Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm back again with another chapter! I did A LOT of writing this weekend so I wrote Chapter 3 and some of Chapter 4. There is some drama in this chapter and also an appearance from Nathan. Beware though, there is much more drama in Chapter 4 than there is in this one. Anyways, hopefully I'll have time to finish Chapter 4 by Wednesday, but I'm not making any guarantees. Well, with out further ado, here's Chapter 3 to In the Presence of an Angel. As always, please read and review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. One Tree Hill and its characters are property of the WB.
Rating: PG to PG-13
In the Presence of an Angel
Chapter 3
The next morning, Brooke was first to wake and she smiled as soon as she opened her eyes. She was snuggled up next to Haley, still in her strong embrace with her own arms wrapped around the other girl's body. She breathed in the scent of Haley's perfume and closed her eyes once more, savoring the smell and putting it to memory. Brooke shifted a little, careful not to wake Haley, and repositioned her head in the crook of Haley's neck. A daring thought came to her half asleep brain and she pressed her lips to her neck in a feather-light kiss. Haley stirred, to Brooke's fright and horror, but remained asleep and Brooke breathed a sigh of relief. Brooke smiled again, this time wider, as she thought about what she had just done. 'I finally kissed her...' she said to herself in satisfaction. At this, she fell back into a peaceful slumber.
Hours later, Brooke was awakened by a wonderful aroma drifting to her nose. She followed it to the kitchen where Haley was cooking something to eat. "Mmm, what smells so good," she asked as she walked over to where Haley was standing by the stove. "Morning, I'm cooking French toast, scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon. I was just about to come and wake you; it's almost ready," she replied with a smile. "Yum, that sounds wonderful." "Hey Brooke, can I ask you something," Haley inquired as she pushed the eggs around in the pan. "Shoot," Brooke responded, wondering what she wanted to know. "Were you crying this morning? Because when I woke up, my neck felt a little wet and your head was right next to my neck..."
Brooke felt a blush creep up in her cheeks and she turned her head away from Haley so she could not see, "Yeah, it was either that or some drool. I-I do that sometimes." Haley began to wipe her neck as if to rid it of the wetness she had felt earlier that morning, "Ew... you got drool all over me? I need to take a shower now." Brooke laughed and turned back to face her as Haley turned off the stove and prepared their plates then set them down on the table, one in front of Brooke and one in front of her place at the table. "Thanks," Brooke replied as she began to eat and Haley responded, doing the same, "You're welcome."
After they had eaten for a few minutes, Haley asked, "How's your bruise? It looks a little better this morning after keeping the ice on it for so long. We should probably do that again today." Brooke nodded, "It doesn't hurt as much as it did yesterday and the swelling has gone down. You know, I never thanked you last night for taking me in. Thank you for being there for me, no one else would have come through for me like you did besides Peyton. I owe you big time." "Brooke, you don't owe me anything. I'm just glad that you're safe. I care about you, you're one of my best friends and I'm glad that you came to me," Haley responded as she placed her hand over Brooke's. Brooke smiled genuinely at this, happiness bursting within her. Haley considered her to be a friend after all. "I'm glad I came here too," she replied back.
Once both of them had finished breakfast, they retreated back to the bedroom where Haley gathered two sets of clothes for both her and Brooke to wear after their showers. Haley let Brooke go first and then she went herself. Not a minute after she had stepped out of the shower, Haley heard a male voice from downstairs, "Haley? Hey Hales, where are you?" She quickly wrapped herself in a large towel and exited the bathroom to her bedroom where Brooke paced frantically across the floor. "Shit! Haley, Lucas is here! He can't see me like this! I don't want him to see what my mother has done to me. Please make him go away!" Haley placed both hands in front of her, trying to get Brooke to lower her voice, "Sh, he'll hear you. Okay, I'll get rid of him, but I know he won't be happy about it. I'll go downstairs and talk to him. You lock the bedroom door after I leave in case he tries to come up here. I'll be back up in a few minutes."
She quickly exited the bedroom and instantly saw Lucas heading towards her. She swiftly shut the door behind her and responded, "Lucas, don't you ever think to knock? What are you doing here?" "Yeah, but I thought you might not answer the door because you were sick and I wanted to check up on you. Plus, I wanted to get a peek at your goodies," he smirked and arched his eyebrow suggestively at her towel. She punched him in the chest, "Lucas!" He covered the spot where she'd hit him with his hands, "Ow! You know, you're starting to hit me a lot. I never knew you could be so abusive," he laughed lightly. Haley's brown eyes darkened and tears welled in them, threatening to fall down her cheeks as she thought of Brooke. "Please go," she said quietly, crossing her arms then turning her back to him. "Hales, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Is this why you've been acting weird? H-Has someone been hitting you? If someone is..." He growled angrily and clenched his fists at his sides. "No," she responded as she shook her head. "Then what is it? Why won't you talk to me? Dammit Hales, we're best friends! We're supposed to tell each other everything! Something is bothering you and I can see it in your eyes, but you keep avoiding me!" "I-I'm sorry, but I can't tell you," she responded as the tears began to fall. "Well, when you figure out what you want and when you're ready to tell me what's going on with you, come find me," he said in a harsh tone before leaving the house.
Haley ran back up to her room and knocked on the door, to which Brooke unlocked it and let her in. As soon as she entered, Brooke opened her arms to a crying Haley, who immediately latched onto her. "I'm sorry I caused you two to fight..." Brooke said softly as her own tears welled in her eyes and she stroked Haley's hair. Haley pulled away a tiny bit and replied, shaking her head vehemently, "Brooke, you did not cause us to fight." "But it was about me," she responded and Haley shook her head again, "No, you weren't even mentioned in our fight, it had nothing to do with you." "Yes it did, he thought someone was hitting you, Haley." "It's not your fault, Brooke," Haley replied as she hugged her again.
Outside, Lucas looked up to Haley's window and saw the silhouette of two figures, one taller and one shorter as they hugged tightly to one another. His brows furrowed tightly in anger and confusion at this sight. What was she hiding from him?
Haley and Brooke spent the whole day together watching movies, playing cards and board games, and talking, getting to know each other better. It was late afternoon, early evening and Brooke was taking a nap, still emotionally and physically drained from the day before. Haley laid back on the couch, letting the events of that morning, more specifically her fight with Lucas, flood back to the front of her mind. She had kept her promise to Brooke that Lucas wouldn't find out what had happened to her, but as a result, Lucas had gotten mad and stormed off, putting their friendship in jeopardy. She wanted to tell him, but she couldn't for the sake of Brooke. How was she going to get her friend back without telling him what had happened?
A few tears fell down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away when she heard a knock at the front door. Couldn't the world just leave her and Brooke alone in peace? She stood and answered the door, finding none other than Nathan Scott standing behind it. "Nathan, what are you doing here," she asked, a slightly mad tone to her voice. He looked at her for a moment, surprised at the coldness in her voice, then responded, "I have a big test in Chemistry on Tuesday and I was wondering if we could have a tutoring session today including the one on Monday. I really need to do well on this test." She saw the pleading look in his eyes and she desperately wanted to help him, but she couldn't leave Brooke and she would be furious if she came out and Nathan saw her with the big bruise. Then it might ruin what the two had built up in their friendship.
"I'm sorry Nathan, but I can't tutor you today. I'm really busy. I can tutor you tomorrow for about two hours, but then you'll have to wait until Monday." He smiled, "Thanks Haley, I really appreciate it. What time should I come over tomorrow?" "About seven in the morning and we'll go to nine. We have to do it early because I have plans for the rest of the day." His eyes bulged slightly, "Seven a.m.?" Haley laughed lightly and replied, "As they say, 'the early bird gets the worm'." He smiled wider, "Does that mean you're going to cook me breakfast too?" "I guess, if I must," she replied back, rolling her eyes. "Great, then I'll be here at seven," he responded as he turned to leave. "Don't be late," she yelled out to him
A few minutes after she had closed the door, Brooke came out of her bedroom, lightly rubbing her eyes to rid them of sleep. "Who were you talking to? I heard yelling," Brooke asked as she yawned and stretched, "That was Nathan at the door. He wanted to have a tutoring session today, but I told him I was busy. So I told him that he could come over early tomorrow morning for about two hours." "Oh okay," Brooke replied a little sadly, lowering her head, her hair falling to cover the hurt expression on her face and she felt her eyes burn with unshed tears, "Haley, can I stay here again tonight? I-I'm not ready to go home yet, but I'll leave tomorrow. I'm sorry I just barged in and interrupted your life like this..." Haley cut her off and said firmly, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, "Brooke, you did not interrupt or barge in on my life. And of course you can stay here, you're welcome to for as long as you like." "Thanks Haley," Brooke replied as she hugged her briefly then curled up on the couch. "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat for dinner," Haley asked, moving to stand in front of her. "I'm not really all that hungry right now," she responded.
"Okay, what do you want to do," Haley inquired. Brooke thought for a moment and looked around the room, searching for something to do. She spotted the book Haley had been reading the night before. She said to Haley, "Why don't we read a book?" Haley raised her eyebrows in surprise at this, "Read a book? Okay, who are you and what have you done with Brooke Davis? Because the Brooke Davis I know does not like to read books." Brooke shrugged and smiled, "I read books, but it's in the privacy of my own home. Can't damage my reputation with information that I'm a brain too and ruin the image of the cheerleader stereotype." "Well, well, well, the many faces of Brooke Davis. I just keep on learning more and more about you every time we talk," Haley smiled as she went to grab the book, "I'm going to read this one. We can go up in my room and you can pick out a book to read."
Brooke shook her head and yawned, "I'm still kind of tired. Will you read to me?" "Sure," Haley replied as she sat on the couch beside Brooke. "What book is it and who's the author?" "The book is called Stranger in Paradise by Eileen Goudge. She's one of my most favorite authors. I've also read some of her other ones and the sequel to this one is Taste of Honey. That book is next on my list after I finish this one. Have you read some of her books," Haley asked. "Yeah, I've read a couple of them. I've read Such Devoted Sisters, Trail of Secrets, Garden of Lies, and Thorns of Truth. Trail of Secrets I liked the best though." "Me too. I love horses and the characters. It was so sad when the baby who grew up to be Skylar was kidnapped." "Yeah, I cried at that part," Brooke responded. "Yeah, same here. Okay, is it alright if I read where I left off," Haley inquired as she opened her book to the place she had marked with a piece of paper. "Fine by me," Brooke replied as she yawned once again and laid her head on Haley's shoulder. Haley began to read and the soft voice she spoke in soon lulled Brooke to sleep. After Haley had felt no movement from Brooke for several minutes, she put the book down on her lap and leaned her head back on the couch. She reveled in Brooke's body on hers, her warm breath tickling her neck. Soon after, she too fell asleep.
Two hours later, Brooke woke up and carefully got up off of Haley without waking her then scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom, laying her tenderly on the bed. She then lay down beside her and fell back to sleep.
The next morning both Haley and Brooke woke to the sound of someone knocking on her door and both quickly scrambled out of bed and changed clothes. Haley opened her window and called down to Nathan, "Hey, I'll be down in a few minutes. I need to finish getting dressed." He nodded and then Haley closed her window and turned to Brooke, "Will you be okay up here for two hours? Do you need anything before I let him in? After I fix breakfast, I'll bring some up to you so you can eat. You can go back to sleep if you want." "I'll be fine, just get this tutoring thing over with. I don't feel very comfortable with Nathan in the house. What if he wants to follow you in to the room," Brooke asked nervously. "He won't, I'll make him stay in the kitchen." "Okay," Brooke responded, sitting on the bed. "It's only two hours and I'll come check up on you if you need anything okay," Haley said. Brooke nodded and then Haley left the bedroom, closing the door behind her and proceeded to let Nathan in the house.
"Hey Nathan. Sorry, I slept through my alarm and got up late," she said as she guided him through the living room to the kitchen. "No problem, so what's for breakfast," he responded as he set his books on the table. "Well, I don't really know. There's not much in the fridge. Why don't you take a look and if you see something you like, go ahead. But if you touch those chocolate cherries, you'll have a stub for a hand," she responded as she gave him a menacing glare. Nathan got a frightened look on his face then opened the fridge to search for something to eat. "Cold pizza and pickles, ALRIGHT!" he shouted happily, then asked, "You got any Vanilla Coke?" Haley scrunched up her face in disgust, "Ew, you have such nasty eating habits. All that for breakfast? That's so disgusting. You know, if you were a woman, people might think you were pregnant with those bizarre cravings for cold pizza and pickles at seven in the morning."
Nathan laughed as he turned sideways and put his hand on his hip near his back in a girlish style and replied, "Honey, do I look fat in this?" Haley burst out laughing at this and said through gasps of air, "Yeah, you do. You look HUGE!" Nathan pretended to cry and wiped away fake tears as he responded in an emotional voice and turned away, "You jerk." Haley only began to laugh harder. Nathan began to laugh too, happy that he could make Haley laugh. She had been so hard to get through to ever since he met her, but it was partly because she was a friend to his brother, a person who he had never known. Nathan and Haley had gotten to know each other through their tutoring sessions and became friends. With Haley now being friends with both brothers, she had slowly pushed them together, and they were now on better terms, but you couldn't exactly call them friends yet.
After they had calmed down, Haley began to prepare breakfast for herself and Brooke, taking out pans, the milk, eggs, ham, cheese, tortillas, and butter. "What are you making," Nathan asked as he ate a pickle. "I'm making breakfast burritos," she replied as she placed some mix of eggs, water, ham, and cheese on the hot skillet.""Wow, that sounds great." Once the egg mix had cooked she placed them in two tortillas then put them back on the skillet to give them a light crispy texture. After they were done, she placed one on each plate and set hers on the table. Nathan looked up at her and asked, "Is that one for me?" She replied, smiling, "No, I'll be right back."
She then walked to her room and lightly knocked on the door before entering. Brooke was lying on the bed, reading a book. "Hey, I brought you breakfast. It's a ham and cheese burrito." "Thanks, it smells wonderful. I was just reading the book you were reading to me last night and it's really good," Brooke replied as she took the plate from her. Haley smiled, "You're welcome. I like the book so far too. Well, I have to get back out there or Nathan will become suspicious and I already think he is." "Why," Brooke asked. "Because as far as he knows, there's nobody else in this house and he saw me leave the kitchen with the burrito." "What are you going to say if he asks about it," she inquired as she began to eat. "I'll just tell him that I'm taking care of a friend," Haley responded, smiling at her. 'Friend...' she reveled at the thought, 'yeah, friends...' Brooke smiled too as she thought, 'I can't believe we're finally friends...' "Okay," Brooke replied. "I'll be back up in a little bit," Haley responded as she began to leave the room. "See you later," Brooke waved lightly then chuckled.
Haley returned to the kitchen and Nathan looked at her empty hands then responded, "What'd you do with that other burrito?" "A friend came over last night needing my help so I let them stay here," she replied, sitting at the table and beginning to eat her burrito. "Oh, okay," he said back, smiling. He thought Haley was such a good person for helping someone out, even to people she hardly knew, like she had him when he'd asked her to tutor him. After finishing breakfast, Haley loaded the dishwasher then they began to study.
About an hour later, a loud thump echoed through the house and Haley's head quickly shot up from her book in fright and worry. Nathan had heard it too and he looked at her, his expression mirroring hers, "What was that?" Haley stood and began to exit the kitchen and when Nathan started to follow, she stopped him, "No Nathan, stay in the kitchen. I'll be back in a few minutes." Haley entered the bedroom and Brooke gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry, I was hoping that it wasn't loud enough for you guys to hear it when it fell." Brooke pointed to a thick book lying on the floor next to her bookshelf and picked it up, "God, this book is heavy." Haley laughed a little, "Well Ulysses should be. Did you know that it took the author twelve years to write that book?" Brooke's eyes widened in shock as she responded, "You've got to be kidding me." "Nope," Haley replied. "Wow." "Since everything is okay in here, I better get back to tutoring Nathan. He was ready to come up here with me to find out what the noise was. I'm surprised he hasn't asked who the friend is that's staying here yet," Haley said as she walked to the door. "He hasn't," Brooke inquired. "No, but I think he's wondering who it is but not asking. He probably thought I would have told him if I wanted him to know." "Okay, I'll see you in about an hour." Haley nodded then exited the room, returning to the kitchen.
"Is your friend okay," Nathan asked concernedly. "Yeah, they dropped like a ten pound book on the floor. Everything's good," Haley responded as she took her place at the table. "Okay, I thought I would wait for you to tell me, but I want to know. Who is the friend that's staying here Haley?" "A friend, and that's all you need to know," Haley responded, becoming slightly irritated. Nathan put his hands up in surrender, "Okay, I'm sorry." Haley waved her hand to dismiss it and said, "Don't worry about it, let's just get back to work, we only have about an hour left." After that, they both settled down to work.
Before they knew it, the hour had passed and their tutoring session was over. "Thanks Haley, I really appreciate it for you helping me out today. So, I'll see you tomorrow for another cram session before my test on Tuesday," he asked as they walked to the front door. "Yep, tomorrow," she replied as she held open the door.
Once Nathan left, Haley bounced happily back to her room and as soon as she entered, she exclaimed happily, "Okay, I'm all yours now." Brooke smiled widely at this and her eyes brightened in excitement as she thought, 'I wish that were true, I wish you were mine.' Her face dropped slightly but not enough for Haley to notice. Brooke replied in a happy tone, "Yay, finally! It felt like forever waiting up here all by myself.." "So what do you want to do," Haley asked as she sat on the bed beside Brooke. "Let's watch a movie," Brooke suggested. "Which one?" "I don't know, you pick," Brooke replied. Haley picked out the movie then placed it into the VCR and laid back against the headboard next to Brooke.
Haley had her legs stretched out with her feet crossed like Brooke and a pillow propped both of them up against the headboard of the bed. Brooke gulped hard, very aware of the closeness of their bodies. Their legs barely touched one another and sometimes rubbed against each other when either of them moved. When Haley curled one leg to her chest to scratch her ankle then slid it back down onto the bed, it brushed against Brooke's, causing a jolt of friction through her body and the hairs on her arms and legs to stand up. Brooke swallowed again. 'I don't think I can take much more of this...' she thought.