Chapter One- Smile Like You Mean It

Brooke-

We're burning down the highway skyline

On the back of a hurricane that started turning

When you were young

When you were young

I hummed along as I drove down the quiet suburban road, trying to drown out the fears inside my head. Drumming my hands nervously on the steering wheel, I checked the addresses of the houses I passed…309…311…313…315. Got it. Pulling slowly into the driveway, I stared up at the house. This was it.

"Come on Brooke," I muttered to myself, checking my image in the mirror. It's Ok; I thought determinedly, you are going to be fine. Dad wouldn't have put these people down as your emergency contact people unless they were good people. I snorted. Yeah right. My dad probably forgot to fill out my emergency card in junior high and the social services must have picked a random name out of my mom's phone book.

Scott. Dan and Deb Scott. And they had a son…I racked my brain, trying to think of his name…he would be in the same grade as me at school so I was hoping he would be someone nice, hot, and preferably smart so he could help me with my homework. As if I actually did my homework. Huh, I furrowed my brow but no matter how hard I thought, I just couldn't think of his name. Oh well, hopefully he'd introduce himself when I met him.

Staring down at my freshly manicured nails, I killed the engine and listened to the music fade out.

He doesn't look a thing like Jesus

But he talks like a gentleman

Like you imagined

When you were young

Right. I looked up at the house and smiled a little. At least they were rich. I could tell because the house was large and had lots of windows allowing for the light to go streaming in, not to mention I had once been rich myself, so I just had a sixth sense about that kind of stuff. And besides, if there was one thing Brooke Davis was good at, it was being rich. But I was also good at being brave, I reminded myself sternly, getting out of my powder blue convertible VW Beetle.

But then, for a moment, standing in front of the huge house, staring up at it and thinking that I would be living with complete strangers for what could possibly be the next two years, I forgot to be brave. I felt small and lonely and allowed myself to wish, just for a second, that my dad wasn't dead, and that my mom wasn't an alcoholic in rehab. I allowed myself to wish that I was just a normal teenage girl who got to go home to complain to my mom about my boy problems and laugh at my dad when I was about to go out to a party and he made me go back and change my clothes. But then a basketball came hurtling out of nowhere, hitting the hood of my car right where my hand had once been, and the moment was gone.

Spinning around on my heel, I glared towards the direction the ball had come in.

"What the hell was that for?" I demanded furiously, my eyes finding a tall blonde haired boy glaring right back.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped back. "Because if you were planning on robbing that house," he nodded towards the house I had been planning on entering, "Honey, you might want to get a better outfit. Maybe something a little less…" he paused and I waited, silently fuming, for him to finish his sentence. "Sluttish?"

Oh that was it. Nobody called me a slut. Well…they did…just not to my face. I calmed myself down and smoothed my face into one of complete indifference. Then I quirked an eyebrow and walked-well more like strutted- over to the stranger.

"Would you rather I just…" I trailed a finger lazily down his chest. Ok so he's hot. And he must work out, I quickly assessed, stepping a little closer, and god was he an ass! He didn't even know me and he had the nerve to insult me? I'm a complete stranger and he called me a slut for god's sake! "Would you rather I just took it off?" I purred, aware that the glare was gone from his face and he was just watching me with blank eyes. I tilted my head to one side and looked up at him from underneath my eyelashes. Waiting for him to reply. Instead, a small smirk began to build on his face and he tilted his head mockingly to match my own.

"See?" he asked in a low voice. "Slutty."

I almost laughed. At first him calling me a slut had been shocking, but only because he was a complete stranger. Now however, the words just rolled off me. I guess the idiot had expected me to be more offended then I actually was, because when I let a small, satisfied smile stretch onto my face he frowned.

"I'm sorry," I grinned, pushing him away from me with the tips of my fingers. "I don't do losers." He glared. "See?" I laughed scornfully. "Loser."

Then, spinning on my heel with practiced ease, I slammed my car door shut and stalked towards the house, ringing the doorbell before I had a chance to hesitate. When I turned back to glare at the basketball boy, he was gone. A small wave of disappointment washed over me, but I quickly brushed it away. Why would I be disappointed? The guy was an ass and he had no right to judge me the way he did. He deserved everything he got and I should have been relieved that he had left. It meant I won.

I heard a small commotion on the other side of the door and I quickly put a smile onto my face. "You're happy," I told myself as the door opened.

"Brooke?" A tall middle aged blonde woman asked, gesturing me into the house. "Oh Brooke, darling, you look just like your mother! Oh I haven't seen you since you were little! It's so nice to have you here!" she pulled me into a hug which I responded to accordingly, patting her gently on the back then detangling myself from her grasp.

I smiled only half-sincerely. "Thank you so much for taking me in," I offered, stepping slightly away from Deb Scott.

"Oh it's no problem sweetie, let me just get your bags into the house…Lucas!" she shouted over her shoulder. "Lucas, come meet Brooke!"

That was it, Lucas! How could I forget that name? It had a nice ring to it; and hopefully the name would have just as nice a face.

Then, out of the kitchen, walked no other then the basketball boy. I resisted the urge to groan. That was Lucas? Oh god I had made such a fool of myself already! Why oh why did I have to go into bitchy mode as soon as I saw him the first time? Now I would have to live with him for two years and he would always think of me as the annoying slut.

But instead of groaning, I pasted a bright smile onto my face and held my hand out for him to shake.

"Nice to meet you Lucas!" I said sweetly as he stared at me. His dark eyes glanced down at my hand and then without a word, he walked past me out the front door. I let my hand drop and my smile drooped slightly. So that hadn't gone too well…

"Don't worry about Luke," Deb sighed. "He'll warm up to you; it might just take some time…" she trailed off then smiled again. "Would you like to see your room?" she asked cheerily.

I smiled, relieved and nodded my head. "Yes please." Joyce led me through the house and I marveled at how large it was until we reached the very back. Two staircases made their way up in different directions, both leading to doors on either side of the house.

Deb gestured up the one to the left and said swiftly, "That staircase leads up to Lucas's room and this one," she nodded to the other one and started up the stairs, "leads to yours."

Score one for Brooke Davis! I cheered to myself. I got my very own staircase! These people must really be loaded. After we reached the top of the stairs, Deb opened the door and held it open for me. I entered it and gasped. The room was beautiful. It was as if it had been designed specially for me. It was decorated in girly colors and had a huge walk in closet as well as all sorts of things I used to have in my own house. There was a large circular bed in the middle of the room and an extensive mirror stretching across one wall.

"Oh Deb," I sighed happily. "It's beautiful."

She smiled smugly, "We had an interior designer do it for you…" I smiled appreciatively at her and she grinned in a motherly way back. "I always wanted a daughter." I nodded happily and resisted the urge to hug the other woman. At first I had been hesitant about the whole living with stranger's thing but now, with the exception of Lucas, it looked like I was being welcomed with open arms. "Now," Deb said getting down to business, "There is no lock on the door and you will not be getting a lock on your door. If you have a boy over after nine o'clock, your door is to be left open. Boys may not stay the night and curfew is at ten on school nights, twelve on weekends." She paused to make sure that we had an agreement, and I nodded agreeably.

"That window," she continued, nodding towards a large window on one side of the room," was added so that you could get more light during the days, and right across from the roof is Lucas's room."

I walked over to the window and stared out of it. There was a pointed roof right outside the window that went all the way to another room right across from mine. The room also had a window facing mine and I looked quickly up at my windows to make sure that I had curtains. Just to make sure I wouldn't have an audience if I were changing. Curtains: check.

"It's a bit of an odd design," Deb said apologetically, but I quickly stopped her with a wave of my hands.

"Its fine," I insisted, "really."

Seemingly satisfied, Deb backed out of the room. "Dinner will be ready in about half an hour," she said, checking the room one more time. "Dan will be home by then and I'll send him or Lucas up with your bags."

I nodded and she exited the room, closing the door behind her. At last, in the quiet of my own room, I allowed a real smile to creep over my face. My own room. I was home.

Lucas-

My eyes were drawn involuntarily to the staircase across from mine and I snorted. The door was open slightly and crept up to it, making sure to stay silent so the person inside wouldn't hear me.

When I reached the door, I peered inside, smirking as I saw the girl lying on her back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling without blinking. If it had been anyone else, I would have dismissed them as being boring and walked away. Lucas Scott had much better things to do then watch some girl watch the ceiling after all. But this girl was different. She was gorgeous, I allowed myself to admit. Still lying down, she tilted her head to the side in a way I found completely adorable although I tried to squash the feeling. Her hair was spread out around her in chocolaty waves and although my brain was telling me to turn around and leave before she noticed me at the door, I entered anyway.

Apparently she didn't notice me because she still hadn't moved.

"Talk about the girl next door," I drawled as she whipped to her feet to face me. I almost stepped back, but refused to back down. Her mouth opened in a small O, and I got the strange feeling like she was going to apologize for her actions from earlier that day. "Don't worry pretty girl," I grinned, regaining my balance. "I won't bite unless you ask me to."

Her mouth clamped shut and her hazel eyes narrowed. "The only thing I'll ask you to do is get the hell away from me," she snapped, turning away from me.

I whistled, "Kitty has claws!"

"I've got brains too, so I'm probably not your type," Brooke smirked, turning back to face me and holding her door open and motioning with her hands for me to leave.

I stood stock still for a moment as if contemplating whether to leave or not before I walked out the door and turned to look at her before making my way down the stairs. "I'm just like you Brookie," I smirked. "I don't have a type."

Brooke-

I made my way silently down to the kitchen, making sure not to make too much sound and risk waking anyone up. Especially not Dan. When we had eaten dinner he had peppered me with questions about everything from my relatives to what sports I like to play and had practically ignored Lucas except for the few snaky remarks they threw back and forth. I got the feeling Luke and his dad didn't get along all that way. Not that I blamed either one of them. Lucas definitely wasn't the easiest person to get along with and Dan was just creepy. Deb had tried to ease the tension at the table by asking questions about school and where I used to live while attempting to get Lucas involved in the conversation, but he had just completely ignored me. Not that I minded of course. I had tried apologizing to him about earlier but he completely ignored my gesture and once again called me a slut.

Ugh, I groaned angrily as I flipped a light on in the kitchen and grabbed a glass and some milk. I hated him. I hated him and his superior attitude and how he had managed to get away with the last line. And the worst thing was, his room was right across the roof from mine. I could look out my widow and see his light on, typing away at his computer before I went to bed. A little later the light went off and sometime around twelve I had developed a strong need for a glass of cold milk.

My dad and I have always been early risers. Excuse me. My dad and I always were early risers. I don't think my dad can feel anything anymore. Well, I'm positive he doesn't. It's not like people get tired in heaven right? But dad and I, we used to get up at four every morning and we'd spilt a glass of milk. Dad always took care of me.

-Flashback-

Like so many mornings before; I was sitting at the breakfast bar drinking a glass of cold milk. I was still upset about the fact that mom was supposed to pick me up from school the day before but she had once again been to drunk to remember. She had promised she would be there to take me to cheer practice but I guess she had a hard day at work and took herself to the bar instead. I looked up to see my dad walking towards me, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"What's up Brookie?" he whispered, sitting on a stool next to mine and taking a swig of my milk.

"Hey," I mumbled back, staring at the fridge and trying not to think about my mom. It wasn't even that I had expected her to be there. I should have known that she would forget about me. I guess it was just one of those stupid expectations you have as a kid…you expect your parents to love you even when they don't.

"What's bothering my pretty little princess?" he asked, even though I was sure he already knew.

I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it. "It's nothing," I whispered back. "Just got a headache."

Dad nodded slowly then turned in his seat to face me. He sighed. "Sometimes, it's okay to be sad." He whispered. "I love you for being strong Brookie, but you have to be human too…"

I allowed a single tear to run down my cheek before I swallowed the lump in my throat determinedly. That was all I would let out. Dad always understood. He wiped the tear away with his thumb and reached over to steal my milk again. "Just remember no matter what, nobody will ever love you more than me." He smiled. "Whenever you're sad, just remember that. Daddy loves you."

Then he took a big swig of milk and slammed the glass down on the table like a shot. I couldn't help but laugh at the milk mustache that had formed on his lips and as he pulled me in for a hug, I whispered quietly, "I love you too daddy."

-End of Flashback-

Dad had promised that nobody would ever love me as much as he did but how could he love me if he was dead? He promised he would never leave me, that he would love me forever, and now he was gone and there was no way to bring him back. I hated him for breaking his promise.

I found myself choking back the threatening tears into the shelter of my arms, trying to stifle them but to no avail. No. I was going to be strong. I would be human for Dad but now that he was gone I needed to be brave for him. If he wasn't here anymore, I needed to live for him.

I stood up determinedly and placed my glass gently in the sink. As I made my way up to my staircase, I heard a small shuffling sound and looked over to Lucas's side. He making his way slowly down his stairs, putting his ipod earphones in as he went. He looked like he was about to go out for a jog and he hadn't noticed me yet. I wiped the few stray tears that had escaped away with my sleeve and hoped desperately that all evidence of them was gone.

Finally, Lucas looked up, took one look at me, and looked back down. I must look awful, I thought desperately to myself as I wiped at my cheeks again. At least I had been able to control myself this time. He walked down to the bottom of his steps, seemingly refusing to look at me in my weakened state.

I quietly brushed my hair away from my face and started up the steps. I glanced once more over at Lucas who was now tying his shoe and he must have sensed my gaze because he looked over at me.

He also must have been aware of the fact that something was wrong because he hesitantly turned towards me. "Are you okay?"

I took in a sharp breath, surprised by the question. I nodded my head slowly and refused to say anything out of fear that my voice would break and I would be unable to stop the tears from coming. He nodded back and me and turned back to tying his shoe.

Quickly now, I walked the rest of the way up my stairs towards my room but I paused at the door. "Lucas…" I paused and he looked over silently. "I didn't mean for any of that stuff that happened earlier to happen. I guess I just want to start over…" I said looking pleadingly down at him.

Lucas nodded then turned back to his shoes without saying anything and I headed up to bed.

And sometimes you close your eyes

And see the place where you used to live

When you were young

Hey! I just wanted to let you all know that if this story totally sucks, I am incredibly sorry. I don't own Tree Hill, Brooke, Lucas, pretty much everything in this story. Also, if I ripped off someone's idea here, I am so-so-so sorry. It's gotten to that point where I've read so many fanfics that I can't tell what's mine and what's not anymore. I'm pretty sure it's me though. :D Let me know whether I should keep going!

-Kendra