Title: silence (in delerium)
Rating: PG
Fandom: One Tree Hill
Pairing: Brooke/Ian (Psycho!Derek)
Word Count: 551
Spoilers: As long as you know who Ian is - you should be fine. ;)
Note: I have no idea where this came from. This must be one of my most insane pairings ever. And yet, I love it! I'm somehow completely in love with this pairing! LOL.
Disclaimer: Not mine, at all. I just like messing around with them.
It rains the day they release him. You followed his trial, his time in prison closely – mostly for Peyton's sake, but a little for your own as well. You wait for him out front of the jail, leaning against your car as it pours down upon you, ruining your overly-expensive outfit – but you barely even notice. He falters when he sees you, but you simply slide into the driver's seat and wait for him patiently – he'll come; he owes you that much.
--
The drive back to the apartment is awkwardly silent and you can feel licks of anxiety curling in your stomach like a nasty plague. He taps his nails on the dashboard and flicks the radio on to some angsty country music station that makes you cringe. But you can't seem to get out the words to tell him to turn it off – your mouth is dry and sticky and it feels like it's been webbed shut with an overabundance of cotton candy. So the music fills the car with its sappy melody and you drive and drive and drive.
--
"She wouldn't have wanted you to come," he mutters when you bring him a mug of hot cocoa and a change of clothes left behind by a boy you haven't seen in too many days to count.
"She forgave you a long time ago Ian," you whisper back – and that's all you say.
--
You give him the other bedroom, with its bland walls and itchy sheets. He murmurs a soft thanks and locks the door behind him with a soft click. You slide down the blood red wall of your hallway and wonder what the hell you were thinking – or if you've even been thinking at all.
--
He uses your toothbrush and leaves the seat up when he uses the toilet. But he makes you eggs and French toast for breakfast, and cleans the house while you're at the studio – so it's a fair trade. Although that doesn't stop you from giving him a snide reminder about the former two whenever he does it; nor does that stop him from smirking at you and changing the channel to some form of sport in retaliation.
--
You wake up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and wander past his room with padded feet – sometimes he calls for Maggie, sometimes for Peyton. It's when he starts calling for you that you stumble and you don't get back to sleep that night, nor do you get up any nights after that for a drink of water.
--
You're not sure when it became comfortable – but you spend an hour with your head hovering the toilet bowl when you wake up one morning and realize it's become exactly that.
--
"I'm sorry," he whispers in your ear; and you pull him flush against you, grasping at his clothed shoulders. "I'm sorry Brooke, I'm sorry."
You press your lips against his and forgive him again and again.
--
"Why did you come for me?" he asks one morning as you eat the toast he made you. You glance up, surprised and unsure. He simply stares back at you, somehow apathetically curious.
"I – I guess I don't really know," you reply back honestly.
The moment passes and you slip back into a comfortable silence.