Thank you! Thank you so much for the reviews! And in return, I give you Chapter 2. Now I know that Chapter 1 didn't really match the summary for my story, but I just wanted to show the relationship that Lucas and Brooke have. Lucas hasn't realized that Brooke is the one for him yet, but he will very soon. In this chapter, I just wanted to show more interaction and show Lucas' feeling for the girls in his life.

Chapter 2: Collide

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you

"Hey, I'm back. See, I didn't take that long," he calls out to Brooke, but he stops when he's halfway through her room and sees her sleeping. He slowly walks up to her bed, and notices how beautiful she is under the ray of sunlight coming from her window, he smiles.

He walks around her bed and lays down the advil and glass of water he had been carrying on her bedside table. Again, he walks around her bed, this time he stops on the opposite side of where she is. Subconsciously he gets under the covers and wraps his arms round her.

He looks at her and closes his eyes. He can still picture her. He can picture the way her raven hair reaches up to her shoulders and the sun hitting it brings out some red in it. He pictures her eyes, those hazel eyes and remembers all those time she's use her puppy dog face or the time she'd wink at him when trying to seduce him. He pictures her nose and remembers the way it kind of scrunches when she's thinking. He can still see her lips through his closed eyes, those soft lips of hers and he remembers when she bites her lips when she's nervous and all those times she'd give him wet kisses. Then there's her smile, her dimpled, sweet smile, and he remembers all those times she'd smile that big dimpled smile because of him. He remembers. He longs for those days to come again.

I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Did I just say I long for those days? For her to wink at me seductively? Give me wet kisses with her soft lips? And for her to smile because of me? Lucas thinks. But that would be ridiculous to him, of course. He doesn't love Brooke. He can't love Brooke. She doesn't deserve him, she deserves so much more. He can't love Brooke, he doesn't even know who he loves.

First, there was Peyton Sawyer, with her skinny arms and tangled hair. They are so similar, in music, in brooding, even their hair and eye color are the same. She was the tortured artist, and him, the athlete. He'd had a crush on her for as long as he remembered. Now, he wonders if it ever became more than just a crush. Maybe he was in love with the thought of her, someone so much like him, someone who understands. But no one wants to be in a relationship in which all that is said is "I know." No, you want to be able to actually say problems out loud. With her it was safe, he knew they were compatible. Maybe they are soul mates. But are you really suppose to be with your soul mate, the person who is most like you or the person you love in spite differences?

That's where Brooke Davis comes in, she is so different from him. She a brunette, him a blonde. She has hazel eyes, he has blue eyes. She is a cheery person and he was broody. He liked to stay in the quiet and read, she liked to party with loud music that drown out her own thoughts. But that's alright with him. He loved that they were so different. She loved her, really loved her for who she is. She was mysterious to him, and he wanted to know more. She is so selfless that she keeps all her problems to herself not wanting to bother other people who have their own problems. But he wanted to know what she was thinking, and once upon a time, he did. She let her in. Once upon a time. They were so different, but they are two hearts of one.

Then there's Lindsay Strauss, his editor and ex-fiancé. She was there when he had just broken up with Peyton, and he was there when her dad had died. Sometimes he wonders if they were just there for each other at the right place and at the right time. He did love her, despite what others may have thought, but maybe he never gave her his whole heart. With her, he didn't have to choose between Peyton or Brooke like he'd always had to do. It was just her and him…until Peyton once again came into the picture.

Again, there was Peyton.

Lucas' light snore and Brooke's breathing filled the room. It was only when Lucas felt Brooke's temperature against his skin that he woke up. "Good God, Brooke you're like boiling," he shook her slightly trying to wake her up.

"Leave me alone," she tried hitting him, but she had no energy.

"Here, take an Advil," he handed her Advil as she opened her mouth. He was about to give her water to help swallow the tablet, but she had done that all by her self.

"Hold on, I'm going to go get--," he starts but Brooke interrupts him.

"No, stay," she pleads, "Please."

"Okay," he surrenders knowing he can't win over Brooke Davis.

"It's cold," she starts reaching for more blankets to warm her but Lucas began to protest.

"You can't put more layers; you're already hot enough as it is."

"But I'm cold," she says in a childish tone.

He doesn't know what else to do, until he thinks of the one way to keep her warm without making her temperature rise. He moves closer to her, now they are merely inches apart. For the third time today, he wraps his arms around her, but this time he brings her close to his body. He thought she'd pull away, but she doesn't.

"You'll get sick," she says suddenly, realization hitting her.

"That's okay," he tries to reason.

"But then who'll take care of you? I would, but I'm sick too."

"Haley will," as soon as he says that he groans and so does she.

"Oh my god, remember the last time we were both sick?" she reminds him of the day he gave her his second most embarrassing speech, out in the rain. Haley had to take care of them afterwards since they were both sick. She was like an overly protective mother, doing the most old-fashioned things to make them feel better.

"That was horrible. I think we would have been better off without her help."

She chuckles, "That's why you can't get sick. Haley will probably be ten times worse."

"I'm staying."

"You'll get sick."

"Anything for you."

That alone left her speechless. She didn't know what to say, how to respond to that. The last time he said that it was when he was apparently in love with her.

"I'm hungry," that is all she says.

He looks at the time and it's flashing the numbers 9:43 in bright red digits. "Oh my god, it's 9:43! I haven't made dinner!"

She laughs as she watches him run in panic towards the kitchen. "It's okay, there's some frozen pizza in the freezer. I love pizza!" she assures him. She can't stop looking at him. He slows down and opens the freezer. He makes a funny face and she assumes it's because of the contents of her freezer.

Lucas is surprised when he opens Brooke's freezer. There are frozen peace, corn, meat, and all the normal food items you'd expect in Haley's freezer. He expected Brooke to live off frozen pizza or microwavable food. He swings the door leaving it slightly ajar so that Brooke could see his face and vice versa. He's about to speak, but Brooke beats him to it.

"I can cook, you know!" she shouts halfway across the room. She decided to get up, but she brings her blanket with her to keep her warm.

"You always seize to amaze me," he smiles at her and watches as she flops herself on her couch. "One day, you are going to have to cook to me."

"What, you don't believe me?"

He takes the frozen pizza out of the freezer, finally and puts it in the oven, setting the time and temperature at the right place; all the while talking to her. "No, it's just that…'kay, fine so I don't 100 believe you," he surrenders.

"You think I'd have this body if I lived of off mac and cheese and stuff?"

"Good point. So chef Davis, what's your specialty?

"A little bit of everything," she says, pride evident in her smile and in her eyes.

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide

Lucas looks over to where Brooke is seated. She was being so quiet; he knew she was thinking deeply about something since she was starring at a distance. He wants to ask her what she's thinking about, but he doesn't want to interrupt her thoughts. Just then, the oven timer rings, signaling the pizza has been cooked. He saw that Brooke jumps a little by the sudden noise.

"The pizza's done."

"Yeah, I heard," she laughs

Lucas cuts the pizza into 8 slices and walks over to where Brooke is. He sets down the pizza on the coffee table and sits down to face Brooke. He takes a slice for himself, just as Brooke does. Before he ever takes a bite, he speaks.

"You really miss her, huh?"

"Hmm?" she knows who he's talking about, but she just wants to delay the conversation. She doesn't want to be once again vulnerable in front of him.

"Angie, you really miss her."

"Yeah, they just took them from me so suddenly, you know? We were going to go to the beach," just then, she starts to burst into tears.

Lucas is torn by the sight of Brooke in tears; he puts his slice of pizza down and hurries over closer to her side. Once again, he hugs her to comfort her and tells her it'll be okay.

Brooke hasn't cried yet since Angie left, there was just so much going on. She needs to let all her tears out, Lucas knows that. That's why he kept his arms wrapped around her. He could feel the cloth on his shoulder, where Brooke's head lay, to be soaked with tears. Mind you, this was a new shirt, but that didn't matter, if that's what it would take for Brooke to feel better, then it's worth it.

He doesn't know how long she's been crying, he's too preoccupied with saying soothing words to her. But that's alright, as long as by the end of the day, he can have her smiling again. She sniffles a bit and he can now feel her body move farther from him. She's now leaning on the couch, but still facing him. Looking at her, he knows she'll be okay eventually.

There's silence among the two of them, she likes that. But she needs to talk, and so she does. "In those three months, do you think I was a good mother?" she asks with hesitation.

It saddens him that she doubts her parental skills and talent. In those three months she has shown maturity that 5 years ago no one would have expected from her. She had given Angie everything she could ever need.

"Brooke, you have given Angie everything she could ever need," he replies, he notices that Brooke is about to protest, but he stops her by putting his index finger out to silence her. "Listen to me," he says.

She nods, allowing him to continue, "'Kay"

"You have given her a new heart, and along the process you have given her yours as well. And we all know it's hard to get even the slightest glimpse of Brooke Davis' heart. You gave her your time, care, laughter, joy, love and so much more. Now, I don't know about you, but if you ask me, that's a pretty damn great mother."

"Yeah, I did make her laugh a little bit," she smiles while reminisces on memories of Angie's soft laughter.

"She always did have the cutest giggle," he says, joining her in going back to memories of Angie.

"You were really great with her. She loved you."

"Well, I have that affect on people," he said cockily.

"You certainly do," she laughed, "I mean you made Peyton, Lindsay and myself fall in love with you," she continued joking around.

"Well I can't help it," Lucas joked.

Again, silence fills the room, but it isn't awkward, it's comfortable. She wants to keep on joking with him, but she remembers him pouring his heart out to her just like the rain had been on that certain night.

It was dark outside, and the rain was pouring down on Lucas and Brooke. But he didn't care, his girlfriend was out here desperately wanting to find out why it's her that he picked and not Peyton. And if he had to stand here for hours and hours just to prove to her that it's her he loves, then that's what he'll do.

"The difference? The difference is I love you, Brooke. I wanna be with you, not Peyton," he says loudly trying to over power the sound of the rain and thunder.

"But why? I need to know why?" Brooke asks desperately wanting to know if she really is the one Lucas wants and not Peyton.

"Because you kink your eyebrow when you're trying to be cute. And you quote Camoo, even though I've never actually seen you read. And because, you miss your parents, but you'll never ever admit that. And because I've given exactly two of these embarrassing speeches in my entire life, and they've both been with you. I mean, that's gotta mean something right? And because we're both going to get pneumonia, but if you need to hear why I love you, I can go on all night."

It's true; he could have gone on all night just to list reasons why he loves her so much. he could have gone on about her heart, her dimpled smile, her beauty inside and out, her intelligence. But Brooke was satisfied with what she got.

"It's because you were different," she says suddenly.

"What?" he asks truly confused.

"You asked me before why I loved you," she explained.

"You really don't need to answer that," he tried reasoning with her.

"No, it's okay. I asked you the same thing a long time ago and you answered. I figured I should return the favour."

"Well…go on," he says with a nervous chuckle.

"You…you were different from all the other guys. When I was naked in your back seat," she pauses and laughs just as he does at the memory. The she continues, "Anyway, not the point, you took me home, you didn't get in my pants, granted I wasn't wearing any, but still you didn't even hit on me. You were such a gentlemen and it made me want to know more about you. You accepted me for who I was and still saw beyond what other people saw me as. And you changed me for the better, you made me become the person I am today. I loved that. You also believed in me when I didn't believe myself. I love that," she finishes.

They sit there, on her couch, face to face, eye to eye. Lucas was dumfounded by what she had just told him. It was always him trying to prove his love to her, only now did she return the favour, and that's okay for him. Right now, all he wants to do is kiss Brooke, but he can't do that. He lost that privilege 5 years ago.

She looks at him, and she sees he's brooding again. That's another thing she loves about him, he makes a funny face when he's deep in thought. He scrunches his nose and furrows his eyebrows. And although he looks silly, all she wants to do is kiss him. But she can't do that. He's not in love with her anymore.

"You know, I didn't just love you because you kink your eyebrows when you're trying to be cute," now Lucas is the one to break the silence.

"You remember," she states in amazement.

"Well, I do know some things about you Brooke Davis," he tells her, just like he told her a few moths ago.

"You have got to stop recycling your words, you know," she laughs.

"What? I thought it was kinda cute," he says innocently.

"Really?" she fakes a shocking gasp, "See, I found it kinda, sorta, totally annoying."

"Haha," he fakes a laugh, "We should really finish this pizza, it's getting cold."

They both reach for a slice of pizza and face each other again wanting to continue having conversations about everything. She wants to ask him how he's holding up with the whole Lindsay debacle, but she doesn't know if she'd be crossing the line. Hence, she decides to stay quiet.

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find
You and I collide

"I'll be fine, you know?" he says as if he just read her mind. She has a confused look on her face and he decides to clear some things up, "With Lindsay and everything."

"Wha—How'd you know?"

"Must I remind you that I know some things about you, Brooke Davis," he says and she smiles muttering an 'I remember' to him. "And besides, it's what everybody's thinking about concerning me."

"We just worry about you," she tells him reassuringly.

"I'll be fine."

"I know you will. It's just—I want you to know, I'm here if you need anything."

"Count on it," he says this the same way she's said it 6 years ago, when to Lucas and Brooke everything had changed.

"Oh now you recycle MY words!"

"In my defence…," he pauses as he tries to think of an excuse, "I didn't think you'd remember that."

They both laugh and in the back of their head, they are both wondering why they remember so many little things about each other. Once again, she's laughing. He succeeded in making her cheery after the whole Angie conversation.

"Time to go to bed again, Princess."

"You know, you calling me Princess doesn't make me want to go to bed more."

"Fine, I'll stop calling you that."

"No! I like it, it's kinda cute. I don't have cute nicknames anymore," she says, and it's true. She can't be called "Pretty Girl" or "Cheery" it brings up too much about their relationship and she doesn't think they can go there again.

"'Kay Princess, but what about me?"

"Hmm…," she says trying to think of a name.

"How about Prince Charming?"

"How 'bout ugly duckling?"

He feigns a shock, "Is that what you think of me?"

She laughs, "No," she assures him. "Now let's get me to bed, Prince Charming."

Thanks for reading this!! More reviews would be very much loved by me XD. Oh and the song I used for this chapter is Collide by Howie Day. In the next chapter I will have bring in more characters.