Chapter 5

Rachel held the four pieces of paper in her hand and turned to face everyone "we're going to end this once and for all"

"how?" Peyton asked from her spot.

"with this" Rachel said as she pulled out a lighter. All four girls walked to the middle of the room after Rachel had taken the batteries out of the smoke alarm. They grabbed the metal garbage bin and lit the four pieces of paper on fire and put them in the trash. They watched as their secrets that could have possibly ruined their lives, went up in smoke.

"suicidal" Brooke said not even looking up at any of the other girls.

"what?" Peyton asked.

"My scarlet letter, S… it stands for suicidal" Brooke said still staring at the flames.

"F for fake" Rachel said plainly.

"H for human" Haley said.

"B for backstabber" Peyton finally said.

Soon the fire was nearly out and all that was left was smoke still rising from the ashes. "I guess that's it" Peyton said.

"it's over…" Brooke added.

"good, because this is a day I don't want to remember" Haley said.

Just as the fire was finally out and the girls had successfully stopped all the smoke they heard the door to the change room creak open.

"hello?" Lucas' voice came from the door way.

"Lucas?" Haley asked. Soon Lucas and Nathan walked through the second door and into the big change room.

"why does it smell like smoke in here?" Nathan asked.

"Peyton… did you light Rachel on fire again?" Lucas asked jokingly.

"nah… I wouldn't do that" Peyton said honestly as she looked over at Rachel. "I see her in a different way now"

"really?" Lucas asked in shock. The four girls looked around at each other and realized they were all different. In some way, they had all changed. All for the good.

"you guys must have been stuck in here forever" Nathan said.

"yeah, what time is it?" Brooke asked coming back to reality.

"almost 8:00" Nathan answered.

"come on, let's get you guys out of here" Lucas said. Everyone started gathering their things but Brooke stopped them for a second.

"can you guys give us a minute?" Brooke asked as she looked over at Nathan and Lucas. They nodded and waited outside the change room.

"none of this information leaves this room tonight" Brooke said staring the girls down. "what happens in here stays in here forever. I know all of this means a lot to you guys so we're all in this together, got it?"

"got it" they all replied at once. Brooke held the door open as they all walked out of the change room and out of the building.

Peyton's POV:

After our little session in the change room I think everyone's changed more than just their clothes. Today I learned more about my best friend than I could have imagined. But I also learned that she's willing to let her feelings of anger or hatred go, for someone else's happiness. And for this I am so grateful. Maybe, just maybe there is a world where I can be with Lucas, and Brooke can be my best friend. It's something we have to work at, but I think that world does exist.

Haley's POV:

Today I told everyone how I slept with Lucas, and given the circumstances everyone was pretty okay with it. But today I finally learned that going for my dreams wasn't terrible. Having the friends that I did made it better. I think maybe one day I could have my dream, with Nathan, it'll be a long road getting there, but it's possible.

Rachel's POV:

Today, I have a girlfriend, I was happy… on the outside… and the world was good. I finally admitted to myself today, that I don't like me very much, nor do a lot of other people. So from now on, I'm going to change. It definitely won't be easy, because I will still be a bitch in the end. But maybe I'll be less of a bitch and more of a better person. I think with the help of my newly formed semi-friends and my new ex-girlfriend… things will be alright.

Brooke's POV:

Today we came to this school as people who couldn't stand each other. Never would we have thought that a few hours together could change us all as much as it did. We all had something we were hiding from each other and it all came out tonight. I ended up letting go of Lucas, breaking up with Rachel, gaining my best friend back, and thanks to this night I'm probably going to die of old age instead of loss of blood. It was these few hours we spent together that possibly saved my life. Today, we leave this school as four friends. We may not be the best of friends, but our friendships have gotten stronger in a way that is impossible to comprehend. Today is the day that changed us all.

The end

Okay, i just wanted to say thanks for reading this story, i'm not quite sure what i was trying to prove writing this whole thing. So be honest and let me know what you think. What is meaningful or meaningless... don't worry about hurting my feelings - i can take it.