Little White Lies

The View From the Afternoon

Lucas

"He what?"

I stare at the phone, almost expecting it to yell 'April Fools!' at me. No way can what I'm hearing be true. It makes absolutely no sense. I mean, it might of made sense last year, but not now. Not with the 'new-improved' Nathan.

"I know. It's crazy, right? I mean, if Haley didn't sound so terrible over the phone I would have thought she was joking. And the worst part is, Nathan new this girl was Haley's room mate. I mean, why would he do that?" Brooke is saying, rambling on in that adorable way she does when she's excited or full of brand new gossip.

"I… I don't get it," I say like a jock with a mathematical equation. "They were… perfect."

"I know! I think I should talk to Nathan. I mean, I know what he did was totally wrong, but we have only got one side of the story. I mean, I don't see how Nathan could have done it, but he could tell us."

"You think Haley might be lying?" I ask, my voice edged with annoyance. I mean, from what she's just said, it sounds like she thinks Haley is exaggerating.

"No!" Brooke shouts. "No… well, no, no. Absolutely not. Why, do you?"

"Not at all. Haley isn't really the lying type. Look, why don't you let me ring Nathan? We can talk like, brother to brother."

There's silence on the other side of the phone and Brooke takes a deep breath. "Can I trust you not to lose it?"

"No. But I promise I'll only go mad if Nathan is a complete jerk, okay?"

"Uhm… okay. I guess. But ring me back and tell me everything! Seriously Mr. Scott. Don't miss out a word."

"Brooke, I'll see you tomorrow, I'm coming up to New York for the day, remember?"

"Uh, but that's tomorrow," she says, like I'm simple. I don't think I will ever understand women.

"Lucas man," my friend Thomas yells, making me turn around to see him running towards me, his glasses hanging precariously on one ear.

"Whats up?" I ask. Thomas stops beside me and takes deep breaths. I laugh, he's not the most athletic person in the world. He was amazed when I told him I play basketball, said he couldn't be bothered.

"Uh… someone's here to see you," Thomas spits out. "She came to our dorm and asked for you. I said I'd find you."

"Why didn't she come and find me herself?" I ask, already sure I know the answer and unable to keep the smile off my face.

"Well, she's kind of… persuasive," Thomas says with a shrug, his dark cheeks flaming up.

"I bet she is," I laugh. "Is she still there?"

Thomas nods, and I head towards my dorm. I tell you, college life agrees with me quite a lot. I feel like I was made to go to Princeton, and the fact that it's only one state over from NYU is a bonus too. I see Brooke quite a lot, only she obviously doesn't think it's enough, because she's sat in my dorm room now with a short skirt and a suggestive smile.

"Hey you," she greets, jumping up as soon as I come in and wrapping her arms around me. I so expected college to tear us apart a little, but it's done the exact opposite. Not being with each other every day means that the times we are together are fantastic. We haven't had a single argument yet.

I put my hands on Brooke's waist and kiss her on the mouth. When she pulls away, she looks around my dorm room and raises an eyebrow. "This is suspiciously tidy. Should I be worried?"

I laugh and look around. "Thomas is freakishly tidy. If I leave a towel on the floor he spazzes."

"Thomas? Oh, is that the guy that ran about after me like a manservant?" Brooke asks, kissing me again.

"That would be him. What are you doing here? You've never came to Princeton. You said you thought New Jersey was 'icky'."

Brooke laughs and throws herself down on my bed. "Well, I was wrong. It's great here. Everything looks so… smart."

"Uh-huh? You know, I could swear that I was talking to you on the phone about five minutes ago."

"Oh, yeah, I was driving."

"That's very irresponsible Brooke," I say in a mock stern voice, kissing her shoulder. Brooke laughs and pulls my head up, kissing me on the lips.

"What are you going to do about it, Lucas?"

Twenty minutes later I button my shirt back up and can't wipe the smile off my face.

"You know, I should be angry at you," Brooke says from where she's laying on my bed under my bed covers.

"Oh yeah? Why's that? Oh, and I'd just like to say that my bed looks great with you in it."

Brooke laughs again and poses as if she's in front of a camera. "Okay, seriously Lucas. You haven't rung Nathan yet, have you?"

No. I was trying to put it off. I'm not sure that I'll be able to keep my temper with my little brother, but I didn't want Brooke ringing either because Nathan would probably manipulate her onto his side, and I think that Haley really needs our support right now. After all, she was the one who was cheated on. "I'll ring him tomorrow," I say vaguely, hoping she won't ask again.

No luck. She grabs my cell phone out of my jeans pocket (which I was looking for) and holds it out. "Now. While I'm here. I want to hear what he has to say for himself."

I consider saying no and potentially starting an argument, but I refuse to argue over Nathan. I take the phone and dial my brothers number in. After two rings…

"You know, I'd rather not," I say, closing the phone. Brooke narrows her eyes and stares at me.

"Why?" she asks.

I shrug. Why indeed? "Well, because if we ring him, he'll be able to twist everything. It's probably best if we talk to him face to face, that way he can't charm his way out of it so easily, 'cause Haley will be there… at least, I think she will. If she ends up staying in because of Nathan…"

"Lucas, he's your brother."

"And?"

"And, he's your brother! You should stop thinking so bad of him. Yes, what he did was really bad, but we haven't heard his reasons. You can't condemn him… what's that phrase? Oh yeah, innocent until proven guilty."

"Brooke, this is Nathan. He was never exactly all sweetness and light, was he?"

"Well, no…" Brooke looks uncomfortable.

"Look, can we just wait until Christmas vacation? And then we can confront him… I mean, we can ask him what happened. Okay?"

Brooke bites her lip. "Okay?"

"Okay," I nod firmly.

AN: Sorry for the long update. I've been without my internet for a while. The reviews have been, as always, absolutely brilliant. I love you guys.

In this chapter I had to make Lucas act a little out of character (though maybe in his old character) to further the story, so sorry about that.

Unfortunately, the next update will be a while too, maybe next week because I'm going to be without the internet or my laptop until Wednesday, and I'm editing the next chapter because I didn't like the way it was heading.

Still, I hope you liked the Brucas in this chapter. Love ya's!

Conaleigh x