(Honeygrove)
Mouth was lying on the bed in Rachel's motel room, going over all the events of the last twenty-four hours in his head. It was then that he realised that he hadn't spoken to Brooke since last night, that he hadn't seen her since before his encounter with Dan at the prom.
He wondered to himself whether Brooke was ok and if she had finally managed to tell Peyton about her condition. Selfishly, Mouth hoped that she had, that he was no longer the only person in Brooke's life to know, at least that would take some of the burden he'd been carrying from his shoulders.
Just then, Mouth heard the door open, and Rachel stepped into the motel room brandishing a brown paper bag containing bottles of vodka, tequila, Pepsi, a whole lemon and plastic cups. Mouth sat bolt upright on the bed, her sudden intrusion into his thoughts causing him to jump.
Rachel looked at Mouth curiously, sensing his shock at her return.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked.
"I wasn't expecting you back so soon," he answered truthfully, "You scared me."
Rachel looked at her watch and placed the bag down on the dresser beside the bed.
"Ten minutes exactly," she said tapping her watch as though to illustrate the point. "Just like I told you."
Rachel glanced at him suspiciously, noting his flustered expression.
"Oh my god," she said then, "You weren't like, brooking yourself were you?"
"Not exactly," Mouth answered distantly.
Rachel frowned at him, "What does that mean?"
Mouth laughed, "No I wasn't brooking myself. I was just thinking about some things."
"What, like how you hold the key to bringing down the mayor of Tree Hill?" she asked removing the bottle of vodka from the bag and placing it on the dresser. "Not to mention one of your best friends father."
"Partly," he said watching Rachel as she removed the bottle of Pepsi from the bag and placed it on the dresser beside the vodka.
"So," she said removing the plastic cups and waving them at Mouth, a huge grin on her face. "Drink?"
(Brooke's Car)
Peyton had been driving for about an hour when the Spice Girls song Wannabe came on Brooke's CD player.
"No way," Peyton said laughing and looking at Brooke who was smiling back at her.
"Way," Brooke said starting to bop her head to the music.
"I can't believe that you still have this CD," Peyton chuckled to herself. "God I remember when you first bought it."
"Is this the Spice Girls?" Haley asked Brooke.
Brooke turned around in her chair to look at Haley.
"Yeah it is," she said nodding her head excitedly.
"Taylor used to listen to them all the time." Haley said looking at Brooke before glancing at Peyton.
Haley was surprised to see that Peyton shared Brooke's enthusiasm for the song and was now singing along whilst shaking her head rhythmically to the music.
"Ok Blondie," Haley asked laughing. "Are you seriously telling me that you liked the Spice Girls? I definitely didn't see that one coming."
"Are you saying that you didn't?" Peyton asked her. At this Brooke looked back at Peyton and smiled.
"No," Haley answered, "I'm just having difficulty accepting that you did."
"Well, that's because you don't understand the sentiment behind the song." Peyton said teasingly.
"Then please," Haley joked, "why don't you enlighten me."
"Ok," Peyton said. "When me and Brooke were younger, we used to ride our bikes to the mall every Tuesday after school." Peyton started. "I'd buy CD's and Brooke would buy make up."
"Surprising," Haley mocked.
Brooke looked back at Haley and stuck her tongue out.
"Then afterwards we'd go back to Peyton's house and listen to them," Brooke continued. "We'd try on the make up I just bought and talk about boys."
"You know, as difficult as it is to imagine that," Haley said tauntingly.
Brooke turned around and hit Haley playfully on the arm.
"Ow," she laughed before asking. "What's all this got to do with the Spice Girls?"
Peyton turned and smiled
"Well, one afternoon we were at the mall and Brooke noticed this CD on the shelf." Peyton answered.
"I'd heard this song on the radio a couple of times." Brooke said, "and loved it."
Haley laughed as Peyton continued.
"So naturally Brooke had to have it." Peyton chuckled. "She was so excited after she bought it that we had to go straight back to mine and listen to it."
"Is that it?" Haley asked. "That's the sentiment you were talking about?"
"No," Brooke said turning around.
"This Hales," Peyton interrupted, "is the song that was playing when Hoe's over Bro's was first created."
"Seriously?" Haley asked smiling. "This is where Hoe's over Bro's comes from?"
"Yeah," Brooke said, "we were listening to it in Peyton's room, me jumping all over her bed energetically…"
"And me not so much," Peyton added.
"Maybe not at first," Brooke declared, "but by the end of the afternoon, you were behaving exactly the same way."
"Anyway," Peyton said in an attempt to steer the subject in a different direction. "After like the fifth time of it being on repeat, Brooke knew all the words and that's when…"
"I came up with Hoe's over Bro's," Brooke finished.
"Wait," Haley questioned, "You came up with Hoe's over Bro's just because of a song?"
Brooke sighed, "Haley you know the words to this song right?"
"Sort of?" she answered frowning.
"Ok," Peyton said, "Listen to the next chorus."
If you wannabe my lover
You've gotta get with my friends
Make it last forever
Friendship never ends.
"Basically," Brooke said, "That was the day that me and Peyton decided that we would always put our friendship before boyfriends, that anyone we dated would have to get on with the other…"
"Because boyfriends would come and go," Peyton cut in, "but we would be friends forever."
Brooke turned and straightened her arm towards Peyton, her hand clenched into a fist.
Peyton looked at her and smiled. She removed her nearest hand from the steering wheel and mirrored Brooke.
"Hoe's over Bro's?" Brooke asked.
Peyton nodded and laughed bringing their fists together.
"Buds over Studs." She added before placing her hand back onto the steering wheel.
Haley smiled at the pair of them, "I've missed this," she said.
Brooke and Peyton exchanged looks.
"Me too." They said in unison. Peyton laughed and rubbed Brooke's knee with her hand comfortingly.
Brooke turned around to Haley and straightened her arm out towards her.
"Hoe's over Bro's?" she asked.
Haley laughed, "Hoe's over Bro's." she said bringing their fists together.
Brooke clapped her hands excitedly. "God, this is going to be so much better than our last Hoe's over Bro's reunion tour!" She exclaimed loudly as Peyton smiled and continued to drive.
