Author's Note: Happy October first! Felt like updating even with the extreme lack of reviews for the last chapter...hmmmm. Anyway, I wrote this at like, six different times all at unholy hours of the wee morning so take that into account when you realize how random most of this is. Hope you enjoy it anyway; I did have some sort of fun writing it. Please R&R. Tanks.
true – adj. real, genuine, authentic
Tiny snowflakes fell off of Brooke's wedges as her and Peyton shuffled into the restaurant with Andrea bundled in their winter clothes the baby got to wear instead of them just for the occasion. Shaking her hair out, Brooke smiled confidently at the host.
"Hi," she waved at him. "We're here to find a few of our friends. If you could just let us through the main room-"
"Name?"
"No," Brooke shook her head. "We're not here to eat."
"Do you have a reservation?"
Brooke looked impossibly at Peyton who stepped forward and gave it shot.
"Excuse me, my friend and I just need to talk to someone who is here planning their wedding menu." She held up the baby carrier where Andy was munching peacefully on one of her torn up gloves. "She needs to see her baby."
"Ahh, Miss Gettina?" the host mumbled as he sorted through some papers.
Peyton and Brooke looked at eachother curiously before Brooke intervened once again.
"I think you have the wrong person. Rachel Gettina isn't here right now."
"Actually…" Peyton started. "She just might be."
"What do you mean?" Brooke tapped her foot impatiently and glared at her friend.
"She and Lucas are here for lunch today. I think they're surprising Bevin and Skills when they're done with the menu." The words spilled out of Peyton's mouth so fast Brooke could barely understand them.
"Ah! Mr. and Mrs. Taylor!" the host finally exclaimed when he recognized the bride's name. "I'll get them for you; just one minute."
"God, he's as dumb as Bevin can be," Peyton tried to laugh.
"What is he doing here with her?" Brooke barked. Peyton replied with silence. "I said, what is he doing here with her?!"
"Brooke, relax," Peyton soothed. "It's just a friendly lunch."
"And he didn't think to invite me?"
"Well, in his defense, would that really have been a good idea?"
Brooke thought back to her confrontation with Rachel the day before and shook her head in a defeated sort of why-me manner.
Before she could pity herself any longer, Bevin jogged through the main dining room toward them and continued to jog in place even when she reached the host's stand.
"What are you doing?" Brooke laughed. Bevin was wearing a pair of skin tight skinny jeans, three-inch high stilettos, and a low cut sheet white shirt, but she kept huffing and puffing as she exercised.
"Working…off…the…baby…fat," she said in between breathes.
"Speaking of which…" Peyton handed over the bundle of joy to her mother who finally sat down to rest. "She needs to be fed."
"You guys drove all the way over here to tell me that? We're busy making the menu; couldn't it wait?"
"Let me go help her," Peyton sighed to Brooke. "Go find him."
"Thank you." Brooke hugged Peyton and made her way through tables. She wove in between couples, families, and people generally enjoying themselves, but couldn't find Lucas anywhere. Everyone seemed to be staring as she clumsily searched through the restaurant, barely fitting in with her Hardtail Forever pants in a four star dining facility. Just as she was relaxing, Brooke heard a cackle come from the back of the room. There was no mistaking Rachel's hyena laugh.
"Well, well," she announced. "I thought we were in North Carolina, not at Pride Rock."
"I thought so too," Rachel responded coolly. "But then I couldn't figure out what the dumb warthog was doing storming in here."
"Why, you little-"
"Brooke," Lucas got out of his chair. "What are you doing here?" He tried to wrap his arms around her lovingly but she stood like a rock staring at Rachel.
"I was wondering the same about you two."
"Bevin and Skills needed some help and since Rachel knows a thing or two about food we were going to surprise them down here. We were just grabbing something to eat."
"This isn't exactly a place you just 'grab something to eat'," Brooke said as she pointed out the fancy dress code, table cloths, and candles.
"Well we were already here. Why don't you sit down with us?" Lucas offered - almost commanded - Brooke. He pulled out a chair next to his and pleaded with his eyes, trying to make the girl he loved realize just that.
"Sure, why not?" She gave Lucas a genuine smile for his attempt and snarled at Rachel. "Can I have a bite?" she asked in a cute voice, eyeballing Lucas's plate of stuffed shells.
"Of course, my lady," he responded in a fake gentleman voice. Lucas cut a small piece out of one shell and brought the fork to Brooke's mouth. "There you are." He placed it delicately on her tongue and she smiled, still looking into his eyes.
"Thank you, sir." She put her hand on his leg and leaned over to kiss him lightly on the check. It wasn't anything special, but enough to make Rachel squirm a little more in her seat.
"I think I'm going to make a trip to the ladies' room. This pregnancy is driving my bladder nuts." Rachel rubbed her stomach as she got up and eyed Brooke. "Be right back, Luke." She added a sexy smile. If Brooke was good at pushing Rachel's bulging buttons, then the red head was the master.
"Uh…" Brooke sat with her mouth open. "What about me?" she giggled at Lucas.
"She's trying to make you jealous, Brooke," Lucas explained as if she didn't know. "But please, I don't have feelings for her and you know that."
"I know," Brooke replied. "But this is kinda fun." She clapped like a giddy child holding hands with their preschool boyfriend.
"Care to explain?" Lucas asked, feeding her another bite of food.
"Well," she began, scooting her chair closer to his. "After yesterday I'm ready to give this girl a piece of my mind. I told you she hadn't changed. I know you have to stay by her side, but that doesn't mean I can't piss her off a little."
"What happened yesterday, Brooke?" Lucas kept chewing, looking up from his plate casually.
"I thought she told – you know what, never mind." She shook it off just as Rachel made her way back to the table.
"Told me what?" Lucas asked more forcefully. "Rachel, did something happen yesterday?"
"No," she calmly replied, resituating herself at the table. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Then Brooke, what are you talking about?"
"She is lying through her teeth, Luke," Brooke pointed out. She stood up from her chair and pushed it in a little too violently. "Come talk to me when she finally speaks a sentence that isn't a load of crap."
Brooke walked away with her head held high, turning around for a second just to check what was happening with Rachel and Lucas. He was leaning across the table to talk quietly to her, but she just kept shrugging her shoulders. She nodded her head toward Brooke then made the crazy sign with her pointer finger.
"Hey," Peyton surprised her.
"Oh! You scared me." Brooke clutched her heart and kept glancing discreetly toward Lucas's table. "How's Bevin?" Brooke asked, barely concerned and not even looking at Peyton's face. From where Rachel was sitting, it looked like Brooke was having an invigorating conversation with a fern plant in the waiting area.
"She's fine now. How'd it go over there? Not so well?"
"What makes you say that?" I'm supposed to be playing it cool, Brooke reminded herself.
"Well," Peyton answered, "you look like you're talking to this tree right now. So either Rachel caused you to go mentally ill, which I somehow wouldn't doubt, or you're spying on them."
"Act natural! He's coming this way," Brooke snapped. When Lucas got closer she turned toward Peyton. "So, that's why I think one of these plants would look totally sick in our kitchen."
"Yeah, totally," Peyton played along sarcastically. "Maybe we can get some poison ivy for the bedroom too!" Brooke stuck her tongue out and started to tackle her friend.
"Miss!" The host scurried over toward the disturbance. "Please, take your intruding little bodies outside."
Before Lucas could even catch up to them, Brooke nodded her head vigorously, grabbed Peyton's hand, and ran out the door with her. She could see him out of the corner of her eye standing scratching his head. He stuck his hands in his pockets and slumped back over to the table.
"How are we going to see him from out here?" Brooke brainstormed.
"Can't you just talk to him later?" Peyton whined. "We can go home and watch movies!" She twirled her pointer fingers in circles to show what a party it would be.
"I want to know if Rachel told him," Brooke complained. "Can't you go back in and find out?"
"Why me?"
"Because that creepy host doesn't like me. Please Peyton? Get back in there for me!"
"Fine. I'll get Andy back too. Then can we just go home and relax?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Just go see." Brooke pushed Peyton back in the door and stood under an overhang to keep dry.
Inside, Peyton sat down on a bench in the waiting area. "Just waiting on some friends to be done," she explained when the host started eyeballing her. He walked away, skeptical to leave the psychotic blonde by herself. She took out her cell phone and pretending to be text messaging, but slowly looked up at Rachel and Lucas. Now they were making angrier motions at eachother but still keeping quiet enough that she couldn't hear them. That shouldn't last long, she realized, predicting Lucas too well.
"What are you watching?" Bevin bounded out of the bathroom and hollered into Peyton's ear.
"Shh!" she warned. "Go outside and tell Brooke that the raven is trying to peck Elmo but Elmo is attacking back. I'll keep Andy inside." She snatched the baby out of Bevin's arms as her friend recited the coded lines and went to tell Brooke.
Peyton almost looked down again, but before she could a smacking noise echoed through the restaurant. Everyone seemed to go silent like a bad scene in the movie where someone is about to die. Lucas practically fell out of his seat, a red hand mark printed on his face.
"Fine! You can pay the bill!" he shouted before rushing out the door. Peyton counted slowly to ten before picking up the baby and following him out.
Outside, he was leaning against the back of Brooke's car as she tried to calm him down.
"Let's hope your mommy and daddy don't end up like this," Peyton whispered into Andy's newborn ears.
"I swear to God," Brooke started yelling, "if she comes near you again, I will kick her pregnant ass back to Tree Hill."
"Wait until the baby is out, Brooke," Lucas advised. "Then go right ahead. I really thought she was changing guys; I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. Well," Brooke worked out the words, "everyone else could tell she was lying."
"Is this really the time, Brooke?" Peyton interjected.
"Peyton, get in the car," Brooke whispered back to her.
"What? Why?" She turned around and saw Rachel charging toward them, Skills finally showing his face to try and restrain her. Peyton nodded to Brooke and hopped in the front seat to keep the baby safe.
"This is like a nice little reunion," Rachel shouted in the parking lot.
"Rachel," Bevin muttered to herself. "Rachel," she said again, louder this time. "What the hell? You whore!" She walked in front of Rachel and stood still for a minute, thinking about how Rachel abandoned her, abandoned Jake and Jenny, and abandoned the good life she could have had.
"Bevin – " Skills tried to stop what was imminent, but Bevin formed a fist in her hand and punched Rachel's chin.
"Dear God!" she screamed, falling to the ground.
"Bevin!" Lucas screeched. "She's pregnant – "
" – Again," Bevin finished for him. "I'm not surprised." She shook her head in disgust and got in the car with Peyton.
"I'm not done with you," Rachel yelled, scrambling up from the floor with a bit of Lucas's goodhearted help.
"Like hell you ain't," Skills stepped in. "Luke, control her."
"Bevin's the one who almost knocked her out!"
"Don't defend her," Brooke spat.
"She's pregnant, Brooke. She can't be getting in fights. Rachel," he turned to the redhead and added, "take the car and go home. When I come back – if I even do – you better be ready to explain all this crap."
"I know you'll be coming back," she replied, "because you need to get that ring."
"Not this again," Brooke mumbled to herself.
"That is not even mine Rachel, and you would know that if you didn't just snoop around all the time and acted like a human being instead. If it matters," he shrugged, "it's Bevin's. I was holding it for Skills."
"Yeah, like I believe that," Rachel scoffed. "Whatever, love is overrated."
"Actually," Brooke stepped in. "It's probably underrated. The day you think love is overrated is the day you're wrong, but I guess you're used to that. There are very few couples who actually have true love like Bevin and Skills, Haley and Nathan, Jake and Peyton, and Lucas and me. So until you know true love, you won't know how bad it can hurt but how much it's worth fighting for. You have no reason to say anything about love, because you have never loved anything in your life. Not Lucas, not your friends, and probably not even your unborn son. Now why don't you do us all a favor and get the hell out of here? No one wants you here right now Rachel, so just go home and cry. Cry, because your life has come to such a pathetic state that you have to get pregnant just to have someone care for you again. Cry, because nobody wants you in their lives. Cry, because you're jealous of the love you've never felt…and never will."
Brooke stood confident with her arm around Lucas's waist. He squeezed her tightly as Rachel stared around the circle of friends. Slowly but surely, she backed away, one hand over her stomach, and one covering her face as she looked like she might cry.
"Oh man," Lucas said to himself. He felt the part of his face that was fading red and stopped feeling as bad about what Brooke had just said to Rachel. The group stood in silence and watched Rachel pull out of the lot, giving them the finger on her way out.
"Whatever," Brooke rolled her eyes.
"Alrighty clan," Peyton opened the car door and called. "We ready to go now?"
"I'd say so," Skills answered. "Gang?"
"Yeah," Lucas said inaudibly.
"Come on." Brooke led him into the car as Skills and Bevin hugged everyone goodbye and drove home with Andrea gurgling in their backseat.
Brooke drove the car home with Lucas in the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window, his nerves getting the better of him as he wondered about Rachel and the baby. He didn't want anything to happen to his son, but Rachel seemed pretty defeated when she left. Peyton sat in the back seat next to a familiar item of clothing. The shirt she found the day before was stuffed into a bag which she was going to return to her friend soon. It was time; it was time for closure.