After half an hour's solid work, Haley and Peyton had finished clearing out the Peyton's front yard and had stripped the few remaining pieces of ivy still clinging to the face of the house that had managed to escape the earlier culling. They stood back, wiping sweat from their foreheads with grubby hands, to admire the now bare façade of the house – with its blank white walls and dusty, barren yard it was a blank canvas for them to start work on. They were just getting out tins of fresh paint for the walls when the front door burst open and a blurry figure ran out into the yard and towards Haley.

'Haley! Haley! Haley! You're here,' shouted Elise in excitedly, almost bowling the petite woman over in her joy at seeing her as she flung her scrawny arms around her waist. Peyton laughed and shook her head as she looked at the two of them, before deciding to give them a moment to catch up and grabbing a paintbrush to start to paint.

'Yes I'm here,' Haley laughed, hugging the girl back, 'I've missed you, kiddo. How's it going?'

Elise tilted her head back and looked up at Haley with big chocolate eyes and grinned, 'I'm good, thank you, Haley. How's the bookshop and library?'

'They're both great and I am too, even better now I've seen you,' she smiled, squeezing Elise closer to her, 'you should come down soon – we've got new books just in and there's one with your name on.'

The younger girl's eyes lit up with happiness, 'Ooo! What's it about?'

'Well, you'll have to come and get it so you can read it and find out about it for yourself, of course, but I seem to remember something about it involving pirates, far off lands and adventures on the big, blue ocean,' Haley whispered conspiratorially, her eyes growing wider as she listed off the book's credentials.

'That sounds amazing! I can't wait to read it,' Elise squeaked, jumping up and down.

'Good, 'cause it's reserved for you and only you,' Haley chuckled at Elise's excitement and tapped her on the nose.

'That really does sound great, Hales, thank you for doing that for Elise,' Peyton turned from her painting and smiled in gratitude at her friend.

Haley waved the thanks away, 'Nothing but the best for my favourite youngest Sawyer.'

Elise beamed up at her, squeezing her once more before finally releasing her and Peyton reached over to ruffle her sister's wayward blonde curls and said, 'You'll have to go down and get it tomorrow, button, before someone else gets it first. It would be nice for you to get away from the house for a bit, have a break.'

Immediately, Elise's smile faded to be replaced by a frown and a pouting lower lip as she shook her head, 'Nuh-uh, I can't go tomorrow.'

'Why not?' Peyton asked, crinkling her eyebrows.

''Cause you'll still be working on this,' she gestured to the house, 'and so you'll still need me to be doing the housework.'

The distress at the thought of her baby sister having to give up the chance to relax and read a book to clean the house was evident on Peyton's face but she tried to make light of it, 'Oh, I think I can spare you from chores for a couple of hours if you're going to be having adventures on the high seas with pirates!'

Elise's bottom lip protruded even more and she squared her shoulders with her feet planted firmly on the ground in a picture of defiance, 'No, I promised you I would help out with the house chores until you were finished with this and we don't break our promises, remember?'

Peyton fought back tears of frustration at this – not at her sister's attitude but at the circumstances which had led to an eleven year old having to argue with her adult sister to let her clean the house – and when she spoke her voice was slightly strangled, 'I know that we said that, Elise, but you deserve to be able to read a book without having to worry about doing housework so I'm willing to let you out of that promise.'

'Peyton, I want to help,' Elise argued in a voice that sounded much more grown up than she was, 'I said I would and you need it so please just let me? 'Cause they're coming in less than three days and if you don't have this done then-'

'Shh, it's okay, you can help,' Peyton hushed her quickly once she saw the upset expression on Elise's face as she thought of how her stepmother might punish her for being lax in her duties, 'the book's not going anywhere, right?'

She glanced over at Haley, who nodded, 'That's right, it'll still be there on Friday, or whenever you come to pick it up. But your sister's right, Elise, once the Scotts are here, you should spend some more time reading or doing something you want to do rather than working.'

'Okay, I will,' Elise agreed, looking between the two women and taking in their concerned expressions, 'but I still want to help more around the house, even when the Scotts are here.'

Peyton chewed on her bottom lip anxiously before saying, 'We can talk about that later but right now I'm guessing that you got so excited about Haley being here that you forgot about finishing your homework, am I right?' Elise hung her head slightly and grumbled out a 'yes', causing the two women to laugh, 'Right then you need to go in and finish it or I won't let you help me, remember?'

'Alright,' Elise huffed and rolled her eyes.

Her sister smiled and gave her a quick hug, 'You'll thank me for it when you're not flunking your classes, button.'

Elise pulled a face before turning to Haley, 'Bye, Haley. I'll come get that book soon, it really does sound cool.'

'That's alright, Elise, we can say goodbye later once Peyton and I have finished for the day. I'll come find you, alright?'

Elise nodded before waving and trudging back into the house with a deliberately loud sigh to let her sister know that she wasn't going willingly. Haley watched her go before turning back to Peyton and heading towards where the paintbrushes were. They painted in silence for a couple of minutes before the tension emanating from her friend, who was deliberately hiding her face, became too much for Haley to cope with.

'Peyton, honey, are you okay?' Haley asked, hesitantly placing a hand on her arm.

There was a slight pause before Peyton whispered, 'No. I'm a terrible sister.'

'No you're not,' Haley said firmly, trying to get Peyton to look at her so she could see that she meant it, 'Elise worships the ground you walk on, but it's normal for her to be reluctant to do homework.'

'That's not what's bothering me, Hales,' Peyton cried, hanging her head, 'I've seen Elise grow from a tiny baby to this beautiful girl, I've been there every step of her life and I've sure as hell been more of a mother to her than Claudia ever has. But somewhere along the way I must have failed because I shouldn't be having to use helping out around the house as a bargaining chip to get her to do her homework. That's just not normal! I should be having to argue with her about getting her to do both. Kids her age aren't meant to be begging their older sisters to let them do chores. I'm not being crazy, right?'

Haley sighed heavily and wrapped her arm around Peyton's shoulders, 'No, you're right: it's not normal. But, honey, you don't have a 'normal' home situation. I mean, aren't you glad that she's wanting to help out rather than her not caring that you have too much work to do? You're right that she has grown up with you as a role model, but she's also had Claudia and her two brats as examples. If you hadn't been there for her and taken care of her the way you have she could have just as easily turned out like them rather than like you. You've done an amazing job with her, Peyt, because she's got the same big, caring heart you do and watching you as she's grown up has shown her how to use it.'

Only then did Peyton slowly lift her head and look at Haley with wide eyes that were full of unshed tears and unspoken worries, 'You really think she's turned out okay?'

Haley nodded, 'Peyton, she's better than just 'okay', Elise is amazing – despite her weird passion for cleaning the house.'

Peyton laughed loudly and Haley could hear the relief in it, 'Yeah, I'm going to have to tease her for being such a dork when she's older.'

Haley chuckled before becoming more serious, 'You're going to be okay, Peyton. The two of you will make it through this and you'll do it together.'

'I don't know, Hales,' Peyton said quietly, 'I don't know how much more I can take. If it was just me Claudia was treating as her personal slave then I wouldn't care and I'd be able to keep going but it's not just affecting me anymore. Elise is getting dragged into it and no matter how hard I try I know that Claudia isn't going to leave her be for much longer. She's going to start targeting her soon and if she does I swear I'm actually afraid of what I'll do to her.'

'It's not going to get that far, I promise you,' Haley told her earnestly, 'Brooke and I are both here for you and we'll support you through all of it, even if it's just for you to have a good bitch fest at Claudia's expense. And you can always send Elise round to the library for me to take care of and to keep her out of the monster's way.'

'Thanks, Haley,' Peyton smiled weakly and turned so she could hug her friend properly, 'I honestly don't know what I'd do without you and Brooke. I think I'd have gone crazy by now or maybe buried her in the back garden! I just can't think clearly when it comes to Elise being hurt or upset – I mean, you saw me with her just now – I turn into a wreck! It's just…she's my baby sister, you know?'

'Of course, honey,' Haley murmured, rubbing Peyton's back soothingly as she hugged her, 'but you know she's so lucky to have a big sister like you who's stuck around for her through all of it. You have no idea how much that's going to mean to her, especially as she gets older and can appreciate it more. I can't tell you how much I wish I'd had that.'

'Oh, Hales, of course, I'm so sorry! I didn't even think about how all this sibling stuff must be affecting you,' Peyton gasped, squeezing Haley a little bit tighter in compensation, 'are you okay?'

'I'm fine, Peyt, really I am. And anyway, you and Brooke are the only siblings I need and you've been far better ones than the ones I was born with have been,' Haley said softly, trying to ignore the sickening clench her heart gave when she thought about her older brothers and sisters.

'But you still shouldn't have had to go through what you have,' Peyton murmured as she thought of all the pain her friend's family had caused to her.

'And you shouldn't have had to put up with any of this,' Haley said, stepping out of the hug to gesture at the house that they were painting, 'but we both have and we make do the best we can. Now, let's get on with painting before this turns into any more of a sob fest than it already has been.'

Peyton grinned and picked up her paintbrush again and started to paint once more but with a happier air about her than she'd had previously and the change in her mood cheered Haley's spirits as well. They worked like that for another hour and Haley shared her concerns about her father's health and his state of mind while they painted. She told Peyton that she was determined to start looking out for him more by making sure he ate and took care of himself.

'Once he started getting better, I just left him to it because I didn't want him to think that I was mothering him or patronising him but recently, I've been thinking that maybe I've taken too much of a step back,' she admitted anxiously.

'Maybe he just needs more of a hobby or something to give his days a bit more of a structure,' suggested Peyton from the top of the ladder where she was currently painting the top half of the house, 'I mean, I know he's busy inventing and planning but from what you've been saying it sounds like he needs something else to give him a purpose, even if it's just to give him a break from sitting in his study all day.'

'Hmm, I think you're onto something there, Peyt,' Haley mused, 'I'll see if I can get him interested in joining a local group or something. It can't be good for him that most days I'm the only person he sees.'

'I can look through some of the brochures and ads that we have in the café to see if there's anything that would be good for him if you want,' Peyton offered.

'That would be great, actually,' Haley nodded enthusiastically, 'then I'll just have to try and think of a way to get him to think that joining a club is his own idea not mine.'

'Ah, you're a sneaky lady when you want to be, Haley James, I'm sure you'll be able to think of something,' chuckled Peyton.

'True,' Haley giggled, before glancing down at her watch, 'shoot, I hate to cut this short but I've got to go and make dinner for me and dad and make sure that he hasn't just created a nest in his study and burrowed into it.'

'No, no that's fine! You've been such an amazing help, Hales, thank you for agreeing to do this,' Peyton said, climbing down the ladder and coming to stand next to Haley so they could admire their handiwork, 'besides, I think we've done a pretty good job so far.'

Haley linked her arm through Peyton's as they looked up at the house which they had almost completely covered in its first coat of paint, 'Yeah, we have, haven't we? It looks so much better already.'

'Hmm, it's strange to think that just a fresh lick of paint and a clear yard can make such a big difference to how a house looks,' Peyton said.

Haley was just about to say that she was going to go inside and say goodbye to Elise when her words were washed away by the loud roar of a nearby car. Two seconds later, a dazzlingly white new Raven tore into the driveway next to where they were standing and jolted to a stop. The convertible top had been put down to reveal the custom-made hot pink leather seats inside; personalised rhinestone number plates sparkled from the front and back of the car. Overall, the whole car screamed 'ostentatious' and was everything that Raven cars generally strived not to be as the Scotts had wanted their vehicles to have understated elegance and class. However, the owner of said monstrosity had forked out vast amounts of cash and called in a few personal favours to have the car tailor-made to her wishes and so, reluctantly, the Scotts had eventually obliged her. The owner was, of course, none other than the elder of Peyton and Elise's two stepsisters, Megan, and it was her who was currently sitting in the driver's seat, flipping her perfectly straightened red hair over her shoulder and pouting into the rear-view mirror to check her makeup. Sitting next to her was Claudia, her mother, and sprawled out over the backseats listening to her iPod was her younger sister, Beatrice, who took more after their mother in terms of her hair and eye colour.

As neither Beatrice nor Claudia could drive, they relied on either Peyton or Megan to get them to where they needed to be, though Peyton was usually too busy to comply with either of their wishes, which she considered to be incredibly lucky on her part. As soon as the engine had stopped, Beatrice got out the car and, still with her headphones in, slouched into the house without a backwards glance to anyone left outside it. In terms of personalities, Megan and Claudia were two rotten peas in a pod, both cunning and entirely self-centred, while Beatrice was selfish as well but in a different way. While Megan would order Peyton around like she was her servant and deliberately go out of her way to make her life a misery, Beatrice locked herself away in her room and generally only emerged for school or to eat but still expected everything to be done for her and refused to lift a hand to help. There were times when Peyton actually found Beatrice's apathy and laziness more frustrating and irritating than Claudia and Megan's bossiness and obvious hatred. At least the latter were blatant in their abuse, whereas Beatrice sometimes looked like she wanted to intervene to help Peyton or Elise but then would just go back to looking uninterested and would let the situation continue.

Claudia and Megan stepped out from the car and came to stand next to one another as they took in Peyton, Haley, the paint pots and the front of the house. They both had their arms crossed over their chests and one hip stuck out to the side in a show of casual displeasure.

'I see you called in the cavalry,' Claudia said in a voice that only just betrayed her disapproval as she glanced over at Haley.

'Haley told me that the Scotts will be here by Friday and that didn't leave me enough time to get the house ready on time,' Peyton explained flatly, choosing to use as few words as possible in the hope that the other two women would leave them alone faster.

Claudia pursed her lips and took her time looking over every aspect of the house that she could see, obviously weighing up whether what her stepdaughter was telling her was true, eventually she said, 'Very well, your little friend can help as long as her being here doesn't cause any trouble.'

Peyton rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of her stepmother, 'We're both twenty-two years old, Claudia, and Haley runs the local bookshop and library, for goodness' sake. She's hardly going to vandalise the house.'

'Perhaps not, but I was referring to her…discretion with regards to certain issues,' Claudia said carefully, deliberating on each choice of word. She was referring to the fact that, to the rest of Tree Hill and even to Larry (Peyton and Elise's father), the Sawyer family appeared to be perfectly happy, normal and functional. Claudia and Megan, once she had become old enough to be truly complicit in the whole affair, tried their hardest to present an ordinary front to the outside world so no one had ever guessed that Peyton was essentially being used as a dog's body or that Elise was almost completely ignored by everyone apart from her biological sister most of the time. Peyton had also kept the secret, though for different reasons, and had made her friends promise that they would too.

''Certain issues', as you put it, have been going on for ten years now and I haven't said anything in that time, have I?' Haley replied shortly, growing impatient with Claudia addressing Peyton as though she wasn't standing right next to her.

Claudia turned her hawk-like gaze onto Haley and regarded her critically for a couple of moments, 'No, I suppose you haven't. Make sure it stays that way.'

'You're sure they're coming here on Friday?' Megan demanded of the two women, cutting across any comment they might have been about to make with regards to her mother's obvious threat.

'Positive, I spoke to Karen at lunchtime and it's been all over the local news all day, I'm surprised you've missed it,' Peyton informed them.

'We've been out shopping all day getting new outfits for when the cameras get here,' Megan explained, gesturing to the car that had shopping bags crammed into every available visible space and Peyton guessed there would be more in the boot.

'Shouldn't Beatrice have been at school? And why aren't the millions of outfits you already have good enough for Lucas and Nathan Scott? It's not like they'll have seen you in any of them,' Peyton pointed out.

'Beatrice had a doctor's appointment this morning and he said that she should take the rest of the day off,' Megan said, 'and it doesn't matter that they haven't seen any of our clothes before – it matters that half my closet is almost a year old now and I can't be seen on camera in anything so old. Those rags that you wear might be good enough for someone as insignificant as yourself but for people like us,' she paused to point to herself and Claudia, 'image matters and we have reputations to uphold.'

'Yes, especially if everything goes according to plan,' Claudia added with a smirk.

'And what plan is that exactly?' Haley asked, frowning.

'Well, Megan's one of the only decent romantic options in this town for the boys to be interested in, and, of course, the producers will want to have some kind of love story set up for this season to make the viewers happy. And really, with her money, looks and family connections, Megan's the obvious choice,' Claudia drawled.

'I'll be one of their girlfriends by the end of the month, it doesn't really matter which one. And then it's a straight shot from there to fame and glory,' Megan said and let out a girly giggle that made Peyton and Haley's skin crawl, 'I tried to let Bea in on the plan and told her she could have whichever one the brothers I don't end up with but she didn't seem that interested, the dozy cow.'

'She's never had the same ambition or drive you have, darling,' Claudia nodded, linking her arm through her daughter's and starting to lead them both towards the house.

When she was almost at the door, Megan stopped and half-turned back to Peyton, 'Oh, and you'll need to bring in the bags when you're finished out here, Peyton, but make sure you wash your hands first – if you get paint on any of the clothes you'll have to pay for them to be replaced.'

And with that they swept into the house and slammed the front door shut behind them.

Haley shuddered once they'd gone, 'Gosh, I'd forgotten just how obnoxious those two are.'

'Believe me, they definitely don't improve on you with time,' Peyton muttered.

XxX

The sounds of small talk and general chitchat mingled with the clinking of wine glasses around Brooke as she stood in a large reception room filled with the other men and women that had been featured on the Fairest and Charming lists that year as well as a host of media personnel from various TV shows, news channels, magazines and newspapers. They were all socialising after the press conference that had just finished which Mirror arranged annually to promote their magazine, the lists and also those who appeared on it. The meeting had gone reasonably well, with Brooke and the other main winners being the main focus of all the attention as they were asked questions about their work and gave their reactions to being put on the list and nominated as winners in their divisions.

As the female overall winner Brooke had been the recipient of many of the questions and even now that the conference had finished she found herself being pushed from one group of people to another by her agent, Marco, as they asked her question after question. Her mouth and cheeks were starting to ache from having to smile for so many photos and TV interviews while her voice was beginning to sound even huskier than usual from all the talking she'd been doing. In general, she was enjoying herself – it was rare for her to be in a place with so many talented people and she liked being able to find out new things about fields outside of her own fashion expertise. However, her enjoyment was somewhat marred by the constant comparisons people insisted on making between her and Kathy that made her feel deeply uncomfortable, especially seeing as her stepmother was in the same room as them.

In the last questioning session she had had for Kingdom news channel, she had grown so tired of having to defend her and Kathy's relationship and saying that they were still as close as ever that she had been forced to be blunter than she usually was in interviews.

'So, has it been awkward replacing your own stepmother in the top spot?' the interviewer asked, 'For the past few years people in the industry have been calling her the 'Queen of Fashion' and you the 'Princess', but do you think you've now taken her title?'

Brooke sighed impatiently and replied, 'Look, Kathy and I are two, separate people. Yes, she may be married to my father but our relationship with one another has no bearing whatsoever on our individual talents. Kathy is the most talented designer, model and businesswoman I know and I won't answer any more questions about her or her success. You're speaking to me, so ask me about me and ask her about her. That's all I'm going to say on the matter.'

The rest of the interview had been slightly more awkward after that and news of her annoyance at such questioning tactics had quickly spread around the rest of the room so she hoped that would be the last time she would have to answer like that. But the other guests were also proving to be a problem for her: she kept overhearing snippets of hushed conversations that people were having about Kathy's demotion and about the negative impact it was bound to have on her career.

As she had been walking past a group of some of the other fashion personnel who had been featured on the lists, she heard one of them whisper loudly, 'I mean, did you see what they wrote about her?'

The woman standing next to him shook her head, 'It was the equivalent of an eviction notice from the fashion world. I would have been humiliated if I was her.'

'I wouldn't have been able to show my face here,' another person agreed, 'just think of the shame! They only put her as the Fairest in Fashion so that she would go quietly and take it all lying down. I mean, that stuff about her cloaks of all things! If ever there was a death knoll for someone's career being rung out that was it.'

Brooke had allowed herself to be propelled onwards after that as Marco shoved her towards one of the members of Mirror's judging panel who she saw to her relief was a good friend of hers, Juliet Taylor.

'Brooke, there you are!' Juliet cried happily when she saw who it was that had just been pushed rather unceremoniously in front of her, and the two women hugged in greeting, 'I've been looking everywhere for you but every time I got close to being able to speak to you, you'd get whisked away by yet another person. You certainly are the centre of attention today.'

Brooke pulled a face that showed her discomfort with that, 'I wish they'd all just leave me alone for a minute, to be honest.' Juliet laughed and Brooke groaned, 'I'm sorry, I know that must sound incredibly ungrateful!'

'No, not at all,' Juliet continued to laugh, 'I've seen the way they've all been mauling at you – I'm amazed you've been able to put up with it for as long as you have. But you know you deserve it, don't you, dear? You've always worked so hard for everything you've got and this is no exception.'

'Really? I keep expecting for there to have been some kind of mistake and for them to announce that they've announced the wrong person,' Brooke admitted, twisting her hands self-consciously.

'Oh, my dear, of course not! You earned this,' she assured her, reaching out and squeezing her hand, 'I know that we've been friends for a while now, but I want you to know that our connection had nothing to do with you winning the award. I mean, obviously I sang your praises to the other judges – I have done ever since you came to New York and I saw how talented you are – but you won this on your own merit. If you weren't so wonderful, there would have been nothing for me to recommend to them.'

Brooke smiled what was perhaps her first genuine smile since she had arrived at the press conference, 'Thank you, Juliet, really. For all your support and for putting my name forward for the FOTA, it truly is the best thing that's ever happened for me – a dream come true.'

'I'm glad to hear it, dear,' the older woman smiled back warmly, 'but I sense there's something else on your mind that's stopping you from really enjoying your moment, isn't there?'

Brooke hesitated for a moment, unsure as to whether she should voice her worries or not but then she remembered that Juliet had always been honest with her, 'Well, yes there is actually. And you might just be the right person to ask about it.'

'Go ahead, dear,' encouraged Juliet.

'It's about Kathy, I-,'she began to say.

'Wait one moment, Brooke, sorry to interrupt you but perhaps we should continue this conversation outside?' Juliet stopped her, putting her hand on her arm and glancing to her left where Kathy was engaged in conversation not too far away from them.

Brooke nodded her understanding, 'Yes, good idea – I do feel a little hot.'

She turned to Marco to ask him to give them a moment's privacy but, as though reading her thoughts, he said, 'Let me get you a drink, Miss Davis.'

'Thank you, Marco, that would be wonderful,' she smiled before allowing herself to be led to the reception room doors by Juliet.

Given the mass of people in the room and the noise within it, it wasn't too hard for the two of them to be able to slip out unnoticed. They emerged into a large, cool atrium that was thankfully empty and made their way over to a bench that sat opposite a small water feature.

Once they had sat down, Juliet turned herself towards Brooke and said, 'I think I know what it is that you want to tell me, my dear, but why don't you say it first rather than me guessing in case I'm wrong.'

Brooke nodded and took a deep breath, 'Juliet, I keep hearing things about Kathy – either people say them to me or I overhear people talking about her – and it's starting to worry me. I know that her write-up in Mirror wasn't exactly her greatest but the way people are talking about it…it's like she's been excommunicated from the fashion world. I was wondering if you might be able to tell me what's going on.'

Juliet sighed and ran her hand over her forehead, 'I was worried that you were going to ask me about this.'

'Why?' Brooke asked, and when Juliet didn't answer, she pressed, 'Juliet, what's going on?'

The grey-haired woman looked up at her with regret, 'I really didn't want to be the one to tell you about any of this but the longer it's gone on, the clearer it's become to me that no one else is willing to tell you the truth so I'm going to have to.'

'What's the truth? You're scaring me, Juliet,' Brooke frowned, feeling herself become tense.

'I'm sorry, Brooke, I don't mean to be so dramatic about the whole thing, it's just a difficult subject to broach, that's all,' she reassured her, patting Brooke's hand, 'I know you care about Kathy very much and that the two of you have a good relationship, so please don't let what I'm about to tell you ruin that.'

'I won't,' Brooke said cautiously.

Juliet nodded, partly to Brooke and partly to herself, before continuing, 'Brooke, Kathy is a very ambitious woman – I'm sure you already know that – but I'm not sure you know just quite how driven she is to succeed. I know that she's always championed her success to be the result of her own hard work and that she says that she's never needed a man to do well in life. But the truth is that ever since she started as a model at seventeen, she's done whatever she needed to in order to get ahead; she's bought, bribed and slept her way to the top, that includes to the top of the Fairest list.'

Brooke held up a hand to stop her, feeling nausea sweep over her, 'Wait, you mean she's cheated on my dad to get to the top of some list?'

'No, as far as I'm aware, the sleeping with people stopped once she started dating your father,' Juliet assured her quickly and Brooke breathed a sigh of relief, 'but by that point she already had a wide network of people who were all indebted to her in some way and she's used them all to get to where she is today. There's a reason why she was the first person to ever win the FOTA award five years in a row and why she's managed to stay on the list for as long as she has.'

'You mean money, right?' Brooke clarified.

Juliet nodded, 'I'm not saying that other people haven't done it in the past to make it onto the list but no one's ever done it to the same extent that she has, and she's done it in other aspects of her life as well. Her company's success is founded on the bodies of people she's trampled on to make it and her modelling career's only lasted as long as it has because she's seen off her rivals and critics in any way she could. I know your stepmother is a beautiful woman – no one would deny that – but, let's face it, she's reaching her forties now and in comparison to her catwalk peers she's past it. A less vain woman would have known to call it a day long ago and moved on to modelling for things that were more appropriate to her age.'

'So, if she's shelled out so much cash to keep herself at the top, then how come she's not FOTA again this year?' Brooke asked.

'Because this year, the whole bribery scheme almost became public knowledge after reporter uncovered it. Mirror was able to legally gag him and pay him off enough to stop it from going to the press but they weren't going to take any more chances with this year's list. So everyone who'd bribed their way onto it in the past was replaced by someone else this year and told that if they wanted to make it onto it again they would have to play by the rules and be nominated fairly.'

'But Kathy's still on it,' Brooke pointed out.

'Your stepmother was kept on out of respect for the fact that she is very talented and also, because she has paid so much over the years to appear on the list, Mirror thought it best to phase her out of the limelight slowly. There was no question of her winning the FOTA award again this year, of course, but over the next few years she'll slip down the ranking until she's no longer on the list at all. I think the editors thought if they did it that way then she'd be less likely to go to the press and tell about their ability to be…swayed so easily by money,' Juliet explained.

'Okay, so she won't be on the list anymore but surely that doesn't mean that her career's coming to an end?' Brooke frowned, trying to understand just what precisely lay in store for her stepmother over the next few years.

'I'm afraid that Kathy's techniques have earned her many enemies over the years – ones that were only kept in check because she was such a powerful name and one word from her could end a career in a second – but they've seen that the tide is changing now. When people saw the list this morning and that she wasn't at the head of it, Her Majesty's stocks plummeted. Now that Mirror has stood up to her, other people have realised that they can too. For Kathy, the next few years are going to be a downward slope of people stopping buying her clothes, contracts that won't be renewed, companies dropping her from their advertising and more rejections as the world starts to move out from under her thumb,' Juliet told her grimly.

Brooke raised her eyebrows in shock as she took in the whole situation, 'Wow, she really is finished, isn't she?'

'Yes, her years of being queen bee are coming to an end,' Juliet confirmed, 'but, Brooke, my dear, I meant what I said before I told you all of this – don't let this affect your relationship with Kathy. From what I've seen over the years, she really does care about you and your father and she would never do anything to hurt either of you. She may not have the best way of doing business with people but she has always been loyal and loving towards her family and those she cares about.'

'I won't deny that what you've told me about her has definitely made me see her in a different light and I've certainly lost some of the respect that I had for her – how could I not? But you're right about her being a good stepmother to me and a good wife to my dad so I won't mention any of this to her and I'll still love her as much as before,' she told her.

'Good, I would have hated to have been the one to come in between the two of you,' Juliet smiled in relief, 'you've always seemed so close.'

'Thank you for telling me, Juliet,' Brooke smiled in return, though hers was a little weaker from what she had just learnt, 'I know it can't have been easy but I appreciate your honesty and your discretion so far that you have kept it from me to spare our relationship.'

'No problem, my dear, I'm just sorry that I had to be the one to tell you,' she said apologetically.

Brooke reached out and held her hand, 'I'm glad it was you and not some random stranger or a reporter just trying to get a scoop. I know I can trust you, Juliet, and that matters to me the most.'

Juliet leaned forward and hugged Brooke, before releasing her and saying, 'Well, I think they're probably all wondering where you are, shall we go back in?'

Brooke sighed reluctantly, 'I suppose we should.'

They rose and entered the busy room once more and almost instantly Marco found them, as though he had been watching out for their return. He handed Brooke one of drinks in his hand, which she downed quickly after having checked that no one was looking at her. She looked up to see him looking at her in mild shock and Juliet regarding her with pity and sorrow.

'Shall we get back to it then, Miss Davis?' Marco asked, offering her his arm.

'Actually, Marco, I think I've got a headache coming – would it be terrible if we left now?' she said, feeling as though the energy had been punched out of her by Juliet's revelations.

'Of course not, I think you've done very well tonight, we've spoken to a lot of people so I think you've definitely earned yourself an early finish. Besides, it's always better to leave them wanting more,' he told her with a wink.

Brooke laughed but it sounded fake and tired to her, 'Thank you, Marco, let's go then.'

'You go on, I think I'll stay a little longer and talk you up a bit more,' he said.

'Okay, bye for now then,' she said, waving to him and then turning to Juliet, 'bye, Juliet, and thank you again.'

'It was lovely seeing you again, Brooke,' Juliet smiled, hugging her, 'are you sure you're alright?'

Brooke nodded quickly, 'Yeah, I think I just need some time alone to process it all, you know?'

'Of course, dear, it's a lot to take in,' she nodded sympathetically, 'go and get some rest and I'll see you at the awards ceremony next week.'

Brooke waved to them both again before slipping out of the door and rushing through the foyer. Once out on the busy street outside, she hailed a cab and got inside, relishing the feeling of being able to relax slightly. Not much later, she found herself standing in her apartment, feeling a little lost as she let Juliet's revelation fully settle in. She clambered onto one of the couches and finally allowed herself to unpick everything that Juliet had told her properly. She wondered wearily if she would be able to keep to what she had said to Juliet about not letting her relationship with Kathy wither in the light of what she had just heard or if it was now altered so much that returning to their previous state would be impossible.

XxX

Peyton locked up Karen's Café with her set of keys, shaking the door to make sure it was locked before heading up the street with her bag slung over her shoulder. It was five o'clock and even though her working day at the café had finished, there was definitely no chance of her being able to have a break. The next day would herald the return of two of Tree Hill's greatest success stories and she had to make sure there house was ready for them to move back into. She had already checked the house the evening before as she had promised Karen she would but she'd had to rush back home to continue working on her own house with Haley and so she hadn't had a proper chance to get anything done. Despite both her and Haley's hard work on the house and the fact that they had made good progress over the past two days, when Peyton had left for work that morning it had been nowhere near ready. The painting on the house was finished and the windows had new shutters attached to replace the old ones but it had still looked drab and bare, especially with the wastelands that were the front and back yards that they hadn't been able to tackle yet.

With the thought of the impossible task waiting for her when she got back home, Peyton had spent most of her day worrying about how on earth she was going to find the time to make the house look half decent and sort out everything for the Scotts. Brooke had called her in late the night before with news from New York and she had told her about everything that was going on at home with Claudia, Megan and Elise. Peyton had left Haley's worries to do with her father out of the conversation, knowing it was best for Haley to speak to Brooke about it herself, but she did raise her concerns regarding Haley's relationship with Garrett. Neither she nor Brooke had liked the guy since they had met him, both feeling that he was using their friend and didn't treat her as he should, but they had mostly kept their disapproval quiet to support Haley. However, they still shared their thoughts on the matter with one another privately as they were both worried about Haley's wellbeing while she was still dating Garrett and his requests and behaviour towards her on Tuesday had only increased Peyton's doubts. The news had troubled Brooke too and they had discussed whether or not to try to talk to Haley any further about it.

'From the way she reacted when I tried to speak to her about it on Tuesday, I don't think we should bring it up again for the moment,' Peyton had said.

'Mmm, you're probably right but I still don't like the thought of her treating her like that and just getting away with it,' Brooke had said in a frustrated voice from the other end of the phone.

'I know but we can't force her to break up with him. I think deep down she knows what he's like but she just doesn't want to admit it to herself yet; we just have to be as supportive as possible until she realises what we did the first time we met him,' she had reasoned.

'Okay, let me know if things get worse…or better,' Brooke had said before her tone lightened, 'speaking of guys: I met someone on Monday night, well, kind of late night/early morning, I'm not sure which way it works.'

'Ooo! Tell me everything,' Peyton had demanded excitedly, as she knew how much it took for Brooke to get excited about guys since she had left high school. Back then, they had had many conversations about guys and relationships – mostly to do with Brooke as Peyton hadn't really had time for boyfriends – but now those talks were few and far between and Peyton had missed the giddiness the topic brought to her friend's voice.

'Well, I went out for a walk after I'd said goodbye to Hales and I just sort of wandered around for ages until I found this square – I'm not even sure where it was – and I sat down just to have a bit of a rest. But I guess I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew there was someone trying to wake me up and it was almost morning. And when I opened my eyes there was the most gorgeous guy I have ever seen in my life,' Brooke had gushed.

'Even more gorgeous than the Scott brothers?' Peyton had teased, knowing that Brooke held their looks in the highest esteem.

'Not fair, P Sawyer,' Brooke had huffed and Peyton could just picture her pouting down the phone, 'but yes, he was – it was like my perfect guy had just walked out of my daydreams and sat down on the bench with me.'

'Wow, crazy,' Peyton had murmured.

'I know, right!' Brooke had squeaked delightedly, 'Anyway, so we started talking and oh, Peyt, he was so charming and funny and sweet! Eventually, I asked him why he'd come over and he said he was worried I'd died or something 'cause he'd kept looking over at me since he arrived and I hadn't moved for ages. And then he said I was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and that he wanted to take me out to dinner.'

'Brooke, that's great!' Peyton had cried, overjoyed that her friend was finally taking a chance with dating again. It had been far too long since she had heard Brooke this excited over a guy and even though she understood the reasons behind her dating hiatus, she still thought that someone as beautiful, kind and funny as Brooke should be told that daily by a man who truly loved her. Brooke Davis was not meant to be single forever, it just didn't seem right for her.

'Well, before we both get overexcited, I have to tell you that there is no dinner planned anytime soon because he said he was leaving New York for a while and wasn't sure when he'd be back. At first I thought he was making it up to get away from me but then he told me that even though we'd just met he really liked me and would like to see if we could make it work. So, I gave him my number and told him to call me when he got back, so I guess I'm just going to wait now and see if he remembers to.'

'I'm sure he will, he sounds great, Brooke,' Peyton had reassured her, 'so, does dream boy have a name?'

'Yes: Julian Baker,' Brooke had told her and Peyton had been able to hear the smile in her voice as she'd said it.

'That name sounds kinda familiar, y'know,' Peyton had mused.

'I know, I thought that at the time but I figure it's just one of those names that has a certain ring to it.'

Brooke had then gone on to tell her about the press conference and her conversation with Juliet about Kathy's chequered past. Peyton had been as shocked as Brooke: sure, Kathy had always been an incredibly driven woman but she never would have guessed that she hadn't achieved everything she had through legitimate means. Brooke had told her that even though she'd found it difficult to take in at first, that she was starting to come to terms with it and that she was grateful that she had been able to speak to Kathy normally when she had seen her.

As they had walked to Peyton's house during their lunch earlier on in the day, Haley and Peyton had been discussing the situation as Brooke had called Haley once she'd got off the phone with Peyton. She had decided to take her lunch with her to the house so she could spend the hour working on it and, despite her protests, Haley had insisted on accompanying her and helping. However, when they had got to the house, they both had to stop in shock at what they saw in front of them. It was as though they had stepped back in time to before the outside of the house had fallen into disrepair: the climbing roses and vines were back coiling around the porch just as they used to, there were flower boxes under all the windows that were spilling over with fresh blooms and the grass outside was vibrant and green once more. In fact, in that first moment, the only thing that had convinced Peyton that she wasn't time travelling was that the front garden actually looked better than it had done when her mother had been there to tend to it.

They'd gone tentatively inside the house to search for an explanation for such a miraculous restoral and found that the back yard had also been transformed into a garden full of flowers, shrubs and pretty ornaments. On the back door was taped a note that Peyton picked up with hands that were shaking slightly in her confusion.

In Brooke's handwriting was written: P Sawyer, after we got off the phone last night I couldn't stop thinking about all the work that must need doing to the house and how, with everything else you have to do, you couldn't possibly finish it in time to avoid Claudia's wrath. So, I arranged for an army of gardeners to come in and sort it all out for you while you were at work. Don't worry about Claudia or the two trolls having seen them – they won a free spa visit early this morning and they'll be gone all day, so we can keep this just between us and they can just think that you're a world class gardener. Also, please don't worry about the cost – I've covered everything – and before you even start to complain or think about paying me back, don't bother. This is a gift from me to you and if you try and pay me back I'll just transfer the money straight back into your account. No arguments on this one, P, I'm the Fairest of Them All for this year so you have to do what I say! Think of it as a thank you present for all your support over the years. And if Haley's with you then tell her I haven't forgotten about her – there'll be a crate of books and other goodies arriving at her house tomorrow. Love you loads and speak you soon, B x

Peyton sighed now as she thought of the note on her way through the centre of town. Of course, she was beyond grateful to Brooke for helping her out like she had as there was no way she could have done what Claudia had expected of her in time but she still felt guilty about taking that help and not giving her anything in return. She knew that Brooke saw the gesture as a gift but it was one that must have cost more than Peyton could ever afford to thank her in kind, not that Brooke would allow her to do so anyway. She often wondered what on earth she had done to deserve such amazing friends who were so willing to help her, no matter what. And, of course, Peyton would do anything for them too – the three of them were like sisters and it was a bond that had never wavered throughout their years of knowing each other.

The buildings around her were starting to thin out a little now as she reached the edge of the town and the large hill after which it was named loomed in front of her. Looking up at it now and thinking of the climb that awaited her she began to regret not driving to work that morning so that she could have spared herself the aching muscles but she had decided to walk to work and now she had to put up with her decision. At the top of the hill, overseeing Tree Hill and the area surrounding it, stood a grand house which had resided there for centuries. In the past, mayors, judges and wealthy merchants had all lived there but for the past few generations it had belonged to the Scott family. The first Scotts to own it had been relatively rich as they were involved in banking and had bought the house when its price had been fairly low due to its somewhat neglected state. The family had restored the house to all its former glory and had passed it on to the next generation of Scotts. Several decades later, Dan and Keith's father had almost lost the family their home due to his excessive drinking and gambling but they had managed to cling onto it and it was the house Lucas and Nathan had grown up in. The house itself was called Hillcrest Manor and was a beautiful work of red brick walls, sprawling gardens and oak panelled corridors. Keith and Karen had modernised certain rooms and added central heating and double glazing in order to make the manor more comfortable to live in but for the most part, the house had retained its original charm and appeal.

As with all old houses, Hillcrest Manor required a fair amount of work to keep it all in order and so the Scotts had hired a few maids, cleaners and gardeners to achieve this while they were still living there. When Keith and Karen had decided to relocate their family four years ago they had kept the house as they had been unwilling to sell it and they had asked only a couple of gardeners and a cleaner to maintain it for them. And Karen had chosen Peyton to be that cleaner.

Karen had opened her café before she married Keith and had continued to run it as normal until the day they left Tree Hill despite the fact that their vast increase in income rendered the need for it unnecessary in monetary terms. But Karen had never been one to be bothered by wealth or fame and she had kept the café open and running because she wanted to and enjoyed the opportunities it gave her to interact with the various people who came in, to whom she was always friendly and charming. In this way, the people of Tree Hill continued to see the Scotts as a normal family like any other, for the most part anyway – no other family had a camera crew or reporters following them around town. Since the Scotts had moved away, the press had mostly left the town alone and it had slipped back into relative obscurity, save for the odd tourist or fan wanting to see the place where their story had all begun, though of course that was all about to change tomorrow.

Peyton had started working at Karen's Café when she was fourteen, though back then she only worked an hour or so every other day as Karen wouldn't hear of her jeopardising her studies to work. However, as the years had gone on and Peyton had confided more to Karen about her home situation and why it was that she needed the job and the money, the older woman had allowed her to have longer shifts. Once Peyton had graduated from high school, she had worked her way through college by continuing to work at the café but by then the Scotts had moved away and Karen had let her be in charge of running the café in her absence. Karen had also asked Peyton to clean the manor one day a week to give her a break from the café and so she had continued to do so for the last four years or so, though upon finishing college a couple of months ago, she now worked full days at the café instead of the half days she had worked whilst she'd been studying.

When Peyton had asked Karen why she hadn't sold the café when she'd left Tree Hill, she'd told her it was because she didn't trust anyone else to take care of the place or Peyton properly though, if it hadn't been for her already being overrun with other responsibilities, she would have sold it to Peyton. As it was, Karen had allowed Peyton to keep almost all the earnings from the café on top of the wages she already paid her, though Peyton had resisted initially but Karen's soft spot for the younger woman and her unassailable logic that she definitely did not need the money for herself had eventually worn her down enough to accept. Now with Karen's most recent changes to her employment and pay rise she felt guilty again as the other woman had already done so much for her but she knew that Karen was forever looking for ways to subtly give her more money and that it was unavoidable. With or without her new work schedule, Karen would have figured out some way of getting her to accept more money and, though it was a source of constant embarrassment and discomfort to Peyton, her endless generosity and kindness was one of the many things that Peyton loved about her and had made her something of a mother figure.

The walls that encompassed the manor grounds now stood before Peyton and she tapped in the security code to open the large iron gates that were the entrance to the house. Once she'd made sure the gate had shut behind her, Peyton continued to walk up the gravel drive to the front doors of the house, taking in the freshly pruned appearance of the trees and hedges that lined the walk and noting that it meant the gardeners must have been at some point that day. At the front doors, she put in another code into the security pad next to them before digging out her set of keys and unlocking the door manually as well. She pushed open the doors to the sound of the burglar alarm beeping and she quickly deactivated it before shutting the doors behind her. She had texted Karen to let her know that she would be back at the house again after closing up at the café as she liked to keep her in the loop and also because Keith and Karen were automatically alerted by the house's security system every time someone accessed it. As an unfortunate by-product of their fame, the Scotts had had to install an advanced security system in their house, which would doubtless have to become even tighter once Lucas and Nathan had moved back in.

Dropping her bag at the foot of the stairs and getting out her iPod, Peyton made her way to the cupboard where she kept all her cleaning supplies. In general, the house didn't need too much doing to it as there was no one living there to mess it up and Keith and Karen had requested for certain areas to only be cleaned every six months or so. When she had inspected the house the day before, Peyton had been able to see that all she needed to do was to vacuum some of the rooms, do a little dusting and fix up a few of the bedrooms so that they were ready to be slept in. She started with the vacuuming first, plugging her iPod into some speakers so that she could listen to her music whilst she cleaned. She worked quickly, eager to get back home and relieve Elise of her household tasks, and in no time she found herself putting the finishing touches to the last of the guest rooms that she needed to make up.

It was only when she turned off her music and started to gather up her things that she heard sounds coming from downstairs like someone was moving around there. Feeling her heart rate increase and tiny beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead Peyton grabbed hold of the first thing she laid her hands on and held it out in front of her in what she hoped was a threatening fashion. Cautiously, she crept down the landing and peered over the banister to see if the intruder was visible from there; when she was sure that she couldn't see anyone, she cursed silently and started to descend the stairs as quietly as possible. When she was standing in the hallway once more, she stood still to try and pinpoint where the noises were coming from.

A clatter of china to her left told her that whoever it was had taken up residence in the kitchen and she headed towards there, keying '911' into her phone just in case.

'Please be a stray cat, please be a stray cat, please be a stray cat,' she muttered to herself over and over as she tiptoed her way to the kitchen.

Once standing outside the kitchen door, she took a deep breath and steeled herself for the worst before kicking open the door and edging into the room. Unfortunately for her, there was indeed someone in the kitchen, rifling through the cupboards, and that someone froze as soon as they heard her enter. Slowly, they turned around to face her, hands up in front of them in a show of peace, or surrender, she wasn't sure which one.

Peyton sucked in a short gasp as she saw that the person standing on the other side of the kitchen was none other than millionaire basketball player, Lucas Scott.

A/N: Like I said at the end of the last chapter, this was meant to be the second half of that chapter but I decided to break it up because it felt like Kathy's character developed too quickly in the space of one chapter from a mother figure to potential psycho-bitch. Obviously, seeing as Brooke's storyline in this is based on Snow White, I'm sure you all already know that she's going to turn nasty at some point because stepmothers don't exactly get the best write-up in fairytales but I just thought that it was happening a bit too fast and so split it up.

Thank you so much again to everyone who reviewed the last chapter - it really does motivate me to read all your wonderful comments as well as making me overwhelmingly happy! Hope you all liked it, please review if you have the time! And keep a look out for the next chapter, I'm working on it currently so hopefully it should be up sometime next week or maybe early the week after - it all depends because I've got a couple of really busy weeks at work coming up. Teaser for the next chapter: it's the big arrival of the Scotts in Tree Hill and reunions are happening everywhere!