Chapter Three: In Your Eyes
"WHAT?" Peyton asked excitedly, standing up from the table and giving Brooke a large hug. "Why didn't you tell me when we were on the phone last night?" She asked, her eyes wide with excitement.
Brooke shrugged her shoulders, trying to think of a good lie. "He just proposed last night..While we were laying in bed.." She continued on with a small smile, knowing that there was no getting out of this one now. Brooke had just dug a deep hole for herself, hadn't she?
Haley sat her glass of water onto the table, causing a loud b a n g to sound. Brooke looked at her older sister, silently pleading with her not to spill the beans. So, telling Peyton and that lying snake Chris that she was marrying Lucas probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world, but she'd gotten a bit too caught up in the moment to think about anything or anyone other than her betrayal.
Brooke slowly nodded her head and sighed, getting ready to tell them the truth. Haley obviously wasn't going to go along with her plan, so there was no way that it was going to work. Hell, Brooke wasn't even sure how she would have been able to get Lucas, her beloved "fiancee'" to go along with the flawed plan, either.
"Actually, guys, I..." She began to explain, but was so rudely cut off by Haley, who was shaking her head. Brooke furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion, not sure what her sister was doing or why she was doing it.
"Lucas and Brooke have been engaged for a while." Haley said, trying to tell the happy couple something before Brooke could tell the truth. "Brooke really wanted to tell you in person–She didn't wanna steal your glory when you were on the phone last night." Haley sent Brooke a glare before looking back to Peyton, who seemed satisfied enough.
"Brooke!" Peyton exclaimed, slapping her best friend's shoulder. "You know you don't have to worry about something like that..You getting married is just as important as me getting married." She told the brunette, shaking her head.
Soon after desert, Brooke excused herself to go to the bathroom. She made it all the way to the back of the restraunt before she felt a hand on the small of her back. It was him. The scent of his cologne and the shivers that his touch sentdown her spinewere all too familiar. She closed her eyes for just a moment and savored the feeling of being so close to him before ripping herself away from his grasp.
"Your wife's probably looking for you, Chris..Better hurry along.." She spit out angrily, shaking her head. Brooke once again attempted to enter the girl's bathroom, but was stopped by Chris standing in front of it.
"Like you're one to talk.. You're engaged, too!" He yelled back at her, causing a few people to turn around and look at them.
Brooke rolled her eyes and sighed, not in the mood to have this conversation with him. So, instead of answering, she nodded her head. "He's more of a man than you'll ever be...And I mean that in more way than one." She sent a small glare down towards his pants before pushing past him and walking into the girl's bathroom.
Once safely inside, she locked the door and leaned her body against one of the many sinks. Staring at her reflection, Brooke couldn't help but feel like telling this lie had just made things a million times more complicated than they had been before.
She splashed some water onto her slightly flushed face, taking this time to think about what she'd done. How on Earth was she going to get Lucas to agree to pretend to be her fiancee'? He had his own life and his own dates–Not that he ever went on them, anyway. He was just like her when it came to the romance department. Every girl that he went out with, Brooke hated. She practically forced him to stay away from girls just so that she could have him all to herself.
Was that slightly selfish? Of course, but it wasn't like she could help it. Brooke loved Lucas more than anything in the world, besides her work, and she wasn't about to loose him to some six foot tall, one hundred and ten pound blonde model whose name is something like Milan. Those were the types of girls that Lucas always seemed to attract and that simply wasn't up to Brooke's standards for him.
He deserved a short brunette who had curves and didn't have a brain the size of a pea. Come to think of it, did that describe someone that Lucas already knew a great deal about? No, no it didn't. Brooke did not believe that she was Lucas's dream girl because...Well.. She just couldn't be. Sure, he was attractive, but they'd been just friends for so long that there comes a time when you can't turn back from that.
She once again looked at her reflection in the mirror, tucked a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear, counted to ten, and sighed. Alright, Brooke..You can do this. With that, she walked back into the restaraunt area and put on her best, brightest fake smile.
"Thanks for dinner, P. Sawyer.." She managed, hugging the blonde tightly. Brooke released Peyton from her hold after a couple of seconds and then made her way towards Chris, not even offering him a handshake. "You always knew how to choose em', blondie.." She spit out with just a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Brooke gave Chris one last once over before shaking her head. "Great to meet you.." She practically whispered, her eyes staring daggars into his.
Haley was a bit more subtle with her goodbyes, shaking Chris's hand and hugging Peyton tightly. With that, the duo walked out of the nice Italian café' arm in arm. Once they were in the parking lot, Brooke felt herself get forcefully pushed against the car.
"What the hell was that?" Haley repromanded, causing Brooke to shrink back like a little child who was getting scolded by their mother or father.
"What was what?" She asked innocently, attempting to act like she had no idea what her sister was talking about. Of course she knew that this conversation was coming, but did it really have to happen right now? The least Haley could do would be to yell at Brooke after Lucas flips out on her.
Haley rolled her eyes and opened the drivers side of the car, getting inside. "Okay, Brooke..Fine..No speech..Good luck getting Lucas to agree, though." She said, shaking her head angrily. Everyone in their right mind could see how Lucas felt about Brooke except for Brooke. It wasn't fair for the brunette to toy with his mind like this–Even if she didn't do it on purpose.
Brooke got into the car silently, allowing the rest of the car ride back to the apartment building to be used for her thinking time. She ran through the night's events in her head one last time before looking at the shining neon lights on the radio, which provided them with the correct time. 11:46
They pulled up in their usual parking space and Brooke ran out of the car and into the building without even bothering to wait for Haley. She had to speak to Lucas before she lost her nerve, which should be happening sometime in the next fifteen seconds.
She used her key to get into the apartment that Lucas shared with Nathan and tip toed into Lucas's bedroom, closing the door behind her. Brooke set her keys and purse down onto his dresser as she took off her heels and cautiously slid down into the bed next to him.
For a moment or so, Brooke caught herself watching him sleep. He looked so peaceful and angelic. Lucas Scott? Peaceful and angelic? Hah, that's a laugh! Too bad he couldn't be a bit more like that when he was awake.
Lucas stirred, causing Brooke to stop staring at him. She adjusted her spot on the bed and laid down next to him, getting under the covers. Brooke turned onto her side, her nose lightly grazing against his as he opened his beautiful blue eyes.
She sighed a little bit and smiled, nervously chewing on her bottom lip. Oh God..How did she say something like this?
Never one to think before speaking, Brooke immediately spoke. "Marry me.." She whispered, her eyes wide and desperate.
Of course, that wasn't how she planned on asking him the million times that she'd gone over it in her mind, and she was sure that Lucas was going to overanalyze everything and flip out, but it was worth a shot, right?
