Thanks so much, everyone who reviewed or read my story. Here's the second chapter! You just need to know I'm heading off to Italy on Thursday for two and half week, so I can't be updating in the meantime. But I'll write the next chapter there and I'll post it as soon as I'm back in Holland!
Now enjoy,

XXX

Brooke Davis had always loved to party. Ever since she was in kinder garden she'd be the centre of attention at anyone's party. And it was an easy job, really. All she had to do was look pretty and everyone would be kissing the ground she walked on.
Yes, Brooke knew how to play. It didn't matter if she had to wear the prettiest ribbon in her hair at the age of five, or if she had to put on her sexiest skirt once she started playing with boys instead of toys, Brooke always knew how to make someone gasp for breath.

But right now, she was the one gasping to get some decent air into her lungs. Her head was pounding and her hair was messed up. She was lying on her side and she felt something sticky on her cheek.
Oh god. She may like parties, right at that moment she felt like everything but partying…

24 hours earlier

Riiing!

Brooke groaned as she put of her alarm and got out of her bed. 7 'o clock on a Saturday morning. God, she was dedicated.
Slowly she put on the shower, stepped under it and fell half asleep again. After she had washed herself, she got out and changed into her cheerleading outfit just like she always did on game day.

Yes, it was game day. And this might turn out to be a good one. Brooke smiled to herself in the mirror as she put on some make-up. At least game day would start pretty good. She brushed her teeth and after she was done with that she left the bathroom and then the house. She walked over to her car and drove away.

The streets of Tree Hill were silent. Everyone was probably still in bed. The sun was already shining and Brooke couldn't help but smile again. She put on the radio and started singing along to a song she didn't even like, but knew the lyrics of it by heart anyway. After five minutes of driving she had reached her destination. She parked in front of Lucas Scott's house.

Brooke got out of the car and tried to be as quiet as possible as she opened the door 

to Lucas' room, which he hadn't locked. Not that it would've stopped her if he had.
Lucas was lying on his back, fast asleep. He was shirtless and his hair covered half of his face. Brooke slowly walked over to him and-

'AAAAAAH!'

Lucas was awake.

Brooke smiled sweetly at him. 'Well, good morning, sunshine. Surprise!'

Lucas looked at her in horror. 'Are you out of your mind!? You almost gave me a heart attack!'

Brooke rolled her eyes, 'Don't overreact! Now, get up, I got you a surprise!'

Lucas was still looking at her with an amazed look on his face. 'Brooke,' he said slowly, 'It's not even 8 'o clock in the morning. It's game day. What are you doing here so early?'

Brooke shrugged happily, 'Surprising you! Now, do you want to see what I got you?'

Lucas groaned and sat up straight. 'Well, you're here now. Show me what you got.'

Brooke clapped her hands excitedly and handed him a round package.

Lucas raised his eyebrows. 'What is this?'

'You'll see, open it!'

Lucas took off the paper. He had a cake in his hands.

'Isn't it great!?' said Brooke happily, 'Look, it's a basketball!'

Lucas didn't say anything. Then he sighed. 'Is this why you woke me up?'

Brooke was taken aback by this. Wow, what was this supposed to mean? 'Well, uh, yeah, it is. Why?'

'Brooke,' Lucas put the cake down next to him on his bed. 'Don't you get it? It's game day, I need to perform tonight! I really need some sleep! I can't believe you did this!'

Now Brooke was the one to stay silent. She looked at him for a long time and then she spoke: 'Well, excuse me then, for wasting my entire Friday evening on baking a cake for my boyfriend who doesn't seem to appreciate it at all. I'll just leave now so 

you can get your precious sleep instead of spending some time with your girlfriend. I hope you play well tonight, Lucas, but then again: you couldn't suck anymore than you did last time!' She snatched the cake away from him and got up.

'Well, well!' said Lucas loudly, 'and that's coming from a girl whose best qualities are kicking in the air?'

Brooke fell silent. She looked at him, hurt. How could he have said that? He knew that she was insecure about herself and about her qualities, and he had always told her that she was good at something and that if she wasn't, it wouldn't even have mattered to him. Brooke felt tears coming up, but refused to cry in front of him.

'Alright then,' Brooke said softly. 'Here, you can keep the damn cake.' She threw it on his bare chest but Lucas didn't even respond to it.

'Brooke,' he whispered, 'Brooke, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I-'

Brooke held up her hand. 'You've said enough, Luke. See you tonight.' She closed his door behind her and walked back to her car. This was so not going the way she had planned it.

Actual tears were rolling down her cheeks now as she started her car again. The streets were still silent, and Brooke was glad. Not everyone had to see her like this. She knew she would pull herself together for the big game tonight, she always did, but right now she just didn't want to act as if she was ok.
She had reached a traffic light , but didn't really see it. She just drove further along until she heard a noise. Someone was screaming. Brooke immediately stopped driving and looked round to see what was happening. She saw that she had almost crashed into another car.

'What is this!?' someone stepped out of the other vehicle and Brooke held her breath. She really didn't feel like this right now. Then she saw who the other person was. Nathan Scott was walking towards her. She quickly tried to dry her tears but Nathan had already spotted her.

'Hey, Brooke, what's going on?' he was looking really concerned.

Brooke shook her head. 'No, it's nothing. Sorry, Nate. I wasn't paying attention, I almost hit you. Are you alright?'

Nathan nodded, 'yeah, I am. But you obviously aren't. Brooke, what is it?' he opened her passengers door and took the seat next to her. Both of their cars were standing in the middle of the street but they didn't really care.



Brooke shrugged, 'I just had a fight with Lucas. I don't want to bother you with it.'

Nathan immediately shook his head. 'Don't be ridiculous, Brooke. You can tell me! Come on, I'm sure it'll be good to talk about it.'

Brooke smiled, 'Really Nathan, you don't have to…'

Nathan put his hand on her arm. 'trust me: I want to, Brooke. Tell me what happened.'

Brooke sighed and looked up at Nathan. Then she told him what had happened between her and his half-brother. Nathan was quiet all the time and gave her a reassuring squeeze when needed. Once Brooke was finished talking he took her into his arms.

'Brooke Davis,' he whispered into her ear as she lay in his arms and his nose was in her hair, 'I need you to know that you are one of the most gifted persons I have ever met in my entire life. No matter what Lucas Scott may be saying: you're a special girl and he should be lucky to have you as a girlfriend.'

Another tear rolled down Brooke's face as she was leaning on his shoulder. 'Thank you, Nathan.' She whispered back, 'This means a lot to me. You're such a great guy.'

'Stop it,' smiled Nathan as he took Brooke's face in his hands. He wiped away a tear from her cheek with his thumb. 'I just don't like to see you like this.'

'What – is – going – on – here!?'

Brooke and Nathan quickly turned around to see who was talking to them. Haley was standing at the back of Brooke's car and looking furious. She wore her work outfit from Karen's Café .

'Haley, relax,' said Nathan. 'Brooke and I were just talking about her problems with Lucas.'

Haley snorted, 'Well, that looked like more to me than just talking!'

Nathan sighed, 'Haley we've been over this, please don't start this again!'

Brooke smiled awkwardly, 'Maybe I should just go,' she said.

'No, there's no need!' said Nathan. 'Haley is just taking the wrong conclusions.'


Haley shook her head in disbelief. 'Nathan Scott! What the hell do you think you're doing!? I was just in Karen's Café, opening things up, and suddenly I see you and Brooke sitting in her car, intimately hugging and you holding her face! What am I supposed to think of that!?'

Nathan jumped out of the car and looked at Haley with a very dangerous expression. 'Well,' he said through clenched teeth, 'you should've been thinking something like this: Gosh, my husband's so sweet! He comforts Brooke when she is obviously going through a rough time, and maybe I should be supporting too! But were you thinking that!? NO! Because no matter what I do, you immediately think the worst of me!'

Haley obviously didn't know what to say. She was just standing there, looking at Nathan. Brooke decided that this was none of her business and she started the car so she could take off.

'Thanks, Nate.' She murmured. 'I'll see you guys tonight.' She drove away and she could still hear Nathan start his car too. Well tonight should be interesting…

XXX

Saturday night: game night and possible party night at Nathan's beach house

'And Whitey calls the last time out before the match is decided!' Mouth's voice echoed through the now silent gym. Everybody was waiting for the players to return to the field.

'The Ravens have to score just one more time in the remaining ten seconds, and they'll be one step closer to the State Championship. Who will make the difference? And they're out again! The Wildcats are off with the ball, oh no, this doesn't look too pretty! If they score now, it might all be over for the Ravens! BUT NO! Nathan Scott takes over the ball and is making his way to the other side of the field! Oh man, Scott is on a roll tonight! 3 seconds remaining. It is now or never! Nathan Scott throws at the basket, aaaand…..'

Nobody dared to speak. They were all watching the ball flying towards its target.

'THE BALL IS IN! THE RAVENS WIN!!'

A loud noise erupted from the stands. Everyone was cheering and the cheerleaders ran onto the field. Brooke ran to Nathan and wrapped her arms around him.
She kissed his cheek and screamed: 'Nathan, you were amazing!'
After Brooke had gotten home she had pulled herself together and here she was, the cheerleader everyone expected her to be.

Nathan grinned madly at her and lifted her in the air. 'Well, that was just because I 

saw the head cheerleader was cheering for me. That's why I made that last shot.' He kissed her forehead and put her down again. Brooke was still smiling up at him and for a minute she forgot all the problems she had. For one moment it was just him and her. Then someone pulled her away from him. Brooke turned round, expecting to see Haley, but it was Lucas.

'What the hell are you doing?'

Brooke said nothing. Then she patted him on the shoulder. 'Good game.'

Lucas looked at her in astonishment. 'Good game!? Brooke, you just threw yourself in the arms of another guy right after we've had a fight! This isn't good, Brooke.'

Brooke sighed, 'It doesn't mean anything. Nathan scored the winning goal. Of course I wanted to congratulate him first.'

Lucas looked at her skeptically, 'What did he say to you?'

Brooke rolled her eyes. 'Stop it, Lucas! Come on, who are you to be jealous!? After the things you said to me this morning, you should be glad I'm still speaking to you right now! I'm going to go now. Maybe I'll see you around at the party.' She took off to meet her squad so they could head to the beach house as soon as possible. Bevin had said there was so much booze that it was impossible to leave the house without being completely wasted. Man, she could use that about now.

As Brooke walked out of the gym she caught sight of Nathan. He was obviously arguing with someone. He raised his hands and he looked pretty mad. When Brooke walked around the corner she could see he was fighting with Haley. Probably because of her.

'You coming?' asked Peyton. She saw Brooke looking at Nathan and Haley but decided to stay silent about it. Brooke nodded.

'Yes. Off we go.' They jumped into a jeep and they drove down to the party that probably had already started.

Once Brooke got inside, there were already a lot of people and they were all drinking and dancing. It looked like a typical Ravens victory party. She quickly got herself a drink and drank it at once. Then she filled herself up again.

'Take it easy, Brooke.' Said Peyton who was eyeing her.

Brooke smiled, 'Not tonight.'



She filled herself up again.

'You know Brooke,' another voice sounded. It was Lucas. 'you can't solve all of our problems by trying to drink it all away.'

Brooke knew he would only get more annoying if she ignored him so she looked up at him. 'Well, it sure makes things look a hell of a lot better. Now I'm sorry, I've got to party now.' She wanted to walk away but Lucas grabbed her arm.

'Where are you going?' he asked, 'Come on, Brooke, we need to talk about this.'

Brooke nodded, 'Yes, we do. Just not right now. Here' Brooke handed over her cup to Lucas. 'You should try this. Maybe it helps for you too.' She left him standing there and she walked out of the beach house. Almost whole Tree Hill high was there now and she really needed to get some space. Why did Lucas had to ruin this evening for her?

She looked at the sea in front of her and sat down into the sand. The wind blew through her hair and she was thinking about her and Lucas. And about Nathan and Haley. Well, at least the Ravens had won…

'Brooke,' a very familiar voice reached her and Brooke couldn't help but smile to herself when she heard it.

'Are you here to save me again?' she asked Nathan.

Nathan grinned, 'You tell me.' He sat down next to her in the sand. 'What are you doing here? I thought there was nothing you liked more than a party.'

Brooke smiled faintly. 'Well, I was just clearing my head, I guess. What about you? You're the star player, you should be out there having the night of your life right now.'

Nathan snorted, 'I doubt it. Haley's giving me some trouble.'

Brooke nodded, 'Oh yeah, I saw you guys fighting right after the game. Are you ok?'

Nathan shrugged, 'I don't know. We fight a lot lately. Mostly about you, actually.'

Brooke looked up at him. 'What did you tell her?'

He smiled, 'Well I may have given her some reason to doubt the relationship between me and you.'

'What do you mean?'


Nathan grinned, 'You remember that sex tape we made once?'

Brooke winced, 'stop reminding me. That was painful.'

He laughed, 'Yeah.' He said nothing for a while and just stared at the sea. 'But that wasn't the only reason.'

Brooke looked sideways and saw him looking into her eyes. 'What was the other reason?' It came out as a whisper.

Nathan leaned closer to her until their faces were only a few inches away from each other. 'I told her I always had a thing for you.'

Brooke's heart stopped for a while. Why was she so happy to hear that? He was very close to her now. She could see his eyes sparkle and thought how handsome he looked. Suddenly she felt an amazing urge to kiss him.
Then Nathan was slowly leaning closer to her. Brooke held her breath and waited for him to-

'What are you doing?'

Brooke and Nathan immediately got away from each other. They both stood up and looked at Peyton who had just ran in on them.

'So this is why you and Lucas are having problems?' said Peyton. Her voice was full of loathing.

'No!' said Brooke, 'No, Peyton! This isn't what it looks like!'

Nathan ran his fingers trough his hair uncomfortably.

Peyton snorted. 'It better be not what it looks like,' she said, 'you guys have no idea what you're doing here.'

Nathan stepped forward and grabbed Peyton's arm. 'Peyton.' He said, 'Listen: we were just talking, ok?'

Peyton shook her head. 'If that's what you want me to believe. In the end it'll be you two who'll have to pay the price. Now there's a party going on inside. Maybe you guys would like to celebrate the victory, with um, I don't know… maybe your wife and your boyfriend? Just saying…' She walked away.

Brooke and Nathan looked at each other, still standing on the beach. They were both 

thinking about the same thing: What would have happened if Peyton hadn't walked in on them?

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