Looking For Solid Ground

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





Lucas slowly opened the door to the room that they were told was Peyton’s and allowed Haley to enter first. She took a deep breath, not knowing what they would find. However, a smile grew on her face at the scene they walked in on. Peyton was sitting up in bed, watching tv, while Brooke was sound asleep in a chair, still in her dress from the night before. Even after spending the night in the hospital, she still looked stunning.



“Hey, you guys. Bout time you got here,” Peyton greeted them with a smile.



Lucas and Haley rushed to her side, both hugging her carefully.



“Are you ok?” Haley asked worriedly.



“Perfect,” Peyton winked.



“Is she ok?” Lucas asked, nodding at Brooke who looked to be unconscious.



“Yea, she’s just exhausted. She stayed up all night. You probably should wake her up, though. She’s gonna be sore from sleeping in that position.”



“Oh, let me do it,” Haley asked, excitedly.



“Uh, ok?” Lucas questioned.



Haley grinned like a kid in a candy shop. She went over and carefully whispered something into Brooke’s ear. She stepped back quickly as Brooke jumped up.



“Brad Pitt? Where?”



She was greeted by a room full of laughter.



“Not funny you guys. I was having a good dream.”



“Good morning to you too,” Lucas smiled.



“Sorry,” she laughed, sitting up properly in her chair and stretching. “It was a long night.”



Haley nodded as she squeezed Brooke’s hand knowingly. Lucas looked at Haley suggestively, then glanced at Peyton, and back at Haley.



Haley nodded, “Hey Brooke, how about we bring you home so you can take a shower and get changed?”



“But I don’t wanna leave,” she pouted.



Haley felt her heart melt at the pout, “I know, but I think we should leave these two lovers alone for a little while. And hey, I’ll drive so you can sleep on the way there.”



“Really?”



“Really,” Haley nodded.



“Ok, let’s go,” she replied, standing up excitedly. They both gave Peyton a hug and walked out of the hospital room, leaving her and Lucas to straighten everything out about the previous night’s events.





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





“So,” Brooke said, entering Rachel’s room with a smile. She was freshly showered and changed.



Haley didn’t look up from the magazine she was reading while sitting in Brooke's bed, leaning against the headboard.



Brooke jumped onto her bed, and onto Haley’s lap, straddling her legs, facing her.



“Hey,” she smiled, dimples full out.



“Hey,” Haley replied blushing at the girl’s closeness.



Brooke laughed. She loved making Haley blush, especially since it was so easy for her to do.



“So you want to talk about last night?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.



“Uh, sure,” Haley said, looking back down at the magazine. “I mean I was scared as hell when you told me that Derek had Peyton. You must have been horrified.”



Brooke sighed, taking the magazine from Haley and placing it on her bedside table.



“I meant before that. What happened in the locker room?”



Haley continued looking down, avoiding Brooke’s gaze.



“Hey,” Brooke said gently. She placed a soft finger under Haley’s chin and lifted it up. Haley looked her in the eye and knew it was a losing battle. She couldn’t say no to Brooke.



“Yea,” she sighed. "About that--I'm sorry."



“Ugh-uh. No way. You don’t get to apologize for being hurt, especially when it was partially my fault.”



“It’s not your fault,” Haley replied. “I’ve just been trying to keep everything inside for so long now. I just figured that maybe if I ignored it that it would all go away, and I certainly didn’t want to bother any of you guys with it. But I don’t know what happened, last night I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. It all got to be too much.”



“Of course it got to be too much Haley. You shouldn’t have to go about your life keeping everything inside, certainly not everything that you’ve been through. Plus I’m you’re friend--you get to bother me with your problems; it comes with the package,” Brooke smiled.



“Are you sure?” Haley asked. Her voice was full of doubt.



Brooke frowned at the girl in front of her. She hated seeing her so insecure. She got off Haley’s lap and walked over to the wall, turning off the lights. Haley’s eyes followed her as Brooke got back on the bed and lay down. Haley looked down at her curiously.



“Come here,” Brooke whispered. Her voice sent shivers down Haley’s spine. She slowly lay down, facing Brooke, but keeping a space between them. Brooke rolled her eyes and pulled Haley closer until they were mere inches apart. She took Haley’s face carefully in her hands, making her look her in the eye once more.



“Are you ok?” Brooke asked. The warmth of her breath on Haley’s face sent another set of shivers down her spine.



“Yea,” Haley lied.



“No." Brooke said firmly. She closed her eyes and took a long, patient breath. When she reopened them, she looked at Haley openly.



"Are you okay?" The sincerity in her eyes was enough to make Haley drop her defenses.



Haley shook her head, biting her lip in an attempt to fight the tears, but it was a losing battle.



"No," she replied softly.



Brooke sighed with relief at finally being able to get the smaller girl to open up to her.



“Come here sweetie.” Brooke wrapped her arms around Haley, closing the inches that separated them. Haley folded into Brooke, snuggling into her neck. The tears pouring down her cheeks as her body shook with silent sobs. Brooke just held her close and whispered in her ear that everything was going to be ok.





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





The feeling of something vibrating in her back pocket caused Brooke to wake from her deep sleep, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. The familiar faint smell of vanilla surrounded her, and she was warmed to the core despite the fact that she wasn't under the covers. She finally opened her eyes with a smile.



She looked down to find Haley still in her arms, their legs intertwined. The tutor was clinging to Brooke's shirt and still had tear-stained cheeks, yet for the first time in a while, she seemed peaceful. Another round of vibrations from her pocket caused Brooke to groan inwardly. She carefully reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. Lucas's name was flashing across the screen.



"Hey," she greeted quietly.



"You okay?"



"Yea, I just kind of fell asleep. I guess last night finally caught up with me."



Haley started to stir next to her. Brooke smiled as she wrinkled her nose cutely, trying to fight the inevitable.



"Ok, because we hadn't heard from you guys in a while, and we just wanted to make sure everything was ok."



"Yea, we're fine. Sorry to make you guys worry," she replied as Haley finally opened her eyes. She looked at Brooke curiously, but Brooke just placed a kiss on her forehead. Haley closed her eyes lazily at the feeling of Brooke's soft lips against her skin, causing Brooke to smile.



"Haley's with you?"



"Yep, do you want to talk to her?"



Realizing who was on the phone, Haley scooted up until she was even with Brooke and pressed her cheek against hers, so she could listen in. Brooke tried to hide the sudden intake of breath that was caused by the change in position.



"No, that's fine. Do you guys want to meet up for supper or something?"



"Supper? What time is it? How long have we slept?"



"It's only 4:30, but I skipped lunch, and figured the two of you did also, and I know how Haley gets when she doesn't eat every two hours, so I figured why not?"



Haley looked at Brooke, with puppy dog eyes and nodded, agreeing with Lucas.



Brooke let out a laugh, "Yea, that sounds good. We don't want little Haley here to starve now do we?"



Lucas laughed, "She's giving you the puppy dog eyes huh?”



“Yep.”



“It’s impossible to say no to her when she does that, and I think she knows it.”



“There’s no point trying to fight it; I’ve given in,” Brooke agreed. “So, do you want us to pick up some burgers at the cafe and just meet you guys at the hospital?”



“Sounds good to me.”



“Ok, see you then Luke.”



“You too.”



Brooke closed her phone and turn to Haley who was still giving her those eyes, “You can stop now. We’re going to eat soon.”



“Yay!” Haley exclaimed, and not thinking, she threw her hands upwards, banging them on the headboard.



“Shit,” she cursed, drawing her hands back quickly.



“Aww,” Brooke smiled, trying not to laugh. “Did you hurt yourself?”



“Shut up,” Haley replied, trying not to laugh at her own clumsiness.



“Hey, keep it up, and I’ll make you pay for the food.”



“I love you,” Haley said, smiling at her sweetly.



“That’s what I thought,” Brooke replied, enjoying the feeling that the adorable girl’s smile sent rushing through her.





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





"Hey, can we stop by my apartment real quick?" Haley asked as they got back into Brooke's car after picking up the food from Karen's Cafe.



"Sure, what do you need?"



"I just wanted to leave a note for Nathan telling him where I am incase he decides to go home today."



Brooke nodded sadly. She wished that Nathan would open his eyes and see what he's doing to the poor girl sitting next to her and see how much he is hurting her.



"You want me to come?" Brooke asked as she pulled into a parking spot.



"No, it's ok. I'll be back in a few minutes," Haley replied, getting out the car. She walked up the steps to the second story, and pulled her key out her pocket, unlocking the door.



She walked over to the counter, finding a piece of paper and a pen, and began to write Nathan a note saying where she'd be.



"Where have you been?" a harsh voice asked, causing Haley to jump.



"Nathan," she sighed, turning around. "You scared me."



"Sorry," he replied, his voice much softer now. "It's just, I heard about Peyton this morning. So, I came to check on you, and you weren't here, so I started to worry."



"I'm sorry. I should have called. I just figured you'd be hung over," she replied, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.



Nathan cringed, "I guess I deserve that."



"No you don't. I'm sorry. It's just—it’s been a long day."



"How is she? Peyton?" Nathan asked.



"She's going to be fine. I think they're going to release her tomorrow. Brooke and I are headed over there right now with some food."



"Brooke?" Nathan questioned, looking at her surprised.



"Yea, we're ok. It would be silly for me to be mad at her for what happened," Haley replied. She began to shift uncomfortably, wondering when had it become so awkward for her to be in the same room as Nathan.



"That's good."



"Yea, hey, do you want to come with us? To the hospital, I mean. I'm sure Peyton would love to see you there," Haley said, her eyes full of hope.



But the shine in Nathan's eyes faded, "I can't go back there Hales." He looked to be on the verge of tears.



"Baby-" Haley reached out to him, but he shrunk away from her touch. She fought the tears she knew were coming.



"You should go. You know how Brooke gets when you make her wait too long," he said with a fake smile.



"Nathan," she replied, her voice pleading.



"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head.



Haley closed her eyes, nodding. She turned away and walked to the door.



"Haley," Nathan said as she was about to close the door behind her. She turned back nervously.



"Yes?"



"I do still love you, you know? I always will. Always," he told her, his heart breaking.



"And forever," Haley smiled softly, before closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath, trying to steady the shakiness. She wasn't sure why, but she felt as if she didn't know when she was going to see him again.





"You okay?" Brooke asked worriedly as Haley got back into the car, visibly upset.



"Nathan was home."



Brooke shifted in her seat to face her, "And?"



Haley looked her in the eyes. "I think we just broke up," she replied, her voice full of heart breaking honesty.



"Haley-"



But she shook it off, "Not now, Brooke. I can't do this now. Let's just go to the hospital. Besides, Peyton has enough to deal with without me being all emotional."



Brooke frowned, but decided to honor her friend’s wishes. Shifting back in her seat to face forward, she put the car in reverse, backing out of the parking lot, then pulled onto the road towards the hospital.