"Ok Brooke…I'm gonna go, ok?" Lucas whispered. Brooke stirred in his arms and woke up.
"Oh! Lucas of course, go, I'm so sorry…thanks for everything, by the way"
"No problem…I wanted to make sure you were ok"
"Thanks…a lot, Luke, I'm happy you stayed"
"Of course…see you at school in like an hour?"
"Definitely" Brooke said. "Bye"
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"So he HELD you?"
"It was nothing, Peyt!"
"What do you mean it was nothing, Brooke, clearly he loves you" Peyton analyzed.
"Oh please…love…he was being a good friend" Brooke lied. Obviously what he had done the night before had been more than just good old friendship. It was love, and she was happy she felt that he felt that way. If she could decipher what was going on in the first place, that is.
"Oh don't be dramatic and stupid Brooke, he loves you, and you love him, just get over your egos and talk to each other" Haley said, flipping through Vogue. Brooke gave Haley a weird look. "Sorry…hormones"
"Oh, I see" Brooke laughed. "Because you're pregnant, I'll be forgiving"
"Aw thank you Brooke, I feel SO loved" Haley said sarcastically, but her eyes twinkled with laughter.
"Shut up Haley, I'm a reformed bitch, ok?" Brooke giggled. "But talking about babies…"
"We weren't talking about babies" Peyton said.
"Just roll with me here, ok P Sawyer?"
"Ok, ok"
"When do you get to find out the gender?"
"In 3 months" Haley laughed. "Sorry"
"GAH that makes me mad" Brooke whined. "I'm positive it's a girl"
"Watch it be a boy" Peyton muttered.
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"So Luke, what about Brooke?"
"What about her?"
"What's going on with you and her?"
"I don't know, man…we're still trying to figure out what's in our own hearts before we act on anything"
"At the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy, I knew when Haley was the one for me, and its not something you can deny for very long, so if that's how you feel, then that's what you should act upon" Nathan said. "I fell in love, and I knew it…whether I let myself admit it. You have to let yourself admit that you're in love with this girl, or know that you're not…it's not easy, but you have to do it"
"When did you get so wise, little brother?" Lucas asked with a grin on his face.
"Since I married Haley" Nathan answered honestly. "It really does change you, meeting your soul mate- it makes you into a completely different person…a better person"
"And now you and Haley are gonna have a baby…wow…time flies" Lucas laughed. "Of course, I envisioned a 26 year old Haley and Nathan with children, but 18 works too; I guess…what are you going to do about school?"
"Well we're gonna rotate between offline classes and in class and we'll manage that way…it'll take longer to get through school, but that's ok, the baby is more important" Nathan said. "I'm excited, actually…I know Haley's terrified, but we'll make it through"
"Yah…I'll be an uncle…wow!" Lucas said.
"I know…"
"Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?"
"Either, man, as long as he or she is healthy"
"Yah…it's a huge responsibility, man" Lucas said. "I'll be here if you need anything, ok, like babysitting…and I'm sure Mom and Deb will be willing to help out"
"Thanks…I think Mom will wanna help, but Dad…he's a different story" Nathan sighed. "Not that I want my child around him anyway"
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"Ok girlies lets go out to dinner" Peyton said. "I hate this whole depressed mood, we can talk the Brooke and Lucas situation over dinner…come on, up!"
Haley and Brooke groaned, but got up and followed Peyton out the door anyway. They got to Karen's Café, and were sitting and talking in a booth when they caught Lucas walk by.
"Hey, Lucas!" Brooke called, and was stunned when he turned around and his arms were linked with another girl.
"Hey, Brooke" Lucas said, his face lighting up at the sight of her. "Peyton, Haley…guys, this is Janice" he introduced them. "Janice, they're really good friends of mine"
"Oh, hi" a warm smile spread across the petite girl's face. "I've heard so much about you guys"
"Cant say the same" Brooke muttered to herself, but smiled anyway.
"Ok well we're gonna go…" Lucas said uncomfortably.
"Guys, I'm not so hungry anymore" Brooke said. "I'm gonna go home"
"Brooke, you ok?"
"Yah…I just wanna be alone, I'll see you guys later, ok?"
"Ok…call if you need anything, ok?" Haley said worriedly.
"Definitely will" Brooke lied. That was the last thing she was gonna do. "Bye!"
"Bye" Brooke ran down the street and to her car, tears streaming down her face. Was Lucas through with her and had moved on? She didn't think she could handle the thought. That new girl Janice and him looked pretty cozy…why didn't he tell her, he'd been leading her on all this time! Fury filled her veins, but sadness over shadowed it. Maybe she and Lucas weren't meant to be. When Brooke got home, she went to her room and grabbed her familiar pillow that she had cried into the last time Lucas had broken her heart. Wow, the pattern just keeps repeating itself…guess he's not worth it after all.
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"So…one time Brooke and I-" Lucas was cut off as he was walking Janice home.
"Look, Lucas, you're a nice guy, and very sweet" Janice said. "But you talk about this Brooke girl so much; I'm inclined to believe that you're madly in love with her. I had a good time, Lucas…but go get Brooke. It's obvious she's the one you want" Janice smiled, placing a kiss on Lucas's cheek. "See you around"
"Ok…bye Janice"
"Bye Luke"
Lucas walked home slowly, with his head bent against the wind. So he was making it that obvious, and Brooke was totally oblivious. He entered his house quietly, reading the note his mother had left him, and went to his room. A picture of Brooke laughing was stuck on his mirror, which she had given him as a present when they'd been dating. He took it down and stared it, tracing the curve of her neck and noticing the twinkle in her already shiny eyes. Her hair was tossed backwards and she looked amazing. I have to call her he thought to himself. He reached for the phone, and was disappointed when he got her answering machine.
"Hey, Brooke, its Lucas…call me back, we need to talk"
Brooke sat there, thinking about what Lucas had just said. We need to talk my ass, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind she thought to herself.
Lucas was sitting quietly in bed when he saw his door bang open and Brooke come in.
"Whoa, Brooke, hi"
"Lucas, what could we POSSIBLY have to talk about?"
"You seemed upset that I went out with Janice…"
"I WAS upset you went out with Janice, she's a whore"
"What, you haven't even talked to the girl, don't say stuff like that" Lucas snapped. "Why does it matter anyway? Its not like we're going out, why should you care?"
"You know what? You're right" Brooke's voice softened and quivered. "I shouldn't care. Goodnight, Lucas" Brooke said, turning around to leave. She was halfway out the door when Lucas called her name.
"Brooke" she turned around, her eyes brimming with tears.
"What?"
"I love you"
A/N: Cliffhanger! Ooh! And sorry, it'll be less than 5-6 chapters till they get together, I just couldn't have them apart! I'm such a softie…he-he...but there will be drama! Review!
