A/N: Sorry it took so long to update everyone. Real life is a bitch. Anyway, I thought I had already posted this chapter and apparently I haven't so, here it is. I have another chapter ready so it shouldn't be so long before another update. I'm really sorry. Hope ya'll are still reading. :) Enjoy.

Chapter Ten

Where do we go from here?

Lucas POV

School was looming like the thought of an end of the earth catastrophe and I was not looking forward to it for the first time in years. I had always liked school. Haley and I had been that way. We looked forward to learning. It was the geek part of us. This year was no different for Haley who was consumed in making things right with Nathan. She had all but moved back into the Scott house with him and his parents. She spent most nights there but I knew that would change soon since they were finally apartment hunting again. That wasn't the point though. The point was I was not looking forward to school and I knew exactly why. There were two reasons and their names were Brooke and Savannah.

It wasn't that they weren't getting along. I didn't have that problem. Nate did, because Haley still didn't like Savannah, but I did not have that problem. It was worse for me. They were getting along great, despite the fact that Savannah was aware of the feelings I had for Brooke and Brooke knew that I wasn't gonna break up with Savannah. The pressure was killing me.

"Lucas, come on crazy. Let's go." Haley popped into my room and grinned at me even though I was sitting on my bed staring into space, "We're gonna be late for the bonfire."

"I can't do this." I knew I was being stupid but I put my head in my hands and groaned, "I just can't."

"Can't what? Go to the beach? It's dark vampire Luke. No sunshine rays to burn you to death. Come on." Haley moved into the room and tugged on my arm but I didn't move, "Luke, seriously. What's wrong?"

"I love her."

"Um… which her are we talking about today? Savannah or Brooke?"

That was the question of the week. My feelings flipped faster than the possession of a basketball in an NBA game. I couldn't make up my mind. Today though, today the her was Brooke.

"Brooke."

"Lucas, you have to snap out of this and just pick one seriously. You get more and more miserable every day and you keep…" Haley made wild hand gestures and groaned, "Flip flopping back and forth between them."

"Believe me Haley, I know. I just… I care about Savannah. I do. I don't want to hurt her but I really do love Brooke."

"Then choose Brooke."

I glared at her because she made it sound so simple. It was not that simple. There were people's feelings involved. When feeling's were involved, nothing was ever simple.

"Are you saying to choose Brooke because you don't like Savannah or because you really think I should choose Brooke?"

"Does the answer 'both' work for that question? Luke, you just said you love Brooke. Love is what matters and if you love Brooke, and Brooke loves you, then you should be together. And yeah… I don't like the Californian slut you call your girlfriend right now. I would like to see her be dumped. But ignore that fact." Haley sat down next to me on the bed and took my hand gently in her hand, squeezing it which was meant to reassure me, "Luke, you've been my best friend for a very long time. I trust you to make this decision and do that right thing, but if we don't leave this house in the next five seconds, I might kill you before you have the chance. Nathan is waiting for me. Let's go."

She pulled me off the bed and practically dragged me out the front door. I had the ten minute car ride to think about what I was going to do.

Much to Haley's disgust, when we arrived at the beach for the bonfire, Nathan was giving Savannah a piggy back ride around the site while she screamed happily. Brooke was nowhere in sight but that didn't mean she wasn't around. I didn't want to dump Savannah before I knew Brooke wanted this like I did, even though that sounded selfish of me.

"Hey, how about removing your girlfriend from my husband before I decapitate her?" Haley asked me sweetly.

She scared me sometimes when she got protective. I couldn't talk to Savannah yet though. I needed to find Brooke.

"Sorry Hales, I need to find Brooke first. Just go say hi. She'll get the point I'm sure."

Haley glared but sighed and headed that way. I went the opposite direction, hoping to find Brooke in the midst of cars parked in the area.

I recognized a lot of the people who were already there. The cheerleaders and a lot of the basketball team. I saw Skillz and the guys from the Rivercourt hanging out. Mouth and Erika looked as happy as ever which made me smile. Mouth was one guy who definitely deserved to be happy.

I finally found Brooke with Peyton at Peyton's car, trying to pull boxes of records from the back seat.

"Need some help?" I offered and they both looked up at me with smiles.

"Thanks Lucas." Brooke stepped out of the way and let me pick up the box from the car. She grinned at me the whole time and it made me feel good. This was the right decision. I could feel it.

"I uh, actually need to talk to you. After I drop this off, can you meet me up here to talk?"

Brooke raised a curious eyebrow but nodded.

"I'll wait right here."

I smiled at her and then headed off, following Peyton to the DJ booth.

"So, what's going on? You gonna do the ass thing and cheat on your girlfriend again?" Peyton asked as we walked.

"First of all, no and second of all, you really can't accuse me of anything because it was you I cheated with remember?"

"Yeah I know." Peyton smiled and winked, "But the guy is always the ass in that situation Luke. Haven't you learned anything?"

"Haha." I mock laughed and set my box of records down by her DJ booth, "Talked to Ellie lately?"

The subject of her birth mother was still a bit sore for her and she glared at me, not really getting mad but glaring nonetheless. We traded barbs like this a lot and I knew I wouldn't offend her.

"Seriously, what's the talk with Brooke? I just wanna know which of my friends I'm gonna have to console at this party."

I sighed.

"I just wanna make sure she feels the way I do. Then I'm gonna dump Savannah."

In true Savannah form, she picked that moment to run over to us and hug me.

"Hey sexy, I thought I saw you. Why didn't you come say hi?" She questioned.

"I told Peyton I'd help her carry her records." I was only half lying to her, "She's got one more box so I'm gonna go grab it."

"Ok." Savannah grinned, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me softly, "I have an idea I think you might like. Come find me when you're done."

"Ok."

I unwrapped her from my neck and headed back towards Peyton's car leaving her and Peyton at the DJ booth. The night was going to get messy and I could feel it. I didn't want it to, but I knew it would. You can't break up with one girl and get together with another one in one night without a mess.

"Hey." I approached Brooke who was sitting on the hood of Peyton's car.

"Hey." She replied.

There was silence between us for a minute before I got the nerve to begin talking.

"I um… This situation sucks right? I mean, with you leaving and when you get back I'm with another girl and all this stuff… it sucks."

"Yeah." Brooke had the confused look on her face that she got whenever she had no clue what I was talking about.

"I just… I don't like the situation either. If I had known that you were coming home or knew that you still had feelings for me, I would have never…"

"It's cool Lucas. You don't have to apologize for moving on. I had no right to expect you to just wait for me all summer without even the slightest hint that I felt the same way."

"But I didn't move on Brooke."

There it was. The truth. I hadn't moved on at all. I had just filled in the spot with someone else. If Brooke had never come back, I probably would have moved on for real, but she was back and therefore my heart would not move on when it could have what it really wanted.

"I still love you. I just wanted to know that you felt the same way before I tell Savannah."

She was visibly stunned. Silence was not something anyone could illicit from Brooke on a regular basis. But here she was, silent.

"I feel the same way Lucas." Brooke admitted it, she loved me too. "But we can't do this to Savannah. She's my friend."

"I think it's gonna be ok though. That night that you came back and we had dinner at her parents house?"

"Yeah."

I had never said anything to anyone about what Savannah had said to me because I had been so torn between the two since then, but I needed Brooke to know that Savannah would be ok with this.

"She told me that night that if I was still in love with you, all I had to do was say the word. And maybe that was her way of being tough and pretending she didn't care, but I really think she's gonna be ok if we do this. You don't know her the way I do, but she's strong. She'll be ok."

Brooke was very hesitant. I knew she was hesitating because of Savannah but there was something else in her eyes. Another hesitation and it was the same one that had been there at the beginning of the summer. She didn't trust me.

"Give me a chance to prove that you can trust me again." I could only think of one way to really show her how I felt and that required being closer to her. A lot closer.

I lifted her chin so our eyes could lock. She was close to tears but she smiled slightly, knowing what was coming next. I moved in slightly and kissed her, barely a brush of our lips against the other, but a soft, sensuous kiss to tell her how much she meant to me.

"I don't want her to hate me." She whispered against my lips, "I like her."

"I like her too." I whispered back, "It'll be ok. I promise."

It wasn't a promise I could really make but I made it anyway, hoping that I wouldn't break it.

"Ok, then you should tell her." Brooke agreed, "Tell her so we can give this another try."

"Ok." I kissed her one more time and felt myself begin to smile, "I'm gonna go find her. I'll find you later."

"Ok."

I left the car and headed back to the party, bumping into Savannah when I was almost all the way back. She raised an eyebrow at me as if something was wrong and I suddenly hoped I didn't have lipstick on or something to alarm her.

"Where's the box you went to get?" She asked.

Crap. I had told her there was another box.

"Um… there wasn't another box." All I could do was be honest with her at this point. Now was a good a time as any to talk to her I suppose, "I need to talk to you."

"Don't." She sighed and took a moment to just look at me, "Don't make this into a big deal. We both knew it was coming. Just let it end."

"Um…" I wasn't sure what she meant, but it sounded like a good idea, although I had expected to be saying something like that to her instead, "That night at your house. You told me that if I still loved Brooke, all I had to do was say the word."

"And now you are." Savannah nodded in full comprehension, "I knew you'd say it eventually. I expected you to say it the night Nathan returned and instead you told me you loved me. I suspected that was just to keep me around until you figured things out. It's ok Luke. I'm not stupid and I'm not gonna try to stand in the way. Be with her."

"She doesn't want you to be mad at her. She likes having you as a friend."

"You'll both still be my friends." Savannah grinned, "I'm serious Luke, I was expecting this. I'm cool with it. You'll be happier."

I hadn't expected it to be that easy. I hoped it would be, but I hadn't expected it. She was letting me off the hook without even a real explanation.

"You can yell at me if you want to." I assured her, pulling her into my arms for a relieved hug.

She laughed and hugged me back.

"Good luck Lucas. Brooke is a firecracker. She may even have more spunk than me. You're gonna have your hands full."

"Trust me I know." I let her pull out of the hug and smiled at her, wanting to kiss her just one last time, "Thank you."

She let me kiss her softly and then pulled away with a wave and smile, walking away.

"You're welcome!"