"Brooke" explains why she needs a ride.

“Oh! Please, it’s my fault, really. I-I shouldn’t have been hiding.”

You play the scared, timid girl in need of protection… it comes to you rather easier than you would care to admit.

“Hiding? What from?” Max asks.

You take his hand and he pulls you up.

“I saw your friend’s SUV and I mistook it for someone else’s. It was silly, really.”

“I see…”

You wipe yourself off and sling your purse onto your shoulder, a task that takes you a little longer than you’ve seen other girls take. Jon and Max are eerily quiet, standing there silently as they look you over, staring at your recent acquisitions.

Is this really what Alicia and Liz have to go through…? You wonder.

“So… who are you guys?” You ask, getting any potential missteps out of the way.

“Oh, um, I’m Max…” he responds, extending his hand. “It’s a pleasure to-”

“And I’m Jon.” As Max is shoved aside and Jon’s hand is now the one squarely in front of you.

You hesitate a moment, but eventually and quickly shake Jon’s hand before making sure to shake Max’s.

“I’m… Brooklyn…! B-but you can call me Brooke…!” you reply, scrambling for the first B-name you could think of that wasn’t Blake.

“It’s nice to meet ya, Brooke. I wholeheartedly apologize for knocking over such a stunning figure.”

Jon puts his hand to his chest as he nods his head forward. Max rolls his eyes and even you think “Easy there, tiger.” He was never the most subtle player on the football team… not that that’s saying much. You notice however, that between Max’s and Jon’s demeanor, you get that your fears from earlier might not be as true as you had thought, the two them perhaps only riding together to some school function - it’s not like Jon had a car. Maybe he needed a ride and Steve was the only one who-

“So, Brooke… what’s up with you? If you’re hiding here where’s your car?” Jon asks, stepping closer.

You’re tempted to take a step back but catch a whiff of something sharp and musky - cologne perhaps? It wasn’t like any cologne you ever used - not that you shaved much. You drew in a breath, relishing the scent for a moment. It was definitely giving you a heady feeling, but you weren’t quite sure-

“Uh... Brooke?” Max speaks up again.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I uh…!” You snap yourself out of whatever stupor you were in and scramble for some semblance of a story.

“I was… stranded, more-or-less. I… had a disagreement with… a friend who thought they would drop me off here… while we were on a night out on the town…”

You keep spinning it just fast enough to rolling with it, but the lies pour out surprisingly easily. To be fair, it wasn’t that far from the truth.

“She thought it would be funny and really, I thought we were close friends, but, well… that bitch decided to leave me here without my phone, any cash, or my I.D. I mean, seriously, doesn’t that sound a little psychotic to you!?”

You were starting to get into it, realizing this is the first time you’ve really had the chance to vent about Alicia. Jon and Max both shared an expression that was probably somewhere in between shocked and incredulous. Hopefully, it was time to reel them in…

“I just-” You begin, trying - and finding it surprisingly easy - to act distraught as you continue to tell your woeful tale.

“I just wanted a girl’s night out on the town and now I can’t even go home, because she was my ride, and I trusted her and she abandoned me here and she left a letter gloating about how she left me and how I deserved it and- and-”

While you didn’t intend to start crying, your eyes do water up and you start to **** up over your words a bit before suddenly finding yourself wrapped in someone’s arms. You tense up at first… but find it easy to simply let go and bury your face in their chest. You give a few sniffles as you let them embrace you, finding comfort in their arms. This was nice... to be held by someone. To be comforted when you needed it. To be-

“Hey, what the fuck is going on over here!?”

You immediately open your eyes, the all-too familiar voice of your long time nightmare, Steve, snapping you out of it. He’s walking towards the group, arms outstretched in confusion.

“I hear Jon yell and then this bitch starts whimpering for the whole neighborhood to hear. The fuck you guys doing?”

Ah, yes, the same asshole he ever was. Unsurprising…

“Ahem…”

You’re startled as Max clears his throat, his arms now open and to the side as he shrugs in a clear “Would you kindly…” motion. Realizing you're still gripping on to his shirt, you let go and step back, wiping away the tears and trying to collect yourself.

“Steve…” Max begins, shaking his head and sighing. “Look, I gotta talk to ya.”

He tells you he’ll be right back as he walks towards Steve, eventually turning him around and guiding him back over towards the SUV. The two start talking, but they’re too far away now to hear clearly, the discussion a lot more civil than you expected. You sniff again, resuming your efforts to clean yourself up, eventually realizing it’s just you and Jon here. He awkwardly looks around and gives a cough. A few more seconds of silence.

“Um… I’m going to the bathroom.” He declares, before leaving you alone.

You take a long breath, chest quivering a bit as you recover, trying not to pay too much mind to how you broke down or… how you cried in your best friend’s arms…

… Time seems to pass incredibly slowly as you watch Max and Steve talk. You're not sure what they were discussing. but could surmise it most likely had something to do with you. Alone, at least for the moment, you...