A/N: Update for you lovely people. Here is a new chapter for you guys. Thank you, as ever, for your reviews.
I'm really not one for explaining myself, nor justifying what I write in my stories, as I find that contradicts the point of writing in itself. As a reader, I interpret what others create and hope others do the same with my work. I write about what inspires me, and I hope others get something from it too, at the very least think about what I've come up with.
That being said, I guess I should reply to Melissa. I'm sorry to disagree with you, but I do care about the logic in my story, and I find it rather presumptuous on your part, not to mention just a little bit rude, to say that I don't.
My advice to you would be to see past your own views on who Lucas is and how he could act. I'm not a writer for the TV show, so the Lucas I write isn't going to be a carbon copy of the person CMM plays. I write how I interpret his character would react. If that differs from the way you see him, it doesn't make my view point any less valid that yours.
If you actually read who I think he is, instead of applying who you think she should be, you'd probably enjoy my story a little more. And no, he is neither ignorant or irrational, he's just a guy trying to make sense of a difficult situation. If you'd like me to explain my reasoning more clearly as to why he reacted like he did, feel free to PM/e-mail me and I will happily share with you who I think Lucas is and why he does what he does. But thank you for taking the time to review.
Tiffany Rae - Thanks for the heads up. I never really thought about allowing anonymous reviews before.
Brucas46forever - Sorry I confused you. Where I edited and re-posted that chapter, some how a line from the middle of the story appeared at the end. I will fix it I promise!
Drumming the tip of his thumb on the top of the steering wheel, Nathan Scott cast his gaze out of the window. Darkness stretched out on all sides, broken intermittently with the odd beam of orange streaming from the lamps above. Apart from the occasional vehicle passing by, things were pretty quiet. Odd, by Tree Hill standards considering it was a Friday night. He was used to seeing people scattered about the town, even the odd group of teenagers just hanging with each other.
But there was nothing. Tonight it seemed, was going to the first time for a lot of things.
Turning his attention back inside the car, his eyes feel across the huddled form of Brooke. Arms folded tightly across her chest, she looked as though she were desperately trying to become part of it - as if she could phase into the very object itself.
The fact that she was trembling wasn't lost on Nathan. Keeping his eyes firmly on the road, he stretched his arm out, clicking on the heat. Resting back into his seat, he was officially stumped. He knew he was supposed to say something, at least make an attempt at trying to comfort Brooke, but he was out of his element. Nathan knew he wasn't terribly good at managing his own feelings, so helping someone else with there's was going to be new territory for him.
"Thanks." Brooke muttered, feeling the effects of the warm air billowing in invisible clouds around her. Her tears had long since dried, leaving ugly streaks down her cheeks. Checking her appearance in the side mirror, she barely recognised her own face. It was like some macabre clown sneering back at her, chuckling hideously at the cold closing around her heat.
"You're welcome," Nathan returned, stealing a glance across at the brunette. Silence fell between them once more, causing Nathan's words to tumble over his lips. "You want me to take you home?"
Brooke seemed to consider the offer for a second. "No." It was true, Brooke didn't want to go home. That would mean being alone. Or worse still, being confronted by Lucas. It wasn't something she could deal with right now. Brooke craved space, and time to think things through, even if that meant sitting in abject silence with Nathan Scott. "Can we just…drive?"
"Sure…" Nathan responded, furrowing his brow. This was going to be more complicated that he originally thought. An eternity of silence rested between them, neither one speaking, or looking in the other's direction. They might have been in the same car, but they were on entirely different planets. At least that's how it felt. Doing the best he could, Nathan attempted to be a good friend. "Do you want to talk about anything?"
"No." Nathan pondered over the response he got from Brooke. Was that a 'no - I don't want to talk about it because it's too upsetting', or a 'no - I don't want to talk about it and if you ask me again I'll force feed you your own genitalia', or a 'no - I'm saying this but I actually want to get some stuff on my chest so please try again.'
Deciding he would trust the latter, Nathan prayed he wasn't about to be on the end of Brooke's viscous tongue. "Is it Lucas? Did he do something to piss you off?"
"It's about fifty-fifty what he did, and what he didn't do," Brooke sighed, lolling her head back to rest against the seat, "but I don't want to talk about it, and I can hardly see you wanting to listen to me complain about your big brother."
"Hey, I've got nothing better planned." Okay, that may have been lie. Nate had wanted to follow his father and his wife for their 'date', but he guessed Brooke needed him more right now. "Besides, I'm always up for hearing someone trash talk Luke." Grinning at Brooke, he noted her sceptically raised eye brow. "What? I'm serious. I hated him for the best part of seventeen years. You don't just get over that much testosterone."
Chuckling at Nate's attempt at humour, Brooke ran her hand back through the thickness of her hair, silently grateful at this attempt to lighten the mood. Rolling her head to the side, her chocolate brown eyes rested on Nathan, a quizzical, if slightly amused glint reflecting in their depths. "How is it that you and I never got together Nate?" Smirking at Nate's curious expression, Brooke sat up straighter in her seat. "I'm serious. We're both insanely cute, I'm the Captain of the Cheerleading squad, you're the Captain of the Basketball team, it's a match made in High School Heaven."
Grinning, Nathan realised it was a fair question. "I'm pretty sure I asked you out a few years back, and you turned me down." Brooke burst into a fit of giggling at his answer. "And we never really talked in school, not before Lucas anyway. Plus, I was dating Peyton -…"
"Ah yes, the emotional car wreck that is Miss Peyton Sawyer," Brooke sneered, bearing her perfect white teeth like fangs, "everybody's' favourite little victim. How could I forget? She's always the first choice for the Scott family."
Nathan didn't have to be good with feelings to know that he'd touched a nerve. Brooke's tremendous over-share, not to mention the furious pout and tightly folded arms were enough to tell him he'd hit on something. "So you've got a beef with Peyton?"
"If you consider the fact she's a lying, cheating back-stabber, of an ex best friend who as we speak is probably all over my soon to be ex-boyfriend, then yes. I do have a beef." Exhaling softly, Nathan visibly recoiled in his seat. He had seen Brooke annoyed before, but that paled in comparison to the disdain dripping over her lips. This girl was scary when she was mad. Silently thankful of Haley's placid demeanour, Nathan decided to try his luck again.
"You and Lucas did have a fight." Nothing. Brooke's face was stony, not letting anything past. "Was it because he bid on Peyton?" Jackpot genius. Brooke's glare was enough to turn Nathan's blood to ice. It all suddenly made sense now. It was just another instalment that was the saga of Brooke/Lucas/Peyton. Nathan often wondered why they just didn't have a threesome and be done with the whole thing.
"I've changed my mind Nate. Take me home." Her words sounded forced, coming out from what was nearly gritted teeth. Brooke was fully aware of how psychotic she must be appearing Nate. He didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of her wrath. She'd be better of alone where she could rant and insult by herself. "Nathan, you just missed the turning. We're going completely in the wrong direction…"
Hitting the central locking, Brooke's car lock snapped down into the locked position. Hitting his foot on the accelerator, Nathan stayed fixed on course. He was heading out of Tree Hill. If he accomplished nothing else this night, he was going to help Brooke Davis. All he had to do was figure out how.
"You want a cup of coffee?" Lucas turned his head over his shoulder to focus on Peyton. Clicking the light switch, 'Karen's Café' became flooded with soft lighting. Peyton became bathed in the glow from above. She had selected a seat towards the back of the room, drawing her knees up to rest beneath her. Glancing up to meet Lucas's gaze, she smiled as she shook her head.
Nodding slightly, Lucas trudged across the café to get behind the counter. Snatching at the coffee pot, it was still half full and surprisingly warm. It wouldn't be a steaming cup of coffee, but the elder Scott brother would take what he get right now. Pouring the black liquid into a nearby foam cup, Lucas grabbed at the display of muffins resting on the edge of the counter. Catching two in his grasp, he made his way over to where Peyton was sat. Tossing on of the muffins to her, he dropped into the nearest seat, unable to contain the defeated sigh escaping his lips.
Licking her own lips, Peyton made a show of tearing a piece of the muffin off from the main body. Holding it up to her lips, she was unable to take it in her mouth. She never could stomach food when she was this nervous. Placing the muffin in her lap, Peyton dared to look across at Lucas.
If one thing was clear, Lucas Scott should never play poker. He clearly sucked at hiding his emotions. The features on his beautiful face were clearly pained, and Peyton was certain she could hear the cogs in his mind working over some kind of dilemma.
Her knack for picking the worst time for emotional heart to hearts was clearly as good as ever.
"Lucas..." Peyton began, unsure of how she could continue. There were a million things she could tell him, and even more thoughts she wanted to share. These past few weeks had been some of the hardest in her life, not least because of her feelings for Lucas. What had started as confession in a life or death situation had snowballed into something more.
Or maybe it hadn't. Maybe those feelings she had for Lucas had been burning inside her for a long time, she had just chosen to ignore them up until now. It took the breaking of someone else heart to make her listen to her own.
But by listening to her own dreams and desires, Peyton had managed to alienate her best friend. Why couldn't it ever be simple? What happened to the days when you could have feelings for someone else, and the worst thing you had to worry about was them being reciprocated. No-one ever said anything about burning bridges with your loved ones to get what your heart yearned for.
And now she had the chance to be completely honest with Lucas, Peyton just could not bring herself to do it. Part of her feared Lucas would shoot her down, and confess he had moved on. Moved on to Brooke Davis. Although, if she were being honest, in the darkest corners of her heart, Peyton secretly hoped that Lucas felt the same way about her. It was all she wanted.
But if that were true, it would devastate Brooke even more. There was no way Peyton could that to her friend, not again. Forcing a smile to her mouth, Peyton pushed her feelings for Lucas back down into the darkness where they had crawled up from. She would deal with them later. Right now, Lucas needed her. "…do you wanna talk about it?"
From across the table, Lucas studied Peyton's expression. From the outside, it looked like the blonde girl was fighting a war with herself, two halves of the same whole battling for dominance. One side clearly won, at least if the false smile was anything to go by. "I doubt you want to hear me moan about my relationship with Brooke."
"No, it doesn't really rate high on my '101 Fun activities in Tree Hill' list. But it doesn't mean I won't. What's up with you two?" Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Peyton eyes Lucas intently. She was his friend. She had a duty to be there for him in any way she could. All other concerns would be secondary.
"We got into this fight tonight. And I don't know why." Lucas was understating the impact of the harsh words they exchanged, but he didn't see the need to fill Peyton in on Brooke's last words to him. God, they didn't even bare thinking about.
"This is because you bid for me isn't it." Slapping the palm of her hand to forehead, Peyton felt a fresh wave of guilt flood through her body.
"No," Lucas attempted, "okay yes. But I don't see why this has to be such a big deal between us. I know I told her I'd bid for her, but I guess I thought you needed my bid more than she did. She wasn't exactly lacking for attention, was she?"
"Oh thanks Luke. Don't I feel loved and not at all repulsive." Peyton grinned sarcastically.
"You know what I mean Peyton. She just has this twisted way of looking at our friendship. I know I've hurt her in the past, but I really thought we'd moved on from that. I thought she trusted in how much I love her. But every time you're mentioned, she just goes DEFCON one of me. It's really starting to wear me down." Sighing, Lucas took a huge bite out of his muffin, visibly chewing the desert.
"Not that I don't appreciate the random act of kindness Luke, but have you looked at this from Brooke's perspective?" At Lucas's curious expression, Peyton decided it best to explain herself. "You had one bet, and you win a girl. You chose me Luke, not your girlfriend. Can't you see how that would have appeared to her? It would shake any girls' confidence. You basically told her that you wanted me more than her." If only that were true.
"But that's not what it was," Lucas exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration, "I didn't pick you because I wanted you more. I just wanted to do the right thing by my friend. I would have done the same thing if Haley had been in your position. You're both my friends and I would always be there for you. I thought Brooke would see that. At the very least I thought she'd understand why I did it, and not make such a huge deal."
"Are you kidding me? This is Brooke Davis we're talking about. If there is one person you could count on to make a huge deal out of something, it would be her. And you are her Achilles heal. You not bidding for her, instead bidding for the girl you cheated with was a worst case scenario for Brooke, especially as I'm not her favourite person right now. She must have felt like she lost tonight. She'll start looking at herself, trying to figure out what she did wrong, wondering if this is a sign that you'll leave her again." Peyton nodded her head, knowing too well how her friend would react.
"But that's not what I meant," Lucas wailed. "There was nothing behind me bidding on you! Why does she have to read into everything so much? Maybe tonight was a bad example, but this thing is all the time. She's always suspicious of me when it comes to you. She doesn't get this insane over my friendship with Haley, only you. She just tenses up and becomes a bitch about everything, taking every little thing to the most extreme of degrees. I try and tell her she's got nothing to worry about but she just will not listen. How am I supposed to date someone who won't trust me?"
Peyton felt truly sorry for Lucas. It wasn't like he deserved to be on the receiving end of Brooke's jealousy. Brooke was being unreasonable about this, and Peyton could see it. In fact, all she wanted to was just take the boy in her arms, to smooth his hair and whisper everything would be alright.
Get a grip Peyton.
"I agree she does take things overboard, but you broke her heart Luke. She's always going to have a problem with you and I being friends. I don't need to tell you the kind of issues she has with trust. She let her guard down for you…and you cheated on her. With her best friend no less. It hurt her so badly, I honestly didn't know if she would ever make it through…" Peyton smiled weakly. She was really a lot of help tonight.
"Don't you think I know that?" Standing up from the chair, Lucas tossed the muffin to the ground in frustration. "Not a day goes by where I don't feel guilty for what I did to Brooke. I wish I could take it back but I can't. I have to live with the fact that I broke her heart and caused her so much pain every single day that I'm with her. And I'm sorry, I am…but I can't keep doing this. She can't keep punishing me for one mistake. It's killing me Peyton."
Walking away from the chair, Lucas crossed across the length café. Reaching the glass window, he rested his head against the cold glass, his eyes gently sliding to a close. From her seat, Peyton took in the weight of Lucas's words. "What are you saying Luke?"
"I feel like I'm slowly losing my girlfriend." Sighing softly, Lucas pivoted on his foot, so his back rested against the glass of the window. "Ever since we got together, I've been so scared that she's just waiting for an excuse to break us up, like she wants revenge for how I hurt her. I know I don't deserve to have her in my life, but I'm still terrified of her leaving me. I think our friendship is going to be what pushes her away…but I can't give you up either..." Sniffing gently, Lucas could feel the swell of tears bubbling at the back of his eyes. "I can't live like this Peyton. She's making it so damn hard to love her…"
Getting up from her seat, Peyton was in Lucas' arms in an instant, cradling his head against her shoulder. She held him tenderly, trying to be the support he needed. Everything in her body told her it was a mistake to be this close to Lucas. Just the touch of his skin, his heady scent…it sent sparks tearing through Peyton's body.
I'll be okay. Just focus on Lucas. He needs you right now. Just be a friend Peyton. Peyton's rationalisation worked for a matter of seconds. And then she felt Lucas's arms wrap around her waist.
"So, do I get to know where you're taking me Mr. Scott?" Eyes fixed in a firm glare, Haley looked across the back of the limo to the Mayor. His lips were parted into that self satisfied grin, though the look didn't reach his eyes. They said something entirely different.
"It's a surprise," Dan enthused, grabbing a bottle of inordinately expensive champagne from the bucket. Reaching for a glass, he poured the fizzing liquid to the brim, offering it to his daughter in law. "Champagne?"
"No thank you." Haley replied curtly, turning in her seat to face away from the Mayor. Suddenly agreeing to go out with Dan seemed like a bad idea. Part of her wanted to admit defeat and just call Nathan to come and get her. But there was that small nagging voice in the back of her head, forcing her to stay put and see what Dan had to say for himself.
"Suit yourself. But it is exquisite." Dan remarked, taking a long sip from the glass.
"I'm sure it is. You enjoy it boozy." At once Haley clapped her hand over her mouth, realising what she had just come out of her mouth. Since when did Haley James-Scott have a sharp tongue?
She relieved if nothing else that Dan simply chuckled, before draining the glass of the champagne. "I see Nate picked a spirited young girl. Well, it's definitely a change from the manic depressive type he was seeing before you."
"I hope that's not Peyton you're talking about Mr. Scott. She happens to be my friend, and I would appreciate you not insulting her." Biting back the myriad of insults sizzling on the tip of her tongue, Haley settled from rubbing the tips of her fingers over the leather seating.
"I wouldn't dream of it Haley. And please, call me Dan." His smile was sickeningly false and totally unnecessary as far as Haley was concerned.
"No thank you." She replied again, without bothering to turn to face her father in law.
"Something gives me the impression you don't like me very much Miss James." Dan countered, trying his best to keep his temper from flaring up. It wouldn't do to belittle his son's wife. At least not yet anyway.
"It's Mrs. James-Scott…and gosh, I was trying so hard to appear genuine." Firing back her own smile, Haley was through playing games. "Can we just cut the small talk Mr. Scott and skip to the part to where you tell me what game you're playing now."
"Game? There's no game Haley. I'm just trying to get to know the girl who stole my son away." Dan leaned closer across the back seat, forcing Haley to draw back. "I need to know just exactly what she offered to make him turn his back on his basketball career, and to break up his family."
Gripping her cell phone inside her purse, Haley's voice was shakier than she would have liked as she spoke. "I didn't do anything to take your son away, or break up your family. I'm pretty sure you did that all by yourself."
A flicker of anger rippled over Dan's features, betraying his true emotions. His towering form leant across the seat towards Haley, eyes blazing in muted anger. Much closer than he had been before, Haley was face to face with her father in law. Keeping her panic under control, she calmly flicked open her cell phone inside her purse. She was more than willing to hit speed dial, should she need it.
Relaxing his features, Mayor Scott seemed genuinely pleased at scaring Haley. It was all about power to Dan. If you had, you should use it over those weaker than yourself. Haley was just an easy target, practice if you will, for a much bigger fish.
The limo pulled to halt, shaking Haley out of her seat so much so she had to grip at the door to stop herself from tumbling forward. Turning curiously to face Dan, she was met with an insidious smirk. "Where are we?"
"I already told you, it's a surprise." Dan chuckled, practically salivating at his own genius. "You will absolutely die."
More shaken than she would care to admit, Haley gripped the handle of the door. Fuelling the rising panic in her chest, she realised it was locked. Begging herself to remain calm, she focused her gaze on any available exits, desperately trying to find an escape route. There was no way she would be stuck inside the back of this car with him.
Just as she formulated a plan to break through the window in the roof, Haley squeaked in surprise as the door next to her swung open. Whipping her head around to make her escape, she stopped, remaining deadly still. After everything she had prepared for, she certainly hadn't thought of this. The sound of Dan's satisfied cackle filled her ears, adding to the panic building in her throat.
What had she gotten herself into?