AN:Hey, guys! You thought I would never update, right? So once again…I'm so so sorry! I was seriously stuck…and I needed more time. I know this sucks for you, but I really can't put something out here if I'm not satisfied about it. Though I'm never completely satisfied, at least I wanna believe I did my best. I try hard with this story and I'm sorry if this means that sometimes my updates may take longer. I hope you can understand where I'm coming from and be patient with me! I will try my best not to let this happen again. Also, be sure that I do not intend on giving up on this story. I've invested too much time for it to let it go. And I still have fun writing it, though it gives me a hard time…sometimes! So I plan to see it through…and I hope you'll stick with me till the end!

Thanks to everybody that reviewed! Your comments were amazing as usual! I thought you would enjoy the last chapter! Hehehe! I was waiting for so long to write that last scene…and it was in my head since the beginning! LoL I'm glad you thought it was good…because with all the waiting you had to endure for it to happen, I was really nervous! So again, thanks!

For this chapter…I just wanna see what you'll think! I'm prepared for all the Brooke-'loving' I'm gonna get…but I thought Lucas had enough for now…it is her turn!

The biggest thanks to Denise! Without her, let's say you wouldn't be getting an update for a long long time! And her ideas, simply rocked!

So, enjoy and please review!

Chapter 21

The Ice Queen

She had no idea how long she had stayed sitting on that porch just staring between the dark sky and the even darker ocean. Not that she was actually seeing anything except from his face as he looked the moment he broke their kiss. That kiss…his taste still lingered in her mouth, his scent still surrounded her like it did when she was engulfed in his arms. Once again since she had first met him, Brooke questioned how could he make her feel like…this, and then immediately, damned him once again for being the one that could. She couldn't quite say how she felt when he kissed her but she knew that right now she wasn't exactly feeling like she expected to be. She knew that she was supposed to be feeling guilty but she wasn't. She knew that she was supposed to be feeling sad but she was actually feeling excited. See, Brooke never really believed in love, she had never actually experienced love, and she didn't have a clue of what that feeling was supposed to feel like. But for the life of her she couldn't come up with any other way of describing how that kiss made her feel.

When she had been kissing one of her numerous boy toys (and they were numerous!), Brooke felt lust and satisfaction. When Nathan kissed her, she was feeling content and excited. But a few minutes ago…when he was kissing her, she felt complete and alive. She couldn't be sure if this was love or not, if she was in love or not. How could she be feeling something that she didn't even believe existed? However, the realization that she might have been wrong in dismissing love as a fairytale had made her feel excited. The realization that she might actually be having this feeling had actually made her happy! And then she had that impulse that brought her back to reality. She was feeling excited and confused and she needed to share that with someone. So the first thing that came to her mind was that she had to call her best friend right away! Her only true friend, who other than Peyton and ask her if what she was feeling was what she thought it was. Peyton would know…Peyton would be able to help her understand. She had actually pulled the cell out from her purse before it hit her. She couldn't.

After that, she had stayed some more time there sitting in numbness trying to make sense of the emotions that were coursing through her body and were so contradicting with the thoughts that were running through her head. Her mind had drifted back to this summer…

"Hey, Brooke" a tall well-built dark haired guy greeted her with a shy smile as he entered her kitchen, where Brooke was nursing a cup of coffee to get rid of yet another hangover.

"Morning, Marc" Brooke replied with a smile of her own "Wanna a cup?" She asked cheerily as she stood up and refilled her own mug.

"Nah, I'm okay. Thanks" He replied as he took a sit on one of the stools around the kitchen isle.

Brooke retrieved her position and looked at him curiously. He seemed awfully quiet.

"So…what's up?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Well…" He began hesitantly "Don't you think we should talk?"

"About?" Brooke asked looking genuinely confused.

"Last night?" He said in question looking at her eyes.

"What about last night?" She asked again indifferently.

"Well…" Marc mumbled lowering his eyes and playing with his hands "Shouldn't we talk about what it meant?" He concluded timidly bringing his eyes back on hers.

"What do you think it meant?" She asked raising her eyebrow in question.

"I…You know…I mean…"

"Look Marc" Brooke interrupted his nervous mumbling deciding that the sooner she set things straight the better "Last night we had good time. A really good time."

"I agree" He said with a smile.

"Yeah…but there is no need for what happened to make things awkward between us" She continued giving him a warm smile.

"You think this is awkward?" He asked seeming completely baffled.

"This whole 'morning after' discussion? It's just unnecessary"

"What do you mean unnecessary?" He said sounding even more confused.

"I mean, we have nothing to talk about. Last night we had fun and now things are back to normal"

"What?" He yelled in shock.

"I mean we are friends, right? I don't see why what happened yesterday should change that" She said with a shrug and another smile. What did he expect anyway?

"But…but you know that I don't see you like just a friend. I like you, Brooke. I like you a lot" He said sincerely.

"I like you too, that's why we are friends" Brooke replied with a smile.

"But…"

"Marc…" Brooke said tiredly. Couldn't he get the hint already?

"We slept together, Brooke! How can you act like nothing happened?! We made love yesterday!"

"Oh grow up, Marc! We had sex! We got a little drunk and just had sex!" She said deciding that a subtle approach wouldn't cut it.

"What?!" He yelled again as his face got red from anger.

Brooke just shrugged.

"But…I thought, I mean, you said that you wanted me!"

"And I did, of course I did…for last night" She explained calmly.

"You bitch!"

"Excuse me?" Now, what gave him the right to call her that?

"You heard me. I said you're a bitch and a whore!"

"You've known me for the last couple of years. You know how I work when it comes to these kinds of things. It's your fault that you expected more, things that I couldn't nor would ever want to give you."

"How could you?!"

"If I remember correctly I didn't actually force myself upon you" She said sarcastically.

"But you knew how I felt about you! You had known all along!"

"I thought you were over that" Brooke said with a dismissive shrug.

"I was beginning to get over it, Sherry was helping me! I was starting to consider doing something with her. But you…you made me believe that there was a chance between us!"

"Puh-lease! I just fucked you, Marc. I was lonely, you were lonely…we had sex…what's your problem? You're acting like some kind of virgin! For God's sake, stop being such a baby about it!"

"You heartless bitch!"

Brooke raised an eyebrow again but didn't reply.

"You don't care about anyone but yourself! Do you ever stop to think what your actions do to other people?! Did you ever give a damn about anyone other than yourself?!"

"I really don't see what's so wrong with what I did"

"What's wrong? You made me believe that you cared about me!"

"I do! You are my friend!"

"You used me Brooke! You used my feelings for you just because you were lonely!"

"I never promised you anything Marc! If you got my intentions wrong…it's not my fault"

"Not your fault…of course. Did you even think about Sherry in all of this?"

"What about Sherry?" She asked with annoyance.

"You are one of a kind…and you claim that you care for us…unbelievable!"

"Would you just shut up?!"

"You only think about yourself! You're incapable of feeling anything! No wonder you're alone! No wonder your mother left you!"

In one swift movement, the palm of her hand collided with his handsome face.

"Get out!" Brooke yelled finally losing her cold exterior.

"I will…I have nothing more to say to you. Have a nice life, Brooke. You know…I'm actually glad this happened, this way I can completely forget about you…you had me fooled Brooke…but you are what everyone said you were all along…just a cold-hearted spoiled little girl."

"Get out!" She yelled again and watched him close the door behind him before she allowed any tears to stain her face.

Well…maybe she could call Marc. You know…tell him how wrong he had been…that she could actually feel something, feel love…How ironic though…even now that she thought she was actually feeling love for someone, she still managed to be using someone else and hurt her best friend in the process. Maybe she didn't prove him wrong after all.

She realized she had to get up and go back. All she could do really was to follow his cold suggestion. She had to go back to her friends and her boyfriend and pretend. Getting up, she straightened up her skirt and wondered where she should go to retouch her makeup from the mascara stains she assumed she had. Pulling out her compact mirror from her purse she looked at her face in awe. She hadn't shed a single tear.

She managed to stumble her way back to the beach where the others were waiting for her still pretty much in a daze. He of course was there. Arm draped casually over Peyton's shoulder chatting casually as it seemed with Jake. Nathan was talking with Haley. As soon as they saw her, Nathan and Peyton bombarded her with questions about her really long absence. Apparently she had stayed at that porch longer than she thought. She didn't even think about what nonsense she blurted out as an excuse but she didn't feel the least bit sad while doing it. She was too overwhelmed with other emotions to dwell on her guilty conscience at that time. She tried to steal a glance at him but he didn't even acknowledge her return. As Peyton rushed to whine at her for going MIA, he occupied himself with gathering their things they had still scattered around so they could finally go home.

Brooke couldn't help but wonder whether that kiss had the same effect on him. It was then when her insecurities started to kick in. It couldn't. If it had he wouldn't have fled as soon as it was over, especially using those harsh words. But they weren't that harsh were they? He just spoke the truth. And he called her upon her denial of the feelings they had for each other. So he did say that kiss meant something to him. And it was something else as well. That kiss wouldn't have made her feel that way if he hadn't meant it. She didn't know why but she was sure about that. She also thought about what he must be thinking because she failed to say anything after their kiss. She remembered his eyes just before he spoke and she knew that he was expecting from her to finally admit what was happening between them. If she could go back…she would probably scream to him that she knew what was happening, she knew she was falling for him, hard. Scratch that. She had fallen for him…hard…head first…way too deep…But at that point? That kiss had shaken her so badly, she just couldn't speak. And apparently he had misunderstood that as her sticking to her previous declarations that she felt nothing for him. How could boys be so dense sometimes?

Luckily since they had used only two cars to come to the beach, they followed the same arrangement boys in one and girls in the others to go home so she was saved from having to face her boyfriend alone. It was bad enough that she wasn't able to restrain herself from comparing his goodnight kiss with the one she had shared with his brother just a while ago. Unfortunately, this kiss was no different than any other he had given her before.

Lucas had left his house at the crack of dawn and found himself at the Rivercourt as usual taking out his frustrations on the poor ball as Brooke had called upon him the first time she laid eyes on him. He could still tell you exactly what she looked like that morning, down to every detail, honestly, he still remembered the exact place of every shining lock of her hair that stuck out from her bun. It was kinda ironic he thought that now she was the one that drove him there, when at that time she had so effortlessly made him forget about all his problems just with her smile.

After missing one more shot, he wondered if he even made one since he came, and giving up, he collapsed on the bleachers, resting his head back, staring at the sky. His mind kept wondering at the previous night and the image of the kiss they shared was only interrupted by other images of the same girl that had managed to turn him into such a mess in the mere two weeks he had known her. The fact that he was at the Rivercourt wasn't really helping him with getting her out of his head as flashes of their first meeting kept running through his head. Who was he kidding? Wherever he had gone, he would still be thinking constantly about her. It's just that here, when they met, things seemed so much easier…so uncomplicated. He was just Broody and she was just Cheery, not Lucas Scott boyfriend of Peyton Sawyer and brother of Nathan Scott and Brooke Davis, best friend of Peyton Sawyer and since the day before…girlfriend of Nathan Scott.

He may have told her yesterday that he didn't care about what they were to them and that the important thing was to figure out what they meant to each other, but he knew better than that. He was just trying to make her acknowledge that there was something between them. Something…strong, and we're not talking about physical-wise here like she claimed, but rather emotional-wise, however surprising that seemed given the little time they knew each other, hell, he find it hard to believe himself, but it was there just the same. So he was just trying to prove his point because he was sick and tired of her constant denials. He wanted to shut her up once and for all and make her listen to her heart, and his as well. So that's why he kissed her. And boy oh boy had he proven his point alright! But instead of just proving his point to her…who somehow still failed to acknowledge it, but we will get back to that later, that damned kiss was enough to shoot any resolve he had about her straight to hell. It was supposed to show her, her feelings about him and not show him that whatever he thought he felt for her didn't even scratch the surface of his feelings. Now it only left him wanting her more, needing her even more.

Shuffling through his pockets, he got his cell out and quickly went through the photos he had stored in it, until he found the one he was looking for. It was a photo of her in her blue cheerleading uniform with her hair tacked carefully into a bun, taken back in the good old days when they still pretended they could be friends. Before she decided that it couldn't work.

Brooke walked into the school library searching with her eyes through the people sitting at the tables or standing at the library aisles. He noticed that many of them, well practically everyone that heard her come in, were still staring at her with shock. Brooke Davis in the library was sure an unexpected sight, and Brooke Davis in her cheerleading uniform was sure the most interesting sight in a room stuffed with books. Her eyes seemed to light up when she saw him and her dazzling smile made its appearance on her face, while she walked quickly to his table and took the seat next to him. He, of course, since he had been staring at the door since the moment he got there, saw her the moment she walked in.

"Hey Broody! You're here!" She said in a hushed voice.

"I told you I would be here…waiting…for you" He said returning her smile.

"I came as soon as I could! Seriously…Dim is driving me completely out of my mind!"

Lucas let out a chuckle, "Yeah…he can do that"

"He just wouldn't let me go!"

Lucas frowned slightly.

"He is just…urgh!" Brooke groaned a bit too loudly gathering some reproachful looks from the other students.

"What did he do?"

"He was just being…Dim. I finally told him, you were waiting for me and you would go there and beat up his ass if he made me be late for one more minute…"

"I think I would…" Lucas agreed.

"Awww, my hero!" Brooke giggled, "You should have seen his face after I told him! He disappeared immediately!"

"See…even Tim is not dumb enough to mess with me!" Lucas said assuming a fake-smug expression and gesturing to his forearm making Brooke burst into laughter.

"Shhh!" He told her smiling as well.

Brooke nodded trying hard not to laugh again.

"Why did we have to meet here anyway?" She asked with annoyance.

"Because I am supposed to be helping you with your English assignment before practice?"

"Boring…!"

Lucas shook his head.

"You could help me with that later, tonight, tomorrow…" She pleaded.

"Didn't you say the exact same thing yesterday?" He said raising his eyebrow.

"Please?" Brooke begged giving him her best puppy eyes.

"Oh, c'mon!" He whined though he knew she had already won and there was no way they were going to get any homework done, once again.

"Please, please, please!!!" Brooke insisted batting her eyelashes.

"But it will be tomorrow for sure, right?"

"Yes!"

"Not bailing out on me again?" He insisted.

"I promise!"

"Fine!"

"Yay!" She exclaimed excitedly clapping her hands and this time there was a round of shhhs coming from all around them.

They both lowered their heads and laughed.

"Okay, and like what would you wanna us to do now, instead?" He asked quietly.

"For starters, let's get out of here!" She exclaimed obviously not deterred by the glares they were receiving.

"Before someone throws us out?" He questioned and she just laughed in response.

Getting up and motioning for him to follow her she skipped to the door giving her smile to all those looking at her with frowns. He followed after gathering his books, looking down in embarrassment but without being able to erase the grin from his face. He followed her through the halls and out of the school building.

"Where are you taking me?" He asked suspiciously.

"As far away from school as possible?"

"Brooke…"

"I'm kidding! I know you would never skip school; you're such a good boy. Tutor-girl must be proud!" She teased him.

"Should I be insulted?"

"Because I think you're a good boy?"

"Somehow…it keeps sounding worse and worse!" Lucas groaned.

Brooke giggled.

"Why are you wearing your uniform, anyway?" He asked as they were walking along.

"Why? Don't you like it?" She said stopping her walk and making a little twirl to show off her uniform.

"Oh I do…I certainly do." He said with a smirk. "But I thought you were supposed to wear them only in game days?"

"Yeah, but I had to try it on, just to be on the safe side"

"Safe side?" He replied with puzzlement.

"Didn't I tell you what Rach-ho did?"

"Oh-oh! This ain't gonna be pretty."

"Yeah…oh-oh is right! That stupid hoe ordered my uniform two sizes smaller!"

"Really?!" Lucas asked with a chuckle.

"Absolutely! Thank God, I thought of washing it before the game, so I took it home and realized what she had done. Imagine if I hadn't found out in time! I would be forced to wear that tiny uniform on next week's game!"

"How tiny are we talking about?" He asked with interest.

"Two sizes, Luke. Use your imagination!"

"Hmmm…" he said and pretended to be deep in thought. He then licked his lip a little and smirked at her. "Are you sure that you don't want to wear the smaller one instead?"

"Perv!"

"So you got her to order a new one?" He asked her again.

"Nah-uh! I asked Bev to do it. She still thinks her little prank is gonna work…so she won't plan anything else until then and that will give me time to go through with my revenge"

"Poor Rachel!"

"Hey! You are supposed to be on my side!"

"I am! I'm just disappointed her plan didn't work" He said faking a sad face.

"Did I tell you, you are a perv?"

"Many times…"

Brooke stuck her tongue out.

"But that doesn't explain why you're wearing this…?" He asked again.

"Oh…well, as I said, Bevin was the one that placed the order…so I had to make sure she didn't…well, you know Bev!"

"Right"

"And so I tried it on, but then I saw I was running late and I didn't want us to waste our whole free period…"

"I see…"

They had made their way behind the gym, not going anywhere in particular, just walking around talking.

"Aww! Lucas look!" Brooke said pointing to a spot in the gym wall, next to a trash can.

"Is that a cat?" He asked in wonder.

"A kitten!" Brooke said excitedly as she slowly approached the small kitten and kneeled next to her. "Awww, it's so cute!" She cooed. "Come here, kitty, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you"

Lucas watched with a smile as she gathered the kitten in her hands and started stroking its grey fur.

"What are you doing here, all alone, uh? Where is your mommy?" She asked the small kitten that was enjoying her stroking it. "Isn't it adorable, Broody?" She asked turning to him.

"Yeah…" He replied quietly as he approached and kneeled beside her reaching out to stroke the kitten in her arms.

"Here" Brooke said placing it in his arms and got up straightening up her skirt.

"Where are you going?"

"To get it something to eat"

"Oh, ok. We'll be waiting right here. Isn't that right kitty?" He said turning to the little cat.

Brooke laughed and he looked at her confused.

"You're too cute!" She explained with a giggle.

"Gee…thanks! Hey….take it easy!" He turned to the cat that was squirming in his lap again. "What? You liked her better?" He said feigning offense and giving a pout to the cat. But then he heard the click and raised his head in surprise.

"What…did you just take my photo?!"

"I needed to immortalize that face, and what better way than to take a picture?" Brooke admitted with a giggle.

"Oh no, no!" He exclaimed getting up with the kitten struggling to get away from him.

"You looked sooo cute! And nobody would believe me if I told them…"

"You're not showing that to anyone!"

"Wanna bet? Believe me Broody, the ladies like the sensitive guys! And it's a pretty good picture…" She said showing him the photo.

"This does not look sensitive! It looks gay!" Brooke erupted into laughter once again. "Delete it! Now!" He said as he tried to get the cell, but with the kitten in his arms, it wasn't that easy.

"C'mon! I like it!"

"Haa…right!"

"I do!"

"You just wanna use it as blackmail, so I won't force you to do your English tomorrow!"

"No, no!" Brooke shook her head in protest.

"There is no way I'm letting you keep that!"

"C'mon! Please? I won't show it to anyone, I promise!"

"And I should trust you because?"

"I'll let you take my photo as well!" Brooke exclaimed like that seemed as the perfect solution.

"And that helps me trusting you how exactly?"

"Leverage. You can use it as leverage!"

"You looking totally adorable with the kitty versus me looking totally gay? This is fair again because…?"

Brooke just grinned at him. "Please?" she said, sticking out her bottom lip and using her signature pout against him.

"Ugh, I give up! How could I say no to that face?"

"Yay!"

"Ok…ok, here take it" He said handing her the kitten.

Brooke took the kitten in her arms and kneeled back down cooing at her and stroking it. He must have snapped about 20 pictures of her and the kitten that day; of course in only about three of them was the kitten actually visible.

One picture always stood out from the collection. It was just when they had actually fed the kitten, after he of course had gone to bring something since she couldn't possibly part with it. As the end of the free period approached, they decided they had to let the kitten go. So she was saying goodbye to it, promising that they would come back tomorrow to look for it again. As she let it go, the kitten took a few steps and then surprisingly returned and licked her hands. Hm…yeah they had some food on them probably, but the smile on her face at that moment just melted his heart.

He looked at the picture intently. "You," He said out loud, pointing at the picture as if she was really in front of him hearing what he had to say. "You, are something else Brooke Davis. Whatever I do, I just can't get you out of my mind! You're like this disease that's slowly eating me alive, yet also what's keeping me alive. I'm so full of you, yet I can't get enough. What do you want me to do?"

He kept staring at the picture like he was actually expecting an answer. At least the picture wouldn't give him some lame ass excuse for what was happening between them.

"We don't mean anything to each other. This is purely lust and nothing more." He said mockingly imitating her voice. "Pfft! Yeah, right!"

When she told him her idiotic theory about the sexual tension between them, he felt so outraged…honestly it was the closest he ever came to considering ever slapping a girl.

"Who the hell do you think I am?!" He knew he was not a horny ass that would risk everything or hurt other people for a lay. That was not him. Nathan maybe. He had inherited that trait from their ass of a father thankfully. Nathan was the player. Lucas always had girlfriends…always seeking a relationship and feelings otherwise he wasn't interested in getting just that. Okay maybe not always…he wasn't a damn saint, he had his drunken one night stands to remember, but never when he was with someone. And again they weren't that many. And not that he had had many girlfriends before Peyton either. Being nobody doesn't help in that department much…and his confidence was never his strong point…again a big thanks to daddy dearest. Anyway, when he became popular, he got with Peyton and that was that. Therefore, to have Brooke there accusing him of just wanting to fuck her, Jesus! But…yeah there was a but. She had managed to put some doubt in his head. I mean she did have a point. What hot-blooded male wouldn't want to get a piece of her? "Ok… note to self, stop hanging out with Nathan and Dim… especially Dim, immediately!" He said shaking his head. So she had implanted a doubt…albeit small, she had done it. Not that he would ever admit that to her.

On the other hand, Brooke Davis was not like him. She was the exact opposite of him if even half the rumors he had heard about her were true. Brooke was a player; she unlike him didn't do relationships, just sex. Heck…even Peyton had half admitted something like that in one of their conversations about her. One of those Peyton used to give him to make him like Brooke. She really had to work on her arguments; of course it wasn't like he needed much convincing. Though, he wasn't sure that the statement could be used to describe his feelings for Brooke. On the contrary, sometimes he was absolutely sure he did not like her at all. But that didn't prevent him from wanting her. So even if most of the rumors were most probably Rachel's fabrications…there was truth beneath them. And when Brooke yelled at him that she didn't feel anything about him…he almost…almost believed her. If he hadn't looked into her eyes… cliché right? But eyes can't lie. Especially her big expressive hazel eyes that looked at him with so much pain and regret…and something else. So he decided to give it a last shot. Not very well thought out move as it proved. He tried to remember if he was meaning to kiss her from the moment he started his …attack. Probably yes…not that he gave much thought to it. But he had come so close to kissing her so many times he thought he would burst if he didn't finally go through with it.

So he did it… and not that shocking really…she didn't protest…quite the contrary. So about that kiss…either he had watched too many chick flicks or read too many romance novels, probably the second since Peyton never put him through that torture thankfully, and they had gone into his head…or he was high when it had happened. It sure felt like he was high. He couldn't quite describe it but as all things that concerned Brooke it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. He loved Peyton and he liked kissing her. So far so good. But…when he kissed Brooke…it was as if this was the first real kiss he had ever been given. He felt it with every fiber of his body…he needed air and had to stop but it felt like if he stopped he would stop breathing. Hint the romance novels that tampered with his head. Anyway…the conclusion was quite simple really…he was crazy for her…lusting for her…wanting her…not being able to stand the thought of her with anyone else ever…He was starting to actually believe it, he was in love with his Cheery, who just so happened to be Brooke Davis, his brother's girlfriend and his girlfriend's best friend. Funny how truly small the world could be.

Now about Brooke again…she could take her sexual tension theory and…shove it in her ass! Urgh!

"Why do you have to be so stubborn? Huh?" He asked her picture. "Would it kill you to actually tell me that you feel it too?" He was sure she did, or as sure as a person with his self-esteem could really be. He just needed to hear her say it…but apparently he would have to live with just seeing it in her eyes. After he pulled away…there was no way in hell what he saw in her eyes…besides the pure shock…which he shared to be honest, cause he never anticipated something like that, he didn't knew it could feel that way, so besides that…he saw…well he certainly didn't see lust! Not just lust anyway. Closing his eyes and reliving the kiss he could come close to even believing she was in love with him too. Yeah right…the queen bitch in love and with him of all people. But he had hoped she would say something. Couldn't she see how much he needed her to say something? But she remained silent…and though somewhere within him he knew that it was partly because of her surprise…he still left her there. The real reason? He just had to get away and figure out what the hell was happening to him. He had to get away before he did something both of them were going to regret…even more. Not that he regretted kissing her, how could he? But it had taken him all the self-restrain he possessed to break their kiss and he really doubted he would be able to stop himself if he stayed for another minute next to her.

He dragged his ass back to the guys. When she came back, he couldn't stand to look at her. Not with Nathan beside her. So he avoided her eyes…and now…

"You're going to be pissed at me, aren't you? Either for that kiss or for leaving you there, or both? Maybe you'll avoid me again?"

He shook his head again and let out a short chuckle.

"God, now I'm talking to myself, just great."

He then let out a huge sigh and his voice became totally serious.

"Can't you see Cheery? I'm crazy for you. I don't know what to do; I just wish loving you wasn't this complicated."

He let out a sigh once a again and flipped his cell close making her picture disappear from his sight…if only he could make her as easily disappear from his mind. Taking a glance at his watch he hastily got up to leave the court…Nathan and Dan would be up by now and here they could easily find him.

---

Brooke woke up late in that sunny Sunday morning. Stretching out on her bed she realized with surprise that this was the best sleep she had gotten for quite a while. Considering how last night had gone that was plain weird…or not so much, since all her thoughts that night weren't exactly the ones you would expect her to have. However, the morning shed a new light to her jumbled thoughts. Now she was actually thinking about what she should have been thinking all along. The other people in this mess, the ones they were hurting…the ones they were betraying. Nathan…and Peyton…especially Peyton.

"B. Davis you know no guy could ever resist you? Just keep your paws away from my boyfriend!" Peyton said smiling.

"Hey, friendship rule number one… never play with each other's boy-toys. You know I would never do that, right?"

"Of course, Brooke. I was just kidding, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing is wrong."

…

"I know you don't mean anything by it Brooke, but Haley doesn't. And you got a bit carried away I have to say. You know better than to flirt with other girls' boyfriends, Brooke! You're not a slut!"

"Maybe I am, Pey, maybe I've changed"

"What is wrong Brooke? What happened to you this summer?"

…

"You filthy skank!" The little red-head that burst through the door yelled with rage, slamming it shut behind her.

"What the hell, Sherry?!" Brooke asked surprised and pissed by her friend's outburst.

"Why, Brooke?! Why did you do it?!"

"What are you…"

"He told me, Brooke! Marc told me everything!"

"He told…you?" Brooke stuttered in shock. That idiot.

"Yeah…didn't see that one coming, right? You thought you would screw me over and get away with it!"

"Listen Sherry, I don't know what he told you but…"

"He told me how you screwed him…how you screwed me…how you didn't give a shit about both of us!"

"It's not like that! Okay? You know that! You know I don't want Marc! Hell, it was me that encouraged you to go after him! Yesterday meant nothing, it was just a mistake…we got carried away!"

"And that makes it alright!? Hell, Brooke, if you wanted him I would have understood… I know he always wanted you…but no, you didn't! You just got horny and fucked him! Why him Brooke? I mean you could have any other guy…why him?"

"He was just there, he was consoling me…and one thing led to another and…"

"And you just used him! To make yourself feel better you made him hope again!"

"I didn't lead him on, Sher!"

"You had sex with him!"

"It meant nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"Sex is not nothing!"

"It is to me!"

"Why him, Brooke? Huh? Why?! You knew how much I like him and you ruined any chance we had together!"

"But I didn't! It was just sex, Sherry, just meaningless sex! This doesn't have to ruin anything for you! It wasn't like the two of you were actually together anyway!"

"But that doesn't excuse what you've done! Together or not, you knew that it would hurt me but you still went through with it! I know that you can be a bitch to other people, but to me Brooke? How could you!"

"I'm sorry okay! Happy now?"

"God…you are clueless! I thought you were my friend Brooke. I thought you cared for my happiness…but Marc is right…you are heartless…the ice queen that is incapable of loving anyone but herself…so just stay here… and rot in hell all by yourself. That's the way it will be for the rest of your life because you're just a conceited, self-centred bitch who will be alone for the rest of your fucking life!"

The slamming of the door signalled her exit and Brooke was left once again alone.