What made us think that we were wise, and we could never compromise? – The verve pipe
Firebluez
Café
As we entered the café we took a seat toward the back by the large window at a small table for two.
"What may I get you two tonight?" the lady asked.
"I'll just get a coffee please." Brooke spoke.
"I'll have the same." I nodded.
The lady smiled and took off.
Brooke gave a friendly smile. I leaned back in my chair. The lady came back with two hot steaming cups of coffee.
"Thanks." I smiled.
The lady nodded and left.
"So! How's life?" Brooke asked.
"Complicated." I sighed.
"When is it not?" she joked.
I rubbed the back of my neck and picked up my warm cup and took a small sip.
"True!" I agreed clearing my throat.
We both sat in silence, avoiding each other's gaze.
"You never did answer my question." Brooke commented after a while.
"Which was…" I trailed off.
"Why the big change in you?" She asked.
"It all changed when I met my best friend Joshua last year." I sighed.
"What happened?"
"Well as I've said before, I wasn't the same guy as I am now. I use to be the guy who would never go out of my way for anything. You know the popular guy who had tons of "friends" but treated everyone like shit. I've hurt a couple of people…. and I'm not proud of it. Every day I walked around with this grudge on my shoulders and a bad attitude. But one day afterschool it was raining hardcore. The sky looked like it was pitch black, even though it was mid afternoon. I see this kid sitting on a bench in front of the school, just sitting down in the rain like an idiot or something. By the time I reached him he was soaking wet. I don't know why I didn't just walk away, but I felt that I had to be there. I was drawn there.
***FLASHBACK****
"Some weather huh?" I asked the curly brunette kid.
"Why are you talking to me?" The kid asked.
"Cause I thought you could use the company… like me." I replied
"You never talk to anyone out of your click." The boy replied sternly.
"Well I'm special." I joked.
The kid seemed to shrug off the joke.
"You okay?" I asked sensing his mood.
"Just fucking leave me alone Nathan." The kid spat out with disgust.
"Well you know who I am. But I don't know you." I replied sending my hand out for a hand shake.
He stared at my hand and looked away.
I began to get a little frustrated. But I continued.
"Look man. If I did something to ya, I'm sorry." I replied.
The boy eyed me suspiciously.
"You've never even spoken to me because I'm a fucking loser. A fucking GEEK!" The kid shouted into the rain.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I don't think you're a geek." I replied sternly.
"Watever." The boy spat.
"We all go through problems." I uttered out.
"Sure. I bet the only problem Nathan Scott has ever had was finding which girl to fuck for the next night." The boy snapped.
"My girlfriend broke up with me last week." I replied changing my mood to guilt.
The boy glanced at me and looked away.
I continued on.
"I cheated on her with some girl I met for a second. You're wrong if you think I've never had real problems. When you look at me I'm sure you see me as the rich kid who gets everything he ever wanted. But in reality, if you looked at me up close, you'd be able to see that I'm so fucked up. I had a girl who really loved me and cared for me, and I threw it all away. Now everyday for the rest of my life I have to think about how I hurt her. How much of a fucking idiot I was. Everyone has problems. So don't you dare say that." I replied.
The kid stared at me with understanding eyes.
"I'm sorry." The kid nodded.
"It's alright. I'm just a fuckup like everyone else. Hell even my father couldn't even stand me. So he divorced my mom and left us behind." I shrugged.
"I know the feeling." The kid nodded.
"So what are you really doing out here?" I asked.
The kid glanced at me wearily as if it was okay to be talking to me.
"I'm saying goodbye." He spoke.
"To what?" I asked.
"To everything." He spoke above a hoarse whisper.
"I don't understand." I knitted my brows.
"I've decided to leave this tainted world, and be free." He nodded.
"What does that mean?" I asked with a confused tone.
"I'm planning on killing myself today." He replied.
A big heavy feeling stirred within my chest. I froze in place and stared at him. The rain soaked into my bones, and soaked my clothing. Suicide? My mind began reeling from his poisoned words.
"What about your friends? Your family?" I replied.
"I don't have any friends. Both my parents died when I was 4. They were both drug addicts. So I got moved to foster care, and stayed there till I was 14. I got adopted a few times, but only to be beaten by a few foster family members. But somehow I was able to escape and move down here. I stayed with a friend of my parents and here is where I am." He replied.
I let his words sink into me.
"I'm sorry." I replied in all honesty.
"It's like you said. We all have problems."
"You're wrong about something." I commented.
"What?" the kid asked.
"I'm your friend." I replied sternly.
The kid looked at me with a stern look.
"You're not gonna stop me from doing this. I've already got everything set up." He replied sternly.
"Then why are you saying goodbye? If you think that this world is disastrous then why not just put an end quickly?" I asked.
"Despite the fact that my world is fucked up, it doesn't mean that that's all there is. There is some beauty here." He replied as his face dripped with water. His green eyes burned with a hint of passion as he spoke.
"You call this beautiful?" I asked glancing around at the rain.
"Yes. I mean everyday people walk around always rushing to get where they need to. They never really see anything. It's like walking around in black and white. Yet they can't comprehend the idea of adding color to their world. When I look at the world I see the evil and harshness of the world but I also can see the miracles that happen every day! Take a look around." The boy spoke with soft lips. "In a way it's a beautiful ending."
I sat back in silence and looked around. The rain fell with vengeance, and the sky erupted into thunderous light. Looking around at how the light fell against the darkened buildings I began to understand the beauty in it. Everything seemed to be placed in perfection. Time suddenly seemed to slow down; the rain fell against the concrete pavement and formed light puddles. The water trickled off the side of pavement and lazily rolled off into the streets. The beads of water sparkled with delight all around them. It was as if it were a light show, with everything sparking to life. The wind blew at the trees making their leaves dance against the lightening.
*BAM* the thunder pounded against the city with its fist.
It didn't matter how much I had screwed up in the past. It didn't matter that I was a fuck up and a complete mess. The only thing that I could control was right now at the moment. Heavy burning stung my eyes as it began to click. My eyes began to blur as I felt tears well up in my eyes.
"It's beautiful." I whispered.
The boy nodded. Tears fell down my face and mixed with the rain.
"I'm Joshua Gibbons." The boy held his hand out to me.
Through my blurry vision I reached out for his hand.
"Nathan Scott." I replied in a shuddered voice.
Once we released the hand shake I wiped the tears from my face.
"You know you're the first person I've ever had a real conversation with." I spoke to him.
"Really?" he asked.
I nodded and returned my gaze at the storm. Shivers began to take over my body.
"Me too." The boy agreed and gazed back at the weather.
"Thank you." I spoke to him.
"What for?" the boy asked with confusion.
"For this."
The boy let out a small smile.
"People can still surprise you." Joshua commented as he smiled.
"I agree." I nodded.
"You wanna go grab a coffee with me?" I asked.
"Nathan.." Joshua trailed off.
"Look I know that you've got your plans. But I'd just like to grab some coffee with you. I mean I'm never going to see you again. So why not? Besides there's always after." I replied.
The boys looked at me with weariness.
"Alright." he finally nodded.
"Great. I'm buying though." I smiled as we both stood up.
****End of Flashback*****
Brooke sat in stunned silence. I glanced away from her and looked out the large window. She took a sip from her cup. I rubbed my chin and felt a little stubble coming out.
"He didn't do it." She commented after a while.
"No. I guess he learned that he still had more to life to live. That's when we became best friends. He taught me stuff, and I taught him. Our friendship changed me a lot. I was able to see myself and all the things I didn't like about myself. So I changed." I nodded.
"Wow." Was all she could muster.
"That explains a lot about you." Brooke commented as she gazed into my eyes.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Why you're not afraid to talk to whoever you want. Be whoever you are. How you have a big heart and how much you care." She replied never breaking eye contact.
I felt a smile creep upon my face.
"I admire you." she spoke with a serious tone.
My smile disappeared. All I could do was engulf myself in her eyes. I placed my hand on hers. Heat lit up with contact. She had done it. Brooke Davis had officially stolen all of my heart.
"Brooke... I think you're amazing!" I spoke with sincerity.
Just then the woman came back.
"Can I get you two anything else?" the woman asked.
I broke contact with Brooke and withdrew my hand.
"No that'll be all." I nodded toward the woman.
I glanced back at Brooke who seemed to be avoiding my gaze. I released a huge sigh and began shifting in my seat.
"Nathan… Can I ask you something?" Brooke asked with a hesitant voice.
I nodded as my eyes were glued onto hers. She shifted her gaze into a concentrated face. She casually licked her lips and began to speak.
"What's going on between us?" she asked uneasily.
I froze in my tracks. My whole body became tightened. I couldn't move any part of my body.
"How do you mean?"
"I mean… there's just things that…" she trailed off as she tried to collect the right words.
"Can't be explained." I finished for her.
She glanced up and nodded.
"It's just…." She glanced away.
"What?" I asked.
"The way you…" she trailed off again.
"Never mind." She quickly finished.
I could feel my eyes knit together.
"We should go." I nodded as I paid for the coffee.
We drove back to the school where I parked my car next to hers.
"Tonight was fun." I smiled.
"Yeah it was." She agreed.
"You're a really great guy Nathan." Brooke nodded.
Then she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. My face bloomed with electricity.
"See you tomorrow." Brooke smiled and jumped out of the car.
I gently touched the cheek she had kissed. I closed my eyes and felt a big smile cross my face.
Brooke Davis…. What have you done to me?
