Author- Emily-Grace Mendes (Brookebynature)

Disclaimer- I don't own One Tree Hill or the characters, blah, blah...

A/N- Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, this chapter is a little shorter than some of the others, mainly because I can't split this, and the final chapter up in any other place. So I hope you enjoy xxx

Play The Game

Play Because You Have To

"I just can't believe it's the classic next week." Brooke groaned, sighing dramatically as she flopped down onto her bed.

"Yeah well at least we're not in detention any more." Haley reasoned, grateful that after school nights no longer consisted of detention then being grounded. Brooke had been right-she had thought of a plan when it came to explaining to her Mom about where they'd been the night of the game.

"And if Claire Young thinks she's taking that trophy home she can think again."

"Who the hell is Claire Young?" Haley asked, sifting through Brooke's closet in a bid to find something that she could wear to the party thrown by Brooke herself this weekend.

"Just this bitch from the Bear Creek warriors that thinks she's better than me." Brooke waved it away, shaking her head. "But she's not."

"Sounds like….high school" Haley muttered.

----

"Have you all not seen 'Bring It On'?" Brooke fumed at her squad as they sat down on the hard gymnasium floor, exhausted from the amount of practise they had been doing over the past couple days. "If just one of you slacks, the whole routine goes up in smoke."

"Try telling that to your new recruit." Peyton shot a glance at Haley, who was moving sticky hair from out of her face.

"Don't try and put this on me, you're the one who couldn't hold steady!" Haley returned, after having decided that she was no longer going to be civil towards Peyton, not after her antics at the after-game party.

"Yeah, because you weigh like a zillion pounds. It's called a diet."

Brooke opened her mouth in shock at Peyton's words, amazed that even she had said them to Haley of all people.

"Look we have a week." Brooke reasoned. "And we're gonna have to step up our game because I'm not letting Claire Young take home that trophy this year."

After clapping her hands and pretty much downing a bottle of Evian, Brooke directed the squad through the sequence, jumping and squealing a little when they completed it almost perfectly.

----

"Why the hell am I even doing this?" Haley asked as she stared at the bag of chips in front of her. They were, of course, sat at their table outside, seeing as the weather had improved somewhat vastly over the past week, bringing sunshine and a warm breeze instead of the rain they had been getting used to.

"Because you love me and you know it's a huge favour and I'll love you for ever and ever if you do it for me?" Brooke answered, opening the bag for Haley, quickly delving in to grab a handful of the lightly salted potato chips.

"Eat them."

"No they're yours." Brooke replied "Besides, I've just eaten a mars bar."

"Maybe I should go on a diet….."

"Maybe you should tell Peyton to go screw herself. Guys like girls with boobs and an ass they can actually see."

Haley giggled a little and smiled at the brunette next to her. It was times like these, rare times, when she was sure that Brooke was genuine, and not just befriending her because she had nobody else.

"Operation piss Lucas and Nathan off commences this week." Brooke told Haley.

"Brooke…I'm not sure that…."

"Look" She began pointedly "I'm getting closer Haley, did you see how he was after I hooked up with Michael after the game?"

"Yeah" Haley nodded "And I also saw him dance with Peyton, who then danced with Nathan."

"Well we can do something about her, maybe accidentally-on-purpose drop her at practise after the classic, and then she wouldn't be able to walk, much less dance."

"It's getting worse Brooke."

"What is?" She asked

"This game."

Right on cue, Lucas walked passed their table, winking once again at an unsuspecting Brooke.

"I'll see you at your party." he told her, with that smirk that she'd been so used to seeing when they first met.

"What makes you think you're invited asshole?"

He shrugged. "Even if you don't invite me, I know you want me there."

And as he walked away, Brooke reasoned with her own thoughts. So what if she did want him there? It wasn't so wrong was it? Besides, she wanted, to show him what he was missing. She needed to show him what he was missing.

----

And it hadn't taken long for Brooke to put her plan into action. She'd already started on the tequila while setting up-the bottle had been too close for her to resist. Haley had declined Brooke's offer of some vodka, even if it was the expensive Norsk variety.

Lucas arrived pretty shortly after most other people, bringing with him, some sort of a team of followers. Perhaps surprisingly, Peyton wasn't one of them, though she still turned up, Nathan in tow.

"You fancy a drink?" Lucas asked Haley when they were alone in the kitchen, holding up a bottle as though the girl had no concept of what a drink was.

"I told you I don't drink." She replied coolly, a little too coolly for her own liking, but she had told herself that of all people, Lucas deserved this kind of treatment.

"You want something without alcohol then? Orange juice, soda?"

"I can get it myself."

"You seem pissed at me."

"Well then you finally got the message." Haley muttered, taking with her a can of soda. It didn't appear that Brooke was attempting to stay sober.

"Is this about Peyton?" Lucas called, making the girl almost march back into the room.

"No!" she almost spat. "This is about you and it's about Brooke. What are you doing to her?"

"Nothing" He held his hand up in defence.

"Well it doesn't seem like nothing."

"Look Haley, you don't seem to know what high school is about…"

"It's about having fun and studying." She interrupted.

"Exactly. So I'm just having fun."

"But you're messing with her."

"She's messing with Peyton."

"Well if you like Peyton so much, why don't you just date her?"

"I…"

"It's because you don't." The brunette seethed. "And you sure as hell can't like Brooke if this is what you want to do to her."

"Do what?" he was almost pleading with her to tell him now, his voice no longer keeping the calm, sarcastic tone it usually had.

"You're breaking her Lucas." Haley almost whispered. "You're making her loose."

----

"I like him." Brooke slurred as she wrapped an arm around Haley while pointing to some guy across the room. "He's cute."

"Brooke you might wanna slow down on the tequila."

The brunette snatched her drink close to her chest as if protecting it from Haley's comment. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." Haley argued, noting the smudged mascara that at some point earlier in the evening, had run down her face mixed with salty tears.

"Look Haley, just mind your own business." Brooke snapped, removing her arm as she made her way across the living room and to the boy, who was holding a bottle of beer, instantly handing it over to her as she touched his arm.

"You look kinda nervous." Nathan told Haley as they stood around the edge of the room, where the air was less hot and the music wasn't quite so deafening.

"Yeah well that's for a number of things." She muttered, biting a nail as she saw Lucas glance over at a clearly-drunken Brooke.

"What?"

"Nothing" She brushed past his question in an attempt to either get Nathan to leave, or to change the subject.

"So why are you nervous?"

That didn't work.

"It's the classic next week."

"The cheerleader thingy right?"

Haley nodded. "I didn't exactly bargain on becoming a cheerleader when I moved here."

"So why are you even doing it?"

Haley looked in the direction of Brooke, who was stealing glances at Lucas, standing in the kitchen while seemingly reading the label of the beer bottle.

"Because I have to."

----

Brooke had her lips locked with the guy she had earlier mentioned as cute when Nathan left Haley to make his way over to the guys from the team. Her body was swaying as she grabbed onto his shirt in a bid to stay upright, just as Lucas caught her eye for the first time that evening.

She expected him to wink, smirk, or at least shake his head at her after that. She knew she was far too drunk, unattractively drunk. And yet, most people in that room would have paid to sleep with her, Brooke knew that. But now, it wasn't such a flattering thought any more.

"Still playing huh?" Haley asked, handing Brooke a glass of water as she stumbled into the kitchen. "Just be careful Brooke."

"I saw him looking at me." She slurred. "And it still makes me feel funny."

Haley closed her eyes as she thought of that similar stab of something in her own chest when she spoke to Nathan, or felt his eyes on her.

"Brooke…."

"Don't Haley." She held up her hand. "Just don't say anything. You don't know what it's like."

"Is it really all just a game to you?" She couldn't help but ask. Perhaps if Brooke admitted that it was something more, then there would be a chance for her and Lucas.

The brunette shook her head slowly, looking down at the floor the whole time.

"Then why are you still playing?"

Brooke's eyes wandered to Lucas and she let her mouth curve into a small smile as she shrugged. "Because I have to."

Please review guys, only one more chapter to go xxx