Ok so I worked really hard on this chapter because I didn't want to lose the momentum I had going so there are probably some mistakes. I hope that you guys like how things go here, this whole chapter is completely BRUCAS . Enjoy let me know what you think as always, review review review ! Sorry it's a little shorter than I normally try to keep them but it just felt like a natural end.

And Of course I do not own any part of OTH or the characters.

"Hi Peyton, sorry I didn't mean to interrupt." Jake said softly.

"No you didn't we were done here." Peyton turned without looking at Julian and went back inside. The two guys stood for a moment in an awkward silence; Jake finally just turned and followed Peyton inside.

"Was this just a set up? Just trying to make me crazy?!" Peyton ran smack into Lucas.

"Whoa slow down, what are you talking about?" Luke put his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm talking about you inviting Jake and Brooke inviting Julian!" She knew she was yelling but at this point she was so upset she didn't care.

"Wait whose Julian?" Lucas asked confused.

"Um that would be me." A male voice came from over her shoulder.

Peyton dried her face with her hands, Luke this is Julian, Julian this is Lucas Scott….the author."

Julian extended his hand, "It's really great to meet you finally."

"Peyton are you ok?" Jake asked, he'd been standing off to the side un-noticed.

Peyton faked a smile, "Hey Jake, I'm sorry, yeah I'm fine." She walked over and hugged him, "how are you? It's been a long time."

"Yeah it has." Jake grinned and stuck his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. For a second Peyton was seventeen again back in Karen's Café, the lyrics to the first song she'd even heard him sing played in her ears…

Such a lonely boy

Such a lonely girl

Couldn't find the joy within

Suck a lonely girl

Such a lonely world were livin' in

I watch it all go by

I can't find a tear to cry….

It was the first time she had truly looked at Jake Jegielski and seen him for who he really was.

"So um you guys want to come inside, Haley sent me out here to find you they are ready to cut cake?"

"Yeah come on Peyton, there's a cake in there with your name on it." Jake took her hand, not in a pushy romantic way but because he knew that she needed to draw on his strength to go back in there and endure the rest of this party. Peyton smiled and allowed him to lead her back up the stairs. No one really noticed that Julian had disappeared back out the front door.

"Well I have to say that this party didn't turn out exactly the way I'd planned" Brooke mumbled under breath as she looked around the now dark and empty room.

"Hey Pretty Girl, I found your coat." Brooke turned to face him shocked; she hadn't heard him call her that in a very long time. "Uh I'm sorry Brooke…." Lucas had taken her shocked expression as one of anger.

"No big deal, what girl doesn't like to be complimented?" Brooke laughed it off trying to lessen the awkwardness.

"Yeah" Luke smiled, "You ready to go?" Peyton had gotten Haley and Nathan to drop her off on their way home.

"More than ready let's go." Brooke led the way out to her car.

For the first few minutes they rode in silence, but Brooke was still concerned over the scene from earlier.

"Luke is everything ok…um with Lindsey?" It took him so long to answer that for a second Brooke thought that maybe he wasn't going to.

"Things have been…a little…rough lately." He finally admits with a sigh.

"You'll work it all out, I mean you guys love each other, you're going to get married." She smiled at him until she realized that wasn't looking at her he was studying the buildings going by out the window.

"I don't know Brooke, I'm not sure that we can get over this. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, I'm so glad that you and Peyton and Lexie are back here now …where you belong, all of us together. But Lindsey is very insecure, and after editing my book she knows everything about our past, the dark and ugly, and the good and happy stuff. She read in great detail how much I cared for y… for all of you guys. Therefore, you being here…it is as if she's having to face it all as a reality and not just a story I wrote. The fact that I'm able to write again after so long doesn't help actually either.

"Oh Luke I'm sorry, I never meant to cause you trouble. I don't what I was thinking; I never should have encouraged Peyton to move back here with me." She said as the stopped at a red light.

"Brooke you didn't hear anything I just said, you all are my family, even Peyton with all the issues and hurt she brings along, you are my life and I won't sacrifice my family for any woman. I would never ask her to give up her family or friends, so it's not right for her to ask that of me."

Brooke turns to face him, her voice just barely above a whisper "Lucas if things are like this then why ask her to marry you?"

"I do love her and I think I could spend the rest of my life with her, but I hadn't planned to ask her. She found Keith's ring in my drawer, we'd just had this huge fight and she said she was leaving and started dumping stuff into a suitcase and there it was. She thought it was for her, I never told her about asking Peyton to marry me. So instead of making a bad fight worse I just got down on one knee, but looking back I think I should have just told her the truth. Things are only getting worse now.

Brooke reached across and put her hand over his, neither of them saw the traffic light changed to green."Oh Luke, she deserves to know the truth, and you have to be sure, getting married won't magically fix things. You always try so hard to be exactly what everyone else needs you to be and that's what makes you, you. But Luke you can't have a marriage like that because eventually it's not going to be enough and you'll look up and realize that you've lost yourself in the process" her voice thick with emotion.

"Sounds like someone else I know." He squeezed her fingers.

"You're right and it took me a long time to figure out who I was again, it's part of the reason I'm back here. But Lucas if it would make things better for you I will pack up tomorrow and move us all back to New York."

"That's the last thing I want Brooke, my life is better when you're in it." Brooke dropped her eyes, she couldn't keep looking at him, he was saying all the right things like always. But she couldn't be having these feeling for him again, not like this. It would inevitably cause her more pain and she had sworn she wouldn't go back to living like that again. The light changed to red again and Brooke realized that they had been sitting there for a long time.

"Hey, you ok? I'm sorry Brooke I didn't mean to hurt you or make you think I don't want you here. I just…."

"No, no its fine I understand where you are coming from, I'm glad that you feel like you can talk to me still." She was gripping the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles had turned white but she flashed Lucas a reassuring smile. This time when the light changed she drove through the intersection and for the rest of the drive to his house they were quiet.

When they stopped in front of his house Lucas turned to face her, "Brooke tell me what happened after we met in New York, why did you stop taking my phone calls?"

"Luke…"

"No really Brooke please don't brush me off, were friends and I see you in New York and things are good. We spend one night together and then you basically vanish. Suddenly a year later you show back up in Tree Hill with a daughter and…and all this pain in your eyes again…that wasn't there when I saw you last...but you won't talk to me about any of it. Don't cut me out again Brooke, please." He knew he sounded angry but he wasn't he was frustrated, she would never understand how much he cared about her.

Brooke ducked her chin; he could be so right and yet so clueless all at the same time! There he was sitting there watching still waiting for an answer. Waiting for her to explain all that had taken place over the last eighteen months. She wanted to scream at him that the only man who had ever really broken her heart was him; that she would have gladly given up anything to be with him, but he had chosen Peyton and then come running to her to ease his pain. A night that only confirmed that all she ever was to him was someone to help him heal, he didn't really love her, and he never had. In the process though he had given her the most precious gift, her sweet Alexis was his daughter, his own flesh and blood!

Instead she buried all of that deep down into that neat little box and said, "It's not like that Lucas, I'm fine, everything is fine. One day I promise I will explain it all but I'm just not ready yet. As hard as she had fought to control her emotions the tears still tried to escape. Luke reached up a finger and stroked her cheek causing the first one to drop.

"What happened to us Brooke, how did we end up here?"

For a moment Brooke flashed back to the stage at Tric, the night they'd put on Haley and Nathan's play….

"Way to go with the tears P. Sawyer, you brought down the house!"

Peyton started to cry again, "Brooke, I think I still have feelings for Lucas."

"You mean you care for him as a friend….."

Peyton shakes her head sadly, "No. I mean more than that."

"It was just never meant to be I guess." She reached up and took his hand in hers again and slowly moved it away from her face, "But Lucas we cannot keep trying to relive it, it's just a dead end and it's…painful…for ...me." She stumbled over the last part.

"You're right, I'm sorry" He smiled sadly and moved to open the door. "I never meant to hurt you Brooke, not back then not now, not ever. He turned then and got out of the SUV without looking back because if he had he would have seen the tears rolling down Brookes cheeks in full force now.