Hope You have enjoyed the past few chapters, & The quick updates.
This is a relatively small chapter, it's really just a filler.
Happy Reading!
Jamie sat up off the bed he had been stretched out across, and the yawn that sat at the corner of his mouth won the battle. When he stood up, he reached his hands above his body—extended his arms above his body.
He looked and saw his two best friends, Andre asleep across the couch—and Chuck who was lying in an awkward position on the small chair in the corner.
Jamie couldn't help himself, he swung his foot back and kicked Chuck's watching his best friend lose his balance and fall into the floor. The noise woke Andre who shot immediately.
Chuck looked up at Jamie, who was grinning "ass" he said pushing himself up to a standing position.
"We just landed," Jamie said.
The three walked to the cabin door, and Jamie pressed the button that opened them, revealing the next room. But, if he had it his way—he would have never opened the door, once he saw what was on the other side.
"What in the hell"? Andre asked, peaking out.
Jamie looked from one end to the other, bottles—mostly liquor, empty glasses, and drunken—passed out adults.
"Is this—normal"? Andre asked.
"Please," Chuck said. "It looks like my mom's side when we have a family reunion".
Jamie looked at Andre "did that answer your question"?
"Yeah," he said. "Not normal".
Chuck tilted his head. "Do we wake them"?
Jamie shrugged. "You go ahead, and give that a try," he said.
The three stood there, for just a moment too long—before Jamie finally walked towards the opposite end of the plane. He stepped over feet and bottles until he found himself at the exit—where he saw the captain, casually thanked him and asked him to give his family some extra time "to gather their things".
"Open your bag" Jamie whispered to Andre as he watched the captain walk away from the plane.
Andre, looked confused but did as he was told, then watched as Jamie proceeded to shove bottles into the bottom, filled with liquor no doubt. Then Quinton's baby brother shut his bag, without asking further questions.
"If they can party so can we," Jamie said with a smile.
"So, are we just not going to wake them"? Andre asked. "I mean we don't exactly know where to go—".
"Do they look like they are going to be making any responsible judgment calls, my mom would but—where the hell are my parents"? Jamie asked as he observed the group once more. "Ma" Jamie yelled. "Dad"?
No one in the group budged, but he still didn't see his parents—until he did. The two came stumbling from around the corner—and the sight made Jamie nausea, more than nauseous—he was sure he was going to throw up.
Jamie's parents were both flushed, and breathing heavy—Nathan more than his wife, their clothes wrinkled, and as if they could act innocent Haley's shirt was on backward—and inside out.
"Is—erm, is everything okay"? Haley asked, in an attempt to be casual—as she smoothed out her shirt. "We landed—your dad was just helping me—erm, we were just, he was helping me—".
"Locate your cervix"? Jamie asked, his face twisted in disgust. "I'm going to be sick".
Nathan rolled his eyes. "How exactly do you think you got here"?
"A stork," Jamie said—way to quickly. "And hopefully not in the bathroom of some plane—I'm seriously going to throw up".
"You're being dramatic," Nathan said. "I have walked in on my mom a thousand different times".
"So, you're okay with being on the same level as nanny Deb"? Jamie asked, half smiling.
Nathan thought about it and realized that his foot was no longer attached to his ankle—but in his mouth.
"Do you two care to wake up the rest of the motley crew"? Jamie asked. "I'll go get us a cab—or a van, I don't know".
Haley watched as Jamie began down the stairs attached to the plane—and she couldn't help but think, there is no time like the present. "I'm pregnant" she called out to her son. "It might be twins".
Nathan was already stressed by the fact, but he couldn't help but laugh at Jamie—who threw his head back and made a noise that fell somewhere between a whine and a grumble.
"I think he was more excited about Lydia," Nathan told his wife rubbing her back.
Haley turned around and wrapped her arms around her husband. "We just traumatized our teenager".
Nathan shrugged. "He will get over it".
Haley nodded, but then said. "Not if you don't zip your pants".
"So, he didn't freak out"? Brooke asked before she drank the remainder of the water at the bottom of her bottle—her sixth bottle. "You said: I'm pregnant and it might be twins, and then he wanted to have sex"?
Haley nodded. "But, we did get caught by Jamie, so there's that".
"When you say caught—"?
"Oh, no not like that" Haley said as she pressed the elevator button, and the two began to wait. "We were done, we come out of the bathroom and there he was".
"Maybe he thought that—".
"No, he knew," Haley said folding her arms. "And he made it clear that he knew, but I oddly found it satisfying".
Brooke turned her head and looked at Haley, cocking her head to the side. "You're really going to need to explain that one to me".
Haley chuckled as the elevator doors opened and the two stepped inside. "Well, as badly as I have hated the fact that he is growing up—finding out he has had sex really took the cake," she said pressing the button with a one on it, watching as it lit up and the doors slowly closed. "I can't explain how it made me feel, it just bothered me—I was actually upset with Madison. I had no reason to be, I just was. But, watching him stand there—squirming, and freaking out because his parents still have sex, it kind of made up for it".
Brooke shook her head and snickered. "Because you were freaking out over him having sex, and now he is freaking out over you"?
Haley nodded. "If you had seen his face, it was like the face you make every time you watch Jeepers Creepers—the part where he eats—".
"Oh, the tongue" Brooke said scrunching her face up, gagging at the mere thought, and shaking her body at the horrible recollection. "I'm still a little tipsy, do you want me to throw up on you because I assure you—I have it in me".
"The only thing you have in you is about six gallons of water at this point," Haley told her.
The elevator doors opened and the two walked out into the hotel's lobby.
"Hydration is the key to sobering up," she said.
Haley laughed. "Brooke, I could hit you and water would start falling out of you like a water faucet".
"And if you weren't carrying my two godchildren, I'd hit you back," she said smiling. "Wait—I am godmother right"?
Haley laughed. "Is that what you're worried about, that if I did you won't get all three or four of my children"?
"Hmph," Brooke said. "Never mind—give it to Peyton this time".
"Just for that you're still godmother," Haley told her smiling. "Speaking of Peyton have you—".
"Nope" Brooke said. "And it's only got worse, we kissed again—and again, and about had drunken plane sex".
"Wait—what"?
"And the worst part, Lucas was the one who stopped it not me," Brooke told her.
Haley was confused but trying to catch up. "So, does that mean you two are together or—".
"I have no idea, every time I kiss him—I feel like I'm a seventeen-year-old girl again," Brooke said. "I go weak in the knees and my stomach gets butterflies, I feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest".
Haley smiled. "I'm sensing a but".
"But, then he stops and I feel like the world just starts crashing down around me. I remember being a seventeen year old and feeling this way about him, about Lucas. I remember it, and then I remember my heartbreaking—because of him" Brooke said. "My heartbeat for him, he turned my world—and then he stopped it. Completely. It took a man, a brave and a patient man to break down those walls that Lucas helped me build".
Haley assumed she knew what was coming next. "And then you think of Julian"? She asked.
Brooke softly replied. "Yes, there was this fight I had with Julian—at the beginning of our relationship and it was over Lucas—he was the last man I loved before Julian. I don't want to feel like my marriage was just a stepping stone or an obstacle I was meant to face to find my way back to Lucas".
"Brooke, you had this beautiful—great love story with Julian. It wasn't another stepping stone or an obstacle, it was true and raw love".
"But"? Brooke asked—looking at Haley out of the corner of her eye.
Haley stopped, and she let out a deep breath. "But, sometimes if you're really lucky you don't just get one great love, one soulmate—sometimes you get to experience love more than once. You get to fall in love more than once, some people are born with so much love in their heart that they need more than one love. Julian was not a stepping stone, he was not an obstacle—he was your husband, but now his not. And I think you're done grieving, I think you're using Julian as an excuse because you're scared to move forward with Lucas".
Brooke looked at her best friend, and she hated it—but the words she said struck a nerve deep in her heart.
Was she scared? Of Lucas? Or her feelings for him?
"Peyton is the one who told you to go for it, so go for it," Haley told her. "We are going to be here for a day or two, so take advantage of that. You don't have to tell her right away, I know you feel like you do—and I am all for being honest, but maybe you should see if you and Lucas can even be together—without everyone knowing. Sneak off, go on a date—the twins and Sawyer aren't here, if that's what is holding you back is that you're scared then take the jump, but take it quietly".
Brooke smiled. "And you can't figure out your teenager problems without your husband"?
"Apparently I can only solve problems that aren't mine—and don't deal with teenagers," Haley said, half laughing. "Speaking of teenager's what are you doing to say to Madison"?
Brooke shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I will know when I see her".
Haley half-smiled. "Well, that time has come—their here".
Brooke turned to see Lily, Lucy, and Madison walking into the hotel's large lobby, each looking more exhausted than the next, and in desperate need of a shower.
"Well, well—you finally made it," Haley said, being the first one to speak.
The three looked confused as they saw Haley and Brooke standing there, in front of them, over twenty hours away from home.
"What—how"? Lily asked confused.
Madison awkwardly folded her arms. "Jamie sent us a text and said he got us a hotel room, here," she said. "He didn't mention—".
"That the whole family is here"? Haley asked. "Oh, that son of mine is just full of surprises today—apparently he also owns a private jet. It came quite handy when we needed to make it across the country in less than half the time it took the three of you".
Lucy stood in between her two friends, looking from one to the other. "I'm new to all this—do all teenagers own private jets"? She asked.
"No," Lily said. "Just pretty rich boys".
"If it makes you feel any better—I didn't give it to him," she said. "But, your dad didn't mind it".
Lucy's mouth dropped. "My dad—is here"?
Haley nodded. "I think he wants to talk to you—not sure what about".
Haley picked up the bag that Lily had dropped and began walking back towards the elevator with Lily and Lucy in tow.
Brooke however, didn't move.
And neither did Madison.
"You're mad," Madison said.
It wasn't a question, it was a fact. Or a really good guess. And she wasn't wrong. But, she wasn't right either.
Brooke bit the bottom of her lip as she walked over to Madison, running her hands down each one of her foster daughter's French braid—straightening them out over her shoulders. "For now—we won't talk about if I'm mad or not," she said. "We can discuss that when we get back home, but for now just know that I'm here for you. I don't think traveling across the country by yourself—or even with two other girls was smart or safe, but I fully understand why you did it".
"You're not going to make me go back home"?
Brooke nodded. "Of course I am, but not until you speak to this woman. Not until you have a chance to know who your parents are".
Madison wrapped her arms around Brooke, as tightly as she could—without strangling her. She felt Brooke's hand softly on the back of her head, she felt her comforting her, knowing it was the last thing she wanted to do.
"Alright," Brooke said leaning away. "Let's go".
And the two caught up with the Haley, Lucy, and Lily who stood by the elevator waiting.
"When you say everyone came—"? Lucy began.
"Oh, your dad's here, too," Haley told her.
Pizza.
Pizza.
And more Pizza filled the tables, the counters—and any other vacant spots throughout the large hotel suite. The boxes each held something specific in it, for the meat lovers, the cheese lovers, the veggie lovers and everything in between.
A few beers had been handed around, passing the teenagers all together—not that they expected any different.
One could hope, but that was about all they could do.
"You three can now cross Texas off of your bucket list," Nathan told his son, as he sipped on the beer in his hands.
Jamie looked up at Nathan and shook his head. "We don't have a bucket list, and if we did—I don't think visiting Texas would be on it".
Lucas looked up. "You don't have a bucket list"? He asked. "Of things you'd like to do—places you'd like to see".
Jamie didn't verbally answer him, but he shook his head as he stuffed over half of a of a slice of pizza into his mouth.
"Thank God Madison isn't in here," Peyton said folding her arms looking at Jamie. "She might not be able to resist you".
Jamie chuckled, as he attempted to chew the large amount in his mouth.
Lucas ignored his ex-wife's comment and continued to focus on his nephew. "You don't have any certain places you would like to go"? He asked. "Things you'd like to see? When I was your age—".
"You had to get up to change the channel"? Jamie asked with a grin.
Lucas grabbed the nearest object he could find, not paying any attention to what it was, lifted it and tossed it as nephew. Jamie ducked out of the way just in time, and it didn't wipe the smile off of his face.
"Back in my dad we had to walk ten miles to school with no shoes on in the snow," Jamie said, in a rough grumbling voice, teasing his uncle.
Lucas rolled his eyes. "That sounds more like Deb's day".
"I divorced a Scott—and somehow I'm still roped into the stupidity," Deb said shaking her head.
Mouth sat down next to Lucas and asked "you never thought about wanting to visit Texas—there are so many great things to see here" he said.
"Like, what"?
"Dallas"? Mouth said. "Houston—".
"I always wanted to go to San Antonio" they all heard and turned to see Madison had been the one who said it.
Jamie had stopped eating as he looked up at Madison, who stood with her hands stuffed into the back of her jeans—looking at him, nervously. Lily and Lucy were behind her, as Haley and Brooke walked in with the bags.
The silence took over the room, for a lot longer than anyone could have anticipated but there was no shying away from it either.
Everyone could feel the tension, between the two fathers and their daughters—an upset brother, but the real strain in the room came from a couple. A teenaged couple, who had yet to peel their eyes away from each other.
"Look who we found in the lobby," Brooke said planting her hands on Madison's shoulders. "What a coincidence—isn't it"?
"Yeah" Lucas scoffed. "Big one".
Lily, unlike Madison, didn't look nervous—not in the least. She folded her arms and looked at her brother. "If you have something to say just say it or make me a plate of pizza".
"Lily do you have any idea how dangerous this could have been"? Lucas asked, standing up looking at her.
Lily shook her head. "It's no more dangerous than the number of sexual partners you had in high school, so don't give me that".
"Excuse me"?
"Don't give me that, I have read your book about a dozen times, there is such a thing as an STD—".
"Oh, here we go," Lucas said tapping Keith on the shoulder. "This is what she does when she gets in trouble, she will find any argument—and I do mean any, to reverse it so whatever you did is just as bad as what she did. But, don't fall for it—mom never did".
"Mom was smarter than your brother O mine," Lily said strutting across the room.
"Well, I'm not falling for it either".
"Too bad you're not my dad—he is," Lily said smiling. "You can't tell me what to do".
"Legally, I'm still your guardian—and until the doctor has cleared that will remain," Lucas told her. "You just met your dad, and the first thing you do is put him through this? Is that what you wanted? To scare him? Did you want him to land back in the hospital, which is a possibility, in case you didn't know? He had brain surgery less than eight weeks ago, he could have had a heart attack of a stroke, how would you have felt? On his post-surgery care, one of the first things it said was no stress, this has stress written across it in big bold letters—capitalized".
"Luke" Brooke said gaining his attention. "I think she gets it".
Lucas looked at Brooke and took a step back—sitting in his chair. He knew she was right, and maybe his outburst was a little uncalled for.
No, it was completely called for, but maybe this wasn't the time or the place, in front of Lily's friends and her boyfriend.
Ah, to hell with it.
"You're grounded, double what you already had," Lucas told her. "Triple, with a few minor adjustments. For the fight you could still play basketball, you can't for a month and a half now, no dates—no nights out. You can still go to work through".
"Gee, thanks," Lily said sarcastically as she looked at her brother.
"If you'd like we can vote on it—since mom legally left you to Peyton and myself, we can vote on it with Keith" Lucas suggested. "I think that's fair—don't worry though you can get a vote as well. All in favor of my disciplinary action"?
Lily watched as Lucas raised his hand—followed by Peyton and Keith raising theirs as well. The teenager wanted to scream, but there was a part of her—a very small part that was the loudest over all her thoughts.
She looked at her dad, and the words her brother said echoed in her mind.
Lily hates it when he was right, but he was in fact right. She knew her father worried, that's why he was here, she knew she had caused him stress. She couldn't think about anything except what could have happened if she had put too much stress on him.
She hadn't, but she could have.
Lily spent weeks, months worrying about her father, which seemed unreal itself, but she couldn't believe that she was the one that could have jeopardized his health.
"You girls sit down, eat," Deb said, jerking Lily out of her own head. "All the restaurants were closed when we got here, so Pizza will have to do".
"Thanks," Lily said as Deb led her into a seat.
Deb smiled. "It's your favorite—just eat, we can worry about everything else later," she said looking at the angry fathers and brothers, former sister-in-law, and anyone else that might have anything to say about it. "It's almost one in the morning, we need to eat and go to sleep, all of us are exhausted".
"Sleep sounds great," Jamie said as he walked across the room, tossing what was left in his hand into the trash. "I had to call a few different places," he said, looking at Madison. "But, I found you a vegan pizza—it's the only one that hasn't been touched".
Maddie half-smiled when he looked at her but, he avoided any type of eye contact—and he wasn't smiling.
"I'm going on to my room," Jamie said as he walked towards the door.
Madison was taken by surprise when he still kissed her as he went to leave, but even in the second his lips were pressed to hers, she could feel the hostile—the anger.
"And you were worried about him being mad," Lily told Madison.
"He is," she said without looking up.
"He found you your social pizza, and he kissed you—he couldn't be," Lily said.
Madison looked up, knowing it was going to take more than just her word at this point. So, she looked to Chuck and Andre, knowing the answer before she asked: "Is he mad"?
Andre nodded. Slowly. "He is—a little upset," he said, trying to somewhat soften the blow.
Unfortunately, Chuck wasn't the same. "He is pissed off," He said. "He barely spoke the whole plane ride and when he did—it wasn't the most pleasant conversation I have ever had with him, let's just leave it there".
Madison looked at Chuck, and for a second she thought about it. Everyone was here, besides Jamie, and everyone was listening, so she reconsidered at first. But, if anyone was going to be upfront and honest with her, it would be Jamie's pain in the ass best friend.
"What—what all did he say"? Madison finally asked.
Chuck shook his head. "Nope," he said. "I'm not getting in the middle of that, that is your two's problem, not mine," he said. "We made rules after you two had your first fight, and I'm not breaking them. It puts me or Andre in a really bad situation, we are friends with both of you—and don't think about asking him because he is the soft one of the group".
"Don't be an ass?" Lily told her boyfriend.
"He isn't," Madison told her. "Jamie and I, we made the rules".
Lucy had to ask "what rules"?
"When you have a group of friends as close as the four of us have always been, and two of those friends start dating it can complicate things," Andre told her. "No middle man stuff is the main one though if Jamie and Madison have a fight that's their relationship problem, not a whole group problem, which means if Jamie tells Chuck something or Madison tells me something, we don't go and tell the other".
"Exactly," Chuck said. "So, if you want to know what's on inside pretty boy's mind—go ask him, I don't want any part of it".
"It's weird right"?
Brooke, who stood in the kitchen with her palms pressed tightly against the counter, turned to find Peyton opening a water bottle, taking a long sip.
If Brooke was being honest she wasn't paying any attention, to anything so if she had been talking before she missed it, or she was just perplexed which was not too far from her usual state of mind.
Brooke turned back around, looking back into the large group of people she chooses to call family and asked: "what's weird"?
"It seems like just yesterday that was us," Peyton said walking up next to Brooke. "Now, we are the ones watching their own little teenaged drama play out".
"Yeah, I guess," Brooke told her, still not fully in her own head as she spoke.
"I wonder if this is how Karen felt"? Peyton asked, smiling. "Or Dad? Hell, even Dan—they watched us run around like the sky is falling every time we got into a little argument—everything always seemed like the end of the world to us".
"I don't know—maybe".
Peyton looked at her best friend, and she followed her eyesight—expecting to find her locked on Lucas. But, that wasn't the case—she wasn't looking at anything in particular. She was just standing there, watching as everyone ate and talked and continued doing whatever it was they were doing or had been doing.
"I'm thinking about having sex with Jake," Peyton said, quietly.
That worked, Brooke looked up and over at Peyton her mouth hanging open. But, not because she was shocked that was what Peyton told her.
"You two haven't had sex yet"? Brooke asked, an eyebrow arched. "You two have been seeing each other for two or three months".
"I'm not going to just jump into bed with him," Peyton said, defending herself.
Brooke rolled her eyes. "You already have, literally".
"Yeah, another lifetime ago—I am not exactly seventeen anymore—if you roll your eyes any harder you're going to give yourself an aneurism".
"Well, you sound ridiculous. You're hot, you have nothing to worry about".
"I have had a baby, a c-section, I have years on this body—".
"Jake adores you," Brooke said. "And a lot of us would kill for your body, to look like we did when we were seventeen. Not everyone is as lucky as you are Peyton, the only thing that isn't the same is the bags under your eyes and if you used my recommendation I could shave another seven years off, but you don't. Stop complaining about your body when you look better than the rest of us".
Peyton watched as Brooke walked away, she didn't storm away or run away, no one even noticed how upset she was as she made her way across the room. No one but Peyton and that was enough.
A/N hope you enjoyed!
Like I said, small Chapter (at least based off the top of chapters I normally write). I wanted to just open up a certain way (which will happen in the next chapter) but then I would have to completely skipped over a big part... the girls returning. So, this chapter serves as a filler, a bridge to the next one.
It pretty much says this is a problem we have here, but we are going to deal with it when we return home.
I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews, and being to interactive with this story. It means a lot!