Brooke Davis marched into the quaintly decorated Whitey Durham Fieldhouse, which with its many ornamentations, had been transformed to fit the theme of Tree Hill High School's Formal… "A Dream Come True". But for the pretty brunette, so elegant in a strapless pearl number, her hair pinned up in an elegant bun and her make up applied to perfection, it was already turning out to be more like a nightmare. But she kept her head high amongst the plentiful stares and not so subtle whispers of, "Is that Brooke Davis? Did she really come alone?" Hell yeah, she was Brooke Davis, the Brooke Davis and it was a new millennium, and she could show up at a stupid high school sans date if she wanted to. Sure she had plenty of guys to choose from but none of it felt right. To save face, she had to show. That was simply a given. But who said anything about actually having to have fun? It may not have been her party but she could sure as hell cry if she wanted to.

"Brooke, over here!" came a familiar voice.

She turned to a large table at her immediate left. Sitting were Nathan and Haley and Jake along with her best friend, Peyton, who had motioned her over.

"Evening, friends", Brooke out her best smile forward. "My, my, aren't we looking dapper?"

"Oh, Brooke, you look so beautiful", Haley cooed, just as striking in her spaghetti strapped black number, accentuated by long, cascading strawberry blonde curls.

"This old thing?" Brooke said in typical Brooke fashion.

Peyton gave her a smile as a lifetime of friendship helped her see past the front.

"You look great, dude. Seriously. I'm glad you came."

She extended her hand for Brooke to sit down and she took it. She had shown up a few fashionable hours late, as expected and the gymnasium was already filled with her classmates. After a few glasses of punch, hopefully spiked by Tim, and the stupid announcement of the King and Queen, she'd be free to go and free to put the awful night behind her.

"This is really amazing", Haley sighed with contentment. "I mean, can you believe high school is almost over? Pretty soon we'll all go our separate ways. It's kind of sad when you think about it but that is what makes tonight so great. Yeah, I know a lot of people thought the theme tonight was cheesy but I think it's wonderful. We're living some of the best years of our lives and the best part about it is, we get to share it with friends. I'd say that is a real dream come true."

Nathan gave her a look of love and Jake and Peyton smiled at each other as well.

"Here, here", they all toasted their glasses.

And then from the corner of her eye, Brooke saw her. In a silvery satin dress that left little to the imagination, there was Rachel Getina, an adoring and awestruck Mouth at her side like always.

"Or a nightmare", Brooke rolled her eyes.

As if it were her cue, Rachel sauntered over.

"Hello, gang…ladies, gentlemen, friends…Brooke."

"Eat shit and die, fat ass", Brooke muttered half under her breath.

"I see you saved us a seat for me and my honey", the fiery red head ignored her. "Don't mind if I do."

Brooke wanted to gag as her sometime friend, always bitter rival and fastly approaching arch enemy took a seat right next to her. For the next twenty minutes she sat, wishing the floor would somehow open up and swallow her as the three couples swooned.

"I have to go, sweetie", Mouth finally informed her. "I have to set up because Principal Turner is gonna do announcements soon."

"You really have to go?" Rachel pouted. "Okay, but you better hurry back. I miss you too much when you're away."

Brooke wanted to barf. Who in the hell believed that act? The only thing faker than that were her boobs but nevertheless, Mouth seemed to be into both.

"Want some more punch?" Peyton asked as she and Jake were off to dance.

Brooke let out a heavy sigh.

"Sure as long as it has plenty of Vodka in it."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that", said Dan Scott as he and his fellow chaperone and wife, Deb, approached the table. "And how are you crazy kids tonight?"

"Dad, what the hell?" Nathan mumbled with a frown.

He rolled his eyes as Deb removed the digital camera from her designer purse and proudly snapped a few more shots of her disgruntled son and his slightly embarrassed but nonetheless smiling girlfriend.

"Mrs. Scott, over here", Rachel waved. "How about a picture of Brooke and me? You know, for posterity."

Without further ado and much to Brooke's shock and horror, Rachel draped her arm around her, smiling happily for a series of photographs.

"Do that again and I'll kill you", Brooke warned through clenched teeth after the adult Scott's had left and Nathan and Haley had convened on the dance floor with the other happy couples.

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Mad?" Brooke raised an eyebrow. "No, Rachel, I am not mad. To be mad would actually require me to care and I don't feel like wasting that much energy on you."

"You're such a spoiled brat. Look, I was only having fun. You know how we are. So I guess I took things too far this time and if I did, sorry. If you're really pissed off and I really hurt your feelings, then I didn't mean to, okay? I was only trying to push your buttons like usual. So can we call a truce?"

She gave a sincere look and extended her hand but an angry Brooke still was not convinced.

"I'm not at war with you, Rachel", she said quietly.

"Fine", the red head sighed. "Friends?"

Brooke just shook her head.

"We never were."

Rachel, still not defeated, just smirked as she stood to leave.

"I'm going to visit my man and then I'll be back and we'll continue this little conversation later."

Brooke chewed the inside of her lip as she looked over to see a giddy and waving Bevin and Teresa. God, she prayed they wouldn't stop over. The last thing she felt like doing was chatting or pretending to be happy when she was anything but. In fact, her bed along with a movie marathon that included Terms Of Endearment, The Notebook, and Casablanca, to name a few, seemed quite appealing.

"Is this seat taken?"

She looked up, mouth open in shock. The last thing she expected was to be staring back into those blue eyes. And why was her heart fluttering?

"Cooper…"

"Hey", he took a seat beside her. "I saw you sitting over here all by your lonesome and I've been a good boy tonight, besides, I could use a break from the chaperoning duties so I decided to say hi."

"Hi", she nervously cleared her throat. "You um, you look nice."

Nice? He sure did. Nice and sexy in that Ralph Lauren tux.

"So do you", he smiled approvingly, giving her the brief once over. "I mean, you look more than nice. You look beautiful."

"Thanks", she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "So, uh, how…how's it going? The whole chaperoning thing."

Cooper rolled his eyes.

"Keeping a close eye on the punch bowl when I really want to give Tim the go ahead to lace it, making sure the couples aren't dancing too close when I really couldn't care less and a bunch of other crap. Dan is way better at this than I am but I guess I can't complain. Besides, I promised my sister."

"Yeah, I guess high school dances can be sort of lame."

"I take it your night isn't going that well. This isn't the dream come true?" his eyes danced with mischief.

"More like a Tim Burton nightmare but anyway."

"It'll be okay. It's just one night out of your life. Your friends are all here and you do look really gorgeous."

Her heart skipped. His second compliment of the evening, but she quickly regained her composure.

"I probably won't be around much longer…"

"Why? The night could get better. You could actually have fun. Hell, go out and dance with your friends."

Brooke glanced over at the floor. The deejay was spinning a fast paced, popular hip hop tune and all her friends were in a circle in the middle of the floor dancing like their lives depended on it. More importantly, they all looked happy. Brooke was happy for them but her heart just wasn't in it, although there would have been a time, she would have had to been pried away from the center attraction.

"I'm okay. Just waiting on some more punch."

"Can I get you a glass?"

"No thanks", she said quickly.

Cooper nodded.

"Brooke, can I talk to you for a second?"

He sounded serious. Too serious.

"Depends on the subject matter."

"It's about Rachel. I saw you sitting here with her a few minutes ago and…"

"Okay, that subject matter sucks. If you'll excuse me…"

He gently grabbed her arm.

"What you saw the other night is not what you thought you saw."

"Whatever. It's none of my business. If you like keeping company with the school's resident skank…"

"I like keeping company with you", he cut her off.

Brooke's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Look, I don't have anything bad to say about Rachel. She's not a bad person. So she likes to flirt and she likes attention? Big deal. But that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is you. I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

"I have to go to the bathroom", Brooke abruptly blurted out.

Cooper's eyes narrowed.

"Huh?"

"The bathroom. I, I have to go, like as in right now. You know, all that darn punch."

She stood so fast, she almost knocked over the table.

"Um, okay. If, if you have to go."

"I do."

"When you're done, can you come back? There is something I kind of have to say to you. I think we need to talk."

"Sure", Brooke spouted, hurrying off without looking back.

She barreled through the doors of the women's restroom and nearly collapsed against the mirror. Her face was flushed and her breath came in radical spurts as she desperately tried to keep the butterflies from churning inside her belly. It had been one hell of a night. First, the dance in itself had been stupid and she had regretted her decision to come from almost the moment she had arrived. Then she had felt like the odd man out with all her girlfriends nestled up to their boyfriends. Then Rachel's demonic presence had ruined everything. What was left? She had almost forgotten Cooper was even going to be there and he had scared her half to death. How dare he take that empty seat next to her, looking so fine and smelling so good? And he'd had the nerve to keep telling her how great she looked and he'd topped it off with the "we need to talk" shocker. Those four words were never good and never had been, when it had come to her parents, Lucas and everybody else in her life. What in the world did he possibly have to say? Curiosity was getting the best of her but sheer terror set in at the prospect of actually knowing. Brooke just closed her eyes and wished she had a pair of ruby red slippers. Maybe then she could click her heels together and in a matter of seconds she would be home alone, safe from the drama and angst filled trenches of high school.

"Brooke. Are you okay, sweetie?"

She turned to see Nathan's mother at the mirror powdering her nose.

"Mrs. Scott. Um, hi…"

"Nice night, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

Deb smiled fondly.

"Oh, I remember my high school formal senior year just like it was yesterday. I was so excited. My date's name was Allen Bell. Oh he was the cutest thing. Green eyes, wavy brown hair…football player. I couldn't wait for him to ask me and sure enough he did. It took me weeks to find the perfect dress and I finally bought it. I'll never forget, it was pink with the bouffant sleeves and the sash around the waist."

"Sounds…interesting", Brooke made a face.

"Oh honey, it was the eighties. It was hot. Anyway, it took me like five hours to get ready. You know, the big hair and the fake eyelashes and all that crap. So I come down the stairs of my parents' house feeling like a princess with my dream date looking like a prince and what do you think happens?"

Brooke shrugged.

"You took tons of pictures, drank spiked punch until you puked and made out in the backseat of his Chevette?" she took a guess.

Deb playfully rolled her eyes.

"No, silly. And it was a Monte Carlo, thank you very much. Anyway, we get ready to go and out of nowhere comes my idiot little brother with finger paint all over his grubby ten year old hands and he goes, 'Have a good time, Debbie and try not to get felt up.' And he totally ruins my beautiful sash. I mean it. Red, green and blue paw prints everywhere."

"You mean Cooper?"

"That would be the one and only, little shit", Deb grinned. "I could have killed him."

Brooke couldn't help but smile thinking of a miniature Coop.

"Did he get in trouble?"

"Unfortunately not. My parents wouldn't let me sell him. He claimed it was an accident but I think not. You know Coop. Those blue eyes could melt a glacier."

Brooke sighed. They sure could.

"Yeah…"

"My mom saved the day and we were able to cut the sash without ruining the whole dress and Allen and I went and had a lovely time. This sure brings back some wonderful memories."

"Simply magical", Brooke muttered sarcastically.

"You look upset, honey. Anything I can help with?"

"I…I don't know. Look, I'm fine."

"This is about a young man, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Listen to me. You're a strong girl and a beautiful one at that. Tonight can be a magical night, if you let it. Don't sit in a corner and waste it all away being insecure or angry or sad. It's not worth it and you'll only regret it later."

Brooke bit her lip.

"What do I do?"

"You hold your head high and you go have fun. And don't let a guy trouble you. If it's someone from the past, don't even let it bother you or bring you down. And if it's someone with a possible future, don't be afraid to feel again or be vulnerable. You control your destiny, Brooke. Don't let it control you."

Brooke looked in the mirror and nodded. Deb was absolutely right. Smiling and thanking the older woman, she sucked in a breath and walked out, preparing to face her fate, whatever it was. Confident smile on her face, she made her way to the dance floor just in time to see Cooper and Rachel together. She looked up and an oblivious Mouth was engrossed in conversation with Principal Turner as the King and Queen contestants lined up.

"Brooke", Rachel feigned surprise after catching the fuming brunette staring at them, arms defiantly crossed. "There you are. I was looking all over for you. I was beginning to think you had fallen in the toilet or something."

Brooke scowled.

"Hey, Brooke…" Cooper said, looking at her, desperately trying to break away from Rachel who wasn't letting go so easily.

"Isn't he the best dancing chaperone you've ever seen?" she teased. "Our little dance lessons really paid off."

Brooke couldn't believe.

"Yeah, I'm sure they did."

She turned on her heels to leave and heard him call after her but she didn't care. All she wanted was out but her fury presented with confusion and she became lost in a sea of her peers in a room she knew like the back of her hand. She failed to notice the music had stopped and she didn't realize she had made her way to the front directly in front of center stage. A huge spotlight shone on her along with the one on stage. With every eye on her, she had made it time just to hear Principal Turner's long awaited announcement.

"…And without further ado, the moment you have waited for, the Tree Hill High King and Queen, Mr. Lucas Scott and Miss Kelly Dillard!"

Brooke's mouth fell open. It was like a scene from "Carrie" and she didn't need a bucket of pig's blood for embarrassment. The scene was humiliating enough as the whole school was half staring at her and half staring at the giggly, kissy faced Ken and Barbie couple being crowned onstage. No one dared laugh or clap or even speak. With bated breath, they awaited Brooke's reaction and she gave them one she ran out the doors in tears.