Author's note:

Chapter 2 already?

Thank you to my three reviewers for my first chapter; 1319, melirufus and ItsMeCharlee, and also to those that are already following/have favourited the fic. You'll be pleased to know that I'm continuing this story, yay! :)

Just like the last chapter, this one's still kind of setting the scene. I wanted everyone to get an idea of the bond between Ashley and Brooke's characters before the plot takes off. Also, still no Spencer yet, I'm afraid... But don't worry, she'll be making an appearance in chapter 4 ;) Yes, I've written up to chapter 4, but I think I'll keep you in suspense for just a while longer; I like to have material written quite a bit in advance before posting it. Anyway... I'll not bore you with anymore rambling...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination. And Brooke :)


Chapter 2:

I'm awakened by the sound of my alarm going off. I had set it for 7.30am so I could get up and ready before Brooke woke up. I deliberately kept her up late watching those films last night so I could be sure there'd be no chance of her rising before me; that way, I could double-check everything before we leave.

I hop in the shower before quickly getting dressed and doing my hair and make up, checking again that I've packed everything once I'm finished. When I'm sure I haven't forgotten anything, I make my way into the kitchen and make a start on breakfast. I had been to the supermarket yesterday and picked up all the ingredients to make us a good fry-up; I figured we'd need a good feed before the three hour drive.

Just as I'm about to dish out the breakfast, Brooke appears from her bedroom, yawning as she rubs her eyes.

"Morning, Brooke!" I smile as she toddles over to the island counter.

"Morning, Ash."

Once I have everything dished out, I bend over to lift Brooke up, setting her down on one of the tall stools. I take a seat in the stool next to her and dig in.

"Mmmmm..."

"Good, huh?" She nods frantically.

I grin mischievously before using my fork to steal a piece of her cut up sausage, popping it in my mouth.

"Hey!" She reaches her little arm over and impales my last piece of bacon before devouring it. I gasp playfully, causing her to giggle.

She does the same thing again with my egg, only this time, rather than eating it, she teases me, holding it just in front of my mouth. As I try to take a bite, she pulls it away from me.

"Okay, Brooke... You asked for it..." She knows what's coming next, her eyes widening just before I begin to tickle her.

"No! No,Ash! Ash, no!" She's giggling as I tickle her sides.

Eventually, the tickling subsides and we manage to finish our breakfast. I begin to wash the dishes as I tell Brooke to get dressed in the clothes I left out for her last night before I packed.

Soon enough, Brooke emerges from her bedroom, her brightly coloured rucksack in hand, along with her teddy.

"Ash, can you tie my laces please?"

"Sure, come here." I crouch down on one knee and lace up her little black converses. What can I say? I like to keep her trendy! "You ready to go?"

"Yep!"

"Alright, you sure you've got everything?"

"Yep. You sure you've got everything?"

"Hmmm... I think so..." I furrow my eyebrows and place my hand on my chin as if I'm thinking." All but one thing..."

"What's that?"

"You!"

She squeals in delight as I lift her up and hoist her over my shoulder. I grab my car keys off the counter and grab my precious guitar with the same hand before walking out the door of our apartment, Brooke giggling as she bounces up and down on my shoulder.

"Ash! Put me down; I can walk myself!" I decide to do as she says, letting her off my shoulder as we get to the stairs.

When we get to the car, I press the button to unlock it before opening the passenger door for Brooke and letting her climb in. I prop my guitar case up in the back behind the driver's seat and turn to Brooke.

"I've got to go back up to get the suitcase. Think you can keep an eye on Baby for me? I'll lock the doors for you." She nods at me as I make my way back up to the apartment to get the rest of our things.

Incase you didn't know, Baby's my car. She's a sleek black Audi A5 Sportback. Brand new I'll have you know. Well... She's a couple of months old, but technically, she's still new. Despite having a lot of money in the bank, I try not to touch it unless I need it, but occasionally, I like to treat myself and Brooke.

I take a quick scout around the apartment ensuring all windows are closed and electricals off. In all the excitement when we left earlier, Brooke must have dropped her little white teddy, which now lies abandoned on the kitchen floor. I pick it up along with the suitcase, knowing there'll be trouble if it's forgotten, and make my way out of the apartment, triple checking I've locked it before heading to the car again.

I load the suitcase in the car and get into the driver's seat.

"Forgetting something?" I raise my eyebrows as I look at Brooke. She smiles sheepishly before taking the little bear from my hand and placing it on her knee.

I put my sunglasses on and hand Brooke hers from the glove compartment.

"Ready?" She puts her sunglasses on, before pumping her fist into the air.

"Let's rock!" she shouts. Oh, I have definitely taught her well.


We've been driving for about an hour after leaving at 11am, but of course, what's a road trip with a child without at least one emergency toilet stop?

Right now, I'm pulled over at the edge of a country road, trying to egg Brooke on in some long grass, wipes at the ready.

"Come on, Brooke. I promise you no one will see. Look how long the grass is, I can hardly see the car." She just looks at me with those puppy dog eyes, not making any effort to pull her tights down. I sigh, running a hand through my hair in frustration.

"Why didn't you go before we left?"

"Because I didn't need to go then; I need to go now." She looks down at the ground.

"Well, come on, just do your number one and we can go." She looks up then, making eye contact before replying.

"It's not a number one." Shit. Literally. What am I going to do now?

"Great," I mumble under my breath. "Okay, look... Can you hold on for a little while? We'll just keep driving, and the first place we see, I promise I'll pull over, okay?"

"Okay." She takes my hand as we return to the car.

After about fifteen minutes, there are finally some signs of civilisation. We come across what looks like a very fancy, but secluded restaurant, but I decide to keep driving in hopes that we find somewhere else not so elegant looking ,very soon. Brooke has other ideas though...

"Ash. Ash, stop! I need to go!"

"Brooke, I'm sure there'll be somewhere else just up the road; hold on!"

"But you promised, Ash. The first place we see; you promised!" She turns her back on me and crosses her arms. I can see her reflection in the window, eyebrows furrowed and bottom lip protruding, whilst tears threaten to fall. I bite my lip and let out a breath before giving in.

"Okay! Okay, we'll stop. But you better be quick, alright?" She turns back towards me, nodding her head.


We've entered the restaurant and my suspicions were right. Soft piano music echoes as people dine in style, dressed up in posh frocks and stylish suits as slimy waiters float around the room. Knowing that the staff in these kind of restaurants don't take kindly to 'randomers' using their facilities, I bend down and whisper in Brooke's ear.

"White door on the left. Go. I'll cover you."

I had directed her to the disabled toilet I spotted whilst scoping out the foyer. I couldn't see the ladies' room anywhere, and it would be too risky trying to snoop around for it. The guy manning the front desk seems to be preoccupied as he talks to some high class snob on the end of the line, so hopefully we should be okay.

I glide slowly over to the edge of the room as I pretend to admire a painting on the wall.


I've been staring at the same painting for about five minutes, hoping that Brooke will reappear soon. I look over my shoulder to see if there was any sign of her, and hear a voice from around the corner.

"I won't be long, darling; I just need to use the lavatory." Then I see the owner of the voice as they turn around said corner.

At first, I see the feet. Yes, the feet, with the perfectly polished shoes. But they're not on the ground; oh no. This man just happens to be in a wheelchair, and by the sounds of it, would like to use 'the lavatory'.

He smiles as he catches me looking at him, but then proceeds to look me up and down as I smile back. Yes, take a good look; they're normal clothes. Normal; a word that probably doesn't exist in your ridiculously pretentious vocabulary, you pompous ass.

Ah look, the slimeball behind the counter is off the phone. Excellent. Oh, he's making his way over; even better!

He clears his throat before addressing me, mimicking the lovely diner as he gives me the once over again.

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

"Uh... No, thank you." He raises his eyebrows in question. "I'm just waiting... for someone... My aunt, she umm... She called me. Said she needed a ride. So, uh... I guess... I'll just wait over here..." I gesture to the door with my thumb. This seems to work as he goes back to his previous position behind the counter.

As soon as he sits down, I hear a click, and Brooke appears from the bathroom, a big smile on her face. Please don't make a scene, please don't make a scene...

The man in the wheelchair smiles at Brooke as she walks past him, making his way straight towards the small room she had just vacated. Bad move, buddy. Very bad move. Prepare to be gassed.

"Ash! Ash!" Shit. Please don't shout, Brooke.

I see my friend rise out of his seat behind the counter as he's startled by Brooke's cry.

"They have magic taps here! I didn't even have to push them down or anything; I just put my hand under them and the water came out!" Aww, she looks so pleased with herself. My friend doesn't look just as pleased though, as his brows furrow in realisation that I'm 'Ash' and my aunt doesn't really need a lift.

I swiftly grab Brooke's hand and lead her towards the exit. Counter boy shouts something after me, but it's hard to make him out over the coughs of the fine diner who has just realised what the sweet little girl has been doing in the bathroom.

"Why are we running, Ash? Were you naughty?"

"Yes, Brooke; I was naughty."

As soon as we're in the car with seatbelts on, I take off. Once we're a safe distance away from the restaurant, I begin to laugh. Brooke looks at me as she puts her sunglasses back on.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Ah, I don't know, Brooke... You're pretty fun, you know that?" I grin at her. She grins back and starts to giggle.

"So, what are we listening to?" I put my sunglasses back on to match Brooke's. She plays around with my Ipod before selecting a song. I'm telling you, kids and technology these days. You'd swear some of them were born with Ipods in their hands...

"This one!" I grin as I recognise the intro. Who knew children could have such good taste?

"Excellent choice! We get the chorus, right?" She nods her head, smiling.

I drive with my left hand resting on top of my open window, letting the wind catch my air as I let the music wash over me.

Running through the heat heart beat,
You shine like silver in the sunlight;
You light up my whole heart.
It feels like in the sun, the sun,
We're running around and around,
Like nothing else could matter in our life.
But wait, but wait, but wait;
The sun will stop shining soon,
And you'll be gone from my life.
Yeah, you'll be gone, it's as simple as a change of heart,
But I'm not gonna think about the future
.

I look at Brooke and we both erupt into song.

"A love like this won't last forever.
I know that a love like this won't last forever,
But I..."

I don't really mind, I don't really mind at all.

Slipping into the night love,
It grows dark but you don't mind,
Hiding in the back streets, yeah, you'll never notice me.
All that I was thinking about was cleaning up my conscience,
Lost in the memory as it shakes up the corners of my heart.
Was it my mistake?
Or maybe it was just as simple as a change in your heart,
Just as simple as a change in your heart.

This time, Brooke looks at me.

"I know now a love like this won't last forever.
I know that a love like this won't last forever,
But I, I know that a love like this won't last forever.
I know that a love like this won't last forever,
But I..."

We both giggle as we stop singing, letting the song come to a close.

And I...

I don't mind at all.
A love like this won't last forever.
A love like this, a love like this,
A love like this won't last forever.

I sigh. I may have had a hard time in the past, and my life may not be perfect, but right now, I really wouldn't have it any other way...

A/N - The song used is 'Love Like this' by Kodaline. If you haven't heard of them, you need to listen to this song. They're amazing, and they happen to be Irish, just like me :D