A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for all the great reviews! To those who wonder about the Brathan initiation, details will come eventually but it won't be for a while now. I always liked the idea of a friendship between them because they both had similar personalities. Um... a little bit of a warning for the end of this chapter. Nothing graphic or anything but some Brucas fans may not appreciate a bit of the dialogue. Just please give it a chance because it works itself out by the end of the chapter.

I'm not sure but I was thinking of posting another chapter today to make up for some of this one but I guess if this one isn't too terrible then I'll just wait until tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed!!

Chapter 8 - Sway

Sometimes, when you and I collide

I fall into an ocean of you, pull me out in time

Don't let me drown, let me down

I say it's all because of you

And here I go, losing my control

I'm practicing your name so I can say it to your face

It doesn't seem right, to look you in the eye

Since the night of party, Haley had been wrestling with her conscience over the lie she told Lucas. In her opinion he deserved to know the whole truth about what had happened. Haley believed that he needed to know Brooke had been the one to come along and help him out of the Nathan's trap. She just didn't know how to tell her best friend that she hadn't been honest with him in the first place.

Thinking over the whole situation, it at first seemed like a good idea to wait and feel him out on the ride back from the Midnight Madness. She thought that maybe if she dropped a few hints, she would be able to gauge his reaction to the truth. But as she was preparing to leave for the night, one out of a few dozen pictures on her wall managed to catch her attention. It was at least a few years old and featured a girl with the same reddish brown hair as her own. Only this girl's hair was a little longer and her face was perfectly made up from the lipstick she wore to the smoky shadow that coated her eyelids.

The combination of blue, black and white stood out starkly against the plain white brick wall she had been placed in front of. The skirt was short, the top was cropped to just beneath her breasts.

She smiled a Mona-Lisa smile for the camera. As though she had a secret that no one else knew.

Suddenly Haley couldn't help wondering if her sister's secret had been the unfortunate initiation process that Lucas was now being subjected to.

Two years before Taylor James had been the captain of the cheer squad. Then she had been a senior while Haley was just a lowly freshman that kept her distance from the others that wore letter jackets and cheerleading uniforms. The popular people who had been her sister's closest friends.

It was something that happened consistently for years, Brooke had declared. A tradition, however cruel it was, that had been in place since before they were all born.

Looking at the old cheerleading picture of her sister, Haley considered the likely probability that Taylor had also been an active participant before graduating from Tree Hill High.

-----

"Hey Hales. I missed you last night," Lucas greeted as he slid into an empty seat across from his friend. "What're you doing with that?" Lifting it up slightly from the spine, Lucas shot his friend a curious look when he noticed it was a yearbook from two years prior. The picture of Tree Hill High embossed into the blue cover revealed it was one of the school's and obviously borrowed from the library.

"Oh, it's um… research," Haley answered vaguely and slammed the book shut before Lucas could see which pages she'd been flipping through. "About last night, I'm sorry I didn't make it. I planned to but something came up and by then it was too late to call and let you know," she explained.

Guilt continued to course through her in waves for another half truth she told. Brooke Davis' arrival at the Tutor Center a few seconds later didn't help things either. Haley was instantly reminded of her dilemma the night before while the only consolation was that neither Lucas nor Brooke saw one another as she disappeared behind the stacks. Most likely to check the extra assignments' shelf where teachers usually placed a set of questions or notes that would help the tutees better understand the week's lessons.

"I know you just got here and again, I'm sorry about last night. I want to hear all about the game and everything but I really have to go," Haley rushed to say and quickly gathered up her papers and books. "Why don't we meet up later after your practice? Say around six at your house," she suggested hastily.

"Sure thing, Hales." There was confusion on his face but he didn't question her further.

"Great. Bye."

As the door closed behind her, Brooke appeared from within the stacks, carrying a set of pages in her hand. Eyes down, she was busily trying to stuff them in her bag rather than paying attention to what was right in front of her. Neither did Lucas when he got up from his seat and caused Brooke to run straight into him.

It was like déjà vous from the previous week only this time it was Brooke. She snagged her heel on the carpet when she bumped into him and fell forward before she could catch her balance.

Reflexively, Lucas reached out to keep her from falling by wrapping his arms around her waist.

The papers flew up into the air around them, slowly raining down until they landed on the old carpet. "I should bump into you more often if it means we'll end up like this," Brooke teased, grinning when Lucas laughed embarrassedly. He figured he should be used to her flirtatious attitude after the twenty minutes worth of conversation they had in her car the night before. It seemed as natural to her as breathing but Lucas still found himself feeling a little uncomfortable about it. Probably because he wasn't used anyone being as open with their comments as Brooke Davis was. "I'll stay like this with you all day if you want but we should probably take it somewhere more private," her low voice declared with a pretty smile lighting her face as he realized how intimate they looked.

Pressed up against his body, her palms laid flat against his chest and felt his heart beating quickly beneath her hands. Lucas' fingers grazed the smooth skin between her shirt and the waistband of her jeans but he wasn't sure how they'd ended up there.

"Sorry," he quickly apologized and released his hold, much to Brooke's disappointment.

"Don't be," she grinned and bent down to pick up the fallen papers. "I'm not."

He laughed and bent down to help. "It's kind of weird you know," he said, almost to himself. "We never talked before. Actually we never even really saw each other and now we seem to be in all the same places at the same time."

Whereas Brooke was a regular at the tutor center, Lucas rarely stepped inside of it. His conversations with Haley usually took place during lunch or after school. Sometimes during class if the lesson was boring and one of them had something important to say. Then in the halls, he hardly expected Brooke to stop and talk to someone she didn't know, no matter how friendly she was.

Now it seemed different.

Running into her at basketball functions was understandable. Brooke was a big part of the entertainment which naturally ensured she attended all games and events. Joining the Ravens also meant seeing more of each other in and around the gym, he realized. Not that he was complaining. "Well I've always seen you around," Brooke shrugged and thanked Lucas for his help.

Gratefully, she accepted the hand he held out as he pulled her up from the floor.

"We just never had anything to talk about before." Stowing the pages away, she made sure they were safely ensconced within her bag before looking back up at him. "I guess that isn't really the case now, huh?"

"I guess not," he agreed after silently acknowledging that while he'd also seen Brooke around school, there had just never been a reason to say anything to her. She was usually with Nathan, Peyton or one of her other cheerleading friends. Sometimes a guy from the basketball team but rarely ever alone.

"Hmm…" she said noncommittally. Nothing else could be said before the two were temporarily interrupted by the warning bell's ring. Its echoing sound signaled that they only had five minutes until their first class of the day. For Brooke that was Math and for Lucas, it was History.

Neither subject was particularly appealing to either

"I guess that's our cue. Thanks again for catching me," she said once the ringing had faded from the room. Almost instantly after, the door opened and admitted two more students that couldn't help looking at Brooke and Lucas as they passed. Smiling, she ignored them and placed her hand on his chest again so she could lean up and whisper in his ear. "At the next party… you definitely have to play strip poker with us. Especially since I never lose."

With laughing eyes, she exited and left Lucas standing there speechless.

A full thirty seconds later, he laughed out loud and shook his head. It may have only been a few days since they first began talking but Lucas had to admit that Brooke was beginning to grow on him. From her teasing comments and smiles to the amusement in her eyes and conviction he saw in the hazel depths when she talked about his feud with Nathan. She was friendly enough but Lucas knew better than to get too close. It would only wedge her tighter into the middle of him and his brother, a place that despite her teasing, wouldn't be an easy space to occupy.

He just needed to remember it the next time they talked.

-----

When Haley showed up to see Lucas that night, her mind was still trying to figure out the right course of action she should take. The truth was what he deserved to know but Haley couldn't help wondering how much it might change things. Would he be angrier or more inclined to stay away from Nathan and his friends?

There were also strong feelings of hesitance because of the conversation she'd had with Brooke.

The pretty brunette had been adamant about what she believed was best. Strange as it was to admit, Haley knew that she'd have to take Brooke's word regarding certain things. She was the one on the inside and if her circle of friends decided to plan another prank, she'd know about it long before it happened. Haley had to believe that in that instance, her new ally would come forward to prevent it before things spun even further out of hand.

Thus, she felt locked in a stalemate.

There were reasons to keep quiet and an equally large amount of reasons to open up. In the end, she decided to continue waiting it out, hoping that nothing new happened to force the real story out of her.

"So you'll be playing with Keith tonight in the game?" Haley asked a few days later as she sat in Lucas' room, watching him pack up his gym bag. Bored, she began to toy with his jersey, tracing the letters with her finger. "Will your mom be there?"

"Yes.. and yes," Lucas agreed with a laugh. "What's been going on with you lately, Hales? Every time I see you it seems like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Is everything alright at home?" The concern she heard in his voice and saw on his face only succeeded in making Haley feel guiltier.

"No, everything's… everything's okay," she said and attempted a smile. "You know, I saw Brooke today. She was at the café getting her Friday brownie," Haley said in an effort to quickly change the subject before Lucas asked any more questions about her recent behavior. It seemed like the cheer captain's antics would be a good enough place to start. "She mentioned something about not being at the game tonight. Her or Peyton."

"But she's the cheer captain," Lucas reminded when something else Haley said registered in his mind. "Wait… what's a Friday brownie?"

Then it was Haley's turn to laugh. "Brooke's been coming into the café almost every Friday since the end of last term. And every time she always orders the same thing. One brownie," Haley explained and shook her head when she remembered how excited Brooke got when Karen set the pastry and it's napkin on the countertop. Without fail, it was the same goofy expression each week when she took her first bite. "Either way, I'm guessing that Peyton won't show up to the game since the cheerleaders have the whole mother/daughter thing and Peyton doesn't…. well, doesn't have a mom. I'm not sure about Brooke though. I figured it wasn't my place to ask."

"Maybe she's boycotting it for Peyton," Lucas guessed. "Not showing up because her best friend doesn't have anyone to go with."

"Yeah, speaking of… you never did answer my question last week," Haley said as she jumped at the chance to find out more about Lucas' intentions. Especially since they seemed to keep him so closely tied to those who seemed the most determined to hurt him. "Do you still have a think for Peyton?"

Lucas expected that the subject would come up again, he just hadn't known when Haley would get around to it.

So he shrugged and to Haley he seemed like he wasn't going to elaborate. Then for whatever reason, his hands ceased their packing movements and he turned to face his best friend. "Yes and no. Mostly no," Lucas answered and paused, leading Haley to believe that she was wrong and that he wasn't through with the explanation. "For the last couple of years she's been like this… well, this unattainable and mysterious girl to me. You know?" Words were his biggest strength but now he seemed to be struggling for the right ones he needed to express the reasoning behind his feelings. "I see her in the halls with certain CD's or books in her hand and I notice that what few things I do know about her seem to be similar to certain things about myself. We have a lot of the same tastes. A lot in common. And she's... attractive."

Shaking her head, Haley hoped to hear a 'but' thrown in there soon.

"If you want a pretty face, there are plenty of them out there that don't come with a vindictive basketball player attached."

"Funny, Hales." But he wasn't laughing. Instead Lucas appeared to be back in the clouds with his thoughts again. "It's sort of different now, though. I'm seeing things that either weren't there before or things that I just couldn't see. Like the extremely bitchy comments she makes to her best friend in between classes. The eye rolling and the smirking and the glares. It's like she has this other side that I'm now getting to see and it isn't a pretty one. It's definitely not a nice one."

Lucas had been surprised the first time he witnessed Peyton yelling at Brooke for something. There had been so much anger on her face and in her words but Brooke never lashed back. She listened to Peyton and then walked away.

"A girl that's able to date and put up with Nathan Scott for so long has to be a bit of a bitch," Haley said, silently pleased that her friend was finally see how bad of an idea it was to go after the blonde cheerleader. "You know, Luke… I'd never tell you who to like and who not to like. I mean… I know that's not even possible because the heart wants what it wants. But I'm just worried that you're digging yourself this huge hole to climb out of and going after Peyton while you're at it just seems like an extra effort that you don't need."

For as long as she had known about his crush, Lucas knew that Haley didn't approve. She never came right out and said it but it was obvious that she believed he could find someone better than the least cheery cheerleader on the squad.

"I know," he quietly acknowledged. "I wouldn't worry about me, though Hales. I'm realizing that maybe I didn't actually like her but it was more like the idea of her. Someone that I thought I'd be able to talk to because of similar interests. Someone that wouldn't look at me and see Dan Scott's forgotten son or Nathan's brother like everyone else does. But after everything that's happened lately, I know that Peyton isn't that girl. I'm pretty sure that she never was or ever could be."

While Haley sighed, sounding more relieved than she was willing to admit for fear of offending him, Lucas' mind wondered about a different cheerleader. One who's smile he'd been unable to get out of his head since bumping into her earlier in the week. The girl who, according to Haley, had to have her Friday brownie.

Unfortunately Lucas also couldn't help but wonder if spending time with Brooke would be asking for as much trouble as his crush on Peyton had. He hoped not.