*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

[ chapter fourteen, wishes are for birthdays ]
( episode four ; shook one pt. ii )

— warnings: drugs

⠀BROOKE USED TO LOVE THE CARNIVAL GROWING UP. The fireworks, the rides, the prizes her older brothers used to win for her. Back when the chili cook-off was just for fun and not her dad obsessing over winning every single year. When they would get second, third place, and still Cal would pick his daughter up and spin her around because it didn't matter if they won, they were just happy to be together.

But as Nate and Aaron got older something changed. They didn't want to babysit their kid sister anymore. They wanted to go on the ride she was still too small to go on, or get lost in the funhouse she was too scared to go in by herself. Plus her parents always held such high expectations for her. If Nate and Aaron wanted to wreak havoc with their friends, Brooke had to be the one to stay behind and make sure her parents didn't start arguing in the middle of the chili stand.

The main thing that she loved was that, almost every year, the carnival fell on the week of her birthday. And this year, it was the day of her birthday. Which, of course, she pretended not to be excited about but she really was. The last time she'd gotten to actually celebrate her birthday at the carnival was when she turned eleven, and Aaron forced Nate to ride the graviton so many times he threw up on her cake.

So, all family and relationship drama aside, Brooke was just hoping that the night wouldn't end in some kind of horrific, theatrical tragedy like the rest of her birthdays.

"Well, did you break up again?" Turning to look at her brother, Brooke frowned when Maddy was nowhere to be seen, brows furrowing as she glanced between Nate, who was storming angrily towards the booth, and their father

"No," Nate snapped, clearly upset about the altercation with his girlfriend

"Looks like you broke up again," Cal continued to press, pissing off Nate even further as he took a seat under the tent

"No, we didn't!"

"If you ask me, she's a distraction,"

"Good thing nobody did," Brooke quickly sneered, although it was clear from her point of interference that she was defending Maddy and not Nate

"Brooklyn!" Marsha scolded the way she'd snapped at her father, although Cal seemed more amused than anything as the blonde refused to apologize. Shaking her head, Marsha turned back to face Aaron as Cal's attention was placed back on the pot of chili

"Hey," approaching her brother and leaning against the counter beside where he was sitting, Nate scowled at the inconvenience, glowering up at his sister, "What happened? Were's Maddy?" questioned Brooke, arms folding across her chest

"She went home to change," was all he replied, looking away from Brooke carelessly

"What, why?" Nate scoffed, shaking his head as his jaw clenched in anger,

"You see what she was wearing?"

A wry chuckle escaped Brooke's lips as she shook her head in disbelief "Excuse me?"

But, lucky for Nate, whatever reason he was about to give for why she should have any kind of say on what Maddy could or couldn't wear, Xander, Parker and Lexi appeared at the booth, clearly clueless about what would have probably turned into another argument. The boys smiled at Brooke, holding up a cake whilst Lexi held sparklers, all three in party hats.

"Birthday girl!"

"Happy birthday!"

"It's somebody's birthday!"

Forgetting all about her brother, Brooke smiled as Inez, Cordelia and Zeppelin appeared at her sides, placing a party hat on her head too as her hands met her shocked, open mouth, "Holy shit!"

Beginning to sing her happy birthday, Brooke ignored Nate's reluctant joining in as he leaned against the wooden column of the booth.

Tears pricking her eyes at just how truly wonderful her friends were, Brooke couldn't help but let her mind think of the one person that she truly wanted by her side in what was one of the happiest moments of her year so far

"Happy birthday to youuuuuuu!" finishing in harmony, Parker and Xander placed the cake down on the counter next to the chili pot as Cordelia continued filming on her phone

"Ba ba ba baa!" Xander sang his best impression of a trumpet as he displayed his baking skills, "And thus we gift to you, Lady Brooklyn, your dream birthday cake," the cake was all Brooke could have wished for. And proved even further to her that Xander was the person that knew her better than anyone in the world, maybe even Maddy. Because Brooke had grown up in a house where her parents thought they could buy her love. But Xander knew better than just getting an expensive cake and slapping a one and seven candle side by side in the middle. No, this cake was ugly and imperfect and homemade and he had clearly not anticipated how long a word birthday was when starting it on the cake. But it had her favorite colors, favorite icing, favorite sprinkles. It just reminded her that, her whole life, her birthday had always been planned around her parents and not her. Because from the looks of shock on their faces, they clearly had nothing to do with this surprise.

Fanning her eyes dramatically, Brooke chuckled as Lexi made her way around to the inside of the booth, nudging Brooke on the shoulder fondly, "Make a wish!" closing her eyes tight and lacing her fingers together, Brooke slowly leaned down towards the cake as she debated making a true birthday wish this time.

None of her birthday wishes had come true until this point, but still, Brooke didn't want to give up hope on the tiny bit of magic left in the world for her. Because she'd already given up hope on her happy family. On ever having a good relationship with her brothers or her parents. And she didn't need to wish for love from her friends, because she knew how deep their love for each other went.

No, there was only one person truly worth wishing for this year. Someone who wasn't even there to see the wish get made in the first place.

Maddy...

Taking a deep breath, Brooke finally pursed her lips and opened her eyes to blow out all seventeen candles on Xander and Parker's creation. Grinning ear to ear, Brooke brought her hands towards her heart as she looked up at her friends lovingly, "I love it!" arms wrapping around her nearest friend, which happened to be Lexi, she squeezed tightly as she chuckled, "I love you! Thank you," Xander simply nodded a 'you're welcome' glancing over at Parker with a look Brooke knew and recognized and had rarely seen as she watched him lightly nudge Parker in the arm, "What was that?" she pointed, releasing her tight grip on Lexi as Xander anxiously buried his hands in his jacket pockets. Gasping suddenly Brooke grinned at the undeniable chemistry between the boys in front of her, "Are- did you two-"

Hands in his jeans rather than his jacket pockets, Parker only shrugged, raising a brow as he waited for Xander to give his answer considering Brooke was primarily his friend.

❀ུ۪

⠀ NOW, LIKE SAID BEFORE, XANDER HAD BEEN LIVING with my aunt Ellie since the beginning of summer. She and my mom were always pretty close, so, most weekends we ended up over at their place, or they'd come to us, for dinner. And he kinda started flirting with my brother.

Like a lot.

Like a gross amount.

But it was sweet.

They even started hanging out with me and Jules. Only difference was, when Xander finally kissed him, Parker kissed back.

My mom was pretty much over the moon 'cause, like, Xander's a genuinely good guy and the last few months... last few YEARS have been pretty rough on Parker.

Xander was sure Brooke would have been freaking out with him too.

Only thing was, she kept blowing him off to be with Maddy. Which he didn't mind at first, being in the honeymoon period with Parker was fun and, if he was being honest with himself, Parker was the only person he really wanted to be around.

So it wasn't until the carnival that Xander actually told her...

Sheepish smile, Xander only shrugged as he tried to keep a low tone, "Don't make a big deal out of-"

"THIS IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" practically leaping over the table, Brooke made sure not to destroy her cake or the chili as she grasped the two around the shoulders, pulling them rather far down into a hug as they were both considerably taller than her 5'3 ass.

Nate, however, had a vastly different reaction to his gleeful sister, scoffing when he asked, "What are you, like, dating?"

Admittedly, Xander probably wouldn't have used the word 'dating' had the mere existence of Nate Jacobs not pissed him off, "Yeah, Nate. Problem?"

"Nah," Nate didn't look happy for them. If anything he seemed amused although he tried to mask it behind a smile. Brooke had never considered her brother a truly homophobic person; maybe he just truly fucking hated Xander and the idea of him being happy, "Congrats," ignoring the odd stares he was receiving from all of Brooke's friends, Nate simply walked away to the other side of the tent

Zepplin leaned towards Brooke as he asked, "What's his deal?"

"Internalized homophobia," Brooke quipped matter-of-factly, although half-joking as she made sure her older brother with violent tendencies didn't overhear.

"Uh-oh. Mr. Jacobs!" spinning around upon hearing McKay, Brooke looked past him to smile at Cassie as the two approached the booth

"Oh! Stingray McKay," Cal chuckled, glancing over briefly as Brooke walked her two remaining friends over to the now rather crowded booth,

"I see you... I see what you got going on over here,"

"All right, chili,"

"Let me get some,"

Hand extended towards McKay, the young men grasped hands in doing that generic 'bro-hug' that made Brooke and Xander hold back fits of laughter, "Yo, what's up, brother?"

"How you doin', man?"

Completely ignoring her boyfriend simply for the fact that he was friends with her brother, Brooke wrapped her arms around the shoulders of her fellow Blonde excitedly, "Cassie!"

"Hey, B!" squeezing her back for a moment, Cassie let go to say, "Happy birthday!" extending her arms, she held out a perfectly wrapped, square-shaped gift, that Brooke could tell from holding it was a book.

"Thank you!"

Through a smile that almost seemed forced, McKay gave a slight wave to his friend's younger sister as he wished, "Happy birthday, Jacobs junior," and, through a smile that was actually forced, Brooke only nodded when she replied

"Thanks, McKay," tearing open her gift, tears pricked Brooke's eyes once again when she was a beautifully decorated scrapbook, with pictures of her and Cassie and Maddy and all of their friends, happy and together and safe before all the bullshit that came with the beginning of the school year, "Cass, this is beautiful,"

Relieved, Cassie rested her cheek on her friends' shoulder, knowing from the look in her eyes that Brooke was staring at the one person on the cover of the scrapbook that wasn't even there, "I'm just glad you like it,"

"I love it," Brooke whispered genuinely, leaning her head against Cassie's to hug her tightly once more, "Love you,"

"Love you too," Cassie grinned, releasing her grip on the birthday girl so that she could put her scrapbook somewhere safe. Greetings and conversations with the group persued, about school, the football team, birthday plans.

Until it finally got to the point where Nate noticed the closeness between his friend and the girl he had told him to ditch after he banged

"So..." he smirked, amusement in his tone, "What are you... Are you guys, like, in a relationship?" smiling fondly, Brooke could tell Cassie was waiting for a confident yes. But by the look of embarrassment on Mckay's face, she already knew what he was going to say

"Nah, we're just chillin'.

"Are you just chillin'?"

"Yeah, we're chillin',"

Disappointed, Brooke tried her best to zone back in the conversation that her real friends were having, but she just couldn't knowing that Cassie was hurting

"Okay. Okay," Nate smirked as their father changed the subject

"Why haven't I seen you on the field?" he asked as Mckay looked up and down nervously

"Uh... Just freshmen got to earn their due, that's all,"

Shaking his head in disappointment that Brooke had come to know all too well, Cal placed his pot of chili down on the counted to fold his arms, "You take that attitude, you'll spend the rest of your life on the bench," knowingly, Aaron and Brooke glanced at one another as Mckay let out a nervous chuckle

"It's really not that big of a deal, Mr. Jacobs," he insisted, "It's just the first season,"

"No, it is a big deal," Cal continued to press, "You got one of the best slide steps I've ever seen. You've got promise. You've got talent. You're not pushing yourself hard enough,"

"Dad, I think McKay's gonna be just fine," Nate, surprisingly, attempted to defend his friend

Cal paused, ignoring the angered look in his daughter's eye when she watched him point at Cassie and reply, "I'm just trying to help him keep a girl like her,"

Cassie frowned, looking down at the floor and Brooke had finally had enough of all the bullshit from the men in her family, "What the fuck does that mean?"

"Language, Brooklyn!" Marsha quickly scolded her again, wincing as the blonde's voice got higher and louder when she continued to defend herself and her friend

"I'm defending my friend," she snapped, gesturing at Cassie who gave a slight nod in thanks before glaring up at her supposed boyfriend beside her

"Why?" she asked, tilting her head as her eyes narrowed "It's not like we're in a relationship. Plus, I don't even care about football,"

"Whoa," Cal chuckled, staring down at Cassie condescendingly as if she were a child. And as her father went on the longest tangent she had heard in her life about how awesome football was and how it's not just a game it's life, Brooke found herself wondering why she was even forcing her and her friends to stick around the booth in the first place, "Why do think I have the family I have?" upon hearing herself, as she was, unfortunately, a part of the aforementioned family, Brooke zoned back into the conversation, "The success that I have? Why do think this chili has been voted best chili in the county five years in a row?"

Aaron and Brooke scoffed in unison, gaining a seemingly jealous glare from their brother

"'Cause you refuse to lose," Aaron chimed, glancing at his sister knowing that she would continue

"Cause you have an unhealthy obsession with being better than everyone," she sneered matter-of-factly, arms tightly folded across her chest

"No," Cal pointed in feigned warning as Aaron and Brooke held back laughter, "It's about who you want to become in the world," shrugging as if he hadn't just stood there indirectly insulting Cassie the entire time, Cal glanced down at the blonde with a mocking smile, "I'm just lookin' out for you,"

And that was her fucking breaking point.

Slamming the pot of chili she had been given down on the side and splashing maroon sauce all over it, Cassie stormed out of the booth, Lexi watching after her in worry as Nate stared on with amusement. Silence fell over the entire booth, and whatever conversation Parker, Cordy, Xander and Zepplin had been having came to an abrupt halt as they stared after Cassie in confusion

"Bye!" Nate called mockingly, this time McKay sensing the urgency of losing his girl and Brooke kicking his ass from the stern glare he was receiving

"Cassie!" placing his chili down in a far more gentle fashion, McKay slowly started making an awkward exit

"What the fuck is her problem?"

Eyes briefly closing in an effort to keep calm, McKay shook his head at just how little sympathy Nate had for the girl his father had insulted so easily, "Come on, bro," rolling his eyes, Nate ignored all the judgemental looks from Brooke's friends as he watched Mckay leave after Cassie

Brooke wanted so badly to follow after her friend because she knew firsthand how shitty comments from her father could affect self-esteem, "Seriously, Nate, you're such a fucking asshole," but her attempt was cut short by large arms wrapping around her waist and lifting her off the floor to face the other direction

"No, no, no..."

"Xander!"

Putting her down, Xander spun the blonde around to grip her by the shoulders, not noticing the suspicious glances from his boyfriend as he looked deep into her eyes, "Don't you think that's an argument you should stay out of?" jaw clenched, Brooke only tilted her head in clear disagree. Looking over his shoulder, her eyes met Cassie's sisters as she pleaded with her

"Lexi?"

"I... can't see where she went," pulling her phone from her pocket, Lexi began to type as Cordelia brushed her arm reassuringly, "I- I'm gonna text her though,"

Less than concerned about where Cassie and McKay's argument had gotten them, Xander leaned against Brooke as he looked at her mother

"Mrs Jacobs!" he called with exaggerated joy

"Mr. Campbell?" Marsha replied with a raised brow

Pleading smile on his features, Xander gripped ahold of both of Brooke's shoulders as he spoke in a mocking, fancy accent, "Permission to temporarily kidnap your daughter to take her on as many rides as we possibly can before they announce the winners of the cook-off?" so excited at the idea of actually getting to leave her parent's stupid booth, Brooke's attention quickly shifted as her hands clasped together to beg her parents

"Please, please, please?" both half-jokingly sticking out their bottom lips, Xander and Brooke ignored how Nate rolled his eyes at their childish nature

Amused, Marsha let out a chuckle as she stared at the only person in their family with an ounce of happiness left inside them, "I don't know, Cal," she teased, bumping her husband on the arm "She even brought the pouty lip back," Eyes narrowing, it was clear that Cal was trying to mask a smile as he took a step forward, eyeing Xander with intimidation

"Cook-off announcement," he pointed to the ground, "I want her here,"

"Yes!" Brooke jumped gleefully, wasting no time in grasping Lexi with one hand and Xander with the other, dragging them away at the speed of light

"I promise!" Xander called, not wanting to have simply nodded although he knew Brooke's parents noticed it wasn't him that had left in such a hurry

Gasping as she looked up at the bright lights, Brooke's grip on Xander's hand tightened before she let go altogether, pushing herself up in the air by gripping onto Lexi's shoulders before landing on the ground with a thud, "Let's ride the Ferris wheel!"

"Aren't you scared of the ferris wheel?" Zeppelin snickered, arm around Cordelia's shoulders as the other much calmer teens caught up with the exuberant blonde

"Uhh, I have Lexi to keep me safe,"

hi it's been a while omg

i think this is the longest chapter i've written so far lmao, and barely anything happened compared to the other chapters too lmaoo i swear this is just to help build up the chaos n i wanted to write one cute thing before it all goes to shit 😭

also i've gained so many new readers bc i started making edits on tiktok so hi and ty !! :D

sorry if the xander/parker stuff is kinda coming out of nowhere, again bc this book is very brooke/xander focused i wanna leave some parker/xander stuff for my other book bc he's rue's brother so that would take place in the fez/rue side of the story and this book is the maddie/nate side of the story yk?

anyway tysm for reading/voting/commenting i love getting feedback !! (even if i don't respond a whole lot bc we love being an anxious bitch 🤙🏻)

stay awesome <3