"Chapter 9"

"C'mon Brooke, stop being a boring slut, and come with us to the party"

"Rachel, has it slipped you mind who Nathan's brother is? Lucas will be there too." Brooke shook her head "No way I'm not going"

Rachel lined her lips with bright red lipstick before lifting her gaze from the dressing table mirror. "So you're going to stay here by yourself…on Christmas Eve?"

Before Brooke could respond, Peyton and Jake entered the room, their hands intertwined. "Are you guys ready?" Peyton asked meeting Brooke' gaze

"Your slut sister here says she's not going" Rachel told her as she slipped into the high red shoes laying next to the bed

"B, I don't care what you say, you're going whether you like it or not" she said walking towards her sister "now get some clothes on, and let's go"

"Peyton-"

"I'm not going to say it again"

"But Peyton-"

"Brooke Penelope Davis"

"O.K, O.K, I'm going" She could admit it to Rachel, but she wasn't quite ready to tell her sister she was scared to see Lucas. Sure her sister knew she had feelings for him, but that she was in love with him? She hadn't even admitted it to herself.

"Put this on" Rachel interrupted her thoughts. Brooke looked at the tiny black dress Rachel held in her hand.

"I just sketched this last week, how did you…?"

"Merry Christmas B"

"Thanks Rach" Brooke took the dress and pulled her into a tight hug

"O.K, that's enough with the feelings"

Brooke laughed and held the dress against her

"Go get the guy Brooke" Rachel said softly before closing the door behind her.

x-x-x

The last thing Lucas wanted to do was put up mistletoe.

"A little to the right" Royal leaned forward in his wheelchair, his gaze narrowing. "It's not centered on the doorway"

Lucas bit back a sharp retort. It wasn't his grandfather's fault that the mistletoe made him think of a certain dimpled hazel-eyed brunette. The mere touch of the tiny sprig brought back the memory of that night at the reception hall, the softness of her hair, the sweetness of her kiss. Though it was crazy, after his talk with his grandfather, he'd kept thinking about Brooke, wondering if should give her a call.

"Are you going to hang it or stand there looking at it all day?"

The abrupt tone jerked Lucas back to reality. He loved the mistletoe a half inch to the right. "How's this?"

"Perfect" Royal nodded approvingly

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lucas secured the sprig.

"People should be arriving any minute now"

He had barely finished his sentence when the doorbell rang.

"Let the games begin" Royal muttered to himself as Lucas went to answer the door.

x-x-x

Nathan looked at his brother sitting across the room, and headed towards him.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Lucas answered turning to face him

"Whatever it is that's bothering you"

"Nothing's bothering me, I'm fine" Lucas replied

"I know you better than anyone Luke, I'm your brother, you can tell me"

"O.K" he relented "Did Haley tell you about Brooke and Peyton's switch?"

"Yeah she did" he admitted "but because of the best friend honor code, she didn't tell me until after you found out"

"I want to be mad at her, but I can't stop thinking about her"

"You love her"

"No, I"

"I wasn't asking you, I was telling you, you love her"

"I'm such a fool" Lucas muttered

"Wow" Nathan murmured

"What?" Lucas turned to where his brother was staring and he froze. He swore his heart didn't just skip a beat but stopped beating altogether "Who invited them"

He let his gaze linger on the short dress she wore before their eyes finally met. The sharp bolt of electricity ripped through him.

"I'll give you one guess" Nathan said as they both noticed their grandfather heading towards Brooke.

"Brooke, over here"

Brooke turned in the direction of the voice and smiled at Royal. She made her way through the crowd and she leaned down to give him a hug "You look great Mr. Scott"

"You're the prettiest girl in the room Brooke, right there alongside my May."

"You're sweet" she blushed "Thank you"

Brooke forced a smile as she noticed Lucas making his way towards them. "Merry Christmas Lucas"

"Merry Christmas" he smiled "You look beautiful Brooke"

"Thank you"

"Is your sister here?" Royal asked looking around the room

"Yes, she's here with her fiancé Jake."

Lucas looked up at the word fiancé and Brooke realized he didn't know Peyton was engaged. But of course how could he? They hadn't talked since Tree Hill. He held her gaze and her heart hammered against her ribs drowning out the sound of the familiar Christmas music. Her eyes locked with his and their breathing came in unison

"I think I hear May calling me" Royal said softly rolling away in his wheelchair chuckling softly to himself. "The boy's head over heels" he muttered

x-x-x

As she let Lucas steer her to the outside patio, she attempted to formulate an apology in her mind.

"Before you say anything, I just want to say again that I'm sorry" Brooke met his gaze. "I never meant to hurt you. "I'm not the kind of person that normally lies. Peyton wanted to see if there was still something with Jake and I didn't want her to lose you. That's why I agreed to do it, but I was wrong, and I'm sorry"

"You know what I believe" he said taking her hand in his "things happen for a reason"

Brooke drew a shaky breath

"I never really knew Peyton" he said "After almost a year, I never knew her, but with you it's different"

Hope grew inside her.

"I was thinking we could start over'

"I think that's a great idea: Brooke's smile widened. "When do you want to start?"

"No time like the present" Lucas extended his hand. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Lucas Scott"

Brooke took his hand, A shiver traveled up her spine at his touch. "Brooke Davis"

"Brooke" He kept her hand and his gaze flickered for a moment down to her mouth. "Do you believe in kissing on the first date?"

"Not usually" hr gaze shifted pointedly to the mistletoe overhead "But in this case I might be willing to make an excep-"

"Lucas tugged her toward him and stopped her words by covering her mouth with his own. She quivered at the sweet tenderness of his kiss.

"I love you" Lucas whispered in her hair

Brooke's heart fluttered wildly in her breast "We just met"

Lucas stepped back and held her at arm's length

"I feel like I've known you forever" He pulled her closer

"I love you too Luke"

He smiled and brushed his lips against hers

"What the hell is going on here?"

Brooke and Lucas jerked apart like two guilty teenagers. Brooke met her sister's accusatory gaze

"Peyton…"