I am once again so sorry for the delay, I have been just a little sick. This chapter is short, but I stopped it here for a reason. The next one is a biggie. LOL, so read and review, and I will love you forever. And this chapter is for Amanda (ali-chan)- would not have a chapter if it wasn't for you.
And on with the story...
Chapter 17- Face the Music
Peyton Sawyer walked into Tree Hill High and immediately saw her brunette best friend looking rather dejected. As soon as she saw the familiar blonde head of Lucas Scott retreating down the hall, she realized the reason for Brooke's depressed state.
Something had been up between those two for the few days, and the rest of the group silently wondered just what it was this time. As she saw Brooke stalking over to her dramatically, she figured she was about to find out.
"P. Sawyer, my life is like a bad reality show. Please cancel me." The brunette whined and pouted as Peyton laughed and threw her arm around Brooke comfortingly.
"What is wrong with you and Lucas, now? Did you two have another kiss and run incident?" Peyton jokingly replied, inwardly grinning at her little nickname for the now routinely occurring dance Brooke and Lucas did with each other. When she looked up at Brooke, she was more than a little shocked when she saw the all-telling look on her best friend's face.
"You didn't." She half asked, hoping that maybe Brooke was just being her usual drama queen self.
"Oh, but we did." She paused waiting for the reaction.
P. Sawyer, quit laughing at me. This is so not funny." She dramatically stated, less than amused by the hysterical laughter of her blonde friend.
"I'm so glad that the drama in my life amuses you. I live to be your personal entertainment." Brooke sarcastically replied, only half joking about her last statement. Truth was, anything to make Peyton smile was worth it, even if it was at Brooke's own expense.
"So please tell me when and why this happened. Again."
Brooked sighed before starting the story, "Well a few nights ago, Lucas and I went out, got drunk, kissed in the back of a cab, and then he ran away. End of story."
Peyton tried unsuccessfully to hold in her giggle, but stopped when she saw the pleading look on Brooke's face as the pair began walking to their first class.
"You two are unbelievable you know that. You're never on the same page when it comes to each other." Peyton truthfully replied. The whole world could see how much the pair needed each other but one or both of them was usually too blind to see it.
"Peyton, its not me this time. I want to be with him, I'm not scared anymore."
"Then why haven't you told him?"
"I have," Brooke whispered. She continued on despite the surprised look on Peyton's face. " I told him when I first got back and he still pushed me away."
"So that's why you weren't talking a few weeks ago." Peyton said, finally putting the pieces together. She was a bit surprised that she hadn't found out any of this earlier, but at least Brooke was opening up now. "You two seemed to be getting along okay recently though."
"We were, I mean we are," Brooke corrected. "It's just that neither of us wants to be the one to bring the kiss up, and it feels like nothing has changed but suddenly everything has. Does that make any sense?"
"No, but then again you usually don't." Peyton tried to joke.
"P. Sawyer, I think with everything that is wrong in my life, I should be exempt from your smart ass comments." Brooked remarked as they rounded the corner to their classroom.
Peyton was about to give Brooke another joking reply, but their conversation was cut short by the appearance of Haley and Nathan, who were walking hand and hand down the hall. That was a site that had been missing from Tree Hill for quite a long time.
"Well, well, look who finally decided to go public with their reunion." Brooke smirked, trying to put on her usual Brooke Davis smile for everyone to see.
Over the last week, Nathan and Haley had been slowly rebuilding their shaky relationship, taking baby steps and getting closer everyday. Brooke was happy for two of her best friends, but was slightly jealous of the progress that they had made. While Nathan and Haley seemed to slowly be overcoming their problems, Brooke and Lucas only seemed to create more for themselves.
"Ha ha Brooke, very funny." Haley deadpanned. "You know I think Nathan and I are getting stared at more now than when we did when we first got married." Haley sighed. Being part of the gossip mill of Tree Hill was never fun, but the group was used to finding themselves right in the middle of gossip central.
"That's because you two are Tree Hill's very own Nick and Jessica, except with out the messy divorce," Brook rambled before she noticed that both Nathan and Haley had visibly tensed at the word divorce.
"I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was, umm…"
"What Brooke meant to say is that she's happy you guys are back on track." Peyton covered. Brooke always was sticking her foot in her mouth, especially when she was worried about something.
"So," Haley began, desperate to change the subject from anything having to do with divorce.
"Where is Lucas? I haven't seen him around lately, and he's been acting kind of funny."
"Something is going on with him." Nathan added, also noticing his brother's odd behavior.
"Did you know he won't be at the game on Friday, and Whitey's not even pissed. Plus, he won't say why. Just that he has somewhere to be."
At the mention of Lucas's odd behavior and his impending absence, Brooke immediately remembered where Lucas would be this coming Friday. He had his surgery, and he still refused to tell anyone else but her. She supposed he had confided to Whitey, but she still thought that his refusal to tell anyone else was stubborn. They were his best friends and they had a right to know. Didn't they?
She had considered telling them a million times, but decided not to add any more stress to their tumultuous relationship. She was snapped out of her thoughts however, when she heard them calling her name.
"Brooke, where did you go? We've been saying your name for like a minute."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You know me. My mind tends to wander sometimes." She said as she tried to brush away her earlier thoughts.
"What was the question?"
"Do you know what is going on with Lucas?" Nathan asked.
"Me?" Brooked stuttered.
"Why would I know what was going on with Lucas?" She replied nervously.
"It was just a question." Haley said as she noticed how Brooke's whole mood shifted.
"Well I have no idea. But I just remembered I have something to do for cheerleading practice. I gotta go. Se ya'll later." She hurriedly replied, more than anxious to get away from her friends and their prying glances.
Brooke Davis was horrible at lying, and this time she was lying about a secret that wasn't even hers to keep.
As she rushed away, the trio that was left behind had a sneaking suspicion that something big was going on with Lucas, and that Brooke knew exactly what it was.
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Monday turned into Tuesday, Tuesday to Wednesday and soon it was Friday morning. No one had been able to figure out Lucas's secret plans or jittery behavior, and soon they had just quit asking. The other thing that bothered them was the fact that Brooke had been acting almost the same way, jumpy and nervous. She was finding more and more excuses to spend less and less time with the group. Nathan, Haley and Peyton had all seen Brooke and Lucas having hushed conversations, but the moment that anyone else approached them, they both acted like nothing was wrong. Chalking it up to relationship problems between the pair, the other three didn't realize the huge impact that this day would have on all of their friendships.
Brooke was never a morning person and never one to make an appearance at school the slightest bit early. But this morning she had a stop she needed to make before she went to school. Making an excuse to Haley why she was leaving early and had to go alone, she hurried out of their apartment and drove across town. She knew that Haley would be suspicious, but she had to talk to Lucas one last time and convince him to let them be there for him.
Knocking softly on the red door that led to his bedroom, she wondered briefly if he would be awake yet. He didn't have to be at the hospital for a couple more hours, and she hoped that she wasn't disturbing him.
"Come in," she heard faintly from the other side of the door, and opened it to see Lucas lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, throwing a miniature basketball repeatedly up in the air. She could tell by taking one look at him that he had not slept at all last night, and her heart went out to him.
She couldn't even imagine how hard this was for him, but she was going to be there for him every step of the way, whether he admitted that he wanted her there or not.
"Hey Broody," she whispered softly as she went over and sat gingerly on the edge of his bed.
He didn't answer, but just nodded his head in response, and she silently realized that this was going to be harder than she thought.
"Umm… I've got to go to school, but I talked to Whitey and he's going to let me skip out after lunch to come to the hospital," she nervously told him, hoping that he wouldn't tell her to go away.
"You don't have to do that Brooke, I know you guys have a big game tonight."
"I know, and against my better judgment I've put Rachel in charge. Nothing is going to stop me from making sure that you're alright." She whispered the last part as she gently grabbed his hand.
"Thank you Brooke. And could you do me a favor, make sure that my mom is alright, I know this is scaring her."
"Anything for you." She sincerely replied, and truer words had never been spoken.
"Umm…Luke, you know I 'm not the only one that would want to be there for you today." She said, already knowing what his reaction to this particular topic would be.
"Please let me tell them, They are your friends and family, they deserve to know."
"No, Brooke," he almost pleaded.
"I don't want anyone else to know. Like I said, there is a big game tonight, and they can't miss. I'll be fine."
"Lucas," she pleaded one more time.
"No."
"Fine," she said as she got up and went to the door.
"I can't change your mind, but if it was one of them lying in the hospital, wouldn't you want to be there to make sure that they were ok?"
And when he didn't respond she just silently left. Knowing that the decision she was going to make was going to have someone mad at her, but she knew that its what needed to be done in the end.
The school day had gone by painfully slow for Brooke. She had successfully avoided her friends all morning, thankful that none of them were in her first two classes. Sighing, she knew that she wasn't going to be able to avoid them much longer. She had health next period, and Whitey had put all of the basketball players and cheerleaders in the same class. She was sure that they were bound to notice that something was up when she walked in. It was time to face the music, and Brooke Davis didn't like the tune that was playing.
She slipped into class right as the bell was ringing, taking the seat closest to the front of the room, and not going to her usual spot in the back. She still needed a little more time to figure out just how to answer the questions that she knew were going to come.
As the bell rang signaling the end of class, she knew that she had simply run out of time. And, the three questioning faces in front of her confirmed just that.
"Brooke, what the hell is going on?" Nathan asked, never being the one for subtlety.
"You've been acting strange all week, and now Lucas isn't here. What is going on with you two?" Haley asked, trying to be a little more tactful than her nosy husband.
Brooke sighed and looked around to make sure that they were the only ones left in the classroom.
"Something is going on, but its not between me and Lucas. Well it does have to do with Lucas, but not with me, unless you count the fact that I know what's going on and….."
"Brooke, the point please." Peyton interrupted, knowing that her best friend could ramble on for hours.
"Lucas is sick." she replied.
"Brooke, we know that already. Is something else going on.?" Haley asked, frightened for her best friend.
The tears that Brooke had held at bay all week suddenly threatened to surface.
"He has to have surgery for his heart. It's a little risky," she paused before continuing.
"And it's today."
The shock and worry on their faces made her sure that she had dome the right thing. Nathan Haley and Peyton had the right to know what was happening to their friend.
"Why didn't he tell us?" Haley asked as she clung on to Nathan.
Lucas was her best friend and even though they weren't as close lately, she still assumed that he would tell her about something this big. But then again, he hadn't told anyone about the HCM in the first, place so his behavior really didn't surprise her.
Lucas never did want people to be burdened with his problems, and often tried to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. This time was no different. But, then again it was different because obviously he had told Brooke.
"He didn't want anyone to know, or anyone to think that he was weak or pity him. He told me not to tell you all, but I couldn't let him do it alone." Brooke choked out as she finally broke down.
"I'm going to the hospital now, if any of you want to come, I really think he wants you there, he's just to scared to say it."
The trio looked at each other, still a little bit in shock that Lucas had kept this such a secret. But in the end, the bond between them all far outweighed any hurt feelings, and all of them knew that there was nothing more important than being there for him when he needed them most. After all, he had been the one to pick up the pieces of their broken lives on more than one occasion, and it was time they did the same for him.
Grabbing Brooke's hand and leading the group out the classroom, Nathan was the one to break the silence.
"Come on, guys. He would be there in a heartbeat if it were any of us," Nathan replied.
Brooke almost smiled as she, Peyton and Haley followed Nathan out the door. Now, she just hoped that Lucas wouldn't hate her too much.
The group was almost at the door when they heard the voice of Whitey calling out to them.
"And just where is my star player and the cheerleading trio headed this lovely game day?" Whitey asked in a tone softer than normal, and even though he was sure he knew exactly where they were going, he wanted to be sure.
"To the hospital, Lucas needs us." Brooke replied, sending a pleading look to Whitey, and smiling when she saw the understanding in his eyes.
"Look coach, I know if I leave I won't be able to play tonight, but…."
"Nathan. Go." Whitey commanded.
"Family is more important than a game. We'll be fine without you. Send Lucas my best, okay." The coach replied before turning down the hall to find other students to pick on.
The four friends just looked at each other as they made their way out of the school. Some things were just more important, and Lucas was one of the most important things to all of them.