A/N: Here's another update, please check out my poll for this story on my profile. I highly recommend that you listen to the songs I post the lyrics to in my chapters because it helps get the point of the chapter across, and the songs are pretty awesome. Well, enough with my awkward rant, here's chapter 25!

Isabel camilla Scott: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you were able to relate to this chapter, it makes me happy that I wrote something that meant something to someone.

Bee27289: Thanks for the review! This chapter is happier! Nathan is going to clean his act up and Brooke is going to go back to where it all started. I'm glad that you get excited when I update, that makes me want to write more.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the storyline.

"People who are meant to be together always find a way to each other. When life gets hard, when things change, true love remains the same."

Chapter 25

~NSNSNSNSNS~

Two months passed since Nathan last talked to Brooke. He thought about her, along with Jake and Sawyer. Nathan believed that Jake was his son, no matter what some paper said. Dr. Rogers repeatedly said that Jake wasn't his son, but somewhere in Nathan's now black heart, he knew Jake was of his blood.

Nathan was slowly losing himself; it felt wrong to say that he could feel himself becoming number. Brooke's words stung because they were true. There were still feelings there, there was just no trust. Brooke was willing to try again, but Nathan didn't know why. He was the one that left.

Nathan still got drunk every night, picked up a girl from Pete's, sometimes the same one. He didn't really notice, they just fucked and he left before she fell asleep.

Nathan woke up the next morning feeling better. Usually he woke up with a numbing feeling that would eventually send him back to sleep. He lifted himself off the bed. He walked into the bathroom for a piss, and then looked at himself in the mirror.

He barely recognized the stranger in the mirror. His hair was longer, almost longer than he had it in high school. He had grown a beard, and he brought a hand to his face. It was scratchy and foreign. His eyes were a dark blue, almost black. His naked chest was a little flabby. Nathan hadn't played basketball in what seemed like forever.

Nathan just shook his head and went back to his bedroom. He looked around, not sure what to do.

What am I doing here?

This morning he woke up feeling better. Maybe he should make something of that.

Nathan walked outside, it was still warm for November, but it was Phoenix after all. Nathan always felt like an outsider in this town, like he never fit in.

He sat down on his porch steps, reveling in the beautiful sunrise. That was the best thing about Phoenix. The sunrises and sunsets were amazing, and couldn't be matched anywhere else.

Why am I here? I should be with Brooke; helping out with Jake and Sawyer…I promised I would never leave.

Nathan never really understood why he left in the first place. Maybe he got scared. He had just lost his dream, and it only felt natural to push everyone close to him away. He was a fucking idiot.

Nathan went back inside. It was time to change.

~BDBDBDBDBD~

Brooke woke up feeling better, she was truly moving on. Two months ago, she couldn't have said that. Not after calling Nathan. She was so stupid. Why would she corner him like that?

Because I still love him.

No matter how much she wanted to hate him, there was always going to be love there. Over time, she prayed that it would fade away and she could live her life. For now, she was taking one day at a time.

"Aunt Brooke!"

Brooke groaned, Sawyer was always a ball of energy, no matter the time of day.

"Alright Sawyer, I'm coming!"

Brooke changed out of her white tank top and black sweatpants. She put on a nice dark green dress for work and turned her curling iron on. She went out to get Sawyer dressed.

"Aunt Brooke, does this look good?"

Sawyer was standing in a blue sweatshirt with blue sweatpants that were a different shade of blue. Brooke almost laughed.

"Sawyer, how is it that you didn't end up with any of my fashion sense?"

Brooke ran a hair through Sawyer's hair and went to her dresser. She grabbed a pair of jeans and handed them to Sawyer.

"Thanks, Aunt Brooke."

Brooke smiled and gave her a raspberry on the cheek. Sawyer giggled and Brooke let her be. She could already hear Jake's cries in the other room.

Brooke opened the door to his room, and saw him standing against the bars of his crib. He immediately smiled.

"Momma."

Brooke could help but smile back. Jake had said his first words a couple of weeks ago, but they weren't 'Momma'. It was 'ball'. Of course it was ball. Brooke shed a tear, knowing that Nathan should have been here for this.

It's his fault. He walked right out of our lives.

Yeah, but you didn't chase after him or fight for him. You let him walk away.

Brooke fended off her demons and went to pick up Jake.

"Hello, baby boy."

She kissed him on the cheek, and her nose wrinkled.

"Jeez, Jake. What did you eat last night?"

Jake giggled as Brooke rubbed his stomach. She brought him over to the changing table and changed his diaper. Sawyer walked in to watch, but immediately walked back out after the smell hit her.

Brooke dropped the kids off at daycare, and headed into work. It was a Thursday, so no appointments with Sam. Not that she would attend. Sam had been skipping out on Brooke's appointments and various classes for the past two months. Brooke wanted to ask her what was wrong, but she never saw her.

Brooke walked into her office, and checked her computer. No appointments until the afternoon.

"Excuse me, Ms. Davis?"

Brooke looked up to see Principal Dawson in the doorway of her office with Sam in tow.

"Please, come in."

Brooke stands up as Principal Dawson and Sam walk in. Brooke closes the door behind them as they sit down.

"What's this about?"

Brooke sits back down behind her desk. Sam rolls her eyes as Principal Dawson speaks.

"I caught Ms. Walker stealing from the vending machine."

Brooke was confused, why was the principal coming to her?

"Okay…um I'm not trying to sound insulting, but why are you coming to me?"

Principal Dawson sighed as he looked over at Sam.

"Ms. Davis, it seems you are the only one that gets through to her. I've tried everything, threatening to expel, telling her foster mother, and even threatening her education after high school. She won't budge. I trust you will talk to her, and explain the situation."

Principal Dawson stood up and walked out of Brooke's office, leaving Brooke still confused and speechless.

Sam stood up, ready to follow him.

"Sit."

Sam could tell that Brooke meant business.

"Sam, why do you keep doing this?"

"I guess for the thrill or high."

"Sam, you have a life to think about here. What are you going to do after high school?"

"Leave this town and never look back."

Brooke could sympathize with her; she had felt the same way back in high school except when she started being best friends with Nathan.

Nathan

Brooke was determined not to think about him.

"Yeah, well what if you drop out before you get your high school diploma? It's going to be tough getting a job, even with just a high school degree."

Sam shrugged her shoulders.

"C'mon Sam, I've been there. I know what its like to have parents that don't care. Hell, mine left me once I hit high school and they never looked back. I changed and everybody knew it. I was the school slut, and I didn't care. My grades dropped, I didn't attend school most of the time. I was out partying almost every night, hooking up with a different guy every time. I thought I was living the high life. I wasn't. Not even close. In my junior year, I met a guy who was different than everyone else. I fell head over heels in love, a love I didn't even know existed. Then he went and cheated on my best friend. Twice."

Sam was suddenly very interested in Brooke's drama filled high school years.

"Your best friend? How could she do that?"

"Well, for starters, they were in love. The only reason he got with me was because she was scared of what they could have been. My friend had trust issues."

"What happened after that? Did you guys fight?"

"Yeah, we actually did. We didn't talk to each other for almost a year. I got a new best friend; you might actually know her, Haley James. Well, back then she was known as Haley James Scott."

"Haley James the singer?"

"The one and only."

"Wait, you said Haley James Scott…she was married? In high school?"

"Yeah she was. They had this fairytale kind of love that only happened in the movies."

"What happened?"

"She left him for the music and fame."

"Him?"

"Nathan Scott."

"How could she do that?"

"Sometimes love fades away. That's what happened with Nathan and Haley."

Brooke couldn't believe how easy it was talking about Nathan. It didn't hurt as much as it did.

"What did he do?"

"He started to spiral out of control. There was nothing people could do for him. I finally got through to him, and we became best friends."

"Nathan Scott, I've heard that name somewhere."

Realization was all over Sam's face as she connected the dots. She looked over at the picture of Brooke, Nathan, Sawyer and Jake on Brooke's desk.

"You fell for your best friend's husband?"

"Ex-husband, and it didn't happen until after college."

"I thought you wouldn't do that, you would understand of all people."

"That's exactly why it didn't happen until after college, when we were both raising a kid."

"You had a kid in college?"

"No, Sawyer's not mine, she's Lucas and Peyton's daughter. They passed away four years ago."

"I'm sorry. Peyton was your best friend, wasn't she?"

Brooke's eyes started to water, it would never get easier talking about Peyton and Lucas.

"Yeah, she was."

"What happened to Nathan?"

Brooke fell silent.

"C'mon, I know that you still love him. It's all over your face. What did he do?"

"He left."

Sam was silent; there was nothing she could say.

"Well, I should go."

"Go where?"

"Back to class. I'll see you around, Ms. Davis."

Sam smiled, one of the first genuine smiles Brooke had seen on her. Maybe things were starting to get better. Brooke smiled as Sam left. She looked over at the picture, thinking about Nathan. Maybe it was time to call him again.

~NSNSNSNSNS~

"Twenty-one, twenty-two…"

Nathan strained as he tried to push up the barbell. A month had passed since Nathan had his epiphany. He had gotten back into shape, shaved off his beard, shaved his hair down shorter than he ever wore it. He had a good feeling, or good karma. Nothing could stop him. He got up from the bench, and wiped the sweat off of his face with a towel. He went into the bathroom to take a shower. He glanced at the mirror, proud of the man he was starting to get back.

I had a vision for the life that was ahead of me
I had a reason, had a ride and had a destiny

Nathan changed into a long sleeve sweater and jeans. He went back out to his kitchen. The only picture on his refrigerator was a picture of Brooke, Sawyer and Jake.

I thought I never knew where I was heading
I would never look back

Nathan smiled at the picture, making him miss them even more.

Nathan went to Pete's that night, feeling better, but he still relied on the alcohol.

"Scott, I haven't seen you in a month. You've changed!"

Pete shook Nathan's hand.

"Yeah, I'm trying to clean up myself."

"Well, it's about damn time. It's good to see that the good men haven't fallen."

Pete smiled as he got Nathan a glass of whiskey.

"What brought about the change, if you don't mind me asking?"

Nathan shook his head, he didn't mind. The only thing that came to his mind was Brooke. Pete noticed Nathan's silence, and figured it out.

"It's a woman, isn't it?"

"The woman."

"Ahh, so it's the woman. What happened?"

"Nothing, I left."

Nathan got out his phone and showed him a picture of Brooke and Jake. Pete slapped Nathan on the back of the head.

"What did you do that for? This woman's gorgeous! Who's the kid?"

Nathan just looked down at his whiskey.

"I don't know. To this day, I still don't know. I guess I just got scared. The kid is Jake. He's Brooke's son, and supposedly mine too, but the test results said he isn't."

I had it all and then I went and let it slip away
I'm working overtime I'm gonna make it anyway

"Well, boy, you better man up and not be scared. This woman is downright breathtaking, and you better go tell her that. Jake's a spitting image of you."

"How can I? She lives on the other side of the country. She's got a new life. She's probably moved on."

"You don't know that."

"I know Brooke. She doesn't do heartbreak."

"Do you still love her?"

Nathan answered without hesitation.

"Of course. She's the one."

This earned Nathan another slap on the head.

"Then go tell her that, idiot. You don't want this one to get away."

Nathan smiled, he appreciated Pete's advice.

"What are you still doing here? Go to the airport, fly to wherever she is and win your woman back. Do whatever it takes; just make sure she knows that you'll never leave again and that she can trust you. You had a kid with her, there's not much more love than that."

Pete took Nathan's whiskey away from him, and started to usher him out the door. Nathan left and walked home.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you never get her back

Nathan ran, he just kept running. He needed to tell Brooke, he needed to tell her how much he loved her and how he would make it up to her every day for the rest of their lives. Nathan never stopped, he ran all the way to the airport.

Oh, you know that I'm rising up slowly and getting higher
I've been living with a hole in my heart

"Next flight… to… New York."

Nathan was out of breath and the woman didn't understand what he said.

"Excuse me?"

"Next flight to New York, please."

"Okay, that will be 12:40am, but they're already boarding."

Nathan checked his watch; the flight was in ten minutes.

"That's fine, I don't have anything. Here's my credit card."

Weighing down on me, but I'm a fighter
I know I still got a shot in the dark

The woman ran his credit card through, and he thanked her as he ran to the plane. He got on just as they were closing the doors.

Baby, we still got a shot in the dark

Nathan was anxious the whole flight. He didn't know what he was going to say, he was hoping it would come to him at the right time and it would make Brooke understand how much he loved her and needed her.

Sometimes in life you meet the people that you think you trust
Wake up one day and find that everything had turned to dust

Nathan got off the plane, and ran to the nearest taxi.

"Where to?"

Nathan froze; he didn't know where Brooke lived.

"I, um, I'll just catch the next one."

Nathan got out and frantically called Haley.

"Nathan, its 2:00am, why are you calling me?"

"Where does Brooke live?"

"What?"

"Haley, I'm in New York, and I need to know where Brooke lives."

"Nathan, I'm not sure if that's the best idea-"

"Damn it Hales, just answer my question!"

"Nathan, you can't just got to Brooke's house, you're just going to end up scaring her away."

"I'm not going to scare her away Haley; I just need to see her."

"Why?"

"To tell her that I love her and she's the one for me."

Haley smiled into the phone; it was about damn time Nathan was finally stepping up.

"It's Apartment #4 Woodward Drive."

"Thanks Hales."

"She still loves you, Nate. And I know that you made a mistake, just don't ever do it again."

"I won't Haley; Brooke is the one for me. I'm never going to let her go again."

Sometimes in life you meet the people that you think you trust
Wake up one day and find that everything had turned to dust

Nathan was about ready to throw up, he had never been this nervous in his life. He was silent the whole ride to Brooke's house.

He got out of the taxi and watched as the taxi drove away. He looked at Brooke's apartment. It wasn't big, but it still looked like a nice building. He could tell that Brooke loved the apartment the moment he saw it. He walked up to the door slowly and up to the fourth floor. It was the longest walk in his life.

He rang the doorbell, praying to God that Brooke would answer. He turned around from the door, he couldn't do this. The door opened, and Nathan's heart dropped down to his feet.

I always knew that you'd be waiting for me when I got back

"Hello, Brooke."

A/N: Hehe, I left you with a cliffhanger. Sorry if this chapter wasn't as good as the others, I started writing this in school. Hopefully you're glad that Nathan finally came to his senses. I had planned on writing a couple more sad chapters, but I listened to my reviewers who didn't want more. Song is 'Shot in the Dark' by Augustana, another perfect song for this chapter. I have a poll opened on my profile for this story; all the details are there, so please check it out. I need people to vote because I'm stuck on something that's going to happen farther down the road. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think and until next time!