Author Notes: What can I say? Real life is a cruel and unfair thing. I am really sorry to make you guys wait so long for the new chapter but I am still here and I am still working on this story. This chapter started in one place and ended somewhere else, LOL. Thanks to OMGOTH23 for being there to listen and my favorite author, Trips, for pushing me to be better and for the title of the chapter.

You Found Me – Chapter 9 - Degrees Of Desperations…

Haley couldn't believe that Brooke would do something like that. She had spent a lot of time with her in the last few days and the person Lucas told her about was…a monster. How could she do that to somebody she loved? Maybe she had overreacted.

"That's an understatement…" Haley muttered.

After all she didn't really give Brooke the chance to tell her side of it. It just seemed like the truth because it was coming from Lucas. And why would her best friend lie to her? But he didn't know Brooke like she did. She flopped back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. She was always saying that everyone deserved a second chance and that no one is perfect. So why was she so upset about what Brooke did?

"Because she was perfect to me…"

She didn't even know her back when that happened but yet she allowed something from the past to affect her present. Maybe Lucas was right, maybe she shouldn't have trusted Brooke Davis. But as she lay there with Lucas' words still floating through her head, the only thing she could think about was how much she missed Brooke.

"I wish she was here now…"

She closed her eyes and thought about all the moments she shared with Brooke. The bond that she had forged with the cheerleader over the last few weeks was special. They had something that was more than words. And Haley knew that she would never find a connection like that in a million years. She wanted to be a part of Brooke's life. In fact it was the only thing she wanted. She didn't care about anything that happen it the past. Or anything that Lucas may have told her. All she really wanted was Brooke Davis.

It was in that moment, she realized the truth. The reason she wanted to be with Brooke and the reason she felt so hurt by Lucas' story and the reason she was ready to forgive her. She took a deep breath in and when she exhaled, the words flowed out of her.

"I love her…" Haley said softly.

The words seemed to just surround her and make her entire body tingle. She had never said those words before and now that she said it, Haley felt like she had million little butterflies fluttering around her stomach. She was in love with Brooke. And the fact that she couldn't let herself be without Brooke a second longer actually scared her more than anything. She had never been in love before and now here she was head over heels in love with someone who spent her freshman year ruining another girl's life. How could she love her? It would always be there in the background. Wondering if Brooke really liked her? Wondering if this relationship was the real thing or not. Haley brought her hand up to the scar on her head from when she hit her head on the table.

Brooke had saved her life. When she was at her lowest point, Brooke brought her back. Haley sighed. She still was scared but she knew that the only thing she could do was get Brooke back here. And then maybe she could get this figured out.

"I hope…"

She reached for her cell phone and called her. Haley whimpered as she heard Brooke's voicemail pick up. She took another deep breath and spoke.

"Hey, Brooke…can you…umm…I need to tell you a couple things and…god, I am not good at this…just…just come back to me…please…" Haley hung up the phone and silently prayed that Brooke would get her message.

* ***

Meanwhile at Peyton's house…

Lucas Scott exhaled deeply as Peyton finally broke their kiss. He smiled as she opened her green eyes and he felt the entire world melt away. He had been in love Peyton Sawyer since the 3rd grade and now here he was, in her house, in her bedroom and she was kissing him.

"Damn…" He whispered as Peyton stepped away from him and sat on the edge of her bed. He couldn't help but stare at her. She was so beautiful and he still was having a hard time believing that he was even in the same room as her. The real reason he joined the team was because he knew it was a way for him to get closer to her. And when she asked him to help her out with something, he couldn't say yes fast enough.

"Thanks, baby. Now did you go and see Haley like I asked you to?" Peyton asked as she grabbed Lucas by the belt loops of his jeans. After all it was Peyton that had told him about Brooke making Haley so upset that she wanted to kill herself. And then, she told him all about Rachel and that was all he needed to hear. There was no way he was going to let Brooke Davis hurt Haley. Lucas looked down and watched as Peyton's slender fingers began unbuckling his belt. God, he couldn't even remember his name right now. Even if somebody wrote it on a sheet of paper and it had his picture on it.

"Y-Yeah…I did…Brooke was there too. Just like you said she would be…" Lucas was holding his breath now. Was Peyton really going to do this? She finally got the belt unbuckled and began tugging at the button of his jeans. She looked up at him with those sexy eyes of hers and Lucas almost felt his knees buckle.

"That's cause I know Brooke better than she knows herself…I bet she was crying and begging you not to say anything…" Peyton's voice had certain devilish tone to it. Lucas was learning that nothing turned her on more than causing Brooke Davis pain. She opened the button on his pants and began pulling on the zipper slowly. It was almost like she was stalling to hear the story before she would go any further.

"Yeah, she was crying and then Haley told her to go the fuck away…"Lucas felt like his head was going to explode. Peyton was torturing him at this point.

"That's good…so, since you were a good boy and did everything that Mama Peyton asked you to do…I am going to give a special treat…" Peyton finally unzipped his pants and slid her hand inside of his boxers. Lucas groaned as he felt the cheerleader's fingers wrap around his throbbing member. He had spent the majority of his teenage years in his bedroom imagining what it would feel like to have Peyton's hands on his dick and now it was finally happening. She gently pulled his dick out of the boxers and Lucas felt like he was going to cum just from having her pull it out.

"Damn this is pretty nice, Luke…I mean…damn…" Peyton wrapped her hand around the base of it and gave his dick a nice firm tug. Lucas felt like he was in heaven. Peyton pulled on his cock one more time and then it happened.

"Oh godddd…." Lucas grunted as he came from the touch. He couldn't believe this. All this time waiting to be with Peyton fucking Sawyer and he came from two little strokes.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Peyton said as she gave Lucas' dick another strong pull.

"I can't believe this…" Lucas looked down to see the girl of dreams struggling to contain her laughter from the whole thing. How the fuck did this happen? She grabbed a towel from the floor and wiped his 'mess' off of her hand.

"Me either…" Peyton smirked as she tossed the towel back on the floor.

"I am so sorry, Peyton…I know that wasn't …" Lucas stammered but she cut him off before he could finish.

"That was…exactly what I thought it would be…yeah thanks for remind why I should only fuck girls…Get out of here. I'll call you when I need you again…" Peyton got up and pushed him out of the way.

Lucas fell onto her bed and watched her walk out of the room. The only thing he could think of was how much he wanted to make Peyton happy. And if he had to hurt Haley to do it, then he would.

****

An hour or so later…

Brooke had been driving around the block for the last 20 minutes. After leaving Rachel's, she got a voicemail from Haley asking her to come by and see her. The sky had darkened some from the storm clouds that had rolled in. And as she sat inside of her car circling the block, she started to wonder if she should even go and talk to Haley. After all, as soon as Haley had found out about Rachel, she had told Brooke to go hell. Why should she even care what Haley thinks?

"Because I do…"

As Brooke turned the corner again she saw that Haley was standing in front of her house with her hands in her pockets. Brooke smiled as she looked at the tutor. Her hair was in its usual ponytail and she was wearing the same sweatshirt she had on the day she had picked her up. Her jeans flared just a little at the feet and were a faded blue. She wasn't wearing any shoes either. Haley's just standing there staring at her car. Brooke pulled up in front of the house and unlocked her passenger door. She rolled the window down and spoke.

"Hey Tutor Girl. Need a ride?"

"Tutor Girl? Who's that?" Haley said remembering her words from that day as well.

"Well, you called yourself Tutor Girl and it sounded cute. So I figured that should be your nickname." Brooke answered back smiling the patented Brooke Davis' smile that she knew would make Haley melt.

"When you say it, it doesn't sound like an insult…" Haley smiled. Brooke just couldn't believe how adorable Haley looked in that moment. All she wanted to do was hold her all night long. Haley was the most important person in the world to her and she would give anything to be with her.

"Well don't just stand there. Get in before it starts raining, silly..." Brooke said.

Haley got inside and gently closed the door. Once she was inside of the car, Brooke put the car back in gear and drove off. She didn't want ruin the moment that she and Haley were currently in. They hadn't been together in a few hours but for Brooke it felt like days. No more like weeks. Even though she still didn't know where she stood with Haley, it felt good to be near her again. She missed the way that Haley smelled.

She never thought that she could feel this way about anyone again.

Especially after what happened with Rachel.

Brooke looked over to see that Haley had rolled down the window and had her feet out of the window. She smiled at the tutor's actions and pushed down on the accelerator a little more. Haley shifted in the seat so that her head was leaning against Brooke's shoulder. Brooke felt her stomach flutter from the contact. It finally started to rain and Haley laughed as the rainwater splashed on her toes.

"When I was like 5 or 6 years old, whenever it would rain, my dad would take me out for a ride. And I would always roll the window down and hang my feet out of the window. I would just let the water hit my feet and it would make me feel so relaxed…" Haley said with a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, when it rained, I would open my window and just breathe in the smell of it. It was this fresh and simple smell that just made me smile." Brooke answered back.

"I miss that…things were just easier back then…" Haley sighed.

"Do you wish you could go back? Be a kid again…"Brooke asked sensing the melancholy in Haley's voice.

"Some days I do…but I don't think I would do anything different…well maybe one thing…" Haley whispered. Brooke knew what Haley was talking about.

The suicide attempt.

"Do you think…I mean if you changed some things…that you would still be sitting here with me?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah…I wouldn't change that…I couldn't lose you, Brooke…" Haley kept staring at her hands as she played with her fingers.

"Are you sure about that?" Brooke asked.

"It's the only thing I am sure of…" Haley continued staring at her hands still.

Then the silence settled in once again. Haley pulled her feet back inside once more and sat up in her seat again. It felt like they both had something to say put neither one of them knew how to say it. Brooke had about a million thoughts racing through her head. At first, she wanted to tell her side of the Rachel story and reassure Haley that this wasn't a game to her. Then she decided that she wanted Haley to know that being with her as been the most amazing thing that has ever happened to her. She wanted her to know that her past was a good one but she knew that she could be a better person if Haley just gave her that chance. And she could understand if after hearing what happened between her and Rachel was too much for her to deal with. After she went through all of that in her head she arrived the thought she had back in the hospital.

Brooke Davis, the Queen of Tree Hill, was in love with Haley James.

Only thing that was holding her back was the fact that she was scared shitless that Haley wouldn't feel the same way. Hell, why was she scared to talk to a girl that a few weeks ago she wouldn't have even noticed? She took a deep breath and just when she was going to speak, she noticed that Haley's hand was held out for hers. Brooke pulled the car over to the side of the road. She turned to look Haley in the eyes. Haley didn't smile or look at the floor. She just kept looking back into Brooke's eyes.

"Brooke…" Haley sounded as serious as she looked.

Brooke let her hand slide into Haley's. Their fingers interlocked slowly and soon they were holding hands. Once her hand was in Brooke's, Haley looked down at their hands and a few tears fell from her eyes. The tears hit the back of Brooke's hand and it made her give Haley's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Haley, what's wrong…" Brooke gently leaned her forehead against Haley's.

"I'm scared…" Haley answered.

"What are you scared of?"

"You."

"Why?" Brooke asked.

Haley had started crying more and it was breaking Brooke's heart to see her this way. She used her thumb to wipe some of the tears from Haley's cheeks. Haley leaned back some so her head wasn't touching Brooke's any more.

"Because I love you…I love you so much that I can't see living my life without you being in it. You did some horrible things to that girl. I mean really terrible things but I don't care. I don't care about any of it and what does that say about me? That I am so lonely that I can look past that just to be with you.." Haley whispered.

"It means that you are the kind of person who can forgive someone's past…no matter what it is…it doesn't mean you are lonely or anything like that. It means you can see the good in people…even when no else can see it…and it means that I love you, too…" Brooke whispered back.

"You do?" Haley asked as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Yes, Haley. I love you." Brooke put her hand on Haley's cheek and gently kissed her. It was a slow and gentle kiss. She just wanted to stop Haley from crying. She just held her lips against hers until Haley calmed down. Haley gently pulled back from the kiss and looked Brooke in the eyes once more.

"I love you too, Brooke. Nothing else matters…"

"I know…you said it first…" Brooke teased.

"Whatever…"

"Just don't leave me, ok? I don't think I can handle this place without you…" Brooke said.

"As long as you don't leave me…" Haley answered back.

"Never…you're mine, Haley James. And nothing is ever going to change that…" Brooke leaned in and gave Haley another slow kiss. The kiss was deeper than first one. And even though it lasted for only a couple seconds but it was long enough for Brooke's point to be made. When the kiss broke, both girls smiled at each other.

"Let me take you, home." Brooke said as put the car back into drive and took Haley's hand once again.

"Nah. I rather go back to your place." Haley said as she bit her bottom lip.

"Whatever you like my dear Ms. James…"Brooke smiled and turned the car around headed towards her house. They still had a lot of things that needed to be resolved but for the first in a long time, Brooke and Haley were happy.

Things could only get better.

****

Meanwhile, about 40 miles off the coast of the French Riviera…

Victoria Davis was sitting on the deck of her seventy foot yacht taking in the sun. It had been a long day of shopping on the French Riviera and tonight she was going to have dinner at some 5-star restaurant that she had read about a magazine. She was wearing a bikini that should be on a girl half her age but she paid a lot of money for her looks and damn it she was going to show it off. The breeze from the sea gently went through her long black hair and she smiled.

"This is everything I thought it would be…"

She pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes because of the sunlight reflecting off of the water. God, it was such a good idea having separate vacations from her husband. He got to go off and gallivant in the Alps with that little tart from Accounting and she got to do her favorite thing.

Spend all of his money.

"It's such a hard life…" Victoria smirked as she took another sip of wine from the glass. It felt so good to be alone out on the high seas.

No husband, no noise and no constant whining from her daughter, Brooke. It was perfect.

"The way it should always be."

She was about to have another sip of her drink when her phone rang. She rolled her eyes and thought about not answering it. But then again, it could be her lawyer calling her to say that her husband finally kicked the bucket and she had the whole fortune to herself. She lifted her glasses up to check the number and see who on Earth had the sheer nerve to be bothering her on her vacation. The ID said it was someone named Gatina. Victoria's eyebrow raised slightly as the name sounded vaguely familiar to her. Didn't Brooke hang around somebody named Gatina or something like that?

"Who the hell is this?" Victoria said as she pushed the 'talk' button.

"Hello, Miss Davis. This is Danneel Gatina, Rachel's mother."

"Ok, then. Let's just pretend that I know who the fuck Rachel is and get to the point of this call." Victoria snapped. She just hated it when people acted like she was supposed to remember every little thing about them.

"Rachel was friends with your daughter…and well…"

"Well, what? I don't have all day…" Victoria groaned.

"Miss Davis, there is no need to be so rude." Danneel said back.

"Yes there is. Especially when you are destroying my buzz, just tell me, what did Brooke do now?" Victoria asked. Brooke had to be at fault. She was always doing something to ruin her day. God she gave her money and basically left her alone what more could she want?

"Well, Miss Davis, apparently, Rachel and Brooke…."

****

"I'll be back in North Carolina in two days. We can continue this talk then."

"That couldn't have gone any better if she had planned it." Peyton smiled as she heard Victoria hang up the phone on Miss Gatina.

"Good work, 'Miss Gatina'." Peyton said.

"Thanks. Are you sure we should be doing this, Peyton? This is pretty mean, even by your standards…" Bevin said as she tossed the phone back to Peyton.

"Bevin, if I wanted to know what you thought, I would write it down on a flashcard and give it to you." Peyton said.

"So, this means I still have a spot on the squad, right?" Bevin smiled and tossed the phone back to Peyton.

"Yes, Bevin. Just don't say anything to Brooke and get the fuck out of my house, ok?" Peyton said through clenched teeth. She hated talking to Bevin but it was a necessary evil. After all thanks to that dimwitted cheer skank, she was one step closer to getting back at her best friend, Brooke Davis.

"Alright, god Peyton." Bevin said as she left the room.

Peyton fell back on her bed and laughed to herself. Everything was in place and now all she had to do wait for the car wreck to happen…

To Be Continued…