Chapter 2: I'll Give Up On You

Brooke arrived at the hospital. She found the four standing there in the hallway. She ran towards them and called out Luke's name. Luke gently pulled away from his mom and walked towards Brooke as she ran towards him. Brooke was still in her red dress and she hugged him tight. Lucas did the same. Brooke had just found a friend in Rachel, and now she's gone.

"It's ok Brooke. I'm here." Lucas whispered in Brooke's ear. Brooke was starting to cry.

"I know. Thank you Luke." Brooke slightly pulled away to look at Lucas as she said these words. Lucas put a short yet soft kiss on Brooke's lips. They hugged again.

Karen smiled at the sight of these lovers. So did Nathan and Haley. Then, Karen sat down and took what she thought was her purse. She looked for her cellphone and she couldn't find it. Instead, she saw the pregnancy test Lucas had shown her earlier. She hid it before anyone could see.

"Hey Brooke." Karen called out. Lucas and Brooke looked at her. "Did you leave your purse at the reception?" Lucas quickly looked at Brooke, wanting to know what she would answer.

"Umm.. No… That's how you were able to contact me. With my phone. That's in my purse." Brooke joked. Karen giggled at what she had said and for some reason, Lucas felt relaxed and lighter, knowing the pregnancy test wasn't Brooke's.

"Why'd you ask?" Brooke said.

"Nothing. It's just that many people left their purses there and I don't know which belongs to whoever." Karen explained.

"Oh… Ok… Well… Umm… Can I visit Cooper? I kinda noticed you're all out here." Brooke said.

"Umm… I don't think that's such a good idea Brooke." Nathan stopped Brooke as she was about to open the door. Brooke had this curious and confused look as she looked at Nathan.

"You see, he woke up. Then, we told him what happened to Rachel. He cried. I mean… there was one tear. But he was shaking when we left him. I just think he needs to think things through, you know?" Haley explained.

"Oh… Ok… I get it. Maybe I could cheer him up!" Brooke opened the door until no one was able to stop her. Brooke was always the cheery one. She gently closed the door and sat next to Cooper.

Meanwhile, the four people outside were shocked and entertained by Brooke's persistence and approach.

"Some girlfriend you've got Lucas." Nathan joked. Haley and Karen laughed. Luke just smiled.

"It's gonna be hard when you two get married. She's one stubborn girl. Be careful. You can be too soft sometimes." Haley followed the joke. Again, the three laughed as Lucas just smiled.

"Yeah…She is something, but right now, I don't think marria-" Lucas stopped at the sight of a blonde, walking towards them, dressed in red. Nathan, Haley followed Lucas' gaze. Nathan smiled at the thought of Peyton's presence cutting Lucas off. Karen didn't notice any of this happening because she was too busy thinking about the owner of the pregnancy test. She saw the three looking at one direction, so she did the same thing. When she saw Peyton, her eyes lit up.

Peyton walked slowly. You could judge by her face, that she was scared (of Brooke maybe), shocked (with Rachel's sudden death), worried (of what she might tell Lucas or vice versa) and sad (losing her best friend, having no chance with Luke, losing Rachel, sympathizing with Cooper). Lucas could see that she was not feeling anything positive, so he walked fast towards Peyton. When they were only about 7 inches apart, They stopped walking. Peyton couldn't look at Lucas in the eyes. Lucas was just staring at her. Peyton was hesitating and scared.

On the other hand, Nathan was smiling like hell at this sight. Haley smiled sincerely, seeing them like this again. She had forgotten that Brooke was Lucas' girlfriend. Karen, was smiling but she was worried. She liked Peyton but she also liked Brooke. Both were like her daughters.

"Peyton look at me." Lucas said softly. "Please."

Peyton's head was still down. She couldn't say anything.

"Why? Was it something that happened earlier? I thought we already talked? We had decent good-byes. Right? Now look at me. Please." He used held her chin with his thumb and index finger and slowly tried to lift her head up, so she'd look at him. Peyton's sad eyes slowly met with Lucas' hoping eyes.

"There. Happy?"

"What's wrong Peyton? Did I say something a while ago?"

"No. Or…yes… or I don't know."

"Oh come on Peyton. Please tell me."

"I don't know if you forgot or you're just numb. Lucas, we can't be friends. I can't look you in the eye, when you've got this oddly melting look. Yes, it makes me melt. Now you know. That's why I can't. I don't want to fall for you again. Wait. Let me rephrase that. I don't want to fall deeper into you. I said I loved you. That was real. That was true whether you and Brooke want it to be or not. So please don't tell me to look at you, to talk to you or to hug you because you know what comes next. I don't want my heart to get broken harder the 2nd time around. If I should hurt now, let the pain come, but don't let it grow. Plus, you forgot about the part where Brooke found out about the kiss."

"But I explained everything to her. I told her-" Lucas tried to speak but he got cut off.

"Don't even tell me you said that was just a kiss, because I was stupid enough to tell her I still had feelings for you. So please, let's just avoid each other and don't ask any more questions Luke. Please." Peyton pleaded. It was hard for her to keep her voice down, with all the emotions involved in explaining everything to Lucas. Not everyone heard her, but when you hear her, you won't miss the pain in her tone.

"Peyton I can't do that." Lucas said as if begging. He looked her in the eyes. He saw her eyes sparkle because of the tears building up.

Peyton avoided Lucas' stare and said, "You'll be forced to when I ignore you. Because then, you'll have no choice. Now could you please excuse me and act like I said nothing, except the part where we avoid each other."

"Peyton, for how long are we gonna avoid each other if I agree with you." Lucas as Peyton just walked a couple of inches past him.

"Maybe forever." Peyton turned as she spoke.

Lucas just watched her walk towards Haley. He turned away and went for a walk. He didn't want to have to let Peyton go. She was a true friend to him and him to her. But was that the only reason he felt so disappointed? He couldn't help but feel like he was missing something. He felt blind to a feeling inside him.

As Peyton walked towards Karen, Haley and Nathan, she faked a smile and the three smiled back at her.

"Hey Peyt, can I talk to you for a minute?" Nathan said.

Peyton hesitated to answer. She was nervous because she knew what Nathan knew about her and Lucas. Then she answered, "If Haley doesn't mind."

"Oh sure. You go ahead. Just don't make out with my husband Peyton. We're newly remarried! Remember!" Haley joked. Nathan giggled and so did Karen. Peyton couldn't find a laugh inside her so she smiled sincerely. Then Nathan took her hand and they went to the elevator.

AN: There you go. Sad LP scene, but it's going somewhere. Don't worry about Nathan and Peyton. Remember that Nathan's "rooting" for Lucas and Peyton. Hahaha… Jake will come… just not now. Ü If you guys are wondering, Brooke's just making conversation with Cooper. Nothing big that will affect the story. Please Review. :D