A/N: Hello everyone! First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who took the time to review!!

I'm realizing that while some of you are Naley and Jeyton fans, others prefer Pathan so no matter where I go with this story, someone is probably going to be disappointed. So if you'd like to know whether or not your ship is gonna make it to the end of the story, you can send me a message and I'll let you know what I intend. That way you can decide whether you want to drop out now or keep going.

There'll be a little more Brucas with each chapter and remember, I am absolutely anti-leyton!!! so no worries there. Again, thanks everyone :)

Chapter 5 - Stand Still, Look Pretty

I am slowly falling apart

I wish you'd take a walk in my shoes for a start

And you might think it's easy being me

You just stand still, look pretty

Haley noticed it had been almost two hours since Brooke left and with the time rapidly approaching midnight, she feared that the other brunette wouldn't be back soon enough. However Brooke had been right about one thing… Lucas had yet to wake or stir for that matter and Haley was inclined to believe he'd been given a sleeping pill of some kind.

During that time when she waited and while it was quiet, Haley's mind began to wonder.

Looking back on the night's events left her feeling nervous and angry all at once. The opening and closing of the front door that revealed Karen's entrance nearly twenty minutes before didn't help matters either. But thankfully his mother hadn't bothered to check her son's room since his old, beat up mustang was nowhere in sight.

Questions were at the forefront of her mind as Haley tried to figure out why the captain of the cheer sluts would jeopardize her status to help Lucas. A boy she hardly knew. Or better yet, why go back to the party after voicing her personal disgust over it all. Despite the explanation that it had to be done in order for it to all be over.

At a second glance, she decided it was an excuse that didn't make a lot of sense. Though Haley supposed that none of it made any sense, least of all the sick pleasure the boys would get from humiliating someone who'd done nothing to them. Certainly not anything that would warrant such a prank.

"Mission accomplished," Brooke whispered as she let herself into the room and leaned back against the door.

"Where have you been?" Haley hissed, all the while tempted to release her own relieved sigh.

She was even more disheveled than when she first left. Her long brown hair was windswept and pulled back in a hasty ponytail with stubborn tendrils up front that refused to stay behind her ears. There was a twig stuck to the bottom of her shoe and the black skirt now looked a little dirty as well.

Haley couldn't help but wonder what exactly Brooke had gotten herself into after leaving the house.

"Appearances count," she answered but the look on Haley's face told her that the other girl had misinterpreted the words to mean something else entirely. "Look, I'll stick around until he wakes up. You can get home now if you need to," Brooke offered and pushed away from the wood she leaned against.

The plaid wallpaper covering the walls was dark and every shelf was lined with an array of books. In addition to the small desk covered in papers and the laptop nearby, Brooke decided that the room looked more like a library than anything else. It was only the bed that gave away the room's true purpose. "Sure… whatever," Haley said quietly though loud enough for Brooke to hear. "Just tell Lucas to call me if he needs anything."

Jacket in hand, she walked out the door without another word.

Sighing, Brooke looked around at the few frames sitting on the furniture. She could guess that the blonde haired blue eyed boy in each one was Lucas. A few featured him with his mother Karen or his uncle Keith. "Happy," she murmured softly, admiring the smiles they always gave the cameras.

Even if they weren't completely conventional, they were most definitely a family. Love was undeniable in their eyes as well as laughter.

Most people around town who didn't have enough tact to keep their mouths quiet often said that Lucas ended up with the short end of the stick. Though it was obvious from the photographs, at least to Brooke, that those who judged really had no idea.

And with her thoughts came a few stray tears.

Brooke would never begrudge anyone a happy childhood or a caring family, especially with her own experiences in that department. Yet she couldn't help the wave of sadness that coursed through her body as she thought about the previous ten years. The hours spent away from her parents and the broken promises of phone calls and visits. A lot of talk about things that would never come to fruition.

Then all too suddenly, she became aware of her surroundings. Even with no one else around to notice, Brooke was instantly embarrassed and hurried to wipe the tears away. Almost as if she was afraid Lucas would sit up and laugh. Though if she was honest with herself, Brooke doubted he would do such a thing. Her friends maybe but not Lucas.

Brooke wasn't sure why she knew this but somehow she just did.

-----

Regardless of what Haley had assumed, Brooke had no intention of ever letting Lucas know she'd been at his bedside while he slept. She didn't want him to find out that she'd been the one to slip a pair of boxers up his legs or the person who set the trashcan by his mattress. Lucas wasn't meant to know that she stayed up the whole night watching, waiting for some sign that he was okay. Or that she breathed a sigh of relief when he rolled over onto his side without any prodding on her part.

But he would be made aware of it if she didn't get to Haley first. If she didn't get the chance to explain why it all had to stay a secret.

So as the sun came up, highlighting the darkened sky with a beautiful array of yellows and pinks, Brooke hauled herself out of his desk chair.

She grabbed the blanket they'd wrapped Lucas in the night before and reached for her purse. Shoes in hand, she tiptoed out of the room, careful not to make a noise. Then when the door creaked, she held her breath and waited until she was sure his breathing was still even and undisturbed.

Unlike Haley who had her parents to worry about, Brooke's house was empty when she walked through her red front door.

Silence greeted her and filled her ears. A sound she had long since gotten used to after years of the same thing. The same emptiness that filled her house like furniture filled everyone else's.

A shower removed the scent of smoke that clung to her skin and some Colgate dissolved the taste of alcohol that lingered on her breath. Clothes from the night before were discarded in the laundry hamper, waiting for the maid to get them washed when she came in on Monday. And the heels she'd sported, now with bits of gravel sticking to their soles, were set down in the closet for later use.

No one would have guessed that Brooke Davis hadn't slept for a minute the night before as she pulled up to the James house looking fresh and beautiful as always.

"Hi. Can I speak to Haley please?" she politely greeted when an older woman answered the door. She had the same sandy colored hair and a wide smile as she invited Brooke inside. It was easy to see the resemblance between mother and daughter as the woman instructed Brooke up the stairs and informed her of which door belonged to her daughter. "Thank you."

The bubblegum pink velour track suit and white tank top Brooke wore was a stark contrast from the oversized flannel pajamas Haley walked around in. They were ratty and blue plaid but seemed comfortable enough. "What are you doing here? Is Lucas okay," Haley questioned instantly before she crossed her arms over her chest. An obvious defensive move.

Feeling distinctly frumpy next to the cheery brunette, she instinctively lashed out with a bit of rudeness that was undeserved.

Brooke seemed undeterred though, determined to say her peace.

"I've thought about it and I think you should just tell him that you heard someone talking about the prank when you were in the café. One of the parents or something… maybe a kid from school. You don't have to specify, but tell him that when you heard it, you got worried and went looking for him," Brooke began, causing a look of confusion to replace Haley's previous ire. "He won't remember anyway so you can say that you picked him and he got inside your car. Then you drove him home and put him to bed."

Hands up, she halted Brooke's story and shook her head. "I can't tell whether I'm still sleepy or if you just don't make any sense at all," Haley declared bluntly.

"I want you to tell him it was you. Just you."

"Why?"

"Because I'd rather him owe his best friend than have him owe me."

"Brooke… Lucas won't fall for that story," Haley sighed. "It's just too far fetched to believe that I would hear about the prank from someone's parent. Or that a kid from school, who wasn't at the party, would know what was going to happen," she informed and shook of her head again, this time disapproving. The messy bun she'd wrapped her hair up in had a few escaping strands that framed her face and tickled her nose as she moved.

"Not all parents in this town are as innocent as you'd like to think," Brooke replied simply. "With all the parties and pranks around town, do you honestly believe that no one's parents have a clue? Do you think they don't notice the missing booze in their liquor cabinets or the girls' underwear they find in their son's beds?" At least most parents did anyway, she thought idly. "Or don't you realize that this kind of hazing isn't anything new? Because it isn't. It's been happening since Royal Scott walked the halls of Tree Hill High over thirty years ago."

"But… no that-that can't be possible. I mean… why? How?" Her imagination didn't allow her to understand because she'd never been exposed to it before. Haley's first foray into the hidden dark side of their school's most popular clique had been a walk in the park compared to the other things that went on. The things that weren't talked about out loud.

"How? Because it's fight club, Haley. What happens in fight club, stays in fight club," Brooke stated. "We don't bring outsiders into this because truth be told, we all know how screwed up it is. But that's the way it works… at least it does in our world. So we accept it for what it is and we don't bitch about it later."

"But the parents know and don't say anything. I just don't understand why they would let it happen."

"Because it's always been done," Brooke shrugged simply. "Dan Scott knew exactly what was going to happen to Lucas last night. So did Tim's parents and Harper and Springer and Bevin and Theresa's. Every parent of every cheerleader and basketball player because the majority of us are all legacies. We do what our parents did before us and what they did before them."

Initiations happened to everyone welcomed to the inner circle because it ensured loyalty. They didn't rat each other out because each one of them had something to lose if they did. The only thing that differed between them was what that thing was. "Just trust me when I tell you that he absolutely can't say anything to them Haley. Not about me and not about someone taking him away from it all. They can't know and you have to make sure of it. For his sake."

"You mean for yours," Haley corrected once the shock of it all began to dull.

No… for his," Brooke said with a sad smile. "I know the game and I play it well because I know all the rules. I won't get burned. He will."

As inclined as she was to argue, there was something in Brooke's eyes that told Haley she was being truthful. Brooke knew things and she was using them now to protect Lucas from whatever consequences might await him. The only thing Haley still didn't understand was why. Why had she done it all?

"Lucas'll probably spend his morning emptying his stomach. You should be there for him," she added quietly and waited a beat for some kind of argument. When none came, Brooke turned on her heel and headed out the door.

In her haste, she didn't hear the quiet 'okay' Haley spoke.

-----

Brooke hadn't been lying when she said Lucas would spend his morning sick to his stomach. It was what woke him up and kept him groaning for the half hour it took Haley to arrive.

She guided him to the bathroom and waited outside while he took a shower and brushed his teeth. Then when Karen stepped into the hall and saw Haley sitting on her couch, the younger girl lied about where she'd gone the night before after hastily leaving the café.

She kept her distracted as Lucas walked from the bathroom into his room with a white towel wrapped around his waist. Blue eyes were bloodshot and tired. His skin was clammy but heated from the hot steam of his shower.

When he asked what had happened, Haley parroted the crazy story Brooke had concocted about hearing some kids from school talking. She added bits and pieces of the popular girls' explanation, using it as a way to make Lucas understand how Haley could have found out such details. And when he grimaced and groaned, she looked at him with nothing but sympathy and guilt.

He was angry and rightfully so. Haley had expected no less.

But she was surprised to find that Lucas had no intention of saying something about it all. It was as if he knew that nothing would be done to those involved while Nathan was leading the group. Dan would ensure it. He'd pick one son over the other just as he'd done countless times in the past. And when she saw the realization on his face, Haley also began to feel a sickness in her stomach that had nothing to do with being hung over.

Then while Lucas was quiet, mulling over the night's events, Haley took the opportunity to further consider Brooke's words. About how she'd called it a game and the confidence in her voice when she said she knew how to play.

Suddenly Haley couldn't help but wonder what the real Brooke Davis was like. Not the brainless bimbo everyone knew and admired from afar, but the girl who knew how to play hardball when the occasion arose. She wondered if Brooke would be able to continue protecting Lucas from the brunt of his brother's hatred. Or if it was a one time thing that wouldn't be repeated the next time Nathan decided to get even.

And in the midst of her questions regarding Brooke, Haley discovered that she had a even more regarding a few other people. Specifically Karen and Keith and how they could have signed off on Lucas playing basketball when they had to know what would happen. Back in high school Karen had been a cheerleader dating the star of the team. Keith had been an athlete himself.

But through her musings she was never able to come up with a suitable enough answer. All she could hope was that maybe they each believed the hazing was just a phase. Something that had ended long ago once Whitey became the team's head coach as opposed to the assistant he had been during Keith's day.

Afterwards when he was feeling a little better, Haley watched Lucas tell his mom he'd locked his keys in his car, thus his reason why it wasn't in their driveway. Karen had nodded in understanding and left to open up the café while Haley drove Lucas out to Smith's house with his spare. From where she waited, sitting inside her parents car, she watched him stare up at the house with an unreadable expression on his face. He was unmoving at first and completely silent as he looked over at the bodies that littered the yard and the few cars that continued to reside in front where they'd been haphazardly parked after returning from the woods.

It was a game and Haley was terrified that Lucas was about to be forced to play.