<sup>The sun gently glinted off her hair as she ran her fingers through the chestnut locks. It wasn't much warmer out, but it was at least nice enough to take a walk. Sure, it might be snowing a bit, but Brooke loved the snow, just not the cold weather that came along with it.

Eyes drifted along the path to the center, a small gazebo-type thing standing directly in the center. Steps were even now, placed carefully on the pathway, gaze fixed on the tiles below, not really paying attention until the steps came. She settled herself down,shoving her hands into her pockets.

Why exactly was she here? That Brooke didn't know exactly, but she'd figure it out eventually. Isn't that what always happened? A frown slipped onto her lips as she glanced down at her hands, not realy wanting to start thinking, knowing where it would lead to.

Yes, her life was kind of screwed up. That's where it always led. You know, getting worried over stupid stuff. Like now for example:

The cold wood began to get to her, causing her to straighten, pacing for a moment or two. Hands slid down her thighs, covered in a pair of older jeans, ripped across the knees. Not large like some of her other pairs, but a reasonable size.

Finally giving up on the whole warming up thing, Brooke sat back down, tracing the lines in the wood with her finger.

{ooc: I'm really bad at first posts. Sorry about that.}</sup>

<sup>Now the funny thing about the cold weather, once you were out in it for a while, you created your own warmth. But, most knew you just grew numb, therefore couldn't feel the cold weather winter provided. The one upside was the snow, and the fact that it would be warmer soon enough. But this wasn't her per say. She was a girl that loved the warm weather, and nothing but. But no, she couldn't be that kid. She was the tiny little girl, sitting at the kitchen table, alone. This hadn't changed much since her father left. It was sort of creepy the more you thought of it... You know, Brooke alone on a Friday. So unlike her in real perspective.

"Well what a surprise. I didn't expect to see you here Brooke." She jumped at the sound of someone's voice, her elbow catching on the nearest pole. Ouch. Despite the sudden reaction, she smiled. "Oh, hey, Lucky," Eyes shifted to his figure, a shiver running down her spine as she realized he was in shorts and a t-shirt. "Aren't you cold?" She clearly new the answer, it was just a matter of blurting it out.</sup>

<sup>A smile formed, shaking her head lightly. "It's fine, kind of lost in my own world," She replied, eyes moving back up to him, finally deciding to stand. Now that she was eye level with him, she could tell he'd worked up a sweat. What exactly did he know about her? Nothing much she realized. Only few actually knew what had happened, in detail at least. There had been a lot more than just getting hit by Josh... Much more than she would ever admit.

"Yeah, hit the funny-bone that's not so funny," Hands moved back into her pockets, keeping a few feet between her and Lucky. He was quite a bit taller than she, and much stronger. That's most likely why, though she did it involuntarily, not just because she was scared... Her body found its own path.

She nodded lightly, tugging her hair over her shoulder, an older habit of nervousness. "I'll bet," She agreed. Brooke ran, yes, but mostly cross-country. She had a passion for the woods, you know, being close with nature.</sup>

<sup>Brooke picked up on her own nervousness, hoping he hadn't quite caught on, but he was smart, he most likely had. Gulping down whatever she felt, she glanced back up to him, nodding in agreement. Relax. She thought, inhaling deeply to gather all emotions into one area, letting the breath out through her nose. This had always seemed to work as a child, but here? She'd have a better chance jumping off a bridge and living. Okay, now he must really think she was strange. You know, being there was a couple good feet in between them. This is when she began to wonder how much he knew about her, how much he had heard. You could hear anything through gossip. That's the one thing she really didn't want to be caught up in, the Josh situation wise. "Yeah, are you sure you are okay?" Gaze moved back to him as he spoke again, fumbling for her words. In truth, the answer was definitely no. But what would she say if she told the truth? Oh, how Brooke hated to lie. This was just an exception to the rule... Every rule had exceptions, right?

"Er, yeah..." She said, unsure that was too truthful sounding, but what did it matter? He probably figured her out a bit action wise. "Did you want to like... Walk or something?" She asked, peering through her fingers as she swiped a piece of stray hair from her face. This might strike up some kind of conversation, maybe get her to loosen up a bit.</sup>

<sup>Brooke felt herself immediately relax as they began walking, able to concentrate on their conversation, or the coming one. She allowed herself to walk beside him, this actually looked normal now. "So, what's new in the life of Lucky Maxwell?" She asked, a real smile forming now, not the knockoff she placed for just looks. You could tell by the way small dimples formed at the corners of her mouth, like she was actually loosening enough to be herself. Her mind seemed to clear, focus remaining to Lucky.

Maybe she was trusting him, for he was extremely nice, and had a forgiving voice. This was something she often looked for, after all, she was pretty good at judging character as of now.

{this post = sucky on my part}</sup>

<sup>Brooke's shoulders weren't so rigid anymore, and a half smile remained as she listened to him. Yes, this was definitely a good sign. Her eyes actually met his, nodding along with his words. She was a pretty good lier when she needed to be, but also very good at telling the truth. This was one of those truth telling moments, actually being herself for once. "Quite agreed. Everything has kind of just sprung on Loserville, hasn't it?" This wasn't much of a questions, but a person could judge it either way.

Her eyes caught the smile, allowing one to slip onto her features as well. "Well, just cramming in for graduation. I started to tutor this one freshman. An eighteen year old freshman in dire need of help," She replied, nodding lightly as to confirm what she'd just said. "Anyway, how's that 'understanding' of Loserville coming?"</sup>

<sup>To Brooke, honesty and trust was the most important thing between friends and any other relationship. She was an easy person to trust, and had been known to warm up to people quickly, depending on their attitude. Right now, it was working at a normal pace. She liked exactly how Lucky won over your trust, and just one smile had her jumping into its clutches. Ah, yes, this was the easier part to her... The more you put forth, the more you're likely to get out of her.

"Well, Loserville isn't very big... Things get around easy. Exactly what most of us hate, you know?"

Slim shoulders rose in a light shrug, smiling lightly. Eyes moved back up to him as they walked.

"Yeah, but at least we're all hurrying for something... Not the usual rush and wait. I'll be extremely glad to get out of high school,"

There was a slight pause, instinctively biting her lower lip in thought. This was a very bad habit she'd picked up, but it was cute nonetheless. Preparing a question, but holding back as she decided to answer his first.

"Not at all. It's just too many emotions in one place... Makes for one hell of a jumble,"

Brooke inhaled deeply, enjoying the crisp winter air... For the moment anyway.

"You think you're gonna miss high school?"

She asked, tilting her head to look up at him, eyes studying his face.</sup>

<sup>If anyone should know about things spreading so quickly that you couldn't even blink before hearing something that happened three seconds ago across town. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but for certain people by which drama seemed to cling to, yes, to them it was a living nightmare. Brooke kind of liked this though, she loved to be in tune with what was happening around her, though she could handle surprises when they came, she hated larger things... Especially if it had to do with her.

"The teachers have gotten extremely buggy, pushing due dates up and all. If they're so anxious, they should move graduation up, with all the time we're going to have at the end."

Her tone was joking, shaking her head lightly to get herself to believe that things weren't that bad, just... Way more drama than she'd like to have in her life. Walking in the hallways was like being locked in a cage with it. But drama was one of those things you can't live with, but you can't live without it. You love to hate it, but you hate to love it. Following it all, here?

"Now, imagine Loserville with twice as much people... Now there's what we've got to worry about."

Brooke pointed out, imagining it in her own mind. There'd be twice as much drama, and a whole lot more people to deal with. God, they'd have to do some major renovations on the place to accommodate all those people.

"Yeah, the people are great. You definitely don't need to pick up a newspaper to find out what's going on around here, but they've got an edge... As far as high school goes, I'm not too worried."</sup>