2/2
NEW YORK
"The rise and fall of…Ms. Davis. How nice of you to join us this morning." The teacher said as Brooke walked through the door
"I wouldn't miss watching your hot ass teach." Brooke slurred sweetly
"Are you alright Ms. Davis?" The teacher asked as he walked up to her
"I, am great." Brooke smiled
"Is that alcohol on your breath?"
"Of course not." Brooke said, flashing her dimples
"Ms. Cooper." The teacher said turning to Faith. "You and Brooke are friends, right?"
"Yes sir." Faith confirmed
"Please escort your drunk friend here to the office. And don't get any ideas about sneaking her out without stopping by the office first, or you will both be suspended."
Faith stood up and put her arm around Brooke's waist to guide her out of the classroom. "Come on B."
Brooke giggled as she waved goodbye to the teacher and walked with Faith into the hallway. Faith led them to her locker, and made Brooke lean on one of the lockers for support.
"Brooke, what the fuck are you doing?" Faith asked as she dug through her locker
"Going to school. Duh." Brooke smiled as she leaned over and began rubbing Faith's back
Faith whipped around to face Brooke. "Stop." Faith slammed her locker shut. "Now come on. Time for you to explain why you lost your mind."
TREE HILL
Peyton hadn't felt like going to school the nest day, so she slept in. Sitting in her kitchen drinking some coffee, she jumped when the doorbell disturbed the silence. Walking to the door, she rolled her eyes when she saw who was standing there.
"Don't you know people in Tree Hill don't use doorbells?" Peyton laughed
"Well then I'm one of the polite ones left." Taylor said as she pushed Peyton aside. "Now scoot. I'm hungry."
Peyton chuckled as she began to shut the door, but she stopped when she noticed something lying on the porch. Picking it up, she realized it was an envelope. She opened it as she walked inside to join Taylor.
"What's that?" Taylor asked when Peyton came into the kitchen
"I have no clue." Peyton opened the letter and set the envelope on the counter
Peyton,
I figured I'd cut you a break from our little arrangement. Just consider it a thanks for the services you provided this week.
Rick
"I think I'm going to be sick." Peyton said after reading. "How does he even know where I live?"
"Hey Peyton." Taylor pulled out the rest of the envelope's contents
"Holy shit!" Peyton said as she walked over to and took the cocaine from Taylor
"How good of a fuck are you?" Taylor joked. "Oh wait, it's all coming back to me." Taylor said with a dreamy look on her face
"Tay!" Peyton examined the vile. "There's a lot in here."
"Ya think?" Taylor said sarcastically
"It would be a shame to put it to waste by flushing it." Peyton said slowly
"And it's wrong to refuse a gift." Taylor also added slowly, catching on to what Peyton was saying
"I do deserve this after all I went through this week."
"But staying clean is more worth it in the long run."
The two girls looked at each other. At the same time, they both spoke.
"Nah."
NEW YORK
"How much did you drink?" Faith huffed as she helped Brooke out of the taxi
"The rest of my vodka." Brooke answered. "Thank you Mr. Taxi Man!" She told the cab driver
Faith rolled her eyes. "Come on Brooke. Let's get you upstairs."
With her arm around Brooke's waist, Faith managed to get Brooke into the elevator and upstairs to Brooke's loft. Faith grabbed Brooke's keys from Brooke's purse, and unlocked the door.
"For some reason, you look really, really good today." Brooke said in a husky whisper
"Thanks."
Faith went to open the door, but was suddenly stopped by Brooke kissing her. Faith began kissing back, and Brooke pushed Faith back into the door.
The door suddenly flew open, making Brooke and Faith fly into the loft. They landed on the floor, with Brooke's body landing on top of Faith's. Both girls, shocked, looked up.
"Hello girls." Ellie said, hiding a smile
TREE HILL
"Syd! Wait up." Lucas said as he jogged up to his girlfriend
"What's up?" Sydney asked as she turned around to face Lucas
"You leaving?"
"Yeah. Peyton wasn't in the two classes we share in the morning, so I was going to go check on her."
"Have you talked to her at all recently?"
"A little bit yesterday. Why?"
"Brooke and Peyton broke up. She was over Haley's last night talking to her about it. She didn't look like she was taking it very well."
"Oh no. I had no clue." Sydney gave Lucas a quick kiss. "I'll call you later."
"Ok."
NEW YORK
"Mom!" Brooke said as she scurried up off of the floor
"Brooke. And Faith! What a surprise." Ellie said
"Mrs. Davis." Faith said as she stood also
"Is it not a school day?"
"It is. Brooke wasn't feeling well, so I came with her to make sure that she made it home ok." Faith semi-lied
"What are you doing home?" Brooke asked Ellie, trying to hide the fact that she was drunk
"I came home early because I haven't been feeling well, and I figured it was better for me to be sick at home instead of sick 1500 miles away." Ellie sniffed the air. "Do I smell alcohol?"
"No." Brooke lied quickly
Ellie leaned in and smelt Brooke. "Have you been drinking?"
Brooke closed her eyes. "A little."
Ellie turned to Faith. "Thanks for getting her home. I'll have her give you a call later."
"Ok." Faith nodded. She turned to Brooke. "Good luck." She whispered
Brooke smiled a little and gave Faith a quick kiss. "Thanks."
When Faith left, Brooke turned to her mother.
"Living room. Now." Ellie commanded
Ellie walked away, and Brooke groaned. This sucks.
TREE HILL
Peyton and Taylor were sitting in Peyton's living room, talking and laughing. They immediately stopped when they heard the front door open, and hurried to put the drugs away that were spread out all over the coffee table.
"Peyton? You home?" Sydney called out. She rounded the corner soon after. "Taylor. Hey." She said surprised
"Hey Syd. What are you doing here? Don't you have school?" Peyton asked
"Yes, and so do you. Or did you forget?" Sydney said, eyeing the other two girls suspiciously
"I didn't feel like going today." Peyton shrugged
"Didn't you have work this morning?" Sydney turned to Taylor
"Yeah, but not until 11." Taylor answered
"It's 12:30 Tay." Sydney scoffed
"Fuck!" Taylor jumped up from the couch, spilling the contents she was hiding in her lap. She looked up at Sydney, horrified.
Sydney stood, rooted to the ground in shock. "You were both doing coke, weren't you?"
"Syd-"
"Un-fucking-believable!" Sydney shook her head and walked away, and Peyton and Taylor flinched when they heard the front door slam
"Uh oh." Taylor muttered
NEW YORK
"You are grounded." Ellie said as soon as Brooke sat down
"Grounded? Are you kidding me?" Brooke stared at her mother, wide-eyed
"No! Going to school drunk? Are you out of your mind?" Ellie screamed
"Mother, chill! Jesus." Brooke said, putting a hand to her pounding head
"Chill? I come home to this, and you tell me to 'chill'?"
"I'm sorry, Mom. I had a bad couple days, and I needed something to help me through the day." Brooke explained
"I understand having a bad day, but drinking at school I do not."
"I didn't drink at school." Brooke clarified
"It doesn't matter! You can still get expelled!" Ellie threw up her hands in frustration
"I didn't get expelled, so will you please just calm down?"
"Why were you kissing Faith? I thought Peyton was your girlfriend." Ellie asked suddenly
"We broke up." Brooke said sadly
"When?" Ellie asked, surprised
"Couple days ago."
"Why?"
"She was sleeping with her drug dealer."
"Drug dealer?" Ellie gasped. "Peyton?"
"Yes Mother, Peyton." Brooke said bitterly
"So is, umm…Faith your new girlfriend?" Ellie asked uncomfortably
"No. Just a friend."
"That you kiss?"
"I don't know what we are Mom. All I know is that I'm not with Peyton anymore." Brooke said, frustrated
"I'm sorry Brooke." Ellie stood. "You go lay down. We can talk later."
"Ok." Brooke said as she walked into her room
TREE HILL
"Do you want to go after her, or should I?" Peyton asked Taylor
"Why don't we both go?" Taylor suggested
Peyton nodded. They grabbed their coats, and opened the front door. Sydney was sitting on the porch smoking a cigarette.
"Syd." Taylor said as she sat next to Sydney. "What's the deal?"
"Did you seriously just ask me that?" Sydney scoffed. "What's the deal? The deal is you both just got high!" She shouted
"Could we take this inside? I really don't want the neighbors hearing." Peyton asked
Sydney got rid of her cigarette and walked into the house, followed by Taylor and Peyton.
"Peyton, I know that you are hurting, but this isn't going to bring Brooke back." Sydney said softly
"Bring Brooke back? Did something happen to her?" Taylor asked, panicked
"No." Peyton said quickly. "She's fine. We broke up because of Rick, and because of Faith." Peyton looked at Sydney. "How did you even know?"
"Lucas caught me as I was leaving school." Sydney said
"Oh."
"Pey, are you ok?" Taylor asked
"No, no I'm not. I love her guys, and now she's gone."
"Let her cool down. You know how Brooke is. She stays mad for a while, but she always gets past it." Taylor said
"I'm not sure about this time. The Faith thing bothers me, but I can get past it. Brooke probably won't get past this. I really hurt her." Peyton began to cry
"Peyton, she loves you. That counts for something. Let her blow off steam; eventually she'll calm down. You grew up with her, has she ever not gotten over something?"
"No. She always does eventually."
"There ya go. Just give her time Peyton. Time heals all wounds." Taylor said
"That's a load of bull shit." Peyton said
"I know. But not with Brooke. Face it, beneath that bitchy attitude and party girl lifestyle, Brooke's got a bigger heart than anyone I know. It holds just as much hurt as it does love, but in the end, the love always wins out. Just like it will with this situation." Taylor smiled and hugged Peyton
Peyton hugged back. "Thanks Tay." She whispered
"Sorry to break up this little love fest, but we need to talk." Sydney sat down. "First off, you are never going to get Brooke back if you keep fucking around with drugs. She's not going to take you back if you haven't changed at all. Second, what the hell is the matter with you Taylor? You've been clean for so long! Plus you skipped work to get high. You can't afford to lose your job. I can guarantee Dan isn't going to be happy."
"Rick sent it." Peyton said softly. "After everything I did with that scumbag, I wasn't going to turn down free coke. Besides, I'm never going to get Brooke back anyway." Peyton shurugged
"The only reason I stopped using was because of the money thing." Taylor confessed
"That's the only reason you stopped?" Sydney asked Taylor
"Syd, look around. I don't have anything else to lose." Taylor said bitterly
"That's bull shit Tay." Peyton exploded
Taylor and Sydney looked at her in surprise.
"How would you know? You haven't been around for the past month!" Taylor told Peyton. She turned to Sydney. "Neither have you for that matter. You guys were all I had besides Haley, butme and herdon't even talk anymore. We haven't for a while."
"Taylor. That's not true." Sydney said sadly
"Yeah Syd, it is." Taylor started tearing up. "You have no idea how alone I have felt. I would be out of here if we didn't have our apartment. There's nothing keeping me in Tree Hill anymore."
"Stop saying that. I know that this month has been tough for all of us, but you always have me. You should have told me, both of us, how you felt Taylor." Peyton said softly
"I'm sorry Tay." Sydney said as she hugged Taylor
"It's alright. Let's go do something. We can go to the Scott's beach house or something." Taylor said wiping away her tears, not wanting to talk about herself anymore
Peyton and Sydney looked at each other and shrugged.
"Ok. Let's do it. I don't have anything going on." Peyton said
"Me either." Sydney agreed with a smile
"Well lets go then girlies." Taylor smiled as well
NEW YORK
Brooke was awakened from her nap by her cell phone ringing next to her. She rolled over with a groan, and looked at the caller ID.
"Hello?" Brooke answered, sleep still in her voice
"Were you sleeping?" Lucas asked
"Yeah, but it's ok. What's up? I havent talked to you in a while."
"I know. I'm good. I was calling to see how you were doing." Lucas said
"Ah, so you talked to Peyton, huh?" Brooke chuckled
"Not really. She talked to Haley, and Haley told me. We're all worried about her, and it's easier to make sure she's doing ok because we're down here with her. To be honest, I'm more concerned about you since you are all alone up there."
"Well I appreciate it, but I'm fine Luke. I'm dealing."
"Oh really? I know how you deal Brooke, and I can tell you right now that it's not going to help the situation."
"Lucas-"
"Don't deny it Brooke. We all do stupid things when this shit happens. When we broke up, I slept with Nikki." Lucas said with disgust in his voice
"When me and you broke up, or when your little love affair with Peyton ended?" Brooke asked
"Brooke-"
"I'm kidding Lucas. You know I'm over that whole thing. Just like I'm over Peyton."
"Bull. You both still love each other very much. And I'm sure that this hurts more than you want to admit."
"You're right. I love her more than anything. You have no idea how much this is killing me. It hurts more every minute, Luke. I don't know what to do anymore. It gets harder to breathe every time I think of her being gone." Brooke said, beginning to sob
"Do you think that there is a chance you could talk to her? Try to work things out?"
"I don't think that's possible. Things are too far gone to get back anything." Brooke said, trying to catch her breath
"Brooke, you just need to talk to her. She's willing to work things out, I know she is. I know you are willing to work things out too. I know you, and you forgive anything eventually."
"You don't understand Lucas."
"What do you…oh. What happened?"
Brooke paused. "I…you know what, it doesn't matter. Peyton and I aren't together anymore. What I do now doesn't make a difference."
Lucas sighed. "Brooke, I'm not going to push. But if you decide that you want to talk, I'm here for you. I'm just a phone call away. And if you really need me, I'll even make the trip to New York." Lucas offered
Brooke laughed. "Thanks Lucas. It means a lot that you called."
"No problem. Bye Brooke."
"Bye Luke."
Brooke hung up the phone. She laid down with a sigh, and stared up at her ceiling. She reached over and picked her phone back up.
"Hey Faith, my mom is asleep. Do you want to come over?"
A/N I wanted to get these chapters up so I didn't keep you waiting too long. Thanks for all the great reviews on the last couple chapters! I was grinning like an idiot while I read all of them. This story still has a ways to go, so right now, everything is kind of in the air. You can be sure of one thing one chapter, and it could be shot to hell in the next. It's all part of my evil plan. I know how this storywill end, and the question is, can you stick around to see what happens? ; )