2 updates in 2 days, huh? Well like I said, I just want to hurry up and finish this so the updates are going to be more frequent.

Haley cursed the school board the moment she stepped into the school, making them have school on Christmas Eve was just ridiculous. It was even worse because it was her 17th birthday and she didn't get much sleep the night before.

She made her way to her locker and sighed, slowly opening her combination. She placed her bag on the ground and stuffed the books in the locker, jumping up when someone slammed her locker door shut.

"Tutor Girl," Theresa snickered, looking at Haley in amusement. "Long time no see, how's it going?"

"Fine," Haley mumbled, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "How's it going with you?" She asked quietly, hoping the bell would ring soon.

Theresa shrugged her shoulders and flipped her hair back, enjoying watching the girl squirm. "Look, Haley, about Brooke…"

"You got what you want, she's gone," Haley snapped, wondering where her new found strength was coming from. "She's not coming home so don't worry, you don't have to be looking over your shoulder every minute."

"I didn't think she'd actually go," Theresa admitted, her voice low and somewhat apologetic.

"Well she did," Haley told her harshly, wanting to move the conversation along and get away from the cheer slut. "Brooke, Brooke's being Brooke and refusing to come home. Now, just leave me the hell alone."

"Haley wait," Theresa called out when Haley turned around. She grabbed Haley's injured wrist and immediately let go when Haley yelped. "What's wrong with you? You're, you're not your normal self."

"People change, Theresa," Haley said, carefully putting her injured arm down to her side. "You should really look into that, maybe it will do you some good." Theresa sighed and watched Haley begin to storm off again.

"I'm sorry."

Haley turned around in shock, wondering if she heard right or not. "What, what did you just say? You're, you're sorry?"

Theresa nodded and looked at Haley sincerely. "I realized how it must feel and I thought about it for a long time and I'm, I'm just sorry. I never meant to-" She stopped mid-sentence, staring at the figure that appeared behind Haley. "I, I have to go."

Haley watched in confusion as Theresa took off down the hallway without looking back. She shrugged her shoulders and turned around, bumping right into the person standing behind her. "Taylor? What are you doing here?"

"I sort of felt bad for making you go to school on your birthday so I talked to Principal Turner and he's letting me dismiss you for the day." Taylor told her with a smile, the smile getting bigger when Haley's eyes lit up in excitement. "You're lucky that man loves me, he's not the easiest negotiator."

"What did you do? Offer him some sort of reward for letting me out early?" Haley teased, nudging Taylor with her hip. Taylor's eyes widened in disgust and she gently pushed Haley away.

"Just come on before I change my mind," Taylor said, motioning for Haley to go first. The two walked out of the school in silence, neither of them wanting to bring up the previous night. "How's your arm?" Taylor finally asked, feeling it was necessary to know.

Haley shrugged and bit her lip. It still stung a bit but she was used to it by now. "It's okay, it's still a little painful but I'll get over it soon. I always do."

Taylor wrinkled her nose as she got into the car. "Don't say stuff like that, Hay." Haley apologized and the two sat in silence, listening to nothing but the radio. "So, what would you like to do Birthday Girl?"

"You don't have anything planned?" Haley asked in mock shock, widening her eyes for dramatic effect. Taylor rolled her eyes and shook her head. "We could get something to eat, I'm hungry."

"Sounds good," Taylor agreed, "I know just the place."

xxxx

"Karen's?" Haley questioned when Taylor pulled up to the front of Karen's café. "What happened to the new fancy restaurant downtown?"

"Haley, it's 9 o'clock in the morning, it's not open," Taylor told her with a laugh, "besides, where else are you going to get a free breakfast?"

"At home," Haley mumbled, pulling her sleeves further down when Karen came over to greet them. "Hey, Karen."

Karen smiled and immediately gave Haley a hug, holding her tight. "Oh, Happy Birthday, sweetie," she gushed, gently brushing the snow that was in Haley's hair away. "I can't believe you're already 17, next year you'll be an adult."

"Lord help us then," Taylor said, gently prying Haley away from Karen's death grip. Haley smiled at Karen and felt a little uncomfortable after the silence filled the air. "So, got any more booths left?"

"Of course," Karen said, ushering them to their usual booth near the window and placing two menus in front of them. "I'll give you a few minutes to think it over, although I may already know what you want."

Haley took her coat off and handed the menu back to Karen with a smile. "Chocolate chip pancakes with a side of hash browns and orange juice." Taylor was about to scan the menu when Haley snatched it away from her. "She'll have the same."

"Sounds good," Karen said with a smile, placing her notepad into her apron and walking up to the front to greet another customer.

"And who told you that you can order for me?" Taylor asked as her cell phone rang. Haley shrugged and started to pick at the band-aid. "Hello?" Taylor asked, reaching over the table to swat Haley's hand away. "No, I'm right here. Yeah, I'm with her now, why, are you home already?"

"Who are you talking to?" Haley asked as Taylor's eyes widened and she bit her lip. Taylor waved her off like it was no big deal and thanked Karen when she set their orange juice down.

Taylor ignored her sister's question and continued on with her phone conversation. "I'm not yelling at you, Ben! I just didn't think you'd be getting back until later. We're getting breakfast at Karen's. No, you can't meet us here, just, just stay there and we'll see you later, okay?"

"He can come," Haley told her, placing a straw in her drink and taking a sip. "I mean he is your boyfriend after all and you did blow him off last night."

"Since when are you such a relationship expert?"

"Here we are," Karen said, interrupting the two sisters and placing their food down in front of them. Haley's cheeks turned a shade of magenta as Karen placed a candle in her pancakes and proceeded to light it.

"No, don't sing," Haley whined, turning her head away, not wanting to hear an obnoxious version of Happy Birthday sung to her.

"Oh, fine," Karen sulked, letting out a sigh. "At least blow out the candle and make a wish."

Haley let out a fake groan and leaned over, blowing out the candle out and quickly taking it out of the pancakes before the wax dripped into them. "Okay, there. Now, I'm starving."

Karen watched with a smile as Haley dug into her food, making sounds of praise as she took bite after bite. Her smile turned into a frown when Haley rolled up her sleeve, exposing her injured wrist. "Haley, what the heck happened to your wrist?"

"Nothing," Haley quickly said, dropping her fork and rolling down her sleeve. "Nothing, nothing happened to it."

"Haley," Taylor warned, looking at Karen's concerned face. Haley began to play with her food before dropping her fork again in frustration.

"What?" She snapped, beginning to tap her foot impatiently. "Shut up, Taylor."

"Hey," Karen interjected, confused by Haley's sudden mood change. "Haley, I just asked a simple question, there's no need to snap at Taylor."

"Sorry," Haley mumbled, not looking up at either women. She placed the fork on the plate and pushed it in front of her, signaling she was done. Taylor and Karen exchanged a look of concern. "I'm done, can we go?"

"Hold on, Hay," Taylor told her, watching her sister squirm around in the booth. She knew if she opened her mouth to Karen then Haley would most definitely hate her for the rest of her life. "Why don't you go wait in the car, I'll be done in a second."

Haley nodded and crawled out of the booth, throwing her jacket on and walking out of the café, not bothering to say a word to any of the two women. Taylor let out a groan and Karen placed her dish towel on her shoulder and sat down in Haley's seat.

"Sorry about that," Taylor apologized, looking at Karen sadly. "I don't know what's wrong with her Karen, she's like a time bomb waiting to explode. One minute she's fine, the next minute she's jumping down my throat."

"How long has she been like that?" Karen asked sympathetically, placing her hand over

Taylor's. "Her attitude I mean, what's going on with her?"

"Ever since Princess Brooke left, she hasn't been the same. I don't know what to do anymore, Karen." Taylor paused for a minute, thinking it would be a good idea to tell Karen about Haley's cutting issues. "Last night, last night I caught her cutting herself."

"What?" Karen asked, feeling her heart skip a beat. Like Taylor, she never imagined Haley doing that to herself. "I, I think I want to go have a talk with Haley right now if you don't mind."

Taylor gulped and imagined Haley blowing up at her when she found out that Taylor told someone else about her cutting. But it was for her own good. Karen was like a mother to Haley and if someone could talk some sense into her, it would be Karen. "Sure, go ahead. Just be prepared for the wrath of Haley."

xxxx

Haley sat in the cold car, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to try and keep warm. She jumped when she heard a tapping on the window and made a face when she saw Karen outside the window with a cup of hot chocolate in her hands.

Karen smiled slightly and pushed the cup further towards the window, watching as Haley's eyes became glued to the hot steam rising from the cup. Haley unlocked the door and opened it, graciously taking the hot liquid.

"Thanks," she mumbled, blowing on the top and taking small sips. Karen gently bent down and placed her hand on Haley's knee.

"Do you want to move in the back?" Karen asked, gesturing towards the backseat of the car. She stood up to her feet, allowing Haley room to get out and opened the car door,

"Why, are you planning on making love to me or something?" Haley asked sarcastically, immediately shutting up when Karen gave her a warning look. "Sure why not." The two clambered in, Karen holding the hot chocolate while Haley got herself situated. "Thanks," she whispered, taking the cup back and taking another small sip.

"No problem," Karen told her with a smile. The two sat in silence before Karen finally found the nerve to speak up. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

Haley shrugged her shoulders and placed the hot chocolate in between her legs. "I would think Taylor covered everything."

"She did," Karen sighed and reached over and grabbed Haley's arm. "I figured I'd hear it from you first." Haley made no effort to pull her arm away, instead she turned her head away and drummed her fingers on the side of the cup.

"There's not much to tell," Haley admitted truthfully, wincing when Karen slowly rolled up her sleeves and examined the cuts. Karen's heart broke into tiny pieces as she looked at the scars that covered the younger girl's arm.

"Haley, sweetie, what do you get out of cutting yourself?" Karen asked quietly, gently releasing her grip on Haley's arm. "If you think it helps, it doesn't, sweetie, it doesn't help at all."

Haley rolled her eyes, getting fed up with the same lines over and over again. "You don't understand. Nobody understands. All those years I spent alone, the razor was the only one there to comfort me. It was the only there for me."

"Honey, that's not true," Karen told her soothingly, putting her arm around her shoulders and giving them a small squeeze. "Look, I never told anyone this, but maybe this will help you."

Haley watched as Karen rolled up her own sleeve and pointed to the long scar on her left arm. "How does the scar you got from surgery going to help me?"

"I didn't get it from surgery," Karen whispered, trying to bite back her tears. "After my parents divorced when I was 15, things got harder for me and I just couldn't deal with it. I had nobody there for me so one night I tried…well you know. But the point is, sweetie, I didn't have anyone there for me like you do. You've got two sisters who love and would do anything to for you. What do you think your parents would say if they knew you cut yourself?"

Haley sighed and thought about Taylor and how upset she was when she found out her cutting. She could only imagine how Brooke would react. If she ever came home that is. "They would be disappointed."

"And how do you think Taylor feels?"

"Disappointed," Haley whispered, finishing off the hot chocolate and setting the cup down next to her. "I get it Karen, you're disappointed."

Karen took Haley's hands in her own and gently squeezed them. "I am not disappointed, Haley. I'm just, I'm just saddened that you would do this to yourself. I wish you could have come to talk to me, maybe it would have helped."

"Nothing helps," Haley groaned, suddenly feeling confined in the car. "After Christmas I'm going to get the help I need and it's going to be okay, it's all going to go away."

Karen looked defeated and gently gave Haley a hug and a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm always going to be here for you, kiddo, always." Haley nodded her head and rested her head on Karen's shoulder, lucky to have someone like her in her life.

"Thanks, Karen," she whispered, trying to keep her teeth from chattering as the two felt the cold in the car. "I think, I think it's time to go inside."

"You got it," Karen told her with a laugh, following Haley outside and into the Café, smiling when Haley went back over to the table where Taylor was sitting at. "It's on the house," she said, bringing two mugs over to the booth and placing them on the table.

Taylor smiled and rolled her eyes as her cell phone rang again. "What? Jesus, okay, we'll be home soon, okay? God," she hissed, hanging up her phone and placing back in her purse. "Hay, are you ready?"

"Um, sure," Haley mumbled, watching Taylor get up from the booth and giving Karen a quick hug. "Thanks again, Karen," she whispered, giving the older woman a hug and a quick wave as she walked out the front door with Taylor in tow.

xxxx

"Close your eyes," Taylor commanded as they stepped on their front porch. Haley looked at her weirdly and shook her head.

"Tay, I'm cold," she whined, just wanting to go inside and curl up in a ball on the couch. "I don't have time to play your games."

"Close your eyes!"

"Okay," Haley said, shutting her eyes and feeling Taylor lead her into the house. "Can I open them now?" She felt Taylor place her on the couch and she opened them, looking around the house to see nothing new with it. "Why the heck did you have me close my eyes? There's nothing here!"

Taylor sighed, realizing Haley was never going to shut up about it. "Well, it was a SURPRISE, but I guess it's not here YET."

Haley raised her eyebrow and stood up. "Taylor, it's 10 o'clock in the morning, are you drunk already?" She teased, laughing when Taylor whacked her across the arm. "I'm kidding!"

"Come here," Taylor hissed, grabbing Haley's hand and leading her over to the stairs, stopping at the foot of them. Haley noticed pieces of paper on every other stair and picked the first one up in confusion.

When you have no light to guide you
And no one to walk to walk beside you
I will come to you

"What is this?" Haley asked in confusion, scanning the paper over again. "I don't get it."

"Just keep going," Taylor told her with a smile, nudging her to go up the stairs. Haley picked up the second piece of paper and read it slowly.

Sometimes when all your dreams may have seen better days
And you don't know how or why, but you've lost your way

Have no fear when your tears are fallin'
I will hear your spirit callin'

"Keep going," Taylor urged her sister, who kept looking up at her in confusing. "It will all make sense in a few minutes."

"There's not going to be a stripper in my room, is there?"

"I wish," Taylor laughed, wiggling her eyebrows at Haley. "Seriously, Hay, just be quiet and keep going!"

Haley picked up the third piece of paper at the top of the stairs and scanned over it. She let out a heavy sigh, just wanting the waiting to be over with and have everything revealed.

'cause even if we can't be together
We'll be friends now and forever

"Finally," Haley mumbled, stopping outside her door. She thought it was weird that her bedroom door was shut but didn't bother to say anything, for fear of Taylor yelling at her again. She picked up the last piece of paper, feeling her heart skip a beat.

So if you feel that your soul is dyin'
And you need the strength to keep tryin'
I'll reach out and take your hand

"Open the door," Taylor whispered, watching with a smile as Haley slowly opened the door, probably slightly scared as to what was going to be behind it. But what was behind the door was not what Haley expected.

"Happy Birthday!" Brooke squealed, wrapped in a red bow with a huge smile plastered all over her face.

Haley's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock at the sight in front of her. "I guess wishes really do come true," she whispered, still in disbelief that Brooke was standing in front of her.

SURPRISE! You know how long that last scene has been in my head. Too long! Well I'm glad it's finally out and now you can all enjoy Brooke being home.