Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!

Three-Hundred and Sixty-Five

- Chapter 3 -

"So did you hear?" Peyton questioned as she applied a dark shade of red to her lips before smacking them together. Putting the final touches on her hair, Brooke looked over at Peyton through the mirror.

"Hear about what?"

"Jake asked Luke to be his best man" pausing slightly, Peyton bit her lip hesitant to continue with her thought.

"Peyton, spit it out" Brooke laughed. "Although, it is nice to have the broody-nobody-understands-me-Peyton back..."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Peyton mocked, but quickly went back to being serious. "Okay here goes…" Taking a deep breath, Peyton asked the question that had been burning inside of her ever since Jake had popped the big question. "I want you to be my maid of honor, Brooke."

Brooke was putting a light dusting of glitter on her eyes as Peyton dropped the question of the hour. She thought about her answer for a moment, but it wasn't because she didn't know the answer. She just couldn't believe she was so sure. "Of course I will, Peyton." And it was as simple as that.

"Really?" Peyton piped up excitedly, pulling her friend into a tight hug.

"You're going to ruin my hair!" Brooke squeaked as she pushed Peyton away playfully, bringing the curling iron to her hair to fix a few stray hairs that had escaped her immaculate up-do.

Peyton smiled, shaking her head. "You're really back, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Brooke questioned.

"It's just that lately…" Peyton began, but they were both interrupted by a light knock on the bathroom door.

"Are you two ready yet? We're going to be late!" Lucas' voice rang loud and clear through the solid wood door.

"Are you two naked? Because if you are, I'd be okay with that." Jake's voice chimed in.

Both of them erupted into a fit of laughter. "Wow, you really won the lotto with that one, P. Sawyer." Brooke smiled as she put the finishing touches on her makeup.

"It's been awhile since you called me that. P. Sawyer. I mean, I missed it." Smoothing her dress, Peyton sighed happily. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, friend. Now let's go turn some heads." Brooke grinned as she slowly opened the door.

"Brooke, you look…incredible…" Lucas repeated for the hundredth time that night. He was right, though. A tight, yet sophisticated black dress clung to her every curve.

"I know" Brooke admitted, sending a cheeky grin his way.

"And this party turned out great." Lucas looked around the room, observing all of the decorations that hung delicately from the ceiling. "I know it must've been hard to work with your parents. I'm really proud of you." Lucas smiled back at her, pushing a stray curl out of her eyes.

"It's funny. They said the same thing." Brooke paused, reliving the moment, "...that they were proud of me."

"Lets dance" Lucas demanded as he pulled her onto the large dance floor. "I want the first dance of the New Year." Pulling her close, they swayed together to the soft music that blasted through the speakers.

As the two of them held each other close, Brooke savored the moment she was in. Taking in every laugh she heard, every aroma she smelled, every decoration she saw. The entire day had been beyond perfect—dream-like even. Resting her head on Lucas' shoulder, she had a clear shot of Jake and Peyton. As they stood by the punchbowl, Jake had obviously pulled out all the stops and his comedic antics were working. Peyton was laughing so hard tears were falling from her eyes. They were obviously insanely in love with each other. It had been so long since Brooke had seen her that happy, and as the lights dimmed, Brooke couldn't remember the last time she was this happy either.

Ten. Suddenly, everything became quiet as the countdown continued.

Nine. "It's been such a great year," Lucas whispered in Brooke's ear. A shiver shot up her spine as his breath grazed her earlobe.

Eight. Brooke fell silent. The night was coming to a close and she didn't want it to end, but she didn't know what to say. Why couldn't she form complete sentences? Why couldn't she make this her happily ever after?

Seven. "Yes, it has" she played along, saying what she knew he wanted to hear.

Six. Holding her at arms-length he spoke. "And it's all because of you."

Five. "Because you forgave me," he continued.

Four. "I still love you, Brooke" Lucas confessed, as his eyes penetrated her soul.

Three. Standing there, urging the three-little-words to come out of her mouth, she had no reply. She came up empty-handed in the moment of truth.

Two. Not getting the answer he wanted—needed even—he moved to plan B. "Kiss me" Lucas' voice was full of desire as he pulled Brooke's face close to his, and the distance between their lips shrunk.

One. Everything went black.

"I love you, too…" Brooke's raspy voice was masked by the alarm blaring.

"Good morning Tree Hill! It's New Year's Eve, and all I can say is…who's ready to get trashed?!"

To Brooke, the voice on the radio seemed even more abrasive the second time around. After silencing the early-morning headache inducer, she kept her eyes closed and prayed for a miracle. Inhaling to search for his smell, Brooke quickly realized Lucas was nowhere near her and that she had woken up from her fantasy, and in place of the man who should've been lying next to her, there was an empty cold spot.

"Nooo…" Brooke moaned and kicked her legs under the covers, wanting to go back to her dream, a dream where she was just about to kiss Lucas' soft lips. Hoping she still had the next best thing in her possession, she frantically sat up in bed. Clawing her way through her comforters, sheets, and pillows, she searched for Lucas' hoodie. It was exactly where she had left it—tucked neatly behind her pillow. Setting it aside, a light turned on in her head. The picture. Quickly looking over to her nightstand, she saw it—her notebook, her resolutions, but no picture. The picture had been a fabrication of her imagination, and she wanted nothing more than to go back to that dream. Slowly reaching for her notebook, she pulled it to her lap. Steadily grasping her pen in her hand, she made a giant "X" through the list. Underneath it, she simply wrote: I will make my dreams come true, and if she had anything to say about it, she would.