Lucas was emotionally draining. There should have been a hint of relief but there was none. Nathan and Megan were safely on a plane headed for Europe. Family and friends had long gone. And he had made it through his Best Man speech. Life should have been perfect at that moment. He had survived one hell of a traumatic summer and now it was on to looking forward to another season in Philadelphia and a possible championship.

But all was not right with the world, or at least his. In fact, it was anything but. The awful sinking feeling he had harbored all day had turned out to bear more than a bit of truth. Something dramatic and explosive had happened. Something no one had ever expected.

But it was over. At least he hoped so for the moment. Lucas couldn't take much more so he could only imagine what the principle members of the party, Nathan, Megan and Haley were going through. It was like a huge destructive, emotional storm had raged through tiny Tree Hill disrupting the lives of all he loved. More surreal moments in what had become a surreal existence.

He had waited for confirmation from Jake and Peyton that Nathan and Meg's airplane had taken off before he dared drive Haley to the same airport. She was headed back to Phoenix, back to her tour, back to Chris, back to her life. She had come to town to take a gamble on love. But it had backfired and she had been rendered devastated. It hurt Lucas to see her that way, to see them all that way.

He needed to be alone. He couldn't go back to his father's. He didn't even feel like seeing his mother or Andy or Keith and Jules. Lucas did not need friends or family. He needed silence. He needed to marinate solo on the events of the day and the tumultuous weeks that had preceded it. So he drove back to the very place where everything had happened. He drove back to the reception hall at the Country Club.

The remnants from hours earlier were still in place. The clean up crew had yet to arrive. There were a few dishes and glasses left behind with traces of drink still in them. Streamers hung from the ceiling rafters and a few helium deprived balloons floated inches from the floor. Sighing, he went to take a seat but noticed he wasn't alone.

Pretty as a picture and still dressed in her bridesmaids gown, Brooke sat alone in a chair staring at the ground. Lucas watched her for a moment. The coveted bouquet was placed on a nearby table. She looked so sad and so fragile at that one moment. He yearned to hold her. He wondered what exactly was on her mind.

"Hey, Cheery. Why so broody?" he asked, pulling up a chair and plopping down next to her.

"I'm okay", she managed to smile. "Just thinking."

"Everything okay?"

"Maybe I should be asking you that question. How did it go?"

Lucas gave a tired shrug.

"Nate and Meg met their flight. It took off on time and they are honeymoon bound."

"Was she okay?"

"As well as she could be despite everything that's happened. She was pretty pissed earlier."

"Can you blame her? Luke, I know Haley is your friend but that was so wrong what she did."

"I know. The timing sucked but can you believe it was done out of a good place in her heart?"

"Please!" Brooke rolled her eyes. "Sorry but Tutor Wife gets way too much undeserved sympathy if you ask me. I can't believe you feel bad for her. What we saw today was not the innocent little poncho wearing Tutor Girl Haley James. Today was disrespectful and classless and plain wrong."

"Maybe you should know all the facts before you go judging her."

"I can't believe you're defending her. What's to know? She crashed her ex husband's wedding for God's sake and humiliated the bride by catching her bouquet, which for the record was totally headed my way. I mean, how low is that? And no I don't feel bad because Haley did this crap to herself. Nathan loved her. The reason the marriage didn't work out is all her fault. She left him for Chris."

"No, she didn't. Brooke, how many times do we have to go over this?"

"Whatever. You believe her side and I choose not to. That's your deal, Luke. But we both saw what she left behind and it was pretty bad. She made a choice that had consequences. Haley has to learn to deal with them. She has to grow up sometime. She made a choice and now almost seven years, one New York City loft, a record deal, a bunch of tours and Grammys and a few million later, she can't turn it around and have her cake and eat it too. Sorry."

"Nathan still loves her."

"I'm sure he does", she answered softly. "You never forget your first love."

The look she gave him made him shiver. He couldn't help but sense the double meaning.

"No, you don't."

"But he made a choice, too. He chose Megan. He married her and now they're going to have a kid together."

"What if he made the wrong choice?"

"I don't know. You have your doubts, Boytoy has his, Meg had hers and I sure as hell had mine. But what can we do now? It's done. And even though we care about them, this isn't our lives. It's theirs to live."

"I guess you're right."

"Haley just needs to leave them alone. She's done enough to embarrass them and not to mention herself. I swear to God, they are too famous for this. What if the paparazzi had shown up? She's acting crazy and catching bouquets and the next thing you know, we're all on the cover of Us. Broody, I don't want to be on the news because of them."

"Me neither but uh…it's more complicated than that."

"You keep saying that."

"I know. But it is."

"Lucas, just tell me! I mean, what could be worse…"

"Nathan and Haley slept together in the Dominican", he blurted out.

"What?"

"They…"

"I heard you. Oh my God! I can't believe he cheated on Megan!"

"Technically, is it cheating if you sleep with your wife?"

Brooke made a face.

"Damn. I never thought about it like that. So Sally Jessy Raphael."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, regardless it was wrong and he was cheating on someone. Your brother should just learn to keep it in his pants."

"In his defense Brooke, they were stranded on a desert island hut surrounded by water after a horrible natural tragedy. They didn't know if they would live or die. I guess the sexual tension kind of built up."

"Wow. This is nuts. I don't know what to say, Broody. How was she when you put her on the plane?"

"Hurt", Lucas shrugged. "But what can you do?"

"Does she know? About the baby, I mean?"

Lucas stared at the floor.

"She does now. Me and my big mouth but um…I thought it was the right thing to do. She was just gonna find out later anyway. Plus, that explains a lot."

"Oh my God. How did she take it?"

"Better than I expected but who knows if it all sunk in. The last 24 hours has been a lot for anyone to take."

"Now I do feel bad. I still think Tutor Wife started all this crap by getting on the bus but now I can't help but feel a little sorry for her. It's sad. And I feel bad for Nathan and Megan too."

"Yeah. It's a pretty much all around fucked up situation."

Brooke shook her head.

"Remember the reception we threw Nathan and Haley? It was so nice. It kind of made you believe in love again. They were so cute and happy."

"I know."

"What the hell happened then?"

"Life", Lucas answered honestly. "Just one of its many curve balls, I guess."

"Maybe. I guess things never do turn out quite the way we plan them to."

"No, they don't."

"You think he made a mistake? Nathan marrying Meg, I mean."

"Honestly? Yes. Unfortunately, I think it's all gonna come back to bite him in the ass later on."

Brooke fondled the bouquet as they sat in thoughtful silence for a while.

"Broody?" she finally spoke.

"Yeah?"

"I…I don't want it to bite me in the ass."

"What?"

"What you said…and what we've been talking about. Nathan and Haley are star crossed lovers, like Tree Hill's own little version of Romeo and Juliet. It's like their meant to be in a way yet destiny always manages to pull them apart. And because of that, neither one of them will really ever be happy. It's a web of pain and confusion and heartbreak and other innocent people keep getting pulled into that web. It's not right. It isn't fair, Luke. I feel bad for them. Both of them. All of them actually. And I don't want it to be. I don't want that to be us. I don't want to make those same mistakes and in seven years look back and ask why? Time is too precious, Lucas and we've wasted enough of it."

"What are you saying?" he asked.

She stood and extended her hand.

"I'm saying…can we go back to the beach house, and sit on a blanket and just hold each other until the sun rises."

He looked up at her and gave her a tired smile as he took her hand.

"You bet", he finally said as he stood and rubbed his head. "That's about the best offer I've had all day."