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 15

"The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of one's self to others." - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Lucas sighed contently as he sank into his office chair at the Promotex building. He had been visiting another agency hoping to buy them out and he was exhausted. Trying to convince a major company that they should sell wasn't an easy task but he loved his job and he was good at it. He was sure within the week the same company would be knocking on his door begging to be bought out. It wasn't cockiness that led him to believe this, he was truly just talented when it came to talking to people. He figured he had to be good at something if he didn't make it in basketball and he had found his calling.

He looked at the clock and cursed to himself. He had just gotten back from Boston but had promised Brooke that he would stop by her parent's place to help her clean it up and shop. He knew that Brooke had been nervous when she had met his parents but he was convinced it was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. The butterflies in his stomach were competing with the lightheaded feeling in his head and he couldn't seem to focus. Meeting parents, he decided was going to be added to his list of things he'd rather not do.

Buzzing his secretary he let her know to forward all his business calls to his cell phone and put away his supplies getting ready to go. The secretary buzzed in one more time. "Mr. Scott, Miss McAllister is here to see you." She informed him.

Without looking up he greeted her. "Hey Nance, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing business related, I'm out of a job until Nate brings his lazy ass back from Florida." She grumbled. "I know you're going to Brooke's and I want to come with. She's already invited me."

Lucas nodded. "Sure sure, let me just finish putting away all of this and then we can go." He said.

"So how was the business trip? What agency were you trying to buy out again?" She asked.

"XLevation, it's this agency that advises athletes on how to break into the music industry. I figured that we should add a creative side to Promotex." He said flashing a grin.

She stood up and walked out into the lobby and waited for him to lock his office door. "Luke, you really are the renaissance man of sports."

He grinned wider. "That's why I'm a millionaire Nance." He reminded her.

"Yes, I happen to know that you rub it in my face every chance you can get." She muttered good naturedly. "Now shut up about your damn paycheck and stop at McDonalds I'm hungry."

Lucas looked at her seriously. "Nance, I thought you were giving up the MickeyD's? I'm sure this isn't good for your arteries."

She slapped him and he burst into laughter. "I'm sorry! No more fat jokes!"

"Asshole." She muttered. "You better be glad I like you."

An hour later after a stop at both Subways and McDonalds they arrived in the extremely rich area of the Upper East side of New York. The place was littered with black stretch limos, guards by apartment buildings, and dogs dressed to kill in Gucci clothes that matched their owners. This neighborhood screamed the upper crust in every way possible. They pulled up to the apartment building that housed the Davis's penthouse and left the car with the valet who would park it in the underground garage before being escorted into the building and to the elevators.

"And I thought you guys had it good in Palm Beach." Nancy said incredulously. "You don't even get to walk by yourself over here! No wonder these people act like they have rods jammed up their asses."

"Nance!" Lucas reprimanded. "Act civil for once would you?"

She rolled her eyes but kept silent as the elevator doors opened to the Davis's residence. They didn't get a chance to knock on the door before it was thrown open by an obviously disgruntled younger girl dressed to kill in Versace jeans and top, her jet black hair pulled up into a top knot, and her wide blue eyes outlined in dark blue eyeliner. "Hey!" The girl answered out of breath. "Hi Nancy!"

"Talk about total attitude adjustment." Brooke muttered from behind her. "Put some nice clothes on you and your attitude does a total 180."

"Jesus Brooke, I try to be nice to your boyfriend and friend and you jump down my throat, why do I even try around you!" She yelled pushing Brooke out the way.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Hey honey." He said kissing her on the lips. "I'm guessing that's Elizabeth."

"The one and only!" Elizabeth shouted from the living room. "Call me Eliza, everyone else does."

"Well Hello Eliza, I'm Lucas." He responded.

"Yeah I know. Brooke talked about you a lot." She said eyes focused on the TV.

He smiled and walked around Brooke to get inside. "So what's left to do?" He asked.

Brooke sighed taking out her list of chores. "The house is spotless due to the house sitter but we need a serious amount of food in here. My dad eats like a horse and my mom is a picky eater so we need separate items for both of them. Then I need to call in a cook, permanent maid instead of a house sitter, and a driver."

He took the food list from her hand. "Nance and I can handle the grocery shopping" he offered.

Eliza jumped up at that. "Actually Lucas, I was thinking that we could go together. I want to get to know the guy who's dating my sister." She said innocently.

He shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind. Is that okay with you Brooke?" He asked.

Brooke looked warily at her sister, both of them seemed to be engaged in a serious silent conversation. She looked up and smiled at him. "That's fine with me, you two have fun."

Eliza grabbed her new Louis Vuitton purse. "See you later Brookie." She linked arms with Lucas and they made their way outside where they waited for the valet to bring his car around.

She whistled. "Driving around in an Escalade in New York City? You must be well off." She said appreciatively.

He smiled slightly. "I do pretty well. I'm the CEO of the biggest sports agency in New York."

"You're the Lucas Scott from Promotex?" She said in disbelief.

He grinned. "That'd be me, but I'm kind of surprised you know about it. The only people who usually care anything about sports agencies are magazines and athletes."

"I dated one of your clients once." She said. "Jarrod Atkins, the tennis player?"

He chuckled. "You dated Jarrod? I bet you're the reason he had that shitty season last year."

She giggled playing along. "How'd you know?"

"I'm not CEO for no reason Eliza, I know these things." He said boastfully. "So how old are you exactly?"

"21 as of last January!" She said proudly. "How old are you?"

"I'm 24 going on 25." He answered.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You're younger than Brookie!"

He chuckled. "Only by a couple of months. I can hardly tell the difference and even if I could I wouldn't care."

They got out the car at one of the corner markets and divided the list in half each picking up the rare and sometimes eccentric items. "From what I hear from Brooke you're not really close to your parents." He said. "How come?"

"I'm not going to play nice with people who treat me like dirt." She retorted. "My mom always viewed me as her mistake that she was forced to live with and my step-dad sees me as the kid he has to take care of to appease my mother. They hated seeing me so much they sent me to boarding school, would you want to be civil with people who treated you like that?"

He looked at her thoughtfully. "No, probably not. My dad was an overbearing, controlling, and insane man who thought that he could live his lives through my brother and me. My response to that was 'he has got to be kidding me' and I hightailed it out of there as soon as I could."

She cracked a smile. "When I was 18 I was so happy to be an adult. I got out of that boarding school and traveled for a while. I'm in college getting myself a degree and I have a pretty decent job. I didn't want to rely on them or depend on them so I didn't let them know where I was." She stopped at the register to pay for both of their purchases. "Poor little Brookie is working under the assumption that she's being nice to her little sister who never did anything with her life and that isn't the case."

"Where are you going to college?" He asked genuinely interested.

"I'm going to Columbia and majoring in Graphic Design." She said shyly.

"You're good at computers?"

She nodded. "I've been designing websites since I was 16." They were walking back to the car now, still engrossed in their conversation.

"Do you have a portfolio or anything?"

She looked at him. "What's with all the questioning?"

"Promotex needs a new website. So why should I pay some designer I don't even know when I can pay someone that I know will do a good job?"

She blushed. "You don't know me very well Lucas."

"Brooke thinks I do that a lot." He murmured.

"What?"

"Make opinions about people without fully getting to know someone." He said. "But you're related to Brooke so that's a plus and just like I had an instinct about her, I have one about you and I know you're going to do great things with your life." He took the bags from her and piled them in the back of the Escalade before opening her door and walking around to his. "You're parents and Brooke may not see it yet, but I do and I've been told I'm pretty good with judging someone's character. The best way to get back at your parents is by showing them that you can exceed their expectations and I can see that you're doing that."

If it was possible, Eliza's face turned even redder and she smiled brightly at him. "I believe that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you Lucas."

He shrugged. "I only say what I know. Write down the URL for your portfolio and I'll give you a call about the designing."

"Thank you…I think I know what Brookie sees in you."

He cocked his head. "So did I pass the test?"

She giggled. "And you're very perceptive too."

"I hate my brother sometimes but he is my brother and no matter how much I may say I hate him and he annoys me I'll make sure that he's making the right choices in life. I know that you're doing the same for Brooke and I appreciate that."

"You took the words out of my mouth. Brookie may be a stuck up bitch 95 of the time, but she's a good person and I love her, and obviously you do too."

He nodded smiling. "Yeah, I do. I love her a lot."

"Has she said it back?"

He shook his head. "But I'll wait, I'm in no rush."

Elizabeth shook her head incredulously leaning back into the incredibly soft leather of Lucas's truck. "Brookie doesn't know a good thing when she sees it." She muttered. "Don't worry about her not saying anything; I'll make sure she talks."

He laughed. "That's not…"

She cut him off. "Don't worry about it and don't try to talk me out of it. You're getting me a job, it's the least I can do."

While Brooke tackled the phone numbers Nancy was busy lounging around not doing anything. Brooke rolled her eyes, not even knowing why she had invited Nancy over.

"Nance! Would you get off my couch and do something!" She shouted while she was on hold.

"I thought you had it covered…" Nancy whined getting up. "You're on the telephone and Luke and Eliza are out at the market so there really isn't anything for me to do!"

Brooke sighed knowing that Nancy was right and instead went back to listening to the corny music playing in her ear as she waited for someone to talk to her about the permanent maid she was hiring. "Alright yeah I know. I'm spazzing out because I'm nervous." She admitted.

Nancy laughed. "You didn't have to tell me that B, It's written all over your face." Nancy stood up and walked over to where Brooke was sitting at the bar. She disconnected the phone call and stared at her. "I'll get you a maid; I have connections almost everywhere in New York. Luke and Eliza should be walking in the door any second now and the house is clean."

Brooke nodded smiling weakly. "Thank you." She murmured softly. "No worries right? Everything is under control."

The door opened revealing Elizabeth and Lucas carrying about 5 bags each filled with all the food and supplies that Brooke had listed. "Everything is ready and accounted for." Lucas reported kissing Brooke lightly on the nose. "Did you two finish up the rest of the stuff?"

"Thanks to Nancy" Brooke said. "I was over here freaking out and she calmed me down. Did you two have fun?" She asked suspiciously.

Elizabeth smiled secretively. "Yeah, Luke and I really bonded." Eliza answered. "Quite the boyfriend you have here Brookie. I see why you like him."

Brooke glared at her, not trusting that the statement she said didn't have a double meaning. "Well Mom and Dad called, they're going to be here tomorrow at 9AM. I was wondering if you were going to stay at here or go with me to the airport."

"Definitely go with you to the airport. Maybe if they see me early they'll let me loose early as well." Eliza said hopefully.

"I think not kid but nice try." Nancy said chuckling. "You're stuck with your parents until they leave so get used to their presence."

"How long are they staying?"

"Daddy said at the most three days but it could always be extended depending on how serious this business problem is." Brooke replied.

"So when exactly is the dreaded family dinner?" She asked.

"Not so dreaded." Lucas put in. "I'm supposed to be going aren't I?" He asked Brooke.

She nodded giving him a grateful smile because he hadn't backed out. "We're going to have dinner the night that mom and dad fly in. Dad's going to be pretty tied up the next two days with business so I think Mom might want to have more bonding time with the three of us. She likes to get to know my boyfriends on a personal level." She said.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "I can't wait."

"Oh how fun! Bonding time with mommy dearest." Eliza muttered sarcastically. "As long as I'm out of this place by Friday morning I'm fine. I have to work in the evening."

Lucas glanced at his watch and then looked up. "I would love to stay here but I have an appointment with a potential client in two hours. I need to go prep for that." He said regretfully. "Brooke, I'll call you when I get out the meeting okay?"

Brooke smiled, crossing the room to hug him tightly. "Thank you for helping."

He grinned. "Anything for you remember?" He murmured, placing gentle butterfly kisses over her face.

"I'd hate to break up the intimate moment that's going on right now but Luke can I get a ride back to my apartment?" Nancy asked.

They broke apart not in the least bit embarrassed and Lucas nodded an affirmative. "Sure, let's go."

Nancy and Lucas waved their goodbyes while heading out towards the car. Brooke watched them disappear into the elevator before shutting the penthouse door. "So? What'd you think of them?" She asked Elizabeth.

"Is his brother married?" She questioned. "Because if his brother is in anyway as sweet or as hot as he is I'll totally go for him."

"Well Nathan is pretty hot but he's married and way too much for you to handle." Brooke said.

Elizabeth pouted flopping backwards onto their parents leather couch. "Too bad." She said with a brief tone of disappointment. "Well anyway" She started brightening. "What's this I hear about you not saying 'I Love You' to Lucas?" She asked.

"He told you about that?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I implied that he loved you, he said that I was right, I asked if you said it back, and he said no but he didn't mind." She reported.

"Then what's the problem?" Brooke asked suddenly uncomfortable.

"The problem Brookie is that he is a man, and men aren't going to wait on you forever. What is taking you so long to say it back? He's a sweet and he loves you! That's more than I can say from that other bastard you were dating. What was his name again? Tom? Tim?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Tim, Tim Smith. You've met him way too many times to try to pretend you forgot his name."

Elizabeth waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah whatever, well Tommy was a bastard and a half. Lucas is far from it. So please, tell me a legitimate reason why you're leaving him hanging!" Eliza demanded then paused. "You're not leading him on are you? You do love him right?"

"Of course I do!" Brooke said. "I'm just not ready to tell him yet. We've barely been dating 3 months Liz. I'm afraid that we're moving to fast."

Elizabeth smiled nostalgically, making patterns on the leather sofa. "Brookie, we may not be the closest pair in our family but I care about you and I don't want you to lose something that's going so good for you. I don't even have to be around you to know that you love him. I can hear it in your voice, I can see it your face, and I can tell by just how happy and content you are in your life. Even if it takes you a year or more to tell him, just make sure you show him how much you care."

Brooke looked at her sister concerned. "Eliza what is this about? This can't be just about me."

"Paul overdosed." She whispered clutching the leather sofa. "That's why I was out of reach for so long. I just didn't want to deal with all the questions."

"Oh god…" Brooke gasped. "I know how close you and Paul were, mom and I always thought you two were too close to be just best friends. I'm so sorry Liz…"

Brooke gathered her younger sister in her arms and they sat there in the tight embrace. "You know sis, there aren't any words I can say to you to make this better…"

She cut her off. "I know but you being here and still supporting me after I've been so horrible to you is enough. Believe me Brookie, it's more than enough."

TBC

A/N: I bet you guys thought you would never see part 15. I'm sorry about the long wait for an update. Last Thursday was the beginning of my school field trip and I had no internet connection. I finally came back yesterday (Sunday) at 2:30PM so I was pretty wiped out. Well now I'm back and I had a great time on my field trip so EBOR will be updated regularly once again.