Oh my gosh it's been so loooong. Hi, guys :') Writer's block truuuly sucks. But I was sitting in class... two days ago? And I was like hey. I wanna write about Chloe. Let's do this. SO WELCOME. TO THE FIRST OFFICIAL PINKBERRY ONESHOT. I hope you enjoy this I paid attention to exactly NONE of my classes while I wrote this *awkward finger guns* ANYWAYS BYE! <3

Chloe looked down at the crashed airplane at her feet. Glancing up, she saw an excited Brooke making motions as if to say, "Open it!" Chloe unfolded the paper and stifled a giggle. She didn't want to look too excited.

Jeremy told me he passes notes in class and I wanted to try! Chloe smiled and started to write her response.

It had taken everyone a while to get somewhat comfortable again after the squip. Brooke had exchanged phone numbers with Jeremy after visiting the two boys in the hospital, causing Chloe to swallow down her rising possessiveness. Michael and Jeremy were patching things up as Michael went to visit him almost every day now. Christine had been spending more time on her own lately. She and Jeremy had broke it off, both agreeing that the squip had more influence over their confessions than their own feelings for each other. Jake was out of basketball practice while he waited for his legs to heal, though rumors were circulating that he was skipping it altogether to visit Rich in the hospital. Jenna's change seemed to be the most drastic. She had set down her need to know it all when she began to hang out with Christine. She joined the theater club after the play, and Christine taught her everything she knew. The two quickly became friends after that. Then there was Chloe and Brooke...

Things had become kind of tense between the two after the Halloween party. They had reconciled after the play, but Chloe had known Brooke long enough to be sure she was still feeling heartbroken. It's not easy to forget that your boyfriend cheated on you with your best friend. But they were trying.

Brooke had come to rely less on Chloe and was now showing colors of her personality that Chloe had never seen before. She now found she had to stop herself from holding Brooke back again. She didn't want to hurt Brooke any more than she already had, but she still struggled to recognize when her possession went too far.

For Brooke to be initiating something like passing notes caused Chloe to smile involuntarily.

You dork we could just text under our desks

Chloe slipped the note over to Brooke, and she opened it eagerly. After reading it she shot a quick look at Chloe, sticking her tongue out. She scribbled and passed it back quietly.

Where's the fun in that party pooper?

Brooke Lohst you did NOT just write "party pooper." You've been texting Jeremy too much.

Chloe smirked as she returned the note. However, her expression changed quickly when Brooke's face fell. What she had intended as a joke seemingly didn't come off as one.

Brooke lifted her pencil to write a message back, but her hand faltered, unsure of how to respond. Despite all her efforts to break out and become her own person, she still felt the need to meet Chloe's expectations. She didn't want to disappoint her, finding herself still feeling inferior under her gaze.

"Miss Reed," Chloe's voice broke Brooke out of her thoughts. "May I go to the restroom?"

"Go ahead, Chloe," the teacher called back from the front.

Chloe grabbed Brooke's wrist and pulled her out of the door.

When they got out into the hallway, Chloe adjusted her stride so she was walking next to Brooke, and she made no move to release her hand.

"Chloe where are we-?"

She was cut off by Chloe pushing open the bathroom door. A small group of girls were collected near the sinks, clearly skipping class. Chloe gave them a quick glance and nodded towards the door. Two of them walked out hurriedly, but one of the girls lingered for a moment, blushing as she looked at Chloe. Brooke felt her stomach knot as the girl finally left.

When the bathroom was emptied, Chloe turned to Brooke, her confident expression being replaced by an apologetic, almost scared look.

"Brooke that thing I wrote- I didn't mean-" Chloe sighed as she tried to gather her thoughts. She fiddled with her necklace nervously. "I'm not used to this," she admitted, exhaling again slowly. "I'm so used to..." Chloe frowned. "Being a bitch. That's not an excuse to act like a bitch, but sometimes... I don't even notice. And that's really shitty. I don't know if you consider me your best friend... or even just your friend, but... you're important to me so... I'm sorry if I hurt you. If I ever lost you-" She giggled softly through the forming tears in her eyes as Brooke smiled and shook her head at the pun. "I don't know what I'd do so..."

Brooke hugged Chloe, causing her to go quiet. Brooke felt a warm tear drop onto her shoulder.

"Thank you," Brooke replied, laughing a bit quietly. "I'm okay... I think I'd just gotten so used to only really being friends with you that I... I wanted to be like you. But now that I'm learning to be my own person, I can tell which of the voices in my head are mine. My feelings towards people are changing in ways I never expected. Jeremy told me... he had the same experience with Michael after the squip." She smiled a bit sadly.

"But Michael and Jeremy..." Chloe started, pulling away and piecing thoughts together in her mind as she looked over at Brooke. She had her arms wrapped around her chest nervously.

Brooke shrugged lightly, a warm pink flooding her cheeks.

"Brooke you... like me?" Chloe asked carefully, her voice almost a whisper as she felt her heartbeat pick up.

The smaller girl's face shifted from rose to crimson as she nodded quickly, unsure of where to find her voice.

Chloe cupped Brooke's cheek in her palm, lifting her gaze. "How long?" she continued softly.

"It... took me a while to realize, but I think... sixth grade?"

"No way," Chloe responded. "I was even more of a brat in middle school than I am now, which is saying a lot."

Brooke began to giggle. "Well I'll neither confirm nor deny that."

"Hey!" Chloe exclaimed despite the uncontrollable smile creeping across her lips as she saw Brooke laugh. It was more genuine and authentic than anything Chloe could ever manage.

Her laughter quieted a bit, replaced by a warm smile. "At the time... my friends had moved to another middle school. None of them told me anything until the last day of summer. That first day... wasn't fun. Then you showed up and-" Brooke giggled a little. "-told me I would be pretty if I wasn't frowning."

Chloe scoffed. "I can't believe my past self, you've always been pretty and always will." She stuck her nose up as if she'd been mortally offended. Looking over at Brooke, she cracked a smile. The two began to laugh once more.

"I remember that day," Chloe reminisced when they had fallen back into a comfortable silence. "I was going around insulting people. Jake had started hanging out with Madeline, and I was in a bad mood – like I said, what a brat. But then I saw you, and I suddenly had nothing to say. All I could think of was why anybody would want to make you frown like that. Yet I still managed to insult you in a double-sided compliment." Chloe chuckled slightly sadly.

"You dragged me into the bathroom and helped me put on makeup. 'Now you can't cry,' is what you said." Brooke smiled fondly. "That was when it happened, I guess. All I wanted to do was be friends with you after that."

"And I messed that friendship up after you'd gotten it." Chloe frowned.

"Chloe... I'm not upset about that anymore." Brooke smiled sadly. "Jeremy's a good guy, but... I guess I was just in love with the thought of love. And I think... I just wanted to impress you."

Chloe blinked. "With JEREMY?!"

Brooke burst into giggles. "There's my Chloe." She wiped a small tear that had formed in the midst of her laughter as she quieted. "I'm sorry if... my confession made you uncomfortable. I just- I really needed to tell you. I understand if you don't see me like-"

"Brooke are you kidding?" Chloe cut her off, smiling when Brooke looked up in confusion. "Do you know how jealous I've been of literally anyone you became friends with? I- I should be the one apologizing. I kept you to myself for so long... I guess I never realized, but I love you, Brooke."

Brooke's face turned a dark shade of red. "Y-you do? Are you sure? I'm not as popular or as pretty or-" Chloe held her finger up to Brooke's lips.

"Slow down, hun," she laughed. "You're more pretty and authentic than I'll ever be. Any 'popular' person that says otherwise is just jealous. And... I know a thing or two about jealousy." Chloe blushed.

"Thanks, Chloe." Brooke smiled softly.

Chloe looked over at the mirror. "Oh this will not do. Emergency makeup fix."

Brooke met her gaze in the mirror and giggled. "Back to square one, huh?"

"Makeup is a bonding activity," Chloe agreed. "Except now I can proudly say I'm doing my girlfriend's makeup."

Brooke's eyes widened, and she nodded shyly, the red on her cheeks spreading to the tips of her ears as she smiled goofily.

YEP THAT'S IT THAT'S MY GIRLS. THIS TOOK ME. HECK. IDK HOW LONG. I TRIED USING CHARACTERIZATION. IDK. I'M SO TIRED. IT'S NOT EVEN THAT LATE BUT. I HAD FUN WITH THIS. I HOPE YOU HAD FUN READING. GOODNIGHT AND WE LOVE YOU ALL WE HAVE NOT ABANDONED THIS ACCOUNT I SWEAR! I'm gonna go probably sleep now, goodbye <3333

-May <3