Well, sorry it took so long. This was a hard chapter to get down. I hope everybody had a fantastic Christmas (or Hannukah or a great day) and wishing you all a Happy New Year. See you in 2006!
Chapter Forty-Three: But We Danced Anyway
Boxes, boxes and more boxes.
That was what Brooke's room was littered with on the Thursday morning in February.
Peyton Sawyer's eyebrows arched up as she surveyed the scene in front of her that afternoon.
"So this is where you've been all day," Peyton said inviting herself into Brooke's room. "We started to get worried."
Brooke just gave Peyton an exhausted look. "I'm taking the day off from school."
"But it's your birthday, Brooke. You should be out celebrating not packing!" Peyton edged closer to her best friend, "Why don't you give it up for now, and tomorrow the whole gang will help you move; Jake, Nathan, Haley, everybody."
"I can't, Peyton. Tomorrow will be too late." Brooke replied as she picked up an empty box and began piling in CDs and videos.
Peyton crouched down besides her, "Look, you're only moving to my house. It's literally ten minutes away. We'll be done in no time. Just enjoy today. Don't spend your birthday like this."
"Why not? On my sixteenth birthday my mom told me that my dad was going to jail and we lost all our money. Last year I found out that my boyfriend cheated on me and all my friends lied about it," Peyton looked away sheepishly, "Why shouldn't my eighteenth birthday be spent being thrown out of a house?" She stood up moving the box to another area of the room, "Maybe if I'm real lucky, I'll get an aneurysm for my nineteenth!" she added with mock enthusiasm.
"Oooh, you're not in a good mood." Peyton surmised.
"What was your first clue?"
"Look, Brooke, don't do this alone. Don't do it today. Take a break. You've been at this since-"
"Three o'clock this morning," Brooke replied not bothering to look up from her next box she was packing. "And still I haven't finished getting rid of all this junk!" she exclaimed finally throwing her hands in the air. "This sucks, I'm never going to get it done. I came to Tree Hill with four suitcases and six boxes. How have I now managed to get eight suitcases and fourteen boxes?"
Peyton caught her hands and helped Brooke calm herself down, "Okay, let's not go giving yourself an aneurysm early. Take a deep breath and get your coat. We're going out."
"I can't, Peyton. You know that." Brooke sighed, "I have to be out of here before Dan-"
"Forget that jerk. It's your birthday and you're not spending it like this. I won't allow it." Peyton gave a small smile. "Come on." She pulled a reluctant Brooke out of the door and forced her to sit quietly in the car until they pulled up to a gym.
"Oh goodie! For my birthday you're making me work-out! Woo!" Brooke waved her hands lazily in the air. Peyton chuckled.
"Okay, I'm going to ignore that because I honestly believe you'll love what I have in store for you."
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Three hours later, Brooke walked briskly out of the gym freshly showered and rejuvenated. She cast a look behind her at the exhausted blonde limping after her. Brooke chuckled.
"Was it that bad?" Brooke asked. "You're Peyton Sawyer. You're supposed to be all 'grrr' and mean and manly-" Peyton shot her a look. "What I mean is who would have thought that I rule at kickboxing and you suck at it?"
"You know, most people would say: 'Thank you, Peyton, for taking me to a kickboxing class for my birthday. Sorry that you're all battered and bruised though.'" Peyton said sarcastically. "My body hurts in places I didn't even know where there." She winced.
Brooke gave her a mock-pout and propped her up as they walked slowly back to Peyton's car.
"Thank you," Brooke said sincerely.
"No problem. Listen, I'm going to head over to the spa and try out their hot tub. Care for another birthday treat?" Peyton offered.
"I would, Peyton," Brooke checked her watch, "But that kickboxing class cut off another couple of hours and I still need to pack half of my room up." She sighed heavily, "And I've got to do it."
Peyton nodded as she checked her watch, "Okay, okay. We'll go back. You'll have to drive though because I think I've lost all feeling in my feet."
Brooke drove Peyton's old convertible all the way back to the Scott mansion, dreading facing the huge task in front of her.
However when she entered her room, she found piles of neatly organized boxes that housed all of her belongings and a very proud – but exhausted – Nathan, Haley and Jake.
"What did you guys do?" she asked as she looked around.
"We packed!" Haley told her with a grin as she went to hug her best friend, "Happy birthday, Brooke."
"We also already moved half of your stuff to Peyton's so there's only this lot left." Jake explained, "None of us were ready to let you spend your birthday doing this."
"That is so amazing. I love all of you!" she gathered them in for a big group hug. "But you didn't have to do it."
"Well we kind of did," Nathan buried his hands in his pockets, "You see, we didn't want you working through the night since you're now eighteen and we need to celebrate that fact." He pulled out a blindfold from one of his pockets. "Turn around and close your eyes." He instructed.
Brooke did as she was told, "Okay, but if you wanted to kidnap me Nate, you shouldn't do it in front of your wife." She giggled before groaning at the light punch Haley gave her and Nathan tied the blindfold tightly across her eyes. He waved his hand in front of her face, "Can you see anything?"
"Nope."
"Good. Follow us." Nathan took one of her hands and slowly began leading her out of the house, guiding her gently down the stairs and making sure she was safely in the car.
"I have a question," Brooke piped up from the back as Haley held onto Brooke's hand as reassurance. "How long will I have to wear this blindfold?"
"Just a few more minutes," Haley promised as she looked outside the window to see how far away they were from their destination. True to her word, within ten minutes the car came to an eventual stop and they helped the birthday girl out of the car and into another building.
Brooke could hear the sound of her heels hit the hard floor and echo off the walls, her curiosity peaked at where her friends had bought her. Fortunately the blindfold was untied and Brooke looked at the mystery room she was in.
"Ta-da!" Haley sang in glee as she awaited Brooke's reaction.
"This is Tric…" Brooke began as her eyes moved across the sparkling decorations with 'Happy Birthday Brooke!' printed across them. The DJ stand had been set up in a corner and Mouth was already there practicing. He gave her a friendly wave. A few tables had been set up around the dance-floor and on one table was a huge chocolate cake with nineteen candles ready to be lit. "What is this?" she asked.
"It's our gift to you," Karen spoke up as she approached Brooke. "Haley, Nathan, Peyton and Jake wanted to throw you a party and I made all the arrangements. We all figured that you deserve something spectacular for your eighteenth birthday and here it is!" Karen threw her arms over Brooke to give her a hug.
"You didn't have to do this…" Brooke said earnestly, "You've already done so much and-"
"Stop right there, Brooke," Karen cut her off and handed her a box with a pretty bow on the top, "Just open this and enjoy your night. It's all for you."
Inside the box was a gorgeous evening dress that Brooke knew was expensive. She gasped in both admiration and surprise.
"We decided to make it a little classy and have a formal party. There's a dressing room at the back of the club with make-up and everything you need to make you look a million-dollars. You go get ready and we'll take care of everything." Karen promised. "The party starts in an hour, so you'd better hurry up."
Before Brooke would say anymore, Haley and Peyton whisked her to the back of the club and into the small dressing room, eagerly waiting for Brooke to try on the dress and do her hair and make-up.
As Brooke sat in front of the mirror in her dress while Haley did her hair and Peyton put on her own dress, she grinned widely; this being the first birthday in years where she wasn't ending the night in tears.
Of course, the night was still young.
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Less than an hour and a half later, the party was more or less in full swing and Brooke was receiving compliments and well-wished left, right and center. It was almost difficult to have a moment alone. But, nevertheless, she was having the time of her life.
One face, however, was missing and she wasn't sure why she felt so disappointed at not seeing it. After all, it was a year ago exactly that he'd broken her heart, crushed it and sent her on a lonely downward spiral she'd probably still be in if Nathan hadn't valiantly rescued her and slapped some sense into her.
Which reminded her that she needed to buy Nathan a gift or something.
"Brooke!" Karen's voice demanded Brooke's attention and the two hugged, "Are you having fun?"
Brooke nodded, "Yeah, it's amazing. Thank you, Karen."
"Oh, it was nothing," she waved a hand haphazardly to dismiss it, "I just hope that everything goes to plan." She mused aloud.
"What plan?" Brooke asked.
"Uh, nothing, nothing." Karen cursed herself for the mistake.
"While you're here, I just want to thank you."
"You did five seconds ago," the older woman laughed.
"No, I meant for everything. Taking me into your home, and feeding me, and looking after me, and being more of a mother to me than my own ever was," Brooke took a deep breath. "You've been amazing."
"Don't worry about it, Brooke. You don't need to thank me. I'm just sorry it's not been the best of years." Karen apologized, "And you do know that you don't have to move out. I don't want you to think that you were in anyway forced out of the house. I love you being there. You know, I could talk to Dan and make him—"
"It's okay, Karen, you don't have to do that. I think it was time for me to leave anyway. Plus, staying with Peyton is only temporary until I find an apartment or something. Besides, after graduation I am planning on leaving Tree Hill anyway."
Karen looked a little shocked at the revelation, "Oh…, well, of course, it seems silly to think that you'd stay in Tree Hill after graduation. I mean, what with you off to college."
Brooke nodded.
"But you'll come back for Thanksgiving and Christmas, right?" Karen asked. "Because we'd all love you there. You're a part of this family." Karen held both of Brooke's hands to emphasize the point.
"Of course." Brooke gave her a confident smile to reassure her followed by a grateful hug.
Karen seemed satisfied, "That's a relief to know," she smiled back, "Well, I'll let you get back to your party." Karen moved off in the other direction. As she left, Brooke let out a deep sigh.
She was definitely going to miss Karen – or, at the very least, her cooking.
Before she could continue thinking about all the succulent and delicious homemade food Karen had cooked over the past year and a half, there was a tap on her shoulder and the smell of very familiar cologne.
It couldn't be.
She turned and looked up at a tall, sandy-blonde haired man.
"Luke…"
He grinned, "Hey, Brooke." He handed her a sparkling, gift-wrapped gift with a white bow on the top. "Happy birthday."
She could tell that Lucas Scott was uncomfortable wearing the tux he'd been forced to wear, but he kept smiling down at her.
She took the gift, "Thank you, Lucas."
Empty-handed, he opened his arms wide, "Don't I get a hug?" he questioned. She chuckled and gave him a hug.
"I didn't think you were—"
"Invited? Coming?" he finished, "Well, when I got the invitation three weeks ago, I made sure I cleared my schedule. I wasn't going to let you down."
Brooke couldn't help but smile widely. "Thank you."
"Are you having a good night?" he asked. Brooke nodded.
"Yeah, everything's perfect."
Lucas looked around the club, "Where's Luke?" he asked, trying to remain cool and unfazed at enquiring about her boyfriend.
"Oh, he's around here somewhere." Brooke looked around before seeing the smug look on Lucas' face. "What?"
"It's just that he's not much of a boyfriend if he just ignores his girlfriend on her birthday." Lucas told her.
"Well, not that it is any of your business – as usual – but Luke and I broke up about three weeks ago."
"Oh," Lucas buried his hands in his pockets sheepishly. "I didn't know. Are you okay?"
Brooke nodded, "Oh yeah. We both realized it wasn't working out so it was a pretty easy decision to make. We're still friends and hang out sometimes but nothing romantic going on anymore." She cleared her throat, "How is dear old Cathy?" she asked.
Lucas gulped hard and nervously scratched the back of his head. "Ah, well… it seems that she didn't exactly take our relationship as seriously as I thought. We broke up a few days ago after I found out she cheated on me."
"I'm sorry." Brooke said.
"So am I." Lucas agreed, "But I guess karma, right? I get to know what it feels to be cheated on." Brooke inhaled sharply.
"I guess," she said quietly, looking at the floor.
"I didn't mean to remind you of…"
"Forget it," Brooke flashed him a big smile.
"No, Brooke. I just want to say that I'm real—"
"Not now, Lucas," she pleaded, "Save your apologies until later."
Lucas nodded and looked up as Mouth began playing a new song, "So, have you danced yet?"
She shook her head, "No, I've been mingling since nobody's asked me," she admitted.
Lucas feigned shock, "Really? Well we'll have to fix that." He offered his arm, "Plus, the birthday girl should have an escort to spin her around the dance floor – even if it means sacrificing his own dignity." He said. She laughed.
"No, offense Lucas, but I've seen you on the dance floor and it's not pretty. But since you asked…" She took his arm and dragged him out to the dance floor, depositing his gift to her on a nearby table. "Let's dance."
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Brooke and Lucas ended up being joined to the hip for most of the party. They danced for most of the night, even trading partners for a while with Nathan, Haley, Jake and Peyton. Karen took out the video recorder to film some of the party but was quickly roped into dancing with her two sons… and Tim.
Tim had also been invited, surprising Brooke with a cute teddy bear dressed as a doctor before proceeding to grope her. Thankfully, Lucas was on hand to rescue her and sent Tim after some of the other cheerleaders.
Before she knew it, it was time to cut her cake, which she couldn't wait to do so seeing as it looked too delicious for words. Holding the knife, Brooke greedily lunged for it, only to be held back by Lucas.
"We have to sing 'happy birthday' first," he reminded her.
"Let's pretend everyone already did and we can have cake." Brooke said, "I don't even like the whole deal with the singing. Unless, of course, it is Justin Timberlake then he can sing to me all he wants," Brooke giggled dreamily.
"Okay, I've changed my mind – cut the damn cake," Lucas told her just as Karen and Haley began everybody off into singing 'happy birthday' to her, with some mixed up verses including fat monkeys and zoos. Once they'd finished, Brooke blew out all her candles and eagerly began cutting the cake –although she wasn't much impressed with Nathan taking the first slice and scoffing it down in two bites. He grinned at her as he licked some of the chocolate spread over his face.
Once satisfied after finishing off her slice and a half, she sat back in her seat with a grin on her face.
"Happy now?" Lucas asked, polishing off his own dessert. She nodded. "In the case, um… can we go somewhere a little private?" he suggested. Brooke gave another nod as she stood up and the two walked towards the small balcony outside the club.
Brooke was amazed at how dark it was outside, "Wow, is it this dark already?" she asked, although Lucas suspected that she was just trying to make small talk to get past the awkwardness of the situation.
"Okay, I think neither of us particularly wants to be here and talk about this so I'll make it quick. I'm really, really, really sorry for making the past year horrible for you."
"You've already apologized, like, eight times. I'm getting pretty sick of it," Brooke didn't even look at him.
"I know, I know—it's just that I… after what Catherine did to me, I realized that something like that hurts; and even more so when the relationship meant something." Lucas took a deep breath, "After being cheated on it just made the whole situation clearer and I'm just really sorry." When Brooke have no response, Lucas cleared his throat, "Uh… did you hear what I just said?"
She nodded and turned to him, "Lucas, I know you're sorry, okay? I totally get that but I don't see why you're bringing it all up again when I forgave you months ago!" Lucas stared at her.
"What?" he asked, "Say that again."
She sighed, "I forgive you."
"I thought—"
"I know, you did. Truth is, I figured being mad at you and holding it against you would get in the way of our friendship so I forgave you. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy and it still hurts like hell, but I'd much rather keep a friend than a grudge." She offered him a small smile. "So… I forgive you."
Lucas broke out into a relieved grin, "You have no idea how great that is to hear." He said.
"Yeah, well… let's just start this year all over again. Last year was just torture and I'm really hoping to make this one a lot better – for everyone."
"It's a deal." He held out his hand to her and she giggled, extending her own and shaking it.
With their hands still held firmly together, Lucas leant in and kiss her tenderly on the cheek, taking time to whisper, "Happy birthday, Brooke," before flashing her a big smile.
Brooke returned it; a huge weight seemed to have lifted from their shoulders.
This was definitely going to be a good year.
To Be Continued…