Lohst Without You (Pinkberry)

Chapter One

The peaceful chirping of birds was weaving through the air, serenading a dreaming blonde. The blonde rose out of her flowery bed and greeted the day with grace and dignity.

The tweeting of the house sparrows was interrupted by Brooke's Hello Kitty alarm clock beeping, and Brooke shot out of bed, slapping herself awake at five am. Brooke stretched her arms, and yawned, standing up from her bed. Good morning, sunshine. Brooke thought.

Looking in the mirror on her dresser, Brooke smiled wryly, picking up a brush. She brushed the fairy-tale golden locks into a bun, securing the bun with a hair tie. Then she picked up her make-up, deciding on a minimalistic look today. She had no one to impress. No one but her friends at school, and they didn't care if she wore make-up or not, they said she was beautiful anyway. Brooke finished by swiping on a cheery pink lipstick, and let her hair fall down, the various waves settling. She opened the dresser drawers to pick out her first-day-of-school outfit.

~~~

After a further thirty minutes or so of getting ready, Brooke made her way downstairs. As usual, her mother was at work, having taken the car (It was only for Brooke to use on the weekends). Brooke rolled her eyes, knowing she'd be riding the city train today. Last year, she would've gotten a ride from Chloe, or maybe Rich. But...Rich was having issues at home (Most of the friend group knew about Rich's dad.), and Chloe...wasn't Brooke's friend like before. Brooke mixed a kiwi smoothie.

Ever since Chloe and Madeline had started dating, Brooke felt as though she was slowly being pushed away, to a lesser spot of importance. Before she knew it, she was only just 'friends' with Chloe, not even her best friend. Of course, their friendship hadn't been exactly the same after the events of last Halloween. Sure, it seemed like Brooke had forgiven Chloe, but she was only pushing the problem away, wanting to stay friends with Chloe. Without Chloe, Brooke was only herself, nothing.

Brooke sipped from her smoothie quietly, relaxing in the quiet of the morning. The occasional noise of a dog barking, or an early commuter driving by interjecting itself. "I wish I had Chloe back..." Brooke whispered. No one answered. There was no one there to do so. Brooke sighed, and threw the rest of her smoothie away, grabbing her bag and a baseball cap. She'd better catch the next train to school.

~~~

Not really watching where she was going, Brooke stepped onto the train and ran into someone. "I'm sorry!" She chirped, backing up. The person seemed absorbed in the notebook in their hands. Looking at the person closer, she saw the familiar star barrette a certain theater geek she knew wore. "Oh, Hi, Christine!" Brooke greeted. Christine turned around and smiled, her eyes sparkling.

"Brooke! Hi!" Christine returned cheerily, moving so that Brooke could get onto the train before it started moving. The two sat down in seats near the doors and started chatting about the most random topics, before Christine brought up the fact that Brooke wasn't with Chloe. "So, why are you riding the train? Don't you usually get a ride from Chloe?" Christine was genuinely curious, used to seeing the two drive up to the school in Chloe's car.

Brooke looked down and shook her head. There was a moment of silence before Brooke spoke. "Chloe's picking up Madeline, and Madeline lives on practically the other side of town. Plus, I don't want to seem too dependant on Chloe." And to think that Chloe hated Madeline all of last year, now they're dating... Brooke silently added. She looked up and put on a fake smile for Christine. "It's fine. I thought I should get used to taking the city train more." 

Christine nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer. She pulled out a notebook from her backpack. "I got sucked into another musical!" Christine exclaimed, grinning. She held the notebook out to Brooke. Brooke looked at the cover, before taking the notebook and flipping through it. Heathers?