Peyton didn't even bother to wait to be invited in. As soon as Brooke opened the door, the tall blonde burst through it, arms flailing as she was furious.

"Where is that slime bucket?" she demanded.

"You mean, Felix?"

"Who else?" Peyton huffed.

"Would it be impolite of me to wish that he's floating face down in the Hudson right about now? If so, I have no idea where he is and I really don't care as long as he's not here. What did he do now?"

"He came by pissing and moaning about being overworked, of all things, and asked for my help. Like a dumb ass, I agreed to help out with some of the stuff on your site. Now, with all the publicity in the world riding on this, I cannot locate your mystery date."

Brooke rolled her eyes. She was still pissed about Felix's scheme.

"Good. I didn't want to go anyway."

"That's not the point. You kind of have to, thanks to Felix, just like I kind of have to find the guy…and I can't. It's like he doesn't exist. He signed up with fake contact info and he won't respond to any e-mails we send him. And his name? Well, it's kind of hard scouring the country looking for someone with the first name, Deez, and the last name, Nuts. How clever, huh?"

"Oh, it's just as well. Like I said, I wasn't exactly thrilled about going anyway. And if it falls through, then it serves Felix right for even thinking of the harebrained scheme in the first place."

"Screw Felix but Brooke this will hurt you as well. This damned thing has been pretty pumped up. Just like that stupid Tad Hamilton movie, everyone wants to see the beautiful actress with the mystery guy. If it falls through, it won't look good for you."

"What else is new?" Brooke shrugged. "Story of my pathetic life as of late. I don't think career and image wise, it could get any worse. You know I overheard some of the writers discussing having my 'evil twin' come and pull Savannah's life support plug. How fabulous is that? They're not even going to kill me off gracefully."

"It'll be okay", Peyton sighed. "You worry too much. I worry too much. Felix doesn't worry enough or think, unfortunately. Anyway, I've got to get out of here."

"Off to find Deez Nuts?" Brooke smirked.

"Oh yeah", Peyton rolled her eyes.

"Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll need it. Oh and by the way, have you been on the site lately?"

"Lately?" Brooke scoffed. "Try never."

"You mean, you've never been on your own website?"

"No. Who has time for that anyway? Besides, I already know my own favorite color and food."

"Image, image, image. I thought we working on the new and improved nice Miss Brooke Davis."

"Sorry", Brooke shrugged. "Slip of the tongue, force of habit."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, instead of pacing around and worrying about your character's possible tragic demise, why don't you check out the sight? I have to admit, Deez Nuts wrote a nice poem. You should check it out."

"Peyton, I don't even know how to turn that stupid machine on", Brooke lied.

"Here, let me help you…"

With a few clicks, the computer was up and running. Rats, Brooke thought. She was running out of excuses.

"Have fun. Now please excuse me while I try and solve this world crisis."

"You are most definitely the Secretary of my State", Brooke winked.

"And don't you forget it. By the way, if you see Felix's sorry ass, tell him I am going to absolutely snatch him out of his crusty little socks the next time I see him", Peyton yelled back as she was leaving.

Brooke smiled and waved as she took a seat in front of the computer. She began surfing her own site, some of her prettier modeling photos actually brought a smile to her face. Normally it would be one hell of an ego booster but Felix on her nerves, a job in jeopardy and Savannah still on the respirator, had taken its toll on Brooke and her usually cheery moods. As much as she loved looking at and talking about herself, she was still down in the dumps.

After browsing for a while, she found herself at the dreaded contest portion. Yuck, she thought as she clicked on Lonely Boy's poem. It was short, just a few simple words that he had rhymed together but it unexpectedly touched her in a way. Brooke was taken aback. It was weird. It was intriguing. Was he actually talking to her? Obviously the meaning was much deeper than it appeared to be.

Who was Lonely Boy? Where did he come from? What did his words mean? And why had he written a poem for her contest yet entered false information so that he couldn't be contacted. If his ploy was to get her attention, he had succeeded but why had he entered the contest in the first place.

"Forget it, Davis", Brooke said to herself out loud. "This is so stupid. Be glad we can't find Lonely Boy or Deez Nuts or whatever the hell he's calling himself. He's a probably a psycho, stalker, serial killer, with dead animal carcasses stuffed underneath the boards in his floor."

Lonely Boy may very well have been all those things but Brooke was still curious. She wanted to know something…anything. Contemplating what to do next, she began typing on the keys.

Dear Fans,

Thank you so, so much for your lovely interest in my site and in the poetry contest. All of you were fantastic but there could only be one winner and that of course, was Lonely Boy. Unfortunately, Lonely Boy, has yet to claim his prize…me. So if you're out there, please contact the webmaster or respond to our e-mails so we can congratulate you on a job well done.

Until next time…

Brookie

Brooke entered the message, then signed off, not quite sure why she had done it. Maybe a little personal touch would convince the mystery writer to come forward. As sad as it was, what else did she have to look forward to? The lying, stealing boyfriend and manager who was slowly but surely ruining her life and career? Or the job where she got to lie motionless on a bed for a few minutes everyday, all the while contending with everyone's whispering and gossiping about her?

Maybe Lonely Boy was right. Maybe he was seeing something no one else did. Regardless, she was intrigued and his words had somehow gotten to her. She wasn't all that keen about going on a publicity induced date with a total stranger, Brooke just wanted to know about the person who had seemed to peg her so well with just a few lines.