Brooke entered the grand prom venue and scanned the room for Haley, eager to apologize for her tardiness. She pushed back a stray hair and attempted to quell her guilt. Nathan's conversation with her replayed in her mind.
Approaching Haley, Brooke uttered, "I apologize for being late."
"That's your excuse?" Haley scoffed, glancing up from her clipboard.
Brooke frowned, sensing Haley's anger. "I apologize for that as well, but…"
Haley interjected, "Were you ever planning on revealing your involvement with Nathan?"
"To be honest, no," Brooke admitted, hoping to avoid further explanation. "We weren't acquainted then, so when would I have brought it up?"
"At a basketball game?" Brooke questioned, gesturing with her arms. "R.A.V.E.N.S." she spelled out. "By the way, I slept with your husband a long time ago."
Haley nodded, uncertain how to respond. She knew Brooke was partially right. "I guess so," she said. Before Brooke could speak further, Bevin approached.
"You shouldn't be upset," Bevin said with a grin. "Nathan used to hook up with everyone!"
Brooke glanced at Bevin and smiled slightly. "Bev," she warned. Bevin walked away as another voice rang out from behind.
"Duck, duck, duck, bitch," Peyton sneered, emphasizing the final word.
Brooke turned to face Peyton, her face hard. "Peyton," she began, her voice shaking. "I'm so sorry, okay? I don't know what else you want me to say."
"You want me to say, 'Punch me in the face, Peyton, please, I deserve it'?" Peyton said, crossing her arms.
Brooke blinked and shook her head. "Okay, but you're not exactly blameless here." She recalled Peyton's many betrayals.
Peyton scoffed. "Oh, that's right. You cut me out of your life and made me feel guilty for kissing Lucas, even though you were seeing Nathan behind my back!"
"You were broken up, and it was two years ago!" Brooke retorted, exasperated by Peyton's feigned innocence. "You might tell yourself otherwise, but you're the one who stabbed me in the back. You know it."
As Peyton walked away, she saw Chase approaching. She stopped him. "Hey, good luck with your cheating girlfriend," she said, patting him on the shoulder.
Brooke's brow furrowed as she watched Chase walk away. Sighing, she turned to Mouth, who approached with concern after noticing her expression.
"Hey, Mouth," Brooke said softly.
"Brooke, are you okay?" Mouth asked, his gaze fixed on her hazel eyes.
"I don't know, Mouth," Brooke replied, her voice heavy. "That arrogant girl gave me a black eye on prom day."
Mouth shook his head. "No, that's not okay."
"And Peyton went after Lucas not once but twice while we were together," Brooke continued.
"No," Mouth agreed.
"On top of that, she chased Chase away by screaming at me publicly," Brooke said.
Mouth couldn't help but chuckle. "Peyton and Chase," he said.
Brooke glared at him, crossing her arms. "Why is that funny?"
"It's not," Mouth said quickly, holding up his hands in defense. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
A gleam entered Brooke's eyes. "Actually, you can push Peyton in front of a bus for me."
Brooke watched Mouth walk away and sought out Chase to discuss the recent incident. She found him and greeted him with a faint smile, "Hi."
Chase approached Brooke, "Hey, sorry I couldn't talk earlier. I was preoccupied with the situation."
Brooke nodded with a hint of sadness, "It's okay."
"I apologize for my past constantly resurfacing. It's like I have numerous skeletons in my closet, and it seems half are being naked," Brooke expressed her discomfort with her past and hoped Chase would give her the opportunity to make amends.
Chase gently shook his head and took Brooke's hand. "I've been able to tolerate much of your history, Brooke," he said calmly. "But you're aware of mine as well. You know my best friend slept with my girlfriend, just as you did with Peyton's."
" No it wasn't like that, they broke up, and…"
"I know prom is important to you, so we can still go, but afterward, we can't be together." Chase interrupted Brooke, his words cutting off her sentence. The brunette's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Then it should be over now because I don't want to go to prom with someone who doesn't want to be with me," Brooke retorted, pulling her hands away from Chase's, tears threatening to fall.
Chase watched Brooke pull away, her eyes welling up. He knew she was on the verge of tears. "You said no more surprises. I'm sorry," he whispered, then walked out of the room.
Brooke watched as Chase left, her heart breaking with the sound of the door slamming shut. She placed a hand over her chest, trying to calm the throbbing pain.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. She looked around, her gaze falling on Haley, who was chatting with students who were helping with prom preparations.
The brunette, no longer wanted to help so she headed out.
( Peyton house)
Brooke pulled up to Peyton's house, her foot heavy on the brake. "Open up, Peyton!" she barked, pounding on the door.
"Or what? Huff and puff and blow my house down?" Peyton retorted, opening the door to meet Brooke's icy glare.
Brooke matched Peyton's glare, her chest rising and falling with anger. "Yes. Chase broke up with me. Are you happy now?"
Peyton shrugged. "I don't know. Did you tape it?" she asked sarcastically. Brooke scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"That thing with Nathan and I happened ages ago, Peyton. And you were already broken up with him."
"Well, in case you've forgotten, Nathan and I broke up all the time!" Peyton countered, rolling her eyes.
"Oh really, how could I forget?" Brooke replied sharply. "That's all your relationship was, Peyton: a string of miserable one-night stands."
Peyton chuckled. "You just described your love life with every guy in Tree Hill."
Brooke grunted, annoyed. "It was one time and meaningless!" She exclaimed. "But it meant something to Chase, and it meant something to me!" Peyton snorted.
"You know what meant something to me? You and Lucas's affair behind my back! We weren't even broken up either time you went after him." Brooke growled.
Peyton steadied her gaze on her old friend. "Okay, you're right. My fault. I was stupid to think I ruined our friendship when you'd already done so long ago. We were never real friends."
Brooke opened her mouth, but Peyton slammed the door in her face.
( Rachel house)
Brooke returned to Rachel's house and sat on her bed as Rachel packed. "What's happening? When does it start?" Rachel playfully inquired.
Brooke rolled her eyes at Rachel. "Stop teasing. Chase broke up with me, thanks to Peyton."
Rachel approached Brooke and chuckled. "Is it her fault now? Didn't you know she was with your boyfriend before you were best friends?"
"They were broken up!" Brooke protested.
"Maybe Chase just doesn't want to attend prom with someone who looks tougher than him," Rachel suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
Brooke scoffed. "He said prom has nothing to do with it. He claimed he'd still go with me, but we'd be over once it ended."
"Rachel nodded and laughed, 'Sounds like Cinderella, but the prince is a total newbie and the pumpkin is… a way chubbier pumpkin.'
'Right? So which evil stepsister are you?' Brooke said, rolling her eyes. 'The one who got kicked out, duh. And just so you know, I think Turner might be gay.' Rachel giggled after saying that, making Brooke burst out laughing."
