Author's Note: Okay, please don't hate me. I realize its been forever since I last updated this story, but you would not believe the writer's block I have had. I rewrote this chapter twice, because I wasn't satisfied with the finished product. I'm back, though, and I just wanted to say this: Just because this chapter puts a certain twosome together, this does NOT mean they will be the pair at the end. I do know who I want together, and it will make quite a few of you happy. But, my lips are sealed. Please enjoy this chapter. Oh, yeah, thanks to all my reviewers who wouldn't let up! I love you guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill, or the characters.

Chapter Three

"Reigniting"

The following morning, Brooke awoke to the sun shining through her windows. She looked over at Nathan and couldn't help but grin. His arm was slung around her, as they had slept in close proximity the entire night. He was sound asleep, his breathing labored.

Brooke tried to slip out from under his reach, but in his subconscience state, he tightened his arm. She sighed. She didn't want to wake him up, but she desperately needed to take a shower. She nudged him lightly on his chest. "Nate... Nathan."

He groaned, rolling over, and thus removing his arm. "What..."

She smiled. "Nothing, go back to sleep," she whispered before preceding into her bathroom.

A few hours later, everyone was in the kitchen eating breakfast. Peyton had made a run for donuts, while Brooke was happy with cereal. She was sitting with Nathan and Lucas at the table. Lucas was engrossed in the morning paper, while Nathan and Brooke were having light conversation.

She said jokingly, "Nathan, tonight stay on your side of the bed."

He pretended to be offended. "You should try taking your own advice. Who knew you were such a mobile sleeper. I swear, you never stayed still."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever." She wasn't in the mood to argue. She had enjoyed her sleep last night, and she knew he felt the same.

Lucas had tired of hearing the two of them talk, and had walked outside. Brooke watched him go. "What's with him?"

Nathan had agreed to keep quiet, so he said, "Don't know, he's been weird lately."

Brooke bit her lip. She had barely spoken to Lucas since they arrived yesterday, and it felt horrible to not talk to him. She stood up, and followed him outside. He was sitting on one of the deck chairs, and Brooke pulled one up next to him.

He glanced at her as she sat down. She smiled shyly. "Hey."

"Hey," he said shortly, refusing to meet her eyes.

She sighed. No one said this was going to be easy. "So, um, I know we haven't really had the chance to sit down and talk yet..."

"No, we haven't. Maybe if you stopped ignoring me, it wouldn't be like that." She winced at the tone of his voice.

"Lucas, I haven't been ignoring you." This was the truth. She had simply been hanging out with Nathan more. "Its just that things are strange between us now."

"They don't have to be."

"Yes, they do. We're not together anymore, and we ended things on uncomfortable terms."

"Brooke..." It pained him to discuss the past. The only person that knew exactly what had happened was Nathan.

He looked at her in surprise as she grabbed hold of his hand. "Luke, I don't want things to be like this either. I miss talking to you. You were my best friend, even though at the same time my boyfriend. It saddened me when I moved that I couldn't talk to you about stupid stuff anymore. Sure, I had Peyton, but it wasn't the same. Lucas, I want us to be friends. I do. I don't care about Carly or anything like that. We can just sort of... I don't know, start over."

He stared at her. "Start over?" He repeated.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I won't lie to you, six months ago my heart was hurting like hell. But now? I'm fine. We both moved on, and I want to be your friend. Luke, I couldn't stand the thought of losing you completely." She spoke from her heart. He meant so much to her; he was a huge part of her history.

He nodded. "Okay."

She grinned. "Great. Okay, as a first sign of friendship, what do you say we go swimming?"

He looked around. "You don't have a pool."

She rolled her eyes. "In the ocean, dumbass."

He laughed. "I was kidding, calm down." He stood up, and went inside to change. Brooke had also stood, but stayed where she was. She was leaning over the railing when Nathan came out to join her.

"Did I just see you two actually smiling together?"

"Yeah, weird huh?" She turned and smiled at him. "Jealous?" She teased.

"No!" He defended himself, but not very well. "Why would I be jealous of him? He's my brother, and you are Brooke."

"Exactly," she winked at him before walking back into the house. She ran right into Peyton. "P Sawyer! How are you today?"

Peyton was looking at her warily. "Fine, why are you acting weird?"

"How am I acting weird? I'm just in a good mood."

"Yeah, why? And why are you and Nathan talking in low whispers every time I turn around? And what was up with last night? And why is he sleeping in your bedroom?"

Brooke took a step back. "Woah, chill. Okay, I would totally love to answer every last one of those questions, however, its my day off and I intend to spend it on the beach."

Peyton watched as her friend disappeared upstairs. She was shaking her head as Nathan walked back inside. "What's the matter with you?"

Peyton shrugged. "Nothing, Brooke is just confusing me."

He sighed. "Yeah, me too."

--

"Lucas! Come on," Brooke yelled up towards the house. Lucas, who had emerged only moments before, rolled his eyes. He had thrown on his swimsuit and an old Ravens basketball tshirt.

"Patience, Brooke." When he got close enough to the shore, and teased, "You're a nurse, you should use it more often."

She narrowed her eyes as she stood ankle deep in the cool water. "Yeah?" He smirked at her, and she leaned down, and splashed him.

He jumped at the coldness. "Brooke!" He glared at her, taking off his damp shirt. She stared at his chest. When she realized what she was doing, she snapped out of her mesmerized state.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"Sure you are," he smiled, wading into the water with her. Soon, the two of them were both waist deep.

They were talking about random things, mainly their friends. Each were equally happy for Jake and Peyton, and worried about Nathan. Brooke didn't have much to say on that subject, though.

"I like this," Brooke commented, a few feet from him, jumping the waves.

He looked at her questioningly. "Like what?"

"Us, being friends. It feels nice. I've missed talking to you."

He chuckled. "I've missed talking to you, too, Brooke." If only she knew how much. He knew he should tell her, but it wasn't the right time. He forced himself to stop thinking about all that had been going on, and focus on having fun during his vacation.

--

Later that day, Lucas and Jake had gone into town for lunch. Peyton had a class, which left Nathan and Brooke. They were laying on the beach, both lost in their own little world.

Brooke looked over and squinted at Nathan. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

She shrugged. "No reason, you have just been acting strange."

He paused. He seemed to be hesitating with what he wanted to say, as though he couldn't find the words. "Why did we keep our relationship a secret?"

The question caught Brooke off guard, and she sat up. "Nate, what's going on?"

He shook his head, as though shaking off the recent conversation. "Nothing, nevermind. I think I'm going to go back up to the house." He cursed himself for bringing their past up.

Brooke opened her mouth but snapped it shut as he picked his stuff up and went towards the beach house. She regretted the way she handled the question. She could have easily answered it, but she held back. She didn't want to admit she had been thinking about their tryst a lot lately, even though it had happened so long ago. Each time she saw Nathan she remembered the summer they had shared. It was so tender, and full of love. It was also secret. Peyton didn't even knew. Brooke had wanted so many times to tell her, but she never did. Lucas didn't know either, and that was even harder on both Nathan and Brooke.

Lucas. Brooke knew if Lucas found out, he would hate her. They had not been a couple during that summer, but Brooke knew Lucas so well. He would be hurt, and wouldn't believe Brooke when she told him how much he meant to her. Means. He still means so much. What they had once was special to her, and they were just becoming friends again. He was her first love, but he wouldn't see it that way. Which is why it would kill him if he knew. Then again, Brooke was so tired of keeping it a secret. She was sick of lying to Peyton. And Lucas deserved to know the truth.

Ten minutes later, Brooke quietly opened her bedroom door. Nathan was lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. He glanced over at Brooke as she crawled up on the bed next to him.

She laid next to him, only inches away. She touched his hand, and slowly intertwined her fingers with his. "Nate, I still think about that summer. We kept the whole thing a secret because neither of us were ready to hurt those who had hurt us. If we went public, we would hurt not only Lucas, but Haley as well. Both relationships were only recently ended."

"Do you think things would be different?"

She thought for a moment about his question. "Different between us? I'm not sure. Maybe. The thing is, it only brought us closer. And I would never change that. If we had told people, Lucas and I never would have gotten back together, I don't think."

Nathan laid there quietly, taking it all in. "It was such a long time ago."

"Not really," Brooke said softly. "Sometimes it feels like just yesterday that we were sneaking off to the river court after dark."

He grinned. "We did some crazy things."

"You wanted me so bad," she joked. Growing serious, she gave his hand a squeeze. "That was one of the best summers I ever had."

"Me too." He looked off to the side. "I miss you, Davis."

"I miss you too. We still see each other a few times a year."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I mean I miss us. A few times a year isn't enough for me, Brooke."

Her throat caught in her voice as she turned her body towards him, rubbing her thumb on his hand. "Nathan..." She was caught off by his lips crashing into hers. She kissed him back passionately, and he wrapped his arms around her. She was disappointed when he pulled away.

"Was that the wrong thing to do?"

She shook her head, smiling up at him. "No," she whispered, pulling him towards her once again.

Later that afternoon, the two heard the door downstairs open. They had spent the last two hours just talking, with an occasional kiss slipping into their conversation. Brooke had forgotten how good it felt to kiss Nathan. He really lived up to every expectation.

She almost groaned as she heard her friends enter the house. "Dammit..."

He smiled sadly at her. "Back to reality, huh?"

She sighed, frustrated. She hated hiding things. "I guess so. Its just..." She trailed off, not sure if she wanted to say what was on her mind.

"Its just what?" He trailed his finger lightly along her arm, making her smile slightly.

"Is it going to be just like that summer? We have tons of fun, and then its over? And no one ever finds out?"

He sighed. "I don't know. It would hurt Luke if we told him."

"It would hurt him even worse if we didn't tell him, and he somehow found out."

Nathan thought about what she was saying. "I don't want this to be a fling. I want to be with you. Even if that means hurting some people along the way. So, yes, we can tell them. But not tonight."

Her eyes lit up at the thought of going 'public'. "Really?" She leaned over and gave him an appreciative kiss. "Why not tonight?"

"Tonight you're mine," he whispered in her ear as he started kissing her again.

She giggled at the touch of his lips on her soft skin. "Okay, then when will we tell him?"

"A few days, maybe a week. When do you want to tell him?"

She shrugged. "A week sounds good to me. I just want to be with you right now."

"BROOKE!" Peyton screamed up the stairs. Again, Brooke rolled her eyes, and started to move away from him. He held onto her, kissing her quickly.

Brooke groaned. "Can I tell P. Sawyer? Please? She will be so pissed if I keep this from her, and she won't tell Luke."

Nathan couldn't say no to her, so he complied, "Yeah, but she has to swear not to tell Jake. Because Jake and Luke are best friends." Brooke nodded, and kissed him on the cheek, mouthing a thank you.

The two made their way downstairs, where Lucas and Peyton were in the kitchen. Peyton eyed her friend. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, we were napping," Brooke lied.

"Together?" Lucas spoke up from the back of the kitchen. This time it was Nathan's turn to give his brother a look.

Brooke grabbed Peyton by the hand, and dragged her outside. Nathan kept staring at Lucas, who in turn was staring at him.

"What?" Nathan snapped.

"What's going on with you and Brooke?" Lucas wasn't an idiot, anyone could see the two were acting strange.

"Nothing." Nathan, as Brooke had done moments before, lied. They had agreed not to tell anyone right away, and both would stick to their word. Nathan hated lying to Lucas, though.

The two had always been so close, and Nathan had been there when Lucas was going through hell last Christmas.

--

Outside, Peyton was giving Brooke a wary look. Brooke doesn't randomly "nap" with a guy in the middle of the day. This was Brooke Davis, Peyton wasn't about to be fooled.

Brooke knew exactly what Peyton was thinking, so she suggested, "Want to take a walk? Or go to the mall or something? Because what I'm about to tell you can't leave this conversation."

Peyton's face changed, and she said, "Are you okay? Are you sick?"

Brooke laughed. "No, nothing like that. Come on, I'm in the mood for Starbucks, and maybe some shopping."

The two girls soon found themselves seated in the famous coffee shop, and Peyton looked at Brooke expectantly. Brooke had refused to utter a word in the car, which of course drove her friend crazy.

"Before we start, you have to promise not to tell your boy toy, okay? No one can know right now."

"Fine. Now tell me!" Peyton was not known to be very impatient, but Brooke had begun rubbing off on her.

"Remember a few summers ago, when I was in Tree Hill for a while? It was between the time Lucas and I weren't together. We hadn't been together since high school, and I didn't start dating him again until later that year."

Peyton had a feeling of where this was going, but she kept quiet.

"Anyways, Nathan was here, I was here, and one thing led to another... Nathan and I were an item that summer, I guess you could say. We were together, and we really fell for each other. We never told anybody because we didn't want to hurt Lucas or Haley. We broke things off when I went back to New York, but of course remained friends. The point is, we are back together. We talked about it all day, and I've really missed him. He's not the same as Lucas, thank God. Don't get me wrong, I love Lucas like there was no tomorrow. But he broke my heart, and I don't need him or anyone like him. Besides, he has Carly and their kid. Nathan is a really good match for me, and I am falling for him again. Which is hard, considering his brother is living with us. Are you going to say anything?"

Peyton had been sitting there quietly, taking it all in. When she finally spoke, all she could say was, "Okay."

Brooke's mouth parted slightly. "That's it? I just poured my heart out to my best friend, and she simply responds with, 'Okay'?"

Peyton smiled. "Brooke, I'm not mad at you or anything. Sure, I am a little hurt that you didn't tell me about you and Nathan, but I'm not going to get mad over the past. I am, though, going to say something about your relationship with him right now. You can't keep this a secret forever, the longer you do, the more hurt Luke is going to get. But I'm happy for you, and for Nathan. He hasn't had a serious girlfriend since Hales, and lets face it, she isn't coming back. But you should talk to Lucas, soon." She was very persistent about this, and Brooke took notice.

"Peyton, what's going on? What are you not telling me?" Brooke could read Peyton like a book.

"Nothing," Peyton answered firmly. "Look, lets go shopping. I need to relax. Our house is full of drama and its only been twenty four hours."

Brooke giggled, and threw their stuff away. The two friends linked arms and made their way to the car to start one of their countless shopping excursions. The uneasiness didn't lift from Brooke's shoulder that Peyton was keeping something from her, something about Lucas. But she decided she wouldn't let that bother her today.

There ya go! Hope you guys like it, please review, it really motivates me! I promise it won't take five months to update again.

-Emilie