"What the hell was that, Lucas?" Brooke hissed as she burst into his room that night. "What did you do to upset Chance?"

"That was a misunderstanding," Lucas shot back, standing from his chair. "The real question is what the hell is this, Brooke?"

Brooke's eyes widened as he dropped the familiar file onto the bed in front of her. She swallowed and averted her eyes.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Lucas shouted. "Because it looks to me that you've planned every fucking detail of your funeral, Brooke!"

Brooke shook her head, her face crumpling with held back tears. "I-I-"

"You what, Brooke? What do you know that you're not telling me?"

"You're so angry."

"Of course I'm angry!" Lucas yelled. "You've been planning a funeral behind my back, damn it!"

Brooke squared her jaw, a spark igniting in her eyes. "It's my funeral, Lucas. It's not exactly a group project."

"Forgive me for assuming you would tell me if things were bad enough that you needed to buy a plot and pick out a casket!"

"This is about me," Brooke seethed. "You know that. You've even said it."

Lucas shook his head. "You pretend to let us all in just to appease us, Brooke. But really, we're just as far on the outside as we were before you tried to kill yourself."

"That's not fair."

"Isn't it though?" Lucas asked, shoving his hands through his hair. "You push us away to protect us."

"What's so bad about that?" Brooke shouted back. "What is so wrong with wanting to protect the people I love?"

"Because we don't want to be left reeling if something happens to you! We'd be more confused and hurt than if we knew what was going on to begin with!"

"I'm going to die!" Brooke screamed. Lucas stopped, his breath hitched in throat. "It's undeniable now! It's over! The fight is done!"

"Brooke-"

"I'm going to die at eighteen!" Brooke continued to scream, now in hysterics. "I'm going to drop dead any fucking day now! Chance is going to be left so confused. Haley's baby will grow up not knowing their Aunt Brooke. Peyton is going to lose yet another person this year. And so are you."

"Brooke, please-"

"You want the truth, Lucas?" Brooke shouted. She pounded her fists against his chest. "I'm dying and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it anymore."

Lucas caught her by the arms, pulling her to his chest as she sobbed. He buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply, attempting to prevent a panic attack.

"Brooke, I love you. I don't know what else to tell you other than that I love you."

She pulled away, taking shallow, quick breaths.

"That's not enough right now," she whispered. Before Lucas could react, she fled the room, the slam of the door echoing in the silence. By the time he reached the porch, her Bug was all ready peeling away.

Box Up All The Butterflies

Nathan was almost asleep, drifting in the comfortable twilight between consciousness and sleep, when pounding on the door startled him upright.

"Wha?" Haley mumbled sleepily from beside him.

"I'll get it," Nathan grumbled, making his way to the door. "Hold on! God!"

As soon as he opened the door, Lucas came flying into the living room. "Please tell me she's here, Nathan."

"What are you talking about? It's two in the morning, Lucas."

"I know," Lucas growled. "Brooke took off. I confronted her and she told me that it's done. That she's dying, and there's nothing that can stop it. I told her I loved her and she left."

"What?" Haley whispered from the hallway. She hugged herself and began to tear up.

"You've tried calling her?"

"Of course I have," Lucas snapped.

Nathan nodded solemnly. "I think I might know where she is."

"Where?" Lucas asked urgently.

"Let me get dressed, I'll take you there. Haley, get something warmer on."

As Nathan got dressed, he thought back to the place he was going to take them. He couldn't believe he'd blocked out the memory, but now it made sense that Brooke might run there.

"BROOKE! DAMN IT BROOKE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Nathan screamed over the howling wind.

Brooke was walking on a guard rail. The cliff on her other side was ominous and foreboding. She held a bottle of rum in her hand, which she took a swig from. She giggled and nearly tripped. "Woah!"

Nathan ran to her, grabbing her around the waist. She struggled against him, kicking and screaming as he carried her further from the edge.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"My best friend took the one person I've ever cared about," Brooke slurred. She chugged another sip. "My father comes in and out of my life like cell reception. My mother called me a worthless whore today when I asked her for advice about Lucas. Your girlfriend thinks I'm a joke. You abandoned me for Peyton and then for Haley. I've got no one, Nathan. I'm alone. If Peyton can play games with fate in her stupid car, then I can play games with fate on my fucked up little balance beam."

"Get in the car, Brooke," Nathan growled. "Now. We'll talk about this in the morning."

"Someone call Peyton," Nathan barked. "Tell her to meet us at our spot."

"What?" Haley asked in confusion.

"She'll know what I mean."

Haley obeyed as the three climbed into Nathan's car. "Peyton? It's Haley. I know it's late, but Nathan said to meet us at your spot. Brooke is missing."

"I'll be right there," Peyton said, obviously awake now.

"Where are we going?" Lucas asked tensely as Nathan sped through the dark streets of Tree Hill. "Why are we going into the mountains?"

"Because I think that's where Brooke is."

The three fell silent until Nathan's headlights illuminated a turn out point.

"Stay in the car," he told both of them. They both attempted to protest but he cut them off. "I'll wave you guys over in a minute."

He got out of the car, closing the door and taking a deep breath before walking toward the guard rail at the end. He walked slowly, trying not to startle her. He was suddenly illuminated by Peyton's headlights. She hopped out of her convertible, still in a tank top and pajama shorts. Her feet were bare and she winced as she stepped on the rocks in the dirt.

"Old school then?" Peyton said softly.

"Brooke!" Peyton gasped. "Come down from there!"

"Oh come on," Brooke giggled. Peyton rolled her eyes upon realizing her friend was drunk. "Guess what? Daddy Dearest really topped it all tonight!"

"Brooke, what happened?" Peyton asked. "Get down from there and tell me what happened.

"I told him how I felt, and he hit me!" Brooke laughed. Her laughter was humorless, and Peyton cringed at the sound. She approached Brooke nervously, gently tugging on her arm. The brunette fell, crying, into her arms.

"Brooke," Nathan said gently. She was standing still on the guardrail, but he could see the bottle swinging from her right hand.

She didn't turn. "I assume Peyton is with you, too."

"Yeah," Peyton said. "And you know that we need you to get off the rail, Brooke."

"It's kind of nice up here," Brooke said. "Like a whole different world. Where there's nothing but life or death and balancing on the edge of them both."

Peyton grabbed Nathan's wrist in fear. "Brooke, sweetie, please."

"Why do you both care so much?" Brooke whimpered. "Why do you keep coming back all the time?"

"Because we love you," Nathan answered simply.

"We promised a long time ago, Brooke. In first grade, we said no matter what. We meant that then, and we mean it now."

"But I'm going to die," Brooke said. She spun around on the guardrail and both Peyton and Nathan took sharp intakes of breath.

"You don't know that," Peyton said gently, taking a slow step forward. Brooke teetered and took a sip from her bottle. She peered behind Peyton.

"Is that Haley and Lucas?"

"Yeah," Nathan answered shortly. "Why don't you come down and all of us can talk?"

"It would be easier, you know," Brooke said, and her voice was broken. She looked behind her, down the cliff. "If I just went. I could just fall. You would be saved so much pain. Watching me slowly wither away."

Peyton shook her head, tears beginning to fall from her face. "Brooke Davis, I will mutilate your dead body if you jump."

"I'm sorry," Brooke whispered.

"BROOKE!" Nathan screamed. He bolted forward just in time to catch the wobbling girl. His foot got stuck under the rail, and he fell, half bent over the rail. The bottle in Brooke's hand tumbled down into the crevasse, the smallest echo of it shattering drifiting up to the teens. His grip on Brooke loosened and she fell mostly over the edge, Nathan gripping her tightly by her upper arms.

"Oh my God!" shrieked Peyton. She sprinted forward.

"I'm stuck," Nathan panted. "I think my ankle is broken."

Brooke was whimpering, her eyes screwed tight. Her legs kicked at the air, trying to find footing on the wall of the canyon.

"Stop kicking," Peyton begged. "LUCAS! HALEY!"

The two came running from the car. In the darkness, they had missed the action.

"Nathan!" Haley shrieked. She realized that he was holding onto Brooke for dear life. "Brooke, sweetie, hang on."

Nathan's face was screwed up in pain and concentration. "I'm gonna have to let go of her. Lucas, you'll grab her arms on three."

"No," Brooke cried. "Nate, don't let go. Please. I'm not ready to die."

"No one is dying, Brooke," he said fiercely. He looked her in the eyes. "I promise you, Brooke. We're both going to be fine."

Lucas swallowed. "Let's do this now, she's slipping."

Nathan nodded. "On three. Hover over her, so you can grab her the second I let go."

Lucas nodded, leaning over the rail and putting his hands as close as he could to Brooke. He was a little low to grab at her, but the second Nathan let go, she would fall right into his hands, if all went well.

"One, two, three!"

Brooke screamed as she dropped for a second before Lucas's arms managed to grip her around her rib cage. He panted as he struggled to pull her over the railing. Peyton and Haley were working on freeing Nathan from the metal that trapped his leg.

Brooke was sobbing in hysterics when Lucas managed to drag her back over the railing. She fell into his chest, taking panicking, sobbing breaths.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry. Please, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Sh, Pretty Girl," Lucas soothed. "Breath. It's going to be okay. It's all right."

"Lucas, I've got Brooke," Peyton said, kneeling beside her best friend and taking her into her arms. "You're the only one strong enough to get Nathan out."

Lucas handed his girlfriend over to Peyton and approached Nathan. "This might hurt, Nate."

"Just do it," Nathan said with gritted teeth. Lucas knelt down, peering under the rail.

"Nate, this could break your leg."

"Do it."

Haley's hands were over her mouth as Lucas wrapped his arms around his brother's middle and yanked as hard as he could. There was a snapping sound and Nathan howled.

"Nathan!" Haley screamed, dropping to the ground next to him. Brooke sobbed louder.

"It's fine, Hales. Just a bone," he panted. "We just need to get to the hospital."

"Brooke!" Peyton shouted. She was slapping the brunette's face. "Stay with me, Davis. Come on, wake up."

Haley dashed over, putting her hand against Brooke's neck. "Her pulse is weak," Haley half-yelled.

"We've got to go," Peyton snapped. "Lucas, get Nathan in the car. We'll get Brooke."

Haley and Peyton attempted to lift Brooke between the two of them, but they were unsuccessful. Lucas had already gotten Nathan in the front seat and come to help them. He scooped her up easily and laid her in the backseat. The girls piled in after her. Lucas hopped in the driver's seat and tore out of the turn out.

"Come on, Brooke!" Haley urged, shaking her friend. "Sweetie, wake up. Come on. Listen to my voice. Wake up!"

Lucas focused on the road, swallowing his tears. "What the hell happened?" he asked.

"Brooke has had two mental breakdowns ever. That we knew of," Nathan corrected. "One was last year, after you and Peyton. The other was sophomore year, after her dad hit her. Peyton found her the first time. I found her the second."

Lucas slammed his fist on the steering wheel. The rest of the ride was silent, sans Haley and Peyton's panicked whispers in the back seat.

They pulled up to the ER, Haley and Peyton each helping Nathan on one side while Lucas carried Brooke in his arms. Brooke was immediately wheeled away and Nathan was taken away for x-rays, leaving the other three to wait.