"So, been to the mall lately? 'Cause you know Peyt, you never seem to make it there without me. And if no me equals no mall and no mall equals no style then that equals something we can't have no can we." Brooke pushed her hour glass frame into the tall blonde next to her. She looked up at Peyton and her smile was suddenly replaced by a look of confusion and questioning. Brooke bit her bottom lip and squinted. "Maybe this little excursion should have been to the mall."
"Hey, I don't look that bad" Peyton interjected as she looked over herself. "Things don't go out of style in a month Brooke"
"Oh yes they do, have I taught you nothing." Brooke rolled her large brown eyes and laughed at what she considered naivety. Peyton joined in on the laughter which soon echoed down the empty streets behind them. The two girls had avoided the sore topics they had to address. For the moment they were joking and talking as thought nothing had ever changed between them.
They reached the park still arm in arm and made their way over to one of the trees by the lake. They both sat in the grass, enjoying the shade of the leaves. "So, who's gunna start" Peyton said hesitantly as they both stopped laughing.
"I will." The brunette offered. "Okay, when I said I wasn't an innocent bystander in everything what I meant was I probably never should have gone out with Lucas." Her brown eyes wandered towards the grass that surrounded her.
"Brooke, you had very right to go out with him. I basically rejected him. He didn't belong to me, and at Nathan's party I pretty much killed anything that we did have." Peyton could feel the knot building in her stomach.
"That's just it Peyt, you should have had your chance as that party. I tried to hook you and Nathan up when I knew Lucas was going for you. When you said that you were in my way you were right and I knew that and I was basically willing to do anything I could to get you out of my way." Brooke let the first tear slip from her eye as she forced herself to look into Peyton's hazel eyes.
"I pushed myself out of the way, and just because you wanted a guy I kept on the back burner doesn't make you the bad friend." Peyton forced a smile to try and lighten the mood but she knew it wasn't going to work.
"Peyton I tried to get you back with Nathan, I couldn't have been a worse friend when I did that. I knew he was bad for you and wanted you guys together for my own sick little pleasure and to get with Lucas. He was going to talk to you at that party and I sent Nathan after you and pulled Luke aside. Things might not have turned out the way they did if I hadn't intervened. I took advantage of the fact that you weren't ready for a serious relationship." Peyton could feel her own hot tears burning behind her eyes. She had listened to her friend admit something they both knew but wouldn't say. Now everything was out in the open and all they could do was face it and hope to overcome it.
"Brooke you were drunk that night. We all know how you get when you're drunk, I don't blame you for that. I blew my chance with Luke. Despite your interference will still wound up in the bed room and it was my insecurities that pushed him away not you." She couldn't hold them back anymore. The warm tears spilled over the brims of her eyes as she looked at her former best friend.
"But I still shouldn't have went for him. I knew how much you liked him and I dated him anyway. God, I was so caught up in my own happiness that I didn't realize I was making you miserable. I made you hang out with us and I should have known you would be uncomfortable." Brooke looked up at the clear shy, regretting everything she had done and what she had left to say.
"Brooke I never told you that I was uncomfortable and you're not a mind reader so how would you know."
"As a best friend I'm supposed to know what you're thinking and deep down I did know but I didn't care. I wanted to be happy and he did that for me so I ignored your feelings. I destroyed our friendship first and I'm sorry." Brooke could feel her heart racing as she waited for Peyton to comment. She wanted to be forgiven so badly but with what she was holding in she didn't think she would.
"Brooke everyone wants to be happy and as your best friend I didn't want to take that from you so I never tried to stop you from dating Lucas. But I wound up doing that anyway." Peyton broke eye contact and looked out across the lake. She felt the guilt begin to eat away at her again. Brooke was sitting in front of her apologizing for something she did wrong.
"Peyton I need to know, what happened on that trip you guys took." A new set of tears flowed from the deep brown eyes. Peyton was taken back by the sudden question but knew she had to answer. She took a deep breath and recalled the events of that day.
"We were on our way back when I realized I didn't have my bracelet so we went back to the hotel to look for it. It was on the bed and I picked it up. We got ready to leave and something inside me just cracked and I started crying. I turned to face him and I just got lost in his eyes. Brooke I still didn't comprehend anything that was going on around me and I just wanted to be happy, to feel safe and he always make me feel that way so I kissed him. And I liked it" Peyton couldn't turn to look at Brooke, the guilt was eating at her but she knew she had to continue, she had to get it out. "Something about it felt right to me, I felt like I didn't have to worry about anything, like he was going to protect me no matter what. One thing just led to another but then my hair got caught in his necklace and he said that you had given it to him, so we stopped. That day just opened up a whole new door for both of us and when we got back we couldn't close it again."
"Peyton why didn't you just tell me. I mean that would have been better." Brooke's stomach was forming its own knot and she couldn't get it undone.
"We were going to the night we were supposed to redo my room but then you told me you were in love with him and I couldn't go through with it. Then I was going to tell you the next night, but he got in the accident and it just threw everything up in the air. Every time we tried to say something things just got in the way and then you guys broke up and I couldn't stand being around him. But that day he came to my room and I was just so happy to see him and to know that he was okay that I kissed him again. I wasn't even thinking. Then you found out on your own and that brought us to where we are now, in one big mess." Peyton forced herself to look over at Brooke who was just staring in at her in disbelief.
"Peyton, I don't know if you're gunna believe me or not, but I'm kind of okay with all of this now. I told you once that you can't help who you love and I was talking about you and Nathan. But when it came to you and Lucas I became a hypocrite. He didn't love me as anything more then a friend because he was crazy about you and I knew it. When I found out you guys were going behind my back I wasn't just mad because he cheated with you, it more that I was jealous that you found someone like him and I didn't. You got someone that was complete devoted to you and I made you feel bad for loving him. Falling in love with Lucas was out of your control and I never should have made you give that up. I didn't talk to you because I was mad, jealous and I felt guilty." Brooke rested her head on her shoulder as she found interest in the grass once again.
"Brooke that doesn't make anything I did right."
"I'm not saying it does." Brooke said bitterly. She took a breath to relax herself. "All I'm saying is that I shouldn't have placed all that blame on you." She looked up at Peyton's tear stained face and red eyes. "Peyton there's something else" She didn't want to tell her but she knew she couldn't keep avoiding it. Peyton looked at Brooke in anticipation, unsure of what to expect.
"I knew about everything with Ricky, that he was hurting you." Peyton looked at the guilty face in front of her in disbelief. "When I first figured it out I went to talk to him and he told me that if I didn't keep my mouth shut I was gunna regret. He said that he'd do worse to you then he already was and I didn't know what to do." The petite girl let more tears escape as she forced herself to continue. "I wanted to help you I did but I couldn't think of how. Peyt I didn't want him to do anything real bad, or any worse." Peyton's mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts but one in particular was standing out.
"Brooke when did you talk to him?" Peyton feared that answer but she had to know.
"About two weeks after you started going out." Brooke watched as a look of horror flashed across the blondes face. Peyton's skin started to grow pale as realization hit her. Brooke knew something was wrong and something inside her told her that it was in some way her fault. That was when she remembered it. Peyton hadn't been in school for a week and everyone said that her and Ricky had taken a trip somewhere. "Peyton where were you that week you weren't in school." Brooke swallowed hard, knowing she didn't want the answer to her question.
"In the hospital." She whispered. "Herapedme." Peyton's words were jumbled and extremely quiet, but Brooke knew what she said. She also knew that if she never talked to Rick it might not have happened. She couldn't sit there anymore, she got up and walked over the edge of the lake looking down at her reflection. Staring back at her was a heartbroken and distraught girl who might have caused her supposedly best friend the worst pain possible. She watched as a tall blonde figure appeared in the water next to her. The brunette awaited the anger and fault that Peyton was going to bestow upon her. "I don't blame you" Was all Peyton said.
"How could you not." Brooke asked in a shaky voice startled by the simple comment.
"Because, if he didn't do it then, then he would have done it some other time. Brooke I know you didn't ask for it to happen and that's all that's matters to me." Peyton forged her best smile to make the brunette feel a little better. Brooke turned and hugged Peyton tightly. She couldn't believe that Peyton wasn't mad at her, that she didn't blame her. She had developed a hatred for her best friend over a guy. Peyton merely forgave her even though she was probably responsible for the torment that would follow her around for the rest of her life.
"I'm so sorry for everything. I was so stupid." She whispered into the curly blonde hair around her.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for." Peyton pulled back and looked into the brunettes dark eyes. "Brooke why don't we clean the slate, start over new. I mean I know certain things can't be forgotten but I Peyton Sawyer forgive you Brooke Davis for every and anything." She smiled with hopeful expectations. Brooke returned the smile as she recalled the saying they had made in middle school after their week long fight.
"I Brooke Davis forgive you Peyton Sawyer for every and anything." She bit her bottom lip before hugging her best friend tightly. When they pulled back both girls had grins on their faces, but Peyton's faded slightly.
"Brooke I want you to be honest, are you okay with me and Luke?" Brooke thought momentarily before giving her answer.
"Honestly, no." Peyton looked away and gazed out over the water. "But…" she snapped her head around as Brooke continued. "I can deal with it. I'd be even more upset if you two weren't together, you're meant to be and you deserve him. He love you Peyton and you're crazy about him. I thought I really love him but it was nothing compared to what you feel." The smiles formed on the two girls faces.
"Thank you Brooke." Peyton hugged her friend again. Brooke wrapped her arm around Peyton's as they started walking back into town. Brooke rested her head on the blondes shoulder.
"Besides" the brunette started. "I for one am not going to be responsible for ruining the fairytale romance." They both laughed. "So P. Sawyer, I have a question." Peyton looked down at the devious looking figure.
"Shoot" she said warily.
"What were we fighting about back in 6th grade?" Brooke laughed. Al she could remember was that they didn't talk to each other for a week.
"I told you your shirt was the ugliest thing I had ever seen or something like that" They both laughed.
"And then we started hanging out again when we had to pick someone to sit next to on the bus trip." Brooke said between laughs.
"I remember that. We didn't want to sit next to anyone else so we immediately found each other." Peyton rested her head on the brunettes.
"And then the whole bus ride all we talked about was going shipping at the mall because Amy Saunders had my shirt you called ugly."
"We decided we were gunna burn the shirt and deny you every buying it because she was captain of the chess club something like that." The two girls burst into fits of laughter as the reminisced on the petty quarrel.
"Those were the good old days" Brooke chirped.
"Yeah back when we were gunna marry Tim and Nathan if Brad Pitt wasn't available." They both nearly rolled over as they thought about the idea of marring those two. Brooke suddenly stopped laughing and her face grew serious.
"I don't know about you Peyton but it if things don't work out between Brad and Jen I have no problem being a rebound." Peyton shook her head and rolled her eyes at the seductive girl leaning against her. "Peyt I got another question."
"Alright, but I don't know if I could take anymore laughing." Petyon looked down and waited for Brooke to speak.
"What…is your favorite sexual position…from last night?" She bit her lip and put on a sly smile as she looked up at Peyton's shocked face.
"Brooke" the blonde gasped in disbelief.
"What, I heard Haley talking to you and if she's going to get the dirt then so am I. As you're best friend it is my job to know everything that happens between you and any man that walks this earth, regardless of who he is." Brooke knew it should bother her to hear about Lucas and Peyton or to even talk about them, but it didn't, and she was glad.
"If you're willing to come to Haley's tonight you can find out the basics and then if you still want them you can come to my house for details." Peyton raised an eyebrow as Brooke face lit up.
"I'm so there. Now go have fun with lover boy, the more details to dish the better." Brooke smiled as she released Peyton's arm in front of Luke's house. She watched as Peyton walked into the bedroom. She could see the shadows through the window as the couple embraced lovingly. She was happy for her friends, Peyton in particular. She knew Peyton deserved to be happy and if Lucas made her happy then Brooke was fine with them. She wasn't sure whether she was okay with it because it soothed her guilt or because it was the right thing for a best friend to feel. She knew part of it was to stop her from feeling guilty but something inside told her the majority of her happiness was from the latter.