Brooke felt herself melt against him and was lost in the kiss. She'd never experienced anything like it before; she was always the aggressor... Both their breathing came out in ragged gasps when Jake backed away from her. "Well that was new..."

Brooke opened her eyes and just stared at him for a moment. "I have to go."

"Wait, Brooke!" Brooke was almost at the front door when Jake grabbed her arm and spun her around. Brooke wrenched her arm from his grasp and backed away.

"Don't touch me."

"Okay." Jake said holding up his hands in a sign of peace. "I won't touch you again... Unless you ask me to." Brooke glared at him and turned to leave again. When Jake laughed. "Wait Brooke. I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean any of that... Well I meant to kiss you, but everything else..."

"I meant what I said." Brooke said. "I'm not just going to stand around and let you take out your moods on me."

"I know." Jake agreed. "And you shouldn't have to."

Brooke looked at him standing there with that puppy dog look on his face. "I have to go."

"How are you going to get home Brooke?"

Brooke stared at him as if he were stupid for a second before realizing her car was in a field hours away. "Shit..."

"I'll give you a ride."

Brooke nodded stiffly. "Thank you."

Brooke hardly talked to anyone for the next few days, when she didn't show up for cheerleading practice two days in a row people began to wonder.

She was sitting in English class studiously taking notes when Peyton decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. When Brooke asked the teacher to go to the washroom Peyton made her move. She stood up without saying a word and followed her once best friend out the door. She grimaced as she entered the washroom and heard someone throwing up. "Brooke?"

"Go away." Came a weak response from the corner stall.

Peyton made her way to the stall and jimmied the door open. What she saw pulled at her heart. Brooke, white as a ghost, was lying on the floor next to the toilet. "Oh Brooke..." She was amazed that the opinionated redhead let her hold her hair back as she started to retch again.

Neither of them said anything as Brooke cleaned herself up, nor did they say anything to one another as the routine continued for the next two weeks. Finally it was too much for Peyton to take. "What's going on Brooke?"

Brooke looked at Peyton and broke down. All the emotions and secrets were starting to kill her.

Peyton led Brooke to her car and let her cry as she drove from the school. She parked about an hour later on a secluded section of beach. Neither one of them spoke for several minutes. "What's going on Brooke?" Peyton repeated her earlier question. Brooke remained stubbornly silent. "Listen Brooke. I'm sorry, okay? I made a mistake, I should have thought about you, but I was being selfish. Lucas was there; I needed someone to comfort me... I'm so sorry."

Brooke didn't look at the blonde until she heard a sniffle. "Are you crying Peyton?"

Peyton tried to hide her tears from Brooke to no avail "No."

"Look Peyton, I can't just forget what you did to me. It hurt so much that the two people I cared about most in the world would betray me like that."

"I know-"

"You don't know!" Brooke interrupted "Because I would never have done that to you."

Peyton looked at Brooke seriously. "What's going on with you and Jake?"

"He's helping me."

"Helping you?" Brooke nodded "With what?"

Brooke looked away. "I'm pregnant."

"What?"

"I'm pregnant."

"You and Jake?"

"God no!" Brooke laughed, "I wish."

Peyton's eyes widened in realization "Lucas." Brooke nodded.

"And that's all that's going on between the two of you?"

"I don't know." Brooke answered honestly. Peyton nodded and looked toward the ocean. "You want him, don't you?"

"Who? Jake?" Brooke nodded "I don't know. I did."

"And now?"

"I don't want to ruin your chances at happiness again."

"We both deserve it." Peyton nodded.

"Are we friends again?"

"I think so."

"So... I can help you with this baby thing?"

Brooke laughed. "I need all the help I can get."

Peyton smiled at her and put her car into reverse. They didn't speak again until they were almost back at school. "So why are you avoiding Jake?"

"Avoiding Jake?" Brooke asked, "What do you mean?"

"As a recipient of your avoidance techniques I recognize the signs Brooke."

"He kissed me."

"What?" Peyton screeched. "When?"

"After that fight he had with Lucas a while back."

"What happened?" Peyton was relieved to find she wasn't as hurt as she thought she'd be. Jake would be good for Brooke, and while it did hurt now it would pass. She wasn't going to lose Brooke over a boy, again.

"We were screaming at each other in his living room and then he went all PMS-y and ran to his room. He cracked his doorframe when he slammed his door."

"Whoa."

"I know." Brooke said.

"I've never seen Jake mad before."

"He looked hot." Peyton started laughing at Brooke's admission and Brooke cracked a smile, it was good to be able to share some of the stuff that had been driving her crazy for the past few weeks. "Anyway," she continued when Peyton had settled down. "I followed him, I wasn't going to take that shit from him." Peyton nodded. "So I get to his room, give him a piece of my mind, and wham. He kissed me."

Peyton smirked at her "Was it good?"

Brooke smirked back. "You have no idea."