Sooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrry. I won't say anything until the end :)
"Don't you just love the last day of school?" Brooke cheered as she made her way into school. "I mean, this is our last day of being juniors. Next year we're going to be ruling the school be telling everyone what to do."
Peyton rolled her eyes right along with Haley and tried to block out Brooke's excited squeal. "Brooke, I don't think I've ever seen you this happy to be in school. Usually by now you're bitching and complaining about the studying you didn't do."
"How much cheering sucked the night before," Haley continued, laughing at Brooke's unamused face. "Why Haley didn't do your homework for you, why Peyton's band t-shirt doesn't go well with her jeans."
"You said that?" Peyton asked Brooke with her eyebrows raised. Brooke's eyes widened and she gently punched Haley in the shoulder for spilling something like that.
"I didn't say that exactly," Brooke defended, giving her best friend a sweet smile. "All I said was that the band t-shirt you were wearing last month or so didn't go well with the dark jeans you were wearing. Dark and dark don't sit well with pale ass people like you, Goldilocks."
"Brooke, that's not what you said," Haley started to say before Brooke threw her hand in front of her mouth. Peyton gave Brooke a look and started to tap her foot. Brooke laughed nervously and pinched Haley on the back of the neck, letting her know she had a big mouth.
"Don't listen to her, Peyton. She's got this weird thing where she likes to make up stories, mainly about me dissing your outfit, and then blow them way out proportion and then sometimes she gets me into trouble with the person she's just told and it just gets way out of hand. We're getting a second opinion on her condition so for now you'll just half to ignore the munchkin, okay?" Brooke blew out, trying to catch her breath after her long sentence. Peyton blinked a few times, shaking her head to get her back to reality.
Haley stared at Brooke with a surprised look on her face. "I think that is the biggest piece of crap I have ever heard in my life." Peyton laughed and nodded her head, patting Brooke on the shoulder for her good effort.
"Brooke, I really don't care what you think about the way I dress. I know you don't like it, but I do."
"If you didn't care then why would you let me make up some lame ass story as to why my sister, who is walking on a thin line now, told you that?" Brooke asked in disbelief, throwing her hands up in the air. "Those are like 75 words I'll never get back. I could have inhaled and exhaled at least 5 or 6 times in that period I spent making up that story."
"Don't be such a drama queen," Haley told her, rolling her eyes. Peyton laughed along with Brooke, who pretended to be amused before slapping Haley on the shoulder again. "Will you stop hitting me!"
"Stop making fun of me then!" Brooke shot back, sticking her tongue out. It was now Peyton's turn to roll her eyes as she watched the two sisters make faces at each other, hitting each other on the arm once in a while.
"Children!" Peyton said, having enough of their childish antics. She stepped in between the two just as Haley was about to hit Brooke again. "Can we just finish this last day of school in peace?"
"Tell Brooke to stop hitting me!"
Peyton sighed and turned to Brooke. "Stop hitting Haley." Haley smiled triumphantly as Brooke let out a gasp, staring at her best friend in shock.
"Tell Haley to shut her big mouth," Brooke said, crossing her arms. Peyton let out another sigh and turned to Haley.
"Haley, keep your mouth-"
"Big mouth," Brooke corrected with a fake cough. Peyton gritted her teeth and turned back to Brooke, gesturing for her to shut up.
"Just shutup, okay?" Peyton said, turning around in frustration when Brooke tapped her on the shoulder. "What?"
"What! That's not what I told you to tell her. I told you to tell her that I said to shut her big mouth. Instead of telling her what I told you to say, you went ahead and told her to shutup. I don't remember hearing the words shut and up coming out of my mouth, Peyton!"
"I get the point, I'll shutup." Haley said, rolling her eyes. Peyton threw her hands up in the air and stepped forward, leaving the two James girls to stare each other down.
"Peyton, tell Haley stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like that," Brooke pointed out, copying Haley's facial expressions. "That's how you're looking at me. Messenger Peyton," she snapped her fingers, motioning for Peyton to come over. "Tell her to stop looking at me like that."
"What?"
"Tell her!"
"Brooke!" Haley groaned, "this is so stupid! I can hear what you're saying, we don't need Peyton to dictate for us."
"You're right," Brooke sighed, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Sorry Peyton." Peyton smiled and nodded her head, patting Brooke on the head. "Do you forgive me?" Haley coughed and Brooke quickly corrected herself. "Us?"
"I suppose," Peyton sighed dramatically before laughing. She held out both her arms as the three of them linked together with one James girl on each side. They walked down the hall slowly, staring at the few students scattered throughout. "You know, you guys are like my bitches. I could totally sell you to some of these guys over here."
"Peyton!" Brooke laughed in amusement, nudging her friend with her hip. "You are not selling me to anyone. I don't care how hot they are or how much they're willing to pay."
"Brooke, I was only kidding. You're priceless, and trust me when I say that. Priceless." Peyton said, nudging Brooke back with her hip. Brooke smiled widely and rolled her eyes when she saw the new girl, Anna, staring at them.
"I think we should sell you to Anna, Peyton." Haley said with a giggle. Brooke nodded and looked at Peyton's shocked face. "I've seen the way she looks at you in gym class. She wants to tap that ass and get with it."
"Haley," Brooke said, shaking her head. "We don't say things like that. That's only if you're a black male living in the 90's." Haley nodded in embarrassment, and turned away. "So what do you say, P. Sawyer? Staring bid at $25 dollars?"
"Brooke don't you dare," Peyton hissed, watching with wide eyes as Brooke smiled deviously and made her way over to Anna. "Brooke!"
Brooke waved her off and tapped Anna on the shoulder, plastering a smile over her face. "Hi, Anna. What's up?" Before Anna could reply, Brooke nodded and smiled again. "Great. Do you have any money on you?"
"Um, like 50 bucks or so."
"Perfect!" Brooke clapped, turning back around to Peyton with a wink. "For that 50 bucks you can go on a date with my best friend Peyton. She's charming, funny, and an animal in bed." Peyton's cheeks turned a shade of magenta right along with Anna's.
"Wow," Anna finally choked out, glancing at Peyton with a smile. "I do love the curls on her. I'll take her."
"Great, great," Brooke smirked as Anna dug through her purse, taking out the money and handing it to her. "Thanks. She'll meet you around 10, in your f-ing dreams." Anna stared at her wide eyed as she took off down the hall with Peyton and Haley in tow. She let out a small sigh before breaking into a grin, anticipating her dream tonight.
"I am going to kill you!" Peyton yelled once her and Haley caught up with Brooke. "Has anyone told you how stupid you are? Don't go around making people question my sexuality! For all you know, Anna could actually think I'm gay."
"Sorry," Brooke whispered, not thinking about what could happen in the future with Anna. She pushed the money into Peyton's hands and sighed. "Here, you keep the money then."
"Thanks," Peyton grinned, stuffing the money into her back pocket. Haley laughed as the three of them linked arms again and started to make their way to wherever they wanted. No one went to class the last day so they had no intention of going either. "Can I buy you ladies some wonderful breakfast from the cafeteria?"
"I think I'll pass," Haley said, breaking out of Peyton's grip. She spotted Claire outside and started to walk towards the courtyard. "I'll see you guys later, okay?"
"Where's she going?" Brooke whispered to Peyton, watching as her sister made her way outside and sat down next to Claire. Peyton shrugged and tugged a reluctant Brooke along with her.
"I don't know, Brooke, just leave her alone." Peyton said, sighing when Brooke stopped and gazed out the window. "Come on."
"No, stop." Brooke mumbled, releasing her arm from Peyton's grip. "Something's not right, something's going to happen."
xxxx
"Hey," Haley whispered, sitting down next to Claire outside. Claire looked up and smiled, a black and blue bruise right under her eyes. "What happened to your eye?"
"The same thing that happened to your stomach," Claire whispered, making Haley self consciously drape her arm over her stomach. Haley did her best to give the blonde a sympathetic smile, but it turned into a frown.
"How come he hit you?" Haley asked quietly, wondering if she was to get an answer from Claire. Haley found it hard to believe that she was being nice to her. Just a few weeks ago she went out of her way to make her life a living hell.
Claire sighed and glanced down at her feet. "Because I finally told the police what he does. They arrested him and he's going to be in jail for a year or so."
"That's good," Haley said with a smile while breathing out a sigh of relief. With both Nathan and Christian locked behind bars she felt safer. "At least he can't hurt anyone for a while."
Just as Claire was about to say something, Theresa walked behind the two and cut in. "Claire, we heard about your brother, sorry to hear about him being in jail. It looks like Tutor Girl has a thing with sending cute guys to the big house."
Haley bit her lip and tried to ignore the obnoxious laughter coming from behind her. Claire stood up to her feet and grabbed Haley's arm, pulling her up to a standing position. "Thanks, Theresa. Come on, Haley, let's go over there."
"Aw, but I wasn't done talking to Tutor Girl," Theresa said with a fake smile. She pulled Haley away form Claire and looked at her smugly. "Look, Tutor Bitch, remember how I said you made a big mistake the other day when you slapped me in the face?"
"Vaguely," Haley gulped, looking back between Claire and Theresa. Theresa glared at her and she quickly nodded her head. "Yes, yes I do."
"Good," Theresa smiled, "because I am going to pay you back. And since it's the last day of school, I won't get into trouble for kicking your ass."
Haley let out a gasp when Theresa pushed her backwards. Claire tried to stop her, but Theresa pushed her too. Brooke, who had been watching from afar, started to march over when Peyton pulled her back.
"Brooke don't," Peyton said, keeping a firm grip on her best friend's arm. "Going over there will only make things worse."
"But if I don't go over there Theresa will hurt her." Brooke retorted, trying to get out of Peyton's grip.
"You have to let her fight her own battles some day," Peyton told her empathetically, "and that some day is today." Brooke sighed heavily as Peyton dropped her arm with a smile.
"You're going to hurt me in front of everyone?" Haley squeaked, a chill going down her spine when Theresa nodded menacingly. Claire watched on, feeling helpless in the situation.
"Claire, do me a favor and go get Bevin for me, I want her to see me kick Tutor Girl's ass."
"Her name is Haley," Claire snapped, pushing Theresa away from Haley. "And why don't you go and get Bevin yourself. You have legs too."
Theresa's eyes bugged out of her head in shock at Claire's outburst. "Claire, are, are you standing up for her?" When Claire nodded, Theresa rolled her eyes and pushed Haley to the ground, receiving looks from the various students scattered throughout the courtyard. "What are you going to do about it?"
When Theresa stepped over Haley, Haley grabbed her ankle and managed to get her on the ground. "How do you like it?" She spat, glaring right back at Theresa. Theresa gasped in surprise and tried to pull her ankle out of Haley's hands.
"Let me go, you psycho!" Theresa yelled, tugging to get her ankle free. When she did, she stumbled to get to her feet, only to have Haley tackle her from behind. More and more students, including Brooke and Peyton gathered to watch the 'fight'.
"I used to be so afraid of you," Haley said through gritted teeth, pinning Theresa to the ground and sitting on top of her. "But now that I look back on, I realize there was nothing to be afraid of. You're nothing but a fake, pretentious bitch that makes people feel bad to make themselves look good."
"Tutor Girl, let me go right now," Theresa seethed, trying her best to get Haley off of her. When Haley didn't budge, she brought her leg up to kick her in the back, but failed miserably.
"This is for all those times you made me feel like a worthless piece of crap," Haley said, breathing heavily right before delivering a punch to the cheerleaders face. Many people gasped as Theresa yelped, watching Haley rise her fist up again, "and this is for all the times you sucked up to my sister."
Brooke watched with her mouth hung open in surprise as her quiet, shy, little sister repeatedly punched and slapped one of her former friends. Everyone seemed to be in shock that Tutor Girl would do something as outrageous as going after one of the most popular girls in school.
After about 2 minutes of punching, Haley let out a scream as Bevin came to her friends rescue, throwing her off Theresa. Bevin lifted a shocked Theresa to her feet and wrapped her arm around her waist tightly. "It's about time," Bevin muttered, dragging a cursing Theresa away, leaving everyone that witnessed the beating to clap.
Brooke and Peyton both ran over and looked at Haley with wide-eyes. "Haley," Brooke said, lifting her up off the ground and giving her a hug. "I am so proud of you!" Brooke beamed, laughing at Haley's embarrassed face. "I can't believe you just kicked Theresa's ass."
"That was awesome, Hales," Peyton agreed with a huge smile on her face. She was glad she held Brooke back otherwise she would have just seen a heated argument between the two cheerleading captains. "This is definitely the best last day of school ever."
"Come on, Rocky, let's go find Theresa and rub it in her face." Brooke squealed, pulling a still embarrassed Haley along with her. "Then we can call Taylor because this is like a defining moment in your life and she would love to know you stood up for yourself and kicked that bitch's ass."
xxxx
"Aw, don't cover it up," Brooke said with a smirk, walking into the girls bathroom and watching Theresa rub concealer all over her face. "Black and blue really suits you."
"Shutup," Theresa snapped, throwing the makeup into her purse and taking out some lipgloss before applying some to her bare lips. "You know, I've had it just about up to here for you two."
Brooke walked up to the cheerleader and looked at her in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about? And I'm glad Haley finally stood up to you, you've had that for a long time coming." Theresa rolled her eyes and placed the lipgloss back into her back before turning around to face Brooke.
"Listen, Brooke," Theresa snapped, startling Brooke a little bit. "I'll make you a little deal, okay?" Brooke raised her eyebrow and waited for Theresa to continue. "I'll leave Haley alone, if you-"
"If I what?" Brooke asked in a low voice. A smile broke out upon Theresa's face, signaling she was going to enjoy the next two sentences coming out of her mouth. Brooke sighed and motioned for her to go on. "If I what, Theresa?"
"It's simple really," Theresa told her with a grin. "I want full captainship of the squad. And, I also want you off the squad next year."
"Fine," Brooke said without hesitation. If giving up cheerleading was all it took to get Theresa off her sister's back then she was going to do it. "I'm done with cheerleading anyways."
"Good, good." Theresa said, the large grin still spread out upon her lips. "But that's not all." Brooke took a deep breath, grabbing onto the sinks for support after hearing the other end of Theresa's deal. "Take it or leave it, it's your sister's fate."
xxxx
Taylor grimaced as she attempted to make dinner tonight for her, Brooke and Haley. She decided to make pasta, Brooke's favorite, with a side of macaroni and cheese, Haley's favorite. It had only been a few days since she became their legal guardian and was trying make them feel more at ease by letting them know she can do this. Brooke came in the front door a few minutes later, shuffling her feet towards the kitchen. "Well, if it isn't the big bad senior."
"Yeah," Brooke whispered, sitting down at the table. "Where's Haley?" Taylor turned around and pointed to the stairs.
"She's upstairs, why? You two didn't get into another fight and you made her walk home again, right?' Taylor asked in a rush, prompting a laugh from Brooke, who shook her head. "Thank god."
Brooke sat at the table and twiddled with her thumbs, contemplating whether or not to tell Taylor about Theresa's proposition. "Tay, if I told you something, you promise not to get mad?"
"Okay," Taylor said cautiously, turning the macaroni off and walking over to Brooke. Brooke took a deep breath and decided to just let it all out.
"I'm leaving Tree Hill," she blew out, feeling like a whole weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "I'm going to go stay with Grandma in Chapel Hill and finish school over there." Taylor's eyes widened, before she burst into a fit of laughter. "I'm serious, Taylor."
Taylor immediately sobered up and she studied Brooke carefully. "What? Why would you want to leave Tree Hill? What the hell did you do?"
"Nothing!" Brooke exclaimed, running a hand through her hair, "nothing. I, I have to do this for Haley. Theresa, the girl who makes it her life goal to ruin our little sister's life, told me if I left Tree Hill, she'd leave Haley alone for good."
"Oh, Brooke," Taylor sighed, sitting down next to her. "You honestly don't believe that, do you? Give me this Theresa girl's number, I want to have a word with her."
"No, no." Brooke said, shaking her head. "Just, just let me do this okay? Trust me, Theresa may be a conniving little bitch, but she's not a liar. When she makes a promise, she keeps it."
Taylor shook her head from side to side and tapped her fingers on the table. "And what if she doesn't Brooke? Huh? What are you going to do then when you're 4 and a half hours away? You can't exactly walk home. You're not going, I don't care."
"Taylor," Brooke said in frustration, glaring at her sister. She was going to pull the whole 'you can't tell me what to do,' thing, but she realized Taylor could tell her what to do. "I have to go. It's for the best."
"Brooke," Taylor started, standing up with Brooke. They stood face to face, just inches apart. "I
forbid you go to."
"If you want what's best for Haley, then you'll let me go. My bus leaves at 10 tonight." Taylor sighed and threw her hands up in the air. "If you love me, you'll let me go."
"Brooke," Taylor sighed, staring at her little sister sadly. "Fine, then go ahead." Brooke smiled and hugged her tightly.
"Thanks, Tay," she whispered, pulling herself out of the embrace. "Just do me a favor and don't tell Haley I'm leaving Tree Hill, okay? I want to find the right time to tell her."
Taylor sighed heavily and pointed to behind Brooke. "You just did," she whispered, staring at Haley sadly. Brooke's heart skipped a beat and she slowly turned around to see Haley stood there with a shocked expression on her face.
"Haley..." she started to say, letting out a heavy sigh when Haley shook her head and turned around, running back up the stairs.
Yep. So, my original plan was to finish this whole story by the time I left for College. So unless I can pull 8+ chapters out of my ass by Wednesday, it's not gonna happen. So this is going to be the last chapter for a bit, just until I get into the whole College Mode. And I wanted to be evil and leave it as a cliffhanger ;)
And, I 'm getting way tooo far ahead of myself, but I'm planning on doing a sequel set 4 years into the future with the return of Nathan. It's going to me a lot more dark and depressing and sadder than this one. You can count on that. Anyways, thanks again with all your support with this story, it really means a lot
Kristin