Haha, with one chapter and a few hours, you guys made me remember why I love posting so much! Holy crap, I can't believe that this story is on chapter 23. This has been so much fun. This was my first real, full-length story, and it was my first AU story. It's like my baby! Lol. Wow, I sound like its ending. NOTE: THIS IS NOT OVER. THERE WILL BE MORE CHAPTERS. 'Kay? Lol I just wanted to clear that up, because I don't really like the ".:gasp:. Stupid bitch don't you dare end this story!" e-mails. Actually, I kind of do because they really amuse me. But never mind that. At the Heart of It All has a long way to go. That was the bottom line lol. I'm glad that you guys liked the first part with Brooke and Haley last chapter. I was trying to demonstrate how close and easy their friendship had become, so I was looking to some of my bestest friends for inspiration, and the "Who Would You Do?" game is one that we always seem to find ourselves playing lol. You might notice that I put some of my interests into the story (like Ryan Phillippe….:swoons:.) Care44- thank you! You're so sweet. Sorry that I kept you guys waiting so long lol. Maggie- hahah yeah, you probably thought that I like died, I never go that long without spitting out random e-mails. Lindsay- I LOVE that you like my story so much. Don't worry about it—I don't like being left alone lol. And yeah, I'm making it a habit to mention people who review first in my author's notes at the start of each chapter lol.

And for the record, the song that I referenced in Lucas and Nathan's talk last chapter was Make Out Kids by Motion City Soundtrack. I don't own them. Which sucks for me. Lol. So yeah, if you don't know that song, you should definitely download it, because it's awesome.

Note: This chapter will suck. You will all hate it. It is necessary. Please don't send death threats. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I own none of this. But that was probably kind of obvious. And I don't own Legally Blonde. Actually, I do have the DVD, but that's not what I meant. And I don't hate Reese Witherspoon, either. I am a little jealous, but isn't everyone?

This chapter is still for Liz, because her birthday is the 14th, which hasn't passed yet. What can I say? I love giving presents! Lol

At the Heart of It All

Chapter Twenty Three

Again I've Written Tragedy

"Come near me again and I'll bruise more than your ego, dickhead!"

For such a tiny girl, she had an incredible set of pipes. If the stares they were getting by every person in the mall food court were any indication, there wasn't a single person in the vicinity who couldn't hear her yelling. Pacifying her wasn't an option. Brooke Davis had never liked being told what to do.

"Brooke, relax, I just want to talk," Felix murmured, reaching out for her.

"TALK TO THIS!" she roared, flipping him off. He looked around for help but could only see Haley James, tutor extraordinaire, with a small smile tugging at the corners of her pink lips. No help there. Eventually help arrived, but it sure as hell wasn't the kind he wanted.

"Is he bothering you, ma'am?" a burly security guard asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead that he had acquired, rushing to aide the pretty girl. Normally, Brooke would be kind of repulsed by this, but right now, this man was her savior. Shooting her scum-of-the-Earth ex a final triumphant look, she turned back to the rent-a-cop with a false panicked look on her face and said one word.

"Yes."

With that single word, Felix Taggaro was dragged from the mall by the overweight security guard and a few others who had appeared out of nowhere to help him out. Knowing he was defeated, he didn't bother putting up much of a struggle, but looked at his ex-girlfriend with a strange mix of anger, resentment, admiration and … lust? He mouthed one word to her as he exited.

"Bitch."

Damn right.

"He's disgusting, I hate him!" Brooke whispered venomously, for Haley's ears only, but more to herself. Haley smiled slightly, and looked around the food court at the spectators who had started to scatter. The delicious smell of sizzling steak wafted over from a little booth, and Haley was about to walk over there and get some when she noticed something off about Brooke. Suddenly, her bright green eyes had widened and her face turned a similar color as she clamped her hand over her mouth and took off at a run towards the bathroom.

Overwhelmingly concerned, Haley sprinted after her, following her even into the stall and holding back her long brown hair while looking away as her perky friend emptied the contents of her stomach into the basin. She figured that she was being a good enough friend coming in there; she did not need to watch.

"Guess he makes me physically ill too, huh?" Brooke quipped quietly, wiping her mouth and attempting a smile. She got to her feet and walked over to the sinks, rinsing out her mouth and washing her face silently. The outgoing cheerleader stood there afterwards, just staring at herself in the mirror, but it looked like she wasn't really seeing.

"Are you okay, Tigger?" Haley frowned, rubbing her friend's back.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I must just be getting the flu. Stupid Bevin can never keep anything to herself," she smiled, and both girls chuckled.

"You still don't look so good. Want to go home?"

"No way! We shouldn't cut our Girls Day short just because Felix is disgusting!" Brooke protested, stamping her right foot and pouting like a five year old. Haley bit her lip to keep from smiling at the sight.

"I really don't think you should over-exert yourself, Brookie. We don't want you to get really sick! You can't miss school! I mean, what would your minions do if you weren't there to lead them?" Haley flung her hand over her heart in mock-horror.

"Very funny Tutor Girl. Fine, we'll leave the mall," Brooke sighed, still wearing the pout.

"Want me to come over? We'll watch Legally Blonde and laugh and silently loathe the lead actress and how lucky she is," Haley suggested.

"YES! That sounds great. Goddamn Reese Witherspoon…" muttered Brooke resentfully, linking arms with Haley, and the girls exiting the bathroom, both marveling at how they had managed to find such a good friend.

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Margot: Here, you're gonna need this.
Elle: Your scrunchie?
Margot: My LUCKY scrunchie. It helped me pass Spanish.
Serena: You passed Spanish because you gave Professor Montoya a lap dance after the final.
Margot: Yeah... Luckily!

The sound wafted from the television through the cavernous living room from the big screen plasma TV located in the center of it. Two brunettes, so alike and yet so different, lay sprawled across the floor in a sea of pillows and blankets, cracking up at this part of the movie.

"You feeling better, Tigger?" Haley asked, propping her head up on her right hand. Brooke could just see the top of her head over the mound of pillows, until Haley stuck her chin on top of it to look more closely at her friend.

"Much better now. Thanks Hales," Brooke said gratefully.

Haley opened her mouth to respond, but the phone rang at that exact moment. Grabbing the cordless phone a few feet away, Brooke checked the caller ID.

"Humm… my parents? I didn't know they knew this number!" Brooke quipped. In that instant, Haley was filled with dread and just knew something bad was going to happen. Looking back, she remembered the expressions on her friend's face, but she couldn't make out what was being said. It was like a swirling white mist, covering everything and leaving Haley drifting above it all. She could see the heartbroken expression on Brooke's face, and had no idea what it could be from. Finally, the haze lifted, leaving a cheerleader on the verge of tears, struggling to get out words.

"My dad was… my dad was transferred," she choked out.

"That's okay, B. That's not so bad. Where to? Like, Charleston? Because you'll probably still live here if it's only Charleston, and then nothing will change at all…" Haley babbled.

"I wish we could stay here. But it's a little hard to commute between North Carolina and California every day, or so I'm told," her bitter words hung in the spacious room for an eternity as the girls just held each other and cried.

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.:shields self from thrown tomatoes. Peeks out from under computer desk, tentatively:. Hi guys… Yeah, you probably all hate me for that one, and with good reason. I kind of hate this chapter too lol. But do I get points for not making you wait for it? Lol probably not. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. You have no idea how excited I get when I see that I have reviews, and if you did… you'd probably laugh really hard lol. But the more I get, the fast the chapters come out, usually. La la la… anyway, thanks for reading!

Xo Sam

P.S.- If you happen to be curious about what evil things are stealing my attention away from this story, please check out the two other stories I'm currently working on—Fate Steps In and Breaking the Broken. And, you know, you could review… if you like… lol.