Brooke and Mouth were sitting in a red convertible at a drive-in movie theatre. The stars were bright, and just the right chill was in the air that gave her the opportunity to wear her favorite pink shawl over her shoulders. Suddenly, Brooke slapped Mouth across the face and got out of the car. Mouth followed her, sat on a swing at the nearby playground and sang,
"Stranded at the drive in, branded of a fool, what will they say, Monday at school?"
Community theatre was something Brooke and Mouth both had agreed would take their minds off of their past heartbreaks. Brooke, with Lucas, and Mouth, with Erica Marsh, the ex-class president. Brooke had to beg Mouth, however, to be in Tree Hill's production of Grease, because he was convinced that he was not "hot" enough to be a bad boy romancer. That was, until Brooke said that she'd be playing the part of Mouth's romancee.
Who would have thought that naturally brunette "bad girl" Brooke was going to play a goodie-two-shoes Sandy? And Mouth as the all time stud Danny? It's a small world, after all!
It was funny that even after the year or so since she'd heard that "beautiful disaster" song, she'd still remember each and every word. Haley had been gone for two months. According to Karen, who had been keeping in touch with her, she was working on a record. Ha! Who in their sane minds would want to listen to Haley? Though, that wasn't true, because Brooke wanted to listen to Haley. That song that she had written was Brooke's anthem. Sort of. The part that got to her the most was the "And if I could hold on to the tears and the laughter…" that was what Brooke did when she was with Lucas. Cry and laugh. Oxymoron, anyone?
Lucas was a mess. And nobody new why. Nathan had been hanging out by himself. He was so sad about Haley that he had formed an invisible shield, if you will, against ever falling in love again. Peyton had gone to Florida with a boy she met at an artist's convention. So that left Brooke to be herself again. Plus, with Mouth to keep her company, she had everything she needed for a stellar Christmas vacation.
Peyton and her new boyfriend Jake Jagelski were vacationing in Florida. They had gone to every single artist show that they had in Miami and were now traveling to Palm Beach to see the Live Art expedition. She felt like he was the perfect person to do this kind of thing.
Maybe it was because she had fully given herself to him the night before. Sure, she had done it loads of times with Nathan, but that was just sex. With Jake, it was making love. It was passionate and it was sincere. With Nathan, it was a rush to that finish line, then get dressed and leave. With Jake, they had spent the rest of the night in each other's arms. Perhaps this was bound to end at the end of the year. Maybe she'd see him kissing someone else at New Years. But for now, she was happy. And all she knew was that happiness was better than pain any day.
"You gotta be out there. You gotta be somewhere. Wherever you are, I'm waiting. Cause there are these nights when I sing myself to sleep. And I'm hoping my dreams bring you close to me. Are you listening? Hear me, I'm crying out, I'm ready now. Turn my world upside down, find me. I'm lost inside the crowd, it's getting loud. I need you to see, I'm screaming for you to please hear me. Can you hear me?"
"Great job, Haley. Let's hear you finish singing the song, then we'll work on the rhythms." Haley's voice coach paged her through the microphone and headphones.
"I used to be scared of letting someone in. But it gets so lonely being on my own with no one to talk to, no one to hold me. I'm not always strong…oh I need you here. Are you listening? Hear me, I'm crying out, I'm ready now. Turn my world upside down, find me. I'm lost inside the crowd, it's getting loud. I need you to see, I'm screaming for you to please hear me. I'm restless and wild, I fall but I try, I need someone to understand. Can you hear me? I'm lost in my thoughts, and baby I've fought, for all that I've got, can you hear me? Hear me, I'm crying out, I'm ready now. Turn my world upside down, find me. I'm lost inside the crowd, it's getting loud. I need you to see, I'm screaming for you to please hear me. Hear me, hear me, hear me, can you hear me? Hear me, hear me, can you hear me? Hear me, hear me, hear me…" She faded out and took off her headphones.
Chris stepped into the recording box and gave her a hug. "Great job, Hales. But I think you need to work on the pitch and the melody. And definitely the timing. Plus, I think the lyrics need some work."
She pulled out of his hug and went to the door. "Sorry, Chris. First of all, this is my song. That means I get to write the lyrics the way I want, sing them the way I want, and I get to use whatever melody or tune or pitch and timing I want. Second, the lyrics are true to life. It really happened to me. They are part of my life. So if you don't like them, then you don't like me. And third, don't ever call me Hales again. The nickname belongs to the people back in Tree Hill, also known as my friends." She walked out the door with him hot on her tail.
"Haley, look, I'm sorry. Listen, we can go back to my apartment and work on it together. No executives, no record dealers, just you an me." He grasped her hand, went back inside the room to tell of their new plans, and came back out.
She paused for a moment, recalling a distant memory. Then she buttoned up her coat and they set out into the chilly New York air. He took her guitar case for her, put his arm on her shoulder and pulled her close to warm her up further. They walked the nine blocks to his apartment briskly. When they finally made it up the twelve flights of stairs to his penthouse apartment, Haley set down her guitar case, that she had relieved Chris of carrying, and stepped out onto the balcony. The view of the night life of New York was breath taking.
"These people sure leave a lot of lights on." She said.
"Yea, that's about 1,000,000 energy wasters." He came out from behind and wrapped his arms around her. His chin nuzzled into he scalp.
"So, what are we working on tonight?"
"Oh, I don't know… you and me?" He turned her around and ran his finger along her jaw.
"What? You and me?"
"You heard me, Haley… I want you." He leaned forward and kissed her.
Her mind drifted back to a night several months ago…
"So it's not going to be easy, it's going to be really hard. And we're going to have to work at this everyday, but I'm willing to because I /want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, everyday…" She snapped back into reality and pulled out of the kiss and his grasp.
"Chris, we can't… I have a boyfriend…" she bowed her head down.
"Haley… you're so beautiful… don't deny me of this… I love you." His voice was low and raspy. She rubbed her face up against his palm, then abruptly stopped.
"Wh… what?" She backed away slowly.
"You're beautiful… I love you." He walked toward her, as she took another step back.
She gasped and tripped on the bed while taking a few more steps back. "It was you!"
He half-smiled and followed her. He pinned her down on the bed and kissed her again, only this time more rough. "That's right Haley. You're not as naïve as I thought you were… it was me." He picked her up off the bed and threw her against the wall.
"But now that you know, you must cease to exist." He punched her left cheek and followed with the right. He kicked her in the stomach, and as she fell to the floor, writhing in pain, he spit in her hair. He threw a couple more punches, and Haley became limp. Her neck hung down, he eyes rolled back into her hair, and she moaned quietly.
She propped herself up slowly and leaned back against the wall. "Why? Why are you doing this?" Tears were pouring from her bloodshot eyes.
"Because I want to… and you need it to be a better person." Over the next hour he continued to hurt her. He punched her, kicked her, spat on her, and slapped her. He turned off the lights and forced her to sleep in the same bed as him. She looked at the digital clock which read 5:07. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she knew that the minute that he fell asleep, she needed to get out.
She waited until 5:30, then turned over and looked at him. His eyes were closed and his breathing even. She carefully slipped out of the bed and stepped into her flip-flops. She checked on him again, and he had flipped over onto his left side, facing the door. She decided to leave her guitar and just get out. She crept over to the door and checked on last time to see where he was. She slowly opened the door and turned around. The sheets were thrown back and his dark figure was missing.
She sucked up her fear and got out of the apartment. She shut the door quietly and ran to the stairs. She heard the door open and instinctively looked back. He was running after her wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. She decided to put to use the one useful thing that Lucas had taught her. She sat on the edge of the stairwell railing and slid down the 25-foot drop. She rounded the corner and continued to do the same for all 12 floors. It worked; he was still on the 4th floor when she was on the ground.
She ran out the main doors and ran down the street to hail a taxi. She got into one and got to her apartment. She sat on her bed and sobbed for what seemed like an eternity. She got up and went to her bathroom. When she came out, she saw that she had a message. She pressed the green button on her phone and sat on her recliner.
"Hey, Haley… it's me. Look, I just wanted to let you know that Nathan's having a birthday party next Saturday, and I know he'd really love it if you'd be there. He's been so sad since you left… this would really cheer him up." The voice paused. "Please come back Haley. We all really miss you… Tree Hill isn't the same without you. Please… I know that you're probably having loads of fun out there with your new hottie out there, but please… just think about Nathan. He loves you, and I know you love him. I know that now. He loves you. Hey, I have to go, but please, please come back."
Brooke and Peyton were hanging blue and white streamers from TRIC's ceiling. They were each standing on two 25' extension ladders. The had formed the 'Hollywood' theme for Nathan's surprise party and decided that Hollywood has streamers (or so Brooke thought). The had almost finished the whole ceiling, which took two hours to down the complete thing. Brooke climbed down her ladder and took a sip of her Fiji water.
"Do you really need to drink Fiji when Arrowhead tastes exactly the same but for $3.00 cheaper?" Peyton hung the last of the streamers and slid down her ladder.
"There is a difference, and that difference is that my water is electrolyte enhanced and your water had bear pee in it." She took a long sip and placed the water down.
Deb and Karen were standing behind the club's bar. They were in charge of food and beverages. They looked extremely cute with their matching black flapper dresses they got from the Halloween store. The bar was draped with faux-satin and sprinkled with gold and silver confetti. There were exactly one thousand plastic champagne glasses sitting underneath the bar. The soda-fountain guns were fully loaded with sugar rich drinks. Brooke and Peyton were in charge of the bar and table decorations, and had decided to decorate the rest of the club along with the rest. They had borrowed 50 tables from the local wedding reception hall, for the 500 guests. The tables were decorated the same as the bar, but they had silver dinner plates, gold appetizer plates, black cloth napkins, and forks, knives, and spoons.
The girls had decided on a buffet bar, and the entire food train was set up along the back wall. The entire club was "dressed to the teeth" (Karen's words). The party started at 7:00, and at precisely 6:15, the girls set the party lights to dim and flash.
"You girls aren't going to party like that, are you?" Lucas had popped back inside after setting up the "red carpet" Brooke had begged for.
"No! We're now going to go upstairs and change, which we advise you do as well, paint splatter boy!" The girls ran up the back stairs to the "dressing room" they had set up from the weirdos that decided not to dress up. No one would be able to party without being dressed for a party!
Brooke stepped out of her ratty jeans and top and into her floor-length red ball gown. Peyton took of her vintage rejects and put on her sea foam green knee-length party dress. The girls had different styles, but both looked beautiful.
15 minutes later, the girls descended back down the stairs. Each had their hair pinned back with dozens of butterfly clips protruding from every angle. When they got to the bottom, they noticed Lucas sitting on one of the bar stools talking to Karen. He had changed into a black tuxedo that was formal, but casual in a way.
"Well, don't you look handsome!" Peyton commented.
He turned around on the stool. "And you two look, um, beautiful." He stood up and walked over to them.
"Well don't sound too convincing!" Brooke said. He took them by the arms and escorted them outside.
"Nice job, ladies. This place looks pretty good." He sat down on the middle of the three chairs outside, the one in front of the little podium Deb had found in her attic. Brooke sat to his left and Peyton to his right. Soon after the guests started to arrive. First to show up was Mouth and Erica Marsh. They had gotten back together during the Christmas break and now were making out every chance they got. He handed Peyton their invitations, which Brooke had said "everyone needed to bring to prevent any rejects from getting into the party." During the next 45 minutes, the rest of the guests walked the red carpet and up the stairs to the party.
"I can't believe that the entire 455 people we invited showed up! Now that just leaves you, Lucas, Nathan, Tim, and me! Oh, this is going to be so awesome! I love surprise parties! All that's left to do is when Nathan and Tim come we have to run back inside, and when they come in, we yell surprise and get ready to party!" Peyton finished. She was organizing the 455 envelopes into neat piles.
The girls went inside. Soon after, Lucas ran in saying that a black car had pulled up into the parking lot. He dimmed the lights and everyone went quiet. The door of the club opened…
Brooke's mouth dropped open. "What are you doing here?"
Nathan and Tim stood in front of the river. The sun was setting and the sky was pink.
"Haley used to love it when the sky was like this. She said that it was like her own little paradise." Nathan stuffed his hands into his pockets.
Tim nudged him. "Man, you need to forget about her. There's other girls out there… ones that won't leave you for other guys. And their pretty too."
"I can't just forget about her. I love her, Tim. And if she's not going to come back, then I'm going to go get her." He sat up against a tree.
"Dude! She's just a girl, and you're only 18! 18 year olds in high school do not fall in love with 17 year olds in high school and want to marry them. They just don't. It doesn't happen that way. And anyway, she doesn't even love you anymore! She's over you, and you need to get over her! Snap out of it, buddy!"
"Tim! Do you not get it? There's more to life then just hooking up with girls! She is the one for me. And I'm going to marry her. She will come back, Tim, have a little faith."
"Whatever. Hey, you wanna go to TRIC tonight? I heard that it's gentleman's night… meaning that there's lots and lots of the ladies…" He lifted up his eyebrows.
"Sure, Tim. Just don't bring any dollar bills. Last time you did, they almost kicked us out of that place." He stood up.
Tim made Nathan go back to his place and change into "more suitable clothes for partying with women". After 20 minutes they were ready. They each had on black dress pants and button down shirts.
"I look like a fruitcake." Nathan commented.
"Women love fruitcake!" Tim shouted from the bathroom.
They got into Tim's blue car and drove over to TRIC.
"I'm not sleeping with anybody, Tim." Nathan said. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm still dating Haley."
Tim sighed but kept driving. "Fine."
They arrived at TRIC and noticed the red carpet set up. "What the…?" Nathan started. They got out of the car and did that hair thing that every guy does when they get out of a car. Nathan turned around when he heard another car door slam. It was too dark to make out a face, but he knew that it was a girl. He shut his door and followed the girl. She was 20 feet ahead of him, but he and Tim still followed her. She opened the door and went inside. When the door opened, they heard the place go silent and one solitary person spit out,
"What are you doing here?"
The two guys got to the top of the stairs and walked in. The entire club was dark and quiet. Everyone stood to face Nathan. He saw there were lots of tables with decorations and he saw a lot of people from his school. Brooke, Lucas and Peyton were standing in front, but they weren't looking at him. Instead, they were looking at the girl who had just walked in. He heard Lucas say something, but at the same time the rest of the crowd shouted,
"Surprise!"
"Haley?"
A/N: This chapter was a little bit shorter than I intended it to be… but I thought it was pretty good. I hope you all enjoyed these last 3 chapters! Ch. 10 will be out next week.
Again, I used Kelly Clarkson and if I need to put this, I will. I used a line from the movie Grease… I don't know if I needed to say that but I will just to be safe.
Read + Review!