Chapter Fifteen: A Brief Moment in Time
Author's note: Before you read this chapter, please read hte previous one more carefully to note that hte first part of it, where Haley dumped Chris, was clearly a dream. Sorry about the confusion. And Merry Christmas! And Happy Holidays! And please take note of the couples cited in the summary of this story. I mean it, I promise.
"Babe, can you see my handbag?" asked Brooke, watching Lucas as he painstakingly shaved in front of the bathroom mirror.
"No. Maybe you left it in Nathan's when we were in there," suggested Lucas.
"Yeah. Maybe. But I don't want to go now. Davis might be in there and they're either still fighting or having very quiet makeup sex," said Brooke. Lucas grinned.
"I'll go. You stay here," he instructed, opening the door that connected the two rooms to retrieve her purse. She'd left it on the ground but it was perched on the bed. Something he'd never notice in a million years, something that Brooke would have noticed instantly.
"Thanks Luke," she said. He watched in interest as she fished out her package of birth control pills and consumed one.
"No problem. Want to stay here tonight?" he asked. She smiled coyly at him.
"I wish I could. But my ex is coming to town and I promised him we'd have dinner. Are you jealous?" she asked excitedly. He took her hands and pulled her into him.
"Wildly," he said, kissing her. Brooke giggled.
"He's a nice guy. We dated when we were like fourteen and then he moved away," said Brooke.
"Nice. I'll hang with Nathan, watch him moon about Davis," said Lucas.
"Do you really think he will? They were never exactly close," said Brooke.
"Please, what else am I supposed to do?" he asked, kissing her as they fell backward onto the bed.
XxxxxxX
"Hey, do you want to meet my parents tomorrow? They're coming into town," explained Brooke nervously.
"Sure. I guess we're there now?" he said. She sat on his lap and put her arms around his neck.
"I hope so. I don't usually get… here," she said.
"Me neither. But I don't generally meet girls like you."
"There aren't many girls like me," she whispered, looking into his eyes.
Lucas fell back onto his bed after she left, feeling exhausted. It was a feeling he was feeling more and more often. Their meetings were getting so intense, so precious, so passionate in more ways than just the one. He couldn't get enough of her. Hell, he didn't want to get enough of her.
"I guess it's what love'll do to you," he thought reflectively to himself.
XxxxxxX
"Brooke?" said a voice in surprise. She spun around and came face to face with her first love, Marvin McFadden.
"Oh my God! Mouth! You look so great! How are you?" she asked, flinging her arms around him.
"I'm great. You look fantastic," he said honestly. She grinned. There were no guys like him. And no guys she'd ever feel the same way for. He'd been her first in almost everything.
"Thanks. How was NYU?" she asked. He'd graduated a year early and had recently completed his first year.
"Good. And you're dating Lucas Scott? Someone's coming up in the world," he said. She shrugged modestly.
"My cousin is dating… used to be dating I think, his brother," explained Brooke.
Mouth silently calculated.
"Davis and Nathan broke up?" he asked eventually.
"Yeah. Supposedly because he's fallen in love with Haley, who's still with Chris, who's out of town and still doesn't have a clue," said Brooke.
"You have to let them run their own lives, Brookie," he said gently.
"I know. I'm just so much better at it, you know?" she said. He laughed appreciatively.
"I missed you," he said suddenly. Brooke smiled.
"I've missed you too. You were part of my life for so long and you left so suddenly. And I always expected you to come back but you never did," she said.
"I always expected to. But things came up…"
"Like what?" she asked. When he frowned and looked downward, her concern grew.
"I have something to tell you," said Mouth, looking up to meet her eyes.
"What is it? God, are you alright? Did someone die? Are you coming out?" she asked nervously.
"Brooke, I'm not gay," he said slowly. She paled visibly.
"You're going to die," she stated in shock. He nodded slowly.
"So they tell me," he said.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked.
"I didn't want to. I still wish I didn't have to. The therapist my Dad made me go to thinks it's because I'm still in denial. Or that I'm somehow pissed because I'm going to die an eighteen year old virgin," said Mouth bitterly. Brooke instinctively put her arms around her old love, and cried softly onto his shoulder.
His arms slowly wound around her, and he briefly went back in time. Back to the only time he could remember being truly happy. The summer after eighth grade when he'd moved to Tree Hill and met Brooke Davis, the girl next door, who spent the entire summer with him by the pool in his backyard because her friends had all gone off to summer camp. How they'd become friends, and eventually even more. He'd always been surprised. She was beautiful, and he was just an average guy. But for a brief moment in time, she'd been his. Until his parents decided to move the family to New York, destroying the only chance at love he'd ever had.
"You're not," she said quietly, a moment later. Lost in memories, it took him a moment to remember what she was referring to.
"I'm not going to die?" he said in surprise.
"No. I guess you are. But that's not what I was referring to," she said. He frowned in surprise as her hand slipped down into his and she led him out of the bar.