Hi guys! I know that I've been away forever, but you can definitely blame my exams for that... It's truly been a tough month of constant studying, but luckily for me (and those of you who have been waiting for an update)- that's almost over now! Anyway- I definitely want to say that your wonderful reviews kept this story in my mind all the time and pushed me to work on this update in the middle of this busy month. I would especially like to thank Bella (sophiannabella) for being the most amazing person there could be- for pushing me to write and for supporting me through a discouraging few days I've been having, Todd- for still liking me and for supporting me as well, and stagediva23- for also reminding me that people were still waiting for this update! You guys are the best- I couldn't have done this without you! So on that note- here's the new chapter- enjoy! ;-)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the OTH characters.

Last Time

Still controlled by this powerful wave of bliss, Brooke didn't even realize what she was doing until she suddenly found herself throwing herself into Lucas arms, crashing her lips against his with a kiss. Only after her mouth was already attached to his, her lips assaulting Lucas' ones, did her senses finally come back to her. She couldn't believe what she had just done, especially considering the fact that Lucas had refrained from kissing her back in the beginning, and was now only hesitantly kissing her back.

Abruptly pulling away from Lucas and putting a shaky hand on her swollen lips, Brooke looked at Lucas with wide, terrified eyes.

"I'm sorry, Luke…" she breathlessly mumbled, starting to back away from him as tears formed in her eyes. She whirled away from Lucas and started running in the direction that her legs had decided to take her. Just like in her dream, she had no idea where she was going and only knew that she had to get away…

Chapter 26

"Brooke! Brooke!!" she heard her name being called, begging for her attention, yet her feet carried her forward- away from the voice of the man she had just kissed, away from the man with whom she had just made things so complicated. Just like in the dreams that had been repeatedly haunting her, she didn't even know where she was going and only let her feet carry her forward- distancing her from the person she was running away from.

"Brooke!" his voice was getting louder, and yet Brooke didn't dare to stop. She couldn't believe what she had just done, how she had thoughtlessly acted upon her instincts without even intending to, and had therefore lost the person she needed the most. Even though Brooke realized that Lucas was going after her despite what she had done, she simply couldn't face him. Not only was she too ashamed and didn't want to be the source of his pity, but she had actually also scared herself. For such a long time, she had believed that she had resolved her feelings for Lucas by now, yet her instinctive actions proved her completely wrong. Even though it hadn't quite been a romantic moment, feeling Lucas' lips touch her own still made her feel so whole and caused her insides to tingle, that Brooke was truly terrified. She just couldn't believe that after they had been doing so well, her heart was causing her to be drawn back to all the pain that admitting to love Lucas Scott would always put her through.

"Brooke!!" her vision was so blurry from all her tears, that she truly couldn't see anything that was around her. Therefore, when she unexpectedly felt her arm being grabbed, she jumped and let out a petrified yelp, yet upon recognizing Lucas' gentle touch as the one that was carefully turning her around, she slightly relaxed, knowing that she wasn't in danger. Her fear and shock, however, lurched back up on her heart almost immediately, when she suddenly felt Lucas' lips tenderly touching her own lips, delicately kissing and caressing her, like he used to do all those years ago.

For several moments, Brooke's mind went completely blank. Lucas' soft kisses erased anything that had been going on in her head as the sensations she was feeling overpowered her. The way that his arm circled her waist and pulled her body against his, as he traced soft patterns on her lower back, made her shiver. The way his other hand held onto her head, to deepen their kiss, caused her to melt into him. And the gentle manner in which he was sucking and pecking her lips, taking his time to feel her again, left her chanceless against him. As Brooke felt her body going limp in Lucas' arms, she could only give in to her body's sensations and kiss Lucas back for several magical moments.

When Lucas suddenly let out a quiet, involuntary groan of pleasure and pulled Brooke's body even closer to his form, something suddenly snapped inside Brooke's head. The panic and confusion she had been sensing hit her full force again and she all of a sudden wondered what she was doing. She abruptly pulled away from Lucas, staring at him with wide, fearful eyes as she tried to catch her breath, yet only found herself growing even more short of breath as the reality of what just happened dawned on her.

"I… We can't do this…" Brooke breathlessly said as she felt her heart starting to pound heavily against her chest. She had suddenly realized that not only had she spontaneously kissed Lucas, but that Lucas had acted upon obvious emotions and had actually kissed her back. The notion of what this could mean, of what the consequences of this act could be, were so overwhelming for Brooke, that she started to feel dizzy.

Lucas, who was still holding onto Brooke's arms and could therefore feel her body beginning to tremble and see her eyes filling with tears, immediately tightened his hold on her and began to try to calm her down.

"Brooke, it's O.K…." Lucas soothingly whispered, running his hands up and down Brooke's shaking arms. He, too, was a bit confused by the fact that Brooke had just kissed him, by how he chose to kiss her back and by the way that the last kiss had made him feel, but he could see that Brooke was far more overwhelmed than he was, and therefore chose to take care of her first.

"Hey- it's alright…" he softly told her with a small, reassuring smile, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb as he saw how her lower lip began to involuntarily quiver. Lucas could tell that Brooke was truly at the verge of tears, fighting to keep it together and, not wanting to see her lose it, gently soothed, "We're good- it's O.K."

Much to Lucas' horror, not only did his words not bring a sense of tranquility upon Brooke, but she had actually burst out into tears upon hearing him speak. He stood before her, speechless, as she let out pained, emotion-filled cries, and could literally feel his heart breaking into pieces for her.

"Come on, it's O.K…. Don't cry" Lucas heavy-heartedly begged, barely capable of containing the sadness that he felt upon witnessing Brooke's emotional state.

"B-But it's not…" Brooke choked out, sobbing with such force that Lucas was truly starting to be concerned for her wellbeing.

"Baby, just calm down" he pleaded, staring at her closely and still using his palm to cup Brooke's cheek with affection. When her tears just continued trickling into his hand, sustaining their rapid flow, Lucas couldn't help but ask, "Please don't cry, pretty girl" only causing the brunette beauty before him to start sobbing even more uncontrollably.

"Lucas- we can't do this… I can't do this…" she cried, "We've been through this before, and I just can't…"

"Brooke…" Lucas tried to stop Brooke's upset ramble, yet was chanceless against her overflowing emotions.

"I know that I kissed you first, and you've truly been so good to me, but I just can't go there again… We're finally working out as friends, and even if I do have feelings for you, we really can't-"

"What did you just say?" the serious tone Lucas' voice wore as he asked his question finally caused Brooke to pause her hysterical speech. As she suddenly realized what she had just confessed, Brooke's eyes widened in horror and her breath hitched in her throat.

"I didn't… I… I don't…" getting worked up all over again, Brooke couldn't even form a complete coherent sentence. Even though Lucas' head was pounding with the realization of what Brooke's confession could mean, especially considering the fact that it had actually made his heart skip a beat, he forced himself to keep his calm, understanding that Brooke needed him to do so.

"Brooke…" he started, gently rubbing Brooke's cheek with his fingers in an attempt to soothe her, but despite his tries, she was just becoming more and more upset.

"I'm sorry…" she suddenly sobbed out, her voice so full of confusion and pain that it truly broke his heart, "I don't know what's wrong with me today, I just…"

"Shh…" Lucas could no longer stand to see her cry and softly hushed her. As he held onto her with one hand and used the other to stroke her hair calmingly, Brooke's confused speech finally died out, yet her upset sobs continued rolling out of her mouth freely. With the sole purpose of calming her down, Lucas once again let his natural impulses take over him and pulled Brooke's trembling frame against him, pressing his lips against her cheeks and gently kissing her tears away. He wasn't trying to be romantic or anything like that right now- he simply wanted her heartbreaking crying to stop.

As Lucas noted that his gentle kisses indeed had a soothing affect on Brooke, as her frightened, perplexed sobs turned into quiet cries and sniffles, he continued giving in to his nature and let his lips move from Brooke's cheeks to her forehead. When he felt how Brooke's body was starting to relax into his in response to his soothing actions, he found his lips beginning to wander around, delicately covering Brooke's soft skin wherever he possibly could. He just wanted her to feel safe and loved, he just wanted to kiss away her pain.

Suddenly comprehending the fact that they were still standing in the middle of the hotel's parking lot, Lucas realized that it would probably be appropriate to guide Brooke back to the car and lead her to a place that would be more suitable for them to hold the conversation that he knew they needed to have. Carefully pulling away from her, Lucas looked at the tearful girl held in his arms and was about to suggest that they would leave, when his gaze was suddenly caught in her big hazel eyes, which were looking at him with such a mixture of emotions that Lucas was truly transfixed.

As he could distinctly see a sole tear making its way down Brooke's cheek and could feel her soft breaths sweeping over his neck, Lucas suddenly realized how close the two of them were to one another. Taking in the breathtaking beauty of the vulnerable woman before him, Lucas officially threw his rational thinking out the window, as he gently pulled Brooke to him, bent his head down and captured her lips for the second time that night. As he felt Brooke reciprocating his kiss after several moments, Lucas couldn't help himself and gently pried her mouth open with his tongue, starting to caress and feel her. Even though he might have wished to say that he was still trying to comfort Brooke, whose tears kept rolling out of her eyes, the truth was that Lucas could no longer deny the intense emotions he felt towards her. The truth was that Lucas had fallen hopelessly in love with the pretty girl in his arms, so hopelessly- that he could no longer hide it.

Sensing that Brooke was growing short of breath, Lucas reluctantly pulled himself away from her soft lips, yet still held onto her with a firm grip. He realized that even though Brooke undeniably did kiss him back, that he still might have come onto her too strongly, and wasn't willing to risk having her run away from him again. As his eyes locked on the big, wet hazel eyes before him, Lucas could only give Brooke a reassuring smile, unable to put his feelings into words at the moment.

"What does this mean, Luke?" it was Brooke who broke the silence, as she shakily, unsurely questioned him, looking at him with perplexed, uncertain eyes.

"It means that I want to be with you, so I guess it's up to you now, pretty girl…" Lucas softly replied as he stroked up and down her shivering arms, realizing that he made his feelings and intentions pretty clear with his kiss, and therefore knowing that he was unable to take it all back now, when his true feelings were finally out in the open. "What do you want it to mean?" he sincerely, yet quietly asked, needing to know where her head was, but not wanting her to freak out again.

"I… I don't know, Luke…" Brooke honestly replied, her eyes filling with fresh tears once again as she made her confession. She really couldn't deny how she felt towards Lucas now, but she truly didn't know if she was capable of putting herself out there again after everything she had been through lately and after how Lucas had damaged her heart before. Just as Brooke started to feel her lips beginning to quiver, as her confusion, uncertainty and frustration got to her, she felt Lucas soothingly cupping her cheek again, rubbing over it with his gentle thumb.

"Hey… Don't worry about it, pretty girl… We'll figure this out in time" he reassured. Of course he would have been overjoyed if Brooke would have agreed to let him in, but he couldn't blame her and could truly understand why she was being protective of her heart.

"Lucas…" Brooke looked at him with a torn expression. He could already see in her eyes how much she wanted to give up her fears and just admit her true feelings, but he could also see the internal battle that she was going through. Not wanting Brooke to torture herself, Lucas quickly cut her off.

"Hey… Everything's alright, Brooke… I'll wait for you until you know what you want" he promised, and then felt obliged to add, "And I'll always be there for you, no matter what you decide…" he said, knowing that he indeed would, even though it might break his heart to do so if she would decide that she couldn't let him in again.

"I just… I don't know what to say, Luke…" Brooke told him as she looked at him guiltily, feeling the need to respond to the kind way he was handling this situation, but being truly at loss of words. She felt awful for responding like this after Lucas put himself out there for her and admitted that he wanted to be with her, but she just couldn't be careless with her heart after all the blows that she endured lately.

"You don't have to say anything, babe…" Lucas gave her a small, reassuring smile, "Just promise me that when you make up your mind, you'll be honest with me" was all that he asked for. When Brooke nodded in agreement, knowing that Lucas' request that she wouldn't hide herself from him once she knew what she wanted was only fair, Lucas suddenly grinned at her playfully, "And until that happens, no friends with benefits, hmm? I had enough of that non-exclusive drama when we were in high school…" he jokingly said, wanting to lighten the mood and indeed- finally putting an amused smile on Brooke's face.

"Jerk…" she half-jokingly replied as she wiped away her tears from her face, yet couldn't help but let out a small giggle as she remembered how miserable she had made Lucas with her playing-hard-to-get games back when they were teenagers.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Lucas playfully raised an eyebrow, pretending to be hurt by her contagious laughter only for a moment, as he was soon laughing as well. When Brooke nodded her head, he slid back towards her and carefully grabbed her, starting to tickle her sides and causing her to laugh uncontrollably.

"Lucas… Stop…" she laughed out loud, trying to wiggle out of his grasp, but failing to do so due to her physical disadvantage in comparison to him, "Lucas… Come on… That's not fair…" she continued giggling, causing Lucas to chuckle, as he enjoyed the lovely sound of her raspy, wholehearted laughter.

When Brooke's shirt slightly rode up in the midst of their playfulness, as she attempted to escape Lucas' wiggling fingers, Lucas all of a sudden stopped his teasing actions as a fading scar, which tainted Brooke's perfect, porcelain skin, came into view.

"What?" Brooke, still giggling and trying to catch her breath, questioned him lightly, but followed his intense gaze as she noticed him frowning. "Lucas…" she softly said as she observed the pained expression on his face and felt his fingers delicately touching her pink skin, brushing over the barely visible marks imprinted on it.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, Luke… I'm fine…" she softly tried to convince and reassure him, yet Lucas' gaze was still glued to her damaged skin.

"I just can't believe that I wasn't here when this bastard hurt you… I can't believe I wasn't there for you after this happened…" Lucas guiltily mumbled, seemingly swept to a world of his own, which contained his guilt and his torturous feelings. When Brooke's soft, raspy voice spoke, however, he was pulled back to reality all at once.

"You're here now…" she simply pointed out, and when Lucas raised his eyes to meet her hazel orbs and saw with how much emotion she was looking at him, he realized that it was truly what should matter, what did matter…

"I am, and I'm not going anywhere…" he told her sincerely, his eyes looking at her so intensely, that Brooke immediately felt herself growing weak in the knees. The sheer care and adoration he was projecting at her, which never once failed to get to her, were almost enough to cause Brooke to rid herself of the walls that were surrounding her heart.

"Do you really think that this could work between us this time, Luke?" Brooke asked Lucas with so much raw emotion, that Lucas couldn't hold back and immediately replied.

"If you let me in, I'll never let you go again, Brooke. Never…" he swore with so much passion that Brooke had to take a deep breath, feeling herself growing dizzy from the intense feelings he was showing her all of a sudden.

Noticing how speechless he had made Brooke, Lucas realized that he needed to take a step back, so he wouldn't be pressuring her too much, so he quickly added, "Just bear that in mind, and when you're ready- let me know how you feel, O.K.?"

"O.K…." Brooke softly replied, nodding at him gently. She wished she could have given Lucas a different response, but she truly needed to think through the matter thoroughly and not make any rash decisions when it came to her heart.

"Alright, pretty girl- let's get out of this parking lot before George comes here and sees us like this…" Lucas put a smile on his face, initially for Brooke's sake, but soon enough- his forced smile turned into a genuine one, as Brooke looked at him with a mortified expression.

"Oh god… I totally forgot that we were still here…" she truthfully said, the sudden alarm and embarrassment appearing on her face, which made her look like a small child caught doing something forbidden, causing Lucas to be unable to help himself and let out a chuckle.

"Come here, silly…" he laughed, looking at her adoringly, "Let's get out of here…" he advised, taking her hand on the intention of leading her towards the car, but pausing when he saw her hesitance.

"What is it?" Lucas asked, looking deeply into her eyes, searching for what was troubling her mind.

"Are we really going to be O.K. now, Lucas?" Brooke unsurely asked, her expression turning serious again, replacing the carefree expression her face wore for several moments, "I just… I don't want to lose you…" she confessed, slight fear suddenly appearing in her eyes.

"Hey- you're not gonna lose me, alright? And of course we are O.K., babe" Lucas smiled at her warmly, rubbing his thumb over her palm caringly, "No matter what happens- we'll always be O.K…." he promised, finally putting the smile back on Brooke's face and enabling her to relax and follow his lead towards the car.

As they drove off together, Lucas couldn't help but steal glances at Brooke once in a while and smile to himself sadly. He knew that they would be O.K. no matter what, as he owed it to Brooke, but he couldn't help but wish that they would turn out to be more than O.K., much more than that…

"Ahem… Are we interrupting anything?" as Brooke and Lucas entered Brooke's house and spotted Owen and Rachel in the middle of a passionate kiss, Brooke raised an eyebrow and commented amusedly, immediately breaking up the couple. She had seen the two flirting around ever since Rachel had returned to Tree Hill, but this was the first time she witnessed such intense interaction between the two. Even though Brooke had been guessing that at some point, the two would start dating, walking in on them for the first time still managed to surprise and entertain her.

"I… We were just…" Owen began stuttering, his mind still unable to function due to the affect that Rachel seemed to have on him, yet Rachel cut him off and smirked at her friend.

"Actually, Brooke- you kind of are…" she replied teasingly as she crossed her arms over her chest, causing Brooke and Lucas to laugh slightly and Owen to turn red in embarrassment.

"Well, since I already told Owen that if he hurts you, he's dead- you two have my blessing…" Brooke announced with a smile, causing Rachel to grin delightedly, and to truly laugh when Brooke playfully added, "Just make sure you put a scrunchie on your doorknob before you do anything kinky…"

"Fine by me…" Rachel smiled happily and as Owen groaned in discomfort, they all shared a whole-hearted laugh.

"So I take it the meeting with that old guy from your company went well?" Rachel voiced out her assumptions, seeing as Brooke hadn't seemed this strong and good-spirited since the second attack took place.

"Yes, the meeting with George went perfectly fine" Brooke said with a smile, emphasizing the fact that the "old guy" in question had a name, "I'm gonna have a secret presentation to the board in two weeks, which Victoria won't even know about, and if I do well- I'll be in charge again and Victoria will be out of the picture for good" she explained, causing Rachel's face to light up even more.

"Brooke- that's awesome!" she exclaimed, genuinely happy that her friend would finally be able to get her company back, and that her ice queen of a mother would get was she deserved.

"I know… But I have so much work to do, so I'm really gonna need your help" Brooke told Rachel, looking up at her with big puppy eyes, and causing her to laugh.

"You can count on it…" Rachel replied, causing Brooke to squeal and hug Rachel in excitement.

"Thank you, Rache- you're the best" she said, giggling as Rachel shrugged her shoulders, as if telling her she already knew that.

"Oh- I'm also gonna need the help of my two handsome models here…" Brooke said, looking at Lucas, who immediately nodded, and then at Owen, who seemed to be hesitant, still slightly uncomfortable with the idea. "Please?" she begged, sticking her lower lip out in a pout, which she knew that nobody could ever say no to, "It's my only way to kick Victoria's ass out of my company…" she explained, already knowing that Owen would never be able to refuse to that.

"Oh, alright… But we're definitely even after this, Brooke… Even more than even…" Owen replied, causing Brooke to nod happily. It had truly been a wonderful day for her, yet even though she was already enthusiastic to start working on all the ideas and sketches that she was already starting to think about, even though she had forgotten that she was still recovering from her second attack for several hours, she could all of a sudden feel how all of her excitement and the emotions she had been through were suddenly getting to her, making her so tired that she couldn't help but let out a small yawn. Despite the fact that she tried to hide the sigh of her sudden exhaustion, all of her friends noticed it and smiled at her with understanding.

"Alright, babe- today was a long day for you, so why don't we call it a night?" Lucas suggested as he came up to her and put his hand on the small of her back, starting to lead her towards the stairs. He knew that now she was probably able to function independently, as her emotional condition considerably improved since she had been notified that she might get her company back, yet he had grown accustomed to shielding her at all times since her second attack, and couldn't help but remain slightly overprotective of her now as well. Lucas realized that in time, he would be forced to loosen up around Brooke and let her out of his sight some more, as she was such an independent person by nature, but he wasn't prepared for that yet. Therefore, when Brooke suddenly took a step away from him as they reached the stairs and looked at him with apologetic eyes, Lucas couldn't help but feel a pang of pain hit his heart.

"Actually, Luke- I really will go and get ready for bed, but I think I'll be fine by myself tonight, O.K.?" she gently said, looking at him with her big, caring eyes, as if begging him not to take her call for independence personally.

"Are you sure, Brooke?" he quietly asked her, not wanting to embarrass her in front of Rachel and Owen, yet wanting to be certain that she wasn't pushing herself too far all at once.

"I'm sure, Broody…" Brooke replied, and Lucas couldn't help but smile as he heard the way her old nickname for him accidentally, yet completely naturally, slipped out of her mouth.

"Alright, pretty girl… Just call out when you're all ready for bed, and I'll come to lie down with you" he naturally said, already knowing how much better she felt with someone by her side at night, especially ever since she had been attacked. Much to his disappointment, however, Brooke's eyes shifted over to the floor as she awkwardly cleared her throat.

"Yeah… About that… I think that I'm gonna sleep over at Rachel's room tonight…" Brooke uncomfortably said, causing Lucas to frown as he realized that she was trying to distance herself from him.

"Brooke, come on- don't do this…" he begged her, unable to handle her pushing him away from her again, "I don't want what happened to change anything between us" he quietly said, wanting to keep what happened between them that day private, yet still causing Rachel to frown and take a few steps towards them as she noticed their suddenly hushed tones.

"Is everything alright, Brooke?" she asked with slight concern, looking at Brooke carefully in order to assess whether her friend was truly alright or not.

"Yeah, Rache, I'm fine…" Brooke plastered a forced smile on her face, yet when Rachel eyed her skeptically, her voice grew soft as she asked, "But will it be O.K. if I come over to your room and we have a little girl's night tonight?"

"You know you don't even have to ask, Brooke" Rachel immediately replied, frowning as she saw Brooke taking a deep, relieved breath. "Is something that you didn't tell me about going on?" she questioned gently, realizing that with Brooke walking in on her and Owen kissing, she might have not been paying her full attention to Brooke.

When Brooke just shrugged and shook her head, a little too quickly for Rachel's liking, Rachel realized that something truly must be going on. "Come here for a sec…" she pulled her aside, walking away from both men, so she could talk to Brooke in private.

"Brooke, what happened tonight? Just tell me…" she carefully asked, needing to know what was troubling her friend.

"It's really nothing, Rache-"

"So is this about Owen? Is this too awkward for you?" Rachel cut her off and questioned seriously, looking straight into Brooke's eyes, as she needed to know Brooke's honest reply, "Sweetie- I only went for him because you said you were cool with it, but you know that you come first for me, so if you changed your mind, please just tell me now" Rachel asked her, causing Brooke to immediately reply.

"Rache, I'm definitely cool with you and Owen" she said, sounding so certain that Rachel immediately believed her.

"So what- you just missed your favorite girl?" Rachel asked with a teasingly seductive grin, causing Brooke to erupt into a fit of giggles which Rachel soon joined.

"Come on, Rache- I don't wanna make Owen jealous…" Brooke lightly replied with a smirk, glad that she had managed to brush the matter off. The truth was that she needed some space and some time away from Lucas in order to be able to think straight and make a wise decision, as she knew that being held in his arms at night would probably cause her to be unable to hold back her intense feelings towards him. The truth was that being near Lucas prevented her from thinking straight, but she didn't want to tell Rachel that. She just wanted to think the matter through by herself for a while, without Rachel or Lucas' influences affecting her.

As the two girls made their way back to the living room, where they had left the two men, Brooke noticed how much sadness there appeared to be in Lucas' ocean-colored eyes. Therefore, as Rachel followed Owen towards his car and bid him goodbye, Brooke came up to Lucas and couldn't help but gently cup his cheek.

"Hey… Please don't be offended by this, Luke" she pleaded with him, her warm, hazel eyes begging his big, blue orbs for understanding as she stroked a finger across his cheek.

"You said that you don't want to lose me, but you're pushing me away, Brooke… I don't want to lose you either" he sadly said, almost bringing tears to Brooke's eyes as he sounded so miserable.

"Lucas… I just want some space to figure out if I can do this… Please just give me some time" she asked him, her eyes becoming filled with so many emotions that Lucas immediately had to nod with understanding.

"O.K." he softly said, gently peeling Brooke's hand from his cheek and bringing it to his lips, for a delicate kiss, "I'll give you time, pretty girl, just don't shut me out" was all that he asked for, receiving a gentle nod from the brunette beauty before him before she disappeared upstairs, to get ready for bed.

Lucas remained in his place on Brooke's sofa for a while, long after he watched Brooke walking away from him, long after she came back downstairs and headed towards Rachel's room after bidding him goodnight and smiling to him over her shoulder. He tried to ignore how cold his hand had become after her hand had slipped away from his touch or how his cheek had become flushed over where Brooke's delicate palm had touched him, yet he simply couldn't, as he already missed the pretty girl that found her way back to his heart. As he lied down on the couch, unable to occupy Brooke's empty bed without her, Lucas knew that Brooke deserved to be given some time to establish her decision, but could only pray that in the process, she would keep her promise to him and wouldn't shut him out. He just prayed that she wouldn't push him away, as he truly didn't know if he would be able to handle being away from her now, after he finally admitted to himself and to her how much he needed her by his side…

AN: I can't even begin to tell you how much I've been waiting to write in a little romance for Brucas, so I hope this didn't seem rushed, as I truly couldn't help myself!! As always- I'd really love to hear your thoughts, but since I've been having a few discouraging days, as I've already said, if you have supportive comments, it would be awesome to hear them! As always- I accept and value any kind of feedback, but this week, more than ever, I could use a good word or two, if you enjoyed what I wrote... ;-)