Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with One Tree Hill

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Discoveries

by: D. Sollers

"Mom?"

Lucas walked into their kitchen and saw Karen sitting at the table. She was going through pictures and their were tears in her eyes. "Are you okay?" Lucas asked, taking the seat beside her. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Karen smiled at her sons concern and shook her head. "It's nothing Lucas. I was just looking over all these photos of you as a little boy," she explained as she ran her fingers over her swollen stomach. She smiled and then back at the pictures. There were several of Keith and her and she held her breath. "I just can't believe I'm going to go through this again."

"But you have a lot more people now mom," Lucas reminded her. She nodded her head and smiled. She did have people in her life now, and the most important one of all.

"Have I ever told you how proud I am of you?"

Lucas looked at her and smiled slightly. He knew thatthere were many things his mom had been proud of over the years. The choices he had made and the relationships he had formed. But he knew that some of his decisions hadn't always left his mother proud. He thought briefly to when Brooke and him had thought she was pregnant. When he had cheated on her with Peyton and then slept with Nikki. All decisions that Lucas knew his mother wouldn't have liked. Most recently, the pain he was putting Brooke through.

"I need to talk to you about something mom."

Karen looked at him and shook her head. She had watched him over the past few weeks and noticed him withdrawing from his friends. He spent most of his time in his room and at the River Court. He knew that he needed advice and that he had always trusted his mother's.

"There's this girl and I really care about her," he explained. He knew his mother would know he was talking about Brooke and he didn't care. It was obvious to everyone except her just how real his feelings for her had become. "I hurt her really bad and I want a second chance. I've tried everything to get her to believe me and nothing works."

Karen nodded her head sadly. She knew just how much her son had loved Brooke. The two teenagers relationship had always seemed so passionate that she wasn't sure there had been any real emotions attached to it. But she noticed the change in him when he had returned from Charleston with Keith. He seemed more honest with himself regarding his feelings for her. She had watched him regain Brooke's trust and friendship and hadn't said a word once she realized he had fallen in love with her.

"Have you told Brooke how you feel?"

Lucas held his breath and shook his head no. Technically he had told her how he felt, right before she left for California. But a year had almost past and since then he hadn't been honest with her. He thought she knew how much he cared, he knew he showed it in everything he did. "Not recently."

"Son, you have to tell her. I know it won't be easy but love never is."

He knew that what his mother was saying was true. After all, he had watched Keith fall in love with his mother and risk everything. It didn't work out and Keith had eventually married Jules. His mother had moved on with Andy and he knew that Haley and Nathan had their ups and downs. Peyton and Jake had several bumps along the way as well.

"I just don't want to hurt her anymore."

Lucas didn't tell his mother about what happened last with him and Brooke. He knew she would wind up giving him a lecture and he wasn't ready for it. Her rejection had hurt him and he wasn't sure he would ever look at her the same way again.

"Then don't. Tell her the truth Lucas. I see the way she looks at you."

The words caused Lucas to smile and he looked up at his mom. "Thanks," he said as he got up. Karen nodded her head and went back to looking at the pictures.

"Oh yeah and Lucas?"

He turned to look at his mom and waited for her to continue.

"Andy and I got married last night."

……

Nathan walked towards his locker and smiled when he saw Brooke standing there. She had her hands in her pockets and she was tapping her foot. "You're late Nate," she said with a toss of her hair. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well I couldn't just leave Haley. She cooked me breakfast."

Brooke nodded her head and watched as he opened his locker. "I don't know what to do," she said to him. She leaned her head against the other lockers and shut her eyes. "Lucas is barely speaking to me."

"Can you blame him?"

She put her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out. "Not the point okay? I really hate that I hurt him. It's just being with him, isn't easy. And we were going to have sex."

"Brooke it's not like it's your first time."

She was about to slap him but realized he was just trying to be funny. "Whatever. What I meant was, I would have cheated on Sean. I'm not the cheating type Nathan. When Lucas and Peyton…"

"I know Brooke," he said sympathetically. "It hurt you."

Brooke nodded her head in agreement. "It did and I promised myself I would never do that to anyone. But I did. I cheated on Sean. And I feel awful about that. But at the same time, I don't regret it. Doesn't that make me bad?"

Nathan shook his head no. He pulled out the book he needed and then turned back to her. "Brooke, your heart's with Lucas. Whether you two ever get back together or not. You and I both know that."

She wanted to tell him he was wrong but she couldn't. Nathan had a habit of understanding her and this time it wasn't any different. She was in love with Lucas. "I'm with Sean."

"Then dump him. It's that simple Brooke, break up with him"

Brooke looked down at the ground. It wasn't that simple, she thought to herself. Sean was a great guy and she genuinely cared for him. And with Lucas in California, she knew her relationship with Sean could develop. She wouldn't be alone.

"I can't."

Nathan shut his locker and looked over his shoulder. "Then I can't help you," he said. Brooke's stubbornness was irritating him. He needed to get to class and get ready for his plan to start. Nathan waved goodbye to Brooke and walked off. He just hoped she would listen to him.

……

Peyton pulled into her driveway and turned off the car engine. She was supposed to meet Brooke for dinner at Karen's but needed to change before. Her cell phone rang and she answered it. "Hey babe."

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me tonight?"

She laughed into the phone and agreed. "Sure, but where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. I'll pick you up after your dinner with Brooke."

Peyton hung up the phone and wondered just what Jake was up to. As she let herself into her house, she shut the door and smiled happily.

……

"Hey Luke, do you have a sec?"

Lucas turned around and smiled at his friend. "Hey Hales, what's up?" Haley held her breath for a moment and Lucas noticed she was hiding something behind her back. "Whatcha hiding?" He asked, pulling her arm to the front of her and revealing the small box.

"See, here's the thing," Haley said as she handed it to him. Lucas looked inside and noticed their were envelopes all addressed to him. He knew he had seen the handwriting before and he looked down at her waiting for an explanation.

"They're from Brooke. And We're probably going to get in a lot of trouble."

"We?"

Haley nodded her head as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Me and Peyton. Brooke doesn't know we have them and if she did she would be killing us right now." Haley paused for a moment and then continued. "But it'll be worth it because you need to know how she feels about you."

"You're willing to risk your friendship with her?" He questioned.

Haley shrugged her shoulders. "I guess her happiness is more important to me," she reasoned. He watched as she walked off and then he looked down at the letters. There were plenty of them, in different colored envelopes. Was he really supposed to read them all? Any of them?

Lucas knew that a part of him wanted to read those letters. They contained Brooke's deepest thoughts and feelings and it would be a way for all of his questions to be answered. But he knew that it was wrong. If Brooke had wanted him to read those letters, she would have given them to him. As he got into his car, he didn't know what he would do.

……

Tim turned towards Nathan and shook his head. "Are you sure this is going to work man?" He asked, glancing over his friends shoulder. Nathan put a finger to his lips in an effort to keep him quiet. With a nod of his head, Nathan typed in his password on the computer and began his plan. "Haley's going to catch you," Tim said.

Nathan shook his head, aggravated with his friend. "Not if you learn how to shut up!" He placed the disk in the computer and turned back to Tim. "This is full proof man, just wait until prom."

"What about Haley?" Tim asked again.

Nathan rolled his eyes and looked towards his bedroom door. He knew his wife was inside and that if she found out, more than likely he would never hear the end of it. But this was a senior tradition and as captain of the basketball team he knew that he couldn't not do it. Haley would understand- sooner or later.

"I'll take care of Haley."

Haley entered the room and raised an eyebrow. "Take care of me how?" She asked, wrapping her arms around him. "Hey Tim." She waved at Nathan's friend, before leaning into give Nathan a kiss.

"We're just talking about prom. That's all. He is insisting that Brooke's going to win this year and I told him she doesn't hold a candle to you," he lied. Haley smiled and leaned against her husband. He was one of the most romantic men she had ever known and as the days continued, he kept surprising her.

Haley laughed. "Well thanks, but I am actually hoping Brooke wins this."

"What? Why?" Tim questioned.

She turned towards her husband and then towards Tim. "Because I have a feeling Lucas is going to win and maybe that will be the final push for them to win." She grinned up at her husband and he wondered how she was so sure that Lucas would win. After a few seconds of debating it in his mind, he realized it was better with her focusing on who would win prom king and queen then finding out what he was up to.

"So, I'm hungry. What's for dinner?" Tim laughed, as Haley and Nathan joined in the laughter.

……

Peyton squeezed Jake's hand and smiled up at him. They were walking down the pier where their first date had been and talking quietly. "So, this place looks oddly familiar," Peyton said as she turned around.

"It's romantic."

She nodded her head in agreement and looked around at the couples surrounding them. The lights twinkled around them and she couldn't help the giggle that had escaped her lips. As memories went, their first date had been beautiful. She remembered a lot of happy moments with him and knew that there were many more to come.

"Are you cold?" He asked her.

Peyton nodded her head. "A little," she responded. Jake took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. He smiled at her and looked towards the coffee stand.

"Want something to drink?"

"Yeah."

She watched as he walked towards the stand and she dug her hands into his coat pockets. Peyton couldn't stop smiling. Her fingers touched a smooth surface and she pulled it out of the pocket. Looking down at it, she gasped. A ring? 'What the hell was Jake doing with a ring?' she thought to herself.

"Here you go," he said as he handed her the cup of coffee. She looked up at him in confusion. Peyton took a step back and shut her eyes for a moment.

"I think I need to go home now."

Jake turned to take a look around. "What do you mean? What's wrong?" He asked, watching her eyes dart around at the different people. She turned back to him and shook her head.

"Just I need to go."

TBC…