As the weeks wore on and the end of school loomed Peyton and Brooke's feelings of uncertainty only grew. There didn't seem to be much to support their fear but they still felt painfully aware of something out of their control. Lucas felt the same way but for different reasons. He was still living at his house but the tension was palpable. He hadn't really spoken to his mother in longer then he could remember. He knew Keith was trying to repair the rift but to be honest, he didn't see how it could be fixed.

"Hey Broody," Brooke's voice had Luke turning from his locker. She looked like she hadn't been sleeping in weeks. According to Nathan, Brooke had been getting up periodically, and the same from Jake about Peyton.

"Hey," he threw a congenial arm around her shoulder as they began to walk, "wanna talk about it?"

"Nope," she shook her head but grinned at him.

"Seriously," his grin disappeared, "what's up Brooke? Nathan says you haven't been sleeping."

Brooke shrugged, "I just feel like shit is going to go down, you know?"
His eyebrows shot up at her words, she didn't normally talk slang but it was obviously the only way she could explain her feelings, "I think you two are just in depression and disappointment overdrive. This year has changed everybody in our group. Hell, I wasn't even in the group at the beginning of the year and I'm still changed. My mother, the person I've been closest to my entire life, isn't talking to me."

"How is that going? Are you and Haley okay," Brooke asked.

"She's sad because she thinks my Mom doesn't like her. I don't think my Mom hates her I think my Mom's mad at me. She thinks I'm just being stupid and young. I want to marry her now because we both truly believe that we'll be together forever. That's the same feeling that someone ten years older then us would get. You know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, you're saying that you've weighed your pros and cons and that you've got the same issues someone older then you would have. You feel like your problems ten years from now won't outweigh or be all that different from the ones now," Brooke replied.

He nodded, "you get it, I wish my mother could."

"Do you get where she's coming from though," Brooke turned to stand in front of him as they got to the doorway of her classroom, "she's worried that you'll ruin your relationship. She's worried that you'll lose yourself in this whole relationship and forget to advance yourself. She thinks that you don't know the life lessons that almost all of us in the group had to learn early, including Haley. That you have to stand on your own if you honestly expect yourself to support someone else."

Luke nodded and squeezed Brooke back when she gave him a hug. He had a lot of thinking to do and a relationship to repair.

0000

Peyton sat beside Brooke as they stretched in Gym, surprised that she had even shown up, "hey, did you sleep last night?"

"Nope," Brooke looked her best friend over, "you?"

She shook her head, "I think our boyfriends may be right. Maybe we're borrowing trouble because that's all we've had lately."

"You know what," Brooke bent over and touched her toes, "we have two spectacular boyfriends. We have big houses, and great cars. We have an amazing group of friends. We have to stop all of this. We've both been doing this for weeks and nothing has happened."

"Exactly," Peyton agreed.

Brooke sat back up, "we are chronic pessimists!"
"Do you know what a pessimist is," Peyton asked.

"That doesn't matter," Brooke waved her hand.

"Sorry I'm late," Haley told her teacher as she sat beside Peyton.

Rachael looked over her shoulder and grinned, "that would explain the engagement ring."

Brooke giggled and Peyton had to cover her grin with a cough. Haley scowled at Rachael, "keep it to yourself, Gattina."

"Whatever you say but I should warn you that your fiancé is playing basketball down the gym and he looks good enough to give you palpitations, not good for a baby," Rachael turned and laughed as Haley playfully threw a pen at her.

Haley looked down toward Luke and sighed, "he is gorgeous."

"Down girl," Peyton teased her.

"I can't help it. I want to marry him so badly. But more then that I want him and his mom to be okay. I think I'll have to talk to her," Haley told them.

"I agree," Brooke told her, glad that Haley had come to that conclusion on her own.

"Should I tell Luke?"

"No," Peyton shook her head, "this is a delicate operation, one that a male would screw up in less than three seconds."

Haley nodded her head and with one last peak at her fiancé turned back to begin upper body stretching.

0000

"Ready to start this," Felix felt his inner flutter of surprise when Nikki talked behind him. He looked around and pulled her into a stray classroom.

"You are not supposed to talk to me here, remember?"

She rolled her eyes, "we need to start this soon. If I'm going to get my outcome then we need to act quickly."

"What about mine," he asked gruffly.

"After I get Jake then everything will fall into place and Brooke will need a shoulder to lean on," Nikki replied. She almost sneered. The boy honestly thought that Nikki wasn't going to retaliate on Brooke. She was the bitch who had tricked her. She deserved everything Nikki could throw at her, and Nikki was a formidable foe.

Felix nodded, "fine, then let's get this started."

Nikki nodded, her plan would be successful this time. It had to be, it was a life or death chance.

0000

Nathan watched as Felix stared at Brooke. He was unaware that Nathan was behind him. The way that they were faced made it easy for Nathan to stand behind a pillar and watch. Felix was obvious in his stance in front of him, but Brooke was oblivious to him. Before Nathan could act Brooke turned and locked eyes with Nathan. She smiled and began to walk toward him, her eyes never even looking at Felix.

"What are you doing baby," Brooke wrapped her arms around him.

Nathan watched Felix as he held Brooke to his body, tightly and protectively. Felix flexed his fist and stalked off, "just looking at you. I love watching you."

"Well thank you," she told him. She laced their fingers together and as they walked she leaned in to him, "listen, I'm sorry that I've been keeping you up with all of my nonsense."

"It's not nonsense if it bothers you," he cupped her cheek before they sat with the group and kissed her.

She kept her eyes closed for another moment to let the feel of his lips on hers melt in, "you taste delicious."
"Yeah, well you could use this," he laughed and handed her a stick of gum.

Brooke smacked his arm and grinned as they sat.

0000

Haley took a deep breath. This was something she had to do, woman to woman. She had to do this on her own, but as she took her first step in Karen's Café she wished that Luke was beside her. Karen looked up from the counter and stopped moving, her eyes wide.

"Haley," she greeted her.

"Hi, Karen," she took the heavy steps forward until she was close enough to sit on a stool, "I was hoping we could talk."

Karen nodded, she still wasn't pleased but she saw something very sincere in Haley, "okay, the lunch rush just finished. I don't anticipate any other customers until later."

Haley took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, Karen."

Karen's eyes widened, she had not been expecting that, "for what exactly?"

"We dropped our intentions on you and never even bothered to explain why we wanted to get married. We gave you a tremendous shock and never bothered to let you deal with it," Haley explained.

"Thank you," Karen felt herself growing less tense, "do you want some coffee?"

Haley nodded and waited until it was in front of her, "I'm not out to ruin Luke's life and future, or my own."

"You both are so young," Karen told her.

"I know," Haley agreed, "and Luke does too, he's just being stubborn. But I think we're ready. I can't promise that I won't ever make a mistake or that I won't change and it won't work anymore. But I can tell you that I have weighed every pro and every con and I still want to marry your son more then anything. And can you even promise those things years later, at your age, or my parent's?"
Karen looked at Haley, really looked at her, and saw her calm influence, her rationality and practicality, "I have to talk to Keith about this. I don't want to make a mistake Haley. I don't want to ruin his life or yours. This isn't just about Lucas, it's about you."

"If I may," Deb stepped fully into the café. When she was seated beside Haley, "I am a poster child for adolescent marriage and pregnancy. You see how well that worked out. I'm not saying Luke is like Dan, because he's not, but people can change and that's less likely to occur if you're older."

"You're less likely to change," Haley asked in disbelief.

"Everyone changes," Karen remedied, "but it's less likely to be a dramatic change."

Haley nodded, "I understand that you have to speak to Keith. I have to speak to Luke too. Thank you Karen and Deb."

When Haley had gotten into her car Deb smiled at Karen, "these kids surprise you."

"She seems so much older," Karen replied.

"These kids, particularly the girls, have gone through a lot. They had to grow up fast when their parents went on permanent vacations."

Karen nodded, this would be a harder decision then she had first believed.

0000

The moment Lucas walked through his door he knew something was different. He had begun to feel it as he had been driving Haley to Brooke's where she was intending to stay the night. She seemed quieter, just as loving, but definitely in a deep thinking mood.

"Lucas," his mother's voice made him snap to attention. She was speaking to him?

He walked into the kitchen where she was sitting with Keith, their fingers interlaced on top of the table, "yeah?"

"Sit down," Keith told him.

Luke's heart began to beat rapidly, "what's wrong? Is someone hurt?"

"No," Keith replied, he smiled at Karen and squeezed her hand, "go ahead, sweetheart."

Karen took a deep breath, "we are willing to give you and Haley our blessing, and my permission."

His eyes must have popped wide open because Keith snickered at his face. Luke took a second, "wait, you're suddenly going to agree? What happened to us being too young and naïve?"

"You both are too young," she replied, "yet you are both old enough to make your mistakes. I can't stop you, and I can't wish you ill because you're my son and I want everything to work out for you. I can only hope that you two are truly committed enough to deal with the trials of marriage."

Luke felt his heart jump, felt the swell of tears in his eyes before he rose and pulled his mother to him, "I missed you Mom."

Karen wrapped her arms around him and felt her own tears, "me too, baby, me too."

0000

Luke burst into Brooke's bedroom and stopped in surprise. It wasn't the fact that Peyton was present and painting at an isle, or Brooke who was sewing something with a very serious expression. It was the fact that Nathan was sitting at Haley's feet and was painting her toes.

"Why the hell do the people in this group lose the ability to knock," Nathan asked as he scowled from the floor.

Haley grinned, "you've been found out Nate."

Luke pointed down to Nathan, "one day soon we will discuss this."

"What are you doing here anyway Broods?"

Luke smiled at Brooke and then turned his attention to Haley, "she signed the papers, we can get married."

Haley jumped up, although Nathan protested because she had destroyed his work, and into Luke's arms, "that is amazing!"

"She told me that you changed her mind. When did you talk to her? What did you say," he asked.

"Just girl talk," Haley shrugged.

Peyton and Brooke grinned at one another. This was yet another reason that their emotions had to be out of whack. Everything was progressing perfectly with everyone. Everything was going to be all right. It had to be.