Two updates in a week, not too bad. DB and Himerus and Eros. Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to Corey because I figured she'd like it :P
Anyways, chapter title belongs to The Spill Canvas :D
Read and review at the end! :P
--Chandler
In an instant, Brooke's world, her surroundings, everyone and everything, fell away; it was only her and Lucas in the room. Their eyes connected, clear blue and sparkling green-brown.
Then they were in her bedroom, kissing intensely, falling onto her satin red sheets. Lucas broke away for a half second, only to pull his shirt off; she laid on her back, waiting impatiently for him to return to her. Once the shirt was gone, Lucas unconsciously centered himself directly above her, an arm on either side of Brooke's body, blocking her off as if to prevent her escape, even though she knew she wasn't going anywhere. He continued to kiss her, desperately and uncontrollably. She pushed upwards, passionately meeting his tongue with hers.
There was still far too much clothing between them, Brooke decided, as Lucas tried to run one hand up her body but was frustrated by the rough fabric. How she longed for the feel of his skin; she realized in that moment how much she had missed it. She wanted that smooth feeling of his skin gliding over hers, leaving trails of fire and goosebumps, drenching them both in sweat. She wanted to taste him again, wanted to feel him and at that moment she would've given anything for it.
It seemed, and she thanked some higher being for it, that Lucas needed the same things she did; he sat back for a moment to pull off her shirt and undo the button on her jeans so that she could slide them off while he attacked her lips again.
Then it was a blur of skin and sweat and red satin sheets, red and fire and heat and friction and pressure. The touch of his lips over her body, the glow of their skin in the dim light of the bedside lamp, the warm glint of the light in Lucas's eyes, the sigh of the satin as it flowed over their bodies. She felt everything, and knew next to nothing. All she was sure of in that moment was how badly she wanted him—how badly she needed him; it was a primal urge, a craving, a desire.
Then he was inside her. He sunk in deep, bringing them closer than either Brooke or Lucas could have imagined. It felt so damn good to be together again.
They rocked as one, feeling the gatherings of climax growing in their stomachs, drawing ever closer to the edge, the need for release.
With one final thrust into her, Brooke and Lucas climaxed together, colors blurring in front of their eyes, and in that moment Brooke only knew one thing; it fell from her lips, laced with desire and passion and love and lust.
"Lucas…"
"Lucas!"
Somewhere from the deepest reaches of her brain, the last part of lucid thought Brooke had left screamed at her to come back to reality. The flashes of red and fire and skin and passion instantly shattered, giving way to the cold apartment entryway, and Haley, Nathan, Peyton, Jake, and…Lucas. God, he was really there. Lucas. Sharp blue eyes and scruffy blonde hair that stood up in all directions. For an instant, as soon as Brooke and Lucas had looked at each other when he'd first walked in, a ripple of astonishment had spread over his face. But seconds later, as Haley skipped joyfully over to him, Lucas's face regained a completely calm, easygoing smile. His gaze slid away from Brooke.
"Lucas!" Haley called again, happily, as she reached his side. Lucas, who was shaking hands with Nathan, grinned at her and pulled her into a hug.
"How are you, Hales?" he said into the top of her head.
Finally, Haley pulled away. "I'm fine. But we can talk about that later: come here, I have to introduce you." Without waiting for any response, she took Lucas's arm and pulled him over to where Brooke, Peyton, and Jake stood. Haley seemed to be in her element that night, as far as introductions go. Nathan came a few steps behind Haley and Lucas, smiling with amusement at his girlfriend and brother.
Brooke watched Lucas, silently, as he walked towards them. Lucas Scott. She couldn't stop saying his name, confirming it in her mind, as if suddenly she would realize it wasn't him. It was a nice try, but she remembered the blonde hair and blue eyes. The lean and muscled body. Her mind was a mess: questions and thoughts and ideas and feelings and several creative strings of swear words, all compressed into her mind and seconds from exploding. Lucas Scott! He should have gone back to Miami by now. What— how does Haley know him? Logic was completely out of the question. That can't really be him. How much did I have to drink? How did he find out where I lived? Is he pissed? God, what am I going to do…Dammit. I am so screwed.
Jake stepped forward, interrupting Brooke's panicked stream of thoughts as she stopped to watch. He offered his hand to Lucas. "I'm Jake," he said, and Brooke smiled inside. Her new boyfriend was so great; he momentarily took her mind away from less pleasant things, like one-night stands showing up to your dinner.
Lucas shook Jake's hand. "Lucas." The blonde nodded carefully, as if trying not to give anything away.
"And this," Haley said once Jake and Lucas had finished their introductions, "Is Jake's girlfriend, and my best, best, best friend from high school, Brooke Davis."
There were very few times in Brooke's life where she had wanted to strangle someone, but that moment was one of them. If Haley only knew, if only she had any idea what was going on between them. Brooke looked up into Lucas's eyes as he drew nearer to her and shook her hand, waiting for him to make some offhand comment that would give away what happened last Friday night. No one could know about that night, and until that moment her story had been safe. Now everyone, including Jake and Peyton, would find out her secret. All because of the man standing in front of her.
The tension, the awkwardness between Brooke and Lucas was almost tangible. She tried not to look at him, and she could tell he was trying not to look at her, trying to stay calm. Brooke could have sworn she saw a vein pulsing in his neck as he came closer, still looking away. He looked at Haley, at Jake, at the painting on the wall. Anywhere but Brooke.
Finally, when he could avoid it no more, Lucas turned and his eyes met hers. She expected worry and angst, but strangely his eyes gave away nothing. In fact, they were blank save for a warm, gracious shine, the kind that everyone has when they are meeting new people. She looked at him, trying to communicate something, anything, but Lucas simply looked through her. Just like Jake had, he extended his hand. "Hey, I'm Lucas." There was that winning smile again. Gritting her teeth and twisting her face into something of a smile, Brooke reached out and shook his hand. Their skin touched.
…she straddled his lap again, watching him with satisfaction for a moment as he lay beneath her. Then she pushed her hair back and fell upon his lips. Her naked back arched downwards seductively, her hair was mussed from both his hands and hers, and Brooke's hazel eyes were darkened with lust…
Another flashback, another instant-long memory of skin and heat and sensations. Although this one, she was sure, was from Friday night, not a fantasy like what she had dropped into as soon as Lucas had walked in. It was a memory, and a vivid one at that. Brooke's mouth ran dry, looking at him, thinking of Friday night. What was she going to do? Lust pumped through her veins, her skin was on fire. Friday night had been amazing…
Then, suddenly, that crystal-clear lucid voice came again from deep in her mind. No! It shouted, what are you doing? You're with Jake now. Jake, who you're holding hands with. Jake, who you kissed just fifteen minutes ago in the kitchen. It's you and Jake. Brooke and Jake. Lucas is not part of the picture.
He was still shaking her hand. "I've heard a lot about you. And Peyton, too," he was saying, shooting a quick smile at the blonde. Brooke's face had become plastic, a fixed stare to keep her from flinching at his touch. "Haley's told me most of the stuff that happened back in high school with you three." She simply nodded in response, not trusting herself to say anything.
The weight of the shock still hung around her shoulders, but even that began to fade into other emotions as Lucas quickly released her hand and looked away, stepping over to Peyton. In an effort to refocus herself on…whatever she had been thinking about before Luca walked in, Brooke looked over to Jake. He was smiling, laughing almost, at the introductions. Relaxed, at peace. His brown eyes shined. Having her hand still tightly entwined in his gave her a tremendous sense of comfort, of peace. It calmed her down.
"Hi, I'm Peyton," Peyton was saying, as she shook hands with Lucas. Brooke looked over at the pair, noting with displeasure the smug grin on Lucas's face. A new thought came to her: he probably knew what was going on, had come here with Haley to get back in Brooke's life, and now he was smirking at how shocked Brooke actually was. She felt the merest flick of irritation, and tried to brush it off.
He didn't even acknowledge me, she thought to herself, He avoided my eyes; he didn't even look at me! She sighed. Even though she had left him that morning, she would have liked some sort of acknowledgement. Maybe a fleeting glimpse communicating that he wasn't going to tell anyone about what had happened. But she got nothing.
There was the flick of irritation again, growing bigger by the second. Her skin grew hot, her breaths came shorter and faster, goosebumps rose on her bare arms. She could barely think with him in the room.
"Ok," Peyton announced. She was playing the part of hostess quite well. "Unless Haley has anymore surprises for us—" she threw a quick grin Haley's way "—we can go and eat. Sound good?"
There were murmurs of assent, and Peyton gestured to the dining rom. The dining room branched off the entryway, and connected through a doorway to the kitchen. Also, there was a double-wide doorway that connected it to the living room, for easy access to drinks. In the center of the room stood their glass and iron table, decked out with everything: plates, glasses, silverware, the works. Usually, if Peyton and Brooke ate dinner at home at all they would eat at the bar or in the kitchen, but tonight was a special occasion. They'd pulled out all the stops for this one.
"Brooke, do you want to grab the food?" asked Peyton as they got to the table. With a grateful nod, Brooke let go of Jake's hand and went through the doorway that lead to the kitchen.
She was thankful to have an escape; the kitchen, right now, was like her sanctuary. Space to breathe, room to think without having her eyes constantly attracted to Lucas, even though they shouldn't have been. She leaned on a counter with both hands, exhaling slowly. Ok. She had to think, had to concoct a battle plan.
Once, while flipping through the channels on a boring Sunday afternoon, Broke had seen some young female athlete doing an interview. Usually, she wouldn't have stopped, but Brooke heard the phrase, "Fake it till you make it. The words had always stuck with her. You have to pretend that you're ok, not matter what, and eventually you will be. God, is that true now, Brooke said to herself, I'm fine. Lucas is no big deal. Really, he seemed a bit too smug anyway, too comfortable with seeing her. He knew already, she was sure, that it was Brooke that lived in this apartment, that it was she that Haley was coming to visit. He was just here to rub it in her face, to get back into her life.
And you know what? I don't care. I'm fine. Lucas really would be no problem to her, just as long as he kept his mouth shut about Friday night. Then the dinner would be over, and even if he stays with Nathan and Haley for the next week Brooke would only see him once or twice more. No problem.
Mentally, she thanked the female athlete who had given her those words of advice.
Brooke became significantly brighter in the moments after her mental coaching. "P. Sawyer," she called joyfully, "Come help me with all of this." After a moment, she heard Peyton's long-legged strides, then the blonde came bounding into the room with her blonde curls bobbing playfully.
"Gotcha, B. Davis," she said, coming over as Brooke carefully lifted a bowl. The brunette didn't want to spill anything on her yellow empire shirt that for once wasn't designed by Clothes over Bros. But before Brooke went anywhere, Peyton stopped and leaned against the counter, clearly intending to talk.
"Ok," she said slyly, "I am so feeling those Scott boys." Brooke immediately set the bowl back down and leaned against the counter as well. So what if they weren't being the best of hostesses? Haley, Jake, Nathan and Lucas could wait for Brooke and Peyton to finish their moment-long gossip session.
"I know," Brooke gushed, grinning, "Haley got so lucky with Nathan. If I were any more jealous, I'd be Rachel right now, digging my claws into him."
Instead of replying, Peyton just shook her head. They could talk about Rachel later, but at the moment there were more important things going on. "What about the blonde one, Lucas? He's just as good-looking, if not better than Nathan." She winked.
It obviously didn't have the intended effect on Brooke: instead of gushing about Lucas like she had with Nathan, the brunette merely shrugged indifferently. "I don't know, he's ok. I think he seems way too smug and charismatic for me. You know?"
"I thought that was the kind you liked," Peyton snorted, teasing. Before Brooke could respond, Peyton continued, "But whatever. Let's grab the food, and go eat!" They grabbed two dishes each, and carried it back through the doorway to the rest of the group.
The other four had already taken seats around the dinner table, and by the time Broke had gotten in Peyton was sitting down as well in the fifth of their six seats. With a sudden feeling of apprehension, Brooke looked around. Yep, that was it. The last empty seat was at the head of the table. Jake was on the left of that spot, and on the right, across the table from him…was Lucas.
For what must have been the millionth time that evening, Brooke thought to herself, What the hell did I do in a past life to deserve this? But by now, it had almost gotten amusing. First, Lucas turns up at her apartment to have dinner with her. Then, he acts like he doesn't recognize her, despite the fact that they'd had a pretty good night. Then, he ended up sitting next to her at their dinner.
She was almost laughing, in a hysterical sort of way. But then Brooke remembered the conversation she'd had with herself in the kitchen, and faked a smile.
"Hey, Davis," Peyton called, raising an eyebrow, "Are you going to sit down?" Brooke had been standing in the doorway for almost a minute.
No, not yet. She needed just that extra sliver of time. "Actually, the wine is at the bar, so I'm going to go grab it. I'll be back in a second." Before anyone around the table could object, Brooke turned on her heel and darted out of the room.
The bar was across the room, facing the doorway to the dining room. From their angle, none of the people could see Brooke or the bar, and for that she was thankful. Pausing, like she had in the kitchen, Brooke took a deep breath while leaning against the counter. "Ok," she said presently, after calming herself down once more, "where did I put the wine?"
After a few minutes, she'd pulled six wine glasses from their little built in cabinet, and the two bottles of wine from the cooler and laid everything out on the bar. Just as she was trying to figure out how to carry everything, a small rustle of clothing behind her made her jump. She whirled, shocked, to find Lucas standing there; his hands were in his pockets, he was leaning back a fraction of an inch, watching Brooke with a very satisfied sort of smile on his face.
She broke out in angry goosbumps when she took in his full appearance, yet for some reason a little voice in the back of her head, definitely not the voice of reason from earlier, whispered, Sexy as hell. Brooke muted that voice as quickly as possible.
"Hey," Lucas said, his gravelly voice reminding her of when she had found him preparing breakfast for her early that Saturday morning, wearing only those basketball shorts so that his tan, muscled torso was left bare.
But today she couldn't be distracted by such a romantic, hot memory. "What are you doing here?" she asked icily. Now was her chance to talk to him about everything in private, and she wasn't going to let him think that she was happy about it.
Lucas looked back over his shoulder, towards the room. "You're friend Peyton said you'd probably need some help with the wine, so here I am." His voice was almost unbearably relaxed.
"No," she said with the same icy tone. "I mean, why are you here? In my house? At my dinner, with my friends?" Brooke gestured through the air, around the room, at the walls, the ceiling. "Here?"
He wasn't moved by her tone of voice or obvious anger. Simply, Lucas said, "Haley invited me to a dinner at a friend's house. I had no idea you were even in the picture." The coolness of his answers, his relaxed state, the smile that played at the corners of his lips got under her skin. He was like a guy who knew he was hot, so he played it up and expected others to recognize it too. And, she knew, Lucas thought this whole situation was especially amusing, particularly the fact that Brooke found it so…unamusing. The heat inside her grew, the irritation.
"Well, I am in the picture," she snapped back, "so I'd appreciate it if you just go back to the dinner table. I'll make two trips for the wine." Brooke tried to make every word drip with a considerable amount of venom behind it, enough to let him know that this wasn't a joke; it wasn't something to be acting so damn smug about. Then, as an afterthought, she added with a scathing look up and down his body, "I don't need you."
It was like she'd slapped him. Lucas angled his head away, looking away off to one side, biting his tongue. He breathed deeply and let out a long sigh. With a surprising surge of satisfaction, Brooke watched his jaw grinding. For a moment, she'd gotten to him. Then Lucas looked back up at her, his eye gleaming as he dropped his voice to a low, smug whisper.
"That's not what you were shouting Friday night."
Those were fighting words, in Brooke's eyes at least. She pulled her head back, one eyebrow scornfully raised, her jaw jutting forward as she tried to control the sudden wave of fury that had washed over her. Her fingers, which she had been impatiently drumming on the granite countertop of the bar as she waited for Lucas to leave, stopped, curling into a half fist and out again. The wine was momentarily forgotten in their quiet one-upping competition. While she looked away, Lucas took a few slow, careful steps toward her, hands in his pockets.
Then her head whipped back around to face him, fire coming from her eyes."Friday night didn't even matter," she said, smiling a poisoned honey smile, "I'd pushed it out of my mind by Saturday afternoon. And besides—" she looked him derisively up and down again "—It wasn't like it was that great anyways." And with that one final comment, Brooke grabbed the wine and made to walk by him into the dining room, intending to leave him standing stunned in the middle of her living room.
But just as she reached him, Lucas shot out a hand to catch her arm. He pulled her in gently, but with a grim determination, towards his body. Brooke halfheartedly pulled away: she almost wanted to find out what the hell was going on. Lucas leaned closer to her ear until his nose was almost in her hair, and dropped his voice into that arrogant hiss again.
"Don't lie, Pretty girl. It's…unbecoming."
Then he released her arm and, just as quickly and as silently as he had walked in, left the room, left her standing there in the middle of her living room, stunned and incredibly pissed off. Her hands shook, heat boiled through her veins. She decided right then and there.
Lucas Scott is an ass.
Like she had said, Brooke took two trips to get the six glasses and two bottles of red wine. She used the extra time in the living room to simmer down, calming down by convincing herself that Lucas had just acted like he cared last weekend so he could get a quick lay. She kept replaying the line in her head: "Don't lie, Pretty Girl, It's…unbecoming." He had said that to her Friday night too, and was no doubt using it again to remind her what had happened, to throw it back in her face. As if she could forget.
Eventually, she ran out of reasons to stay away from the table, and sat down in her chair as the wine glasses were passed around. Even though Lucas was on her left, one positive thing was that Jake was on her right and she could focus entirely on him when no one was talking.
The night is fine. Everything will be fine. Just make it through two more hours or so…
After everyone had toasted and clinked glasses together, they settled in to eat. Surprisingly, Haley and even Peyton, the queen of sarcastic remarks, didn't tease Brooke about the food quality, although there was much laughing and talking. Brooke, from one end of the table, stayed pretty quiet, as did Lucas unless either was addressed directly.
"So Lucas," Jake asked across the table. Sitting next to Lucas was Haley. Nathan was next to her, at the head of the table, and next to him and across from Haley was Peyton. Jake was on her left. The rest of the group quieted to hear Jake's question. "How do you know Haley? Just through Nathan?"
Even Brooke stopped eating and looked up, suddenly interested. For a sliver of an instant, she thought she saw Lucas's eyes flick towards her, but then he covered it up by glancing around the table. "Actually, we met in a creative writing class and became really good friends," he told Jake, "I was the one who introduced her to Nathan at a party back in freshmen year."
"He was the mutual friend Haley was talking about," Nathan added, for explanation.
Everyone around the table nodded, smiling at this new piece of information about Lucas. Then Peyton spoke up. "So are you as crazy about English and writing as Haley is?" she asked cheerfully.
"Yeah, I'm majoring in literature at Duke," Lucas responded with a small nod. He watched her stonily, yet managed to smile at the blonde.
"And he loves writing," added Haley. "You guys should see some of the stuff he did for our creative writing class, it was amazing. Poems, stories, everything."
Instead of smiling at Haley's comment like everyone else, Brooke snorted into her spaghetti in a sad attempt to hold back laughter. After a moment of silence, she took a breath and looked up, only to find everyone staring at her. Even Lucas, although his gaze was more anxious. "Sorry," Brooke apologized quickly, "I…there was something stuck in my throat." She nodded vigorously. Everyone shrugged, accepting the fact; Peyton rolled her eyes. Brooke's eyes, meanwhile, had slid to Lucas again. He was staring straight head, stiffly, trying not to look at her. Sports writer my ass, she thought to herself. She decided to put him on the spot and make Lucas squirm under her scrutiny.
"So what kind of writing do you do, Lucas? You look like an athlete, are you a sports writer at all?" Now, would Lucas tell her what he had told her Friday night, lie in front of his friends, or admit to her that he was just a creative writing student, writing sappy poetry? Either way would be entertaining, and she had to suppress another smile.
Lucas turned stiffly towards her, obviously controlling his movements to the best of his ability. Brooke just sat there, waiting, smiling sweetly. "No," he told her through gritted teeth, "I-it's more fiction."
Haley piped in again. "He wants to be a novelist," she told everyone. Lucas's eyes remained fixed to Brooke's.
"Hmm," the brunette said, staring him down yet keeping that fixed smile on her face. She hoped none of the other's picked up on the tense, sexually charged atmosphere. "That's very interesting, Lucas," she told him with a little cock of her head.
Lucas bit the inside of his cheek, not looking away from her eyes. This dinner is so great, Brooke thought to herself with a smirk.
After dinner, the group retired once again to the bar and the TV area. Through the dinner, the six of them had grown more relaxed with each other, and the atmosphere had become calm, fun, laid-back. Conversation had turned from questions about each other to everyone taking turns telling outrageous stories: Haley and Nathan's stories from college, Brooke and Peyton about adventures in high school and New York, and Jake's experiences from growing up in Savannah. Lucas offered input as far as Nathan and Haley went, but didn't say much else as he nursed his drink and leaned on his elbows at the bar.
At a little past seven, Peyton suddenly hopped off her bar seat and strode over to the coffee table, grabbing a remote. "Apparently there's a game on tonight," she said, concentrating as she flipped through the channels, a drink in one hand and the remote in her other. Peyton looked at Nathan and Lucas. "Do you guys want to watch it?"
Nathan looked at Lucas. "I think its Boston and San Antonio playing tonight, at Boston." The rest of the group fell silent and watched the exchange.
"Oh yeah," said Lucas, nodding vaguely, like he was recalling some memory. "Yeah, I think you're right."
Peyton, finding the channel, threw the remote on the couch and walked back to the bar, rolling her eyes at Lucas. "Don't act like you didn't know," she teased him, grinning, "you guys probably had it all planned and are recording it at home." She pulled herself back into the bar seat. Lucas smiled at her, and only her. "It's ok," he said, "we can fist here and talk to you guys."
"Well, I'm going to watch it and leave it on, so you might as well just watch it too."
"You watch basketball?" Nathan asked, perking up with surprise.
Peyton smirked and shook her head. "Hell no," she said, making everyone laugh, "But I'm going to watch the game tonight, for the benefit of you and Lucas. Good?"
"Thank you," Lucas said, teasing and grinning at her. The two guys went and sat on the couch, already getting into a conversation about which teams stats were which as the two basketball teams tipped off. Just as Haley, Peyton, and Brooke turned to talk to each other, Jake, who had been in the bathroom, came up behind Brooke.
"Hey," he said. Brooke surprised him by turning and giving him a little peck on the cheek. Who cared if they had only known each other a week, only gotten together a few hours prior? She liked him, and Brooke planned on showing it. They didn't need to take their relationship slow.
"Hi," she responded coolly. "You can go watch the game if you want to." She gestured towards Nathan and Lucas, who were already thoroughly engrossed in the game. Jake smiled.
"It's ok; I can sit here and talk with you girls." He sounded like a more endearing form of Lucas: not so much flirting as being sweet. Jake looked around at Haley and Peyton, almost as if he were asking for their permission. The two smiled in response, but Brooke, his girlfriend, raised a dubious eyebrow.
She shrugged. "That's fine, but we're going to talk about all of our girly stuff." She smirked, and Peyton and Haley giggled as if on cue. "But if you want to hang out with us instead of watching a manly basketball game, you go right ahead."
Of course, Jake knew she was only kidding, but he winked at her and went to the couch anyways, joining the Scott brothers. The girls watched him for a second, as Nathan almost immediately struck up a conversation with Jake. "You follow any of these teams, Jake?" he asked. Jake replied but by that time Brooke, Peyton and Haley had all turned back to each other and were talking animatedly in their girlish way, as promised. Brooke had started telling an excited Haley about her company.
"…And we've got a photo shoot wing," she was saying, "With all these studios and backdrops and a little area for the models to hang out. And then on the other side of the building are the different offices, handling marketing, distribution, buyers, the magazine—"
Haley gasped, like any good audience member should. "You have a magazine? I didn't hear about this," she said excitedly. She had been following Brooke's company online ever since she had received news of it becoming more famous, so she knew most of what Brooke was telling her. Still, though, it was fun to hang out and act like you were in high school again, without a care in the world. "A magazine?" she repeated.
"Yep," Brook said, sitting back with a satisfied grin, "It just started; the first edition comes out soon. It's called 'B. Davis.'"
"Why am I not surprised?" Haley laughed, but she smiled at Brooke to let her friend know that she was impressed.
"I know!" squealed Brooke. Peyton, who had been watching the conversation rather than talking much because she had heard most of this already, laughed at Brooke's usual excitement. "And tomorrow," the brunette continued, "I'm taking you on a tour of the whole place, tutor girl, VIP!"
"Brooke, that's amazing, thank you!" Haley smiled, thoroughly excited. It was a big deal, getting an inside look at your best friend's fashion empire, especially two years out of high school.
Obviously proud to be talking about her company, Brooke jumped in her seat with excitement. She didn't have any real family, so sharing her world with someone as close as Haley was special to her and a nice change of pace from the usual breakneck pace of New York business life. No doubt they'd be acting like high schoolers again, goofing around in the halls of Clothes over Bros. She was already looking forward to it. After a few seconds in which no one spoke, Brooke's eyes slid over to Peyton. "You know," she told Haley, "we could be taking Peyton too, if she would quit that horrible job."
Peyton glared, only half-teasingly. "Again with this, Brooke?" she sighed, "I'm not quitting my job."
Before Brooke could respond, the TV erupted with roaring fans and the three guys on the couch leapt to their feet, throwing their hands in the air. The sudden noise made the girls jump almost out of their seats as well, and they looked over in shock. "What an amazing shot!" the announcer on the television shouted, amid the cheers and high-fives that Nathan, Lucas and Jake exchanged.
Everything settled again after a few moments, and the sounds of the game and their conversations continued, as they had before. But for a while after that, Haley, Brooke, and Peyton silently watched the guys on the couch for a few minutes.
Then, Brooke looked back her girlfriends. "So, Hales," she said, "you gotta tell us more about Nathan." Her voice, despite the seemingly normal question, had that suggestive, flirty tone that she was so known for. It had been her default tone back in high school when there was drama around every corner. Peyton couldn't help but grin when she heard it, and decided to play along.
"Yeah, Haley James," she teased, "You and Nathan have been together a while, you got any details for us?"
Brooke and Peyton leaned back in their chairs, Peyton biting her tongue and Brooke arching one eyebrow. Both were grinning, tremendously pleased with themselves when Haley had to bite her lip and look away out of embarrassment; she always had been the chaste, sweet, innocent girl back in high school, so the entire idea of her having a boyfriend for two and a half years was interesting and alien to her friends. Plus, it was major teasing fodder, something they enjoyed most.
Haley stuck her tongue in her cheek. "There aren't any details to tell. "It's been amazing, having someone like Nathan there to support me no matter what. We've had rough patches, but I love him. That's pretty much all there is to it." They kept their voices low, even though the guys were so wrapped up in the game they wouldn't have heard anyway.
"If that's all you want to tell us," Brooke shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Now this was what they had expected the night to be: teasing, fun, stories, three best friends catching up on what had happened over the past few years, and they were glad they got the time to do it.
But Brooke should have known that there was no way in hell that Haley would take any of their teasing and not throw it back. "Whatever, Brooke Davis," she said, rolling her eyes, "What about Jake? Judging by Peyton's surprise when he showed up, you've never brought him home." So there it was. For some reason, Brooke had known when she first introduced Jake to her friends that they'd razz her about it. "He's not exactly bad-looking either, and you guys are all over each other."
Brooke was thankful that Peyton had distracted the guys with the basketball game. "Hey!" she snapped, grinning, "Jake and I have only known each other a week. We haven't gotten nearly as far as you and Nathan have."
"Hah!" Peyton nearly shouted in laughter before Haley could retort. " Please, Brooke. At the speed you move by the end of next week you'll be at the point where Nathan and Haley are. Physically, at least."
"Ok, that's enough!" Brooke shouted, crossing her arms over her chest and having a difficult time trying to control her laughter. Luckily, at that moment one of the basketball players made another great shot and the volume went up, drowning out whatever creative swear words Brooke yelled at Peyton. Once everyone calmed down again, Brooke told Peyton, "That was a low blow. If you don't shut up, P. Sawyer, you'll be sleeping in the hallway, got it? And besides," she added, with a satisfied smile, "At least I have a boyfriend. So the single girl should shut her trap, mmkay?" She shot Peyton a bright grin, cocking her head in a sort of challenge. Haley, used to those sort of exchanges, sat back to watch.
But Peyton let it drop instead of firing anything back at Brooke, conceding with a roll of her eyes. Then the girls fell silent, turning to watch Nathan, Lucas, and Jake, who were having a great time talking and discussing basketball stats. After a few more minutes of quiet peace, Peyton turned back to Brooke and Haley her blonde curls bobbing on her head and her green eyes sparkling. "But what about Lucas," she asked coyly. "He seems like my type of guy, plus he's pretty damn hot." When neither girl replied, Peyton continued, "You know? He's got that sort of deep, thoughtful…" The blonde trailer off, looking for the right word.
"Broody," Brooke suddenly spoke up, her voice blank. Friday night kept coming back to her in the worst ways, just when she got a hold on things. Unconsciously, her eyes slid to the couch. He was Broody, and she had been dubbed Cheery. Yeah, she said to herself, watching him laugh, that's turning out to be real true.
Peyton brightened. "Yeah, that's what it is. He's broody. I would definitely go for him."
"Ugh, I've known Lucas for the past two and a half, almost three years: we sat next to each other on the first day of that class in freshmen year." Haley raised an eyebrow. "He's almost like a brother, Peyton. That is weird." They all erupted in another fit of giggles and eye rolling and more razzing and teasing.
The three best friends continued on like that for another almost half hour, just having the girly fun that they hadn't over the past few years: they were making up for lost time. Occasionally, silence would settle in between them and they would spend the time watching the guys and the basketball game. Whenever this would happen, Brooke would fix her eyes on Jake, and sometimes Nathan, anything to keep herself calm and her thoughts away from Lucas. Most of the time, it worked, and luckily by the time her thoughts had drifted back to the blonde and memories had clouded her mind, either Peyton or Haley would start up a new conversation.
At that moment, she was focusing on Lucas, once again lost in memories that sent shivers down her spine.
"I don't want to go home, Luke."
"What do you want, then?" His question wasn't sharp or irritated. It was more… genuine and caring.
She took a deep breath, and captured his lips again as an answer.
"I have a hotel room," he murmured into her ear. Brooke nodded.
Then the world was a blur as Lucas led her through the lobby. She dimly registered him nodding to the desk clerk, then they were alone in the elevator, and her lips somehow found his. Her mostly bare back was pressed up against mirror on the wall, the cold metal hitting her hot, flushed skin and making her gasp. Brooke's hands roamed freely, and she and Lucas both prayed that no one would enter the elevator. His hands came up to either side of her neck and cheeks possessively; the move turned Brooke on even more.
When Haley spoke, pulling Brooke from the dregs of her thoughts, it was with a more serious, quieter voice. She leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. "So, are you guys going to tell me where Rachel is? I've been afraid to ask all night." Haley's brown eyes looked back and forth from Peyton to Brooke, searching for answers. Peyton shot Brooke a tense look, but Brooke merely exchanged a glance with the blonde. Neither said anything, so Haley sighed. "And apparently it was for good reason. What's up, where is she?"
For a moment, no one responded: Brooke looked away, her face a combination of pain and fury. Peyton spoke up instead, her voice low and reluctant. She didn't want to tell the story. Brooke had rehashed it enough; she didn't need to hear it again. "Well…last weekend, the three of us, —Brooke, Rachel, and I—were at a party. Brooke's boyfriend came too."
"Jake?" asked Haley. Peyton shook her head, glancing quickly at Brooke. The brunette was still looking away. She'd rather Peyton told the story.
"Brooke was up in the lounge, relaxing and taking a break. Then, she looked out the window, and saw her boyfriend Chase hooking up with someone."
A shadow of realization flitted behind Haley's eyes as she began to piece everything together. "Oh no…" she said slowly.
Then Brooke whipped her head around, fury lighting up her face as she remembered the night. "It was Rachel. Rachel hooked up with my boyfriend last Friday night. I kicked her out Saturday morning, and I've only spoken to her once." She said everything with a curt, businesslike tone, as if nothing mattered and Rachel destroying their friendship was simply something that had happened in the news.
It was by far the most serious conversation they'd had all night. It forced a somber mood over everyone. "Damn," Haley said, shaking her head. Brooke looked away again, off towards the kitchen. She couldn't even bear to look at the couch.
"Yup," Peyton confirmed to Haley, "It's a mess."
"Was a mess," Brooke corrected, still facing away from them. "Because now she's gone, and I have Jake. Problem solved." With that happy thought, she looked over to her new boyfriend, content and pleased with herself for getting over what had happened.
Behind Brooke's head, Peyton leaned over to Haley. "Yeah," the blonde whispered, "because the bone always breaks that cleanly. Just stick around for the next week: with girls like Rachel and Brooke?" She snorted. "Spark will fly."
"Just watch the fireworks, right?" Haley murmured her eyes on Brooke. Peyton smiled; Haley was quoting one of their favorite songs. It was also the same line that the two friends had used whenever there had been drama involving Brooke or Rachel back in high school. Peyton and Haley were the laid-back ones, rolling with the punches. Brooke and Rachel, meanwhile, had always been the ones to punch back.
Haley had coined the term back at the beginning of their senior year when Nicole Wellence's boyfriend had hit on Rachel. One day after school, Nicole stormed into the gym during cheer practice and ended up taking a swing at Rachel, looking for a fight. Usually, that sort of thing would have worked and Nicole would have escaped with maybe a sore jaw or nose, but she tried to fight Rachel in front of Brooke. Brooke, obviously, had stepped up for the redhead and ended up giving Nicole Wellence a black eye. For weeks afterward, whenever Nicole's group of friends passed any of the cheerleaders—be it Haley, Peyton, Brooke, Rachel or anyone else—Haley would lean over to Peyton and whisper "Just watch the fireworks." Since then, whenever drama kicked up again one of them would always quote that. Hearing about Brooke and Rachel's fight seemed a more than perfect time.
Nine-thirty found everyone lounging on the couches once again, their rivers of conversations dwindling to occasional comments. Brooke curled in Jake's arms on one couch while Peyton browsed through a magazine on Brooke's other side. Nathan and Haley were on another couch, and Lucas reclined in an armchair. The basketball game had finished at around nine: much to Lucas and Nathan's satisfaction and Jake's frustration, the Celtics had won one-hundred eighteen to one-hundred thirteen.
Just when it seemed they had exhausted all threads of conversation for the night and the party was drawing to an end, Haley angled her head up and whispered something in Nathan's ear. A smile spread across his face, and when she pulled away from him he nodded at her. No one else would have paid any attention to it, except that Nathan suddenly adjusted himself, sitting more forward on the chair, and cleared his throat. Brooke, Peyton, Lucas and Jake looked up at the same time, Haley smiled a secret grin, and Nathan looked around the room before addressing Brooke and Peyton.
"I just want to thank you two for inviting Haley and me, and for cooking a great dinner," he began.
Then Haley quickly coughed, "That, ahem, didn't result in smoke alarms going off or coeds coming to the rescue." Brooke stuck her tongue out at her; Jake pulled his girlfriend a little tighter to settle her down.
Nathan smiled, and then continued, "And one of the reasons Haley said she brought me up here was so that she could introduce everyone. But actually, it's much, much more than that." He paused, taking his girlfriends hand. Suddenly the sleepy haze that had enveloped them before lifted: Peyton perked up, raising one eyebrow suspiciously, Lucas looked away from Brooke to his half-brother and best friend, and Brooke sat straight up, out of Jake's arms. Wait a second, she said to herself, something's going on here…
"Haley and I are engaged."
Later, they'd look back and realize it was a miracle that security didn't get called that night because some other tenant thought that someone was being attacked in their apartment and was yelling for their lives: Brooke and Peyton's ensuing matching screams were enough to shatter all of the building's windows. They leapt from the couch as if it were on fire, tackling Haley in hugs as they had that afternoon when she first walked in.
"HALEY JAMES!" Brooke screamed. Haley had half-risen from the couch and was struggling to stand up under Brooke and Peyton's combined weight. Behind the girls, Jake was clapping, standing up, and Lucas was shaking hands with Nathan, telling him congratulations. Though the guys were less expressive than the three best friends, they were without a doubt just as happy: a marriage, especially in such a group of friends, was a special and amazing thing.
The girls were still in a tangle of limbs. "Haley, why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" Brooke laughed into Haley's brown hair, but the question was most likely forgotten in the chaos.
"Oh my God," was all Peyton could repeat through her shock.
But Nathan's deep voice rose above the din and made everyone stop and listen. "I asked her last week," he told them, with the biggest smile possible, "And she said yes. We'll be taking the summer for our wedding and honeymoon."
Brooke, finally releasing the half-nelson of a hug that she'd had on Haley, took a few deep breaths and looked around the room. Nathan was beaming, Haley and Peyton were laughing together, and Jake was shaking hands with Nathan in congratulations. Then her gaze turned towards Lucas: Light was shining out of his blue eyes, his face a mask of complete happiness, tinted with wide-eyed shock. Obviously, he hadn't heard about the engagement either, but he was definitely happy for his brother and best friend.
It took a few minutes, but Haley and Nathan eventually got everyone to sit back down again. The air still crackled with newfound electricity, though, and Brooke and Peyton sat straight up in their seats with excitement. "How great is this?" Brooke kept muttering to her friend. Peyton couldn't stop grinning.
"I guess you won't be at the same point in a week with Jake that Nathan and Haley are at now," Peyton teased. But then Haley took a breath and the two friends instantly shut up.
"It's one of the reasons Nate and I came up here," she laughed, ecstatic to be sharing this news with the people closest to her. Quickly, Haley pulled a ring out of her purse and pulled it on, grinning again at Brooke's little squeal of excitement. She continued, "We thought that it would be better if we told you two in person, and obviously we were right. Plus, I wanted you to meet my future husband, and I wanted to see you again."
Brooke didn't trust herself to say anything, she was so thrilled. Weddings had to be her favorite celebration in the world: the decorations, the music, the vows, the romance…everything perfect about life rolled into one amazing day. Back home in Charlotte, there was a road that led to the beach that most everyone traveled all summer. Along that road there was an old chapel, painted a pure white with a black shingled roof and a tall spire. It was set on several acres of emerald green lawn and flower gardens and groves of old flowering trees, and in the early summer the whole place was ablaze with pinks and reds and whites and greens and blues and yellows, flowers of all types. Often, whenever Brooke would drive down that road, be it alone or with friends, she would slow down and admire the serene beauty of the place, and if she was lucky she'd sometimes catch a glimpse of an outdoor wedding. It had always been her dream to be married there, in early summer when everything was bright and vibrant, then ride off into the sunset with the man that she loved.
Who said poetry was dead? Brooke thought to herself with a secret smile. Yet she couldn't help but admire the beautiful old chapel estate in her mind once again.
Then Haley continued in her announcement, drawing Brooke out of her memories. "We decided that we would have the ceremony and reception up here in New York, near the middle of June. Nathan and I have everything worked out so that we can spend time up here and fly back to finish the term and take our finals before the year ends at Duke, then come back up for the wedding."
Peyton laughed. "Of course, H. James works in her wedding around her busy schedule, because she can't miss any classes!"
Everyone echoed her laughter. Haley allowed the teasing go on for a moment before she continued, "We talked to our professors, and they cut us a break because Nathan and I were both ahead and they were happy that we're getting married."
After a pause in which everyone nodded, Nathan chimed in with a somewhat more serious tone. The happiness could still be heard in his voice, but there was also a sincere touch to it. "And there's another reason that Haley didn't tell you why we wanted to come up here," he said, and then looked at his brother. "It's one of the reasons we brought you to dinner with us, Luke." Lucas met his eyes, curiously, and Nathan took a deep breath. "We would like you to be my best man at the wedding."
Lucas's answer was almost instantaneous. "Yeah, hell yeah. I'd love to, Nate." He pounded fists with his brother, beaming like Nathan was. Everyone smiled at the sentiment.
Then Haley suddenly turned to Brooke, taking her by surprise. Brooke smiled, disbelieving… "And Brooke?" Haley asked, "Will you be my maid of honor and help with all the wedding planning?"
Brooke came dangerously close to leaping out of her seat again to tackle Haley. Instead, showing some modicum of self-control, her eyes opened wide and she screamed again. "Of course, Haley!" she cried. God, weddings are beautiful. She was the maid of honor! She was planning the wedding. Instantly, she began running through everything that she could do, the places the reception could be, whether or not she could design the wedding dress…The wedding dress! The thoughts almost overpowered her as she accepted Haley's hug.
Nathan sat back with a satisfied laugh and a breathless, awe-filled smile. "It's settled then—we're having a wedding!"
With that final announcement, the party descended into a blissful state of laughter and congratulations and almost blinding smiles. Peyton managed to unearth a bottle of champagne, and they toasted for the next several minutes. Clinking glasses and foaming champagne filled the room. Jake must have kissed Brooke ten times, in a complete state of delight and exhilaration, and she gladly kissed him back. Nathan and Haley were the center of it all, though: Nathan had his arms around her on the couch, holding her close, his blue eyes sparkling and the grin on his face that of a man who had never been happier. Haley seemed still in a state of shock, alternating laughing and crying with happiness.
Then, through all the celebration, Brooke looked at Lucas. Her eyes ran over his smooth body, his messy blonde hair, the scruffy traces of stubble. The suave, conceited look on his face that screamed he was only out to get the next piece of tail. What an ass, she thought to herself, avoiding his icy blue eyes.
But it was in that same moment that she realized something—she was the maid of honor, and he was the best man: they were both in charge of the wedding. For the next two months, they would work together almost everyday, deciding everything from the location of the ceremony to the centerpieces for the tables of the reception. He wasn't going away; Lucas wasn't walking out of her life in a week. The cold realization splashed over her like freezing water, shocking her limbs.
Brooke Davis suddenly hated weddings.
So anyways, if you liked it, you now what to do. Reviews make me happy :)