Chapter Six

I didn't regret it. I'd given up regret a year previously when I'd gone after a second chance with Lucas and he'd slept with Brooke.

Lucas dropped Haley off at our house after Tric.

"Was he there?" I asked as she came in through the door.

"No. Everyone else on the planet was though. Karen asked after you-she was worried about you," said Haley. Behind her words I detected a slight sense of annoyance-Karen was my mother figure. She used to be that to Haley-did Haley resent that?

"Not as worried as she was about you, I'm sure," I said. Haley laughed.

"God, she almost suffocated me. I missed her too," she said.

"I guess the all ages club is kind of obsolete, now that we're all eighteen," I said.

"Hey, I'm not" she said defensively. I laughed. "What?"

"It's just funny that you're like the only one who isn't eighteen yet and you're internationally know and you have two albums out and you have two apartments and a house," I said. She giggled.

"That is weird," she admitted.

"So what about your parents? I guess they were worried too?" I asked as we walked inside as she sat on the couch-I didn't want to sit there.

"Oh, they're all over the place. I've seen them a couple of times since I left here. What are you doing down here? Where's Jake?" she asked, noticing the time on the clock on the wall.

"Well, we had sex. Then we talked and now he's up there and I'm down here," I said, grimacing. I'd lain in bed beside him until he'd fallen asleep and then gotten up again.

"And..?" she asked. She looked worried for my sake.

"Tomorrow," I said dully. She reached for my hand.

"Oh my God," she said. A lot of people had been saying that lately.

"I know. This time tomorrow…" I said, laughing grimly.

"Actually tomorrow is today-it's two a.m. So are you going down to city hall or something?" she asked. I glanced at her and noticed her twirling her wedding ring.

"No, a church. He's catholic. Want to come? You and Luke and Brooke and Nathan, I guess. And Karen, and Jake's parents," I recited. She giggled.

"Well, it's a lot more than we had," she said.

"I have to go get him a ring," I said suddenly. She yawned.

"Yeah. Um, can I crash here?" she asked. I cringed.

"Of course, but maybe not there," I said. She narrowed her eyes.

"Why?"

"Well remember how I told you about me and Jake having sex?" I asked. She nodded before realization came to her.

"Ew! Ew, ew, ew!" she sprang up and I dodged the hand she aimed at my head. I laughed-my loud donkey laugh.

"Remember when Brooke and Felix did it in your bed?" I asked her. She nodded and laughed as Jenny began to wale. She cast me a guilty look before I ran upstairs and into our room.

Jake was a light sleeper, but he wasn't awake when I ran into the room and headed for Jenny's crib. She was beginning to scream, and trying to climb out of her crib. I picked her up and held her against me, whispering soothing noises. Her crying gradually moved from pure hysteria to exhausted sobbing. I could feel her wet face on my neck.

"Want me to take over?" he asked softly, reaching for her. How could anyone have slept through that?

"No, it's okay. She's calming down," I said. As I spoke I put her experimentally back down in her crib. She lay back down, still whimpering quietly.

"Shh. Good girl," he said comfortingly. He'd had her at sixteen but he was an incredible father. Even before I'd come along he'd managed fine.

"You know how incredible I think you're being, right? By agreeing to do this? It's an incredible large thing to give," he said. I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. I couldn't find more words to say. He kissed the top of my head before climbing back into bed.

The next morning he was gone. I figured he was at school-I'd mostly forgotten that school existed. Then I wondered if he'd bothered-was he psyching himself up, or merely abiding with tradition?

I looked forward to the whole day in bed but Haley and Brooke swooped down on me.

"Get up," Haley ordered. I frowned at her and burrowed under my covers.

"We're going shopping," added Brooke. She found my hand and tried to pull me up. "God I miss your twig days. Whatever happened to your waistline?" she asked. I scowled at her.

"I think Haley stole it," I grumbled.

"Up up up!" said Haley cheerily, pulling away my duvet. I sprang up to try and take it back. "Well, now you're up! Go shower, get changed. We're going to the mall."

They were making themselves comfortable in my kitchen when I appeared, my hair still drying on my shoulders. Brooke squealed once she saw me.

"So what do you think, Tutor Girl? Up or down?" she asked Haley. Haley considered. After Brooke began to fiddle with my hair, I understood what I mean.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked. Malls, hairdos?

"Dude, you're getting married today," clarified Haley.

"No. Well yeah, but not really. I mean I'll probably go in jeans," I said. Brooke laughed.

"Nu-uh. Okay, mall time now. Come one, Haley's credit card," she said cheerily. They dragged me to Brooke's care. I was lucky, really, to have friends as good as them when I was being such an awful friend.

"No, it looks too small. And what about this one?" wondered Brooke, peering into display at the jewelry store. I peered, too. As far as I could tell it was exactly the same.

"Brooke they're the same. That one's good," I said, pointing to the first, 'too small' one. She shook her head.

"No, this one's all ornate," she said. I peered down and noticed etchings on the second ring she'd pointed out.

"Simple's good. This one. Let's just wrap it up and get out," I said, leaning against the counter and sighing. They'd already argued over gold wedding bands for three quarters of an hour.

"This one, Miss?" asked the assistant. He wasn't what I'd expected-he was tall and square shouldered. He had large, square, hands. Suddenly an idea struck me.

"Excuse me-could you do me a favour? Could you um try that ring on?" I asked. He looked confused, but compiled. "It is comfortable? Cut off circulation?"

"No miss," he said.

"Okay, we'll take it," I said.

"An engraving perhaps? Anything else?" he pressed.

"Nothing. How much?" I asked, reaching for my credit card.

"Someone's in a very unshoppy mood," accused Brooke as we left the store.

"How did you do this?" I suddenly asked Haley.

"It was easy. I got changed and then I went there and he was looking so hot and so reliable and I just thought 'this is it', so I was good," she said. I wondered if Nathan was yet aware that his wife was back in town.

"I wish I was like that. So can we go home now?" I asked. Haley laughed and linked her arm with mine.

"Like hell. Look," she instructed. I glanced in the display of the store in front of us.

"No. So not necessary," I grumbled.

"Oh, yes," she said, pulling me in.

"This one would look lovely on you. Or this one? Or maybe the strapless?" said a forward assistant helpfully. We were in a sea of white satin and bustling attendants.

"Oh, get this one," said Brooke, looking at a slinky low cut dress.

"I don't care," I said honestly.

"Really dear! It's the most important day of your life! Here, try on this off the shoulder one," said the woman, pushing a dress at me.

The strapless one was too big. The next one was too bulky, the third too extravagant and the fourth too slutty.

"Makes you want to get married, doesn't it?" asked Brooke happily. Haley fixed her with a disbelieving stare. Brooke blushed and looked away.

"This is impossible!" I said as I flopped down on a sofa, still in the slutty dress. "White's not my colour and I hate trying on clothes."

"This one next," she said, shoving a simple one at me.

Sighing loudly I went back in to the small change room. This was ridiculous-I'd never find a wedding dress I wanted. I felt as though you needed excitement for a wedding to have excitement for a dress, and I didn't have excitement for the first and therefore not for the second.

I came out and leaned against the wall, folding my arms across my chest. Haley looked up and gasped, Brooke shrieked.

"That's it! Look, Peyton!" said Brooke excitedly. I turned to the mirrored wall and tried hard not to let my own gasp escape.

The dress was simple. It was strapless and showed cleavage, but was far from slutty. There was beading on the bodice, the beading getting more gradual as it reached the high waist. It went down from there without a crinoline but not slinkily and ended at my ankles. As Brooke had said my waist had thickened in the past year as I'd given up cheerleading and started eating more, but the dress worked well on my slightly curvier body.

"You look beautiful," said Haley, coming up behind me.

"Do you want a veil?" asked Brooke, joining her. I shook my head-the dress was enough. Suddenly the ring of Haley's cell phone interrupted our reverie. She answered it.

"This is Haley James Scott," she said. "What? No, red. Yeah, that's right. About thirty, I think." She wandered off and I looked at Brooke, puzzled. She shrugged with a puzzled expression that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Do you realize that in twelve hours I'll be the only none married girl of my closest friends? How mess up is that?" asked Brooke, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"Do you have a boyfriend right now?" I asked her. We hadn't talked about her in days.

"Not right now. Who is there?" she asked. Felix, her boyfriend had moved away months ago and she'd only had flings since. Lucas (and I as well) had hurt her badly enough to fear relationships.

"It doesn't have to be someone popular or gorgeous," I said, hinting.

"It always has been before," she said. Haley came back.

"Okay let's go pay, but I have to go soon," she said. I met her eyes through the mirror but she looked away.

"Okay," I said. We went and paid for my dress and a pair of white shoes. Almost as soon as we did, Haley ran off.

"What's up with her?" I asked Brooke. Brooke again answered with her unconvincing shrug.

"What are you guys planning?" I demanded.

"Nothing! But it's going to be awesome!" said Brooke excitedly as we reached my car and rode back.

She spent the rest of the afternoon fussing with my face hair and nails. She began with the nails-a French manicure. Then the hair which she pulled up, slid some combs into and then left a few of the blonde curls to dangle.

We drove to the church to finish off the job.

I grew apprehensive as muffled voices begin to fill the church-the same one Keith had almost married in, the one my parents had actually married in.

"How many people are here?" I asked Brooke as she carefully applied lip gloss. She shrugged unconvincingly.

"Like eight, right?" I asked. She nodded and plucked an eyebrow hair.

"Done! Okay, I have to go get changed. Um wear these, I'll come to get you in twenty minutes. Breath, honey. I love you," she said. I hugged her as she left, handing me a small package.

I unwrapped it slowly. Inside it I found a pair of earrings. Dangling, beautiful diamonds. They were familiar, as though I had seen a celebrity wear them. But more friendly than that somehow. It was after I had slid them into my ears and admired their affect that I realized.

They had been my mother's.

Of course I leaked tears at his point so instead of spending those twenty minutes calming down I spent them trying to fix my make up so Brooke wouldn't notice and freak out.

Brooke came back exactly when she said she would, as though she was abiding to a strict schedule. She handed me a bouquet of red and white roses, which I took from her and inhaled.

"You Dad gave them to Jake to give to you," she said, indicating the earrings. After a moment I noticed what she was wearing-a long, formal hyacinth blue dress. She looked beautiful and her hair was flowing and loose.

"Brooke, what's going on?" I asked. She took my wrist and took me to the door.

"You'll understand in a minute! Oh, why did Haley trust me remain quiet?" she asked. I stopped dead. "What?" she asked in slight annoyance.

"The ring! Where is it?"

"Don't worry! We took care of it! Come on!" she said. As we rounded a corner she sped ahead and I caught a glimpse of the wedding chapel and the people in it. And what Haley and Brooke were wearing.

Haley's secret was a good one.