Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Mac in which I wrote this on…

AN: So…I am now living in a place that is hurricane prone and my internet died. But this chapter was actually finished a while ago so at least there's that. Shout to all my reviewers 'cause you're always my inspiration. And read on, dudes. Tell me whatcha think.

The Rules Of Attraction

Wake Me In Time To Be Out In The Cold

-xx-

Sunday
Brooke, Rachel & Haley's Apartment

Haley was pretty sure she'd broken about twenty different laws driving back to the apartment. (Which was not only illegal, but also pretty reckless for a pregnant girl.) Telling Julian she was pregnant was the first time Haley had actually said the words out loud. They were just starting to sink in now. She was pregnant. She was pregnant. Haley James, queen of careful planning and responsibility, Tutor Girl who is always prepared, had gotten knocked up.

Haley clomped into the apartment, slamming her purse down on the table and kicking her shoes off in an almost violent manner (one knocked down a lamp). The conversation with Julian kept playing over in her mind.

"Because I'm pregnant, Julian." Haley hissed furiously, "Now be kind enough, and smart enough to just walk away."

Now, Julian hadn't so much walked away, but rather remained rooted in his spot thus allowing Haley to make a quick getaway.

Brooke, who'd been sitting on the couch with her iTouch on at full volume and the muted TV was set on some random VH-1 reality show she wasn't really paying any attention to, plucked an earbud from her ear and turned around startled.

"Um, Hales," Brooke called tentatively –it looked as if Haley was about to star hyperventilating any second now. "Haley. Are you okay?"

The honey-blonde merely shook her head, leaning against the locked apartment door and sliding down to sit on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.

Brooke jumped over the couch and walked over to Haley, sitting down next to her Indian-style. "Sweetie," said Brooke, hesitantly putting an arm around Haley's shoulders. (It was always best to not make any sudden movements.) "What's wrong?"

Haley leaned her head against the door, closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. "I think I'm pregnant." It came out in a whisper –it was so low that Brooke almost missed it, but she knew better than to ask Haley to repeat herself.

"Oh," croaked Brooke. That somehow caused Haley to burst into tears and lean on Brooke's shoulder, clinging to the brunette while her body was suddenly overtaken by sobs. "It'll be okay. It'll all be okay." Repeated Brooke over and over, rubbing circles around Haley's back.

Brooke wasn't sure how much time had passed, but they were still sitting on the floor. Haley's head was now resting on Brooke's lap as the brunette continued to rub circles on the honey-blonde's back. It all made sense now. It was actually kind of a brilliant move on Haley's part to take a pregnancy test at the Sigma Chi house –no one would be able to trace it back to her, and even if they found it, who would've thought it was hers? Good-girl Haley James, get knocked up and take the test at the Sigma Chi frat house? No way.

Finally, Haley spoke up again, "What am I gonna do?"

"Uh…" Brooke stuttered. This definitely wasn't familiar territory for her and she had zero words of wisdom on the subject. "Have you told Jake yet?"

Haley shook her head. All she'd taken was the pregnancy test she'd gotten at the off-campus Kwik-E-Mart. Statistically speaking, she knew those things were pretty accurate, but it still wasn't a hundred percent. And she wouldn't really believe it until it was a hundred percent. "I…I need to go to…the doctor first. I can't…I can't tell him if I'm not sure. I need to be sure."

"Right." Brooke muttered. "Right, um, well, lets do that. I'll drive you. I-I can drive you, and we can…you can find out for sure, and then…figure out what to…"

"Okay." Haley responded with a thin voice. She sat up straight once more and sighed. "It'll be okay, right?"

Brooke nodded weakly. "Yeah…" she said raspingly, "Yeah, sweetie, it'll all be okay. It'll all work out. I promise."

"I'm scared, Brooke," stated Haley, staring straight ahead into the thin air, "Tell me something. Tell me anything to get my mind of things. I don't know, tell me what's going on with you."

"I slept with Nate at the Sigma Chi party." stated Brooke in an almost matter-of-fact voice, and after a pause she added, "It was a horrible mistake and… I slept with Nate at the Sigma Chi party."

Normally, Haley would've broken out into one of her lecture/rants about all the different ways in which that had been wrong. (And it had been wrong on so many levels.) But right now she was too tired, too drained, too confused, too…whatever, to break out into long talk about the moral complexity of it all.

Instead, Haley only pursed her lips in thought for a second, then, "That was really shitty, Brooke."

Brooke's lips twitched up in a small, sad smile –she was grateful that there was at least one person too wrapped up in her own problems to focus on hers. "Yeah, I know."

"And you gotta tell Luke." added Haley, still staring straight ahead dizzily.

"I know that, too." Replied Brooke.

Haley sighed, "Okay, then."

"Okay." There was another extended silence/pause. Brooke stared at her nails absentmindedly –the black fingernail polish was still shiny and for a second she considered scratching it off just so she could have something to do (she opted against it, though). Haley had stopped crying now, and then she wiped the salty tears that suddenly felt like they were burning her cheeks.

Brooke cleared her throat, "Hales, we should…go to the hospital. I know it's Sunday and this isn't exactly a life-and-death emergency, but we can get you a test. So you can know for sure and then…well, we'll figure it out from there, okay?" Haley only nodded in agreement. "Okay. I'm gonna go put some pants on and grab my coat."

As she got up, Haley squeezed her hand tightly and Brooke flashed her an encouraging smile.

-xx-

Sunday
Durham Regional Hospital

Brooke had driven to the university hospital first, but that only seemed to send Haley into a slightly paranoid, completely frantic state so they ended up making the drive all the was to Durham Regional. It felt like it took forever –the waiting, the talking to the doctor, the waiting for the test results– and, finally, a nurse handed them an envelope.

"Congratulations, you're pregnant."

Then they just sat in the parked car for a while. Brooke felt so out of her league that it wasn't even funny. She had plenty of knowledge on how to avoid getting pregnant, but zero info on what to do once you got pregnant.

"So, you're…I mean, it's…Hales, you're gonna have a baby." Said Brooke, turning to face her, "It's official now."

Haley shook her head, "I can't do this. I can't-I can't handle this. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not now."

"Sweetie, it'll be okay. I mean, it's not planned and it isn't exactly ideal, but it happened and you can do this, you know–"

"No, Brooke!" cut in Haley. Her voice came out like a very loud shriek within the very small car. "Jake and I, we're in college! We're…not ready for this. Jake's…he's a Beer-Pong tournament right now. I'm a cheerleader. For god's sake, we're college sophomores! How are we supposed to do this?"

Brooke looked at her lap. She'd never seen Haley panic before. Haley had always been cool and collected –the sound judgment and the voice of reason within the group. "Well…I mean, does that mean…do you want to…" she struggled to find the right words, "exercise your legal right to choose?"

"No," Haley shook her head, "I can't not have it."

"Well, you're kind of out of options here, Hales," Brooke huffed, "Look, I know this has to be really scary and messed up, and I can't even begin to understand everything you're feeling, but…you can do this. I know you can. And I'll help you. Rachel will help you. And I know Luke will help you, too. Even Clay will pitch in –and kids love Clay. Your baby is gonna be so spoiled. Besides, you and Jake are gonna be kick-ass parents. If you wanna do this, I'm a hundred percent sure you can."

Hell, if her parents had done it, so could Haley and Jake. They were far more stable and mature.

"Do you honestly believe that, Brooke?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't, Hales," assured the brunette, "Look, all the fear and messed up feelings aside, you're going to be a mom. And Jake's going to be a dad. That's a pretty big thing, sweetie." Said Brooke, mustering up a little enthusiasm, "And it's kind of amazing. So, congratulations, Hales."

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Haley flashed her a tiny smile, "It is a little amazing, isn't it?"

Brooke smiled her patented dimpled-smile, "That's the spirit, Tutor Girl…or, you know, Tutor Mom-To-Be," she chuckled, and Haley couldn't help but laugh a little, too. "C'mon, lets go home."

It was almost three o'clock and she had one more stop to make before the day ended. She had to tell Luke everything that happened at the H&H party. She'd helped Haley deal through her issue, now she had to deal with her own.

-xx-

Sunday
Phi Delta Theta House

The walk over to the Phi Delta house felt very long. Brooke still had that lingering feeling that she smelled like the hospital, and then there was that burrowing in her stomach –like she might throw up any second now. Plus, she hadn't slept that much last night.

Brooke did her familiar ritual and climbed up the trellis into Luke's room, sitting on the windowsill and hugging her kneed to her chest. Luke was apparently out –some of the guys were down at a Beer-Pong tournament, and the others were at the gym.

Waiting around for a while actually seemed like a good idea, she could figure out what she was going to say and how she was going to say it. Just blurting it out seemed like an incredibly stupid idea, but giving it a big build-up wasn't looking all that appealing, either.

Telling Luke what happened would change everything –between them, between him and Nate.

Despite being twins, Luke and Nate had never been best friends. They'd always had other buddies to fill that roll –Luke had Jake, and Nate had Clay.

Then there was Dan. He'd always gotten a perverse joy out of pitting them against one another. In spite of themselves, the tendency had stuck, they battled it out on the basketball court, and they were on (sometimes) rival fraternities. But it had always been a somewhat friendly rivalry.

Luke walked into the room and the time for figuring out the right words was over. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "Twice in two days," he commented as he took off his wife beater, "You didn't come around this much when we were sleeping together. What's up?"

"Needed to talk to you." Brooke whispered, looking down at her feet. "Um, someth–"

The bedroom door opened and one of the guys tossed Luke a basketball. "Thanks, dude," called out Luke, closing the door once more, and then turning to face Brooke again. He scrunched up his nose. Something was clearly off, "So…why are you here again?"

"Look, at the Hellraisers party you, um, you said things, and…it was wonderful and I freaked and I ran, so...anyway, I got really, really smashed and I didn't want to spend the night alone, which was stupid 'cause in retrospect if I wouldn't have freaked I wouldn't have been spending the night alone and this whole wouldn't be happening. Just another thing to add to the list of stupid decisions I've been making lately…"

Luke frowned, he could see were this was headed –she'd slept with someone at the party. Sure, he was a little pissed –he did pour his heart out to her right then and there– but then again he also slept with someone else that night. It was what they did. "Look, spit it out already!" he didn't have the patience for this right now.

Brooke licked her lips, "I…" she sighed, "I slept with Nathan at the party." It came out much more raspy and lower than she expected it to…but at least she said it. It'd have been worse if he found out from someone else. And even if word didn't get out, she wouldn't have been able to keep something like that from him.

It was like time stilled, and suddenly the room went quiet.

BANG!

Luke slammed the basketball against the nightstand, shattering the lamp into what seemed like a million pieces. Brooke involuntarily flinched, squeezing her eyes shut for a second. She didn't dare to move or speak. It wasn't like she was scared of him…but she was just frozen.

Luke's breathing was heavy and he had this look…this angry as shit look, but he wasn't doing anything. Normally, he'd be yelling until he was hoarse and he'd already be halfway over to the Sigma Chi house to beat the shit out of Nate. The fact that he wasn't was worrisome. He walked over to Brooke and towered over her, his palms pressed against the wall effectively pinning her against it. "Get the fuck out of my room." He hissed in a low, cold tone.

"Luke…" Brooke croaked out. Her voice was still small and raspy, and even if he'd have actually let her say something, she had no words at that moment.

"I am so fucking serious right now." Luke dropped his hands off the wall and paced towards the door. Turning to face her, his now ice-cold blue eyes meeting hers, "Get the fuck out of here, Brooke!" he roared, kicking a table so hard that a leg broke off.

Duke, Alexander and Jake popped their heads in upon hearing the noise. "Whoa!" – "Hey!" – "What the…" – "What happened?"

Luke scoffed at the sight, "Fucking perfect," he muttered, "All four of you, get the fuck outta my room." He barked, slamming his fist against the wall, "I'm serious. Brooke get the fuck out!"

But the brunette appeared to be frozen. Jake got a grip on Luke before he could hit something else, "B, c'mon. Get out." He ordered, still restraining the blonde.

"Brooke," called out Alexander, eyeing Luke carefully, "C'mon, I'll give you a lift." Brooke still didn't move. All of them were wondering what the fuck had happened.

"Oh, fuckin' hell," Duke rolled his eyes, sidestepping Jake and Luke, and grabbing Brooke's arm and pulling her outside the room. "Move your ass, B," he muttered, shooting Jake a questioning look.

"You heard the man," Jake said, loosening his grip on Luke, "Everyone get the fuck out." Once the door was closed, he turned to face Luke, "Want to talk about it?"

Luke shook his head, "Fuck that. Fuck Nate. And fuck Brooke. Or better yet, let 'em just fuck each other since they seem to be into that." he roared, "'Cause I honestly don't give a fuck anymore!"

Jake's eyes widened, "…what?"

Outside, Alexander and Duke shifted awkwardly, pretending they didn't hear any of that. "Xander, you said somethin' 'bout giving B a ride." Said Duke, running a hand through his buzzed hair, "I think its time to go now."

Alexander nodded, "Right. Sure." He said, "Your place, Boss?" he asked quietly into her ear.

The brunette shook her head. "Al's."

-xx-

Sunday
Al's Backyard

Brooke headed over to the bar and sat on the first empty stool she spotted. "Gimme a shot, Al." she called out, "Something strong, please?"

"It went that good, huh?" asked Clay as he took a pull from his beer, plopping down next to her.

"I've never seen him this mad before." Brooke said flatly, "And…there was yelling, and kicking, and throwing of things–"

"–whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!" cut in Clay, "He threw something at you?" he asked in a concerned and defensive tone. In any other situation, Brooke would've smiled at his protectiveness, but right now she couldn't muster up the energy for it.

Brooke shook her head, "Not at me, just…around the room." Explained Brooke, "Look, it was bad. And I get it. I mean it, I totally understand him. If the roles were reversed I'd be pissed, too." She sighed, "And I wouldn't forgive me, either. He hates me now."

"He doesn't hate you, Brooke." Clay said matter-of-factly, "He's just angry and…his heart is broken."

"That's a nice way of putting it. Luke's a good guy, and I blew it. And I'd hate me, too. He poured his heart out, and I up and slept with Nate. C'mon. You don't have to coddle me from this one, Clay. He hates me." Brooke sighed, "And the shit storm's not even over yet. I haven't talked to Nate yet –I don't know how to talk to Nate again." Stated Brooke, nervously licking her lips. "And I haven't told Rachel, either."

Clay rubbed the back of his head anxiously, "You, uh, you kind of don't have to, Dimples," he said, "Nate already did. This morning when I went to change we talked about it and…he was pretty messed up, too. And then after a while Rachel started wondering why he hadn't come down so she went to look for him upstairs and…anyway, then Haley called and she asked me for a ride, and here we are."

Brooke sighed, downing her shot and signaling Al to bring her another one. "Huh, how'd that go? Is she mad?"

"Hard to tell." Replied Clay with a shrug, "Look, I've never really been that good at reading Rachel. Honestly, that's Nate's area of expertise." He hummed, "That's funny 'cause he actually reads her almost as good as I read you."

"Yeah, ha-ha," said Brooke dryly. "Did she look mad at all?"

Clay shrugged again. "I dunno…she looked normal. But then she does do that whole eerily-calm-yet-still-pissed-off anger so, who knows?"

"Jeez, are you being purposely vague?" asked Brooke with a slightly annoyed tone.

"I'm not," replied Clay shaking his head, he was grinning –he's always grinning. "I genuinely don't know. Look, the worst part's over, right? Luke now knows. Things can only look up from here."

"Cla-a-a-y!" came a whiny chorus from the dance floor –Audrey and Kara, more Tri-Delt sluts.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "Guess you found your Alex-replacement."

"I'm a dude, I have needs." Clay smirked, "Look, uh, I can stay and hang if you want me to. We can do shots. Maybe this will be the night we finally make it through all of Al's Twenty Signature Shooters."

Brooke smiled and shook her head, "No, that's okay. Go. Enjoy your…slutty threesome. Have fun."

"You sure?" Clay asked, tilting his head in that dreamy way and flashing her an endearing smile. "I can stay."

Brooke shook her head, "I'm a big girl. Go." She said, planting a goodbye kiss on his cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Aight," Clay said, getting off his stool, "I'll see ya. But, uh, easy on the liquor, Boozy. Apparently, drinking really impairs your judgment."

Brooke let out a low groan, "So not ready to joke about it, C."

Clay's stool didn't stay empty for long. "Buy you a beer?"

Brooke gave him a once-over and she couldn't hold back the smirk, "Scruffy." She said dryly, "Why are you here? Why are you even still in town?"

"Well, I'm here," Julian took a pull from his beer, "trying to kill my pain or whatever. And I'm still in town 'cause I thought I had a shot with Haley." He shrugged, "Turns out I don't. I mean, I doubt she'd let me her…baby-daddy."

Brooke raised an eyebrow, surprised, "She told you? Really? You?"

"Well, I don't think she planned on it." Julian shrugged, "It just came out. And, uh, well, now I don't really know what to do." He let out a wry chuckle, "So, that's my thing –the thing that has me at the bar. It's stupid, really. Haley doesn't love me. And staying here was a mistake. I came to record the final show of Chris' tour and…I shouldn't have stayed. But enough about me so, why are you in the bar?"

"It's stupid, too. There was this guy and we…we've always been on-again, off-again –that's always been part of the game– but then he sort of went all out with a big-I-want-you-declaration and it was terribly, horribly…wonderfully sweet. So, I just panicked and I shut him down. And then I got blitzed off my ass and…slept with his brother." Blurted Brooke out with an almost casual tone. It was easier talking about it with a stranger, "I just told him today and, well, he didn't take it well. Shocker, I know."

Julian snorted, "Jeez, you are way more fucked up than I am."

Brooke rolled her eyes and punched his arm, "Shut up! At least I'm not the one chasing after a taken, pregnant girl. You're a homewrecker. That's worse than me." she sighed, "I just…I never thought it'd end with him hating me." Brooke said, "I've never wanted him to hate me."

Julian raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yes, really." Replied Brooke with a frown, "What kind of dumbass question is that? Nobody wants to be hated."

"I'm sorry, it just, it sounds to me like you really cared about this guy, but you did this horrible thing to him –and yeah, you were plastered, but still…I mean, you must've known all the ways in which it was wrong. So, I gotta ask, are you sure you didn't want him to hate you, or at the very least be unbelievably pissed at you?"

Brooke stared at him quizzically. "Look, I don't know, okay. I wasn't…thinking straight. He said he wanted me, but…a lot of guys have wanted me before and they've never stuck around." She shrugged, "And now he's not sticking around anymore, either."

Julian smirked, "That's a little convoluted, isn't it?"

"Maybe I got issues." Brooke replied with a glare.

"Well, I don't know you," Julian said, taking a pull from his beer bottle, "Maybe you do have issues. Or maybe you just happen to be genuinely self-absorbed and deeply...shallow." he shrugged, "I wouldn't know either way."

Brooke eyed him, "Thanks for that charming analysis," she said, "And who're you supposed to be, Freud?"

"If I were Freud I'd say this is all because of your daddy issues. I'm no Freud." Said Julian, "But I am a psych major. Kind of a nerd, too. I graduated a year early."

"And here I thought you were an indie-movie-rocker guy."

Julian flashed her a grin, "I am. Psych's the back-up plan." He said, "Look, just take advantage of my free advice –I am an excellent advice giver."

"Right. 'Course you are." Muttered Brooke, "So, what's your advice?"

"Fact: most relationships are over before they end. But that's not the point. It's still an ending. So, you mourn the loss. You have conflicting emotions about it. It's normal. And then oftentimes there's this feeling, like a sense of relief, like you're free again. We've all experienced it at some point, but no one wants to admit to it. Like there's something wrong about feeling that way." Julian said with an encouraging half-smile, "But you're only human."

Brooke narrowed her eyes, "Okay, can you, uh, like, de-Yoda that reference for me or something. 'Cause I didn't get most of that."

Julian chuckled, "You don't think you deserve good things, which is probably why you fuck around so much, but that's not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"What do you think I should do now?" Julian asked with a pensive pout. "What's the right thing to do?"

Brooke shrugged a shoulder, "Want an honest answer?" Julian nodded, "Pack up and leave. And not because you're not, like, good enough for Haley or something, but because she's in love with Jake –and, dude, they're having a baby. Like, a real-life, talking-and-breathing, little human being. So, you should go. Let her get her life back to normal. Because staying here, chasing after her…it's petty, and selfish, and mean-spirited. And if you really care about her you should let her be happy."

"There's a…there's a redeye to LA leaving in a few hours." Julian replied, "Should I be on it?" Brooke arched her eyebrows and nodded. Julian sighed, "Y'know, I don't even know your name."

Brooke flashed him one of his signature dimpled-smiles. "I'm Brooke. Brooke Davis." She said shaking his hand, "Nice to officially meet you, Julian Baker."

Julian stood up and pulled out an envelope from his back pocket, "Here," he said, sliding it across the bar to Brooke, "Give that to Hales. Tell her it's hers."

"Oh, uh, god, this isn't, like, some big, gushy, goodbye, love letter, is it?" asked Brooke scrunching up her nose.

Julian chuckled, "No, it is not." He assured her, "She'll know what it is. And just…tell her I said sorry and goodbye." Julian threw his messenger over his shoulder and started making his way towards the exit. He turned to face Brooke once more, "You're better than that. And you do deserve good things. That's the point. So just…stop fucking around. This guy, he probably can't forgive you right now. You made a mistake. And that's alright. 'Cause that's not the part that matters. It's the part that comes after that matters. The part when you make it right." Julian gave her a wink, "So, make it right again, Brooke Davis."

Brooke stared at him quizzically and smiled, "I'll see you around, Julian Baker…well, I won't see you, but…you know…"

Julian flashed her one of his ought-to-be-illegal grins. It suited him. "Yeah. Goodbye."

-xx-

Sunday
Brooke, Rachel & Haley's Apartment

Brooke arrived at the apartment early –she'd followed Clay's advice and cut off the booze early. She walked into Rachel's room and plopped down next to her on the bed. The redhead scooted over a little and continued reading her book. Eventually she sighed, "Something's wrong with my glasses," she said, taking them off and tossing them aside.

"Yeah, there is something wrong with them. They're mine." Replied Brooke, yours are on the living room table. Then she sighed, "Rae, are we gonna talk about it? I know you and Nate…" she let her voice trail off, "So, are we gonna talk about it?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Look, it's fine. He's not my boyfriend. We haven't even been sleeping together lately. And I don't get all emotional over people I'm not dating."

"Ugh," Brooke groaned, "You're upset. It was a mistake and I'm sorry, and it'll most definitely not happen again."

"It's really fine, Brooke. He's not my boyfriend, we're not involved. I'm fine." Replied Rachel with her usual stoic tone. Brooke knew Nate wasn't just some guy to Rachel. They were best friends who happened to sleep together on occasion. They were a thing. It was complicated. "Just…stop apologizing and move on already. What's done is done."

Brooke's eyes glistened, "I did a terrible thing." she whispered. It wasn't a question. It was an acknowledgement. Yeah, it had been a mistake, and it had been wrong…but mostly it had just been stupid and terrible.

There was a charged pause that seemed to stretch on endlessly –as if time were suddenly moving in very slow motion. "We all do terrible things." Relented Rachel in an almost mechanical tone.

"Thank you." answered Brooke automatically.

Rachel stood up, "You're welcome." She said heading out of the bedroom.

Brooke sighed, "Right…you're not mad. We're fine." She said to herself. Fucking hell.

-xx-

Monday
Duke Gym

The gym was packed as usual. The basketball team was running drills while cheerleading squad was stretching over by the mats. Brooke ran inside, tossing her gym-bag on the bleachers. Her alarm hadn't gone off that morning, and March Madness squad training began this week.

Brooke was huffing, out of breath, "Hey, guys," she gasped out, "Sorry I'm late, but you're stretching." She said as she moved over to the front to cue up the music. "That's good."

"Well, it looks like I'm not the biggest slut in the squad anymore." Theresa fake-coughed as Brooke walked by her.

The brunette whipped around, "What did you just say to me?"

"Hey, I didn't stutter." Replied Theresa cockily, "Rumor has it you've gotten under both Scott Brothers. Real slutty move, B. So, congrats, you're officially the squad's biggest whore."

Brooke wasn't sure how word about it had gotten out –well, it probably had something to do with her and Luke screaming about it in the Phi Delta house, but she didn't think it'd spread this fast. And she definitely didn't think Theresa would ever have the balls to get up in her face like that.

And then it happened. Brooke stepped up to Theresa and, much to everyone's surprise, Theresa didn't step down. It took less than a second for it to escalate –Theresa actually slapped Brooke. So, naturally, Brooke puncher her and she fell flat on her ass. Theresa in turn got up and rammed Brooke.

The basketball team stared at them in awe. A few of the guys clapped and whooped occasionally along with loud wolf-whistles. Normally, the girls would watch the boys fight or get chewed out by Coach K. or, back in what was starting to look like the good ol' days, watch Brooke and Luke go at it.

"Beat that hoe up, B. Davis!" cheered on Skills with an amused grin. "Atta girl, kick some booty!" he added when Brooke knocked Theresa flat on her ass.

Luke continued to run up the shooting drills, not even bothering to pay attention to what was going on –his anger had apparently done wonders for his game. Nate stood back, he wasn't sure if he should step in. Sex had made everything complicated and they'd been avoiding each other like the plague for the past three days, neither sure of how to have that particular morning-after talk.

"Rae!" Haley elbowed the redhead in the ribs, "Do something!" she hissed quietly.

Rachel groaned, rubbing her side. "What do you want me to do?" hissed back the redhead, "I am not a freaking referee. Why don't you separate them?"

"Because," Haley pulled Rachel down to ear level, "pregnancy and catfights don't mix that well. Just do this for me. Pull them off each other!"

Rachel sighed, grabbing a handful of Theresa's long hair and pulling her off. "Alright, enough!" she yelled, stepping in between them, "'Resa, I don't know who the fuck told you you're biggest bitch 'round here, but they lied. So step the fuck down." Then she turned to face Brooke and pulled her aside, "And you're the squad Captain, B, get it together."

The brunette's hazel-green eyes scanned the room. Everyone was staring at her. Normally, she was used to it, but this felt weird. "Y'know what, since I've got such a captive audience, everyone listen up. Yeah, I made a stupid decision and fucked the wrong guy. It's tough, but it happens. But there's only one person here who has the right to talk to me about it. As for everyone else, I'm Brooke Davis, this squad's Captain. If anyone's got a problem with it, get the fuck out of the gym and consider yourself off the squad." Then she turned to the basketball team, "Show's over. Back to playing with your balls, guys."

Skills and the other guys raised their palms as a peace gesture and went back to their practice. Jake and Nate stood aside, still staring at Brooke and the girls.

Two other girls were holding towels to Theresa's bleeding nose, "Bitch, if you broke my nose–"

"–oh, go cry a fuckin' river to someone who actually gives a shit." Hissed Brooke, she was in no mood to listen to empty threats.

Bevin scrunched up her nose, "Wait, who's the one allowed to talk to Brooke about screwing Nathan?" At that, Brooke groaned, rubbing her temples.

"Aight, baby girl," said Skills, grabbing Bevin's arm, "Uh, I'll give you a ride back home."

Brooke let out a huff of breath, "Practice today is cancelled. I want everyone here tomorrow early. If you don't show up, consider yourself off the squad." She said before walking out of the gym. Haley immediately followed her outside, waving goodbye to Jake.

Rachel walked over to Theresa, "'Resa, I've never had any problems with you, and if you want to be a bitch that's your problem. But if you touch my best friend again I will kick your ass. And I promise, my right hook's gonna break way more than your nose." With that, trotted after Brooke and Haley.

The rest of the girls quickly dispersed in a cloud of whispers and muttering. Cheer practice rarely had any drama (since they mostly watched the basketball practice drama) and they were all aflutter.

Luke let out a wry chuckle at the sight –the first noise he'd made since Brooke had arrived at the gym.

"Seriously, dude?" Jake asked with a confused frown. "You think this is funny?"

Luke only scowled, "Well, Jake, it sure as shit ain't sad."

Jake sighed, "Hey, I get it. Brooke…well, it's fucked up what she did –what they did. But holding on to that anger and bottling it all in...it's not healthy, man." Honestly, he'd have preferred that Luke decked Nate, at least then he'd know what to do. It'd have been healthier. It'd have been normal. "You're pissed off all the time. I'm not saying forgiver them. I'm saying…do some breathing exercises or something to vent it out, dude. Maybe that'll cut some of the tension off your fadeaway."

Luke smirked as he sank another three-pointer effortlessly. His fadeaway was fucking perfect. "It's better to be pissed off than pissed on." He'd been pissed on enough. He was done, through being kicked around. He wasn't going to beat the shit out of Nate (though if his raven-haired brother spoke so much as a single word to him right now that will-power would go right out the window and he'd punch him until his hand was broken) and get himself messed up. That shit was over now. And all he had to focus on was his game. And the team. And winning the NCAA Championship. Screw everyone else. (But really, screw Brooke. Because he still couldn't believe she'd actually do that to him. Not after everyone they'd been through together.)

-xx-

Monday
Brooke, Rachel & Haley's Apartment

Brooke walked into the apartment in a rush –she'd been at the library hiding out and actually studying when she got a text from Clay saying there was some sort of emergency with Haley. When she got to the living room, Haley was sitting in between Clay and Rachel on the couch, each of them doing their part to comfort the honey-blonde. Clay got up and Brooke took his place in the couch.

"What happened?" asked Brooke –when she'd left, Haley had been relatively calm. Things were settling down, and she was going to tell Jake tonight.

Haley responded by letting out a loud, piercing sob. "I-ju-and then-I-we-I-sai-" then followed a long line of jumbled up half-words (she wasn't crying exactly, it was more like a some very panicky, incoherent mumbling), until finally she managed to say, "I told Jake and he just…he left. He walked out."

Brooke looked to Clay and Rachel for further information, but they just shrugged. "Uh, Jay-Jay probably needed a second to adjust to the news. I mean, you've known for a while and you're still processing everything. And Jake's not the kind to walk away." She said in her best soothing and comforting tone.

"Totally," followed Rachel, "I've known my fair share of deadbeats, and Jake is far from it. He'd never walk away from you. He loves you. And I know he wouldn't leave his kid, either."

Haley only groaned, "Ugh," she muttered, "I'm gonna throw up." she announced, hightailing it to the bathroom.

Rachel sprang up from the couch, "I'm gonna get her some ginger ale." Said Rachel to no one in particular before heading into the kitchen.

Brooke turned to Clay, "What's up?"

"Well, uh, I was in class with Rae and then Hales called and she was…having some sort of weird crisis or whatever and then Rae just asked me for a ride and now here we are." Explained an obviously confused Clay. "Look, this is chick thing. I'm not that good at it."

Haley was back on the couch, her head resting on Rachel's lap as the redhead looked at both Clay and Brooke silently asking for some help. "I've got this. Thanks, C." said Brooke, sitting opposite to Rachel and rubbing Haley's back.

Then, the front door opened and Jake walked into the apartment. Haley bolted up from the couch and walked over to him. Brooke, Clay and Rachel took a step back and watched in silence as the couple faced each other.

"Uh, I got-did you know that the campus library has books on baby names?" Jake asked, pulling out a bunch of books from his backpack. "They had a ton of books about other stuff, too. You know, things to do before the baby comes."

Haley smiled, wiping a few tears off her cheek, "You got books. You went to get books."

Jake nodded, "Haley, I love you. I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you since we were eight years old –before I even knew what loving someone was. No matter what's happened in my life, you've always been my one constant. And you always will be." he said, setting his backpack on the floor, "And I know that this is really sudden and shocking…but I also know we can do this. You and I can do this." then he kneeled down. "Marry me, Haley," he said, pulling out a ring from his jeans' pocket, "Marry me."