Disclaimer: I do not own anything from OTH...though I wish I did LOL
A/N Hey guys, thank you guys for the wonderful reviews please keep them coming, you guys rule by the way for leaving reviews I really love you for it. Hope you guys like this chapter, I always love to know. Now sad to say but there is only going to be one more chapter after this one. Love forever and always.
One month later.
Today was the first away game for the Ravens and the cheerleading competition. Over the month Brooke had been spending most of her time in the cafe and Peyton started spending a lot of her time at Tric, but when they got together at night there was more love in that room than they thought possible. Larry had left that same weekend that he came, much to Peyton's dismay but he insisted that he couldn't stay at home any longer he need to work.
Lucas had kept his distance from the group since the day outside the cafe with Haley, it was hard to work with Nathan on the team and the Raven's were suffering for it. The games that they were winning before with ease started to become a struggle.
Right now everyone that was going to Charlotte with the team and the squad were waiting outside the bus while Brooke argued with Whitey about the pom poms.
"Sorry, people come before pom poms" Brooke huffed.
"Where am I supposed to put the cheerleading stuff?" Whitey gave her a shrug.
"I don't know, just not on my bus. There's not enough room" Before Brooke could say anything more, Peyton stepped beside them both.
"How about I drive there and then we can put all the cheerleading stuff in my car?" Whitey looked between the girls for a second before letting out a sigh and nodding.
"Fine, but you stay right behind me at all times, understand?" Peyton nodded with a huge smile.
"Yeah I got it, come on" Peyton grabbed some of the stuff, as did Brooke, before grabbing Brooke's hand and leading her to her car.
One they got to Peyton's car, they threw everything in the backseat.
"I'll be right back with the rest" Brooke kissed Peyton softly before walking away.
"Are you not coming?" Peyton turned and saw Rachel making her way over to her.
"Oh no, we are, there's just not enough room for the cheerleading stuff" Rachel nodded as she stopped beside Peyton. "So, Brooke and I are going to drive over there" Rachel gave her a small smirk and Peyton knew what it meant.
"You're going to have a really fun three hours aren't you?" They both let out a small laugh.
"You don't even know" Peyton wiggled her eyebrows causing Rachel to laugh again.
"I better go" Rachel said when she saw Brooke approaching. "See you later Peyton" Peyton gave her a little wave as Rachel walked away.
Brooke and Peyton's eyes locked before Rachel broke it, Brooke raised an eyebrow at Peyton when she got closer.
"What was that about?" Brooke nudged her head to Rachel.
"She was just saying hi" Brooke nodded as they got into the car.
"I don't even understand why she has to be here, she's not part of the team or the squad" Brooke said as she put her seat belt on.
"There's a lot of people that are coming that aren't part of the squad or team, they're fans they come to cheer...They're a loud to do that" Peyton said with a laugh as Brooke rolled her eyes.
"Well no one wants here stupid cheering anyway" Peyton laughed at the childish look on Brooke's face.
"I thought you weren't jealous" Brooke moved her gaze from Rachel back to Peyton.
"I'm not jealous, I just don't like her" Peyton rolled her eyes.
"Right" Sarcasm was clear in Peyton's voice.
"What? I never did even before you two got together" Brooke pointed out.
"Fine, just please be civil this weekend? The squad needs you" Brooke nodded with a smile and Peyton began to follow the bus. "So, who am I rooming with, is it alphabetical?"
"You're rooming with this totally gorgeous brunette" Peyton looked over at Brooke in slight shock.
"How did you manage to swing that?" Understanding what that smirk Brooke had meant.
"Co-captains need to stick together" Brooke shrugged and Peyton let out a laugh.
"You are one sneaky devil Brooke" Brooke laughed.
"That I am, but you love it" Brooke lifted Peyton's arm and leaned into her.
"That I do, I love everything about you" Peyton leaned in and gave Brooke a sweet kiss.
-
They had finally reached the hotel in Charlotte, everyone was waiting for their room key. Brooke was practically sleeping on Peyton's shoulder and Peyton couldn't blame her it had been a really long ride. Finally the girls were given their room key and they headed to the elevators.
"Scott's" Nathan and Lucas were the last ones left waiting for a key they made their way to Whitey. "Come here" They both made their way to Whitey.
"You can't actually be putting us in the same room?" Nathan asked when they were close enough.
"I don't know what drama has you at each others throats this time, but it stops tonight and it stops when you're on that court. This team doesn't need to suffer because of your soap opera of a life" Whitey handed each of them a key. "You two need to work together, this team need both of you equally. So get it together or I'll kick you both of the team" Whitey turned and left the two of them alone.
They looked at each other before making their way to the elevator, both unsure of how this was going to work
-
Peyton and Brooke were finally ready for bed; Peyton walked out of the bathroom and got in beside Brooke. Brooke finally hung up the phone and got comfortable in bed.
"So what's tomorrow schedule? Peyton asked as she turned the lamp on her side off.
"I told the girls to be up by nine and in the practice room by 12, which gives them enough time to wake up and eat breakfast. You and I on the other hand have to be up by seven" Peyton let out a groan.
"Why?" Brooke chuckled as she turned her lamp off as well.
"Because I have a romantic breakfast planned for us" That got a smile from Peyton.
"Oh, then I don't mind getting up" Brooke smiled as she snuggled closer to Peyton.
"I though you wouldn't" Brooke leaned down and kissed her before they drifted into a peaceful sleep.
-
The next morning a loud ringing noise woke Peyton up, at first she thought it was the alarm but soon she realized that it was the phone. It was confirmed when she heard Brooke pick it up.
"Hello" Brooke asked in a hushed voice, her voice was clear so Peyton knew that she had been up for a while. "Hey Haley, no it's fine…Are you serious? Is Nathan going to be okay with that? Better question, is Lucas going to survive that?" That caught Peyton's attention, she quickly opened her eyes. "Yeah, we'll meet you two before practice…Yeah…See you Hales" Brooke hung the phone up with a sigh.
"What's going on Brooke?" Brooke turned and smiled at Peyton.
"Whitey thought it would a good idea to put Lucas and Nathan in one room" Peyton almost let out a laugh at what could happen there.
"Are you serious?" Brooke nodded. "Is he waiting for that room to become a crime scene?" Brooke laughed.
"Apparently" Peyton sat up in the bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Go get ready for breakfast" Brooke lightly shoved Peyton.
"Fine, fine" She got up and headed to the bathroom.
-
The breakfast had been one of the most romantic things that Brooke has done for Peyton, she had called a head of time and asked them to have flowers put out and petals put all over the table. It was simple but held so much meaning and Peyton loved her for it.
They had met Haley and Nathan and talked Nathan into putting up with Lucas for the weekend, that basketball was Nathan's life and Lucas was a stupid reason to lose all that for. Nathan agreed and said he would try his best to be civil, but if Lucas crossed the line he wasn't going to make any promises.
Nathan left to get some basketball practice in with the team and Brooke and Peyton went to meet their own team for practice as well, Haley joined. When they got there Peyton thought Brooke was going to blow up when she saw Rachel in the practice room, but to her surprise and everyone else's, she stayed calm and practice began.
During practice Brooke became a drill sergeant, it seemed that all her aggression to Rachel being there came out in her orders. The girls were tired and needed a break, but Brooke wasn't letting up.
"Alright, I want to try the pyramid once more and this time Teresa, keep it stable at the top. I am not going to lose points because of that" Teresa rolled her eyes but climbed to the top.
Once she was at the top she balanced herself out before standing straight, once she did she raised her hand to start the cheer when someone in the pyramid lost their balance and it crumbled, Teresa landed badly on her arm. Everyone was quick to check on her.
"Oh God, my arm is killing me" Brooke looked at her arm and knew something was wrong right away.
"Come with me, we have to take you to a health room now" Teresa stood back up with Brooke's help and walked out of the room.
"What happens if Teresa can't compete?" Peyton looked at Rachel and then everyone else before answering her question.
"We are forced to forfeit, there has to be a certain number of cheerleaders on each side" Peyton sat down on the stage and hung her head, the only thought going through her mind was that Brooke was going to be so devastated if they had to forfeit.
Almost an hour and a half later Brooke walked back into the room, no Teresa in site. Peyton only had to take one look at Brooke to know this wasn't good. Brooke walked over to them and stopped in front of the stage.
"Teresa broke her arm in 3 places, she had to go to the hospital and from there she's going home. We're down a cheerleader, which means we don't have the required amount of people on our squad. We're forced to forfeit, so go and do whatever you want. Everyone is free for the rest of the weekend" Brooke began to walk away.
"Wait, what if someone subs for Teresa" Rachel suggested as she kept her eyes on Brooke.
"We don't have any subs" Brooke said, her voice sounded tired, as she turned slowly to face Rachel.
"What if I sub in for Teresa?" Brooke let out a laugh.
"Yeah, like that's going to happen" Before Brooke could completely dismiss the idea, Peyton spoke up.
"That's actually not a bad idea Brooke" Brooke looked at Peyton in both shock and hurt.
"If we can just ad people then I want Tutor Girl instead" Brooke pointed to Haley but kept her eyes on Peyton.
"Tutor Girl can't dance the way Rachel can" Haley said and Brooke saw some of her squad nodding in agreement.
"She's right" Peyton spoke up again. "Rachel can move"
"You would know" Bitterness laced Brooke's words and hurt flashed through Peyton's eyes.
"You're being stupid" Brooke turned her eyes back to Rachel. "I'm giving you a way to not forfeit the competition"
"I don't want you on my squad!" Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"It's not just your squad and this is not just your decision to make" Brooke let out a sarcastic laugh at Peyton's words.
"I'm captain remember, I get final say" Peyton shook her head and got off the stage, she stepped closer to Brooke.
"Co-Captain, I get a say too" Brooke shook her head at Peyton. "Whoever wants Rachel on the squad raise your hand" Brooke moved her eye from Peyton and to the squad, slowly she saw the hands go up. Brooke turned her eyes back to Peyton. "She's good Brooke; she's going to help us win"
"Fine, you guys want her on the squad so badly fine" Brooke said to the squad and then she whispered to Peyton. "You want her so bad, you can have her" Brooke turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
"She's the one that calls this practise and she leaves" Bevin's voice held anger.
"She'll be back, she just needs to cool off" Peyton turned back to Rachel. "You need to learn the routine" Rachel nodded.
-
Peyton was in the elevator on her way back to her room, she had been wrong Brooke didn't come back to practice and right now she had no idea where Brooke was. She opened the door to her hotel room and was glad to see Brooke sitting there; bottle of tequila in hand.
"Where did you get the tequila?" Peyton closed the door and placed her hands on to her hips.
"Dim" Brooke kept her eyes away from Peyton and downed the last bit of alcohol left in the bottle.
"Wanna talk about what happened earlier today?" Brooke shook her head.
"Not much to talk about" Brooke put the tequila bottle down and stood up.
"Well you're here, so maybe we should talk it out" Peyton stepped further into the room.
"Actually you caught me on my way out" Brooke bent down and lifted her bag.
"Where are you going?" Hurt was evident in Peyton's voice and if Brooke hadn't drank as much as she did she would have stayed back and pulled Peyton into her arms telling her she was sorry.
"Don't worry about it" Brooke brushed past Peyton and opened the door, she walked out and Peyton was quick to follow her. She grabbed Brooke's wrist in an attempt to stop her, but Brooke pulled her wrist back. "Don't come after me" Peyton watched as Brooke walked away before walking back into her room.
Peyton paced the room for a while before grabbing Brooke's tequila bottle and smashing it against a wall, there was a knock on the connecting door Peyton slowly walked up to it and opened it. Found Rachel on the other side.
"Are you okay?" Peyton shook her head.
"No, but I really don't want to talk about it" With that Peyton closed the door and tossed herself on to the bed. This weekend was turning out a lot worse that she thought it would.
-
The next morning came and Peyton hoped that Brooke would talk to her before the competition, it was the first time in a long time that Brooke wasn't beside her when she went to sleep and Peyton did not like the feeling. However, she was not going to take the complete fall for this, she did what she thought would be good for the team it wasn't fair that Brooke was taking it out on her.
Right now they had to head to the gym to see the Ravens play and that's where Peyton hoped to talk to Brooke.
"Brooke Davis?" Peyton looked up when she heard Brooke's name. "Brooke Davis?" Peyton looked around and began to wonder why Brooke wasn't answering.
Peyton saw Haley make her way over to Whitey and tell him something, she could see that Whitey was hesitant about whatever Haley told him but he nodded and Haley made her way back over to Nathan. When everyone started to head for the bus Peyton made her way to Haley.
"What's wrong with Brooke?" Worry laced Peyton's voice.
"Nothing's wrong, she just doesn't want to be at the game" Haley said with a small shrug.
"Why?" Peyton saw hesitation in Haley's eyes and knew exactly why. "Because of me right, because of that stupid fight?"
"She was pretty upset last night" Peyton shook her head anger in her eyes.
"She's something else, I don't need this crap from her" Peyton moved in front of Haley and walked into the bus.
The game had gone great; Lucas and Nathan had actually managed to work together. Nathan made it very clear to Lucas that off the court nothing changed between them.
Right now the girls are in the competition room, they were all ready to throw up from how nervous they felt. They aren't so nervous about the competition; they know they're good and Brooke had thought them a great routine even if she wasn't there for most of practice, they're nervous because everyone was accounted for except Brooke. If Brooke didn't show up by the time they had to go on, they would have to forfeit.
Peyton had tried calling her 100 times and then told some of the other girls to do it, thinking that maybe she wasn't answering because it was Peyton that called. Well that didn't go as planned.
"She's not in the room" Haley said as she approached the girls.
"How can she do this to you guys?" Rachel said with disappointment. "I thought she loved cheerleading"
"She does" All eyes turned to Peyton. "She'll be here"
"Who're you trying to convince, us or yourself?" Peyton wasn't sure how to answer Rachel, she knew Brooke better than anybody and cheerleading meant the world to Brooke but she was one of the most stubborn people Peyton knew.
"She'll be here" Peyton said once more.
"Of course I'll be here" Peyton turned when she heard Brooke's voice behind her. "I would never miss this" Peyton gave Brooke a smile, but it wasn't returned.
"Where were you?" Peyton asked, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice.
"I was clearing my head" Brooke finally glanced at Peyton.
"Yeah? Well clearing your head almost cost us the competition" Brooke rolled her eyes and Peyton felt anger serge through her because of it.
"I don't know what you're freaking out about, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't even be on this squad you hate cheerleading" Peyton crossed her arms and gave Brooke a small shrug.
"Doesn't mean that I'm going to let these girls lose on something they've worked hard on because of your insecurities" Peyton wasn't stupid; she knew why Brooke was being the way she was and now she made it clear to Brooke as well. Although, Peyton did regret saying the words when hurt flashed in Brooke's eyes, but she only regretted it for a moment.
"Whatever, let's just get this over with" Brooke turned away from Peyton and moved to the front of the squad.
"Next up we have the Tree Hill Cheerleaders!" The announcer called and the girls ran on to the mat.
The routine began and it went great Brooke felt confident for her squad; they're waiting on the side right now awaiting the winner of the Sparkle Classic Award.
"And for first place…" Peyton automatically reached out for Brooke's hand, she started to interlock their fingers when Brooke pulled away. Peyton looked at Brooke in a mix of shock, hurt and anger but Brooke kept her eyes straight ahead. "The Bear Creek Worriers!" Brooke hung her head.
"If you had stayed during practice we might have won" Rachel hisses, Peyton was about to say something when Brooke shocked them all.
"You're right" Brooke looked at Rachel.
"What?" Rachel couldn't believe her ears.
"You're right, I should have stayed and because I didn't you guys suffered…I'm sorry guys" Rachel felt bad saying the words, not realizing that Brooke would feel the effects of what she did.
"And the winner of best choreographed routine goes to…Brooke Davis!" The squad looked at Brooke with smiles and Brooke was in complete shock.
"Brooke, that's you" Peyton lightly shoved her, out of the emotion of the moment Brooke turned to Peyton and pulled her into a hug, bu when Peyton leaned in to kiss her Brooke turned her cheek; their eyes locked for a second before she ran over to the judge and took the trophy.
-
Peyton made her way over to Brooke, who was packing the last bit of cheerleading things into Peyton's car.
"Ready to go?" Peyton asked when she stepped beside Brooke.
"I'm not riding home with you" Brooke said softly as she closed Peyton's trunk.
"What?" Peyton didn't hide the anger in her voice. "Why?"
"I just can't be around you right now" Brooke began to walk away but Peyton grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Ride home with me and we can talk this out" Brooke shook her head and roughly pulled her wrist away form Peyton.
"I don't want to talk about it, not right now at least" Peyton rolled her eyes.
"So now our relationship is based on when you want to do things? So you get to decide when we talk things out, break up, make up it's up to you?" Brooke was about ready to tear her hair out.
"Damn it Peyton!" Peyton almost flinched at Brooke's voice. "I need to walk away from you other wise I'll say something that we'll both regret and that'll be the end of this relationship" Peyton felt her heart clench at the thought of them breaking up.
"So what, you're giving me 4 hours alone to think about this? There's no way we can work this out on the way back home?" Brooke shook her head.
"I just can't talk to you right now and you don't have to be alone for 4 hours, take Rachel with you" Brooke pointed to an approaching Rachel. "Since you like being around her so much" Peyton looked over her shoulder at Rachel before turning back to Peyton.
"Fine, we'll talk when we get home" Peyton was about to get into her car but Brooke's words stopped her.
"Not going to be home, I'm staying somewhere else tonight" Peyton looked at Brooke from the corner of her eyes.
"Fine, whatever" Peyton got into her car and started it up, Brooke and Rachel both walked away.
On their way to the bus Brooke looked at Rachel with a glare.
"Don't look at me like that, it's not my fault you're about to ruin the best thing that ever happened to you" Rachel used Brooke's words against her before stepping a head of her.
Brooke looked over at Peyton's car once more before she continued to walk to the bus.
-
Peyton finally made it home, Brooke's car wasn't there and suddenly the severity of their fight became all too real. Peyton knew that Brooke got home before her because she had gotten stuck at the school having to have put all the cheerleading things back in the gym.
Peyton walked into their bedroom and sat down on Brooke's side, she felt the tears start to build at the thought of what they had ending. She looked over at the picture of them on the night side table, she reached over and put it face down.