Looking For Solid Ground

+++++++++OTH++++++++


Brooke took a deep steadying breath, pushing a loose strand of hair behind Haley's ear with a shaky hand, "Haley?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Haley felt her heart stop.

"Haley?" Brooke asked nervously, bringing a hand to the smaller girl's cheek. She could feel the tutor shaking beneath her touch.

Silent tears started to fall down Haley's cheeks as the full effect of Brooke's words hit her. Brooke quickly wiped them away, and she suddenly became very self-conscious. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle it if Haley said no. She could already feel her heart breaking as she watched the girl before her trembling. Her eyes, wide and innocent, were glossy from the falling tears.

Brooke nodded with a broken smile as she let her hand fall from Haley's cheek. She stood from the bed and made her way to the door. She placed a shaky hand on the door knob, her own tears now falling.

"Brooke?" Haley's voice cracked.

Brooke froze, closing her eyes at the sound of her heart-breaking voice.

"Yes," Haley whispered softly, standing from the bed.

Brooke turned around nervously, not sure of what she had heard. She looked at Haley openly, begging her to have said what she thought she'd said.

"Yes," Haley repeated, a small smile growing through the tears as she laughed softly. She walked over to where Brooke was standing, taking her face in her hands.

"Really?"

Haley nodded.

Brooke felt as if her heart were about to explode with happiness. She tilted her head down, capturing Haley's lips in her own, tasting the salt from the tutor's tears as they mixed with her own. Haley broke the kiss, pulling Brooke into a tight hug. Brooke smiled, kissing the top of the smaller girl's head as she held her tight.

'If this is what heaven feels like,' Brooke thought to herself. 'Why didn't I die sooner?"


+++++++++OTH+++++++


"Good morning girlfriend," Haley smiled at Brooke as she woke in the cheerleaders arms.

"Good morning girlfriend," Brooke smiled back, placing a kiss on Haley's forehead.

"Does that sound weird to you?"

"If by weird, you mean perfect, then yes," Brooke replied causing Haley to snuggle closer to her, burying her head in Brooke's chest.

"Can we stay in bed all day today?" Brooke asked, running a lazy hand up and down Haley's back.

"No," Haley sighed happily at her touch, her voice muffled because she refused to move from her current position.

"Why not?"

"Because we have school today."

"So? We skipped Friday," Brooke pointed out.

Haley propped herself up on her arms to be able to look Brooke in the eyes, "Yes, but on Friday, we didn't have any finals."

Brooke groaned, squeezing her eyes shut, "Tell me this is a bad dream."

"Sorry, you're wide awake, and it's time to get up," Haley replied, rolling off of her and getting out of bed.

"This has to be a bad dream," Brooke said. "Because I know you wouldn't get out of bed without giving me a kiss first."

Haley turned to her from the closet where she was pulling out something to wear. A large smile grew on her face as she hurried back to the bed to give Brooke a good morning kiss. As soon as their lips met, Brooke wrapped her arms around Haley's waist and pulled her back on top of her, causing Haley to giggle against her lips.

"Do you have any idea how much that turns me on?" Brooke asked.

"What does?"

"Just you being your cute self."

"Oh, really?" Haley asked, trailing a finger across Brooke's jaw.

"Yea," Brooke breathed in.

"Oh well," Haley smiled, shrugging her shoulders as she rolled back off of Brooke and went back to getting ready for school.

"You're a tease!" Brooke called as Haley walked to the bathroom.

"Take a cold shower!" Haley called back with a laugh.

"Only if you'll take one with me," Brooke smiled from the bathroom doorway.

Haley turned back to the mirror with a sad smile. Brooke's smile faded as she walked over to Haley, wrapping her arms her waist as she stood behind the smaller girl. Brooke kissed the back of her head.

"I was only joking," Brooke assured her.

"I know," Haley said with a faint smile as she brought up her hand to graze Brooke's cheek gently.

Brooke buried her head in the crook of Haley's neck tiredly. She made the mistake of breathing in and was enveloped in the alluring smell of vanilla that was so positively Haley. Brooke found herself wondering if Haley tasted as sweet as she smelled. She took a deep breath, pulling back. Haley was clearly already stressed about the pending finals, the last thing she needed was Brooke making advances on her.

"You take a shower first," Brooke smiled at her in the mirror. "I'll go get some breakfast ready."

"Thanks," Haley returned the smile as Brooke kissed her cheek, giving her waist a light squeeze.


+++++++OTH++++++


Brooke watched Haley collect her things from her locker. She was really worried about her. Haley had sat through breakfast without so much as a word. She hardly even ate anything, and now, she was visibly pale with nerves.

Brooke frowned as she closed her own locker. She knew Haley was stressing out. This last week meant everything to her. In order to graduate as their class's valedictorian, Haley needed to finish the year with straight A's. It had been Haley's dream since she was little to graduate at the top of her class, so Brooke needed to think of a way to help her relax and fast, or she might pass out before she even made it to her advanced calculus final which was scheduled for today.

A smirk grew on Brooke's face as she strode over to Haley's locker confidently.

"You know," she whispered huskily in Haley's ear as she walked up behind her. "I'm finding it to be extremely hard to not kiss you."

Haley's breath caught in her throat as she felt Brooke's warm breath against her ear and heard her hungry voice that sent shivers down her spine.

"And why is that?" she asked shakily.

"Because you smell insatiable," she replied, leaning closer so that her lips grazed Haley's ear as she spoke. A soft moan escaped Haley's lips, and Brooke struggled to keep herself at bay. She only wanted to make Haley relax, not pressure her, but that moan coming from those soft lips nearly sent her over the edge of self-control.

"So," Brooke laughed nervously. "I'm going to go, because if I don't, I'm going to jump you right here in the hall, and well I don't want to be late for my history final. So, I'll see you for lunch?"

"Yea," Haley replied, laughing slightly herself.

Brooke smiled, seeing that Haley was finally relaxing. "Don't worry Haley; you're going to kick butt. After all, I don't call you tutor girl for nothing," she said with a wink as she walked away.

"Brooke!" Haley called as Brooke started to disappear into the crowded hall, full of students rushing to their first period.

"Yea?" she asked, turning around.

"Thanks," Haley smiled.

Brooke shrugged, "Anything for you."

Haley felt her heart flutter as she watched Brooke walk away. She wasn't sure what she had done to deserve someone so perfect, but she was thanking God for every minute of it. She closed her locker, humming to herself. The crowded hall started to thin out, but she took her time. Her final didn't start till nine, so she had an hour to prepare for the exam in the tutor center. However, she didn't feel like she needed it. At that moment, she felt she could do anything. But that didn't stop her from rushing to the tutor center for a slight brush up. After all, she wouldn't be Tutor Girl if she didn't.

Haley turned the hall and ran straight into something solid, causing her to fall back. Two all too familiar hands caught her to keep her from falling. She looked up to see two strikingly blue eyes staring back at her. Her breath caught in her throat for a much different reason than it had only moments before.

"Nathan?" she questioned fearfully.


++++++++OTH+++++++


"Hey," he replied, not sure whether to smile or frown, but relaxed somewhat when he realized Haley was going through the same dilemma.

"What are you doing here?" Haley blurted out.

Nathan looked around the empty hall, "Can we go somewhere to talk?"

Haley gave him a confused look but nodded, "I was on my way to the tutor center anyway, so sure."

Nathan gave her a small smile before he started walking to the tutor center, but not before making sure Haley was following him. Haley closed the door behind her and joined him at a table, but quickly changed her mind and hopped up to sit on one of the counters instead.

Nathan watched her, trying to decide the best way to start a conversation.

"What are you doing here Nathan?" she asked again.

"I have to take finals in order to graduate," he replied.

"You've missed a lot of school," Haley commented. "You think you're ready for finals?"

Nathan laughed slightly.

"What?"

"Nothing," he smiled. "It's just, our marriage is falling apart, I left without any explanation, I haven't seen you in weeks, and all you care about are grades. Nice to see you haven't changed, Tutor Girl."

"That's not all I care about."

"Really?" Nathan asked hopefully, standing from the table.

"Yea, and by the way, Brooke's the only one allowed to call me that," she replied. God, how she wished Brooke were there. She would know what to do, or at least, she would be able to calm the fearful feeling that was growing deep inside of her as Nathan walked towards her. "And so, like you said, you left without so much as an explanation. So where the hell have you been Nathan?"

His face fell, "Well, I just really needed to figure some things out, you know? So, I went stay with a friend for a little while."

"No, Nathan, not just for the past few weeks. I mean for the past few months, where were you?"

He looked at the floor, "I was hurting Hales."

"And like I wasn't? I needed you Nathan," she choked, struggling to hold back the tears. "I needed my husband there with me. I kept thinking that if only I had you by my side, then maybe, I would be able to make it through this, but you were never there."

He stepped closer as a tear rolled down her cheek, "No, baby, don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry."

Haley had to restrain herself from saying that Brooke was the only one allowed to call her baby as well.

"Really?" she asked. "Because coming from a guy that I've cried myself to sleep over for so many nights, I find that hard to believe."

Nathan looked her in the eye, and the pain was evident on his face, but Haley didn't care. She wanted to hurt him as much as he hurt her, as much as he was still hurting her.

"Haley, look, I'm sorry, ok? I was just so lost and so messed up that I didn't know what to do," he stepped closer and took Haley's hands in his own, unable to see how uncomfortable he was making her. Haley frowned--Brooke would be able to see that. She was always able to read exactly what Haley was feeling.

"But, I'm here now, right? And that's all that matters. So, now, we can start working on our marriage again, and get back to where we used to be. Do you remember how good it was between us?" he asked hopefully. More tears started to fall as Haley remembered how it used to be, and she nodded. Brooke was right; she would always love Nathan.

"Don't you want to get back to that place?" he ran a hand along her cheek, and she looked up at him nervously.

"Don't you want to get back to us?" he asked, leaning in.

"I-" Haley opened her mouth to respond, but was silenced as Nathan pressed his lips against hers. Haley froze, not sure of what was going on. Her brain was telling her that this was right, that this is how it should be. She and her husband, together. But her heart was screaming otherwise. She pulled away and slapped Nathan across the face.

Haley immediately regretted it when she saw a flash of rage cross his eyes, but it quickly vanished and was replaced by sadness.

"What was that for?" he asked softly.

"Nathan, you can't just come here after months of ignoring me--the hardest months of my life might I add--and expect me to welcome you with open arms. It doesn't work that way."

"Don't you still love me?"

"Yes, Nathan, I love you. You know that I always will. But, I needed you. I needed you beside me, with me, always. But, you weren't there, and it hurt like hell. I hit rock bottom several times before realizing that you weren't ever going to be there. So, that's when I came to the conclusion that I would have to do it on my own. Of course, I wasn't completely on my own. My friends have been really great--"

"Our friends," Nathan reminded her.

"Excuse me?"

"You said your friends. They're my friends too Haley."

"Really?" she asked. "Because last time I checked, when a "friend" is in the hospital, you go visit them. Last time I checked, you don't make a huge mistake like shaving points in a basketball game, and then leave a "friend" behind to deal with the after math. Last time I checked--"

"Ok, ok. I get your point," he sighed, growing aggravated. "But what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you were wrong before--when you said our marriage was failing. Because, I'm far as I'm concerned, there is no marriage."

Haley hopped down from the counter, but Nathan grabbed her by the arm and held her in place. Haley immediately regretted closing the door.

"Let go."

"Haley, I know you're upset, but be reasonable. Our marriage isn't over."

"I'm sorry Nathan," she said, trying to twist out of his tight grip. "But I've moved on."

"What?" he asked incredulously. "Who is he?"

"No," she shook her head, wincing as his grip tightened. "That's not what I meant. I mean with us. I've moved on. There came a point where I had to make a decision to move on with my life, and I did."

"You can't have moved on that fast Haley, I know you. You wouldn't give up that easy. Unless, there was someone else involved. Now, who is he?" he growled.

"There's nobody else Nathan," she insisted, shaking under his grip. The tears that were now falling were for a whole different reason than before. "And I didn't give up; I just realized that it wasn't worth fighting for. I needed to go on with my life."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Nathan, please you're hurting me," she cried.

"And you're not hurting me?"

"No, I mean you're seriously hurting me," Haley replied, managing to finally break free from his grip. Nathan's eyes widened at the bruises that were already beginning to form on her upper arm.

"Haley, I'm so sorry," he apologized. "You know I would never hurt you on purpose. I'm just...I'm so lost. And I need you Hales, I need you so much."

So many emotions were coursing through her, fear anger sadness love confusion, that she was finding it hard to decide on just one.

"So, whose house were you staying at?" she asked, trying to bide her some time. Maybe if she calmed him down enough, she would be able to make it in out of this in one piece. Well, physically at least.

Nathan looked down at the floor guiltily, and Haley felt her stomach churn.

"Nathan?"

"I was at Taylor's house," he whispered.

"You were what?" she asked incredulously. Anger was definitely winning the battle of emotions.

"I went stay at Taylor's house."

"So, my husband went stay at my sister's house, and neither of you bothered to tell me?" her voice was starting to rise.

"She was just doing me a favor," Nathan replied.

"A favor? A favor would be telling me that my husband wasn't on the side of the road somewhere, the victim of a drunk driving accident. What she did was not a favor."

"Haley, it's no big deal."

"No big deal? Nathan, I've been worried sick about you. There were some days that I couldn't even get out of bed because I missed you so much--" A sudden unsettling feeling came over her as she thought about the guilty look on Nathan's face when she had asked where he had been staying.

"Oh God," she whispered, shakily. She placed a hand on the counter behind her to steady herself.

"What?" he asked.

"Nathan, tell me you didn't sleep with her," Haley begged. "Please, tell me that you didn't have sex with my sister...again."

Nathan opened his mouth, but Haley shook her head. She could see the answer in his eyes.

"How could you?" she asked, fighting back the sob that was forming in the back of her throat.

"Haley, no, let me explain--" he said, reaching out to her, but she moved out of his grasp.

Haley felt her heart break all over again as she looked back at him as she opened the door.

"I'll be sending the divorce papers," she said softly, through the tears before closing the door behind her.

"Haley!" Nathan called after her.


+++++++++OTH+++++++


Brooke smiled down at her test paper. Only forty-five minutes into the test, and she was already finished. Yet, she frowned as nervousness came over her. She looked up to see Haley through the door window, rushing past.

She looked at the clock and knew something was wrong. Haley should have been in the tutor center, getting ready for her final. Brooke's hand shot up.

"Yes Miss Davis?"

"May I go to the restroom?"

"Not until you're finished with your exam."

"But I am," she replied.

The teacher looked up at her curiously and motioned for Brooke to walk to her desk. Brooke handed the teacher her test paper and smiled at the look of surprise on her face.

"Well then Miss Davis, you are free to go."

"Thank you," Brooke nodded her smile fading as she began to worry about Haley. She quickly gathered her things and exited the classroom. She looked at the direction that Haley had been coming from.

"Oh God," she whispered as she saw a tall dark-haired boy walking the other way. Her heart was torn between finding Haley and kicking Nathan's ass. Brooke turned the other way and hurried after Haley, trying to figure out where the tutor could have gone. She hurried past the lockers and was swept over by a recent memory. A small smile came over her as she realized where Haley was.

Brooke opened the door to the janitorial closet to find Haley huddled in a corner. Brooke felt her heart fall and shatter to a million pieces at the sight of Haley so small and broken. She rushed over to her, and putting her arms around her, made her stand up. Brooke wrapped her arms tighter around the smaller girl, and Haley buried her face into Brooke's shoulder, soaking her shirt with her tears.

"It's ok," Brooke whispered, rocking them back and forth slowly. "I'm here now."

Haley leaned back to look Brooke in the face. Her shoulders were shaking with sobs.

"It's--Nath--an--he's--"

"Shh," Brooke soothed, bringing her hands to Haley's face. "I know. I just saw him. Now, I need you to calm down. Okay?"

Haley's breathing was short and rapid as she struggled for air in between sobs.

"Ok, hunny, you're scaring me," Brooke said gently, trying to stay calm. "You need to take a deep breath."

Haley closed her eyes and more tears started to pour out as she shook her head. Brooke struggled to keep her own tears in check. She wrapped her arms around Haley once more and pulled her close, whispering comfort into her ear. Eventually, the sound of Brooke's voice and the feeling of her warmth was enough to make Haley at least calm enough to breathe properly.

Brooke continued to rub a soothing hand up and down Haley's back, relaxing as she felt her calming down.

"Are you ok?" Brooke whispered in her ear. She felt Haley shake her head against her shoulder.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Haley took a deep shaky breath as she pulled back slightly, but stayed in Brooke's arms. Brooke had the sudden urge to kiss her. Most people look horrible after crying like she had been, but not Haley. Her eyes were shining, and her eyelashes were long and dark, and the tears made her cheeks glisten, but Brooke held herself in check.

"I was on my way to the tutor center to study, and I ran into Nathan. He asked if we could talk, so I said sure. So, we went to the tutor center, and we started talking," Haley said, silent tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"And what did he want? I mean, what is he doing here?"

"He's here to take finals, and he wants to get back together."

"Oh," was all Brooke could say as she felt her felt her heart drop, and a queasy feeling came over her.

"So, I told him no," Haley continued, and Brooke couldn't help but smile as she started to rub her hands up and down Haley's arms. "I told him that I moved on with my life. Well, of course he freaked out. He asked who the guy was. I tried explaining it to him, but he wouldn't listen--"

"Haley, he didn't hurt you, did he?" Brooke asked cautiously.

Haley shook her head, knowing that if she spoke, Brooke would be able to see right through her. However, when Brooke's hands passed over the fresh bruises, Haley couldn't hide the wince.

"Haley?" Brooke asked, her eyes growing wide. Haley pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest, but Brooke stepped forward and gently pulled Haley's arms away. She carefully lifted Haley's sleeve an inch or two and revealed several bruises around her upper arm.

Haley bit her lip, expecting Brooke to get mad. She waited for Brooke to blow up and storm out after Nathan, but she was surprised to look and find tears forming in Brooke's eyes.

"Haley, I'm so sorry," she said. "I should have been there for you. I'm never letting you out of my sight again, I swear it."

Haley smiled as her heart ached for the girl in front of her, "No, it's not your fault. Don't even for one second think that it is, you hear me?" she asked, taking Brooke's hands in her own.

Brooke nodded.

"Besides," Haley laughed nervously. "That isn't even the worst of it."

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked, her guilt and sadness quickly being replaced by anger.

"Well, Nathan said he had been staying with a friend."

"Yes?"

"And when I asked which friend, he told me he had been staying with Taylor," Haley replied, new tears now forming.

Brooke squeezed her hands gently, "Hey, ok, so he's an asshole. And seriously, did you suspect any better from your sister? But I mean, in my book that is no where near as bad as him laying a hand on you."

Haley bit her lip, knowing that she may have been wrong about Brooke blowing up before, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't be wrong twice.

"They slept together," Haley said softly.

"They did what?"

"They slept together," Haley repeated. She swore she could see flames in Brooke's eyes.

"I'm going to kill him," she growled, moving to walk out the closet.

"Brooke, no," Haley said, reaching out to grab her hand. "He's not worth it. Besides, it's not like I've been entirely innocent in that matter either."

"Haley?" Brooke asked in amazement. "You can't be serious. You're comparing a few meaningless nights with your sister and then him running back to you to what we have?"

"No," Haley replied quickly, wiping away a few tears. "It's just. It's ok. This just makes it easier to completely break free of him, you know? And I don't want you doing something stupid just because I'm upset."

"Haley, I would do anything for you," Brooke said honestly.

"I know," Haley said, taking Brooke's face in her hands. "I know you would, but I'm asking you not to."

Brooke sighed, but nodded, "Ok."

"Thank you," Haley replied, pulling Brooke into a hug.

"So, are you ok now?" Brooke asked softly.

"Yea," she answered, burying her face into Brooke's neck.

"You're lying," Brooke told her as she felt the tears roll down her neck.

"I'm sorry," Haley said, pulling away slightly, trying to wipe the tears away. "I shouldn't be like this. I mean, I have you now. I shouldn't let him upset me this much."

Brooke pulled Haley's hands away from her face and smiled as she watched the tears fall. She rested her own hands on the tutor’s waist, rubbing soft circles with her thumbs.

"It's ok," she replied with a slight shrug. "It's ok."

Haley looked up into her eyes for a second, before jumping up, and throwing her arms around Brooke's neck as she kissed her firmly. Brooke couldn't hold back the moan as Haley's body crashed into hers. Her arms wrapped around Haley's waist to hold her there, as she tried to keep up with the smaller girls hungry kisses.

Brooke found herself breathing hard in no time. She shivered in delight as she felt Haley's tongue run across her bottom lip. She opened her mouth, immediately granting access. Her hands traveled down, over Haley's hips to her upper thighs, where Brooke bent down slightly, lifted the smaller girl up. Haley wrapped her legs around Brooke's waist, without breaking contact. Brooke backed her into a wall, where she was able to feel the full effect of Haley's body against hers

The two broke apart, both breathing heavily. Brooke looked Haley in the eyes and was scared at what she found there. The familiar mixture of caring and passion and lust that Brooke had come to crave was there, but there something new. There was need. Haley needed Brooke, but not just in a physical way. She needed her there, beside her, and it scared Brooke to be needed like that, especially since she knew that she needed Haley just as much.

"You are so amazing," Haley whispered, pushing a strand of hair behind Brooke's ear.

"Back at you," Brooke smiled.

"Unfortunately, no matter how much I want to continue this, I have to go," she smiled back.

"Go? Where?"

"Take my final."

Brooke pouted, "But I was just getting warmed up."

Haley tightened her legs around her to pull her closer, and kissed her softly.

"I know, but I have to go."

"See you for lunch?" Brooke asked hopefully.

"Definitely."

Brooke sighed, backing up as Haley let her legs fall, and Brooke lowered her to the floor.

"So?" Brooke asked as Haley opened the door.

"No," she shook her head. "But thanks to you, I will be."

Brooke smiled as she watched her girlfriend walk down the hall.