A/N: Thank you for the reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese.

Chapter Ten

An Attempt to Tip the Scales

Brooke ran to the door and pulled it open. She gave a wide smile to Mouth and Haley as they walked into the front hall. "I'm so glad you guys are here. We have a lot of setting up to do and there isn't a lot of time to do it. But I first should introduce you to a few people." She led Haley and Mouth into the den, where Julian, Millie and Alex were putting the decorations up around the room.

Brooke couldn't help but overhear the conversation. She wasn't surprised to hear Alex was complaining about being there early. However, Julian was quick to remind her that she was getting paid. He then noticed Brooke and her guests. Alex and Millie stopped what they were doing and walked over to them.

"Mouth, this is Julian Baker and his sisters Millie and Alex Scott," Brooke said, introducing them.

Mouth gave them a smile. "It's nice to meet all of you," he replied as he and Millie locked eyes. "Millie, that's a pretty name."

Millie smiled at the compliment. "Thank you. It's short for Millicent." She then cleared her throat. "I heard your real name is Marvin. I think it sounds better than Mouth."

Brooke and Haley exchanged smiles. They were happy that Mouth and Millie were hitting it off so well. They left Mouth and Millie to talk as they went back to work. However, it wasn't long before Alex asked Brooke a question. "Do you mind if I leave now? I want to make sure that there is plenty of time to get my costume ready for tonight." She then turned to Brooke. "I can't thank you enough for inviting me. And I promise that I won't cause any trouble."

"How the hell are you going to get home?" Julian asked her. "I'm your ride. And I'm not leaving until everything is ready."

"I can always ask Millie's new boyfriend to drive me home," Alex replied. "Or Victoria."

"Victoria is here?" Haley whispered to Brooke. Brooke nodded. "Is she going to be staying here the whole evening?"

Brooke shook her head. "No because Julian promised that he would "supervise" the party." She quickly changed the subject. "So do you want to see the costume I'm planning to wear for the party?" Brooke asked her.

The shopping trip to the mall had been unsuccessful for Brooke. However, Haley had managed to find a cute cat costume. The costume even had a little set of ears headband to go with it. Brooke was glad that her friend was able to find a costume. Brooke had wanted her to be Sandy from Grease, but Haley had refused to. She had told her that that person wasn't her. Brooke had then pointed out that that was the whole point of a costume party.

Brooke didn't answer as she went into her closet. She pulled out the Dorothy costume that she had made for herself. Haley gasped in surprise as she looked over the blue and white checkered dress. "Did you make this?"

Brooke nodded as she pulled out the red shoes she was going to wear. "The hard part was trying to figure out which colored shoes I should wear. In the book, they were silver. But in the movie, they were red. I thought red would go better."

"Are you going to put your hair in pigtails?" Haley asked.

Brooke gave her a look. "No, I'm going to be Dorothy after she is all dolled up."

Haley was impressed with her knowledge of Wizard of Oz. However, she was suspicious as well. "Since when did you know Wizard of Oz trivia?"

Brooke didn't answer for a moment. "I might have gone to ask an expert about it." Haley gave her a confused look. "Karen is the one who told me trivia facts about The Wizard of Oz. I asked her about it the other day."

"Really?" a familiar voice asked. The two turned to the open doorway to see Victoria standing there. Brooke didn't have a chance to answer as Victoria spoke again. "Haley, may I talk to my daughter alone for a few minutes?" she asked. Haley knew that there was no point in arguing. She excused herself and left the room. Victoria closed the door behind her. "Did I not ask you to stay away from that Scott family?"

"Yes," Brooke admitted. Victoria was about to lecture her when Brooke didn't let her interrupt. "But I still don't understand why you won't give them a chance. I may not like Julian or Alex, but I'm giving them a chance." Victoria tried again, but her daughter continued. "And if you want to talk about bad influences, just talk to Julian or Alex. They have done worse things than Lucas and Nathan have."

"That's enough out of you or I'll cancel your party right now," Victoria warned her. Brooke kept her mouth shut, knowing her mother was serious. "I don't want to hear about you hanging out with them any longer. Or you will regret disobeying me," she warned her before she opened the door and walked out of the room.

Haley then walked back into the bedroom and shut the door so they wouldn't be overheard. Brooke just shook her head in disbelief. "You know, I wouldn't be so pissed off at her if she would just give Lucas and Nathan a chance." She let out a sigh. "Well, it looks like I really have to be careful about hanging with Lucas and Nathan now."

Haley hesitated for a moment before she spoke. "Brooke, I couldn't help but overhear your argument with Victoria. And it sounds like she is really serious about punishing you if you don't stay away from Lucas and Nathan. I know you may not like this idea, but maybe you should distance yourself from them for a little bit." Brooke gave her a look. "How do you know that she isn't planning to ship you off to boarding school or something?"

Brooke knew that she had a point. "I guess we'll just have to get a spy to find out what her plans are." She was willing to do anything to make sure she wasn't going to be taken out of Tree Hill. She then quickly changed the subject. "We should go downstairs and check on the two lovebirds."

Haley just gave her a smile. "Didn't I tell you that they would hit it off?"

Brooke smiled in return as she put the dress back in the closet. The costume was going to stay in her bedroom until it was time to put it on. She and Haley then headed back downstairs to the den, where Mouth and Millie were still talking.

Brooke hated to interrupt them, but they still had a lot of work to do before the party. She waited for the right moment to clear her throat. Mouth and Millie turned to her. "Hey, are you guys ready to get back to work?" she asked them. She then noticed that Julian and Alex had disappeared.

Brooke was about to look for them when Julian came back into the room. "Is there any way you can convince your friend Rachel not to go to your Halloween party tonight?" he asked hopefully.

Brooke gave him a look. "Are you kidding? Rachel is dying to meet you. She would have come early to help set the party up, but she wanted to make sure that her costume was perfect for tonight. She will be crushed if she heard that you didn't come. Why are you backing out at the last minute?"

Alex happily answered for him. "Because he doesn't want anyone to see his costume. We had a bet about something and he lost. So he has to wear a costume of my choosing." She turned to her brother. "You're definitely going to win Brooke's costume contest."

Julian frowned. "I didn't enter Brooke's costume contest."

Alex gave him a wide smile. "I know. I did it for you," she told him proudly. Julian gave her a look. "You'll thank me later."

Julian then turned to Brooke. "Is there any way I can drop out of the contest?" he pleaded.

"No way. You're not dropping out of the contest," Alex replied firmly. "Besides, I think your date will love you in your costume."

"If I can't drop out of the contest, I won't take you home early," Julian told her.

"That's ok. I can handle being here for a few more hours," Alex replied.

Karen grabbed her camera as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Nathan and Lucas soon arrived in the hallway and showed their costumes to their parents. "You know, this is the first time I don't think I can tell which twin is which," she teased her sons as she snapped a few pictures. "Where's Lily?" she asked them as she noticed that her youngest child was missing.

"I'm right here, Mommy," a little voice piped up. Her parents and brothers smiled as Lily walked into the foyer, proudly wearing her witch costume. She even was wearing a black pointy hat and was carrying a broomstick in her hand.

"Why don't you get over there with Spiderman and Batman?" Karen asked. Lily nodded and ran over to her brothers. Lucas and Nathan knelt down to her level as she stood between them. They then smiled proudly as Karen took a few more pictures.

"Ok, I think that you've taken enough pictures for now. These boys have a party to get too," Keith told her. "And you and Lily have some candy to collect."

Karen put the camera down as she realized he was right. She turned to Lucas and Nathan. "You boys have fun tonight." Lucas and Nathan nodded. They knew that they were going to get the lecture from their father. They quickly embraced Lily in a hug before she led her mother out the front door.

Lucas and Nathan then turned to their father. Keith took a deep breath before he spoke. "I'm going to be honest with you two. I really don't think that you two should be going to this party." Lucas and Nathan were about to protest when Keith continued. "It's not just because of Julian and Alex. It's because Victoria wants Brooke to stay away from us." He then let out a heavy sigh. "But your mom convinced me that you two will behave like gentleman. So if Victoria asks, you will leave the property without complaint."

Nathan gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Dad. We wouldn't want to do anything to ruin Brooke's party. If we don't get kicked out, we'll be back by curfew." He and Lucas quickly said good-bye to him before they headed outside to the car.

"Are we going to stop by your girlfriend's house and pick her up first?" Lucas asked him as they climbed into the car. He put the key in the ignition and turned it on. "Or are we going straight to Brooke's house?"

"We have to pick up Haley," Nathan replied as they left the driveway. "She spent all afternoon at Brooke's house, helping her set up the party. But then she was dropped off back at her place so she could get ready. I can't wait to see what costume she is wearing. She didn't want me to see it until the party."

"That goes the same for Brooke," Lucas added. "I just hope that Julian won't cause trouble."

"I'm more worried about Alex," Nathan replied. "I know it's none of our business, but we should look after her." Lucas gave him a look. "Come on, Luke. I know Brooke won't serve alcohol, but you never know if someone will sneak some in. Or one of our friends will hit on her when she doesn't want to be touched."

Lucas tried not to laugh. "You're kidding, right? Alex would love someone to pay attention to her like that. I think she can take care of herself."

Nathan wasn't convinced. However, he didn't say another word about it. There was silence until they arrived at Haley's house. Once Nathan walked in the door, Mrs. James wanted to take pictures of the three of them. So Lucas had to come in as well. After several minutes, the three were finally on their way to Brooke's house.

When they arrived at the front door, Brooke happily greeted her guests. "Come on in to my Halloween party," she told them. As they stepped into the foyer, the twins complimented Brooke on her costume. Brooke smiled proudly. "Thank you. I made it myself." She then turned to her best friend. "Haley, you might want to stay away from Tim."

Haley frowned. "Why should I stay away from Tim?" she asked. Brooke didn't answer. Haley then realized why she had been giving the warning. She groaned in frustration. "Why the hell would he dress up in a clown costume? He doesn't need a costume to let people know he's a clown."

Nathan gave her a smile. "Don't worry, Catwoman," he said. "Batman will protect you."

Brooke was about to correct him, but she decided to let them have their fun. The two then went to find some punch. Lucas looked around at the colorful costumes his classmates were wearing. Brooke knew what he was thinking. "If you're looking for your cousins, Millie and Alex are upstairs trying to get Julian to come out of the room." Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise. "He and Alex had a bet about something. And he lost. So Alex got to pick the costume."

Lucas laughed. "What costume did she choose for him?"

"I don't know yet," Brooke replied. "He refused to let Alex tell me or show it to me. But it must be pretty embarrassing for him if he doesn't even want to come to the party. Of course, I think he is also afraid of scaring Rachel off."

Lucas just nodded his head. He then gasped as he saw the person across the room. "Is that Peyton?" he asked her. Peyton was dressed as Sandy was at the end of Grease. Brooke didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't happy about her costume choice. However, she was going to deal with it for tonight. Lucas gave her a wide smile. "Wow, she looks great. It's a good thing that she isn't planning to dance. I'm sure she would just trip over her feet with those high heels of hers."

Brooke didn't answer him at first. "Why don't you go and mingle? I need to be here to answer the door." Lucas agreed and went to find his friends. Brooke kept greeting her guests. She directed them to the den before she went back to the door.

As she caught a break in between answering the door, Millie came down the stairs. Brooke had been surprised when she had discovered that Millie had dressed up as Lady Gaga. Millie had then told her that Julian wasn't the only one who had lost a bet with Alex. However, Mouth, who was dressed as Elvis, liked her costume.

Brooke wondered what Millie had to say. She could see that her friend was frustrated. "You might have Julian spending the night," Millie warned her friend. "He is refusing to come out of the room."

"I'm sure he will once he finds out what his date is wearing," Rachel said as she walked into the foyer, showing off her Cruella De Vil costume. "I thought it would be great if we wore costumes that were paired together so we knew how to find each other. I wanted to be Cruella De Vil, but I had a feeling that Julian wasn't willing to be a Dalmatian. So I asked for Alex's help to get Julian into his costume. Now where is my date?"

"I'll lead you to him," Alex replied as she stood at the top of the stairs. She didn't want to trip over her Cleopatra costume.

Rachel headed up the stairs while Brooke surveyed the party scene. She saw that most of her guests had arrived. So she figured that it was safe to finally stop attending to the door and join the party. She walked over to Lucas and encouraged him to join her on the dance floor. After a few minutes, Lucas agreed.

Soon, Rachel and Alex arrived back in the den with Julian. Brooke and the others couldn't help but laugh when they saw Julian's Dalmatian costume. However, Brooke had to admit that he and Rachel looked cute together.

As the party continued, Brooke made sure that Lucas was away from Peyton. And Nathan made sure Tim stayed away from Haley. So did Jake, who was dressed in his basketball uniform. Brooke was glad that the party was going well for everyone. Even Julian was having a good time. Like Mouth and Millie, he and Rachel hit it off right away.

Brooke then wandered away from Lucas and went around to her other guests. She ended at the punch table and got some punch for herself. She then heard an unfamiliar voice behind her. "You make a great Dorothy."

Brooke turned around and saw a masked Zorro. However, she couldn't tell who this person was. "Thanks, but I don't believe that I invited you, did I?" she asked him as she raised her eyebrows.

Zorro didn't say anything for a moment before he spoke. "Ok, I admit that I'm crashing your party," he confessed. "But can you blame me? I have heard that your parties are the best parties in Tree Hill."

Brooke smiled at the compliment. "Normally, I don't like uninvited guests, but I suppose you can stay," she replied as she sipped her drink. "All I ask is don't get into any trouble. Or I will ask you to leave and you won't be able to come back."

Zorro nodded. "You have my word. Now do you mind if I ask the hostess to dance?" he asked.

"You may if I can know your name," Brooke replied as she took his hand and he led her out to the dance floor.

"It's Derek," Zorro told her. "So are you into Spiderman?" he asked as he noticed that she was watching Lucas, who was talking to Mouth and Millie.

Brooke was quiet for a moment. "No, we're just friends," she replied.

Later, Brooke gave out prizes for her costume contest. Nobody was surprised when she announced that Julian had the best costume. Julian didn't think that it was fair that he won since he was tricked into wearing the costume. However, Brooke wasn't planning to change her mind.

Everyone was disappointed when the party ended. Brooke said good-bye to her guests as they went out the door. Soon, there were only Brooke, Mouth, Millie, Haley, Nathan, Lucas and Peyton. Brooke didn't have to ask where Julian and Rachel were. She knew that they had gone to a guestroom to have some alone time. However, she still wondered where Alex went off to.

"How much trouble can she get into with the party over?" Mouth asked.

"You don't know Alex," Millie replied. "I should go and see what she is up to." She excused herself before she left the foyer. Mouth was right behind her.

There was then an awkward silence before Lucas spoke. "Do you want us to stay and clean up?" he offered.

Brooke gave him a grateful smile. "No, you should go before my mom gets home. Thank you for coming. Hope you guys had fun."

Lucas gave her a comforting smile. "We certainly did. I think my favorite part was seeing Julian in his costume."

Nathan laughed. "Yeah, that was the best part." He then turned to Haley. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Actually, I'm going to stay and help Brooke clean up," Haley replied. "And then I'm going to stay overnight."

Nathan was disappointed, but he understood. The twins quickly said good-bye before they went out the door. Peyton was right behind them. However, Brooke quickly stopped her so she could pay her. "You are now my official deejay," Brooke told her. Peyton was surprised, but pleased about the permanent job. After a few minutes, she decided to accept the offer.

Haley was quiet until Peyton left. "Wow, I didn't expect you to give her a permanent job."

"Well, she did a good job with the music," Brooke replied as they walked back into the den. They started cleaning up as Brooke continued the conversation. "And she did what I asked. She didn't flirt with my guests. So why shouldn't I give her a permanent job? I just wish she hadn't worn that Sandy costume. She was just asking for the guys to come and flirt with her."

"I know one who wasn't," Haley replied. "It was your party crasher, Derek. He really seemed to have eyes for you. I think Lucas was really getting jealous. Why didn't you kick Derek out?"

Brooke shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to be nice to him. The strange part is that I feel like I have heard his voice before, but I don't remember where. But I guess it doesn't matter anyway. I'll probably never see him again." She then let out a happy sigh. "Despite my party crasher, I would say my Halloween party was a success." Haley couldn't help but agree.