Equal But Opposite Reaction
By: Sari
Disclaimer: No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.
Summary: AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.
Part 14
"For her own breakfast she'll project a scheme, nor take her tea without a stratagem." – Edward Young
Getting back in the swing of things had been tough for Brooke. Especially since most of her friends were still in Florida. Instead of the usual lunch breaks with Nancy, and dinner dates with Haley, Nathan, and Lucas she had been dining by herself. It really hadn't been that long, only about three days but she had gotten accustomed to the stability. Lucas had been away on business, leaving a day after they had come back from Florida. His brief phone calls were the only things that were keeping her sane at the moment.
She tried hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Her senior editors were at a convention so she had been stuck with most of the editing. She had already given the associate editors some of the work but Filly was a large magazine, which meant a lot of articles that needed to be edited. She sighed to herself; today was going to be a long working day.
The phone rang, jarring her out of her thoughts abruptly and she grumbled to herself as she picked it up. "Filly magazine, Brooke Davis speaking." She answered briskly.
"Brookie? Is that you honey?" The voice asked.
"Mom?" She asked in disbelief. "Mom…where are you guys? I haven't heard from you or dad in months."
"We're at the airport now, we just came from a lovely vacation in Fiji. Brooke if you would stop would this nonsense job you have you could come and explore the world with us."
She rolled her eyes. "Mom, I hardly think you two have any world left to explore. Seeing as how you've been gone most of my life, and I know it might seem a bit strange to you but I like to work."
She pretty much figured her mom was fuming at this point. In the little calls she did receive every couple of months her mom made it a personal mission to turn her into a socialite. Her mom being born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and her dad being a self-made millionaire gave her mom the impression that they owned the world and because of that did not need to work. "Where's dad?" Brooke asked.
"He's at some coffee shop reading the newspaper. Our flight has been delayed for an hour. It's dreadful thing flying on commercial airplanes. We'd fly on your dad's business jets but we're too far from any of his overseas offices."
"So where is your next stop?" Brooke asked, not really interested but knowing that's what her mom wanted her to ask."
"Oh darling you wouldn't believe it but we're heading back to New York for a couple of days!" She exclaimed happily. "I haven't set foot on American soil in such a long time it'll be so refreshing to see you again."
Brooke's blood ran cold. "Mom you're not serious? You guys haven't been in America in almost three years!"
"Well your father has been having some problems over at the New York office and he personally wants to attend to them. It's something about his employees giving out confidential information about computer parts. I don't really pay much attention to the business aspect." She said in a bored tone. "So honey you can expect us in about two days or so. We're going to be staying at our penthouse."
"Alright…" Brooke murmured weakly. "Is there anything I can do to prepare for your arrival?"
"Oh you're such a doll! Can you call up Maria—you know the house sitter—and tell her we'll be home in the next two days so she doesn't have to stay. Oh, and make sure the house is fully stocked with all the necessities and supervise the maid when she cleans up."
"Anything else?"
"Since we're letting Maria go could you stay at the penthouse until we arrive? It's a beautiful neighborhood but I always like my homes to feel lived in. It'll be just awful if I have to come home to an empty house."
"Sure mom, just call me on my cell phone when you arrive. I might not be at the penthouse because of work or something and I want to be there to meet you."
"That'll be just lovely; I'll be sure and do that. Thank you so much honey." She said happily. "So now that we've gotten that out of the way what's been going on with my favorite daughter? I haven't talked to you in so long! You aren't still with that Tim boy are you?"
She laughed. "No mom, I'm not with Tim. We broke up a while ago remember? I told you about that."
"Oh right! He's the one that cheated on you isn't he? What a scoundrel, such a shame he had all that money too…"
"Mom, I'm not searching for a sugar daddy. I don't need money." Brooke protested.
"Brooke stop talking nonsense, you couldn't possibly live without money." Her mom said blowing her off. "Any new boyfriends I should know about? I want a heads up before I meet them."
"I'm dating someone right now…" Brooke said.
"Details honey, you could be dating anyone!" She said excited.
"His name is Lucas Scott. I met him at a business meeting and he's the CEO of the Promotex Sports Agency." Brooke reported.
She could almost hear her mother conversing with someone else and she guessed her father had come back and she was asking him about the agency. "Oh honey, you always pick good ones. Bill says that Promotex is one of the largest sports agencies in the U.S."
"Mom…" She said looking over at her clock. "I have to go now, I'm picking a friend up from the airport. Let me speak to dad for a second."
She heard her mother sigh reluctantly. "Alright, I love you honey." She said.
Brooke sighed as well. "I love you too mom."
The phone was transferred between parents and Brooke felt a relaxed smile sneak on her face upon hearing her father's deep baritone voice. "Hey daddy, I heard you're coming to New York."
"Business problems that need to be taken care of and I can't pass up the opportunity to see my favorite daughter." He said.
"You're only daughter, since you don't want to claim mommy's." She reminded him.
He snorted. "I haven't heard from Eliza in ages, have you?" He asked.
"I haven't heard from Elizabeth in at least a year and she wouldn't call me Dad, she only contacts me when it's convenient or one of her insane boyfriends lands her in the hospital so I'm sure she's fine." Brooke replied.
"You should go check on her, she is your sister." He chastised her.
"Half-sister daddy, don't ever forget that." She retorted.
"Of course honey, but the plane seems to have finally arrived. I'll talk to you in a day or so." He said.
"Bye Daddy, I love you." She said.
"Love you too honey" And the phone disconnected leaving Brooke to hear the dial tone.
She really didn't want to have to see her parents but they would hunt her down, especially her mother, if she didn't meet them and have dinner with them at least once before they left again for whatever their next destination will be.
If there was one time in her life that Brooke needed Peyton it was today. She was the only person who knew how her parents worked, and the reasons why their relationship was so rocky. It hadn't been easy for Brooke to be abandoned by her parents. All of her teenage life she continuously thought that she wasn't good enough for her parents attention, it was only a miracle that she somehow realized that it wasn't the case. Her parents were just bored. They were so uninterested with the rich, social life that they went abroad to any place they could think of.
No matter how badly she spoke of her parents she loved them, but it was going to be hard for her to try to connect with them, to even see them after so long. It had been three years since they had last been in America and even longer since she'd actually seen them in person.
"Wow, earth to Brooke! If I knew you were going to be this spacey I would have had someone else pick me up!" Nancy exclaimed. "What's up with you? You look like hell has frozen over."
Brooke groaned. "That's because it has! My elusive parents have finally decided to come for a little visit."
Nancy's eyes lit up. "You're parents are coming to visit? That's awesome…" Nancy looked at her a little harder. "Or maybe not…what's up? Why don't you want them to visit? Your parents can't be as bad as Lucas's."
Brooke laughed. "No, they're not that bad. It's not that I don't want them to visit, it's just that I'm not used to seeing them. I'm going to be so uncomfortable with them." She said.
"Let me guess, you had the kind of parents that would throw you some money and then disappear?"
Brooke nodded. "I was always so desperate for my parent's attention until I realized that it wasn't going to happen and I was just wasting my time. It's funny how when they reach out to me I immediately draw back."
"It's bound to happen. It's like being with a friend that you haven't seen in years. You know you have an obligation to be with them because—well they're your friend—but you know deep down inside you really don't know them and you want the day to be over with as soon as possible."
"Exactly." Brooke said smiling. "You talk like you've experienced it." Brooke said questioningly.
She shook her head. "Not with parents, my parents weren't rich enough to have the luxury of just leaving whenever they wanted to although I'm pretty sure they probably wanted to. But I did have a boyfriend in college who had parents like that. I think they were a little bit more extreme than yours though. They'd use him when they wanted to and discard him when he had fulfilled his purpose."
"Yeah, my parents aren't like that." Brooke said. "And that isn't the only thing that's bugging me."
"What else then?"
"My half-sister." Brooke said sighing heavily.
"Wow Brooke, learning all sorts of new stuff about you today." Nancy said grinning. "Tell me about the evil half-sister!"
"Elizabeth isn't evil…I'd probably call her misguided." Brooke started. "Eliza is the product of an affair my mother had four years after having me. Because of that I don't ever think Eliza felt like she belonged. She was the daughter that my mother never really wanted so she acted like it. She was worse than me if that's even possible." Brooke said laughing. "My dad sent her off to boarding school until she was 18, and as soon as she was free she disappeared. Sending one of us a postcard now and then just to remind us that yes, she was alive and no, she wasn't going to die anytime soon."
"So now that mommy and daddy dearest are on their way home she's going to pop out of the woodwork and come and visit?" Nancy guessed.
"No, I have to go track her down so my mother doesn't feel like she's a failure at parenting—even if she is." Brooke muttered.
"Ouch." Nancy winced. "The bitterness in that just slapped me in the face."
Brooke smiled. "My mother and I have a love-hate relationship."
Nancy grinned. "Same here, don't worry all daughters have relationships like that. Unless you're Haley, but Haley's abnormal so it doesn't count."
Brooke laughed. "I'm so going to tell Haley you said that."
She shrugged. "I don't care, I tell it to Hales enough. So need help with the tracking down of the sister? I'm pretty good at that."
"Half-sister" Brooke corrected. "And yes, I'd love the help. Luke isn't going to be back until my parents get here and I need support. Eliza is a lot to handle, especially is she doesn't want to be found."
Nancy smiled wickedly. "Hey, I dealt with evil siblings all my life. I'm sure Elizabeth is going to be a piece of cake. Now stop at Promotex, I'll need to use the computers there."
Brooke made a quick u-turn and headed back towards the Promotex office complex. She pulled into the spot reserved for her and followed Nancy up the stairs and into her office where she closed the door and gestured for her to sit down.
Nancy plopped herself down in her seat and typed for a couple of minutes, occasionally glancing to Brooke to make sure the girl was still alive. After about thirty minutes Nancy made a triumphant sound. "Brooke you officially owe me lunch." Nancy declared showing her an address and phone number.
A pleading look appeared on Brooke's face. "It's only 4 now, do you think we could swing over there?"
"I'm all for it, I'm out of a job until Nathan decides to get off vacation." Nancy said smiling. "So what should I be expecting? The uber depressed type who's angry at the world or the upper class rich bitch type that I'm used too?"
Brooke laughed hitting Nancy playfully. "Eliza is a little of both. Actually she reminds me of you, but you never know I haven't talked to her in almost a year she could have mellowed out."
Nancy glared at her. "So are you calling me an uber depressed bitchy rich girl?"
Brooke giggled. "But you know I love you!"
"Whatever" Nancy said rolling her eyes. She grabbed her purse and stood up. "Let's go this ball rolling. I'm not going to show up at this girls house at all times of the night."
"It's 4 o'clock!" Brooke said but standing up anyways. "But we should go anyway I just want to get this whole thing settled before Lucas gets back."
"Your family can't bite as hard as his does." Nancy said.
"Not what I'm worried about." She said leading them back to her car. "I'm worried about Eliza overstepping her boundaries."
Nancy raised an eyebrow. "She wouldn't go after Lucas would she?"
"I don't know which is why I'm going to eliminate the possibility before she can even get the idea into her head."
Nancy directed Brooke on which way to go and she wove her way through traffic ending up in the Upper West Side where the apartments weren't the worse but they were definitely a change from the extravagant penthouses and apartments Nancy and Brooke were used to. Brooke whistled low and surveyed the area. "What the hell is she doing in a place like this?" She asked in awe. "It's not like she has to live here, she has a trust fund!"
"Which she isn't using obviously." Nancy said stating the obvious. Brooke parked the car in an empty spot near the sidewalk and dragged Nancy out with her.
"I'm not going up there alone, this place looks dangerous!" Brooke squeaked.
Nancy snorted. "Brooke, you're hilarious."
They made it up the stairs and were searching for her apartment when Brooke heard a familiar voice talking on a cell phone below them. She looked down and sure enough Elizabeth was walking up the stairs toward her apartment. She tugged Nancy's sleeve signaling her to stop before preparing for her first conversation with Elizabeth in over a year.
She didn't know what she expected when Elizabeth saw her but she didn't expect her half-sister's look of utter disdain at seeing her face. "Brooke my lovely sister what the hell are you doing within 100 feet of me." She deadpanned shutting the phone.
Brooke rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you too Eliza, it's good to know that you haven't been hit by a car yet. I haven't received the obligatory postcard this month."
"Still as bitchy as ever Brookie." Eliza commented.
"And you're still a pessimistic bitch, glad to see some things never change." Brooke said sighing. "And as much as I would love to stand out here bickering with you I actually have a purpose to being here so can you let me in so I can be on my way as quick as possible?"
"Yeah sure." She mumbled opening the door and flicking on the lights in her small apartment. "Who's the blonde?" She asked.
"Nancy McAllister." Nancy answered. "And I just love being referred to as if I'm not here."
She sized her up quickly and backed down. "Sorry."
Nancy sat herself down gingerly on one of the couched and Brooke did the same waiting for Elizabeth to come over. "Mom and Dad are coming back from Fiji in a couple days and I want you to stay at the penthouse with me until they come."
Elizabeth let out a loud bark of laughter. "You don't think because my mother and step-father are coming I'm supposed to drop my life and cater to them do you? Because if you do you're sadly mistaken."
"No I don't think you should drop your life but your parents who are rarely in America are coming to visit. I'd think you'd be a tad bit courteous and welcome them home." Brooke growled.
"Because perfect Brookie needs to give daddy and mommy another reason to talk about her." Eliza mocked.
"Hey kid." Nancy snapped. "You're parents who loved you and raised you are coming back for a couple days. Stop being such a bitch and be nice to them by coming to visit. Brooke's just trying to make them happy, do you have to be such a cynical witch?"
Brooke stared at Nancy but Nancy ignored her, eyes still trained on Elizabeth's now downcast ones. "Well?" Nancy asked impatiently.
"Fine." The younger girl muttered. "I'll be there, when do you want me to show up?"
"Tomorrow around 2 okay? You can meet Lucas." Brooke said.
"Who the hell is that?" Elizabeth wondered.
"My boyfriend Eliza, emphasis on mine." Brooke said.
"Whoa…" Eliza said smirking. "I'm not going to steal him Brookie."
"Hopefully." Brooke muttered.
Elizabeth's smiled grew wide. "How much money does he make?"
Nancy rolled her eyes. "Alright kiddo, see you tomorrow. We're leaving."
Nancy pulled Brooke up from the couch and out the door not even sparing the younger girl another glance.
"Well…tomorrow is going to be loads of fun." Brooke growled sarcastically.
Nancy grinned. "You're right, and I can't wait."
TBC
A/N: This chapter is late AND it's a filler chapter. Sucks for you guys! I figured since I took so much time explaining Lucas's background I should do the same for Brooke. So enter stage left the troublemaker, slutty, and younger sister known as Elizabeth Davis! I promise half of you guys will absolutely love her and the other half will hate her. And yes, she'll be wrecking lives left and right for the next couple of chapters. The quote used for this part makes no sense either but I liked it so…there!