Nathan stirred as sunlight came in through his bedroom window. He tried to check the alarm clock on his nightstand, but couldn't move because of the soft body that pinned his arm onto the bed. He slowly blinked, waking up completely, only to find Brooke Davis in bed with him. He gasped in shock and checked their bodies, making sure they were still clothed. Pleased that they were, he tried to pull his arm free without stirring her too much. He failed.
"Nathan, if you want to get up, just say so. I can move, you know," Brooke said as she rolled over, off of Nathan's left arm.
"Sorry. Umm... I was just surprised to find you in here with me."
"Don't sweat it, Nate. We just slept. You were upset over Haley's phone call, and I don't like sleeping on couches. Nothing happened, so don't get all freaked out or anything," Brooke replied, trying to go back to sleep.
"Oh, okay. Umm, good. I mean..." Nathan trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"Jesus Christ, Nathan!" Brooke yelled, jumping out of the bed. "How the hell does a person sleep with you around? Talk, talk, talk," she babbled as she walked into the kitchen. Nathan sat there, staring after her. She returned a couple minutes later with two cups of coffee. "Here ya go, Scott."
Nathan took the offered cup and sipped at it for a moment.
"There's no need to feel weird, Nathan. Nothing happened. No clothes came off, no hands roamed, no tongues touched," Brooke explained, as she sat next to him on the bed. "We have both had a pretty crappy week. We're friends, so we were there for each other. Personally, I'm glad that we were. I haven't slept in like a week, and it was nice to finally be able to."
"I know what you mean. Well, okay. No reason to feel weird, so that's taken care of. Brooke, I really appreciate you being there for me last night. I mean, that phone call really threw me for a loop, ya know. I mean, I knew she would eventually call. I just don't know what to say to her. I'm so pissed off at her, but at the same time I find myself hoping that she'll realize what a mistake she made and come back to me."
"Yeah, it sucks. But Nathan... I don't think she's going to come back. We both know Haley. She doesn't do anything she doesn't want to. I don't think Chris forced her to go with him," Brooke said, putting her coffee onto the nightstand and throwing her arm over Nathan's shoulder to offer him what comfort she could.
"You're right. I know that, but I really don't want to believe it," Nathan whispered, turning to wrap his arms around Brooke.
"Don't worry, Nathan. You'll get through this. I'll be here to help you every step of the way." Brooke smiled down at him and kissed his forehead. Nathan looked up at her and pressed his lips to hers. Brooke was shocked at first, but soon responded to his kiss. She opened her mouth to his tongue and they gave into each other for a few minutes. They were broken apart by Brooke's cell phone.
Brooke sighed and reached for the phone that had been discarded onto the floor the night before. "Brooke Davis," she said into it. "Oh... Lucas. What's going on?" "Yeah, umm.. I heard about it." She sat down on the bed next to Nathan who was now concentrating only on his coffee. "That sounds great. I'll see you guys down there." "Bye."
Nathan looked over at her once she had hung her phone up. "So, what did my older brother want?"
"He invited me to River Court with you guys today. He said that you would probably need some cheering up and that I was the most cheerful person he knew. If you don't want me to go with you guys, that's okay. I'll make up an excuse to tell him."
"Of course I want you to go with us. It'll be fun." They were both silent for a minute, finishing their caffeine-filled drink. "Brooke, about that kiss... I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
"That's okay, Nathan. We don't need to talk about it," Brooke said, getting up from the bed. Nathan pulled her back down onto it.
"Don't even go there, Brooke. Don't act like it didn't happen. It did. I know that we're both messed up right now, but it did happen. It wasn't just because I'm lonely. It's because you're this amazing person who has been there for me. And I only hope that I can return the favor."
"You have, Nathan. You have returned the favor. Last night, just being here with you helped me. You don't know how hard it is to hang out with a guy and not feel like they're expecting more from me. Last night, I finally got to. I didn't feel pressured to have sex with you or to be this perfect little trophy girlfriend. It was nice to just hang out with someone and have fun. But we should probably not kiss anymore, because it would only lead to bad things. You're still married, and I had sex with your older brother. If that doesn't qualify for talk show scandal then I don't know what does," Brooke joked as she got up and walked into the kitchen.
Nathan followed her through the hallway. She had started washing the few dishes they'd managed to dirty last night and this morning. Nathan took his place next to her and helped by drying them off. After ten minutes of silence, he decided that was enough. He spun Brooke's body so it was facing his. He looked deep into her eyes. "Brooke, I know our situation. But I also know that we've been friends since the second grade. I stole your Barbie doll, and you kicked me in the shin. That's how we started. We've known each other for ten years, Brooke Davis. And we've been friends through a lot of stupid shit. Now when times are tough, I'm not going to let anything come between us. I'll still be here for you no matter what."
Brooke let a grin light up her face. She threw her arms over Nathan's shoulders and hugged him tight. "Thanks, Nathan. Same goes for you. I'm here for you no matter what. Now I'm going to my house to shower and get ready. I'll be back in an hour to pick you up for River Court. I'll stop by Karen's Cafe on the way and grab some breakfast. See ya in a few," Brooke yelled as she grabbed her stuff and ran out the door.
Nathan stood in his kitchen and chuckled. He jogged into the bathroom to get ready for the day.