Chapter 14

"You don't wanna take my picture cos I won't remember"

Lucas was a mess after leaving Peyton's house. His heart was broken and he couldn't stop the tears from falling. He went back home and found that Dan and Deb had both went out. He needed to ease his pain, and he had the perfect idea. He broke into Dan's liquor cabinet and stole a bottle of Jack Daniel's. There were so many bottles in that cabinet that Dan wouldn't even realize that one was missing. He knew that Dan or Deb could come home at any time so he decided to drown his sorrow somewhere else.

He went to the rivercourt and opened the bottle as he sat at the picnic table and just stared at the water. The first sip burned as it went down. He wasn't a big drinker; in fact he had never had hard liquor before. He decided that if he gave it some time it would make him feel better.

It was a beautiful summer afternoon and Brooke had decided to enjoy it by taking a walk in the park. She loved the park; she just didn't let that fact slip to her friends. It would ruin her image. As she approached the rivercourt she noticed a guy sitting at the picnic table. When she got closer she noticed that it was Lucas Scott, and that he looked like something was bothering him.

"Hey Lucas…what's up?" she asked as she sat down next to him. Right away she was hit with the smell of alcohol. "And what have you been drinking?"

"Just leave me alone, Brooke," Lucas whispered.

Brooke considered doing what he asked, but then she remembered all the times when she was in the same situation. There was not telling what could have happened to her if someone didn't take care of her. She felt like she owed it to Lucas as a way to repay all the people that had helped her. "I don't think that's a good idea, Lucas," she said. "Besides, I'm a really good listener."

"Who says that I want to talk about it?" Lucas asked as he took another sip of the Jack Daniel's. The bottle was now half empty.

"I think you've had enough," Brooke said as she pointed to the bottle.

"I'm just getting started," Lucas slurred.

Brooke knew that he wasn't going to easily give up the bottle, so she snatched it out of his hands. He was so drunk that he didn't put up much of a fight. "What happened that has you getting wasted this early in the afternoon?"

"I really don't want to talk about it."

Brooke noticed that Lucas was really pale. "You don't look so good; let me take you home."

"I can't go home…Dan and Deb will kill me."

"I don't mean your house, silly…I mean mine. You need a little TLC."

Brooke rose to her feet and then helped Lucas to his. He was so drunk that he couldn't stand without leaning on Brooke for support. She helped him walk to her car and then sat him down in the front seat. As she drove away she was actually looking forward to taking care of him, even if he didn't remember in the morning.

Brooke managed to get Lucas into her bedroom right before he passed out on her bed. A few minutes later Tim came bursting through the door. "You got here fast," Brooke said. She called him the minute she got Lucas in the car.

"I ran out the door as soon as you called," Tim said. He was all out of breath.

"Did you run all the way here?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you just take your car?" Brooke asked. Tim started to respond, but she cut him off. "On second thought…don't answer that."

"So you finally realized that you can't resist the Tim."

Brooke stared at him with a look that said as if. "That's not why I called you, Tim."

Then Tim noticed Lucas passed out on the bed. "You want to have a threesome?"

Brooke slapped him hard on the shoulder. "You have a sick mind. I called you here because Lucas got wasted and I need you to cover for him."

"What do you mean?" Tim asked.

"I need you to call the Scotts and tell them that Lucas is sleeping over your house tonight."

Tim pointed towards Lucas. "But he's asleep on your bed."

"Just do it, Tim!" Brooke shouted.

Tim picked up the phone and dialed. Deb picked up on the other end after two rings. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hi, Mrs. Scott…it's Tim."

"How are you Tim?"

"I'm fine…I'm just calling to tell you that Lucas is sleeping here tonight."

"Can you put him on the phone?"

"No!" Tim shouted. "He's unavailable right now."

"Where is he?"

"Uh…uh…uh he's in the shower."

"The shower?"

"Yeah we were playing at the rivercourt and he wanted to take a shower before we go out."

"Okay, well, thank you for calling me and letting me know."

"You're welcome…bye."

Tim hung up the phone and Brooke smiled at him. "You're a life saver," she said. Then she noticed Tim sit down in her chair and attempt to make himself comfortable. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm hanging out."

"No, you're not."

Tim rose to his feet. "Can I at least get a ride home?"

Brooke shook her head. "I can't leave Lucas alone."

Once Tim was gone Brooke changed into something more comfortable and then lay down next to Lucas. She turned on the TV, but found herself staring at Lucas rather than paying attention to what was on. She noticed his body and how beautiful it was. She realized that she wanted to get to know him better, and hoped that he felt the same way.

The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song "Take a Picture" by Filter.