TROUVAILLE | BROOKE DAVIS

two.

"Nathan Scott, Jerk or Jock?" Haley read with a laugh, "Please tell me you didn't actually publish this?"

"Please," Parker said as she snatched the school's newspaper from her best friend's hands. Her eyes scanned over the paper that listed the scores from Friday's game, "My editor would eat me alive. You know I should have written about how the basketball team stole a bus Friday."

Haley let out another laugh, "You could title it the Tree Hill Bandits."

The two girls were joined by the third member of their group. He sat at the table abruptly, placing his bookbag in the open seat. He pulled out a sandwich and began to eat it in what Parker thought was an aggressive manner.

"Hey Parker. Hey Haley. How are you guys doing this fine day?" Parker said in a deep voice.

"I'm sorry, I was too busy thinking about the way Shakespeare crafted Julius Caesar," Haley said, using a voice similar to Parker. The two girls shared a laugh as Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha, very funny," Lucas replied. He reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of water, "The strangest thing happened today."

"Peyton looked at you?" Parker teased.

"I bet she talked to him and he didn't look like an idiot," Haley said nudging Parker. The two shared a laugh again.

"Are you two done?" Lucas asked, "Whitey talked to me."

"Coach Durham?" Haley asked, "Shut up! What did he say?"

"He wants me on the team," Lucas said nonchalantly.

Parker's eyes grew wide with excitement, "That's amazing! Next thing you know I'll be taking pictures and writing articles about Lucas Scott!"

"Slow down," Lucas said with a chuckle, "I said no."

"Are you kidding me?" Haley asked.

"Are you stupid?" Parker asked at the same time, "Lucas think about this. You love the game, and this could be an opportunity for you to get noticed by colleges."

"And Peyton," Haley added with a wide smile.

Lucas glanced over Parker's shoulder and the other two girls turned to find him staring at Peyton's table. She sat beside Nathan Scott who had his arm wrapped around her shoulder possessively. Seated on the other side of her was her best friend, Brooke Davis. Nathan was throwing food at some freshman at another table and everyone was laughing about it. Parker frowned as she looked away from the table.

"I don't understand how you can like her. I mean look at who she hangs out with," Haley said, a look of disgust on her face.

Parker glances nervously at her food as she thinks of the conversation she and Brooke had. She didn't go to the party of course, but she also never told Lucas and Haley.

"Brooke invited me to her party last week," Parker said looking between her friends before adding, "Well us."

Haley's eyes went wide, and a smile grew on Lucas's lips, "We got invited to a party and didn't tell us?"

"Technically, I got invited. She said I could bring you two along if I felt like it," Parker says with a teasing smile. Lucas rolls his eyes at Parker's words, taking a sip of his water.

"Taylor!" Parker glanced up at the exclamation of her last name and saw one of the guys from the wrestling team approaching their table, "Loved the article!"

"You deserved it Matthew. I hope you beat the Tree Hill record this year."

The wrestler, Matthew, smiled at her, "Thanks."

"No, thank you for the content," Parker said grinning. Matthew returned the gesture and gave Parker a wink before walking back over to his table. Parker laughed as she turned back to face her friends who were staring at her, "What?" she asked.

"He was flirting with you!" Haley exclaimed.

"Matt? No! He has a girlfriend!" she frowned as she couldn't recall if Matthew had broken up with his girlfriend or not, "I think. Besides, he just liked the article," she added.

"Parker, I'm a guy so I know that he was definitely flirting with you. And you flirted back," Lucas said, smiling knowingly at her.

"Anyway," Parker said rolling her eyes, "You should join the team."

"Yeah it's a great opportunity," Haley agreed.

"It would be, except Dan would never allow it to happen," Lucas says and as if further proving his point, the bell rings putting an end to the conversation. Parker grabs the newspaper off the table and shoves it in her bag before heading to her next class which was in the opposite direction of Haley and Lucas.

As she walks to her next class, she accidently bumps into someone. Her first instinct is to launch into a series of apologies.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," Parker apologizes as she looks up to meet the gaze of Jake Jagielski. He was a member of the Tree Hill Ravens basketball team, one of the nicer ones Jesse told her.

"It's fine," Jake told her as he adjusted the strap of his backpack, "How are you doing Parker?"

"Good," Parker answered nodding her head, "Um how are you? How's...?" she trails off, not wanting to mention Jake's daughter in the halls where wandering ears could hear. She and Jake had been partnered for an English project the previous year and he had confided in Parker about his daughter.

"I'm good," Jake answers, nodding his head, "Jenny's good. Great even. Growing bigger every day."

Parker laughs at that, her cheeks flushing as the warning bell rings, "Um it was nice bumping into you."

Jake laughed, "Feel free to bump into me anytime."

Parker nodded as she began walking to her next class, "Definitely."

"See you around," Jake said with a smile as he began walking to his class.

"Definitely?" Parker muttered to herself as she entered the classroom, "Parker you are so stupid!"

"Talking to yourself?" Brooke asked as she took a seat beside Parker, a smirk on her face.

"No," Parker said, but it didn't come out convincing. Brooke watched her for a moment, making Parker feel a little uncomfortable under her gaze, almost as though she were looking right through her.

"Sounded like it," Brooke answered, tearing her eyes away from Parker.

"Sorry," Parker apologized, though she wasn't sure why. She hadn't exactly done anything worth apologizing for.

"No need to apologize," Brooke tells her with a smile, "I guess you need to practice your social skills."

Parker rolled her eyes, but Brooke did have a point. Parker wasn't the best when it came to conversation and socializing. She usually left all the talking to Haley.

"But for what it's worth," Brooke adds on, gaining Parker's attention, "I think for what you lack in social skills can be made up in looks."

Parker laughed at Brooke's indirect compliment, "Thanks, I guess."

Brooke smiled at her, dimples on full display, "You're welcome!"

Parker watched as Brooke opened her notebook and began to doodle on the page, tuning out the teacher's lecture. It was strange, she had expected attention from the guys, but she thought that the other girls would hate her, especially Brooke. Yet Brooke was being nce to her, talking to her and trying to get her involved in her world.

As she stared at Brooke, she wondered what angle was she playing at.