Chapter 1

Love is Overrated

Brooke Davis threw her last pair of strappy stilettos into her fifth and final suitcase. She grunted as she sat on it trying to flatten it out so she could zip it up, but like the zipper on a pair of old jeans after a hefty Christmas dinner it would not budge. After several futile attempts, she stood on top of the suitcase and started jumping on it like an enraged lunatic. To her delight the tortured items in her suitcase finally complied and she was able to zip it up. Out of breath, she lay down on her bed and pressed the power button on the remote for her portable stereo. She loved music, it was therapeutic. It helped her to relax when she was stressed and escape when the ugly side of life got the best of her.

"Gooooooooooooooood morning! Thank you for calling Hot 93. What's your name and what can I play for you?" yelled the overly bubbly voice of the announcer.

"Oh my God! I can't believe I got through. My name is Muffin Matthews and I want you to play "I'm your lady" by Celine Dion. This song is dedicated to my boyfriend Chris who I know is listening right now. Hi baby! I just want to let him that I love him with all my heart and I will never ever let him ago as long as I live. Chris I know you're listening and I will always be you're lady."

"What a pack of corny shit!" Brooke yelled grumpily.

Before Celine could utter the first word of her song she threw one side of an old pair of tennis shoes at the stereo knocking it over. She hated love songs, she hated girls like Muffin who were in love, she hated public displays of love, it was safe to say that she hated love. In the mind of Brooke Davis love was overrated. To her the whole courtship, dating, love, sex, marriage scenario was so cyclical and routine. It was a cycle that always led to an impending doom – hurt. Brooke was a self acclaimed realist and feminist. No one could ever change her mind about men. They were all the same. As far as she was concerned all men were liars and cheaters and no matter what someone always ended up getting hurt in a relationship. So she promised herself a long time ago that she would only invest her time and energy into things that could never hurt her back. "Why go out looking for pain and hurt when life would do that naturally for you." That was her motto for life.

Brooke had it all. She was quite the catch. She had the two B's, beauty and brains. She had beautiful brown hair, the most seductive brownish-greenish eyes, a dimpled smile and the body of a Greek goddess. She was one of those women who could walk into a room dressed in the skimpiest bikini or a large garbage bag, either way she smelled of sex. She was just naturally sexy without even trying. She was gorgeous and she knew it and she loved to flaunt it men's' pathetic little faces. She loved to have men practically bore a whole in her clothing with their eyes. She knew what was on their minds. Even more she loved to give the look, the stare all you want but you can never have me look. It made her feel so powerful. She was in control. She hated to feel like she was at the mercy of a man. Control. If there was one thing she could wish for in life was control. Control over the way she felt, control over the mistakes of her parents, control over her grades and control over men. As much as she yearned for control she knew had no control over the mistakes her parents made that caused her pain or the grades she received despite her best efforts. One thing she knew she could control was love. She was not going to allow herself to fall in love, not now, not ever. To Brooke the people who she loved the most are the ones who had the power to hurt her. Her parents had already failed her.

She refused to allow anyone else in. So for her first two years of university she immersed herself in nothing but her studies. She had no friends, no life, no nothing. Brooke couldn't even remember ever having a meaningful conversation with her last roommate Dana and her roommate from freshman year, who knew what her name was. But all that was about to change. Three months ago she had said goodbye to Silvercrest University. She never wanted to attend Silvercrest but her high school grades were deplorable. For the first time in her life she started working for what she wanted. She studied feverishly to attend a university that had a better liberal arts and art programme. In a few hours she would be off to Hartford University to major in literature and photography. She was excited. Brooke Davis was actually excited. When was the last time she felt that. Not only was she about to embark upon new unfamiliar territory, but her two best friends would be at Hartford as well. She loved her girls. They could talk about everything and nothing at all.

Brooke smiled as she put the last suitcase into the trunk of her car. All she had to was shower get dressed and hit the road. Who knew where her parents were. What's new, she thought. They were always missing in action. Whatever, no matter what, her parents were not going to ruin the next two years of her life. She had planned it out carefully. She was going to go to Hartford study hard and party hard with her friends, the end. There would be no crying, no emotional turmoil, no drama from her parents and definitely no falling in love.