It's Complicated

If someone were to tell Brook that she was to live in a three-story mansion one day. Complete with maids, a professional chef, wait staff and not to mention a chauffeur? She would have politely smiled at you and told you that would be a nice dream. Now though, now that she was living that sort of life, combined with a long lost father who's barely home, a stepmother who's most likely on something and a half brother who hates her guts? Yeah, she's still convinced all of that is a dream, and that her reality is a nightmare.

One month. It has been a total of one month since Brooklyn's life had turned upside down. Twisted and folded into an unrecognizable shape that she couldn't have described if she wanted to. The sudden passing of her mother, an accident that no one saw happening. A semi losing control one night when mom was on her way home from the bar she's worked at for years, ending her life and changing Brooks.
Har's father was only made aware of the whole thing via a phone call from child protective services. He may have been paying child support to her mother for years, but never once had he asked where they were living, if Brook had enough food, clothing, or anything. He simply wanted her mom to not send him to jail or get the news to ruin his reputation as a devoted father and CEO of some sort of trade company that's been around for ages.
Now, she was stuck living in a three-story mansion, with her father, supposed stepmother and a half brother who hates her for being the child of the other woman. What a way to find out that one's related to a wealthy and powerful man. Right?

Flipping another page of her book, Brook allowed a small sigh to escape from her lips. She had lived in Colorado all of her life, now she was in California. The sunshine state, where it's always warm and freaking sunny. She turned another page as she finished reading the section. It was almost the end of summer, and she had to say that she was slowly adjusting to things here. Her father had given her a black credit card so she could buy anything she wanted, filthy rich people. Her supposed stepmother was never around her, and her supposed half brother was out of the country or something with a few of his friends for summer. It must be nice to be able to travel with friends to new places.

Reaching towards her right, Brook grabbed onto her bookmark, which had a cute little Gautama egg guy sitting in his eggshell and placed it in the crease. Her bright green eyes that were surprisingly like her father's blinked tiredly as she closed the book with the bookmark in it and glanced up. It was so weird that she was near a pool. Back in Colorado, the nearest place to swim was at a pond in the middle of the woods that she heard kids from school went to, to get drunk or hook up. Both things that she had no interest in.

Slowly, Brooklyn set the book down on the ground next to her chair and leaned back. Allowing for the sun to warm her skin and closed her eyes. It was quiet, lonely, but relaxing. That is until the sudden sound of an unfamiliar laugh caught Brook's attention and she opened her eyes. Her bright green eyes blinking in curiosity as she sat up slightly and looked at two boys about her age came out towards the pool area. An the sight of them in their board shorts made the young girl feel very underdressed in her bikini, and her belly button piercing shining for the world to see.

Gulping, Brook slowly shifted to the other side of her chair and stood up slowly. Hoping to walk away from the two boys before they noticed her. There was no way she wanted to meet her brother face to face wearing barely anything. They may know of each other, but they haven't spoken to each other yet.

@ FallenHope95

It had been a great summer as far as Chance was concerned. He had spent most of his break traveling abroad with his friends, which really was the perfect way to spend a summer. They got to travel all over Europe, do dumb shit, hit on girls and essentially it was like one giant party that whole time they were there. Though, now they were back home. Though Chance didn't even make it to his house yet as his good friend, Brad, invited him over to the house to go swimming in the pool.

Though, if Chance was honest with himself, he was rather sure that he was only invited over because of what happened with Brad's family over the summer. His friend had suddenly gotten a new half-sister (surprise!) and he didn't seem very happy about it. Apparently, she was the outcome of a one night stand that his father had had when cheating on his mother, and that seemed awkward enough. And, he had a feeling that Brad did not want to meet his new sister all by himself. That was fair enough, but it seemed like something that Brad's father should be around for in the least...

But that seemed to not be happening, so it was up to Chance to support him. They headed into the pool area, already wearing their swimming trunks as they headed out. Though Chance stopped in his tracks as he noticed movement in one of the chairs at the pool. From where he was standing, all he could see were feet. Was she out here? Slowly, Chance walked forward, continuing towards the pool, but keeping the corner of his eys focused on the chair. As he continued on, soon enough, he was able to see her. It looked to be a girl around their age, and Chance could only assume that was the half-sister.

Following Brad over to the chair, Chance looked down at her. He knew that she would be here, but he was still surprised to see her at all. In truth, he had assumed that she would be hiding in her room or something, but it appears not. Chance glanced over at Brad, waiting to see how he was going to take it. It seemed that he wasn't particularly happy about the new addition when they were on their trip.

@ BearGirl
Seeing the two boys coming her way, Brook knew it was pointless to run away. They've already seen her. They knew she was there and she hasn't talked to anyone outside of her father and the woman he was married to. Sure, she walked around the neighborhood when she was bored and adventured to the nearest mall, but. She hasn't met teens her age here. And boy, did they scream intimidating.

Slowly, grabbing onto her book as the boys stopped near her chair. Brook moved to stand on the opposite side of them. Keeping a little bit of space so that she had a clean getaway if she got too embarrassed. "Um." She mumbled quietly as she looked between the two boys. The green-eyed boy was her brother, they shared the same hair color and eye color. The only thing that was different that she could pick up between the two was their heights. He was over six foot something, while she was barely at the five-foot mark.

Meanwhile, the boy with the piercing blue eyes that were as deep as the ocean, had dark hair. His height was also over six something. Just judging on instincts, and common sense, that meant the green-eyed boy was her brother. "Hi, I'm Brook. You must be Brad." She said politely, pulling up all of her courage to sound as peppy and sweet as she could. Then, she stuck her hand out for him to shake.

Watching her brother through her own green eyes, Brook felt a sense of dread slowly creep into her stomach at he looked at her with a blank look and then scowled as she stuck her hand out. "Why don't you go back to where you belong country girl. There's no place here for you." He said cooly, crossing his arms over his chest and glared down at her.

The words that escaped from her brother's lips caused Brook's lips to slowly lower at the ends. Causing her smile to turn into it's worried little frown she's been wearing since she's come to this strange house. "I-I'm just trying to be nice." She said quietly as she glanced at his blue-eyed friend's direction and then glancing down. Her hands tightened their hold on her book as she thought about what she could do or say to make him not seem so hostile.

Without warning, Brook's book was torn from her arms and as she looked up with wide eyes. She watched as her brother kept his scowl on his face as he threw it into the pool. A surprised gasp escaped from Brook as she rushed to the edge of the pool and watched as it hit the water and then slowly sank into the deep end. The book sank like a rock, just like he hopes to be on friendly terms with at least someone in this household.

"Why, why did you do that?" Brook asked as she turned around and looked towards the boys. Her bottom lip was wobbling slightly as she fought to hold in her sorrow. She could already feel her eyes watering, and it was taking everything in her to just not outright ball like a baby. "Because I can, country girl," Bran said coolly as he moved and took the lounge chair that Brook had just vacated and stretched out on it. His arms crossing coolly behind his head as he looked at her with mild interest. "If you want it back so badly, why don't you dive in and get it?" He taunted.

Glancing warily behind herself at the pool, Brook felt her hands start to slowly shake at the proximity to the pool. "I-I can't." She finally said after a couple of moments of tense silence. Her eyes moved back to the boys and she could see Brad looking at her with amusement. "I can't swim." She said quietly, and heard her brother snort and then laugh. "Country girl can't swim? Haha, that's hilarious." He continued to laugh at Brook's embarrassing secret, causing her to feel more self-conscious about this whole thing then she thought possible.

Casting one last look back to her sunken book, Brook finally let out her first sob. She crossed her arms over her chest to hide her shaking hands and made to head inside, not wanting to deal with her supposed brother and whoever his friend was.

@ FallenHope95

As Brad started to terrorize his sister, Chance watched expressionlessly. He knew how difficult this was going to be for his friend, to see this new girl wandering around his house even though she didn't really belong there. Brook was just a symbol of how his father had betrayed his mother. Who wanted something like that around? Just some illegitimate child causing problems for everyone.

Though while he did back his friend up, he did feel a little bad for the girl. It wasn't like she asked to be a bastard. Though she should know better than to mess with Brad. Hopefully, this little scuffle would keep Brook away from him. Especially since Chance didn't want his friend to be stressed out once practice started. Then Brad would be a fucking asshole to the team because his home life sucks.

Once the girl admitted to not being able to swim, Chance let out a small chuckle. "Really?" That was surprising. "Don't you country girls have to bathe in lakes or something?" He let out a small breath of air before turning and starting to head towards the pool. While he was going to support Brad, Chance didn't really feel the need to get in the middle of the sibling drama as long as it ended soon. Who wanted to deal with this anyway?

Though soon a sob came from behind him and Chance glanced back to see that Brook had started crying. The man rolled his eyes. Who wanted to listen to some bitch cry? For a moment, he looked over his friend before jumping into the pool and swimming down to get the book. Once at the surface, Chance came to the end of the book and chucked the wet book at Brook's feet. "Here is your book. Now get lost. The house is big enough for you to find somewhere else to go cry."

Chance glanced up at his friend and motioned him to jump into the pool. "Leave the crybaby alone and let us swim. There is no reason to let some illegitimate child like her ruin our day. You made your point, and if she is smart, she'll leave you alone."

@ BearGirl
Listening to that dark-haired boy, Brooklyn had left her half brother alone. She left them alone for the rest of the summer. Never asking if she could tag along when he went out. Never asking if he wanted to do something when he was chilling at home. They just acted like each other didn't exist. They just lived together, they didn't mean anything to each other. Just two ghosts that haunted the same house.

Once school started, it was like a blessing and a curse to Brooklyn. She was excited to finally meet some people and have something to do. An yet, she hated it because she'd be the new kid. It was their last damn year in high school. So, to say that she would stand out like a sore thumb. Like a Christmas Tree in July. She's going to get stared at, Brook just knew it. So, doning on her school uniform. Which consisted of a white blazer, a red and black plaid knee-length skirt and white high socks, Brook headed to school.

Thankfully, the school that Brooklyn and Brad were attending was barely a fifteen-minute walk from the house. There was no sign of Brad that morning, but Brooklyn tried to not wonder about him. Rather he went to school or not on time, wasn't her business. She needed to take care of herself. Her brother didn't like or care about her, so why should it go the other way?

Following her schedule, Brooklyn walked around the halls as she looked for her locker. Asking for a little assistance every now and again, before finally finding it ten minutes later. "It's a good thing that I came early," Brook mumbled quietly as she walked up to her locker and started to put in her code. She had just opened her locker when it suddenly went really quiet in the hallway. Looking up, Brook noticed that everyone was looking towards the right. Thinking that was weird, Brooklyn turned to one of her locker neighbors that was looking as well.

"Hey, what's going on?" Brooking asked, confusion evident in her words. The person just glanced at Brook before glancing back towards the hall and then towards Brooklyn. "The Kings are coming this way." The girl mumbled quietly and then froze as she looked towards the right. Her body stiffening. Confused about who the Kings were, Brook glanced towards the right and froze as well. Her lips turning down into a slight frown as she spotted Brad and his dark-haired friend coming this way. Two other boys behind them.

Not wanting to get the boys' attention, Brook turned towards her locker and pretended that she didn't see them. Hoping, that if she doesn't look towards the boys, that they'd just walk past and ignore her.

@ FallenHope95

A large shining smile was over Chance's face as he made his way down the school hallway. It was a bit strange, but it was nice to be back for his final year of high school. While he never cared much for homework, the way that people treated him there was truly sublime. Especially since it was his peers and now his servants that treated him like royalty. So much so, that they called Brad and him the Kings.

As he headed down the hallway, Chance was saying hello to his classmates, whatever way he knew best for them. Some got hugs, others got head nods, and, of course, the attractive women he knew received his classic smirk or a wink. He was a bit of a player but they all knew that. Any girl that came his way knew exactly what they were getting themselves into. And even with that knowledge, they all still came running in his direction.

"Brad, this is going to be our year," Chance said as he glanced over at his friend with a huge smile. "We are going to make this the best year that the school has ever seen, starting with a championship trophy." Brad became quickly enthusiastic about the idea. "That is right! We are going to bring home the gold! And you know what-" Brad motioned to Chance to listen closely before the man turned to the hallway full of people. Most of them had their attention directed to the Kings as it was.

"Listen up everyone! To celebrate the start of my and my bro's final year at this school, there will be a HUGE party at my house this Saturday! Everyone is welcome and make sure to spread it around the school!" Once Brad made his announcement, most of those in the hallway became excited and started to cheer. Some girls behind Brook even started to talk about how excited they were, mentioning that last year, even Zac Efron had gone to one of his parties.

Once that announcement was made, Brad continued down the hallway, this time getting high fives from people left and right, telling Brad that they were going to show up. Though as they continued down, Chance noticed something strange and it only took him a few moments to realize that his half-sister was there, seemingly trying to hide behind a locker. He glanced over at Brad, trying to see if he noticed and/or if he was going to do anything.

@ BearGirl
Dread started to fill Brooklyn as she listened to Brad announce to the whole school that he'd be hosting a party. As if it was okay to just throw a house party whenever he wanted. What the hell did their dad think? Will he even know? Will he even care? Then again, he didn't care when he found out when he got another woman pregnant. So, that kinda shows what kind of person their father was, so she couldn't really say anything.

Biting down on her bottom lip as the girls started to gossip, it took everything out of Brook. She wanted to tell these girls to grow up. That Brad was an ass and that they shouldn't be so head over heels for him. That they were just over fantasizing about a normal teen boy, not some heartthrob wanna be cool kid, but. Maybe that's because they're related and Brad has that bully complex going on that Brooks thinking like that. Who knows.

As the boys pass her by, Brook glanced at them out of the corner of her eye. Watching, listening to them as they accept high fives and greetings like royalty. Brooklyn's eyes momentarily move towards the friend of Brad's, Chance before looking away. Thankfully, it seemed like Brad forgot that she was there. She had gotten out of the danger zone by hiding like a coward. That, or he didn't want it to be known that she was his half-sister who is intruding on his life out of the blue.

----

The music outside played through the speakers around the back yard. The beat of the music causing the windows to shake every so often. People were gathered everywhere, talking, mingling with each other. Alcohol was sitting in coolers in the kitchen. This was like a scene from some horrible movie. It caused Brook to frown deeply as she could clearly see from her bedroom window, two people making out with the same person. Rich people were weird. Which was why, she was fine just staying locked in her room. Watching all of the irresponsible choices that these kids were making.

A book sat on the window still next to her. The music easily bring heard from her perch on the ottoman that was under the window. This was going to be a long night. A very long night.

@ FallenHope95

As the party was at it's full swing of things, Chance headed away from some of his friends and the girls to get himself a drink. He grabbed a cold beer from the cooler before turning around and glancing out. Things were, for the most part, going well. People were drinking. Others were making out. A few games were occurring and some of the girls had stripped down to their underwear to go in the swimming pool. His eyes glanced off to the side for a moment and watched as a large group was dancing to the music. Things were going as well as they could be.

Though a thought started to come along his mind after scanning things. He was surprised that girl wasn't anywhere. He glanced around again before looking up at the house. Yeah, she definitely wasn't outside but there was a chance that she was in her room... It was probably for the best. Brad was drinking and his temper wasn't the best once he was past buzzed. And all that girl... Brook was going to do was piss him off. This was meant to be a good night for Brad and having his half-sister around wouldn't help things.

Even so, Chance couldn't help but be a little curious about the girl. She was such a mystery, showing up out of nowhere to come live here. And Chance wondered if there was anything that she had actually done to piss his friend off. He understood that her mere presence would be an issue but what was actually going on with her? All he really knew was that she was some poor woman's daughter. Chance doubted that she would be like any of the ladies at the party. He couldn't help but be curious but Chance knew better than to go too deep into it. It would only upset Brad.

With that thought in mind, Chance made his way into the house, wanting to go into the kitchen for a moment. There would be some food in there that he could grab for himself that Brad didn't pull out for the party.

@ BearGirl
After a while of gong between reading her book, and watching the people downstairs conversing, Brook's stomach growled. Her hand moved to cover her stomach as she glanced at the clock. "It' nearing eleven." She mumbled, a little surprised. Earlier, Brook decided to skip out on dinner as it was just her, Brad and the servants, as their father and his mother were conveniently out of town for the weekend. So, not wanting to see her half brother for longer then she had to, she hid in her room like a coward.

Now though, he was outside and preoccupied with a brunette that seemed to be sucking his soul from his body. Taking the chance, Brooklyn set her book down on the ottoman and changed out of her pj's. She didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb in her soft shorts and tank top after all. So, she put on a cute dress that she never got the chance to wear and some black heels before heading out of her room.

As Brooklyn got to the kitchen, she made a beeline towards the fridge. Not wanting to touch anything on the counter in case Brad decided to be a little cry baby. So, instead, she started to pull out some jelly, before grabbing the peanut butter and bread to make a PB&J sandwich. It was comfort food for her. When she was little and was being bullied for being short, her mom would make her a sandwich and tell her how things were going to be alright, and ignore the bullies.

Turning around to grab the knife to use for the peanut butter and jelly, Brook nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw Brad's friend, Chance. "Uh, hi." She mumbled quietly, before grabbing herself a knife and a plate to put her food on, then turned her back to him. Doing her best to ignore the tall handsome guy that had just entered the room. Sure, Change wasn't particularly mean to her like Brad, but, who knows if he decides to tell Brad that she was crashing the party to get a snack or something? What if he lied about what she was doing and saying she was poisoning the food somehow. She didn't know, so, it was best to pretend he wasn't there, right?

@ FallenHope95

As he walked inside, Chance saw that Brook was also in the kitchen, grabbing herself something to eat. He glanced over and saw that she was rather dressed up, however. More dressed up than someone needed to be if they were just heading to the kitchen. "Hi," Chance responded when the girl decided to greet him. For a moment, he glanced out back to the party, trying to decide if he should just leave. Brad wouldn't like knowing that he was talking to his sister for even a moment... But Chance's curiosity and stomach were getting the best of him.

"Are you joining the party?" Chance asked her after a few moments of silence. In truth, he wouldn't really care if she did as long as she didn't get into Brad's sights. Then that would cause issues for everyone involved. "You can if you want to but I would suggest to stay out of Brad's way. That shouldn't be too difficult right now since he is busy at the moment but..." Chance offered her a shrug. He kinda hoped that she would, it would be interesting to see how a poor girl would react to a rich person's party.

With that thought in mind, Chance headed over to the cabinet and started to glance through it to find something to eat. Eventually, he settled on a box of cheez-its and started to eat them from the bag. He then turned back to Brook, watching her eat a PB&J sandwich. "If you stay near the dancing area or the pool, he probably won't notice that you came down at all."

He glanced out the clear doors again to watch the party go on. "But if you get caught, we didn't talk at all and you decided to come down by your own free will."

@ BearGirl
A greeting, a simple greeting. That all that it was supposed to mean. Nothing else. A simple hey, and then that friend of Brads was supposed to leave her alone. At least, that's what Brook had hoped for. She wasn't a mean person by any means she was quite a pushover, always letting others walk over her so that she didn't have to deal with drama.

Yet, when Chanced asked Brook if she was going to join the party, she wanted nothing more then to roll her eyes and give him a sarcastic answer. That wasn't anything like her. Usually, a simple polite decline was all that she'd give and then walk away. It what Brook should have done honestly. Instead, she just looked down at her sandwich, cut it in half and then set the knife into the sink for the maids to clean in the morning.

"I just didn't want to catch anyone's attention. No one at school knows that I'm the disgusting half-sister of football star Brad Mathews." Brook clenched her eyes shut. Why was she running her mouth? Stupid, this guy was Brads' best friend, he could tell him whatever she said and turn it against her. Make her life even worse then what it was. "Sorry, I get snappish when I get hungry," Brook mumbled, mentally kicking herself for talking some more. Why couldn't she just stop talking? She was making a fool in front of Brad's best friend. It was enough that Brad was mean to her, she didn't want this guy to go against her as well.

Glancing up from her mostly finished the sandwich, Brook met Chance's gaze for a brief moment before turning her back to him once more and finished her food. "Thanks." She mumbled quietly, not sure what else to say or add on. So, instead, she set the plate in the sink with the rest of the dirty dished, washed her hands and dried her hands on a dishtowel before slowly making her way out the door.
The music was much louder outside then it was inside. With the thumping base causing her brain to feel like it's bouncing around in her skull. People were everywhere, dressed scantily and dancing on each other and alone. It caused Brook to look around in wonder. This whole party was like out of a teen movie. Now, all that was missing was a rush of cops coming to stop the party or for the phone to ring and tell the person who answered that they were being watched, or that they had seven days left to live.

Turning around a few times, Brooklyn took everything in. The dancing people, the table laid out with food and drinks for people. This was all amazingly planned, it was a huge surprise to Brook that it all came together in a matter of days. Surely, this must-have not been Brad's first time planning a party. Right? Right.

Walking around all of the dancing people, Brooklyn moved along the pool. After exploring the dance floor for a bit, she wanted to sit. Her heels were starting to rub the back of her feet and she could feel blisters rubbing. In front of Brook was a lawn chair, it was near the water, and with each step, Brook glanced towards the water and prayed to God that she didn't fall into the dark water.
Just a couple of steps away from the chair, to a safe spot to sit, Brook felt someone bump into her. The jostling from being bumped into usually didn't cause Brook much trouble, she was used to being pushed around. Yet, tonight. She was in heels. A with being already a little wobbly, the jostle made things worse and she ended up falling over. Right into the pool.

No one seemed to notice, no one seemed to care. Brook was panicking as she tried to kick her way up towards the surface. The music was too loud for anyone to hear her splashes. Too drunk to realize that someone was drowning right in front of them. This was it, this was how Brook was going to end. She would join her mother in a horrible accident, just like her.

Slowly, Brooklyn's eyes started to close as darkness started to creep up the edges. She could feel her body starting to relax, as she slowly slipped away.

(It's amusing because I'm eating cheese-its as I'm writing. Lol)

@ FallenHope95

As Brook apologized for snapping at him, Chance just gave her a shrug. It wasn't like he would care much that she was being kinda rude. If she turned out to be some bitch, it wouldn't affect him much as Brad already hated his half-sister. Though he had hoped that she would be better than that. He was interested in her life before and he knew he wouldn't get to find out much but Chance at least hoped to figure out what poor people were liked with getting scratched at. It seemed she didn't mean it, at least.

Chance was expecting her to head back into the depths based on what she said instead of heading out to the yard. But a small smile crossed his face once her back was turned to him and he followed her out. However, Chance did keep his distance. He didn't want to get caught following Brook around if Chad noticed that she was out. So while she moved around the pool, he was in the drink area. Though he did keep an eye on her, wondering what someone like her would do.

When she fell into the pool, Chance couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. It was clear from where he was that it was an accident, and how could something like that not be funny? As he brought another handful of cheese-its to his mouth, Chance waited for her to come up screaming, or something similar. But after some time had passed, his eyebrows furrowed together and he started to move towards the pool. Was she swimming now? Just embracing getting knocked in?

Once he was close enough to the pool, Chance could see the waves on the surface of the pool, clear that there was a struggle underneath the water. Without a thought, Chance reacted. He shoved the box into a random girl's hands and dove into the water. He found her with ease, but at this point, she was no longer struggling, it seemed she was unconscious as well. Grabbing onto her, Chance brought Brook to the surface, making sure that her head was above water. But even when he did so, she was still not moving.

Yelling at the people around to help, two other guys grabbed Brook out of the water as Chance got himself out. He checked her breathing, noticing that she wasn't and Chance immediately started CPR.

@ BearGirl
Ready, Brooklyn was ready. She could feel death pulling her down. Wrapping its dark little whispy tentacles around her limbs. Refusing to let her go. Refusing to allow for Brook to change her mind. It wanted the young girl. It wanted her spirit, it wanted her body, it wanted her. It wanted Brook to join her mom and rest peacefully. To not have to go through the tough emotions of daily motions of being ignored or pushed around. Bullies won't be able to touch her. Then, warmth started to flood the darkness.

At first, nothing happaned. At first, Brook continued to sink deeper and deeper into the darkness, but. When a pressure started to press against her, not able to place it at first, but when it kept happening. The realization started to meet Brook's sleepy mind. Someone was trying to save her, someone cared enough rather she died or not. Or, just thought it was the right thing to do.

With one particular hard feeling on her chest, Brook felt sick to her stomach. It felt like all of the contents that made up her life was coming up. Emptying her being. A soft cough escaped from Brook and then she quickly gained consciousness and turned her back towards whoever it was that had brought her back. Coughing up water and trying to suck in oxygen at the same time. Her whole body shaking as it tried to function normally and getting used to getting oxygen back into it's being.

Then, after a couple of moments, it was like the world was starting to come back into being around her. Slowly, Brook's right hand moved to her heart, feeling it beating rapidly as she shook in shaky breaths. Her bright green eyes glancing towards the side to see who had been the one to help her. The sight of Chance, soaking wet next to her caused her lips to dip into a small frown, why was he here? He didn't like her. Then, she glanced up and froze as the realization hit her. There was still music blaring, but now that Brook was pulled out of the water, people were realizing what had just happaned and were now staring at her. Even Brad, who had come to see what the commotion was about. It might have just been her mind playing tricks on her oxygen-deprived mind, but she could have sworn she saw concern in his eyes before quickly masking it as a scowl. Which in turn caused Brook to lower her gaze. She was an idiot, she shouldn't have taken Chance's invite to join. This was stupid, she was stupid.

@ FallenHope95

Once he knew that Brook was coming back to consciousness, Chance looked at the crowd that was forming and started to wave them away. "Stand back! Give her some room!" It took a few moments but eventually, the crowd shifted into a larger circle around them. They all waited with bated breath to see what would happen next after she had finished puking her guts out. Chance watched her closely, waiting for Brook to literally do or say anything. Though when that didn't happen, Chance decided to move.

Reaching down, he grabbed onto Brook and lifted her into his arms so she was laying bridal style in them. "There is nothing to see here. She is fine. Go back to your party." Chance told them, not wanting the watchers to follow them inside of the house. Though he did take a moment to look at Brad who seemed beyond pissed at this point. Chance gave him a small nod before having the crowd part and making his way inside. It seemed a bit ridiculous to him that Brad was mad about this but he wasn't going to make it worse by saying something.

When they were in the house and the glass door was closed behind them, Chance hesitated for a moment. He wasn't quite sure where her room was and it seemed wrong to just lay her on the couch. The windows were large, people would stare. Chance looked down at her for a moment, knowing that she probably wouldn't want that. So, he made his way upstairs and went into one of the guest rooms he stayed in. He actually had some of his things in there. Chance was about to lay her down on the bed but stopped himself, knowing that a bed and her being soaking wet was not a good combination.

"You need to get changed first." Still holding her, Chance headed to the closet, opened it up and started to pull at the bottom of clothes to get them to slide off the hanger. Once he had a pair of basketball shorts and a sweatshirt in his hand, he looked down at Brook. "I can help you change."

@ BearGirl
Feeling strong arms wrapping around her, Brook acted on instinct. Her arms wrapped around her holder's neck and relaxed into their broad chest. Her burning eyes closed as she rested her forehead against their shoulder. Finding themselves from the prying eyes of the people who were watching her being carried away like a child. From what could have been her watery grave. From what she could only describe as a painful death.

As whoever it was holding her moved through the crowd, Brook's mind started to wonder. How could she have been so stupid. There were a million and one ways to get to the opened seat. A million and two other possibilities of places she could have sat to still be integrated into the fancy party. One way for her to have ended herself, one stupid mistake. She was an idiot. Brook slightly flinched at that though. She should have just stayed inside, where it was safe and warm. No one would accidentally push her into the pool then. She wouldn't feel the burning inside from the chlorine from the newly cleaned pool. She would have been dry.

Just as that last word filtered through Brooklyn's thoughts, it seemed the thought echoed through Chance's voice. Chance was the one holding her? The realization caused Brooklyn to flinch slightly once more, her head moving away from his shoulder and looking straight ahead for a moment before she raised a hand to rub at her irritated eyes. "Pervert." Was the first thing to slip through her lips at his little offer of help.

"I can, I can get changed on my own," Brook mumbled then tried to get out of his grasp. As soon as her feet touched the floor, she felt her legs give out as a wave of dizziness washed over her. "M-Maybe some help won't be so bad," Brook mumbled as she realized she had turned towards Chance and had held onto him when she felt like she was going to fall. "Just, don't look down or try anything funny or I swear to god you'll pay." She tried to sound intimidating, but with how weak and scratching her throat felt, Brook was pretty sure it sounded more amusing to him than anything else.

@ FallenHope95

Even though Brook was clearly not in the best state of mind, Chance couldn't help but look down at her with a slightly annoyed look on his face. "I am not a pervert." He mumbled in response. He did not appreciate her words but he wasn't going to make this a whole argument...well at least right now. Chance didn't want her to think that he was trying to take advantage of a nearly drowned woman. That was fucked up. Besides, there were plenty of women downstairs that would jump at the chance to be with him.

Though as Brook insisted that she would be fine on her own, Chance started to let her down extremely slowly, still keeping a good grip on her. As her legs started to give out underneath her, Chance was quick to lift her back up. Though a sigh left him at her words. "First of all, I am going to have to look to help you, especially since you're not going to be able to do it yourself. Secondly, I am not trying to 'get with' a girl that is currently in a bad fucking place. I am not an asshole. Thirdly, I have seen plenty of naked women. This is not a trick to see you with your top off. Especially not when I can yell out this window right now and probably get half of the woman out there to flash me. So get over yourself for a minute here while I try to assist you."

Chance brought Brook down onto the floor she was sitting and leaning against the wall. When he was assured that she was stable enough, Chance started to pull her clothes off. "Now, if you can work with me here a little bit. I promise you'll be naked for the shortest amount of time as possible. We really shouldn't be fucking around as you're going to need to warm up, otherwise you're going to get sick." As he said that, Chance was able to slide Brook's wet off of her body. Chance dropped it to the side before grabbing a towel and pressing it against her skin to try and dry her off.

He then slipped the sweatshirt over her head, leaving her wet bra on for a moment. Though once it was on her body, Chance slid his hands under the sweatshirt and unclipped the wet strapless bra and pulled it out from the bottom and dropped it to the side. "Happy? I didn't even get to see your boobs after saving your life." Chance teased her gently. He then glanced up at the wall above her head and started to slide her underwear off, getting ready to get the basketball shorts on her without looking.

@ BearGirl
A small sigh escaped from Brook's lips as she really had no choice but to accept Chance's help. Her head felt dizzy and she was feeling pressure in her chest that seemed to get worse when she tried to stand up. So, accepting help from a sorta stranger, couldn't be so bad. Especially when he seemed to feel the need to rub it in her face that he could get multiple women to flash him. For some reason though, the idea that Chance had seem a lot of naked women before irked Brooklyn. Causing her lips to purse for a moment before relaxing. The movement was as quick as a breath.

It wasn't like Chance even cared about her, nor her him. He was just the kind guy who saved her life. Although it was his idea to join the party, it was her foolishness to walk towards the pool. "Hey, Chance," Brook said quietly once her dress was off and she was wearing the amazingly warm and fort sweatshirt that Chance pulled over her head. It smelled faintly like eucalyptus and spearmint. A smell that always seemed to cause Brook to relax, to want to just lay down and bury her nose in.

Lifting her eyes a little bit, Brook moved her hands to rest on Chance's shoulders as he pulled her panties off of her. She used his shoulders as leverage as she tried to lift herself slightly so that he could slip them off of her hips. The wet fabric making it a little harder than it normally would have. "Thanks." Brook finished what she had originally started to say. Her gaze lowering and then glancing towards the side as she moved to sit back down on the ground and pull her hands away from his shoulders.

A light blush slowly started to warm Brook's cheeks, but because of how cold she was because of the lack of oxygen that was in her system, it barely even registered. Glancing towards the side, a small gasp escaped from Brook before she dove to the side to grab for the wet pair of underwear. The last thing Brook wanted right now was for Chance to see the hello kitty boy shorts she was wearing under the dress. They were black with the white cat's head plastered all over it with the word 'MEOW' on the back. Embarrassing, although, it wasn't really as embarrassing as that terrible attempt to dive after her wet panties or the fact that the sweatshirt just ended at her butt cheeks when she had dived for the wet garments. Although, Brook was sure to Chance that it looked more like she fell over. "Don't look!" Brook cried out in a gravelly voice, followed by a couple of coughs because the movement had loosened more water that was still in her chest.

@ FallenHope95

Chance had to look down when Brook suddenly flung herself out of her arms and onto the floor. He was there to help her, which included not allowing the woman to give herself a fuckin concussion. Though as he looked down, his eyes landed on what Brook had been trying to cover up. A laugh immediately burst from him and Chance covered his face with his hands as he did so. He had seen it all. How she dove herself into the ground, how she had a death grip on those little pair of panties. The fact that they said MEOW was really just the icing on the cake. How could it get better this that?

It legitimately took Chance a minute before he was able to calm down enough to assist the poor girl out of this predicament. It was unlikely that she could even get herself to sit up at this point but, for some reason, she decided to use any energy she had to dive for some fucking panties he would have barely noticed in the first place. "You are fucking ridiculous, Brook. You do realize that your bare ass is literally moments from popping out of that sweatshirt and yet you decide to go for your panties. On top of that, I don't think me seeing your little kitties should be the top of your concern.

Reaching over, Chance pulled Brook back up into a sitting position before assisting her on getting the basketball shorts on so she can finally cover her ass with something than the hopes and dreams of his sweatshirt. Once she was covered, Chance picked Brook up bridal style. He kicked her wet clothes into the bathroom. "See, they aren't an issue anymore." He told her with a gentle smile before he laid her down onto the bed.

"Now, I need you to stay away and try not to go diving for anything else. You're going to hurt yourself more than you already are. I don't want to have to tell the doctor that you almost drowned to death and then, on top of that, broke your skull." With that said, Chance pulled out his phone and started to call his own personal physician to come by and check on her.

@ BearGirl
A tomato, a red-fleshed fruit that people for the longest time though was a vegetable. That was the perfect description for what Brook was sure her complexion would have been had she been warm enough to blush fully. A small groan of embarrassment escaped from Brook as she listened to Chance's laugh. The fact that she had missed her freaking underwear when she dove was the understatement of the year. Not to mention that he was right. He wouldn't have noticed had she not acted like a moron.

"Yeah, yeah," Brook mumbled quietly, accepting Chance's help to sit up once more. Her eyes refusing to meet his gaze as he helped her get into the shorts. A groan escaped from Brook as Chance helped her lay on the bed and then had to remind her of her idiocy a couple of moments before.

Rolling onto her side, Brook pulled her legs up to her chest and rested an arm under her head. "I don't plan on making a fool out of myself again so soon," Brook mumbled quietly, her eyes looking up towards Chance before looking around the room that she was in for the first time. She hadn't seen this room before. Usually, she stayed in the wing of the mansion where her bedroom was, so she didn't get the chance to see what the room on her brother's or her father's rooms was like.

A small sigh escaped from Brook as she felt her head throb. "All I need is some tylonal and a good night's sleep," Brook mumbled tiredly, wanting to just sleep the rest of this terrible day away. This wasn't the first time she almost drowned. When she was four, Brook fell into the lake at her mom's friend's property. The whole thing scared her so badly, she never went near the lake again. It's why she was so damn useless when she fell into the pool. She knew it was shallower, but, she just couldn't move.

Lowering her gaze to look back at the dark colors blanket, Brook started to pick at invisible lint. "Hey, Chance," Brook said quietly, not raising her eyes to look at him. "Thanks again, for saving me."