AN: Ok...so for this chapter let me give credit to my great reviewers who had the idea of letting Peyton slip about Broody to Lucas… So a special thank you to Brucas2006, BrucasForeva and Dinci for your great idea and I hope I did it justice! Keep your suggestions coming guys they are helping me immensely!

You might find Lucas a bit out of character at this chapter…but…I don't really think he is. Let's just say I don't consider him as the perfect guy that can do no wrong…under given circumstances…he can act as a first class jerk!

Finally again I'm not sure how realistic the whole lie he's telling to Haley is…but I couldn't think of anything better! lol

I hope you'll enjoy the chapter and please review:D

Chapter 12

Gaining a Better Understanding

Taking the opportunity Brooke's date with Nathan offered them, Peyton had suggested that maybe she and Lucas could spend sometime alone. Lately they were always hanging out with Nate, Hales and Jake and with Brooke's arrival the time they spend together had further decreased. Now with school and basketball practices starting their alone time would become even less and she had missed having Lucas all to herself. Lucas had agreed, though not that thrilled she sensed, and suggested they stayed in, since Dan and Deb were at Charlotte for some business leaving the Scott's house at their disposal. So Peyton had rented some dvds and got at his house just in time to see Nathan leaving for his big date with Brooke. She had found Lucas absorbed in one of his books complaining about a headache he couldn't shake off since last night. He was really in a very bad mood and Peyton naturally attributed that to Dan. With school starting Dan was bound to become extremely pushy as usual and Lucas never handled that as well as Nathan did. And Nathan didn't really handle it that well. So she had left him read for a while, while she turned to her sketches leaving him to cool off. About an hour later she got hungry and they both prepared something quick to eat. All this time Lucas was even less talkative than usual getting Peyton really worried about him. However he was not willing to talk and Peyton accepted that, Lucas rarely talked about Dan anyway. The most information Peyton had was from Nate who was usually thrilled at the opportunity to vent out on Dan or Haley that apparently had learned a lot about the man being so close to both the Scott brothers. Finally they put on the first movie she had chosen a mystery thriller, and hoped that it would get Lucas distracted. It must have worked because he seemed really absorbed with the movie.

"So this was a really good movie" Peyton said turning to face Lucas who was sprawled on the couch beside her as the ending credits rolled off on the tv set.

"Yeah, it was cool" Lucas replied taking a glance at the time blinking on the vcr again. Almost midnight.

"Did you guess he was the murderer? I was totally blown away at the end" Peyton went on enthusiastically.

"Yeah…I didn't saw that coming" Who was the murderer again? He had lost track of the plot somewhere around the first twenty minutes into the movie. Maybe he should watch it sometime; Peyton really seemed enthusiastic about it.

"Do you want me to put on the other one, or aren't you in the mood?" He still seemed a little off to her to be honest.

"Sure, go ahead, just let me grab another aspirin" Lucas shrugged as he got up from the couch stretching his legs.

"Still with that headache?" She asked concerned.

Lucas nodded in reply and headed to the kitchen. The headache had actually intensified the last hour. It was getting late and still no sign of Nathan. What the fuck? How long do a movie and a dinner last anyway? That's what he had told him they were doing. Just a typical date…a movie and then dinner at the docks. But he had left at seven! Seven! That made almost five hours now! Where the hell was he?

Lucas rummaged through the kitchen drawers and finally found the bottle of aspirins he was looking for. Taking two he downed them with some water. He rubbed his temples gingerly. This headache didn't seem willing to let go. It had started the moment he realized who Cheery was and it kept going worse and worse last night. Both his conversations with Brooke about Haley and then later on with Haley about Brooke did little to help. Actually he could still hear both girls' yelling in his head. They had both thrown quite a fit and he was at the receiving end of their wrath. Haley would be furious to know what he was thinking but he couldn't help but notice how similarly both girls acted, maybe all women acted that way unable to carry a civilized conversation and resorting to hysterics. He still wondered who would win in a screaming contest between the two of them. It would be a tough break, Lucas thought with amusement. Now if someone told Hales she and Brooke had something in common…God help him. After their discussion the way she looked and talked to Brooke was…truthfully Lucas had admired Brooke's coolness. He sat all that time Haley kept insulting her expecting to see her lunge at her and thought that at least Nathan would probably enjoy the catfight that was bound to erupt. But Brooke…she just smiled and took one insult after the other like she was too stupid to realize what Hales was saying, playing the brainless slut card to the fullest. He felt like shit sitting there saying nothing…he wanted to make Haley shut up and stop hurting Brooke, but how could he? Especially since all he could do was pretend that he agreed with everything Haley said. Especially since he knew the things he had told her…the lies he had told her were one of the reasons she was acting that way.

After the decision he and Brooke had taken about what they were going to tell Hales, Lucas slowly made his way back to their table taking his time so he could think of some more details about the story he was about to tell her. He always wanted to be a writer so he could take this opportunity to see how good he was in fiction. He hadn't really thought of a coherent plan but he decided to improvise as time was of the issue. The longer he waited the bigger the chance Haley talked to someone about this. So he would go with the flow and hope he sounded convincing. He felt so nervous and the only thing that comforted him was that Haley would never in a million years guess what was really going on. He didn't know what she was thinking was going on but he was sure she would never imagine the truth, that he might …he might like…a girl like Brooke. He still couldn't quite process it himself. So whatever Haley was suspecting was far from the truth and that was a good thing he supposed.

He approached the table reluctantly.

"Where did you go this time Luke?" Peyton asked.

"I was at the back, checking if everything was ok" Lucas answered catching Hales disbelieving gaze.

"Well, take a seat" Peyton suggested patting the place next to her.

"Actually, Hales, do you think we could talk for a minute?" Lucas asked turning to her.

"Sure" Haley nodded getting up and following him to a back room leaving a curious Peyton behind.

As soon as they got in the room and Lucas closed the door behind him Haley turned to him looking pretty angry.

"You were with her" She said accusingly.

Lucas sighed. Ok…so at least he knew she had figured it out so he wouldn't accidentally be making things even worse by revealing more than she knew. Now he contemplated denying it…but he found it futile.

"I was talking to Brooke, yes" He replied with a nod.

"What the hell is going on here, Luke?" Haley yelled at him.

"It's not as bad as it looks, really" He started with his pathetic excuses.

"Really? Because to me it seems like you and your girlfriend's best friend know each other pretty well, while you pretend you have never seen each other! Tell me what I didn't understand correctly?" Haley asked crossing her arms in front of her.

"We don't know each other that well" Lucas sighed leaning against the wall.

"But you do know each other, right? You have met before! When? How? Why are you hiding it?!" Haley kept on yelling.

"Calm down Hales, I can explain" He said calmly.

"I'm listening!"

"Yes, Brooke and I have met before"

"When?"

"Last summer, when she came here" Lucas said avoiding looking Haley in the eyes.

"How did you meet? Where?"

"It's not that important Hales"

"Oh I think it is! Why are you hiding it Luke? Why are you both lying at Peyton? What happened between the two of you?"

"Nothing…what are you implying Hales?" Great…he was now playing it like he was offended. Brooke was right…he did have a knack at this he thought with self-resentment.

"Hell if I know! I'm trying to understand here, Luke! But honestly…" Haley said shaking her head.

"If you would just give me a chance to explain!"

"Please do!"

"As I said we met last summer. Actually we kinda of got into this fight."

"A fight?"

"Yeah…erm…" Lucas hesitated shoving his hands in his pockets nervously.

"What did the two of you fight about?" Haley asked again impatiently.

"Well…come on Hales, you've seen her, do you think it is that hard for her to get to someone?" He asked hoping to get in Haley's good graces by making her believe he agreed with her on her opinion about Brooke.

"True, she is a self-centered bitch. She drives me crazy every time she opens her mouth or gives that fake smile of hers to me…She is unbelievable!"

"Exactly" Lucas cringed but agreed. What could he do anyway? Tell her what her smile and hoarse voice did to him?

"So what did she do to you?" Haley asked not yelling this time.

It was working Lucas thought observing how Haley seemed to relax a bit. He was too guilty to feel any kind of relief about it. He was playing mind games with his best friend, using her dislike for Brooke to his advantage and he couldn't feel good about that.

"I met her at mom's café. I was working a shift there when she came. I was the lucky one to get to serve her and she drove me absolutely crazy"

"How come she didn't tell us she had been there when we were there yesterday?"

"Maybe she forgot? I don't know" Lucas shrugged. Crap he had forgotten they met there yesterday.

"So…" Haley said expecting more details obviously.

"Well, she made me wait for her order for the longest time and then just ordered some coffee which she made me take back about four or five times always complaining about it" He could actually see her do something like that, but why did he still find her that appealing?

"God…she would totally do that! Didn't I tell you about her this morning? She thinks she's the queen of the world and everybody needs to cater to her whims! That spoiled bitch!"

"Yeah…you were one hundred percent right, I just didn't know who you were talking about then…"

"So did you throw her out or something?" Haley asked curious.

"Erm…yeah… I finally got fed up with her and I threw her out"

"Good for you, Luke! How did she react?"

Now that he would receive a pat on the back for this was absolutely hilarious.

"She threw her coffee on me…and left…with some name calling on her way" There…did that sound good enough?

"Oh my God! What a bitch!"

Lucas shrugged, he had told his story and now it was time to see what Haley would do. Apparently she believed it, but was that good enough to keep her quiet?

"How come you didn't mention you knew her when Peyton told us about her, before she came?"

"I didn't know who she was. Really. I just figured that out today" Now this was actually the first truth that got out of his mouth he thought with a frown.

"Oh…I guess you couldn't have known" Haley agreed in understanding.

"When she came at the café last year… I just thought she was some spoiled rich girl visiting Tree Hill. I had no idea she was Peyton's friend. And then tonight, when we saw each other here, we remembered each other from then…and we were about to fight again I guess when we realized who the other one was"

"How?"

"Urm…I told her that my step-mom owes this club and she realized it. Then she told me who she was. And that was about the time when Skillz walked in on us"

"So why did you decide to lie?" Haley asked skeptically.

"For Peyton's sake"

"Luke!!" Haley whined.

"Brooke said that the fact that we disliked each other so much was going to sadden Peyton and create tension among us. And I hate to admit it, but she is right. Peyton is so nervous about all of us getting along, this would only hurt her"

"So you agreed on lying?!"

"We thought we would just forget that it ever happened and try to start again for Peyt's sake! It wasn't such a big deal anyway."

"Yeah it wasn't! But your lying just made it into a big deal! You should have said something to us. I can't understand why you would agree on something like that! You know better than this!" Haley started scolding him.

"I know, I know! I shouldn't have gone along with it…but you know…I…I panicked! I was afraid she might do something if she got angry with me" Now, see….lying is kind of addictive…when you start with it, you never know when to shut up.

"Like what?" Haley asked frowning.

"I don't know…she could twist the truth and turn Peyt against me." He half-stated half-asked Haley.

"Yeah…I wouldn't put that past her. But do you really think Peyton would buy it?"

"She does trust her Hales. I don't know why, but she does. You know she would"

"Yeah…I guess you are right. I'm still not ok with this Luke. I still think it's very wrong!"

"I know…but Hales please, I have to ask you not to say anything" Lucas said pleading her with his eyes.

"Luke…" Haley resented and then something changed in her expression. "What about this morning?" She asked suspiciously.

Lucas looked at her shocked. How the hell could she know about this morning? What was she talking about?

"This morning?" He asked trying to hide his panic.

"Don't play dumb with me, Luke." She said frowning again.

He felt like a little boy lying to him mother about braking her favorite vase with the looks Haley was giving him.

"I really don't understand" He insisted trying to look as clueless as possible.

Haley just shook her head.

"Stop with the lies, Lucas. I heard you telling Peyton that you overslept this morning while you and I both know very well that you were at the Rivercourt since dawn"

Busted! Now he hadn't seen this one coming and obviously he didn't have any idea on how to respond to it.

"What does this have to do with what we're talking about?"

"You tell me!" Haley said sounding very angry again.

"Nothing! How could it?"

"So today is just a day you decided you couldn't tell a single truth to your girlfriend? Since when do you lie this much Luke?! What is wrong with you?"

"Brooke has nothing to do with this morning. The reason I didn't tell Peyt about my going to Rivercourt was so she wouldn't worry."

"Why would she be worried?" Haley asked again having a real hard time believing him.

"Because I told her how Dan had been lately, and she knows how we fight…and I didn't want her to know that I was so stressed out that I got up in the crack of dawn and went to play…She would only worry and stress about it herself" So at least the reasons behind his going to Rivercourt were true.

"Really?" Haley asked cautiously.

"C'mon buddy! You do believe me, don't you? Why would I lie to you?" The fact that he was able to say all this crap and still look her in the eyes was really revealing about himself.

"Okay Luke, I believe you. But still I don't know about the whole hiding it thing"

"Please…you know how it's gonna look now! And who knows how Brooke will react." He said sounding pretty much desperate…he actually was.

"Fine! I won't say anything to Peyton" Haley agreed with dismay.

"Erm…Hales…you won't say anything to anyone" Now he was pushing his luck…

"What?!"

"Nobody needs to know" He said firmly.

"Nathan sure as hell does!" Haley yelled.

"No…he really doesn't. Why would he?"

"Because he's so into her! C'mon Luke you must have seen it!"

"So?" Yeap…he saw it alright! He himself had spent most of his time this evening thinking what he could do to change that…but telling him this fairytale wouldn't cut it.

"So? So he needs to see her for the bitch she really is!" Haley yelled frustrated.

"Do you really think this is gonna make any difference to Nate?"

"It has to!"

"Hales…you and I both know that Nate couldn't care less about this. He might even find it amusing."

"But…" Haley started protesting weakly.

"Besides…it's bad enough you know…I wouldn't want to force Nate to have to lie to Peyton as well. We should keep this to ourselves"

"God, Luke! How did you get into this mess?"

"I have no idea…I just want to forget this whole thing. Please buddy, I'm asking you as a favor, forget about it" He would resort to begging if he had to, he was that desperate by now.

"I can't Luke. I can't forget it"

Lucas looked at her horrified.

"But you're my best friend. And though I don't agree with your actions, since this is what you want and since you're asking me…I really don't have a choice, do I? I'll stay quiet, Luke" Haley gave in.

Lucas felt a huge surge of relief passing through him as he pulled Haley into a tight hug.

"Thanks, buddy! Thank you so much!" He whispered.

So after this talk no wonder Haley was being so harsh with Brooke. But after all Brooke had agreed with this. They really didn't have that much of a choice. If only he wasn't feeling as guilty…about lying to Hales…about lying to Peyton and about…well about everything concerning Brooke. But whilst he was feeling like that, Brooke apparently was not that bothered since she managed to get herself a date with his brother.

He had been watching her with Nate all night long and when he heard about their date at the parking lot…he completely lost it. He must have looked like an idiot to her, he saw her looking at him and she could probably tell how much what she just did had hurt him. So without thinking about it that much, he tried to hurt her as much as she just had. So he kissed Peyton. He felt bad using Peyton like that, but this thought came to him only hours later when he was lying alone in his bed. What he felt when he broke that kiss and took a look at Brooke's pale face was pure satisfaction…that lasted about a second and then the guilt for hurting her once again settled in. He just couldn't settle with one mood where she was concerned. She always seemed to leave him in eternal conflict. He hated seeing her so hurt but he was thrilled to know that he had such power over her. He had no idea on what she was thinking or feeling…whether she liked or hated him, but he was certain she wasn't indifferent to him.

He had debated all night when they got home telling everything to Nathan but he realized that it wouldn't make any difference anyway. Even if Nate decided not to pursue something with her, surely someone else would. So he would have to accept seeing her with other guys and he was certain that as soon as the first shock passed he would be perfectly fine with it. The fact that he now saw her with his own brother stung a little more of course but he doubted it would last long anyway. She was just having her fun, they both were, he kept on repeating to himself.

And that's how he had spend pretty much his entire day seemingly reading his book while all he was doing was thinking about yesterday's events, thinking about Brooke. But when Nate left for their date and as the hours passed and he didn't return he was getting more and more anxious and frustrated. He couldn't and wouldn't think about what was happening with his brother and Cheery. No.

Sighing heavily he put the glass he was still holding in the sink and headed back to the living room and to his worried girlfriend.

"So what is the second movie about?" He asked with fake interest as he took another glance at the time.

"Another thriller" Peyton shrugged apologetically. "I really couldn't find anything else at the video store, everything was already rented out, it was a bit of a last moment when I finally got there. Brooke kept me busy all afternoon deciding what to wear at her big date"

"They should have been back by now, shouldn't they?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, I bet Brooke will call me the minute Nate leaves her, I'm sure she would want to give me all the details"

"How fascinating!" Lucas replied sarcastically.

"Oh, don't be like that Luke. She was really excited about their date and to be honest so am I. I mean it would be great if the two of them got together, don't you think?"

NO! There was nothing great about that…the idea was…disgusting. And Brooke was really excited? That was just great. Since yesterday he had a few hopes that she had agreed to this date only to spite him…and now Peyton said that she actually wanted it?

"It's really not of my business. Or yours for that matter" He replied a bit harshly.

"I know that! It's not like I'm doing anything to force something between them…I just introduced them and they did the rest of it all on their own" Peyton said smiling.

"They didn't do anything, Pey! They just went on a date. For all we know it might have gone horribly. Have you thought about that?"

"Not really, I mean I think they're really good together. They have many things in common and they did seem to have a nice time yesterday at Tric's, so I don't see why the date would have gone horribly. Besides if it had they would be back by now" She said grinning with meaning causing Lucas's headache to go up a notch.

"Do you think you should give her a call to see if everything is ok?" he asked hesitantly.

"Why would I do that? She's with Nate, they're gonna be fine! Stop worrying Luke, what are you his father?"

"No…it's…I'm just saying he's late"

"Well, I'm sure they're just having a good time. They probably went back to Brooke's place after their dinner"

Her house. Her empty house.

"Oh…you think?"

"Yeah…I can't call I would probably interrupt…God knows what!" Peyton giggled.

Lucas instinctively clenched his fists. This was a train of thoughts he had avoided at all costs the entire evening and here was Peyton now throwing it at his face. Of course they could have gone at her place that was what made his head pound. And now he was getting disturbing visuals he really didn't need or could handle.

"To tell you the truth, I'm kinda of relieved" Peyton continued with a sigh.

"Relieved? Why?"

"I was a bit nervous about the way this date would go but apparently I had no reason to" Peyton admitted reluctantly.

"But you just said that you thought they were good together, that yesterday they had a good time and that Brooke was really excited about it"

"Yeah…all that's true. And I still believe it…"

"But?" Lucas asked hardly containing his anxiety.

"Ok…do you promise not to tell anything about this to Nate?"

"Of course" He hurried to agree.

"Well…when Brooke met Nate she really liked him"

Ouch.

"I mean she really really did. But…"

"But?"

"But there is this other guy…" Peyton trailed off.

Lucas froze. Peyton hadn't mentioned any guys in Brooke's life. But of course with her looks and dazzling personality it was sure there would be a boyfriend larking around.

"Brooke has a boyfriend?" He almost screamed not being able to hide his surprise.

"No…no, of course not. Nothing like that"

Thank God!

"Then what? What do you mean there is this other guy? Someone she left behind at LA?"

"No…not from LA. She met Broody here"

Lucas almost jumped from the couch. Did she really just say Broody? He could hardly believe it! Finally he would get some answers.

"Broody?" He uttered. Well, it was the logical think to ask.

"Yeah, she doesn't even know his name…but that's how she calls him. She met him yesterday morning" Peyton continued with the story.

"So…what about this… Broody?" He asked as casually as possible while his heart was beating so fast he thought it would explode any minute now.

" Well…you're sure you're not going to tell this to Nathan?"

"Of course, Pey…I already told you that"

"Seriously, cause Brooke is gonna kill me if this gets to Nathan"

Probably she would kill her if she knew she was telling him about…well him! But Peyton had no way of knowing that…

"Really Peyt, I won't say a word to Nate. Trust me."

"Ok" Peyton nodded. "So it was not like it was such a big deal…they just had some fun together I guess"

Great…if he was to hear that one more time he would probably scream.

"Then why did it have you worried?"

"It was the way she talked about him"

Now they were getting somewhere.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he sat up in the couch better.

"I could tell he made quite an impression to her, and believe me Brooke is not one to be impressed easily"

"Really?" He asked raising his brows skeptically.

"Yeah…that's what worried me. She wouldn't stop talking about him all day yesterday. And not the way she usually talks about guys."

"What did she say?" Erm...maybe he should sound a bit less curious?

Peyton seemed surprised by the interest Lucas was taking into Brooke's love life, but since this subject was keeping him from the bad mood he had been all evening she decided to indulge him. He hadn't been that talkative since she got there and she was happy she was finally able to distract him. After all this concerned his brother as well so he was bound to get interested.

"Not that much…but it was quite unlike her. I mean she likes Nathan I can tell"

Yeah we covered that part already…on with it…

"But with Broody…it was really different. Ok so you're not telling Nate, but she seemed completely infatuated! I mean I really thought she had a crush on him!"

Now Lucas felt like getting up and doing some sort of victory dance. He knew it! She could deny it all she wanted! She could drool over Nate as much as she liked, but what he saw in her eyes when she looked at him that couldn't have been a lie. She felt it too, the connection he felt to her even if they spent so little time together. It meant nothing my ass…she wouldn't be that determined to keep it a secret if that was the case. Now he could finally understand why she didn't want to tell Peyton. What he still couldn't understand was why if she felt that way for him she was right now on a date with his brother!

"Is that so?" He finally uttered.

"Yeap…she seemed so happy and excited when she talked about him. I really thought Nate didn't stand a chance." Peyton admitted.

He fought really hard to keep the goofy grin that threatened to spread on his face.

"So I am happy to see that I was apparently wrong." Peyton continued.

"So you think you got the wrong impression yesterday?" He asked again feeling very disappointed. This talk with Peyton was supposed to help him understand not confuse him even further.

"I don't know it seems like yesterday night Nate might have managed to change her mind"

Lucas rubbed his forehead. Here came the headache again. Nathan didn't change her mind. It was the night's revelations that did the trick. What did he expect anyway?

"So she didn't talk about…that Broody anymore today?" He asked.

"Nope…well she didn't see him again, but he's at our school I guess she will on Monday. It was strange though…when I mentioned him today, she kind of …I don't know she seemed really upset and didn't want to talk about him. That's not like Brooke, believe me. It's really weird."

Nope…nothing weird about it.

"Anyway she was willing to give Nathan a chance yesterday so perhaps it was just that, an infatuation with that other guy and she totally forgot about him today"

"You really think so?"

"I don't know…to be honest she confused me. I mean I know Brooke pretty well. I wouldn't think she would forget about him not the way I could tell he got to her yesterday. But she seemed to have. And Nathan can be quite charming when he wants to, so maybe he just got to her more."

"Yeah, maybe" Lucas agreed quietly.

"Anyway, just don't tell him. I wouldn't want to screw it up between them for something that Brooke has apparently forgotten."

"I won't" He said reassuringly.

So this conversation did little to help him with his confusion. But at least he was now sure for one thing. Brooke might like Nathan but she liked him as well, and apparently she liked him a lot. The fact that Peyton her best friend that knew her so well thought so was proof enough and he wouldn't let himself be convinced for the opposite no matter what Brooke told him. And if he thought about it a bit more calmly her behavior was not that confusing after all. Finding out who he was must have been a blow and she just turned to Nathan. Not the best thing to do…but Peyton said she liked him as well. Just not as much as she liked Broody…So all and all, he was relatively happy. No actually, he was really happy. But where did that take them from here?

The noise that came from the doorway broke his trance. Apparently Nathan was fumbling with his keys. Lucas sighed relieved making himself more comfortable at the couch as Peyton was still busy putting the new dvd into the player. Nathan was finally home, the dreaded date was finally over! But then as the door opened he heard loud laughter coming from the hallway. Yeap…Nathan was home alright, but apparently he didn't come alone.