So sorry for the über-long delay. I completely forgot about this fic. I hope you enjoy it anyway!
Chapter Four: The Battle Lost
Much to Lucas' irritation, his former girlfriend was becoming increasingly attached to Nathan Scott. During the past week, she was rarely seen without him, sparking rumors throughout the school that she would finally be the one to tame the infamous playboy of St James'.
Said playboy, meanwhile, was having similar thoughts of his own and they were terrifying him. This was all just a game still, wasn't it? It was his ticket to the big league, as the saying went. It wasn't serious. It couldn't be.
There were times, such as the previous evening, where the two had gone out to dinner at a local diner. The laidback atmosphere of the place had allowed the two to get to know one another better. Caught up in the moment, Nathan had found himself smiling genuinely throughout the course of the evening. He'd had to continuously remind himself that he was only playing a game. That he was only making jokes and telling Brooke stories of his childhood because of the bet and not because he felt the any sort of connection with the young brunette.
Yes, that was exactly it. Or, at least, that was what he told himself.
Brooke, for her part, was thoroughly enjoying herself. And to think, she'd been worried that Nathan was some sexed-up, sleazy co-ed. The past week had been the best of her life, and that included the Lucas years. Certainly, she'd loved Lucas... but this thing with Nathan felt so much more intense.
So it was no wonder why she didn't like Lucas' occasional comments and warnings against her new boyfriend.
Brooke blushed at the thought. The two hadn't really confirmed their dating status. They had been together for most of the time, and had been out on dates which had ended with kisses on more than one occasion, but she'd never referred to him as her 'boyfriend' before.
Just thinking it brought a smile to her face and caused a thrill of excitement to course through her veins. Boyfriend. Nathan was, for all intents and purposes, her Boyfriend with a capital 'B'.
"All I'm saying," there Lucas went again. Brooke rolled her eyes and purposely concentrated on her algebra homework as Lucas sat on her bed and went off on yet another anti-Nathan lecture, "You don't really know him. You just think you do."
"Luke," she began for what held the hundredth time that day; her tone was one of warning. "Drop it, all right? I'm a big girl. I can look after myself."
Lucas held up his hands in defeat but still continued, "I'm only looking out for you. You've known the guy for... three days."
"Eleven!"
"And can you really know somebody in eleven days?" he asked. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"I knew you for eleven hours before you asked me out." She challenged.
He glowered. "Yes, but I never stayed in your bed!"
"Oh for crap's sake!" She seethed. "Nathan has slept over the one time. On the floor, I might add! I've told you this over and over again, and if you think that just because I like the guy I'm going to jump into bed with him, you obviously don't know me as well as you keep saying you do."
Lucas sighed, realizing he was beginning to lose the battle. He glanced over at her crossed legs. "Just keep them closed, okay?" His suggestion was met with a hard punch from the girl
"Get out of my room, Lucas." She ground out, trying to stop herself from lunging at her friend. "Now."
Deciding it was best to follow her instructions for his own safety, Lucas got off the bed and walked across the room to the door, opening it up to find Nathan with a smirk etched across his face.
"Lucas," the other man was clearly amused. "Going so soon?"
"Just for a little while, so I wouldn't get too comfortable." Lucas glared pointedly at him.
Having caught the tail end of the argument from the hallway, Nathan nodded in condescendence. "Of course." He flashed Brooke a dazzling smile. "With such a hospitable lady, I can see how easy that is..."
Lucas growled under his breath and made a point of pushing past the other man, knocking shoulders against him and sending him reeling back a little. Although Lucas' pride in doing so was cut short with his old shoulder injury acting up again.
Seeing him wince, Nathan stuck out an arm in what looked to be support. "Careful there, Tiger," he grinned. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself while you're here on a sports scholarship." Only Lucas could see the underlying threat.
Nathan stepped into Brooke's room and shut the door behind him, "Squinty McSquint bugging you about me again!" he asked.
She sighed. "It's just because he cares, really he does."
He didn't look very convinced.
"I'm serious. I mean, he thinks he's looking out for me. Playing the big brother card now that boyfriend's off the table." She blushed and batted her lashes. "It is off the table, right?"
Nathan was taken somewhat by surprise. "Well... uh, I kind of assumed it was." He edged closer to the girl, putting on the Nathan Scott charm. "We've had fun the past few..." He thought it best not to say 'days', "…dates."
She smiled back up at him, full of innocence and naiveté. He felt his heart clench, and he refused to acknowledge what it might mean. This was supposed to be fun. She would enjoy herself and he would make sure of it.
But looking into her eyes, he couldn't help but feel guilty.
Brooke pushed her algebra homework away from the desk and stood up, "So if we're together, does that mean I'm your girlfriend?"
"I thought I'd made it obvious that you most definitely are." Nathan responded softly, a gentle smile playing on his lips.
Yes, just like his step-sister, he had subtle manipulation down to an art.
It was something he was proud of. He was an A-grade actor and had the impeccable timing of an improvisational artist. Plus, he was damn good looking.
And yet, he couldn't help but feel that he was floundering in this piece. As though he had lost control of the scene and the supporting cast was out-acting him.
He banished the thoughts from his mind. They simply wouldn't do. Not when he was so close to the final scene.
He was determined, after all, to get his happily ever after.
Of course, he forgot the fact that, more often than not, the best endings were also those that were the most unexpected.
Brooke's voice brought him back to reality.
"Do you want to hang out?" she asked, "I really don't feel like doing my homework and Lucas has been getting on my nerves."
Ah, that was music to his ears. He broke into a genuine grin. "That sounds like the best idea I've heard all day."
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Three hours later, Brooke and Nathan had found themselves playing an intense game of tongue tennis on top of her bed.
Nathan had gotten a little ahead of himself and attempted some subtle tactics, but Brooke made sure he wouldn't succeed, pushing his hands away when they wandered too near to places she didn't want them and occasionally breaking away slightly to give them both a chance to breathe.
Once or twice she thought that she'd heard him growl in frustration but those thoughts were pushed away.
If he really cared about her, he would respect her decisions.
Needless to say, Nathan was thoroughly enjoying himself. He had Brooke right where he wanted her, and it was only a matter of time before she gave herself to him. In the mean time, he would make sure to enjoy every moment leading up to what promised to be a glorious event. He wasn't exactly in any rush - he still had three days to complete his task - and the girl did possess a very talented tongue.
That would happen soon enough, he told himself.
Brooke's hands found his shoulders and pushed him away from her. "Nathan..." she began.
"Brooke..." he continued as he pressed his lips against hers again, hoping to make her forget whatever she was going to say. If they stopped, it would give doubt an opportunity to creep in - and that was the last thing he wanted. He'd worked too hard for this.
She pulled away from the kiss and spoke before he could stop her. "Nathan, I... I think I love you."
That was more than enough to stop Nathan from what he was doing.
"What?" he asked. The deal had been to sleep with her, not get her to fall in love with him.
"I love you," she said a little more confidently.
His mind reeled. Was this some sort of bookwormish prelude to sex? If so, he had to tell her, it wasn't exactly making Nathan Jr. want to continue. It was, instead, making his heart race with panic and Mr. Floppy was rapidly making his return.
She touched his lips slightly, "Do you love me?" she asked. She sounded almost like a child and Nathan could see clouds of regret beginning to form behind her eyes. He realized that if he wanted a chance to win the bet and get to High Flyers, he'd have to play along.
And if he broke her heart, then so be it. In a month or so he would be playing against the best young basketball players in the country and she'd be easy to forget.
She was just another conquest.
He forced a smile and nodded, "Me too, babe." He dipped his head forward towards her but she pulled back.
Her lower lip quavered slightly and he frowned. Perhaps that had been a little less than the romantic outburst that she'd been expecting.
He swallowed. 'High Flyers, Nate. Think of High Flyers.'
Cupping her face gently, he conjured a weak smile. "I love you, too, Brooke."
Her face broke out into a huge grin and she placed a tender kiss on his cheek. "So you understand that I want to wait? That I can't do this until it feels right."
'What? But... High Flyers'!
He fought the urge to groan.
"Of course I understand." How could he fix this? How! Then it hit him, and he smiled somewhat suggestively. "Besides... there are a lot of things we can do before hand." And he was counting on his talents in those areas to bring her to that breaking point.
Sliding his hand down to her shoulder, and then her breast, he leant forward for a slow, sensual kiss.
'Oh please, God, Let this work.'
When she pulled away and removed his hand, he knew he didn't have a chance in heaven, let alone hell.
"Look, this really means a lot to me." She told him firmly, "Lucas told me he understood and then proceeded to boink the first blonde floozy that came along. I need to know that you won't do the same."
"I would never do that to you," he responded before attempting to lighten the mood by adding, "Blondes really aren't my style."
She rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"I love you, Brooke." He repeated, the words beginning to feel more comfortable in his mouth. "Which is why I think we should get married."
She gaped at him. "Look, if you don't really want to wait for the sex. I'll understand if you want to, you know, break up." She shifted into a sitting position.
Which is precisely what Nathan didn't want. He knew Brooke valued a monogamous, committed relationship and everything would be lost if they broke up.
"No, no!" He began doing some damage control, "I meant that… I know we've only known each other for a little while but I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Nathan was surprised how easily the lines fell out of his mouth. He was weaving lies faster than he could think of them. But it seemed to do the trick.
Eyeing him skeptically for a moment, she softened. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"Like the plague," he tried to joke.
"People don't get married in high school."
"Why not? What if it just feels right?" He asked. "Who cares if we're in high school?"
"Our parents would kill us!"
"Yes, I can see how my parents would just hate for me to have married such a smart, kind, caring all-around American girl. Your parents on the other hand…" he rolled his eyes, "Whatever happens, I have a trust fund."
"Won't your parents cut you off?" Brooke asked. "I know mine would."
"So? I'll work for a living."
"You wouldn't last a day!" Brooke laughed. Nathan shrugged.
"Fine, then you can work. You can sell your body and I'll be your pimp and together we'll ride off happily into the sunset… or crack house."
"You're making this sound so tempting!" Nathan took hold of her hands.
"Brooke, we can make this work."
"If this is about se-" she began. He shook his head forcefully, willing her to rid those thoughts out of her mind.
"No! This is because I've never felt this way before. Nobody really knows me like you do. Nobody's ever given me the chance that you've given me. It's easy for people to see the tough, playboyish exterior but none of them ever looked close enough to see the real me. Not until you came along." Nathan had begun the speech as means to get her to agree, but for some reason the words had stuck a chord in his body and before he knew it, he had been speaking from his heart.
"Oh, Nathan…" she sighed.
"Brooke Davis, please marry me." He proposed, though he made it a point not to look directly in her eyes.
Brooke's head willed her to be reasonable and attempt to see beneath the surface of his proposal. It knew she was too young, too reckless and too naïve to rush into marriage and the last thing she wanted to do was screw up her life and break her parents' hearts in the process.
But her heart… Her heart told her something different. It drowned out the logical voices in her head and told her that this was romance. This was love. This was everything that she'd been waiting for.
"I'm going to regret this…" she said to nobody in particular before turning to Nathan, "Yes, Nathan. I'll marry you."
Nathan smiled as he kissed her.
High Flyers was his.
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Lucas knocked on Brooke's door. Armed with flowers, he was ready to swallow his pride and apologize to Brooke… as long as that meant he'd have her in his life and could keep her away from the arms of Nathan Scott – of course there was the promise of High Flyers – but for Lucas, his main priority was Brooke being far, far away from Nathan.
Siberia would be far enough, he thought to himself.
He frowned when the door didn't open immediately and knocked again. "Brooke! It's me, open up!" he called through the door.
The door flew open to reveal Nathan standing in front of him.
"Flowers? For me?" Nathan took the bunch of carnations from Lucas' hands and took a long sniff, "You shouldn't have."
"What are you doing here?" Lucas bit out, his teeth making a grinding noise. Nathan smirked.
"What do you think?" he replied. "I should put these in water." Nathan stepped into the room and Lucas followed, afraid of what he'd find.
There were no blankets or pillows on the floor this time. Lucas gulped as his eyes flew to the bed… the unmade bed.
Two sets of clothing were strewn around the room. His and hers.
Candles were littered on surfaces, the wicks burnt out and Lucas spied a Sarah McLachlan CD case next to the CD player.
The very same album Brooke had once told him she'd listen to on her wedding night.
He silently cried out; 'Let this be a joke, let this be a joke.' Lucas turnedon Nathan, pushing him forcefully against the wall. "Where is she? What did you do to her?"
Nathan's smirk never faltered.
"Lucas?" Brooke emerged from the shower and looked at the scene in front of her. "Lucas! Put him down! Put him down right now!" she barked. Lucas reluctantly released his grip on Nathan and moved towards Brooke – who brushed past him and attended to the other man.
"What's going on?" Lucas asked.
"I should ask you the same thing, Lucas Eugene Scott!" Brooke replied, clearly angry with him.
"Eugene?" Nathan chuckled. Lucas glared.
"What is he doing here?"
"What do you think?" Nathan replied. "I spent the night."
"Yeah, right." Lucas shot back. He wouldn't believe it unless it came from Brooke herself. "Brooke?" Brooke shrugged and slid a hand around Nathan's waist. Lucas sighed. "I can't believe this! I thought you were going to wait until you were ready; until you were married."
"I did." Brooke replied.
"He slipped something in your drink!" Lucas snapped his fingers as if he'd come up with the answer. "He waited until you were unconscious before raping-"
"Lucas!" Brooke chuckled in disbelief. "You don't really think that."
"What am I supposed to think, Brooke?" Lucas yelled at her. "You… you're not supposed to have sex until you got married. You promised yourself. You told me that line over and over again throughout the eleven months we dated and you know this jerk for eleven days and you sleep with him!"
"I didn't just sleep with him."
"Oh, I don't need details!" Lucas groaned.
"Lucas," Brooke took hold of his arm. "You may as well be the first to know."
"Well, I hope you're not going to spread this around school because-"
"We got married last night." Brooke told him. Lucas stared at her.
"Huh?"
"Nathan proposed and we got married." She explained, a grin forming on her lips. "We waited until we were married and then we made our first night memorable. We didn't just do it on the couch or anything. It was special." Brooke gushed. "I know you're mad and angry and think we're making a mistake – but we love each other and you just have to accept that."
Lucas shook his head. "You got married?"
"Yeah." She nodded and showed off her golden wedding band. "Aren't you even going to say congratulations?"
Lucas sighed in defeat and pulled Brooke into a hug, "Congratulations." He told her. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you, Lucas."
Nathan stepped forward and extended his hand towards Lucas, who shook it though his grip was slightly firmer than the brunette's.
"Congratulations," Lucas told him, though both men knew the hidden message inside it.
You win.
However, Lucas knew that he may have lost the battle, but he hadn't lost the war.
He'd get High Flyers and get even with Nathan, even if it meant having to break his best friend's heart.
To Be Continued…