" Stand Beside Me " Pt Five - Houseguest
The next morning, Peyton awoke feeling rested and better than she had in several months. She felt the warm morning sunlight on her face and stretched her arms upward. She silently wished every morning would be this good. The whole house seemed quiet as she threw on a bathrobe over her tank top and shorts and stepped out into the hallway.
A glance at the clock on the wall told her it was nearly nine and she figured that Brooke was probably sleeping in as usual. She slowly made her way into the kitchen and looked through the windows at the roaring ocean. The sight was amazing, large white crested waves hitting the shore line as sea gulls flew overhead.
The sudden craving for coffee sent Peyton on a search through the kitchen cabinets. She found several canned foods and a box of cereal, but no coffee. She opened the refridgerator and found nothing of substance to suit her there.
As if an answer to a prayer, Brooke walked into the kitchen holding two grocery bags and two cups of coffee. Peyton smiled and hurried to help her with the bags, putting them down on the counter and eagerly snatching a cup.
" I figured you couldn't make it through the morning without your java. " Brooke said.
" You know me too well Brooke. " Peyton said between sips.
" I got a few things we could snack on, but the main cash flow was scarce so it's not that much. " Brooke said as she began unloaded items from the brown bags.
" Well if you would have woke me up we could have went together. I've got my ATM card with me and Dad wires me money through there all the time. " Peyton explained.
" I didn't want to wake you, you looked like you could use the rest. " Brooke replied with a smile.
" I'm not sure if that's an insult or something sweet. " Peyton joked.
" Take it however you want. Bottom line is that you needed the peaceful rest. " Brooke said.
" You always take such good care of me. " Peyton said with sarcasm.
" That's what I'm here for. " Brooke replied with a smug grin.
" And why exactly are both of you here? " a sudden voice said.
Brooke and Peyton turned quickly to see a young man standing in the kitchen door. He was tall and good looking, with dark hair and green eyes. He had a look of question on his face and didn't look too happy with the the two girls.
" Carson, um hi. " Brooke said with a sheepish grin on her face.
" Need I remind you Brooke that this place isn't yours anymore. " The man Brooke called Carson said.
" Well my friend and I needed a place to crash on our little vacation. " Brooke said.
" You know my dad would freak if he knew you were crashing here. " Carson said. He stepped forward into the kitchen and crossed his arms over his chest. Peyton couldn't help but notice how muscular Carson appeared to be.
" I don't think he'd really have a problem with it to be honest " Brooke said with a laugh. Peyton smiled at the inside joke and then noticed the look of disgust on Carson's face.
" Oh God, are you sleeping with him? " He asked.
" Um has hell frozen over Carson? " Brooke asked with sarcasm.
" You never know with you Brooke. " Carson said smugly.
" I'm not that desperate Carson, I didn't sleep with you. " Brooke snapped.
" Would that be because you were chasing after that Scott guy? " Carson asked.
" Ancient history Carson, you should really keep up with the Tree Hill gossip if your parents insist on living there during the summer. " Brooke quipped.
" Carson it's really all my fault that we're here. " Peyton said. She decided to break up the banter and just confess to her crimes.
" And you would be? " Carson asked.
" Peyton Sawyer, Brooke's friend. " Peyton introduced. Carson smiled and nodded his head at her.
" Oh my God, you've been here two seconds and you're already flirting. " Brooke said with anger.
" Relax Vapid One, I'm just trying to be nice. " Carson said giving Brooke a cocky grin.
" I talked Brooke into this roadtrip and we really couldn't afford to stay in motels all the time. " Peyton explained.
" Well there is plenty of room here, I'm sure we could work something out. " Carson said.
" I'm not sleeping with you Carson! " Brooke said.
" Please Brooke, I'm not that bad. I can contain myself around you. " Carson fired back.
" Okay people, too your corners! " Peyton said trying to make a joke. Carson and Brooke glared at one another for several seconds and finally parted, each to one side of the kitchen.
" I'm so sorry he showed up. " Brooke said later in the afternoon as she and Peyton were laying out on the beach.
" It is his house Brooke. " Peyton said. She closed her eyes and felt the warmth of the sun heat her face.
" And it doesn't hurt that he's a total ass either. " Brooke murmured.
" I think you have a thing for him. " Peyton said absentmindedly.
" You what? " Brooke yelled. She bolted up and glared at Peyton.
" Geez, don't have a heart attack! " Peyton said. She rolled her eyes and leaned up onto her elbows.
" I do not like Carson Masters! " Brooke said.
" You usually enjoy the flirty banter, remember Felix? " Peyton said, hoping to remind her friend of a former relationship which had started that way.
" Yeah and that worked out so well. " Brooke replied.
" There's nothing wrong if you do like Carson. " Peyton said.
" Actually I think he likes you. " Brooke said.
" He was just being nice. " Peyton retorted.
" You may be a giant lesbo now, but you can still bring the boys in with that tortured soul of yours. " Brooke said with almost a hint of jeaoulsy in her voice.
" Let's just drop this one. " Peyton said.
" Fine. " Brooke replied. She laid back down on her beach towel and pushed her sunglasses down over her eyes.
Five minutes or so passed and Peyton noticed the sun had stopped beating down on her eyes. She opened them and looked up to see Carson standing above her. He grinned as she blinked.
" Hi. " He said.
" Hi. " Peyton replied.
" Carson can you leave? " Brooke asked as she slid her sunglasses up.
" It's my beach. " Carson said giving her a grin.
" Whatever, just don't bother us. " Brooke said as she rolled her eyes and laid back down.
" I was hoping that one of you ladies could rub some sun block on my back. " Carson said giving Peyton a look.
" No thank you. " Brooke snapped.
" What about you Peyton? Help a guy out? " Carson asked with a pleading look in his eyes.
" Sure. " Peyton said, she reached up and grabbed the bottle of sun block and sat up. Carson spread out a towel beside hers and sat down. He slowly pulled his red t-shirt over his shoulders and Peyton noticed that he was definatly muscled. She admired his body for half a second and then popped the top of the sun block, rubbing some lotion into her hands and then over on Carson's back.
" Thank you very much Peyton Sawyer. " Carson said when she had finished. He stood back up and smiled at her.
" You can go now. " Brooke said, motioning for him to leave.
" Anybody wanna join me for a dip? " Carson asked.
" Um well I think I'm going to get some more sun in before I go. " Peyton said. She laid back down.
" I'll go. " Brooke said suddenly. Peyton turned and made a face at her.
" If you're going to try and drown me, please just stay up here. " Carson joked.
" Shut up and walk Masters. " Brooke said. She jumped up and started walking towards the water. She turned back to give Peyton a look. Asking her to hurry without vocalizing it. Peyton grinned and closed her eyes, letting the sounds of the waves clear her mind.
A high shriek rang out and Peyton looked to see Carson picking Brooke up and tossing her into the ocean. She laughed as she saw Brooke come back up and punch Carson in the stomach. They continued to splash around and try to dunk each other for a couple of minutes and Peyton returned to her peaceful rest on the beach towel.
As night fell, Peyton was in the guest room changing into something to wear our that night. She and Brooke had reluctantly agreed to join Carson at some trendy club downtown. She had went searching throughout the closets and found a pair of leather pants that fit. She had packed one of her vintage t-shirts, a favorite that Brooke had bought for her sixteenth birthday. It was an old band shirt for The Clash and she adored it.
She messed with her hair for awhile before deciding on just wearing it down and then she left to go find Brooke. She found her in the living room on the couch with Carson standing over her. They seemed to be having a good time and she even thought she saw Brooke being a little flirty with him.
A pang of jealousy hit Peyton hard when she saw Brooke's beautiful smile and then Carson teasing her. Their banter had turned into flirting and even though she had originally pushed Brooke towards him, she now regretted it.
It didn't take them long to get into the club called "Nightshade" and they had Carson bring them some drinks from the bar. Peyton watched as several people her age moved about on the dance floor, swaying their bodies to some godawful Britney Spears remix.
" Drinks for my ladies! " Carson said. He sat three glasses of Long Island Ice Teas in the middle of the small black table and smiled.
" Mmmm, the only thing I like that ever came out of Long Island. " Brooke said as she took a sip of hers. Carson looked down at Brooke and extended his hand towards her.
" Care to dance Brooke? " He asked.
" You can dance? " Brooke asked.
" I can do all sorts of things. " He replied raising his eyebrows in a seductive fashion. Brooke laughed and got up off her chair.
" You should come too. " She said to Peyton.
" Oh no I'm going to finish my drink, you two go have fun. " Peyton replied as she took another long sip of her drink.
" Well hurry up then, I might need a new dance partner when I'm done with Carson. " Brooke joked. She took his hand and followed him in between the various people on the floor.
Peyton watched all the people dancing for awhile until she spotted Carson and Brooke again. He was moving behind her and she kept raising her hands up and sinking down and up in front of him to the music. Brooke was always good at the "sex" dance. Many a Tree Hill guy had secumbed to her wilds on the dance floor.
It was hard to not watch her beautiful friend prance around like she was doing and Peyton kept noticing as the lights hit her face and she could to see that amazing smile that Brooke had.
" She's cute. " a female voice from behind Peyton said. She turned around to see a very pretty Asian girl standing next to her.
" Yeah she's great. " Peyton replied, taking another drink.
" Is she your girl? " The asian girl asked.
" Oh no, we're just friends. " Peyton said.
" Good, then you can dance with me then. " The girl said with a smile.
" I'm not really dancing tonight. " Peyton replied.
" I'm Mia and yes you are dancing tonight. " The girl said. She smiled and reached her hand out, brushing up against Peyton's.
" I'm Peyton. " She said
" I really love this song. " Mia said. She made a little swish and pulled Peyton up.
Peyton found Mia attractive, she was very nice looking, with long blue streaks in her dark hair and a tiny body. She was wearing a purple halter top and leather pants.
" Okay I'll dance, but just once. " Peyton said finally giving in. Mia's brown eyes opened wide and a large smile spread across her face.
They both headed out onto the dance floor as the loud beats of the song pounded in Peyton's head. Mia twisted her body around as they found a space in a large group of people. She instantly began moving her body close to Peyton's and giving her seductive looks.
Peyton felt herself blush and she hardly moved at all. Mia took ahold of her hips and moved her back and forth, getting into the beat of the music. Peyton smiled and tried to get into it. She raised her hands and moved them around, swaying forward and backward to the rythmn of the song. Mia laughed and stared to move herself closer and closer towards Peyton.
Across the dance floor, Brooke found herself having a good time with Carson. She had always thought he was cute, but his attitude was a big turn off. She had seen a new side of him today though. He was actually pretty fun when that stick up his ass had fallen out she thought. He also wasn't that bad of a dancer on top of it all.
Brooke looked over towards the table where they had been sitting and noticed that Peyton was not there.
" So you never told me that your friend Peyton was into girls. " Carson said. Brooke turned and looked at him.
" Why do you say that? " She asked.
" Well she seems to be having a pretty good time with that girl over there that she's dancing with. " He said as he pointed towards a corner of the dance floor near the stage.
Brooke looked and saw Peyton dancing close to an asian girl with blue streaks in her hair. They were both smiling and Peyton actually looked like she was enjoying herself. They moved closer and closer as the music roared and she saw the asian girl move her hand up onto Peyton's thigh. Peyton obviously didn't mind as she tossed her blonde curls back and laughed.
" What the hell? " Brooke mumbled. She felt like she wasn't in control of herself as she started to move across the dance floor and towards Peyton. She started dancing along and moved close to Peyton and the asian chick.
" Mind if I cut in? " She asked as she moved in between the two girls. Peyton looked shocked for a second and then gave her a confused look.
" Brooke what are you doing? " She asked.
" Dancing with you. " Brooke replied with a smile.