Brooke took a nervous breath as she turned the corner to a once familiar and comfortable establishment. But for the last year or so of her life, it had felt like the dreaded proverbial lion's den. Still it was something that needed to be done. There were words that needed to be spoken and she had waited long enough. The time was right.

Growing up, Brooke Davis had always imagined that her senior year of high school would be memorable. In a round about way, she had definitely gotten her wish. In fact, she'd never forget those last two semesters at Tree Hill High. There had been good times but they had far been outweighed by the tumultuous ones. There had been great confusion and anger and heartbreak. The ensuing chaos had forced Brooke to grow up.

It was time to move on. It was time to spring forward and that's exactly what Brooke intended to do. She had plans for the future but in order to get there, there were things she had to confront in her past. But Brooke had been all about Brooke and not in a selfish, superficial way but in a way of trying to take better care of herself. It was time to put the turmoil of drama behind her but it was hard to take that final step over the threshold that led to Karen's Café. She stood there for what seemed like forever, seemingly unable to open the door until someone did it for her.

"Brooke?" the other person leaving looked surprised.

Brooke folded her arms.

"Rachel…hey."

For the two teen queens who had faced so much together, the seconds were filled with a looming, awkward silence.

"Fancy seeing you here", the red head half smiled.

"Yeah? Well, stranger things have happened. It's just some stuff I have to take care of."

Rachel nodded.

"Graduation's almost here. Can you believe that?"

"Not a moment too soon."

"I got accepted to a college in Florida. That'll be fun. It's like Spring Break all year long."

"Yeah…" Brooke shifted uncomfortably.

"So I heard about you? Going to school in Vegas? How'd you pull that one off. I mean, it's pretty cool. Sounds like I'm not the only one who's gonna be partying non stop."

"It'll be fun but it's not all about that anymore, Rachel."

Rachel took a deep breath as she looked around.

"I know. Look, I, um…I'm kind of glad I ran into you."

"Why?"

She paused with a shrug.

"I, I don't know. Pretty soon we all go our separate ways and there's a good chance some of us won't see each other anymore. I know a lot of people are happy about that, I guess, at least happy they won't have to see me anymore."

"Rachel…"

"Let me finish. Please. Look, I know I messed up…a lot. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Why apologize to me?"

"Because you deserve it and I owe you one", Rachel stated quite frankly.

"Maybe so but I'm probably near the bottom of the long list of people you've screwed over."

"You're right. I can't change the past. I can just admit I was wrong and try to move forward from there. I don't know. Maybe Florida will be my big chance."

"Maybe so but a word of advice, Rachel…change means just that. It's a change. You do things differently. And if you don't plan on it, if you plan to go to Florida being the same old Rachel doing the same old Rachel things, then it's not gonna work."

"I know that. Brooke, in the past four years I've been to like six different schools. Each time I said it was gonna be different, it was gonna be better. And it wasn't. Know why? Because I messed it up. All I ever wanted was to be the pretty, popular one."

"Looks like you got your wish."

"Be careful what you wish for, huh? I thought it would help everything but it didn't because it was still the same old wounded, desperate, confused, angry me on the inside. I, and you'll never understand this…I just wanted people to like me."

"I understand. Believe me, I understand more than you know. And despite everything, there is a half decent person inside you."

"I guess I just tried too hard."

"Or maybe you didn't try enough", Brooke added softly.

Rachel just stared at her.

"I, um, I have to go but I'm glad I talked to you. This place wasn't so bad and a lot of times it was because of you. So I wanted to say thanks…and sorry."

"You're welcome and uh…I forgive you."

Rachel nodded as she smiled, hands shoved in the pockets of her low rise jeans.

"Thunder thighs."

"Donkey butt."

"Whore."

"Slut."

"Take care of yourself, Brooke. It was fun."

Brooke gave her a real smile.

"You too, Rachel", she said, watching as her former friend and foe walked away. "I guess it was."

There were amends to be made and even though Brooke felt better after closure with Rachel, she hadn't been the person she was looking for. However, Brooke didn't have to look much longer or farther. There he was behind the counter of the café and she silently thanked God that Kelly was nowhere in sight.

"Brooke?" he looked up, surprised, from refilling the soda dispenser.

"Lucas", she shuffled her weight. "Hey."

He swallowed hard. It was still difficult seeing her around even though he saw her almost everyday. She was still beautiful and still someone he cared very deeply for. He had hurt her, more than once and he knew it and he hated himself for it. Now there she was, standing just a few feet away.

"Can I get you something?"

"Huh? Oh no. I, um…I really didn't come here to eat."

"What's up?"

"I, actually I came here to talk to you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Do you have a few minutes?"

There were only a few customers scattered about the café and all seemed to be taken care of. Taking off his apron, he guided her to a private booth in the back.

"What's on your mind?"

She bit her lip to unsuccessfully hold back her growing smile.

"Funny you should ask that, Scott. I mean, what isn't on my mind?"

"Everything okay?"

"It is. I'm excited about graduation. I mean, I can't believe it's here already."

"Me too. Sometimes it felt like it took forever and sometimes it's like, where did time go, it flew by so fast."

She sighed. She knew the feeling.

"Peyton and I used to play it over and over in our heads about how it would be like…but I never thought it'd be like this."

"You're going to college, right?" Lucas cleared his throat.

"Yeah. I'm gonna study fashion design."

"Brooke, that's awesome. You were always really into that and your ideas and the things you sewed…they were great."

"Apparently the International Academy of Design and Technology, thinks so as well."

"Sounds like a fancy place. Where is it?"

Her dimples showed as there was that familiar twinkle in her eye.

"Las Vegas."

"Vegas? Holy shit, is Las Vegas ready for Brooke Davis?"

"It better be", she grinned.

"Well, I'm happy for you. I really mean that. I don't even have to wish you luck because I know you're gonna be okay."

"What about you? What school did you pick?"

He shrugged.

"I'm gonna stay around here and go to Tree Hill U. They've got a good journalism program and all. Besides, I can still be close to…"

"Kelly?" she finished his sentence for him.

"Sorry. I…"

"It's okay."

"No, it's not, Brooke. Look, I know you must hate me…"

"I did for a while, believe me. I really did. You hurt me, Lucas Scott and I can't even begin to explain that or tell you how much it sucked."

"I'm sorry…"

"I know you are. Things happen, right?"

"You're a beautiful girl and we had some really good times. Please don't think for a second that I didn't love you because I did. I know my actions told another story and I don't really have an excuse for that. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you but I know I'm the person that probably hurt you the most and that kills me. Anything I could ever do…"

"Just one thing and that's why I'm here."

"Name it."

"I just want to know why. Seriously. Face to face, I want you to look me in the eye and just tell me why."

"You were great, you are great and we had a lot of fun. Brooke, I cared about you so much but I was dealing with a lot. I know nothing sounds cornier or more cliché than the whole, 'it's not you, it's me' deal but I swear it's the truth. I was young and dealing with a lot of changes. I had a lot on my plate and my mind wasn't where it should have been. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret Kelly. People find it hard to believe that we actually have stuff in common but we do and I am in love with her. I'd never regret having something so beautiful with another person but I do regret how we came to be. I should have just been honest with you, hell, honest with myself. Cheating wasn't the answer and neither was hurting you. I just hope that you can forgive me one day."

"I already have, Lucas. And the strange thing is, I didn't realize that until just now."

"Brooke…"

"You hurt me pretty bad and because of that I walked around being angry and jealous about a lot of things but I don't feel that way anymore. I don't want to be that person anymore. I can't ever forget what you did but yeah, I can forgive it. And I'll never bash you or disrespect you because a part of me will always care about you."

"You know, I've wanted to hear you say those words for so long now but now that I've heard them…I just feel bad, like even more of a jack hole. Like I don't deserve your kindness. I just…it sounds stupid but I really want you to think that I'm a good person."

"We're our own people and our own destiny and our happiness is in our hands. We have to do what we have to do sometimes. If Kelly is what you want, then be happy. And I can walk away knowing Lucas Scott is still a good guy, just a good guy who made some mistakes along the way. But if it happens again and you cheat and you hurt Kelly, then that means you're not a good guy. It doesn't matter then what I or anybody else thinks. It's all on you, Lucas to be the person you were, the person I know you can be."

"When did you get so insightful?" he smiled.

She gave a shrug and a chuckle.

"I don't know. Kind of weird coming from me, huh? Maybe time or meeting some people who taught me a little about life. Or maybe it's just a part of growing up."

"You're pretty amazing, Brooke Davis, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do. And it took me a while to figure that out. But now I know. I don't need my parents or Tree Hill or looks or a cheering squad to validate me. It's funny because you're the first one that taught me that. It gave me strength but it also made me weak at the same time because it made me feel like I was something, but only with you."

"You're a good person, Brooke and you're strong and it has nothing to do with me or anybody else."

"I know that now. I'm okay without you and that's a great feeling. All that bad stuff…I'm choosing to leave it behind. Because it's like there's a whole new world waiting on us, a whole new beginning. I feel like good things are gonna come my way but I have to make changes in myself and in my life so when those good things come, I'll be ready."

"Thank you, Brooke. I mean that. Thanks for coming here today."

"I didn't do it for you, Luke, I did it for me."

"I know that."

"I'm leaving the fear and the grudges behind and uh, that feels pretty damned good."

"Thank you for not hating me."

"I don't hate you at all, Lucas. In fact, I'm thankful for all the lessons I learned with and because of you."

She looked in those blue eyes and finally felt free, like a 300 ton weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had never felt more alive. Finally, Brooke could breathe again.