Title: Like You Never Left

Author: Mel

Rating: T

Disclaimer: As always, One Tree Hill and its characters are property of their rightful owners. I just like to borrow them to act out my own storylines.

History: All you need to know at this point is, Dan is no longer involved with either of his sons. He was around for a while, and tried to stop Lucas and Nathan becoming close, but after he realised that would never happen, he left Tree Hill. Jake came back, and he and Peyton are a couple, raising Jenny, although I don't know how much they will be involved in this story. The rest will be explained in later chapters, so don't worry if you have questions after this chapter.

Chapter One

Lucas Scott stood in front of the mirror, hopelessly fiddling with his crumpled white bow tie. This was the last thing he needed, staring at his reflection, he took in his appearance. Black suit, crisp white shirt and gold waistcoat adorned his tall frame, and his blonde hair was messy in a way that could only be stylish. Taking in the hotel room behind him, he noticed there were still remnants of last night's celebration. The door to the mini bar stood halfway open, little did this matter as it now stood empty, as miniature bottles were carelessly lying on the dresser top, their lids discarded, their contents long gone. After several attempts at his bow tie, he threw his hands in the air with resignation, catching his brother's attention. Nathan was busy attaching his cufflinks to his shirt, as Lucas' outburst distracted him.

"Dude, you've been at that thing for like twenty minutes." He smiled, as he approached his brother.

"It's not my fault they make these things so damn complicated." He stood up straight as Nathan reached for the bow tie, and began to tie it.

Nathan smiled, and looked up at his brother. "This really should be the other way around you know, you are the older brother."

Lucas took in his brother's relaxed appearance. "Why are you so calm? It's a big day."

"You're the older brother, I'm the smarter brother. I know when something is completely out of my hands. So I figure, why worry about what you can't change."

Nathan made a final adjustment to the bow tie, and stepped back admiring his handy work.

"Done."

Lucas turned back to the mirror, and moved the tie slightly to the right. It was a way to annoy Nathan, and his brother knew it.

"Now it's done. And you're not the smarter brother, if you were you would know that I am."

Nathan began pinning the yellow rose to his jacket, as he nodded sarcastically along with his brother.

"It's cool man, I can take it."

Lucas buttoned his jacket, as he took one final look in the mirror. Nathan patted him on the shoulder.

"I guess we should get going. You ready?" Lucas asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."


Lucas and Nathan stood side by side at the alter. Everything was ready, the guest were seated, the best man was present, the rings were safely tucked away in an inside pocket; now all that was left, was the bride.

The music began, and the guest stood from their seats, causing both Lucas and Nathan, to look towards the end of the isle. A little girl no older than seven, walked down the isle in a light yellow flower girl dress, dropping rose petals as she went. Jake, who stood beside the two brother's at the alter, smiled proudly at his daughter Jenny, as she reached the end of the isle and took a seat beside Karen and Deb. Lucas and Nathan smiled down at their mothers, happy that Dan Scott was nowhere in sight. Next down the isle was Peyton, she beamed happily when she spotted Jake, who was amazed by how beautiful she looked in her light yellow maid of honour gown. She stopped at the alter, smiling across at the three men. Turning for a final time, they watched as the bride began her walk, accompanied by her father. She smiled as she looked up at her future husband, as everyone began gasping at how beautiful she looked. Her white bodice top gown trailed behind her, as she walked over the rose petals. Her hair hung in loose curls that cascaded down her shoulders, her veil held in place, with a simple silver tiara. As they stopped at the alter, her father kissed her cheek and placed her hand in her future husband's.

"Today we celebrate the union of Lucas and Brooke."


The wedding reception was now in full swing. Guests milled about the enormous room of the expensive country hotel that was hosting the event. Lavishly decorated, tables were dressed in white linen table cloths, scattered with yellow rose petals, and candles stood amongst the flower arrangements, casting an intimate glow over the guest that sat around them. Children ran around on the dance floor, as parents watched from the sidelines.

Lucas was working his way through the crowd, shaking hands, and thanking everyone for coming. He hadn't seen Brooke in a while, she was with Peyton and the girls last time he saw her. Nathan was around somewhere, being the best man had its responsibilities too. Speaking of his brother, he could really use him right about now. He spotted Jake, and sighed with relief.

"I'm sorry I think I'm needed." Lucas said to the people around him, as he made his way towards Jake.

"Thank God you're here. I don't know how much more of this I can take. Brooke is usually the one who handles all of this, she loves this type of thing."

"Well you might wanna find her, because they want you guys to do the first dance."

"Last time I saw her she was with Peyton."

"I just spoke to her, she said something about Brooke needing something from your room. But that was about half an hour ago."

"Thanks, I'll try there first. Maybe things just got a little overwhelming for her, and she needed some time to herself."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out down here."

"Great. Can you keep a look out for Nathan as well."

"Sure." Lucas nodded as he made his way out of the room, and towards the elevator.


He removed the key card from his pocket, and placed it into the door of the honeymoon suite. Pushing the door open, he stopped when he heard Brooke's voice.

"I had a great time, as always." Brooke said.

Lucas frowned, was she on the phone? He stepped into the room and slowly shut the door behind him. There was a lamp on somewhere in the room, but he couldn't see where, as he quietly made his way down the hallway into the room.

"But I mean look where we are. Is this really such a good idea?"

He stopped dead in his tracks. His wife of a matter of hours lay tangled in the sheets of their honeymoon bed, naked, beneath his brother. Tears began to prickle at the corner of his eyes as he breathed deeply. He watched the scene of betrayal unfold before him, feeling like an intruder on lives he knew nothing about. From somewhere deep inside, he found the courage to speak

"I'd love to know the answer to that question myself." He said trying to stop the tears from forming as anger struggled to forced its way to the surface. In this instance, anger won.

Both Brooke and Nathan jumped away from each other, as Lucas looked on with resentment. Brooke grappled with the sheets, pulling them close towards her, as Nathan grabbed his pants, and climbed into them as he began walking towards his brother.

"Lucas, this is not what it looks like."

He took a step backwards, placing his hand out in front of him, warding his brother off. "It looks like my wife in bed with my brother." Nathan stopped, not wanting to anger him further.

"I mean I could be imagining this whole thing. Why the hell I would imagine my wife in bed with my brother on the night of my wedding, is beyond me." Lucas laughed sarcastically, as he began pacing the room.

"Tell me, why would I go and imagine something like that, huh?"

"Lucas, I didn't mean to hurt you." Brooke said from the bed. "It all just kinda happened."

"What, you wake up this morning, and thought, hey I know, after I've married Lucas, why don't I bang his brother?"

"Dude, don't talk to her like that okay. It's my fault."

"What, you forced her? Because from where I'm standing, it looked pretty mutual, bro." He replied, spitting the final word out like a bad taste.

"That's not what I meant. We just, happened."

"Oh that's great. I don't have a right to be angry, because you guys 'just happened.'"

"We grew closer over the last couple of months, what with the wedding and everything, and one thing just led to…" Brooke began.

"Wait." Lucas stopped pacing and turned to face them, walking up to the bed. He stared Brooke in the eye, although she tried to avert her gaze, he wouldn't let her.

"How long have you two…I mean, when did it start?" He asked, suddenly no longer sure he wanted to know the answer.

Brooke could no longer hold his gaze, and looked to Nathan for support.

"A couple of months." Nathan replied, staring at his brother's back.

Lucas' head dropped, and he began to stumble backwards. The final twist in the knife, it had been happening right in front of him, and he had had no idea. He was no longer angry, just sad.

"So everything you said today was a lie?" he asked quietly.

"No. I do love you Lucas. I just, I don't know if I'm ready to be married to you." Brooke had found the courage to look up at him, as tears sparkled in her eyes.

Lucas looked her in the eye once more. "I came to tell you that they want us for the first dance as husband and wife."

Brooke looked up at Lucas as fresh tears began to roll down her cheeks, she didn't know what to say. But it didn't matter, because he beat her to it.

"I guess more than one person is going to be disappointed today then." With that, he turned and left the room.

"Lucas wait." Brooke called after him, but he was long gone.