Chapter Twenty-Six

"The End"

Nathan pulled into Brooke's driveway ready for their date. It had been a long day for him. He was dressed in a pair of nice jeans and a black sweater. It was Brooke's birthday. Brooke didn't know but they were having a surprise party for her. She thought they were just going out to dinner.

He watched as she walked out of her apartment building. She was wearing a knee length black dress. Her hair was curled and pulled back. The bracelet he gave her sparkled on her wrist. She was holding something in her hand.

"Hi," Brooke kissed him on the cheek. "Are you ready to go?" she sat down in the passengers seat.

"Yeah," he smiled back at her. "You look amazing,"

"Thank you." She laughed. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Before Nathan started to drive she turned to face him. "I have something to give you," she whispered. She handed him a small black box.

Nathan took the box and opened it curiously. It was the watch he found in her desk the day before. "Brooke, this is way too expensive." He handed it back to her.

"Nathan, I bought it a really long time ago." She explained. "It was even before Peyton. I just thought it would be weird to give it to you." She explained.

Nathan slid the watch around his wrist. It fit perfectly. "Thank you," he kissed her. "This is really nice."

"You're welcome," she smiled. "Now let's have a great night."

Nathan drove silently for a few minuets before speaking again. "My mom is getting out this weekend," he told her.

"What?' she exclaimed. "Nathan's that's great!"

"Turns out she was covering for someone. Her lawyer proved she couldn't have been the one to do it. She was with Karen at the exact time of the murder. Karen was her alibi."

"So do they know who did it then?" Brooke asked curiously.

"No," Nathan shook his head. "They probably won't ever find out either."

Brooke smiled. "Well it's great that your mom is getting out." She looked out the window. Somehow Brooke knew exactly who did it. It was Karen. She would never say a word about it, but in her heart, she knew.

"Tim didn't drug the bottle either," Nathan explained.

"Well, look at you with all this information." She laughed. "How do you know? Do you know who did it?"

"I talked to Tim. He knew who did it."

"Well who was it?"

"It was some guy I don't know," he laughed. "I guess he thought it would be funny to make it look like it was me. He doesn't like me or something." He told her.

"Oh," Brooke said. "Why didn't Tim stop it?"

"I guess he found out the next morning. That's why he was already awake. He had been sleeping and heard this guy talking about it with someone else. He told the cops the truth before I did."

"That's great I guess," she smiled. "So where are we going for dinner?"

"Santino." He told her.

"My favorite," she smiled. She climbed out of the car in the parking lot at Nathan's side. He held her hand tightly as they walked into the restaurant. "Where are we going?" she asked as she followed him to a private room toward the back.

"Surprise!" everyone yelled as they walked in.

Brooke covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my God," she whispered. She looked around the room decorated in bright red colors. Haley, Lucas, Peyton, Karen, Andy, Tim, Skills, Mouth, Erica, Jake, and a bunch of other people from school were standing inside.

"Happy birthday Brooke," Peyton hugged her.

When the shock wore off Brooke walked around thanking everyone for coming. When she was finished she sat down at a table with Peyton and Jake. "This was so nice of you guys,"

"Thank Nathan," Peyton smiled. "He did most of it."

"Wow," she watched Nathan talking to Haley and another guy she hadn't seen before. "This is so amazing,"

Peyton smiled. She was glad her friend was finally happy. "Oh hey, I have a birthday present for you." She said going to her bag to get it. "Here," she handed Brooke a large scrapbook.

Nathan joined her and opened the pages of the book. The first page was a drawing of Brooke and Aubrey at the mall. A caption from Brooke's mouth read, "We're not having sex." Brooke smiled. The next drawing was a picture of Brooke with her head on Nathan's shoulder. There were a few pictures of her and Peyton in between the drawings and finally she focused on a drawing of her and Nathan standing outside her apartment building naked.

"Wow, I look hot even in your drawings P. Sawyer," she laughed. She set the book down and hugged her best friend. "You are so unbelievable."

"Your welcome Brooke," she hugged her. "I'm just glad you're happy."

Brooke was more than happy. She looked around at everyone there to celebrate for her. What more could you ask for. She had the most perfect friend in the whole world and the best boyfriend she could ever ask for. She hugged the two of them in her arms and knew, this was all she was ever going to need in life to be happy.

The End

Okay, so I know this was short, and I'm really sad to end this story because I love it so much. I got wonderful reviews from the last chapter, and I didn't think I could have written any more chapters to beat that. I'm going to start another story and I hope you all support it like you did this one. I hope my ending didn't suck! Thank you all!-Brittney