Hello! Very scared and excited to post this. It's very much inspired by FRIENDS, I'm hoping to keep it pretty light-hearted and fun but the odd trial or tribulation will come into the mix too. There will be romance too, of course, but the end game couples won't happen for a while. There will be some dating first and lots of friendship.

Here goes nothing!

The bell above the café door jingled and Mouth glanced up to see one of his best customers shiver into the warmth of his coffee shop. Haley James unwound her scarf and shrugged her coat off, throwing a warm smile back at Mouth.

and sat down on one of the couches she and her friends always commandeered.

Haley sighed with relief at the chance to finally put her feet up. She laid her head back on the couch and closed her eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath of the warm coffee air. When she blinked her eyes back open Mouth had appeared with a mug of tea and a muffin for her.

"Thanks, Mouth." Haley nodded gratefully to him, "Oh, would you mind if we also had the game on?"

He chucked and nodded, "Sure, is Nathan playing?"

Haley nodded proudly and took a sip of her hot tea, "He is. Home game against Miami."

Mouth licked his lips, "So who's joining you…Brooke?"

Haley refrained from laughing at Mouth's obvious infatuation with the bubbly brunette, "Mmm, possibly. I think Clay and Luke are on their way."

"Right." Mouth took that as his sign to go and scurried off to serve another customer. Haley shook her head after him, wincing at the fact that Brooke was actually out on a date.

Again the bell jingled and Haley turned to the sound. Her face broke into a grin at the sight of Clay ambling inside wearing jeans and a button up blue shirt with a Knicks jacket over the top.

"Hey, Hales," He grinned and hopped over the couch to sit down beside her, jolting the mug in Haley's hand slightly.

"Hi, you," Haley greeted, "On your own?"

"Yeah, Sara's out with her work friends." Clay supplied, "How's your day?"

Haley chewed on her muffin and tilted her head to and fro, "Good thanks, how about yours?"

Clay shrugged his shoulders, "I drew some comic strips, so it was pretty normal."

"I liked your one in the paper today, it was funny." Haley complimented.

Squinting back at her, Clay questioned whether she was telling the truth or not. Regularly his friends complimented his daily comic strip but usually they hadn't got around the reading it at all. Today's strip was funny though and Haley's big brown eyes were smiling easily into his. "Thanks. You really liked it?"

Haley slapped him playfully on the arm, "Of course I did! Jazz the Cat is my favourite, I like when you put him in strips. There should be more cartoon pop stars."

Throwing back his head, Clay laughed heartily, "You and Peyt must be rubbing off on me."

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Haley berated as Mouth delivered Clay an Iced Mocha and a brownie.

Clay nodded in thanks to the café owner and glanced quickly to the screen that was now showing the Knicks game. "Not a bad thing, just surprising I guess."

He paused to take of bite of his brownie and a swig of his drink simultaneously, to which Haley wrinkled her nose. "Dude, you're disgusting!"

Clay just grinned on proudly as Lucas strode into the café towards where his friends were sat in their usual spot. He fell into a wide squashy armchair and smirked towards his friends as they exchanged their usual banter. He chanced a few glances to the TV screen too, smirking a lop-sided grin at the sight of his brother playing on screen.

"Hi, Luke." Haley said as she picked at her muffin, "You're late."

"Yeah," Lucas rubbed at the back of his neck as though easing out an ache, "I was writing, I lost track of time."

"Oh, what are you writing?" Haley asked with interest.

Lucas' lips tweaked at the corners into the upwards curving of a smile, "Actually, I've been asked to speak at the University, about my books."

Haley's eyes popped with wild surprise, "Are you serious? Lucas, that's wonderful!"

"It's stressful," Lucas corrected through a wry but slightly proud smile, "I said yes straight away which may not have been the wisest but as I've hit a bit of a block with the book, I thought it might…ignite some inspiration."

"I think it's a fantastic opportunity, Lucas." Haley said earnestly, her eyes wide with enthusiasm.

Clay nodded on too in support, "You'll ace it, man. You write great books, hell, even I've read them."

Lucas grinned at the crooked compliment, "Thanks guys, it means a lot that even the illiterate enjoy my books."

In response Clay launched a torn piece of brownie at Lucas who ducked and laughed.

"Knick's basket!" Haley squealed, breaking up their squabbles with a hiss for them to hush. She flapped her arms at both the boys and leaned forwards to the screen.

They repeated the dunk and the three friends smiled together at seeing that it had been Nathan's shot. The close up on his face showed him winking to the camera to which Haley and Clay laughed. Lucas shook his head and strode to the now busy counter to order a black coffee.

He returned back a few moments later and rested his feet on the table, the coffee house being a second home for the friends by now. "Where are Brooke and Peyton?"

"Brooke's got a date!" Clay revealed, snaking his eyebrows along his brow suggestively, "She's going for dinner with that Felix guy we met the other day at the party."

Lucas frowned deeply as he cast his mind back to the party, there had been a lot of people around and he couldn't quite put a face to whoever Felix was.

"You know, smarmy looking guy with a head about three times bigger than the average." Clay reeled.

Squinting his eyes, Lucas snapped his head back from the game to his friends, "So why is Brooke going on a date with him?"

"Because Brooke doesn't have a date filter." Clay supplied with a shrug to which Lucas' gaze darkened.

Haley rolled her eyes, "She so does, she's just…exploring her options. Brooke thinks with her eyes, Felix wasn't bad to look at I suppose."

Lucas scoffed and turned his angered glance back to the TV.

"And Peyton's probably working late." Haley added, smiling coyly highlighting the fact that in his brooding, Lucas had forgotten to ask again after their other friend. She knew that Lucas had always held a candle to Brooke since back when they were kids.

Lucas and Haley had grown up as best friends, just as Lucas' little brother Nathan had grown up alongside Brooke. Lucas had always had a soft spot for the cheery brunette since she'd peed in his parents' pool at five years old and not cared one bit. But she was Nathan's oldest friend and also one of Lucas' friends now, as well as that Brooke would never look at him in that way.

The trio flicked their gaze to the screen quickly to check the score, happy to see that the Knicks were still leading and the conversation held a comfortable silence.

"I love game night." Clay smirked to himself.

"Of course you do." Haley laughed, "Sara's out for the night so you can go out with Nathan and get drunk."

He looked to her pointedly, "Exactly."

Lucas arched his brow, "And I suppose you'll want free drinks at the club all night?"

Tric was Lucas' club that he'd inherited from his Mom and Aunt who'd run the place before moving away from the city a few years ago. It was a regular haunt by the friends and was growing in popularity thanks to Nathan's celebrity presence week on week. Running the place wasn't exactly Lucas' thing but whilst he was stuck with his writing, it provided a good income for him.

"Thank you for that kind offer, Lucas." Clay smirked, "I will take you up on that."

Before Lucas could argue, Clay was saved by the bell above the door; it's chiming announcing the arrival of Peyton. She sighed into a seat and groaned loudly.

"Good day?" Clay jested and he received a scowl in reply.

Peyton shook her head, "You know what? I don't want to talk about it." She slapped a black slim line file onto the coffee table and then set her aching heeled feet on top of it.

"Knicks are winning." Lucas offered as a condolence and finally Peyton smiled.

"Good, how's Nate's game?" She enquired easing into a lighter mood as Mouth reappeared with a coffee for her. "Thanks, Mouth."

Clay began to list Nathan's scoring stats and gave Peyton a quick play-by-play. Peyton nodded through it as she sipped her drink. She'd had a nightmare of a day at the record label, having to stay late and finalise some contracts for the new artists so that her boss could go out and have a good time.

"So it looks like a comfortable Knicks win, you wanna come and celebrate with us later?" Clay asked the group.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders in an easy commitment whilst Haley held back, debating. Peyton shook her head decisively.

"Come on, Peyton." Clay drawled, "No offence, but you look like you could use a night out."

"Thanks," Peyton rolled her eyes, "But I have a thousand things to do before work tomorrow. I couldn't get in touch with the legal department tonight so I've got to go in early and since contracts isn't my area of expertise because I'm only the assistant to the assistant and have no experience, everything I worked on tonight is probably wrong. I don't want to have to edit the whole thing whilst I'm hungover."

Clay shook his head, "Why do you stay at that godforsaken place?"

Peyton worked at a big, well-established record label and had worked her way up agonisingly slowly from the post room to the title of Assistant to the Assistant. Her friends regularly corrected this to Assistant to the Ass though since her boss John was such a jerk.

"Because it's my dream." Peyton said in a flat voice.

Lucas arched his brow, he'd been to her office a few times and he'd honestly never visited anywhere with less soul. "My club cares more about music than that label does."

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Where's Brooke tonight?"

No one missed her obvious change of the subject but they knew not to push her on something she didn't want to talk about.

"Hot date, apparently." Lucas supplied dully, turning his attention back to the game to see Nathan steal the ball and make an impressive pass to his team mate.

"No, not a hot date."

The group turned, surprised to see Brooke herself stood by one of the couches. She slumped down on the arm of the chair Lucas was sat on, a pout across her lips. "Every good guy in this city is either married or gay, I swear."

Lucas ran his fingers through her hair soothingly as she stole sips of his drink and winced at the bitter taste.

"You're preaching to the choir." Haley smiled. Aside from Clay everyone in the group was single. Well, Nathan was a constant maybe as he hooked up around three times a week but he'd never really had a real relationship.

"I try so hard though!" Brooke whined, "And all I get is creeps and weirdos. I want a love story! I want fantastic, heart-spinning, crazy, suffocating love. Is that too much to ask?"

Everyone blinked back at her, unsure of quite what to say. At times, especially when it came to love, Brooke could be fiery. They glanced between her and the game for a few moments during a particularly poor bit of play from the Knicks.

"I don't even have a fallback!" She continued, "You know that people make pacts with their childhood friends that if they're not married by the time they're thirty they'll marry each other? Do you think Nathan would go for that….although it would be like marrying my brother…"

"Calm down." Peyton advised as Lucas inclined his head with interest. "It will happen one day."

Brooke pointed her finger accusingly, "You don't know that."

"No, I don't." Peyton agreed through a shrug, "There's every chance that you could end up all alone with only cats for company."

"Not helping." Brooke said throwing her friend a deadpan look.

Clay looked to Brooke with a dangerous sparkle in his eye, "How about we don't let that dress go to waste? Come out with me and Nathan, celebrate a little Knicks victory?"

Brooke twisted her lips, "I don't know, I was thinking about a night in with my pyjamas, a soppy movie and lots of chocolate."

"But we have wine." Clay pushed, "And as a founding member of the 2am club, it's practically a duty."

Brooke giggled at his argument, the 2am club was the definition of her college years. It was a joke she and Clay had started because they always stayed out the latest. Neither of them were overly committed to their classes, both being artists who didn't believe in exams and analysis. Their work was the creation of their imaginations and nothing else. They were only studying to please their parents. So they stayed out drinking together with the vow that they would never return to their rooms before the golden hour of 2am.

"2am club, you are such a dork!" Brooke cackled, "But you know I can never say no to that challenge. I will drink you under the table!"

"Not a chance." Clay was quick to argue.

Brooke quirked her brow, "The last time you challenged me you had to go home before 2am because your girlfriend called you and you are completely whipped."

Clay gritted his teeth determinedly, "It's on, Davis."

"Who else is coming?" Brooke asked the rest of the group.

"Lucas is coming, probably to restrict our free alcohol supply; Haley will be talked around by me in a minute; Blondie's being stubborn though." Clay listed through a smirk.

Haley arched her eyebrows towards Clay, "You're going to talk me round, are you?"

"If you don't come out with us, you can pick up the cheque for the coffees," Clay put to her, "If you do come I'll tell Mouth that Nathan will settle up when he's next in."

Laughing Haley shrugged her shoulders, "Convincing argument."

…

Nathan entered Tric to a reception of cheers. He smirked and nodded to his supporters and signed a few autographs as he made his way over to the VIP section where he knew his friends would be waiting.

Sure enough he saw them all gathered around a wide table with a beer waiting for him.

"Hey, Superstar." Brooke stood to greet him, wrapping her arms around him and smiled. "Great game."

He arched his brow at his oldest friend, "You didn't see it, did you?"

She laughed, "I caught the end, you were marvellous."

"Of course I was." Nathan agreed brazenly as he sank into a seat between Lucas and Haley. He lifted his beer to his lips but was berated by his friends. "What? I don't deserve a drink now?"

"Of course," Clay nodded, "But first you have to take a shot."

It was then that Nathan spied two thimbles of orange liquid on the table.

"Basketball themed shots." Brooke explained pushing them forwards, "Owen made one and it's delicious, Chase made the other and it's…well, remarkable even for Chase."

Nathan smirked and sank the shots one after the other. He washed them down with a swig of his beer. Lucas clapped him on the back in a congratulatory manner.

"Welcome back into the 2am club!" Clay cheered from across the table raising a toast.

Brooke and Nathan lifted their drinks and then Lucas and Haley did somewhat reluctantly.

"The 2am club." Nathan shook his head, "Are you sure you can last that long, Evans? Sara might want you home to do some knitting."

"Haha." Clay said in a dry tone, "Drink up, Scott, you're behind."

Nathan did so, finishing his beer with a satisfied grin, "Where's Sawyer then?"

"Working late and early." Lucas answered, his brow a little furrowed. It seemed that Peyton was always working at the moment.

Nathan frowned too, Peyton was his reliable drinking partner. She could hold a whiskey better than anyone he knew, excluding himself of course. "That sucks, she owes me a drink."

"Don't worry, I know the owner of this place." Lucas smirked and everyone laughed with him.

Brooke stood from the table and squeezed Nathan's shoulder. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and threw her shoulders back, "Okay, no one look now but the hottie at the bar is definitely checking me out."

Instantly all the friends turned and gaped at said guy who flushed and turned away.

Brooke's eyes widened in shock, "What are you doing? You could have ruined that for me!"

"We're being your wingman." Clay supplied easily with a shrug of his shoulders as everyone else around the table smirked. "You suck with men, we're doing you a favour."

"I'd call it something different." Brooke murmured, taking a sip of her wine.

"Anyway, this is the 2am club and what is the first rule of this club?" Clay asked, his arms thrown out expectantly.

Haley inclined her head and narrowed her dark eyes to him, "Surely it's staying out past 2am?"

"That," Clay nodded, "And that we operate as a group. That begins with games."

Everyone groaned a little at Clay's announcement and he rushed to assure them that they'd have a good time.

Lucas laughed and excused himself to the bar to get everyone a round of drinks and also some shots, because he knew the types of games that his friends liked to play. Luckily one of the perks of owning a bar was that he didn't have to wait to be served; instead he slipped behind the counter and began to pour everyone's drinks of choice.

When he returned with a heavily laden tray, Clay was explaining the simple rules to a game he called Answer This.

"You can ask any question you like, to anyone or to the whole group. They have to answer honestly or take a drink." Clay shrugged, "We either get secrets or we get drunk."

Haley wrinkled her nose, "This sounds…"

"Fun!" Brooke cut in excitedly, "You can start us off, Haley."

It didn't really make Haley feel much better but she agreed knowing that it would at least offer a little reprieve. She took a moment to think, chewing on her lower lip and blushing profusely, "Okay….um, what was everyone's first kiss?"

The group rolled their eyes a little at Haley's tame question but they were smiling too. They knew the way she was.

"I know Brooke and Nathan's first kiss." Lucas chortled, his brow arched with amusement.

Brooke's eyes gleamed back at him, "Only because you watched, you pervert! I wanted to see what all the fuss was about; all the princesses in my Disney movies were kissing their princes! But the only boy I really hung out with was Nathan, so,"

"I stepped up." Nathan grinned readily.

"How old were you exactly?" Haley frowned, picking up on the mention of Disney movies.

Lucas shook his head, "They were about four, I'd say. And it's not perving when you kiss someone on a trampoline in the middle of the garden anyway."

Brooke rolled her eyes, "Okay, how about you then, Broody?"

He winced a little, "I was older than you two."

"How old?" Brooke pushed, nudging him with her elbow. A grin spread over her features at the thought of an awkward Lucas nervously kissing a girl for the first time.

Lucas shifted in his seat, "About fifteen. It was with Faith."

"I knew it!" Nathan chortled heartily. "There was no way you two were always just playing basketball."

"Yeah, alright." Lucas blushed, "Clay, I think it's your turn to answer."

Clay laughed but nodded easily. "My first kiss was incredible. I was about fourteen and it was New Years Eve. My parents had thrown this big party and everyone from our block came. It was the countdown to midnight and everyone who cared was pairing up but I didn't have anyone to kiss. Anyway it got to about two seconds to twelve and I saw her; Louise Watkins, my old babysitter. She was like a dream and she was stood by the buffet table all alone. She was probably about nineteen but I'd had some champagne so I strolled up to her and kissed her."

"Clay!" Brooke gasped giddily as Nathan held up his hand for a high five.

"Yeah," Clay slapped Nathan's palm and rolled his shoulders proudly, "And then I reached for her boob and she slapped me."

The group laughed at his misfortune, Clay included and everyone took a sip of their drinks between the rounds.

"Okay! My question next!" Brooke announced excitedly. Her eyes ran over everyone at the table and she smirked devilishly, "Of our group of friends, who would you kiss, who would you hitch and who would you ditch?"

"Ouch, Davis!" Nathan frowned, "That's a bit unfair on Clay and Lucas."

"Hilarious." Lucas remarked dryly.

"I'll start things off, shall I?" Clay offered, grinning readily, "I'd kiss Davis just because, I'd marry Haley because she'd look after me and I'd ditch Peyton because she's not here to hit me."

Brooke looked to him questioningly, "What does 'just because' mean anyway?"

He shrugged, "Good looking lips, Davis."

She smiled at that and then looked around at everyone else challengingly to see who was going to go next.

"Brooke," Lucas drawled uncomfortably.

She seemed not to notice though and took it as a sign that he was volunteering, "Broody, you have the floor."

Lucas swallowed thickly and winced before reaching for a nasty looking shot and throwing it back.

"Spoilsport." Brooke teased, scrunching her nose. "Okay no one else can forfeit on this round."

"Why?" Haley asked incredulously.

Clay smirked, "They're the rules."

"You never mentioned them before." Haley noted typically.

"Didn't put you down as a rule breaker, James." Clay smirked teasingly, "I think that makes it your turn."

Haley chewed on her thumbnail for a moment as she pondered, "This isn't fair you know, you're all here to hear it."

Nathan shrugged, "You think I'm not going to call Sawyer tomorrow and tell her that Clay ditched her?"

"Fine." Haley conceded, "I'd kiss…oh my god this is so embarrassing….I guess I'd kiss Nathan because apparently everyone wants to. I'd marry Clay because I like reading his comic strip every day and I'd ditch Lucas because he's practically my brother."

Lucas nodded in understanding and Nathan arched his brow coyly towards Haley.

"Shut up." She insisted, "It's your turn."

He leaned back in his seat and smirked, "I'd kiss Hales, you know, to return the favour. I'd marry Sawyer because she has that great cigar collection and I'm not going to miss her out just because she's not here. And I'd ditch Brooke because I've already kissed her and like Luke said, I can't marry a girl who's like my sister."

The group swallowed down his answer with an accompaniment of alcohol and nodded.

…

Lucas turned his key in the lock and stepped into his apartment, surprised to still see a light on. The 2am club had lived up to it's name and the group had left the club at just past two. Lucas set his keys down on the sideboard and narrowed his eyes at the small dining table that sat between the sitting area and the kitchen. Peyton was sat in her pyjama shorts and camisole hastily scrawling something on a piece of paper.

"I didn't expect you to still be up." Lucas called out to her, causing her to jump.

"Lucas!" She cried out and then shook her head, her unusually lank curls bobbing with the movement, "I didn't hear you come in."

"I was consciously trying to be quiet so I didn't wake you." Lucas explained through a sigh, "It's gone two in the morning."

Peyton's lips upturned to a smile, "I didn't know that you were such a committed member of the 2am'ers."

Lucas chucked gruffly, "I'm not but we were having a pretty good time. We missed you though."

He nudged her shoulder in a friendly manner as he passed on route to the kitchen for a glass of water. She smiled lightly at the action.

"Thanks, Luke, I'm glad you had a good night." Peyton nodded, "And I haven't been up all this time, I just remembered something when I was drifting off."

"This isn't in your job description, you know, Peyton." Lucas reminded her gently, "It shouldn't be keeping you up at night. Besides, you're not even getting paid to do all of this extra work."

Peyton smiled weakly at her friend's concern, "It's all experience, right? And it just takes me a step closer to getting what I want."

"At what cost?" Lucas countered, "You're so busy all the time, and we hardly see you."

He missed his room mate and his friend; he hated coming home to find her tiredly scouring over papers or asleep on the couch.

"It'll be worth it." Peyton said through a nod and it seemed to Lucas that she was saying it to convince herself as much as to convince him.

Lucas sighed lightly, "I hope so. Now I'm going to bed and you should too."

She smiled resignedly and slipped out of her seat, "Yeah, I'm going."

Lucas waited by the light switch until Peyton had gathered all of her papers away and reached the door to her room. At the last minute she turned to look him in the eye, "I know you all think I'm crazy for putting up with it but it's the only thing I've ever really wanted."

"I don't think you're crazy at all." Lucas shook his head, "I respect what you're doing, we all do. I just think you deserve more for everything you do for that company."

"Thanks." Peyton nodded before slipping inside her room.

Lucas snapped off the light and retreated to the comfort of his own room.

…

"Are you sure you don't want to come to ours and play strip poker?" Nathan questioned Brooke and Haley as they reached the floor of their apartments.

Haley rolled her eyes largely, "We're sure."

She grabbed Brooke by the arm and pulled her hastily into their apartment, kicking the door shut with her foot and twisting the lock, leaving the boys out in the hall.

Brooke stumbled over to the couch and fell down lengthways across it.

"I am not carrying you to bed." Haley warned, slipping her heels from her feet.

Brooke sighed largely, "I don't want you to carry me to bed. I want a devilishly handsome guy with strong arms and beautiful eyes who loves me to carry me to bed."

Haley fell down on the couch next to her friend with an open packet of cookies in her hand taking one for herself and offering one out to Brooke. Brooke took one happily and rested her legs across Haley's lap.

"Was it that bad, the date?" Haley asked lightly, now that they were away from the rest of the group.

Brooke blushed slightly, her mind a little hazy from all of the wine she'd consumed, "Worse. I went to his apartment and he'd made dinner which was weird because I thought he was going to take me out. Anyway we ate so early and then….well we were sat on the couch and….I don't even know how it happened, I mean I usually have a rule about putting out on the first date,"

"Brooke," Haley said through a slight gasp.

Covering her face with her hands, Brooke groaned, "I know! I know! And afterwards he was so satisfied and I just knew that he planned the whole thing."

Haley sighed softly, "I'm sorry, Brooke."

"Am I really bad with men?" Brooke questioned in a small voice.

"No." Haley shook her head and rubbed Brooke's feet, "You're not, you've just run into some bad eggs."

Brooke chewed on her polished thumbnail, "Maybe I attract bad eggs."

"You don't." Haley assured, "There's someone out there for you, Brooke, someone incredible. One day he will come along but until that day you will cope just fine. You're Brooke Davis."

"I am Brooke Davis." She agreed slowly. "But it would still be nice for someone hot to carry me to bed."

"Agreed." Haley laughed out loud.

Brooke turned to face her friend, her eyes big and wide and her lips pouting, "Hey, Haley?"

Haley narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Yeah?"

"You think I could come and sleep in your bed? We could watch an old black and white movie and have cocoa…?"

Haley snorted, "Are we in Nathan's mind right now?"

"Probably." Brooke shrugged, "But it's fun so let's do it anyway."

…

Across the hall Clay and Nathan began setting up for a classic game of beer pong. They were extending the hours of the 2am club as they often did after a night out.

"So you'd marry Peyton, huh?" Clay asked and took a sip of his beer.

Nathan chuckled, "It was just a game."

Clay shrugged, "Sure it was. But you know what Brooke was talking about in the café before, when we were watching the game?"

"I dread to think." Nathan replied honestly. He'd known Brooke for a really long time; they'd grown up together and had managed to get into a lot of trouble at the hands of each other.

"She wants to make a marriage pact." Clay revealed, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Nathan tilted his head questioningly, "And…?"

Clay took his spot and launched his first ball towards the pyramid shape of cups. He missed and turned his attention back to Nathan, "A marriage pact is something you make with your oldest friend of the opposite sex."

Rolling his eyes Nathan gave Clay a playful shrug, "I'd never see my credit card again."

"That's true." Clay laughed taking his second shot and landing a direct hit. "Drink up, my friend."

Nathan fished the ping-pong ball out of the cup and knocked it back. "You said you'd marry Haley."

Clay's brow pinched to a frown and he chanced a look at Nathan from the corner of his eye then moved away from the game, holding his finger up to indicate that Nathan should way a minute.

"Dude!" Nathan threw his arms out, chuckling, "Are you forfeiting already? I know I'm the undisputed master of beer pong but that's weak, Evans!"

Clay disappeared into his room for a moment and then reappeared brandishing a velvet ring box.

Nathan's brow peaked with surprise, "Wow, Clay, I know we've had a Bromance going on for a while now but I just don't think I can accept,"

"Shut up." Clay slugged him on the arm and put the box down on the counter where both guys stared at it for a moment.

Pointing to the box, Nathan looked earnestly to his friend and sobered quickly, "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yep." Cautiously Clay grinned a little, stroking a hand along the back of his head nervously, "I saved up and bought it last week, Sara pointed it out ages ago, jokingly."

"That's huge, Man." Nathan smirked and pulled him into a quick one armed hug, shaking his head in persistent disbelief. Clay had been with Sara for about as long as Nathan had known him but it still seemed crazy that his friend wanted to get married. It seemed like such a massive lifestyle change. Marriage meant commitment and moving in with Sara and a lot of things changing. He was pleased for his friend but he knew that it also meant the end of an era for them.

Clay's smile reached from ear to ear as he revealed the impressive looking diamond, snapping the shell clasped box open. Nathan whistled lowly in appreciation.

"When are you going to ask her?" Nathan questioned, his mind wild with shock.

Shrugging slightly, Clay dropped into a seat and sipped at his beer, "No idea. I've tried once already but I got so sweaty and nervous. It's without doubt the most terrifying think I've ever attempted. She was just smiling expectantly and I was messing up all the words."

Nathan smirked at the admission, "Have you tried 'will you marry me?'"

"Thanks." Clay returned with a roll of his eyes, "I'll give that a try."

…

What did you think? I'd love to hear from you!