Author's note: I know I've been MIA for a while, but school takes up so much more time than planned. I wasn't planning to start writing for a while, but this idea came to me and I decided to run with it. Enjoy!

Love Story

We were both young, when I first saw you. I close my eyes and the flashback starts. I'm standing there, on a balcony in summer air.

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone. I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run. You be the prince and I'll be the princess, it's a love story, baby, just say yes.

Marry me Juliet, you'll never have to be alone. I love you, and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad—go pick out a white dress. It's a love story, baby just say …yes.

~Taylor Swift

His light snoring as he lay beside her in bed did nothing but further rattle her nerves. She used to take comfort in his snoring, his deep breathes in and out followed by an ever so quiet snore. For months she would lay in this bed, wishing sleep to take hold of her, but knowing it wouldn't until she heard his rhythmic breathing, it was the only thing that lulled her to sleep.

As she lay on her side gazing out the window as the sun finally rose above the horizon, all she could think about was how she'd ended up here. More importantly, she wondered what her next move would be. She'd been lying in bed sleepless night after sleepless night knowing she had to choose, that she had to make some kind of decision, but knowing that no matter what that decision was, a part of her heart would be broken.

Life wasn't supposed to be this complicated. At least not so soon. She was only 18. This was supposed to be the most carefree summer of her life. Everything had fallen into place for her this past year. Her less than stellar grades were thankfully overshadowed by her being captain of the varsity cheerleading squad and senior class president and the combination had been just enough to get her into Duke University. Her freshman year was set to begin in only two weeks.

Duke University, it had been the plan all along. She knew her grades would never be enough on their own, so years ago she began bulking bulk up on extracurriculars so they wouldn't have to be apart for college. He had been planning on Duke for years, and his exceptional grades coupled with his natural ability for basketball made it so nobody ever questioned his ability to get in. He wouldn't go without her though. He had promised that time and time again. They were in this together. If she didn't get into Duke they would both go somewhere else. They either did it together or not at all. She remembered when that thought that brought her comfort, and longed for that feeling again.

That big white envelope had arrived two days after prom. Two days after the most magical night of her life. She would never forget his face as she slowly descended the winding staircase at her parents' house, determined not to trip and fall in her four inch heels. When they finally made eye contact, there was a light in his eyes that she knew no one else in the entire world could spark.

She knew she looked good, the long, tight, red dress perfectly offsetting her dark brown hair that fell in loose waves down her back, pinned up only on the sides. The slit in her dress left little to the imagination, but no one expected anything less from her. Everyone knew she would be crowned prom queen. The whole voting process was just part of the charade. Her role in the world of Tree Hill High School had been decided long before tonight. She was that girl. Captain of the cheerleaders, homecoming queen, and now prom queen. It was her destiny, just like he was.

When she stepped from that last stair he held out his hand and pulled her close, planting a light kiss on her forehead so as not to disturb her perfectly applied makeup. For once she was relieved that her parents didn't give the time of day about her, and they were able to escape at least one round of picture taking. Her parents were on a cruise to some remote island, and while most girls would be heartbroken, not having their parents there to fuss over them and exclaim how beautiful they looked on this important night, she was used to it. Her parents were gone significantly more than they were around, and she had adjusted to this reality years ago.

As he led her down the driveway, still unable to take his eyes off her, the limo driver stepped out from the driver's side and walked around the long, black, stretch limo to hold open the door for them. He held her hand until the last possible second, making sure she was safely inside, dress and hair all still in order. She slid over on the back seat, making enough room for him as she gazed around the vast inside. She had ridden in plenty of limos in her life, but this time special. This time it wasn't for some ridiculous event her parents were dragging her to, it was for her prom. And she got to sit there with the boy she loved more than anyone else in the whole world. He wouldn't fuss over her, complaining that her dress or hair wasn't right, telling her how to behave as her mother would have. He would just love her, as she was, because that's what he did best.

That was what he had always done best. They had met years before, when they were only six years old, at a picnic their elementary school held for all the incoming students. She had been sitting on a swing, not daring to move an inch for fear of ripping her pretty pink dress and having her mother yell at her. He came over, sandy hair a mess and falling into his eyes, and asked if he could push her. She told him she was forbidden from getting her new dress dirty, but he had told her not to worry, he would be careful, and he was. She didn't get a speck of dirt on her new dress, even though he pushed her so high that her squeals could be heard all over the playground. From that day on, they were pretty much inseparable.

When they arrived at this house, his mother had rushed out, posing them in every imaginable position, wanting to capture this night from every possible angle. But unlike her own mother, his mother showered them both with praise. She never once made a comment that her dress was too tight, or that her hair wasn't perfect. As always his mother made her feel like the most special girl in the world. Finally though, even his mother was sick of all the picture taking, and they got back into the limo and headed to the hotel where the prom was being held.

She had wanted to ride in a limo with all of their closest friends, but he had told her no, he wanted to spend at least some of the night alone with her, even if only on the way to the dance. She assumed he had something up his sleeve, so she didn't fight it, knowing she'd see her best friends soon enough.

The night had been magical. The decorations were perfect, everyone had gone all out on their dresses and tuxes, the band played great music, and everyone happily danced the night away. She was crowned prom queen, and him prom king, just as everyone had expected, and they shared a dance with everyone watching them. Her heart soared with pride in that moment. Everyone knew how much they loved each other, and everyone was jealous. All the girls wanted to be her, and all the guys wanted to date her. It was the way it had always been, the way it was supposed to be.

She remembered a similar dance, years ago, at the end eighth grade. It was their first school dance and the night she had been looking forward to for thirteen years. A week before he had come up to her at her locker, and bashfully smiling at her, with a mouth full of braces, he asked her to go to the dance with him. She nodded yes, trying to hide her excitement at sharing such a special night with him, but as soon as he walked away, she couldn't fight the urge to clap her hands in glee.

She remembered dancing with him that night, how he couldn't take his eyes off her. She remembered being embarrassed by a pimple on her chin, and hoping that her first experiment into the world of makeup had been an effective one, and the cover up was still working. He held her close during that first slow song, singing softly into her ear, and her heart soared. He pulled away a little, and with a determined look, he leaned in, planting a soft kiss on her lips. She pulled away, mostly out of shock, she hadn't expected her first kiss to happen that night, to happen with him. Looking curiously at him, she leaned in and this time planted a kiss on his lips. When she pulled away he looked at her and smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. He held her even closer after that, neither of them barely hearing the music, but being blissfully aware that everyone was watching them dance. Everyone already knew, even at thirteen years old, that they were meant to be together.

On their way back to her house after prom to change into more comfortable clothes, the limo made an unexpected turn. It pulled up the river court and she looked at him confused. Was this all part of his plan? He got out first, and shooing away the driver, held out his hand and helped her out himself. The river court wasn't the most special place on earth, just a beat up old basketball court by the river, but it held so many memories for them. They had shared many moments there, just the two of them.

He led her over to their bench. The one they had spent countless hours sitting on, holding each other, talking, and just falling deeper and deeper in love. She shivered a little, and he took his jacket off, draping it over her shoulders knowing it would soon bring her warmth.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, wondering what he had planned for her.

"It just seemed to be the only place to do this." She could sense the nervousness behind his words, and feared that their perfect night might not be ending so perfectly after all.

"Do what?" She was worried now, his tone sending chills through her body, making her wrap his jacket around her even more tightly.

After a few minutes of silence hanging heavily between them, he stood up and looked at her, then got down on one knee.

"I can't remember a day when I didn't love you. I truly believe that that first day we met, when we were only six years hold, I fell in love with you right then. And from that day on I made it my job in life to watch out for you, for your health, your happiness, but most importantly your heart. I know that we're young, and I know that people might think it's too soon and that we should live more of our lives, but I don't care. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, every single day, you and me."

Reaching into the pocket of his pants, he pulled out a small, navy, velvet box. She felt her breath catch in her throat. She couldn't believe this was happening. It wasn't part of the plan. They were supposed to finish college first.

Slowly opening the box and holding it out to her, offering her not only the ring, but a promise to love her forever, he whispered "Will you marry me?"

She looked at him for a minute, before springing of the bench into his arms.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Absolutely."

He carefully slid the ring on her finger and then captured her lips in his.

The ring sparkled in the moon light. It was everything she had always dreamed of. The princess cut diamond sparkling so bright, the band lined with smaller diamonds. She had admired this ring many times over the years, sneaking into his mother's room to try it on. And even though through the years she had learned to appreciate the finer things in life, his grandmother's ring always had a certain allure to her. And now, after it had been cleaned up a bit, it truly was the most beautiful ring in the world.

"Why now?" She finally asked, once the tears of joy had stopped flowing down both their faces.

"I know we talked about waiting, but the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't think of any reason why we should. I want to do everything with you, I want you by my side every step of the way. I know that you say your parents don't care, but they do, and my mom clearly does, and we wouldn't be able to live together if I didn't make an honest woman out of you and put a ring on your finger."

"Live together?" She asked, a little confused. She thought the plan was to live in freshman dorms, apart, for at least their first year of college. This way they wouldn't miss out on anything college life had to offer.

"I know that's not the plan. But when I was there visiting last month with Nathan to meet with Coach, we passed the cutest little apartments. We stopped to check them out because obviously Nathan and Haley need somewhere to live, and since Duke doesn't have married student housing, they had to find something off campus. And as we stood there, inside the apartment, I could just see us there. See us starting our life together. With Nathan and Haley right next door. It just all seemed so perfect, so I signed us a lease. From there, everything just started to make sense to me. So I went right home and asked my mom if I could finally have the ring."

Brooke stared at him in shock for a few minutes. This wasn't the plan. But, really, it was even better than the plan. It was them together, everyday. The thought of that made her smile, and as that smile brightened up her entire face, a similar smile broke out across his face.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, so tightly she knew he would never let go. He would never leave her. Lucas would never leave her, and that was the only thing in her life that mattered.