So here's chapter 4... I think I got a tad carried away with the Rachel/Derek bit but let me know what you think. I promise next time there will definitely be some Brucas, I'm just leading up to it. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, hope this chapter satisfies. Might not get any more up for a few days as I have an exam on Monday but after that I promise I'll give it my full attention.
It was a sunny day outside, as it often was in Tree Hill. Lucas sat up in bed and yawned.
The clock read 6:00-am and he wondered what had woken him up. He had an hour to kill before he normally got up to get ready for school, may well make the most of it.
He pulled on some jeans over his boxers and grabbed a clean white tee shirt. As he walked out the door he picked up his Ipod: an essential for a morning jog.
He picked up the pace and intended to go to the River Court but turned the corner and headed for Brooke and Rachel's house instead. He wasn't quite sure why. If he was going to get her back it certainly wouldn't be just after Six in the morning but he just felt like being around her.
As he jogged by, getting slightly out of breath, he noticed someone sitting on the porch at the house next door.
He slowed down and made eye contact with him: something about him looked strange but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Hi." He walked across the grass and smiled, trying to catch his breath. The other guy stared at him through unblinking eyes.
"Are you new around here?" He tried again, and this time he responded, holding out his hand.
"Hey, yeah, I'm Derek, moved in this week" Lucas shook it, noticing the firm grip and the look in his eye that wasn't threatening exactly but not welcoming either.
"I'm Lucas" He supplied, and Derek's reaction made him tense slightly. Derek stood tall and narrowed his eyes at Lucas: strange.
"Yeah? What's made you come for a jog? Pretty early." Derek made conversation, his voice guarded. Lucas shrugged and pulled the earbuds for his Ipod out of his ears.
"Just felt like it." He replied with a carefree grin. There was an awkward silence and Lucas felt the urge to leave.
"So... do you know Rachel and Brooke?" He asked, not wanting to part on bad terms. Derek nodded.
"Yeah, they seem sweet." He commented neutrally, and Lucas nodded in agreement.
"They are. Anyway, I've got to get back and go to school, later." He gave a slight wave as he jogged off, but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong as the stare of Derek penetrated him long after he was out of his eye line.
--
"Hey Nate" Brooke smiled as she stepped into line besides him as they walked down the hallway together.
Nathan grinned. "Hi, Brooke." He replied.
"Where's Haley?" She enquired, and Nathan nodded in the direction of the Tutor Centre. "She's just sorting out tutory stuff..." he mumbled, and Brooke laughed out loud: Nathan found it impossible to pay attention to Haley when she talked about tutoring.
"Oh good, then I have you all to myself!" She grinned, and he raised his eyebrows. "How you doing?" She asked in a more serious tone, and he sighed.
"I'm OK. Still getting over the whole bridge near-death experience, but with Haley by my side I know I can get through it." He said confidently. Brooke smiled up at him.
"I'm really glad, Nate. For a while we thought we weren't gonna get the old you back." She admitted, showing her vulnerability when it came to her friends and how much they meant to her. Nathan shook his head.
"No way, you can't get rid of the great Nathan Royal Scott." He announced and Brooke nudged him playfully.
"You're real modest, you know that?" She joked, and the two friends shared a smile.
"How about you, Brooke? Life treating you good?" He asked. Brooke dragged a hand through her chocolate coloured hair and pulled a face.
"Could be better, could be worse. Living with Rachel's pretty cool. I was wrong about her: she's actually pretty great" She offered, and Nathan nodded.
"I could probably agree if she hadn't almost killed my uncle" He replied, and Brooke gave him a look.
"Nathan! She's been really good to me, she offered me a place to stay when we weren't exactly close friends, she's got a heart, you just have to look past the insults and slut wear to see it." Brooke reeled off, silencing Nathan.
"Well, as long as you're happy." He conceded with a small smile. "Talked to Lucas?" He added lightly, making Brooke slow down.
"No, but I'm not sure I have anything to say to him. He's with Peyton and-" Brooke began, her voice getting fasted until Nathan cut her off.
"He's not! They're friends, just like you and I, but I'm not secretly in love with you and slightly obsessed!" Nathan joked, forcing the tension out of his words. She couldn't help it, she laughed though the situation was pretty bad. With a sly smirk she winked at him.
"Sure you're not, that's what all the boys say." She replied in the same humorous manner, but they were both aware of the underlying message: Lucas and Brooke still loved each other.
"I'm serious Brooke, just talk to him, give him a chance. I know he can be a complete ass when he's not thinking straight but no one's perfect" He pointed out, making Brooke think.
"You're right. I should talk to him. And I will. I'm just not sure I can face him right now." She admitted with a wry smile, trying to put the front on that everything was fine-and-dandy but Nathan saw through it.
"Well, when you do I know you'll both do the right thing. Anyway, giving all this advice is giving me a headache, think I'm gonna head to the gym and get some practice in my free period. Later, Brooke. Talk to Lucas" he said sternly as he strode off, now focussed only on the game.
Brooke smiled to herself as she walked alone to her locker. Nathan was right: she really needed to clear the air with Lucas. If only she could find the words.
--
"Lucas, wait up!" Peyton shouted, speeding up so she could walk with him. He turned and gave her a smile.
"Hi, Peyton." He replied, and she grinned at him.
"You look particularly happy today, Sawyer." Lucas commented, and Peyton shrugged.
"Just... happy to be here with you I guess." She admitted shyly. He nodded.
"Yeah, I like having you in my life Peyton. You're one of my best friends." He told her, putting his arm around her shoulder and hugging her. She leaned in to him and couldn't help but take in that scent: lemons and washing up powder. She inhaled it deeply, but tried to pretend like she wasn't.
"I went for a jog this morning." Lucas told her, and she smiled politely but wondered why he was telling her this. Still, she was happy to listen to anything he had to say.
"And I met Brooke and Rachel's next door neighbor." Lucas told her steadily, and she looked up at him, confused.
"What, their neighbor was just roaming round outside your house?" She asked, grabbing entirely the wrong end of the stick. Lucas laughed and shook his head.
"No, I was going past their house anyway. He was strange..." He mumbled to himself more than Peyton. The two were silent for a second, but Peyton was just happy he still had his arm around her.
"I have some news." Lucas let her go and turned to her, a childlike grin playing at his lips. Peyton smiled and nodded for him to go on.
"I've thought of the best idea ever to get Brooke back." He told her. She tried to look happy for him, she really did, but when she felt the way she did it was difficult to force a smile when the boy she was crazy about wanted his old girlfriend back.
"That's...great, Lucas." She muttered, giving him the thumbs up. The thumbs up? What was she, eight? She thought to herself, but Lucas wasn't aware of all the thoughts running through her head, he had just one mindset: Brooke.
--
Rachel was standing in front of the mirror. It was a surprise her own reflection didn't get bored of how long she spent looking at herself. She was wearing her favorite low-rider jeans with the top of her red lacy boy pants on show, teamed with a short green wraparound top which showed off her cleavage and went well against her fiery red hair.
Today, she had made an executive decision to stay off school and get to know Derek. It wasn't normally in her interest to chase after a boy who had given her the brush off, but that's because no boy had ever given her the brush off before! She was determined to gain his attention, and usually an outfit like this did the trick.
She grabbed the bag of cookies she had bought from the supermarket that morning and tipped them onto a plate. She checked her hair in the mirror, grabbed the keys from the side and made her way over to her next-door neighbors house.
She tapped on the door, her freshly painted nails making a loud noise as they made contact with the glass. Derek came to the door and opened it slightly, barring her way.
"Can I help you?" He asked, and Rachel smiled sexily. "I'm sure you can." She muttered loudly, but he looked unimpressed.
"I made you some cookies. Derek. Mind if I come in?" She asked, maneuvering herself so before he knew it she was inside his hallway. He gave her a cool look and winked.
"Can't say you're not persistent. Come through, I'll make you a drink." He offered kindly, and she followed him happily, pleased her master-plan had worked so far.
"Nice house." She commented, taking in all the pictures on the wall of him and a girl. He stayed quiet as he poured her a glass of wine.
"You live in this big house on your own?" She asked, and he nodded. "My parent's split up and decided to buy me a house. Not sure what the logic was there but I'm not one to complain." He muttered, and Rachel let out a tinkle of a laugh.
"Don't worry, dysfunctional families are basically the norm in Tree Hill." She told him with a smile, taking a sip of the drink and walking through into the lounge. He followed her and they sat down on the cream sofa. She inched further towards him and tossed her hair back.
"I want to know about you Derek." She piped up, putting her drink down on the coffee table so she could give him her full attention.
"Not much to know. I grew up in California and my parents split up because my dad cheating on my mom with some random slut, now I'm here." He told her, putting no emotion into his words. Rachel put on her best 'sympathy' face.
"That must have been really difficult. Well, if you ever need to talk to anyone just come to our house, you're always welcome." She cooed with as much sincerity as she could muster, which seemed to work. Derek looked comfortable at least, and it always helped when they were relaxed.
"So tell me about Brooke." He blurted out, taking a sip of his cold bottle of beer. Rachel froze and sat up.
"Brooke?" She asked, not sure how to react. She had just played the 'i'm-a-really-nice-person-and-you-should-trust-me" card and he had completely repelled it! Brooke was right: he was definitely not into girls.
"Yeah, I know everything I need to know about you." He recovered and gave her a look up and down. She smiled: this was more like it.
"Like what?" She asked, moving in closer and putting her hand on his leg gently.
"Well, you're pretty, seductive, gorgeous" he whispered as he leaned in closer. Rachel pulled back and took another glug of her drink, determined not to play into his hands. Not yet anyway. If this was going to happen it was going to happen by her rules.
"It's true, I'm all those things. I'm also amazing in bed. But, back to Brooke..." She continued, and Derek smiled knowingly but carried on with the charade.
"She seems so closed off." He ventured, and rachel waved her hand and rolled her eyes.
"She's just had her heart broken a few too many times. All by the same boy might I add?" She blurted before she could stop herself. Derek's eyes widened and Rachel cursed under her breath.
"I should go. I shouldn't have said that. See you soon, Derek" She jumped up and walked out the door, giving him a wave as she went.
As soon as she closed the door behind her she sighed at her own idiocy: it was so not her place to talk about Brooke, and he seemed kind of fascinated by her. She got the impression she may have just added fuel to the fire.
And she was right.
