New chapter's here!

Sorry I was supposed to post it last week but something came up :s

Anyway, here it is and I really hope you'll enjoy it ;)

Disclaimer: I only own this story

Chapter 10 - "What the hell!"

"You...you said what ?" asked Nathan clearly in shock. He could not believe what her friend had just told her.

"I said yes Nathan" calmly repeated Brooke, gauging his attention, "But before you get upset, you should know that..."

"WHAT THE HELL BROOKE!" screamed Nathan, he was furious. "After everything I've told you about him and his past relationships, despite my advice you have decided to go on a date with him ?! What is fucking wrong with you!" Brooke understood that after what happened to his friend Anna, Nathan was upset she had foreseen his rage but she was just hoping that he would listen to her explanation and eventually understand why she did that.

"Nathan, I talked to him and he's willing to change...he just needs a chance" calmly replied Brooke. She was trying to remain calm despite Nathan furious eyes staring at her. She knew that it was definitely not the time to talk about this and she hated Haley for forcing her to tell him this right now when she would have waited another moment, moment when he would have probably be more receptive.

"Change ? He is not able to change!" replied Nathan "He is messing with you..."

"No he's not. He is trying to change Nathan and he wants me to help him with that...He told me he has feelings for me". She knew Lucas was honest when he said all those things to her and she was just hoping that Nathan would believed her too. But he did not, Nathan actually starting bursting into laugh. Haley, who had not said a thing the entire time, and Brooke stared at him interrogatively, they did not understand how he could go from being extremely furious to laughing.

"I can't believe you are so naive!" then screamed Nathan still laughing. Nathan was actually laughing at Brooke's naivety. She was supposed to be a bright and smart woman but apparently she was not for falling for Lucas' words. "He's just playing with you...it's just a way for him to f**k you!...For him you are just another stupid b*tch!". His words were harsh, probably way harsher than what he intended, but he believed that this was the truth. The only thing behind Lucas' head was to have sex with Brooke and draw everything he could from her before dumping her like he did with Anna. He had not been able to prevent Anna from being hurt but he strongly believed that he could avoid the same despair to Brooke, if only she would listen to him.

"Nathan I think you've made your point..." started Haley, even if Nathan believed he was right, it was not a sufficient reason to talk to Brooke like he did and Haley figured that if she did not stop him now, it would be too late.

"No I haven't!" pursued Nathan, he had been taking gloves with Brooke trying to convince her smoothly to stay away from Lucas but it had not work, so he was time for him to use another method "Brooke, you need to understand that for Lucas Scott you are just a whore, only way cheaper because at least he does not need to pay you!" When those few words came from Nathan's mouth, he froze. He did thought that for Lucas Brooke was just another girl, but he never intended to say it like that. "Look, what I mean is that..."

"I think it was pretty clear" simply said Brooke before leaving the table to head out. She had known Nathan for years now and he had never ever talked to her like that. He felt like a complete different person and it seemed that Lucas was bringing this dark side of him. Maybe, Lucas was not the bad guy after all, maybe Nathan was. Brooke was clearly confused by all this, but mostly she felt heart.

Nathan had not said a word since Brooke left. He knew what he said was wrong but he was submerged with his rage against Lucas and was just not able to control it. He believed he was right though. He knew that what he said was right, he just wished it had come out differently.

"Maybe I should run after her and talk to her..." said Nathan finally realizing that he should probably apologize to Brooke for the way he talked to her (not for what he said, just for the way he said it).

"Or maybe you should just leave her alone" said Haley calmly. She was as upset as Brooke was. Nathan had always been sweet and calm, she did not understand how he got the strength to talk to her like that and mostly why he did it. As right as he was, he had no excuse for the way he talked to her.

"Haley..." started Nathan but was interrupted by Haley who decided that now was the time to tell him what was on her mind.

"No Nathan! You had no right to talk to her like this..." she started yelling

"I know..." agreed Nathan apologetically "But I had my reasons..."

"What reasons could it possibly be Nathan, and Anna is definitely not enough!"

Nathan had hidden behind Anna's situation to justify his behavior toward Lucas, but Haley did not believe in it anymore. There must be something, something way bigger than what happened with Anna to justify his excessive reactions.

"I just don't want her to be hurt" admitted Nathan honestly. As crazy as it may seem, the only thing that Nathan wanted was for Brooke to be happy. She did not want her to be hurt by Lucas but it seemed that he was the one hurting her now and it made him feel sick.

"Don't you think she's hurt now ?" asked Haley "She only wants her friends to be by her side through whatever she is doing with Lucas. She believes that she can be happy with him so why don't you just let her be!"

"I can't...I just can't" said Nathan it was like all his body was opposed to this idea of Brooke being with Lucas. It drove him crazy.

"But she's your best friend, Nathan don't you want her to be happy ?!"

"I do, but not with him...I...I love her too much for that..."

"I love her too but..." but Haley abruptly interrupted. Something had hit her, something that was so obvious that she did not understand how she could have missed it. Nathan did not like Brooke like Haley did, he was in love with her. "You're in love with her" finally said Haley in a whisper putting everything together. Nathan did not say a word. It was weird for him to hear those words. It was like he was acknowledging it, like everything he had refrained had become real. He had tried to hide his feelings for years now because he knew Brooke did not feel the same and that it would create a mess in their relationship if he said everything. But seeing her with Lucas drove him so crazy that he was not able to hide is feelings anymore, as hard as he tried.

"For how long ?" asked Haley in shock. She had been loving Nathan secretly for years when in fact he was in love with her best friend. It was like being in a nightmare. All the things she had hoped for her and Nathan vanished with those few words.

"I..I don't know...years. I've been trying to hide everything but seeing her with Lucas, it's just not possible...I just...I can't do it but I don't want to lose her either" said Nathan in despair. A real battle was occurring in his mind on that very moment he was torn between the love he had for Brooke and the will of maintaining their strong friendship. Haley felt even worse than he did. She was heart broken.

"Then, you should tell her how you feel" simply said Haley.

As much as Haley loved Nathan, and as much as she wanted to be with him what she wanted the most was for Nathan to be happy and if it meant that he had to be with Brooke to be happy, so be it.

Nathan was really hesitating on revealing everything to Brooke, in a way it could serve his interest because Brooke would understand why he was vigorously opposed to the idea of her dating Lucas, and maybe she would discover that she loved him too. But what frightened Nathan the most was that she might not feel the same for him at all and his revelation might put an end to their friendship. And as much as he loved Brooke, he did not want to lose her. He needed her in his life, even if it only meant to be a friend.

When Nathan left the house looking for Brooke, he knew exactly where she was; the beach. Brooke always told him that watching the sea and listen to the waves calmed her down and helped her to think, and after what had just happened at dinner, she really needed some time.

"Can I sit ?" asked Nathan standing beside Brooke. Brooke was clearly annoyed to see Nathan, after what he had told her, he was definitely the last person she wanted to see or talk to. Unfortunately, Nathan was not willing to leave her alone after he had opened himself to her. "Please" added Nathan begging with his eyes. Brooke smiled inside, as mad as she was with him she could not help but find him cute at that very moment. To be honest, Brooke usually had a hard time staying mad at Nathan because he always found a way to be forgiven and most importantly, she knew he was not a bad guy. He was sweet, kind and caring and guy friends like him were really difficult to find nowadays. However, it was different today. He had crossed a line that he had never crossed before and it really made Brooke questioned herself on whether he was the guy she always though he was.

Brooke did not say anything but waived at the empty place beside her to indicate him that he could sit. "Thanks" simply said Nathan before taking a deep breath. He was shaking in the inside, he had a big speech coming ahead and he did not know if he was ready for it, but did he really had a choice ? "I'm sorry..." started Nathan "I'm really really sorry...I...I should not have said what I said, it was completely out of line and so not true...You know I don't think about you like that Brooke..."

"Then why did you say it ?" Nathan's words were ringing in her head right now and she felt like crying. She try to refrain her tears but she could not and this broke Nathan's heart. He never thought, ever that he would be the one to make her cry, he loved her too much for that and yet here he was, Lucas was not the cause of her sadness. He was. He slowly got closer to her and attempted to took her into his arms but she pushed him away, once, twice but the third time she did not resist him and fall into his arms.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." said Nathan stroking slowly her hair and then he thought that maybe it was time to tell her, time to tell her everything.

When Haley woke up the next morning, she had a massive headache. Haley was not a heavy drinker but after finding out Nathan's feelings for Brooke she thought that her only remedy was to drink away her pain. So, she went to a bar couple blocks away from her house and let a man she thought charming at the time buy herself a drink. She did not remember him though, the only thing she could remember was his wonderful blue eyes and the fact that she had already seen him somewhere.

"Where am I ?" thought Haley, she was certainly not in her bed in that moment. She probably let that man take her to his place and they definitely had sex together, which did not seem like a bad thing because she seriously needed to get laid. But when the door open, she realized that maybe, she had done a huge mistake.

"Oh my god!"

"Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ignore"

Hope you enjoyed it, stay tuned for the next chapter and Being In My Twenties will be updated soon too ;)

Have a nice week!