"Do you, Lucas Scott, take Peyton Sawyer to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do you part?" the priest asked the blond groom.
"I do," Lucas replied, looking at Peyton in the eyes.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You many now kiss the bride," the priest instructed.
Lucas grinned and leaned in to kiss Peyton while family and friends clapped and cheered jovially.
Brooke Davis felt guilty. She was Peyton's best friend. But on her friend's happiest day, she –herself- was not happy. She knew she was being selfish. She should be the first one to clap and cheer. But she just sat there, feeling pity for herself. She couldn't help but think about a different situation—where she was Lucas' bride. They would be the one in front of hundreds of guests and they would be the one running happily down the aisle to the airport. You need to let go, Brooke. Peyton's your best friend and they are married now. They love each other; Lucas doesn't belong to you, he never did.
Everyone was outside, watching the bride and groom sit on their carriage while a horse took them away. Her being the only one in the church mirrored her life—she would always be alone.
"Why are you not outside, getting a glimpse of the spectacle?"
Surprised, she looked up and saw the last person she ever expected to be there. "Julian?"
"In the flesh." He sat down next to her. "I sat in the back so you probably didn't see me." He pointed to the last row of seats.
"Lucas and Peyton invited you?" she asked curiously. She would think that Julian, Peyton's ex, was the last person Lucas wanted at the wedding.
"I'll tell you a secret." He leaned in close and whispered into her ear, "I stole someone's invitation." He saw her look and laughed. "Yeah, they invited me. I guess Peyton decided that I wasn't a threat," he said with a shrug.
"And Lucas?" she asked with a raised brow. She didn't think Lucas would have been okay with Peyton's decision.
"Well, he wasn't happy at first but he got over it," Julian replied with a smile.
Brooke studied him. For someone who got traded in for an old model, he did not look depressed or devastated. Either he was truly over Peyton or he was a damn good actor. She took it that he was a natural thespian. He could not be over Peyton when she was still not over Lucas.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" Julian caressed his handsome face with his hand. "Other than my good looks, of course," he stated arrogantly.
Brooke sighed and rolled her eyes. She stood up and smoothed the wrinkles out of a Brooke Davis original black dress. "I have to go," she said curtly and walked down the aisle of seats.
"See you later, Mrs. Davis!'' he called out while she ignored him.
Brooke flipped through the pages of the current issue of US Weekly and threw it on the desk with a sigh. She looked around her empty boutique. She was bored. Incredibly bored. She knew she should be working on her new line but her heart did not want to put pencil on sketchbook at the moment.
There was a chime at the door and her heart leapt with excitement—she was that bored. Her face fell when she saw who the visitor was. "Julian," she said cautiously. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes at him.
He gave her his trademark grin. "And good morning to you, too. I just came to visit and to see how the costumes for the movie are doing." He looked around. "I see you've been very productive today," he remarked sarcastically.
Brooke turned red at his statement. "I'm getting to them,'' she said through gritted teeth.
Julian put his hands up. "Hey, I'm just checking up on you. No need to release your inner lioness.''
She put her hands on her hips. "Well, I don't need to be 'checked up' on. I am not a child," she said indignantly.
He put his face close to hers. "Has anyone ever told you—you look hot when you're mad.''
"Has anyone ever told you—you look like an ass when you're trying to be funny?" she retorted, folding her arms across her chest.
He stepped back and laughed, shaking his head. "You never fail to amuse me, Brooke. Maybe that's why I like you.''
She stared at him. "Excuse me?'' Did the pompous dick, Julian Baker, just say that he liked her? What was this world coming to?
"You heard me." He was not laughing nor smirking.
Shit. He was serious. And it scared her. She quickly looked down at her book of sketches. "I have a lot of work to do. So if you please excuse me…''
He smiled, but it was a half-hearted smile. He knew that she was lying, that she was attempting to avoid the situation. "I'll be at TRIC tonight. Come if you want." With those last words, he stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and headed out the door.
She didn't know why she was here. But she was. Scanning the bar, she finally found Julian, drinking by himself. She strolled over to the red faced man. "Go home, Julian." Her voice was devoid of any emotion but she felt a little pity for him.
He looked at her. "You came." He stood up but she held up her hand.
"I know you're depressed about Peyton marrying Lucas, but drinking is not the answer." She should know. She spent many nights drowning herself in alcohol to cope with losing Lucas.
He laughed and shook his head. "Why does everyone think my life revolves around Peyton?"
She did not answer him but simply put a twenty dollar bill on the table. "Take a cab home. You shouldn't be driving in your condition." She turned around to leave but he grabbed her arm.
"Why can't you admit it?" he was drunk but his words were loud and clear.
She whirled around, staring him in the eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"You," he pointed his finger at her, "like me." He then pointed the finger at himself. "But you're too afraid to admit it."
She stepped closer to him. "You…are crazy. How can you think I would ever like a pompous jerk like you?"
He laughed at her insult and in one second, pulled her into his arms, his lips crashing down on hers. She wanted to push him away, to scream in his face, but the feeling of his lips on hers made her heart beat fast and she melted into the pleasure. It was so long since she felt this way and she wanted to enjoy it. A few seconds later, Julian stepped back, grinning at her. The grin was erased when she slapped him on the face.
"What was that for?" he asked, touching the cheek that was marked with a red handprint.
"How dare you," she seethed. "How dare you kiss me when you are still in love with Peyton. Brooke Davis is not someone to be used," she spat angrily.
Julian placed his hands on her shoulders. "I am telling you—this is not about Peyton. This is about you and me. I like you and you kissed me back so you must like me, too." He looked into her eyes and she felt him looking into her soul.
"You're a liar," she said with contempt and turned around to leave. She was stopped when he grabbed her arm.
He grabbed her face and pulled her close to him. "You're not mad that I still love Peyton. You're just scared that you're still not over Lucas." There was no sarcasm, no condescending tone, just sincerity and truth.
"Good night, Julian," she said coldly, leaving him and what happened tonight behind.
"Brooke, I got your phone text. Is everything okay?" Haley asked worriedly when she got inside Brooke's boutique.
Brooke lifted her head to reveal her tear-stained face. "No, Haley. I'm not."
Haley hurried over and gave the brunette a hug. "What happened?" she asked as she rubbed Brooke's back.
Brooke let go of Haley and wiped her eyes. "Last night I went to TRIC and saw Julian. H-he kissed me."
Haley narrowed her eyes. "He kissed you? Did he force himself on you?" she wondered protectively. Haley took out her cell phone. "Should I call the police?"
Brooke took the phone out of her hand. "No, it's nothing like that. I kissed him back." She saw Haley raising her eyebrows. "Then I slapped him and accused him of using me to get over Peyton," she further explained.
Haley gave her a look then finally said, "wow."
Brooke nodded and leaned against the wall. "Tell me about it. He said that I wasn't angry about him being in love with Peyton but that I was scared I wasn't over Lucas." She looked at Haley. "I think he might be right and that scares me. I'll never get over him, Hales." Tears swelled in her eyes and she placed her elbows on the table, putting her hands on her forehead.
Haley placed a hand on Brooke's shoulder. "You have to let go, Brooke. Otherwise, you'll never be happy."
Brooke stood up. "How, Hales? How can I let go when I think of him every day? I keep thinking about our times together, the kisses we shared, how much fun we used to have."
Haley now had both of her hands on the brunette's shoulders. "By giving yourself a chance to love again. Maybe the reason you can't let go is because you want to hold onto those happy memories—because you're afraid you won't have that again. But you can, Brooke—if you want to."
"I want to, Hales. I really want to." She gave her friend a hug and did what she had been doing for a while—cried.
Julian swallowed the last of his beer and slid the glass to his right. That was his second glass of the night and he was not close to being finish. "One more," he said to the bartender. The bartender shook his head and went to get him another glass of beer.
He was not usually a drinker but when he was stressed, depressed, or heartbroken he was. The memory of last night's rejection still resonated in his mind and left him with a bitter feeling. He poured his heart out-something he normally never did, but got a slap in return. Technically the slap came before he told her his feelings but it stung all the same. The worse part of it all was when she accused him of still being in love with Peyton. Maybe when he first came to Tree Hill, a part of him still longed for the curly haired woman. But when he saw how happy Lucas made her, he knew she was never going to be his and he let go—again. He then met Brooke who intrigued him. No one has ever matched him wit for wit before; she lit a flame in his heart that died a long time ago. When he saw how much she cared for her adoptive daughter, he fell—hard and fast. But she still had feelings for Lucas, making him the guy who lost…again.
"Is this what you always do when you're down—drink to your death?" a voice said out of nowhere.
He turned to look at the brunette with her arms crossed, glaring at him. She was pissed—and he could have sworn he saw a flicker of worry in her eyes. "Come to slap me again?" he remarked and chugged down another glass of beer.
"I need to talk to you," she said.
When he did not get up from his seat, she grabbed his arm and dragged him outside. When he was about to retort angrily, she put her hand up, silencing him.
"You were right."
He perked up at those three words, but he let her continue speaking.
"When you said that I was not over Lucas, you were right. I was holding onto something that wasn't there and a friend made me realize that I needed to let go."
He stared into her brown eyes, the ones that resembled melted chocolate. "And did you?"
"No," she replied softly, "but I'm trying. I know it isn't much, but that's all I can promise right now." Her eyes were brimmed with tears.
He walked closer to her and softly swiped the smeared mascara under her eyes. "You're trying and that's all that matters." He took her hand and they began to walk slowly down the streets of One Tree Hill.
"Where are we going?" Brooke asked, looking at him.
"Home," he answered simply, continuing to walk.
"Yours or mine?" she wondered.
He turned to look at her, with his hand stiff engulfed in hers. "Ours."