deadlines, she adored her job. She was able to work from home, her art was the success she always hoped it could be and it paid very generously. There was just the ongoing problem of Julian begging to date Brooke at every opportunity.

I'd still love to hear what you guys think, thanks for reading as always :)