SLIDE
Peyton whipped the refrigerator door open, only to shut it quickly at the sight of its sparse contents. She had done this several times in the last two or three hours, constantly forgetting that it was empty because of her current state of mind. She'd get up, walk over to the fridge, open it up to find it nearly bare, then head back to her seat at the table to mull over her thoughts. This would last a few minutes until her thoughts would be interupted by her growling stomach, thus beginning a vicious cycle that had lasted most of the evening. It was starting to become ridiculous, even by Peyton's sick and twisted standards.
She plopped down onto her seat once again, leaning back against the wooden back to stare up at the ceiling. Letting out a long, annoyed breath, Peyton stood up (again) and was about to head over to the fridge (again) before stopping halfway. She rolled her eyes at her actions, realizing that she'd almost fallen into the cycle once more.
"I've got to get out this house," she sighed, hoping that a change in scenery would help clear the fog from her mind's eye. She grimaced when her stomach growled, which only caused the curly haired blonde to roll her eyes again. Deciding that food was the most immediate concern, Peyton quickly ran up to her bedroom and slipped into a change of clothes before grabbing her car keys then heading out the door.
Pulling the hood of her jacket over her golden locks as rain pelted her from above, Peyton climbed into the driver's seat of her beloved Comet and started the engine, waiting a moment before tearing out of the driveway in her usual breakneck fashion. She smirked at the sound of the garbage can crashing loudly behind her, then cranked the stereo's volume to the maximum setting, causing her music to blare from the speakers. She hoped that the music would block out her inappropriate thoughts, but the various dream images of her best friend would not let her escape, would not let her rest.
Nor did Peyton feel she deserved to escape, deserved rest. She was about to betray her best friend for the second time, but only this time not over a boy who'd proven to be unworthy of losing a best friend for. No, this time Peyton would do the unforgivable, something that she knew would probably bring everything crashing down around her ears. Something that could destroy her most precious possession beyond repair.
She was going to tell Brooke Davis, her best friend since age eight, the whole truth. A truth that Peyton had been trying to avoid since her failed relationship with Lucas Scott, maybe even before that. A truth she'd been running from for far, far too long.
Brooke flopped back onto her bed, glaring at the ceiling like it had done something to offend her. She pictured her best friend Peyton's face, wondering at the blonde's strange behavior for the last few days, trying to discern what could be behind it all. While she was used to Sawyer's emo tendencies, Brooke just couldn't figure out what was going on with the other girl. It was like Peyton was avoiding her, or something. It hurt her that Peyton couldn't, wouldn't talk to her. It was like her P. Sawyer was hiding something from her.
It suddenly dawned on Brooke that Peyton had acted like this before, back when she and Lucas had been sneaking around her back together. She could feel tears forming in her hazel eyes, blinding her momentarily before she wiped them away with the back of her hand.
"They wouldn't do that to me again, would they?" Brooke whispered, sniffling loudly at the memory of seeing Peyton and Lucas on the webcam. Seeing them together afterwards was torture, a constant reminder that Brooke had lost both the first boy she ever loved and her best friend in one fell swoop.
But when that little tryst ended because of the blonde's catfight with Jake's ex-girlfriend and the subsequental information that Nicki had leaked, Brooke felt that things between Peyton and herself were on the mend. It seemed that their friendship had actually gotten stronger since then.
Yet a nagging little voice in the back of Brooke's head haunted her, warning that it was only a matter of time before Peyton betrayed her again, taunting her that the blonde was no longer worthy of her trust. That, if given the chance, Peyton Sawyer would find a way to let Brooke down. That voice got even louder when Brooke had begun dating Lucas again, but the bubbly brunette forced it down, refusing to believe its words.
Now she was wishing she'd listened to that voice.
Peyton pulled up to Karen's Cafe absently, not realizing where she'd driven until the car was actually in park and her feet had led the blonde halfway to the door. She was about to turn around when her eyes fell on Haley, who looked concerned to Peyton for some reason. The blonde girl stood there staring for a moment before deciding to enter, wanting both food as well as to see what was wrong with her friend.
"Hey, Haley," Peyton greeted, sitting down at the counter. "What's with the long face?"
"Lucas just called me," Haley frowned, placing a cup in front of the blonde and filling it with coffee.
"Well, that explains it," Peyton snorted, smirking at the shorter girl. "I'd be depressed if I'd just talked to him, too."
"Are you ever going to let that go?" Haley asked, to which Peyton could only shrug.
"Anyway, what did the older Scott boy have to say, Hales?" Peyton asked, stirring a spoonful of sugar into the black liquid before taking a sip of it.
"Brooke just dumped him," Haley stated, glancing at Peyton as though waiting for some sort of reaction.
Peyton frowned in confusion, wondering what could've happened to cause the sultry B. Davis to end a relationship with the boy she claimed to love so much. The blonde also wondered how this would affect what she was going to tell Brooke, giving her doubts on if this would be the best time to confess something so profound to her oldest and dearest friend.
"You wouldn't have anything to do with this, would you?" Haley asked in a slightly accusing tone.
"Not after how things went last time, " Peyton replied, shaking her head to the negative. "I've learned my lesson, believe me."
"That's all I needed to hear," Haley nodded, then smiled at her. "So what'll you have?"
"Grab me some wallowing food to go, please," Peyton ordered, then smiled weakly at Nathan's wife. "I have a feeling Brooke's going to need a shoulder to cry on."
"You got it," Haley nodded, turning away to do as asked.
Whether she was going to confess tonight or not, Peyton felt that she had to be there for Brooke. She was her best friend after all, and that's what you did for best friends. You were there for them.
No matter what.
Brooke was still laying on her bed when the doorbell rang, wishing that whoever was there would just go away. She clutched her pillow tightly against her chest, letting the tears flow down her cheeks. She wished for a moment that Peyton were here, but soon scoffed at the ridiculous hope, reminding herself that all this crap was the curly haired blonde girl's fault to begin with.
Bitch is probably with Lucas anyway, the brunette thought with a bitterness that was all too familiar.
"Brooke?" Peyton called out, causing Brooke to go rigid. "Are you home?"
Brooke sat up sharply from the bed, wondering what to do before finally replying with a single word. "Bedroom."
"I heard what happened, Hon," Peyton continued, sounding like the concerned friend (as opposed to the traitorous bitch she actually was) while coming closer to the bedroom. "I brought junk food and some of those terrible rom-com movies you love so much."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Brooke accused as soon as Peyton entered the bedroom, surprising even herself with the amount of venom she put into the words.
"And I'd be somewhere else because?" Peyton asked, looking completely taken off guard.
"Don't play dumb with me, Peyt," Brooke glared, getting up from the bed to stand in front of the other girl. "I've already figured everything out, so drop the act."
"You have?" Peyton asked breathlessly, her jade colored eyes going wide in sudden fear.
"You have some nerve coming here, Sawyer," Brooke growled, narrowing her eyes.
"Look, if I known this was how'd you'd react to it, then I wouldn't have come here," the skinny traitor cried, taking a step back.
"And how did you expect me to react, Peyt?" Brooke asked, incredulous at how dense Peyton was being. "Huh?"
"I don't know," she shrugged, shrinking back against the wall as Brooke took another step forward. "Surprised. Awkward. Confused. Maybe a little angry-"
"Just a little angry?" Brooke shrieked, unable to believe what she just heard. "Do you even hear yourself, Peyton? Do you realize how incredibly hurt and pissed off I am because of you right now? I can't believe you'd do this to me again!"
Peyton's fear turned to confusion at that statement, quirking her head to the side. "What? Again?"
"I knew I couldn't trust you," Brooke cried, lowering her voice, if only by a little bit. "But I gave you a chance anyway, and this is how you repay me? By insulting my intelligence?"
"Okay, it may be my blondeness coming into play here," Peyton frowned, looking completely lost in the argument. "But what the hell are you talking about, Brooke?"
"I'm talking about you and Luke, Peyton," Brooke shouted, making the lithe blonde jolt in response. "And how you've been screwing each other behind my back!"
"Tha-" Peyton began, only to be cut off.
"Don't you dare try to deny it," the curvy brunette warned, pointing at the blonde. "Because it's the only reason I can see as to why you've been acting so weird lately."
"No, that's not the reason I've been acting weird," Peyton denied with a shake of her bouncy curls, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. "Not the reason at all, Brooke."
"Then why?" Brooke demanded, only to have the other girl shake her head. "Tell me, damn it!"
"I can't," Peyton whimpered.
"Tell me," Brooke insisted through gritted teeth. "Tell me right now, Peyton, or so help me-"
"I'm in love with you," Peyton whispered, her gaze hitting the floor.
Any anger that Brooke was feeling was gone, replaced by shock at what she'd just heard.
This isn't how I wanted to tell her, a tired Peyton sighed, pushing gently past a shell shocked Brooke to sit down on the bed. She glanced up to see her oldest friend, who was giving her the most perplexed expression ever, like Peyton had just grown an extra head or something. A long moment passed by before Brooke sat down beside her, letting out a tired sigh of her own.
It was another long moment before Peyton chose to speak up, unable to take the silence anymore.
"What now?" Peyton asked, worriedly glancing over at the brunette.
"No clue," Brooke muttered numbly, smoothing out her green dress, which was made from the finest of silk.
"Why are you so dressed up?" Peyton inquired, hoping to change the subject from her confession.
"Lucas was going to take me to a fancy restaurant tonight," she answered, suddenly finding the floor very interesting. "You know, before I came to the brilliant conclusion that you and he were...um..."
"I can't believe you'd think I'd do that again," Peyton sighed, hurt by how little her so-called best friend thought of her.
"I'm sorry, Peyt," Brooke apologized, then continued on to explain her actions. "It's just that your behaviour lately has been really throwing me off and I assumed that the reason was because you were fooling around with Luke again. It seemed like everything from last year was on repeat and I just snapped."
Peyton nodded, knowing where Brooke was coming from now. I'd probably think that too, if I was in her place.
"How was I supposed to know you were in love with me?" Brooke snorted, bumping her shoulder against the blonde's.
"Oh, God," Peyton moaned in despair, plopping onto her back. "This is so humiliating."
"I think it's sweet," Brooke rasped, patting her friend's leg in an awkward, teasing fashion. "Besides, I can't really blame you. I am one hot tamale, after all, Peyton."
"Don't make a joke out of this, Brooke," Peyton cried in hurt tone, sitting up to glare at Brooke.
"I'm sorry, P. Sawyer," the beautiful Miss Davis soothed, her sincerity doubtless. "I'm just not sure on how I should react, you know?"
"It's not everyday you discover that your best friend is in love with you," Peyton sighed in understanding, running her hands through her curly blonde locks. "I get it, Brooke."
"If it's any consolation, I am extremely flattered," Brooke stated, then shrugged. "I don't really know what else to say."
"I'm gonna go now," Peyton said, getting up, only to have Brooke grab her wrist.
"Stay," Brooke ordered softly, quickly adding. "Please?"
"You sure?" Peyton asked, uncertainty making her voice shake.
"Yeah, I'm sure, Blondie," Brooke smirked, releasing her grasp on Peyton's wrist. "Just don't try anything after we fall asleep, okay?"
"You can be such a bitch, you know that, Brooke?" Peyton chuckled, happy that her friend seemed to be taking her confession so well.
"Yeah, well, that can't be helped," Brooke just shrugged, smiling back at her.
Despite the fact that Peyton had just confessed her love to her best friend, this sleepover progressed much like all their other sleepovers had. They ate junk food while watching movies, laughed and joked with each other, and eventually they fell asleep in the same bed.
Brooke woke up sometime in the middle of the night, not really surprised to find a sleeping Peyton draped over her. Hell, she wasn't even feeling the slightest bit awkward or uncomfortable by their current position, all too used to the blonde's tendency to wrap herself around Brooke whilst in her sleep. In fact, Brooke was surprised that she'd even woken up since that was how accustomed the brunette was to the other girl, even if said blonde had declared something that should most definitely change the basis of their relationship. The only bit of discomfort that Brooke was feeling was from the fact that she wasn't uncomfortable at all, which made the sultry brunette roll her eyes at the stupidity of that thought.
Yet Brooke had been the one to push this, to act like nothing was amiss. Peyton had a frightened animal expression on her face before, like she wanted to escape after Brooke had all but bullied the confession out of her, which in turned made Brooke feel guilty for doing so. She wanted to put the other girl at ease, let her know that Peyton was still Brooke's P. Sawyer and Brooke was still her B. Davis.
Nothing had seemed to have change, even if they both knew it obviously had. They were choosing to ignore it all and carry on, worry about the implications later.
"I love you so much, Brooke," Peyton murmured in her sleep, tightening her grip on her.
"I love you, too, Peyt," Brooke whispered back without having to think about it.
It was the truth after all, even if Brooke wasn't sure just how much she loved the curled up blonde in return.
Looks like I have some things to think about, Brooke thought before darkness overtook her vision once more.
Peyton woke up with a slight start, the crash of thunder outside waking the girl from her slumber. After a disoriented moment, the leggy blonde remembered where she was sleeping and the events that had led her here. She frowned in confusion, wondering why the other girl wasn't freaking out more about this revelation, when she felt her best friend's hand slide onto her right breast.
"What the hell?" Peyton whispered, her breath becoming ragged at the unexpected intimate contact.
"Go back to sleep, baby," Brooke mumbled, nuzzling against her.
Okay, this has to be some sort of dream, Peyton reasoned to herself, staring up at the ceiling. A wonderful, fantastic dream, which means I'm going to wake up any second now.
Another moment went by before Peyton realized that it wasn't a dream, causing her to start laughing under her breath.
"What's so funny, Peyt?" Brooke asked groggily, her hot breath tickling the blonde's neck, which only caused Peyton's laughter to escalate.
"Maybe I should've asked you not to try anything before we went to sleep, Brooke," she told the perplexed brunette, smirking down at where Brooke's hand was positioned.
"Huh," Brooke remarked simply, her hand still grasping the blonde's breast. "Well, that's a little ironic, isn't it?"
"Um, Brooke?" Peyton inquired after an awkward moment.
"Yeah, Peyt?" Brooke asked back, their gazes meeting.
"Should I be taking this as a signal or something?" Peyton smiled, trying to hide her hope behind a joking tone.
Brooke frowned, finally removing her hand from her best friend's chest. Peyton felt herself getting lost in watching her oldest friend, wondering at the strange expression Brooke was wearing at that moment. She didn't know what she was doing, since she was asleep, so I shouldn't get my hopes up, Peyton reasoned, refusing to let herself get too hopeful over something that was most likely an unconscious action. She probably thought I was Lucas or somethi-
"Aw, screw it," Brooke muttered suddenly, surprising Peyton by planting her lips onto the blonde's.
"If I knew sex with you was going to be that good," Brooke rasped, breathing heavy as Peyton cuddled up against her. "I would've made a move on you way earlier than this."
"So you liked it, I take it?" Peyton giggled, playing with the other girl's chestnut brown hair.
"Oh, hell yeah," Brooke laughed, rolling over to drape her arm across the blonde's chest.
"Brooke?" Peyton asked after a moment of comfortable silence, her tone low and worried..
"Yes, Peyton?" Brooke answered, trying to sound non-chalant.
"What's going to happen now?" Peyton asked timidly, echoing a similar question of hers from earlier.
Brooke sighed, then asked back. "What do you mean?"
"Is this just a one time thing, or what?" Peyton clarified, her voice hitching slightly before continuing. "Because if it is, I'm okay with it, you know."
"D...do you want it to be a one time thing, Peyton?" Brooke asked haltingly, trying to fight back her unexpected panic.
"The truth?" Peyton quizzed, running her hand along the brunette's arm, sending jolts across Brooke's soft skin as she did so.
"Please," Brooke begged, dread and anticipation filling her lungs.
"No," Peyton shook her head, staring intently up at her friend with tears in her eyes. "I don't want this to be a one time thing."
"Oh, thank you, Lord," Brooke moaned, releasing the tense breath she'd been holding. She took the gorgeous blonde's face in her hands and placed a soft kiss on her lips, then released her enough to gaze into emerald orbs that reflected love back at her.
"Brooke?" Peyton asked, looking a little confused at the brunette's sudden and intense stare.
"I love you, Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer," Brooke declared with a grin, delighting in the joy that appeared in her best friend. "With all my heart."
Peyton smiled back, "Right back at you, Brooke Penelope Davis."
The End.
Author' Note: Hey, look at that, I managed to recover my first OTH fic from a super long time ago. Man, my writing was rough back then but I remember how much fun I had writing it. Oh, the nostalgia of it all! And since I have access to almost all my past fics again, I'm going to repost some of them. After I add a little polish, of course. Until then though, see you!
Migs