Sorry for such the long wait. My life has been rather hectic lately with work, studies and a small portion of a social life. I just didn't find the time to write this story but with some luck of scoring myself a brand new computer, I suddenly feel inspired. So excuse my lack of enjoyment in this chapter. I've got to ease back into it but I do promise you that the next few chapters have been planned and they are more eventful. Anyway, enjoy and remember to review...:)

Disclaimer: I don't in any way own One Tree Hill or its characters except for my own.

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The Start of Something New

Chapter 7

Sunday morning when Brooke had returned from a day of shopping, she spotted Emily's car parked at the curb. Sighing, she entered the building. What did she have to do to have some privacy? This made the fifth day in a row Emily had either called or come by to see her.

Stepping into building, Brooke hesitated a moment, then in a gesture of rebellion, she headed back outside in the opposite direction. She had no idea where she would go at this point but she just didn't feel like being around her right now. She knew Peyton would love to have Brooke come around but she also knew that she'd be spending the weekend with Lucas and she didn't want to rain on their parade. She had other friends but she wasn't close enough to them to use them as her decoy when she was avoiding certain people in her life.

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A few minutes later, for some strange reason she found herself standing outside Nick's door waiting for him to answer the door after she had knocked. This way, she was taking pot luck if he was home or working and at least she'd be saving time from having to see Emily.

Sure enough, Nick opened the door.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise isn't it? I didn't expect to see you again," he welcomed, flashing his cheeky smirk. "I must have made a good impression."

"Oh, please! Don't flatter yourself. You're not that worthy to me. I merely needed a cover from returning home for a while," Brooke set the record straight with mean results. "So are you going to let me in or leave me out here?"

"I was thinking about it…but I can't let a pretty girl stand on my threshold. Come in," he gestured giving a sexy smile.

She walked in past him and sat on the lounge in the centre of the living room and opposite the wide-screen television set that almost occupied the entire living space. No wonder he said my place was luxury to his – he's right. It is like a cardboard box. Although if he got rid of the T.V in favour for a smaller one, he'd have a lot more space.

"So what have you been up to today?" he asked.

"I went shopping," she said simply, while studying him as he closed the door and sat beside her on the lounge.

"So why am I your cover? Should I be worried?" he glanced at her.

"No. Emily, Adam's mother is at my place. I thought I'd visit you as a distraction. Don't get me wrong, she's a lovely lady. But she's driving me crazy. First because of Adam, now because of the baby."

"Adam?"

"He was my fiancé." Brooke felt Adam slipping further and further from her memory every day. She had pictures of him in the apartment, but when closing her eyes, she had trouble visualizing him.

"You must really miss him."

"Yeah but I try not to think about it too much – brings back too much pain that I'm trying to overcome."

"Tell me about him," Nick suggested.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Give you something to talk about and me something to listen to."

"So hearing about a stranger you'll never meet is better than nothing?" she asked.

"Listening to your voice is what I'm after," he said.

"I'll read you a book." Brooke was flattered by his implication.

"Tell me about Adam instead."

She complied, starting when they first met, what fun they'd had during in college and how psyched both were for the other when she graduated from fashion school and he got into law school.

"How old was he?"

"He was twenty-three. How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven. And from here twenty-three looks young."

"I'm only twenty-two."

"A baby," he teased.

She glared at him. "Not. I'm grown up. I was living on my own at seventeen years of age. Soon I'll be a mother."

"Where are your parents?"

"California. I grew up in Tree Hill where I was fairly wealthy and had everything I wanted, I'd put it onto my father's credit card until he became bankrupt. We pretty much lost everything there for a couple of months, even forcing me to get a job until my dad was offered a job in California but I didn't want to leave my friends so I stayed on and watched my family move."

"Must have been had for you," he sympathized.

"Not really. I was pretty much on my own from the beginning of my high school years anyway. It didn't make much difference."

Nick fell silent, letting the quiet grow. Brooke relaxed against the chair, almost dozing in the sun's warmth that was coming in through the window. She could stay here the rest of the afternoon.

"Want to get a pizza later?" Nick asked.

Brooke was almost asleep. She rolled her head along the back of the lounge and looked at him through narrowed eyes. "I guess."

"I'll buy and we can eat here. Then if you get in a snit, you can leave."

She smiled sleepily and closed her eyes. "Sounds like a plan."

Nick looked at her. She was asleep. He leaned back and tried to let go of the feeling he'd just done something stupid. How could he push away with one hand and invite her dinner with the other?

Looking at her again, as if unable to help himself, he knew the answer. She was better company than a rerun on television. Hell, she was actually fun to be around. At least he had cleared up the whole trapping him into a marriage scenario. She wasn't looking for a man and he wasn't looking for a woman. They could just remain friends who were there to help one another.

He didn't like to think how much of his life was wrapped around his work. He liked being single. Being responsible for someone else's happiness seemed a burden to be borne. Although it was hard for him to go out with his work mates – most of them had wives and girlfriends and a family with the exception of his friend Alex who like himself, he had remained single and pretty much preferred to keep it that way.

He nudged Brooke's shoulder a little. "Maybe we should skip the pizza – you should head home if you're tired."

"I'm fine," she mumbled slightly.

"You need to take a nap."

"I'll take you home then."

"Not if Emily is still at my place."

"Nap on my bed then."

"Um…"

"I promise I'm not one of those crazed stalkers who attacks pregnant women while they're sleeping," he assured Brooke realizing the uncertainty in her mind.

Brooke stumbled when she took a step. Nick put his arm around her waist and pulled her close against him.

Less than five minutes later, Nick was sprawled out on the lounge with a pretty brunette in his bed. He had a hard time pondering over what had possessed him to invited her into his bed because now he would have a hard time in not seeing her there when he went to bed. He turned on the T.V, channel surfing until he found a made-for-T.V movie. It wasn't the best thing but it'd pass the time until his guest woke up.