The bell rang and Mr. Chavez watched as the entire class headed for the door… everyone with the exception of Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott.
"Brooke…." Lucas started as he walked toward her. She was gathering her things in the back of the room. She looked up at him coldly. "Can I talk to you?"
"There's nothing to talk about," she mumbled so that Mr. Chavez wouldn't hear. "If you don't mind, I need to meet with our teacher now." She put her pocketbook over her shoulder nonchalantly.
"Brooke, we need to talk about us."
"Us?" she questioned with a chuckle. "You and I," she gestured between the two, "we are far from an us. There will never be an us." With that, she turned away from him and walked to the front of the classroom, intentionally hitting Lucas's shoulder as she walked by him.
Lucas sighed and followed her to the front, passing her only when she had stopped at Mr. Chavez's desk. He walked out into the hallway to find Rachel Gatina sneakily waiting outside of the doorway. As Lucas walked past her, she grabbed his arm.
"Ow! What the hell are you doing?" he yelled as her fingers dug into her flesh.
"What were you and Brooke just talking about?" she asked with her eyebrows knitting together.
"Can you get your hands off me?" he asked, trying to pry her fingers off his arm. Rachel let go, giving him a small shove and nasty look.
"Tell me what you were talking about with Brooke. You do know she's Nathan's sister, right?"
"Thanks for clarifying that," Lucas said with a roll of his eyes.
"Answer the damn question, Lucas," Rachel growled. "What could you possibly have to say to her?"
He sighed. "Rachel… please listen to me. I know you and Nathan are together or whatever, but you can't mention that you saw me talking to Brooke to him. Please?" he pleaded.
She huffed. "And why should I help you?"
"Because…" he whispered in the midst of the crowded hall, "if you don't recall the time you showed up at my house at three in the morning after you and Nathan had broken up for the millionth time that month, I can gladly remind you… I mean, I can remind Nathan too if you want…" he finished with a sly smile.
She gulped. "What's going on with you and Brooke? Just tell me the truth, and then we both keep our mouths shut."
Just as Lucas began to respond, the bell rang and the students cleared the hallway.
--x--x--x--x--
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Chavez?" Brooke purred, trying to sound as innocent as possible, as she hopped onto the desk at the front of the classroom. Nick was standing, palms face down on the table, his muscular arms supporting the weight of his body. His face was serious and Brooke couldn't help but feel nervous.
"So, you and Mr. Scott…" he started, running his hand up her thigh.
"…Are nothing," she interrupted before he could make any accusations. She placed her hand on his neck causing chills to run up and down his spine. "I'm gonna need a late pass," she commented. He nodded in understanding as she kissed him lightly.
--x--x--x--x--
The pair was still standing outside of their English room although second period was now underway. The bell rang five minutes prior, and Brooke had yet to appear from Mr. Chavez's classroom.
"I'm sorry. You're her best friend. If she wanted to tell you, she would've…" he stated as he began walking toward his next class, passing the window of Mr. Chavez's class.
"Lucas!" Rachel called after him.
He rolled his eyes before turning around to face her. He was a few feet away at this point, and Rachel was smiling sadly at him. The whole situation was complicated. He and Rachel had history. He and Nathan had issues. He and Brooke had an impossible future.
"Just be careful. There's a lot more to her than a pretty face and a good body, including a brother who is more than willing to beat the shit out of you."
Lucas nodded before continuing down the hall, leaving Rachel standing helplessly, waiting for Brooke.
--x--x--x--x--
Brooke stood, holding her hair up while Nick did the clasp on her bra. They hadn't slept together… yet. Part of it was because Nick was afraid that Brooke was just being manipulative and was using him in some kind of scheme that could get him fired. But the major reason was that Brooke couldn't bear to. Sure, she had slept with more guys than most eighteen year old high school girls, but something was stopping her. Maybe it was the web of drama that she had gotten entangled in within days of being back in Tree Hill.
Or maybe it was the fact that every time Nick touched her, she ached for Lucas.
She turned around to face Nick, letting her hair flow over her bare shoulders. She quickly pulled her shirt over her head, Nick watching her intently. Once she was fully dressed, she smiled at him and passed him the pad of pre-written late notes. She nodded toward it, and he filled in the information. Brooke Davis. English. N. Chavez. Needed help with her assignment. He tore the piece off the pad.
She took the piece of paper from him, kissed his cheek innocently, and left the room without another word.
--x--x--x--x--
"What the fuck were you doing in there for twenty fucking minutes?" Rachel burst as Brooke exited the room with a small grin on her face.
"Jesus," she breathed, grasping her chest dramatically. "You scared me, Rach."
Rachel's face was un-phased by her friend's dimples. "Brooke, you better start explaining what you're up to. I am your best friend and if I can see it, so will your brother… granted he is a guy, but still… He will figure it out."
Before she could answer, Rachel grabbed Brooke's arm and led her toward the front door of the school. She pushed through the metal doors and led Brooke to the quad. No one was outside since class was still in session, but geometry would have to wait. At the moment, whatever Brooke was doing was much more important than math.
The pair sat down at one of the round tables.
"Fucking explain what you're doing with Lucas Scott," Rachel demanded, sitting across from her best friend.
"You cannot tell Nathan," Brooke begged. "Swear it to me, Rach." She held out her pinky for the redhead to take. The two latched their fingers together, each kissing their clenched fist.
"I swear."
"Well… the first night I got here, I went to a bar on the edge of town…"
And so the story began. Brooke told Rachel how she had met Lucas. She told her how she had won pool, and what the prize had been. She told her how she never gave Lucas the opportunity to tell her his name, and how she had thought she was never going to see him again and how she had no idea that he was Lucas Scott. She told her how she had been assigned to work with Lucas the next day in class, and how shocked she had been to realize that she had not only been paired with Nathan's rival, she had hooked up with him. She told her about how she and Lucas had started opening up to one another and how it had led to another kiss. She concluded with her walking away and how she had been ignoring Lucas ever since.
But what she "forgot" to mention was that somewhere within the madness of the past few days, she had managed to hook up with her English teacher.
"Wow," Rachel stated, dumbfounded, after Brooke was finished. "You do know that besides for being an ass to your brother, Lucas has a reputation for being an ass to girls also."
"Of course I do! Do you think I want to have him on my mind twenty-four-seven? Do you think I want to have to want the one thing I can't have?"
"Knowing you? Yes, yes I do," Rachel teased in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Brooke let out a small laugh before becoming serious again. "What do I do? Even if I gave him a chance… even if we were to keep seeing each other secretly… I wouldn't ever be able to kiss him in public. I would never be able to bring him home with me. I would never be able to say, 'I'm going to Lucas's.' I would have to lie about it. About everything. And Nathan's my brother and I shouldn't have to lie about that to him. It's just too complicated."
Brooke sighed. It was too complicated. Even though her and Lucas's kiss had felt so right, everything else about them was wrong. He was the wrong guy for her to be attracted to. She heard the whisperings in the hall… Lucas Scott was a heartbreaker. And he was hated by Nathan. Bottom line, there was never going to be anything more with Lucas beyond what had happened in the past days. There was no future for them.
"Maybe you should try talking to Nathan…" Rachel suggested.
Brooke huffed. "You must be kidding! Have you met Nathan Davis? I'd rather keep my brother and not have anything to do with Lucas, thank you very much."
--x--x--x--x--
Lucas stood in the center of the basketball court, ball in his hand. His blue jersey clung to his sweaty skin at this point, but he didn't notice. All he could see was Brooke's slender body making her way across the edge of the gym, leaving cheer practice early. She had whispered something to her captain quickly before grabbing her things and rushing toward the door. He was frozen in his place on the court now, his eyes following her. His heart ached as she walked through the metal doors to the hallway.
Why did she go through the school? There are doors that lead straight to the parking lot, he thought to himself.
He could hear the faint sound of screams from his coach and team mates telling him to take a shot or pass the ball.
"Shoot!" Jake Gigelsky yelled from across the court. "Shoot it, Scott!"
Lucas shook himself out of his trance. The sounds of teenage boys yelling at him was now completely audible as he looked up at the hoop and watched the ball effortlessly leave his hands and slide through the basket smoothly.
"Okay boys!" Whitey shouted from the sidelines. "Hit the showers!"
The team all jogged to the showers, Lucas pushing his way in front of everyone. A shower could wait. He wanted to know where Brooke had gone to in such a rush. He unloaded his locker and pushed his way through to the hallway.
"Scott, I hope you're not racing to see a girl, dog, because smelling like that, she's gonna be runnin' the otha direction!" Lucas's friend, Skillz, shouted as Lucas ran past him. The team laughed, waving their hands in front of their noses dramatically. Lucas turned around as he pushed through the door, giving his teammates the middle-finger with a small smile.
He made his way into the hallway. Something in his gut told him Brooke was still in the building, but where could she be?
As he walked from the empty math wing toward the English wing, he saw one classroom that still had its lights on. As he got closer, he realized what room it was: Mr. Chavez's.
--x--x--x--x--
Brooke was half-naked within moments of stepping into the desolate classroom. Soft kisses had now turned into a full-blown make out session.
"Brooke," Nick groaned as Brooke unbuttoned his shirt. His tie was now strung loosely around his neck as she worked her way down from his shirt to his belt. Nick moved his hands to each breast, squeezing them simultaneously.
That's when she broke down.
Something inside her snapped, and suddenly, the entire situation was claustrophobic and tears were threatening to stream down her face. She pulled back from Nick and looked at him. He looked at her in shock. Her face looked like she was completely lost and didn't know what to do.
"Brooke baby, what's wrong?" he said as he dove into kiss her again. She turned her head away, becoming more angry and upset with each passing second. Nick tried to run his hand up her thigh, but she swatted it away, feeling nauseous from his hands touching her.
"Get your hands off me!" she said, pushing him backwards. She pulled her clothing on quickly.
"Oh c'mon, Miss Davis," he huffed, enraged by her sudden coldness. "You know you want me."
Brooke looked at him in disgust as she headed toward the door.
"You're a slut!" Nick called out, causing tears to begin flowing down her face as she walked into the hallway. "You're just another whore!" he yelled.
Suddenly, Brooke Davis didn't have words to retaliate. Maybe she was a whore. She quickly wiped the tears off her face, slamming the door behind her. What had gotten into her? She normally loved having meaningless sex with hot guys, even if the hot guy happened to be her teacher. She walked a few feet down the hallway, trying to contain her sobs. They had now turned into loud hiccups, but she refused to let the tears flow any further than they had.
She sat against the wall, suddenly too tired to walk. She closed her eyes tightly, burying her face in her hands, trying to make everything go away. However, the only solace she could find behind her eyes was the image of Lucas's blue eyes staring back at her.
Why are you doing this to me? she thought to herself. Why can't I get rid of you?
And almost as if reading her mind, she felt a body slide next to her. She tensed up at the sudden touch, but almost immediately found herself relaxed again. It could only be one of three people, and at this point, no one could make her feel any worse. She opened her eyes knowing that it was him.
"Hi," he said softly with a sad smile as she looked up at him.
"Hi," she squeaked, her eyes bloodshot from the tears she had dispelled moments before.
"Do you wanna tell me what happened?" he asked cautiously. He knew that she probably didn't want to see him, but it was worth a shot. She was clearly hurting over something, and maybe this could be his way of proving what he was truly worth.
She sighed. "Can I come over?" she asked in a voice that was barely audible. She was looking directly into his eyes now, and he couldn't help but notice that the coldness he had seen in them the past few days was suddenly gone. Instead, they were now pleading him to take her away from this school. "Or maybe we can go to the Rivercourt if you want," she suggested. "I really just need to get away from everything for a little."
"We can go to my house," he said as he stood up. He wiped his jeans off while she turned away to pick up her things. When she turned to face him again, his hand was outstretched, waiting for her to take it. She looked down into his large palm. Reluctantly, she placed her hand in it, allowing him to lift her off the cold, tile floor.
As they walked besides each other in comfortable silence down the long hallway, Brooke couldn't help but notice how everything else she had been thinking about was suddenly replaced.
All that was left was Lucas's warmth and silence.
