AW last chapter! Lots of reviews, please!
"Bye Ella" Brooke said, kissing her sleeping daughter on the forehead. "I'll see you after class"
"First day of classes…you nervous?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah…very" Brooke whispered nervously.
"Hey baby you ok?" Lucas asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
"Yeah" Brooke said, casting her eyes downward.
"Brooke I pride myself on knowing you very well, and I know you aren't ok…what's wrong?"
"I'm scared and nervous- how am I gonna get through college with a baby? I have Journalism first and I'm gonna stink at it!"
"Brooke" Lucas said, enveloping her in a huge hug and kissing the top of her head. "I love you, ok? And you'll be great at everything…and we'll manage- have some faith, ok?"
"Ok" Brooke whispered. "See you after class, Broody?"
"Yeah…good luck- you'll be great"
"Have fun at practice" Brooke smiled. "Bye Ella" Brooke said, blowing her daughter a kiss.
"Go break a leg, Brooke…and Lucas" Karen said. "Ella will be fine with me"
"Ok" Brooke said, casting a glance over her shoulder and following Lucas out the apartment door.
Lucas made his way down to his car and sighed as he watched Brooke get into hers. They were both beginning a new chapter of their lives, and now they were in college with a baby. It was going to be tough, Lucas knew. But he had tremendous faith in him and Brooke. For the first time, amidst the many girls he managed to date between junior and senior year to make Brooke jealous, he knew his heart belonged with Brooke and hers with him. They harbored this connection that he just couldn't feel with anyone else.
Brooke put her sunglasses on, though they weren't needed on the gloomy day. Sucks that my first day of college is rainy and gross, Brooke thought. Well that's how I feel…Brooke glanced over to Lucas starting his car and adjusting the rearview mirror. She loved him, a lot. She couldn't wait to marry him, but some parts of her wondered whether she and Lucas were gonna make it through college with a baby and all that stress. Sighing, she turned on her ignition. Here goes nothing she thought to herself.
"Scott! Where's your younger half?" the coach asked him.
"I dunno, sir-"
"Don't call me sir, boy! Makes me feel like an old man"
"Ok well then, coach" Lucas smiled. "I have no idea"
"I'm here, is the team that dysfunctional without me?" Nathan asked.
"Oh lose the ego, boy, the team is fine without you…just kidding, get your ass into the locker rooms and get changed, we have a long day today"
"Great" Nathan sighed, following Lucas to the lockers. "How's Ella?"
"She's good…how are Emily and Alyssa?"
"More different each day" Nathan laughed. "Emily is a whiner and Alyssa is so calm"
"Funny thing is Emily has your personality but looks like Hales and Alyssa has Haley's personality but looks like you" Lucas laughed.
"Yeah…yours is a mini Brooke"
"Oh yeah…she's Brooke's carbon copy through and through" Lucas said. "But she has some of my habits too"
"Yeah…" Nathan smiled, thinking about Emily and Alyssa. "We're in for a hell of a time, dude"
"I know" Lucas said. "But at least we're with the girls we love"
Brooke sat in her Journalism class, paying rapt attention to the teacher. She wouldn't allow her thoughts to wander, she had to pay attention and get a good grade in all of her classes so she could get through college. She had especially chosen to take Journalism in class because it was her major. Briefly, her thoughts wandered to Ella and Lucas.
"So, your assignment is to write a story about an experience that you had that changed your life…write it as you would see it in Time magazine" the professor smiled warmly in everyone's direction. Brooke really liked her professor.
"It is due tomorrow, and I expect it to be typed or neatly written and good grammar, spelling…all that elementary stuff" Ok, so maybe Brooke didn't like her THAT much.
"Class is dismissed" Brooke got up but felt someone tap her shoulder and she turned around.
"Hi! My names Melissa" a short pretty blonde stuck out her hand.
"Hey, I'm Brooke" she said, shaking her hand.
"You wanna be a journalist?" Melissa asked.
"Badly" Brooke laughed.
"So where do you live?"
"Oh, you know that apartment complex down the street?" Brooke asked.
"I live there too! What number are you?"
"365" Brooke said.
"I'm 354!" Melissa said. "I room with my friend from college"
"Oh…I live with my husband and daughter" Brooke said softly.
"Wow! Are you a senior or something?"
"Nope…freshman"
"Wow…how old are you?" Melissa asked curiously.
"Almost 19"
"Wow…how olds your daughter?"
"Almost 2 months"
"How cute!" Melissa giggled.
"Yeah" Brooke smiled at Melissa's reaction. She was so…nonjudgmental compared to the people in Tree Hill.
"Where are you from?" Melissa asked.
"Tree Hill"
"Oh…I'm from Charlotte"
"Cool" Brooke smiled.
"Hey, you wanna grab some coffee?" Melissa asked.
"Sure, let me just phone my mother in law and let her know I'll be a little late" Brooke said.
"Ok" Melissa stepped away respectfully.
"Hey Karen, I'm gonna grab some coffee with a friend, I'll be about 45 minutes late, ok?" Brooke asked.
"Sure" Karen said. "Ella's a sleepy head today, she woke up three times and now she's sleeping again"
"Yeah, Lucas and I wear her out" Brooke laughed. "Tell her I love her, ok?"
"Ok" Karen said. Brooke could hear the smile in her voice. "Have fun, Brooke"
"I will" Brooke laughed, ending the call. "Ok, where to?"
"Hey mom!" Lucas said into his cell phone. "How's Ella?"
"This is the fourth call I've gotten between you and Brooke to check on Ella in the last hour" Karen laughed. "She's sleeping and fine"
"Ok, tell her I love her, ok?"
"Ok" Karen smiled. She was so proud of Lucas, and Brooke. They had changed from spoiled teenagers to responsible and loving parents in the matter of months. Brooke's motherly attitude threw Karen way off course…she was inclined to say Brooke was a better mother than Haley, who was always stressed out. Brooke went with flow of things, and she may have been the class bitch in high school, but now the love she exhibited for Ella and Lucas was insurmountable.
Lucas sighed and hung up. His next order of business was to call Brooke.
"Hey babe!" she chirped when she picked up the phone. Her very voice sent shivers down Lucas's back.
"Hey baby…how'd your class go?"
"Good" Brooke smiled. "How was practice?"
"I'm drained"
"Aw…are you heading home?"
"Yeah you wanna meet me for lunch?"
"Sure, in 15?"
"Yeah" Lucas said. "I love you"
"Love you too" Brooke hung up. "It was great hanging out with you, Melissa…we should do this again"
"Definitely" Melissa said. "I have to rush, I hope you don't mind?"
"Oh, no I have to meet my husband for lunch anyway-see you in class!"
"Ok see you Brooke!" Melissa said, getting into her car. Brooke smiled and waved and got into her car, and drove to Chili's to meet with Lucas.
"Lucas!" Brooke said, hugging him tightly when she saw him. Lucas kissed her and hugged her again.
"I haven't seen you all day…I missed you!" Lucas said.
"I missed you too" Brooke smiled, sliding into the booth.
"How was your day?" Lucas asked, grabbing Brooke's hand.
"It was good" Brooke smiled. "I missed Ella and you, though"
"Same, same" Lucas said.
"Ooh yummy" Brooke said, watching her lobster placed in front of her. "I love this food!"
"Oh I know" Lucas laughed. "I love you, Brooke"
"Love you too" Brooke smiled. "Can you believe college has started?"
"I know…and we have our little girl with us and we're getting married soon" Lucas smiled. "I love the thought of calling you my wife, Brooke"
"I love you" Brooke said. "And I'm proud of us"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah…look how far we've come, Lucas. From scared teenagers to responsible parents…and you were with me every step of the way, never letting me down, even though I felt that sometimes I was letting YOU down"
"You never let me down, you were always the cheerful headstrong Brooke I know and love…I knew I loved you from the moment I saw you…the things you did-and do- to me are indescribable" Lucas whispered. "I'm still crazy in love with you…and I know we'll make it through- all those doubters are people of the past- I have so much faith in you, and me…and us"
"I love you, Lucas" Brooke said.
"I love you too, Brooke…and I always will"
A/N: Aw! This story's finished! Tears…the new story's called "I'll Never Let You Go Again" and it should be up in a few days…review, please! Thanks ;-) Hope you guys enjoyed this story…