Hey guys! Thanks for reviewing! Seriously, I was biting my nails waiting to see how you all would react to that one. Lol. Anyway, they inspired to me to sit down and crank out this chapter, but first, I must say a few things. Merf425- I actually was thinking about that! Hahah… but its not going to happen, because I just read a story where that whole family dies in a car crash, so I was like "Well, there that one goes…" Lindsay- YAY! WELCOME HOME! Hope you had a good time. Ali- .:gasp:. You do? Hehe good! Maggie- thanks for your concern, and of course the e-mails. I've definitely got more in store for you guys…

Also, I'd like to send up a prayer for everyone touched by the London tragedies. I know how hard it was for me after 9/11, and my thoughts are with you all. God bless.

One more thing! There is a brandy new One Tree Hill fanfiction site out that I just registered to, and I think it has the potential to be really awesome. So everybody check it out, post your stories, you know…

http/chadmichaelmurray. La la la I don't own any of this la la.

At the Heart of It All

Chapter Twenty

So This Is Odd…

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Knock. Knock. Knock.

Her heart was pounding so loudly that she could barely hear herself knocking on his bedroom door, but she could feel on her knuckles that they were wrapping against the solid wood. She felt ridiculous. How many times had she done this same thing? It was simply knocking on his door. And yet her nervousness outweighed her other emotions, and she waited with baited breath. Her heart both soared and sank as she heard familiar laughter from the inside. Two different laughs and she knew them both so well.

The door swung open, and her best friend answered, wearing a large smile. It faded a little bit as he saw her, and she thought that her heart had been smashed into pieces.

"Hey Brooke."

"Hey Broody."

"Um… what brings you around?" Lucas asked, very curious. He shifted slightly uncomfortably.

"It's movie night!" Brooke said, her voice typically cheery but had a hint of 'duhhh' to it. Gazing at his awkward expression, she sighed. "Don't tell me you forgot about movie night! Luke, we've been doing movie night since we were like five!"

"No, no, I didn't forget about movie night. I just didn't think you'd come tonight. Well, I kind of already have somebody here, but we're just hanging out if you want to join us…?"

"Who else is here?" Brooke asked with just a little bit of suspicion in her voice, but she already knew the answer. The laughter that had cut right through her could only belong to one person. And God, did she ever hate that person.

"Oh, hey Brooke! I didn't hear you knock!" Anna chirped, appearing from Lucas's bathroom.

"Anna… how lovely to see you again," the head cheerleader said through gritted teeth.

"Likewise," Anna nodded. "I always meant to ask you how you were holding up. Luke told me that you guys broke up," she tilted her head towards Lucas, who shifted again. "I mean, that's two horrible break ups for you… and so close together."

"Well, I got over Felix really quickly. And Luke and I will always be friends, won't we Broody?" Brooke said with a smile, placing a hand on Lucas's bicep, knowing that her words struck an acidic chord in Anna—and she was very happy about that.

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"Luke, you here?" Nathan called into the room as he knocked once and opened the door to his half-brother's bedroom. Once again, he had a problem, and there was never anybody better to talk things out with than Lucas… at least, not in Nathan's opinion.

"Yeah… hey Nate," Lucas called from the couch. Nathan turned his head over that way, and bit down hard on his lip to try and stop himself from laughing. His body shook a little in silent mirth as he took in the sight of his brother in the middle of Brooke and Anna, half a foot of space between each person, all sitting in silence.

"Well, if this is a bad time, I can come back—,"he offered with a smirk.

"NO!" Lucas practically shouted, rising from his seat. "Now is a good time! Now is fine. We'll be right back," he tossed over his shoulder while virtually steering Nathan into the living room. Finally, the brown-haired brother couldn't take it anymore and let out a good long chuckle.

"What was that?"

"In a word—uncomfortable."

"Not that it doesn't make you a lucky guy, but how did that happen!"

"Man, I don't even know. I was just hanging out at the River court, when Anna showed up. So we played HOG, and ended up talking and laughing… and we came back here to hang out. And then Brooke showed up."

"I thought you two were avoiding each other?"

"So did I… but she was just here. And I was surprised to see her, but I'm glad that she came. I've been missing her," Lucas admitted, looking everywhere but at Lucas.

"Believe me, I know. You just aren't the same without her."

"Yeah," Luke nodded in agreement.

"But how do you feel about Anna coming back? I mean, I know that we were at each other's throats during that whole period, but you were a mess, no offense…but everybody's heard the stories…"

"And you want the truth?" Lucas turned slightly to meet Nathan's eyes.

"Sure, that'd be nice," Nate joked, making himself at home on the couch.

"Well… it's really complicated…" he began clumsily. His brother nodded in understanding.

"And since we don't have that much time due to the two volatile girls in your bedroom, I'll take the Cliffs' notes version and you can save the real stuff for a basketball day."

"Alright. Short version? We met on accident, dated, fell in love, and it was amazing. I'd never felt that way about anybody else. I really thought I could've spent the rest of my life with her, and that was a really scary thought. But I stuck with it. Anyway, Felix and Brooke were already 'dating' at this time, and he really wasn't happy that I was closer to Brooke than he was ever going to be, I guess. So he filled Anna's head with some bull stories about me, and she fell for it, hook, line and sinker. Guess we were never as close as I thought. She broke things off with me, and left town later that week."

"And now she's back," Nate marveled, wondering where this girl got the courage to show up in Tree Hill again, never mind on Lucas Scott's doorstep. That family had some serious issues.

"And now she's back," Lucas confirmed softly.

Nathan opened his mouth, trying to think of something to say to erase the wounded look on his brother's face. It wasn't a look he was used to, and the blond was so much better at giving out advice. But the sentimental moment was shattered by Brooke's voice. She was definitely yelling, but neither could distinguish exactly what she was saying. Nathan finished by voicing both of their thoughts.

"That can't be good."

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They opened the door hesitantly, unsure of what damage they would find on the other side. To their immense relief, the brothers found that there was no physical damage done, no blood on any surfaces, and no obvious bruising. All they found were two girls with flushed faces and blazing eyes.

"Erm… hi guys," Brooke offered.

"Hey," Nathan said quietly.

"Did we hear yelling?" Lucas asked knowingly.

"No!" Anna said hurriedly. Brooke gave her a barely perceptible eyebrow raise, as Lucas rolled his eyes. More lies… but what else did he expect? He looked to Brooke to tell him the truth, but she met his eyes defiantly. Yes, he realized… they definitely needed to have a talk.

Minutes crawled by in silence as they all looked for something, anything, to alleviate the tension. Brooke, Nathan and Lucas let out a collective sigh of relief as they heard knocking on the door. The brunette nearly launched herself at the door to answer it first, but Lucas beat her there. Swinging it open, he came face to face with Haley James. Nathan's smile slid slowly off his face.

"Hey Luke. Um, is Brooke here? I went by her house, and Rosa said that she went to come see you, and—"

"She's right here, Hales," Lucas cut her off, sparing them all from her rant.

"Good to know that the help is helpful," Brooke tossed off with a grin. Haley smiled back before finally becoming aware of the other people in the room. Openly confused, Haley raised her eyebrows at Brooke, who shrugs. Haley looked to Nathan, who promptly looked away, and she frowned. They continued to stand there in silence, no one knowing exactly what to say to take away the awkward silence. Of course, it was Haley who found the words.

"So this is kinda weird, huh?"

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Humm… what do you guys think? Yeah, it was brought to my attention that Brooke and Lucas hadn't been in the same chapter in like three updates, so I definitely had to fix that... Lol. I'm sorry about the length, I'm just so busy lately that I'm trying to get updates for you guys when I can, but time is an issue lol. So anyway, please please please review, because I apparently need all the help I can get lol. Thanks for reading!

Xo Sam