Author's Note: Hey guys! Here is the next chapter! The next one will be the LAST chapter! Tear Not much to say other than I hope you like it! As always, please read and review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. One Tree Hill and its characters are property of the WB.
Rating: K+ to T
Finding Our Way Back
Chapter 39 – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
"Ugh, this one doesn't fit either," Haley shouted in frustration through the dressing room door. The girls had decided to have an all day bachelorette party for Haley so they could all go shopping for Haley's wedding dress and the bridesmaids dresses as well as regular clothes and other necessities. "Come out and show us," Kyla called out from where she sat with the rest of the girls. Brooke was sprawled out on a armchair with Erica sitting next to her while Peyton and Kyla sat on the floor, talking about the upcoming wedding. "No, I'm not coming out. I look fat in this one. I look fat in all of them," Haley replied with a huff. "Well what do you expect when you're getting married at five months pregnant," Brooke griped. Inside the dressing room, Haley rolled her eyes. Brooke had been complaining all day. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Normally, Brooke would be jumping at the chance to go shopping and would drag her friends around the mall for hours until their feet hurt. Brooke had been the one to suggest shopping that morning but by now had lost her spunk after spending four hours of going to different bridal shops and trying on wedding dresses. Now all she would do was gripe and complain, occasionally putting in her opinion when Haley would come out in a dress or when the girls would talk about the wedding.
"We didn't know I was pregnant when we settled on April or May," Haley responded. "Haley," Brooke whined, "come on… Let's take a break and get some ice cream. I'm bored." Peyton put a hand over her mouth and gasped with shock, her eyes wide, "Oh my god! Brooke Davis is bored with shopping? Alert the media!" Brooke lightly jabbed Peyton in the side with her flip flop clad foot, "I'm not the one shopping, P. Sawyer, or P. Jagielski, whatever. I just wanna go get some ice cream. I've been wanting some for hours now." "Cravings," Haley said in a sing-song voice as she walked out of the dressing room in her normal clothes. "I'm not pregnant," Brooke said firmly as she straightened up a little and folded one leg over the other, bobbing it in annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest, "can we go now? I want some chili cheese fries now." "Brooke," Peyton said loudly in astonishment, "that was rude. This is Haley's day and you're ruining all the fun. All you've done today is bitch and complain and I won't have any more of it. So if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything." Tears welled in Brooke's eyes and her lower lip began to stick out as a pout formed on her face. "I-I'm sorry…" she whispered, looking down into her lap and wiping her eyes with her hand as she sniffled through her tears.
Mood swings, Haley thought to herself. It was so blatantly obvious. How could she not notice it? She looked over to Erica, who was looking back at her, and they shared a knowing smile; they were thinking the same thing. Haley walked over to Brooke and wrapped her arms around her friend, rubbing her back to comfort her, "Sh…it's okay. A break sounds good; I need to sit down anyway. My feet hurt after all that standing. Come on, let's go get you your chili cheese fries and me something to drink; I'm thirsty." She wrapped her arm around Brooke's back and began to lead her out of the store, glancing back at the other girls to gesture them to follow and glaring slightly at Peyton for being so mean to Brooke. If Peyton thought what Brooke did was rude, Peyton's little lecture was ten times worse by outright calling her on it.
Once Brooke got her chili cheese fries, she was somewhat happy again, or at least putting on a mask that she was happy and perky again. "Hey! I've got an idea Tutor Mom," Brooke remarked as she chomped down on a fry. "What," Haley asked with a raised eyebrow, taking a sip from her lemonade and a bite from her bowl of fried rice and teriyaki chicken. "Since you're having so much trouble finding a dress, why don't I make it for you? I mean not actually make, make it, but design it. I could do it the way you want and everything," Brooke proposed. Haley looked at her uncertainly, "That would be great Brooke, but could you get it done in three weeks in time for the wedding? I don't want to put you out?" "Oh yeah, it'll be fine. I'll just get my little sweatshop workers workin' and they'll have it done in no time," Brooke smiled. Haley laughed and then hugged her tightly, "Thanks Brooke. This means a lot to me, more than you'll ever know." "No problem Tutor Mom. It's sort of a consolation prize for me since I didn't get to design or even do anything for Blondie's wedding," Brooke responded as she chuckled. Brooke glanced at Peyton and saw that she was staring at her plate, pushing her food around, "Aww come on, perk up Goldilocks! Stop being so sour. Our little Tutor Girl's getting married in three weeks! It's so exciting. You're supposed to be happy!"
"I am happy," she glanced up at Haley out of the corner of her eye as she said this and she saw Haley give her a small smile, telling her that what she had said earlier to Brooke had been mostly forgiven, but not fully yet. "But you don't seem happy-" Brooke was cut off by Peyton shouting. "I am happy Brooke," she protested firmly as she abruptly stood up to go throw her trash away. "Whoa, P. Jagielski MAJOR PMSing," Brooke responded. "I'll be right back," Haley replied as she stood from her chair and walked over to the garbage bins where Peyton was unloading her tray. "Hey, what's wrong," she asked softly as she placed her hand on Peyton's back, "you've been acting kind of weird and moody today, not like your usual self. What's up?" Peyton sighed, "I'm fine. It's just that I never got to do this stuff for my wedding. You know, hanging out with the girls, picking out dresses, actually planning a wedding. Mine was all last minute, spur of the moment, impromptu. I didn't have time to do all this stuff. And then Brooke has just been complaining all day and I couldn't stand to see her ruining your day. I-It just got to me a little. I'm sorry I blew up at her. I didn't really mean to."
Haley rubbed her back, "I know. I'm sorry too; I didn't mean to get mad at you back there in the store when you yelled at Brooke. It's just- I just know Brooke is pregnant. There's this feeling in my gut that says she is…all the signs are there…the cravings, the throwing up, the mood swings and complaining…and I don't see how she doesn't realize it herself. Plus I know how emotional a pregnant woman can get when someone yells at them; I've been there and I know how they need comfort when they're emotional." Peyton nodded in response as she set her tray on top of the trash receptacle. Haley slung her arm around Peyton's shoulders and smiled, "Come on, let's go get the rest of the girls and go shop for bridesmaids dresses then we'll quit for the day and go back to the apartment and watch movies." "Sounds good to me," Peyton grinned back.
Haley and the girls had all decided that to conclude their bachelorette's day out, they would all spend the night in watching movies, playing games, talking, and just doing things girls do. It was like they were teenagers again having a sleepover at someone's house. They had done karaoke for awhile and of course Haley had beat them all out, having the best voice, and now they were all sprawled out or curled up on the various pieces of furniture in their pajamas, each with a pint of ice cream in hand as they watched Jerry Maguire. "I love Tom Cruise. You know, when I was little I used to dream about marrying him and becoming Mrs. Tom Cruise. I love that guy, he's such a good actor," Brooke replied as she took a bite of her Cherry Garcia ice cream. "Brooke Cruise…that doesn't sound right," Kyla said as her nose scrunched, "Brooke Scott does though. When are you and Nathan going to get married? You two have been together for three years." "Kyla! Do not make me come over there and hurt you! You did the same thing to me, ambushed me in front of everyone and Lucas at Thanksgiving with that little comment you made about us getting married, or 'hitched' as you called it," Haley exclaimed. "It got him to step up, didn't it," she smirked with a raised eyebrow. "He had planned on proposing even before you said anything," Haley responded. "Yeah, I'm sure, that's what they all say," Kyla nodded as she rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, we need to find you a man," Haley replied as she leaned her head back against the couch. "I'm perfectly fine on my own. I don't need a man to depend on," Kyla responded indignantly. " God Ky, you're such a romantic," Haley replied sarcastically, "What about love, comfort, companionship?" "Sure, it'd be nice," Kyla replied softly, her face falling a bit, then responded in a stronger tone, "but I don't need a guy right now. I've got too many things going to have time for a guy." The phone rang and she took this as a chance to get away from the awkwardness. She popped up from her chair and began walking to the kitchen to grab the phone, "I'll get it." "Hello," Kyla asked when she answered the phone. "Hey Ky, it's Lucas. Can I talk to Haley," Lucas asked. "Sure," she replied then called out, "Hey Hales! It's for you." "Gee, it is my house Ky. Wouldn't you think it would be for me," Haley responded as she got up from the couch and took the phone from her. "Smartass. It's lover boy," Kyla grinned. "Hey," Haley said as she put the phone to her ear. "Hey, how are my babies doing," Lucas inquired. Haley smiled as she looked down at her stomach and rubbed a hand over the bump, "We're fine. How are you and the guys doing with all the kids?" Lucas, Nathan, Jake, Mouth, Skills, and Fergie had taken Katie, Derek, Jenny, and Lizzie out for the night so the girls could have their sleepover and they were all staying at a hotel. "Everything's okay. We took the kids down to the rivercourt to play basketball then to Chuck E Cheese. We all had a blast. Mouth jumped into the ball pit with Lizzie. It was so hilarious. You should have been there," Lucas laughed.
"Aw, I wish I could have been there too. I bet Erica would have loved to see that," Haley smiled. "Alright, I better go. The guys are calling me whipped for wanting to check on you. I just wanted to make sure everything was going alright over there. Don't gossip too much," he chuckled. "Oh we've already gossiped a lot," she smirked, "I even told them about the time I found you dancing in your boxer shorts with sunglasses like Tom Cruise." "You didn't," he replied. "Of course I did. We were telling each other stuff about our guys and it was too funny not to share," she responded. "What did Brooke say about Nathan? I need something to get him back for calling me whipped." "Well you are whipped," Haley chuckled. "Am not," he answered. "Are too," she said in a sing-song voice. "You gonna give me anything or not," he asked. "Okay, Brooke said that Nathan was better in bed than you," she replied with a straight face then burst out laughing. "What! How does that help me with Nathan? I hope you defended my honor," he answered in shock. "How could I? I never slept with Nathan so I couldn't compare," she smirked. "Well I guess that's a good thing then," he replied, "oh, and tell Brooke that if I was lousy in bed, it was because she did all the instigating and wouldn't let me do anything. She's bossy in bed." "Ew, didn't want to know that about my best friend and my future husband. I'm going to hang up now," she responded as she scrunched her nose in disgust.
Lucas laughed, "Okay Hales, I'll see you tomorrow honey. I love you." "Love you too. Tell the kids goodnight for me, okay," she inquired. "I will," he answered, "night sweetie. Sweet dreams." "Night Luke," she replied then hung up the phone and walked back into the living room, curling up back in her spot on the couch. "So how are lover boy and the kids," Kyla asked. "They're fine," Haley responded then turned to Brooke, "Oh, hey Brooke? Lucas says that the only reason he was bad in bed was because you went all dominatrix on him and controlled everything in the bedroom." "You told him that," she said incredulously. "Yeah, I wanted to play with him a little and see how he'd react," Haley giggled. Brooke groaned and laid her head back against the armchair she was sitting in, "I can't believe you did that." "Sh…everybody be quiet! The good part is coming up," Erica shouted in a whisper as she leaned in towards the television, engrossed in the movie. "Aww," Brooke sniffled through some tears that had welled in her eyes as she watched the screen, "I love this part where Dorothy says, 'You had me at hello.' It's so romantic…"
She took another bite of her ice cream and immediately regretted it as she put her hand to her forehead, "Ooh, brain freeze…" "You alright," Haley asked concernedly. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just took too big of a bite, that's all," Brooke replied. After a little while longer, they finished off the movie and as Kyla stood from the couch to take the movie out, Brooke moaned and wrapped her arms around her stomach, holding her sides. "I don't feel so well…" Brooke said in a weak voice as she lifted her legs up to her chest. "Brooke, are you okay? Do you need to go to the bathroom," Haley asked worriedly as she sat down beside her and placed her hand on her back. "No, I think I'm okay. I think I ate too much ice cream…No wait…I think I am going to throw up…" Brooke covered her mouth with her hand as she made a dash for the bathroom. "Ugh, that's it," Haley shouted in frustration as she stood from her spot, "I've had enough of this. We're going to solve this right now." "What are you talking about Hales? What are you going to do," Peyton inquired in confusion. "I'm going to make that girl take a pregnancy test and prove to her once and for all that I'm right about her being pregnant," Haley responded as she went to her bathroom and grabbed a pregnancy test stick from the cabinets under the sink, grabbing an egg timer from the kitchen along the way to the other bathroom down the hall.
Haley knocked lightly on the door, "Brooke?" She could still hear her retching into the toilet so she slowly opened the door and walked over to her, gathering her hair in her hands and holding it as her friend continued to empty the contents of her stomach. Haley lightly ran her fingers over her back in soothing circles until Brooke finally stopped and she offered her a wet washcloth to wipe her mouth. "Thanks," Brooke whispered as she shakily stood up and flushed the toilet. Haley grabbed her arm to support her on her weak legs. "Brooke, I know you think you aren't pregnant, but I think you are. All the signs are there. So will you please just take this and get it over with," Haley asked as she stretched her arm out to her with the test and timer in her hand. Brooke bit her lip as her eyes welled with tears then slowly reached for them and finally took the items into her own hand. "You can take it in here or you can do it in my bathroom if you want," Haley replied as she rubbed her back, "It takes five minutes for the test so set the timer when you're done and come out and wait with us in the living room, okay?" She nodded then responded quietly, "I-I'll take it in here." "Everything is going to be okay Brooke," Haley hugged her then silently left to room.
"Is she going to take it," Erica asked when Haley reentered the living room and plopped down onto the couch with a sigh. "Yeah, she's in there taking it now," Haley replied. A few minutes later, Brooke returned and curled up beside Haley like a little girl. Haley wrapped her arms around her and stroked her hair slowly, murmuring softly into her ear. The wait was interminable for the five girls in that living room and Haley was sure it was even longer for Brooke, who was so sure that she wasn't pregnant but now unsure of herself because her friends all believed she was. Finally the timer dinged and Brooke slowly rose from the couch, retreating back to the bathroom for the test. She came back a few minutes later, a sad frown on her face. "I'm not pregnant," she whispered, "it's blue, negative." While Kyla, Peyton, and Erica all groaned in disappointment, Haley jumped up, as best as a five month pregnant woman could, and shrieked, "Brooke, you're pregnant! Those tests turn blue when they're positive!" Haley wrapped her in a tight hug as she continued to shriek in excitement, the other girls joining in as they all crowded around her. "I'm pregnant? Oh god, I'm pregnant…" Brooke replied in a shocked state, "How am I going to tell Nathan?" "He'll be happy for you Brooke; you're having his child. I know he will make a great father," Haley smiled. "Thanks Hales," Brooke whispered as she hugged her friend. Suddenly, she got excited at the news of a baby. "Oh my god! Tutor Mom, we're going to be pregnant together! It's going to be so great," Brooke shrieked herself. Haley, who had tears in her eyes, took Brooke's hand and placed it on her round belly then placed her own hand on Brooke's flat stomach. "Our kids are going to be cousins," she said quietly as she sniffled, her voice full of emotion. "Yeah," Brooke whispered dazedly.