You guys rock! The site is being a little screwy, so I apologize in advance for any errors. I'm hoping everything I corrected, stays corrected, but who knows! Long A/N at the end! Enjoy!

Disclaimer - Same as always! One Tree Hill and the characters belong to the CW and the creators!

Chapter 20

"Where's Brooke?"

Haley turned to Julian, thoroughly confused. She had no idea what was going on. One minute Brooke was sitting next to her on the couch, laughing at Tim being a neanderthal and 5 minutes later she was running out the door almost in tears.

"She left."

"She left?"

Haley nodded, glancing at him curiously. "Where have you been?" She hadn't seen him or Nathan in at least 45 minutes.

"I was upstairs. I'm gonna go check on Brooke. I'll see you later, Haley." He didn't give her a chance to respond before he was walking toward the door.

Haley stared after Julian, shaking her head. What the hell was going on?

"What's going on?" Nathan asked, walking up behind her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

When Julian pulled into the driveway, he was surprised to see a dark house. He expected Brooke's bedroom light to at least be on. I hope she's here.

"Brooke?" He called, shutting the door behind him.

"Go away." He jumped slightly, surprised to hear her voice so close.

"What's going on?" He asked, walking into the living room. He couldn't believe she was sitting here in the pitch black. She hated the dark.

"Please Julian, I just want to be alone right now." She mumbled, sniffling. She was trying not to cry, in fact she felt like a fool for crying. But no matter how hard she tried to stop, the tears just kept coming.

"Talk to me." He insisted, sitting down on the coffee table in front of her. "What's got you so upset?" She was sitting on the couch, hugging her legs to her chest. He hated to see her like this.

She was silent for a while, not knowing where to start. She didn't want to argue with him, and she felt like this would just upset him. She wanted to be honest with him, though.

"I saw Lucas in bed with Peyton." She turned away from him, though she knew he more than likely couldn't see her.

Julian frowned. He hadn't been expecting that. "Are you okay?" Knowing Brooke, he knew this was hurting her, and while a small part of him couldn't help but be jealous, he understood. Her and Lucas were together for a long time; she'd barely had any time to grieve their break up.

"Apparently not." She cried. "I'm sorry, Julian. You shouldn't have to see this." She didn't bother trying to wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt like an idiot sitting there crying about her ex-boyfriend to her current boyfriend.

He sighed. "Don't apologize for how you feel, Brooke."

"This isn't fair to you, me sitting her crying over Lucas. I don't even know why I'm crying!" She ran her fingers through her hair, aggravated. "I mean seriously! Is this revenge? Is this Peyton's way to get back at me? And what about Jake? They were a couple like 5 minutes ago!"

Julian sat back, letting her vent. She needed to get this out.

"I wish I could bleach my brain right now. I just keep picturing them together and I just wanna be sick. It's not like I expected Lucas to stay single forever." She sighed, leaning her forehead down on her knees. "It just hurt, you know? Seeing him with someone else, and with Peyton of all people. It caught me off guard." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Are you mad?" She finally asked, quietly.

He shook his head, getting up to sit beside her. "Of course I'm not mad, Brooke. I just wish there was something I could do."

She raised her head, looking at him. She was surprised how easy it was to see him in the dark. The light from the moon shining through the blinds helped out a lot. "Did it bother you? Seeing her with Jake?"

He shrugged. "It was a little strange in the very beginning, but it didn't really bother me. I think it's because I was over it, and at that point I may or may not have been crushin on a certain brunette." He smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

She laughed, reaching up to wipe away her tears. "Should I be jealous?" She teased, smiling. This is exactly what she needed right now. I'm so lucky.

"Very. Every girl should be jealous of her." He winked, reaching up to wipe away the rest of her tears. "Don't cry." He murmured softly.

She blushed, grateful they were still sitting in the dark. He always teased her when she turned red.

"Haley's probably like 'What the hell is going on?' right now." She laughed. "I left pretty quickly." She made a mental note to call her first thing in the morning.

Julian nodded. "She looked like she was going to hurt me before I left. Sorry I disappeared, by the way. I was watching the game with Nathan." He grinned.

"Why am I not surprised?" She smiled, shaking her head. "She probably thought I was upset with you."

"More than likely. She'll understand, though. She always does," He paused, unsure if he should continue. "You know… maybe you should talk to Lucas."

She looked at him, confused. "Why? I really don't have much to say to him. Peyton either, for the matter," She rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Especially Peyton." She muttered. She knew it was unfair to place more of the blame on Peyton, but she couldn't help it. Peyton was not one of her favorite people at the moment.

"I just think it might be a good idea. I think you might feel better if you do." He rubbed her shoulders, pulling her closer to him.

She thought about it for a few minutes, unsure of what to do. "I just don't think it's a good idea right now. Maybe after I cool down." She still wasn't sure.

Julian nodded. "Whenever you're ready."

"You're the best, have I ever told you that?" She smiled, leaning in to kiss him gently.

He smiled into the kiss. "I may have heard that a time or two, but feel free to let me know as often as you want." He smiled as she laughed. He knew this wasn't over, but he was glad she felt better for the moment. He could tell she wasn't sure about talking to Lucas, but he really thought it was a good idea. She needed the closure with Lucas, and he knew that she wouldn't feel better until then.

"Come on, let's get to bed." Julian stood up, offering her his hand.

She smiled, leaning over to kiss his hand gently. "You go ahead, I'll be up in a little while."

He nodded, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I'll be upstairs if you need me."

She nodded, watching him walk upstairs. When she heard the bathroom door close upstairs, she sighed, laying her head back against the couch.

How could talking to Lucas be a good thing? She knew that Julian's heart was in the right place, but this had to be hard for him. If he were crying over Peyton, she would no doubt be jealous. She wouldn't be able to help it. But here he was, comforting her, wiping away her tears, and suggesting a talk between her and Lucas. A talk that she wasn't sure she could handle at the moment.

Seeing Lucas in bed with Peyton felt like a nightmare. That was the best way to describe it. She actually felt like a hypocrite, being in a relationship with Julian, and then freaking out when Peyton hooked up with Lucas.

What was that anyway? Were they together? Was it just a random one time thing? What about Jake? Ugh she was so confused.

She knew she wasn't upset because she wanted Lucas back. No, that wasn't it. She loved Julian. But a part of her would always love Lucas, too. He was her first love, and there would always be a piece of her heart that belonged to him. It was that part of her heart that ached at the sight of him with another girl.

She sighed, standing up to make her way upstairs. All she wanted to do right now was lay in Julian's arms and forget this entire night happened. She knew this wasn't going to go away, and she wasn't looking forward to seeing Lucas or Peyton at school on Monday. In fact, if it were up to her, she'd avoid them both for the rest of the year.

Wishful thinking.

"She's gone."

Peyton nodded, not bothering to look up. She'd gotten redressed as soon as Lucas ran out the door, but couldn't force herself to go downstairs.

"What am I going to do?" Lucas sighed, sitting down besides her, burying his face in his hands.

"There's not much you can do." She felt guilty. She'd been keeping Jake at arms length for the past few weeks, just to jump in bed with Lucas at the drop of a hat. She would be lying if she said she felt bad for Brooke, but she did, however, feel bad for Lucas. Seeing him sitting beside her, obviously upset, she couldn't help but feel like this was her fault. She knew he wasn't into her, just like she wasn't into him. Getting carried away with each other obviously wasn't the brightest idea, but what's done was done. Nothing they could do about it now.

"Are you going to tell Jake?" He asked after a long silence. He really didn't know what to say. Peyton was his friend, and he'd be lying if he said he had feelings for her past that. He wasn't positive, but it seemed that Peyton felt the same way. Not to mention, he knew that her and Jake had gotten pretty close in the past few months.

She frowned, looking down. "I guess I should, huh?" That wasn't going to be a fun conversation.

He nodded. "He should know."

"What are you going to do about Brooke?" She couldn't help but ask, with the way he'd flown downstairs just 15 minutes before. She'd been surprised, too, when Brooke walked in.

Lucas sighed, shaking his head. "I have no idea. She probably doesn't want to talk to me right now," He paused. "I can't say that I want to talk to her either, but I think it's time."

Peyton nodded. "Maybe it is."

He looked at her. "Maybe it's time you guys talked also." Though he knew none of this was his fault, he felt bad that Brooke and Peyton weren't friends anymore. They'd been practically sisiters.

She shook her head. "I can't talk to her, Luke. I'm still so angry. I thought that with time, the anger would go away, but every time I see them together… Ugh, it just makes me so mad."

He nodded. "I know what you mean. I think I memorized where they are at all times in school so I don't have to see them together."

She laughed, shaking her head. "That's pretty bad."

He chuckled, nodding. "It is. But I just can't do it. The first few days back, every time I saw him touch her; I wanted to punch him."

She sighed. "He never looked at me the way he looks at her." She looked down. "I'd like to say that I'm not jealous, but I am. I think that's why I'm so angry. I can't help it, though. I really loved him. I still love him. But he loves her. Even a blind man can see that."

He frowned, unsure of what to say. He knew exactly how Peyton felt. Luckily, she broke the silence between them quick.

"I should go find Jake."

Lucas nodded, watching her walk to the door. "Good luck."

She laughed lightly, turning back to face him. "You're a good guy, Lucas. You'll get through this, and when you do… You'll find a girl who will make even the best girlfriend in the world look bad."

He smiled. "From your mouth to God's ears."

Too soon, Brooke and Julian were walking from the student parking lot to meet Haley and Nathan.

"Have you talked to your mom?" She asked, wrapping her arm around his waist.

He nodded, smiling. "I called her while you were in the shower yesterday. She said 'hi'. She cried when I told her we were moving in a few months." He chuckled, remembering how emotional his mother got.

"I'm pretty excited myself." She smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I should call my parents."

He laughed at the frown on her face. "How long has it been since you've spoken to them?"

"Last month some time. I haven't seen them in almost 6 months. I may see them more, living in New York. That's pretty sad."

He nodded, tightening his arm around her shoulders. She didn't have to tell him that it bothered her, he knew. "I can't wait to meet them." He smiled.

"I can. Victoria isn't the nicest human being in the world." She could see Nathan and Haley sitting at their usual table.

"Well, I want to meet the two people who brought my beautiful girlfriend into the world, and thank them, because she's allll mine."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Hey guys." She greeted, sitting beside Haley.

"What's up guys?" Julian reached over, bumping fists with Nathan and sitting beside him.

"Morning. Ready for today?" Haley asked, looking at Brooke. Now that she knew what happened at the party, she couldn't blame Brooke for leaving the way she did.

Brooke shook her head. "Nope."

"Speaking of." Nathan nodded behind Brooke and Haley, causing the girls to turn around. Lucas was standing about 20 feet away from them, talking to Jake. As if sensing their attention, he turned toward the group, locking eyes with Brooke.

Brooke sighed, sending him a sad smile. She was still upset about everything, but she couldn't help but notice that this was the first time that Lucas wasn't rushing to get away from her.

"Go talk to him."

She turned to Julian, hesitating. "Are you sure?" The last thing she wanted was to hurt him. She still felt terrible about the breakdown she had on Friday night. She felt like the world's worst girlfriend, so upset about an ex.

"I'm sure. Go ahead." It was difficult, but Julian was trying to be as understanding as possible. All weekend, he tried putting himself in her shoes, trying to understand why she was as upset as she was. While a small part of him wanted to be the jealous boyfriend and be angry with her, the larger part, the part that loved Brooke, knew it wouldn't be fair to be angry.

Brooke looked at Haley, taking a deep breath. Haley gave her a reassuring smile, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "We'll be here when you're done."

Brooke nodded, standing up. "I'll be right back." She gave Julian a small smile, the butterflies fluttered nervously in her stomach.

She turned toward Lucas, not surprised when he began walking toward her, meeting her half way. They stood there for a few awkward seconds, not knowing where to begin.

"Hi." They both greeted at the same time. Brooke laughed as Lucas smiled timidly.

"Let's sit." She suggested, nodding her head toward a table a few feet away.

As she followed him, she turned to look at Julian, smiling when they made eye contact. He smiled back before turning his attention to Nathan. She knew he was giving her her privacy, and she loved him for it.

She took a deep breath, turning to follow Lucas the rest of the way. She sat down in front of him, trying to calm her nerves. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation, she knew.

Here goes nothing.

Long A/N (Sorry!) You guys are the best! Thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews! A few of you did figure out that it was Lucas with Peyton, good job! That was actually a last minute decision. So glad you guys enjoyed it! I'm sure many of you are breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't Julian.

Also, a few of you brought up that it wouldn't make sense for Brooke to react that way if it were Lucas. In my opinion, even though Brooke has found love in Julian, a part of her will always love Lucas. It's very difficult to forget your first true love. Not to mention, she did walk in on Lucas with Peyton of all people! So try to keep that in mind!

Next chapter is the last and then I will be posting an epilogue. I can't believe it! Thank you guys SO much for sticking with me. I'm a little sad to see the end, but excited all the same! Also, if you like Twilight, I wrote a short Jacob and Bella fic called "Tug of War". So if you're interested, check it out! =)

Hope you enjoyed the chapter :) Leave me a review and let me know what you think!