Disclaimer- I don't own OTH or anything of that nature! I do own this story! It's my first fanfic so don't kill me... Please Review!

Chapter 1- I'm Fooling Myself

Normally she would have been totally content at this moment. "So I'm in my gorgeous car, and I love the rain, and my favorite song is playing, and I have hot chocolate. But this day still sucks. Oh yeah, I just had the most difficult conversation I've ever had in my life," she thought. Brooke was at his house when she found out. She wanted to check on him, to see if he was okay, to even tell him that she was willing to be his friend, if that's what he needed. It was brave of her, considering the fact that he had just broken up with her a day ago. After a long conversation with Karen about her trip to Italy, she went to his room; he wasn't there. His computer was on. He had Peyton's site minimized at the bottom of the screen. She restored the page, and there it was. Peyton and Lucas on the bed, kissing. Lucas Scott, star basketball player, the epitome of all that was good and kind, had broken her heart that day. She knew that she loved him; it killed her that the fear she had always had in the back of her mind had been confirmed. The fallout between her and Lucas Scott had happened just a few hours ago. It made her cringe…

Flashback

Her studio door opened, and she knew it was him. She could sense him a mile away.

"Hey Cheery," he said it so gently, without a hint of regret for what he had been doing with Peyton less than a day ago. She didn't acknowledge him; she just ran her fingers across the cold surface of the black baby grand in front of her. Positioning her hands in the correct formation, she began playing. Lucas had never heard her play before. The sonata was poignant. The notes were crisp; it would have taken a skilled pianist to even make an attempt to play such a piece. As she moved her fingers across the piano with amazing precision, she channeled every emotion she had into the piece. It was as if she was numb, even if it was just for a moment. At this point, Lucas had stopped listening to the music, but was awed by its player. She had told him that she dabbled with the piano, but she had never told him what an amazing player she was. It was evident that she was a pianist of the highest caliber. After she finished playing, she just looked down at her fingers. Although he was staring at her, she refrained from even acknowledging him. She was falling apart under his gaze.

"God, Brooke, that was amazing. You never told me you could play so well." She was doing everything she could possibly do to avoid his gaze.

"It's a personal thing. What are you doing here, Lucas? "

"A few days ago you said that if I needed you to be my friend that you would be there for me… I need you in my life, Brooke, even if all we are is friends." He noticed the pained look on her face. He immediately knew that something wasn't right.

"Well, that's going to be impossible, Lucas, considering the fact that I can't even look you in the face anymore."

She looked up. There were tears in her eyes, and a few cascading down her cheeks. In a swift stride he made his made his over from his seat on a leather armchair to the piano bench where she was sitting. They were sitting in opposite directions, but facing one another. She refused to look at him. Sitting right next to her, he had never felt so disconnected, and it hurt like hell. That feeling puzzled him.

"Oh God, what have I done," he thought. Yet not far behind, there was a deep feeling of regret and more confusion. He had convinced himself of his feelings for Peyton, but he hadn't seen Brooke in a day and as soon as she was in the vicinity of him; his skin was screaming for her touch. "But you broke up with her, remember?" The voice of reason was still in his head, telling him to keep his distance because they weren't together anymore.

He lifted his hand to and ran his thumb along her cheek, and grazed her jaw line. His fingers reaching her chin, he tilted her face upwards, trying to get her to look at him. He hoped to hell that she hadn't noticed his heart out to beat its way out of his chest. He felt like a hurt child when she averted his gaze once more.

"What's going on, Brooke? Why are you angry with me?" She got out of his grasp and off the bench. She started pacing around the room, an unfortunate habit she learned from none other than Lucas.

"You know exactly why, you idiot. But she doesn't know. Does she?" his guilt kept echoing the thoughts in his head.

She inhaled sharply, in an effort to stop herself from crying.

"I need to be alone, Luke. Just leave me alone."

"No, not until you talk to me. What's wrong?" He knew exactly what was wrong. He hoped that his greatest fear for the last few weeks wasn't coming true.

"Amazing. It's like you don't already know." Her voice was a soft but harsh whisper. It didn't matter, because the only sound that could be heard now was the sound of the rain pounding the ground outside.

"You really want to know what's wrong, Lucas? Us. Me. You and Peyton. I know the truth about you two. You lied to me, Lucas."

Her resistance was weak and she suddenly let go. Holding it in didn't help. The tears were coming, and it was one of those rare moments when Brooke Davis was totally and completely vulnerable.

So that was it; she knew. Yet he felt no relief, no weight being lifted off his shoulders. Just the opposite, he felt his heart breaking at the site in front of him. The most giving, captivating, selfless, vibrant girl he knew was suffering because of him. He wondered for a long moment if any of it was even worth it; if just being with Peyton was worth causing so much pain to Brooke.

"Brooke…" He had no clue what he could possibly say to make this any better for her. He knew that there was nothing he could say.

Desperate to find some way to make her feel better, he reached out to her. She immediately brushed his hand away.

"Don't you dare touch me! Don't you ever touch me!" he recoiled at her harsh tone, knowing full well he deserved it and much more.

"Brooke, we weren't trying to hurt-" he was cut off by her holding her hand up to silence him.

"I can't listen to this, I can't do this now. I have to go." She grabbed her things quickly and was on her way to the door before he could even get to her. She stopped, still facing the door, "Stay away from me, Lucas. Don't come here again. Lock the door on your way out." She had said that to him as if he was nobody to her. If it was even possible, he felt worse.

"Shit!" Lucas cursed himself for his lack of eloquence and his ability to get himself into the most awful situations.

(End of Flashback)