She Don't Dream for Me
By: caramelo
I do not own One Tree Hill or anything related to it.
Chapter Six: Brookie's Little Secret
Brooke was having the time of her life. It was just so fun being evil.
When she and Nikki had appeared at the doorway, all eyes had been on them. Some just to say hi, but others who knew better were apprehensive, very apprehensive. Brooke and Nikki had given them all cool glances in return, lingering on Lucas's gaze before slinking in.
"Tim, sweetie!" Brooke had called. "Get us some drinks, will ya?"
Tim had saluted and nearly fell over himself in his rush to comply with Brooke's request. "How are you doing, ladies?" he had asked smoothly upon return.
They had given some noncommittal answer, and he had nodded enthusiastically. "Great!" Then, he leaned in close and dropped his voice. "I'll have you know that while Nathan and Haley are hosting this party, I'm really the mastermind behind everything." His eyebrows wiggled suggestively. "So, any and all thanks should rightfully go to me."
Brooke had rolled her eyes. "Get out of here, Tim."
And so now, at the moment, she and Jake's ex Nikki were lounging on the couch just sipping on their drinks (or in Brooke's case, pretending to) and sending each other triumphant smirks and occasionally making derogatory remarks about the three people who couldn't keep their eyes of them.
That would be Haley, Peyton, and that man-whore ex-boyfriend Lucas.
Brooke threw back her head and laughed, just because. She had always loved being the center of attention.
Nikki's lips curled into an amused smile. "Having fun?"
"You bet," Brooke said. "It's great knowing I'm the center of their sorry little lives right now."
Nikki nodded in acknowledgment. She began to stand up.
"Where are you going?" Brooke asked curiously.
"Just stirring up a little more fun," Nikki winked. "We witches have a special charm for that."
Brooke smiled and nodded. "I want to see some of that magic."
There was a definite glimmer in Nikki's eyes as she sidled up next to Lucas, who at the moment, was alone after Peyton and Haley had hurried off to investigate some crash in the next room. Brooke furrowed a brow, but didn't give it a second thought. After all, it wasn't like Nikki and Lucas had ever had anything to do with each other anyway. She strained to hear what they were saying, but the words were spoken too softly, and all she could hear were indecipherable fragments.
"...keep a secret," Nikki was saying. Brooke did a double take. What secret?
This was exactly when somebody decided to make their appearance. "Hey, girlie," a sugary sweet voice chimed. It was Bevin.
Brooke turned and gave her a tight smile back. "Hey, Bev."
"Glad you could make it," Bevin was oblivious to Brooke's silent pleas for her to go away. "I thought you were going bar-hopping."
"I did," Brooke said flatly. "The prospects sucked."
Bevin winced. "Horny, bald jackasses?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Ew." It took a moment for Bevin to recover after imagining this, but soon she was bright and perky, as usual. "Well it's good to see you anyway. But, uh, I gotta jet. Somebody's waiting for me in the next room."
Brooke waggled her eyebrows. "Ooh, Bevvie. Way to keep it dirty."
"Always," Bevin laughed. "But I haven't had my partner in crime lately."
"Don't worry," Brooke assured her. "I've been partyin' it up in other places, but I think I'm gonna stick to the local joints again. We'll be the whores dancing on the tables in no time again."
"Great," Bevin laughed. "See ya Monday, Brookie."
"Monday," Brooke agreed as Bevin got stood up and disappeared into a dark room that looked suspiciously like a closet. The jackets hanging in that tight little space sort of gave it away. Brooke shook her head. Bevin was the most flexible person she knew.
Brooke really had nothing to do after Bevin left though, and she looked pretty pathetic sitting there by herself. Surreptitiously, after making sure nobody was watching, she tossed her drink in a nearby plant and made her way over to the keg.
Unluckily, the line wasn't that long, and soon, she was at the front. The guy handling the drinks was having some trouble though. Silently, Brooke applauded, but she had a reputation to maintain.
(1) "It's not gonna fill itself," she said impatiently. The guy scowled and finally managed to hand her a halfway full cup. She was deciding on whether or not to head back to the couch when Peyton came walking up.
"So, you're hanging out with Nikki," Peyton said. Her voice was flat, and she had this look on her face as if she had just swallowed something sour.
"Sorry," Brooke said snottily, "do I know you?"
Peyton sighed and shrugged, frustrated. "Look, Brooke, just don't cause any trouble tonight, okay?"
Brooke ignored her. She clapped her hands in mock-enthusiasm. "Wait a minute, you're that tallish lying person I used to be friends with. Why don't you go crawling back to the boyfriend formally known as mine?"
Peyton narrowed her eyes. "Okay," she snapped, "this whole not being friends with you thing is getting so much easier every time I see you." She stormed off with a huff.
Brooke's face fell. She wasn't sure why, but it broke her heart every time Peyton gave up on her. (end 1)
Brooke tried to shrug it off. She was in control, remember? She was the one pushing Peyton away, because she didn't want Peyton around. It didn't make any sense to be sad about that.
Brooke looked around. She really didn't want to go back to the couch. Where was Nikki anyway? Her eyes scanned around the room until they finally landed on the sneaky brunette. She had managed to back some love struck boy into a corner. Probably one who hadn't heard about her reputation yet.
"Oh, new-friend Nikki!" Brooke called. Nikki glanced back sharply and fixed a glare on Brooke. "Come here," Brooke grinned in return.
Nikki leaned in close to the guy she had been flirting with and whispered something in his ear. The guy blushed and nodded. He was kind of cute, Brooke noted, but not even playing the same ball game as them. Nikki deserved much better.
"What are you doing?" Nikki hissed as she walked up.
"Saving you," Brooke said airily. "That guy was so not worth it."
Nikki chanced a glance back at him. He waved. She sighed. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I am," Brooke said smugly. "Now are we about ready to cause some major damage here or what? Because this party is way too boring for me."
"You wait and see, Brookie," Nikki smirked, "I've got plenty of fun brewing right now."
"Good," Brooke said. "I'm beyond ready for something exciting to happen."
"Trust me," Nikki assured her. A cocky grin curled on her thin red lips. "This'll be a night you won't forget."
An uneasy feeling crept over Brooke at these words. She wasn't sure why, but at that moment the image of Nikki smiling so arrogantly at her put her on the edge. She tried to shrug it off. "You better be right," Brooke said to her, trying to seem nonchalant.
"I will be. You'll see," Nikki said. Somebody knocked into Brooke, and she turned around to see a group of guys she knew from school carrying Mouth across the room.
"Little help?" he was asking someone.
Nikki smirked at Brooke. "Take that as a sign." Her attention focused past Brooke and onto the person Mouth was waving to. Brooke turned too. It was Haley. Right beside her were Lucas and Peyton playing a game of quarters.
"Come on," Nikki said. Her eyes glittered with anticipation. "It's time for round two."
(2) Following Nikki's lead, Brooke began walking towards the trio. "I cannot stop the madness," Haley was whining. Brooke scoffed. This party was tame compared to most. If Haley couldn't keep up, then she shouldn't have tried to throw her little coming out party in the first place.
Peyton however, flicked a quarter in the cup and then looked up to smile sympathetically at Haley. Figured. "Okay, you know what?" she told her, "Drink this, you look like you could use it." Haley grabbed the cup greedily and chugged its contents. Peyton looked surprised. "Wow!"
Brooke rolled her eyes. This was pathetic to even watch. "So you two are playing games," she said loudly, in a voice meant to be overheard. Her eyes burned holes into Peyton and Lucas. "Watch out for them," she advised Haley, keeping her gaze steady, "they look like they might cheat."
"Oh, you're still here," Nikki pretended to notice Peyton for the first time. Her lip curled. "I thought that you'd be running off to tuck in my kid."
Peyton leveled a cool gaze on Nikki. She looked just as disgusted. "Someone's got to," she spat.
Nikki's cheeks flushed red with anger. "Yeah, well, hopefully it's not some slutty boyfriend thief." Her hand shook as she clenched and unclenched it into a fist, but Brooke was the only one to notice. The uneasy feeling washed over her again. She realized that the anticipation she had had earlier about something huge happening that night might not have been anticipation for something good. In fact, it was being to look like something very, very bad was about to happen.
"I'll drink to that," she laughed before Peyton could say anything, trying to ease the tension. It wasn't till after the words had escaped her lips that she realized how wrong they were for the occasion. Especially coming out as bitterly as they had.
"Look," Peyton addressed Nikki, completely ignoring Brooke, "Why don't you do what you're really good at and disappear?"
Nikki's eyes flashed dangerously. "You have a problem?"
Brooke fidgeted. This was turning ugly fast. "Wow, Nikki, she's not worth it," she said desperately. She would have said anything to diffuse the situation at hand. She would have tap danced on the coffee table in a chicken suit with Mouth if she thought it would have helped.
Well, maybe not. At least not with Mouth.
Nikki made a move towards Peyton, and Brooke grabbed her wrist. Brooke's gaze was hard; Nikki's was hard too. They carried on a silent, split second argument. Nikki's face twisted into a cruel sneer. "Get off me." She wrenched her wrist from Brooke's grasp and strode up to Peyton. They were nose to nose practically. "I asked if you had a problem," Nikki demanded.
Brooke winced. It was impossible not to know Peyton, really know her, after all the years they had been friends. Brooke could practically read her mind by now. And she knew exactly what was going to go down. Peyton had never been one to back down.
"Yeah, I do," Peyton said boldly, just as expected. "It's called you, bitch."
A hush fell over the entire crowd at the party as Peyton's words reverberated through the air. All eyes were on the two girls, one blonde and one brunette, both staring murderously at each other. Even Nikki looked shocked for a second. It was the calm before the storm.
Without warning, all of the sudden Peyton was up against the refrigerator. Nikki had pushed her. A red mark in the shape of a hand appeared on her cheek. Nikki had slapped her.
Peyton wasn't going to put up with this. Maybe somebody else would have, somebody with less of a backbone, but never Peyton. It was one of the reasons Brooke had always respected her so much. True to character, Peyton pushed Nikki back, hard, and Nikki crashed onto the coffee table, taking Peyton with her. They both fell to the floor with matching thuds, but it didn't faze either of them. Within seconds, they had both scrambled to their feet and were pulling at each other mercilessly. Lucas finally broke in and pulled them apart.
"Haley," Lucas panted, trying hard to maintain control over the two struggling girls. "Help me out here!" Before she could, Peyton and Nikki had broken free. Nikki, insane with rage, grabbed a stool and heaved it at Peyton. Peyton dodged, and it flew out the window which shattered into thousands of tiny pieces upon impact. Even this didn't stop Peyton and Nikki. They grabbed each other again. (end 2)
Brooke hugged herself as she watched them. This was a nightmare.
She felt someone's gaze on her. It was Lucas. Her arms dropped to her side immediately, and she glared at him defiantly. "What?" she hissed.
"This is your fault, you know," he said quietly. "Why'd you have to bring Nikki here?"
"Nikki's my friend," Brooke snapped at him.
Lucas's gaze traveled towards Nikki. Brooke's stubbornly remained on him. "Look at her," he directed. Against her will, Brooke's eyes shot in Nikki's direction, where she was currently tearing at Peyton's ever perfect curls. Brooke looked away, ashamed. "She's not your friend, Brooke," Lucas spoke again, pulling Brooke's attention back towards him.
"Yeah, well neither are you," Brooke said bitterly. "So don't lecture me, Scott."
(3) At that moment, Peyton and Nikki somehow managed to snap the coffee table. "Come on! Stop!" People yelled, finally pulling them forcefully apart. Lucas stared incredulously, but Brooke sprang into action. She scoffed at him as she passed by.
Brooke didn't really know what she was going to do as she strode purposefully towards Nikki and Peyton. Vaguely, she had the idea that she might tear into Peyton for fighting with her new friend Nikki, but when she reached the two, she did the exact opposite.
"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed furiously at Nikki, tearing into her for fighting with her old friend Peyton.
Nikki smiled at her coldly. "Isn't this what you wanted?" she jeered. She tried free herself from Tim's arms to go after Peyton again.
"Stop!" Tim yelled, frustrated.
"You need to go," Lucas added vehemently.
Nikki shot him a simpering smirk. "Well, isn't this sweet? Lucas Scott coming to the defense of his women. Oh, but wait. Shouldn't that include someone else?" Haley, Peyton, and Brooke all turned their heads to look at Lucas, shocked, while he flushed red. Nikki shrugged out of Tim's grasp finally and walked lazily up to him, smiling seductively. "Don't worry," she purred, "I can keep a secret too." She nudged past him, but stopped right before her hand reached the doorknob. She glanced back. (end 3)
Her gaze fell on Brooke. "But some secrets are just too good to keep to yourself, don't you agree, Brookie?" Nikki giggled playfully as she skipped back over to Brooke.
The color drained out of Brooke's face. She was all too aware of how many eyes were on her now, including Lucas's. "I don't know what you're talking about, Nikki," Brooke laughed weakly back. Her gaze was pleading this time, pleading Nikki not to say it, pleading Nikki not to let out the one secret that would completely destroy her.
Nikki cocked her head, "Really?" she said, mock innocently. "You really don't remember, Brookie? You only told me a few hours ago."
Goosebumps rippled across Brooke's body, and an involuntary shiver ran down her spine. "Nikki," she said warningly.
"Brookie," Nikki taunted.
"Stop calling me that," Brooke said tightly. She clenched her fists.
Nikki noticed this without much concern. Her eyes flicked back up to Brooke's. They were like fire, wild and burning. "Don't test me," she warned, "Take one step toward me, and you're gonna hit rock bottom in a heartbeat."
"For your information, bitch," Brooke said before she could stop herself, "I've already hit rock bottom."
With either impeccably good or impeccably bad timing, Nathan stuck his head through the door at that exact second. "Hey," he protested, "I thought this was supposed to be a part--" his words faded as his gaze landed on Nikki and Brooke in the center of the crowd, glaring at each other. "Oh shit," he murmured. This was bad news.
Nikki turned back to Brooke, continuing on as if nothing had happened. "For your information, you knocked up little whore," she shot back harshly at Brooke, pausing for effect, "rock bottom just got a whole lot worse." Nikki smirked, satisfied with the gasps her statement evoked after it sunk in.
Brooke slapped Nikki. It was the only sound in the room for a good few minutes. Then, she took an unsteady step back, as if she herself had been struck. Her eyes swept wildly around the room, looking for a way out. They landed on Nathan.
He stared back at her, and in that split second, Brooke calmed down. Her frayed nerves were soothed by the steady gaze in his eyes. He didn't look shocked or angry, just...accepting. It was almost as if he had known. And by the look in his eyes, Brooke knew he wasn't judging her. He wasn't labeling her as a whore. He was just there, just for her.
Then Nikki spoke up and ruined the moment. "Let me be the first to give my congratulations to the father," she said silkily as she sidled up to Lucas and rubbed against him. She sighed in fake happiness, "I think you'll make a great dad," she squealed.
Lucas glared coldly down at her. He flinched away from her touch. "Get out of here, Nikki," he said, his voice soft. He lifted his gaze to meet everybody else's. "All of you," he said. "Get. Out."
Nobody wanted to leave, but everybody knew better than to argue with him. Everybody except for Nikki, that is. "Aww, Luke," she cooed, "I was really hoping we could turn this thing into a baby shower while everybody's still here. It would save a lot of planning."
"Nikki," Lucas said tightly. His eyes were full of more fury than Brooke had ever seen before. "Get out!"
She got the hint that time. "Fine," she pouted. She walked toward the door again, stopping only to give Brooke a huge hug. "I'm so happy for you," she said, throwing back her head in laughter. Brooke could only stare blankly back at her. Nikki gave one last chuckle before strolling out the door. The rest of the crowd followed behind.
Nathan held the door open for everyone and shut it when the last person finally walked out. The sound of the lock clicking registered dimly in Brooke's mind. It was the most frightening sound she had ever heard in her life. The only people left in the small apartment were her, Nathan, Haley, Peyton, and Lucas. It was amazing they had managed to fit all those other people in her, Brooke noted dully. The apartment seemed suffocatingly tight to her with just the five of them in it.
Lucas was the first person to speak.
"What the hell was that about?"
(1)...(end 1) / (2)...(end 2) / (3)...(end 3) Scenes taken from One Tree Hill episode "What Is And What Never Should Be"
Author's Note: Wow guys thanks so much for the feedback! It was nice seeing the reviews pick back up again...they were kinda dying out the last few chapters. Thanks for being so patient with me, I had a little bit of difficulties with this chapter. Difficulties that include the metal thing on the floppy disk getting stuck in the computer. Did you know if you try to pry those things out with a ruler or a knife then it destroys your disk drive and your parents have to buy a new one? Yeah. You learn something new everyday. Anyway, hope you guys like the chapter. Let me know what you think.
until next time...
caramelo