Okay, first off thanks for the reviews guys, it means a lot. Flashbacks are from The Leaver's Dance Episode 2.23. Flashbacks are in italics. And once again, sadly I do not own the characters of One Tree Hill.

Chapter 3- Ghost of a Good Thing

Brooke was sitting on the bed, reluctantly waiting for the taxi to take her away from the place she had called home for seventeen years. She didn't want to leave Tree Hill, even if it was only for the summer. All of the people she loved were here- Peyton, Karen, Lucas. Even though she had tried to deny it, she would probably miss him most of all.

Suddenly, she was broken from her random thoughts by the sound of the red door he had painted for her opening and closing quickly. As she looked up into the piercing blue eyes of the boy that was wreaking havoc on her emotions, she realized just how tough it would be to say goodbye to him.

"So I guess this is goodbye?"

But instead of answering her, Lucas quickly pulled her into a tight hug. A hug that neither of them particularly wanted to end. She gazed at him longingly, afraid to let go for fear of forgetting how he felt, how he held her, and how safe she felt in his arms. Smiling sadly, she went to pull away, but before she could, she was pulled into an earth-shattering kiss.

Stunned, she pulled back in shock, "Tell me that was a goodbye kiss."

"I wanna be with you, Brooke."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I know we're friends… it's just how I feel."

She could hear the emotion in his voice and she wanted so badly to believe him, to just run straight back into his arms. But, there was one thing that was stopping her.

"What about Peyton's stuff?"

He sighed before finding the right words to explain the box of items she had inadvertently stumbled upon a few days before. "I keep that stuff as a reminder of how badly I screwed up things. With you. To remind myself, if I ever get a second chance, I'd never let you go again."

She was shocked to say the least. She knew she had developed feelings for him again, but she had made herself believe that he still had feelings for Peyton. Now here he was spilling his guts to her, and she couldn't do anything but just stare at him and stutter. She had never imagined that these would be his departing words to her. She never believed that the very moment she was supposed to leave was the one moment he would choose to give her every reason to never be apart from him again.

"I don't know what to say... I… um..." Her rambling was stopped by the honking of the cab signaling that it was time for her to leave Tree Hill and Lucas Scott behind. The thought of actually walking out that door brought tears to her eyes, but the truth was that she was scared. It was too late. 'He had missed his chance with her, hadn't he?'

She looked into his eyes and could see that he meant every word he was saying to her, that he was laying his heart on the line for her. And by just looking straight into his eyes she could see it, she could see the love in his eyes, and that terrified her more than anything.

Taking one last deep breath, she pulled a 'Brooke Davis' ignoring her heart and taking the easy way out. She took one last look into his eyes and did everything her heart was screaming at her not to. She walked straight past him, breaking eye contact, and effectively breaking both their hearts.

"I gotta go." She whispered, afraid her voice would crack if she tried to speak any louder.

"Brooke?" He called out. "You think… you could ever"

"Lucas" she managed to choke out. "I'm sorry... I… I gotta go."

The tears were freely falling down her face by this point and just looking at him broke her heart. But, she couldn't make herselfput her heart out there again, not when she still had to get on a plane to California.She was too afraid, afraid that there was no going back if she let him in again. Afraid because she knew that it would hurt even more this time if they managed to screw it up again. So she tenderly touched his face one last time, and without another word, she was gone.

She didn't even make it to the cab before she was hysterically bawling, and regretting walking away from the only boy she ever loved. And in that moment she was so tempted to just turn around and tell him she felt the same way.

"Brooke. Brooke. BROOKE."

She was jolted out of her trance by her friend Shelly excitedly snapping her fingers in her face.

"Hello, what planet were you on, we're late for practice. Come on." She practically yelled, dragging Brooke down the hallway and into the girl's locker room.

Brooke didn't know how long she had been day dreaming about Lucas, but she knew that her heart broke a little more every time that memory resurfaced. Shaking herself from her Lucas induced haze; she blinked back the moisture forming in her eyes and put on her best fake cheerleader smile.

After all, she still was Brooke Davis, SCHS's cheer captain, and she had a reputation and an image to uphold.

Walking up to Shelly and the rest of the squad, she quickly transformed into the feisty, peppy Brooke Davis they all knew and loved. "Alright ladies, let's get this practice started" she grinned.

Shelly excitedly turned around, "Oh My God! Brooke, I have the best plans for next weekend," she beamed. Shelly was just as much of a party girl as Brooke and prided herself on being the gossip queen and always knowing about the hottest parties. Maybe that's why she and Brooke had hit it off the moment they met.

"Well, I guess practice can wait until after the hot gossip. So tell me what are these fabulous plans" Brooke laughed, waiting to see just what trouble they would end up finding this time.

"Well, there is a kick ass concert down at the beach, and we all have to be there. It's a can't miss," Shelly eagerly responded.

"And just who exactly can we not bear to miss see play?" Brooke challenged.

"The Wrecker's, Gavin DeGraw, some Chris Keller kid, and Haley something-or-other" one of the other cheerleaders supplied.

When Brooke heard the last performer in the blowout concert, the shock was apparent and she could barely get out the words.

"Uh…Haley…James, her name is Haley James" she managed to choke out trying horribly to contain her surprise at the news.

It seemed that Brooke wasn't the only one who had left behind a Scott boy in order to live a completely different life somewhere far away from Tree Hill. And somehow, she felt that just seeing Haley again would change everything.