A/N: Here is the next chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you guys are amazing! Happy Birthday to Sydney...even though its only like ten minutes to 11 my time, its almost midnight your time so it pretty much is your birthday!! I hope you guys like this chapter, the story is going to start getting exciting! Enjoy!
He told me
He'd wait here patiently but
I wonder if he's kidding
Well maybe he could be serious now
Chapter Thirty Eight- I'm Moving On
"Are you really leaving?" Chae pouted, wrapping her arms tightly around Brooke's neck, again. Brooke nodded, her face buried in Chae's neck as she hugged her friend just as tight. "I'm not getting punk'd am I?" Chae asked curiously making Brooke laugh lightly.
"Yeah, you better be watching out, Ashton should be coming in any minute" Jake said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the two emotional girls.
"I really don't want you to leave" Chae frowned, pulling away from Brooke.
"I don't want to leave you" Brooke sulked, wiping at the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. She didn't think it would be this hard to leave.
Lucas walked into the house, Averie happily in one of his arms. "Are you ready to go? We just finished loading everything in the truck."
"Mommy sad" Averie frowned, her tiny lip poking out and her eyebrows furrowing.
"Mommy's okay" Lucas said reassuringly, watching as Brooke gave Averie a small smile. "We better go find Laela so we can take her in the car!" Lucas said animatedly, tickling Averie's tummy, causing the little girl to squirm and giggle.
"You should totally just come with us" Brooke said confidently, nodding her head. "Seriously, why don't you and Jake just move back to Tree Hill. Then you can bring Lucas with you and we'll all be together again" Brooke smiled, shrugging her shoulders as if it was a no brainer.
"I wish" Chae sighed. "If Jake wouldn't have just moved here" Chae groaned, narrowing her eyes at Jake. He just lifted his arms in defeat, shaking his head and leaving the room.
"I can't believe I'm actually leaving" Brooke sighed, sitting down on the couch with Chae. "It's gonna be bad enough without Lucas there, but I have to leave you too…Averie is gonna have a meltdown without her Sae to rescue her all the time" as Brooke spoke, her words started to get shaky again and her eyes started to well up with tears, again.
"I'm gonna miss my Sassy" Chae whined, leaning her head on Brooke's shoulder.
Lucas walked back into the living room, Averie running behind him while Laela followed her. "Brooke, we better get going. We have a long drive ahead of us and we want to get there before it gets dark."
Brooke nodded, wiping the tears off of her cheeks and hugging Chae quickly.
"I can't believe you guys are actually taking on a ten hour drive with Sassy" Chae said with a slight laugh.
"I know, tell me about it" Brooke said with wide eyes. They had decided to hire movers for all of Brooke and Averie's things, and the movers would drive the moving truck down to Tree Hill. But that still left Brooke's car, so they decided they would have to drive down as well. It was a long drive, especially with a dog and a two year old, but Brooke and Lucas were up to the challenge.
"Call us when you get there, okay?" Jake said, pulling Brooke into a hug. "You guys be safe, and take care of my Ave."
"We will" Brooke smiled, trying her hardest not to cry so that she wouldn't upset Averie who had no idea what was going on. "You guys need to come visit soon okay? Ave, come say bye to Jake and Chae."
"Bye-bye Sae" Averie said with a lazy wave and a wide grin. She giggled and squirmed when Jake scooped her up in his arms, and him and Chae both kissed her cheeks. "No Jay!" Averie giggled wiggling around and trying to get free from their tickles. When Jake put Averie down, she ran over to Laela who was laying on the ground and pounced on the dog, laughing when Laela started to bark at her.
Lucas, Brooke and an uninterested Averie said their final goodbyes to Jake and Chae. Lucas had been unusually quiet all day just because he knew soon it would be his turn to say goodbye. They put Averie in her car seat, putting a DVD in the player they had just installed in Brooke's Hybrid.
Lucas pulled out onto the busy New York seats, looking over at Brooke who was staring out the window blankly. He reached his hand over to her leg, squeezing it lightly. "You okay?" He asked when she looked over at him.
"Yeah" She smiled, resting her hand on top of his.
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"Brooke, I'm not stopping every thirty miles" Lucas said with wide eyes as he shook his head.
"But Luke" Brooke whined, "I really have to pee!"
Lucas groaned, putting the blinker on and pulling off of the freeway.
"Thanks" Brooke grinned, sounding very relieved as he pulled into a gas stations parking lot. "Be right back!" She sang as she stumbled out of the car, practically running into the small store.
Lucas shook his head. They were only two hours into the trip and had already stopped three times. He turned around in his seat, and breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw Averie still asleep. Her head was laying against the pillow that was placed on the side of her car seat above her shoulder. She had her pink blanket snuggled up by her face and was sucking on a yellow pacifier. Lucas couldn't believe that in a week he would have to leave his baby.
Brooke opened the passenger door, sliding in quickly. "Hey, I got a diet coke and I got you a mountain dew…you are so gonna need the energy" She smiled, thrusting a 44 oz drink at Lucas.
"No way" he said sternly, shaking his head. "You are not drinking a diet coke. Nope. No more bathroom breaks" He told her as he reached for the plastic cup she was holding onto.
"But I'm thirsty" Brooke pouted, holding the cup as far out of his reach as she could. "I'm really thirsty" She said again, this time poking out her bottom lip and giving him her best puppy dog eyes.
"Okay, fine" Lucas sighed, "But we are driving at least two hours before stopping again."
"Love you!" Brooke said, her frown disappearing quickly as a smile reappeared. She leaned over, kissing Lucas lightly on the lips.
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"Do you think the movers are gonna get there without us?" Brooke asked Lucas as they sat in a small fast food place.
"Most likely" Lucas sighed, "We still have like three hours."
"Mine chickey" Averie said with furrowed eyebrows as she pulled her chicken nuggets towards her and out of her dad's reach.
Averie was getting restless in the car so they decided to stop and get something to eat. It wasn't their normal dinner time, but it felt good to be out of the car anyways. Averie refused to sit in a highchair, instead standing up in the plastic booth next to Brooke.
"Nathan was going over there to help move things in anyways, so I'm sure he'll let the movers in" Brooke shrugged, poking around at the greasy food in front of her.
They finished eating and Lucas stood from the table, stretching his arms above his head. "Ready to get back on the road?"
Brooke nodded, standing up and slinging her purse over her shoulder. "I better go change Averie first, we'll meet you out in the car."
"Are you sure? I can do it" Lucas offered.
Brooke grabbed Averie's hand, "It's fine, I've got it taken care of" she smiled, walking with Averie to the bathroom towards the back of the small place. After she changed Averie who talked the whole time, Brooke held on to Averie's hand, leading her to the doors that led outside.
"No bye-bye" Averie cried, pulling her tiny hand out of Brooke's and stopping dead in her tracks, refusing to go outside.
"Come on baby, we're going to find your friend Max" Brooke said happily, crouching down in front of Averie who didn't look very happy. When Averie still wouldn't budge, Brooke picked her up, making the little girl start to full on cry.
"No bye-bye" Averie choked out between her tears while Brooke walked towards the car.
"I know sweetie" Brooke frowned, rubbing Averie's back. She felt horrible, she could tell that Averie was sick of being in the car. For the last seven hours Averie had been a real trooper, not giving her parents any problems in the car. But it was a long drive and Brooke felt bad putting the crying little girl back in her car seat.
"Is she okay?" Lucas asked, turning around in his seat as Brooke strapped Averie in.
"She's just sick of being in the car" Brooke told Lucas, she sat down in the spot next to Averie, "I think I'm just gonna ride back here with her" Brooke told Lucas as she held on to Averie's tiny hand.
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Nathan walked out of the house as soon as he saw Brooke's pearly white Hybrid pull into the driveway. He waited as Brooke and Lucas both climbed out of the car.
"I didn't think you guys were ever going to get here" Nathan smirked, walking over to his friends and hugging Brooke and Lucas. "She's out" he laughed, looking in the backseat at Averie who was sleeping in her car seat.
"It was a long trip" Brooke said with a long sigh, bringing a hand up to her forehead and closing her eyes. Averie had cried for over an hour before finally falling asleep. It made driving even more stressful, and it made Brooke and Lucas feel horrible for putting their baby through the long drive.
"You guys go check out the house, we got everything moved in pretty quickly since it wasn't much" Nathan told them, "I'll get Ave."
"Thanks Nate" Lucas said, sounding relieved as he wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulder.
They walked in silence up to the house. It was dark outside and the house looked different than they remembered. But they figured it might have something to do with being cramped into a car all day.
"We are definitely going furniture shopping tomorrow" Brooke said with a sigh, walking into the empty living room. She didn't have much furniture, she had left everything at Chae's apartment when she moved into Lucas' house since he had his own furniture. But she did have her and Averie's bedroom sets from when she lived with Chae so they would be fine for now.
"I think so" Lucas laughed, watching Brooke as she walked around the house tiredly.
"Do you want me to go put her in bed?" Nathan asked when he walked in the house behind Brooke and Lucas.
"Yeah, thanks man" Lucas said gratefully. He walked over to Brooke, slinking his arms around her middle from behind. "So, how does it feel to be in your new house?" He asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Honestly? It feels tiring" Brooke sighed, "There is just so much to do…painting, decorating, actually getting furniture…"
"We'll get it all done before I leave."
"I don't want to spend your week here getting this house put together" Brooke frowned, turning around in Lucas' arms so she was facing him.
He leaned down, kissing her slowly. When he pulled away she buried her face into his chest, closing her eyes.
"Well, I think she's down for the count" Nathan said happily, "She's getting so big."
"I can't wait to see Max, and baby Tessa" Brooke grinned. "How is she doing?"
Nathan shrugged, "She's a lot harder than Max was, but we're getting used to it. She wants to eat all the time and is up practically all night. But we're getting the hang of it. It's definitely a lot different juggling two kids instead of one."
"Is Max doing okay?" Lucas asked, rubbing his hands along Brooke's back.
"He's actually doing really good. We were worried about that, but he always wants to hold her or hug her, its pretty funny" Nathan said, smiling proudly.
"That's great Nate" Brooke said, happy for her friends. Haley had given birth to Tessa Brooklyn James only two weeks ago. Tessa came earlier than expected, and had to stay in the hospital for a week. But she was doing fine now, and got to go home with Haley and Nathan. Brooke couldn't wait to meet her new niece. "You should probably get home to them…"
"Thanks for all the help" Lucas told Nathan.
"Anytime. It's good to have you guys here" Nathan smiled.
Brooke and Lucas promised to call as soon as they woke up so that everyone could get together. They thanked Nathan again for all of his help and watched from the front door as he drove away from their new house.
"So," Lucas said with a wry smile, closing the door behind Nathan and turning to face Brooke.
"Yeah?" She half laughed, raising an eyebrow to Lucas' inquiring eyes.
"When you buy a new house, aren't you supposed to like do it in every room?" He asked playfully, his fingers grazing Brooke's hips.
"I think that's just a rumor" Brooke said with a smile and a shrug. She patted her hand against his chest and then walked away from him, purposely swaying her hips from side to side as she walked towards the stairs. Lucas stood still in his spot, more than a little surprised that Brooke had blew him off and then did the 'hip thing' that she knew drove him crazy. Brooke turned around, narrowing her eyebrows at Lucas, "Coming?"
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When Brooke woke up the next morning instead of being curled up against Lucas she had Averie's arm lazily laying across her chest. Averie was sprawled out in between her and Lucas, still sleeping soundly. The more Brooke woke up the more she remembered the night before.
Around 1 in the morning her and Lucas woke up to Averie crying and screaming frantically. They both rushed into the little girls bedroom, concerned because she had been sleeping through the night since she was 5 months old. When they opened the door to her bedroom, Averie had climbed out of her crib and was standing in the middle of the dark room, illuminated by a power puff girls nightlight. Her blanket was in a pile by her feet and she threw her monkey to the ground as soon as her parents entered the room. Averie stumbled as she ran towards her parents, being caught by Lucas' outreached arms. It had taken awhile to calm the little girl down, Brooke and Lucas hadn't realized how waking up in a strange place would frighten Averie. She had lived in the pink nursery in Lucas' house for as long as the little girl could remember, and her parents soon realized how waking up in a solid white room filled with boxes could scare the little girl.
Brooke gently lifted Averie's sprawled out arm from off of her, sitting up and placing the tiny arm gently on the bed. She stood quietly from the bed, making sure to leave Lucas and Averie sleeping peacefully as she tip-toed out of the quiet room.
Brooke couldn't help but smile as she walked around her new house. For starters, the closet that adjoined the master bedroom was amazing. It was huge, and a whole wall of the closet was specialized shelving just for shoes. She ran her fingers along the marble countertops in the kitchen, realizing actually how much space there was in that room. There were the most gorgeous mahogany cupboards, and even a breakfast island. She hadn't noticed how great the kitchen was before, considering her and Lucas had been a little distracted when looking at it the first time.
She was already thinking about decorating ideas when her phone started to ring. She couldn't figure out where her phone had even ended up when they arrived last night. The whole day yesterday was turning into kind of a blur anyways. She made her way into what would soon be the living room, once there was actually furniture in it, and found her brand new Dolce bag laying in the corner. By the time she found her phone it had of course stopped ringing. She happily dialed the number back and grinned widely when her best friend answered.
"Did I wake you up?" Haley asked, cringing.
"Nope" Brooke smiled, "Just exploring my new house!"
"Nathan said its pretty amazing" Haley grinned, her voice sounding a lot more tired than usual.
"I guess so" Brooke said, her eyes twinkling. "How are you?"
"Tired" Haley said, forcing out a dry laugh. "But happy."
"Good" Brooke smiled, "So, can we come over today? I'm dying to see you and Max and Tess."
"You better come over" Haley said with a laugh.
"We probably will in a little while, Luke and Ave are still sleeping" Brooke explained, wandering around the large living room, stopping to peek out the blinds into her gorgeous front yard.
"Okay, we'll just see you later then" Haley said with a yawn.
"See you soon Tutor-Mom" Brooke smiled, flipping the phone shut and closing the blinds.
Brooke exhaled deeply, her smile wide.
"Good morning Pretty Girl" Lucas said, walking into the living room behind Brooke, his hand lazily running along his newly buzz cut hair.
"Hey" Brooke grinned, turning around. She walked towards Lucas, smiling as he leaned down to kiss her. She pulled away, her grin still gracing her face. "So, we have so much to do today!"
"Mmm" Lucas smiled lazily, wrapping his hands tightly around Brooke's waist. "Do any of them include laying in that hammock in the backyard with your favorite boyfriend?"
"First of all, who said you are my favorite boyfriend" Brooke smirked, "And second of all, there is a hammock in the backyard!?" She practically screeched, squirming out of Lucas' grasp and hurrying towards the French doors in the kitchen that led to her backyard. How had she not of even thought to check out the back yard?
Lucas laughed at Brooke's excitement and began to follow her through the maze of the new house. He stopped by the stairs when he heard a door open.
"Daddy" Averie cried, hiccupping as she walked out of the bedroom, "Mommy."
Lucas looked up the staircase to see Averie walking out of the bedroom, holding a binky in her hand as she cried. The scared expression on her face made Lucas' heart break.
"Avie" Lucas called, walking up the stairs and watching as Averie's eyes widened just at the sigh of him. "Come here baby." He climbed the stairs two at a time, reaching his arms out for his crying little girl. She held onto his neck tightly, immediately calming down as Lucas ran his hand along her long brown hair.
"Mine Mommy" Averie said into Lucas' neck.
"Let's go find her" Lucas said comfortingly, walking down the stairs with Averie.
"Okay, so the backyard is amazing!" He heard Brooke's voice sounding from the other room, "Averie is going to have a blast back there" She said cheerfully, turning the corner out of the kitchen and almost running into Lucas and Averie. Brooke surveyed Lucas' brooding face and Averie's still wet cheeks. "Is she-"
"Momma" Averie said happily, smiling as soon as she saw her mom. "Mine yummys" Averie said with a knowing nod, reaching out for Brooke who happily took her.
"Mommy is hungry too" Brooke said with a nod, "We better find some breakfast."
"Brooke, there is like no food in this house" Lucas laughed, shaking his head. How had they overlooked that, especially with a two year old.
"Hmm" Brooke sighed, contemplating their choices as she looked between Lucas and Averie.
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Brooke, Lucas, and Averie sat happily in the small, but busy café. This had been Brooke's favorite place to eat growing up. It was owned by a resident of Tree Hill, and was actually a big hit in the small town. Brooke was thrilled to show Lucas the Tree Hill hotspot, and as the three sat in a small half-circle booth dressed in their pajamas, Brooke couldn't be happier.
"Okay, so this food is amazing" Lucas grinned, staring down at the large plate that was filled with breakfast foods.
"I told you" Brooke said casually, cutting up the smiley face pancake that they had ordered for Averie.
"Pan-a-ake!" Averie grinned, holding a spoon and fork in each hand, even though Brooke and Lucas knew she wouldn't use either of them. "Pan-a-ake!" She repeated again, bouncing on the squishy booth seat, causing her pig-tails to swish.
Lucas shoveled another bite of hash browns into his mouth, giving Brooke a pleased thumbs up as he chewed the food happily.
"Alright Sass" Brooke grinned, pushing the small plate in front of Averie, "There ya go."
Brooke started to eat her waffles, pausing to help Averie drink out of the tall glass of orange juice.
"Wow, there's the one and only Brooke Davis" Came a loud, deep voice from behind her. Brooke turned around, her mouth falling open as her eyes landed upon Chase Adams. "Surprised to see me?" He smiled, laughing as Brooke brought a hand to her face and quickly stood up.
"I didn't know you still lived here" Brooke gasped, throwing her arms around Chase as he hugged her. She stood back, actually registering that he wasn't alone. The guy he was standing with looked familiar, but she couldn't place him. "I thought you were living it up in L.A. or something?" Brooke asked, not noticing how confused Lucas was and choosing to ignore Chase's friend that was staring at her with a sort of smirk on his face. She really hoped the mystery guy wasn't some forgotten one night stand, now that could be embarrassing.
"I was, but I just moved back" Chae shrugged, "So what have you been up to? Word got around that you and Kade ended things awhile back…" Chase said slowly, hoping not to open any sore wounds for Brooke. He looked behind her and noticed a guy and tiny girl in the booth that Brooke had just been sitting at. He watched as the little girl, who happened to look exactly like Brooke, tipped her head from side to side while holding a spoon in one hand and a bite-sized piece of a pancake in the other. "It looks like we have a lot to catch up on" Chase said, nodding his head towards Lucas and Averie.
Brooke ran a hand through her hair, "Oh my god, yeah!" She stepped back towards the table, "This is my boyfriend Lucas, and our daughter Averie. Luke, this is my old friend from High School, Chase Adams."
"Its nice to meet you" Lucas said, standing from the table and reaching a hand out to shake Chase's.
"Oh yeah!" Chase smiled, pointing a finger towards Lucas, "I knew you looked familiar. You used to play for the Knicks right? I've seen your show on TV a few times too. Big fan."
"That'd be me" Lucas said modestly. "Wait, and you are our new neighbor right?" Lucas asked, looking around Chase and at Owen.
"That'd be me" Owen said, doing a weird salute thing with his hand.
Brooke nodded, so that's where she knew him from.
"Wait," Chase said with an unbelieving laugh, "So you are the hott girl with a boyfriend and a supposed 'kid' who moved in next to Owen! He told me all about you. I guess I just didn't realize it was actually you."
Open mouth. Insert foot.
At Chase's words everyone became silent. Owen lowered his face, obviously a little embarrassed that his friend just outed his confession about Brooke, who was taken. Lucas' hands slowly moved around Brooke's waist protectively, while he kept trying to tell himself not to freak out. Brooke just stood, biting on her lip and having no clue what to even respond to that.
"Uht-oh Mommy" Averie said, her high pitched voice breaking the awkward silence. "Uht-oh spill!" She repeated, holding the large glass with both hands while half of the glasses contents stained Averie's pajamas and the rest of the orange juice dripped off of the table.
Brooke reacted quickly, climbing back into the booth and taking the now empty glass from Averie, actually glad for the excuse to leave the awkward conversation…or lack there of. Lucas climbed into the booth on the other side as well, grabbing paper towels and dabbing at Averie's now orange pajama shirt.
"Look's like you have a situation, we'll catch up later" Chase said nervously, "I know where you live" he said with a laugh.
"Are you kidding me?" Owen groaned as he dragged Chase away from the table.
"So at least we know what the neighbor thinks about you" Lucas puffed through gritted teeth while him and Brooke tried their hardest to clean up the orange juice mess.
"God Luke, it doesn't even matter" Brooke groaned, not in the mood for men's insecurities.
"Oh, but I think it does" Lucas said bitterly, "I mean, you are living next door to him, alone."
Brooke rolled her eyes, not even planning on getting into this argument. It's not like Lucas had a reason to worry anyways. Owen seemed like a nice guy, and its not like anything would happen with him anyways. Brooke wouldn't even think of it.
"Off" Averie pouted, pulling at the wet shirt. "Ducky off!" She said again, frowning at the now wet ducks on her shirt, this time stomping her socked foot against the squishy booth.
Brooke dug around in her huge bag, locating the change of clothes that she had kept in there for Averie. She pulled out a tiny, purple, ruffled tank top and held it in one hand as she picked up Averie with the other. Sure it might look a little silly with Averie's white pajama pants that had yellow ducks on them, but it was better than the little girl throwing a full on tantrum.
"We'll be right back" Brooke said, relieved to get away from a worked up Lucas. At least this would give him a couple minutes to cool down.
When she returned to the table with a now happy and chattering Averie, Lucas was sitting at the booth, eating his breakfast again. Brooke noticed that he had cleaned up the spill and that a fresh glass of orange juice had been brought to her.
"Daddy, mine pan-a-ake" Averie told him, nodding her head as she walked along the booth until she was in front of her plate.
Brooke sat down next to Averie, sliding the glass of juice away from the small girl. She handed Averie her sippy cup, "Here Sass, this one is just for you."
"So Chase, who is he exactly?" Lucas asked, and by the look on Brooke's face he knew she was waiting for the question.
"He was just a friend in High School" Brooke shrugged. Really, that's all he was. Chase never cared about being popular in High School, and Brooke liked that about him. She had hung out with him a lot, even though Kade didn't like the guy at all. But Chase's carefree outlook on laugh intrigued Brooke, and they had become great friends. Nothing more.
"Just a friend?" Lucas asked, looking up at her from his plate.
Brooke reached behind Averie, her hand landing on Lucas' arm. "Yes Luke. Just a friend."
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By the time Brooke, Lucas and Averie pulled up to Nathan and Haley's house all awkwardness between the two had diminished. Lucas decided to drop the Chase/Owen thing, deciding that he didn't want to spend his week with Brooke in a bad mood. Brooke was happy about it, and they were soon back to their normal selves.
Before they went to Haley's house, they went home to get ready. Averie was sticky from the orange juice spill, and was in dire need of a bath. Brooke got Averie out of the backseat, smiling as she set her on the ground. She was dressed in a yellow sundress and her long hair was pulled into a ponytail. Her blue eyes sparkled, and her dimples shone through when she smiled.
"Mommy, pyay a swing" Averie said with a nod, looking up at her mom as she held her hand.
"Yeah, Max has a swing set it will be so much fun!" Brooke grinned excitedly, glad that the earlier mention of swings was still making the little girl happy. "And daddy will push you really high!"
"Brooke!" Haley screeched, opening the door and grinning as she watched Brooke, Lucas and Averie walk up the driveway.
Averie immediately clung to Brooke's leg, her shyness overtaking the excitement she had for the swing set. Lucas reached down for Averie, picking her up so that Brooke could go say hi to her friend.
Brooke reached her arms out for the pink bundle in Haley's arms. "Let me see her!" Brooke smiled down at the tiny baby in Haley's arms. "Oh my god she's so tiny! I think she's smaller than Averie was."
"How are you doing Haley?" Lucas asked while Averie peeked over to see the baby that Haley was holding.
"I'm doing good, how are you guys?"
"We're excited to see you!" Brooke grinned, "Where's Max? Ave, should we go find your friend Max?"
"Come in, he's in the kitchen" Haley told them, leading them through the house.
"Momma, more cheese" Max said with a nod as he watched his mom walk into the room. He sat in a booster seat up to the table, his cheeks no longer chubby like when he was a baby, and his blonde hair spikey. Brooke couldn't believe how big he was getting.
"Max, look who's here!" Haley grinned, a sleeping Tessa still in one arm. "Remember I told you Brooke and Lucas and Averie are coming!"
Max looked up at the visitors he had failed to notice before. He lifted a hand, waving it happily, "Hi dudes!"
Brooke and Lucas both looked at Haley and laughed while she just sighed, "Nathan loves to teach him new words" she said with a roll of her eyes.
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It didn't take long for Averie to be comfortable around Haley and her kids. When Nathan got off of work, him and Lucas decided to go over to the River Court to play basketball. Brooke and Haley sat in the backyard, watching Max and Averie play in the lawn. It was fun to watch their kids actually playing together now that they were older. Brooke couldn't get enough of baby Tessa. She reminded her so much of when Averie was a baby, and it was making her sad that Averie was growing up so quickly. But when Haley prodded, Brooke still said they obviously weren't ready for another baby anyways.
"So are you excited to be back in Tree Hill?" Haley asked, keeping her eyes on the two 2 year olds running around the backyard.
Brooke sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Kind of, I mean the new house is amazing, and its gonna be great to be so close to you. I'm excited to open the store, I know it will be really great. But I just, I don't know. I'm worried about Averie. I mean, I know she'll get used to all the changes, but its just going to be hard. Especially without Lucas here."
Haley reached her arm out, her hand rubbing Brooke's shoulder comfortingly. "I don't know how you do it Brooke."
Brooke looked over at Haley, narrowing her eyes at her friend. "Do what?"
"You run that business, you are opening a new store, you're a great mom and you are going to take it all on without Lucas." Haley said, shrugging her shoulders. "And thanks to Nathan's new coaching job I just get to stay home with my kids. I don't know how you do it."
Brooke shrugged, Tessa's tiny fingers wrapped around one of Brooke's. "I guess you just learn how to juggle it all. But that doesn't mean that I'm always doing great with everything. Sometimes Averie gets overlooked because of my job, and sometimes I don't have all the time I'd like for my work because I want to be with Ave. It scares me, all of it…I want everything to be perfect, but most of the time I'm lacking in at least one area. I'm scared as hell to be here, taking this all on by myself but I hope its going to be worth it."
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Lucas and Brooke had a lot of errands to run. After hanging out with Haley and her family for a couple hours, they put Averie down for a nap making Haley promise to call when she woke up. Their first stop was to check out Brooke's new store. They were doing renovations in the small building, so Brooke and Lucas tried to stay out of everyones way.
"So, what do you think?" Lucas asked, following Brooke as she walked around what would be her very first store.
"Well, it's definitely in a growing area of town, so that's good. I think after everything is done, it'll be good" She said, turning around and smiling at Lucas happily. "It's pretty crazy that I'm going to be actually selling my designs here."
Lucas wrapped his arms around Brooke's waist, leaning down and kissing her softly on the lips. "You know you are amazing, right?"
Brooke tipped her head to the side, smiling excitedly up at Lucas, "I try…"
All you have to do
Is never ever let go
My feelings show
A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter! Leave me a review and let me know what you thought. The story is going to definitely start moving along a lot faster as I've already told you! Thanks for all of your support! Oh, and I just started reading a Brucas fic on here called 'Surfaces' and its by Yaba, so if you are looking for a good Brucas story to read you should check it out!
THANK YOU…
Tanya (tanya2byour21)- Everyone wants Brooke to get pregnant again hahaha. I guess I'll have to think about it. JK I know whats going to happen already and I just cant tell! I'm glad you loved the new chapter, and I hope you like this one as well! Thanks for always reviewing. I love them!
Jem (flipflopgal)- I'm so glad that you were excited for an update! I'm happy to be back from holiday too! I'm glad you loved the last chapter, that is always great to hear! Averie is super cute huh! She is getting a lot more fun to write, that's for sure! Good ideas for keeping Brucas together hahah, you'll have to wait and see though! I hope you like this chapter! Thanks for always reviewing!
Othfan326- I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I was missing this story too actually! I'm glad you liked how Brucas worked things out throughout the chapter! Haha, I figured you'd like the house part haha. I hope you like this chapter! Thanks for always reviewing, I love hearing what you have to say.
Jay (BrucasNaleyluvr)- So wow, I havent gotten a review from you in forever! So this is pretty much exciting haha. You know I'm not considering a sequel. Haha. You would know how long the trip is. I actually had to research it cuz I did not know! I like owen haha. I was excited to bring him in! That's funny that Averie is like Lex! Lex is so cute! She is a funny kid. Well, anyways. Thanks for reviewing, it was really exciting to get on e from you! I'm going away for the weekend so I'll probably talk to you next week! I hope you liked this chapter! ILY!
AmbroCoo- Its so good to hear that you love this story! That makes me very happy! Thanks for your review, and I hope you liked this chapter!
Dolcegrazia- It is sad for Brucas, but you are right, it is good for Brooke because of the store! Hahaha I'm glad you liked the almost sex scene…so brucas huh. Owen..dun, dun, dun! You'll just have to wait and see haha. Thank you for always reviewing and I hope you like this chapter!
Miralinda- hahaha creepy owen. That was funny, although I'd go more like hott owen haha. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you liked this one as well! Thanks for the review!
Brucas3Naley23- I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Yeah, that would be pretty cool if lucas did have a great surprise like that wouldn't it! I'm glad that you liked the idea of Owen being added into the story! I think he's hott haha. Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter!
Chasitybsp- I'm glad you liked the last chapter! And yes, the getting caught part was kinda funny ahhaa. I'm glad you liked that part, I really did too hehehe. Owen. Haha. Yes. We'll just have to see what happens! Thanks for always reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter!
Dancefever0234- I'm so glad you love reading this story! This chapter is even longer than the last one so you should like it a lot! Haha. Thank you so much for the review! I hope you like this chapter!
BRUCAS EQUALS LOVE- Wow, amazing chapter..that was quite the compliment, thank you! I'm glad you liked it! Haha, of course you liked the brucas buying a house part, I figured you would! Haha you are right, they are like the only couple that would do that. Its so brucas! Owen, scary right. We'll just have to see what happens! Thank you for always reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter!
Brucas1992- I'm so glad you liked the last chapter! Haha yes, I think you are right about Lucas having a problem with Brooke's new neighbor. Thank you for the review, I hope you liked this chapter!
Cass (CheerandBrood323)- hahaha yeah, leaving them alone with peythoe and owen is freaky isn't it. You'll just have to wait and see what happens though hehee. Hahaha of course brucas would almost have sex in someone elses house haha. Really, only them. Thank you for always reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter!
Reina123- I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Thanks for always reviewing, I love to hear from you! I hope you liked this chapter!
Onetreefan- I'm so glad you liked the last chapter! That totally makes my day haha. Owen is totally Brooke's neighbor…good one right? I actually like Owen, I was sad how they made his character turn out into an ass, cuz I thought he was really nice and hott. But anyways haha. Lucas has a TV job on like a sports show type thing… Thank you for always reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter!
Yaba- I'm glad you are liking how the story is moving along! Thank you for the very kind review! I hope you don't mind that I gave a shout out to your story in my authors note! I'm still on chapter 3, I havent had much time to read but I'm definitely excited to get caught up! I'm like hooked on it and I really just want to finish it haha. Anyways, thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter!
Brucas3- I'm glad you liked the last chapter! That is good to hear! It is good that Brucas worked through everything, but yeah, its kinda scary with Owen in the picture now! Thanks for the review, I hope you liked this chapter!
NYGIRL09- Haha, I'm glad you aren't complaining about Owen coming in the story and the drama he may bring. That is good to know! Thanks for the review, and I hope you like this chapter!
Natalie (iluvmedou)- I love your reviews, have I ever told you that?? Seriously, they always totally make me happy haha. I love grins so wide that can scare young children, those are my favorite kinds of smiles! I'm glad you are loving everything that is happening, that is so good to hear! I so can't tell you what I have in store haha…but it'll start getting good! I like Owen…we'll just have to wait and see what happens though! I love that you said 'what a star' about lucas, where are you from? Thanks for the amazing review! I hope you liked this chapter!!
Chebelle- I'm so glad you love this story, reading reviews like yours just makes me want to continue writing it! I'm glad you like the Brucas in this story! Supportive Luke is way better than cranky Luke..I agree. I'm glad that the chapters make you laugh, that is also good to hear! Hahaha, I'm glad you liked Averie putting the dog in the bath, I thought that was pretty funny too! And yes, Brucas going at it in the new house was definitely the highlight! I'm so glad you think that Owen is hott too haha, I have like the biggest crush on him! I can totally picture him mowing the lawn shirtless…that is a really good daydream right there! That would never ever hurt my feelings! I want front row seats to the hot Owen show! Hahaha I probably wouldn't be able to control myself with owen either to be honest. Its so good to hear that you can picture everything, that's like one of my goals, so its good to hear. I love Brucas shows. Bulgaria…that sounds amazing. You'll have to let me know how it is! I hope you have a good time on vacation! Okay, obviously I ramble…look how long this thank you is haha. Thank you for always leaving amazing reviews, I love them! I hope you liked this chapter!
Sydney (LoVeBrucas)- hahah, I warned you about Owen! I sort of did it just to spite you. Haha, just kidding, its been planned for awhile now! There will be no Owen beating up! I'm so glad I shocked you with the Owen being added in! That's always exciting. You know you are excited for him. I'm not telling you if he'll bring trouble or not! Brucas will be together in the end, don't worry. I'm so glad that you loved the chapter anyways! Averie is def. getting a lot cuter, I agree! I knew you'd like the realtor walking in on Brucas almost having sex haha. You like the smut. Stop worrying, just embrace Owen. Brucas can get through everything, that's the right attitude! Yeah, I am dyslexic I think…no really I think I just type too fast for my own good and mess up words! Anyways! Happy Birthday! Thanks for the awesome review! I hope you have a great birthday and like this chapter!
Amy (brucas2008)- I'm glad you liked the last chapter! That is always good to hear! Don't worry, I always come back haha. It was a long break though! I'm glad you love that I brought Owen into it haha. Its always good to hear that you love this story! Thank you for the awesome reviews, I hope you like this chapter!
Katherine- I'm glad that you feel better knowing that Brucas will at least be together in the end! I always look forward to reading your amazing reviews! It was so good to hear that you liked the last chapter! I'm glad you liked how Brucas worked out in the chapter. It's so true, both Brooke and Lucas have dilemmas that they are having to deal with, and I'm glad you noticed this. I'm glad you liked the Averie in this chapter even though she wasn't in it as much. I'm glad you liked the part with Averie coming into their room in the morning, and I'm glad you can picture it! And the dog bath part, haha, I'm glad you liked it. It was def. one of my favorite parts! House shopping! I'm glad that you liked that whole part! That was my other favorite part! Of course you liked the part with them getting it on in the kitchen of someone elses house haha. that's just so brucas! I love it! Owen..dun dun dun! I'm glad I shocked you with his appearance! Have you ever seen that deleted scene its on the last disc of season 2 and karen and brooke are crying and lucas walks in and is like 'whoa' haha. I just saw it for the first time today and I was seriously like laughing my head off! Its like the funniest thing ever! Anyways, enough rambling. Thank you for the amazing review, I loved it as always! I hope you like this chapter!
Whiters- It is good that Brucas are going to try the distance thing. I'm glad you like drama, because it may be coming your way haha. Owen does equal uh-oh hahah. I love your drama attitude, it totally cracks me up! Its awesome. Thanks for always reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter!
Christie (sweetchristie03)- haha yes, in my world Brucas are totally into each other! I'm glad you think its cute! Haha. I'm glad you enjoyed the part where they are looking at houses, that was def. my favorite part! They are crazy…but they are brucas so it makes sense haha. Thank you for always reviewing, its always great to hear what you have to say! I hope you liked this chapter!
IchliebeBrucas- I'm glad you were excited for an update! And yes, Averie is the cutest thing ever, probably just cuz she's a mix of brucas haha. You are right, Brucas can work anything out…that's the attitude to have! I hope Lucas called Brooke too…I'll seriously laugh my head off if he called peyton, that's for sure. Hahah sequel….I'm not thinking that idea is looking too good. But I have two other stories in progress right now so I might post one of those when this is over! We'll just have to wait and see haha. Thanks for always reviewing, I love them! I hope you liked this chapter!
Brucas224- I'm so glad that you liked the last chapter. More of all those things coming your way! Thanks for the review, I hope you liked this chapter!
Katie (BrOoKe DaViS23)- Hey bif! I havent talked to you forever! I'm going out of town this weekend, but I'll be back and hopefully we'll get to talk next week! Its funny, I swear one of us is always out of town. I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Its gonna be exciting to see what happens from here! Thanks for always reviewing! You're the best! I hope you liked this chapter!
Brucas333- I'm glad you liked the last chapter, especially the hot brucas make out session haha. Hmm, Owen. We'll just have to wait and see haha. Thanks for the review, I hope you liked this chapter!
Lydia (TutorGrrl)- I'm glad you finally got a chance to read the chapter, and I'm even happier that you really liked it! I agree, it is good that Lucas came around, and of course Haley is excited, haha! Thank you for the review! I hope you liked this chapter!
Abluvscbg- I'm so glad you liked the last chapter! That is great to hear. The realtor walking in on them was pretty funny huh, haha, that was probably my favorite part. Only brucas. I'm glad you are excited to see what happens with Brucas living apart and Owen living next door. It will def. get interesting! I'm so glad you love this story, that like makes my day! Oh and I did get both of your reviews, ahha, so thank you for both of them! I hope you liked this chapter!