Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with One Tree Hill

Author's Note: Sorry it's taken a while to update. My daughter's birthday was this week and I have been pretty busy with that. Here's the update and remember, please review!

Chapter Three-
Over and Over Again

"Oh my God," Brooke held her hand over her mouth and shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Lucas and Peyton were cuddled asleep on the couch unaware of her or Jake's presence. "Jake, I am so sorry…" Brooke said. Jake stood shocked at the couple. He had told Peyton to move on but had never really believed she would go back to Lucas, his best friend.

A part of Jake wanted to go into the room and punch Lucas for the pain he was causing the two of him. But the more mature, rational part of him knew that was a useless plan. Lucas and him would get into a fight, both would get beaten up and neither of them would walk away the winner. Brooke would still be hurt and Peyton wouldn't be any closer to being his. "Maybe we should just get out of here," he suggested.

"Hell no," Brooke whispered. "That's my ex boyfriend in there Jake. And that was my best friend. If anything is going on AGAIN, I deserve to know the truth," Brooke put her hands on her hips. "I can't believe he would do this to me again. After everything I told him, after everything he promised."

Jake nodded his head. He understood where she was coming from and he too had wanted answers. But he wasn't sure confronting either of them was the answer. If they were guilty, it would be too messy for all of them. And on the slight chance they were innocent, Brooke and him would come off looking petty and jealous. "Now is not the time Brooke," Jake said. He grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled her back towards the front door. Once outside, he turned to her. "I know this sucks Brooke, but we need to know for sure before we say anything."

"I think their body language says enough," Brooke pointed out.

Jake shook his head. "Brooke, they've always been close and from what you've told me that has happened, maybe they just needed each other."

……

Hours later Brooke had decided to get her mind off of things. Not knowing where to go or who to see, she decided that shopping was her best option. Brooke made her way down the street and throughout the stores. While in the lingerie store, she glanced out the window. She could see Haley getting out of Nathan's car and she grinned to herself.

"Tutor wife!" She yelled as she exited the store.

Haley turned around and smiled at her best friend. "Brooke! You're home!" She said, bringing her into a hug. Haley held Brooke close to her before pulling away. "I am so glad you are here. There's so much I have to tell you."

Brooke lifted her bags and pointed towards the café. "I'm tired, you wanna go get an iced coffee?" She questioned as Haley nodded her head. The two friends walked towards the café and Brooke listened as Haley talked.

"We went to the beach this morning. All of us."

Brooke stirred her drink and stared at the table. She knew that included Lucas and Peyton and there was questions she wanted to ask. But Jake had told her to stay out of it, to let Lucas and Peyton come clean. She noticed how Haley wasn't looking at her and she questioned her friend. "Is everything okay Hales?"

Haley stared up at her for a moment and bit her lip. "What if I had something to tell you? Something that…" Haley sighed. "Something that may or may not be true. Would you want to take that risk? Even if it turned out to be wrong?"

Brooke looked out the window and saw that Peyton and Lucas had just pulled up. She thought about leaving, right then and there but decided that Tree Hill was just as much her town as it was theirs. She nodded her head quickly and turned towards Haley. "I know Hales," Brooke said simply. She pointed towards the two friends from outside and back towards Haley. "I already know."

Haley was about to say something when Lucas and Peyton walked through the café doors. Peyton smiled at Haley and noticed that Brooke was sitting there too. "Hey Brooke! You're home, I've missed you," she said as she wrapped her arms around her friend. She brought her into a hug and Brooke nodded her head.

"I Missed you too."

Peyton sat down in the booth and Brooke looked at Lucas. "Hey," she whispered gently. Lucas said nothing but just shook his head. "Can we talk?" Brooke asked. He turned towards Peyton and then back towards Brooke shaking his head once again.

"Okay. Let's go over here."

Brooke smiled slightly at Haley and Peyton and followed Lucas to another booth on the opposite side of the café. She sat down and looked up at him. "How's your mom?"

"She's doing great, except for the morning sickness."

Brooke raised an eyebrow and he continued.

"She was pregnant right before…well- right before Keith died. She's five months pregnant now."

Brooke shut her eyes for a moment and fought back tears. She couldn't imagine the pain that Karen was going through and to make matters worse, she was pregnant with the mans child. But still- she knew Karen had always wanted another baby and this time she was lucky enough to have the memories of the man Keith was. "That's amazing. Did she know?"

"No."

Brooke nodded her head and stared across the room. She could tell that Peyton was trying to talk to Haley, who wasn't even looking at her. Brooke was amazed at the loyalty that Haley had for her. "How are you?" Brooke questioned finally. She wasn't sure that she was ready for the answer, but knew it had to be asked. The anger that he had held in his eyes had lessened, leaving him looking just overly tired and hurt.

"I'm great," Lucas lied.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I'm serious Lucas, how are you?"

"How do you think I am? My uncle died a few months ago, leaving my mother pregnant and alone. Turns out Dan thinks that this is his chance to get back with my mother. And my girlfriend- who at the time I thought was the biggest part of my life… she leaves me."

Brooke's mouth fell open and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't blame this on me Lucas. We broke up! You said you needed time and I gave you that time. You knew I was coming home, you knew where my heart was the whole time. If anyone should be mad, it's me. And you know it!"

"What the hell does that mean?" Lucas yelled at her. "Another one of your suspicions?" He stood up and looked at her. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to another one."

Brooke stood up so that she was standing in front of him. "You know what? You're right, you're not going to stand here. Because I am not having this conversation with you anymore. Don't talk to me Lucas. Don't even look at me until you start being honest. I can't believe you could stand there and look at me and tell me you're not hiding anything!"

She pushed past him and held tightly on her purse.

"I hate you Lucas Scott. I hate you."

……

About an hour or so later, Lucas had agreed to drive Peyton home. When they had arrived at her house, the two had been in such deep conversation that neither of them had wanted to get out of the car. "Are you sure you're okay?" Peyton questioned.

"Yeah, I am fine," Lucas answered her. "I'm use to it."

Peyton looked down at her shoes and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry." There was a part of her that felt guilty. She knew that Brooke was insecure of his feelings for her and Peyton still talked to him. The feelings that were running through her mind were strong and she couldn't stop herself from being around Lucas. He made her feel safe, something that wasn't easy to find after the shooting.

"Peyton… you don't have to be sorry. You're one of my best friends."

Peyton nodded her head and looked up at him. "But Brooke thinks that there's more to us than that."

"Whatever the two of us have had, it's over. I've accepted it. You've accepted it, Brooke should be able to do the same thing. No matter what I do, she'll never trust me."

Peyton looked out the car window and towards her house. "We never should have lied to her." When Lucas questioned what that had meant, Peyton continued. "We should have told her what happened the day of the shooting. We should have told her what I told you… what I did."

"Peyt-" Lucas was at a loss for words. He could remember that day, as if it was yesterday and all the pain that went with it. Lucas had been so worried about saving Peyton's life that he hadn't been paying attention to Keith's. And when Peyton had confessed her love to him, he had believed it was friendship that she was talking about. The kiss had surprised him, but they both had decided it was better to forget about it, then to tell Brooke. He knew she'd be hurt and he didn't want to give her anymore of a reason to doubt him.

"It's true Lucas. Then she'd be mad at me, but she'd trust you."

Lucas shook his head no. "We made this mistake Peyton. What we did to her, that's something we will both have to deal with. We're in it together," he said as he grabbed a hold of her hand. He squeezed it gently and she smiled up at him. "It's always going to be us."

Peyton held her breathe and nodded her head. There was something about the way he talked to her that made her feel special. His feelings for her were never going to change, he would love her for the rest of his life. The two of them were connected, something that Haley, Brooke, or even Jake could break. She was sure there would be other friends to enter each other's lives, other boyfriends and perhaps other girlfriends, but in the end… it would always be him and her.

"I should get inside," Peyton said as she opened the car door. "Thanks for the ride Luke." She didn't give him time to say anything, just shut the car door and headed towards her house. Once inside, she locked the door and walked into the living room. No one was home, no one was ever home. She sat down on her couch and shut her eyes.

"Us," she said out loud. A smile played on her lips as the doorbell rang. She walked towards the door laughing. "Lucas, what is it?" She asked as she opened the door. Her mouth fell open as she stared at the man in front of her.

"Jake?"

……

Brooke knocked on the apartment door a few times before kicking it with her left foot. Rain was pouring and she was carrying her suitcases as Nathan came to the door. "Brooke, what's going on?" He asked.

Brooke pushed past him and let go of her suitcases. She turned towards Haley and tears fell down her face. "I was supposed to stay at Peyton's…" She looked down at her things and then towards Haley again. "I was supposed to…"

Nathan cut her off. "It's okay Brooke, you can crash here on the couch. He grabbed her things and pulled them towards the closet. Grabbing a towel, he threw it at her. "We've missed you in Tree Hill Brooke."

Brooke smiled sadly and nodded her head. Haley looked at her husband and then back towards Brooke, before bringing her distraught friend into a hug. "It's going to be okay Brooke. Everything is going to be okay, I promise." She rubbed her friends back as Brooke's sobs got louder. Haley just hoped that what she was saying was true.

"How about I go get the three of us some ice-cream? Is that a good idea?" Nathan asked, turning towards Haley. Haley laughed at her husband before nodding her head. "I'll be back. I love you." He kissed his wife briefly before heading out the door.

Haley pulled Brooke towards the living room and sat down with her on the couch. "What's going on Brooke? Do you want to talk about it?" She questioned. Haley knew that Brooke had somehow found out about Peyton's feelings for Lucas and she wasn't sure how to approach the situation.

"I don't want to think about it Hales. I really don't."

Haley nodded her head and looked around the room. "How about a movie?" She offered, Brooke shook her head no. "Come on Brooke, it'll be just like how it use to be. We'll watch a movie and eat ice-cream. The only difference is Nathan, but if we watch the Note Book, he'll cry like a girl so it will still count."

Brooke attempted to laugh at her friends joke and just shook her head. "I just don't know how they could both do this to me again. I just don't understand." Haley nodded her head and then raised an eyebrow.

"Wait. What do you mean both?"

TBC…Just to let you know, I started this before the episode (3.16) aired. Anyways, now I am doing it to go along with what happened on last week's amazing episode. Dan did shoot Keith, he is just playing with Karen right now. Peyton and Lucas did share their "moment" although- I will continue to play with whether or not it meant anything to either of them
Up Next:
- Haley confronts Lucas

- Jake and Peyton talk

- Brooke goes to visit Karen

- Deb and Dan have a talk