The Girl Behind The Red Door.
Summary
Brooke Davis used to be the girl behind the red door. That all changed when she moved to New York to pursue her fashion dreams. Four years on she has a famous clothing line and her own magazine as well as more many than she can handle. However, something is missing and she's not completely happy. Brooke's best friend, Peyton Sawyer, helps her realise she has to go back to Tree Hill to confront her past: this includes her high school sweetheart, Lucas Scott. Will she let her heart return to Tree Hill and leave the money, as well as her dream, behind?
The Moral of This Story: Once you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, do everything in your power to hold on to them. :
Chapter 1
Dreams & Heartbreak
"I love you, Lucas and I probably always will but we go days without having a meaningful conversation…and I use to miss you so much when that happened… But it never seemed like you missed me and I guess because of it I stopped missing you".
Lucas looked so distraught and hurt: it was a look that Brooke would never forget. She had to do this."I'm sorry…I can't do this anymore".
Then everything went white and blank. Brooke awoke suddenly in a sweat and panicky. She felt short of breath and confused. She reached for her alarm clock which was on her bedside table: it read 2:30am. This was the third night in a row that this had happened to her. Brooke would have vivid flashbacks of her past, and they all involved Lucas Scott. She hadn't thought about him and Tree Hill in so long: her stressful job of designing was to blame for this. Brooke had her own Fashion Label, Clothes over Bros, and her own magazine, B.Davis. She threw back her silk bedcovers and walked to her bathroom. Brooke put on her comfortable, fluffy, white robe and headed for her living room. She sat on her couch and hesitated for a second before reaching for her cell phone. She dialled Peyton Sawyer's number and waited several rings before a distressed Peyton picked up the phone.
"Hello?" Peyton's voice was croaky.
"I'm sorry, P.Sawyer, did I wake you?"
"Yeah because we regular people are actually sleeping at…what…2:30am, but it's cool. What's up?".
"It happened again, Peyton, and you have no idea how much I want it to stop".
Peyton sighed. She felt bad for Brooke and couldn't understand how much it must've been tearing her up in inside. But Brooke didn't realise it was doing the same to Peyton. They both, at one time or another, had fallen for Lucas Scott's charm and good looks.
"I'm sorry, Brooke. I wish I could stop it all for you. Do you think it's because you still have feelings for him?"
Brooke thought about this for while. Maybe she did still have feelings for Lucas in the back of her mind. Okay, she most definitely did but she could never act on them for many reasons. The main one being that both times Brooke was in a relationship with Lucas, it would end in disaster. He could never fully let Brooke in and this eventually pushed her away. For years Brooke blamed Peyton but they both knew she wasn't the problem.
"I do have feelings for him but there's no way I'm gonna do anything about it and plus there's…"
"Dean…What's going on with you two?"
"I really like him, Peyton. He's one of the few guys in New York who isn't a jerk. He's so sweet and cares about my feelings and he's not shallow at all".
Peyton could tell Brooke liked Dean a lot. Whenever she talked about him, Brooke lit up and would smile uncontrollably. But whether Brooke could get past her feelings for Lucas was becoming a major issue.
"Brooke…You know what you have to do".
"Peyton, I'm not gonna tell you again. How's a shrink going to help me".
"No…As much as you're gonna hate it…"
"Don't' even say it".
"Brooke…You have to go back to Tree Hill".
As much as she knew Peyton was right, Brooke refused to admit defeat. She sat clutching the phone tight to her ear and silence filled the apartment.
"I'm the guy for you, Brooke Davis… and I know I hurt you last time we were together but-".
"I love you".
"I love you too, pretty girl".
Brooke awoke suddenly: she couldn't take this anymore. She headed to her bedroom and pulled out a very large, pink suitcase from under her bed. Brooke couldn't take it anymore and you could tell from the angry expression on her face. She paced over to her walk-in closet and began dragging out masses of clothes. A swift call to the airport, a cab company and her assistant, Millicent, and Brooke was on her way.
"Where to, Miss Davis?", the cab driver called.
"JFK Airport and please step on it", Brooke called back.
Throughout the entire flight, Brooke showed every sign of anxiety and nerves. Her palms were sweating, she was breathing heavier than usual and she couldn't stop fidgeting.
The captain's voice startled Brooke. "I hope the journey wasn't too rough. We will be shortly landing in Tree Hill, North Carolina. The time is 9:30pm and the outside temperature is 25° . Please ensure you are seated and that your seatbelts are securely on. We hope you enjoy your stay in Tree Hill. Thank you".
Brooke breathed deeply and tightened her seatbelt. As the plane landed, she gripped to the armrests and tightly shut her eyes. The only thing she could think about was Lucas. Suddenly everybody came flashing into Brooke's memory. Everyone she had left behind; Lucas, Nathan, Haley, Skills, Jamie, Karen, Lily…the list was endless. Since she'd started her company four years ago, Brooke had not returned to Tree Hill and hadn't completely forgot the people she had left behind in it.
Peyton had been working in L.A at a dead end job, sorting mail at a record company. She agreed it was time for a break and time for her to also return to Tree Hill. She had made arrangements to meet with Brooke at the airport. Brooke's flight had landed but it had taken her an hour just to get off the plane and claim her baggage. This didn't bother Brooke the slightest: in fact the more distractions and delays from returning to the streets of Tree Hill, the better.
Brooke made her way through to the seating area in the airport: she was now becoming impatient. Peyton hadn't called and her flight had taken off hours before Brooke's. She found her cell in her oversized bag and frantically dialled Peyton's cell number.
"Peyton, where are you? I have been waiting at the airport for almost 2 hours".
"I'm right behind you, girly".
Brooke twirled around and caught sight of Peyton who was still holding her phone to her ear. They both let out girlish squeals before running up to each other. They were both caught in each others tight embrace for a long time. When they both finally came up for air, they both studied each others appearances: it had been over a year since they had both met, face to face and weekly phone calls just weren't the same.
Peyton may still be the same at heart but her appearance had changed drastically. Her natural blonde curls were still intact but much looser and she wore more but natural make-up than she used to. She had teamed washed out skinny jeans with a vintage, black baby doll top. Her shoes were flat yet pretty and she was wearing a moderate amount of simple jewellery.
Brooke clearly was up to date with the latest fashion trend and showed it in her choice of clothes. She was wearing tight black trousers with peep toe heels. Her simple, layered top had been covered up by an elegant, cream coat. Brooke was wearing authentic, beaded jewellery and had her oversized, designer bag hanging on her arm. Her hair had been drastically cut and was now shoulder length: it had a side swept fringe and the colour was much richer.
Soon they were both aware that they were standing in the middle of an airport staring at each other attentively. As a sign to move on, Brooke began wheeling her suitcase towards the exit and motioning Peyton to join her. She hurried along behind her. Brooke suddenly stopped, realising she had left her Chanel scarf behind on the seating area. She told Peyton to wait for her as she paced back to retrieve it. She found it lying in the same spot she left it. Brooke looked up to turn away when she noticed a familiar face: it was Karen Roe, Lucas's mom. She looked radiant and was holding hands tightly with her young daughter, Lily. A warm smile spread across her face and she began walking towards the pair: Brooke suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
There he was. The boy that broke her heart. The boy she still, deep down, was madly in love with. The boy she hadn't seen in 4 years. Lucas Scott.
