Chapter 14

Freshman Year - Early March 2003

A.N. So this chapter took much longer then expected, it was supposed to be done Sunday but someone coughEllebellecough distracted me for two hours picking out baby names. But thanks just the same to her for making me realize that the first copy of this was crap and thanks to Supermags for beta-ing for me...Expect lots of updates next week cause I'm spending the next four days on Wrightsville beach where better to write then where OTH is set?

"But I thought you and Daddy were coming home tomorrow." Brooke sighed a she flopped onto her bed, a pout creased across her features and the phone pressed to her ear. She nervously played with a strand of hair while she listened to her mother go on and on about some event that they just couldn't miss.

"I mean really Brookie, it's not logical for us to fly back just to turn around and leave again." Juliet Davis said as she defended her choice to her daughter.

"You're right." Brooke replied, "It's just that I wanted you to meet my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? My Brookie has a boyfriend? It's that Scott boy isn't it? We saw Deb last week and she said that you and Nathan had been hanging out. That's so great Brookie, Nathan's such a good boy. If I'd known he was the type of boy..." her mother droned on. Juliet Davis had the distinct ability of being able to go on and on over any person's protests to what she was saying, and her daughter was no exception.

"Mom!" Brooke let out a frustrated snap finally catching her mother's attention, "I'm not dating Nathan Scott."

"Well, then who are you dating?" Her mother asked, as the disappointment easily rang through the phone line. Deb Scott and Juliet Davis had been close friends when Nathan and Brooke were younger and Brooke knew that they both would have loved for their children to be together.

"Jason..."

"Jason Westfield? Oh Brookie, I can't believe it," Juliet shrieked as the disappointed tone turned into a squeal of joy. "You know I nearly married his father. Do you know they have estates in Cabo, Australia, Southern France, Newport, Madrid and a penthouse apartment in New York City?"

"No Mom, I didn't know that," Brooke rolled her eyes. "And it's Jason Theophilus, not Westfield."

"Theophilus, Theophilus, hmmm."

Brooke could imagine her mother tapping her perfectly manicured finger against her red lips in thought. "Which country club are they members of?"

"They, um, aren't," Brooke frowned. Why hadn't she considered the fact that that would be the first question her mother would ask. The only thing that mattered to her mother was status and wealth, everything else just paled in comparison.

"They aren't members of a country club?" Juliet asked, the shock in her voice blatantly obvious.

"Brooke I'm not sure I approve of you dating someone who's parents I don't know."

"Don't you mean someone who's parents don't belong to your country club?" Brooke mumbled, half hoping that her mother was paying enough attention to actually catch her words.

"Brooke, we'll talk about this later," Juliet stated with a sigh which was an indicator of her annoyance. "Your father and I have to be at a party in two hours and I have a nail appointment."

As soon as her mother was off the phone Brooke slammed it back into the cradle. Did she ask too much by wanting her parents to pay just a little bit of attention to her? For years Brooke had dismissed her parent's actions as typical, all of her friends' parents traveled constantly too. It wasn't until she'd met the Theophilus family, that she had realized that her life didn't have to be the way it was.

With that thought in her head, Brooke quickly picked her phone back up and quickly dialed the familiar number.

"Hello," Lydia answered as she picked the phone up on its second ring.

"Lyd!" Brooke greeted, forcing a cheerful tone. "It sounds crazy over there."

"Yeah, Alec has some friends over. What's the matter?"

"Who said anything is wrong?" Brooke questioned. "I just called to talk."

"Yeah right," Lydia replied, and Brooke could practically see her rolling her eyes. "You're a really crappy liar. So what's the matter?"

Brooke sighed, she hated more than anything Lydia's ability to pick up on her every tone. "I just got off the phone with my parents."

"Movie night." Lydia declared, she didn't even need to hear what Brooke had to say. She just knew that a phone call with Brooke's parents included something else that Brooke didn't want to hear from them. "At your house though, cause we have tons of guys from school here and that doesn't make for a good chick flick night. I'll have someone drop me of in ten minutes, get that popcorn popping."

"So what'd they do this time?" Lydia finally asked as she and Brooke settled in the living room with a bowl of popcorn between them and Legally Blonde playing on the television in front of them. Brooke had made it obvious that she didn't want to talk about her parents when Lydia had arrived carrying a stack of movies and plenty of junk food, but Lydia had only made it to Elle's revelation that she too would go to Harvard before she cracked.

"They were supposed to come home for the week," Brooke shrugged. "But they have some party or the other and they just aren't going to bother."

"Oh Brooke," Lydia sighed before she popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully. "I'm sorry they're not around more. They're missing out on how great their daughter is. I guess…" Lydia paused almost as if she was trying to decide if she should continue on with her train of thought or not.

"What?" Brooke questioned, curious as to what exactly her friend thought of the situation. Lydia had a close knit family and Brooke's family situation probably seemed so odd to her.

"I dunno," Lydia responded with a frown. "I guess sometimes I forget that even though it's cool that you have so much space to yourself, that you don't really have anyone around. If that makes any sense."

Brooke watched Lydia carefully, not totally sure she understood what Lydia was getting at. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean..."

Lydia shrugged, "I guess sometimes I get jealous that you have this whole house to yourself and you don't have to share a room or a bathroom, that I forget that you're here all alone most of the time."

Brooke couldn't help the brief ironic laugh that bubbled up. "That's funny I guess, because I get jealous that you have this amazing family and I have my parents, whom to actually call them parents, you'd like have to bend the truth and the reality of the situation."

"Oh Duckling," Lydia sighed as she wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulder.

"My mom didn't exactly approve of Jason when I told her about him this morning," Brooke sighed, that fact alone was still eating at her.

"What? Why, because he's a junior?" Lydia asked quickly.

"No," Brooke assured with a shake of her head. "She didn't even care enough about my life to know the rest of the details. The thing that mattered to her was the fact that your family doesn't belong to a country club."

"That's ridiculous," Lydia exclaimed with a scowl. "It's not like we're the scum of the earth because we don't belong to a country club. My dad's a doctor!"

Brooke's frown deepened. "You don't have to tell me that. I didn't say that I agreed with them."

"I'm sorry. How'd you end up growing up in this world and not become like that?" Lydia questioned. "I mean you've been given everything, but you're not some spoiled princess who thinks she owns the world."

"I don't know." Brooke shrugged, "Well yes I do. I have this cousin, my mom's sister's daughter, and she's a couple years older then us. She graduated a couple years ago. Anyway, she was exactly like you said, she had it all money, looks, she was cheer captain and she terrorized everyone.."

"So what happened to your cousin?" Lydia questioned, "She's someone's trophy wife now?"

Brooke shook her head sadly. "She died the first semester of her freshman year in college. If you ask my family what happened, they'd tell you she lost control of her car on an icy road and slid off a bridge."

Lydia's dark eyes were wide at this revelation. "And if you asked anyone else?"

Brooke shrugged. "She was having a hard time adjusting to college life and the roads weren't that slippery. No one knows for sure. After that, I just realized that I didn't want to be that girl, the one who was queen of her high school but then didn't have anything to walk away with when high school ended."

"Oh Brooke," Lydia wrapped her arms around Brooke to give her a tight hug. "You're definitely not your cousin"

"You'll make sure that I don't ever become her?"

Lydia laughed, "I don't think there's a chance of that ever happening."

"But do you promise?" Brooke stared intently at Lydia. "Promise that you won't ever let me just be Jason's girlfriend, or Lydia and Peyton's best friend, or Raven's cheerleader."

"Fine I promise," Lydia smiled. "I won't let you be anyone but who you are."