WARNING: This story will contain mature themes, this story is truly rated M, for more than just sexual relations.
DISCLAIMER: I unfortunately do not own anyone in this story except for Harley. If I did, Baley would have been together on the show years ago!
THANK YOU: for the reviews! I love them!
JustLikeBrookeDavis: I love that you love the story so much that you put thought into your predictions! I hope you enjoy this new chapter!
Baley-fo-life: Sienna isn't really meant to be a bad guy. She just loves Brooke. But she's definitely going to stir up some drama. She'll end up being more of a Victoria kind of character. One who really loves Brooke, with a funny way of showing it.
cw: Patience , there will be Baley soon enough. I promise.
Author's Note: So, I didn't get the amount of reviews I wanted. As upset as this makes me, I still wanted to write! Besides, I love you loyal reviewers too much to keep you waiting, so I'll give you a shortish chapter! Also, did anyone see tonight's episode, the part where Haley and Brooke were sitting at the bridge? I thought it was so adorable and the Baley fangirl in me wanted them to kiss so badly! But, alas they are perfect best friends. I do, however, want to rewrite that into a one shot the way I wish it had gone! What do you think?
Walk You Home
There was silence; an eerie silence that made Brooke all kinds of uncomfortable. Haley had told her she didn't hate her, and that was all Brooke really wanted to know. Yet, the lack of words coming from Haley's mouth was driving Brooke insane. Haley hadn't diverted her eyes away from Brooke; she simply at there, staring directly into the green orbs before her. The silence worried her. Maybe Haley really wasn't okay with what Brooke had just told her; maybe she just wasn't mad… but instead appalled?
"Haley, please say something," Brooke whispered huskily to Haley. Again she was met by silence, but this time, Haley moved herself away from Brooke and stood up. Brooke watched as she slowly backed away from the couch, looking down at her feet as if they were the most interesting things in the world. Brooke's eyes began to well with tears at Haley putting distance between them. Great, she thought, now on top of Sienna being gone, Haley hates me.
"Br-," Haley began before stopping, noticing the tears that had started to fall from Brooke's eyes. Haley shook her head, "please stop crying."
Brooke didn't know how to reply. Raising her hand to her cheek, she simply brushed the tears away and shifted her eyes towards where Haley was standing.
"Brooke," Haley said slowly, trying to think of her words before she said them, "I just don't know what to say."
Truthfully, Haley did know what to say. She wanted to grab Brooke by the shoulders and shake her, yell at her for ever thinking she had to keep this secret from her, scream that she loved her until Brooke could finally comprehend it. But, it just wasn't that simple. Brooke looked fragile, sitting there on the couch in front of her. The typical cheery girl she once knew was no longer there. Brooke's smile was different. Before, when Haley saw her smile she could tell it was genuine. Now, it seemed broken. Those eyes that Haley had fallen head over heels in love with were no longer dancing with the thrill of life; they were cold, and filled with a sadness that Haley had never known. She was lost, and heartbroken.
I can't tell her, Haley thought to herself as she finally looked towards Brooke, ignoring her feet. It would be selfish to add that burden on her shoulders.
"You're my best friend Brooke," Haley started, attempting to swallow the sobs that were bound to come, "I could never, ever hate you. I wish you had told me sooner."
Brooke nodded her head slowly, "I know. I was scared." She really had no other explanation. The feelings she had for Haley terrified her, and until Sienna had made her see that having feelings for someone of her own gender wasn't a terrible thing, she was scared of the newfound attraction she'd had for the female gender in general.
"Life is scary Brooke, but you can't hide things, not from me. I'm your best friend for a reason, I want to be there for you, no matter what it is or how scary you think it may be, I want to be there," Haley told her, finally moving closer to her again. Brooke let herself fall into her best friends waiting arms; it wasn't long before the waves of tears started to fall again. Finding the perfect words to say was the hardest thing Haley had ever had to do. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want to tell her the truth either. It was true, Haley did want to be there for everything, just in a 'more than friends' kind of way. A way, that thanks to Sienna, she would probably never get to experience. That thought alone broke Haley's heart in two.
"I don't think I'm ready for this," Brooke tried to protest as Haley practically forced the slightly taller brunette through the doors of Karen's Café. Haley had decided that Brooke's first step towards recovery would have to be letting her friends back into her life, her whole life. To Haley, that meant letting everyone meet Harley.
"You're ready for this Brooke," Haley demanded as Brooke finally walked through the door to the café. Haley then led Harley into the café and closed the door behind them. The little boy had his hand wrapped around two of Haley's fingers, and his eyes glued to the array of cookies on display on the counter. In his other hand he held his yellow and green sippy cup with lions scattered on it.
"Hayee?" Harley questioned, looking up at the woman holding his hand. His big brown eyes were full of a happiness that reminded her of Brooke pre-New York. Smiling down at the child, Haley bent over and picked him up. For a second he squirmed, but eventually cuddled up into her arms. He took a few sips from his cup and immediately pointed his free hand towards the cookies on the counter.
He started to giggle, "Mama! I want dat!"
Brooke turned to face her son and smiled, "after you have lunch you can have two cookies." Harley nodded and leaned his head back down on Haley's shoulder. Together, they sat in a booth towards the back of the café. Haley figured step one would be to introduce Harley to Karen. After all, Karen had been basically a mother to Haley over the last few years, and she was sure Karen would be there for Brooke just as much. Haley figured Brooke needed a mother figure in her life, especially now that she had Harley and a drug problem to deal with.
It didn't take long for Karen to emerge from the kitchen. She was carrying two plates, and delivered them to their respective tables before heading over towards the girls. Karen had yet to see Brooke since her return, and a smile immediately appeared on her face when she took notice at who was sitting with Haley.
"Brooke," Karen declared happily as she neared their booth, "it's so great to see you. When did you get home? How was New York?"
Brooke smiled at Karen's enthusiasm, "It's great to see you again too. I got home a few weeks ago, just before school started. New York was definitely an experience."
Karen turned her attention to Haley, only to take a quick step backwards as she finally took notice of the brown haired two-year-old on her lap, "Haley. Are you stealing children from the preschool again?"
Haley laughed, "Karen! That was one time, and his mother told me I could borrow him for the afternoon!"
Karen laughed, "Well, who is this beautiful little boy?"
Before Brooke could say anything, her son perked his head up and smiled one of those cheesy grins little kids make when their favorite television show comes on in the mornings, "I Har-ee."
"Har-ee? Is that right? Well, how old are you little man?" Karen said, a little taken back by how friendly the little guy was.
Harley made a motion that resembled something along the lines of a shrug, and then placed his sippy cup down on the table. He raised his hand and displayed his small hand for Karen, holding all 5 of his fingers up in the air, spread apart as far as they could.
"Five? Wow, that's pretty old!" Karen told him with a smile, knowing full well that the child was not five.
Harley nodded his head, "I a big boy."
Karen nodded her head in agreement and turned her attention back to Haley, "Where did you find this precious child?"
This time, Brooke was able to speak, "He's my son."
Karen's jaw dropped slightly at the news. It was certainly not something she was expecting, especially not from Brooke. But, now that she thought about it, he did look an awful lot like Brooke, and his happiness definitely mirrored that of the girl she once knew.
"He's beautiful Brooke. If you don't mind me asking, did this happen in New York?" Karen asked. She turned to face the waitress behind the counter, and gestured towards Brooke and Haley's table to silently inform her she'd be taking a short break. The waitress nodded in acknowledgement and Karen sat down beside Haley in the booth, sitting opposite Brooke. Harley immediately handed Karen one of his crayons that Haley had given him, silently requesting that she color with him. Karen grinned and began coloring on the placemat in front of her, keeping her eyes on Brooke.
The darker haired brunette nodded her head in response to Karen's question, "Yes. I got pregnant, and decided to keep him. I don't regret my choice at all, Harley is the best thing that's ever happened to me." Brooke's lips had turned upwards into a smile as she spoke about her son; Haley took note of this happily. It was good that something could still make her genuinely smile.
"Good, I always knew you'd make an amazing mother. Is his father in his life?" Karen asked her. Brooke's smile immediately fell.
Her head shook slowly, "No." She didn't really care to elaborate on this; it wasn't something she liked to talk about.
"Does he know he has a son?" Karen asked, a hint of sadness in her voice. She didn't really like the idea of Brooke having to deal with her son on her own, it reminded her too much of herself, but she was lucky enough to have Keith.
"Harley's father died before he even had the chance to know that Brooke was pregnant," Haley told Karen, shooting a smile at Brooke to let her know she didn't have to do the talking.
Karen immediately took hold of Brooke's hand from across the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze, "Brooke. Why didn't you ever call any of us about this?"
Brooke shrugged her shoulders.
"She was scared. I don't blame her for being scared, but she even just told me about him," Haley answered for her again.
Harley looked up, and noticed the sad look on his mothers face. He started to stand up on Haley's lap, reaching across the table for his mother. He hated to see her sad.
"Mama," Harley whined, reaching for her a little more, attempting to climb across the table to get to her. Brooke leaned up, and placed her hands under her son's arms and lifted him, pulling him onto her lap. Harley melted into her as Brooke cradled him in her lap.
"She wasn't alone though. One of the girls in the program helped Brooke through everything," Haley told Karen in a reassuring voice. Brooke had explicitly told Haley she wanted no one to know about her drug addiction, or how depressed she had really gotten.
Karen grinned, "Good. I'm glad to know you weren't alone. She's been helping you with Harley? It must be difficult to not have her around anymore."
Brooke shook her head as she placed a kiss on Harley's forehead, "Her name is Sienna. She's actually moving here to be with us next week."
"See?" Harley yelped, sitting his body up at the mention of her name. He quickly scanned his surroundings in search of her.
"No, not yet baby," Brooke told him with a grin, "Sienna is coming next week."
"Harley seems to really love her," Karen said happily, "It's good to keep stability in his life. Is she staying for a while?"
Once again, Brooke nodded. This time, contemplating whether or not to just come out and tell Karen whom the girl really was. She reached into her purse, and withdrew her wallet. Opening it, she took out a small picture and handed it to Karen. She was nervous about what the older woman's reaction would be, but the thought of hiding more of her life from the people who cared most bothered her more than a potential bad reaction would. Karen took the photograph from Brooke and began looking it over. In the photo was Sienna, tossing Harley gently in the air both with huge smiles on their faces.
"That's Sienna, and obviously Harley. She's my girlfriend," Brooke said, her voice a little more husky than usual as the words came out barely above a whisper.
"Your girlfriend?" Karen asked, checking to make sure she heard her correctly.
Brooke's head nodded as a smile crept across her face, "We've been together a little over a year, on and off. She's beautiful."
Karen placed the picture back into Brooke's hand and looked up at her, taking notice of the smile on the young girls face. Slowly, she began to nod her head, "She's gorgeous Brooke. I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy."
She stood up from the table, and gave Harley's hair a quick tousle, "All three of you are absolutely gorgeous. I'm so glad to have you back Brooke. Please, don't be a stranger around here."
Brooke nodded, pleased with Karen's response, "I won't. I promise."
With that, Karen walked away to rejoin her employees. Haley grinned at Brooke, "See. I told you everything would be alright!"
Brooke smiled sheepishly, knowing that her best friend was right. Everything would be okay, except for the fact that Haley didn't love her. At least, not the way she wanted her to. Part of her had been hoping that Sienna was right, and that Haley would leap at the opportunity to be with her, but the other part knew that Sienna was just a little bit too jealous.
It wasn't long before their three remaining lunch guests had arrived at Karen's. Just as the bell on the door chimed, Brooke looked up, only to be met with the shocked looking faces of her three other closest friends. Nathan, Peyton and Lucas's reactions were the ones she was most worried about, not Karen's.