A frightful scream wakes Brooke up from her alcohol-induced slumber. She's still wearing her red party dress from last week, so I'm assuming it's now Saturday morning, the day after Dan's fabulous party. Peyton is watching an old black-and-white horror movie on the television in her bedroom. I really wish Peyton would use the rest of the house. Honestly, her father's never home. You're telling me she only ever wants to sit on her bed, lie on her bed, and watch television in her bloody bed? She never wants to, oh, I don't know -- make use of a bloody couch? The woman in the film screams as she sees a girl hanging from the rafters. Peyton snarks, "That's going to leave a mark." Then she turns the volume down. Brooke looks confused and says, "So, what am I doing here?" Peyton barks, "Brooke! That's two weekends in a row you don't remember what happened the night before." Brooke knows what's really important: "Oh please tell me I didn't make a fool of myself with Lucas." So, she's suffering from day-after-Dan's-party doldrums. I'm glad these two girls have such a prototypical high-school-girl friendship. They ruin each other's lives the one minute, and are best friends the . Peyton answers, "Nope. That'd be me." Brooke: "Wait, you two were totally hot for each other." Peyton: "Were. Until about halfway through ripping each other's clothes off, I bailed." Because? "Because he got all serious! He was talking about this intense commitment, or I don't know." Brooke ponders Peyton's mishap for a second. "I do not want to live in a world where two fine and willing girls like ourselves can have such a lame Friday night." Peyton snickers. They don't even talk about Brooke's embarrassing game of Truth or Dare, nor do they even discuss the way she kept trying to get Peyton and Nathan back together. In fact, they don't really talk about anything that happened at all. I take it back; I don't get these two at all. Brooke sighs, "I've got to change my karma." She looks over at Peyton: "Maybe you should make some changes too." Peyton points out that she wasn't the one who woke up with a foggy memory. Brooke is quick to note that Peyton didn't wake up with Lucas either. Uh-huh, so there, neither one of them got what they wanted. But seeing as they both want the same thing (Lucas), you can only imagine how this is going to turn out.
And…speak of the devil. Luke and Haley are flipping through CDs at the local record store. I half expect Jack Black to jump out and start harassing them about their choices. I couldn't care less about the band they're talking about, so I'm going to swap in my own names. Haley says, "Hey, did you ever hear of The Weakerthans or Fembots?" Luke replies, "Yeah, The Weakerthans, they're from Winnipeg, right? Yeah, they're good. Oh, Fembots, yeah, they're great." Nathan walks through the door wearing his letter jacket and looking rather humble. His hands are in his pockets. It's the universal gesture for I-was-an-asshole-can-you-please-forgive-me. Luke looks down at Haley and asks if she's okay. Haley runs her hands through her hair and tells Luke she can handle it. Okay, maybe it's mid-afternoon on Saturday, and about twelve hours have passed since Nathan tried to apologize the first time, so he must really like Haley, because he was never that nice to Peyton. He says, "I called your house and your mom said you were here." Hell, he's even tracked her down to a public place so she has no choice but to listen to him. Aw, now that's love for you. Haley snaps, "Well, I'll be sure to lie to her time." Nathan whines, "Look, I didn't know that Brooke read that note. I didn't even know there was a note until later." Haley tosses him a smart-girl stink-eye. Nathan continues, "I wouldn't do that to you." His eyebrows burrow into his forehead like squirrels hibernating in a tree for the winter. Haley says, "Okay." Nathan: "Great, so we're cool?" Haley says rather honestly, "No, we're not." Nathan whines, "Well, you believe me, right?" Haley replies, "I believe you're sorry." He huffs, "Then, what?" She says, "Look, this whole tutoring, hanging out, whatever it is, thing, it's just a bad idea. I'm done, it's just done." And just like that, she walks out of the record store, leaving both Scott boys behind. Now it's Luke's turn to give Nathan the stink-eye. Except he really doesn't -- he just sort of stands at the back of the store looking at Nathan, and maybe kind of feeling sorry for him?
Peyton and Brooke are in the fancy girlie store -- a combination of Victoria's Secret and something not so mall-inspired. Brooke's got some fancy-ass brassiere-type thingy on that sticks 'em together and pushes them upwards, not unlike a period costume you'd find in a film made about the Restoration. Anyway. Peyton snickers, "So, explain to me how this fixes your karma?" Brooke answers, "It doesn't, but it's a total pick-me-up, don't you think?" I'm always so impressed by young girls who can use their bodies to their advantage at such a young age. I'm well out of high school and I'm still hiding behind baggy clothes and a bad haircut. She holds out a leopard print camisole and makes Peyton go try it on. As Peyton makes her way into the change room, Brooke says, "Now, the karma thing comes . I figured out a master plan. If I can fix the damage that I've done to certain people's love lives, maybe the universe will kick in and fix mine." Peyton looks at her through the top see-through part of the curtain and says, "That's a pretty long list." Brooke says, "Yeah, and Nathan and Haley are at the top of it. I screwed them up royally last night." Peyton changes. "Double karma points if I can undo that." Peyton emerges from behind the curtain. The leopard print really doesn't go with her hair -- she looks like a bit of a cougar. Brooke says, "Fabulous! Not everybody can pull off the skeezy in the jungle vibe. Now, I can fix you up too!" Peyton rolls her eyes. She says, "No thanks. I'm done with the drama of dating. I just want to have some fun." Brooke puts her hands on her hips and says, "Then you'll be happy to know I got us invited to a party at Duke tonight." Peyton walks forward: "So much for changing your ways." Brooke turns back to the mirror and admires her, ahem, cleavage. "What? You want to have fun and I promise to indulge in boys, not booze." She looks over at Peyton: "And now we have something to wear." Peyton grabs her almost nonexistent chest and giggles.
Deb sits at the counter at Karen's café, finishing up her brunch. She says, "Oh, that omelette was perfect!" Karen pours Deb a glass of orange juice and says, "Thanks, and it's on the house, it gives me an opportunity to repay you for your hospitality last night." Deb tells her it's not necessary, because she actually had fun. I wonder if Deb feels like she's cavorting with the enemy at all, or if she's just thinking that it's about time the two families started acting like they have Dan's sperm in common, because they do. I hope she really wants her son to have a relationship with Lucas, because it might be good for the both of them. Anyway. Karen complains about the mail service for a minute. And all I've got to say about that is, I live in Canada; she should be happy she's even getting mail on a Saturday, because we sure don't. Today, Karen hides behind a big coat and a counter. Dude, they're already so familiar with each other that Karen feels comfortable enough to go through her mail right in front of Deb? This feels a bit contrived, because, man, the café's full of people, your ex-boyfriend/father of your son/jerk about town's wife sits in front of you, and you casually go through your mail? Whatever. So, blah letter from Italy, blah applied on a whim, blah cooking school, and blah got in. Deb says, "Congratulations!" Karen's shocked. Deb continues, "Six weeks in Italy! Aren't you excited?" Karen doesn't answer that question. She's not the type to get excited. She's down to earth. She wears fiber -- proudly. Karen says, "It starts week, it's not like I can go." Deb asks, "Then why did you apply?" Karen: "As a lark, it's just not a good time, with Lucas and the café." Deb fondles her coffee cup for a minute, and tells Karen that it's the opportunity of a lifetime. Karen starts to walk away: "I guess it'll have to wait until some other lifetime." Deb takes a sip of coffee and thinks quietly to herself for a minute.
Nathan pumps iron in his backyard when Brooke comes up, looking rather remorseful. He stops when he sees her, gets up from the bench, and snaps, "What do you want, Brooke?" She wants to apologize for what she did to him and Haley. Nathan says bitingly, "You're apologizing?" Brooke: "I know, kind of weird, right, but I'm trying to appease the gods, so I'm sorry." Man, he's got a whole gym set up outside. Wouldn't it rust? Nathan snaps, "Whatever. Tim filmed it all for Drunken High School Girl Six." Again, TPTB really need some help with the smackdowns. But then again, Nathan's not supposed to be that smart, right? Brooke: "Okay, I totally had that coming." She steps closer to him: "I want you to know I'm going to fix it, get you and Haley back on track." He says, "Not going to happen. She made that pretty clear this morning." He takes a swig of water from a bottle. Brooke smiles: "Leave it to me. What do you want to do on your date?" Nathan: "What date?" Brooke: "Never mind, no time to waste. I'll call you later with details."
Okay, I know Karen's an independent single mom, but enough is enough -- she's always fixing something, investigating plumbing, carrying groceries or laundry. Can she never just sit down and not be super-woman for one bloody scene? Good grief. So now, Karen lugs a rectangular box into the front of the café. Keith comes in and leans on the counter: "What's with the boxes?" Karen leans on them, forcing her unborn child into a heck of an uncomfortable position: "Bookshelves. They were supposed to come assembled." Um, yeah, like any bookshelf comes assembled -- that wouldn't make sense, like they wouldn't get damaged during the shipping or anything if they were already put together. Keith flirts, "You going to put them together all by yourself?" Hell, yeah, you're telling me she can fix an outside water pipe but she can't screw some shelves into one another? What-freaking-ever. She replies, "Actually, I was going to offer you dinner to help me." He smiles, "Sold!" She says, "I'll be closing the café around seven. So it's a date?" He verifies that yes, it's a date, and then he ambles out of the café, swinging his arms and acting all carefree. Ah, young love. Yawn.
Haley comes into the front of the café and sees Brooke standing there. She snaps, "We're closed." Brooke looks around, sees all the people, and says, "Oh, I get it, closed to me." Haley pours salt into the shaker on the table. Brooke continues, "I don't blame you, I'd be a bitch to me too after last night." Haley keeps on working. She doesn't say anything but "knock yourself out" to Brooke, who replies, "You're feisty. I see what Nathan likes about you." Which I'm imagining is a compliment coming from her. Haley keeps pouring the salt into just about every receptacle she can find for it, anything to keep her from actually having to talk to Brooke. But surprisingly, Brooke has found that eating crow really isn't all that hard once you set your mind to it: "Look, you're blaming Nathan for something that I did and that's not fair. I was drunk and I was pissed and I found the note, and you know the rest." Haley pours more salt. I'll bet it's a magic trick and there's a container built into the table that the salt's really going into. Brooke keeps on talking: "I want to make it up to you." Haley snaps, "By going away?" Brooke smiles: "By hooking you and Nathan up tonight. What's your idea of a perfect date?" Thankfully, Haley's moved on to the pepper. She says, "Watching you get hit by a bus." Heh. Brooke takes it in stride: "And that sense of humour! Nathan's really lucky. He'll be here at seven. Have fun." With that, she leaves, feeling comfortable that her karma-building exercise has appeased the gods of love. Wait! Is that Venus up there? Sitting with Cupid? Are they smiling? No, wait, I think they just have gas. Yawn. And yes, before you write me irate messages about how I've got my gods of karma mixed up with mythology, please note that was a poor attempt at sarcasm. Carry on.
Oh. My. Gosh. Call someone. Karen is carrying a bag of groceries. Quick! Doesn't she need any help? And what time is it anyhow? I thought she was meeting Keith at seven, and it looks like it's dark outside already. Anyway. Luke is listening to Marco from the Culinary Institute, who's left a message on the answering machine. It's still playing when his mom comes in the door. He asks, "Is that that school you've been talking about forever?" Karen stops the message and tells him that it's not a big deal because she's not going to go. Luke hops up and says, "It is a big deal, Mom! Come on, it's a huge deal." Karen starts unpacking the groceries and says, "Well, maybe I'll just go some other time." Luke: "No, Mom, now's the time. Come on, you put your whole life on hold for me." Man, how'd he get so sensitive? He's such a momma's boy. "Every choice you've made, it's been about me." Karen keeps unpacking the groceries, and if he's so intent on making his mother happy, why the heck doesn't he help her? She says, "That's the way it's supposed to be, I'm your mother." He says, "And I want you to have this -- it's time for you to do something for yourself." She tells him that she'll think about it. Luke comes back with a little don't-think-about-it-just-do-it-inspired advice. Then he walks away. Never helping with any of the groceries. What's up with that?
Brooke and Peyton show up at the party at Duke. It's hopping! Or, well, it's just a bunch of kids standing around in a dark dorm room with plastic cups. Hell, this sure as heck isn't any Old School-inspired Mitch-a-palooza. Where's Snoop Dogg? Brooke's breasts are sucker-punched into that top. I'm surprised she can breathe. As they enter the room, she says, "We're young, we're fine, let's do some damage." Some girl offers her a cup of beer, but she declines, because she's the designated driver. Brooke scopes out the boys. The first, "too desperate." The second, "too geeky." The third, "hello, Abercrombie." And she's off to the races. What the heck time is it anyway? What self-respecting college party gets going before seven? It's barely past dinnertime and there are hoards of people drinking and the keg's almost gone? Peyton leaves Brooke to gobble up her Abercrombie as she cases the party. She comes upon a fellow sitting all by himself in his room, listening to very intense music and painting his fingernails black. Now, if that doesn't say "party!" I don't know what does. She says coyly, "Wow, Fugazi, Sparta, and on vinyl. Do you mind?" Colin from Everwood has apparently recovered from his coma, grown his hair out to a natty length, and shown up at Duke in an even worse mood than he was ever in from that damn head trauma. Peyton walks into his room and starts looking through his record collection. She pulls out an album by the Descendents called "Milo Goes to College." She tells him "it's a great album." Ah, girls talking rock and roll; it always sounds like a come-on, but I understand Peyton's attraction -- I doubt her interest in Fugazi makes her the hit of any Tree Hill b-ball party where P. Diddy and Beyoncé are far more likely to show up on the turntable. He says, "You know the Descendents?" She says coyly, "Yeah." Pause. "I'm Peyton." He puts away his nail polish -- yes, his nail polish, and if that isn't a symptom of something gone wrong with this kid, I don't know what is -- and introduces himself as Gabe. He asks if she wants to hear the Descendents album. She smiles and nods. He gets up off his bed and puts it on the stereo.
Luke has Keith's tow truck for the night, so he heads down to the Riverside Courts. Mouth's there -- representing the Irish in all of us. He says, "The prodigal son returns." They bump knuckles. Man, that Keith's Body Shop sweatshirt is huge; it hangs down to his bloody knees. Luke says, "Hey Mouth, how you doing, baby?" Malcolm laughs: "And he still remembers my name." What happened to Stinky? Seriously? We're just supposed to forget that there ever was a Stinky? Shame on you, TPTB -- you must know that I am a TWoP recapper. It's my job not to forget. The b-ball boyz start razzing Lucas about how long he's been away. One says, "Hi, have, ah, we met?" Luke says, "How's it going, Junk!" Another introduces himself as "Ferguson Thompson." Luke says, "Come on, guys, it has not been that long." Skills says, "It feels like forever, dog. I mean, do you still play street ball?" Luke taunts, "Better than you." Skills: "He's been back two seconds and he already talking, right. Let's see what you got." Luke says, "Let's shoot for teams." Skills: "Why don't you and Fergie just take it, 'cause you gonna need it."
The slowly moving camera shot makes Brooke's breasts look like water balloons. Abercrombie asks, "So what are you drinking?" She replies, "I'm not tonight." He says, "Yeah? Me neither. Killer exam on Monday." Brooke asks, "In what?" Abercrombie says cockily, "Psychology. Human sexuality, actually." Excuse me while I get the emergency barf bag from under my couch. Brooke plays along: "Really? Because I specialize in sexuality." Well, maybe they can be study partners. Oh please, am I five? Isn't everyone embarrassed by this conversation?
Gabe holds up an album and says, "There's no way you have this one." I can't see what it is, so I'm saying it's a Greg MacPherson album, even though he's a folk singer from Winnipeg and not even remotely punk -- well, perhaps he's a little punk in his attitude. Peyton scoffs, "Oh, please, I've got it on coloured vinyl." Ah, high school; I used to collect vinyl. Gabe grabs his chin and strokes it with his black fingernails. Then he says, "Okay, I was wrong about you -- I guess the clothes threw me off." Peyton: "I'm into the music, not the uniform." Gabe: "Same as me." Yeah, dude's wearing a black t-shirt, no logo, with a white, long-sleeved undershirt. He's so not dressed the part or anything. Whatever. Hey, Eddie Vedder called; he'll join you in line, Gabe. You can both wait for the early '90s fashions to come back together. Peyton: "Yeah, well maybe some of us can love the songs without painting our fingernails black." She giggles. He leers at her and wiggles his fingers. He says, "Let me get you a drink." She tells him she's not really drinking tonight. He declares, "So that's why I've never met you before, you're still in high school." Peyton looks down at the bedcovers and flirts, "Yeah, I'm a regular cheerleader." Man, she uses that line way too much. Why does she cheer if it makes her this uncomfortable about who she really is? Gabe leans forward: "Come on, one drink -- I haven't even gotten to my bootleg collection yet." Peyton says, "Why not." He gets up, pours some hard alcohol, and drops a wee, white pill into her drink -- plop plop, fizz fizz, oh, what a nightmare this is. Poor Peyton, she's not up for this; it's been a hard couple of months.
Now, if Keith's at the café and they've just started unpacking the boxes, it can't be much past eight -- it may even be closer to seven, because Nathan was supposed to show up then. Haley comes out of the back room and tosses her apron onto the counter. She says, "Okay! The inventory's done." Oh, there he is -- he knocks on the door, and Haley sighs audibly. She grabs her coat and steps outside. He stands there looking very sweet and submissive -- even if she's as cold as the Canadian Arctic Islands. She says, "What are you doing here?" Nathan: "Didn't Brooke tell you that I was going to come?" Haley: "I try to block out everything that Brooke says, so whatever you two are up to, I'm just not in the --" Nathan: "I'm not up to anything. Look, I apologized and I told you the truth. The rest is Brooke, she set up this whole serial date thing: one card leads to the ." This grabs Haley's attention because it's a smart, kind of sweet, idea. She asks, "What does the first one say?" Nathan answers, "Convince Haley to go." Pause. "How am I doing so far?" Haley: "I don't know, depends on what the second card says." He opens up the card: "Go to 1423 River Street and find your envelope. On the way, tell three things you like about each other." Okay, I'm the furthest thing from a romantic, but -- aw, that's really cute. Haley sighs, "Ugh, I don't know." Nathan steps up: "Look, I'll go first: You're the most patient person I know." Pause. "You don't go postal on me during tutoring and you don't treat me like a moron. I really appreciate that." He steps around her. "I know I have no right to ask, but we never do anything just fun together." She doesn't say anything, but she does sort of grunt again. He continues, "And plus, this is Brooke, you can bet it's not going to be boring." Haley tells him her conditions: "I'm free to bail whenever?" Absolutely. Then he makes the mistake of saying, "Trust me." She rolls her eyes. He realizes his mistake, but she gives in and goes anyway.
Brooke and Abercrombie are making out like it's a sport at this year's anniversary Olympics. He breaks for air and says, "Let's go to your room." She wants to go to his room. He's got a sick roommate. He asks if she lives in the dorm. They kiss some more. She tells him she lives across campus. He spins her around. But he's got his car, she agrees to go there -- but wait, his phone's ringing. He answers it. The conversation goes like this: "Hello? I can't hear you. Right now? You said I could stay out until midnight. This sucks!" Abercrombie hangs up and turns around with a big smile on his face. Brooke: "I'm sorry? Was that your mom?" He hangs his head. "Are you still in high school?" Heh. He admits he is, but that "these parties are a great place to meet college girls." Brooke: "What kind of loser pretends he's in college?" Well, that's the end of her good luck. She rolls her head to the sky and says, "Real funny!"
In Gabe's Lair of Lust, Peyton looks as though she's been drugged -- well, probably because she has been drugged. Way to state the obvious, Ragdoll. Anyway. He puts a record on, turns around, and says, "Hey, are you okay?" Peyton looks confused for a second and then asks him quietly, "What's in this?" Gabe snits, "Why? You like it?" Okay, Gabe's hot -- because he's Colin, or Mike Erwin, and he's really cute, and here he's a cool boy with great taste in music, so why does he have to go around drugging girls anyway? It's obvious that Peyton likes him, and judging from how she ripped Luke's clothes off in the last episode, I doubt she's a prude, so it's like he would have ended up with her anyway. I don't understand boys. There really wasn't any need for him to drug her. Anyway. She says groggily, "Did you slip me something?" He steps forward and leans over the bed. She tries to get up: "Oh, God, I have to --" He says, "Lie down." Then he pushes her back onto the bed, walks over, and slams his door shut.
Gabe's on top of Peyton now. She's trying to resist. He tries to pull off her jacket, and she flails her arms around a bit. Outside his room, Brooke walks around the party, trying to find Peyton. She pulls out her phone and tries to call her. Inside, Gabe's got her jacket off and is busy working on the second layer. Peyton tries to answer her phone. She manages to get it out of her pocket and tries to turn it on. She mutters a meek "help." But Gabe puts his finger to his lips and says, "Shhhh." The phone's on, so Brooke can sort of hear what's happening. She ends up outside the door and recognizes the music. The door's locked. But some guy standing right there seems to have a key. Whatever. He gets the door open, and she sees Gabe on top of Peyton. Brooke screams, "Hey!" Gabe screams, "Get out!" She bounds into the room, smacks him, and yells, "Get off of her!" She pushes him off Peyton and tells the guy standing in the doorway, "This perv attacked my friend." Gabe's response: "She's lying. She's just wasted." Brooke gathers Peyton up in her arms and walks her out of the dorm room. Gabe says, "She shouldn't drink so much!" Then he slams the door as Brooke practically carries Peyton out of the party. Well, if Amy could only see him now, she'd be glad to be rid of him -- no more of this depression crap. Colin's a real scumbag. And way to go, Brooke, because you might be manipulative and pushy, but at least you know what it means to be a good friend.
Back at Karen's Café, seems it takes about a million years to put together two bloody bookshelves. Karen asks, "What's on your mind, Keith?" Is it that obvious? "You seem a little preoccupied." He says, "Last night after Dan's party, I realized something. I'm tired of settling. I've developed a bad habit somehow of just letting things happen to me, instead of going after what I want." Karen fiddles with something. She agrees, and then adds, "I feel like I'm too old to take risks." Keith: "But we're not, why can't be still be as fearless as when we were kids?" Karen looks at him thoughtfully: "Because we have mortgages and businesses and more responsibility then we ever dreamed of back then." He walks toward her, blah take a chance blah. He stands within spitting distance: "Find something we want and go for it." She asks, "Like what?" A buzzer goes off just as he's about to kiss her. She says, "Oh! That's the bread. Hold that thought." And then there goes his chance, right out the window -- you can see Keith's head sag just thinking about it.
A ball swooshes through the metal net as Mouth says, "And Scott is back with a vengeance, showing the locals how it's done!" A cell phone rings. Skills stops and mocks for a minute: "What? You got a cell phone too, dog? Things sure have changed, man." Luke says, "Hello?" Cut to Brooke pacing the steps outside the residence. She says quickly, "Lucas? Peyton's in trouble. Somebody drugged her drink and I can't wake her up." Cut back to Luke, who says, "Brooke, slow down. Where are you?" Cut back to Brooke, who answers, "On the steps of Chapman Hall, I think?" Luke: "Call the campus police." Brooke: "I can't! She's been drinking." Luke: "Okay, I'll be right there."
Lucas turns to his friends and says, "I've got to go, guys." They hold up their hands in disbelief as Luke races off in his ten-ton tow truck to save Peyton from the hands of the evil Gabe.
Deb sets the table for what I'm only assuming must be an incredibly late dinner. Dadzilla comes into the kitchen and asks, "Nathan joining us?" Deb replies, "He's gone out with Haley." Dan says, "His tutor? Must be a mercy thing." Is this guy for real? Is he twelve? Do adult men still say things like that? I mean, I can understand it in a locker room, but in front of your wife? Deb: "You did not just say that." Dan replies, "Come on, she's from Westover, her father works for the power company." Again, what's wrong with him? Dude sells cars for a living. Deb: "So, what are you saying, that she's somehow beneath him?" Dan replies, "Oh, don't be so dramatic. I'm just saying that he could do better." Deb says curtly, "Funny. That's what my parents used to say about you." Dan flashes his pearly whites: "And I proved them wrong." I'm surprised he's even going to cook that meat he's handling. I just assumed all lizards liked their meat raw and fresh. Deb responds, "Well, then maybe you should give Haley the chance to do the same."
Haley and Nathan walk toward River Street. She says, "And number three?" Nathan replies, "Your loyalty, to Lucas. I mean, I'm not always wild about how it plays out, but it's cool." She smiles: "Okay, three things I like about you." Nathan jokes, "My good looks." She laughs: "I like how you let me in past all the bluster you give everybody else." Step. Step. "And, I like your smile when you solve a problem, and you're not horrible to look at." They stop in front of the same Victoria's Secret-inspired store Brooke and Peyton were earlier. Haley seems flabbergasted: "This is where we're going?" Nathan laughs: "Nice going, Brooke!"
Well, it seems Brooke is not really having that good of a time tonight. She sits on the steps with Peyton's head in her lap. The girl who first offered Brooke a drink comes running up to the pair of them: "Is your friend okay?" Brooke cries, "I don't know, she can't stay awake." The girl picks up Peyton's face by the forehead and opens one of her eyes with her thumb. She asks, "Do you know where you are?" Then she takes her pulse. It's like ER on the front steps. "Do you know your name?" Peyton mumbles, "Just dizzy." Luke rolls in on his white horse, or rather, his red truck, the obvious vehicle of all princes. He jumps out and races up the steps, yelling, "Brooke?" Brooke whines, "I'm sorry, I didn't know who else to call." He turns to the other girl and says, "Is she okay?" Because that girl would know how and why? From staring into Peyton's eyeballs for a second? Whatever. She answers, "She's not drunk. I think he gave her a sedative. We just have to know what it was." Luke looks perplexed. The girl explains, "I'm a med student." Brooke keeps on crying. Luke takes charge -- because he's the prince with the tow truck: "Brooke. I need you to show me what room she was in." Brooke nods tearfully. Luke asks Med Student to stay with Peyton, who collapses onto her lap. Aw, being stoned doesn't suit Peyton at all; her toaster hair's back.
Back inside the dorm, Brooke leads Lucas to the right room. He knocks politely. Then he screams, "Hey, open the door." Gabe tells him to piss off. Luke looks around and mocks, "Piss off?" He looks to some random guy standing there: "This your dorm?" The guy nods. Luke barks, "Go get your R.A." Then he kicks the door down. Yup, he lifts up his Nike-encrusted foot and jams that door wide open with one kick. Gabe jumps up and shouts, "Hey! Man!" Brooke tells Luke that's the guy. Luke races in, grabs Gabe, and pounds him against the wall. "What did you put into her drink?" Gabe mutters, "I didn't put anything in her drink." Luke says menacingly, "You can tell me or you can tell the police." Gabe's music blasts away in the background. He shakes his head: "It was nothing, man, one roofie." Luke doesn't like that answer. He wants to know where he keeps the drugs. Gabe's not giving up his stash. So, of course, Luke bashes him a good one in the face. Brooke has to look away. Hell, he couldn't have punched him all that hard, because dude's face isn't even bleeding. Luke lets him go for a second, so Gabe can change his answer. He bounds over and grabs the roofies from Gabe's secret stash, shakes his head for a minute. Then he walks back and punches him again. The crowd goes, "Whoa!" Luke grabs Gabe and says, "You'd better hope to God she's all right." Then he races out of the room, just like the Knight in Shining Sweatpants he truly is -- yawn. The whole Saint Lucas thing is getting a bit tired.
Nathan and Haley search through the racks for the envelope. Haley isn't really doing much looking -- she's more standing to the least sexy items in the store and hiding. Nathan quips, "You know, this would go a lot faster if you did some looking." Haley's eyes jut downward: "I'm going to kill Brooke." Aw, so cute; she's embarrassed to be in the sexy store with the boy she likes. Nathan finds the envelope: "Congratulations. Now buy each other a gift and exchange them on the way to -- there's another address here." Haley: "This is so wrong!" Nathan: "You want to quit?" Haley: "I didn't say that." She looks up at him: "Let's shop." They take off in opposite directions.
Minutes later, they're back outside. Nathan's got a rather large bag; Haley has a much smaller one. He laughs: "Did you see what that saleslady was wearing?" Haley jokes, "Or not wearing!" She hands him the bag. He pulls out a pair of socks. Heh. Nathan rolls his eyes: "Socks?" Haley: "I was playing it safe." He hands her his present to her, and she pulls out a really pretty nightgown, all satin and stuff. Suffice it to say, Haley's shocked: "Wow! This is really nice." Nathan says, "Okay, we go to this place and if it sucks, we'll just go get some pizza." Haley smiles broadly and says okay.
Luke and Brooke have gotten Peyton back to her place. You know, in real time, it would be about one or two in the morning at this point. But if this is going on the same time as Haley's date, and all the stores are still open, it's got to be before nine. But time's irrelevant in Tree Hill. Luke tenderly pulls the blanket up over the still-sleeping Peyton. Brooke's got the computer on, and she's checking out the roofie situation. She says, "Says here she'll be disoriented, and maybe have some short-term memory loss, which maybe isn't such a bad thing." Luke sits down on the desk beside Brooke and asks, "How long until it wears off?" Brooke stares at the screen and says, "Overnight, probably." They both look at a sleeping Peyton. Brooke says, "Think she'll be okay?" Luke answers truthfully, "I don't know, Brooke." Hey, how about someone a) call a doctor, b) take her to a hospital, or c) call her bloody father? Good to see they've got a drugged-out Peyton, and the only advice they've got is from the oh-so-reliable internet and a slightly drunk med student. Now, that's the sensible thing to do -- just sit there and watch her sleep, wondering out loud if she's going to be okay, and not really doing anything about it. Brooke: "I feel terrible, it's all my fault." Luke doesn't reassure her or anything: "Yeah, well, what's done is done. The med student says she's going to be okay, right, so, we just need to watch her until she wakes up." Brooke says quietly, "I can do it, you've done way too much already." Yeah, but Luke hasn't quite filled his martyrdom quota for this show yet, so he's not going anywhere. He doesn't mind hanging out, and blah he'd worry too much if he went home blah. Luke leans down toward Brooke: "Look, it's not your fault, okay? And hey, you did get her out of there."
Haley and Nathan sit down to dinner. There are more envelopes waiting for the two of them. Nathan opens a menu and says, "To be honest, I'm a little afraid." Haley opens up the instructions: "Order your favourite dish for the other person." Nathan jokes, "Any chance your favourite dish is prime rib?" She laughs, "Yeah, we have a lot of that at my house." Nathan acts all humble for a second, even bashful: "I'm not very experienced with this." Haley quips, "Ordering food?" He looks away, smiles, and answers, "No. I mean, with Peyton, it was all just parties, and games and drama. We never really did anything like this. This is different." Haley: "Different good, different weird?" Nathan looks back at his menu: "Different good. I'm really glad you decided to come."
Karen and Keith are also enjoying a late meal. They seem as nervous as Haley and Nathan. She says, "So the other night after the SBL banquet you said something." He fiddles with his food for a second: "Yeah, I know." Karen continues, "You said you weren't the person you wanted to be." He looks at her. She continues, "I feel the same." Keith says softly, "Well, maybe it's time we changed that." Karen agrees, "I want to." She laughs, "But I'm a little scared." Keith is very masculine when he says, "You don't have to be, promise." Karen puts her fork down, turns to him, and says, "Good. 'Cause there's something I want to talk to you about." Him too. "You first," he says. Karen takes a deep breath: "I got accepted to this cooking program in Italy. It's been a dream of mine since I was a teenager." He tries to hide his disappointment by saying, "Wow! That's great." Pause. "When would you leave?" Karen: "Ah, um, right away actually. I have to leave the day after tomorrow." For how long? "Six weeks." Karen starts babbling at this point: "But do I really have the right to go traipsing halfway across the world when I have a son and a business that I need to worry about?" Keith: "Well, you've got good instincts. What does your gut say?" She nods her head: "That I should go." Blah you should trust that, blah spent her whole life putting Luke first, blah good kid, blah time for yourself, blah your own dream blah. Karen: "That's what Lucas said." Keith: "Well, he's right." Keith holds up his wine glass: "Here's to your great adventure." They clink glasses and take a sip of wine.
Brooke sits to Peyton on the bed. The poor girl is still unconscious. Luke comes in with coffee for both of them. He says, "Still sleeping?" Brooke nods. He passes her the cup. She stands up and says, "I don't know how you do it." Luke replies, "It's easy. The directions are on the bag." She laughs: "You know what I mean, you gave up everything to help her after what happened at Nathan's house." Yeah, if by "everything" she means hanging out down at Riverside Courts like he's probably done every Saturday since he was twelve; I don't think it's that much of a sacrifice. And Saint Lucas rears his beatific little head again; now, he's The Boy Who Gave up Basketball To Save A Girl. Yawn. Luke says, "She told you about that?" Brooke shrugs. Then she says, "A little. Look, the thing about Peyton, it's really hard for her to let her guard down, but when she does, she's got this amazing heart, you know." Luke takes a sip of coffee and says flirtatiously, "Sounds like something the two of you have in common. Who knew?" Brooke inserts her foot right on up to her thighbone into her mouth with her comment: "So, you don't have any brothers, do you?" She squints as soon as the words come out of her mouth, realizing her mistake. Luke turns ice cold and says, "You mean, besides Nathan, right?" But then they laugh. So, everything's okay. Brooke asks, "How'd that work anyway?" I raise my arms to the roof and yell a couple of "hallelujahs" for the show continually dealing with the truth of both Luke's and Nathan's existences.
Brooke continues, "I mean, are you --" Luke answers, "I'm three months older. My mom got pregnant right after senior year. Dan moved on to Nathan's mom, first semester of college." Brooke: "That must have been really hard for your mom." Pause. "So you two are pretty close." Luke smiles and says, "Yeah. We do a lot of stuff together, we talk and she's really great." And here it comes, the poor little rich girl spiel: "Sounds nice, my parents would rather throw cash at me and send me on my way then spend any time with me." Peyton groans at this moment. Thankfully, that's the extent of her lines in the second half of this episode. Shhh, Peyton; the longer you stay asleep, the less annoying you are. Luke says, "Listen, you can grab some sleep if you want, I'll watch her for a while." Brooke smiles at him and says, "It's okay. I'd rather stay and talk to you if you don't mind." Luke doesn't mind. Hubba. Hubba.
Nathan and Haley are knee-deep in dinner. She's ordered him macaroni and cheese. Aw. That's cute. Nathan teases, "Couldn't your favourite have been lobster or something?" Haley tells him that mac and cheese is the food of the gods. Nathan retorts, "Yeah, if the gods are five-year-olds." Nathan asks if she's ready for the envelope. Haley tells him to proceed. Nathan reads, "Reveal a secret that nobody else knows about." Haley: "Okay, when I was in second grade, I stole some candy." He's not buying it; he wants her to tell him something for real. She takes a deep breath and tells Nathan that she cheated on a geometry test last year. Nathan's shocked. Man, is it that cold that they have to eat with their jackets on? Haley explains how her mom was sick, that she had to take care of her and didn't have time to study. Nathan asks, "Did you get caught?" Haley replies, "No. But that's not the point, I knew what I had done and it didn't sit right with me." Nathan says, "So you started tutoring." Haley: "Yeah, I guess I thought it would be penance or something. But, turned out I really liked it." Nathan smiles: "I thought it was just to get to me." She laughs.
Haley starts to ask Nathan about his secret, but just then Dim comes along: "What's up, Nathan?" Nathan replies coolly, "What's up, guys?" Dim says, "What's this?" Nathan stutters, "You know Haley's my tutor, right?" Dim: "Looks more like a date to me?" And what would be wrong with that? If it was a date -- I mean, is Haley such a social pariah that Nathan's not allowed to have dinner with her? What's wrong with her? She's pretty, she's smart, and she's a hell of a lot more interesting than Dim. But Nathan succumbs to social pressures. He answers, "No, no, it's definitely not a date." Dim laughs, "Yeah, man, if that's your story." And suddenly, Haley transforms back into Molly Ringwald: "Are you that embarrassed to be seen with me?" And man, I'm going to have to brush up on my teen movies so I can bring the references into at least the '90s. Anyone have suggestions? "Are you embarrassed to go out with me?" Nathan tries to apologize. Haley asks, "Nathan? Why are you only nice to me when we're alone?" He doesn't have an answer, so she gets up and leaves: "You know, for a few hours there I was convinced you weren't a son of a bitch, but, hey, you fooled me again." Nathan swivels around in his chair and yells, "Haley, wait!" But he doesn't, like, get up or run after her or anything. Not much for the get-up-and-go in terms of keeping that relationship moving in the right direction, Nathan. And yet another night ends up with Haley crying.
Honey. Heh.
The dawn starts to rise as Peyton comes around. Luke notices she's come to, and asks quietly, "Hey, how do you feel?" Peyton mumbles, "Like hell. What are you doing here?" Luke sits down on the bed: "You don't remember last night, huh?" Peyton says, "I remember Brooke took me to a party." Luke tells her that "a guy" slipped something into her drink. Peyton sits up and looks alarmed, as any girl would be, but Luke reassures her that nothing happened. That Brooke stopped Gabe before he actually did anything. Luke says, "I'm going to go wake her up." Peyton: "Wait." Pause. "Thanks." Pause. "Again." He gets up and says, "I just wanted to make sure you were all right." Peyton: "Lucas? I'm sorry." He sounds surprised when he says, "For what?" She answers, "All sorts of things." He nods and then leaves the room.
Lucas drives Brooke to pick up her car very early the morning. He stops the tow truck in the parking lot and asks if she wants him to follow her home. They both look very pretty in the early morning light, sort of soft and tender. I'm so glad the Peyton-Lucas-Brooke triangle has been the one to evolve this season, rather than the Nathan-Peyton-Lucas one -- that whole "two boys one chosen girl" storyline is so played out. ["You ain't kidding." -- Sars] Here, it's a bit different; it's one boy thrown into a new world with two girls who have really exhausted the ends of their social circles for one reason or another. It's a good twist on an old story. Anyway. Brooke says she'll be okay. Luke asks, "So why did you call me, anyway. I mean, why not Nathan or one of the guys." She says honestly, "Because I knew you'd come through." Luke pays her a compliment: "You're a good friend to her, Brooke." She smiles and says, "You sound surprised." Luke: "Sorry, I just figured that you were --" She cuts in, "A brainless slut." No, he wasn't going to say that; he tells her that she's "tough." He smiles, "But I was clearly wrong about you." Brooke says quietly, "It's okay. Most people are." She leans over and kisses him softly on the cheek and then starts to get out of the car, but Luke stops her and says, "Hey Brooke. Call me, if you need anything, okay?" She smiles back and tells him that she will. And it's a very nice smile and a nice scene, and good work both of you because I teared up a bit there -- just a bit. And plus, it'll be nice to see Lucas maybe have a relationship with someone with fewer issues than an entire eastern seaboard of depressed Canadian fisheries.
When Luke gets home, his mother waits for him in the kitchen. She says, "Please tell me you were somewhere in the Land of No Phones." Luke seems quite contrite when he answers, "I know, I should have phoned." Yeah, with that fancy new gadget you answered Brooke's call with last night. Unless the battery died and none of the phones in Peyton's house actually worked. Karen: "Um, coming home would have been another option." He apologizes again. She bitches, "You looked me in the eye and said, 'Go to Italy, I can take care of myself.'" He insists he can take care of himself. Then he explains what happened: "A guy drugged Peyton's drink at a party. Brooke called me for help. I took her home, waited until she felt better. Truth." Karen admits, "As excuses go, that's pretty solid." Then she asks if Peyton's okay. Luke tells her that she'll be fine. Karen: "Drugs, parties, and I'm supposed to go to Italy." Luke: "Hey, don't not to go Italy because of this, Mom, please." Karen says, "Okay, but if I do decide to go, I'm going to have Keith come and stay here while I'm gone." Luke smiles: "Great! Just as long as you go." Then he pulls out a piece of paper from his front pocket. Aw, he booked her a ticket on the emergency credit card -- it's non-refundable. Aw, that's so cute. Blah he wants her to have something for herself, blah dreams, blah good sons, blah hugs, blah nice relationship blah.
Nathan's chucking pebbles at what he thinks is Haley's window when she walks by him on the sidewalk and says, "Trying to wake up my parents? That's their room." She tries to walk past him, but he runs in front of her and tells her that he wants to apologize. Haley snits, "You should buy them in bulk if you're going to hand apologies out that often." Nathan: "Look, I just, I don't know how to do this, all right? I'm not like you." She snaps, "What does that mean?" He admits that he screws up a lot, and that when he gets around Haley, he doesn't want to be that guy anymore. Aw. She's not falling for it, though. She asks, "Who do you want to be, Nathan?" He says, "I want to be somebody who's good enough to be seen with you." She starts to talk very quickly, which means, as we know, that Haley's kind of upset: "Well, you should have thought of that last night." She throws her arms up in the air. "I keep putting myself out there." Her arms fall back down by her sides. "And you keep blowing it. And it's probably a good thing because at this point there's nothing you can say or do that's going to surprise me." But wait! There is! He kisses her, a big sweet, inspired, he really likes this girl high school kiss. Haley says quietly, "Except that." So cute; she continues, "You shouldn't have done that, Nathan." He answers, "But I wanted to." Haley whispers, "Yeah." And then she jumps up into his arms and kisses him right back. Throws her own arms around his neck, and he catches her, and it's very sweet and honest and quite passionate.
Deb comes into the café as Karen's figuring stuff out on a pad of paper. She says, "Have I lost my dining privileges?" Karen turns around and says, "Why would you?" Deb: "Oh, because yesterday I popped off about how you should drop everything and go to Italy. I can be quite pushy." Karen admits that she was all set to go this morning, but she's been going over the numbers and there's no way she can close the café for six weeks while she's gone. Deb is so supportive: "Well, then don't. Hire me. I can take over." Karen doesn't quite believe what she's hearing. But Deb really is pushy: "Well, why not, I've got the time and the management experience, if that's all that's keeping you from going?" Karen says honestly, "Deb, be serious. I have two things in my life, Lucas and this café." Deb insists she can help: "I know that, and because of that, you know I'd take it seriously. You can walk me through the big stuff today, and Haley can help me with the rest." Karen wavers for a moment, and then she says that she just can't. However, Deb's not taking no for an answer: "Karen. I'd like to believe we're friends, and I know that's happened quickly, but it has, and it means a lot to me. So, I'm going to say this and deny it if it ever gets out. There are things in my life I would change if I could and running from opportunity is one of them." Blah go to Italy, blah your life is now, blah take the bull by the horns, blah let me help you go, blah Oprah inspiration blah. Karen nods and says quietly, "Okay. Okay."
Sunday afternoon at Riverside Courts. The pick-up game has started up again. The boys are mid-trash talk when Skills grabs the ball and nods his head toward an approaching Brooke. Lucas turns around as he says, "She ain't come to watch me play, dog." Brooke smiles at Luke, and then sits down on the picnic table beside Malcolm. She asks, "What's your name again?" He smiles and then replies, "Mouth." Brooke grins back at him: "Really? That was my nickname at summer camp." Mouth's mouth drops almost to the picnic table. Hmm, I wonder what he's thinking? She laughs: "Because I slept with my mouth open." He laughs, "Right, of course." She says, "You know, you're kind of cute. Do you have a girlfriend?" He shakes his head. She says, "I've got a real knack for hooking people up." Luke just stands there and smiles at her -- again surprised at the depth of Brooke. And after last week, I think we're all pleasantly surprised at the many levels to Brooke's personality, and really glad she didn't turn out to be a one-note plunker like Dadzilla.
Dadzilla comes into the kitchen, takes a deep breath, and says, "What smells so good?" Deb answers casually, "Oh, I got take-out from Karen." And there goes his face; it hits the floor faster than you can say, "Life-crushing changes ahead!" He notices Deb's got papers spread out all over the place, so he asks, "What's all this?" Deb answers, "I'm going to back to work for a while." Dan doesn't even pretend to hide his enthusiasm: "Oh, Deb, that's great -- the Foundation must be thrilled." She steps toward the counter, picks up a bottle of wine, and pours a glass. "No, not with the Foundation. I'm going to run the café for Karen while she's at cooking school in Italy. Keith is moving in with Lucas while she's away." Deb notices her husband staring off into space and asks him what he's doing. Dan snaps, "I'm looking for the hidden cameras, because you cannot be serious." She tries to hand Dan the glass of wine, but he won't take it: "I am serious. Karen has had enough taken away from her and if I can give just one tiny bit back --" He snits, "And you did all of this without discussing it with me first?" Deb bites back: "The way you discussed all those decisions you made about Nathan with me?" Dan says snidely, "Payback's an ugly emotion, Deb." Um, hate to break it to you, Dan, but payback, yeah, not so much an emotion as an action, buddy. ["Also, it looks good on you, ass." -- Sars] She doesn't say anything. She just takes the glass of wine she offered up to her husband and leaves the room. It's the smartest thing she's done concerning Dadzilla so far this season.
Heh. Keith struggles to get Karen's luggage out the door. It's all a ruse to hide her incredibly pregnant belly. She asks Luke if he's sure he's okay with Deb taking over the café. Luke enthuses, "Yeah! If it means you get to go!" They embrace. It's teary. It's a damn good thing I've had a cold these past few days so the Kleenex is handy. Blah they love each other blah. Keith asks if she's ready to go -- then he gives her a small present, 10,000 lira, all that's left of his backpacking trip through Europe. Aw, it's the thought that counts, right? They look at the house for a bit. He says, "Don't worry. It'll all be here waiting for you when you get back." She smiles, he takes her bag, and they get into the car.
Haley's showing Deb the ropes as Keith and Karen drive by, honking and waving. Deb smiles fondly as she waves back, and I can't help but think that she's doing a really selfless thing -- perhaps motivated by her own guilt about how well her life turned out with Dan, in terms of its relative ease, but also by the fact that she wants to give something back to Karen, that she recognizes how hard it must have been for her over the past fifteen years. And, you know, I can really respect that -- it makes Deb a wholly good person in my books.
Haley comes into the hallway at school and sees Nathan. But before he can walk up to her, Dim comes along and ruins everything as per usual. Yet, it's different this time, because Nathan brushes them off and runs toward Haley. He stops in front of her, smiles, and then gently brushes back a piece of her hair with his hand.
Keith hands Karen her bag at the airport. He tells her not to forget to call them when she lands. She says, "You remember what you said the other night, that I had good instincts and that I should trust them." Yeah. "You were right." And then, she kisses him! It's been a veritable kissing frenzy in this episode. Hello Keith! Hello Karen! Kissy-kissy smoochy-smoochy, and there goes fifteen years of pent-up sexual tension in one ten-second moment before she goes away for six weeks. Way to make a guy wait! Anyway, Karen walks away, leaving Keith standing there watching her; he brushes his fingers over his lips like he can barely believe what just happened.
Luke runs into Peyton at school. She says a very shy hello and then throws her arms around him. She doesn't explain her actions much past "I owe you," and then she walks away. Brooke catches up with her, grabs her arm, and Luke watches both of them as they walk away, each carrying a piece of his heart -- oh, who will Saint Luke choose? I can't wait to find out.
week on OTH: Dan has the audacity to tell his son that he's not tough enough on the inside. This pressure leads Nathan to pop some pills in order to improve his game. Damn you, Dadzilla -- what the hell is wrong with you? I'm guessing Deb finds out, because she tells her husband that she wants him out of the house, and he just stands there looking confused.