Brooke had been in California for nearly a week and she already had a circle of friends. No surprise there. It only took her two days to unpack all the boxes and fill her room with memories of Peyton and Lucas.

Brooke and her Broody were trying to make this relationship work. They promised each other that they wouldn't date anyone else or sleep with anyone else. They only wanted one another. She loved him deeply and didn't mind that she blushed every time his name was mentioned.

Her new friends knew all about him and Brooke loved having their support. She looked forward to the 'good morning' texts from him and their playful fights about who needed to hang up first at night. They were very much in love and she wanted the world to know.

"So, there's this party tonight," Leah, the ringleader of Brooke's new group said as the girls laid by the pool.

"Go on," Brooke encouraged.

Leah smiled and pulled her sunglasses down from her hair, "I don't know the crowd too well. It's a biker scene over in Charming, but Chloe over there is seeing this guy, and he invited us all."

She didn't want to hide the look of disgust. "Bikers? Don't they, like, never shower, and weigh three-hundred pounds?"

The girls laughed, this annoying high-pitched laugh. "Brooke, c'mon, this is California. All the guys are hot out here. It'll be fun, I've met Juice's friends before, you'll like them."

"Juice? That's his name?" Brooke kinked an eyebrow. Sure, Mouth was a weird name, but Juice? They had to be kidding, right?

"His name is Juan. Juice is a nick name," Chloe explained. "You'll come, right?"

Feeling like she didn't have a choice, Brooke agreed to go with them. She knew her limits on alcohol and she wasn't comfortable with the idea of bikers, so she promised herself she would only have one drink. She didn't even want to talk to anyone there.

The girls piled into Leah's convertible and made the forty-five-minute drive to Charming. Brooke's nerves were a wreck the whole way there. Her friends were wearing short skirts and tops that showed their cleavage, much like the way Brooke usually dressed. For this party, though, she chose jeans, boots, and a pink top. She wanted to look cute without giving the guys the wrong idea.

"There he is," Chloe beamed with excitement and ran into the arms of an average height, average looking Hispanic

To Leah, Brooke whispered, "He has a tattoo on his head. On. His. Head."

"Welcome to California, Brooke Davis," she laughed and took Brooke's hand, led her to the party.

Leah introduced Brooke to the other girls and a few of the guys. Clay and Gemma were in the office, off limits to the party-goers.

"Brooke, this is Donna and Opie," she introduced the two brunettes first. "Donna here is, like, my best friend ever. She used to live next door to me, but then moved away to be closer to Opie."

"Leah, c'mon," Donna faked being hurt, "we're still friends," her hands dropped to her stomach, "Who else is going to teach my baby the ways of the fashion world?"

"Oh my God!" Leah shrieked and hugged Donna so tightly her face turned red. "That's amazing, I'm incredibly happy for you both."

Brooke thought back to her own almost-pregnancy last year. She had been late, the test said positive. She was scared, but she had been in love with Lucas. He would take care of them. Then, she found out about Peyton and was relieved to know the test had been a false positive.

"Leah, I'm gonna grab a drink. Meet up later?"

"Yeah, of course, go have fun."

Brooke held her arms across her chest and walked through the crowd. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. They were talking, laughing, dancing, acting like they had no care in the world.

She found a cooler full of beer and grabbed a grape Bacardi. Her hand brushed ever so lightly against another. Standing before her was the hottest guy she had ever seen. The long blond hair and bulging biceps made her think of a dangerous version of Lucas.

The guy was laughing and talking trash with another person much older than them. The blond stumbled and fell into Brooke, somehow, she caught him and he regained his balance.

"Sorry about that," he said. He set his empty shot glass down on the concrete. He reeked of whiskey, Brooke's go-to drink she wanted to forget something.

"No problem," she patted his shoulder and took a long sip of the drink in her hands. Her eyes darted around the party but landed back on the man in front of her. She recognized the look of a broken heart. "You okay?" she found herself asking.

"I'm great," he mumbled and sat down. A few girls wearing practically nothing winked at him as they walked by. Brooke rolled her eyes, "I haven't seen you around before. What's your name, Doll?"

Doll? Was this guy serious? Who talked like that?

"Brooke," she said coldly, trying to not look at him. Now would be the perfect time for Lucas or Peyton to call. She didn't want to stand here all night. "I'm friends with Leah and Chloe," she added.

He chuckled, "Those girls are trouble," he said, popping the top off his beer.

"You talk like you know," she fired back with a smirk.

"Me? Nah. The other guys, sure, but not me."

"And why's that?" she followed his eyes as he scanned the girls at the party. "You don't seem like the picky type."

"I had a girl," he said as he took another sip, "she left today."

"Didn't like competing?" she asked, nodding to the other girls.

"Nah, not that. She left for medical school. Wanted me to go with her."

"Why didn't you?"

"Family comes first. I didn't have a choice."

"We always have a choice," she softly said, joining him on the pavement.

"Was this your choice?" he asked. Brooke didn't like vague questions.

"What? Coming to the party? Not really."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because," she struggled to answer, "if Leah hadn't convinced me to come, I'd by lying in bed staring at pictures of Lucas," she took a sip, nearly finishing off the drink.

His eyes lit up. This girl just got interesting. "Lucas? Boyfriend?"

"I don't know," she said it out loud for the first time, "I love him. He loves me. But he's back home and I'm here all summer."

"Where's home?"

"Tree Hill, North Carolina. A million miles from here."

"Take this," he handed her a freshly poured shot of Jim Beam and he drank from the bottle.

She loved the familiar burn of the smooth whiskey. It brought back memories. Memories she wished she could forget.

"There you are!" A very drunk Chloe stumbled over to them. "Leah's ready to go. She's going to end up punching the prospect in the throat if he keeps touching her."

"That sounds like Leah," Jax chuckled.

"Okay, well," she looked at Jax, "it was nice talking to you-you never told me your name," she laughed nervously.

"Jax. Jax Teller," he held his hand out for her.

"Good talk, Jax. Thanks for the whiskey."

She stood to leave and smiled when he winked at her.

"Guess who Brooke was sharing a bottle of whiskey with!" Chloe slurred her words and was too eager to spill the dirt. "Jax Teller. That's right! Newly single Jax was chatting up Brooke. He doesn't talk to just anyone, Brooke. You're one of the lucky ones."

"Okay, it was no big deal. We talked, that's all."

Leah looked at her from the corner of her eye, "Talked about what exactly?"

"His girlfriend. My boyfriend," she was being defensive.

Chloe popped up from the back seat. "Tara left him, and we all know how Jax heals a broken heart," she fluttered her eyelashes at Brooke, who playfully pushed her back into the seat.

"Regardless of him being single, I'm not."

"Well you look happy," Gemma grinned as she tied the belt of her robe, "Who was the girl I saw you with?"

Jax lit a cigarette and handed it over to her, "Name's Brooke. She's visiting from North Carolina, friends with Leah," he smiled at the infamous Gemma eyeroll.

"Leah, that girl's going to make a damn good old lady someday," she puffed the cigarette and handed it back to him. "Hook her up with Happy, he could handle her," they laughed but the tension was thick. Gemma had something on her mind. "Listen, Jax—"

"Mom," he cut her short, "I'm not gonna do anything. I doubt I'll even see that girl again."

"All I was going to say, Sweetie, is that it was nice to see you smile tonight. It's been about a week since I've seen that light in your eyes."

"Goodnight, Ma," he kissed her cheek and retired to his room for the night.