The sun slowly rose over the horizon, falling upon a couple laying on the beach. The girl had her head on his chest, with one hand tucked up under her cheek, and the other arm flung across his torso. The guy had his arm wrapped around her back, and the other hand was on her arm, like he had been running his hand up and down her arm when they had fallen asleep. His chin was tucked down and his face was buried in her hair, which was splayed across his chest. There were smiles on both of their faces.
Beneath the girl's eyelids, her eyes began to move, as the sunlight interrupted her sleep. She blinked her eyes open for an instant before closing them again, turning her face into his firm chest and inhaling his scent. She didn't feel the sand beneath her until she recognized the scent of the buy beneath her, which caused her more alarm than the fact that she was waking up on the beach. The guy laying beneath her was not her boyfriend.
Sitting up blindly, she quickly remembered the pain and tears of the night before, and corrected the previous thought with a mental grimace. Ex-boyfriend. It took her a few seconds until she was able to keep her eyes open, and when she did, she noticed that Logan was still soundly sleeping, though the smile had slipped off of his face, as if he realized she wasn't there anymore, even in his unconscious state.
Her emotions ran wild as she studied his face, so content and peaceful in sleep. He looked gorgeous, and she couldn't believe she had never seen it before. She realized that even the day they had met she had noticed how good-looking he was, but she had been far too interested in Sean to really look at him. His dark hair flopped against his forehead in a way that made her want to run her fingers through it. She quickly put all those emotions she didn't want to define away. She wasn't ready to think about that.
It took her only another moment to register the fact that she and Logan had actually talked themselves to sleep last night, and she hadn't gotten home. She knew her mom was going to be worried sick, because her phone wasn't even on. She grabbed it, and turned it on, listening to all the voicemail messages she got, some from Lucas, some from her mom. She noticed that not one call was from Sean, but she was more focused on the what her mom and Lucas told her to really dwell on that fact.
As Logan finally woke up, he immediately noticed the play of emotions across Audrey's face, which finally ended on anger. "Damnit. Damn her. Damn her to hell. Damn him, too. Stupid Scott sperm. Damnit!" she shouted, trying to control the urge to throw her phone into the water. She settled for tossing it angrily into the sand at her feet instead. She didn't even notice that Logan was awake yet.
Alarmed, Logan sat up and gently touched her arm, wondering what was going on. "Audrey," he spoke tentatively, not wanting to be at the receiving end of her anger, because he knew what her temper could be like. He didn't want to be the one to unleash the fury he saw in the bright blue eyes as she turned them on him. "Are you okay?" he settled on asking, though he really wanted to know what happened. He knew she would tell him when she was ready, though.
Shaking her head, she put her face in his hands as she tried to figure everything out. She really wanted to lean into Logan's embrace and let him make everything better, but she was getting more memory back from last night, and she decided it wasn't the best idea right now. "Apparantly, my mom broke up with Lucas," she paused, then added the bigger news, "because he's my father," she was still trying to wrap her mind around it.
Lifting her head, she looked at Logan, who stayed silent, because he could tell that wasn't all there was. She nodded slowly, and kept going. "Brooke Davis dropped by Tric and dropped a bomb last night too, apparantly. Kristine is Nathan's daughter, which I guess is the reason Mom broke up with him, because he flipped out over it or something," she paused again, knowing she had to say out loud the words she desperately didn't want to be true. "Kristine is my cousin," she made a face, as if the words tasted bad on her tongue.
Silence hung between them, as they both digested this. Mainly Audrey was contemplating the fact that she finally knew the true identity of her father, but that information had come at such a high cost. She had a cousin-actually, two cousins, but she actually thought it was kind of cool Jamie was her cousin-too, and it had to be Kristine, the girl who she hated, because she had taken away Sean. She knew it wasn't truly Kristine's fault, but she'd rather blame her. Logan was wondering why it was so hard to reach out and comfort her.
If the same thing had happened on any other day, he knew that she would have been seeking a hug from him, and he would be telling her that things would be okay. Because of last night, though, he wasn't sure what to say to her, even though they'd spent all that time talking. He couldn't seem to form any words, and she seemed to be keeping her distance, so he was going to let her take the lead, and he'd do whatever she wanted him to do.
As if she was on the same wavelength as him, she looked up at him, throwing her hands up into the air as if in exasperation. "I guess I need you to take me to Lucas's house," she said, as if it was the most obvious solution. He didn't really get it, she could tell, but she needed to go see Lucas. She couldn't handle seeing her mom right now, and it was obvious talking to Logan was out of the question right now, and she wouldn't trust one of her friends with this, not yet.
Cocking his head, he looked at her curiously, wondering why the heck she had come to that conclusion. He knew that she knew him well enough to read the question in his eyes. She just shrugged and looked away from those striking green eyes. "Well, my list of things to do in this situation has always been talk to you, and then talk to the father in question. So I guess I'm moving on to step number two," she admitted, biting on her lip.
As the waves crashed onto the beach, neither of them said anything for a moment. He just stared at her intently, while she could feel that green-eyed gaze that always had been able to read her so well. He suddenly stood up and held out his hand. She looked at it for a moment, as if confused, before looking up at his face. "Come on, Rae-Rae. Let's go then," he used his nickname for her, reaching down and taking her hand so he could pull her to her feet.
They walked to the car and he started driving to Lucas's house. She leaned against him, and they both stayed silent because neither knew what to say. He knew she was thinking about what she was going to say to Lucas, and she was nervous about it, because she was biting her lip. He knew she needed silence while she thought things through, so he stayed silent. He just couldn't let her get out of the car without saying anything to her, though.
Just as she was about to get out of the car, he leaned over and grabbed her arm. She turned back and tried to penetrate his soul with those clear blue eyes, or at least, that was how it felt to him. He swallowed, but held her gaze. "Hey, Audrey, I just wanted to say," he paused, because he was still trying to figure that out. "It's all going to turn out all right," he finally finished, knowing that she needed to hear those words.
Of course, those were the exact words she needed to hear, and it really did make her feel a lot better, probably more than he even realized. She leaned across the seat, forgetting the night before, and gave him a tight hug, which probably lasted longer than a normal hug would last. "Thanks for being my best friend," she said before she slipped out of the car, exuding more confidence than she had before.
When she made it to the front door, he drove away, rightly assuming she needed to do this on her own. She sudenly wished she was still in the car with him, but she'd rather be here than near her mom. It really bugged her that Peyton had lied to her, lied to everyone, and told them that Lucas wasn't Audrey's father. What made her mom think she had the right to lie to everyone? She hated being lied to, especially by her mother.
Just as she reached up and knocked on the door, she noticed a car pulling up next door, at Nathan's. She spotted Kristine riding in the passenger side of a car that she had been in more times than she could count, and she froze, wondering what the hell she was doing there, and with Sean, of all people. What the hell was going on with them? She didn't know, but she wasn't even sure she wanted to find out. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
It was then that she remembered what her mom had said in one of her messages. 'I understand you may be upset with me about things, and, you're probably upset about Sean and Kristine, too, but please, baby. I need you to come home and call me, or something. Please,' her mom had pleaded. Audrey hadn't given much thought to it at the time, but now she wondered what her mom knew that she didn't know.
The sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the door, and the sight of the Sean's car door opening made her leap into action. She had to look around for a moment before she spotted the bush, and then she jumped into it before she could think twice about it. She knew it was stupid, to be hiding, but at the time she could think of nothing else to do. She suddenly didn't want to be talking to her father anymore, if that was what Kristine's reaction was too.
Before she even had the chance to think about moving, Lucas opened the front door, and she peeked from the other side of the bush to see him look around. She quickly ducked into hiding again before he could see her. He may have been confused, but then he seemed to see Kristine, heading up to his brother's doorstep, because he called out to her. "Hey, he's not there," Lucas called to the brunette, who stopped in her tracks and spun to look at him.
Noticing Lucas on his porch, Kristine took a few hesitant steps toward him, because he had been the one to call out to her. "Oh, um, hey, what are you talking about?" she called back hesitantly, and she stopped approaching him. She was trying to play innocent, and Audrey knew she was nervous about talking to her father, but she couldn't really care less that Kristine couldn't talk to Nathan, because Kristine was talking to her father, and Audrey had wanted to talk to him.
Running his hand over the back of his neck-a habit Audrey realized she had gotten from him-he smirked at the teenager. "I know you're looking for Nathan, and I wanted to tell you that he and Haley had a bit of a spat last night after your mom made her little announcement, and he stayed at his beach house last night," he supplied, and she nodded, and both of them stood there, neither of them quite knowing what to do.
Just as Kristine was about to mutter an excuse and leave, Lucas spoke up. "Listen, I know this must be a hard situation for you. You're probably having a hard time figuring out what to do, because I know I'd probably be going insane in your situation, but if you want to talk, remember, I'm your uncle now, and you can talk to me whenever you want. I might just know more than you think," he said in a sympathetic tone.
It was the tone that hurt Audrey the most. She knew he was talking about his situation with her, and it was obvious he didn't like it. She sat in the bush, wishing she could be anywhere but where she was, wondering when they were going to move, so she could get away and think about this. Her father didn't want her. She didn't want to live with her mother anymore. What the hell was she going to do? At this point, she only knew for sure what she wasn't going to do.
Breaking into her thoughts, Kristine asked if she could take him up on that offer, and Lucas invited her into the house. Audrey, still hiding in the bush, felt her stomach drop. Her own father preferred Kristine over her. She knew logically that he wasn't mad at her, he was mad at her mother, but the hurt just wouldn't condone her logical thinking. Kristine had taken away her chance to get to know her father, just like she'd taken away her boyfriend last night, and pretty much everything.
Needing to get away, Audrey fled as soon as the front door was firmly closed. She started practically running down the block, without noticing that Sean was still there. In fact, she didn't notice him at all until half a block later, when she saw the car following her out of the corner of her eye. She closed her phone mid-text and put it away as she turned to face him, waiting for whatever apology he was going to give her through the now-open passenger door.
When he just looked at her, as if he expected her to get in with no apology or anything, she scoffed and shook her head. She turned away from the car and began walking again, getting her phone back out and flipping it open to text again. She had expected an apology at the very least, even though she wasn't sure she could or would forgive him, but now she didn't even want to listen. He was never going to change. She wished she had realized that sooner.
A few seconds later the car was at her side again, the door still open. She ignored it, continuing to typed out a text as she kept walking, moving faster if anything. Sean kept at it, though, and finally she stopped and turned to send him her worst glare. "What the hell do you want from me now? What, you have to screw both me and Kristine, is that it? Well, I'm not going for that," she didn't wait for a reply as she stormed off again.
This time he put the car in park and got out, chasing after her. "Hey, hey, babe, wait," he grabbed her arm, but she whirled on him so fast, with a glare so full of hatred, that he immediately let her go. He didn't back off though. "Please, Audrey, you really can't expect me to believe you're not going to forgive me and take me back. Come on, babe," he said, taking another step closer to her, that cocky smirk on his face.
The fiery blonde wasn't having any of his crap. Not this time. "Well, you better start believing it, because I'm tired of all your crap Sean. You think you can act like a jackass to me in front of your friends, and I'll forgive it behind closed doors. Not anymore. I finally saw last night just how much of a jackass you really are, and I guess I thank you, for finally showing me the truth, but that doesn't mean we're not over," she turned on her heel.
As he stared after her in shock, she stopped after a few steps and turned back to look at him. He was sure that she had reconsidered, and so he had that cocky smirk on his face again as he waited for what he was sure was going to be an apology. "Oh yeah," she smiled sweetly, before narrowing her eyes at him as she continued. "Don't ever call me babe again," she said before turning her back on him once more and storming off again.
Before she could make it very far, a car pulled up next to her, and she had never felt more relieved to see Logan. Her dramatic exit didn't work very well if Sean could follow after her, which she was sure he would have done once he had gotten over his shock if she had continued on foot. She jumped into the car with a grateful smile to the driver as she told him to hit the gas. She only looked back at Sean once as he disappeared in the distance and his completely desolate expression surprised her.
Once they had turned the corner, she allowed herself to show weakness as she leaned on Logan for support. "Oh, I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want to live with my mom. I don't really want the whole world knowing who my father is, not now that he's sympathizing with the stupid ho slut-bag," she paused, glancing at him to make sure he understood who she meant. He did, of course, though she could tell by his look he didn't appreciate her stooping to name-calling.
Blowing out a sigh, she didn't say anything for a long moment, and he knew that she was contemplating what to do. He wanted to suggest that she stay at his place, but he was hesitant to do so given what happened. Finally he decided it just didn't matter. If they were going to pretend it didn't happen, they may as well go back to acting like normal. "You know you can stay with me until you figure it out. My parents are away this week, some kind of business trip. You know the deal. I have the house to myself," he offered.
Biting on her lip, she considered the offer, then decided she had nothing to lose. "Thanks, Logan, seriously," she said, sending him the smile that he loved to see from her. She didn't know how much it affected him, of course, but affect him it definitely did. She scooted over on the seat and looped her arm through his, leaning her head against his shoulder with a sigh. "I'm really tired. I don't want to go home yet. Can't you just take me to your house for now?" she asked though a yawn.
Chuckling, Logan wrapped one arm around her shoulders as he drove with one hand on the wheel. He also placed a platonic kiss on her forehead. "Anything you want, Rae-Rae, anything you want," he said softly, though he knew by her even breathing that she had already drifted to sleep leaning on his chest. She hadn't slept much the night before, and the lull of a car was always enough to put her to sleep when she was overtired.
A few hours later, the sun was just beginning it's descent in the sky when she woke up again. When Logan had arrived at his house, she had woken herself up enough to get into the house and change from her party clothes from the night before into a big tee-shirt of Logans. She had then climbed right into his bed, making herself at home as she drifted to sleep amongst his scent on his pillows. She had proceeded to sleep most of the day away.
Now she was just laying in Logan's bed, wondering where he was. She couldn't hear any other noises in the house, and she didn't see a note anywhere near the bed. She decided she had to use the bathroom, so she got up, stretching enough that she knew her underweat peeked out from the bottom of his shirt, but she didn't really care, and ran a hand through her now-messy curls as she walked to the bathroom, looking for any sign of Logan as she went.
While she had been sleeping, though, she'd had a dream that had given her an idea. She finished in the bathroom and went downstairs, looking for Logan in the kitchen. She didn't find him, but she did find a note that said he'd gone for a quick run, and she could help herself to anything in the refrigerator. She opened the stainless steel appliance and looked at the food inside, finally grabbing a yogurt and a spoon before sitting on a stool at the island to wait for Logan.
It was just as she was finishing the yogurt and throwing the container in the trash that the kitchen door opened and Logan came into the house, sweaty, with his earbuds in his ears. She was bending down because she had noticed a smudge on her toenail, and he stopped in his tracks, staring at her ass, and the way it looked as his shirt rode up, exposing it. He didn't see her lips moving because her back was turned to him.
Straightening when she didn't get an answer, Audrey whirled to look at him, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms in front of her chest. He just stood there, staring at her, dumbstruck, as he realized that she had said something to him. He quickly removed his earbuds, and the hood of his favorite Navy colored sweatshirt. "Uh, yeah, did you say something?" he asked, pulling his iPod out of his pocket and turning it off.
Rolling her eyes, she turned and headed for the stairs. She knew exactly what he had been looking at. All guys were exactly the same, and so easy. "I said, I'm going to go upstairs and grab a shower for now. Then you're going to take me over to James's house. I have a few questions for his parents, his father in particular. I don't have much time before my mom flips a lid and comes looking for me," she said as she went upstairs.
Instead of answering, he walked to the fridge and grabbed a water, uncapping it and taking a long drink. He needed a quick shower too, but after seeing her like that, he decided maybe a cold one, after she'd finished wouldn't be so bad. He took her recently vacated seat at the island and tried not to think of what she was doing right now. He focused instead on the fact that she sounded like she had come up with a plan, finally. He wondered what it was going to be.
When she came downstairs, dressed in her clothes from last night, because she had nothing else, she found him outside and saw that he had removed his sweatshirt, and tee-shirt, and he was shirtless, still sweating, because now he was playing basketball. Her breath caught in her throat, and she had to bite down on her lip. That boy had a chest she could do laundry on, and it looked even better sweaty. She decided she really had to get over these feelings for him, because he was her best friend, and this sudden attraction to him was just too weird.
Well, really, that was why she had come up with the second part of her plan. After she spoke to Nathan and Haley, she was going to have Logan take her to her house so she could try to get her car without alerting her mother to the fact that she was taking it. If she could get away with that, she was going to go to Sean's house, and at least hear him out. He may give her crap sometimes, but she really believed he was a good guy, inside, and he was as close to normal as she was going to get right now. She desperately needed normal.
If she was really being honest with herself, she would probably admit that she already knew she was going to take him back, no matter what he said. She was running from her feelings for Logan, whatever those feelings happened to be, and she knew that Sean was like a safety net. He'd always been there, and they'd always been together. She wasn't ready to change every aspect of her life, including moving her best friend to the boyfriend category. And what if it didn't work out with Logan?
Instead of considering possibly losing her best friend, she focused on what she needed to do. "Alright, go grab a shower, sweaty, so we can get done with this. I would just borrow your car, but I want you with me when I talk to Nate, because you're the smart one, and you'll probably understand the process a lot better than I would, and you can help me. I really need your help with this," she said as he approached. "I'll explain when we get there," she added, so he would get going.
Twenty minutes later, the two of them were sitting at the dining room table in the Scott house, and Nathan and Haley were sitting across from them. They didn't know why Audrey was there, but then, neither did Logan. All three of them sat, waiting for Audrey, who was looking down at the table, to speak, to explain what was going on. "Well, I, um, I heard about your guys' relationship in high school, and what you did and stuff, and I guess I wanted to know," she lifted her eyes. "How do you go about getting legally emancipated?"
A/N: Okay, who expected that ending? I kind of didn't even expect that myself, to be honest. It just kind of happened. Y'all are lucky, too, because I changed my mind at the last minute and rewrote this chapter so Brooke told Nathan that he was the father. I don't quite know how I'm going to do this anymore, because I had planned on her being Lucas's kid, but we shall see where it goes, I guess. I hope y'all liked the chapter, and I hope you tell me what you think. I'll try to update soon, but I'm not making any promises. I will tell you the next chapter for this one is already finished. I just have to finish the chapters for my other fics before I can update.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill.