*This is the day after
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~*~
Brooke Davis strolled through the doors of Tree Hill high, in her usual confident manner. She looked down at her outfit, hoping that it would capture Nathan's attention. She wore a black off-shoulder camisole, while her shapely legs were encased in a pair of tight Diesel jeans. Perched on her arm she carried, a Chanel quilted leather handbag.
Flipping her long mane of silky dark hair back, an irrepressible smile crept onto her face. She still could not believe that the night before had actually happened, and had not just been a figment of her imagination. The moment Nathan had left, she had wished he was still there, by her side. It was an unusual feeling and she wasn't sure she liked it. Brooke had a concrete set of rules, that she lived her life according to. She could sleep with boys, but never date said boys. She could have friends, but only a few close friends. She would not, could not, let her parents absence in her life, personally affect her. Her life was hers, and she planned to live every pleasure-filled second to the fullest. There would be no commitments, no strings attached, nothing that could ever tie her down to anything, or anyone. Nathan was a snag in her plan, an unexpected development. Despite this, she couldn't deny how she felt about him, how he aroused feelings inside her, that were completely foreign to her. The previous night, there had been fleeting moments between them, where it had felt like he was speaking to her heart. She was defenseless against him. He had become her weakness, in the process making her vulnerable. That was the part that scared her the most.
~*~
Nathan tipped the bottle of whiskey to his lips, taking another swig, before setting it down on the locker room bench. He shook his head, his eyes drifting around the barren locker room. He knew he shouldn't be here, with this poison-filled bottle, he had previously stolen from his mother's extensive collection. Drowning his problems in alcohol was not the solution to anything, he had learned first handedly, through his mother. He could still remember the nights he'd spent locked in his room, listening to her, going through bottle after bottle, her speech becoming more audible and slurred. It had started after his dad had left them, and continued for months after. Finally, one of his mother's friends had stepped in, after her failed suicide attempt, and got her the help she desperately needed. That year had been a dark one for him, between living at Chris's house, blaming his father, and ignoring the whispers that followed him in the hallways of school. Peyton had helped him through it, and without her he would have been completely lost. He knew he owed her, more than he would have ever been able to give her. He sighed, lowering himself slowly, onto the wooden bench.
He just couldn't comprehend how things could have turned out this way. The moment he'd met Brooke, he'd just known that he was supposed to be with her. He'd been instantly captivated by her, and last night had been the deal breaker. He could still feel her soft lips against his, her hazel eyes the only light in the darkness.
Yet, here he was slowly undoing everything he had worked so hard to fix. He'd wanted a new life and he'd been given a new life. There was no way he could betray Lucas, after everything that he had done for him. The shared the same father, they had the same blood pumping through their veins. And they had the same girl in their heads and their hearts.
Nathan picked up the bottle once more, the whiskey burning his throat, as he took another drink. He roughly opened the locker door, slamming the almost empty bottle, back inside. He knew there was no way to avoid Brooke. He had to face her and tell her how he felt. Not the real way he felt, but the way he felt it had to be between the two of them. Steadying himself, he leaned against the row of lockers, and took in a deep breath.
~*~
"Hey, boy toy!" Brooke chimed, sliding up beside Nathan, in the school parking lot, "Please tell me, you didn't skip English, to play with some Tree Hill slut. Because, you know I don't share well with others." She said, giving him a dimpled grin.
"Uh, look, I want to apologize for last night." He said, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
"For what?" Brooke laughed, "Not going as far as, you really wanted to? Because, you can change that tonight, if you play your cards right."
"I made a mistake last night. You're like the little sister I never had, and I didn't mean for things to happen the way they did."
"You mean, you didn't mean to kiss me back the first time, or the second time?" Brooke seethed, "You know what my mistake was? Trusting you." She spat, turning away from him. She couldn't believe this. She had been on the verge of telling him what she was feeling for him, and he managed to completely derail everything.
"Brooke, come on!" Nathan yelled, trying to keep his words from slurring. She hadn't made it easy for him to deliver the news, and her reaction was making the ache in him deepen. He hated hurting her, and playing the role of the jerk.
"Fuck you!" She called back, striding away from his. She tried to control her shaking hands, and the tears welling up in her eyes. This was not how this was supposed to happen. She should have known not to get involved, physically or emotionally. He was the kind of guy, who used girls and when he was satisfied, left. She had recognized that in him, despite what he'd said.
"Brooke!" Nathan ran up, behind her. He had to say something, anything, so that she wouldn't hate him. He didn't know if he could stand it, if she did.
"I thought it was 'little sister'." She rolled her eyes, continuing to walk hastily away from him.
"Can we at least talk about this?" He grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him. He had to make her listen, to make her somehow understand that he wasn't trying to hurt her. He pulled her towards him, her petite body falling against his.
"Unbelievable! Are you drunk?" She yelled, pushing him away from her. She had smelled the alcohol on his breathe, the moment he'd pulled her near him. His usually steady fingers seemed clumsy on her skin, and his eyes looked withdrawn, and eerily distant.
"I might have had a little," He admitted, shrugging his broad shoulders, a sigh escaping his lips. "So what?"
"You are so not who I thought you were." She spat, stepping away from him.
"I'm sorry, abou-."
"Nathan, I do not feel like making conversation, or anything else for that matter, with you," Brooke cut him off, "So spare me the fake apology, and save it for the next girl." She looked at him one last time, wishing that the mere sight of him didn't set her insides on fire. The familiar yearn for him set in, as his blue eyes caught hers, and a sheepish look appeared on his face. But, things had changed, the circumstances were different, and so where the people involved. Brooke, had made the mistake of opening her heart to him, and she was not going to slip up again. Without another thought, she turned around and headed back inside, leaving Nathan standing where she had left him.
~*~
Peyton Sawyer picked up her phone, and slowly looked through her contacts, until it landed on his. Nathan Scott. The boy whom had not only stolen her heart, but still currently had it. The few weeks since he'd left, she'd been a mess without him. She kept hoping, he'd come back and realize what a horrible mistake he'd made. That he would miss her too much to stay in Tree Hill, instead return to her, and save her from the hell that was her life without him. Just like, she'd done for him.
She pressed the button, as the sound of the telephone ringing filled her ears. A sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach arouse, as the ringing continued. This had been the longest period of time they had gone without speaking, making their separation seem more official, more real.
"Hello?" A drowsy sounding Nathan, picked up the phone.
"Hey, it's me." She breathed, trying to contain herself, from telling him everything that she was feeling. How she was missing him every second he was gone, how she knew he was the one for her.
"Who is this?" Nathan said slowly, "Is this Brittany? Or Kel..Kelly?" He stuttered, trying to place the voice on the other end of the line. He'd been laying in his bed, when he'd heard his phone go off. He had clamored to answer it, hoping that it might be Brooke, but it had been an unknown number. He figured it was one of the girls, he had taken out the previous week, who he had been dodging ever since.
Peyton wasn't sure how to respond, so instead sat and listened to his heavy, uneven breathing, over the phone. She couldn't believe that he'd moved on so casually, while she was sitting at home pining away for him. She threw the phone across the room, as she heard the distinct blare of the dial tone. She watched as it hit the wall, a part of it breaking off. She laughed bitterly to herself, thinking how much it resembled her heart. Slowly, but surely breaking apart. Until there was nothing left to make it function.
~*~
Brooke flopped onto the bulky beige couch in her apartment, spreading the wool blanket she had brought with her, over her small frame. Everything inside her felt paralyzed, numb to feeling, and unsure of how or what it should feel. She realized that she had gotten more attached to Nathan, than she had ever previously thought possible.
"Okay, this is like total déjà- vu," Haley stated, walking into the kitchen, "Since when, are you the mopey one?"
"Since today," Brooke mumbled, "And since, I was stupid enough to actually trust a boy."
"Sorry, Brooke…So who is the mystery boy, anyway?" Haley asked her, grabbing an apple off of the counter, and curling up on the chair across from Brooke. Haley wasn't all that worried about her, since she knew Brooke was a 'casual dater'. Things between Brooke and this guy, were probably nothing more than a physical fling, that meant nothing. So she wondered why Brooke was so distraught over him.
"You don't know him," Brooke sighed, "And now, it looks like you never will."
"Sounds like he wasn't worth knowing, anyways," Haley smiled softly, "Hopefully your next conquest will be a better guy."
"Yeah," Brooke breathed, flipping on her side to face Haley, "So how are things on the boy front, for you?"
"As bad as they were last night," Haley laughed, "At least, now I'm not alone in my patheticness."
"Okay, we are officially checking into boy rehab!" Brooke declared, jumping off the couch. "We are two hot, single girls, and there is something not right in the world, when we are the ones moping because of them. There are plenty of uncharted and unclaimed boys out there, and all I have to do is find some Brooke worthy ones. And for you, Haley worthy ones." She continued, dragging a pile of clothes out from her cluttered closet.
"And that's Brooke for?" Haley smiled, used to her best friend's sometimes confusing way of wording things.
"We go out. We look hot. We get a little drunk, flirt a little. And, we find us two, maybe three, if I'm feeling especially kinky, hot boys," Brooke giggled, pulling a black dress out from the pile. "And we have fun." She finished, tossing Haley a slinky, tank top.
"And you want me to wear…this?" Haley asked, holding up the barely there shirt.
"Well, if things go according to plan, you won't be wearing it for long, anyways," Brooke grinned, prancing over to Haley, "Just wash it when you're done." She winked, grabbing the shirt out of her hands, and grabbing her arm, to help her up.
"Are you sure about this?" Haley questioned her, getting off the couch, and following Brooke into the bedroom.
"Have I ever told you to do anything that got us into trouble before?" Brooke mused, as Haley raised her eyebrow, "Okay, so don't answer that question… Here, wear this." Brooke shoved a pair of Seven jeans and Jimmy Choo flats into Haley arms.
"This so has bad idea written all over it."
~*~
"Hello?" Lucas flipped open his phone, setting the notebook he had been writing in down, beside him.
"Hey, Luke. It's Haley. Brooke wants to know if you want to meet us at that club, Cravings, in twenty minutes." Haley told him, as Brooke got ready beside her.
"Yeah, sure," Lucas smiled to himself, "I'll see you guys then." He clicked off the phone, as he got off his bed, and headed towards Nathan's room. He hadn't asked Haley if it would be okay to bring Nathan, but he was sure neither Brooke nor Haley, would have any objections. Nathan was his brother after all.
~*~
What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you. ~ Richard Wilbur