Disclaimer: All the events and character description taken place in this story is COMPLETELY FICTION. No copyright infringement intended. All characters are copy written to their respective owners. No profit is being made from this story. It should be viewed only as entertainment.

I'm looking for someone to make a youtube preview/trailer for my story. If you are interested please let me know!

This chapter is a bit longer. I felt like everything in this chapter was needed and wouldn't fit well in another chapter. Also, since a lot of you want to see Brooke, I needed to get everything in this chapter, in order for Brooke to be in this chapter somewhat. Also thanks so much for your reviews! I love them. They make me want to continue to write for you wonderful readers! You guys are all truly amazing. Please, keep them coming. I love hearing what you have to say!

Thank you to…

Dianehermans: This chapter will be focused on Lucas again, but you will get a glimpse of Brooke in this chapter. The following chapter will have Brooke.

GoodGirlGoneBad1984: You very well could be right! Lucas thinks he can just come back and things go back to the way they are. No one will tolerate that.

MinnTangerine: Yes, he knew! She might and she might not understand. You could be possibly right in your assumption!

Guest: Brooke will make a small appearance in this chapter, as it will be focused on Lucas. After this chapter, you will see more of Brooke! Hope this was worth the wait.

.darkxx: I'm glad you are excited to see Lucas go back to Tree Hill! We know Brooke too well. We'll see how well she has moved on from Lucas in a future chapter.

brucas224: Lucas and Brooke will have a conversation, and that will be brought up.

Guest(2): Glad you loved it! Hope this chapter is just as good for you!

Thanks again for the wonderful reviews! They keep me motivated to update quicker. Thank you for taking the time to let me know what you think! I appreciate them! Also thank you to all of the silent readers as well! Thank you to all of you who have been favorite, following, and alerting this story!

Against All Odds

Chapter 6

It's crazy how you can go months or years without talking to someone, but they still cross your mind everyday

Lucas pulled up to the side of his house. His home. A giant smile appeared on his face as he stared at the small, cozy house in front of him. It had been far too long since he had been home and he couldn't wait till he got inside. His eyes fell to the radio clock. It was seven thirty. It was late, but still fairly early. He climbed out of his truck and grabbed his duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. The blonde man stood their, staring at the door that led to his room. The smile that was plastered on his face grew wider, if it was possible, at the memory of when he had turned his bedroom into Brooke's bedroom and painted the door red. As he looked down for a brief moment, he made the short way up to the door. He walked right in and looked around. It still looked the same. Everything was in it's same place. A sigh escaped his lips as he dropped his bag onto his bed and fell on the bed. It felt good to be back and it felt good to be in his own bed. He had forgotten just how comfortable his bed was. As tempting as it was to fall asleep at that moment, he refused. Sitting back up he looked over to the photo sitting on the night stand. He grabbed it and looked at it. He ran his finger over Brooke's face as he relived the memory of them at the beach, again.

"My Pretty Girl."

He barely whispered out as he set the frame back in it's place. Standing up he made his way out of his bedroom and into the main area of the house. It was quiet and dark. He opened the door to his mother's bedroom, or so he thought it was. But when he opened the door he was met with a bright pink room. Lucas was confused at first, but then realized it must have been Lily's room, as he noticed the toddler princess bed and the numerous amounts of girl toys laying around the room. He scratched the back of his neck as he made his way into the kitchen. It still looked the same. As he looked around, he couldn't help but think about the time he walked into the kitchen and saw Brooke on her hands and knees cleaning the floor with a sponge.

He laughed at the memory as he looked over at the fridge. His head tilted slightly as he walked closer to the fridge. Once he was close enough, there was no denying what he was seeing. He took the photo and looked at it closer. It looked pretty recent, but he wasn't too sure. His eyes scanned the photo of his four year old sister Lily, with Brooke. The once dark haired brunette, now golden, brown brunette was holding Lily on her hip. Lily had her small arms wrapped around Brooke's neck as their cheeks were pressed up against each other's. They were smiling silly, giant, all teeth showing smiles for the camera. Feeling his heart skip a beat at the site of Brooke he put the picture back, while shaking his head. The two girls looked extremely close and now that he thought about it, Lily had some of Brooke's traits. If Brooke had been in Tree Hill, obviously that would explain some of Lily's similar traits she shared with the brunette. The thought crossed his mind. If Brooke was in Tree Hill, why hadn't his mother mentioned it to him?

He shrugged it off as he walked out back to the garage. As he walked in, he quickly took notice that the garage was no longer a garage, but a bedroom. In that moment it clicked. They turned Karen's old room into Lily's room and the garage became Karen and Andy's room. A lot had changed in his house, and it would take some time getting used to it.

XoX

Missing someone is your heart's way of reminding you that you love them.

The next stop on his list was the River Court. He missed that place like no other. That place was like his second home. It was his world. His world that he shared with Brooke. He remembered telling her that she was the biggest part of his world. The memories that kept coming into his head only made him miss Brooke that much more. It was starting to drive him crazy, but he wanted to see the River Court before he went on his mission to find Brooke. As he pulled onto the grass, he noticed a few people playing basketball. He squinted his eyes as he got closer. A giant smile formed as he realized who some of the people were. He pulled up closer and put his truck in park. A laugh escaped him as he watched everyone stare at the truck with confused faces. He scanned over the six people, well technically the two adults and four toddlers and realized he knew four out of the six. He wondered how long he could sit there before they realized who he was. He tapped the steering wheel as he contemplated waiting a bit longer. Not being able to contain his excitement, he got out of the truck, shutting the door behind him.

"UNCLE LUCAS!" Jamie screamed as he ran over to his uncle.

"LUCAS!" Lily freaked out as she followed suit and ran over to him.

Lucas bent down as the two four year olds ran into his arms and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around his sister and nephew hugging them just as tight as they were. His smile grew as he smiled at his good friend Skills, and he was assuming his girlfriend still, Bevin. They two smiled back at Lucas in return. His eyes then fell onto the two children that looked to be about the same age as Jamie and Lily. They were looking at him with curious faces. He smiled at the blue eyed, blonde haired little boy and the hazel eyed, brunette haired little girl. Taking notice of Lucas smiling at them, the two children waved shyly at him. They weren't sure if they should talk to him, as they were taught not to talk to strangers, but everyone seemed to know him and be comfortable with him. Jamie and Lily finally let go of Lucas after what seemed like forever. They then quickly hurried back over to their friends and resumed throwing the basketball around, excluding Skills and Bevin from their pervious game of girls vs. boys.

"Luke, my man!" Skills gave him a hug. "It's been a while."

"Hey Lucas!" Bevin smiled pulling him into a huge hug.

"It's nice to see you guys again." Lucas smiled as Bevin finally let him go. "I've missed this place. I've missed you guys, and everyone."

"This place has surely missed you too." Skills laughed as they made their way over to the picnic table.

"So, you two are still together?" Lucas questioned awkwardly.

"Since high school!" Bevin smiled brightly. "Bevills staying strong!"

"Bevills?" Lucas tried to contain is laugh.

"You know, Bevills." Bevin looked at him like he was dumb. "Naley, Braley, Brathan, Brachel, Laley, Lathan, Levin and Brul… Brucas!"

"Bevills is Skills and Bevin." Skills shook his head at Bevin.

"Who is Brul?" Lucas caught on to Bevin's slip up.

"Brul is…" Bevin stuttered trying to think quickly.

"She meant Brulls." Skills cut in, to divert the conversation. "Brooke and Skills."

"Oh." Lucas laughed as he watched Bevin mumble something to Skills then went over to play with the kids. "So, the couple name ships still lives on."

"Yeah, they sure do." Skills laughed at the thought. "Brooke still insists we use them."

"She does, does she?" Lucas took quick notice. "Brooke's in Tree Hill?"

"Yeah, she's here." Skills shrugged his shoulders. "Has been for the last two years."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lucas questioned.

"Luke, when was the last time we talked?" Skills questioned back.

"Good point." Lucas sighed as he looked out at the kids.

He smiled as he watched Bevin play with the kids, two of which he still was unsure of who they were. Lucas assumed they were just friends of Jamie and Lily from school. Although, he couldn't shake the feeling of seeing them before. They looked oddly familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He watched as the little blonde boy shot the basketball, and shockingly made the shot. The small brunette girl threw her hands in the air and jumped up and down cheering on for the boy who made the shot. She then ran over to the boy and hugged him. It was a cute moment and he couldn't help but smile at the scene he had just witnessed.

"The boy has got a nice jump shot." Lucas laughed, but was serious. "He's got talent."

"Yeah, Alan loves basketball." Skills smiled at the kids. "Aria loves cheering him on."

"Alan and Aria?" Lucas looked back over at Skills.

"The two kids' names." Skills answered. "They're fraternal twins."

"I never would have guessed that they were brother and sister." Lucas looked back over at the twins. "They look like polar opposites."

"Yeah, looks can be deceiving." Skills chuckled. "But man, do they share some personality traits! They are both sneaky and quite smart."

"How old are they?" Lucas smiled as he watched Bevin be a referee for the two on two game that was happening.

"They are four." Skills watched the kids. "Alan and Aria were born a month after Jamie and Lily were born."

"Interesting." Lucas stared at the kids playing.

There was a moment of silence between the two men as they watched the children playing. Lucas felt like Skills wasn't telling him something by the way he seemed to be acting and speaking. Then again, he thought that he could just be imagining things since it had been so long since the last time they had spoke. Also with Bevin, she seemed very flakey. But then again, Bevin had always been flakey, so he couldn't hold anything against her. People changed over time, and Skills and Bevin could have possibly changed too. Lucas decided that he was just reading too far into things and let his thoughts subside.

"So, where's Goldilocks?" Skills asked looking around, thinking Peyton would pop up somewhere.

"In Savannah." Lucas looked over at Skills. "We broke up."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it just wasn't working out." Lucas looked up at the sky. "My heart was never really with her."

"When did you two break up?"

"Earlier today."

"If your heart was never with her, why did you go with her?" Skills looked at his blonde friend. "And why did you stay with her for four years?"

"It's complicated." Lucas spoke not wanting to get into details.

"Luke?" Skills couldn't help but remember how things went down four years ago.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you come back to Tree Hill?"

"I missed this place." Lucas smiled. "This is my home. Plus, after I broke up with Peyton, I really didn't have much of a choice."

"Ok. Good enough reasons." Skills rolled his eyes. "Now, what's the real reason?"

"That's it." Lucas lied.

"Luke, you may have been gone for four years, but I still can tell when you are lying."

"Why do you think I came back?" Lucas looked Skills in his eyes.

"You really want my opinion?" Skills looked at him with disbelief.

"Yeah, what other reason would I come back home?" Lucas laughed nervously.

"Brooke." Skills answered simply.

Lucas quickly diverted his eyes away from Skills. How did Skills know? Was his feelings for Brooke that obvious? It was possible that Skills could have put two and two together, from their pervious discussion about Brooke being in Tree Hill. His eyes fell back over to the kids playing, as he tried to avoid eye contact with his friend. He wasn't ready to receive a lecture from him, as he knew one would be coming from Haley. The long silence that was going on was soon broken by Skills. The silence was a dead giveaway that Skills was indeed correct in his assumption as to why Lucas had returned to Tree Hill.

"Lucas!"

"If you are going to give me a lecture, I don't need it." Lucas sighed. "I'm already preparing myself for the lecture with Haley."

"Fine." Skills spoke. "But I am going to give you one piece of advice."

"What's that?"

"The past is the past." Skills looked at his friend, seeing that same look he saw in his eyes four years ago. "Don't let it kill you. Get over the bad things that happened. It's gone. People change. Memories remain. But its time to move on."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucas asked looking for answers.

"It means…" Skills began, but wasn't able to finish his sentence as his phone started ringing.

Skills answered his phone and held a finger up to Lucas to tell him to hold on a second. By the sound of the conversation, he assumed it was Haley or Nathan on the other line. Shortly after, Skills hung up the phone and stood up from the picnic table, forgetting the interrupted conversation he was having with Lucas.

"Alright monsters, it's time to go home!" Skills said with a hint of relief in his voice.

"I can take Jamie and Lily home." Lucas stood up from his seated position.

"Really?" Skills looked over at Lucas. "Thanks man! Lily is staying over at Haley's"

"No problem." Lucas laughed as Jamie and Lily said goodbye to Alan and Aria. "I was heading that way anyway."

"Bevin, let's get these kids in the car so we can hurry and get home." Skills spoke eagerly.

"Anything for you, my sexy man!" Bevin giggled as she began to walk with the kids to their car.

"Thanks again Lucas!" Skills smiled. "I may just get lucky tonight."

"Good luck." Lucas laughed.

They all said their final goodbyes and loaded the kids up in their cars. Both parties were quickly on the road to their next destination. It was a good twenty minutes until Lucas pulled into Nathan and Haley's driveway. They were going to be in for a surprise when they saw him. Haley had been begging Lucas to come home for a visit and he had put it off one too many times for her liking. He put the car in park and checked the backseat. He smiled at the two sleeping children in the back. He contemplated on how to get the two out of the car without waking them. A few minutes later, he had managed to carry both children to the front door and he rang the doorbell with his elbow. He waited patiently with both kids fast asleep in his arms. Lucas could hear the muffled sounds of Nathan and Haley and he began to smile. When the door opened he was met by Nathan.

"Lucas?!" Nate was shocked as his eyes grew larger.

"Hey Nate!"

"Hales!" Nathan shouted from the doorway.

"What?" Haley questioned walking into the main room. "LUCAS!"

"Hey Hales!"

"OMG! What are you doing here?" Haley freaked out in excitement.

"Can we put these two to bed first?" Lucas started to frown. "I'm worried I may drop them."

Nathan quickly took Jamie into his arms and led Lucas up the stairs to the room Lily would be using. They tucked both children into bed before heading back downstairs. Haley had made them all some drinks and had them waiting in the living room. They all sat down and began to catch up on everything. Nathan and Haley told Lucas about Jamie and everything he had missed out on. They also explained that Andy and Karen were out of town on a small vacation. Lucas had told them about his break up with Peyton, but didn't go into much detail. He wasn't ready to talk about that openly with just anyone yet. He needed to talk to Brooke first, as he didn't want her to find out from someone else.

"So are you back for good?" Haley asked, hoping he was.

"Yes, I'm back for good." Lucas laughed slightly. "It feels good to be back."

"I bet it does." Nathan eyed his brother oddly. "Who have you seen so far?"

"I ran into Skills and Bevin at the River Court." Lucas smiled. "Obviously since I brought the kids home."

"Anyone else?" Nathan asked as Haley nudged him.

"I met Alan and Aria." Lucas shrugged. "They seemed like good kids."

"You met them!?" Haley choked on her drink slightly.

"Yeah?" Lucas looked at her confused. "Was I not supposed to meet them?"

"No, no." Haley laughed it off. "I just forgot that Skills and Bevin were watching them too."

"Huh." Lucas could tell she was lying, but shrugged it off. "So…"

"Yes she's in Tree Hill." Nathan rolled his eyes. "Finally, took you long enough to beat around the bush."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Lucas lied.

"Sure you don't." Nathan shook his head. "You've been dying to know any information about Brooke since you walked in the door."

"Lucas?" Haley eyed her best friend.

"Guilty." Lucas smiled as he sipped his drink.

"Lucas, you can't just come back and expect everything to go back to how it was!" Haley said.

"I know…"

"I don't think you do know Lucas." Haley shook her head sadly. "I knew I recognized that look on your face. Lucas, it's been four years. Let it go!"

"I need to see her Haley." Lucas pleaded and looked at Nathan, who stayed silent.

"No, you will not see her!" Haley was clearly upset. "You can't just leave for four years and expect to come back and have Brooke come running back into your arms. It just doesn't work like that. You should have stayed, you should have went after Brooke. But you didn't! You CHOSE Peyton! So, now that it didn't work out with you and Peyton, you think you can just walk back into her life? I don't think so!"

Lucas was speechless. He knew he was going to get a mouthful from Haley, but not like this. She was clearly angry and upset. Lucas thought she'd be happy that he had returned to Tree Hill. Something wasn't right. He could sense it. It was like he had touched a touchy subject when Brooke was brought up. Lucas could tell that the two women had grown extremely close just by the way Haley had stood up for Brooke. As he was about to speak Haley just shook her head. She kissed Nathan and said goodnight to him. She then preceded to walk up the stairs. Lucas sighed as he looked over at Nathan who had a nervous look on his face. He knew something, and Lucas wanted to know what it was.

"What don't I know?" Lucas asked once Haley disappeared up the stairs.

"Luke, she has a point." Nathan sighed standing up and walking over to a table.

"I know, but…"

"What was your plan Luke?" Nathan question as he scribbled something down on the piece of paper. "Just come back, tell Brooke the truth and then have her fall back into your arms and live happily ever after?"

"I didn't have a plan." Lucas looked down at his hands.

"Here." Nathan said handing him the paper.

"What's this?"

"Brooke's address." Nathan looked at his brother sadly.

"Thanks." Lucas smiled at his younger brother.

The two brothers shared a hug before Lucas left the house. Nathan watched as his brother got into his truck and drove away. Nate shook his head as he shut the door and locked it behind him. When he turned around, he was met with a very angry Haley. She was starring daggers into him and he swore he could feel one pierce his heart. He wasn't in the mood for an argument, and he knew in his heart that he did what was right.

"Why did you give him her address?" Haley questioned. "I can't believe you did that!"

"He needs this Haley." Nate said wrapping his arms around her. "It's the only way that this will possibly end."

"It's not going to end Nathan!" Haley looked up at him. "It's just going to make things worse!"

"He's going to find out sooner or later." Nathan replied sadly. "He needs to see for himself."

XoX

One day, you're going to wake up and realize how much you care about me… and when that day comes.. I'll be waking up with the guy that already knew

Lucas was parked outside of the large white house. He had been sitting there for a good half an hour. The fact that Brooke was behind the door, the red door of the house. His heart was racing and his palms became sweaty. It had been four years. Four years too long since he had last seen her. He had become a nervous wreck. He was so set on coming back to Tree Hill and making Brooke his again. The words that Haley, Nathan and Skills had said to him kept running through his head. That's what was making him so nervous. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and took a deep breath. Slowly he got out of the car and made his way up to the red door. A smile formed at the thought of Brooke being the girl behind the red door. In that moment his nerves had vanished and he felt invincible. He knocked on the door and then shoved his hands in his pockets. It was a good few minutes, before the porch light came on. His eyes looked up as the light illuminated the doorway where he stood. His smile grew larger as he heard the twist of the door knob. The door opened, and Lucas' face turned to confusion.

"Hello?" The man questioned looking at him. "Can I help you?"

"Um…" Lucas was at a loss of words. "I think I have the wrong house."

"Where are you heading?" He asked. "I can point you in the right direction."

"My brother gave me this address." Lucas handed him the piece of paper.

"Well, you're at the right place." He replied looking at the blonde man. "You look familiar."

"I do?" Lucas raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met before."

"I'm Julian Baker."

"Doesn't ring a bell." Lucas thought hard, but didn't recognize the man.

"Hm, and you are?" Julian asked with a smile.

"Lucas." Lucas stared at the man. "Lucas Scott."

Lucas watched as the tall, brown eyed man lost the color in his face. Clearly this Julian guy knew him, or at least of him. The two men had locked eyes on one another. As they stared at one another, a faint memory repeated over and over in Lucas' head. The day he left with Peyton. They drove by Brooke's house and he saw her. She was being spun around by some guy. Him. This Julian guy was the guy he saw her with. As he looked at him more, he realized that he did look familiar. It was hard to remember him as he had only seen him when they passed by. Lucas felt his heart tighten. Everything Nathan, Skills and Haley had told him earlier screamed in his head. Images of the two kids at the River Court, Alan and Aria ran through his head. He knew why the twins looked so familiar to him. All of a sudden everything started to piece itself together. His heart cracked as he heard her soft, sweet, raspy voice coming towards the door.

"Julian!" Brooke spoke as she made her way down the stairs. "Are you ready for desert?"

She made it down the stairs in a short, skimpy, black robe that hid her lingerie underneath. The robe was opened slightly to reveal a bit of cleavage. As she walked closer to Julian, she noticed that he had the front door open. The space between her and Julian grew shorter and shorter with each step she took. Brooke was curious as to who was at their house so late. She placed her hand on Julian's shoulder when she finally reached him. That's when he finally tore his gaze away from the blonde at the door and looked at her. The brunette bombshell took notice of Julian's face. The color had been completely drained from his face and he looked as if he had seen a ghost. Brooke kinked her brow as she became intrigued in what had made Julian so pale. Her eyes looked towards the door. Her breath got caught in her throat as her hazel eyes locked with his blue eyes for a long moment. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision. She couldn't believe she was actually seeing him standing in front of her. This couldn't be him. She had to be dreaming. There was no way this was real. Lucas Scott was not standing there in her doorway.

"Lucas?"

For the second time in her life, she had become speechless yet again.