Chapter Twelve
Switching Partners
Brooke walked into class and saw that Lucas was already there sitting at their table. She walked up to him and took her seat. She was sitting with her back toward him, but she could feel his eyes burning into her back. She turned to face him and she was right he was staring at her."I guess we should get started."
He continued to look at her."Yeah, I guess we should. What do you want to do?"
"Well I don't want to get dirty, so I'll do all the writing, you do all the chemical stuff."
Lucas nodded and started to gather all the chemicals and test tubes they'd be needing.
Brooke sat there tapping her pencil trying to figure out what she was going to say to him about Peyton. She didn't want to sound like she cared or anything. She couldn't think of anything so she just blurted it out."Lucas were you with Peyton yesterday?"
Lucas looked at her."What?"
"Were you with Peyton yesterday? Did you go see her after practice"
He knew going to her house yesterday was a mistake. He knew that if Brooke found out she would be pissed, but there was no way that he was going to lie to her, not again."Yes. I wanted to make sure she was okay. I mean you did send her running out of the gym."
So Peyton wasn't lying. She was actually telling the truth."She deserved everything I said to her yesterday and more."
"I agree. Everything you've said to the both of us we've deserved."
"Did you two talk about me at all yesterday?"she wanted him to say no, but she knew he wouldn't. Peyton said they laughed and talked about her and she needed to know.
"Yes we talked about you."he was glad she was talking to him, he just wished their first conversation wasn't about him and Peyton. He saw her face turn cold.
"You just can't seem to stay away from her and now your using me as an excuse to go see her. How funny is that?"
"I just wanted to make sure she was okay. You did lay into her pretty thick."
"And your the one who has to be there and comfort her right?"
"Brooke come on it wasn't like that."
"It's never like that with you and Peyton, Lucas, but you two always seem to end up together, no matter who your with. Look I don't care if you want to be with her Lucas, just tell her to stop throwing it in my face. I don't need that and I don't deserve it either."
Lucas was now confused."Brooke what are you talking about? What the hell did she say to you?"
"Nothing, just forget it. It doesn't matter."
"No, I want to know what she said to piss you off so bad."
"Then ask her. I'm going to stay out of this. Both of you just stay the hell away from me."
"Is there a problem here?"asked their teacher.
Brooke looked up at her."Yes there is a problem. I can't work with him any more."
"Just last week you begged me to let you work with him Ms. Davis."
"I know, but now I've changed my mind."
"Well I'm sorry, but it's too late you can't switch partners now."
"I know and I hate to even ask you to, but I just found out that he cheated on me with my best friend in the whole world. I really need to be as far away from him as possible."
Lucas looked down. He couldn't believe Brooke was telling their teacher about their personal lives.
Ms.Kahn shook her head at Lucas."Okay, well I would have to agree with you. Tell Jack to switch with Lucas and Lucas will now work with Kelly."
"Thank you."the teacher nodded and Brooke turned back to Lucas."Well you heard her. Go to your new partner and tell Jack to come over here."
"Brooke you didn't have to do this. We could have worked this out."
"Well you didn't have to have your new girlfriend rub my face in what you two did yesterday and there is no working anything out with you, Lucas."
"She's not my girlfriend, Brooke."
"Whatever."
Lucas got up, not wanting to upset Brooke any more and sent Jack over to her. He couldn't wait to get out of class. He needed to find Peyton and see what exactly she told Brooke to upset her this much. He glanced over at Brooke and she looked like she could care less about him and she probably didn't.
Nathan stood outside of Brooke's class and waited for her. He frowned when he saw Lucas come out, but then remembered he also had this class. He continued to wait for Brooke until he saw her approach him."What took you so long?"
"I was thanking Ms. Kahn for something. Sorry. I didn't know you'd be waiting for me, seeing how you ditched me before this class."said Brooke smiling.
"I didn't do it on purpose. I was talking to Haley and I got side tracked."
"I was hoping you'd say that. What did you two talk about?"
Nathan smiled."I think she's forgiven me. We're trying to work things out."
Brooke jumped up excitedly."That's great Nate. I'm so happy for you. I know how much you love her."
"I do. I was a little upset by something she said though."
Brooke looked up at him."What did she say?"
"Just that you were on your way to talk to Lucas. She said you were going to forgive him. Did you?"
"No, I didn't."
Nathan nodded in approval."Good. I was hoping she was wrong."
"Well she wasn't really wrong. I just changed my mind."
"So you were going to talk to him? I don't get it."
"Haley was going to talk to you and I was supposed to talk to Lucas. That was the deal, but Peyton helped me change my mind."
"What did she say now?"asked Nathan with a sigh. She was really starting to get on his nerves.
"That she and Lucas were together yesterday thanks to me. Supposedly he was concerned for her after she ran out of the gym and went to see if she was okay. She said they kissed and talked about how much of a bitch I am."said Brooke shaking her head.
"Do you believe her?"he didn't. As much as he hated Lucas he couldn't picture him ever calling Brooke a bitch.
"I didn't at first, but Lucas said it was all true. So don't worry, there is no way I am forgiving him anytime soon. I even had Ms. Kahn change my lab partner from Lucas. That's why I was late. I was thanking her for doing that."
"I'm sorry he keeps hurting you, but I'm not sorry your staying away from him."he pulled her into a hug.
Whitey approached them."Scott, I need to speak with you, that is if you think you can pull yourself away from the lovely Ms. Davis."
"I'll be right there coach."he turned back to Brooke."I'll find you at lunch. I'm sure this won't take long. Tell Haley where I am okay?"
"Sure thing."Brooke walked in the direction of Haley's locker. She found her stuffing numerous books in."Wow. Is this your locker or the library? What's with all the books?"
"Hey, Brooke. I'm doing a major paper and all these books are for my research."
"Lucky you."said Brooke with a laugh."Are you ready to go because I'm starving."
"Yeah, lets go. I'm pretty hungry myself."
They both walked down the hall arm in arm.
"So I heard you and Nathan are working things out. I'm glad."
"We talked and we're going to take things slow. So tell me about you and Lucas. What happened?"
Brooke turned away."Nothing happened besides a lot of yelling."
"Yelling? I thought you were going to actually talk to him, no yelling."
"I was, but then Peyton told me some stuff and I changed my mind."
"Oh god, what did she have to say now?"she knew it had to be bad. Nothing coming from her these days was good.
"Well apparently Lucas was really concerned about her yesterday after what happened in the gym. He went over to her house and they hugged and made out for hours. Oh, I almost forgot, they also talked about how much of a bitch I am."
"She's lying. Lucas wouldn't go and see her. He wouldn't risk upsetting you like that."
"I thought she was lying too, but I asked Lucas and it turns out it was all true. Peyton actually told the truth."
"Lucas wouldn't talk about you like that Brooke. That I do know."
"He would if he was trying to get on her good side."
"Well I don't believe it at all. So she just offered you all of this information?"
"Yeah, she came up to me in the hall and told me everything. She also had the nerve to thank me for yelling at her yesterday. She said I turned it into the best day for her and in the future if I want to go off on her again to feel free to, just do it in front of Lucas again."
"What is up with her? She's seriously acting like a total bitch."
"Yep, I have to agree with you there. Speaking of the devil, there she is."they both passed her without acknowledging her. They got there lunches and went to sit down at their usual table outside.
"So where is Nathan?"
"Oh, he's talking with Whitey about something. He said he'll be here later. Shoot, I forgot a drink. Do you want anything while I'm up?"
"Sure, Diet Coke please."
"I'll be right back."
Soon after Brooke left Lucas came over."Your eating alone?"
"No, I'm eating with Brooke."said Haley smiling, motioning to the tray of food in front of him."She's getting us something to drink. She'll be right back."
"Well I better hurry then. Have you seen Peyton?"
Haley's smile fell."You just don't learn do you? I mean can you stay away from her for five minutes?"
"I just need to talk to her, that's it."
"Do you know what she's been telling Brooke? Or do you not care?"
"Of course I care, but I have no idea what she's telling Brooke. That's the reason I need to find her. Brooke came to class earlier ready to kill me. She said something about Peyton throwing our relationship in her face. I asked her what she said, but she wouldn't tell me. She said she was staying out of it. So now I need to find Peyton. I'll make her tell me."
"Well I'll tell you what she said, Brooke told me all about it."
"Okay, what did she say?"asked Lucas eagerly.
"Well I guess Brooke was walking to class when Peyton stopped her. She thanked her for what happened in the gym yesterday."
Lucas interrupted her."She thanked her? Why?"
"Because it made you concerned for her. I guess you went over to see her yesterday?"Lucas nodded."I don't know what exactly happened, but she said you two made out for hours and then talked about how much of a bitch Brooke has become. She also told Brooke that if she was going to yell at her again to do it in front of you."
"I can't believe Peyton would say all of that. Like I would ever talk about Brooke like that."
"Well believe it. Brooke has no reason to lie about this."
"No, I know she wouldn't. I was at Peyton's house for about ten minutes. I wanted to make sure she was okay because she ran off after what happened with her and Brooke. I didn't even fully step foot into her room. I stood by the door the whole time."
"Well she tells a completely different story."
"She's lying. I didn't touch her at all, let alone make out with her for hours. I can't believe she would set out to tell Brooke all of these lies. It's like she's trying to keep us from working this out."he shook his head.
"That's exactly what she's trying to do Lucas. She wants you to be with her, so she's trying to keep Brooke mad at you."
Lucas looked down remembering his conversation with Peyton."She did try and tell me to give Brooke some space for a couple of weeks. I can't believe I didn't see this before."
"Neither can I."
Lucas shot her a dirty look.
"Sorry."
"I guess I just felt bad for hurting her and I didn't see what she was really doing. I wonder if she knew that Nathan was coming over that night she kissed me in my room."
"I wouldn't put it passed her."
Lucas jumped up."I have to find Peyton."
"Don't let me stop you."
He turned to see Brooke standing behind him. He cursed himself. Brooke always did have perfect timing."It's not like that Brooke."
"You keep saying that. Look like I said earlier, I don't care what you do. I just don't want to hear about it."
"Brooke I just need to talk to her that's all."
"I don't need any explanations Luke. I'm not your girlfriend any more remember?"she pushed him aside and took her seat.
"How can I forget. I'll see you later Hales."
"Okay. Oh hey, Peyton was out in front of the cafeteria earlier. Come find me when your done."
"Sure. Thanks."Lucas left and Brooke looked at Haley."Can you believe him?"she asked shaking her head.
"I can't believe you, Brooke."
"What did I do?"asked Brooke confused.
"You keep yelling at him without letting him explain."
"I don't need any explanations. He wants Peyton, enough said."
"He doesn't want Peyton. You only caught the last sentence of our conversation. You have no idea why he needs to find her."
"I'm sure it's just to finish their make out session."
"No, your wrong again. It's to tell her off. Do you honestly think I would send him to her if it was for anything else? He's sick and tired of her lies. Everything she told you earlier was a lie Brooke. Lucas said he was at Peyton's house for about ten minutes and never even stepped foot in her room, let alone called you anything. He also said she tried to get him to stay away from you for a couple of weeks. She's just trying to keep you two part and you can't let her Brooke."
Brooke placed her head in her hands."So because she lied about this, I should go running back to Lucas? I don't think so. Do you see how easy it was for me to believe this? That means I don't trust him and with good reason. So if I don't trust him, how can I be with him?"
"I don't know. Maybe if you two became friends again in time you'd find yourself trusting him."
"I can't. It's too hard being around him and not being with him."she sighed."I put on this act when he's around, like I don't care, like I hate him. I make all these stupid, sarcastic, hateful comments, but inside I just want to cry when I see him. I love him so much. The best thing for me is to stay away from him completely. He hurt me and I can't get over that. I doubt I ever will."
Haley looked over at her friend and felt all of her pain. As much as she wanted Brooke to forgive Lucas, she understood why she couldn't. Lucas did something unforgivable and now they both were paying the consequences. She now saw that Brooke was moving further away from Lucas and it was just sad that two people who loved each other so much couldn't be together.
A/N:Thanks for all the reviews. They were great.
BlueSilverLining:Thanks for the review. And thank you for the awesome compliment. Your great! I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.
Elizabeth:Thanks for the review. I'm really glad your liking this story. Thanks.
crazy:Thanks for the review. I think It's easy for Peyton to be a bitch. At least it's easy for me to write her as one. I just have to remember her at this time in the show and I remember how much I hated her. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.
Mony19:Thanks for the review. I hope your not too upset that Haley and Nathan are back together. I had Haley stand up for Nathan because Lucas needed to see that he was being ridiculous. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.
kinGsFaN:Thanks for the review. Yes Peyton is a liar, but she's good at it. She just didn't think it through too much. Maybe next time she'll be better at it.lol. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.
Ali213:Thanks for the review. I always love to read what you have to say. I knew you'd be hating Peyton more. She is so easy to hate. I agree Haley was pretty great in that chapter. She's not too bad in this one either. I need to remember her this way because I'm not liking her so much in the show right now. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think. Thanks.
I hope you all liked this chapter. Lucas is finally wising up to what Peyton is doing. It's about time, I know. I also had some Brooke and Haley bonding with Haley giving Brooke a piece of her mind. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks.
Coming Up:
Lucas sees Peyton.
Peyton tries to flirt with Lucas.
Nathan sees everything.