Brooke woke up the next day and jumped out of bed. She stretched and yawned as she ran into her closet to get dressed. Today was a big day for her. She wanted to go to the Sunnydale mall so that she could by everyone Christmas presents. That and she needed a new outfit for the Christmas Eve party at the Bronze that night.

Brooke jumped on Peyton. "Wake up best friend! Time to go shopping!"

Peyton's response was a grunt. "Ugh. No."

"Come on, come on, wake up!" Brooke pushed down on Peyton's bed causing the blonde to get extremely irritated.

"Back. The. Fuck. Off." Peyton replied without opening her eyes or moving position. She simply ignored all of Brooke's protests.

"Fine. No present for you then." Brooke, not ready to give up, walked out of her room and into Rachel's.

She had a different approach to getting Rachel to wake up. "Baby…" Brooke bent down and began to kiss up Rachel's neck. "Time to go shopping with your favorite girlfriend…"

Rachel smiled. "I can't. I have a training session with Buffy in an hour. So go away."

Brooke instantly backed away from her girlfriend. "Fine! You and Peyton are so on my shit list." Brooke huffed and walked out of the room and down to the kitchen. She found Dawn eating a pancake.

"Well, not what I wanted, but it will do." Brooke mumbled to herself. She cleared her throat. "So Dawn. Wanna go shopping?"

SUNNYDALE (MALL)

"Wow Brooke. I didn't think you'd be this spendy." Dawn looked at the six bags Brooke had in her hands. "I think everyone is going to love the gifts you bought them. All I did was make them picture frames."

"Oh Dawnie, they'll love them! Besides, personal beats something bought every time."

Dawn smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Whoa. Look at that. It's gorgeous." Dawn looked admiringly at a necklace with a diamond-encrusted heart hanging from it. The letter 'D' was in the middle. Dawn checked the price tag. "Ouch." She sulkily walked away from the store window and caught up with Brooke who had walked a few feet ahead.

SUNNYDALE (SUMMERS HOME)

"Buffy!" Brooke whined. "You have to let us go to this party! It's a big party and it's our first step into controlling the school."

Buffy rolled her eyes at the last part of Brooke's plea. "Fine. But you have to take Dawn."

"What? No. She's not old enough."

"Faith and I are patrolling and Tara and Willow are out. So take Dawn or you can't go."

Reluctantly Brooke agreed. Brooke, Rachel, Peyton, and Dawn drove to the Bronze in Brooke's light blue beetle.

"So what's so important about going to this party anyway?"

"It's our way in. What's that popular chicks name again?" Rachel replied to Dawn's question.

"Cordeila Chase. She basically runs the school."

"And she'll be there?"

"Yup."

"Excellent. Now here are the rules Dawn. Rachel and I aren't together in public, okay? We're just over-possessive best friends with a weird lesbian vibe." All three cheerleaders giggled at Rachel's quote. "But seriously," Brooke continued, "you can't tell anyone."

SUNNYDALE (BRONZE)

The four girls took a table and studied Cordeila. "Typical popular bitch. Nothing we haven't dealt with before." Rachel shouted over the music to Brooke.

"Ready to make our move?"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Dawn shouted.

"Okay, see, here's the deal. You sit here with Peyton while me and Rachel go and have a big girl talk with Cordeila. We can't bring a freaky freshman with us."

Dawn's face dropped. "Okay…" Brooke and Rachel got up and walked towards Cordeila.

"Don't worry about them. It's nothing personal…" Peyton tried comforting the distraught looking Dawn.

Dawn attempted a lie. "No, it's totally cool. I get it."

"So, I hear you're Cordeila Chase." Brooke crossed her arms and stood in front of the infamous Cordy.

"Yeah, everyone knows who I am. Who are you?" Cordeila stood up and crossed her arms, recognizing Brooke's challenge.

"New here. This is my best friend Rachel." Brooke pointed to the redhead behind her who just nodded her head. "We have a deal to present to you. We get into your dumb little group here," Brooke waved her hand towards Harmony and Cordy's other friends. "And we won't destroy your reputation."

"What makes you think you could?"

Brooke smirked. She grabbed Rachel's hand and walked to the middle of the dance floor. Brooke put her back to Rachel's chest and began dancing. Rachel grabbed both of Brooke's hands, raising their right hands in the air and leaving their left hands by their hips. Within moments a crowd of boys had circled around them.

Brooke pulled away from Rachel and bumped up against a boy before returning to Cordy. "Because. We're hot and we get this whole reputation thing."

Cordy looked a little irritated before putting a fake smile on. "Okay. You're in." She began introducing Brooke and Rachel to her other friends.

"That's how they make friends? Shallow much?" Dawn commented. She and Peyton had seen the whole event take place.

"It's their character flaw I guess. They are fine with the whole fake friend thing because they know they will always have each other and me."

"But you don't like the fakeness of it all?"

"Nah. Not my thing."

"Brooke was actually nice to me today. I don't get how she switches personalities so fast."

Peyton shrugged. She didn't have an answer.

"Our work here is done. Lets go." Brooke shouted to Peyton and Dawn as they headed for the exit.

SUMMERS HOME (BROOKES ROOM)

"Baby are you sure they won't come in?" Rachel asked.

"I'm positive. They are all downstairs. Come here…" Brooke pulled Rachel down onto her bed. "I know you love being on top..." Brooke smirked and pulled Rachel onto her. Rachel kissed Brooke's collar bone before kissing a trail up Brooke's neck. She then kissed Brooke, gently at first, then getting rougher. Brooke ran her fingers through fiery red hair. She broke away and looked into Rachel's eyes. She was nervous but she thought she was ready to say it.

"I love you…"

Rachel looked like a deer caught in headlights until she accidentally went invisible. "Uh…um...I…"

She jumped off of Brooke and ran towards the door. "I don't think this is a good idea, I mean, Buffy could catch us at any moment. I'm just going to bed."

"Rachel! Wait!" Brooke wanted to stop her girlfriend but she couldn't see her. "Great." A single tear ran down Brooke's face. She laid down on the bed and tried to get some sleep.

SUMMERS HOME (CHRISTMAS DAY)

Of course Brooke was the first out of bed that morning. She ran downstairs, excited to give her presents out. Since no one else was up she nervously paced back and forth in the living room. Eventually, Willow and Tara joined her.

"Yay!" Brooke clapped her hands and then practically threw her present at Tara and Willow.

Tara blushed. "Brooke you didn't have to g-g-get us anything…"

Brooke scoffed. "I'm rich. Why shouldn't I spend some money on my friends?"

Tara and Willow quietly unwrapped the gift and thanked her with a hug. "We always said we'd get one of these one day."

Brooke smiled and ran upstairs. She decided she couldn't wait any longer. She flung open Buffy's room to find Buffy in bed and Faith sleeping on a cot. "Wakey wakey slayers!"

Buffy and Faith opened their gifts to find matching leather jackets with the word Slayer going across the back. Buffy's had a one on the sleeve and Faith had a two.

"You have got to be kiddin' me Lil B. I'm not wearin' somethin' that matches me with B. Especially somethin' this corny."

"Aw, it'd be so adorable though! Fighting side by side with matching outfits." Brooke protested.

"I love it, Brooke. Thanks." Buffy said, getting a what-the-hell-are-you-thinking look from Faith.

Brooke, content with Buffy's reaction, happily skipped out of the room.

"What? Stop looking at me like that. It was really nice of her to do." Buffy said trying to get Faith to stop looking at her.

Brooke then ventured into Dawn's room. "Hi, Dawnie. Open it."

Dawn excitedly ripped open the wrapping paper. "Wow…I can't even…Just wow…"

Dawn couldn't believe her eyes. Brooke had gotten her the necklace that she had fell in love with at the mall. "How did you even know? You were ahead of me…"

"I pay attention more than people think." Brooke winked, hugged Dawn, and ran to give Peyton her gift. She wasn't sure where Rachel was and how she was feeling about last night, so she decided just to leave her present in Dawn's room.

BRONZE (THAT NIGHT)

Brooke had decided to go to the Bronze that night since she still had yet to find Rachel. Dancing could be a good way to make her feel better. Besides, no one should be sad on Christmas. Dawn had come along but Brooke immediately ditched her. "Again, can't be seen with you. I'll meet you back at the front at twelve." The cheerleader walked away from Dawn and into the crowded dance floor.

Dawn angrily swore. "God. I wish Brooke was in love with someone other than herself!" As an after thought she added "…or Rachel."

Little did she know, Halfrek had been sitting at the bar behind her.

Halfrek cackled. "You wished it. It shall be done."