Chapter Twenty One – A Life Full Of Surprises
All three girls mouth's dropped when Brooke flung opened the front door. A tall blonde that the three girls hadn't seen since graduation, stood there proudly. Much taller then they remembered him, he had filled out nicely. Brooke hardly recognized him. Her mouth still hung open, as she searched for something, anything, to say to this blast from the past. Luckily, silence didn't last long between the two, the visitor broke the silence.
"Hey Brooke." Mouth smiled.
Brooke gasped. "Mouth?" Brooke screamed and hugged him. "Oh my God!"
Mouth laughed hugging her back. "Long time no see."
"Oh my God! Let me look at you!" Brooke pulled back from the hug and looked Mouth up and down. "God you got hot!"
"Thanks?" Mouth laughed slightly raising an eyebrow.
Peyton and Haley stood up and walked over to where Brooke was still clutching on to Mouth tightly. Practically prying Brooke off of him, Peyton smiled.
"Hey Mouth." Peyton laughed giving him a hug. "Where have you been!"
"Stalking Haley's every move, and let me tell you, this girl is pretty freaky." Mouth laughed.
"Ha-ha. Very Funny. Come here." Haley pulled Mouth into a tight hug.
"Its been a long time." Mouth laughed.
"Too long." Brooke pouted. "Okay. Sit." She said pushing the two girls away from the doorway, she grabbed Mouths hand and pulled him into the living room. As she watched him sit, she flopped down next to him tucking her legs underneath her she grinned. "Now. Tell me everything!"
The three girls laughed as Mouth blushed. Opening his mouth to say something, he seemed to be searching for the right words. Somehow telling them about the vigorous hours he had spent in the gym "bulking up" to come back and prove himself worth to the girls of Tree Hill, didn't sound like the right answer. A lot had happened since high school. He wasn't the same person anymore. He had grown into his big ears and goofy smile, had had many girlfriends since the horrible Erica Marsh dumped him, and Rachel Gatina turned his insides inside out. Mouth took a deep breath and smiled at the three girls anxiously waiting for him to give them something to make them feel apart of his live. He liked this feeling. A feeling of being wanted. Something he had desperately searched for in high school, but sadly never found.
"There's not really much to tell." Mouth smiled. "Stalking Haley James is pretty much a twenty-four/seven job."
"You're such a loser." Haley through the small hot pink throw pillow at him and laughed.
"I try." Mouth laughed. Fidgeting with his hands, he shrugged. "Not much has happened, other then the physical stuff, you know-"
Watching Mouth fidget with his hands he eyes widened when she saw a gold band on his left hand. "Oh my god. You're married?"
"Yeah…kind of a long story." Mouth said not really wanting to talk about the whole marriage and annulment to the Pamela Anderson wannabe he had met pumping iron at Gold's Gym.
Luckily he was interrupted by the sound of a pound on the front door followed by Lucas Scotts voice on the other end. "Brooke! Open the door! I know you're in there!"
Mouth raised an eyebrow at Peyton, but she shook her head and pointed towards Brooke. When Mouth had left Tree Hill, to San Diego, Peyton and Lucas were pretty hot and heavy. Even though he had read about the on-and-off again relationship between her and Chris Keller, he wasn't sure if the two had kept in contact over the past years.
"Brooke! Please, I need to talk to you!" Lucas continued.
Peyton looked over at Brooke and raised an eyebrow, as if asking her whether or not she planned on opening the door. Peyton frankly didn't want to see Lucas, but she dreaded worse the idea of listening to him pound on the door calling for Brooke. Brooke raised an eyebrow back at Peyton, which let her know that she just planned on ignoring him until he went away. Sighing Haley pushed herself off of the ground, where she had only recently planted herself down next to Haley, and walked over to the front door. Swinging it open, she was almost smacked in the forehead by Lucas pounding fist. As soon as he saw her, he pulled back quickly and straightened up.
"I didn't know you were hear." He told Haley, staring into her eyes, almost as if he could see through them.
For some reason she had to the urge to kiss him and smack him all at once. Coolly she raised and eyebrow, letting her hip pop to the side as she rested her hand on it. "What do you want Lucas?"
"I…" Lucas opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it. Looking past Haley, he saw Peyton and Brooke, and some guy on the couch next to Brooke. "I…just…"
"You just what?" Brooke asked him from across the room, getting more annoyed as each moment passed.
Lucas kept glaring at the guy on the couch. He seemed strangely familiar to Lucas. Practically ignoring he raised an eyebrow and nodded towards the guy on the couch asking Haley who it was.
Haley sighed and rolled her eyes. "What? You don't recognize him?" Haley spun around leaving the front door wide opened and walked back to Mouth and the girls. As Mouth stood up from the couch, and walked over to Lucas, Haley took his place on the couch next to Brooke.
"Hey Luke." Mouth smiled shaking Lucas's hand. There was obviously the same angst in the air still in Tree Hill, just where he had left it in high school. Except now everyone was older, and with better hair. "Mouth." He laughed, noticing Lucas was still confused as to whom he was shaking hands with.
"Hey man." Lucas said eyes widening, he looked over at Haley, who was now sitting on the couch with Brooke. He raised an eyebrow at her, to make sure that this was really Mouth. She nodded and then turned to Peyton, and said something he couldn't hear. "Good to see you." Lucas smiled warmly at his old friend.
"Right back at you." Mouth smiled, looking back at the girls. He could tell all of the girls wished Lucas wasn't there, but he didn't want to get in the middle of it. They were all his friends, and he wasn't going to jeopardize any friendship. At least not so soon after getting back into town.
"You can leave now." Brooke shot a glare a Lucas.
Lucas didn't seem to take the hint. And if he had caught on to what she was implying, he was flat out ignoring her. Keeping his attention on Mouth, and not the three girls behind him, that he had major drama with, he grinned. "How's life been treating you? Are you still dating Chastity?"
"Not really." Mouth rolled his eyes. Lucas and him, had kept in touch over the past few years. Nothing like back in high school, but occasionally, they would call each other up. Talking about Chastity made Mouths stomach hurt, he had never hated someone so much in his life. That's why he was back in Tree Hill. To try and get away from Hurricane Chastity. "She's crazy. I needed to get away."
"Well you're just in luck. There's plenty of crazy around here." Lucas said directed towards the girls. All three gave him a angry stare. Lucas laughed it off. "Haley. Want to go for a walk with me?"
"No." Peyton answered for her.
"I believe I said Haley." Lucas shot back.
"I believe I don't care." Peyton glared at him.
Rolling his eyes with a laugh Lucas walked over to Haley and helped her up off of the couch. "Don't worry ladies, I'll bring her back in one piece." Haley jerked her hand away from Lucas's, which surprised him. "What?"
"I thought you were here to see Brooke." She raised an eyebrow.
"To find you." Lucas smirked. Leaning in, he grabbed her hand in his again and whispered into her ear just loud enough for only her to hear. "I'll make it worth your while."
Haley grinned. As much as she wanted to hate him right now, she couldn't. Turning back to everyone else she shrugged. "I'll be back." She told them. Holding up a finger, telling Lucas to wait, she grabbed jeans and a t-shirt off of the floor and ran back to the bathroom to change.
Brooke and Peyton gave Lucas an angry glare, but Lucas simply laughed it off. "Don't look so sad, she said she would be back." Lucas saw Haley emerge from the hallway and he smiled at her. Grabbing her hand in his, he gave Mouth a small wave. "Give me a call." He told him with a smile, as him and Haley walked out the front door, he shut it behind him.
Brooke kept her eyes on the door. She couldn't believe Haley had just up at left with him. As the three continued their conversation of pointless nothings that had been happening in their lives and the traumatic love experience Peyton called Chris Keller, Brooke couldn't keep her mind off what was happening between Lucas and Haley. She had no right to be jealous, she was married to Nathan. But for reasons beyond her knowledge the fact that they were together made her angry. She wondered if it was because she still wanted to be with Lucas, even after everything that had happened. Shaking that thought out of her head, she tried to place herself back in the conversation, but her thoughts kept drifting away back to Lucas.
