Disclaimer - If I owned OTH, [insert every BL lover's disclaimer here].
Summary: Lucas is caught in the middle of the first fight between the best friends. Brooke and Peyton get to the bottom of their dwindling relationship.
AN: Thanks for those who reviewed! I'm glad you like this fic! This chapter was difficult for me to write, and I don't like how it turned out at all so I can't imagine how difficult it is for you to read. I don't know...I feel the writing quality is very disconnected. I know some of you will hate it, but believe it or not, this is more about BP than it is L/P. I wanted to explore why Peyton seemed so detached from Brooke in early season 1. And the L/P I have is always important for later.
-Enjoy-
"IS SOMEONE GETTING THE BEST, THE BEST, THE BEST, THE BEST OF YOU?! IS SOMEONE GETTING THE BEST, THE BEST, THE BEST, THE BEST OF YOU?!"
It's Wednesday morning. The chill autumn breeze shakes the tree branches of red and yellow and orange leaves, forcing the residents of Tree Hill to bundle up for the first time that fall. Lucas and Peyton drive to school in his truck, screaming the lyrics to the Foo Fighters Best of You at the top of their lungs.
Peyton Sawyer is in a good mood today.
"HAS SOMEONE TAKEN YOUR FAITH, IT'S REAL! THE PAIN YOU FEEL! YOUR TRUST, YOU MUST, CONFESS!"
They'd already done this so many times that they'd lost count. Peyton loved their "nails-on-a-chalk-board karaoke sessions" as she affectionately calls them. She told Lucas that she didn't often get the chance to just let loose and scream her favorite songs with Brooke because their tastes in music were as different as night and day. Lucas had given her a sympathetic smile then, confessing that he and Haley had done it ever since they were 12 when he'd finally managed to convince her that Pearl Jam, Bush, and Nirvana were the best bands on the planet. Peyton had laughed, and they'd been singing off-tune, screeching duets ever since.
Lucas pulls into the school parking lot as soon as the guitar rim starts playing. He and Peyton shake their heads to the beat and air drum the percussion, not caring that students who walk by their car could see them. Once the song ends, Lucas grins up at her and shuts off the engine, hopping out of the truck as Peyton comes down from her mirth.
"I love that song." She says as she walks next to him towards the school entrance, shoving her hands deep into her coat pockets.
"Foo Fighters are awesome."
"They had a few misses with their last album, though."
"Oh yeah? Which ones?"
Peyton starts to answer, but stops when she catches sight of Brooke at her locker.
Lucas follows Peyton's line of sight and sighs.
"She still upset with you?" His girlfriend shrugs. "Aren't you gonna apologize?"
She frowns. "Why would I apologize?"
"Well...it's just that..." He takes a deep breath. "You were a bit hard on her."
The curly blond rolls her eyes. "Are you saying I was too hard on the Queen Bitch of Tree Hill?"
"No. I'm saying you were too hard on your friend." She looks away, and he can tell she's pissed at him. "Come on, are you really going to let your friendship break down because of one stupid fight?"
"I'm not the one doing it."
He sighs, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looks up at the brunette. "She really didn't do anything wrong with Jenny."
"Are you kidding me? Did you forget what she said?"
He half shrugs. "She was nervous."
Peyton frowns up at him. "Since when did you defend Brooke Davis?"
Letting out a laugh, he shakes his head. "I'm not defending her. I'm just telling you what I saw." The bell rings, alerting the students that they had less than five minutes to get to class. "I have to go. We still hanging out after school with Haley?"
She nods. "Yeah." Lucas bends down to give her a good bye kiss, but misses when she swerves away from him, giving him a weird look. "Dude, I'm seeing you in less than three hours."
She doesn't think much of his frown. "Right." He pulls back and tries to hide his embarrassment—and irritation. "See ya."
Peyton watches him walk away, knowing that he's upset with her dispassionate nature. But she can't help it. She doesn't have that urge to make out with him all the damn time like the rest of the shallow, sex-crazed student population. Besides, she's never been the type to publicly display any type of emotion, let alone affection.
Sighing in annoyance and scrunching up her face in her signature frown, she makes her way over to her locker, which is right next to Brooke's thanks to the brunette's powers of persuasion.
She takes time opening her locker, waiting for her friend to break the silence and say something. She's never been capable of staying quiet for long. But the slamming of metal and the clicking of heals alert her that this time her impatient best friend is doing just fine ignoring her.
"Are you seriously still mad at me?" She yells out, ignoring the second bell that signals they were late for class.
Brooke whips around and glares at her. "Are you seriously mad that I'm still mad at you?"
"Look, I said I was sorry."
Brooke gawks at her. "No, you didn't!"
"Oh, well...look this is stupid. Could we just forget about it?"
"You totally embarrassed me in front of Jake and Luke on Saturday! And you want me to just forget it?!"
"You were acting stupid!"
"This is a fantastic apology."
Peyton rolls her eyes. "Whatever, Brooke. If you want to keep on acting like a bitch, then go ahead." She storms passed the angry brunette, not bothering to hide her frustration. If Brooke wanted to make this a big deal then it was fine with her. Peyton Sawyer did not grovel.
~*~
That evening, Peyton, Haley and Lucas sit on top of Karen's Café, listening to Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit as the childhood best friends played mini-golf.
"I still can't believe you guys built a golf course up here," Peyton says in amusement.
Lucas shrugs. "Golf course, lounge, hide out. This place is anything you want it to be."
Haley nods along, listening to the conversation as she set up her golf ball in position. "It's like the Room of Requirement." She says with a smile.
Lucas and Peyton stare at her with blank expressions.
"You know, Harry Potter?"
Lucas cringes. "Awe, Hales."
Peyton smirks. "Why does it not surprise me that you like that crap?"
She frowns. "Hey. It's not crap. It has a good storyline. It's not like I read it for its literary genius."
"What's the point of reading a book if it's not written well?" Lucas never understood the appeal of a book that had such simplistic sentence structure.
Haley glares at him. "It is written well! Look, granted, it's no Jane Austin—"
"The very fact that you're even comparing them offends me."
Peyton watches the two best friends banter, feeling a sense of déjà vu as she remembers having a similar fight with her best friend.
"Brooke liked Harry Potter." She says suddenly, effectively ending Lucas and Haley's escalating argument.
Lucas looks at Peyton in confusion, but his petite best friend scowls at her.
"Brooke reads?"
Peyton chuckles. "She used to. And only Harry Potter."
"Figures."
"Did you two make up yet?"
Peyton looks at Lucas. "Why do you care so much?"
He squints down at her in confusion. "Don't you?"
She shrugs but doesn't say anything. "So are we doing this, or what?" She asks, gesturing to the make shift course.
Lucas and Haley exchange a confused look before shrugging.
"I'll go first!" Haley grabs her golf club and positions herself adjacent to the ball, frowning in concentration.
"It's not the Championship, James."
"Hey, now. If you're going to be coming up here you're going to have to abide by one rule." The petite brunette walks up close to the much taller blond, unfazed by the latter's much more menacing physique, and glares up at her. "When you're on the golf course, you do not insult the golf course."
Peyton raises her eyebrows in amusement. "What is this, Fight Clu—haachhoo!"
"Bless you!" Haley and Lucas yell at the same time.
"And yes," continues Haley. "It's exactly like that."
"Only without the schizophrenic masochist."
Peyton starts to laugh, but half way through, she sneezes again.
"Bless you! Again! Are you allergic to something, Peyt?"
The curly blond sniffles. "Like what? Air?"
"I don't know. Maybe you're catching a cold?"
The blond sniffles again and shakes her head. "Quit stalling, Haley. I wanna beat you at this thing."
Her friend laughs. "You wish."
~*~
"THERE'S NOTHING ELSE TO LOSE. THERE'S NOTHING ELSE TO FIND! THERE'S NOTHING IN THE WORLD, THAT COULD CHANGE MY MIND! THERE IS NOTHING ELLLLLLLLSSSSSEEEE!"
Thursday morning starts out for Peyton much like it did the day prior, only with an added passenger.
"Wow, Haley. You have a pretty kick ass voice." Peyton smiles at her new friend, admiring the way her strong voice filled the car.
Haley blushes. "Yeah, well. In comparison to you two the horn of a car sounds more musical."
Lucas snorts. "Just take the compliment, Hales."
Peyton smiles in amusement before she's suddenly hit with a fierce coughing fit.
"Whoa, Peyt, you okay?" Her boyfirend's worried voice asks.
Peyton steps out of the car as soon as Lucas parsk.
"Yeah. I think I do have a bit of a cold. Nothing I can't handle."
"You sure?"
She snorts. "You don't have to treat me like a child, Lucas."
He sighs before nodding. "I'll see you later." He turns and immediately walks away.
He doesn't bother trying to kiss her this time.
~*~
That evening, Lucas sits nervously next to a sick and cranky Peyton Sawyer, who is snuggled up in her bed. Lucas had tried to make her feel better by distracting her from her illness, but the dry, pissed off look on her face never once receded. He'd given up after a while, and they've been sitting in silent tension ever since.
"Can I get you anything?" He asks nervously.
"You asked me that like, five minutes ago, dude." She deadpans. "No."
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the doctor?"
Peyton rolls her eyes. "Look, if you're going to just sit there asking the same questions over again like a bad song on repeat, then why don't you just leave?"
He cringes at her sharp tone, but lets it slide. He reassures himself that she's only being like this because she's sick, and that anyone would act the same way if they were in her position.
The sound of a slamming door pulls him out of his thoughts, and he jerks off the chair, looking towards the hallway in alarm.
"Who do you think that is?"
"Brooke." She says confidently.
Lucas frowns. "Did you call her?"
"No."
"I thought she was still mad at you."
"She is."
Tired of her cryptic answers, Lucas decides to go and investigate himself, not entirely confident in his girlfriend's answer.
He walks into the kitchen to find Brooke rummaging through the cabinets, pulling out a large red bag that read Medical Kit on the lid.
"Brooke! I didn't think you'd be stopping by."
She glances back at him before resuming her task. "I heard from one of the girls that Peyton was sick again. Did she get a fever yet?"
She walks to the other side of the kitchen and pulls out a pouch of Lipton Herbal Tea. It's then that Lucas notices the kettle boiling water.
Lucas frowns. "Uhh....no. She's just sneezing and coughing a bit so far."
Brooke nods as she puts pours boiling water into a cup with a tea pouch in it. She opens another cabinet and takes out a small bowl that Lucas realizes holds sugar cubes, and plops one into the tea. She then takes out a bottle of honey and pours a large blob in before replacing everything in its spot.
Lucas feels silly just watching her make tea, so he starts up conversation.
"I tried to get her to go to the doctor, but she won't listen to me. And I already offered her tea--"
Brooke gives him a look. "You don't offer her stuff, Luke. You have to force her into it when she's like this." She walks passed him and makes her way to Peyton's room.
"Did you take a bath yet or not?"
Peyton doesn't even seem fazed by her appearance.
"No." She mumbles begrudgingly, taking the hot tea from Brooke's hands.
"Dammit, Sawyer. You know if you don't take a bath right away you only get worse!"
Frustrated, she goes into her bathroom and starts up the running water. Lucas walks in on the two and looks between them, confused as to how they're acting as if this is normal occurrence.
"I didn't take Brooke for the nurse-type." He half-jokes. Peyton shrugs and gulps her tea.
She sneezes loudly. Brooke re-emerges from the bathroom and plops on the bed beside her and opens up the medical kit. She takes out a thermometer and sticks it in Peyton's mouth. It beeps twice before she pulls it out.
"Okay, you only have a mild fever." She sighs and puts the thermometer away. She rummages through her baby pink back pack and pulls out a single yogurt. "Here. Got this from the cafeteria on my way over."
"Plain?" Her friend asks hopefully, taking the yogurt cup from Brooke's outstretched hand. The brunette nods and hands her a small packet.
"With one packet of sugar."
Lucas stands back and watches silently as Brooke dumps the sugar into the yogurt and Peyton mixes it before eating it greedily.
The front door bell rings suddenly. Brooke looks up at Lucas. "That must be Jack with the soup. Broody, could you get that?"
Startled at the request, Lucas can do nothing but nod before he hurries out of the room and towards the front door. Opening it, he's met with a man in a tux holding a large brown bag up to him. Lucas glances behind him to see a limo stretched on the side of the house.
"Uh—"
"Miss Brooke told me to drop this off." The waiter says politely, handing the bag to Lucas who felt the heat from the hot meal radiate in his hands.
The gentleman turns around and walks back to the limo, leaving a bewildered Lucas standing at the door. He casts one last glance at the man, feeling like he'd just been in a scene of a '50s film, before shutting the door and making his way up to the girls.
He finds Peyton sitting up on the bed, scowling at the spoon full of red liquid held in Brooke's hand.
"That stuff tastes like ass, Brooke."
Her friend shrugs, holding up the spoon closer to her patient's mouth. "And it works."
Rolling her eyes, Peyton opens her mouth obediently and gulps the disgusting syrup that Brooke shoved in her mouth. She groans and throws her head back as it trickles down her throat.
"Water."
Brooke rolls her eyes, looking up to see Lucas walk in with the package. "I've got one better. I had Britta make chicken and vegetable soup for you." She stands up and takes the package from Lucas' hand.
"Thank you, handsome." She flirts, smirking to herself as he blushes and full on laughing at Peyton's scowl.
"Eat up, P. Sawyer."
Peyton doesn't move a muscle.
"It has extra chicken." Brooke says knowingly, holding the bowl of soup and a spoon.
Peyton stares at her before sitting up and taking the bowl. Brooke watches her slurp a spoon full of the soup, satisfied.
"Well, your fever's not bad. I'm gonna go and tell Dr. Rosinghall that we won't need him."
She walks out of the room, pulling out her cell phone. Lucas cast a glance at his girlfriend who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying her soup before turning to Brooke.
"You look like you know what you're doing."
She shrugs, waiting for the doctor to answer. "Peyton gets sick like this almost every autumn. She doesn't handle sudden shifts in weather very well." Someone on the other line picks up. "Hello? Dr. Rosinghall? Brooke Davis speaking. We won't need that appointment after all. Yes, I promise. Alright, thanks." She hangs up the phone and sighs, leaning against the wall she turns to Lucas to see him looking at her in a way she's never seen before.
"What?"
"You're a good friend."
She frowns. "You sound surprised." Lucas looks taken aback. Truth is, he is surprised. But he hadn't meant to offend Brooke.
But her glare made it clear that the offense was already taken. Brooke stands up and crosses her arms.
"I get that you think I'm a bitch and are totally jealous of my privileged life or whatever but what the hell gave you the idea that I wasn't a good friend?!" Her voice is angry, and her tone pressing.
"I didn't...I just—" A loud coughing fit cuts him off. Brooke walks in and over to her friend's bed.
"Dammit, Sawyer you sound like a dying grandpa."
The curly blond glares up at her. "That joke never gets old, Brooke."
"I keep telling you, Goldie, that's not meant to be a joke. You have the most offending cough I've ever heard." She looks up at Lucas. "Tell her, Lucas."
He looks up, startled at the correct use of his name. Brooke always calls him by his nick name. "Uhh...." He meets his girlfriend's glare and backs away. "Peyton's cough is normal."
Both girls scowl at him.
"Way to sound convincing."
"Effing scared-y cat."
Lucas groans. He just couldn't win.
"Okay, well...I have to get to the café for a shift. Are you gonna be okay, Peyton?"
His girlfriend grunts in affirmation. He glances at Brooke, but she refuses to look at him.
He walks away from the two girls, wondering why it is that he always managed to say something to upset the brunette.
He feels like an ass.
~*~
Peyton watches Brooke rummage through her closet for a pair of PJs. The strength with which she slams the closet door gives Peyton a hint to the mood her friend is in.
"So, I take it your still mad?" She deadpans.
Brooke walks up to the bed and glares down at her best friend, before throwing the pair of pyjamas in her face.
"For a fake blond, you sure do catch on slow."
Peyton rolls her eyes and starts to change her clothes.
"Okay, so maybe I was a bit harsh on you the other day—"
"Why does Lucas think I'm a terrible friend?"
Peyton freezes midway through putting on her top.
"What?"
"You heard me."
She frowns. "He doesn't."
"Yes, he does. Just an hour ago his eyes were about to pop out like bug bunny on steroids when he saw me taking care of you."
Peyton shrugs. "You don't come off as the nursing type."
"But that wasn't the only time! I mean, okay, I could understand why he would be shocked when we first hung out but I would've thought he'd gotten over it by now. I mean, what do you tell him about us?"
Peyton gives her a look. "Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Why would I talk about us?"
Brooke gawks at her. "He talks about him and Haley all the time!"
"He and Haley are the sentimental type! So what?"
Brooke huffs and stomps her foot. "Well, how come you never defend me to them?" She whines.
"Brooke, you're being crazy."
"No. I'm serious. I know that he and especially little miss perfect Tutor Girl probably make fun of me behind my back all the time—"
"They don't."
"But I want to know why you're not ripping them a new one when they do."
Brooke knows she has a bad reputation. And she knows that she deserves most of it. But Lucas seemed to see something through it.
You don't have to act like this, Brooke.
"Since when did you need me to fight your battles for you?"
"What the fuck happened to you, Peyt? Are we even best friends anymore?"
Peyton frowns. "Of course we are."
"Then what's going on?!" She throws her hands up in the air and holds in the tears that threatened to burst. Normally, she'd be embarrassed to let anyone see her crying, but this is her Peyton. "You've been constantly bitching at me since forever and you've been all distant for a while now—more than your usual closed off self—and you treat me like shit whenever you get the chance!"
Peyton looks down. "I don't treat you like shit."
"Yes you do! Just last weekend with Jake!" Peyton looks up at her and starts to speak. "And even if I was acting stupid you know how freaked out I get around babies! You should've tried to cover for me instead of bitch at me like I was some idiot!"
"Fine. I'm sorry about what I said at Jake's, alright?"
Brooke takes a deep breath to calm herself, angry that Peyton wasn't taking this as seriously as her. For as long as Brooke can remember it's always been the two of them. Peyton is the only constant Brooke has ever had and without her, she has absolutely no one. And she used to be the same for the blond.
"What's really going on here, Peyt?"
"You forgot about it," She says quietly.
Brooke frowns. "Forgot about what?"
"Her! My mom! You forgot about her death and thought that I was upset over Nathan. Jesus, Brooke!"
Brooke freezes. What month is it? Her mouth goes slack when it dawns at her that her best friend's words are true.
"Oh, Peyton." Brooke walks over to the bed and sits next to her friend. "I—"
She cuts herself off, unable to formulate words to explain her actions. She'd been mourning Anne Sawyer's death with Peyton every year for the past 8 years. And she hadn't missed a single anniversary, knowing how much Peyton relied on her. She'd always been there, supporting Peyton through the pain, making sure she'd stayed safe and away from cars so she wouldn't do any one of her crazy stunts. Brooke looks at Peyton, wondering whether her friend ran those same red lights she tortures herself with every year. Every time Peyton would get the urge to do put herself in danger, Brooke was always there to pull her back.
She'd always been there, until now.
She honestly has no idea why—how she'd forgotten. And her apologetic look lets her best friend know how lost she was.
"You're changing, Brookie." She says softly, sniffling through her runny nose. "And not for the better. You've been changing ever since we got into high school but I never thought you'd forget about my mom."
"Peyton, I'm so sorry—I don't kno—"
"And with Jenny, I don't know just to see her having to grow up without a mom too—I just connected with her, you know? And she was so sweet and innocent and I..." She trails off, and shrugs. The truth is that she felt as though Lucas and Brooke had invaded her connection with Jake and Jenny. She could connect with them on a level that her boyfriend and best friend couldn't.
Brooke looks down, letting her friend's words sink in. She hates herself for letting Peyton down the way she did. But it didn't make the months of barely concealed taunts hurt any less. The brunette grits her teeth. How could they hurt each other like that?
"I didn't mean to push you away, Brookie."
"But you did." Peyton looks up at her. "I know I've changed, Peyt and I'm sorry—But you didn't even talk to me about it. You're mom's death anniversary was a month and a half ago." Her friend looks away. "And you just let it build up this rift between us instead of confronting me about it."
"I shouldn't have needed to!"
Brooke shakes her head. "I know, but it isn't just about that, Peyt. We've been drifting for a long time now. Even if I did change, we never changed for me. You were still my bestest friend ever and I told you everything Peyt. And you just...you immediately shut off and you started looking down at me. I mean, you were just like her." Peyton's eyes widen. There is no need to specify who Brooke was talking about. "Look, maybe you didn't mean it—" she says when she sees Peyton start to get defensive. "But that's just how I felt. I mean from Victoria I'm used to it. Her I expect to treat me like I'm worthless. But you?" Peyton looks away, gritting her teeth to keep herself from crying. "How could you just give up on me like that?"
The blond shakes her head to rid herself of the tears. Then shrugs. "I guess I've changed, too."
Brooke nods, accepting the explanation for what it was. Neither girls understood their actions and both wanted to move on from it completely.
Brooke lays down in silence and sighs. After a while, Peyton follows her lead.
"So...so what do we do now?" The brunette's shaky voice echoes after a few minutes of silence, broken only by Peyton's sneezing.
She feels her friend shift next to her.
"Go back to the way things were, I guess."
Brooke turns her head to look at her. "You think we can?" She asks hopefully.
"Well, we lasted this long. Gotta mean something, right?"
Brooke smiles wide, turning her head back to look up at the ceiling. After minutes of silence, she voices a thought that simply refused to leave her.
"Why couldn't you have changed into someone more fun?"
Peyton elbows her, before a genuine smile lights her face.
~*~
Lucas walks into his girlfriend's house, a hot bowl of soup held in his hands. He was worried about her throughout his entire shift, and Deb had let him off early so he could go take care of her, sending a hot bowl of soup to help her get better.
When he enters the household, he's surprised to find himself walking in on one Brooke Davis sprawled half-hazardly across the couch, watching an episode of the O.C. Lucas freezes at the sight of her. Worry over his girlfriend wasn't the only thing that occupied his mind that evening. He hadn't been able to get the look the brunette had given him out of his head. It was a look that he originally thought was angry and full of arrogance, but the more he replayed the image in his head, the more he recognized the hidden hurt and...something. He still couldn't fully understand her, and he isn't even sure he wants to try. All he knows is that he doesn't want to be the boy who hurt her. His mother had raised him better than that.
She turns to him and catches him staring at her. Lucas shakes his head.
"I didn't think you'd still be here."
She shrugs and flops back to her original position on the couch, turning her attention back to the television.
"Peyton's sleeping upstairs."
Lucas sighs. "Deb had me bring her over broth to help her get better."
"Peyton hates broth."
Lucas sits down on the arm of the couch, trying to think of a way to smooth over their tension and apologize. Brooke Davis has turned out to be far more work than he'd expected a best friend of his girlfriend to be. She irritates him; that much is for certain. But there is something about her that makes it difficult for him to just turn away and ignore her. He doesn't understand why—maybe it's his desire to get to know the girl who'd captured Peyton's loyalty against all odds. Maybe it's the way her entire body seems to ignite with fire and passion whenever she's angry, or excited, or happy, or sad or any other extreme emotion she could be feeling at any given second. Whatever the reason, he's found himself actually working to establish...something amicable between them.
"Did that Seth guy get the girl yet?" He asks to break the tension.
Brooke glances at him. "No."
He frowns, not used to the usually talkative spitfire to give short answers, and he realizes that getting back on her good graces was going to be harder than he thought.
"I'm sorry." He starts. When she doesn't acknowledge that he even talked, he tries again. "I shouldn't have thought you were a bad friend. I didn't know anything about you and Peyton's relationship and I'm sorry."
Brooke continues to stare at the T.V. screen. "Don't be."
He squints at her.
"I'm not a good friend." She shrugs and sits up, ignoring the inquisitive look on his face.
"Brooke, wha—?"
"Are you going to stay the night?" She asks suddenly.
"Uh, no."
"Then could you leave? I'm pretty tired and I'm gonna crash here tonight."
"Oh..." He looks around nervously. "Your parents are cool with that?" He asks out of habit.
"Yep. They don't mind." He looks at her suspiciously. She sends him a suggestive smile. "I'm a big girl."
