A month passed since Peyton's mother died. Peyton was avoiding Lucas. In fact the only time she saw him was at practice, when the guys were playing basketball and the girls were cheering, and even there she never talked to him. Peyton knew that Lucas hadn't told Brooke about that night in her mom's house only because Brooke hadn't been acting differently towards Peyton.
Things were different between Brooke and Lucas, though. Neither of them wanted to admit that they had cheated, so they were both acting distant to each other. They both noticed, but neither wanted to call the other on it.
Haley and Nathan were still going strong. Haley was really falling for Nathan, but she was waiting for either Lucas or Peyton to tell Brooke the truth. Nathan was falling for Haley, too, but he was nervous about telling her about his night with Brooke. She made him want to be a different person and if he could take back that night he would in a heartbeat.
Jake really took Peyton's mind off of everything. He stayed at Haley and Peyton's apartment most nights, usually only going back to Tree Hill once a week. Peyton kept thinking about Lucas, but Haley was too busy with Nathan to notice, which she was thankful for, because she knew Haley would call her on it.
Peyton woke up nauseous for the fourth morning in a row. She had almost tripped over Jake because she couldn't get out of bed fast enough. Jake was standing at the bathroom door, rubbing his eyes when she started brushing her teeth. "You sure you're okay?" he asked through a yawn.
Peyton spit the toothpaste out of her mouth, rinsed her toothbrush and splashed a little water on her face before turning the tap off. She turned to Jake and shrugged. "I'll be fine," she muttered, giving him a kiss on the cheek before walking past him down the hallway.
Haley was in the kitchen when Peyton entered it. She sat down at the table. "You okay Peyton? Isn't that the third day in a row that you've been sick in the morning?" Haley asked. She poured Peyton a glass of orange juice and placed it in front of Peyton, who was leaning forward and putting her face on her arms, as she sat down.
Peyton's groan was muffled, as was her voice when she spoke. "I'm late," she muttered. Haley almost couldn't hear her. She looked at Peyton in disbelief. Peyton sat up and looked at her best friend. "I'm late, Hales," she spoke clearly, but not loud enough for Jake to hear.
Haley still couldn't believe it. The first time she thought she had heard wrong, or maybe hoped. The second time, there could be no mistake. She could still live in denial, though. "Peyton, class doesn't start for two hours," she said, hoping maybe Peyton would say anything that disproved what Haley knew she was implying.
Peyton shot her best friend a sarcastic look, but then it softened. Peyton was as scared as she knew Haley must be. Peyton wasn't going to allow Haley to live in denial, though. If she had to go through this, she wanted her best friend at her side. "Hales, you know what I mean. I think I'm pregnant," she said, still listening for the approach of Jake. She didn't want him to know yet.
Haley looked down at her hands and sighed. "Well, when do you want to take the test? I can be there if you want me to be," she said. She knew her best friend needed her, and she wanted to be there for Peyton. "When are you going to tell Jake?" she asked.
Peyton bit her lip. Haley looked at Peyton, and could tell by the way she was nervous what Peyton was going to say. "I, um, don't know if it's his," she said softly. As far as she knew, it was Lucas's, or maybe even Nathan's, though she hoped it wasn't Nathan's, for Haley's sake.
Haley looked over Peyton's shoulder and her eyes widened. Peyton was about to ask her what was wrong when a voice spoke up from behind her. "Please tell me I didn't hear what I think I heard." As hard as she had been listening, Jake had still managed to sneak up behind her.
Peyton turned and looked up at him, a frightened expression on her face. She continued biting her lip. He was standing there an angry expression on his face, waiting for an explanation. "Look, Jake, you left me, if you don't remember. I was trying to get over you. So, yeah, I might have slept with other people, but you have no right to be mad about that," she said. Peyton stood up to face him as Haley slipped quietly from the room, sensing their need to be alone.
Peyton crossed her arms and stood in front of him, trying to turn her fear into something else. Jake could see her walls going up, her defenses. He sighed and walked closer to her, reaching out a hand to touch her face. "Don't do that," he said. Peyton slapped his hand away and took a sep back, raising her eyebrows as if to say, 'Do what?' Jake stood his ground because he knew if he didn't she would run away. "You know what, build up your walls. Come on, I thought we were past the 'you-pushing-me-away' stage," he answered.
Peyton started biting her lip again, her resolve weakening. "I'm scared," she said softly. Jake walked forward and this time she didn't back away. She let him wrap his arms around her and just hold her. She was more worried that this baby was Lucas's than anything else. But then, a part of her wished it was his, and that scared her more than anything.
OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH
Lucas had been putting it off long enough. He had to tell Brooke the truth. He couldn't keep avoiding her forever. It wasn't fair to either of them. So he dialed the familiar number, and this time he didn't stop before hitting send, as he had so many times in the past month. It rung three times before Brooke picked up. "Hey, Broody, how's it going?" she answered, trying to play it cool.
Lucas sighed at the use of his nickname. He wished things could be as simple as they had been when they had come up wit the nicknames. "It's been pretty good, Cheery, I've missed you," he was trying to pretend the past few months hadn't happened, but then he pictured Peyton's face and he became serious. "Seriously, we need to talk," he added. "Come over."
Brooke sighed. She knew this was it. She would have to tell him. She only hoped that he would forgive her. They both still had practice today. "I'll be there soon, I'm at the mall. Love you," she said, waiting only for him to say it back before she hung up. She paid for what she had in her hand, picked up all her bags, and walked to her car.
Lucas sat on the couch waiting for her to come. He couldn't stop all the thoughts running through his mind. He was sure she would end it with him, he only hoped they could still be friends. Part of him knew they had too much history to ever be real friends, like they had been before they started dating, but he could still hope.
Brooke let herself into the house. "Okay, I just want to get this over with, I need to tell you something," Lucas said when she took a seat on the couch next to him. She could tell he was nervous, but she didn't understand why.
Brooke couldn't let him talk first though. Whatever he had to say wasn't as important as what she was going to say. She shook her head, trying to look him in the eyes, but he wouldn't face her. "I think I need to go first," she said softly.
Lucas shook his head. He knew if he didn't say what he needed to say now, he never would. "Listen, Brooke, I'm so sorry, you have to believe I never meant for it to happen," he started. Now Brooke was looking at him in disbelief. She was speechless. There was no way he had cheated on her, she wouldn't believe it, yet part of her knew it was coming. "Peyton and I kind of had sex while I was in Tree Hill," he paused. He took her silence as a sign for him to continue. "It was the day her mom died. We had already kissed. We just lost ourselves in the moment and I swear it never happened again."
Lucas fell silent, waiting for her response. Brooke should have been feeling less guilty because he had cheated on her too, but she wasn't. She completely forgot the fact that she had slept with his brother. She stood and angrily slapped his cheek. "I can't believe you. I followed you here so you could follow your dream and you sleep with another woman?" she yelled.
Lucas just let her yell. He knew he deserved it. Brooke yelled until her anger burnt out, and then she had to leave before she burst into tears. "Brooke, wait," he stood and followed her, grabbing her arm.
Brooke turned and wrenched her arm from his grip, slapping him again. "Don't you dare, ever touch me again. I loved you, Lucas, I trusted you, and you betrayed that. I never want to see you again," she said, the tears welling in her eyes. Then she turned and ran from the house, before they could fall.
Nathan and Haley were about to enter the apartment when Brooke came out, the tears beginning to fall. She ran right between the two of them, ignoring them as they tried to ask what was wrong. Nathan watched as she got into her car and sped off. He knew what must have happened and he braced himself before taking Haley's hand again and pulling her inside.
Nathan was sure that Lucas would be furious with him, so when he walked into the living room and Lucas didn't start yelling at him he was relieved, to say the least. Lucas looked kind of broken, so Nathan decided to break the ice. "Hey, man, I'm sorry," he said, hoping his brother would just accept the apology, not thinking about the fact that Haley didn't know. He was just trying to console his brother. When Lucas didn't answer he turned to his girlfriend, "Hales, maybe you should go, I'll see you later okay," he said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
Haley nodded, giving his hand a squeeze and throwing on last look at Lucas before silently leaving the apartment. Nathan waited until he heard the door click shut before he turned back to his brother. Lucas looked up at Nathan. "What are you sorry for?" he asked curiously. It wasn't Nathan's fault that he had cheated on Brooke.
Nathan sighed and sat down on the couch. "Well, she didn't do it on her own. Can I just say that I was pissed Peyton had left me and we were both shit-faced drunk," he tried to explain. He didn't know why Lucas was acting like he didn't do anything. Then he realized that Lucas hadn't known.
Lucas was trying to figure out what Nathan meant. Then it clicked. He turned and glared at his brother. "You slept with my girlfriend? What the hell, man?" his voice was a growl and he had to resist the urge to punch his brother.
Nathan winced, but had to admit he felt a little better now that Lucas knew the truth. Now all he had to do was confess to Haley. His thoughts drifted to Haley for a second before he was brought back to reality by the intensity of his brother's glare. "Luke, I really am sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen. I was so drunk I didn't even realize it had happened until the next morning when I woke up and she was in my bed," he apologized, standing and backing away to be out of range of Lucas's fists.
Lucas couldn't believe Brooke had reacted that way when she had cheated on him first. "Why the hell didn't you tell me? It's been a fcking month since it's happened. What about Haley, does she know?" he asked, desperately trying to control his anger.
Nathan looked down at the ground as all the shame washed over him. He shook his head slowly. "I wanted to tell you, Luke, really, but I thought it was Brooke's place to tell you. Haley doesn't know. I wanted to tell her too, but that's my past. I'm not like that anymore. She's changed me and I love her for it. I didn't tell anyone because Brooke asked me not to," he said. The next comment slipped out of his mouth without him meaning it. "It was just sex, man. It meant nothing. I'm sure she was good though, if I could remember it."
The next second Nathan was on the ground because Lucas had punched him in the face. Lucas stalked off without saying anything else because he was afraid he would keep hitting Nathan. He knew he had the right to, but he knew it wasn't the right thing to do.
Nathan sat on the ground for a minute, as the blood poured from his nose. He was in shock, but not because Lucas had hit him, he knew he deserved that. He was shocked because he had slipped back into his jackass persona for the first time since Haley had come into his life. He knew it was because he was afraid of losing her over this. She didn't even know yet, but he could guess her reaction.
He couldn't do that, though, he couldn't lose her. He needed her. She made him a better person, he knew that. So he had to talk to her before anyone else could. He had to explain to her that he loved her, and he needed her. Right now he couldn't picture himself with anyone else, and he couldn't imagine that changing any time soon.
A/N: Okay, well here's this chapter. I want to get the Jeyton over as quickly as possible because I don't like writing it. Who do you think the baby should belong to? Should she even have a baby? I already have a plan for this, but your feedback would really be appreciated. Thanks to my beta and my reviewers.
Disclaimer: As much as I love One Tree Hill, it just isn't mine.