Chapter Twenty

The Party

Part II

Brooke walked into the living room and saw that one one was dancing. She stood and looked at what looked like the dullest party she'd ever been to. She turned when she felt someone place a hand on her arm, it was Haley who stood next to Nathan. She raised her arms."What kind of party is this?"

Haley looked around and shrugged.

Brooke left her friends side and walked up to Tim, who was talking to Vegas. She placed her hand on his arm."Dance with me Dim."

He turned to face her with a look of shock on his face, but it quickly changed to what she knew he thought was a sexy grin."Hell yes. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the Timster for long."

"Tim just shut up and dance with me."sure he was a bit of an idiot and didn't know quite when to shut up, but he had a good heart and he was one hell of a dancer.

Brooke started moving against Tim to the music. Haley soon joined them after having to drag Nathan over. He was a pretty good dancer too, but hated doing it. The four of them continued to dance to the music and occasionally laughed when Tim would make an obnoxious move.

Lucas stood in the door way of the kitchen watching them dance, with the bottle of Vodka still in his hand. He took another drink. The liquid had now stopped burning as it made its way down his throat. He was grateful for that. He took yet another drink. Suddenly he was hit with a weird feeling. He didn't know what was going on. He knew he wasn't drunk, he hadn't drank enough for that, but something was definitely up. As Lucas stood there watching Brooke dance everything suddenly started moving in slow motion. He quickly closed his eyes and hoped that when he opened them everything would be normal.

"Hey Luke are you okay?"

He opened his eyes to see Peyton standing in front of him."I don't know. I'm not sure. This is some pretty strong Vodka you gave me."he said while shaking the bottle in her face causing it to spill over.

She placed her hand on his to stop him from shaking it."It's just Vodka Lucas. Maybe it's hitting you hard because you hardly drink."

Lucas nodded."Maybe your right. Now what do you want Peyton?"

She shrugged."Nothing really. I just saw you over here and you didn't look too good, so I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well I'm fine, you can leave now."

"You know I'm not going to do that Lucas and your not fine. Look at you."

"I said I'm fine."

"Okay, okay, your fine. Maybe I should take that bottle from you though. I don't think you need anymore."

Lucas rolled his eyes."Oh how sweet, your pretending to care."he said coldly.

"What are you talking about? You know I care about you, hell you know I love you, now give me that bottle."she grabbed it out of his hand.

Kelly and Theresa happened to walk by and stopped when they saw what was going on."Hey Lucas, are you okay? You don't look too good."said Kelly.

"Well he's fine, right Lucas?"said Peyton annoyed that they'd been interrupted.

Lucas looked from Peyton to Kelly."Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure Lucas? I know I'm a little drunk, but you look worse than me."

"He said he was fine, damn it. I'll take care of everything. Now why don't you two just leave us alone!"shouted Peyton.

Her outburst shocked both girls who in turn looked at Lucas to see if he'd object. He didn't, all he did was lean on the door frame with his eyes closed, so the girls both walked away.

"Good."said Peyton.

Lucas opened his eyes and turned to look at Brooke."God she is so beautiful. I need to talk to her."he took a step forward and almost fell over. Peyton had to hold him up.

"Lucas are you okay?"she was now a little concerned.

"I said I was fine."he pulled away from her and again stumbled.

"I don't care what you said, your obviously not okay. I think you need to rest. Come on, let me take you to lie down upstairs."

He again pulled away from her."I don't need to lie down. I need to talk to Brooke."

"You will talk to her, but later. She shouldn't see you this drunk Lucas."she held him around the waist and walked him upstairs to an empty bedroom.

Kelly saw Peyton and Lucas go upstairs and knew exactly what was about to go on up there. She shook her head in disgust.

Peyton closed the door behind them and put Lucas on the bed. He immediately fell backwards."Hey Lucas, are you awake? Come on you need to sit up."she helped him up.

"My mouth is a little dry. Will you get me something to drink?"

"Sure."she walked into the restroom that was attached to the room and poured him a glass of water. She needed him a little more awake, if her plan was going to work. She knew nothing was really gonna happen, she just needed it to look like it did. She walked back to the bed and was happy that he was still sitting up and awake."Here you go Lucas, drink up."

He took the glass from her and as fast as it hit his lips, it was gone. He had never had his throat be this dry before.

Peyton sat on the bed next to him and began to run his back."Are you feeling better now?"he nodded."Good."she lowered her face to his cheek and kissed it."Are you sure your okay Luke?"

He turned to her."Yes, but it's kinda hot in here."

She smiled at him."Oh, I can fix that. Lift up your arms."he didn't even feel himself lift his arms above his head, but he did. She pulled off his shirt and threw it to the floor."There, is that better?"he nodded."Good. I'm glad I could help."she rested her head on his shoulder and placed her arms around his waist.

Brooke started laughing when Tim did another what he liked to call his "signature moves" and fell to the floor. She was done. She had danced enough tonight and accomplished what she set out to, more people were dancing."Thank you Tim. Your a great dance partner and I do have to say you kept me laughing, but I'm tired. I think that's enough for tonight. I'm going to get something to drink."

"That's cool, it's better for you, we wouldn't want you to overdose on your Tim time."

Everybody laughed at him. That of course was the Tim they knew, always saying dumb things like that.

"I'll be back. I need to use the restroom."said Tim completely oblivious to the fact the were laughing at him and not with him.

"Go use the one in my room upstairs. I bet the ones down here are being used."said Nathan.

"Thanks man."Nathan nodded and then followed Haley and Brooke into the kitchen.

Brooke grabbed a beer."Do you guys want one?"

Haley shook her head, while Nathan extended his had taking what she offered him.

"So that was pretty fun huh? I love dancing. Tim is one hell of a dancer."said Brooke.

"Yeah, but I bet you would have rather been dancing with Lucas."said Haley with a smile.

"How did you know I was thinking that?"

"I just know you, that's all. Are you still going to talk to him, now that you had your share of Tim time."she laughed.

"Yeah, I just hope he's still here. I haven't seen him in a while."

"I just saw Kelly, so I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

"Okay well I'm going to go find him. I'll be right back."Brooke walked all around the house and couldn't find him anywhere. She turned to go outside to see if he was maybe still out there, but he wasn't. She was about to give up when she saw Kelly. She walked up to her."Hey Kelly, Theresa. Have either of you seen Lucas? I can't find him anywhere and I really need to talk to him."

Kelly looked away.

Brooke sensed she was uncomfortable."Look, I know that your here with him tonight and probably don't want me anywhere near him, being the ex girlfriend and all, but all I want to do is talk to him. I promise."

Kelly turned to her."That's not it Brooke."

"Then what's going on?"

"It's just that...well I saw Lucas go upstairs a while ago."

"And?"

"And he wasn't alone, if you know what I mean."

Her heart stopped. What did she mean he wasn't alone? Who could he possibly go upstairs with?"Who was he with?"she needed to hear her answer.

She looked down.

"Kelly?"

She hesitated."Peyton. Lucas went upstairs with Peyton after we saw them drinking together."

Brooke shook her head. She couldn't believe that after everything Lucas said to her, he could go and be with Peyton. It must have all been a lie. It made her sick to her stomach to think that she was about to forgive him and try to start out as friends, all the while he still wanted Peyton."Okay, well thanks for telling me ."she tried to give her a small smile, but failed miserably.

"I'm really sorry Brooke, but you deserved to know. We all know how you feel about him and Peyton is an even bigger bitch then we all thought she was for doing this to you."said Theresa, who patted her shoulder.

"Thanks."she turned and walked away from them. She decided to see for herself what Lucas was doing. Maybe Kelly was wrong or maybe she was lying to keep her away from Lucas, either way she needed to know. This was too important to just take someones word. She quickly went upstairs and opened doors, saying she was sorry to the people who were in them. She walked up to the next room and opened the door. She saw Lucas and Peyton sitting on the bed and Lucas didn't have his shirt on. They had their hands around each other. She couldn't believe it, Kelly was telling the truth. Hurt, anger, and sadness coursed through her.

"Oh my god Brooke. What are you doing in here? You weren't supposed to see this."said Peyton as a huge smile appeared across her face. This wasn't part of the plan, but it was even better than what she had come up with.

"Sure I wasn't. I bet this was your plan all along. Was Kelly in on it?"

"Kelly? What does she have to do with this?"

"She was the one who told me you two were up here."

"Well I'll have to thank her later, but no, I can't stand the girl. I guess you can say she was in the right place at the right time."

"I thought you said this wasn't a plan."

"I lied."

"Of course you did. That's all you've been doing lately. Well don't worry your plan worked. I'm here and I see you and Lucas together. You can have him. This is just sick. I can't stand the thought of either one of you."

Lucas looked down and saw that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He looked at Peyton, who was still sitting next to him and then to Brooke, who stood by the door. He couldn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He didn't even know how he got here.

"Is this what you wanted Lucas? Peyton. Well you can have her. I don't want you ever coming near me again."she turned and ran out of the room, practically running down Tim. She ran down the stairs wanting to get out of the house before the tears that she was holding back fell. She didn't want anyone to see her. She ran past Nathan, who when he saw her, grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Brooke what's wrong? Are you okay?"

She hated that question. Why was it that every time someone asked if you were okay, you automatically started to cry? Tears rolled down her cheek and she quickly tried to wipe them away."I'm fine Nathan."

"Brooke fine people don't just burst into tears. What's going on?"

Haley walked up to them."Oh my god, Brooke are you okay?"

There was that damn question again."Look I really don't want to talk about it right now. I just want to get the hell out of here. Can I borrow your car Nate?"

"Sure if you want, but I'd rather you let me take you home."

She shook her head."No, please I just want to be by myself right now."she held out her hand. Nathan hesitated, but then placed his keys in her hand.

"Please call me Brooke later. Tell me what's going on."

"I will."she leaned into him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before she left.

Haley continued to look at Nathan."What the hell was that about?"

"I don't know."

Tim came down the stairs and walked up to Nathan."Hey is Brooke okay?"

"No, why? What the hell did you do to her?"asked Nathan with a raised voice.

Tim held up his hands."Hey, I didn't do anything to her Nate. I saw her running out of the room next to yours and she looked like she was about to cry."

"She ran out of the room before or after mine?"

"Before."

Nathan ran up the stairs taking them two at a time. Haley and Tim went up after him. He threw open the door and saw Peyton coming out of the restroom and Lucas on the bed with out a shirt on. Before thinking, Nathan had Lucas up against the wall."What the hell did you do to her?"he pushed his arm up to his throat.

Lucas didn't know if it was all the water he had drank or all the adrenaline pumping, but his brain started to function a little."What the hell are you doing Nathan? Let me go, you dick."he tried to push him away, but failed.

Nathan pushed his arm against his throat harder."I'm not letting your ass go until you tell me what the hell you did to make Brooke run out of here crying. Although I probably already know."he looked at Peyton."Look who your in here with."

"Brooke was crying? What? I don't know anything about that, so let me go."

Nathan pressed him harder and Lucas began to cough.

Haley ran up to them."Nathan let him go. Your seriously hurting him. Please stop."

He looked down at his pleading girlfriend and let him go.

Lucas caught himself from falling to the floor and took a couple of deep breaths. He grabbed the water from Peyton and drank it. He looked at her when he was finished."What the hell am I doing in here with you?"

"Don't you even try to act like you don't know how you got here. Brooke must have seen something going on in here to run out crying. Your disgusting. You two really do deserve each other. I want you to stay the hell away from Brooke. I mean it this time. Now get the hell out of my house."

Peyton started to walk out, but was stopped by Haley."No, not you. I want to talk to you."

"I'm serious Lucas. Get your clothes and get the hell out of here!"shouted Nathan.

Lucas looked at Nathan as the room began to spin. What the hell is going on? He held onto the dresser as he made his way to the door. He slowly walked down the stairs and as he thought he was about to fall, he stopped to catch his balance. He then felt two pairs of hands go around him and pull him the rest of the way down and walked him outside, where they threw him down to the ground and slammed the door in his face. Nathan and Tim went back upstairs and waited for Haley to finish with Peyton.

"What the hell do you think your doing?"asked Haley.

"I don't know what your talking about."said Peyton matter of factly.

"Stooping to using a drunk Lucas to make it look like something happened up here. That's pretty low, even for you. Brooke's smart. She's gonna see this for what it is. I'm sure of it."

"I don't care what you think Haley. I didn't do anything wrong. He wanted to bring me up here and I came, end of story."

"Whatever. I don't really care what you and Lucas do. If he's stupid enough to actually want you over Brooke, then I can't stop that, but I can stop whether you throw it in Brooke's face. Stay the hell away from her or you'll have to deal with me. I don't normally go for physical altercations, but I can. I'd love to slap that smile off your face the same way Brooke did."

Peyton stopped smiling."What went on in here is none of your business, so stay out of it."she tried to push passed her.

Haley grabbed her arm."When you hurt my friend, I make it my business. Now I mean it, stay away from Brooke."she turned and walked out of the room leaving Peyton a little stunned. She had never acted like that, but seeing everything they had put Brooke through was really getting to her.

It was now about 2:30 am and Haley was helping Nathan clean up. Everybody was now gone, except for Tim, who had passed out on the couch." I know you probably don't want to think about this, but what do you think happened up there?"asked Haley.

"I don't know, they probably slept together. Lucas better stay the hell way from Brooke from now on. I was alright with them getting back together earlier, but not anymore, not after this. If he so much as tries to talk to her, I'll kick his ass. I'm dead serious this time."

"I can't believe he would do this. If he did this, I don't know if I can forgive him, myself."

"If he did this? He did do this Haley. You saw it with your own eyes!"he shouted.

"Okay. You don't have to yell at me. I didn't do anything."

He walked up to her and wrapped her in his arms."I'm sorry. I just can't stand him. He has hurt Brooke for the last time. There is no excuse that he can give that will make what happened earlier alright."

"I know. He really screwed up this time. I hope it was worth it. He probably lost a lot of people that care about him tonight. I hope he doesn't expect me to be okay with this."

"He better not because..."he was cut off by a cell phone ringing.

"Oh, it's mine."she went to get it off the counter and looked at the screen."It's Kieth."she quickly answered."Hello."

"Haley, it's Keith. I know it's late, but something has happened to Lucas."

A/N:Thanks for all the reviews. I really appreciate all of them. I hope you liked this chapter. I left it off with a sorta cliffhanger type thing. Sorry about that, but we all like suspense right? I wanted to post this chapter sooner, but this site wouldn't let me. I'm sorry about that. Anyways, let me know what you think about this chapter. Please read and review.

Coming Up:

Haley finds out what happened to Lucas.

Karen is back.

Everyone finds out some shocking news.