Just Friends
by devilsblues
Chapter 3: All Roads Lead Back to Lucas
Brooke Davis sat on her best friend's bed, watching as Peyton added finishing touches to her latest sketch. On the paper was a twisted tableau resembling a fight scene. The blonde twisted a curl around her long finger, biting her lip as she analyzed the picture. She knew that her friend was not quite ready to talk yet, a sign that Brooke was truly upset.
When Brooke called Peyton explaining her reasons for breaking up with Lucas, the blonde couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. She was still attracted to Luke, she couldn't help it. But Brooke never really saw that and as such, couldn't really register her as a reason for Lucas's distraction lately.
After the first few times Brooke confessed her relationship worries to Peyton, Peyton realized that she needed to sever her romantic ties with Lucas. It wasn't what she wanted to do, but in her heart, she knew that that was what she needed to do. It was killing her inside to continue lying to her best friend. It was killing her inside to be in love with someone who loved her best friend. It was killing her inside to have to stand by and watch as Brooke and Lucas made out all the time. It was killing her inside to keep the huge weight of a secret on her shoulders. So Peyton did what was necessary, as a best friend and as a decent human being, she told Lucas they were friends. Period.
Brooke, who didn't know about her friend's "sacrifice", continued to go to Peyton for advice and basically, just to spill her thoughts. That afternoon, she was there to announce that she finally made the break up official.
"How'd he take it?" Peyton asked, hoping that Brooke wouldn't hear the eagerness in her voice.
"Not that great," the brunette confessed honestly. Just because she didn't want to be in a relationship with Lucas Scott anymore, it didn't mean that she wanted to cause him pain. She truly did like the guy. Perhaps it was that their differences finally dawned on her. He was the introverted intellectual and she was- well, she was Brooke.
"How are you?"
"I don't know, Pey." Brooke couldn't think of anything that described how she felt. So she went on babbling. "It's like I'm glad that I finally did it. But I'm not. Because I like him, I really do. He's the sexy kind of smart. And he's really sweet and nice. But on the other hand, he's just so different from me. And I think this caring thing. You know, because I was falling for him. And I don't want to be the expendable one in the relationship, but if we kept at the relationship, he would realize that I was the expendable one and-"
"Brooke, honey, breathe." Peyton warned, with a concerned tone. "You've been wanting this for a long time now." She spoke slowly, handpicking every word, so as not to indicate her happiness at the couple's split. "And you were okay long before Lucas Scott. You'll be okay after."
"You think so?" her eyes were wide and expectant, like that of a curious puppy. Peyton marveled at how innocent Brooke could seem. And yet she knew that deep beneath the make up and superficiality, there was a Brooke that no one but Peyton knew. The vulnerable one. Peyton wrapped her arms around her best friend in a gesture of love.
"I'm sure," she mumbled into the mess of dark hair.
There they sat for quite a while, both thinking of the same guy. Brooke in awe of the feat she had just accomplished. She broke up with the best man she would ever date, putting her well being, the one of the real vulnerable Brooke, above the expectations of others. And in a way, she was proud that she broke up with Lucas. Peyton confused about whether to confront Lucas with her feelings or stay true to Brooke, even after the couple was broken up.
XXX
It had been two days since Nathan saw Haley and Lucas in their compromising position.
It had been two days since Nathan spoke to Haley or Lucas.
It had been two days since Nathan cried.
He was alone now, sitting in his own empty driveway, with the comforting feel of his basketball beneath his fingers. His dark hair quietly rustled by the wind. The moon was high in the heavy darkness of the sky, and the air began to send chills down his spine. Nathan didn't notice though. He was just content sitting in the darkness, with his only true friend in his hands.
For so many years, his father's pushing made Nathan hate basketball. He hated Dan Scott's scolding and nagging and the constant pressure that related to the sport. But lately, he realized it was the one thing that was with him throughout everything. When happy, when sad, when angry, when depressed. Basketball was the one constant thing in his life, through girlfriends and friendships and discovering his half-brother, it was always there.
"I'm sorry," his voice was alone in the darkness. "I've been treating you badly and ignoring you. But that was wrong of me. I should have never let anyone get in the way of us." He apologized to his basketball beneath his fingers and the hoop that hovered above him. Since he had met Haley, she became the center of his life and basketball was pushed to the side. How wrong he was to think that a human being could be as constant and reliable as the game.
"I'm sorry too."
The ball slipped from Nathan's hands and kissed the ground. For a moment he was filled with shock and surprise. Had he entered the Twilight Zone? Did the basketball honestly reply?
But after a few seconds of thought, he recognized the voice. It was soft and female and beginning to cause his heart to twist itself into a knot.
"Haley." Coming from his mouth the word was like a profanity rather than a name.
"I don't know if you were talking to me or not, but I wish you were." She spoke quickly, as if the words would hide if they weren't exposed quickly enough. He couldn't see her, but he knew that she was near. He could feel her presence, it warmed his flesh and softened his barriers.
"What do you want?" His voice was deep. His tone held no emotions.
"To talk." When she had confidence, it was seen in her actions and heard in her voice. And when she was unsure of herself, it was just as obvious. "Your mom told me you'd probably be out here." She paused. Nathan could see her face clearly in the dark, but he guessed she was scrunching up her forehead, calculating her next statement. "I don't want you to hate me, Nathan. Especially not-"
"I could never hate you." The statement slipped out before he could stop himself. The caring in his voice slipped too. He scolded himself in his head. He wasn't supposed to let her know he still cared! He was supposed to be mad! Be mad!
"I don't want you to hate me. Especially over something that isn't real." She continued on, trying to ignore the tenderness she had just heard in his voice. "Because what you saw was... is... something completely different from what you think." Haley bit her lip, she still felt that little bit of guilt inside her. That part of her that would never truly go away. The part of her that loved Lucas Scott as much more than her beset friend.
"Is it?" It was an honest question. Nathan knew that Lucas and Haley never had a history of dating. And in the past, the two always acted as what they claimed to be- best friends. However there had always been the thought bubble hovering above his head, the one that questioned the true feelings of Lucas and Haley.
"I love Lucas. I'm not going to lie to you." Nathan's jaw clenched. "But the love I have for him is the love of one friend to another." His jaw unclenched at the sound of those words. "The way I care about him is different from the way I care about you." The corners of his lips began to turn upward. "You have to believe that."
"I..." Nathan's voice was now the unsure one, and it was Haley's jaw that was clenched in fear. She swallowed, trying to suppress the tears that were coming. "I believe you, Haley." He had to give in to her. His affection for her was far greater than his suspicions of her and Lucas. And as long as Nathan and Haley were together, he knew that she was a good decent person and wouldn't cheat.
In the darkness, amidst the many thoughts that hovered between them, Nathan and Haley made their way to one another. He leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her mouth. She reciprocated with passion.
And as their lips met, making up for the past few days that they had spent apart, they thought of the same person.
Nathan thought of Lucas as his defeated opponent. In that moment, it was Nathan holding Haley in his arms and kissing her.
And Haley?
With her eyes closed shut, she kissed with all the love she had in her. Imagining if it would feel like this with Lucas.
by devilsblues
Chapter 3: All Roads Lead Back to Lucas
Brooke Davis sat on her best friend's bed, watching as Peyton added finishing touches to her latest sketch. On the paper was a twisted tableau resembling a fight scene. The blonde twisted a curl around her long finger, biting her lip as she analyzed the picture. She knew that her friend was not quite ready to talk yet, a sign that Brooke was truly upset.
When Brooke called Peyton explaining her reasons for breaking up with Lucas, the blonde couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. She was still attracted to Luke, she couldn't help it. But Brooke never really saw that and as such, couldn't really register her as a reason for Lucas's distraction lately.
After the first few times Brooke confessed her relationship worries to Peyton, Peyton realized that she needed to sever her romantic ties with Lucas. It wasn't what she wanted to do, but in her heart, she knew that that was what she needed to do. It was killing her inside to continue lying to her best friend. It was killing her inside to be in love with someone who loved her best friend. It was killing her inside to have to stand by and watch as Brooke and Lucas made out all the time. It was killing her inside to keep the huge weight of a secret on her shoulders. So Peyton did what was necessary, as a best friend and as a decent human being, she told Lucas they were friends. Period.
Brooke, who didn't know about her friend's "sacrifice", continued to go to Peyton for advice and basically, just to spill her thoughts. That afternoon, she was there to announce that she finally made the break up official.
"How'd he take it?" Peyton asked, hoping that Brooke wouldn't hear the eagerness in her voice.
"Not that great," the brunette confessed honestly. Just because she didn't want to be in a relationship with Lucas Scott anymore, it didn't mean that she wanted to cause him pain. She truly did like the guy. Perhaps it was that their differences finally dawned on her. He was the introverted intellectual and she was- well, she was Brooke.
"How are you?"
"I don't know, Pey." Brooke couldn't think of anything that described how she felt. So she went on babbling. "It's like I'm glad that I finally did it. But I'm not. Because I like him, I really do. He's the sexy kind of smart. And he's really sweet and nice. But on the other hand, he's just so different from me. And I think this caring thing. You know, because I was falling for him. And I don't want to be the expendable one in the relationship, but if we kept at the relationship, he would realize that I was the expendable one and-"
"Brooke, honey, breathe." Peyton warned, with a concerned tone. "You've been wanting this for a long time now." She spoke slowly, handpicking every word, so as not to indicate her happiness at the couple's split. "And you were okay long before Lucas Scott. You'll be okay after."
"You think so?" her eyes were wide and expectant, like that of a curious puppy. Peyton marveled at how innocent Brooke could seem. And yet she knew that deep beneath the make up and superficiality, there was a Brooke that no one but Peyton knew. The vulnerable one. Peyton wrapped her arms around her best friend in a gesture of love.
"I'm sure," she mumbled into the mess of dark hair.
There they sat for quite a while, both thinking of the same guy. Brooke in awe of the feat she had just accomplished. She broke up with the best man she would ever date, putting her well being, the one of the real vulnerable Brooke, above the expectations of others. And in a way, she was proud that she broke up with Lucas. Peyton confused about whether to confront Lucas with her feelings or stay true to Brooke, even after the couple was broken up.
XXX
It had been two days since Nathan saw Haley and Lucas in their compromising position.
It had been two days since Nathan spoke to Haley or Lucas.
It had been two days since Nathan cried.
He was alone now, sitting in his own empty driveway, with the comforting feel of his basketball beneath his fingers. His dark hair quietly rustled by the wind. The moon was high in the heavy darkness of the sky, and the air began to send chills down his spine. Nathan didn't notice though. He was just content sitting in the darkness, with his only true friend in his hands.
For so many years, his father's pushing made Nathan hate basketball. He hated Dan Scott's scolding and nagging and the constant pressure that related to the sport. But lately, he realized it was the one thing that was with him throughout everything. When happy, when sad, when angry, when depressed. Basketball was the one constant thing in his life, through girlfriends and friendships and discovering his half-brother, it was always there.
"I'm sorry," his voice was alone in the darkness. "I've been treating you badly and ignoring you. But that was wrong of me. I should have never let anyone get in the way of us." He apologized to his basketball beneath his fingers and the hoop that hovered above him. Since he had met Haley, she became the center of his life and basketball was pushed to the side. How wrong he was to think that a human being could be as constant and reliable as the game.
"I'm sorry too."
The ball slipped from Nathan's hands and kissed the ground. For a moment he was filled with shock and surprise. Had he entered the Twilight Zone? Did the basketball honestly reply?
But after a few seconds of thought, he recognized the voice. It was soft and female and beginning to cause his heart to twist itself into a knot.
"Haley." Coming from his mouth the word was like a profanity rather than a name.
"I don't know if you were talking to me or not, but I wish you were." She spoke quickly, as if the words would hide if they weren't exposed quickly enough. He couldn't see her, but he knew that she was near. He could feel her presence, it warmed his flesh and softened his barriers.
"What do you want?" His voice was deep. His tone held no emotions.
"To talk." When she had confidence, it was seen in her actions and heard in her voice. And when she was unsure of herself, it was just as obvious. "Your mom told me you'd probably be out here." She paused. Nathan could see her face clearly in the dark, but he guessed she was scrunching up her forehead, calculating her next statement. "I don't want you to hate me, Nathan. Especially not-"
"I could never hate you." The statement slipped out before he could stop himself. The caring in his voice slipped too. He scolded himself in his head. He wasn't supposed to let her know he still cared! He was supposed to be mad! Be mad!
"I don't want you to hate me. Especially over something that isn't real." She continued on, trying to ignore the tenderness she had just heard in his voice. "Because what you saw was... is... something completely different from what you think." Haley bit her lip, she still felt that little bit of guilt inside her. That part of her that would never truly go away. The part of her that loved Lucas Scott as much more than her beset friend.
"Is it?" It was an honest question. Nathan knew that Lucas and Haley never had a history of dating. And in the past, the two always acted as what they claimed to be- best friends. However there had always been the thought bubble hovering above his head, the one that questioned the true feelings of Lucas and Haley.
"I love Lucas. I'm not going to lie to you." Nathan's jaw clenched. "But the love I have for him is the love of one friend to another." His jaw unclenched at the sound of those words. "The way I care about him is different from the way I care about you." The corners of his lips began to turn upward. "You have to believe that."
"I..." Nathan's voice was now the unsure one, and it was Haley's jaw that was clenched in fear. She swallowed, trying to suppress the tears that were coming. "I believe you, Haley." He had to give in to her. His affection for her was far greater than his suspicions of her and Lucas. And as long as Nathan and Haley were together, he knew that she was a good decent person and wouldn't cheat.
In the darkness, amidst the many thoughts that hovered between them, Nathan and Haley made their way to one another. He leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her mouth. She reciprocated with passion.
And as their lips met, making up for the past few days that they had spent apart, they thought of the same person.
Nathan thought of Lucas as his defeated opponent. In that moment, it was Nathan holding Haley in his arms and kissing her.
And Haley?
With her eyes closed shut, she kissed with all the love she had in her. Imagining if it would feel like this with Lucas.