Chapter Nine

The elevator doors closed behind Jake and Peyton as they stepped out onto the landing.

"So what does Haley think of your plan?" Jake asked, continuing their conversation.

Peyton sighed. "She's not very happy about it. Especially since it involves me leaving. She loves it here. I don't think she would ever want to leave Tree Hill."

"And you don't feel the same?"

"Tree Hill's nice. And I liked New York too. But, I suppose I still haven't found the place where I want to settle down. What about you?"

"Well…Tree Hill's alright. I think after I…after I finish here," Jake said, "I'll be going back to Charleston."

"What's Charleston like?" Peyton wondered.

"It's nice. I haven't lived there for that many years now, but it's…it's home," Jake finished.

"And this is mine," Peyton gestured to her apartment door with a grin. "Well, for now at least."

"Ah." Jake stopped walking. "So this is the place."

"Yeah." Peyton nodded.

"So…"

"So, I had a really good time." And she had. After she got over her embarrassment, that is.

"Yeah, me too," Jake agreed.

"You mean, after I kicked you?" Peyton added, before she could stop herself.

Jake grinned. "What? I thought that was the highlight of the evening?"

"Jake! That's not funny. I'm really sorry about your leg."

"My leg is fine, Peyton. You have to stop apologizing." He looked down at her, and Peyton couldn't help staring at his eyes. The looked like chocolate. God, that sounds so cheesy!

"Okay," she whispered.

"Well, I…I guess I should…" Jake sort of gestured back to the elevator, but didn't finish his sentence, mostly because he didn't want to go. He was stopped from having to, however, when Peyton suddenly came closer, leaned up and kissed him, catching him off-guard so he didn't have time to kiss her back.

Peyton stepped away as suddenly as she had come forward. She stared at him, unsure of what to do now, licking her lips nervously. "So…thanks for tonight."

Jake couldn't help but smirk. "Thank you."

A suggestion popped into her head, and she forced herself to ask, "Do you want to come in? Haley's not home… I-I could make coffee…" Peyton added, cringing as she said it. Coffee! Like that's an incentive to come inside!

Jake leaned forward, and brushed her new fringe to the side. "Coffee sounds nice," he responded, his voice having grown a few notches lower.

"Okay…" Her voice was so soft now he had to listen closely to hear it.

Peyton was now pressed up against the door and he was only a few centimeters away from her. He closed the distance between them and bent down to kiss her. Her arms were already wrapped around his neck before his lips had touched hers. Jake began kissing her gently, but she was much too impatient for that. She kissed him back hard, barely noticing that her hip was knocking into the door knob. His hands trailed down her sides to her waist, his fingers tracing small circles on the material of her dress.

Jake broke away slightly, but only for a second before his lips attached themselves to her jaw. "Maybe we should," he said between kisses, "go inside."

"Mmm-hmmm." Peyton nodded in agreement, but at that point couldn't even remember where her keys were. Besides, going inside would mean stopping this and she definitely did not want to do that.

"Peyton!" A shrill female voice rang through the air and paralyzed both Peyton and Jake in their actions.

Reluctantly, Peyton opened her eyes and saw her neighbour had just come out of the lift and she and Jake were blocking the narrow hallway. "Mrs. Martinson..." Peyton stammered, now she and Jake had broken away from each other and he was looking rather sheepishly at the floor. "Sorry…"

The old lady smiled. "Nothing to apologize for. I was young once too, you know. But this kind of thing is really best suited for the bedroom," she said, causing Peyton to blush even more. "Can you not find your key? Because I have your spare if you –"

"I have my key, thank you, Mrs. Martinson." Peyton quickly picked up her purse from where it had fallen on the ground.

"Well, goodnight then kids," Mrs. Martinson said before she walked around Jake and to her door.

"Goodnight," Peyton replied, while Jake muttered something that sounded vaguely like 'night'.

Just before she went inside her door, Mrs. Martinson looked over at Peyton and gave her a playful wink, the likes of which she had grown accustomed to seeing on Haley's face whenever Jake was mentioned, but seemed somewhat strange on her 60-something year-old neighbour.

Thankfully, Mrs. Martinson didn't stick around any longer.

"Well…" Jake began when the older woman was safely inside her apartment. "That was definitely an evening of firsts."

"Huh?" Peyton looked up, confused.

Jake lifted up a hand and started to count off on his fingers. "First date. First time a neighbour interrupted a date. First time I got kicked on date," he added, playfully smirking at Peyton who had buried her head in her hands. Jake chuckled. "So does this mean there's no coffee?"

"You still want to come in for coffee?"

"Well…" Jake shifted from one foot to another. "I definitely don't want to get busted by anymore of your elderly neighbours."

Peyton giggled as she unlocked the door. "Then, come on in."

Less than twenty minutes after she had bumped into three of her students at the bar, Haley was entering the restroom. She had claimed she needed to 'freshen up' but, the truth was, she had needed a break form her present company. The friends she was there with were really all Chris' friends, and while she really did enjoy hanging out with most of his guy friends their girlfriends were with them tonight, none of whom Haley particularly liked. Sighing, Haley looked at her reflection in the mirror and re-applied her lip gloss, which had come off after her drink. After ruffling her hair about for a bit she then decided she couldn't stay much longer without an excuse – besides this place didn't smell so good either – so she turned to go back out the door.

As she turned, she saw a familiar figure lying on the corner of the bathroom floor and yelped in surprise. "Brooke!"

The girl tried, but could hardly lift her head up from her position, slumped on the floor. She let out of a partial sound to show that she had heard.

"Brooke, are you alright? What happened?" Haley was now beside her, touching her forehead.

"Sleepy…" Brooke murmured.

"Come on." Haley put her arm around Brooke's waist and lifted her to a standing position. Brooke put her arms around Haley's neck transferring all her weight onto the older, but smaller made woman.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" Brooke eyed Haley suspiciously.

"You'll remember in the morning." Slowly, Haley half-carried, half-dragged Brooke out of the bathroom. Luckily, there were some couches right outside the door so Haley made her way over there and put Brooke to lie down. Checking her forehead and her pulse, Haley started to get worried. At first she thought Brooke had had too much to drink, but now a different suspicion was crossing her mind. "Brooke did you take anything tonight?"

"Take what?"

"Did you take any drugs Brooke?"

Brooke lolled her head to one side, which seemed to be her way of shaking her head no.

"Did someone try to give you anything?"

"No…just tired," Brooke whined. "I hate being tired. I wanna do something fun!"

"Brooke you have to go home, possibly see a doctor."

"No! Let's go look for some hot guys!" Brooke lifted her head up a little and squinted at Haley. "Lucas is hot, isn't he?"

"Brooke –"

"You like him don't you! That's mean of you Brooke!"

"But you're Brooke!" Haley shouted exasperatedly. "Please tell me you can remember your name!"

"Of course I'm Brooke. But you can be Brooke too. It's just as well."

"What is?"

Brooke sighed and lay back down again, burying her head in the side of the couch. "I don't think he likes me anyway."

"Brooke you need to –" Haley cut herself off when she realized that she wasn't listening. Immediately, she scanned the crowd, looking for Nathan or Lucas, having assumed that Brooke had come with them. Not seeing any sight of them, or anyone she recognized, she looked helplessly back at Brooke. "Brooke?"

She mumbled incoherently, and snuggled up into the couch further. As she moved, her mobile phone started to slip out of her front pocket. Haley grabbed it as soon as she saw it, flipped the phone open, went to contacts under L and dialed.

Lucas was sitting with Nathan at the bar, wondering what was taking Brooke so long when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and answered it, "Brooke, where are you?"

"Lucas, this is Miss James," she told him.

Lucas paused for a short moment, causing Nathan to glance at him. "Er…hi."

"Lucas, I'm with Brooke. Something's wrong with her."

"What?" Lucas stood up immediately, not unnoticed by Nathan.

"What is it?"

Lucas ignored him. "Where are you?"

"We're on the sofa just outside the women's bathroom."

"I'll be there," Lucas replied, before he hung up the phone.

"Was that Brooke?"

"It was Miss James."

"Wh-What? Wh-Why-Why was she calling you?"

"Something happened to Brooke. Come on," Lucas pulled Nathan into action and they quickly managed to find the ladies' room. Nathan was the first one to spot them on the couch.

"This way, Luke."

Lucas strode ahead and crouched down next to Haley as soon as he reached them. When he saw Brooke passed out on the couch his hand went to his forehead.

"What happened to her?" Nathan asked Haley.

"I-I'm not sure," she told him, seemingly in shock. "I went to the bathroom and I found Brooke just lying there on the floor. I pulled her up and brought her here and then she passed out."

"She seemed like she had had a lot to drink."

"No," Haley jumped in. "I mean, I think she did - she sounded like she did – but she wasn't dizzy, she just couldn't keep her eyes open. I think someone might have drugged her," she admitted.

"We have to get her to a hospital."

When Nathan said the word 'hospital' Lucas stood, and picked Brooke up. Nathan went first, making some space in the crowd so there was room for Lucas and Brooke, followed by Haley, to come through.

Once they got outside Nathan quickly unlocked the car so Lucas could put Brooke in the back-seat.

"Tree Hill Memorial is on 8th Avenue, but if you go back round 5th it's faster."

"I know that short-cut. I'll tell you the way," Lucas said to Nathan as he closed the back-door on Brooke.

"Oh and here's her phone," Haley mentioned, realizing she still had it in her hand. Lucas took it and put it in his pocket, before walking round to the passenger-side. Nathan was already opening the car-door on his side.

"Oh and check her pulse every couple of minutes," Haley added frantically. "You never know what they could have given her so you have to just check."

Her constant insistences made Nathan actually look at Haley properly for the first time since they'd found Brooke and he could see the concern etched on her face.

"Do you want to come with us?" he asked suddenly, making Lucas stop what he was doing.

"Okay." A split-second later she was climbing in to the passenger-seat, leaving Lucas with Brooke in the back.

The drive to Tree Hill Memorial Hospital was made in silence aside from a few directions. As they approached the hospital, Nathan inquired from Haley, "Did Brooke say anything?"

"About what?" Haley wondered.

"About who she was with?"

"No. I tried asking her whether someone tried to give her something but she said no.

"She didn't tell you anything?"

"She didn't recognize me properly. But then her eyes were half-closed."

"She didn't say or ask anything at all?" Lucas pressed.

"She did ask me to look for some, um, hot guys with her, but that was pretty much it," Haley informed them in a muted tone.

Nathan and Lucas didn't have time to reply because they were just pulling up in front of the hospital.