CHAPTER TWO
Strange Transmissions
"You're not going?"
Brooke turned to Nathan, who had kindly volunteered to be her driver. To be fair, she hadn't really left him much of a choice. "I am. But maybe I'm too early," she said, looking at the building standing in front of them.
"What time did he say your car would be ready?"
She shrugged, "He just said I could come this morning."
She looked away at the parking lot, her eyes landing on the sign that read "Keith Scott Body shop". She was racking her brains, trying to recall exactly what Lucas had told her. She had been so confused by their conversation from the day before and by the dream she had had about him, that when he had approached her the next morning to tell her that her car was being taken care of, she had barely listened. She had been too focused on keeping her cool to properly pay attention to what he had told her. He had said Saturday morning, that she knew for sure. But the time?
"So… What are you waiting for?" he asked, a hint of impatience in his voice.
For a phone call telling her that unfortunately, her car wasn't ready this morning and that she would not have to run into Lucas again. The boy she had dreamed about and who had a major crush on her best friend. "Nothing," she replied, opening the car door on her side. "Thanks for the ride Nate."
"See you tonight! Oh wait," he said, making her stop midway, one foot in his car, the other on the street. "Can you ask Sawyer to bring her special mixtape? The one we used last year?"
"Sure. She's probably upgraded it since..." Her voice trailed off when she noticed a familiar face walking out of the workshop and straight to them. "Uh oh."
"What?" Nathan asked. He followed her gaze; his face fell as he recognized the man who was coming to greet them.
They both shared a look and got out of the car as Dan Scott, Nathan's father, was approaching.
"Dad," he told him warily. "What are you doing here?"
Brooke went to stand next to Nathan just as his father stopped in front of them. "Brooke, long time no see."
"Hi Mr Scott," she said with a polite smile.
"What are you doing here?" Nathan repeated.
His father looked at him with a smirk. "Can't I visit my big brother? Why are you here anyway?"
"Nathan's dropping me off," she answered. "I'm getting my car back."
"How nice of you, giving a job to the local workers in need."
"Dad…"
"And how are you, Nathan? I haven't seen you since you came back from your little trip."
His little what?
Nathan shrugged, looking away from his father, his arms crossed against his chest. "I'm fine."
"Still no regrets? You do know that it was your last chance at getting in High Flyers?"
Wait, what?
She turned to Nathan, who now looked pallid. So, that was why he had not seemed thrilled at all by his basketball camp. He had simply not gone. But why was he pretending otherwise?
Nathan looked back at his father, "Dad, I'm not deaf, I heard it the last twenty times you told me."
Dan snickered, "You'll regret that decision, son."
"We'll see."
They were both staring back at each other with dark looks on their faces. Brooke had to say something, make him leave, "Erm, sorry to interrupt Mr Scott, but we really need to get my car now."
"Of course. Have a nice day, then," he told them with a little bow, that Brooke figured was not a form of respect at all.
Once he was out of sight, Nathan finally relaxed and let out a long sigh, leaning back on his car. "Thanks for that."
She nudged him, "You're welcome."
"Alright, I can go now," he said, whirling around to get back in his car.
"Wait a minute!" she said with a frown, shutting the door just as he was opening it. "What was that about? You didn't go to the camp?"
He let out another sigh, then faced her. "No, I didn't."
"So where─"
"I can't tell you, Brooke. And I need you not to say anything to anyone, not even Peyton."
Her frown got deeper; what was he hiding? Nathan had never been the kind to have any secrets, he was usually quite an open book. She noticed how unusually anguished he looked.
"Fine, I won't tell anyone. But you owe me."
He grinned at her, "Thanks! I have to go now, I'm already late for training."
She watched as he left the parking lot, then looked back at the building in front of her.
When she entered the workshop, she was surprised by its size. From the outside, it looked like a relatively small place, but it was in fact very spacious. There were several cars around the room, most of them had someone working on them. She scanned the place and was relieved to see that Lucas wasn't around. It looked like she had been right in thinking that the sooner she came here, the lesser she was likely to see him.
She walked to what appeared to be an office door and knocked on it three times. A male voice told her to come in.
It was a small room with a desk, a couple of chairs, a huge cork board on the wall, and a few shelves. A man, who looked no older than forty, was sitting behind it, looking at his computer screen from above his glasses, his eyes quickly going from left to right as if he was reading something. He looked just the same as when she had last met him, minus the bathrobe.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked, not lifting his eyes from the screen.
"Mr Scott? My name is Brooke Davis, I came to─"
He suddenly jolted from his chair, startling her. "Brooke!" he exclaimed, getting up from his chair and walking around the desk to shake her hand vigorously. "Of course, Lucas said you'd be coming this morning. How are you since last time?"
"You remember me?" she asked, stunned.
"Do I remember the poor girl who had to drive Lucas home on the night he was hammered?" He winked at her, "Definitely."
She laughed, "You looked so sleepy back then, I didn't think you'd recognize me."
"Oh, but I do. Anyway, your car is almost ready, I just need to check a few things first. Do you mind waiting here? It will only take a minute."
"Sure, I can wait."
He left the office, leaving its door open. She looked at the chairs and hesitated, before deciding to keep standing. She looked around and noticed that there were a few pictures pinned to the board. She glanced back and since no one was watching her, got closer to the board so she could have a look at the photos.
One of them showed Keith and whom she guessed were his employees, drinking beers together around a barbecue.
Her eyes were caught by a picture with a little blonde boy; she couldn't help but smile as she recognized Lucas. He must have been no more than six and he was boastfully presenting a fresh fish with both hands. It wasn't very big as he could hold it with ease, but nonetheless he looked extremely proud of his catch.
The photo right below this one showed Keith and Lucas's mother, Karen, hugging and smiling brightly. She knew they had a complicated history with Dan, but in the past two years they had gotten together. According to Nathan, Lucas had been waiting for that day his whole life.
"She's ready."
She jumped and made a sudden about-turn to see Keith, standing in the doorway, lifting her car keys in front of him.
She followed him out of the office and walked behind him as he crossed the workshop. She could see from afar that her car was parked right at the entrance and was waiting for her. However, instead of going straight for it, Keith stopped in his tracks and turned right. He led her to a car that was not hers, and before she could ask him why they were here and not next to her own car, he tapped three times on the hood.
Brooke looked down at a pair of legs coming out from below the car. Why did Keith want to talk to a mechanic? Was there something wrong with her car after all? She kept watching as a pair of hands came out and held the car so that the rest of the body could creep out, only to stop abruptly when said mechanic saw them. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Lucas. And here she thought she had managed to avoid him.
"Brooke?" He sounded surprised as he struggled to get up from the car creeper he was lying on. When he did manage to do so, he swiftly looked at his uncle, then back at her and asked, "You're already here? I thought I said 10 am."
So, he really had told her a specific time. "Yeah, I forgot about that." He looked… different. His hair was a mess, half of his t-shirt was coming out of his pants and he had grease stains on his left cheek. In other words, he looked really hot.
"Keith, did you check what I─"
"Yes I did, and you did a great job. There you go Brooke," he told her, handing her out the keys, "she's good as new, thanks to Lucas."
"Thanks," she said to the blonde boy, painfully aware of the slight pink shade her cheeks were getting. She turned back to face Keith, getting her check book out of her purse. "So, how much─"
"No," Keith said, raising his hands at her and shaking his head, "you can put that away."
"What?"
"Well yeah, Luke said─" He stopped as Lucas suddenly suffered from a coughing fit. "Well, erm, you don't have to pay me since it was Lucas who did all the work."
She frowned, then glanced at her classmate. "Fine. So I'll pay you then."
"What?" Lucas asked in surprise. "No, you don't have to."
"Yes, I do," she said with a firm tone.
To her surprise, he didn't lose countenance, "I'm not taking your money, Brooke."
"Then how am I supposed to─"
"Sorry, but I have to get back to work." He didn't wait for her reply, got on his creeper and disappeared back under the car. She looked at Keith, but when she saw his amused look, she knew he wouldn't be of much help.
"Fine. Thanks again," she told him before storming off.
Once in her car, she realized that she was mad at Lucas. Why wasn't he taking her money? Now she owed him. And she didn't want to owe him, because that meant running into him again, which led to this weird, tingling feeling she was having in her stomach and then to erotic dreams about him. She had to get him something.
As she drove back home, she admitted to herself that there was another reason why she felt uneasy. She knew why he hadn't taken her money. It seemed quite obvious, now that she thought about it. He had probably hoped that she would tell Peyton about his charitable gesture and that she would maybe change her mind about him. What she didn't understand was why that made her feel uneasy.
Well, it was probably for the same reason why she hadn't told her best friend about her dream; this whole situation was just too strange. As long as she didn't know how to feel about it, she could not tell Peyton any of it.
Now, how could she repay him? Her mother had told her earlier this week that she could buy him something. She could perhaps get him a book. It seemed to her like the safest choice when it came to Lucas. But she wasn't much of a reader; how was she supposed to pick something he would like? Or even something he had not read before?
Just as she drove by her neighbourhood, she turned around. If she recalled correctly, she had seen Haley work at Karen's Café on Saturday mornings. If there was one person who knew Lucas, it had to be her.
She had been right. When she entered the Café, Haley was behind the counter, writing something down as she was talking on the phone. Brooke hesitated for a second, but eventually walked over to her.
"And then 50. Okay but doesn't that make it 60 total?" she asked on the phone with a frown. She looked up at Brooke, "Sorry I'll take your order in a minBrooke?"
"Hi."
"What areNo, I'm not talking to you. Can I call you back later? Sure, thanks," she said, hanging up. "Hi," she said still looking surprised, "did you get your car back?"
"I just did, yeah. Thanks again, by the way, for helping me that day."
"I didn't do much," she shrugged off.
Yes, she had. "You called Lucas. Actually," she said, remembering that evening, "why did you say we were friends? I mean no offense, but we've never been that close." She had talked to her a bit more than to Lucas, especially since she had started tutoring Nathan several months ago, but still, friends? That was a bit of a stretch.
"I know," she chuckled, "but believe me, he would have never come if I had" She stopped abruptly, probably noticing Brooke's frown.
"If you had told him it was me?" she asked, her voice coming out as much more tense than intended. Had Lucas' best friend just confirmed that he hated her?
Haley looked very uneasy, "That's not what I"
"Anyway, I got my car back and he won't take my money. So, I figured I could buy him something, like maybe a book." Wait, was that even a good idea anymore? Would anyone like getting a gift from someone they resented?
"That's a great idea!" Haley said on cue, as if reading her mind. "He'll love it."
"But that's the thing, I don't know what kind of book he's into."
"Just get him anything," she said with a vague gesture.
"Anything? But what if he's already read it?"
Haley looked at her for a few seconds, and finally said, with a hint of a smile, "You're right, there's a high chance he's already read any book you'll give him. But he always buys them in pocket size, he says it's easier to carry around, so just try one that hasn't been published in paperback yet."
She knew coming to Haley for this was a good idea. "Any writers you'd recommend?"
"Well, he's really into classics," she said, her eyebrows getting close to each other as she was thinking, "but I guess that's not an option."
"So, what does he not read?"
"What do you mean?" Haley asked, her head tilted.
"Well, if he's read every book there is on Earth, I might as well go for something he doesn't usually read."
"You're right," she said, her eyes glinting. "In that case, go for horror or science fiction. He never reads either of those."
"Noted. Thanks again for everything," she said with a smile.
Brooke walked to the door and stopped when someone came in the Café.
"Nate?"
"Brooke?" he asked in unison.
"Aren't you supposed to be training right now?" she asked back, raising an eyebrow. Was she going crazy? Wasn't that what he had told her he would do this morning?
"Yeah, I am, I mean I will, but I've got a tutoring session with Haley before that."
She turned around to look at Haley, who was back on her phone. Then she glanced back at Nathan, "On a Saturday morning?"
He shrugged, "Yeah, my grades have been a bit down."
"Er, okay. I'll see you tonight, then."
"Yup," she heard him say as she crossed the door.
What was going on with him? Not going to High Flyers, and now postponing training to study? That wasn't like him at all. Was he struggling that hard with his grades? Why hadn't he told her sooner? He wasn't the kind to get embarrassed by such things.
She thought about telling Peyton at lunch but eventually decided not to. Nathan had asked her not to tell anyone about High Flyers, and she was going to keep her word. Instead, she told her best friend about her parents and how they were being secretive around her.
"What do you mean, secretive?" Peyton asked her, setting the table at which Brooke was already seated.
"Well, it's just… I don't know," she said, pouring water into their glasses. "You know how my mom has been very quiet all summer?"
"Yeah, and tired too, right?" She put a plate of pasta in front of Brooke and sat across her with her own plate.
"So tired, I mean you should see her dark circles they're" She stopped as she took a mouthful from her plate. "This is really good!"
"Thanks," Peyton said with a proud smile. "Pasta alla puttanesca."
"Gesundheit."
Her friend laughed. "It's from the book my dad sent me."
"Right, the one with all the Italian recipes!"
Peyton chuckled, "He probably just wants me to practice for the day he comes back, he loves Italian food."
"When is he coming back anyway? How many months has it been since his boat stopped in Tree Hill?"
"Ten," Peyton said, her eyes getting a bit darker, her smile wearing off. "They're not telling him anything. But we were talking about your mom."
"Oh, right. I don't know, there's gotta be something. They keep whispering around and they stop talking as soon as they see me."
"Are they fighting?"
"No, I don't think so. I don't know," she shrugged, "maybe I'm just imagining things."
They finished their meals, talking about the literature assignment they had to do for Monday. Peyton asked her what she wanted to do this afternoon.
Brooke grabbed the plate she was being handed and scrubbed it with soap, "Actually, I was thinking of buying a book."
"A book? Which one?" she asked, waiting with a towel in hand.
"I don't know yet. It's not for me, actually… It's for Lucas."
"Scott?" Peyton asked in disbelief.
"Do we know another one?" she asked, rolling her eyes.
"Well, it's just that… Where does this come from?"
Brooke shrugged as dismissively as she could. "It's just that he helped with my car and he worked on it for free. I should at least get him something, right?"
Peyton looked surprised but still nodded, "Sure. I'll come with you, I wanted to go buy some records anyway."
Half an hour later, Peyton had stopped her car on the parking lot of Tree Hill's largest book store. They first went to the music department, and as her friend was going straight to the sales assistant, Brooke walked around the aisles and reached the letter N. Her fingers traced the top of the records, until they stopped on what she was looking for. She took the record in her hands, examining it closely.
"Norah Jones?"
She turned to Peyton who was now standing behind her, peeking over her shoulder. Brooke shrugged, "Yeah, I've been listening to her songs lately."
"Really?" Peyton asked, somehow sceptical. "I never thought you'd be into her music."
"Me neither," she admitted with a chuckle, "but I kind of like it. Do you have her records?"
She snorted, "Of course, who do you think I am?"
"Good," Brooke said, putting the record back in its place, "I'll probably borrow some from you. Did you find the one you wanted?"
"Nope," she sighed, shaking her head in dismay, "they don't have that big of a collection here. But he's making phone calls to see if he can order it." She then turned to the records in front of her and started picking some out. Brooke informed her that she was going upstairs to the book section, and got an absent-minded answer telling her she'd meet her in a few minutes.
She tried the horror section first. But as she checked out its books, she started thinking it was weird to get Lucas a horror book. Well, it was weird anyway to get him anything, but this just brought it to a whole other level of bizarreness. She quickly decided that horror wouldn't do and walked around until she found the science-fiction aisle.
No pocket books, she reminded herself, her eyes quickly scanning the shelves. There weren't that many new books there.
One particular cover drew her attention. It showed a pair of lungs, intertwined with birds and gear wheels. She took the book in her hands. The title read Exhalation. She had never heard of the author, Ted Chiang, but then again, she wasn't much of a reader. She looked at the other covers, but none seemed as good as this one.
She turned on her heels and went downstairs to the checkout. Peyton was nowhere to be seen, but she figured she could find her after paying for the book. When the cashier asked her if she wanted a loyalty card, she politely declined. She wasn't planning on buying Lucas books every week.
She was about to insert her credit card, when she heard someone asking her if she wanted popcorn. She looked up, confused; the cashier was looking at his screen, unbothered. She looked around her and saw no one.
"Did you say something?" she asked to the cashier.
He looked at her, perplexed, "No."
"But I heard─"
She looked down at her hands, the right one still holding her credit card; she could feel a tingle coming from her fingers and going up her hands. The same was happening in her feet. It was just like earlier this week in class, except this time she was standing up. The faint, buzzing sound came ringing in her ears just as she was expecting it. She looked around, starting to panic. Last time she had been sitting down, but this time if things were going the same way, then… She had to find a spot to sit on.
"Hey wait! You left your card! And your book!" she heard the cashier shout at her as she was struggling to walk away from him, desperately looking for a chair or something. She had decided on just sitting on the floor when she felt suddenly drowsy. She struggled hard for her eyelids to stay open, for only a few seconds, and then closed her eyes.
She opened her eyes. She was alone in her living room, sitting on the couch. She quickly looked down and sighed with relief; at least this time, she was fully clothed. And no naked Lucas around.
"Did you actually fall asleep while I was preparing the popcorn that you asked for?"
She looked to her right, and there he was, standing with apparently a bucket full of popcorn. "What? Not again!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
Lucas laughed at that. It was a gentle laugh that she wasn't used to, not coming from him. "Don't worry, I paused it," he said, motioning towards the television. He grabbed the remote control on the other end of the couch and walked over to her side. He sat down right next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders.
She jerked his arm right away and jumped up. Lucas gave her a blank stare, blinked a few times then said, "Oh, sorry."
"I can't believe I'm having one of these episodes again," she mumbled, shaking her head in dismay. She frowned when she saw that he seemed to find this whole situation entertaining. "What are you smiling about, huh?"
He struggled to wipe the grin off his face, "Nothing, Brooke." He shifted to his right and patted the spot next to him, "Come on, since you're stuck here, why don't you watch this movie with me?"
She looked at the screen then back at him, not bothering to hide her distrust. But he was right, wasn't he? She was stuck here until she would wake up, so she might as well make the most of it. She sat down, still looking warily at him.
After a few seconds of opening credits, she reluctantly said, "Lucas?"
"Yeah?"
"Could I have some popcorn please?"
He laughed again, this time making her smile for just a second before pulling herself together. "Sure," he said, handing her the bucket.
She took a handful of popcorn and brought it to her mouth. "So," she said between two gulps, "what movie is this?"
"You know, it's that biopic on Elton John that came out a couple of years ago."
She stopped chewing and stared at him, puzzled. She swallowed, "What are you talking about? It just came out."
He looked back at her, startled. "Um, right, yeah, I was thinking of, er, another movie."
She frowned, but to his apparent relief let it go and turned back to the screen. "Great, I actually wanted to go see it, but I missed it."
Though what she was seeing right now was just a product of her imagination, right? What she thought the movie would be like.
She was incredibly surprised with the amount of details she could come up with in the movie. It really felt like she was watching it.
This time, her dream lasted much longer. The first time, it had been just a few minutes, but this time, fifteen minutes later, she was still there, watching her movie. Lucas, however, seemed interested in something other than the screen.
She quickly turned to him, making him jump. "What are you doing?" she asked, squinting.
"What?"
"You're staring at me."
"Sorry," he muttered, turning back to the television. "Wait, no," he said, looking back at her again, "I just want to know, erm… Do you know what this is?"
"What do you mean, this?"
"This," he repeated, motioning around them.
"Could you be even more cryptic?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He turned his body to her, "Well, you specifically asked me to be."
"Huh?"
"No, never mind," he muttered with a slight frown.
"You know what?" she said, a little exasperated. "This is my dream"
"Dream?" he repeated, his eyes growing a bit wide.
"Well, duh. So, I was saying, this is my dream, so I should be the one asking the questions."
He raised an eyebrow and seemed to relax more. He put an arm on the couch, his head resting on it. "Alright pretty girl, ask away," he said with a crooked grin.
For a second, her heart seemed to thump out of her chest. She quickly looked down at the bucket of popcorn and took another mouthful, trying to stall in order to get back a bit of composure. Where did that nickname come from? Did that mean she wanted him to call her that in real life? How was that even possible?
She looked up at him, "What kind of book do you read?"
That seemed to throw him off. "Er, what?"
"Like, hypothetically, if someone was going to buy you a book, say on science-fiction, would you enjoy it?" She struggled hard not to shake her head at herself: why was she even bothering asking him that? He was only a product of her imagination, so whatever answer he would come up with would just be her own mind speaking.
"Why, are you gonna buy me one?"
"Well, it's just that my mom thinks I should, since you helped me with my car and"
"Oh!" he said eagerly, startling her. "It's the first day of school!"
"Well, that was five days ago," she said, puzzled, "but yeah." What a weird guy. "So? Any idea?"
He shrugged. "You can get me anything."
"That's exactly what Haley said but come on, is there no particular book on your mind right now?" This was ridiculous, why was she insisting on asking him? He was just a dream.
"No really Brooke, any book will do."
"It can't be."
"It can," he insisted, his eyes smiling at her. "I'll be thrilled with anything you give me." She felt her cheeks turning pink again. He noticed it as he smiled and looked… Well somehow, he looked nostalgic. He raised a hand and softly caressed her cheek. "I forgot you used to react like that," he said, his voice suddenly lower.
"Wh… What are you talking about?" she mumbled. She couldn't help but feel very troubled by his nearness, suddenly aware that they had moved closer to each other, his face being just a few inches away from hers.
She startled, hearing footsteps from afar. A faint, familiar voice was calling out her name. "What's wrong?" Lucas asked with a frown.
"Can't you hear it?"
"Hear what?"
"The" She stopped and froze when she felt the tingle coming up her hands and feet. "Oh no," she muttered. Oh no? Why did she sound so disappointed?
"Brooke, are you okay?"
"Erm, yeah, just a little dizzy." She closed her eyes, the buzzing sound starting to ring in her ears.
He gave her shoulders a slight pressure then stood up, "Let me get you some water."
She knew he wouldn't be back. She could already feel the drowsiness hitting her with force. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes.
When she opened them, she was staring at the ceiling. She could hear Peyton's frightened voice calling her name, this time much more clearly than in her dream. She turned her head and saw that her friend was kneeling next to her.
"Thank god."
"What happened?" Brooke asked, trying to sit up.
"Hey, no," she heard another voice say, and she saw that the cashier was kneeling on her other side, "you stay down. You hit your head pretty hard."
"I did what?"
Now she remembered. Right before falling asleep, she had been checking out her book. "I'm fine," she said, sitting up despite their protests.
"Brooke, you scared the hell out of me," Peyton said, hugging her tightly.
"I'm fine," she repeated, patting her back. "Now can I please buy this book?"
The cashier looked at her as if she had gone mad. He insisted on keeping her in a sitting position for another minute before she could stand up. She then bought the book and Peyton took her home. Thankfully, her parents had gone out, otherwise they would have freaked out too.
"Sit down, and don't move," Peyton told her in a commanding voice.
Brooke did as she was told and sat on her couch. She glanced at the spot next to her, where Lucas had been sitting in her dream. Whatever, she thought, shaking her head, it was just a dream.
Peyton came back a couple of minutes later with a bowl of ice cream and a spoon that she handed to her. "Eat up."
"Honestly, I feel great."
"You fainted, Brooke. So eat."
She obeyed and took a spoonful of ice cream. Fainted… Peyton was right, she wasn't really falling asleep, she was fainting. And dreaming of Lucas. But why him? And he was different in her dreams, not just in the way he acted around her, but also the way he looked. Just now, he had had a stubble that she had never seen on him before.
After finishing her bowl, Brooke argued for a while to keep Peyton from telling her parents about this little incident. After much bargaining, she managed to make her promise not to say anything, on the condition that she would tell her parents if it ever happened again.
They worked on their assignments for about two hours, until it was starting to be late afternoon. Brooke got up, stretching out her arms.
"Alright, time to get ready!"
"Ready for what?" Peyton asked her absent-mindedly, her face buried in her paper.
"For Nathan's party."
She looked up, "What? You're not going."
"Are you nuts? It's Nathan's end of the summer party, I can't miss it!"
"Brooke, you just"
"So I fainted, big deal, it happens to a lot of people, alright? Do I look tired to you? Or ill?"
Peyton frowned, and admitted reluctantly , "No."
"Then we're going," she said, grabbing her arm and pulling her from the couch.
"But if you feel"
"I swear I'll go home the minute I start feeling weird again, okay?"
There was no way she was missing this party. Firstly, because it was one of the biggest parties of their senior year, and secondly because Nathan would never forgive her if she missed it.
It took them a little while to get ready. Correction, it took Brooke a while, mainly because she was still flustered from her dream and kept thinking about it. And where did that nickname come from anyway? Pretty girl? Had anyone ever called her that before?
When they reached Nathan's house, it was already packed with people. They went around it and got in through the kitchen, where they knew it would be easier to walk around. They met with fellow cheerleaders and were talking to them when Brooke noticed Mouth walking out of the kitchen to the living room. She told Peyton that she was going for a stroll, and before her friend could object, assured her she would scream for help the minute she felt like she would faint again.
"Mouth!" she yelled, jogging after him. He couldn't hear her though, not with the deafening music around them. "Hey Mouth!"
She finally managed to catch up with him and grabbed his arm, surprising him, "Brooke!"
"Hi," she said with a grin, "where are you going like that?"
"Outside," he said, looking at the cups he was holding in each hand, "Skills and Fergie are over at the court."
No surprise there, Brooke thought. "Come on, walk with me for a bit," she said, linking their arms together. "I was wondering the other day… Didn't you say your grams could interpret dreams?"
"Yeah, she's kinda famous in her town for that, why?"
"Any chance that's hereditary?"
"If you want to know if I can do the same, the answer is no," he said with a chuckle. "Why are you asking?"
"Just curious," she said, trying her best to hide her disappointment. "Alright, you're free to go," she said, releasing his arm.
He didn't leave right away. Instead, he kept looking at her with a concerned frown, "Are you okay, Brooke?"
"Sure, why?"
"Just… You look troubled."
She smiled at him and patted his shoulder, "I'm fine Mouth, but thanks for asking."
She went upstairs, greeting a few people on her way there, and locked herself in a bathroom. Mouth was right, she was troubled. Troubled by everything going on lately. Her parents, her dreams about Lucas, her fainting. And then this week, she had suddenly stopped dreaming about the rabbit. What was that supposed to mean? Two months of having the same dream over and over again and one day, it was just gone?
She went to the sink and splashed her face with cold water. When she was done cleaning her face, she heard a knock on the door. Nathan's voice came through.
"Brooke? You okay in there?"
She unlocked the door and opened it. Nathan was leaning on the wall next to her. "Hi," she told him with a faint smile.
"Are you okay?"
He looked way too concerned. "Did Peyton talk to you?"
"Yeah. So you really fainted again?"
She walked up to him, "Yes, but you know I think it's just the heat, I'm not good with it."
He frowned a little and looked around them, "I know, it can get hard to breathe here. Come with me, I know where you'll be fine."
He led her to another corridor and stopped in front of a door. "Wait," she said, "isn't that"
"My dad's office, yeah. Nobody comes in here anymore," he says, opening the door for her.
She walked in, looking around them with awe. "Wow. Remember how he forbade us to come in here? And how we used to try and get in anyway?"
He laughed at that memory. "My mom used to run after us all the time back then."
She looked around: it was now an empty room. It looked like Dan Scott's office would forever remain a mystery to her. Well, it wasn't completely empty, there were book shelves covering an entire wall, but they were half empty. She got closer and looked down at a dozen of cardboard boxes filled with books.
"He's coming tomorrow to get them."
"What about those on the shelves?" she asked, nodding at them.
"They're my mom's. She wants to turn this into a reading room."
Her eyes got caught by a series of books on a shelf on her left. "Hey, do you mind if take a look at some books?"
"Suit yourself," he answered with a shrug. "I'll see you in a bit."
She smiled at him as he exited the room, closing the door behind her. She turned back to the books that had caught her attention.
She grabbed two of them and went to open the windows, letting in a gentle breeze. In this room, all the noises from the house were muffled. She sat down cross-legged below the windows and read the title.
The dream interpretation dictionary: symbols, signs and meanings.
She opened it and realized it was an alphabetical list of keywords. What was she supposed to look for? Lucas? No way, it wouldn't work. How about… R for rabbit. For some reason, it seemed like it had all started with that damn rabbit. She had kept seeing it this summer, then in Lucas' car and in the bedroom dream. It had to be connected somehow, had it not? Her finger stopped on the word and followed the dotted line next to it, to the page number 333.
Alright, page number 333… There it was, the section for Rabbit. As with other animals and creatures in dreams, the symbolism of a rabbit depends on associations. Rabbits have long been associated with sexual activity. Say what? White rabbits in particular are associated with purity and faithfulness. Rabbits are associated with luck and good fortune. Blah, blah, blah, she thought, skimming through the rest of the paragraph. Rabbits are associated with being in a hurry, as in the story of the tortoise and the hare. So what, that meant she was in a hurry to have sex? She shook her head and put down the book next to her, taking the other one in her hands.
This one was titled "Symbolism in dreams: what to expect from the unexpected." She frowned; this title sounded even less reliable. She opened it nonetheless to see that it was organized similarly to the first one. She went straight to the letter R and looked under Rabbit. In many cultures, a rabbit is a powerful symbol. It is a mysterious and magical creature that usually translates into a wonderful omen. In most cases seeing a rabbit means the area of your life that you are dreaming about is expected to see some lucky breaks in the near future. Rabbits are also associated with rebirth, growth, and new beginnings. And then there was another paragraph about fertility and sexual was just nonsense, wasn't it? A magical creature? Lucky breaks? So far, she had fainted twice in public and her car had broken down on her first day of school. Talk about good omens.
She reached for the first book, flipping through it forward then backwards. She stopped at the introduction part, that she had skipped earlier. It was about dreams and their general meanings. She read quickly through it until she stopped at a paragraph called "Identical dreams." Identical dreams: you find yourself back in the same scenario and know how it's going to play out, like the movie Groundhog Day. Wait, she knew that one: it was the movie with the guy from Ghostbusters repeatedly living the same day until he could go out with the girl from Four weddings and a funeral. The story doesn't continue, it loops back and starts over. This type of recurring dreams tends to vex the dreamers who have them. They sense that a message is trying to get through something important. Once you get the message and act accordingly, these recurring dreams either stop or progress to the next scene. Now this part made more sense. It was true that her dreams about the rabbit had been similar: watching it go round and round until she finally caught it last Monday. And she had definitely been vexed all summer by this dream. And she also had the feeling that she was supposed to understand something from it, but she couldn't figure out what exactly. Once you get the message and act accordingly, these recurring dreams either stop or progress to the next scene. She hadn't had that dream since the beginning of the week, did that mean that she had acted accordingly? But nothing special had happened on the day her dreams had stopped. Well, except that she had had her first dream about Lucas and she had talked to him for the first time in ages, but… That couldn't be it, now, could it?
The door flung open, startling her. And since life had decided to ridicule her, of course it was Lucas that came in. Good omens, huh?
"Hi," he said, looking around him. "Did you actually find the one room in this house empty of people?"
For a second, she thought no word would come out of her mouth, until she found her voice back, "Nathan told me about it."
"Have you seen Haley? I've been looking for her."
"No", she shook her head.
"Okay, thanks," he said. She felt relieved to see him turning on his heels, but that lasted only for a second, as he stopped and glanced back at her. "Are you reading?"
"No," she said, hurriedly closing the books and holding them as she was getting up.
"Yeah you are," he said, turning back and walking to her. "What are you reading?"
"Nothing," she mumbled, putting the books behind her back.
He stopped in front of her, "Come on, I'm not blind."
She sighed, looking around furtively, and realized she had no way out of this. "Fine, but you can't laugh." She handed him the books that she had failed to hide.
He took them and read the titles, raising his eyebrows. "The dream interpretation dictionary… I didn't know that one," he said with a chuckle. "Having weird dreams lately, Brooke?" he asked, looking up from the books, with his head tilted and a mischievous grin on his lips.
For a second, she thought she was back in her dream, and she could see Lucas sitting on her couch, with his cocky grin. "Alright pretty girl, ask away."
Her heart started pounding in her chest and she knew she was blushing. She frowned, tried her best to ignore his astounded look, and brushed past him as she hurried out of the room. She heard him call her name but didn't look back; instead, she almost ran out of the house, pushing away several people in the process.
She had to find a solution; she could not keep being so weird around him.
She went to the only other place in this house where she knew she wouldn't be bothered. There were only a few people around the court, and most of them were playing basketball. She sat on the same patch of grass where she had found a lonely boy last year and lied down, staring at the clear sky above her. At first, she could only single out two or three stars, but as she kept watching, the rest of them started revealing themselves. She was finally starting to relax when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned her eyes away from the sky and saw that Lucas was walking towards her.
He stopped a few feet away from her, looking utterly distraught. "Brooke, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you."
At least he hadn't realized why she had been so flustered. She frowned, thinking that she had to get used to this strange feeling she had around him. "You can come closer you know, I won't bite."
He visibly held back a smile and lied down closer to her, imitating her. "That's a nice view," he said, looking up at the sky.
"I agree."
They stayed silent for a while, which was only for the best. At least her heart wasn't running a marathon anymore. She frowned, noting that it wasn't just her who didn't know how to act around him, somehow it felt like he didn't know how to either. Well, he had always been a little awkward around her, especially for the past year, but that was only because she was always with Peyton.
Though at that exact moment, Peyton was nowhere to be seen and yet he was still acting as if he was walking on eggshells.
"You know, I really tried to tell her to give you a chance."
He turned his head to her, "Who are you talking about?"
"Peyton," she sighed, still refusing to look at him. "Last year, after the party, I did try to tell her that she should give you a chance. She just wouldn't listen."
It took him a few seconds to answer, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Well," she said, this time daring to look back at him, "I figured you resented me because you thought I said something against you. So, I just want you to know, I didn't. I actually defended you."
He looked bewildered, "I don't…" he seemed to hesitate. "I've never resented you, Brooke."
"Really?" she asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow. Then why had Haley told her that he wouldn't have come to her help had he known she was the one in need? That only made sense if he hated her.
"I would never," he said, his voice getting lower.
For a second, the real Lucas and dream-Lucas overlapped once more, and she knew her cheeks had turned pink again.
She swiftly sat up straight, taking him aback, "I gotta go."
"Wh─ Where?" he asked, sitting up.
"I have to check on the DWNotI drivers. Make sure they're not drinking. See you around," she said before leaving.
That was all a lie. She trusted those drivers enough not to track them. She just needed an excuse to get away.
She didn't stay long after that. She hung around for another half an hour and then told Peyton she was going home. The next morning, when she woke up, she noticed that the summer heat had almost disappeared. Finally, she thought, some good news. As she went downstairs to the kitchen, she was surprised to see her mother having breakfast alone.
"Where's Dad?"
They usually had their first meal of the day together, at least on Sundays.
Victoria, who had been reading something on her phone, looked up at her as she sat down next to her. "He went to work."
"But it's Sunday!" she exclaimed, stunned.
"I know. And I think we should get used to it," she said with a frown, looking back at her phone. "How was your night? You came home earlier than planned."
"It was nice. I was just a little tired."
"Did you get your car back?"
"Yup, yesterday morning."
Her mother furtively glanced at her, "Did you get something for that boy?"
"His name is Lucas," she mumbled. "Yeah, I bought him a book, but… I don't know, Mom, it's just weird, I barely know him─"
"So? It doesn't matter, he helped you, didn't he?"
"Yes."
"So who cares if you don't really know him? And you've already bought something too."
"Yeah," she sighed, "I guess you're right. But─"
"No buts. Come on Brooke, you're a brave girl, just go and give him this book already."
She smiled; her mother had just sounded like herself for the first time in months. "You're right. Thanks Mom."
She got dressed and grabbed the book from her desk. Before leaving her house, she looked for wrapping paper, but all she could find was Christmas themed. Well, she thought, that was still better than nothing, even with the Christmas trees and Santa Claus faces all over it.
Soon after that, Brooke had parked her car in front of Lucas' house. She glanced at the package she had put in the passenger seat; it really looked like a Christmas gift. She rolled her eyes, remembering her mother's words, and got out of her car. She knocked on the front door, but no one answered. She frowned and tried to peer through the windows but couldn't see anything.
She walked around the house and saw that there was another pair of stairs leading to a backdoor. She walked them up and knocked at that other door. Still, she got no answer.
She sighed, wondering whether or not she should just leave the gift here. But she hadn't even written her name on it. Wait a second, that actually sounded like a good idea, that way they would be even without her having to─
"Brooke?"
She turned on her heels. Lucas was slowly walking to her, his basketball under one arm. He had obviously come back from a game. That was when she recalled Nathan telling her that he sometimes joined Lucas and his friends on Sunday mornings at the River Court.
"Hi," she said as he was going up the steps, still looking as if he was daydreaming. "Sorry to bother you, but─"
"You're not."
"Not what?"
"Bothering me."
"Oh," she answered, caught off guard. "Okay."
"Do you want to come in?" he asked her, putting a hand on his door handle.
"No," she hurriedly said, "I just wanted to drop this off."
"Is that a Christmas gift?" he asked, looking more and more confused.
"No, that's the only wrapping paper I have at home. But it is a gift, though," she said, handing it out to him. "For my car."
"Wow," he said, taking the book in his hands, a gentle smile coming to his lips. "Thanks Brooke, you really didn't have to."
She frowned; he looked really thrilled, just as the Lucas from her dream had told her. And he hadn't even opened it yet. He was just about to, when they both heard a phone ringing from the house.
"Let me get that, I'll be right back," he said, hurrying inside, leaving the door ajar.
She let out a sigh of relief; well, that had not been so terrifying after all. She glanced at the door, hesitating for a short while. Her curiosity got the best of her as she opened the door and peeked inside.
Her jaw dropped, and she mechanically walked in the room.
That was… Impossible. Simply impossible. And yet she had already been in his room. Or at least, she had seen it five days ago, in her dream.
The bed was the same, and so were the colour of the walls, the book shelves, the chest of drawers and almost everything else in the room. She walked around it, her brain working fast. There were less books on the shelves and the poster on the door was of another band. She stopped in front of the walk-in closet and mechanically ran her hand over the hangers. How in the hell was that possible?
Wait, the lamp! She quickly turned around and grabbed it, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't rabbit-shaped at all, it was just a regular lamp.
How? Why?
This was insane, she had had a dream, she had never been in this room before, so how had she been able to picture it almost down to the last detail? She just… She was not…
She suddenly felt very dizzy. This time, she didn't feel any tingle or hear any buzzing. It all happened very fast too; she felt hot, and breathless, and started seeing dark spots. She felt weak all of a sudden and let go of the lamp.
The last thing Brooke heard, before passing out, was the sound of the lamp crashing on the floor.
Well, that's it for chapter 2.
Thank you for your reviews, and thank you for taking your time reading this.
I know this might be very confusing for now, but bear with me, things will get clearer in time.
Next chapter should be up in a week or so.
