Author's Note: I know I said the last chapter was the last one before I left, but I finished packing and had some free time so whipped this up.

Have fun reading and I'll be back very soon!

Tejal x

Chapter Eight: A Revelation

Lucas bit into an apple as he waited in Brooke's kitchen for his friend to appear. He looked at his watch, it had been almost ten minutes since he arrived, waiting to walk to school with her and she still wasn't ready.

"Brooke, come on. We're gonna be late!" he complained, hoping he wouldn't miss any lessons.

"Hold on, geez," she replied from her room, "I'm done." Less than twenty seconds later, she appeared in the outfit that had taken so long for her to choose.

"Good, you look great. Let's go," he said getting up. She pouted.

"You didn't even look!" she whined, stomping her foot. Lucas sighed as he grabbed his book bag and looked at her, nodding his head to give her his approval.

"What's the big deal, Brooke? It's only school."

"Yeah, but I've been away all weekend and I want to look good. Just so Jason remembers who I am," she told him as they walked out of the door.

"Okay, so somebody is paranoid," Lucas commented, "And just for the record, I don't think anybody could forget you." Brooke grinned, but it fell when Lucas added; "Your mouth is big enough."

Lucas groaned in pain when she hit him with her fist.

"Jerk!"

The two entered the school, animated in conversation, and didn't realise the tense atmosphere around them until somebody forcefully brushed Brooke's shoulder as they walked past.

"Hey!" she said rubbing her shoulder, "Some people are so rude," she said. Lucas frowned as he looked behind them to see who the culprit was.

Brooke looked at all the people around them and she too frowned, noticing their glares, their 'tuts', their eyebrow raises and their stares.

"Um, Lucas?" Lucas turned to Brooke, "Why are all these people staring at us?" she whispered.

"What makes you think they're staring at us?" he whispered back.

"Because they are!" she told him, forcing him to look around them, where she correctly assumed they were looking at them.

"Okay, this is creepy," he said.

"Do I have something in my teeth or something?" Brooke asked. Lucas shook his head and then spied Jason and a few guys from the team approaching them.

"Oh, hey Jason!" Lucas said, hoping that they'd be able to tell them what happened, "Do you kn-"

Lucas was silenced by a blow from Jason across the cheek.

"Jason!" Brooke cried as she rushed to Lucas' aid, "What the hell is the matter with you?" she asked her boyfriend.

"Of course it'd make sense for you to side with him!" Jason said angrily.

"I wonder why that is. Let me see, because you punched him!"

"And I'll do it again, believe me," Jason threatened.

"Okay, will you stop being such a jerk for, like, one minute and tell me what the hell is going on?" Brooke demanded to know.

"I think you know."

"I think I don't. Everyone is acting weird," Brooke told Jason motioning to the crowd forming, "especially you because you don't go around punching people."

Jason sighed, his jaw still tightened and his fist still in a ball. Brooke stood between Lucas and Jason.

"Jason, why don't we go somewhere and talk about… whatever it is you're freaking out about, okay?" she suggested, gently ushering Jason away from Lucas and the crowds. Jason reluctantly agreed and led Brooke to a nearby, empty classroom.

Brooke shut the door behind her and sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So, you want to tell me what's got into you or are you just going to pout?" she questioned, "I've never seen you angry like that – especially to Lucas who has done nothing wrong as far as I know."

Jason just grunted and she shook her head.

"Jason, just talk to me," she pleaded.

"Like you talk to me?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" she questioned.

"You'll sleep with Lucas but you won't sleep with me?" he asked. Brooke stood there stunned for a moment.

"What?"

"What did you do this weekend? Did you really go to Tree Hill or did you just… disappear for a rendezvous somewhere with him?"

"Oh my god, you think I cheated on you?"

"Did you?"

"No!" Brooke insisted, "I can't believe you'd even think that!"

"So it's not true."

"It's lies."

"So you and Lucas never slept together?" Jason asked, relieved. Brooke stopped, unsure what to tell her boyfriend, "You did sleep together." he confirmed.

"Yeah, but that was, like… ages ago before I even moved here, while we were dating in Tree Hill," she told him, "Way before you."

"So, when I asked you if you'd ever slept with Lucas, and you said 'no', you were lying to me."

"Well, technically, I thought you were referring to this weekend, where I wasn't sleeping with Lucas. But you just added 'ever' so that mixes things up a bit."

"Let's be clear. You did not sleep with Lucas this weekend in Tree Hill – but you have before?" Brooke nodded and Jason sighed.

"What?" she asked.

"I don't get this, Brooke! We've been dating for quite a while now and I don't want to pressure you or anything but we've never even gotten close to sleeping with one another. You even get touchy when we cuddle," he told her. She shrugged.

"Look, I've had some horrible experiences in the past – as have you – and I made some mistakes. Is it so bad that I wanted to slow things down and take my time?"

"I told you about my past experiences." He said. She nodded.

"I know."

"So," he crossed his arms, "since we're going to be honest now, tell me about yours."

"You really don't want to know." Brooke warned him.

"Word is you were… you had a guy almost every night," Jason said quietly, "Is that true?"

"Yeah… I did, and I'm not proud of it but I was rich, bored and ignored. Mix that with hormones and alcohol and you get the idea. But none of that counts now."

"And what about Lucas?"

"What about him?"

"Well, I heard you dated for some while, which makes no sense if you were… sleeping around." Jason said. Brooke looked down at her feet.

"Lucas was different," she said quietly.

"Different meaning you loved him, right?" Jason stated, looking at the ground too, "I should have known. I mean, the way you look at each other, how you always seem to have these private jokes and just… everything."

Brooke moved closer to her boyfriend and he shifted slightly, unsure whether he wanted to welcome her or not.

"Who told you about Lucas and me?" she asked.

"Scarlett."

"I should have known," Brooke scoffed.

"She got some girl she knows in Tree Hill to give her some information. I don't know the details but she's the one who told me," Jason said.

"Okay, well," Brooke sighed, "did Scarlett's friend tell you why Lucas and I broke up?"

Jason shook his head, "Only that you dated a while, were happy for a long time and then suddenly, after his accident or something, it all changed."

"He cheated on me," she watched as Jason's eyes widened, "with my best friend, Peyton." she continued, memories that she'd tried to repress flooding back to her.

"I'm sorry."

"Jason, it's taken us so long to get past all that and become friends again, so I'm sorry that you feel I'm spending a lot of time with Lucas, but I've only just got my friend back. I mean, it's not as if Lucas and I were friends for long before we started dating because I pretty much had no guy friends without having slept with them," she said all in one breath.

Brooke looked up at Jason and continued, "When Lucas and I started dating it was new for me because I'd never really had a long term relationship before. Not only that, but I fell for him; I fell for him quickly and I fell for him hard. And so when I found out about him and Peyton, it almost killed me. It took me a long time to even think about forgiving them and those months of my life were the darkest and hardest I ever had to face. I never want to go through that again and I would never, ever put somebody else through that pain."

Jason rubbed her arms comfortingly as her eyes welled up with tears, reliving the pain for the past.

"Brooke..." he began.

"Jason, if you think that I cheated on you because you heard some rumours about what I used to be like, then… then you obviously don't trust me as much as I thought you did."

"I didn't know about that, Brooke. I'm sorry that you had to go through that and I'm even sorrier for accusing you of doing it. I don't know what I was thinking letting myself believe anything Scarlett spews out. I'm sorry," he apologised, feeling guilty for what he'd done.

Brooke sighed and hugged Jason tightly, "It's okay. Just… apologize to Lucas, okay?" she requested.

"That'll be the first thing I do. What about Scarlett?"

"Oh, you leave Scarlett to me," Brooke said, "We're going to have words."

Jason entered the gym, heading towards Lucas. He immediately put his hands up, indicating he didn't want to fight.

"Jason, whatever I've apparently done – I'm sorry, just don't hit me again, okay?" Lucas pleaded.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. I wanted to apologize, actually."

"You do? Why?" Lucas asked, still slightly unconvinced.

"Because I listened to some rumors and gossip that weren't entirely true – courtesy of Scarlett, of course – and I made an idiot of myself, which was stupid of me."

"Okay, good." Lucas said, "Care to tell me what those rumors were? I'm guessing it has something to do with me and Brooke?"

"I found out you dated in Tree Hill."

"I thought you already knew that?"

"Uh, yeah, I did. But I found out this was a sexual relationship and I got a bit jealous. I actually accused Brooke of sleeping with you this weekend."

"You know it's untrue, right?" Jason nodded, "Of course you do, as that would explain the not-hitting me part. Glad we cleared that up."

"Yeah," Jason said, shaking Lucas' hand in attempt for them to forget their differences.

"Anyway, Brooke would never cheat on you," Lucas told Jason.

"Because you cheated on her?" Jason questioned, causing Lucas to stop.

"Uh, she told you about that?" Jason nodded, "You must think I'm an ass, right?" Jason nodded again, "Yeah, I know I was. But you know, that's in the past and I'm just grateful she found it in her heart to forgive me and Peyton," Lucas explained.

"She's got a big heart." Jason stated.

"She does. And she'd never cheat on you because she loves you too damned much." Jason looked at Lucas, who nodded slowly, "I hope that you'll pay her the same courtesy because I don't know what would happen if she ever got hurt like that again."

Jason smiled, "Is this the part where you tell me if I hurt her, you'll break my legs?"

Lucas shook his head, "Nah, I'm pretty certain she'd do it herself. But if you do hurt her, then I'd prepare for the worst because the stuff she put me through…" Lucas shook his head, "You don't want to get in her way."

"I know what you mean. I'm sure Scarlett's now wishing she never spread those rumors." Jason said, letting out a low whistle, "Hey, um, I hope we're still friends."

Lucas nodded, "Of course, man."

"So, you want to shoot some hoops?" Jason suggested in a bid to build bridges between him and the young man in front of him. Lucas nodded.

"Sure. I'd like that."

"Scarlett!" Brooke yelled as she saw the woman standing with her friends. Scarlett rolled her eyes and turned around to face Brooke.

"What? You angry that your shady past came back and bit you in the butt?" Scarlett questioned.

"No, I'm angry that false rumors were spread around school because of you."

"False?" Scarlett laughed, "Puh-lease. You know full and well those are facts. Got it straight from Tree Hill."

"Well, you better check your facts because Lucas and I were over long before either of us moved to Beaufort. We're friends – something you probably couldn't be with a guy."

"Whatever, Brooke. You can run around like the frigging Virgin Mary all you want, but you were a slut in Tree Hill and you know it."

"Key word there; was. It's the past and I'm trying to rebuild my life because there is more to life than partying, getting drunk and sleeping around. Maybe you should try it." Brooke suggested.

"Brookie, you don't know a thing about my life."

"I do. And I bet you that while you're having all that 'fun', you're really lonely. And you wish that you could find some way out of it. How many times have you woken up and looked at the guy next t you, wishing you could remember his name, or how old he was, or even how you met him? I've been there and it seemed like I was stuck there but then I met Lucas and I learnt that there was more to life than that. Do yourself a favor, and do something else with your life, because sabotaging everybody else's is getting really old!"

With those words, Brooke turned on her heel and walked off, leaving a seething Scarlett behind her.

To Be Continued…