Looking For Solid Ground

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



"I don't wanna look," Brooke said nervously as they walked towards the crowd that was surrounding the papers that held their scores...their fates. "No, I wanna look. No, I don't wanna look."



She kept walking towards the crowd, then walking away. Haley slipped her hand into Brooke's and squeezed it reassuringly.



"You're going to do this. You're going to go up there, and you're going to read your scores and you're going to see that you passed with flying colors.



They made their way up to the board, and Brooke searched for her name on her history classes paper.



"Wait, what are these numbers for? This is history. Why are there numbers? I don't have a number," Brooke said, starting to freak out a bit.



"Brooke," Haley smiled. "Breathe. The numbers are your student ID. They aren't allowed to post the grades using students names, so they use our ID numbers instead."



"Oh," Brooke sighed. "Ok. I knew that.."



Brooke scrolled down the list, looking for her number, then paused, "C."



"Great," Haley smiled.



They continued to move through all of Brooke's courses where she continued to get C's.



"Brooke, this is awesome. You do realize how great this is right?" Haley asked excitedly. She stopped, noticing Brooke's frown. "What's wrong?"



"I need a B in Trig."



"Ok?"



"I've only made a C in everything else. How the hell am I going to get a B in my worst subject if I've only managed a C in everything else?" she asked, clearly giving in.



"Oh no you don't," Haley said, tugging on her hand so that Brooke faced her. "You will make that B because you are smart, and you knew that material, alright?"



Brooke sighed.



"Alright?"



Brooke nodded.



"Ok," Haley smiled, "Now let's do this."



Haley guided them towards the trig paper, "Do you want me to?"



"No," Brooke shook her head. "I got this. Actually...can I do this by myself?"



Haley wasn't sure how to take that question.



"No," Brooke said quickly, seeing her face drop. "It's not that I don't want you here. It's just that if I don't get it, I don't want to have to see your face."



"But you're going to have to tell me eventually," Haley pointed out.



"Look, why don't you go look over your grades, and I'll look over this one. Ok?"



Haley didn't like the idea of Brooke having to find out on her own, but she knew why Brooke was doing it. She felt the same way actually, so she nodded, and gave Brooke's hand one final squeeze before letting it go to find her own courses grades.



She looked at the first course, "A."



She looked at the next, "A."



"A."



"A."



"A."



"A."



She had a huge smile on her face as she reached the last list, she scrolled down to her number, then across to her grade, "A."



Haley jumped into the air in celebration. She was going to be valedictorian. She quickly looked around, but couldn't find Brooke anywhere. She felt her heart sink in fear. She walked over to the trig list and scrolled down to Brooke's number, then across to her grade. Her eyes widened and her heart stopped. She turned quickly, hoping to find Brooke before she did anything stupid



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





"Brooke!" Haley called out, racing out of the school. "Shit," she sighed, seeing her car gone.



"Haley?" Peyton asked, following her out of the building. "Is everything ok?"



"I need to find Brooke," she said quickly.



"Is she alright?"



"Can you give me a ride home?" Haley asked.



"Yea, come on," Peyton said, motioning towards her car.



Haley twitched anxiously in her seat the whole ride back to the apartment. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously, hoping that Brooke would be there when she arrived.



"Thanks," Haley said quickly, hopping out of Peyton's car before it had even come to a complete stop. "I'll talk to you later!" she called over her shoulder as she ran up the stairs.



She flung open the door, letting it slam behind her. Brooke walked out of the bedroom, and both of them froze.



"You got it?" Brooke asked.



"Yea," Haley breathed, still trying to catch some air from running all the way up to the apartment. "I saw yours too."



Brooke nodded. Slowly a smile crept onto both of their faces. A glint was shining in Haley's eyes as she rushed across the living room and down the hall to jump into Brooke's open arms. Her lips crashed down onto Brooke's forcibly, causing Brooke to back into the bedroom door, causing Haley to giggle. She tightened her grip on Brooke, pulling her into a hug. Her feet were still dangling above the ground.



"I am so proud of you," she whispered in Brooke's ear. "You did it."



"We did it," Brooke whispered back, grinning from ear to ear and holding Haley tight. "We both did it baby."





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





"So, do you want to tell them together?" Brooke asked, taking another bite of pizza.



"Honestly, I think it's best we divide and conquer," Haley replied.



"Yea, that's what I was thinking."



"Although, you do have it easier," Haley pointed out.



"How come?"



"Oh, come on. Peyton is so much more open minded than Lucas is."



"True," Brooke nodded. "I can go with you when you decide you're ready."



But Haley shook his head, "No, I feel I should be the one to tell him."



"Do you know when?"



"No, I guess I'm gonna see if I can find the right moment. If not, then I'm just gonna come out and say it."



"But is there really a right moment to tell your best friend that you’re dating his ex, who, consequently, is of the same sex as you?" Brooke asked.



"Yea, no, not really," Haley couldn't help but laugh. She snuggled into Brooke on the sofa as she wrapped an arm around her. "When are you going to tell Peyton?"



"Tomorrow night. We're having a girl's night--our last one before graduation."



"It's gonna be fine," Haley said reassuringly, noticing the hesitancy in Brooke's voice.



"I hope so," Brooke replied, kissing the top of her head.



+++++++++++



"So B. Davis, how does if feel to know that you will be graduating in three days?" Peyton asked as they made themselves comfortable in her bed. A big bowl of popcorn between them, and a stack of movies ready to be played in front of them.



"It feels great," Brooke answered with a smile. "I can't believe we actually made it. The both of us. Together."



"Yea," Peyton smiled. "We really did. Life threw all it had, and we just gave it the finger."



Brooke giggled, using the remote to turn on the television.



"But you know what? I have to admit that I did not think that I would be the one graduating while worrying about a guy. I always thought you'd be the one to have someone wrapped around your finger."



Brooke sighed. It was now or never.



"Yea..."



Peyton turned to her, "I know that yea."



Brooke faced her, smiling nervously.



"Brooke Davis, have you been holding out on me?"



"I am kind of seeing someone," she replied, her hands twitching anxiously.



"Really? Oh, is it like some secret love affair? Who is he? Tell me. Tell me. Tell me," Peyton demanded excitedly, as if they were back in middle school.



"She," Brooke whispered.



"What?" Peyton asked, not hearing.



"Who is she?" Brooke corrected, more loudly this time.



Brooke saw the wheels in Peyton's brain turning as she made the connection. The blonde froze, not sure what to do.



"You mean..."



"Yea,"



"Who?" Peyton asked carefully.



Brooke met her gaze, not sure why she was feeling so guilty.



"Brooke, it has to be some amazing girl to have made you, the queen of dating males, turn. So, who is she?"



Brooke still wasn't sure how Peyton was taking it. Her expression was solid and impossible to read.



"Haley," Brooke managed, her voice coming out hoarser than normal.



"Haley?" Peyton asked incredulously. "Haley? Our Haley?"



Brooke nodded fearfully, waiting for Peyton to go off on her for once again corrupting America's youth. Peyton frowned slightly, her forehead wrinkling in thought.



"Do you care about her?" Peyton asked seriously.



"Peyton, you know I do--"



"No," she shook her head. "Do you really care about her?"



Brooke looked her in the eye, "With all my heart, and it scares me to death."



Peyton nodded, the slightest smile on her face. Brooke watched her nervously, and sighed deeply when Peyton opened her arms to her. She met the embrace, thankfully, and couldn't stop the tears from falling.



"Oh, God, I was so worried that I would lose you," she admitted through the tears.



"Lose me?" Peyton asked, pulling back slightly. "So, if I wouldn't have been ok with this, you would have chosen her?"



Brooke looked at her guiltily, waiting for the outburst, but once again it never came.



"She really does mean a lot to you," Peyton said, this time laughing a little. She pulled Brooke into another hug, holding her there.



"I'm scared," Brooke admitted.



"I'll be right beside you guys, no matter what," Peyton replied, knowing that Brooke was referring to what she thought everybody else's reactions were going to be. Peyton knew that 99% of them wouldn't be as accepting as hers.



"Thank you."



"It's what best friends do."



"Yea, well, you may have to remind Lucas that," Brooke commented, pulling out of the embrace.



Peyton frowned, "When’s Haley gonna tell him?"



"Sometime before graduation. I really don't think he's going to take it well, but she refuses to let me go with her. Maybe if you talked to him?"



Peyton shook her head, "I think Haley's right on this one. She needs to be the one to tell him. But after she does, I'll gladly knock some sense into him if need be."



Brooke smiled, "Thanks."





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



"So?" Brooke smiled the next morning at breakfast.



"So what?" Peyton replied.



"I know you are dying to ask something. Go ahead."



Peyton sighed, putting down her spoon, "How?"



Brooke raised an eyebrow she needed a little more than that.



"How did you and Haley like fall for each other?"



"How did you and Lucas--oh, wait, I know the answer to that," Brooke replied with a smirk. Peyton threw a cheerio at her.



"Not cool."



"I don't know," Brooke said honestly. "I mean, you know I've always cared about her. I don't know why, but straight away she always had a place in my heart."



Peyton nodded, urging her to continue.



"Then one day we were arguing in the kitchen, and all I wanted was for her to shut up so I could get a word in, cause you know how she gets when she on a roll, right?"



Peyton nodded again.



"So, I don't know what happened. It just seemed like the logical thing to do. So..."



"You kissed her?" Peyton laughed.



It was Brooke's turn to nod.



"How bad did she freak out? I mean, Haley isn't exactly the type to just go around kissing people...especially girls."



"You don't know the real Haley then," Brooke smiled.



"Oh, come on. I'm still trying to digest this whole thing. I'm not ready to hear about all that," Peyton protested.



"Not what I meant," Brooke responded. "I meant that like, everything just seemed to be building up to that moment. I thought it was all just harmless fun, you know we were just messing with each other, pretending to flirt. Come to find out, neither of us were pretending. It took both of us a while to come to terms with that, but once we did, god Peyton, it's been amazing. Seriously, I don't want to be anywhere except for in her arms, and when I'm away from her, I just want to cry."



Peyton smiled fondly, "You've got it bad."



‘Insanely."



"So…” Peyton began nervously, dreading the answer, but to curious to stop herself. “Have you?"



"No," Brooke shook her head. "The last thing I want to do is rush things. I know she's not ready, and frankly, neither am I, and I sure as hell am not about to ruin the best thing that's ever happened to me."



"So, when do I get to see the lovely couple?" Peyton asked.



"You wanna come now? I'm sure Haley would love to see you. I know this whole secret thing has been tough on her."



"Look at you, all protective and worrying," Peyton teased.



"And proud of it," Brooke smiled.