I know I should be working on 'Never gone away' (if you haven't read it, read it - and review!)but I haven't had time to finish the next chapter, so I'm posting this instead as a little Christmas bonus, if you guys like it I'll try and keep both stories going at the same time.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill (out of interest, does anyone know who actually does? Is it Mark, or the WB?? Cos wouldn't it be funny if they wrote a fanfiction, and could e like 'actually, I DO own this show'!)
It's set about a week or two after where the show is in the US right now, so Brooke's just got together with Felix (but don't worry, she's not sure about her decision...) and Lucas has feelings for Brooke but has accepted she's with Felix. If stuff doesn't work just consider it AU, oh yeah, and Jake's back!
The students at Tree Hill High looked forward to their annual ski trip all year. A week of skiing, snowboarding, hot chocolate, and most importantly, the little log cabins they stayed in which were allocated regardless of sex, i.e. guys and girls together in the cold under a log roof.
Brooke Davis was no exception, she couldn't wait to get away from school and the madness of tree hill and relax with all her friends. Well almost all…
"I can't believe we're not allowed to go! Why do they fill up all the places so quickly anyway, it's totally unfair to all the new students,Anna and Ididn't even get a chance to apply!"
"I know Felix, but it doesn't matter, it won't be that much fun, and I'll see you in a week," Brooke was pulling clothes out of her wardrobe and chucking them in her suitcase, while Felix was lying on her bed, with his arms crossed, looking very pissed off.
"A week's a really long time! What am I going to do while you're away?"
"You can hang out with Anna, or make some new friends, you'll be fine, and I bet you don't even like skiing anyway!"
He didn't answer, and she rolled her eyes and continued choosing clothes.
"You're not taking that!"
"What? Why not?" Brooke was holding her red bikini.
"Well firstly, you won't need it because you're going skiing and secondly, I don't want other guys staring at you when I'm not there to beat them up."
"Ever heard of hot tubs Felix? And no one's gonna be staring at me, they all have their own girlfriends to worry about." Secretly, Brooke was also looking forward to this trip because it would be a chance to get away from Felix for a little bit. His whole protective kick had gone from cute to annoying and she was tired of constantly having his arm around her.
Felix had been silent for a while and she looked over at him, "Are you seriously not okay with it?" she asked.
He sighed and then said, "No, it's okay, I just, wish I could go with you, you know?"
She smiled, "yeah I know."
"Is Lucas going?"
She had turned back to her wardrobe but now looked back at him quickly, "So what if he is?"
Felix shrugged, "I was just wondering."
Brooke narrowed her eyes, she knew Felix hated Lucas, and since he'd broken up with Anna, they'd been even more open about it. She thought, however, that Felix's dislike for Lucas might be caused by more than just him ending his relationship with Felix's sister.
"I'm not sure," she stated simply, and went back to packing. She actually knew for a fact that Lucas was going, but if she told Felix that they'd only get into an argument about it, and she couldn't be bothered to deal with that right now. It would be fun to spend some time with Lucas though, their new friendship had faltered slightly since she had begun dating Felix, but she was sure they could resurrect it once they were on their own.
The next morning everyone met outside the school where two large coaches were ready to take them on the five hour journey to where they would be skiing. Brooke caught sight of Peyton, who was standing with Jake.
"Pey, please tell me I can sit next to you on the coach?" Brooke asked.
"Umm..." Peyton glanced at Jake, who gave Brooke an apologetic look. She looked at him pleadingly, sticking out her bottom lip like a little kid, and he caved, and nodded to Peyton.
"Yeah, sure," Peyton agreed, then turned to Jake, "You're such a pushover," she laughed.
"Oh come on, look at her," he gestured to Brooke, "No guy can resist the whole puppy eyes thing!"
This earnt him a satsfied smile from Brooke, and a smack on the arm from Peyton. He laughed as they climbed onto the coach, finding seats near the back. Haley, Nathan and Lucas came on a little after them, and Haley and Nathan sat across the aisle from Jake, and Lucas sat next to him. Pryton and Brooke were in the row behind.
They all chatted and laughed for the first hour or so, and then one by one people began to listen to music or fall asleep, until the bus was pretty quiet. Brooke was happily listening to her i-pod, when suddenly it ran out of battery. "Shit," she muttered, "I knew I should have gota Sony." She looked over at Peyton, but she had fallen asleep, some random rock music blaring from her headphones. Brooke sighed, and leatn back in her seat. She examined her cuticles, she really needed a manicure...She was just about to try and go to sleep when the seat in front of her shifted slightly, and she remembered that Lucas was sitting there.
"Lucas," she whispered, leaning over the top of his seat.
"What?" he whispered back.
"I'm bored."
"What do you want me to do about it?"
"Entertain me."
She heard him chuckle, and then he twisted round to face her. "Entertain you how?"
She rolled her eyes, "I don't know, talk to me."
"Why don't you talk to Peyton?"
"She fell asleep on me. It's typical, I go to so much trouble to get her to sit next to me and then she's totally comatose for the whole ride!"
Lucas laughed and Brooke smiled. Peyton shifted slightly in her sleep, she seemed restless. Brooke gently reached over and removed her headphones, and switched off the CD player. She pushed the jumper Peyton was using as a pillow slightly further beneath her head, and she was silent again.
Lucas smiled as he watched Brooke attend to her best friend. When she turned back to him he said, "I'm so glad you guys are friends again."
"Yeah, no thanks to you," she meant it as a joke, but Lucas' face fell.
"I'm sorry," she said puickly, "I guess we're not really at the stage where we can jooke about that yet, huh?"
Lucas just shook his head,
"But we'll get there," Brooke smiled, and Lucas felt a huge surge of relief.
"I'll never forgive myself," he murmured.
"You should," Brooke whispered, and he looked up, surprised. "We all make mistakes," she continued, "And thenwe learn from them, and that's how we grow up."
"When did you become so wise?" he joked.
"Oh I've always been wise," she smiled imperiously," But I find it conflicts with the ditsy cheerleader image, so I only share my wisdom with a select few."
"I'm honoured," he grinned, and she giggled.
They talked for almost an hour, about the last couple of weeks, and about their pasts, and the random things people find themselves talking about on too long bus journeys. Eventually people started to wake up again, and the noise level in the bus grew. Whitey, who was chaperoning the trip with some other staff, came down the aisle, hitting Lucas on the head on the way down and telling him to turn around and sit down. He gave Broooke a last smile, before facing forward again, and for the rest of the journey they both chatted with Jake and Peyton.
The gang all piled of the coach, and found themselves standing at the bottom of what appeared to be a tiny village on the hillside, but was actually the complex of cabins they would be staying in. Whitey stood before them now, holding a box of keys, each with a numbered key ring attached.
"These are the keys to your cabins. Each cabin has two small bedrooms and these have been allocated alphabetically. I'll call out the numbers and give you your keys."
Lucas and Nathan looked at each other and grinned, they new they'd be together, and they were happier about that fact than they had been last year at the basketball game, but still Nathan would have preferred to be with Haley.
Whitey was reading down the list of names, and had come to "Cunningham, Teresa and Davis, Brooke," Brooke and Teresa went and collected their keys, smiling at each other and then rejoined the group. Brooke would have liked to be with Peyton, but Teresa was still fun. Further down the list Jake and Haley were placed together, and seemed happy enough. When Whitey reached 'S' Nathan and Lucas were surprised to hear they were not together, but Lucas was with Peyton, and Nathan with Tim. Lucas and Peyton eyed each other nervously as they collected their keys, and Brooke felt an unfamiliar wave of jealousy. She shook it off, and looked at Jake, who looked as if he didn't mind the arrangement, he could see neither Peyton nor Lucas harboured any residual feelings anymore.
Nathan was fine with being placed with Tim, they were, after all, best friends, but Tim didn't look so happy.
"Um, Brooke," Brooke turned to Teresa.
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind if maybe…you switched with Tim?"
Brooke rolled her eyes at her; she had forgotten that Tim and Teresa had just started going out.
"Sure, whatever," she laughed and went over to Tim and Nathan, "Tim, your lady friend wants to get it on with you, we're switching, "she through her key at him, and he caught it, surprised but smiling, and threw her his.
"Well Nate, I guess it's you and me then," she clapped a hand on his shoulder and he laughed.
"Wait a second, we can switch?" Haley asked.
"I guess so," Brooke shrugged, "Whitey never said we couldn't."
"Cool," said Haley, and took Brooke's key, and grabbed Nathan's hand, "We'll see you at dinner," they began making their way up the hill.
"Okay…" said Brooke, slightly startled by Haley's swift actions, "So I'm with Jake."
"Actually, if you don't mind…" Peyton held up her key, and Brookesighed and switched. As Peyton and Jake began making their way up the hill hand in hand, Brooke turned to the last person left standing there with her. There was a moment's silence as they contemplated each other, and then Brooke said, "So I guess we're sharing a cabin."
"Looks that way," Lucas fought to keep a straight face as Brooke eyed him suspiciously.
Finally she shook her head and laughed, "Come on Scott," they began the walk up to their cabin.
"Alright, which room do you want?" Lucas asked as they made their way inside. The cabin had a little living room with a fireplace and sofa, and a small TV in the corner. Three doors went off it, and Brooke approached one and opened the door, to find a neat bathroom with a sink, toilet and shower. Lucas opened the other two doors to reveal two bedrooms.
"I don't mind," Brooke replied as she came out of the bathroom.
"Alright, I'll have this one then," Lucas chuckled as he made his way into the room on the right.
Brooke stuck her head round the door, seeing the room for the first time, "Oh my god, no way! This room is way bigger than the other one!"
"You said you didn't mind!" Lucas laughed as he threw his bags onto the double bed.
"I hadn't seen it yet! Come on, that's so unfair, I thought they'd be the same, the other one only has a single bed and…" she stopped as she saw what Lucas had discovered, "You have a walk in closet!! Luke I have so many more clothes than you, you have to give me this room!"
"Sorry," Lucas laughed as she pouted, "But no way!" he lay down on the bed, stretching out his arms. Brooke made a disgruntled noise and rolled her eyes, slamming the door behind her on her way out.
Half an hour later she was back again, this time carrying an armful of clothes. "Luke, this stuff won't all fit in my closet, so I'm dumping it in yours, k?"
He looked up from the book he was reading, "um, sure, there's loads of space."
She dumped the clothes on the floor of the closet, muttering, "I'll sort them out later," and collapsed next to him on the bed. "Travelling is tiring! I'd forgotten. I'll be asleep here if you need me," she murmured as she shut her eyes.
Lucas looked at her and laughed, "Okay," then he muttered, "you've got a bed of you own about ten seconds away but whatever."
Brooke slapped him on the arm, her eyes still closed, and he chuckled to himself.
She was woken by the sound of the phone ringing.
"Can you get that?" she heard Lucas ask, seeing she was awake. She reached over to the bedside table and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hey Brooke."
"Felix? Hey," she sat up quickly; she hadn't expected him to call so soon.
"How's everything going? I tried calling your cell phone but it was out of range, so I called the camp number and they gave me your room number. Tim picked up though, but he told me this number."
"Oh yeah, we, er, switched rooms."
"Oh, I see, so who are you sharing with?"
Brooke looked over at Lucas, who had been watching her over the top of his book; he smiled innocently and went back to reading.
"Um, Peyton," she stated, well, she had been at one point…probably, in the middle of all that switching.
"That's cool, well I was just ringing to see how you were, I hope the first day is fun."
"Yeah, it's good."
She didn't hear Felix's reply because Lucas tapped her on the shoulder and said, "I'm going to get a drink, do you want something?"
She mouthed 'no thanks' and caught the end of Felix's question.
"Sorry, what did you say?" she asked.
"Who was that? It sounded like Lucas."
"Oh yeah, he just, um, came by to see Peyton. What were you saying before," she quickly changed the subject.
They talked for another few minutes, and then she said goodbye and hung up. She left Lucas' room to find him sitting on the sofa.
"I thought you went to get a drink?"
"I did," he held up a can of Sprite. She joined him on the sofa, taking the can and drinking some.
"Hey! You said you didn't want any. You know, you really need to think more carefully about your decisions if you're just going to keep going back on them," he joked, "if you want the bigger room, chose it, and if you're thirsty, ask for a drink! Otherwise you just regret it later and I end up losing out!"
She laughed, and then realised that what he had said could be applied to another decision she'd made recently, one she was beginning to regret…
"So what was all that about Peyton?" he asked, as he switched on the TV.
Brooke paused for a minute, unsure how to answer. "I don't think Felix would be too happy if he knew I was sharing a room with you."
"A cabin, not a room Brooke. And so you lied to him?"
She gave him a sideways look, "Like you care about him."
"Oh I don't. But I care about you, and I want you to be happy, and you can't be happy with this guy if you're lying to him."
Brooke squirmed under his gaze. He was right of course, but she hated that he was so sweet to care about her relationship with a guy he hated. "It was just a little fib," she said, "He'll never find out, and it's not going to hurt him or anything, it'll just save a whole load of crap from being re-hashed."
Lucas nodded slowly, "Well if you're okay with it…What's his problem with me anyway?"
"Aside from the fact you dumped his sister?"
"Yes, because that has nothing to do with your relationship."
"You're my ex-boyfriend."
Lucas raised his eyebrows, "And? So are like, half the guys at our school."
Brooke punched him on the arm, "That is so not true! It's more like, a quarter, and anyway, none of them were my boyfriends, we just…hooked up. I had, like…feelings for you and stuff," she trailed off, and turned away from him.
"You had 'like…feelings' for me? Wow, I've never heard it put so elegantly," he joked.
"Shut up, you know what I mean. Anyway, he just feels kinda threatened by you."
"Really?" Lucas seemed to like this idea, "Well he has no reason to, right?" he took Brooke's hand, "Things are going well for you guys, right?"
Brooke shrugged, "Yeah," she replied, but her heart wasn't quite in it.
Lucas noticed something wasn't quite right and tried to see deeper into her eyes, but she just smiled at him and he gave up. "Good," he said, "I'm happy for you guys."
Brooke raised her eyebrows at him.
"Well I'm happy for you," he conceded, and Brooke laughed. She leant her head against his shoulder and he kissed the top of it. She wondered when they'd become so comfortable with each other again. There wasn't the tension behind every touch as there had been before. 'It's probably because you're not single anymore,' she thought, 'there isn't any expectation, or any possibility.' She held his hand a little tighter, missing the shiver that she used to get after they broke up when they saw each other in the hallway or accidentally touched. She relished the feeling of comfort she had next to him now though, that was almost as good as when they had been together. She looked up at his face, and he looked down at the same time, his expression wistful. Suddenly, there it was again, like electricity passing through them. She held his gaze for a moment, and then broke it, her fingers tingling.
I hope you guys liked that, please review if you think I should continue.