Hey all and thanks for the reviews - seeing as they were all so nice I thought I'd get chapter ten up a bit faster than I'd been aiming for, so here it is! Just a warning though, there isn't much Brooke in this chapter, and there's far too much Peyton once again, so sorry about that! Anyway, enjoy, and chapter eleven (which I've really enjoyed writing, so that might give you a hint of what's to come!) will probably be up on Sunday.
Chapter Ten
"So how did you know we were here?" Nathan asked curiously some minutes later once the initial shock had disintegrated and the group were scattered on sofas and cushions, Jenny sleeping soundly in her father's arms.
Jake grinned. "Well I went back to Tree Hill to see my folks," he told them, "and when I'd been there a few days without seeing any of you guys I stopped by the Café to ask Karen where you were. Obviously she wasn't there, but the woman who was running the place said you'd gone to the beach for a couple of weeks, and when I said I was a friend she gave me the address. So yeah," he finished with a shrug, "and here we are."
"And Nikki let you bring Jenny?" Peyton questioned, looking at the little girl in awe.
"Yup," the toddler's father confirmed. "It's pretty great actually, Nikki just got accepted to Duke so she'll be moving there in September, and we decided that it would be easier if Jenny just lives with me in Tree Hill, at least until Nikki gets settled."
"That's great," the curly blonde smiled, before pausing for a moment. "Wait, you're moving back to Tree Hill?"
"Looks like the eternal triangle just became a square," Rachel muttered in Brooke's ear, earning herself a swift kick from her friend, which caused her to yelp in surprise.
"That's right," Jake smiled, sending a look of confusion in the direction of the two girls, before shaking his head and continuing. "Anyway, what's been going on with you guys while I've been away?"
"Oh, nothing much," Brooke shrugged nonchalantly, ticking items off on her fingers as she spoke. "Hales and Nate had a baby, so did Karen, Dan got locked up for killing Keith, Peyton and I got attacked by a psycho, Nathan got involved with a loan shark which ended up with Haley getting hit by a car, Luke had a heart attack, the Ravens won State, Mouth got arrested in Texas…" she trailed off, taking a deep breath. "What did I miss?"
"You cheating on your algebra test and me getting expelled for it?" Rachel suggested mockingly. "Or how about the whole class seeing the video of you screwing Nathan?" she tried, smirking at Haley.
"Oh, get over it already," the young mother rolled her eyes exasperatedly and glared at the redhead. "Seriously Rach, your fantasies about my husband are getting old."
The girl opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by Jake who fixed his gaze on Haley. "Wait, you and Nathan had a baby?" he asked, sounding dazed by the amount of information that had just been thrown at him.
"We sure did," Nathan replied, re-entering the room with his son in his arms, James sucking contentedly on a bottle. "Jake Jagielski, meet James Lucas Scott."
"He's adorable guys," Jake commented, staring at the infant in wonder. "Congratulations," he added, leaning over to give Haley a hug, and bumping fists with Nathan who sat down on the couch.
"Takes after his uncle," Lucas grinned, taking out his wallet and pulling out a photo, which he passed to Jake. "And that's my little sister," he told his friend, a proud smile on his face, "Lily Rose Scott."
"Wow, how long have I been gone for?" Jake chuckled, smiling at the photo, before returning it to Lucas. "Wait, no one else has had a kid while I've been away have they?" he joked. "Brooke? Peyton?"
"God no," Brooke exclaimed, feigning horror at the prospect, "I'm quite happy playing godmother to this little angel, aren't I sweetheart?" she asked James, taking him from his father and burping him expertly, before settling him in her arms.
"You made Brooke godmother?" Jake questioned, only half-teasing. "Man," he continued, turning to Haley, "you do realise your kid's gonna have no chance? Nathan as a dad and Brooke as godmother…you may as well give him his fake ID now!"
"Hey!" Nathan protested, grinning.
"I'll have you know I've turned over a new leaf since you last saw me Jagielski," Brooke added, simulating annoyance. "I'm a perfect role model now, thank you very much."
"If you say so," Jake snorted in disbelief. "And what was that about cheating on algebra tests?" he teased playfully, remembering Rachel's earlier words.
"Well, okay, maybe not perfect," the brunette amended, tearing her eyes away from the infant in her lap to look up at Jake, "but I'm not the S-L-U-T I once was. I was a Clean Teen you know," she added proudly, enjoying the flummoxed look on Jake's face as he stared at her.
"Please," Rachel interjected, rolling her eyes. "You were only a Clean Teen because you were trying to get Chase to sleep with you," she pointed out. "An attempt which failed miserably, might I add," she finished, laughing as her friend stuck out her tongue in response.
"Wait…" Jake paused, his heart racing slightly as he considered the probable implications of Rachel's statement, but knowing he had to hear it for himself. "So if you were off chasing virgins," he directed the question at Brooke, forcing a playful tone, "I take it that means you and Lucas aren't together any more?"
Jake held his breath as Brooke shook her head. "No," she admitted slowly, before answering his unasked next question, seeing the pain in the boy's eyes as she did so. "Lucas is actually with Peyton now," she finished, looking down at James in order to avoid Jake's eyes.
"Oh," he managed, assuming a nonchalant expression. "Well, I guess it was always going to happen eventually, right?" he joked feebly, wincing as a look of guilt crossed Peyton and Lucas's faces, whilst Brooke bit her lip miserably.
"I guess," the brunette whispered, lifting James closer to her face in an attempt to hide the misery in her eyes.
"Okay," Haley's voice broke through the tension in the room, "I think this little one needs to go back to bed," she announced, reaching out to take him from her friend.
"I'll take him Hales," Brooke offered, not wanting to relinquish hold of the comforting body just yet.
Hearing the desperation in the fragile girl's voice, Haley nodded. "Okay," she smiled, dropping a kiss on her son's head. "Night angel," she told him.
"Sleep tight monster," Nathan added, standing up as Brooke did, and stooping to kiss the infant.
"If you want to put Jenny down the two of you can have my room," Mouth told Jake, "I'll sleep on the sofa."
"Thanks Mouth," Jake accepted gratefully, scooping Jenny up and following his friend out of the room.
"Hurry back guys," Haley called after them. "We need to get back to Grease!"
"Ugh, I thought they'd forgotten about that," Lucas muttered to his brother, who chuckled in response.
"No chance Broody," Brooke retorted, re-entering the room. "He's out like a light Hales," she told her friend, cutting her off before she even asked the question. "Jake, Mouth, hurry up!" she commanded, grinning as the two boys appeared in the doorway, neither one looking thrilled at the prospect of the film.
"Y'know, I might head to bed myself," Jake tried, faking a yawn, but his attempt was cut off by a fierce glare from the brunette.
"I don't think so Jagielski," she ordered, pushing the boy down on the sofa next to Peyton and settling herself on the floor with Rachel and Mouth. "Hit it Rach," she instructed excitedly, and her friend obliged.
"No singing this time Brooke, please?" Lucas begged, wincing in pain as his former girlfriend reached over and slapped his bare leg. "Okay, okay," he grumbled, "sing all you like."
"You know you love my singing Broody," she teased, laughing as he opened his mouth to argue before closing it again rapidly as she raised a threatening arm.
"Yes, yes, I do," he finally responded, enjoying the excitement that lit up her green eyes as he gave in.
"Good answer," Brooke grinned, before turning to Haley as the next song started up. "Come on rock-tour girl," she exclaimed happily, "let's go." Giggling at her new nickname Haley willingly agreed, and within seconds the cabin was filled with voices, as Rachel, Mouth and Peyton joined in.
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"Morning sleeping bitchy!" Rachel carolled cheerfully, pausing from applying eyeliner as she saw Brooke begin to stir.
"Ugh," Brooke mumbled in disgust, rolling over and closing her eyes again.
"I don't think so," Rachel sing-songed, moving over to Brooke's bed and yanking the covers off her, laughing at the horrified yelp her friend let out.
"I hate you," the brunette muttered fiercely, sitting up and swinging her feet over the side of the bed. "Happy now?" she asked sarcastically, glaring at the redhead who had resumed applying her make-up.
"Ecstatic," Rachel acquiesced agreeably, sticking her tongue out in response to Brooke's rolling eyes. "And what's with all the bitchiness anyway?" she questioned, "shouldn't you be happy now that Jake and…" she paused, unable to remember Jenny's name before shrugging in defeat and concluding her sentence, "now that Jake and the kid are back?"
"Her name's Jenny," Brooke reminded her friend, rubbing her face tiredly. "And yeah, it's good they're back and that Jake and Nikki have sorted out the whole custody thing, but, no offence to Jake, his being here doesn't really excite me all that much."
"Well it should," Rachel remarked mysteriously.
"What?" the brunette asked, brow wrinkling in confusion. "It's way too early to understand your cryptic ramblings."
"Okay, I'll spell it out for you," her friend announced gleefully. "Jake loves Peyton, Peyton loves Jake, Lucas loves Brooke, Brooke loves Lucas. And then Jake leaves. And Brooke and Peyton both love Lucas, and Lucas…well he's just an ass who doesn't know what he wants. But now Jake's back. See where I'm going with this?" she asked her friend, beaming cheerfully.
"Rachel," Brooke warned, firmly pushing away the glimmer of hope that had threatened to escape as she realised the implications of her friend's words. "Nothing's changed," she pointed out. "Peyton and Lucas are still together."
"Not for long I bet," Rachel dismissed Brooke's argument with a wave of her arm. "Did you see the way Jake and Peyton were looking at each other last night? She so wants him back. And understandably, seeing as Lucas is too hung up on you to even screw her properly."
"Lucas is not hung up on me," Brooke retorted, finally standing up and slipping a robe over her shorts and tank top. "And even if he were, I'm not interested in him any more."
"Yeah, whatever," Rachel scoffed, rolling her eyes. "So what, all the times you lie awake crying, that's because of Chase is it? Or that dick Chavez?"
Brooke paused, unsure of how to reply. "I didn't know you knew about that," she admitted finally.
"I share a room with you Davis, how could I not?" the redhead pointed out affably.
"Sorry," the smaller girl winced at the realisation that she had been keeping her friend awake.
"Don't be," Rachel shrugged, "I had years of sleeping when I was fat," she grinned, her smile widening when Brooke let out a small chuckle. "So are you going to admit it then?" she teased.
"Fine," Brooke muttered grudgingly, "but don't you dare tell anyone," she warned.
The redhead snorted. "You do realise that, aside from dumb blondes one and two, everyone knows?" she pointed out. "You're not exactly subtle Davis. Plus, I know you told tutor-bitch, I heard her and Nathan talking about it."
"Wonderful," Brooke whined, sinking back onto her bed, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it.
"So, to go back to my original argument," Rachel continued, "Peyton will realise she still loves Jake, leaving Lucas free for you."
"No," Brooke shook her head firmly. "Even if he and Peyton split up, there's no way I would get involved in that again."
"Sure you wouldn't," Rachel agreed, rolling her eyes in obvious disbelief and letting out a giggle as Brooke groaned.
"I wouldn't!" the brunette protested. "And anyway," she pointed out sadly, "if this little scenario of yours were to come true, then Luke would only be picking me because Peyton didn't want him anymore, and I'm not gonna be his second choice Rach, not again."
The redhead sighed, hearing the quiver in her friend's voice and realising she was once again close to tears. "Much as it pains me to defend Lucas," she stated, "seeing as the guy's an ass, I really don't think you could ever be his second choice."
"But…" Brooke began to argue, closing her mouth again when Rachel raised a hand to cut her off.
"Brooke, Lucas went after Peyton because you told him to," she reminded her friend. "I know when you were together he kept 'rescuing' the stupid bitch, but that was because she asked him to; he was just trying to be a good friend. Luke never actually went after Peyton until you told him he could, just remember that."
"Since when are you on Lucas's side?" the brunette muttered irritably, glaring at Rachel, who shrugged.
"I'm not," she admitted. "I'm just trying to make you see that, no matter how much of a dick to you he was, he really does love you." Seeing Brooke's quizzical gaze the redhead laughed, and spread her arms in a gesture of defeat. "Okay, okay, I'll stop with the sentimental crap, I know it freaks you out when I'm not being a bitch, but just think about what I said, 'kay?"
"Okay," Brooke nodded slowly, still confused by the sudden emergence of Rachel's sensitive side.
"Good," the redhead grinned happily, bending to pull a white bikini out of a drawer and tossing it to Brooke. "Here, put this on," she instructed, "make sure Lucas knows what he's missing." Smirking, Rachel paused to admire herself in the mirror, knowing that the dark green two-piece suited her to perfection. "Y'know," she mused contemplatively, "if Peyton does stay with Lucas, maybe I'll have a crack at Jake…he's kinda hot."
Brooke rolled her eyes, slipping her robe and tank top off and putting on the top to the bikini Rachel had chosen. "Slut," she teased affably.
"Takes one to know one," the other girl taunted, laughing, as she slipped her flip-flops onto her feet and pranced out of the room, leaving Brooke to roll her eyes at the closing door.
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"Hey guys," Peyton smiled as she approached Jake who was kneeling on the beach, helping Jenny build a sandcastle.
"Hey," Jake smiled back, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her, and she gulped slightly, feeling suddenly nervous.
"Mind if I join you?" the girl asked, forcing herself to keep her tone light, and sitting down beside Jake when he patted the sand in answer to her questions. "Hey Jenny," she added, focusing on the little girl, who was carefully pressing shells into the walls of the castle that her father had built.
"'Ello," Jenny replied solemnly, turning to look at Peyton. "Who this?" she enquired of Jake.
"You know Peyton," Jake told his daughter, clearly pronouncing the name so that Jenny could repeat it. "She used to look after you when you were a baby," he added.
"Pey-pey," Jenny tried, and the two teens chuckled.
"Close enough," Peyton agreed affably, smiling as the toddler approached her, grabbing a lock of curly hair as if to inspect it.
"Jenny," Jake scolded, prising the little girl's fingers away, "you know you shouldn't grab people's hair, it's not nice."
"Mommy lets me," Jenny protested, pouting at her father, and a stab of jealousy shot through Peyton's heart as she recognised the pout as identical to the one Nikki had perfected.
Jake sighed. "Yes, but just because mommy doesn't mind you pulling her hair doesn't mean you can pull other people's, okay?"
"Okay," the toddler repeated agreeably, turning back to her sandcastle as Jake and Peyton watched her.
"She's got so big," Peyton breathed, amazed at the changes that Jenny had undergone since she had last seen the child. "She's like a whole little person."
Jake chuckled. "Yup," he agreed, a serious expression creeping onto his face as he watched his daughter play. "It's scary," he admitted, "it seems like only yesterday that she was the age James is now. But really time goes so quick that before I know it she'll be in high school and I'll be warning off potential boyfriends."
Peyton grinned. "You think you've got till she gets to high school?" she teased, raising her eyebrows. "Brooke had her first boyfriend in kindergarten," she told him, laughing at the memory of her friend approaching a little boy in the playground and kissing him, before proclaiming that he was now her boyfriend and that meant he had to buy her something pretty. He had blond hair and blue eyes too, she thought wryly, losing herself in her thoughts for a moment before Jake's voice pulled her back to earth.
"Oh God, don't tell me that," he groaned, causing her to giggle helplessly. For a moment the silence hung peacefully in the air between them, broken only by Jenny chattering away to herself about how best to build the castle, before Jake continued, asking a question he had been wondering about since the previous night. "So," he started, "Brooke said last night that two of you were, and I quote, 'attacked by a psycho'. What was that all about?"
The blonde girl sighed, not really wanting to tell the story, but doing so anyway. "You remember I told you about Ellie, my birth mom," she began, continuing on Jake's nod, "well when she died, I found a letter, telling me I had a brother, Derek. So I, stupidly, put out a pod cast talking about him, and this guy shows up, claiming he's Derek. Anyway, he seemed okay at first, but Lucas didn't trust him and went to the police," she paused to let out a shaky breath. "Turns out 'Derek' had been stalking me, he had a room full of photos of me: it was really freaky. And then my real brother turns up, and between him, Luke, and me we end up pushing crazy Derek out of the window. I thought he was dead, but by the time the police got there he'd just got up and walked off."
"Pey," Jake breathed, not knowing how to respond to his former girlfriend's story, but she merely smiled ruefully and continued.
"Things went almost back to normal after that: I got a call telling me psycho Derek was in jail, and my real brother taught me to box so I began to feel like I was safe again. And then on prom night, Lucas and I had had a row about Brooke, because we'd all just found out she slept with Nathan not even hours after me and him had broken up for the millionth time…but that's another story," she smiled, seeing the confusion appear on Jake's face. "Anyway, I open the door and all I see is the back of his head, so I think it's Lucas, but then he turns around and it's psycho Derek. He was never arrested after all; he made that call to me so that I would let my guard down. So Derek takes me down to the basement, ties me to a chair, and he's got a knife Jake." Peyton stopped, taking a deep breath, and Jake wrapped a comforting arm around her. "Thanks," she muttered, before returning to her tale. "And then Brooke appears, wanting another screaming match or something, and Derek ties her up too. But somehow I manage to convince him that he should let me…let me kill Brooke… so he unties me, and I have to hit her really hard to make him believe I can go through with it. And then, then he gives me the knife, and I stab him, and we get away, but then he comes after us, and it's all a bit of blur, but somehow we push him down the stairs, and this time the police get here in time," she finished, gulping hard to prevent a sob from escaping.
"I'm so sorry Peyt," Jake whispered, tightening his grip on the girl, and she gave a small half-smile, still trembling slightly.
"It turned out that his real name was Ian, and he'd had a girlfriend that looked just like me," Peyton finished the story, her tone calming now that she had passed over the climax. "But they were in a car crash and she died. I guess it sent him a bit insane, y'know?"
Jake sighed. "I wish I'd been there for you," he told the blonde girl, before realising the inappropriate nature of the remark. "Although, I guess you had Lucas," he added hastily.
Peyton nodded. "Yeah, Luke was great," she admitted. "Brooke and I stayed at his house for like a week afterwards, neither of us could sleep alone."
The boy raised an eyebrow. "You, Brooke, and Lucas, all in one bed?" he questioned, a chuckle in his voice. "I bet that was interesting!"
She smiled wryly. "Well we didn't let Luke sleep in the middle," she clarified, laughing, before sinking into silence once again.
"Are you happy with him?" Jake asked, in a voice so soft she wasn't sure she had heard him until a look at his face confirmed it.
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I mean, he's like my best friend, but that's all he is, my best friend. There's no passion, y'know? Not like…"
"Not like we had," Jake finished, staring deep into her eyes, and she bit her lip in a conscious effort to prevent herself from leaning over and kissing him.
"No," she agreed quietly. "Ummm, listen, I'd better go," she added, hastily getting to her feet.
"Don't," Jake protested, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen."
Peyton smiled sadly. "I know," she acknowledged his words. "But I wanted it to. And it can't Jake, it can't. At least not until I talk to Lucas, it wouldn't be fair on him."
Jake nodded, his heart leaping for joy at the implications of her words. "I'll see you later then?" he asked carefully, and she nodded, her smile growing wider as she watched him.
"Definitely."
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"Hey," Peyton smiled as she opened the door of the bedroom she and Lucas shared to find her boyfriend lying on the bed, book in hand.
"Hey," Lucas responded, closing his book as he saw the nervous expression that clouded the blonde's features as she sat down next to him. "What's up?" he asked gently.
Peyton took a deep breath. "So I was talking to Jake earlier…" she began hesitantly.
"It's over, isn't it?" Lucas interrupted, a sad note to his voice.
The girl nodded sorrowfully. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Lucas smiled, knowing that Peyton had made the right decision. "You're still in love with Jake, aren't you?" he asked, no malice in his tone.
"Yeah," Peyton agreed, a trace of guilt tainting her words. "I'm sorry Luke," she tried, "I didn't mean for this to happen…"
"I know," Lucas whispered. "Truth be told, I'm glad Jake came back," he admitted, causing Peyton to look at him quizzically for a moment, before understanding lightened her features.
"I guess if he hadn't we'd have just gone on like this forever," she admitted quietly, holding Lucas's gaze as he nodded. "Do you think it could ever have worked between us?" she asked suddenly. "If it wasn't for Jake…and Brooke?"
The blond boy sighed. "I don't know," he murmured. "I guess if they hadn't existed then neither of us would have known what it could feel like, so maybe we'd have lasted longer with nothing to compare it to."
Peyton nodded, seeing the logic in his reasoning. "I suppose we're just doomed to be friends then," she grinned, and Lucas chuckled, glad to see the smile on her face.
"Suppose so," he agreed affably, giving the girl a quick hug and dropping a kiss into her curls. "Now, friend," he instructed, emphasising the word, "go sort things out with Jake."
The girl chuckled. "Well, I think I'll leave it a day or two first," she laughed, "otherwise I might have to take Rachel's crown as Queen Slut, and you know she'd be pissed about that."
"Well alright then," Lucas smirked, his expression turning serious almost immediately. "Be happy Pey," he told her solemnly.
"You too," she whispered, climbing off the bed and heading towards the door. Turning back to him she paused, her hand on the doorknob. "Don't hurt her Luke," she cautioned, and then she was gone.