Hey everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever; I had writers block when it came to this story (hopefully that's over!). Thank you all so much for the reviews, and especially for being so patient with me. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. You get a little insight to why Nathan is the way he is. There isn't a lot of NB action, but there is some to come in the future chapters! Enjoy!

Chapter 12: All Around Me

Brooke poured some coffee into her mug. She tightened the hold on her robe that she had walked downstairs wearing. She was exhausted. When times arose such as these, she always stayed up at night, thoughts running through her mind over and over. Why was she lying to herself? Why was she lying to Haley and, especially to Nathan? A few years ago, she wouldn't have had any trouble telling herself, and others who she liked. But, things were different now. Her life had changed, and what she was feeling was definitely different.

She was sure he was done with her. His "feelings" were gone. Did he ever really have them in the first place? He was so unlike any other guy she's ever known; she was sure he was just using her for some twisted game. But, when she was with him . . . that was another story. And he had told her time and time again that this was anything but a game. Isn't that how all the bad stories begin though? Girl likes boy, girl falls for boy because she believes said boy, and ends up with her heart broken. Brooke Davis didn't do broken hearts, not anymore. And, she didn't do cliché stories such as those.

Brooke picked up her mug and brought it to the kitchen table. She looked over at the calendar, realizing that her dad would be coming home tomorrow. Sighing heavily, she took a seat. A part of her wanted to see her father, but another part didn't. Their relationship wasn't great; everyone could see that. She was sure he loved her, and he often said he did, but he didn't do the regular things a girl's father should do. He wasn't protective, he wasn't stern. It was no wonder why Brooke turned out to be the way she is.

Nathan's bedroom door squeaked open; the butterflies began in her stomach. She shook her head, telling herself to stop acting like a little girl with a crush. Truth was, she was terrified. She never knew how her encounters with Nathan would turn out to be. She wanted him to ignore her because that would make things so much easier, but she also wanted him to talk to her. She wanted him to look at her like he had so many times before.

"So, you'll call me later?" Rachel asked as she and Nathan walked into the kitchen.

Brooke rolled her eyes; the mere sound of the girl's voice annoyed her to no end.

"Oh. Good morning, Brooke!" The voice was fake and forced; Brooke wasn't stupid.

"Hi, hoe." Brooke sung in response before taking in another sip of her coffee.

"Excuse me?" Rachel asked, walking closer to her.

"You heard me."

Before Rachel could say anything, Nathan grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, placing his lips forcefully against her own. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who could feel a fight about to begin. He knew Rachel and he knew Brooke; nothing good would come out of this. On the other hand, Brooke was sure he did it just for show. She shifted in her seat and turned her eyes away from the hideous sight. Anger built up inside of her. How dare him. He was just looking for a way to piss her off, and it was working.

Rachel laughed once Nathan had detached, for a lack of a better word, himself from her. Once again, Brooke rolled her eyes.

"See you later." Rachel said to Nathan. As she walked past Brooke, she sent her a glare, before walking out the door.

"You disgust me." Brooke mumbled.

Nathan let out a loud laugh while taking a seat next to her at the table. "Jealous?" He leaned closer to her, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow." She shook her head. "Like I could ever be jealous of the relationship you have with Rachel."

He shrugged, keeping the close distance between them.

"You're so obvious, Nathan." She said, challenging him.

"Is that so?"

"You're using Rachel and you know it. Why don't you just break her heart now before it's too late?"

"Now, how do you know that I'm going to break her heart?" He asked.

"That's what you do; it's who you are." She got up from her seat and walked over to the sink. She could feel his eyes on her the whole time, but she didn't dare to turn around. Who he was – that was why she wouldn't let him in. She knew the pain all too well. And she was sure he didn't have the slightest idea of what it was like to feel that way.

She turned around and jumped back slightly. He was standing directly in front of her. She had been so deep in thought she hadn't had the slightest clue that he had made his way over to her. She brought her eyes to his and folded her arms defensively over her chest. "You think that's all I've ever been?" His words were quiet, but not enough to sum up to a whisper. Maybe he felt hurt by her words; she didn't know. But, at this moment, he looked vulnerable.

Brooke shrugged not knowing what to say to him. How could she not think all he did was break girls' hearts?

Nathan shook his head briefly. "You don't know anything about me." He walked away, leaving Brooke to collect her thoughts.

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"Brooke."

What was she going to do? Her dad was going to come back tomorrow and she still had unsettled feelings with Nathan. The Rachel thing was bothering her, and more importantly, the look in his eyes when he uttered the words 'you don't know anything about me' pained her. They looked so tragic.

"Brooke." Haley repeated, throwing her out of her trance.

"Yeah?" She asked quickly.

"What's gotten into you?"

They took a seat in the lunchroom, trays in hand. Haley sat directly across from Brooke as per usual. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"No way! Really?" Sarcasm streamed through Haley's words, which wasn't an uncommon thing when it came to Haley James. "Please tell me this doesn't have anything to do with a certain boy we know."

Brooke bit down on her bottom lip, averting eye contact with her friend.

"Of course." Haley said.

"I'm sorry! It's just, we had a," She paused trying to find the right word, "discussion this morning."

"Discussion? What the hell does that mean?"

"Well, he was with Rachel this morning." Brooke said, recalling the whole incident. "And I told him he might as well break her heart now and get it over with."

"Okay?"

"He wanted to know if that's all I thought he was, a heartbreaker, and I guess I said yes."

"You're definitely right about that one."

"I know." She was trying to convince herself that everything that had happened this morning was what should have happened. She didn't need to take pity on someone who acted the way he did. "I mean, he's never actually had a serious relationship, right?"

"Well…." Haley smiled unsurely.

"Well, what?"

"He dated this girl once." Was all Haley said.

"And you're just telling me this now?" Brooke's voice was uneasy. This was just the thing she feared, to be wrong about Nathan all along. She didn't want to hear this; she couldn't. But then again, she had to.

"A couple of years ago, he dated this girl named Taylor Brown. They were pretty serious." Haley took a bite of her sandwich and swallowed, "Actually, they were very serious."

"So, what happened?" Brooke inquired.

"She and Nathan were in a car accident; he was driving."

Brooke's mouth dropped slightly as Haley continued, "Nathan walked away without a scratch. She, on the other hand, was in the hospital for a few weeks. Once she was released, her parents moved away from Tree Hill. Apparently they wanted her as far away from him as possible. He was pretty heartbroken; they dated for a year. But, ever since then, he's been using girl's non-stop."

Brooke shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. Why hadn't Haley told her sooner?

"I wanted to tell you, Brooke, I did. But, you just had so much going on with your mom's death. I didn't want anything to be a reminder."

"No, it's okay." Brooke got up from the table. "I'll, um, see you later."

She walked away, taking her tray with her. She wasn't mad at Haley, not at all. She was mad at herself. She couldn't have feelings for Nathan because she thought that he would just have his fun with her and be done with it. Now that she knew Nathan was capable of having feelings for someone, real feelings, she didn't know what to do.

Or maybe, she did.

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