Chapter Five-I had a dream about this

Peyton and Haley decided to go to Applebee's. The two of them hadn't talked since graduation. Peyton wasn't mad at Haley. She wasn't happy about Chris coming to the party but she couldn't be mad. Haley was young, of course she makes mistakes. Peyton was the last person to judge her cheating on Nathan.

Haley ordered an appetizer and the two of them sat drinking lemonade and eating it together. "What are you doing tonight?" Peyton asked. It was the first Friday night Peyton didn't have plans.

"I'm not sure, I was thinking about going to Charleston for the weekend," she told her. "You could go with me if you want to." She suggested.

"What's in Charleston?" Haley asked.

"My grandma was buried there." She told her.

"You know, you've still never explained to me what happened with that woman who said she was your mom."

Peyton shrugged. It was a hard subject to talk about. The woman had showed up at her door step and claimed to be her mother. The truth was, she wasn't. She had made a mistake. She had gotten pregnant around the same time her real mother did. "She gave up her daughter for adoption; apparently she had also named her Peyton. It was just a big mistake."

"Do you think that I should stop talking to Chris?" Haley questioned. "I feel horrible about Nathan and I. We just got our friendship back, and then he showed up at the party. Now I feel like Nathan and I will never be friends."

"You know Haley? I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if it's better of that you and Nathan don't get your friendship back. It just seems too weird. But if you want your friendship back, only you can decide what's more important."

Haley took a drink of her lemonade and started choking. She quickly covered her head and looked at the wall. "Peyton," she choked motioning toward the door.

Peyton glanced at the door and noticed Brooke and Nathan walking in. Brooke was holding a Gucci bag and her purse, and Nathan was heading to the bathroom. "Whoa." She laughed. "Why are you hiding?"

"I don't want them to see me!" she cried.

"I wonder why they're together anyway." Peyton thought out loud. They had come down the stairs together at the graduation party too. Something weird was going on.

Brooke waited for Nathan to come back from the bathroom. The two of them sat in a table not far from Peyton and Haley, but neither of them saw them. "Want a cocktail?" Brooke suggested pulling her fake ID out of her wallet.

Nathan smiled. "At least you're good for something."

The two of them sat in the restaurant for a while drinking, eating and laughing hysterically. Peyton and Haley couldn't resist staying and watching the two of them in awe. If they didn't know any better, they would say that Brooke and Nathan were secretly dating.

"I don't think I can watch this anymore." Haley said grabbing her purse and tossing some money on the table.

Peyton quickly followed suite. They were just about out of the restaurant when Brooke spotted them. "Oh my God Nathan, there's Peyton and Haley!" she exclaimed. "Do you think they saw us?"

Nathan nodded laughing. "Probably." He put some money on the table and grabbed Brooke's hand dragging her behind him. "Let's go talk to them."

"Nathan, then they'll see us hanging out together. I thought we were keeping this secret?"

Nathan stopped laughing for a second. "Oh who the hell cares." He slurred. "Let's go."

When the two of them finally caught up to Peyton and Haley they almost collapsed on the ground in the parking lot. "Tutor girl! Peyton!" Brooke yelled throwing her hand up for a high five.

"Oh Hey Brooke," Peyton said. "I didn't even see you in there." She lied.

Nathan burst out laughing. "What?" Brooke asked him with a silly look on her face. "What's so funny?"

Haley stood uncomfortably not saying anything.

"Nothing." Nathan laughed. "Sorry."

"So, what are you two doing?" Haley asked still finding it incredibly odd to see them together.

"Well," Brooke started. "Nathan and I have had this secer…" she started to say but Nathan covered her mouth to stop her.

"Brooke was shopping, I came to pick of a present for my mom's birthday. We ran into each other, and decided to have some drinks."

Peyton nodded and glanced at Haley unconvinced. "Interesting." She tried not to laugh.

"P. Sawyer, wipe that grin of your face!" Brooke scolded. She hadn't even noticed the nickname she once called her former best friend slipped from her mouth.

This also surprised Peyton but she didn't make any gestures to make it anymore awkward than it already was. "Haley and I are going to Charleston for the weekend to see my mom." She told them. "I guess we'll see you two around."

Brooke looked at her confused as the two of them walked away. She looked up at Nathan and shrugged. "Peyton's grandma is dead."

"Wow Brooke, I think she meant her grandma's grave." He laughed at her stupidity.

"Oh!" Brooke nodded. She dragged him away from the parking lot. "Let's go back to your apartment and get some more liquor." She suggested.

Brooke lifted her head from the carpet and rolled over to find Nathan lying on the couch above her. "Hey!" she cried "Why did I have to sleep on the floor and you got to sleep on the couch. You have a bed!" she woke him up.

Nathan looked at her and laughed. He had a horrible headache. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water, handing one to Brooke. "Here."

Brooke took the bottle and thanked him. "Hey Nathan," she said slightly. "You know that our trip is in two weeks right?" she asked him.

"I know." He sighed. He remembered the conversation over a year ago. It was right after Brooke had left for the summer. Deb had given Lucas and Nathan a hundred thousand dollars of Dan's money after he died. They decided they were going to go on a trip. They were going to the Bahamas. Lucas had invited Brooke, and of course Brooke invited Peyton. Peyton was with Jake so she made a big deal out of inviting him. Nathan was still with Haley, and obviously Haley was Lucas's best friend so she would be coming along. He had also invited Tim. The plane tickets were non refundable, so there was no way out of it. "Its going to be a disaster you know?"

Brooke nodded, "Of course it is." She laughed. She suddenly felt the urge to kiss him. Why was she feeling this way? It was Nathan. Nathan was the last person she should be attracted to.

Nathan smiled and cleaned the beer cans off the coffee table. "I suppose you should probably go. I have to shower and stuff."

"Or I could join you." She suggested jokingly.

Nathan closed his eyes and smiled. "You know, that suddenly reminds me of a dream I once had."

"Oh really?" she said seductively. "Care to make your dreams come true?"

Nathan wasn't sure what to say. At that moment, of course he wanted to make his dream come true, but it was going against everything he said the other day about being just friends. He walked over to Brooke and pulled her against him, kissing her passionately. When he pulled away both of them were silent.

"Whoa." She smiled ripping his shirt over his head. She pushed him toward the bathroom and almost knocked him over pushing him into the shower. The water was freezing when they turned it on but neither of them cared.

By the time the water heat up it was cold again. They had used every inch of hot water before they were finished. Brooke wrapped herself in a towel and threw one at Nathan. She hadn't spoken to him since they got out of the shower.

Nathan made himself a piece of toast and sat down on the couch turning on ESPN. Brooke gathered her clothes and headed toward the door. "Hey, where are you going?" Nathan called to her as she was about to leave.

"Um, home?" she said. "Or, well Erica's I guess."

"Why?"

"I don't know?" she shrugged. "What else would I do?"

Nathan motioned for her to sit down next to him. She plopped down on the couch and looked him. He reached over and wrapped his arm around her. "Let's just stay here and watch a movie?" he smiled.

Brooke could feel her heart racing in circles. She had thought that Nathan just randomly wanted to hook up with her. She never imagined he actually wanted to be with her. For the first time since Lucas, this thought didn't scare her.