Purple Monkeys Bleed Red
Synopsis: Set about three years after season five. Lucas and Peyton tried to make a go of it again from the Vegas proposal, but eventually found closure and Lucas soon started to fight for Brooke again. Life wasn't easy when they reunited as tragic twists and turns threatened to tear them apart; but now they are set to wed, will they get their happily ever after? Drama unfolds as the couple must rush to the maternity ward, Peyton confesses feelings for an old flame and Nathan makes a proposal. Then tragedy strikes...
(Italics is flashbacks)
Chapter One
The Reason
Brooke Davis groggily shuffled into the kitchen of Haley and Nathan's home, being met with the wide grins of her friends Peyton, Haley and Rachel. The redhead of the trio had a significance presence in the room due to her swollen abdomen; she was heavily pregnant.
"Teacher Girl, that bed seriously wasn't comfy," she groaned, lifting herself onto a stool beside Rachel while the three women continued to smile at her.
"Brooke, you do remember what day it is right? Or do you have amnesia?" Peyton asked, eyeing her curiously.
"Thursday?" Brooke simply replied, pouring herself some coffee.
"Brooke, it's your wedding day!" Haley stated, causing the designer to abruptly jump up with cheer.
"As if I could forget! I totally had you guys fooled!" she exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear as the four of them laughed.
"Well I'd have kicked your fat ass if you'd forgotten, it took you guys long enough to get here," Rachel commented, Brooke rolled her eyes and playfully slapped her friend on the arm in response.
Two years ago, at the Rivercourt. Lucas headed onto the court, bouncing a basketball from hand to hand as Rachel rose from the bench and strolled towards him.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Lucas Scott," she grinned, striking the ball with a sly hit and snatching it into her own hands.
"It looks like rehab did you good," he said, "so why did you call me here Rachel?"
"Well," she approached the nearest hoop and made a shot, "I was hoping you'd bring a bucket of water and some sponges so we could scrub off this..." she glanced to the ground, Peyton's artwork only partially faded, "...floor design."
"I hear we're due a storm any day now, that should take care of it" he muttered, looking at her suspiciously.
"Well, isn't Mother Nature helpful. So I heard you and Peyton aren't together anymore," Rachel told him, tossing the ball back in his direction.
"We aren't," he nodded.
"So what about Brooke?"
"What about her?"
"Do you remember the last time just me and you were here, Luke? The night you claimed Brooke was your destiny?" Lucas seemed to be catching on to her point as she approached him. "How about if you were right? You made the shot once, think you can make it again?"
"Brooke and I...we haven't been together since high school," he began, only for Rachel to cut him off-
"Well done, Captain Obvious. Look Lucas, she obviously still has feelings for you, Nathan told me you still have feelings for her, so let's dance this dance and see if it's fate. Deal?" Lucas was taken by surprise, Rachel really was being straight forward to put it into perspective. He watched as she removed a black blindfold from her back pocket and circled around to the back of him, "I promise I'll
keep my clothes on this time," she whispered into his ear, tying the blindfold around his head as he stood hesitant.
"Rachel..."
"Just make the shot. Focus on whatever you did back then, fate or destiny or just the thought of Brooke. Whatever your inspiration, make the shot." Rachel stepped back as he paused for a moment, slowly beginning to bounce the ball in one place before throwing it forward in the direction of the hoop.
Rachel watched with suspense as the ball circled the basket and then finally made it through.
"What happened?" Lucas asked, removing the blindfold to see Rachel wander over and pick up the ball.
"It went in." She smiled while he seemed unsure how to react.
Over at Lucas' house, he sat on his bed with a box; it contained a large amount of various coloured envelopes.
"Robbed the mailman?" Lucas heard the familiar voice and looked up to see his brother Nathan.
"Actually, these are all from Brooke," Lucas replied, seeming proud of the words he spoke.
"Oh, so they're those letters. The infamous 82 letters," Nathan said, moving out from the doorway to sit at the other end of the bed.
"86 actually," Lucas corrected, "she wrote four more while we were apart," he picked up on letter, "the night we broke up" he identified it, then another, "after Honeygrove," he picked up a third, "graduation," and then finally, "after our night in New York."
"82 letters in one summer then four in a few years? Man, she really did get busy," Nathan responded, the two brothers shared a smile.
Lucas couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened as he approached Brooke's home. He had made the shot. He knew, even before encountering Rachel on the Rivercourt, that Brooke was the woman he loved, but now it felt all the more real and he had to face it. He hesitated briefly before knocking on the door, waiting for a moment until Brooke opened it.
"Lucas, hey, is everything okay?" she asked, staring into his gaze that told of his conflicting emotions.
"I'm still the guy for you, Brooke Davis," he replied, his voice soft and his half-smile expressing a hybrid of nerves and joy. Brooke was speechless, as if she was numbed by his words. Then, she closed her front door.
"Brooke!" he drummed his fist against the door, again and again, "Brooke! I'm sorry! Just let me explain! Brooke!" Moments later, the door shot back open and she shoved four envelopes into his chest.
"Don't tell me you're the guy for me, it's not fair," she stated, her voice stern as her eyes became glossy.
"I'm sorry..." he began, clutching the letters.
"Don't tell me you're sorry, Luke, just...don't. We're friends, you're one of the greatest friends I have ever had in my life. But you're also one of the biggest disappointments, so I can't go there again. Read the letters, you'll understand," she explained, her expression saddened, "besides, you'll be back to Peyton by next month." She attempted to close the door again but this time he stopped her, holding it in place with his hand.
"Did it never cross your mind that maybe I was scared of being hurt again by you?" his words hit Brooke hard, seeming to both confuse and infuriate her.
"You didn't want to get hurt by me? You, who cheated on me with my best friend; not once, but twice! You, who wrote a book about your love for her that just happened to span over the time we were together! Don't you dare accuse me of hurting you, Lucas. Because, nobody has ever hurt me like you did." She pushed his hand away from the door, Lucas not even bothering to try and resist, then she slammed the door. Lucas seemed to admit defeat and he dropped down to sit on her doorstep, opening up the first of the envelopes and beginning to read the letter inside.
As Lucas eventually finished the fourth and final letter, he was interrupted as Brooke stormed out of her house, slamming the door once again, and charged past him.
"Brooke! Where are you going?" he shouted after her, as thunder rumbled in the sky above.
"If you won't leave then I am!" she exclaimed, not even looking back at him as she marched away. Lucas groaned and ran a hand through his hair as he slipped the letters into the inside pocket of his jacket and jogged after the brunette. The rain began to pour.
Heels clicked against the floor as Peyton headed into her office in TRIC, making her way over to her desk with a package in hand and tearing it open. She reversed it in a vertical position and watched as an item dropped out; a silver bracelet. The blonde smiled as she picked it up and read the inscription on the inside, 'BL TLA'. Then the happy curve to her lips seemed to fade, she stared deeply into the words inscribed onto the jewellery before setting it down and heading round to the back of her desk. Peyton pulled open one of her draws and removed a handful of photos, tossing them onto the table one by one before stopping on one of her and Lucas; it had been taken back when they had reunited, once again, in Vegas. Footsteps caught her attention as she looked up to see Karen enter.
"Peyton, shouldn't you be helping Brooke get ready?" she asked, curious as to why the blonde was in her office at this point in her friend's life.
"Yeah, one of the bartenders just called me and said I'd had a delivery. It was just something that was needed for today," she gestured towards the bracelet in-front of her, causing Karen to approach and inspect it.
"I'm sure Brooke will love it," Karen assured her.
"So what are you doing here?"
"Just making sure that everything is all set for the reception later," the older woman replied, the brief smile she had developed soon broke as she noticed the photograph Peyton was holding, "I thought you were happy for them?"
"I am, I really am, I just needed to remind myself," Peyton confessed, attempting a smile to emphasise her point. Karen didn't seem quite as convinced.
"Peyton, don't ruin this for them," she instructed, her main priority being her son's happiness.
"Karen, I promise you. I will always love Lucas, but we're in love with different people. We realised that a long time ago," Peyton declared, glancing again at the photo before setting it down.
"Do you want to get married tonight?" The words rang in Peyton's ear like a gong; she paused to question the reality of the moment, he was giving her an opportunity to make her dream come true.
"Yes," the word released from her mouth in a whisper as she continued to embrace the shock of the situation. She was going to marry the man she loved. A smile burst upon her lips as she repeated, "yes, Lucas Scott, I want to marry you."
Vegas was definitely not the most romantic setting, especially not the chapel they had located. The pair turned to face each other as they stood at the entrance, Peyton initiated a smile that Lucas mirrored, however hers soon faded as they glanced in to see the range of couples inside; from rednecks to lesbians.
"Lucas, are you sure?" He seemed surprised by her question, was she about to change her mind?
"Don't you want this?" he asked, his own smile morphing into a frown.
"I do, you know I do. I want this. I just want you to want this, for real. We haven't been involved for years Lucas, what are we doing here? We need a relationship, I need to know that you need me, that you want me; I need to know that you aren't just looking for a wife and a family. I love you Lucas, I really do, I just need more." Peyton seemed almost hurt by her own words, her eyes glistening, while Lucas just seemed confused.
"You told me this was your dream..."
"My dream is you," she responded, a sweet curl returning to her lips as she wiped away a stray tear and took his hands in her hers, "you and me."
"Then we'll head back to Tree Hill tomorrow," he nodded, attempting a half-smile. They fell silent, both glancing around awkwardly before a drunken couple stumbling past into the chapel broke the tension.
"So, now we're together I suppose we should..." Lucas began, trailing off as Peyton finished his sentence –
"Kiss." Their faces moved closer, time seeming to slow as they inched closer and closed until their noses banged together in a messy attempt at a lip-lock.
"Ow," Lucas muttered, the pair now finding it difficult to make eye contact as they just stood there. Silent. Awkward.
Their restored relationship managed to last the span of three months, all leading to one conversation. The pair sat together in Peyton's car, her comet, in the very same place that she had broken down all those years ago and they had spoken for the first time.
"This isn't right," Peyton spoke up, "Us."
"I'm willing to try if you are," he replied, the conversation void of all deep emotion as they looked to each other. "I know it isn't the same as it used to be but..."
"You kept the letters, Luke. Brooke's letters. All 82 of them. I found them in your closet," she informed him, "I'm not saying you're still in love her and that isn't the reason why this has come to an end. It just reminded me how selfish this all is, how we need to move forward."
"Oh," he muttered the one word she was all too familiar with, not exactly supporting her honesty.
"I meant it when I said I will always love you, Lucas Scott, but we aren't in love. We both know that," she continued, "and don't say oh." Her last comment lightened the moment briefly, before she carried on, "I am so sorry. I tied you to all this crap for all this time, everything with Lindsay...with Brooke in the past...everything. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologise Peyton, maybe all that was needed for this moment," Lucas told her, "so we could finally have this closure." Peyton gave him a teary smile before leaning forward and pressing a final tender kiss to his lips.
"Be happy Luke." He dealt her a smile as they spent a moment in silence, respecting the end of an era.
"So what now?"
"I think we both just need to live," she replied, grinning, "and be patient, wait for...someday."
Haley entered the guest bedroom to find Brooke pinning up her brunette curls in place.
"There's someone here to see you, if you want to see them," the teacher told her, Brooke turning to see her mother Victoria walk forwards from behind Haley.
"Well, you look nice," the stern woman said simply.
"And you sound as proud as ever," Brooke replied, turning back to the mirror and blocking off Victoria.
"I'll leave you two to it," Haley said, glancing between the mother and daughter before exiting.
"I'd like to think you were here to celebrate my wedding, but somehow I doubt that," Brooke claimed, taking a sip of champagne from the glass next to her. Around her mother she became cold, making every attempt to prevent Victoria's lack of maternal instinct and blunt attitude bother her.
"You're my daughter," Victoria began; Brooke shook her head at what she was hearing.
"Today. Today I'm your daughter, but what about tomorrow? Or the day after? Or all those years ago?" she questioned, standing to face her mother.
"Don't raise your voice to me, Brooke. I'm here for your wedding, is that not good enough for you? Now that this Lucas boy has bounced back to you, does the years I spent with you not matter? The years that he wasn't invested in your life," Victoria snapped back.
"You are my mother. Spending time with me shouldn't be a chore; it shouldn't be something you use now as a bargaining chip," Brooke's barriers were breaking down, no matter how hard she fought to keep them up, "if you can't be happy for me, then you can't be here."
"Well I'm sorry to hear that," Victoria replied bluntly, turning on her heels and storming out. Brooke turned back to face her reflection, the image of an unhappy girl on her wedding day; a girl whose own mother couldn't be proud of her. A single tear rolled down her cheek and splashed against the surface below.
More puddles formed by the second, Brooke and Lucas creating splashes through the road as he followed her.
"Brooke, are we really going to do this again?" he yelled, the volume of his voice fighting against the crashes of the thunder and the violent rain.
"Maybe we should!" she hollered back, swinging around to face him. "So, I'll ask again. Why me? Why now? Again!"
"Because it's always been you!" She was taken aback by his words. "The comet, the one I was waiting to come back to me. I realised it was you. You are the one in my heart. I loved Peyton, I did, and I still do. But it isn't like with you!"
"Why should I believe you this time? You say you've always loved her, you published a rejection towards me claiming our relationship was you in denial! So why?" Brooke's face was streaked with a combination of tears and rain, the similarity between the two making it difficult to identify which was which.
"That book was an edited, simplified, love story. You're the one I want to be with and I know you want me too!" He was startled as Brooke lashed out at him and struck him on the shoulder.
"Don't tell me what I feel!"
"Rachel told me!"
"Well unless you've forgotten Rachel has just gotten out of rehab!"
"Well even if you don't want to be with me, I want to be with you. And nothing will ever change that!"
"So if Peyton kissed you tomorrow it wouldn't change anything? Why should I believe that? It's what always happens!"
"Peyton loves Jake!"
"When has that ever stopped her before?" she yelled, the thunder and rain silencing as her words became unnecessarily loud.
"What?"
"Peyton went to Savannah to see Jake, but then she decided she was in love with you. How do you not realise this?"
"It was in high school."
"And we aren't in high school anymore, so what are you doing?"
"This!" He moved forward and caught her lips in a kiss before she could resist, they held it for a moment before she pulled away.
"I have to go," Brooke said softly, walking away from him as he remained still; watching her go.
Brooke swiped defiantly at her tears, her mother was not going to ruin this day for her; nothing was. A knock on the door caught her attention as another visitor arrived, except this time it was Peyton.
"Hey P.Sawyer," Brooke said, sniffling slightly as she recovered from her moment of weakness.
"Hey B.Davis, are you okay?" Peyton asked, walking over to the bed and sitting on the end facing Brooke.
"I'm fine," the brunette assured her, "but you're distracting me from getting ready, not to mention you should also be getting ready," she joked.
"Well, I have something for you; something new," the blonde replied, digging into her pocket and pulling out the bracelet that had been delivered before. She passed it to her friend who seemed to tear up with joy as she read the inscription.
"Thank you so much Peyton!" she cheered, pulling her into a hug. As the moment passed, Brooke's happiness settled and melted away as she looked to Peyton with an unsure expression.
"You're done with him, right? Completely?" she clearly wasn't enjoying having to ask such a question, "I just don't want to feel I should be considering Lucas as my something borrowed."
"He is yours, always," Peyton assured her, taking Brooke's hand in her own, "until death do you part and even after that." This revived the joy for Brooke as she embraced her friend again.
Peyton sat alone in her office in TRIC, shuffling through a series of documents and looking up to see Brooke enter; soaking wet.
"Brooke, what the hell. You look like you just walked off the Titanic!" Peyton exclaimed, going over to her friend with the coat off the back of her chair and wrapping it around Brooke.
"I wish I had been on the Titanic, that sounds a lot easier than reality right now," Brooke replied, following Peyton over and sitting on the other chair opposite Peyton at her desk.
"Why what happened?"
"Lucas."Peyton nodded, understanding what she meant completely by mentioning just this one name.
"So he told you how he feels?"
"And he also told me how I feel," Brooke added, before thinking back, "wait, how did you know?"
"I just did," Peyton replied, "he and I, we're done, forever. He wants you Brooke. So just let him. We were never true love always, that's you guys. And I think it's pretty great."
"I don't understand you two, at all," Brooke stood up in a defensive manner, seeming almost offended by Peyton's statement, "you lie and cheat, now you're both urging me to be with him. You went after him, twice, while I was with him Peyton. You went after him when he was with Lindsay. You had him and then it supposedly ended again. Why should I believe things will follow through any differently this time? I can't believe you." Peyton didn't have a chance to retaliate as Brooke set her friend's coat down on her desk and walked back out.
Three days passed before Brooke spoke to Peyton or Lucas again, she ignored their calls, didn't answer the door to them and anytime they entered Clothes Over Bros she would duck behind the counter. The night they had both urged her to reunite with Lucas had left her in an uncertain state, she wanted to have faith that things could all work out for the best and the way she wanted but Tree Hill was hardly the setting for fairytales; it just wasn't realistic. Every smile was a frown brewing and for Brooke and Lucas it was usually caused by Peyton.
The first time Brooke did speak to them both again, she literally spoke to both of them. The pair arrived at Clothes Over Bros when she had her back turned so she had no warning of their presence to have a chance to hide.
"Brooke, we need to talk," Lucas said, initiating the conversation as Brooke turned to face them.
"I'm a little bit busy right now," Brooke responded, avoiding eye contact as she fiddled nervously with a dress that hung beside her.
"You have no customers," Peyton stated, gesturing at the empty space surrounding them in the store.
"Well I'm busy avoiding you two," she claimed, walking around to the back of the counter, "if you aren't here to make a purchase may I request you leave the store, this is a business."
"Brooke, don't be..." Lucas began, only for the brunette to cut him off;
"I will repeat, buy something or go." Peyton could only role her eyes and smirk at Brooke's stubborn attitude, she then reached out and grabbed an emerald coloured dress; approaching the counter with it.
"I would like to buy this please, kind shopkeeper," Peyton said, forcing a smile which Brooke struggled to replicate.
"Green, it suits you," Brooke quipped, "but I have the right to refuse sale to any customer." This only seemed to amuse Peyton more, while Lucas was clearly tiring of this banter.
"Brooke, please..." he begged, stepping forward while Peyton moved back out of the way, "just listen."
"Go ahead," the brunette finally agreed, remaining hesitant and drumming her fingers nervously against the surface in-front of her.
"I'm in love with you, Brooke Davis. And this isn't some sudden thing, for the past year this has been just waiting to come up; but in my heart it's been longer than that. I don't regret my time with Peyton, I don't. Maybe we both have regrets about the way it all happened but that's another story. But this story is clear and simple, I love you Brooke. I told you that you were going to change the world someday and you have; you've changed my world," he told her, Peyton observing with a soft smile while Brooke was tearing up.
"But why?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper as her emotions diluted the sound.
"Why do I love you? Because you gave me the purple monkey, because you let me be there for you even though you said you didn't want me to, because you were there for me. There's infinite reasons why I love you, Pretty Girl, so just let me." In the moment, neither of them seemed aware of Peyton's exit as she left and headed up to the roof of the building.
Once up there, the blonde wandered over to the edge and looked down on the street below. The people that walked past, just living their lives. Joy. Pain. Love. Loss. Each of them had felt it at some point; she just wasn't sure which one she was feeling. Then she saw him. Like a dream he was just there, walking by casually with headphones in his ears and his music loud enough to be heard by others.
"Jake!" she called out, watching as he stopped and looked into Clothes Over Bros curiously, "Jake!" He didn't hear her, so she opted for another way to catch his attention; water balloon. Luckily, the roof seemed to always be stocked with the liquid bombs and she dropped one right down beside him. The splash against his leg caught his attention as he pulled out his ear phones and looked up to see Peyton, expressing complete shock that soon developed into joy.
"Jake!" she beamed, "I'll be right down in one sec!" He grinned, watching as she disappeared from sight. Maybe today was someday.
Back inside the store, Brooke and Lucas were completely oblivious to Jake's presence outside however they had registered Peyton's exit.
"I want to believe everything can be okay this time, I just don't know how," Brooke said, Lucas reached out for her hand and guided her from behind the counter.
"You want a reason to believe?" he asked, he didn't give her chance to respond before pressing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss.
"That's a good reason," she murmured, as their lips briefly parted before connecting again. The sign above them signifying their relationship. Somebody told me this is the place where everything's safe.
"So how about we get you into that dress?" Peyton suggested, as the two women parted from their hold.
"Or how about you at least starting getting ready?" Brooke replied, sharing a grin with her friend.
"Or how about we get me to the hospital," Rachel interrupted, stepping into the doorway with her hand clutched over her stomach, "the babies are coming. And it hurts like hell." Brooke leaped up, clearly overjoyed, and ran over to her friend.
"Oh my god! The babies! Now? Why now? Now isn't a good time!" she rambled, "but oh my god the babies!"
"Calm down, breathe," Rachel instructed, attempting to sooth Brooke's nerves while the brunette just gazed at her with a large teary smile.
"Brooke, don't you think you should let Lucas know?" Peyton piped in, removing her cell phone from her pocket and handing it to Brooke with a smile.
"Right, yes," Brooke nodded, accepting the phone and calling her fiancé, "it's Brooke! The babies are coming! We're going to be parents, Luke!" She let out an excited squeal as she listened to his response, Rachel rivalling this with a groan caused by a contraction. The atmosphere was filled with excitement.
So Rachel's babies belong to Brucas? Don't worry if you're confused, everything will make sense in the next chapter. I know Nathan and Haley didn't particularly do anything in this chapter but they will be more involved in chapter two. Jake will also appear in present time from now on as well.
Chapter Two: Ooh Ooh Baby - While Brooke and Lucas rush Rachel to the hospital, the impending birth of their offspring threatens to delay their wedding. Nathan has a serious suggestion for Haley. Peyton is urged to confess her feelings for someone. And Jake wonders if he made a mistake moving back to Tree Hill two years ago. Flashbacks also reveal the details of Jake's return, Rachel's pregnancy and the BL engagement.