A/N: Hello everyone! Not too much happening in this chapter, mostly just a lot of thinking. I'm glad that you're enjoying the Brucas stuff!! For those who are waiting for it, the moment they finally give in to each other is coming soon and hopefully it'll be worth the wait. As for Peyton... well I've always said that despite her horrible attitude, she has her reasons for behaving a certain way. It won't quite come out now but little by little you'll get glimpses of it.

So thank you all for the amazing reviews!! I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Thanks!

Chapter 20 - You Found Me

You found me when no one else was looking

How did you know where I would be

Yeah, you broke through all of my confusion

The ups and the downs and you still didn't leave

I guess that you saw what nobody could see

You found me

When he walked outside to get his daughter's favorite stuffed animal from inside his mother's car, Jake Jagielski noticed an old black convertible parked sideways in the middle of the street. A head of blonde curls was visible from inside, revealing the identity of the driver. Jake only knew one girl who had hair as kinky as hers.

"Peyton?" he called out and hurried towards the car. Instead of a response, he heard her broken sobs and quickened his steps. "Are you…" he began to ask when she looked up at him suddenly with black tears rolling down her cheeks. Eyes red rimmed stared into his, almost as if she was trying to discern whether or not he was real. "Are you okay?"

"I…" she stuttered as her mouth moved like a fish out of water.

Finally she just shook her head. She was tired of pretending.

"No."

-----

When they were on the court together, it was hard not to focus on the Scott brothers. One blonde and the other brunette. A few inches separated them in height even though a world separated them in every other way. If asked to describe their game, one would say that Nathan's talent came from hard work and hours spent practicing every aspect of the game. Lucas' abilities, on the other hand, were more natural than refined.

Two different brothers. Two different games. One goal in mind.

To win.

"Smith throws an outlet pass to Lucas Scott. He catches and finds the team's captain, Nathan Scott up court," Mouth described as he sat near the scores table, broadcasting the live action through which was the school's sports page. "Shake and Bake. Nathan scores two on a layup and puts the Ravens up by six."

Even with the team on the road, the stands were filled with blue and white. Students, parents and friends cheered as the Ravens continued to build a steady lead. "Alright Nathan! Go Ravens!" Brooke cheered alongside Bevin and Theresa. The latter taking the spot that was normally reserved for Peyton. Only the curly haired blonde had been absent when the cheerleaders boarded the bus. A phone call that went directly to voice mail told the captain that her once friend was obviously not coming.

"You know… I'd mention how hot Lucas looks tonight in his jersey," Theresa began mischievously. "But considering the fact that Peyton's been walking around with a shiner since Monday… I should probably keep it to myself. Wouldn't want you throwing any punches and disturbing the game."

Determined not to let the other girl get the best of her, Brooke shot her a fake smile. "Why do I care if you look?" she asked, flippantly. "I'm the one that gets to touch."

"Nothing but net as Lucas Scott sinks a three," Mouth continued. "It's the end of the half and the Ravens are up by nine."

From where she stood at the baseline, Brooke scanned the crowd and saw Karen, Haley and Keith sitting amongst the Ravens fans. Unfortunately, further down sat Dan Scott. He wore a mask of aggravation, glaring at Lucas' back as he followed the rest of his teammates into the visitor's locker room.

Considering everything Nathan said about his father over the years, Brooke could guess that Dan was angry because Lucas was currently leading all scorers.

"Jackass," she muttered under her breath. Out loud she said, "Alright ladies…let's go. Remember we start on the third beat and don't forget to smile," Brooke instructed and led them out onto the court to dance.

For the first time, Whitey had nothing negative to say once he got the boys into locker room. If anything, he was actually surprised that Lucas and Nathan were passing the ball between each other. Something that had not happened in their previous five games. "Glad to see you all took your heads out of your asses and decided to play a little basketball," he said gruffly. "Tim, I want you to try and find Lucas on the wing. Nathan, I want you to drive the lane tonight. No outside shots unless you're wide open. Springer… I want more defensive boards."

Tired and sweaty, the boys watched as Whitey drew several plays on the dry erase board.

Despite his excellent performance on the court, the guys knew something was wrong with Nathan when he didn't protest their coach's instruction. Normally he'd get angry if Whitey told him to go for the easy lay in instead of his preferred outside shot. "Hey man, what's wrong with you?" Tim asked quietly. Where their coach was concerned, the otherwise loud mouthed point guard knew better than get caught talking out of turn. It was a sure fire way to get assigned a few extra reps of horses at the next practice.

"It's a locker room, Tim. Not Dr. Phil's couch," Nathan retorted and stared intently at the board, pretending to be interested in the newest play.

Lucas was even tempted to ask his half brother what had him so distracted but he bit his tongue at the last minute. Maybe they were able to be civil on the court but he doubted they were anywhere near ready for a heart to heart. Not that he was even sure he wanted a friendship and especially not in the middle of the locker room with the entire team surrounding them.

-----

Still on a high from their win, the bus was loud with talkative students who couldn't seem to sit still. Whitey had given up trying to quiet them and instead sat in front with a set of headphones over his ears. The team members could only guess at what kind of old music he was listening to.

But in the group of excited, almost obnoxious athletes and their cheerleaders, two were quiet and detached from the rest.

"What's the deal with him, anyway?" Lucas asked Brooke once she'd settled in beside him. Though boys and girls were supposed to stay in separate seats, Whitey wasn't paying much attention to the happenings in the back of the bus. Plus Brooke was so small that it was impossible to see the brunette captain with the team's center sitting directly in front her.

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I haven't really talked to him since the party on Saturday."

Brooke was surprised that they hadn't spoken at some point after the fight broke out with Peyton. She assumed that Nathan heard the rumors just as everyone else had but he never came to her and asked for the true story. Something that was definitely out of character considering that the quarrelling pair were both girls he cared about. "Well between the two of us, if anyone would know what's wrong with him it'd be you," Lucas replied.

"I guess the whole brooding thing must be a family trait," Brooke laughed before noticing the somber look her words placed on Lucas' face. Her eyes closed for a remorseful moment as she realized how insensitive she probably sounded. "Oh god, I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry," she quickly apologized.

"It's not a big deal," Lucas denied and took Brooke's hand in his, interlacing their fingers. "It's not like I'm in denial or anything. I know he's my brother," he explained and offered Brooke a small smile to show her that he wasn't mad or offended by her words. "Don't worry about it," he assure while a few seats over, Nathan stared out at the passing scenery, thinking about recent events.

He couldn't get Peyton's sad expression out of his mind.

He hurt her, something that had never been a question but he supposed he never realized the extent of it until he saw that look. The one that told him he had broken her heart.

It strange to him, almost surprising because when he looked back on their relationship, Nathan had to acknowledge that he never believed Peyton was in love with him.

Yes, she had feelings for him. She probably cared a lot about him but what they had, however great it was at the time, wasn't something that was meant to last. Nathan knew that and assumed Peyton did too. But after talking to her in the gym, he wondered if maybe he had somehow led her on. If maybe his actions spoke louder than the words he did and didn't say.

Then there was Haley.

Nathan couldn't deny having a small crush on his studious tutor. Her smile made him want to smile back and he admired the way she called him on his bullshit. But he also couldn't deny that she seemed utterly appalled by the idea of dating him. Not that he had asked. But he could see it. The nervous glint in her eyes whenever he got too personal or the way she'd catch herself before laughing for too long in front of him.

It was a disappointment and Nathan knew that he had only himself to blame for her obvious wariness.

Still… it didn't make it any easier to acknowledge.

"Are you still worried about Peyton?" Lucas asked once Brooke had grown quiet, something that was unusual for the normally cheery brunette.

"Habit, I guess," she excused because after everything that had happened, she really had no reason to still care. But she did.

Strangely, Jake's mind was in a similar place.

He couldn't stop thinking about Peyton though not for obvious reasons. He wasn't thinking about the blonde cheerleader, he was thinking about the broken girl that cried in her car. The girl that spilled her guts to him in a matter of moments and who couldn't stop her tears once the flood gates had opened.

Jake didn't understand half the stuff she said, but he listened.

He supposed that was all she really needed anyway.

-----

"You know, I'm always going on and on about the crazy stuff in my life but you never really tell me about yours," Brooke declared quietly as she drove Lucas home. The bus had arrived a few minutes earlier and while some where heading out to party for a little while, the new couple opted to do their own thing.

"You already know the craziest part," Lucas said with a laugh, noting her look of concentration as she thought about it. "Actually, you probably know more about it than I do," he added, referring to her years long friendship with Nathan. A friendship that Lucas was only just beginning to get comfortable with. And it had nothing to do with trusting Brooke, because he did. It wasn't even about trusting Nathan though he really didn't. It was more about coming to terms with the fact that a girl he cared so much about was literally stuck, for whatever reasons, between him and his brother.

"We never really talked about it," Brooke shrugged as she kept her eyes focused on the road she drove along.

"So what do you talk about?" he wondered.

"Different things." She thought about it carefully, remembering past conversations before adding, "Basketball and Peyton, mostly. At least when they were still dating. Sometimes about the dumb social parties our parents make us attend with them." Then she shrugged, unable to come up with an interesting enough answer. "Besides that, it's probably the same sort of stuff you and tutor girl talk about."

"I doubt you and Nathan talk about what a jackass he is," Lucas joked, drawing a laugh from his girlfriend.

"You'd be surprised," she smiled teasingly. "Hmm.. looks like your uncle's home," she added as they pulled up to his front walk and spied Keith's blue pickup parked on the curb.

"Yeah, they told me after the game that they wanted for us all to have dinner together," Lucas explained and peered at Brooke curiously. "Do you want to come with us to my mom's café?"

"I don't want to intrude," Brooke quickly replied.

"You wouldn't be," Lucas assured and leaned forward to place a lingering kiss on her lips. "They said I was more than welcome to bring you along."

Because he cared so much about her and because Brooke was his first real girlfriend, it meant a lot to him that his mother and uncle seemed to like her so much. Especially since the two spent so much time together. He had half expected for his mom to tell him that they were seeing too much of each other. But the conversation never happened and Lucas wasn't sure if it was because of Brooke or because of Keith.

Despite his busy schedule as of late, Lucas wasn't so oblivious that he didn't notice something going on between Karen and his uncle. But since they hadn't said anything to him about it, he didn't say anything to them. He decided to wait until they were ready to come clean, not that he blamed them.

Neither had had much of a social life since he was born. Karen because she felt like her first priority had to be Lucas. Then Keith because he was always so hung up on Karen.

Plus no one could deny that Dan Scott would have some unkind words to say once he found out that his brother and ex were now dating. He may not have chosen to marry Karen but that didn't mean that he didn't still feel like he had a claim to her. As barbaric as it sounded. "If you're sure," Brooke said uncertainly.

"Positive," Lucas smiled. "Come on, pretty girl."

But when they quietly walked through the kitchen door, they were surprised to find most of the lights off. The bigger surprise was finding Karen and Keith making out on the couch like a couple of horny teenagers. "Oh god!" Lucas said and snapped his eyes shut as Keith quickly slid his hand out from beneath Karen's blouse.

"Oh my god!" Brooke added laughingly. Then because everyone was so embarrassed and the tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife, she added, "You three look like you've seen a ghost."

Blushing, Karen looked between Keith and Lucas before settling her gaze on the safest choice. "Brooke, why don't we go to the kitchen and make some hot chocolate," she suggested quietly.

"Sure," she agreed easily.

"You can… open your eyes now, Luke," Keith said slowly as the two females left the room.

When they talked about the right time to tell Lucas, neither Keith nor Karen envisioned it happening because the young teen found them in a compromising position. Instead they planned for Keith to do it. Man to man. Mostly because he was old enough for the straight forward approach and also because Karen didn't want him to feel overwhelmed by the both of them coming at him with the news.

"Right. Sorry," he muttered, feeling like a kid for the way he reacted.

"It's okay," Keith waved it away. "But, uh… I guess now you know. Your mom and I are… dating," he explained for lack of a better word. To the both of them it was so much more than that but dating seemed to be the only word Keith could find to describe it to Lucas. "And between you and me... I want to marry her."

Rubbing his palms against his pants, Lucas opened and closed his mouth a couple times before sitting down opposite his uncle. "The dating part, I already kind of knew," he admitted. "You guys are pretty obvious," he added by way of explanation. "The other part… not so much."

"Well she doesn't know either if that's any consolation," Keith said quietly.

"Are you gonna ask her or…"

"I wanted to give you time to adjust to the dating before doing anything else," Keith admitted, sensing the direction his nephew's thoughts had taken. "And I wanted to know that you were okay with it before I asked her."

All his life, Keith had been the father Lucas never had. He was the one that supported Karen when it began to feel like too much to handle. He taught Lucas how to play both basketball and football. He was the one who gave him 'the talk' when the time came to hear it and he was the one who took responsibility when Dan Scott wouldn't.

He was a part of their family and Lucas couldn't have been happier to find out that Keith wanted to make it official.

"I'm okay with it," he said softly and smiled. "More than okay, actually," but didn't have the chance to say anything else.

"Two hot babes coming into the room," Brooke called out in warning as she and Karen appeared carrying two cups of hot chocolate each. Lucas and Keith both laughed at her description but Karen couldn't help blushing, shaking her head in amusement. "So… um…Lucas. Did you want to work on that… homework thing, now?" she asked, giving him an out in case he needed time to process.

"Yeah, we should probably uh…g-get to that. Now, I mean," he agreed and took Brooke's hand in his own. Lucas couldn't describe it, but the touch of her skin somehow comforted him. It was a feeling that he got from time to time before and just after they began dating. But since the night they fell asleep pressed together with almost every inch of their skin touching, Lucas had been getting that feeling more and more.

"Not too late," Karen called out to their retreating backs once the pair bid the two adults a good night. "Remember, it's a school night."