Hey guys! Long time no update but my inspiration has come back! bit of a filler chapter to flesh things out a bit, hope you enjoy r& r with any feedback or anything that you guys want to happen! slightly different writing style for this chapter, think seeing it through the characters eyes a little more is more effective, let me know what you think!
Clays pov
"Is this a good idea?" I asked the brunette standing in front of me, who had her arms crossed, a steely glare in her eye with a slight smile.
"Come on Evans, its going to be booze, loads of possible a-listers, we dont have to stay long..."
It had been a week since I had seen the latest brunette bombshell that had introduced herself into my life, and she is now at my front door with a coffee, and in turn a favour. i quite liked her style, it was a move i would pull.
Its a film premiere, she has been invited and she doesnt want to go alone. But me going is going to rock the boat in more ways then one.
1) Julian. Ok, I barely knew the guy but I do know that Tree Hill is a small town, and enemies will start building up. Especially when it comes to Brooke Davis, shes pretty formidable
2) Nathan. He throws a bitch fit even if I look at Brooke, let alone being on a red carpet, arms around eatchother, me pretending im her date
3) Haley, the mother of the group. She thinks outside of their family home, I'm essentially bad news to anyone around me. The Renee scandal did not help
"Peyton thinks im being petty but im actually not, I just dont want to turn up alone again" she said, flickering her eyelashes and giving me a bashful smile, showing off one of her dimples. Im starting to waver, I can tell, that sad little smile is starting to win me round
"why not take her then?" I asked, with a small chuckle
" not exaclty , shes more of a sit at the bar as opposed to being an after party girl"
"and where do I come into this?"
"just to have as a friend. These events. They just get a bit lonely. And alex and julian are gonna be there" she started to sigh, I knew what she was getting at. Julian and Alex were going to be draped over eachother, and she was going to be in the corner
"go on then Davies, lets start the party" I said, giving her the first smile of the day, I laughed as I saw her visibly relax and her small smile stretched into a full on grin
"thank you so much!"
"im sure I can learn to live with a free bar and a hot date" I smirked, and she cackled
"you still coming to the naley dinner?" she laughed
"sure am, you?"
"always. See you later" she smiled, stepping off my doorstep, and starting to walk away
"and Clay?"
I wheeled around
"thanks" she said, and I finally saw the little bit of vunerablility in the girl that was normally so fiery and strong.
Brooke pov
"Brooke!" Haley grinned, sweeping me and into a hug as she saw us. Peyton got an invite into the dinner party aswell, but I felt suspicious. Haley was upto something, she didnt usually hug, and shes got my favourite wine
"what are you upto?" I asked, narrowing my eyes a little
"just doing a dinner for my friends, why would i be upto something" she said, taking a large gulp of wine and making some sort of face at Nathan, who responds by going into the kitchen swiftly
"relax Brooke im sure its not going to be sinister, its Haley" Peyton laughed, grabbing herself a drink and sitting on one the sofas
"damn, Naley upgraded"
"because of me" sounded a male voice, and I saw Clay coming out the bathroom, staring at his phone
"and with your modesty, no wonder" peyton replied, and he laughed§
"cant build an empire on insecurity" he quipped, and Peyton nodded and laughed
There was another knock on the door, and Haley's eyes look like they are about to bulge out of her head.
Suddenly we all get ushered to the table. I have a horrible feeling that I know whats coming next.
Peytons peering at the door, as is Clay. It looks like we have mutually been kept in the dark about our new guest. Seemingly there is one as theres one more place set. As well as a raised voice that I can now hear in the hall.
I sit myself down between Clay and Peyton, Clay was absent-mindedly checking through his phone, Peyton drinking and texting Lucas. I hear a bag being slung on the floor
Then I heara cackle.
That cackle
Alex
"No" I said simply, im not ready for this, im not ready to be polite and im certainly not ready to sit opposite Julian and Alex, im not ready to act like its all ok because its not.
I start by pushing my chair back, but Clay grabs my arm. For someone who has only met me a handful of times, this guy has some balls
"what are you doing?" I hiss at him
"your invited, shes not. Your not going anywhere" he said, and poured me some more wine. I went to get up again and this time, Peyton stops me
"did you know about this?" I ask her, and wait to see if her eye twitches, or if she looks down, which is something she always does when she lies
"no" she said, sharply, and looking me straight in the eye
"but it might be good to talk to him" she says, slowly, exhaling and closing her eyes, almost as if she's ready for me to hit her or something. unfortunately i kind of think she's right
"and her?"
"I dont think she was a planned guest. Either that or she was going to be sitting on his lap" she said, nodding towards the one place that was set opposite me, a small smile playing with her features. Clay chuckles along with her. Im not too sure why these two are finding this so funny
"hes right though B, these are your friends, not hers. Dont leave on her account. Sit here, smile, dont take the bate, and show her that your strong, and show him what the hell hes missing" she says, looking into my eyes, her hand still on my upper arm, pulling me down. Clay is acting like a mute, but nodding
"if it gets weird, we can leave" she says, as an afterthought, and I finally nod and start to sit down. That bitch should NOT be able to make me leave a dinner party.
"Thanks" I say to Peyton, putting my head on her shoulder, its only really in moments like these where i really miss my best friend being around all the time.
Then suddenly the atompshere has changed
"hi everyone" Alex suddenly beams into the room, strutting in like she's just coming off the catwalk, and I shoot Haley daggers. In all fairness, Haley looks a little like she wants to jump off the balcony, and she has the good grace to mouth "sorry" to me when nobody else is looking
"want some more wine Brooke, from the kitchen?" Clay suddenly asks, and Haley frowns, looking at him like hes a confused 5 year old
"theres loads on the table"
"no rose though, and I love rose"
"ive never seen you drink rose" now Haley, Nathan and myself are bemused, he doesnt even drink normal wine, his area of the table is surrounded by beer bottles. Then I get it. Hes going to try and give me a pep talk. Typical boy.
"its usually a private habit but i thought tonight, i may go mad and expose myself, and theres two bottles and well I sprained my wrist earlier and once I get bottles then I need glasses and then that just gets really over the top and -" Clay started, I almost had to laugh, Haley looked confused but shrugged it off and snorted a little with laughter herself
"be my guest"
He got up, and I followed him,
"what the hell was that?" I asked him, he smiled, his face looking almost pained
"i knew about Julian. I didnt know about Alex. And I dont agree with it" he said, simply, opening a bottle and starting to pour
I gave him a nod, inviting him to explain further
"Nathan told me about 5 minutes before you arrived, but I dont even think they knew Alex was coming. Look, I know its crappy but they are just trying to help, Haley just wants you to be happy. I think she thinks if your not with Julian your going to get involved with me and start a life of crime or something. Anyway, dont let them get you" he said, handing me a glass, paired with a small shot of tequila. I smiled
"lets go start the party" I said, and he smiled and said "atta girl", and we walked back into the room
Julian was there. It was so odd seeing him, my heart felt a bit like it had been ripped out and thrown at the wall.
He was there and she was next to him. She was everywhere. How could he ever expect me to just get that.
To just let them be, to let this slutty, baggage-ridden, vunerable girl just attatch herself to what was meant to be my boyfriend. This was like Peyton and Lucas, the adult version. But I watched them be friends, and almost tore myself apart everyday because I knew one day it would be them and not me. How could he try and get me to do that to myself again?
He looked at me, he looked a little exasperated. He gave me a nod which I understood to be a "sorry". I nodded back. This wasnt his fault. I dont think he planned the cling on and I dont think he knew that this was going to be an ambush.
Alex gave me a grin. I drew a breath. Peyton nudged me and drew me into her and Nathan's conversation about high school years. Remincising about being cheated on or about my ex/current boyfriend having an emotional affair. I sighed. This needed to improve, pronto. This little bitch was not going to watch me be a misery all night.
"so, Brooke, are you going to the premiere on Thursday?" Alex asked, all little miss charm and butter wouldnt melt. She could usually get whole rooms eating out of the palm of her hand, but this time, the room all knew me, and were on my side. She was going to have to work harder then the simpering cheesy grin to win my friends round.
"Yup" I nodded, and turned back round to Peyton
"It must be hard to go alone, you can sit with me and Julian if you want" she said, giving a simpering smile. Julian smiled with a "wasnt that nice of her to try and build bridges" sort of expression, and I cant believe what im seeing. How can he not see that shes trying to rile me up? Before I can respond with something catty that I actually want to say-
"she wont be needing that, Brooke has a VIP booth, a limo, and what looks like quite the afterparty. And in addition to all of that, shes not going to be going on her own" Clay suddenly piped up, I smiled and nodded, as Nathan and Haley both shot Clay daggers.
Ive dropped him in it. I know they both think hes this party boy manwhore, but Clay has only ever tried to be a friend to me. Nothing more. I know they are trying to protect me , but i do feel guilty about how this is coming back on him.
"you two?" Julian asked, sitting up
"as friends" Clay casually responded, taking a sip of his beer "im an agent and shes a designer, new talent for everyone"
"your a sports agent" Haley shot in, putting her elbow on the table and getting stuck in. Nathan was just looking at Clay looking a little pained, then he looked over to me and shook his head, I responded by mouthing "what?" at him, but he didnt respond
"Always looking to expand" Clay retorted, with an icy glare
"How nice" Alex said, actually looking genuinely happy
"Maybe we could sit together?" Julian suggested, I think he knew it was a bad idea from the moment the words left his lips, but he was stuck with it now
"Brilliant" I found myself replying quickly, as I nudged Clay who pulled out a convincing smile. I looked at Haley. This didnt seem to be going along with her plan, which was for me and Julian to kiss, make up, and escape the misery. She more then anyone should know that it was never going to be that easy
"Clay, can you help me clear up?" Haley asked, and he gave her a dazzling smile
"of course" he said, standing up.
Suddenly I feel like I may not be the only one who is going to feel like their insides have been ripped out, because someone was about to get a lecture from Haley, and by the looks of it, she had chosen Clay over me
Clays pov
Helping Haley clear the table. Pretty much code for getting a pretty nasty telling off from what I can tell, she had a stony face, and her and Nathan had both exchanged a complete and utter "wtf" look. It was my own fault, I had led them both to believe I was a playboy who slept with girls then just cut off contact. But still, a family friend? Even the fake me wasnt that low.
"Clay, what the hell?"
Bingo. She wasnt even in the kitchen yet and she was already hissing at me
"its not what it seems like" I started
"it better not be Clay, I trusted you" she warned me, starting to load up the dishwasher
"what exactly have I done wrong?"
"Brooke is not emotionally in a place where, where, where having mindless sex with you is going be a good thing"
I was trying to approach this with reason, knowing that it was my fault that she thought in a certain way, but still, even if I was a party boy who slept with a lot of people, it was more the thought that she, and clearly Nate, both thought that I was just wanting to sleep with Brooke then dump her. Did they really think that was the only layer I had?
"do you think thats what is going on, come on Hales, is that honestly what you think?" I asked. I geuninely thought over the last year or more Haley had come to think a little bit more of me
"i dont want to, but I know what your like-"
"Dont blame me for all of this. Brooke needs a friend who isnt going to try and push her into getting back with Julian when shes not ready to"
"you've known them two minutes, thats not fair" she shot back
"and you've known them years and I get it, you want them to be happy. But maybe, just maybe right now they cant be happy with eachother. I dont want Brooke for myself, I want her a friend and she came to me asking for help"
"so a date is help?" Haley asked, scrubbing a pan a little too harshly, im guessing shes pretending its my face
"its not a date, she wanted to go to the afterparty and she didnt want to see Alex all over Julian on her own. Im more of a wingman"
I sighed, then thought. Why do I have to explain myself. Even if I was sleeping with Brooke, why is it my fault. Im not forcing anything
"shes vunerable"
"shes not a little girl she makes her own mistakes" I snapped. I was sick of it. Why was I the big bad wolf, Brooke had asked me for my help, as a friend. When me and her had gone out to clubs, it wasnt my decision, it was both of ours. Why was I the only one getting treated like a naughty child, a bad influence
"and your gonna help her there" she snapped, and I laughed
"good to know what you think"
"look Clay, you know I love you, you know I do, we do, but Brooke, shes vunerable, shes been through a lot with men and-"
"and you think im just gonna use and abuse her, lead her down my dark path of destruction, is that it?" I asked, trying to restrain my voice from getting any louder, I didnt want anyone else to hear this. The last thing I needed was Nate bursting in and seconding Haleys opinions, I dont think I could take that negativity from the person who was meant to be my best friend. They had invitied me, I thought they were ok with us being friends
"yes- no, no, course not" she said, trying to calm me down, but I was already riled up, I could tell she had instantly regretted her response, that it was a snap response, but she had said it now and that was enough
"Haley, Ive known you and Nate for a long while now and I thought you knew that I wasnt a bad guy like that. Im trying to look out for Brooke, and you are too, and now we disagree. Whatever. Im gonna go"
"No Clay dont" she said, looking to her credit, very upset. Im not even upset at Haley anymore its the situation. I havent told anyone my past, I havent told anyone my marriage so the judgement has sort of come to be expected. Not that it hurts any less.
"tell the others I got a headache, your clearly happier when im not around disrupting couples and hurting people" I said, before leaving for the porch via the back door
"Clay!" she shouted after me, sighing herself. I dont think either of us envisioned it ending that way