A/N: Why is this taking so long? Why haven't you finished this by now? These are questions I've been asking myself. Still striving to finish this story by the end of the year and I have a couple of chapters already written up so you won't have to wait too long for updates. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Sing

After weeks of planning and wondering, the open mic night at Karen's Cafe was finally here. Peyton was nervous as the initial interest didn't sound promising. The only thing that she hoped would happen, is that more people would turn up on the night to perform. Peyton was pacing up and down in the back room when Brooke found her.

"You're kind of cute when you're worried." Brooke said as she walked in, closing the door behind her.

Peyton looked over to the owner of the voice and huffed. "That's not helping."

Brooke stepped closer to stop Peyton's movement. She held both of her hands to try and soothe her. "You have nothing to worry about; tonight's going to be great."

"Really?" Peyton's voice went higher in a form of a question.

"Yes and afterwards you'll be doing some singing of your own." Brooke's flirty comment garnered some much needed laughter for the blonde. Brooke found a way to calm her nerves and she felt a lot better. She gave the brunette a quick kiss before muttering a 'thank you.'

The beginning of the night started without a hitch. A few people had already appeared, making the night last longer than Peyton had thought it would. Peyton, Brooke, Nathan and Haley were standing near each other while Jake was playing. Jake was enjoying himself more than he thought he would. He hadn't performed in a while and once he started playing, it was like he had never stopped. He was grateful to Brooke for talking him into it and he made a mental note to thank her after his performance.

Peyton moved from her position in between Nathan and Haley, to stand beside Brooke. "Do I wanna know how you convinced Jake to perform?"

Brooke laughed, "I asked him the day I hung out with him and Jenny. I didn't have to do anything, Jenny was the one working her charms. She's gonna be a heartbreaker when she grows up."

"I should buy her something as a thank you gift then." Peyton turned her head back to the stage and joined in the applause as Jake finished his song. Peyton took her place back on the stage as Jake walked over to stand by Brooke.

"Thank you." Jake said to Brooke as he approached her.

Brooke turned towards Jake, "What for?"

"For convincing me to perform. I didn't realise how much I missed it."

"Well, you were great up there. You should perform more often."

Jake scratched his head as he prepared to change the subject to something he was curious about, "Did you come alone?"

"I came with Nathan, Peyton and Haley." Brooke didn't think much of the question, when she answered.

"I meant, is the guy you're seeing here?" Jake looked around, wondering who it was Brooke was dating.

"Jake…" Brooke didn't like where this conversation was going. Even though she had made it clear she wasn't available, she wasn't sure if Jake was still harbouring feelings for her.

Jake shook his head, knowing where her head might be going. "I just want to make sure he knows what an incredible person you are. He's a lucky guy."

Brooke looked over to where Peyton was standing and smiled, "I think I'm the lucky one."

Haley had gone to the back room to make sure her guitar was tuned. After her talk with Brooke the day before, she felt a bit better about what was going to happen. Haley had tactfully told Brooke that her voice wasn't performance ready and Brooke had taken it better than she had thought. Brooke had told Haley that she knew her voice wasn't the greatest but she really wanted to do something for Peyton, even if it meant making a fool of herself. If Brooke was willing to do that, then Haley simply strumming her guitar should be a piece of cake. That was the only way Haley thought she could have the confidence to play in front of a crowd.

Broke entered the back room and broke Haley out of her thoughts. "It's showtime, tutor girl."

Peyton and Nathan looked over to where Brooke and Haley were and wondered if the performance was going to end up being a success. Brooke and Haley were possibly going to be the last performance of the night, if no one else was willing to perform.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Peyton asked Nathan.

Nathan laughed, "It better, as there's no way I'm singing up there."

Brooke had just joined the two and overheard their conversation. "Trust me guys. I have it all under control. I better warm up, my public awaits."

Nathan and Peyton looked at each other, shaking their heads as Brooke walked off.

"Do you have a back up plan if this backfires?" Nathan asked.

Peyton turned back to Nathan. "Maybe, you."

"I don't have any ideas."

"I meant you're my backup plan. Did you bring a sports mag?" The both of them started laughing again before Peyton walked away. Peyton jumped on the stage to introduce the last act of the evening. "Hey guys, I hope you've been enjoying yourself tonight. Please put your hands together for our last performers, Brooke Davis accompanied by Haley James."

Brooke took a deep breath and looked at Haley. She nodded to let her know she was going to start playing. Brooke looked back to the crowd and smiled but it wasn't the usual confident smile she normally wore. Haley looked back at Brooke and she sees a look of fright on the cheerleader's face as she missed her cue. Brooke looked back at Haley and muttered, "I'm sorry, I can't." before running off the stage. Peyton looked at Haley, then Nathan before saying, "I'm gonna make sure she's alright."

Haley had stopped playing but the crowd wasn't having any of it. Someone had started saying "sing" and slowly others had joined in to chant the word. Haley looked at Nathan and he simply smiled as he mouthed "Go on." Haley started strumming as the crowd turned their chanting to cheering. As soon as the first note came out of Haley's voice, the crowd quietened as she gained her confidence to continue.

"Do I look upset enough?" Brooke asked as she removed her hands from over her face.

"I think you do. I'm going to comfort you with a hug." Peyton said before she wrapped her arms around the brunette.

Brooke started laughing "I can't believe she's singing." There were so many things that could have gone wrong with Brooke's plan to get Haley to sing so she was thankful that it happened without a hitch.

"You pulled it off. Tonight couldn't have been a success without you. Thank you." Peyton pulled away and couldn't help but be mesmerised by the brunette. There were times, where she would pinch herself that Brooke gave her the time of day. Despite their differences in the past, she didn't think she would find anyone who would get her half as much as the brunette.

Haley was still playing when Jake walked up to where Nathan was standing. He had been looking round to see if Brooke had reappeared after she ran off the stage. "Shouldn't someone else go and see if Brooke's alright?" Jake asked Nathan.

Nathan couldn't take his eyes off Haley so he didn't look at Jake when he answered, "Don't worry, Peyton has it covered."

"How did the two of them end up being friends when they've been enemies for so long?" Jake wondered like a lot of people, who knew of their frosty past.

Nathan still didn't look at Jake "The subject of absent parents would do the trick."

Jake looked back over to where he saw Peyton follow Brooke to. At that moment, he saw a smiling Brooke pull Peyton into a hug. If Jake had turned back to the performance then he would have also missed Peyton pull back and place her hand on Brooke's cheek before pulling her into a kiss. All the conversations Jake had with Brooke were starting to make sense. "Or something else." Jake muttered before his eyes returned to the stage.