AUTHOR'S NOTE!: Not much to say this time. This chapter will hopefully have a Brucas interaction though I'm not sure yet. I don't feel too inspired but I need to update to stay sane so I'll give this a shot.
DISCLAIMER!: We need Brucas back, we're losing hope, and though we fans don't own One Tree Hill, we should, because Brucas would have been back by now. You're evil Mark Schwann, yet we wouldn't have this show without you.
Chapter 8- "The Freshman"
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"Oh man, is everything really spinny to you?" Brooke asked as she stumbled in her heels, heels that were hard to walk in even when she wasn't drunk.
"Yeah! It's like, like we're on a carousel Brooke! Brooke, like when we were little, and we used to spin and spin and spin!" Peyton said as she actually started to twirl herself around as if she were back on that carousel.
"Peyton, Peyton, PEYTON!" Brooke shouted a bit trying to break Peyton from her imaginary ride.
"Peyton, we have to get back to the hotel! We can't stay out here like this, we could get in trouble." Brooke walked toward Peyton surprised her serious side was still functioning.
"No Brooke! Brooke no! I wanna stay out here and walk and spin! If we go back to the hotel, everything is just gonna be bad! Here it's good! Here we're friends and I'm not in love with Lucas and you are and if we go back everything will change!" Peyton said as she stumbled off the curb of the street they were walking down.
Brooke froze. Was this normal Peyton or really drunk and kind of crazy Peyton right now?
"Peyton, that's not- never mind, let's just get back to the hotel." Brooke said sadly as she threw her arm around her best friend's shoulders and nearly dragged her the rest of the way.
Peyton was so right. And that was what hurt. For the first time in her entire friendship with Peyton, Brooke felt selfish. She just felt incredibly selfish because what Peyton had just said had made her think. Brooke was always angry when Peyton said she had feelings for Lucas or when she found out that they had snuck around behind her back. And now, she felt like she was doing the same thing to Peyton. But was she really?
Would this stupid love triangle ever end? Was it even possible that they had tried so many times to close it but it just never happened? Why was it so hard for the three of them to realize who they were in love with and stick to it without changing their minds and breaking each other's hearts?
Brooke still had a lot of thoughts running through her head as she was still dragging a giggling Peyton up the steps of her hotel. She just figured Peyton could crash here at her apartment tonight, and maybe even until her secret was ready.
She stuck her key into the elevator to take her up to her private penthouse. As the doors shut and the sign above them dinged!, Peyton suddenly jumped and seemed like she had been hit with an electric shock.
"Brooke, where are we going? What was that noise? Are we going to see pyscho Derek? Because I thought we didn't like him! No Brooke, no, I don't want to see him!" Peyton said as she was frantically waving her hands in front of Brooke's face.
Brooke couldn't help but laugh at Peyton when she was drunk.
"No, we're going upstairs and going to bed. You're drunk and so am I and I'm tired and we're just gonna sleep okay?" Brooke said soothingly.
Finally, the elevator reached it's destination and the doors opened. Brooke walked forward with Peyton in the rear and she slid her room key into the door. She pushed open the door and as Peyton stumbled in after her, she realized she had a guest. A very unexpected guest.
"Lucas? Is that you?" Brooke asked, feeling stupid afterward. Of course it was him, there was no face like his, but she was so suprised that he was in her room at a very exclusive hotel she was paying a lot of money for, especially for privacy, that she couldn't help but ask and be confused as to why he was here.
"Yeah, it's me. I just, I wanted to come and see you and...are you guys drunk?" Lucas asked as he walked slightly forward squinting at Peyton dancing around. That was when the blonde noticed him.
"Luke! Yes, we're all here! Now we can have a party! Or we can drink more beer! Hey Brooke, you have a good tequila bar or something in this place right? We need alcohol, let's have some fun! Or, we can have truth or dare! Or actually truth since that's been going on a lot lately." Peyton said as she started blinking her eyes tiredly, most definitely without the capacity to stay awake and drink more even if the two people in front of her would allow it.
Brooke and Lucas both turned to Peyton at the same time, and both realizing that very recently, they had entrusted their deepest secrets to a very drunk and very hyper Peyton Sawyer.
"No Peyton, we need to get you to sleep. Or at least half asleep before you have to get up and puke your guts out." Brooke said as she walked toward Peyton and grabbed her arm. She started to guide her to one of the rooms in the suite when she realized she hadn't said anything to Luke's comment. He had come to see her. He had come to see her at night. In her penthouse.
Obviously this was going to be an interesting night.
"Brooke I don't wanna sleep! I wanna stay up and hear you and Lucas argue or talk or maybe make-well actually, I don't want to see that." Peyton said. That last thought seemed to sober her up a bit.
"Night Luke!" Peyton said as she yawned. She tore from Brook'es grip and shit the doot behind her, leaving the two ex-lovers alone.
Brooke stared at the door for a moment, a bit nervous to turn around. It was odd seeing him. She had spent so much time lately thinking about him that she hadn't thought it would be this hard to see him. She was wrong.
"Uhhh, hi!" Brooke said as she turned around and walked over to the couch. She had a feeling that if Lucas had come to talk to her at ten at night in her penthouse, it would require some sitting.
Lucas walked over and sat across from her. He didn't reply at first, just smiled. She sat there bedazzled for a moment wondering what he was smiling at when she finally spoke up again realizing he wasn't saying anything.
"So, uhh, not to sound rude or anything but how did you get up here? I paid the concierge a lot of money and wasted a half hour flirting with him to make sure I was the only one up here." Brooke said as she looked at him.
Finally he smiled a bit less and looked as if he would actually speak.
"Well, I guess we had the same idea to get up to this penthouse. I didn't really flirt, but maybe I paid him more." Luke said jokingly.
Brooke wouldn't have been suprised if Lucas didn't pay the concierge any money. He was just that good of a charmer. He could probably get anything he wanted off of his smile and personality alone. She and Peyton were living proof of that.
"Actually, I came to see you. We haven't talked since I saw you at Haley's and I just thought it'd be nice to catch up." Lucas said as he scooted forward a little in his seat on the very big and comfortable couch.
Brooke smiled nervously and started to get uncomfortable. She hadn't been in this close of an atmosphere with him in quite some time. The last two times she'd seen him, they had been outside in the open air where if something had went wrong, she had more than enough places to run to. Even though the penthouse was big, it was on the top floor and the elevator took a long time to get downstairs. He could easily run down the stairs and meet her quicker than she could escape should they get into an awkward conversation that would end up in an argument and him chasing after her.
It had happened too may times before.
"Okay. But if you want to talk, maybe we should go somewhere else because Peyton is gonna be throwing up for the next 6 hours and as much as I love her, I really can't stomach holding her back and seeing it all." Brooke said regaining a bit of her wit.
Lucas just chuckled and stood up. He reached out his hand for her to grab like he used to do. Brooke always loved it when he did that. She just looked at it for a minute and finally decided to take it.
As she stood up, he didn't let go of her hand. She was glad he didn't. She could feel it. The spark, that feeling like a thousand electrical impulses were racing through her body. All of a sudden she wanted to brad the back of his neck and kiss him until she couldn't breathe. She wanted to run her hands through his hair and tell him how much she loved him and how much she had missed him.
But baby steps. Even though she was quite sure Peyton was over him, especially after thier little chat tonight, she wasn't sure about him. And even if he were, it just wasn't the time. She had to keep convincing herself that if they were meant to be, then it would happen. But she wasn't going to force it or fake it. Not again.
They walked through her hotel and down past the lobby still holding hands. It was odd that they hadn't relinquished them yet but the feeling was so familiar, it seemed natural.
As they walked outside into the warm summer air and headed down the street, Lucas finally spoke up.
"So, how have you been? How's New York? A celebrity in my very presence, I should be honored." Lucas joked as he stared at Brooke's beauty. Her undeniable beauty.
Brooke looked at him and replied, "New York is...different than here. I mean, it's great, it's just bigger and more challenging I guess. But, I have Rachel to help me, we share an apartment. Well, I guess it's not so much an apartment as it is an entire floor of The Four Seasons but, it's still great. And the company is...thriving. We've opened so many locations in every part of the world and it just keeps getting bigger! And now, Clothes Over Bros has it's very own location right here in the fabulous town of Tree Hill. Thanks to your mom." Brooke added this as an after thought to let Lucas know how grateful and touched she was that Karen had sold her very old and very special business to her.
Lucas watched her and smiled amazed at how little she had really changed when it came to her pride. Brooke Davis had a lot of pride, in her company, in her friends, in her life. Lucas knew she would take that same pride and apply it to his mom's Cafe, or Brooke's boutique now.
"Wow...Brooke, that's amazing. Your life, it sounds so perfect." Lucas said sadly. Perfect. That was the problem. How could he tell Brooke how he felt when her life was so incredible? He would never forgive himself if he told her he loved her and tore her away from her dream come true. Even if it meant giving up his.
"I wouldn't say it's perfect. There are more important things. If there's one thing I remembered since I got back home it's that nothing in life matters if you don't have people to share it with. That's why I was so relieved when Peyton called. She gives me a good excuse to stay here, this is where I want to be right now. And the new store, that's an excuse for my mom. She's gonna kill me when she realizes everything I've done since I got here but, it's my life. It's not hers. I'm tired of her controlling me and I'm gonna start standing up for myself and being my own person." Brooke said confidently.
They continued to walk until they nearly passed a really fine restaurant, Deluxe. It looked like a jazzy and sophisticated bar that had cocktails and swing music. It also looked quiet and calm. Brooke raised her eyebrows at the blond boy next to her as if to question him on whether or not they should venture further. He pulled her by her hand through the glass doors and smiled as they walked inside.
It was perfect. It was cozy and upbeat, but it seemed like the perfect place for two old friends to sit and talk calmly. To catch up.
The waiter who was dressed in a button down white collared shirt and black pants with fine itialian shoes on greeted them and walked them to an empty table near the corner of the restaurant where it seemed the lightest. As they sat across from each other at the small table, they looked outside and could see the people walking happily down the street underneath the street lights.
Lucas ordered a cocktail for himself but Brooke, thinking she'd had enough alcohol for one night, ordered a water instead.
A few minutes of silence passed before they looked at each other again. Brooke looked down at her hands and decided to fold them neatly in her lap as a way to pass the time. Finally, the silence was broken.
"So, you said earlier that your mom was going to kill you for everything you've done since you got here. You've only been here 3 days, I can't imagine any amount of damage you could've done in that short amount of time." Lucas said sarcastically as he took a sip out of his glass.
"Excuse me, I'll have you know that I have never caused any amount of damage in my life. Maybe a few unfavorable incidents but no harm was really ever caused." Brooke laughed as she looked up at him again.
"Hmmm, so you convincing me to get a tattoo, getting me drunk, and seducing me to the point of my loss of virginity doesn't qualify as damage? I think you should take that one up with my mom." Lucas laughed at the memories. Brooke laughed with him. It was a nice feeling, to stop thinking and just be. As awkward as it might have seemed earlier, things were certainly loosening up now as they quite often did in the wake of trips down memory lane.
"And your telling me you didn't enjoy it? I didn't hear any complaints during those activites, especially that last one!" Brooke laughed as she raised her eyebrows in mock.
Honestly, that was one thing that had always made her feel a bit better, especially when she was hurting over her best friend and this boy's betrayal. She had in fact been the one to relieve Lucas of his virginity, she had something Peyton never had. Brooke had been the very first one to discover Lucas' body, sometimes she thought no one had touched it before her. But all the same, it was her body too. She knew every inch of it. She loved the way it seemed like it was made for her, how every part of his muscular anatomy seemed to be in complete correspondence with her own. She knew he felt the same way too considering he had been the one to bring it up with her. She'd never forget that night they had just laid in her bed and he had soothed her with his voice and caressed her arms. He had told her that not only was his heart hers, but his body too.
Lost in memories from the past, Brooke didn't even realize Lucas was speaking again.
"...definitely an unforgettable experience." Lucas finished.
Brooke chuckled and took a sip of her water. She decided it was time to ask about how his life was going.
"So what about you Luke? I'm in the midst of a famous novelist. Your first book gets rave reviews and I'm the celebrity? I bet you've had a million people tellign you you're their hero!" Brooke exclaimed honestly interested.
Lucas shuffled in his seat uncomfortably and took a long swig on his cocktail and drained it. He scrunched up his nose at the burn of the alcohol and gently dropped the glass onto the table.
"Yeah, a famous novelist who's career depends on his second novel which is nowhere near even beginning, let alone getting finished." Lucas said as he crossed his arms on the table and looked down embarrassed.
Brooke looked sadly at him for a minute trying to think of comforting words before she thought of the perfect quote.
"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it." Brooke said shyly hoping she had gotten it right.
Lucas looked at her impressed and replied softly, "Robert Frost. He said that...where did you learn that?"
Lucas was amazed at her in that moment. She was so intelligent, and not just because she had quoted a famous author who he happened to love, but because she knew what to say and when to say it. No one else in the world could make him feel better like she did. No one could make his worries vanish and put a smile on his face like she could. After all this time, he was still completely intigued by Brooke Davis.
"I just thought it would be useful. You read that to me before. When we used to lie in your bed at night and you read your favorite books to me, you read that. I remember all the things you read to me, some of it has helped me through a lot of tough times." Brooke said shyly. She hadn't really meant to admit that but it was the truth. She never forgot anything Lucas had said to her, she kept it all in her head and in her heart.
Lucas was still looking at her, he was fascinated. And for a fraction of a second, he looked like he was moving closer to her face. He lifted his arms off the table and propped his plams down against it as if he were going to lean over to her and grad her face and kiss her.
All that happened in a fraction of a second. Brooke had never felt so many butterflies in her stomach at once.
A fraction of a second could have changed everything...but those damn cell phones.
Brooke suddenly felt her purse ringing against her leg and it frightened her so much, she jumped. As she did so, Lucas folded his arms once again on the table and started to play with his napkin.
Brooke apologized quickly and looked down at the screen.
Victoria Davis.
As much as Brooke didn't want to answer, she knew the consequences would be much worse if she ignored it.
As she touched the screen of her iPhone to command the phone to answer, she immediately heard before words even escaped her mouth...
"Why in the hell are you in Tree Hill, North Carolina?!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE!: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I'm sorry it's so short, I'm not good at writing long chapters but I do update frequently so I figure that doesn't make it as bad. But anyways, let me share the inspiration behind this chapter. I was watching season 4 on DVD last night and for some odd reason, I wanted to watch the first episode of it, and as I was watching the Brucas breakup, my heart broke. I couldn't help but notice, like I have before but never really thought about it, how much Lucas' heart was breaking. Right before Brooke says, "I can't do this anymore", he says "Brooke", like he's pleading with her and in that moment, I could feel how incredibly crushed and desperate he was to keep her. It broke my heart because I'm so in love with One Tree Hill, sometimes I forget it's not real and I just felt so sad. But I loved the way Mark did the break up scene and I'm so glad Chad and Sophia made it real because I actually felt how hurt they both were and how very much in love they still were, still are, and that inspired me to keep their love alive through this story. I don't know why it made me inspired, it just did. Maybe with the music and everything else, I just wanted so bad to give Brooke back to Lucas so I'm really happy with this Brucas scene. Please tell me what you think of the chapter and where you think I should go next because I really do appreciate it when you do that. I feel like this is kind of your guys' story do since you read it so faithfully so tell me what you want!
Jessica :)
