Chapter 14
"So, that's pretty much what I've been doing the past few months…"
Lucas sat on the bench, his arm draped across the back of the seat, and stared around the huge park. He had always been fond of Central Park, probably because it had seemed so out of place in a city like New York. It was comforting, though; it reminded him a just little bit of home.
"You've been busy," he said, focusing his attention back on the blonde sitting next to him.
"Yeah," Peyton said, shrugging casually. "I just needed to keep my mind off…other things."
He nodded slowly. He understood what she meant and he wasn't going to press her any further.
"The next time I come up, I'm definitely gonna have to check out that band of yours. From what I heard last night, they sounded amazing."
Her expression immedietly brightened and he listened intently as she started talking about her newest group of prodigies. But it wasn't long before he was distracted by the sight of a beautiful brunette headed his way. Brooke and Rachel were both carrying two cups of coffee and handed both him and Peyton one once they reached them.
Rachel squeezed herself in between Lucas and Peyton and Brooke hung off to the side, sipping her coffee.
"Are we ready to head back to your place?" Lucas asked. He had had a great day so far, and things hadn't been too awkward for him and Peyton, but it was getting late into the afternoon and he was ready to get some alone time with Brooke.
"Yeah, we probably should," Peyton said, taking a look at her cellphone. "It's almost four and I said I'd meet the guys at around five thirty."
"Business dinner?" Lucas asked curiously.
"Sort of," Peyton said as they all stood up and made their way through the park. "I've been trying for at least a month now to get them to sign, but throughout that time we've become pretty close, so we like to hang out before their shows."
"That Josh guy has totally got a thing for you, Peyton," Rachel said, taking a sip of her coffee. Lucas hid a laugh when Brooke not-so-subtly elbowed Rachel in the ribs. Rachel visibly cringed, but still cracked a smile, while Peyton looked awkwardly down at her feet.
"Who's Josh?" He knew he shouldn't be asking, but he was too curious.
"He's the bass player in the band," Rachel answered before Peyton got the chance.
Brooke was glaring at Rachel, shaking her head angrily as she stalked a few feet ahead of them. Lucas could understand why she was angry; Peyton wasn't ready to date and Rachel talking about it in front of Lucas must have been hard for her.
"I don't date potential clients."
"Clients?" Rachel asked. "Is that what you're calling them? It sounds so…businesslike."
Brooke looked like she was about to explode, but Lucas put a comforting hand on her shoulder, trying to let her know that it was okay and that Peyton could hold her own. This was Rachel, after all, and she was a good person with good intentions most of the time. Whatever she was trying to do to Peyton right now, it wasn't something that would hurt her.
Peyton eyed her warily. "Rachel, seriously, can you imagine me dating him, signing him onto the label, and then us breaking up? What do you think would happen then? They'd probably try to get out of the label, that's what would happen, and things would get really awkward. It's just not worth it. I mean, I like Josh, he's cute and talented and he's got a great taste in music, but it just wouldn't work. Plus, there's that tiny fact that I'm not dating right now and I have no desire to."
Rachel shrugged. "I'm just saying…If you don't take him, I definitely might."
Peyton shook her head and laughed, the tension from earlier draining from her face. "That fine with me."
Lucas smiled and looked over at Brooke, who still had an unhappy expression on her face. She was worried about Peyton, of course, but he wished she'd lighten up a little and realize that Peyton was doing just fine and that she didn't need to look out for her constantly. Selflessness and her loyalty to her friends were two of Brooke's greatest qualities, but at the same time it couldn't help but sometimes frustrate him—maybe because he was put on the backburner most of the time when it came to Peyton. He was the selfish one for being irritated by her selflessness, but sometimes he just couldn't help it.
By the time they made it back to the apartment, the earlier conversation was forgotten. Brooke even managed to look cheerful as they all through off their heavy coats and sat down on the couch.
"Lucas, next time you're here, we've got to make sure that you can see the band live," Peyton said casually.
He nodded. "Definitely."
"You've got a meeting with Lindsay tonight, right?" Rachel asked.
Was that what Brooke had told them—a meeting with Lindsay? He wished she had been honest and told them the truth. But then again, they would definitely think it was odd that he and Brooke were going to dinner together. It just wasn't something they'd normally do when everyone else was with them.
"Yeah," he said, nodding as he looked at Brooke from the corner of his eye. She was looking at anyone but him; obviously she wasn't comfortable with her lie.
"They don't come on until eleven tonight," Peyton said, "so if you're through by then feel free to stop by."
"Sure," he said, smiling politely. He knew there was little chance of him coming— he was going to use all the time alone with Brooke that he could get.
"Are you coming tonight, Brooke?" Rachel asked and Brooke looked up quickly in surprise.
"Oh," she said quickly, "I'm not sure. There're actually a few sketches I've been putting off, so I was thinking I might finish them up tonight."
Rachel didn't look completely satisfied with that answer, but surprisingly she kept her comments to herself.
"That's fine," Peyton said, looking oddly pleased and Lucas guessed it was because Brooke's looking out for her was starting to annoy her. "You've been to the past few shows, anyway."
"I'm gonna head to the hotel to get ready," Lucas said, standing up. "I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, so I guess this is goodbye for now."
He hugged all of them shortly, Brooke's a bit longer than the others, and they said their goodbyes before he quickly slipped out the door. He kept his cellphone in hand, planning to text Brooke in a few minutes to make sure she knew what was going on. His plans for tonight were simple: she would meet him at his hotel room and they would spend their night there, ordering room service and catching up…whatever that meant.
The vibration of her cell phone pulled her away from her thoughts and she quickly reached for her phone, which was sitting on the kitchen counter in front of her. Looking around for any sign of Peyton or Rachel, she quickly flipped open the phone, knowing who it was before she even looked at the number.
My hotel- room 509. As soon as you can be there. I love you. –Lucas
She wasn't surprised that he would want to her to come to his hotel and she also wouldn't be surprised if they would be spending the rest of the night there. There was no complaining on her side, though. The idea of a whole night with Lucas made her happier than she'd been since…well, since she'd last been in Tree Hill with him.
"When are you leaving?" Brooke asked Rachel as she came into the kitchen a few minutes later.
She shrugged as she ducked her head into the fridge. "I don't know yet. Why?"
"Just wondering." Brooke smiled at her lightly.
Rachel peered out from the fridge and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You've been acting weird today," she said matter-of-factly, grabbing an apple and leaning against the counter.
Brooke looked at her in amusement, trying her very best to keep her cool and look as innocent as possible. She couldn't let Rachel know that anything was going on.
"Yeah? How so?"
"I don't know…" She stared at her with narrowed eyes, her gaze penetrating. "You've just been kind of… squeamish."
Brooke kinked an eyebrow and let out a soft laugh. "Squeamish? Okay..."
"No," she said quickly, "I mean you've been squeamish around Lucas. Like you're nervous around him for some reason."
"Can you talk any louder?" Brooke whispered urgently as she pointed towards the hallway.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Peyton left ten minutes ago. God, you've been in your own little world lately, Brooke."
She sighed in relief. Now that Peyton wasn't here, there was no need to worry about her overhearing any of Rachel's annoying comments or theories about why she was acting so odd around Lucas.
"Anyway," Rachel said after Brooke made no move to reply, "I'm thinking that you're only nervous because you're worried about how you feel for him. It makes you nervous around him. I understand that. But…"
Brooke glanced at her warily. At the rate Rachel was going, she was bound to figure something out. And to make it worse, there was very little Brooke could actually do to stop her. Like Haley, Rachel was very observant and she could very easily take a certain situation and easily dissect it.
"But?"
"But Lucas had been acting kind of weird, too. He never stops staring at you whenever you're near him and he always seems so sad to see you go whenever you leave the room or go somewhere else. He seems kind of attached to you. It's actually kind of cute."
"We're really good friends, Rachel," she said exasperatingly. "He's actually one of my best friends and we like to take advantage of being with each other whenever we get the chance."
Rachel shook her head and looked at her with a fed up expression. "That a horrible excuse and you know it. A friend doesn't look at his other friend like that. Brooke, he looked like he was in love with you."
Brooke sighed. "Well, maybe he is, I don't know, but can you please stop butting into my life? It's getting really annoying."
Rachel laughed and shook her head. "Brooke, when you invited me to live with you, you basically gave me permission to butt into your life. It's just the way it is, so live with it."
There was really no point in arguing with Rachel's logic, so she decided to let her have her way. Instead, she focused on trying to figure out the best way to escape without Rachel noticing. It was practically an impossible task; Rachel was way too observant for her own good and that always made it next to impossible for Brooke to hide anything from her.
As of right now she had three options: one, wait for Rachel to leave (and knowing Rachel it could be awhile); two, make up some sort of excuse about having to go somewhere (it would never work though—once again Rachel was too observant and she had never been very gullible); or three, she could tell Rachel everything.
Now that she thought about it, Rachel knowing about her and Lucas would solve a lot of problems. Rachel loved secrets, although she wasn't always the best at keeping them, and she would find the idea of Brooke and Lucas' secret relationship incredibly interesting. And if Rachel knew, there was a big chance that Brooke could spend the whole night with Lucas, since she knew that she wouldn't have to worry about Rachel being suspicious. She didn't need to worry about Peyton noticing she was missing; whenever she got home from nights like this she practically fell into bed and slept till noon. Rachel was Brooke's prime concern and the idea of telling her everything was becoming more appealing by the second.
There were the negative aspects to think about, though. Rachel had grown more trustworthy as the years went by, but there was always the smallest chance that she could let it slip out and Brooke wasn't sure she could risk it. She also felt like she was betraying Peyton even more if Peyton wasn't the first one to know about her and Lucas.
But in the end, the positives outweighed the negatives and Brooke decided that it was time for Rachel to know the truth.
"So, here's the deal," Brooke said before she could back out of her decision, "I'm going to tell you something right now and you've got to promise me that you will not tell a soul. This information cannot leave this room until I give you my permission, do you understand?"
"You slept with him," Rachel said immedietly, her eyes widening in understanding.
It was just like Rachel to come to a conclusion like that. The funny thing this time, though, was that she was right. Brooke just sat there for a moment, not really knowing what to say. In the end, she settled for simply nodding.
"I totally knew it," Rachel said proudly, looking at Brooke with a pleased expression. "So, are you guys together or what?"
"Um… Yeah. I guess. But no one can know. You, me, and him are the only three people in this world who know and it has to stay that way until I know that Peyton is ready."
Rachel's smile couldn't have grown any wider. "You and Lucas are secretly dating? Oh, you are a naughty girl, Brooke Davis. I thought you'd lost your spark, but it's still there, as bright as ever."
Brooke laughed and rubbed her forehead wearily. "I'm going to meet him at his hotel tonight, so I'm going to need you to cover for me if Peyton asks about anything."
"So that's why you were so eager for me to leave." Rachel nodded her head in obvious approval. "Well, you are free to go, Brooke. Go see your man."
Brooke smiled and got up to leave. "Seriously, though, Rachel, I need to know that you won't tell anybody."
Rachel's expression turned suddenly serious. "You can trust me, Brooke. I know I've put you through a lot and I've been a horrible friend at times, but this is something that I'll take with me to the grave if you need me to. Of course, it won't come to that, but I'd do it if you wanted me to. I give you my word."
"Thanks, Rachel," she said sincerely, walking back towards her and pulling her into a hug. Rachel may be slightly irritating at times but Brooke could always depend on her and this time was no different.
"No problem," Rachel said, shrugging lightly. "Now, what did I tell you? Get out of here."
Brooke's mind felt suddenly lighter as she strode happily out of her apartment and out into the city.
Rachel knew and now she didn't have to depend on just herself and Lucas to keep this whole thing a secret. And this was a big step. Now that Rachel knew, she knew that it would only be a matter of time before she would tell Peyton.
She could only hope that Peyton would react a fraction of the same way Rachel had. It was almost useless to think that, but she could still pray, right?
A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait! I'm back for good, but I'll be starting school soon so hopefully that won't take up too much of my time. I'm sorry for cutting off this chapter here. I was originally planning on continuing on to Lucas' hotel room, but I'm leaving that for the next chapter. Also, I'm going to be starting a little Peyton storyline the next chapter, so it'll be told from her POV. It won't take up much room in the story, though, after all, this is a Brucas story, but I thought it might spice up the story a bit ;D.
Special Announcement: This story was nominated at One Tree Hill Awards for the best Brucas story. I'm not sure how much longer voting will last (I just figured out about this today), but if any of you want to go on over and vote, the link to the website is over on my profile. Thanks in advance if you decide to vote!
Thanks so much to all those who reviewed while I was away! I wasn't able to reply to many of them but I just wanted to thank every single person for all of your feedback so far. This story would be nowhere without you all.
On that note, please remember to review and thanks so much for reading!