Chapter Eleven
"Painless"
"Hey! Wait! Knock me down, and I'll get up again. Oh! Pain! A remedy that can erase your sting. I'll keep holding, and I'll keep trying, tonight." The words from 'Mae' sang above the speakers in Nathan's apartment.
Nathan sat on his couch watching the door and drinking a beer. He agreed to let Brooke have a party at his apartment. He was worried about it considering the time he let Haley have a party. People were pouring the door but Brooke was nowhere to be found.
Nathan stood up as he saw Haley walk in the door. "Haley?" he asked. A couple people turned around and looked at the two of them staring at each other.
"Hey," Haley smiled. "I hope you don't mind that I stopped by. I heard about your party when I went to get my classes at school today." She told him. "I thought maybe we would have a couple minuets to talk?"
Nathan nodded and pointed toward his bedroom. Haley followed close behind him. He shut the door and faced her. "I missed you." She told him. Nathan just nodded. Haley sat down on the bed and picked up the series of pictures lying on the sheets. All of the pictures were of Brooke. "So you two are together now?"
Nathan shook his head no. "Not really," he told her.
She nodded, "I saw you at the beach yesterday."
"What?" Nathan asked surprised. "You're following me around?"
Haley shook her head. "No, I was driving around, trying to figure out where to go when I saw the two of you. I'm here for senior year. My CD comes out in the summer and then I will go back on tour."
Nathan nodded. "That's great Haley."
"Thanks," she smiled. She walked forward and hugged him. "I really missed you Nathan."
"We're not together anymore Haley." Nathan pulled away.
"I know," she whispered. "I just wanted you to know."
Nathan closed his eyes and finished his beer. He felt Haley wrap her arms around him again but this time he felt her lips trace his. He kissed her softly before pulling away when the door opened.
Brooke stood in the doorway holding onto the handle and leaning against the wall. A single tear formed in her eye and traced her face as it parched at her lips. The salty taste filled her mouth. She wiped her face and turned around to leave.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Peyton sat against the wall holding a book of song lyrics. She watched as Brooke lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling as Peyton read the lyrics aloud. She stopped and stood up. "Okay Brooke Davis, get up." She instructed her. "You, my friend, do not get this way!" she cried. "I'm not going to let you stay upset about this all day."
Brooke stood up. "I know, it's just Peyton. You know how when I was with Lucas I was really insecure. I wasn't myself at all. I used to be so confident. If a guy dumped me it didn't matter. I'm Brooke Davis, I could just go out and find another guy."
"You can!" Peyton cried. "God Brooke, you're gorgeous, you could be with anyone."
Brooke nodded, "Anyone but the Scott boys!" she rolled her eyes. "I know that I could be with anyone else Peyton, but I wanted to be with him."
Peyton smiled at her. "Brooke Davis, are you in love?"
Brooke shrugged. "I don't know what love is P. Sawyer. Love is a waste of my time!" she laughed. "How about a last minuet-shopping trip?"
Peyton shook her head no. "I promised Jake we'd hang out tonight. Plus, you told Karen you were going to meet her at the café to talk about something remember?"
"Oh yeah." Brooke sighed. "I almost forgot with everything that happened last night. You know what's funny?" she asked. "I haven't seen Lucas or Aubrey in days. How can I live with him and never see him?"
"That is funny," Peyton laughed. "I'm sure Lucas found out about Aubrey trying to get with Nathan and broke up with her. I'm not sure where he's been though, I haven't talked to him lately."
Brooke stood up and walked toward the door. "Thanks for this conversation P. Sawyer." She called as she left the room.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Jake shot the last ball through the basket and took off toward his car. "Where are you going?" Lucas called.
"I have to meet Peyton." He told him. "I'll catch you later."
Lucas shot another basket and saw Nathan walking toward him. "Hey."
"Hey," Nathan said grabbing the basketball and slam-dunking it.
"What's up?" Lucas asked extremely surprised to see him there.
"How's Aubrey?" Nathan asked.
Lucas shook his head. "Don't know, don't care."
"How's Brooke?" he asked not really wanting to know the answer.
"You live with her man." Nathan pointed out.
"Not for long."
"What?" Nathan asked confused.
"We're moving. Andy bought a house and my mom is moving us in with him. Brooke's not going to be able to stay with us anymore." Lucas told him.
"Does she know?" Nathan asked.
"I don't know, you're the one that's dating her."
"We're not dating." Nathan told him. "We were hanging out and seeing how things went. Until last night. Haley showed up. Brooke saw us kissing."
"Haley's back?" Lucas asked surprised. "She didn't come see me."
Nathan nodded and shot another hoop. "If you see Brooke, tell her I'm looking for her." He said walking away. "And Luke," he turned around. "That whole thing about us not being brothers? We'll fix that someday."
Lucas smiled and nodded.