Chapter Thirteen: The Beginning Of Forever
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken Love alters not with times brief hours and weeks But bears it out even to the edge of doom
The time span between being sixteen, when everything with these two couples had started, and being twenty three, seemed to only be a few short days.It seems like only yesterday, Haley and Nathan sat on the dock learning math and eating cracker jacks, and Brooke and Lucas were in random hot tubs, or shooting pool and getting tattoos, as was Haley. And today, Nathan and Haley sat in the kitchen of their new home, learning more about their love, and eating breakfast. And Lucas and Brooke were in random homes, trying to find one to settle in and be happy, as was Haley.
Two amazing, at times bumpy, but worth while years had passed since Nathan and Haley's reunion, and Brooke and Lucas' breakthrough. The two couples had never been so in love. They were able to keep things more maintained, because they have all grown up. So many things have come and gone. Lucas left, but came back. Nathan left, came back, left again, but of course, came back. Even Peyton, left, came back and left again. But one thing remained, the future that both couples wanted.
Lucas knew that Brooke doubted his love at times. And sometimes he struggled to find ways to prove it. While Haley knew Nathan loved her, because he was with her, after all the circumstances. But Brooke needed to see that Lucas loved her. He wasn't like his brother, he couldn't show it in the little gestures, how much he loved someone. He needed the one thing, that could constantly remind Brooke of his love for her, and if she ever felt doubtful, she could think of it, and see that there is no better sign of his love than that. But, it was a big step and he wasn't positive if he could live up to it the way Brooke needed him to.
"You awake?" Lucas whispered at Brooke's side as she slowly opened her eyes and turned to face him, squinting as the morning sun sparkled on his beaming face.
"Uh huh." She smiled, leaning into him, kissing him softly before wrapping a comfortable arm around his neck. Lucas was leaning into his hand, elbow on his pillow so that he could easily peer over Brooke.
"How about, you spend the day with Haley today?" Lucas suggested.
" Oh, trying to get rid of me Broody?" Brooke raised her eyebrows at him. Lucas rolled his eyes and laughed at her immediate thoughts and attempts to pull him closer to her.
"No, well actually kind of yea. Nathan and I haven't hung out lately and we're planning this whole other bonding thing so..." Lucas tried to cover up his real gestures.
"Oh, bonding with him?" Brooke mocked.
"Yea. Why?" Lucas questioned, knowing what she was thinking and almost afraid of the outcome.
"Sometimes lately I feel like we need some bonding, Lucas." Her eyes dropped down to her hand, intertwined with Lucas'. Lucas lifted the hands to his face and kissed her's softly.
"And we will..." Lucas smiled. " I promise." Brooke still looking at him questionably, still worrying that he was trying to find excuses not to be with her. Sometimes she wondered about him, if he was as in love as she was. " I tell you what, I'll go with Nate until, about... say... 9:30, and you go with Haley until then. By that time the café will be closed, you stop by there and we'll eat then come home and have our own little bonding session." Lucas raised one eyebrow at Brooke. Brooke blushed at first, and then laughed out loud at his silent smirk.
"Or we can start now" Brooke grinned a wide mouthed grin at him. Lucas bit his bottom lip at stared at her, admiring everything about her. The way she laughed, stared, grinned, curled up her nose, kinked her eyebrow.
"I'd love to." Lucas stepped closer to her, and he wondered of two people could be closer than they were in that moment, wrapped up in each other. Kissing her gently, he outlined her lips with his fingers after pulling away. " I already told Nate I'd meet him like... now...but we'll pick this up later. I love you" He whispered into her lips before stealing another kiss, another moment that made his whole body shiver. She was that one person who could do that, make him shiver, when he wasn't even cold.
"Okay." She groaned. Lucas turned to the door and opened it, as he slipped outside Brooke called out to him. "Lucas!" She shouted desperately. Lucas' head peaked in around the door once more. " I love you too..." She smiled her most meaningful smile. Lucas' smile widened as he rushed back inside for another kiss. Wrapping his arms around her waist he lifted her into his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck. After a deep passionate moment they both pulled away. Lucas had left the door open and some neighbours were watching them, some in disgust, others in awe. But it didn't matter, they had each other in that moment, more than they had ever had each other before. They were closer in that moment than they ever thought they could be. As Lucas slipped out the door, this time closing it behind him, Brooke smiled to herself. " We're going to be okay..." She giggled, slipping her hands into her back pockets of her jeans, and bouncing down the hall to the phone to call Haley.
"So Brooke has no idea?" Nathan asked, impressed. The two guys walked down a quiet street towards the café dribbling a basketball. The sound of the ball echoed in the silent atmosphere, and made the silence that often fell between the estranged brothers comfortable.
" Nope, No idea. She actually thought that I was avoiding her today, but well.. I put an end to that too." Lucas laughed.
Nathan screwed up his face and punched Lucas' arm. "Dammit Luke, spare me the details, please." Lucas rubbed his throbbing arm and glanced at Nathan, amused.
" Okay, so is everything ready?" Nathan asked quickly trying to change the subject.
Lucas thought quickly, listing things in his head, and on his fingers. " Um just one more thing.. Come on it's 8:30, lets get this done." Lucas began to jog slowly down the street as he watched the café come in view. Nathan watched his grey sweatshirt fade away along with his red shorts. Groaning, Nathan began to run too, catching up to Lucas fast enough to push him, causing him to lose balance on the loose gravel and slip. Both of the guys bursted into an uncontrollably laughter as Nathan held his stomach, watching his brother brush off his knees. Lucas swung the café door open and both guys disappeared inside.
"Oh Tutor Girl! My arms are aching!" Brooke groaned as the girls made there way down a crowded hallway in the new mall. Brooke was carrying seven huge shopping bags as Haley gladly carried only one. Stopping to roll her eyes at Brooke, she grabbed some of the bags from Brooke's hand and helped her out.
"Maybe you shouldn't have bought everything in the store!" Haley laughed at Brooke's distressed face.
"They were having a sale!" Brooke raised one eyebrow at Haley, as if it were something that shouldn't have even been questioned. Haley just quietly laughed to herself and walked up to her car door as the girl's crossed the parking lot.
Brooke drove down a quiet street on the quietest, sweetest, most homey part of town. " What are you looking for?" Haley asked, beginning to get annoyed. My place is further ahead, why are slowing down?" Haley thought the Brooke was dropping Haley off at her's and Nathan's place but Brooke had been searching the side roads desperately. Suddenly Brooke slammed on her brakes and gazed out the window with more hope in her eyes than Haley had ever seen before. " What?" Haley searched Brooke's window and spied a white house. The classic family dream home. It had a white picket fence, blue shutters, a huge green lawn, and even a tire swing on a big shadowing oak tree in front. The front door was painted red and the house looked like one that was only in the most corniest of movies, where all their dreams came true.
Haley studied Brooke's wanting eyes as she rubbed her fingers across her window outlining the image of the house. "I grew up here."Brooke whispered. She smiled sweetly at the memories that were running through her head. Haley's eye widened.
"Here? Brooke it's beautiful. It's right next to my house, we drive pass it every day, why didn't you tell me before?" Haley began to feel bad for Brooke as she watched her eyes drop down. Brooke just shrugged.
"My parents sold it, it's really expensive, and it's for sale again. I want it so bad Hales, but it's too expensive. I miss it." Brooke turned and stared at the house once more, and smiled again, before starting shifting into drive and silently driving down the road.
"Does Lucas know how badly you want it?" Haley asked after a small awkward silence.
"Nah, we moved out before I even met Luke, he has no idea. It's too expensive, and I don't want to make him feel obligated to get it for me..." Haley didn't know what else to say to Brooke, instead she just placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and they both drove into Haley's parking lot.
Brooke pulled over onto the side of the street by the café, the night was warm and beautiful and when Brooke was at home, she felt the need to look absolutely stunning tonight, why she didn't know... she just did. And her mission was accomplished. She wore a smooth pale yellow silk dress that fit her figure just perfectly. Her hair was up in curls, but not too fancy. The moonlight danced across the silk of her back as she crossed the street and spied a dark lonely café. The shades were all pulled down and she could see nothing inside but a faint glowing inside, that seemed to flicker a little.
On the bench outside the café, Lucas sat patiently waiting Brooke arrival. His heart was pounding as his fingers smoothed over a small object resting in his pocket. Lucas watched as her image came closer towards him. He bit his lip nervously and opened his arms to greet her. As their bodies met he scooped her inside his arms and leaned his head against hers to whisper in her ear. " Hey pretty girl...you look..." He pulled back to take a look at her blushing perfection. " unbelievably gorgeous." He grinned. " Come on..." He smiled... pulling her towards the café door.
Lucas placed his hands over Brooke's eyes and eased her inside the door. She heard the door shut behind them and could smell the most delicious meal she had ever smelled. "Lucas.. What's going on?" She giggled. He slowly removed his shaking hands from her eyes and Brooke eased them open cautiously. The room was filled with roses, so many she couldn't possibly count them all. Pedals lined the counters and tables and trailed to a table that was in the middle of the room, surrounded by flickering candles. Brooke stood amazed at the room, her mouth dropped open and her eyes filling with a beautiful haze. "Luke.. I..." She was speechless.
Turning around suddenly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as tight as she could. Lucas took a deep breath, and let out a sigh of relief, pleased with her reaction.
"Hope you're hungry." He smiled at her, and smoothed her hair gently.
The night passed them with a haze... they laughed at the corniest jokes, danced to the corniest songs and fell deeper and deeper in love as each moment passed. At the end of the night, Lucas escorted Brooke to his car, still playing with the object in his pocket... aching for the moment to come when he could give it to her.
"Where are we going?" Brooke asked as Lucas pulled into a side road, obviously not theirs. " Nathan and Haley's?" She became confused, it was their night and she wanted to be alone with him.
"Um, not quite..." Lucas said flatly. The car came to a slow stop in front of a gorgeous house. White picket fence, blue shudders, red door... it was.. THE house. Lucas unbuckled his seat belt and stepped outside the car, walking to the front door. Brooke wasn't far behind him. She was confused. Lucas stopped on the front step and looked into Brooke's eyes. " I want you to be happy Brooke, and I want to make you happy. Every time we go to Haley's... I see how you look at this house... so I.. Well... Here..." He passed her a small velvet box. Brooke spied the box frightened, not sure if she was ready for this, and she thought Lucas knew that.
Her hands shook as she opened the small box and inside laid one thing she wanted more than anything. A Key. A small sliver key. " Lucas!" She looked at him shocked, but happy.
"Brooke, I know you love this house, I know you grew up in it...and I love you... so since we were between houses so much... I thought we could make this one our home... together?" Brooke jumped into his arms and laughed happily.
"Of course.. But... how did you know I grew up here? We didn't even know each other then." She asked him confused.
Lucas raised his eyebrows and rubbed a trembling finger across his small face. " Oh Brooke, we weren't together growing up, but I still knew everything about you. I know you used sit at the third table in the cafeteria in elementary school, I know that you didn't miss one day of school in sixth grade, I know that you died your hair in eighth grade, and hated it, so you died it back before anyone could notice. I know that you grew up here, and you were broken when you had to sell it. And I know that I want to spend my life with you in this home... making you happy." He smiled down at her as tears rolled silently onto her lips.
Her chin quivered and she closed her eyes tightly, opening them again to see if it was actually true, if her dreams were all becoming reality. " I Love you Lucas..." She looked around her once more and then back into Lucas's eyes, and then wrapped her shaking arms around his neck again, this time causing their lips to meet. Then she pulled back and looked up into Lucas's eyes. " Thank you." She smiled sweetly.
Lucas nodded with satisfaction, proud that he could make her happy, even if only for a moment. "Anything for you... I love you... don't ever forget that."
Can't get my mind off of you
I know you're scared that I'll soon be over it
That's part of it all
Part of the beauty of falling in love with you is the fear you won't fall
It hasn't felt like this before
It hasn't felt like home before you
And I know it's easy to say but it's harder to feel
This way