"Lucas! Lucas, are you in here?"

Brooke burst through the door, a whirling dervish of 105 pounds of energy.

"What's up?" he asked, his impromptu nap painfully interrupted the minute is girlfriend had arrived. "I thought you guys were shooting today."

"I am. I mean, we were but we production ended early today. Anyway, I have a surprise for you."

Lucas grinned as he pulled her close.

"A surprise, huh? Does that include a naked you and maybe some chocolate, whipped cream, strawberries…"

"Naughty boy", she giggled, pretending to reprimand him. "Maybe we can accommodate that later on tonight but for now I seriously have something to show you."

Lucas raised one eyebrow. He hadn't seen her that excited since the night of the Emmys.

"What is it? What's going on?"

"I can't tell you about. I really have to show you, Luke."

"What are you up to?"

"Just trust me on this one. Now come on, Boyfriend."

She was using all her might to practically drag him.

"Okay, okay", he finally conceded. "You win. Show me."

"It's not here. We have to take a drive."

"Okay", Lucas shrugged.

As they headed out to the car, Brooke directed him to the passenger side.

"Sorry bud, but I'm driving."

"God save us", he quipped.

"Ha, ha smart ass!"

She pulled out a bandana and tied it securely around his eyes.

"Brooke! Come on! Do I have to be blindfolded?" he whined.

"Yes! I don't want you to know where we're going. It is a surprise, you know."

"I don't know about this, babe…"

"Trust me, you're so going to love this."

He relaxed, slightly skeptical as Brooke drove. Lucas was getting antsy. Brooke was full of surprises and she was so happy that she was downright giddy. It could have been anything. He didn't know whether or not to be excited or scared out of his mind.

"Brooke, where are we going?" he finally asked after a short while.

"Relax, babe. We're here", she said, getting out and running over to the other side of the car to help him out. "Now no peeking!"

"Peeking? Brooke, I can't see shit. I promise you."

He held onto her as she guided him up steps.

"Brooke, I'm really not digging this. Babe, where are we?"

"Surprise!" she yelled, yanking off the makeshift blindfold.

Luke's eyes adjusted to the daylight and the grand sight before him.

"Wow!" was all he could manage to sputter out.

Lucas had never seen anything like it up close. They were at the front door of what looked like a mansion.

"Isn't it absolutely breathtaking?"

"It's gorgeous", he said.

By Tree Hill standards, Dan and Deb resided in what could be called a mansion but that house made his father and step mother's look like a shack!

"Full service kitchen, two car garage, pool, whirlpool spa, six bedrooms and four bathrooms on six acres of land. What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think", he shrugged. "It's definitely a beauty. Is this one of the locations your show is shooting at?"

"Not exactly", Brooke smiled coyly. "Remember how we still have to find an apartment so we can get out of Dan's beach house?"

"Yeah."

"And I told you I'd look around…"

"Yeah. Okay."

"Well…ta da! Welcome home", she giggled, tossing him a set of keys

Lucas eyed the keys, then his girlfriend, then the keys again.

"Are you joking? Brooke, tell me you're kidding."

"Nope! It's all ours. I signed the deal this morning", she squealed with delight.

Not waiting for him, she opened the front door. The inside was just as exquisite as its exterior.

"Brooke…"

"What do you think? You love it, don't you? I know I do. Tell me you love it."

Lucas walked around, still in shock, trying not to get lost in apparently what was his new home. He was utterly speechless.

"Um…"

"Luke! Come on, baby. Say something! The house is great!"

"Yeah…it is great…"

"But? Uh oh, I sense a 'but' coming on."

"No. I…I just thought we decided on something a little more low key. I thought we were going to get an apartment."

"We were. I mean, that was the plan and I was looking but apartments are so small."

"Yeah but it's just the two of us. This house could fit an entire village, Brooke."

"I know but look at it. How could I resist? It's gorgeous!"

"Yeah…it is", Luke said flatly.

Brooke noticed his sullen expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Babe, it is something. I know that brooding look. Talk to me. Are you mad?"

"No, I'm not mad. Brooke, I'm just…"

"Just what?"

"Shocked, I guess. This is…I don't know, extravagant. It's a little much."

"True but I can afford it…"

"But I can't", he said.

Brooke was quiet for a second.

"Is this what this is about? Money?"

"Partly?"

"What else?"

"Babe, we didn't even discuss it first."

"It was spur of the moment and very last minute and I just wanted to surprise you. Lucas, this is a good thing. The house is great. It's our house, our new home. The money is a mere technicality, so to speak. Let me worry about it."

"Brooke, I know you're making a lot of money now and you can afford this and you're used to this lifestyle but I haven't even graduated college yet. You can afford this house but I can't. Call it ego or whatever but I feel really weird about living in a mansion my Sugar Mama bought for me."

He turned his back and Brooke approached him carefully, wrapping her tiny arms around his waist.

"Babe, I'm sorry you feel that way. You're right. I should have discussed this with you first. I'm sorry about that but I just got so excited. I never want to make you feel inferior or less of a man. I guess I just don't think sometimes. Listen, I'll call the broker and see if the deal can be reversed. I'll take care of this and we can go apartment hunting tomorrow together, okay?"

She said it to appease him and make him happy but based on the near distraught expression on her pretty face, it was evident she didn't really mean it. Brooke Davis didn't want to live in some mediocre apartment building. She wanted a house. A big house with all the trimmings. And she had found it. It was a great house and Brooke did love it. She was used to the "good life". A sweet girl who had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth while she enjoyed the finer things. For Lucas it was something different. It made him uncomfortable.

"Brooke…"

Then he thought back to his conversation with Nathan. He thought about his obvious differences with Brooke and their lives. They were as opposite as night and day but somehow they had fallen madly in love. If they were going to give a real relationship an honest try, it would require sacrifice and compromise. He had already raised questions about some of her career decisions. It wasn't fair. He couldn't ask her to stop being who she was. After all, he had fallen in love with that girl. Something had to give.

"Luke, it's okay…"

"No. It's more than okay. It's cool. I like the house."

"No, you don't."

"I do. It's beautiful. I'm just surprised but I love it. Promise."

"Lucas, you don't have to…"

"I know but I want to. I don't care what we do or where we live. I love you, Brooke. I just want to be with you."

He smiled a real smile and she immediately fell at ease. A wide grin spread across her face. She really did love that house.

"Okay", she whispered.

"Okay? Then that's settled. Now when do we move in?" he forced a smile for her sake.

"Whenever, I guess. Soon."

"I can't wait."

He wrapped his arm around her and they exited. On the way back to the car, Lucas gave her a kiss. A few yards away they heard a distinct clicking sound. Looking up, there was a man snapping shots of them with a wide lens camera.

"Oh God", Brooke groaned.

"Hey buddy. This is private property", Lucas hollered out. "You can't be here taking pictures."

The man took a few more photos before disappearing as quickly as he had arrived.

"Sorry about that."

Lucas shook his head.

"Gives new meaning to the term 'nosy neighbors', don't you think? Damn, what is that dude's deal? What the hell was he doing?"

"It wasn't a neighbor, Luke. That my dear, is paparazzi. Guarantee those pictures will be in the next issue of US or the Star or any other magazine willing to pay for them."

"Paparazzi? Here? In North Carolina?"

"Yeah, it happens sometimes. Look, I'm sorry about that."

"It's cool", Lucas sighed, a bit unnerved. "Let's just get out of here, okay?"

They got in their car and drove away but Lucas couldn't shake that uneasy feeling. Deep down inside, he was still that loner country boy who lived in a modest house with his single, struggling mother and liked to play ball down by the River. He wasn't a wheeler dealer type and he preferred the simple life to big houses and fancy cars. Now everything had changed. He wasn't used to mansions, having a girlfriend pay for everything, and certainly it wasn't an everyday occurrence to have people hiding behind bushes just to take his picture. Lucas sighed. Sacrifice and compromise. For Brooke he was willing to go the extra mile but he wasn't sure how exactly how much he could take. Life had suddenly taken on a whole new meaning.