Disclaimer:I own nothing.
A/N: The title of this chapter is the name of a song by Ross Copperman.
Chapter Ten
Found You
well I saw you there
just the other day
you smiled at me
in a secret way
The room was silent.
No one spoke because no one dared to speak and they felt if they did, they may regret their words.
So, it stayed silent, almost annoyingly silent.
It was clear of the emotions that everyone was feeling because it was written all over their faces: Brooke and Julian were both happy and guilty, for obvious reasons although Julian was more wary than guilty. Lucas was pissed, the anger visible in his eyes. Haley and Nathan were confused, despite the information they had received, it was still very vague and they didn't have the whole story. Peyton was neutral; not really knowing what to feel.
Although the pain in her leg was a bitch.
Everyone could see that Lucas dying to get something off his chest; his face was screaming at them all but for some reason, he didn't say a word. He was constantly biting his lip and clenching his fists, even flaring his nostrils every now and then; his jaw was permanently clenched and at one point, Haley was sure she felt him shaking but still, no words were said.
In fact, and to everyones surprise, it was Mouth, who had been sat in the corner, trying to mind his own business, who was the one that said something first.
"So this is really boring, and annoying," he stated, everyone looking at him shocked, and slightly relieved.
"You're right about that," Nathan muttered and Haley subtly nudged him.
"Well I think two people, in particular, aren't really wanted here," Lucas spat, looking at Julian and Sam before turning to Brooke, "Make that three."
"I don't even know why you're so mad," she said to him, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, you're right, my girlfriend falling in love with some other guy is exactly what I wanted to happen," he said, sarcastically, matching her glare.
"You can't help who you fall in love with, right Lucas?" Julian said, standing up and walking to stand beside Brooke.
so I let you in
and you captured me
I'm your prisoner
thats what I wanna be
"Julian," Brooke said, pleading with him not to start anything.
"Ahh the local hero talks," Lucas stated, his sarcasm returning, "How was deaths door?" He asked, smirking.
Everyone stared at him incredulously, not believing he could be so heartless.
"You're about to find out if you don't shut up," Julian said, angrily.
"I think everyone needs to calm down," Haley said, trying to control the situation.
"Neither of you can see why I'm mad?" Lucas asked, ignoring Haley's admission.
"It was just a kiss, dude, we didn't sleep with each other until you were broken up," Julian told them, not realising what he had just done.
Brooke closed her eyes, already knowing she shouldn't have lied but she couldn't take it back now.
Everyone paused, hoping they heard wrong.
"What?" Lucas choked, his voice barely there before turning to Brooke, "You said you didn't cheat...you said you didn't cheat and you promised," he shouted, his anger rushing back to him.
"Is it true, Brooke? Did you cheat on Lucas?" Peyton asked, speaking for the first time since Julian and Sam entered the room.
"I..." she took a deep breath, "Look I-"
"I don't mean rehash the past but don't even go there, okay?" Julian warned, directing his words to Lucas and Peyton.
"What do you mean by that?" Peyton questioned, offended by what he had said.
"I think you know what I mean," he spat and Peyton recoiled, causing Lucas to jump in.
"Yeah, we cheated but we admitted to it, something she," he motioned to Brooke, "didn't do."
"Getting caught and admitting to something are two completely different things," Julian said harshly, "And I know for a fine fact, that you didn't admit to anything," he continued, his tone just as harsh.
The room fell silent, again and Brooke silently pleaded with them all; coming out like a fool when they all ignored her looks of guilt and apology.
Julian noticed this and looked at her sadly.
"Come on," he said softly and guided her out the room.
He turned back to glare at them all.
When it feels like its love
All the stars lift you up
Well I'll place you high above
on top of the world
I'm just glad that I found you
-x-
Like a thief you came
to steal my heart
I'll surrender now
Cause you broke my guard
Two Weeks Later
Things had definitely changed in Tree Hill.
The seasons were changing, the crisp, cool air turning much more bitter as winter loomed but the weather was not the only thing that changed.
Brooke and Julian were now an official couple.
After the much anticipated 'talk', they realised their feelings were strong and mutual and both had decided to embark on an actual relationship. Things had seemed weird at first but as the days, and eventually weeks, slowly progressed, everything became natural and easy but they were never short of giving each other surprises and that kept their relationship from becoming another dull, burnt out flame.
Neither of them had said 'I love you' yet, both of them waiting for the other to start the conversation.
They knew they had a few issues to discuss and they were still getting to know each other but they were happy and that's what mattered.
Julian proved to be a decent boyfriend, taking her out of dates and telling her she looked beautiful but there was one thing that seemed to bug her; he was known for his 'reputation' in town and everyone was hell bent on giving him grief, just like he had done to them, and that 'grief' was telling Brooke that she could do so much better than Julian f-ing Baker.
She simply ignored all of them.
However, even her friends seemed to agree with the residents of the town.
After the encounter at the hospital, things had been little frosty between them and it seemed she had to split her schedule fairly, giving both Julian and her friends the same amount of time but never spending any of it with them all together.
And Julian did notlike sharing.
Call him selfish but he just wanted to spend as much time with her as possible and he told her that she could hang out with her friends all day, at school, to which she had asked him why he didn't enroll at Tree Hill High.
He just changed the subject.
She still hadn't spoke to Lucas, only saying one or two words to each other, merely needing to, rather than wanting to; Peyton had yet to approach her so she took that as a sign that she didn't want to have a conversation.
So, it was nearing Christmas and Brooke hoped that the festive season could bring her and her friends close again.
She could only hope.
-x-
Such a pretty face
It warms my soul
And you sweet blue eyes
they shine like gold
"Brooke," Julian called, his voice ringing through her house, "Brooke," he repeated, his voice a little louder.
Hearing his calls, she walked out of the kitchen, holding a water bottle in her hand and her school bag over her shoulder.
"I'm here, I'm here...and I'm ready," she said, smirking, knowing he was expecting her to be late, again.
For the past two weeks, Julian had been going to Brooke's every morning and taking her to school. She was really grateful for a number of reasons: one, she didn't have to pay for gas which bumped up her shopping budget and two, she got to spend some extra time with him and even though it was only ten, maybe twenty minutes in the morning, she was still very grateful.
Her friends seemed a little apprehensive at first, when they had seen Brooke climbing out of Julian's car but now, she was sure they were used to it and even if they weren't, they would have to grow used to it because what they couldn't seem to grasp was that Julian was a big part of her life and that wouldn't be changing any time soon.
However, despite Julian telling her to be ready for 7.30 because he started work at 8, she always seemed to be running late.
Stevie was pissed when he was late the first time but when he explained the reasons and told him it was because of a girl, Stevie had just chuckled and ordered him to get to work.
"Well, well, I am surprised," he said, grinning.
"I thought you would be," she stated and gave him a peck on the lips.
She smiled at him, dimples showing and everything as they made their way to his car.
Mornings were always something to look forward to now.
When it feels like its love
All the stars lift you up
Well I'll place you high above
on top of the world
Julian always drove carefully when he had Brooke in the car with him.
He didn't know if it was a subconscious thing or not, making sure that no harm ever came to her in the slightest way but whenever Brooke was in the car, he drove like an old pensioner.
She had laughed at him the first time, telling him that she wasn't the only reason they were always late and that it isn't a crime to change the speed from 30mph to 45mph but he had just glared at her and told her that it was his car and he drove how he liked.
So, as they drove into the school's parking lot, Julian parking as close to her friends as possible but then again, still keeping his distance, she took the moment to mock him.
"You got 15 minutes to get to work, drove on the wild side today, didn't you, babe?" She said, trying to hide her smirk.
"Haha, funny," he said, dryly, pouting a little.
"Aww, is baby upset?" She mocked, again and he glared at her, "Does baby wanna a kiss?" She asked and leaned into him, seductively.
He swallowed, nervously.
"He wouldn't mind a kiss," he said and grinned.
She smiled before leaning in completely and placed a long, passionate kiss on his lips and as she went to pull away, he pulled her back and deepened it, slipping his tongue into her mouth. She moaned quietly and she could feel him smirk against her lips.
Feeling like he had the upper hand, she pulled back slightly and gently nibbled on his lower lip, smirking when she saw him close his eyes and just when she was about to pull away, she leaned in again and kissed him like she had never kissed him before.
She pulled back, grinning and when he opened his eyes, he realised he had just been played and he shook his head a little, grinning back at her.
"You're good," he told her, placing a small kiss on her lips.
"I'm the best," she rebutted, smirking again.
He could only nod, knowing it was true.
"I'll pick you up from school if you want," he suggested and she looked confused, "I'm getting out of work early, got a weekly check up at the hospital," he told her upon seeing her look.
"Okay, I'll see you then," she told him, slightly worried; she hoped he was okay.
"You staying at mine tonight?" He asked, hopefully.
"Yep," she kissed him, "Your place tonight," she confirmed.
And then she climbed out of the car.
And you know it must be right
Cause its burning up inside
I can feel it in your eyes
I want you to know
I'm just glad that I found you
She made her way to where her friends were, turning back to wave Julian off as she did.
As she reached the table, people greeted her before going back to the conversations they were just having, not really saying anything about the heated encounter they had just witnessed going on in Julian's car. Not really saying anything to her at all but she listened in to the different conversations, dropping her own comments when she felt they were needed or when she felt that she wanted to put her point across.
When she did that, she never missed that glares that Lucas gave her but she was used to them by now.
However, today Lucas seemed a little more 'angry' then he usually was and whereas before, when he would just silence her or look at her with a glare, today he decided to take a more verbal approach at insulting her; something she wished he would just keep to himself.
"So, Brooke, how's Julian?" He asked coldly, spitting Brooke's name as he said it.
"He's great," she told him, not stooping down to his level.
"I'll bet he's great, I mean anyone would be great with you dry-humping them in the morning," he said harshly.
Everyone held their breath.
Nathan felt the need to glare at Lucas, not liking his new approach to things and Haley looked like she was going to freak out because she didn't want to have to handle another arguement between these two, knowing that it never ended well.
"I'm not doing this with you, Lucas," she said to him, turning her head away.
"Doing what? We're just having a conversation," he said, innocently and she turned her head back to glare at him.
"It's been two weeks, Lucas, get over it," she spat, not caring if she was being insensitive because he was acting like a real jerk.
"Oh like you got over it?" He said back, glaring at her.
She stayed silent and he knew he had hit a nerve.
"Brooke," Mouth said and she looked up at him smiling.
He motioned for her to look behind her and when everyone at the table saw this, they all looked and they all saw Julian approaching them. Brooke looked shocked wondering what he was doing because he always liked to keep his distance from her friends, stating that they didn't like him so there was really nothing he could do but stay away.
Never the less, he was there, walking up to their table.
Lucas looked angry; everyone was used to that facial expression now though.
It was actually kind of annoying.
Brooke stood up and met Julian as he was about to reach their table. She gave him a confused look and he lifted up his hand, revealing a small notebook, one that she needed for school. Giving him a small smile, she took the book from his hand and leaned up to kiss him. They pulled apart and he rested his forehead against hers, rubbing her nose gently.
"Thank you," she whispered and for some reason, both of them knew she didn't mean because he brought her notebook to her.
"Your welcome," he grinned and kissed her again.
She pulled away from him and saw him look over her shoulder to where her friends were saw and she didn't even have to look back to notice they were looking at them. The look on Julian's face was enough to tell her that and to calm him, she put her hands on either side of his face and made him look into her eyes.
"Ignore it," she told him, sternly.
"I gotta get to work," he said and pulled away from her but not before placing a soft kiss on her lips, "I'll see you later."
"Yeah," she whispered as he walked away.
Was he mad at her?
She frowned before walking back over to the table, all their eyes still on her as she sat down. She looked deep in thought as she placed the notebook he gave her into her bag and everyone noticed this but Haley was the only one who said something.
"You okay?" She asked, her voice holding the motherly tone that made anyone feel safe.
"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" She asked back, wondering what gave her the impression that she wasn't okay.
"No reason, you just seem a little down in the dumps, you sure you're okay?" She questioned again but Brooke didn't get chance to answer.
Her phone rang.
She pulled it out of her bag, not looking at the caller ID and answered it.
"Hello," she greeted.
"Hey, it's me, Julian," he told her.
"Oh, hi...what's up?" She asked nonchalantly, looking up at her friends before standing up and going to a more private spot; just under one of the oak trees that was sitting in the quad.
"I can't talk much 'cause I just got into work but I'm not mad at you," he explained.
"Oh okay, I mean I didn't think you were but okay," she rambled, swallowing nervously.
"I know you and I saw your face but I wasn't mad at you, I was just pissed at your friends," he said gently, smiling a little.
"Okay," she whispered, glad that he wasn't mad at her.
"I'll see you later then, okay?"
"Bye," she siad quietly as they both put the phones down.
She walked back to her table, a journey she had taken seemingly more time than enough and smiled to all of friends.
She was happy that he wasn't angry at her.
She hated it when he was.
when it feels like it's love
all the stars lift you up
well I'll place you high above
on top of the world
-x-
and you know it must be right
cause it's burning up inside
I can feel it in your eyes
I want you to know
The hadn't been very eventful, much to Brooke's surprise.
Usually she was dealing with all kinds of issues at nearly every hour of the day but for some reason, today had been different. Apart from Lucas's little hissy fit at the beginning of the day, nothing much had really happened. However, she did think that Julian was mad at her but he had soon squashed her fears when calling her mere minutes after he had departed.
She was elated that he knew her so well.
Everything was seemingly going well in her life and for that, she was extremely grateful.
But she knew that somewhere down the road, whether the time be the next day or next month, something would jolt that happiness.
It was just her luck.
When It feels like its love
All the stars they lift you up
Well I'll place you high above
On top of the world
A/N: So this chapter is kind of short and it isn't an actual chapter, well it is but it's more of a filler, telling you certain information like the time of year and Brooke's friends reactions. I have actually been having some trouble writing the chapters but hopefully the next one will be better. I still hope you enjoy this one.
- undiscoveredwriter