I AM SO SORRY THIS HAS TAKEN FOREVER. I have never been so stressed in my lifeeee… after 3 hours of homework, I don't have energy to shower, much less write. And there's just a lot of drama going on with my friends and BLAH. I promissssse since I plan to become anti-social in the upcoming weeks I will definitely update more often! Thanks for reading! Review!!!

Brooke, Rachel, Peyton and Haley pulled up to a fairly large house in Brooke's car at 9:45. It was typical of them to be "fashionably late," since Brooke insisted they don't just arrive, they make appearances. It was a Stepford-esque house; green lawn, red shutters, a tire swing hanging from the tree. But this party was definitely not going to be low-key. Brooke could feel it.

As they walked into the house through the front door, the four felt every eye follow each step they took. They reached the kitchen where people were all encircling a keg watching something. Brooke pushed her way through and her friends followed.

The sight before them was a blonde girl (was her name Beverly, or Bevie? Or maybe Bevin?) was doing a keg stand in front of them.

"Okay! You can put me down now! I don't wanna drink! I just wanted to be upside down!" the girl said as her boyfriend turned her back upright.

Brooke giggled at the scene and soon, her and her "quad" dispersed themselves to different parts of the house. Of course, Brooke naturally headed for where bottles of vodka were lined up like soldiers. Rachel was standing there, of course, as Brooke approached the drinks.

"Shots?" Brooke said giddily.

"Shots!" Rachel repeated enthusiastically.

They each took a shot glass and filled with vodka.

"1… 2…" Brooke began counting down.

"3!" they yelled in unison before downing the liquid. They both grimaced at the burn of the vodka in their throats, but smiled at each other afterward.

"You may be in love, but you're still a party girl at heart," Brooke commented to her friend.

"What can I say? While the cat's away, the mice will play…" she winked. The two stood together chatting and taking shots for a few minutes longer, when Brooke felt an arm wrap around her waist and a body move close behind her.

She turned around to see who it was.

"Chris!" she yelled with false enthusiasm.

"Hey baby, didn't expect you to be here… I've been calling you all day," he said planting a hard kiss on her neck.

"Uh, yeah… phone's been on the fritz," Brooke lied with a nervous shrug. She had been ignoring every call from Chris's number that she had received all day.

Rachel faked a cough. "Brooke, you're so rude. Hi, I'm Rachel," she said seductively, extending a manicured hand (dark red lacquer of course, Rachel's signature color) in Chris's direction.

"I'm Chris," he said shaking her hand. Chris turned around for a minute, and in the few seconds he wasn't facing her, Rachel mouthed "hot" to Brooke. Brooke just rolled her eyes in response.

"So," Chris said turning back around. He was now standing next to Brooke with his arm looped around her waist. "Are we gonna repeat last night?" he whispered into her ear. Rachel got the hint that Chris intended this conversation to be private, and with the blow of a kiss, she was gone into the black hole of a crowd.

"Maybe if you're lucky," she responded slyly. "Who are you here with?"

No, she didn't want to know if Lucas was here. That was crazy. She just wanted to meet his friends… since he had met her friends. Yeah, that was it. She didn't care if Lucas was here or not. If you thought she did, you were nuts.

"Lucas, you're new best friend, didn't want to come. He's hanging out at home with his girlfriend," he said with a tinge of jealousy in his voice. "But my friend Josh is around here somewhere," he said as he scanned the room.

Brooke felt butterflies rise in her stomach for a moment at the mention of Lucas's name. So what? He was sexy. She was allowed to fantasize.

"So how about we go find somewhere private?" Chris said with his hand on the small of her back.

"Later," she murmured, letting her hand graze his thigh as a sign of assurance. She felt him tense underneath her hand at the unexpected touch.

"I'm gonna go check up on my friends… I'll be back in a second."

Brooke filled up half of another cup of straight vodka before cruising through the crowd in the search of Peyton. She would occasionally take a few large gulps of the vodka as she walked through the crowded house. Her buzz now turned to blissful dizziness as she plopped herself down on the couch next to some cute boy she'd never seen.

"Hey, I'm Brooke," she said facing him.

"Brett," he replied.

"You're sexy," she slurred.

"You're wasted," he remarked as he inched slightly close to her.

"Yes, meaning you'll do," she giggled. She reached for the collar of his polo and pulled him in so that their lips collided.

Brett put his hand on the back of her neck as he pulled her in closely. Suddenly, Brooke felt wrong making out with a random boy. What was going on? She normally loved this!

She pulled back. "Excuse me," she said softly as she got up from the couch. She pushed through the massive crowds until she finally reached the front door. She opened it hastily and walked (in as straight of a line as she could manage) to the front lawn.

That's when she saw them.

Lucas was walking toward the house, his blonde head bobbing happily as he laughed with the equally blonde girl next to him. His arm was around her shoulders and he was pulling her in closely… affectionately. Brooke stopped dead in her tracks.

She hoped that he wouldn't notice her, but she knew he would.

"Brooke!" he called happily as he approached her. "You're here!"

"Hey, Lucas…" Brooke said. "Hi, I'm Brooke," she said tipsily offering her hand to the blonde girl.

"Blair. But call me Bee," she smiled. They shook hands.

"Well, I better get going," Brooke said with a nervous smile. "Nice meeting you."

She began to walk away, but Lucas grabbed her arm softly to stop her. Although she didn't want to, she couldn't help but feel the electric sparks across her skin where his fingers had met her creamy flesh.

"Where are you going?" Lucas asked with a disappointed expression.

"Oh, you know… I'm… tired," she lied. She faked a yawn dramatically.

"You should really stay. Lucas actually didn't stop talking about you earlier! He made you sound so much fun! Come in with us, we can hang out," Blair offered.

Brooke's stomach knotted knowing that Lucas had talked about her. In the corner of her eye, she could've sworn she saw Lucas blush.

"That's so sweet, but no, I'm okay. I'm just gonna drive home," she said. She stumbled quickly out of no where.

"Oh no you're not," Lucas said looking into her glazed eyes. "You're drunk."

"Am not!" she whined dragging out the last word.

"Walk in a straight line then, big shot," Lucas teased.

"Fine!" Brooke said stubbornly. She began to walk in, well, what was far from a straight line. Brooke giggled as she almost fell again.

"Give me your keys Brooke," Lucas insisted, his face becoming serious.

"Fiiiiine," she said digging them out of her bag. She saw Blair trying to suppress a scowl, but she didn't care.

"Go inside, Blair. Josh and Chris are in there. I'll be back in ten," he said planting a quick kiss on her head. Blair nodded and smiled weakly at Brooke, jealousy running through her veins. But, she knew Lucas was the type to save everyone, so she didn't stress it. He would've done the same for her, right?

And with that, Blair watched enviously as Lucas and Brooke walked down the block to the light blue Volkswagen convertible, Lucas's hand on the small of her back as a form of sober support in her drunken state.