Chapter One
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After Haley leaves, Nathan is left a broken man. He knows Brooke Davis as a silly cheerleader and his brother's ex, but can she also be the girl to help him get over his pain? This story is AU and takes place about five weeks from after Haley leaves on tour. Nathan is still hurt and angry about his wife's disappearance. Jake and Peyton are blissfully together but Brooke's relationship with Felix is not half as happy. Lucas is around but not on great terms with Nathan or Brooke. Brooke has been avoiding Lucas. Pairings: Jeyton, Brathan, Brucas
Timing: My story takes place a few weeks after "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" and continues from there into my own special alternate universe.
Disclaimer: It's not mine. Mark Schwan is the god of One Tree Hill and all these characters, as well as the town of Tree Hill, are his creation. The lyrics are Coldplay. I don't own any of the products that Brooke buys beyond what my fridge contains. The contents of the story are mine.
Author's Note: I'm really excited about this story and I hope you are after you read my first chapter! Reviews mean a lot to me.
for you i bleed myself dry
Haley had left him four weeks and six days ago and the apartment had not been cleaned since. His mom would say it was because he was clinging to all remnants of his past relationship. He would say to fuck off.
Nathan knew he had to clean up and he knew he needed help but he didn't know whom to call. Everyone had been whining, whining, whining ever since about their own shitty little problems and Nathan did not want to listen anymore. All he wanted was for his apartment to look nice again and smell as fresh as her floral shampoo. The stench of uneaten food combined with the anger of unresolved issues was at a high point and he needed serious help and fast. But who to call?
Lucas was all sad because he couldn't get up the courage to talk to Brooke. Nathan thought he was just being a wuss—besides, it was his own fault for losing her in the first place. Peyton was all sad because Jake was mad at her about the cocaine. Nathan thought that was retardedbesides, Peyton was the one who liked to snort it so much. Tim was all sad because his Mom had confiscated his fake id. Nathan wondered why he wouldn't just get a new one—besides, they were pretty cheap. And let's face it, Nathan was not going to ask his parents for help. They'd just gloat about the fact that Haley had left him.
So he called the only other person he knew of who would be willing to help. Brooke Davis.
It was weird; he had never really considered Brooke until recently. Sure, they had gone to school together and partied together since forever. But they had never really been friends. Only in the way that basketball players and cheerleaders are friends or in the way that you are friends with your girlfriend's friend. But they'd hung out a lot more since he'd been with Haley and he'd found his time with her to be interesting, to say the least.
If anyone could help clean up and make it fun, it would be Brooke. As long as he could get through her jerk of a boyfriend, that is.
Nathan struck a hand under the couch and pulled out his dying cell phone. The screen flashed SIX MISSED CALLS but he didn't bother checking who it was. He figured it was probably Lucas or Dan feigning concern for his well-being.
Brooke picked up her ringing cell phone, ignoring Felix's glare. Quickly glancing at the caller id on the outside, she quickly flips it open. "Hey Nate! How are you?"
Nathan ignores her condescending tone, the same one that everyone has been using around him ever since Haley left. "Yeah, Brooke, can you come over? I need a little help cleaning up all my crap." As soon as the words leave his mouth, he chastises himself for his words. Brooke grew up with maids picking up her every crumb—why would she want to help Nathan pick up moldy pizza crust?
"Oh my god, Nathan! Your Aunt died? I am soooo sorry! I'll be there in a few, okay? Bye!"
The phone clicks off, leaving Nathan bewildered. He shrugs it off, knowing that she will have an explanation when she arrives.
Across town, Brooke leans across the table to give her boyfriend a quick kiss. "Nathan's aunt died, so I have to go help him out. You understand, right, Felix?"
Felix rolls his eyes in response. "Obviously my opinion doesn't matter to you."
"Oh shut up, it's his mother's sister. It's not like he and Lucas are on good terms right now anyway, what with Haley's disappearance. Jesus, Felix, I don't know why you're so jealous of him. Lucas is my ex-boyfriend. He's my past and you're my present. "
Felix pushes away the thought of the talk he had with Lucas a week ago. Really, it was more like a fight. A fight where Felix told Lucas to stay the hell away from his girlfriend. Felix's eyes quickly go from pissed-off to puppy dog. "Just know that I would never hurt you like Lucas did, okay? I love you."
Brooke smiles as she picks her purse up and turns to go. "Bye!"
She hasn't said those three words back to Felix although he's been using them almost daily for the last month.
Brooke turns her car on and speeds away from the restaurant. She soon sees the small grocery where they never question her fake id. Brooke knows it will take a while to clean up the hell hole Nathan calls home and she also knows Nathan is a lot more fun while drunk.
She swerves into a parking spot and goes into the grocery store where she fills up a basket with beer, peach schnapps, Oreos, chocolate bars, Red Bull, Diet Pepsi and all the other things she considers necessary for having fun. Brooke pauses at the display of condoms and remembers the time she and Lucas were caught buying them here by Nathan's Mom. She shakes her head at the happy memory and proceeds to the checkout counter.
Brooke empties a very full shopping basket at the counter and winks flirtingly at the old man working the register.
Brooke takes out her black American Express card and her fake id and proceeds to pay for her groceries. Taking the three plastic bags out to her car, Brooke is surprised to see Lucas walking into the store as she left it.
Lucas smiles at Brooke. "Hey Brooke."
She nervously smiles back, "Hi." Her voice is void of its usual pep.
Lucas glances down and sees bottles of alcohol peeking out of her bag, along with cookies and assorted junk food.
"Party?"
"Uh, yeah." Brooke isn't sure what to say to her ex and she definitely does not want to explain that she is going to Nathan's. She knows the situation between the half-brothers is strained and she doesn't want to breach it. Brooke likes to think that her and Lucas are friends but at times like these, it gets awkward. "Invite only," she grins but he notes that her eyes aren't sparkling.
Lucas knows all the little things like the difference between the way she smiles when she's truly happy and the way she smiles when she's faking it. His love for her is eating him away and he can't stand it.
They stand there awkwardly but Brooke breaks the silence as she says, "Gotta go. Talk to you later, okay?"
Lucas stares back until her car is beyond the horizon. He will spend the rest of the night wondering why she didn't ask him to join her at the party.
At the apartment complex, Brooke pounds on the door. "Nathan?"
He hasn't answered although she's been waiting for like ten minutes and it is starting to piss Brooke off. She puts her hand on the doorknob and opens the door, apprehensively looking into the apartment. The television is blaring which explains why he didn't hear her knocking. Nathan's back is to her and he's holding a large black plastic bag while trying to fill it with a stack of pizza boxes.
Brooke picks up the television remote and shuts off the sounds of ESPN. Nathan quickly turns around at the abrupt change and his expression of fear turns when he sees Brooke standing there.
"Wow, this place stinks," Brooke looks around disgusted.
"No shit, that's why I'm cleaning it up."
Brooke rolls her eyes, "Maybe you should have started, I don't know, a month ago?"
"A month ago, Haley was still the one picking up after me."
"Right." An uncomfortable silence fills the room at the mention of her name.
"Well," Brooke brightens, "let's get to work then!" She takes the garbage bag from Nathan and proceeds to quickly clear the entire kitchen counter into it.
Nathan takes out a bottle of some cleaning stuff from the cabinet and holds it up. "Do you know what this is?"
Brooke turns to him with a befuddled look on her face. "Um, like, stuff for cleaning stuff?"
Nathan can't help but laugh at her.
"What?" Brooke laughed, "It's not like you know what it is either!"
They laugh and as Nathan catches Brooke's shining eyes, he feels something that he hasn't in a while. Happy.