Chapter Nine

Picture Perfect

Nathan slowly awoke, eyes fluttering trying to get used to the early morning sunlight. He quickly remembered the previous nights events and turned to Brooke. His heart fell when he noticed her all the way over and the far side of the bed. It seemed as if she had been trying to get as far away from him as possible. There was only one reason he could think of for why she would do that. Lucas."Brooke? You awake?"he called.

Brooke quickly shut her eyes as she heard him calling her. She didn't want him to know she was awake. She didn't want to have to talk to him and she really didn't want to have to see the hurt look on his face when he once again realized that she was so upset because of Lucas.

He didn't think she saw the hurt cross his face when he made that realization last night, but she had. She'd seen his look of worry. It was the same look she'd had almost all the time she'd been with Lucas. The look of worry that came whenever Peyton was around. The hurt and angry look that came when Lucas would leave her to make sure Peyton was okay. The sad look that came when Lucas would give Peyton a longing glance across the room. She'd realized once they broke up that she'd known something was going on all along, but was too in love with him and too blinded by it to really pay attention. He was with her so there was no way he'd be with Peyton or anybody else. That's what she'd honestly thought. She had never been more wrong in her life.

That's where she was this morning, pretending to be asleep as Nathan called out to her. She let out a deep breath as she heard Nathan walk into the other room. She continued to stare at the wall as she'd done the entire night. She was tired, dead tired, but sleep hadn't come. She figured it was because her mind kept racing. She had so much to going on. There was Peyton, Lucas, and Nathan.

She'd cried to herself silently for most of the night, hoping that Nathan wouldn't hear.. She didn't know if this was a normal reaction to what she'd found out, but then it dawned on her that finding out something like this its self wasn't normal so there really wasn't a normal reaction one could have for this situation.

Out of all the emotions she could have all she really felt was hurt. It hurt that they had done this to her and it hurt that they had kept it from her for so long and it hurt because Peyton was the one person she trusted above everyone else. Sure she'd hurt her with Lucas that time, but they'd gotten past it all and were supposed to be better than ever.

The one thing that truly hurt her was the fact that Peyton was crying. Peyton seemed as messed up over this whole thing as she was. She was the one that had started crying first. She was the one pleading with her to not hate her. Peyton wanted her to understand that they weren't together and it had meant nothing. She wanted her to know that Lucas still loved her. Last night Peyton seemed as heart broken about this as she was, maybe even more so than her. There was no denying that Peyton regretted what she did, but was that enough? Should the fact that Peyton was sorry be enough for her to forgive her? There was no answer to that question.

It hurt Brooke to have to hang up on her best friend while she was pleading with her not to hate her, but she didn't know what else to do. She couldn't bear to hear Peyton cry out to her.

Everything was so messed up right now. Today should be a good day for her. She should be waking up next to Nathan in his arms, happy they were now together, but instead she was lying here having gotten no sleep and pretending she was asleep to avoid her new boyfriend.

Never in a million years would she have pictured today going this way. Never in a million years did she think she'd be in this same situation with the same people.

"Brooke."she heard Nathan once again call out to her. Her body tensed up for a second and he noticed."I know you're awake."she turned around. There was no sense in pretending any longer.

Nathan saw the tiredness on her face and his heart broke for her. He hated that his brother still had this much power of her. He hated that Peyton had once again hurt her like this. He hated this whole situation altogether."I was thinking we could go get some breakfast. What do you say?"

Brooke shook her head."I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat Brooke. We didn't even have any dinner last night. You really should eat something before the long car ride home."

"I said I'm not hungry Nathan."she said a little more forceful.

"Brooke please."he pleaded.

"God, will you just give it a rest Nathan. I said I wasn't hungry. If you're hungry, then you go. Just leave me alone."she raised her voice more than she intended.

Nathan shook his head."Don't do this Brooke. Please don't shut me out like this."

Brooke felt her eyes begin to water once again. What was she doing? Why was she taking all this out on him. He was the only one that hadn't betrayed her. He was the one that had been so wonderful to her last night and how was she repaying him? By being a complete bitch to him, that's how."I'm not trying to shut you out Nathan. I'm just not hungry and you keep trying to force me into it."

"I'm sorry. I didn't intend for you to see it as forcing. I just want to make sure your okay."

"I'm fine Nathan. I'm just a little sad at the fact that I might have just lost my best friend for good this time."

Nathan nodded. He felt a little better now that she was actually opening up to him again. It felt even better knowing that it was Peyton, not Lucas that had her so upset."Okay, if you want to stay here in bed all day then okay, that's what we'll do. I know you're hurting because of Peyton. You have every right to feel hurt. I just want you to know I'm here for you no matter what."

He watched as Brooke nodded and turned back away from him. He let out a sigh before climbing back into bed.

Brooke turned back around fully when she felt him get into bed."What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I just want you to know I'm here if you need me. I'm not going anywhere. If you're in this bed, then so am I. I don't want you to have to go through this alone."he gave her a small smile.

Brooke looked up at him for a brief moment before slowly making her way to his side of the bed. She wrapped her arms around his waist and let out a deep breath."I'm so lucky to have you Nathan. You're the best thing to happen to me in a really long time. I'm sorry for being a bitch to you earlier."

Nathan let out a small laugh."Don't worry about it. I'm used to you being a bitch, I've known you all your life remember?"he let out another laugh as she playfully elbowed him in the stomach.

She turned to look at him."I'm being serious. You mean everything to me. I don't know what I'd be doing right now if you weren't here with me."

"I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

Brooke nodded as she leaned over to give him a kiss. It was short and sweet. When it was over she placed her head back on his chest and closed her eyes."I'm so tired."she whispered." I couldn't sleep at all last night."

"Then sleep now."

"I am. I feel like I could drift off to sleep here in your arms. I love how safe you make me feel."

"I'm glad, now get some rest. I'll be right here when you wake up."he felt Brooke tighten her grip on his waist before she fell asleep almost instantly. He ran his hand through her hair trying to comfort her. She was okay right now that she was asleep and he was going to make sure she was okay once she woke up as well.


"Hey guys, come on in."said Nathan as Sasha and Josh walked in carrying their bags.

"Where's Brookie?"asked Sasha looking around.

"She's in the other room sleeping."

"Sleeping? Why is she sleeping? We're supposed to be leaving soon. Has she even packed yet?"

"No, I packed for her. She had a pretty rough night last night."

"Rough night? What the hell happened?"asked Sasha. The only thing she could think of was that things hadn't gone as she'd hoped with Nathan.

"I don't know. Maybe you should go talk to her."

"Yeah, okay."and she was already heading to the room. She didn't even bother knocking before entering."Brooke, you awake?"

"No."she said.

"Okay, then I'll just stay right here until you do."Brooke turned to face her. She took in the girls appearance. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked tired."God Brooke, you look horrible. What happened?"

Brooke rolled her eyes."Thanks."

"Seriously. Does this have to do with Nathan?"

"You know, not everything in my life revolves around Nathan."

"There's no need to be a bitch Brooke. Just tell me what happened?"

Brooke shrugged."Peyton called me last night and told me she was sleeping with Lucas."

Sasha's eyes widened."What? She was with him again?"

Brooke nodded."Can you believe that?"

"I don't know her at all, but yes I can believe it. If she did it to you once, she'd do it again. Lucas too."

"That's not helping Sash."

"Sorry, but it's the truth. You know me Brooke. I don't sugar coat anything. You never should have forgiven them."

"Knowing that and doing it are two separate things. I couldn't not have her in my life. She's too big a part of it."

"Yeah, well look how that turned out."she said shaking her head. She saw how sad Brooke looked and softened her stance."So, what? Are they together now? Is that why she called? To tell you she was with your ex."

Brooke shook her head."No, she said it was a one time thing. It happened about a month and a half ago."

"And she's barley telling you this now?"

Brooke nodded."Yeah that's what gets to me. I talked to both of them many different times and neither of them said anything to me. Peyton just went on and on about missing me and wanting me home and Lucas, well he just kept being sweet and telling me he loved me, all the while they were keeping the fact that they'd been together from me."

"That really sucks Brooke."

"I know."said Brooke bringing herself into a sitting position."You want to know what the funny thing is?"Sasha nodded."The funny thing is that I was over here feeling so guilty for wanting to move on and be with Nathan. Guilty for even thinking about him and all the while they were doing that. How completely fucked up is that? I was willing to stop everything with Nathan so that I wouldn't hurt Lucas."

"I know sweetie."said Sasha as she took a seat next to Brooke. She leaned over and wrapped her in a hug."It's gonna be okay. You don't have to go through this alone. You have all of us here."

Brooke pulled Sasha to her and let out the tears that had threatened to spill."Am I stupid? Do I have any right to be this upset? I mean I'm not with Lucas. They can see who ever they want."

Sasha pulled away slightly and looked at her."You have every right to feel this way. Lucas was your boyfriend. You loved him. Peyton was your best friend. You loved her. They both did something they said they would never do again. Whether you were with him or not doesn't change the fact that this happening now brings back all those feelings you had bottled up. It's reminding you of how you felt back then."

Brooke nodded."The first time this happened it almost killed me and now I don't know what to feel. I don't know what's appropriate."

"Fuck appropriate. Let yourself feel what you feel. If you're sad then be sad. If you're angry then be angry. Nobody is gonna fault you for feeling what you're feeling."

"I know, but I don't want to hurt Nathan."

"Nathan? Why would this hurt Nathan?"

Brooke let out a small laugh."I forgot to tell you that part. We got together last night."

Sasha smiled."That's great Brooke. That's what we all have wanted for you two."

"Yeah, but do you see how screwed up things are? I thought of my new relationship with Nathan as an after thought. An oh yeah, I'm with him sorta thing and it's not right."

"What are you saying? You're gonna let those two back stabbing assholes ruin this too?"

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that this whole thing is crappy and it has my priorities all messed up."

"Then fix it. Nathan shouldn't be penalized because Lucas is an ass."

"I know and I'm not trying to do that. Nathan was wonderful to me last night, but at one point I saw this look on his face and it broke my heart even more. It was like it dawned on him that I was hurting so much over another guy and it must have hurt like crazy to think about that."

Sasha nodded."I bet it did, but Nathan knows your situation. Nathan knows about what happened before. He understands your feelings. He might have come to that realization and it might have hurt him to think about you like that, but I bet he never once pulled away from you."Brooke shook her head."You see, he understands. It's gotta hurt a guys pride to see his girlfriend hurting over her ex, but he knows you care about him Brooke. Just don't shut him out over this."

"I'm trying not to. I really am, but sometimes I snap and I just want him to leave me alone."

"You want him to not care?"

"No, that's not it, but I'm not used to people caring about me like he does. Sure I had Peyton and Lucas, but the last time I felt like this was because of them and so they weren't here to try and comfort me. I'm not used to people being there. I've always had to take care of myself."

"Well you don't have to anymore. You have us and you have your Nathan. That guy is so in love with you it's not even funny."she let out a smile.

"He was so amazing to me last night."

"And this morning. He already packed all your stuff for you so you could rest."

"He did?"

"Yeah, he did. You know that guy will do anything for you. So you need to do something for him."

"Like what?"

"You need to get up out of this bed, take a shower and come out there with us. Don't let it seem as if Lucas means more to you than he does. I know I said he understands, but a guy can only take so much. He shouldn't have to worry that his girlfriend is still into her cheating ex."

"I'm not into Lucas. I could never be again."

"Good, then get your lazy butt up and get dressed. I'm sure Nathan will be glad to see you up about."

Brooke pulled the girl into a hug before getting off the bed."Thanks Sash. You really are becoming one of my best friends."

"Good, now go, you stink."she said with a big smile.

Brooke scoffed and rolled her eyes as she made her way to the restroom.

Sasha let out a big sigh before opening the door and walking out to see the guys looking at her expectantly."She'll be out in a little while. She's just gonna take a quick shower."

Nathan nodded."Thank you for doing that. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. She wouldn't get out of bed."

Sasha nodded."She's hurting Nathan. You have to be patient with her. She probably just lost her best friend for good and it hurts. Her feeling this way has nothing to do with wanting Lucas back. She will never be with him again."

Nathan nodded."Thank you."

"She cares about you so much Nathan. You're the one she's with and you're the one she wants. Just give her time to get over this."

"I will. She means everything to me. Whatever she needs, I'll give her."


Brooke pulled her hair back into a ponytail and looked in the mirror. She could still see the dark circles under her eyes even with the make up covering. Her eyes were still puffy and red. She wasn't sure how long it would take for them to go down. She'd tried to make herself presentable, but she wasn't sure if she'd succeeded. She wanted to do just as Sasha had suggested, get up and get on with everything. That's what she wanted more than anything. She didn't want to be sad and angry anymore. She even tried to convince herself that she wasn't, that it didn't matter what they did. She felt herself confident and content for about five minutes before it all came crashing back. She was with Nathan now and he made her feel go many different feelings and she wanted everyone to know, but the one person she she wanted more than anything to share this with was Peyton and she couldn't. She couldn't talk to Peyton about anything and that was what hurt the most.

She didn't want to disappoint anyone so she went through the motions of getting ready. Even if she didn't feel good she would look the part. She didn't want her friends to worry about her anymore. They wanted her to get up and act normal so that's what she was going to do. They didn't need to see how broken up she really was.

Brooke took one last look at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath before placing her hand on the door and walking out looking confident. She made her way out of the room and all eyes turned to her. All this attention had her feeling small. She didn't want everyone to be looking at her, but she did say anything. She walked over to where Nathan stood and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Nathan looked down at her. She looked a lot better now that she's gotten up."Hey, you look good."

Brooke rolled her eyes."Thanks. I feel so much better now that I'm up."she lied."I'm starving. Do you think we have time to get something to eat before we hit the road?"she asked as she looked up at him. She was hoping he'd say no. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to actually eat, but she knew Nathan had wanted her to eat earlier so she wanted to give that to him."

"Yeah, I'm sure we do. I already packed everything and we loaded it into the car so all we need to do is just go."

"Thank you for that Nathan. You didn't have to pack my things."

"You were tired and I wanted you to sleep. It's not a big deal."

Brooke looked up at him."It is a big deal. Thank you."she leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss before turning to the others."Now lets go eat."


Jake let himself into Peyton's house. He'd left her when she was about to call Brooke. He wasn't sure what she was actually going to tell her, but if it all came out he hoped everything would be okay."Peyton."he called as he made his way up the stairs. There was no answer so he made his way to her room."You in here babe?"he asked as he opened the door. His eyes went straight to the floor where he saw Peyton sitting holding the phone. It looked as if she hadn't slept all night. She was rocking herself back and forth."Peyton? What's wrong? Baby what's wrong?"he went and knelt in front of her and that was when she finally acknowledged his presence.

"Jake."she wrapped her arms around him."She hates me. She is never going to forgive me for this."she said through tears.

Jake now understood what was going on."You told her everything?"she nodded against him."What did she say?"

"Nothing. She thought I was playing some sick joke on her. She was crying Jake. I hurt her so much."

"Did she say she could forgive you?"

"No, I told her not to hate me and she said she didn't. That hurt so much worse for me. I wanted her to yell and get mad. I wanted her to call me every name in the book because I knew I deserved it, but she didn't do any of those things. She just cried and wanted to know what happened. I can tell I hurt her more that I did the last time. She was so calm. It was like it took a while for her to understand. I don't know what to do. I told her not to hate me she said she didn't and then she told me she had to go and she hung up."

"It's gonna be okay Peyton."

"No it's not. I've never see Brooke act this way. She isn't one to be calm about things like this. She blows up when she's angry. She becomes this mean person and she gives you what you deserve, but the girl I talked to last night wasn't her. It was as if she were someone else. She didn't get angry, she didn't yell, she didn't do anything but cry. Brooke doesn't cry in front of anyone. I really think I hurt her beyond repair this time. I don't know what to do to fix this."

"All you can do right now is call her and try to see if she will talk to you. There isn't much else you can do with her all the way over there."

"That's it."said Peyton standing up."I need to go to California to see her."she went in the direction of her closet to pack.

Jake grabbed her arm to stop her."No, Peyton. That's not a good idea. Brooke needs this time to think. You can't go over there and bombard her. Give her space Peyton."

"No, I can't give her space. If I do that she might think I don't care."

"I'm telling you that going over there is a huge mistake. If you push her on this you might actually send her over the edge and she might never forgive you."

Peyton sat at the edge of her bed and cried."You're right. I can't go there. She doesn't want me there."

"Give her time Peyton. When she gets back then go to see her."

"I can't have her hate me. I just can't."she continued to cry as Jake wrapped his arms around her.


Brooke threw her bags on the floor next to her bed. She looked around the room. The last time she was in here she was so happy. She was packing for the game and she still had her best friend and everything was okay. Now everything was so messed up. Her best friend was no longer her best friend and the guy she had loved for so long was out of her life for good and the guy she was trying so hard not to like was now her boyfriend. Nathan was the only good thing for her right now, other than Sasha, who turned out to be a god send. She had a lot going for her right now. An amazing friend and an even more amazing boyfriend, but still she couldn't help but feel horrible. With every good thing she had going for her all that really came to mind was the once again betrayal of the two people who mattered to her the most.

Times sure had changed because now the two people that mattered to her the most were Nathan and Sasha. It was gonna suck when they had to go back home. Sasha had become a constant in her life and in a little over a month they would all go back home. Nathan, at least she would still have him. he was wonderful. She couldn't express that enough. He was going to there for her even when they went back to reality. What more could she ask for?

Nathan, though he had a lot he could ask for, like a girlfriend who put him first, one that didn't shut him out, one that didn't push him away, one that wasn't crazy and flip flopping every second. He had to be frustrated with her right now.

She'd pretended everything was okay when they went to get something to eat. She picked at her food, pretending to not be as hungry as she thought. They had really good conversation. It wasn't too hard pretending everything was okay with the company she was in. They were great, but then she excused herself to the restroom and her phone rang. She looked down at it and saw that it was Lucas. He was calling her back. She'd forgotten she'd asked him to with everything going on. She hurriedly ended the call and stayed looking at the screen. One missed call. Her phone soon vibrated indicating she had a message. She thought about ignoring it, but in the end the pull Lucas always had over her won and she listened to the message."Hey, Pretty Girl. I just got your message. I'm sorry I wasn't here when you called. Anyways call me back. I can't wait to hear your voice. I miss you babe. Bye."It broke her heart all over again. Everything he was saying was what she'd wanted to hear, it was what always made her feel tingly, but now it just made her sick. It was all lies. How could he still say those things to her after what he'd done? After hearing the message it put her back into a place she was trying so hard to come out of. She knew everyone had noticed, how could they not when she announced they needed to leave as soon as she made it back to the table.

The car ride home had been even more uncomfortable than she thought it would. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. She could feel their pity. It was becoming so unbearable. The second they made it back to L.A. she spoke up and said she wanted to be the first one dropped off. Once they were in front of her house she literally had to force Nathan to stay in the car. He wanted to get off and stay with her, but she didn't want that. She needed to be alone so grabbed her things and made her way to the house, not once looking back at her concerned friends.

She took a seat on her bed and continued to look around the room. There were pictures everywhere. Some thought she was crazy for having so many pictures out, but not her. All her pictures made her feel safe. All she had to do was look at a picture and she could go back to that time and remember it like it was yesterday. She always felt comfort in that.

She scanned through her pictures and saw one of her and Peyton at the beach. Peyton was on her back and Nathan had been the one to take the picture. It was taken when they were still together. The two girls in the picture looked happy. That day was so much fun. They'd gone on a boat ride and even stayed on the beach overnight looking up at the stars.

She looked at another and it was another one of her and Peyton, this one wasn't that good. It was taken by her at close range by a disposable camera. They had been at a party one night and after a few drinks just started taking random pictures. She had gathered Peyton in her arms and held the camera in front of them and took the picture. It had came out better than she thought. They had these big drunken smiles. It was funny really.

She moved on to another picture and this one was of everyone around a table. Karen had taken it at the cafe one night when no one was expecting it. They were all doing there own things which made the picture so unique. She'd gone up to Karen and asked for a copy which she of course gave her. It was pictures like this that made her feel happy. Everyone was having fun that day. They were all together. Lucas, Peyton, Jake, Haley, Nathan, and her.

She'd finally reached a picture of her and Lucas together. He had his arm around her and he was looking at her as if she were the only one in the room. She was laughing and had this look of adoration when looking at him. If an outsider would have seen this picture they would have thought those two kids would be together forever. They looked truly happy, but not all things were as they seemed.

None of the pictures she had had captured the feelings of hurt and angry that would soon follow. None of those pictures meant anything when they were based on a lie. Those people weren't happy together, they were just biding their time before screwing each other over. It was sad, but it was the truth.

She went back to the group picture that proved her point. Everyone was laughing and having a good time then, but now was a completely different story.

Nathan and Haley were no longer married, Haley screwed that up by leaving him.

She and Lucas were never going to be able to be in the same room together, not after what he did to her, he screwed that up.

Lucas and Nathan could no longer stand each other because of Lucas lying to him about Haley and it would probably continue because of her, they'd all screwed that up.

Her being with Nathan most likely meant Haley would hate her. If Haley ever made a reappearance in Tree Hill.

Then there was her and Peyton and they could no longer be friends, Peyton screwed that up.

Then of course there was the Lucas/Peyton/Jake triangle. There was no way Jake could forgive them, Lucas and Peyton had screwed that one up.

With all that had gone on with everyone she doubted any of them could be friends again. They would never be able to take a picture all together like that.

Brooke looked through the rest of the pictures quickly and noticed she didn't have a single one from her time here. There wasn't one of her and Nathan together. She had spent so much time with him this past month and a half and she hadn't captured any of that time. She didn't have any pictures of her and Sasha and the same went for her. They spent so much time together. It was strange that she hadn't thought to take any pictures. Pictures were always on her mind.

It was as if she were just biding her time here until she got back to Tree Hill. It was as if she thought being here wasn't important enough to capture those moments. Being here was important. It was everything to her now. This was place where she realized she had something with Nathan. This was the place she'd met Sasha, her very best friend here. She wouldn't be here for very much longer and she needed to turn things around. There wasn't time to think about all the bad stuff that had happened. The people that caused it didn't deserve her time. Nathan and Sasha were the ones that deserved her time. She couldn't sit here and mope all day. This wasn't her and she wasn't going to let it become her. There were too many things she had going for her right now and she needed to make sure she captured all those things so that when she looked at them she could remember that this was the moment she became strong and independent and decided not to let the people that hurt her get her down.

She quickly got up off the bed and made her way to her purse. She fished out her phone and dialed the familiar number. She looked around as she heard a phone ringing outside her door. She wasn't sure what it was, but soon saw Nathan walk through her door, phone ringing in his pocket. She lowered the phone and smiled. He was already here.

Nathan looked at her."Don't be angry with me Brooke. I know you said you wanted to be alone, but I just wanted to come by and show you that you don't have to be alone. You have me."he stood there not sure what to do.

Brooke looked at him as a tear slowly rolled down her cheek. These were happy tears though. Nathan was here even though he wasn't sure how she was going to react. He was willing to be rejected just to show her he was here. This guy sure was something else. She walked over to him and threw her arms around his neck."Thank you Nathan."she leaned in and gave him a kiss."I really needed to see you right now. I was actually the one that was calling you."she said with a laugh.

"Oh, sorry I didn't answer."

"It's fine, you're here and that's that matters."he leaned down and kissed her."I'm sorry for acting the I did. I won't do it again."

"Shh. Don't apologize. You have a lot going on. I understand. I just want you to know that I am here."

Brooke nodded."I know. You are so good to me Nathan."

"It's because you mean everything to me Brooke."

"Good because you mean everything to me too."she kissed him once again quickly before pulling away and walking off.

"Where are you going?"he asked as she left the room.

"No where."she said as she made her way back into the room."I just had to get something."

"What is that?"he said looking down at her hands."A camera?"

"Yeah. I was thinking and I don't really have any pictures of you."she said as she began to snap pictures of him.

"Brooke, come on. Stop. You could at least wait until I look good."he said as he tried to cover his face.

Brooke lowered the camera and walked over to him."You always look good Nathan."

He rolled his eyes at her and grabbed her around the waist. He placed his lips against her cheek and kissed it.

Brooke quickly held up the camera and took a picture of him kissing her cheek. He looked at her and smiled."I just wanted to make sure I had something to remember this by."she buried her face in his chest and smiled to herself as he placed a kiss on her head.

Everything was going to be okay.


Well here is another chapter. It's up the very next day. lol I had some extra time this weekend to write and I was into this story the most. Anyways thank you all for the reviews. I can't wait for more. lol So please read and review. Thanks