A/N: Once again I've been away far too long. A big thanks to all those who reviewed or sent messages. I probably haven't replied to all but thank you for reading this and sticking with it. I didn't intend to be away so long and I'm trying to write a bit quicker. I've already started on the next chapter but until then, enjoy this one.

The Element of Freedom

It was the beginning of another school week for the Tree Hill High students. Everybody was pretty much expecting the same mundane events as they normally get. Today was no different except for the fact that most people's phones went off simultaneously.

Brooke and the rest of the cheerleading squad were just finishing off their quick practice before the first bell.

"I see you've all received word about my party." Rachel announced, bouncing through the changing room.

Brooke rolled her eyes while being careful not to show her distain for the red haired girl. She had decided to keep the peace, at least for the next couple days, to make sure there was no tension amongst the girls. She was determined to have the squad at their best and with her being AWOL for a number of practices, there was a lot of making up to be done. The next home game was coming and there were a few teething problems to iron out before game day. She watched the other girls get excited as Rachel rambled on about her party.

Brooke saw a couple of the girls approach her and she wore her best, fake smile. "Are you going to the party?" one of them asked. Hesitating slightly, somebody else spoke before she could give her answer. "Yeah Brooke, are you coming to my party?" Brooke turned to Rachel knowing that she was trying to push her buttons. Brooke didn't want to go but it was her duty to show up as the cheerleading captain – it was a blessing and a curse but not just for her. Nathan would also have to make an appearance and his patience was growing very thin where Rachel was concerned. There was an opportunity that this could work well for the brunette. Brooke simply smiled as she spoke, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

She was never one to bring attention; it was all about getting on with things with the least amount of noise possible. This was necessary especially with her unpopularity with a certain quarter of the school. If she gave them any ammunition then they had a tendency to make things difficult. Most times the squad would follow their leader's example of hating people but lately things had been different. With Brooke being publicly civil, the squad had halted their torment. That wasn't to say that they liked her, they just simply ignored her most of the time. This suited the blonde fine as she could stay under the radar as she continued her relationship with Brooke.

She was no longer satisfied with just being another person in the crowd but she wasn't quite at the stage where she would be shouting things from the rooftop. There was nothing different about this morning, at least to her but it felt different. The look that she saw on Brooke's face, as she walked through the halls, told her that she drew the desired effect.

Today Peyton had dressed the complete opposite to her usual style. Instead of skinny jeans and a pair of canvass trainers, she was in a short skirt – not too short but enough to show the length of her legs.

Nathan was standing with Brooke, wondering what had rendered her speechless in mid sentence. His eyes followed her eye line to see the object of her stare. Bumping her with his shoulder he mumbled, "You're such a guy right now."

All he got as a reply was an unrecognizable noise. He stood in front of her, blocking her view, as he laughed. "Sort yourself out, you're drooling."

Within a second, Brooke did what she knew best and hit him. She scowled but Nathan didn't budge, continuing his laughter as he pointed to her face. An unimpressed Brooke wiped her face with her arm "Is that better?"

Dialling back his laughter he simply said. "An improvement at best."

Brooke shoved him as Peyton approached, changing her expression to a grin. Nathan looked at the both of them, wondering if he should stick around or leave the two of them alone. It didn't take long for him to come to a decision.

Dan and Deb had spent most of the morning arguing, which was no different to how they spent the majority of their marriage. Dan had gone to the house to berate Deb for the second time in 24 hours. They didn't hold back with the insults, making sure some verbal damage was left.

Deb wanted to handle things on her own but Dan insisted on joining her, following her in his car. He was determined to take control of the situation and Deb hated that. She thought she was perfectly capable of dealing with things. She was sober and she wanted to stay that way but dealing with her husband made her want to revert back to her usual routine.

Getting out of their respective cars, the husband and wife looked at each other with contempt and disgust. They marched into the school, on a mission to find their son.

Nathan had bumped into Haley while she was at her locker. She noticed something, bringing it to Nathan's attention. "I'll take that as a good sign then." Nathan looked at where Haley was referring to, Brooke and Peyton smiling at each as they spoke. He looked back at Haley and commented, "It definitely is."

Three words Nathan wasn't used to hearing broke him from the current moment. "Nathan Royal Scott, where have you been and why are you ignoring my calls." Nathan looked around feeling embarrassed as he watched people laughing and mouthing 'Royal'.

"I guess they finally got a clue." He whispered to Haley. "Do we have to do this here; I've got class." He said in frustration as he turned to his parents. Haley whispered, "I'm gonna go." before quickly departing.

"We could have done this at home, if you had picked up your phone at any point yesterday." Deb stated, completely angry with her son's behaviour.

"What do you guys want?" Nathan asked in an abrupt tone. He already had a fairly good idea what this tag team mission was about but it didn't stop him from expressing his anger at their mere presence.

"That's no way to speak to you mother." Dan spoke taking a step closer towards his some to intimidate him.

Nathan shook his head and laughed sarcastically. "Why? The way you speak to her is far worst."

"Don't you talk to me like that either." Dan took another step and this time pointed a finger at Nathan. Sensing that the confrontation had the possibility of boiling over, Deb interrupted them. "Why haven't you been home? Where have you been staying?"

"It doesn't matter as long as I'm away from the both of you." Nathan stated. Though his words were directed at both of his parents, his eyes were on his father.

Dan was incensed by the situation and put his foot down. "You're going to move back home this evening and that's an order. In fact, seeing as your mother was so clueless to the fact you even moved out, you're going to stay with me."

"That's a definite no to that suggestion but how about this instead. I stay where I am and you'll leave me alone. I'll be turning eighteen and will be leaving to college so we might as well save us all the hassle." Nathan crossed his arms in a statement to how serious he was.

"You're not going to be eighteen for another few months. Nathan, please just come home." Deb pleaded but she could see in her son's eyes that this wasn't going to be an easy feat.

"Well then I'll just get myself legally emancipated from the both of you for those 'few months'. Now if you excuse me, I need to get my things for class." Nathan started to walk away but Deb's hand on his arm temporarily stopped him. "Nathan, please don't walk away." Nathan looked at his mother's pleading eyes and some of his anger was quashed. He soon found his blood boiling from the words his father spoke." "You can't do this, I won't let you."

Nathan turned to his father before walking off. "It's already done."

Fresh from a brief conversation with Peyton, Brooke spotted someone in the hallway that she wanted to speak to. She quickly excused herself as she followed him - lightly tapping him on the shoulder when she caught up with him. "Hey its Nose isn't it?"

He turned, fully surprised at the fact the most popular girl in school actually knew he existed. This was regardless of the fact she called him by the wrong name. Nose was close to mouth in terms of body parts and that was good enough for him. He snapped out of his daze to finally reply. "Actually it's Mouth."

"That doesn't make it any better." Brooke mumbled, continuing a bit louder, she proceeded to the matter in hand. "Anyway what would it take to get a copy of the AV room key?"

"And why would I want to do that?" Mouth asked, wondering what benefit it would be to him to help her, other than being on Brooke's good side.

"To put a huge smile on my face." To mirror the statement, Brooke smiled at him, showing off her dimples. Her smile would usually help her get what she wanted and she was hoping this would be the case again.

"I could get in trouble for this." Mouth really didn't want his privileges to the AV room revoked. He enjoyed being trusted with the equipment and the access helped him towards his dream of being a sports reporter.

Brooke lowered her voice as she replied. "Only if you get caught and that's not gonna happen but if it does, then I'll get you out of it."

"I'm not sure Brooke." Mouth was still not convinced about helping Brooke.

"Are you going to Rachel's party?" Brooke asked. It might have seemed like a change of subject but there was a different reason for the question.

"Not really my scene." Mouth had only been to two parties and this was only since Lucas joined the team. The only reason he went was to see how the other half lived and he realised he wasn't really missing anything.

"Then you're coming with me and my friends."

"This isn't gonna convince me to give you the key." The bell rang as Mouth finished his sentence and students around made their way to their respective classes.

"Maybe not, but either way you get to go to the party." Brooke smiled before heading off.

Brooke was nervous and she didn't know why. She was unsure of what had come over her. Ok, that was a lie. She knew exactly what or who to be more precise. She had been unable to concentrate since stepping into the room, pacing up and down; she waited for the person who occupied her mind. This wasn't like her, she was usually calm and composed at school but today, her mask was wearing thin.

The door to the room opened and as the person stepped in they spoke. "I got your message." Brooke quickly pulled the arm of the person who opened it and crashed her lips into a surprised Peyton. Brooke's right hand descended to Peyton's legs, feeling the smoothness of an unusually jean free blonde. Brooke could feel Peyton's hands find a resting spot on her waist. A slight shift in their position made Brooke halt their progress. "I've wanted to do that all morning but that's not what I called you in for." Brooke stated as she pulled away from Peyton. The blonde looked confused as she was sure this was what Brooke had in mind. "So why did you call me in?"

Brooke's eyes kept darting from Peyton's eyes to her lips. Unable to contain herself again, she kissed the blonde again but before it went any further she pulled herself fully away from her girlfriend. "Why did you have to wear a skirt toady?" She groaned. Composing herself, she started to speak, "Before I say anything you've got to promise that what I tell you stays a secret and goes in the vault."

"I'm not sure who I would tell." Peyton said knowing her list of friends was very short.

"Hello, Haley and Lucas." Brooke looked at Peyton like she was stupid. "As my girlfriend you have to promise to keep this quiet." Peyton stood there, smiling but not saying anything in return. This confused Brooke as she really wanted to talk to Peyton. "Stop smiling Sawyer, I'm serious."

"You have to stop calling me by my surname when you're angry."

"Then stop making me angry." Brooke stood with her hands on her hips.

Peyton pulled a reluctant Brooke into her arms and brushed some hair out of the brunette's face. "I was smiling because you called me your girlfriend."

"I did, didn't I?" Peyton nodded before her lips met Brooke. It was a chaste kiss, though she wanted to deepen it, she had to pull away. It wasn't everyday Brooke wanted to tell her something serious, something she trusted her to keep quiet. In fact this was the only time Brooke had done this. The blonde gently pulled away and took a deep breath, "It's like we're actually in a relationship."

"As oppose to just having sex." Brooke's wink was met with a huge smile from Peyton.

"Yes." Peyton gave Brooke a quick kiss. "So what's so important that I'm sworn to secrecy?"

Brooke whipped her cell out of her pocket and quickly found the video she wanted. "Just watch this."

Peyton watched the video and took a quick glance at Brooke before her eyes returned to the screen. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Yes."

Peyton looked back up at Brooke before her eyes landed back on the screen. "When was this?"

Brooke took a huge sigh, knowing that an explanation was needed. She just didn't want to delve into it yet. "It's a long story which I promise to tell you later. Now I need help in making copies."

Peyton's hand found Brooke's back and she started to rub it. She noticed the wheels turning in Brooke's head, planning her next move. "Sure, whatever you need. What are you gonna do about this?"

"I'm not sure yet but whatever it is, it needs to happen soon."