Hi everyone!!! This is my first story, I have been convinced by BrucasFan23 to try my hand at the publishing thing!! So I owe a big shout out to her for this!! Thanks Hun!!!! Ok so this is my take on 518 and beyond of OTH, It will be a Brucas eventually but it is going to be pretty Brooke Centric!! I hope you Guys Like it!! Please read and Review!!

Unfortunately I don't own anything related to OTH (cast, characters, etc.) cause if I did things would be a lot different!!!

Anyways on to the story!!

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We walk among them all; the good and the bad. The lonely and the content; the in love and the heart broken. Those with determined minds and those losing their way. Our curious nature makes us wonder what category a person falls under, and most often people are wondering the same about us. The weak have the desire to be strong. The lonely wonder what love feels like. Those in love often question what it would feel like to be alone once again.

Children can't wait to grow up, while adults long for the lost days of their childhood. The days when life was so much simpler, so much easier.

If you knew then, what you know now, do you think you would you have been so eager to grow up or would you have stopped and enjoyed things a little bit more?

Now, children represent the innocence that no longer exists in the adult world.

Four years ago I left that innocence, and grew up too quickly just like most everyone I know.

Now I'm home where it all started and hoping that maybe I can grasp some of that missing innocence; maybe I will be able to reclaim some of that lost time. Unfortunately though, it hasn't been that easy.

What happens when the place you call home, the place that represents the best times of your life, suddenly becomes the place that you know will either have you rising higher then you ever thought possible, or could drag you down to the lowest of lows?

In the end it must be a risk that you are willing to take, and I guess I'm willing to take it.

People say I'm too selfless. They think I will sacrifice my own happiness for someone else's, and I guess that is true. I mean, I have done it more times than I can count. I've given up my own happiness for someone else so many times that now it seems as almost second nature.

I'm only now realizing that it may just be my time for happiness; it's my turn now.

Today has probably been one of the saddest and most difficult of my life. Angie had become a part of my daily existence and the thought of not being able to see her everyday is killing me inside. I know what I did for that little girl will ultimately give her a life full of possibilities and the chance to seek out happiness and follow her dreams, but it still hurts and I can't help but to feel sad and empty.

Of course being Brooke Davis, I planned on dealing with the pain alone. I don't like people seeing me so vulnerable and I don't like putting my pain out there for the world to see.

Lucas, of course though, had other plans. To be perfectly honest, though, I am thrilled that he was there; that he still came to the airport even though I told him not to. Being able to walk into his arms, though, that was the most comforting feeling I had felt all day. It was as if he had finally fulfilled the promise he made me all those years ago. He saved me; he rescued me from all of it.

He brought me back home and we talked about Angie. We talked about where our lives have taken us and where they are going. We even said those three little words to one another before he said goodbye. And before he left I gave him Angie's purple monkey; so that he'd always have a piece of her with him, because I know that he had gotten quite attached to the little girl in the short time that he knew her. When I called to tell him that Angie had made it home okay, he told me I knew where he'd be if I needed him. Now, here I am, walking up to the place that had become a big part of my world. Once I finally reach the Rivercourt, I see him and he looks so content running around on the pavement.

I glance at the bleachers and see the purple monkey and I smile to myself because I know it's his way of keeping her close. He smiles at me as his eyes finally catch sight of me and he slowly walks towards me as I make my way towards the bleachers. "So it looks like you decided to come out and clear your head a bit huh?" he says to me, and I find myself breaking out of the gaze the purple monkey had me under. "Yeah, I guess so. Not necessarily clear my head, but just come to the place that always made me feel like to world can't touch us," I tell him, "You know your mom would kill you if she knew you've been out here playing for as long as you have been." I say this to him in an almost playful manner, but the reality is that even after all this time; his heart condition still scares me. "Well, actually, I haven't even been playing that long. Me and my purple monkey over there have been having some good conversation, and thinking some things through. I just started shooting around; it's been a while since I've played for the heck of it," Lucas says and I can see the sparkle in his eyes; the one that has always been reserved for basketball. It had been a while since I'd last seen it, so it was good to see it back. "Alright, Then the next time I talk to your mom, I won't have to rat you out," I say and he immediately responds. "Well, now I know I need to be on my best behavior around you then; never know when you might feel the urge to sell me out to my mom. I swear she loves you more then me sometimes!" It feels good to have this playful banter with him. It's been too long and I realize that even though we have kind of kept in touch over the years, these past few months have been a reminder of what we used to have.

"The adoption agency called; Angie is home safe and sound and she's doing well." I know that Lucas can sense the sadness in my voice as I repeat what I already told him over the phone because he instinctively walks up to me and wraps his arms around me; and once again that safe feeling consumes me. "It'll get better Brooke, I promise. I'm here for you no matter what, day or night; whenever you need me," he says and I know he means it. "Thanks Luke. I really appreciate everything you have done for me. Like I said earlier, I wouldn't have made it through today without you." I say as I finally, yet reluctantly pull out of his embrace. It's late and I have been walking, for what feels like hours, so I know I should head home, but what am I heading home to? Angie is gone. My roommate is going through whatever the hell she's going through and to be honest I don't want to deal with it tonight. And as if right on cue, Luke breaks me out of my thoughts. "Well, me and the purple monkey have decided that it is time to head home, and since I know that you don't want to go back to your place, why don't you head home with me? We can talk some more. That is, if you want to." He almost seems like a shy little kid begging for permission. "You know me too well, that actually sounds great," I say to him. And as we start the short walk back to his house, I think that just maybe things will be ok.