Happy new year everyone! I hope this year is good to you all :)

Lucas gets a new mentor, struggles in the friend zone with Brooke, and makes an interesting choice on a lonely Valentine's day... enjoy!

Chapter Four – Protégé

A few weeks had passed since Brooke and Lucas' bathroom talk and Valentine's Day was fast approaching. Brooke hated Valentine's day with a passion. She couldn't understand why they needed one day to celebrate love. Shouldn't it be celebrated every day? It was also rare that she managed to maintain a relationship through Valentine's Day. She would occasionally have a date, but that's all they were. She'd never cared about someone enough to make a fuss of the day. Not since Aiden. Right now, she doubted she ever would. So, she just tried to pretend that the day wasn't even happening, or that her feelings for Lucas weren't growing.

Brooke and Lucas still managed to maintain a flirty exterior, but they were swiftly finding themselves slipping right into the friendzone. They both knew it was a difficult place to get out of, but they also really valued their friendship. It was goofy but serious and it was rare that they could find someone to talk to so openly about anything. They were often a rock on some difficult days. So, Brooke did what she did best – focus on the friendship, avoid all feelings.

Another thing that Brooke was trying to avoid was a budding romance happening right under her nose between Lucas and one of the nurses – Anna Taggaro. Brooke had always been aware of Lucas charming his way around the hospital and when he started talking to Anna, she didn't expect it to go anywhere, but somehow she was always round at the house and they were always whispering in each other's ears at work. Brooke didn't want to say that she was jealous… but she had a funny feeling that she was. So, she just tried to ignore it and get on with her work.

As she filled in some paperwork at the nurses' station one Thursday afternoon, she heard someone come up behind her.

"Brookie, there she is!" she heard the person say behind her as she turned around and smiled widely when she recognised the voice.

"Uncle Kirk!" she exclaimed excitedly as she jumped into the man's arms and squeezed him tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my favourite goddaughter of course." He said with a wink. Brooke believed her Uncle Kirk was one of the most charming men she had ever met. He never settled down because he knew the flirting with anyone and everyone wouldn't have the same affect and he just couldn't part with the bachelor way of life.

Brooke playfully rolled her eyes, "I'm your only goddaughter…"

"So you're naturally a shoo-in for the number one spot." He replied as Brooke giggled. "As happy as I am to see you Brookie, your dad actually brought me here. He wants me to revitalise the plastics department." He explained. Kirk Walker had been best friends with Ted since they were little kids. Ted always joked that he couldn't do anything without Kirk following suit. They both went to med school, completed their residencies at the same hospital in New York and now they were at the top of their game in their respected departments. Kirk was the best plastic surgeon on the East coast and Ted was right in thinking he could bring in some serious revenue in Raleigh.

"So… that means you're sticking around?" she asked hopefully.

"Looks like it"

"Oh my gosh this is amazing!" Brooke said with a little squeal.

"Yeah, it's pretty exciting… I just need to find a protégé…" Kirk said seriously.

Brooke quirked an eyebrow, "A protégé?"

"Yeah, someone that I can hand the plastics baton on to. A mini Kirk Walker." He said proudly. While most surgeons had inflated egos, Kirk's had hit a major arrogance spot long ago. It had gotten to the point, however, that those closest to Kirk just couldn't take it seriously anymore.

"How about you teach all the residents here, giving everyone a fair shot at being the best surgeons they could be?" Brooke suggested in a patronising tone.

"I'm not a teacher Brookie. I – am a master of my craft." Kirk replied as Brooke held back a laugh.

Before she could say anything else, Lucas walked over to her with a clipboard.

"Davis, could you double check Mrs Labour's labs for me?" he asked as Brooke nodded and took the board from him. Lucas looked up and saw Kirk carefully eyeing him. "You're Kirk Walker."

"The one and only"

Lucas smiled, "Man, you're legendary, I was reading one of your papers the other day – did you know Dr. Walker did a full-face transplant recently?" he said to Brooke.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that somewhere…" Brooke replied. Of course she'd heard all about it, it was all Kirk could talk about for weeks.

"What's your name kid?" Kirk asked as they shook hands.

"Lucas Scott. 5th year resident, it really is an honour to meet you Dr. Walker. Are you here for long?"

"I've just accepted a job here at the hospital." He confirmed.

"Dr. Walker is very good friends with the chief" Brooke told him. "And he's my godfather"

Lucas quirked an eyebrow, "You really do have a lot of friends in high places, huh Davis?" he said, nudging her with his elbow.

"Are you interested in plastics Dr. Scott?" Kirk asked curiously.

"Absolutely. I think it deserves more recognition. People are so quick to dismiss it as solely boob jobs and bum lifts." Lucas said with a chuckle.

"Good attitude. We should talk later, right now I have a meeting with the chief." Kirk said as he turned back to Brooke who had since checked the labs and handed them back to Lucas. "See you later cookie" he said before striding away.

"Aw, thanks cookie" Lucas teased as Brooke punched him causing him to crunch over slightly.

"Your labs are fine" she responded. "Kirk wants to take you under his wing by the way."

"What? How can you tell?"

"He told me he was looking for a protégé and you definitely fit the bill." Brooke said as they started to walk on.

"How so?"

"Talented, respectful to plastics as a specialty, in awe of Kirk, handsome—"

"Aw cookie, you think I'm handsome?" he said as he rested his hand over his chest.

Brooke narrowed her eyes, "Get your mind out of the gutter Scott."

"Ok, well, I am flattered that you think so highly of me." Lucas boasted as he stuck his chest out and Brooke rolled her eyes. "You really think he'd take me on?"

Brooke nodded, "Yeah, I do."

Brooke was right. Kirk adopted Lucas as his own person resident, passing on all the tricks of the trade. It was going swimmingly and they were quickly becoming a dynamic duo, though it certainly was frustrating for all the other residents who kind of resented watching Lucas rise so quickly through the ranks.

As much as Lucas appreciated Kirk's teaching, there was one thing that was driving him crazy – how much Anna appreciated Kirk too. He was a handsome and charming man and he had everyone falling at his feet, even Lucas' sort of girlfriend. Much like Brooke had been with Chase, he simply refused to put a label on it. Brooke definitely wasn't the only commitment-phobe around here, but it didn't stop him from getting jealous. Jealous of the fact that Kirk sometimes seemed more interested in talking to Anna than he did in teaching Lucas.

"Tell me I'm being paranoid" Lucas asked Brooke as the grabbed a coffee from the cart a few weeks later.

Brooke sighed, "You're being paranoid." In all honesty, she really didn't care about Lucas' love life right now, especially on the day before Valentine's day. "Though… she did switch her surgery schedule so she could work with Walker in the OR…" Brooke added with a grimace. Anna claimed she wanted the chance to be a scrub nurse for the great Kirk Walker, but Brooke figured differently.

"Screw this. I can't be around Walker today." Lucas said dramatically as he threw his coffee into the bin. "I need Foster to rearrange the schedule or something, just for today"

Brooke rolled her eyes. Was he really being this dramatic over a girl that he refused to call his girlfriend? "No chief resident in their right mind is going to rearrange the schedule just because you're having girl problems Scott. Suck it up."

Lucas pouted, "You used to care about my problems Brooke, what happened?"

"Your problems are no longer real problems Lucas, there is nothing I can do about your jealousy." Brooke told him in a matter of fact manner.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow; "You cannot talk, you have been jealous of Anna and I since the moment we started seeing each other."

Brooke feigned disgust; "No I have not—"

"You can barely stand to be in the same room as us!" Lucas reasoned. Just last week Lucas and Anna had been making out on the sofa and Brooke slammed a bowl of popcorn down in front of them before storming out of the room.

"Because all you do is make out because there isn't actually any good conversation!" she exclaimed. She had even walked in on them kissing in the utility room. Was there anywhere they didn't so it?

"… that was mean." Lucas said with a frown.

"That was an accurate observation." Brooke said, putting her foot down on this one. They really didn't have much more going for them than the fact they were both intelligent and attractive.

"You're just mad because me being with Anna means we can't go take that chance..." He teased. When he saw he was slipping into the friendzone with Brooke, his playboy ways for some reason started to resurface again. He had never really been a relationship guy, but right now, he was in denial about Brooke and denial meant he couldn't keep his head screwed on and he distracted himself elsewhere.

"Get your head out of your ass Scott."

"Ok, as long as you get the stick out of yours."

Brooke was about to scold him when Nathan walked past, and Lucas quickly pounced on him.

"Hey, Lee, what do you have today?" Lucas asked.

"A whole load of nothing, why?"

"How would you feel about taking a nerve graft off my hands?" Lucas practically begged.

Nathan smirked; "I would feel great about that."

Brooke eyed the two of them before turning to Lucas, "… grow some balls Scott." She said before walking away.

Lucas had watched rather impatiently from the gallery as Kirk and Nathan completed the surgery. He knew it should have been him down there, Kirk even asked him to come down there, but Lucas still said no. He couldn't believe he was letting himself get so worked up over a girl – or so he thought. The more time he spent watching Kirk, the more he realised that this wasn't about Anna. It was about him. He was jealous that Kirk was spending all this time flirting with Anna when he wanted to learn.

As he pondered over this, he made his way round to the ICU to check on some patients. One of them had given him a box of chocolates in a heart shaped box and he was now taking some time to feel sorry for himself and eat them outside the room. Brooke soon arrived to check on her own patients and frowned when she found Lucas sitting there.

"Hey" He greeted when he spotted Brooke. "The nougats are gone, sorry."

"Damn, they're my favourite." She said as she sat beside him. "What's with the heart shaped chocolates?" she asked as she took a few.

"A patient gave them to me. It's the closest thing to love I'll be getting this Valentine's day." He said solemnly.

"What happened with Anna?"

"I'm choosing Kirk." Lucas said definitively as Brooke raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I'm choosing my career over worrying about a girl that I can't even call my girlfriend… somethings tells me she won't give me a reason not to."

Brooke nodded her head and slumped into her chair a little further. "Valentine's Day is so overrated." She grumbled.

"You know, this is the first year I haven't had a date on Valentine's day since I was 14 years old." Lucas told her.

Brooke stopped chewing for a second and looked at him; "I would mock you right now if my mouth weren't so full."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Try the square ones, they're caramel and sea salt." He said as she happily complied. "Why are you being so sour about Valentine's Day anyway?"

"It's a sad reminder that the only person I have ever loved is dead." Brooke said bluntly.

"…right." Lucas said awkwardly, not really sure how to respond.

"I'm sorry, that was—that was dark." Brooke apologised. "It's been almost 10 years since Aiden died and I am a shadow of my former self." Brooke confessed. "I'm not as light and bubbly as I once was. I feel like there's this dark cloud constantly over me. None of who I am feels me anymore. It hasn't for a long time."

"You went through something that no one at your age should have to go through. I think it's understandable that you maybe wouldn't be yourself for a while—if ever again." Lucas sympathised.

"I want to be myself though. I—I can still let something like this shape me and refine me and stay with me for the rest of my life without it changing everything good about me." Brooke reasoned.

"The fact that you're sitting here saying all of these things, kind of suggests to me that you're not as lost as you think." Lucas said as he looked at her. "You're still in there Brooke. You've just got to find her."

"I guess so." Brooke mumbled. "And if you're still the same guy who's had a date on Valentine's Day since he was 15 years old, I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find one for tonight. Just bat those baby blues at any one of those nurses and I'm sure they would fall at your feet." She teased.

Lucas chuckled; "Funny… I'm pretty sure that sense of humour also belongs to the real Brooke."

"I'm pretty sure you're right." Brooke said with a soft smile.

"Maybe uh—maybe tonight's the night we chance our luck?" Lucas suggested with a devilish smirk.

Brooke looked at him for a moment, before quickly deciding her answer. If they were ever going to chance it, it wouldn't be while they were both feeling sorry for themselves. "Now you're just pushing your luck" she said with a wink. "Happy Valentine's Day Scott." She said as she took one more chocolate, before smiling at him and leaving.

Lucas sat back in his chair with a smirk on his face. Yep—he was definitely going to marry her one day.

That night, Lucas had made his way round to Tric to drown his sorrows a little. Things were getting back on track with Kirk, but for some reason he still felt a little lost. He thought doing this would make him happy, but there was just something missing.

He was already a little tipsy when he saw a purse slam down beside him along with a grouchy looking Peyton.

"Tequila please. Lots of it." Peyton merely said as the bar tender smirked and got out some shot glasses.

"What's up with you?" Lucas asked as he finished off his drink.

"Bad date. Horrible date. I hate valentine's day." She said as she downed a few shots.

Lucas scoffed, "Tell me about it."

"Dude, you've had a date since you were like 14, Valentine's Day isn't sucky for you." Peyton said. She'd known him for a little over 4 years now. They were good friends, they'd gone through residency together, they knew a lot about each other that they could never dare to share with anyone else.

"Not this year. I chose my career this year and now I'm alone"

"And feeling sorry for yourself by the looks of things…" she said as she motioned to the empty glass in his hand.

"I'm not the one who came in here practically begging for tequila." Lucas countered.

"Whatever." Peyton grumbled. "Ugh, how is this fair? We are two stupidly attractive surgeons, if anyone should have a date on Valentine's day it should be us, right?"

Lucas shrugged, "I guess it wouldn't have hurt to have a little bit of fun tonight." A release from all the pressure he'd been feeling definitely wouldn't have been a bad thing.

Lucas and Peyton sat in silence for a few moments before they sat up a little straighter and looked at each other. Before they knew it, they were back home in Peyton's bedroom, ripping each other's clothes off, trying to mask the loneliness they felt with one night of meaningless sex.

But sex was never meaningless… right?

The following morning, Lucas carefully opened the door to Peyton's bedroom and looked down the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. The last thing he needed was his nosey roommates asking questions about what he was doing in there and he really didn't want Brooke to find out. He felt like a world class idiot. It may have been good at the time, but the aftershocks were beginning to settle in, and Lucas was beginning to wonder whether it had been worth it.

He delicately crept down the hallway and rushed into the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind him and letting out a breath.

"Running away from someone?" he heard a voice say as he jumped slightly and turned around to find Nathan standing at the sink, shaving.

"You guys really have a problem with locking doors around here." Lucas said as he sat on the edge of the bath.

Nathan shrugged, "For such a big house, having only one bathroom is a problem, so we cross some boundaries that most housemates wouldn't be willing to go."

"So I see…" he said as he ran a hand down his face.

"What's up?" Nathan asked, seeing that something was clearly bothering him.

"I did something last night…"

"Ah, you mean you did someone last night."

"How…?"

"It's Valentine's day, I just made the most obvious conclusion." Nathan said with a smirk as he continued shaving. "Why are you feeling guilty about it?"

"I think I've just opened up a whole can of worms that I no way wanted to open." Lucas grumbled.

"I see… my advice? Deal with it head on. Don't avoid. It can only make it ten times worse." Nathan advised as Lucas nodded his head. He truly wished it could be that simple.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened and Rachel appeared, paused and then smirked.

"Now this is adorable. Two roomies in the bathroom together… cute." She teased as they both rolled their eyes.

"Morning Rachel…" Lucas said as he pushed past her and down to his room, wondering how he was ever going to deal with what was coming.

For the rest of the day, Lucas didn't heed Nathan's advice and he avoided Peyton like the plague. He just didn't know what to do or say about it. He was mad at himself for potentially ruining a friendship that he really valued all because he was feeling a little sorry for himself. He was mad at himself for taking a step that they may not be able to come back from.

As he pondered over his regret, he found himself falling into step with Brooke in the hallway of the general surgery department.

"Hey" she greeted happily as he mumbled a hi in response. "What's your problem?"

"Just reeling from a crappy Valentine's day."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. It really couldn't have been that bad, right? "Was ending things with Anna really that bad? You weren't that into her—" Brooke began, but she was cut off midsentence when Lucas spotted Peyton turn the corner, and he grabbed Brooke's arm and pulled her into the nearest supply closet—which happened to be a little snug for two people.

"What are you doing?!" Brooke said as she regained her balance.

"Hiding. From Peyton." Lucas said with a gulp. Looks like he was about to come clean about everything. He figured if he couldn't tell Brooke, who could he tell?

Brooke narrowed her eyes, "Why would you need to hide from Peyton? She's like your best friend around here…"

Lucas remained silent, struggling to look Brooke in the eye, leaving her to jump to conclusions about what happened. She thought about it for a brief moment before her eyes widened and she put two and two together.

"You slept with Sawyer?! Lucas!" she exclaimed as she smacked him in the arm.

"Ow, what was that for?!" he exclaimed back.

"She's like your sister, I cannot believe you would ruin that for one night of good sex!" she scolded as Lucas frowned. "And why the hell are you involving me?!"

"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything, you guessed!"

"I mean, why the hell did you pull me into this tiny closest?!" she said through her teeth as they stood only a breath apart. They definitely could have moved back a little bit, but the proximity felt good – though neither would ever dare admit it. Their burgeoning feelings for one another were growing more and more complicated by the second.

Lucas frowned; "We were having a conversation, I didn't want to be rude."

"Oh, yeah, cause dragging me into a supply closet is really polite." She said with an eyeroll. After pausing to calm down a little, Brooke took the time to think about the situation. The more she thought about it, the more she realised that maybe Lucas and Peyton weren't such a bad idea after all. They knew each other really well, they had the same interests, the same egotistical drive. Maybe this could work – and maybe this would act as a deterrent for Brooke's feelings for Lucas.

"You know… maybe it's not such a bad thing."

"Excuse me?"

"Maybe you and Peyton having some fun wouldn't be such a bad thing. You're both hot young singles, you don't have to go through that awkward get to know you phase… I think it could work." Brooke reasoned as she crossed her arms over her chest protectively.

"… you're serious?"

"Yeah!" Brooke said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible. "We all need a release Lucas and Peyton could be the perfect one for you." Lucas just stared right at Brooke, trying to process her reaction. He didn't know what to expect from her, but it didn't feel like it should be this. Brooke awkwardly cleared her throat, "How long do we have to stay in here?" Brooke asked.

Before Lucas could answer, the door flung open and Peyton and Kirk stood on the other side, looking confused.

Brooke smiled awkwardly; "Oh. Hi."

"I thought I saw you come in here Lucas..." Peyton said as she shifted awkwardly, clearly confused by his actions.

"Yeah, I was just—looking for—something" he said as he lifted a random item and held it up.

"What about you Brookie?" Kirk asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I was just helping…" she said as she lifted something else and held it up. They all stood there for a brief moment before Brooke made a move. "I'm gonna—yeah." Brooke said as she moved past them all and started walking down the corridor, but Kirk was hot on her tail.

"Brooke—"

"Hi Uncle Kirk" she said cheerfully, hoping he would not question the supply closet incident.

"Brooke, stop." Kirk said as he turned her around. "You were in a supply closet. With Scott."

"It's a long story—"

"Do you like Scott?" Kirk asked. He had never been one to dance around an issue. He was happy to get straight to the point with this one.

"No! No, we're friends—" Brooke stopped explaining herself when she noticed Kirk smirking at her. "Stop smirking at me like that."

"It's just a smile."

"No, it's a creepy smirk."

"I see it." Kirk said cryptically.

Brooke frowned and crossed her arms; "See what?"

"You and Scott. I don't quite know what it is but—there's something… and I see it." Kirk told her.

"You're insane."

"That may be so, but I'm not an idiot. I know a connection when I see one. I'm rooting for you. My protégé and my goddaughter. Wow."

"Stop it."

"Nope."

Brooke grabbed the lapels of Kirk's coat, "I swear to God if you say anything about this conversation to Lucas I will sucker punch you." She grumbled.

Kirk shrugged, "I've been sucker punched before and lived. Mark my words Cookie—you're meant to be." He said, leaving Brooke in disbelief behind him.

A few weeks had passed before Brooke heard anymore about Lucas and Peyton. Until today, she had no idea what Lucas had decided to do, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know, though she felt like a bad friend for giving him this advice and then just ignoring the outcome. Avoidance was what she was best at after all. But that morning, Rachel had come bursting into her room moaning and covering her ears.

"What's wrong?" Brooke asked as she snuggled a little further into bed.

"Lucas and Peyton is what's wrong. They've been going at it like rabbits for the past few weeks and I am sick of all of Peyton's cringey sex noises, GOD it needs to STOP"

"… Lucas and Peyton are sleeping together?" Brooke questioned as she sat up in bed and furrowed her eyebrows.

Rachel looked at her in disbelief. "How could you not know that? How could you not hear that?!"

Brooke slumped back into her bed with a groan. She couldn't quite believe that he actually took her advice. It was terrible advice.

So, Brooke yet again did what she did best – avoided. She threw herself into her work, something she was excellent at. Today, she had a patient with a hand laceration who kept grabbing people's asses due to a neurological reflex issue. She tried to sew it herself, but he was getting far too handsy, so she called Lucas to come and do it—with a fair warning to watch his ass.

While she filled in his paperwork, Lucas walked over to her.

"Thanks for the warning on the ass grabbing…" he mumbled as Brooke chuckled.

"I figured you might be less of a target for him" she explained.

"So glad you were willing to put me in the line of fire…" he joked.

Brooke gave him a smug smirk and a shrug. He was a budding plastic surgeon, he was definitely the best person to do some sewing… Brooke looked up at Lucas and for the first time noticed he looked a little more down than usual. He looked tired and frustrated and altogether a little done with the day.

"You ok?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm just—exhausted." He said vaguely.

"Oh… Peyton keeping you up at night?" she teased, surprising herself that she was willing to bring it up.

Lucas gulped. Brooke was the last person he wanted to talk to about this. "You really want to talk about that?"

"We're friends, friends talk. It doesn't have to be weird." She encouraged him with a soft smile. Deep down, it would always be weird, but Lucas and Brooke valued each other's friendship a heck of a lot.

Lucas sighed; "I feel pretty terrible about it but it's also like an addiction."

"I think that's a sign you like her." Brooke observed.

"… no. No, it's not—it's not like that. I mean—of course I like her, she's a very good friend of mine, it's just—it's just sex though." Lucas reasoned. That's all the expectations he had going into this. That's all he wanted… but sex could never be that straight forward, right? He did like Peyton. He had always liked Peyton, but he didn't want to set himself up for something like this. That wasn't the plan.

"Honestly? I'm not sure Peyton is the kind of girl who is into just sex." Brooke replied. She hadn't had many conversations with Peyton, but she remembered pretty clearly a drunken night at Tric near the beginning of the year where Peyton made clear that her dream man was out there and that she was going to find him and marry him and have a tonne of babies. It was clear that 'just sex' wasn't really Peyton's thing. "But I guess you know the situation better than I do, so just—be careful… and get some sleep you look terrible." She teased.

"Oh gee thanks…" he said with a glare. "What about you? You seeing anyone?"

"You know better than that Lucas…" Brooke replied. Of course she wasn't seeing anyone. It would be a freaking miracle for her to be seeing anyone.

"I know you think surgeons are egotistical maniacs who struggle to form meaningful relationships in the workplace but— you should break that mould." Lucas encouraged.

Brooke folded her arms, "Just because you took my advice doesn't mean I'm going to take yours. Besides… where would I even start?"

"You could let me take you for a drink" Lucas suggested.

"Oh my god Lucas, you're sleeping with Peyton and you're asking me out? Gross!" she scolded as she slapped his arm.

"Ow, I'm not saying it's a date, just hanging out, as friends." Lucas said with a shrug. "A meaningful workplace relationship doesn't necessarily have to be a romantic one…"

"Do you think we could do that? Have a non-romantic workplace relationship?"

"I think we already have one." Lucas encouraged as Brooke gulped. Stupid friendzone.

"…alright. You're on."

Lucas smirked back at her; "Is this a dream? Is Brooke Davis finally giving in and letting me buy her a drink?"

"I am not giving in to anything, I am offering to go for a drink with a colleague."

Lucas placed his hand on his heart; "Colleague? Damn, that is cold."

"Isn't uh—isn't Peyton waiting for you?" she teased as Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"You're bold Cheery."

"I know. So tonight, Tric?" she said as she lifted her charts.

"Count me in."

"Great. I shall see you there." She said with a smile before walking away and leaving a pleased Lucas behind her.

What was it about Brooke Davis that she had such a profound effect on people?

Cause the story would be boring without some complications... right?

Don't forget to review!