When The Sky Comes Crashing Down

Thank you everyone for your great reviews!

BrucasForeva, brucas.is.loveee, Natz95, Brucas03, lucasluvforever, OTH.daddy'sgurl.06, AcexReporter, prettygirl33, goober396: I'm glad you all like the story! Thanks for the support!

Brucasforever, Cherie Dennis: I'm glad you guys like the story, and the song! I know, this song is one of my favorites. Each chapter is going to be titled after a song with the lyrics within.

brucaslovex3: Heyyyyy Jacko. I'm glad you're loving this new story. I know, I know, I'll update Finding Our Way Back To Us soon, just hold on tight. (I'm also glad I got you as obsessed as me )

l-a-c-18: Thanks for the long review! I know what you mean about Brooke. She's always getting hurt and she is truly loyal to her friends.

So, without further ado, I present to you Chapter 2 of When The Sky Comes Crashing Down.

City of Devils

Man once sang to me
Look at you saving the world on your own
And I wonder how things gonna be
As the time here it passes so slow

There wasn't much in the fridge as Haley searched through for something to eat for breakfast. With a sigh, she pulled out a container of yogurt, and got a spoon from the kitchen drawer, before sitting down at the counter.

It was still a mystery to Haley that Dan had been so generous in offering Nathan the money. She had assumed it was a long shot. And yet somehow they had power and running water. So instead of meddling in just how Nathan coaxed the money out of his father, Haley was just thankful that they weren't in debt anymore.

The phone rang, disturbing Haley from her thoughts. She reached across the counter to answer it and silence the loud obnoxious ring.

"Hello?"

A small sniffle came through the receiver. "Tutorwife?"

"Brooke? Is that you? What's wrong?"

"Um, nothing really. Listen, I'm kind-of stranded with no car. Do you think you could come get me?"

Haley checked her watch. It was 7:30. "I actually have a final 1st period. Why, where are you?"

"The UNC dorms."

"What? Why the hell are you at UNC?"

There was a silence on the other end, and Haley understood. Of course. She wouldn't expect any less of Brooke. "Well, I don't know what to do Brooke, I can't miss this test."

"What's wrong?" Nathan emerged from the bedroom.

"Brooke needs to get picked up from the UNC dorms, but I've got to go to 1st period."

"I'll go," said Nathan, picking up the car keys from the counter.

"Are you sure? UNC's like an hour away."

"Yeah, I don't have 1st. And I can miss 2nd period. Mr. Badgely's been out for a week."

Haley returned to the receiver. "Ok Brooke, Nathan's gonna' come get you. Which dorm are you at?"

In a city of devils we live
A city of devils we live

The grave still had no face. Peyton had haphazardly tossed her sketchpad to the edge of her desk earlier that morning and bitterly gone to change for school, angry that she couldn't finish the drawing.

She was in the mood to do something drastic. Cut her hair? No, she already did that. Paint her room white? No, she did that too. God, she sounded like Brooke playing I Never. Cause truthfully, Peyton was the queen of change. Changing everything on the outside to mask perfectly at how bad she was at adapting to change on the inside. Look how many people she had pushed away. Ellie, Lucas, Derek. The real Derek, that is. Every time her life started to get a little bit different, maybe a little more exciting and a little scary, she would curl up in her little shell and be too afraid to come out.

She smoothed the material of her cheerleading uniform and took a last look at herself in the mirror. God, she hated game days. She used to secretly love them – all the excitement and exhilaration in the air. But now she dreaded them. Game days meant Brookes hurt face and snide comments, and Lucas nervous looks as his gaze passed between the two former best friends.

"Well, dressing like that, it's no wonder you had a stalker."

Peyton turned to see Lucas come in. "Very funny. You better watch it," she said, throwing her sketchbook at him.

He caught it in the air and took a brief glance at it before tossing it on the bed. "Pretty intense. Trying best how to write 'Peyton Sawyer – Murdered by her best friend' on it?"

"You're just full of jokes today, aren't you?"

Lucas laughed. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just grab my bag." She moved to the chair.

"Hey Peyton?"

"Yeah?" she said, pulling her bag over her shoulder.

"Just hang in there. You know she'll forgive you. She always does."

Peyton let a small, fake smile edge across her face. "Thanks Luke." But deep down inside, she knew that it was going to take a little more than it did last time for Brooke to forgive her. And that hope that she had when the fight first broke out was now sinking farther and farther away, and Peyton wasn't sure she'd be able to get it back.

Find somebody to learn
Boy you gotta' love someone more than yourself
I can feel the fire of the city lights burn
And it's hard to find angels in hell

Flying along, and I
Feel like I don't belong, and I
Can't tell right from the wrong, and why
Have I been here so long

Nathan would be there any minute. Brooke pulled seams of Lucas' "Keith's Body Shop" sweater tighter around her to shield her body from the cold wind. The campus was empty this early in the morning and, sitting down on the steps leading to the parking lot, she let a few tears fall from her eyes.

The night before had been a blur. First it had been one beer, then two. Then came a few mystery drinks, followed by a few mystery guys, and then a dark dorm room. She'd woken up this morning with a guy's – whom she didn't know the name of – arm draped over her. Hurridly she had grabbed her clothes from where they were scattered around the room – remnants of a drunken night – and left him sleeping in his bed.

Her first thought was to call Peyton. Then came Lucas. But of course, seeing how she had cut the two most important people out of her life, the list came down to Nathan and Haley. Lucas would have come without a question, but there wasn't a doubt that he wouldn't be too thrilled knowing what she had done last night.

So Nathan was coming. In fact, she could see his car appear around a corner way down the street. She stood up and went to the curb to meet him, but paused when she heard a noise behind her.

"Hey, hey you!"

She knew who it was, and wasn't at all surprised to find that he didn't remember her name either. Not eager to give her phone number to a random guy so that he could call her anytime he needed another booty call, she didn't turn around, but rocked on her heels until Nathan's car pulled up.

Fumbling with the door handle , she hopped inside and muttered to Nathan "go." Nathan put his foot to the pedal and they were off, leaving behind a confused, hung-over college boy.

Questions I can't seem to find
To the answers I already have
And you can't see the sky here at night
So I guess I can't make my way back

It wasn't that the date had been bad. Just – not amazing. As mouth pedaled his way towards Tree Hill High, quiet thoughts flew through his brain. Gigi was nice, but he didn't see her as more than a friend. But the real question was why. Why didn't he want to date her? She was gorgeous and funny and sweet, all the qualities he loved in a girl.

But when he looked at her his heart didn't flip over like it did when he looked at Rachel…or Brooke. The only two girls he had every really been in love with – the two girls who didn't love him back.

It hurt bad with Rachel. He had really thought they had stood a chance. But in the end, she just saw him as a geeky vertically challenged high school boy. She would never see him the way she saw Cooper. So in the end, it sort-f came down to the fact that he didn't care. If she wasn't going to be with him, why should he waste his time caring.

But Brooke….Brooke was a different story. You don't just get over Brooke Davis. Of course he still loved her. Luckily, their friendship was strong enough to hold. But he knew he was still in love with her. She did too. They just didn't talk about it. Which was a good system. Because he loved the friendship they had.

Flying along, and I
Feel like I don't belong, and I
Can't tell right from the wrong, and why
Have I been here so long

Nathan stole a glance over at Brooke who was huddled in the passenger seat, face buried in the neck of her sweater. Lucas' sweater, actually.

He felt bad for her, in many ways. He was 17 and already knew where his life was going. He had a beautiful wife and a baby on the way. A full-ride to Duke and even though the future was gonna' be tough, he had a family.

Brooke, in so many ways, was lost. The only family she had consisted of her small group of friends. She had lost Lucas, and Nathan could see past her confident face into where her hidden insecurities really were.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, moving his eyes back to the road.

She snapped out of whatever daze she had been in. Brooke wasn't usually one to keep quiet at any time during the day, unless it was History class. Then she felt the need to ramble on about how all the dead presidents seriously needed a new hair stylist. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little hung-over," she said quietly.

"It's not gonna' help you know."

"The drinking?"

"No, the guys. They aren't going to help you get over your problems. You know, with your family, and Peyton and Lucas. Sleeping around doesn't solve anything."

Brooke, who normally would have gone into an angry tirade about how she could have sex like a guy, just sighed. "I know. Last night – was a mistake." She paused and looked over at him. "Thanks, though, Nate. Thanks for picking me up."

He smiled slightly. "Your welcome." There was a short silence before he spoke again. "You know, Brooke, we're a lot alike." He looked over at her. "I mean, we both had people we love break our hearts. It hurts, doesn't it?"

She just nodded, staring out the window.

He continued. "But I loved Haley, so I learned to trust her again. What about you and Lucas?"

Brooke didn't look at him, just put her hands into the sweater's pockets. "Sometimes love isn't enough."

He watched her for a few more seconds, watched her eyes follow the trees as they zoomed by. "Yeah, I guess," he responded, before putting his eyes back on the road.

I don't belong
Don't belong
I've been here too long
Too long

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Song is City of Devils by Yellowcard