"See, I told you so! I told you!" Peyton giggled.
"Shut up" Brooke giggled. "I'm excited though"
"I knew he would ask you out soon enough"
"I'm not his girlfriend, we're just going out to dinner you guys" Brooke pointed out. "As FRIENDS" she added emphatically.
"Yes, and you pull your best sweater and nicest Versace jeans out for a dinner with a friend?" Haley asked.
"Ok…so maybe I wanna look nice, is that a crime?"
"No, but I'm just saying. Lucas is looking for more in this dinner endeavor than you are" Haley said.
"I'm not going to sleep with him on our first date in 8 months" Brooke said.
"I don't mean that. I mean that he's trying to say something" Haley said.
"Say what? I wanna take you out to dinner?" Brooke asked.
"No! He's trying to say he loves you" Haley said.
"Bull" Brooke said.
"It's not! He does, Brooke"
"Yes, the way to tell someone you love them is take them out to dinner?" Brooke asked. "Since when?"
"He's trying to be traditional…you know, dinner, movie…just give him a chance, Brooke. He's really trying to make you see that he cares about you" Haley said.
"Fine. I'm not going any further to promote this dating business; I'm just going because-"
"Because you love him, too. You know you've been waiting for 8 months for him to ask you this" Haley pointed out.
"Have not" Brooke defended, but silently her conscience reprimanded her. Of course she was hoping Lucas would ask her to dinner. She was screaming with excitement inside. She just didn't want to show it in fear that if she got her hopes up it would all come crashing down.
"You look beautiful" Lucas said as he pulled out the chair for her.
"Thanks, you look quite handsome yourself Abercrombie model" Brooke giggled.
"Well, I put on my best" Lucas laughed. "And I got harassed by Nathan, Skillz, and my mother alike"
"Yeah?" Brooke asked, laughing. She could almost hear Haley saying "I told you so"
"So" Lucas said, scooting closer to Brooke. "What's up?"
"Nothing…it's getting chilly now" Brooke said.
"Yeah…how're college applications going?"
"I wanna go to the Art Institute of Charlotte to study fashion" Brooke said.
"Oh…I'm looking into UNC to study literature" Lucas said.
"Looks like we both wanna stay in state"
"Yeah…you know with mom and…" Lucas said.
"Yeah, I agree" Brooke said. She picked at her salad in silence for a few minutes.
Lucas watched her and smiled inwardly. She was nervous and he could tell. And it was funny, because Lucas and she had done a lot more than just go on a date in their previous attempt at a relationship.
"So…" Lucas said.
"So…I can't believe we have nothing to talk about" Brooke laughed nervously. "We usually talk over each other at a hundred miles per hour"
"Are you nervous?" Lucas asked.
"Yes, are you?" Brooke said honestly.
"Terrified…I really want it to work this time, Brooke; I meant what I said before you left; I meant every single word of it"
"Really?"
"Really"
"Are you ready to go to the park?" Lucas asked.
"Ready" Brooke said. "We're going to the park?"
"You'll see…"
"Oh, the fireworks!" Brooke said, remembering.
"I was hoping you'd forget, darn it!" Lucas laughed, grabbing her coat and helping her put it on.
"Lucas Scott, have you been taking chivalry classes?"
"No, my mother is just being anal about it lately" Lucas laughed. "She says her son better know how to treat a girl properly"
"I agree with your mother completely" Brooke giggled, grabbing her purse. "Shall we go?"
"We shall" Lucas held the door open and followed her out of the restaurant.
Meanwhile…
"I wonder how Brooke and Lucas's date is going" Peyton wondered, popping some popcorn into her mouth. Her, Haley, and Rachel (whom Brooke was close to best friends with) were having a sleepover.
"All three of our men are out with each other instead of us" Rachel sighed.
"Mouth's lucky he scored you" Peyton laughed, throwing some popcorn at Rachel.
"HEY I just cleaned yesterday" Haley said. "No popcorn throwing!"
"But moooom…" Rachel whined mockingly.
"Shush, Rachel, just because you have servants to clean up after you doesn't mean all of us do!" Haley teased.
"Well, I'll send some of them over here" Rachel sighed, snuggling under her blanket. "This movie is so sad" The Notebook was playing in the background.
"It's all I watched when I was on tour" Haley said. "I believed that just like Allie and Noah, Nathan and I would find our way back to each other"
"And you did"
"Thank god"
"Its so weird" Rachel speculated. "Peyton, you live for Jake, and Haley, you for Nathan. I wonder what it would be like to LIVE for someone"
"It's a strange feeling" Haley said. "There's no possible way to describe it"
"You two are so lucky…I really like Mouth, but I don't love him, I don't think…"
"You don't have to love someone to be in a good relationship Rach…just be honest with him and yourself- that's the most valuable lesson I've learned" Haley said.
"I wonder if Brooke is going to take Lucas back" Peyton said.
"Why, you don't want him to?" Rachel asked.
"Well, a part of me doesn't. Lucas was my first love…Jake IS it, but Lucas was my first and its weird to see him and my best friend together…but I love Jake now and I have no interest in Lucas"
"Right…"
"I don't! Seriously, if I did, I would tell you guys and Brooke. It wouldn't be fair to either of them if I hid it"
"It wouldn't…" Haley said. "Well…I think I'm going to pop some more popcorn"
"I want another brownie" Rachel said.
"We're out"
"Let's make some!" Rachel said enthusiastically.
"Little miss rich girl cooking? This should be a sight to see…" Haley laughed.
"Lucas Scott! Let go of me! Lucas…" Brooke gasped between breaths. "Lucas I'm so ticklish and you know it!"
"Yes and I'm using it 100 percent against you" Lucas said, tickling her harder.
"Meanie"
Lucas imitated Brookes pout. "I'm a meanie?"
"A big one" Brooke pouted back. "And I wanna watch the fireworks, so shush"
"The fireworks aren't singing, Brooke, they're just going off"
"SHUSH!"
"Sorry…" Lucas laughed.
"To make up for it, you're just going to have to kiss me" Brooke said bravely.
"Oh really?" Lucas teased.
"Really"
"What about taking it slow?"
"I never said turtles pace…"
A/N: Review please! )