Here's another quick update for y'all! I'm hoping to write more this weekend, as it should be a less busy three day weekend for me. Also, I should mention that with this story, I've sort of ignored everything that's happened on the show lol. So even though NH had Jamie when the graduated on the show, that's not how it's going down in this story. It's four years in the furture from the last chapter, and Jamie's only one. Anyway, hope ya enjoy!
Brooke stands on the outskirts of Tree Hill, staring at the welcome sign in front of her. She runs a hand through her short hair before straightening out her shirt. Cars keep driving past her, blowing dirt all around her. She coughs when she inhales some dust before pushing her large Jackie-O sunglasses back on the bridge of her nose. "Back to Tree Hill," she mumbles under her breath, glancing back at the long road she just traveled on.
She hasn't been back 'home' since she left four years ago after graduation. She's not too sure why either. She's kept in contact with almost everyone, yet she never managed to find her way back. But now here she is, a college graduate who has no where she needs to be. "Hey lady, your car broke down?" She turns her attention to the man in a dusty red pick up truck.
She shakes her head with a smile and tells him thanks anyway. He nods his head and oh so attractively spits out his window before getting back on the road. She sighs and walks back to her car, her trusty powder blue beetle, and gets in. "Welcome back."
Lucas Scott stands in the middle of the Rivercourt, old leather basketball in his hands, just begging to be bounced on the black weathered court. It's a beautiful day; the sky seems to be the most perfect shade of blue, white clouds floating along the big blue like giant tuffs of cotton candy. There was a gentle breeze blowing through Tree Hill, cooling down what would have been another hot summer day.
Nathan stands in front of him, sweating slightly from the jog there. He wipes away a few beads of sweat on his brow and takes a drink of his water. "You think we can fit in a game before I got to get back?" Lucas looks up at the flawless sky and then glances down at his watch.
"It's be a shame to waste such an awesome day," he says before looking at the time once more. "But we won't make it back if we do."
Nathan nods and motions for Lucas to follow him as he starts jogging in the direction they just came. "We'll play at the house."
Haley's running around the house like a chicken with her head cut off. Jamie's on her hip, screaming his head off, fresh vomit stains on the front of his onesie, toy truck in hand. Haley is trying to clean up all the food and regurgitated food off of the floor, all while getting hit on the head with her son's toy and rushing back over to the stove to make sure the lunch she's making for them doesn't burn.
Before she can snap at either of them, the brothers jump to help her. Nathan grabs his year old son, tossing the small plastic truck on to the ground and taking him to his nursery to get cleaned up. Lucas goes over to the stove and continues to flip the burgers that sizzle in the pan. "Thank the friggen lord you two are back," Haley says breathlessly before grimacing at her hard wood floors. "He was driving me insane."
Lucas laughs from his spot by the stove and looks over at Haley. She picks up the numerous rags that have soaked up his nephew's lunch and walks past him, teasing him by shoving the rags close to his face. "That's not funny Hales," he mutters while trying to hold back his gagging. It's her turn to laugh now as she walks into the laundry room, telling him it's what he gets for choosing to tend to lunch rather than clean it up for her.
Nathan comes out with a clean Jamie who, instead of crying, is now all smiles. Lucas looks at the two and realizes how much Jamie looks like Haley. Same dark blonde hair, same round cheeks Haley had when they were growing up, and same button nose. But of course, his bright blue eyes are Nathan's; the two bright lights that will make any adult melt. Although, Haley's already become immune to those eyes, considering she had to deal with the two elder Scotts before Jamie even entered the picture.
It's times like these when he thinks about Brooke. He doesn't do it often, not anymore anyway. It's just during these calm moments when he's surrounded by his family that the memories of her creep into his mind. Like when he first saw her, how she had looked so beautiful and how her laugh made him happy. Or when he first kissed her that late August night on his couch, her lips soft and warm and shaking. Or maybe he had been the one shaking… being with Brooke that night had been so weird. He didn't really know her, yet there was this draw, like she was the Earth and he was the moon. There was this pull that, even if he wanted to get away, there was no way he could. He was stuck; meant to follow her around forever…
He sighs inwardly and turns his attention back to the darkening meat on the frying pan in front of him. He's still think of her, of them, of what they almost had and could have been. He hates having all these what ifs, hates that these are what secretly control his subconscious. He flips two of the burgers once more before turning off the burner, listening to the grease pop and crack around the three meat patties. He looks out the window that overlooks the stove and for a second, he thinks he sees Brooke. He imagines this is what she looks like now; a little older, her looks changing just slightly. To be honest, it reminds him of that picture Peyton drew for him back then. Her hair's short and dark, but that red tint's still there, gleaming in the sunlight. Her skin is pale, as it should be for the beginning of summer but she looks so relaxed. She's dressed in cut off shorts, much like the ones she had worn when they broke up, and a tee shirt that looked a little too big for her frame. She looks so beautiful though…
He shakes his head and uses the spatula to take the burgers out of the pan. "You awake over there Luke?" Haley asks and he nods. He glances up once more only to find that his mind was indeed playing tricks on him. The doorbell rings shortly after they get their plates together. "I'll get it." Haley gets up from the wooden table and Jamie follows her with his eyes. Lucas watches as his nose scrunches up and his mouth drops open.
"What's he doing?" Lucas asks and Nathan looks at his son's face before taking another bite of his burger. "What do you think he's doing?"
Haley doesn't bother to look before she opens the door, which is probably why she hasn't moved or said a word in the past two minutes. Brooke just stares back at her with an apologetic look of sorts, although it's matched with a small dimpled smile. "Hales who is it?" Nathan calls from the kitchen and Haley shakes her head.
"It's… Marge, from work. I'll be back in a second," Haley replies, unsure of why Brooke's here and what exactly she wants. She shuts the door behind her, stepping on to the porch as she lets out a breath. "You're back in Tree Hill."
Brooke nods and laughs slightly. "I am. I'm sorry I didn't call first, I want to surprise you guys." Her sunglasses begin to slip from their spot on top of her head and she pushes them up just before they fall back on to her face. "Surprise?"
Haley shakes her head and rushes forward to hug the brunette. "I haven't seen you in forever! And why haven't you returned my emails for the past couple months?"
Brooke laughs and hugs Haley tight. "I've been busy finishing up school and what not. I'm sorry I haven't had time to respond." When they pull apart, Haley looks over her body and nods.
"You look good Brooke. I'm really glad you're back home," Haley gushes and Brooke nods. "Oh, you an finally meet Jamie!" Brooke's hands sweat with anticipation and she can feel that nervous feeling creep through her belly. "Um, Lucas is here too… I wasn't sure if you two had kept in contact at all, hence you becoming Marge."
Brooke's smile falters slightly before she shrugs. "I haven't spoken to him since high school ended. But, we should be fine right? It's not like we've been dwelling on the past… right?" Haley nods, assuring her that, as far as she knew, Lucas had moved on. He'd dated a few girls in college but none of them lasted more than a few months. But Haley was sure he was content at the very least. He didn't go around like a love sick puppy anymore over any girl.
"So you ready to go in?" Brooke takes a deep breath and looks at the small house behind Haley. Her friends are in there, the only family she could ever really count on. She nods and Haley turns the brass door knob.
Nathan pick up his and Lucas' plate, taking it over to the sink and washing them off. Lucas remains at the table, now making funny faces at the small boy who sat across from him, making the child break out into fits of laughter. "Lucas I swear if you make him laugh so hard that he throws up again, I'm cleaning it up with your shirt."
"I'll just borrow a shirt from Nathan," he retorts, sticking his tongue out at Jamie while he inflates his cheeks.
"You'll still be wearing it when I clean it up," Haley says seriously and Lucas sits up straight.
"Holy shit." Lucas turns to look at Nathan, confused as to what he was talking about. He follows Nathan's eyes and he has to blink hard a few times to try to clear his mind. Brooke Davis can't be there. Brooke Davis left Tree Hill right after graduation and hasn't come back since. But before he knows it, Nathan has walked towards her and is hugging her. He's physically touching her and for a second Lucas wonders if maybe he's just in some big dream. Maybe that's why this day has seemed so perfect… that has to be it. It's just a dream.
He pinches himself and then looks at the scene in front of him again. She's still there. She's smiling, a smile that reaches her eyes and brings out those beautiful dimples. This is crazy.
"It's about time you came back Davis," Nathan tells her when they pull apart, his hand going up to mess up her hair. Her nose wrinkles and she catches her glasses when they fall off her head. She half heartily punches him in the shoulder and they just laugh. He'd forgotten how close Brooke and Nathan had been. It was weird, seeing it again, hell seeing her again at all.
She stands in the doorway of their kitchen, surrounded by Nathan and Haley and she looks at him. His hair's grown out a bit since she's last seen him and he looks good, she's not going to deny that. He looks a bit more muscular, a bit more 'seasoned', and he already has a summer tan. She puts her hands on her hips and widens her smile. "Well are you just going to sit there or are you going to give me a hug?"
She walks towards him and he stands up, not realizing that he's trailing his way up her long legs to her face until he sees Nathan smirk behind her. A smile pops on to his own face, something that only happens when he's with her or family. He wraps his arms around her, and she stands on her tip toes to hug him better. It's a long hug and he breathes in the smell of her hair. She still smells the same, like strawberries and vanilla, and he sighs to himself. She hasn't changed very much at all. She brings him closer just before letting ago and that's when he feels it. He hadn't noticed it before, not when he was looking at her and not until she got this close.
"You're pregnant?" He chokes out once they pull apart and she bits her bottom lip, eyes ducking down as if she was ashamed that she was. She lets out a breath and nods, hand coming to rest on her swollen stomach. Her shirt had hidden it well, as it tented out over her stomach for the most part. He should've noticed that her chest had gotten bigger.
"I am," she says with a soft smile and that's when Haley pipes in from behind him.
"Ben?" she asks, taking Jamie out of his high chair, wiping off a bit of drool form his chin with her thumb. Brooke nods before rolling her eyes. "Big Ben doesn't follow through eh?"
Big Ben? Lucas looks in between the two girls before shaking his head. Brooke couldn't have gotten together with Ben Turner. He'd gone to college in North Carolina; Brooke was all the way up in New York.
"Nope. Got scared and left," she answers with a shrug. "It's fine. I don't need him anyway." It's silent in the room for a second, Lucas still trying to process what exactly was going on. Maybe this was another Ben… maybe he's just confused. "Alright, let me hold my honorary nephew." Haley smiles and hands her son over the Brooke. She places him on her hip, his legs tightening around her hips. He plays with the necklace around her neck and smiles up at her. She looks so natural with a baby.
And in a couple months, she is going to have a baby.
To reiterate what Nathan had said earlier, holy shit.