Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Haley awoke slowly the next morning, enjoying the feeling of laying in Lucas's arms. She mulled over the prior nights events. She tried to memorize every feeling and sensation, because she knew that this wouldn't happen again. It shouldn't have happened at all, but it had and Haley didn't regret it. She only hoped that Lucas would feel the same way.
She bit her lip as she tried to slowly ease out from under Luke's arm. She needed to get up and get dressed. The last thing she needed was Brooke walking in on her and Lucas, in bed together. She managed to get out of bed without waking Lucas and grabbed some clothes and headed to the shower. She was surprised at herself. She'd been a mess when she'd realized that she had kissed Chris. She still felt the guilt of that, yet here she had just slept with Lucas and didn't feel one iota of guilt. She just felt happy.
She heard Lucas stirring as she pulled her wet hair up into a ponytail. She peeked out of the bathroom and gave him a shy smile.
"Good morning." She said, coming to sit beside him.
"I had the weirdest dream last night Hales," He began, raising his eyebrow at her.
"But something tells me it wasn't just a dream. Did we really…" He trailed off, leaving her to fill in the blank.
"Yeah, Luke, we slept together last night" Haley confirmed hesitantly. She held her breathe, waiting for his reaction.
"Wow. Are you okay with that Haley?" He asked, stroking her arm lightly. She wanted to answer, but it was hard to formulate a response when he was touching her.
"I am. Are you?" She asked hopefully.
"I think so. I just wish we didn't have to tell Nathan." He replied regretfully. She completely understood what he meant. That was a conversation she was not looking forward to.
Lucas reached his arm up to her face and cupped her cheek. She leaned down to kiss him, but just as their lips met, she heard her bedroom door creak open. She sprung back, nearly falling off the bed as she met Brooke's accusing eyes.
"Someone tell me that was not what it looked like, please!" Brooke said, her voice rising hysterically. Haley couldn't bring herself to meet Brooke's eyes and instead glanced at Lucas. He was twiddling the blanket between his fingers, keeping his eyes averted as well.
"Oh my God! Haley, I know I said that slutty was in season, but give me a break! Lucas is your brother-in-law, this is practically incest!" She screeched, turning on her heel and leaving the room. Haley clasp her hand over her mouth. This was not good. She turned her eyes from the empty doorway, to Lucas.
"I'll go talk to her." He said, quickly jumping out of Haley's bed and pulling on some clothes. Haley just nodded, laying down across her bed. Her stomach was in knots. She hoped that Brooke wasn't already on the phone to Peyton, or worse, Nathan. She was confident that Lucas could reason with her though.
She turned on the radio and laughed at the irony of the song on her favorite station.
"What I need is a good defense, cause I'm feeling like a criminal." She sang along with Fiona Apple. The song was nearly over when she realized that she could hear Brooke and Lucas arguing through her door. Sighing, she pushed herself off the bed and headed out to the firing squad.
"That is just like you, Lucas Scott! Exactly how many girls have you "cared about" now?" Brooke laughed rudely, making quotation marks in the air.
"And that's not even the point here, your feelings about Haley don't matter! She's married to your brother! If you have feelings, keep them to yourself! You sure as hell don't sleep with her!" She continued her tirade.
"It wasn't just him, Brooke. I initiated it." Haley said quietly, sticking up for Lucas.
"Oh don't worry, I'll get to you, tutor-slut." Brooke spat, turning her attention back to Lucas.
"No, actually you won't, Brooke. I'm sick of hearing it. What we did might have been wrong, but its not your place to judge us. I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself, so that Haley and I can do the right thing, but otherwise, this conversation is over." Lucas said firmly. Brooke stood there for a moment, sputtering.
"Fine, but I'm leaving now. You can find your own way back to Tree hill, and don't hurry." She hissed as she gathered up her things and walked out the front door.
"I'm so sorry Luke." Haley apologized, giving him a small smile.
"Don't be Hales, I meant what I said to Brooke. I care about you and I really want to do this right, because I'm hoping that there can be an "us" in the future." He smiled, wrapping her in his arms. She had to admit, that sounded perfect to her.