Hello Everyone! here's chapter nine... read and enjoy SVP! LOL...

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own One Tree Hill or any of the characters used...

Chapter Nine: Just A Girl Who Needs You

Brooke pushed her way through the crowded mall with frustration. She sat on the bench in front of the fountain and rested her head in her hands, dropping her shopping bags on the floor next to her. Her head was spinning and she was just having one of those days where it seemed like all of her emotions were pouring out at once.

"Hey gorgeous." Nathan said as he flopped down next to her and kissed her cheek. She smiled at him sadly and leaned back into his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her's. "What's wrong?" he asked gently as he pushed a small piece of hair out of her face.

Brooke just shook her head and looked over at Peyton and Bevin who were talking near one of her favorite stores. Since she had gotten together with Nathan, she had been spending time with them again, and it made her sick to her stomach. She looked at them with disgust, and Nathan noticed it.

"They do something?" He asked, wanting to know why it was that she was upset.

"I just hate them." Brooke whispered, still watching Peyton as she flicked her long locks of curls across her shoulders which were barely covered by the small black tank top she was wearing. She rolled her eyes and looked back at Nathan who was barely even paying attention to her. He too was dazed off thinking about something.

"So, graduation in a couple days huh?" Nathan said trying to keep his mind off of what he was really thinking about.

Brooke let out a stressful sigh. "Yea..." Brooke looked over at Nathan who was once again thinking of someone else, just as she was. This is ridiculous. Brooke thought. "Nathan.." She started, she looked up at him and gave him a look as he slowly removed his arm from her shoulders.

Nathan nodded to himself as he knew where this was going. "Yup..." He almost. He smiled at her, letting her know it was okay to continue .

"This isn't right." She sighed and slightly laughed. Nathan laughed with her.

"What the hell are we doing?" He commented.

"I have no idea. But I think we both know what we want to be doing." Brooke smiled.

"Yea... you're right. But we can't." Nathan raised his eyebrows at her, wishing there were someway to go back in time and change how everything turned out.

"Someday. But that day isn't going to come at all if we keep lying to ourselves, and each other." Brooke said in a serious tone.

"You're right." Nathan nodded as he leaned forward. "Im going to go, I think I have something I need to talk to Faith about." He said as he jumped up and disappeared down the hall.

"Faith? Who's Faith?" Brooke called after him. She thought to herself for a second, until it dawned on her. "Oh... Faith." She said to herself, remembering how mean she and Lucas used to be to her.

Brooke knocked on Lucas's front door softly. With each time that her fingers touched the door, she felt a rush through her body, filled with fear, screaming at her to leave, to run away. But she could feel her feet plastered to te front step as she awaited Lucas's answer.

He swung open the door and peered out at Brooke, standing there looking so fragile. He didn't speak, no one spoke. Brooke had her arms wrapped around herself, and just stared at him with terror. Every thing about him scared him. The sweet way he spoke to her, the way he jammed his hands into his pockets when he was nervous, just as he was doing now, and the blue of his eyes that stared through her, once with love, and now with pain. She had never been one to spill her guts to someone, and now she had put herself in the position, where she had so much to say to him, but as he stood there she was too afraid to move any closer. Not further away though. Her legs ached, telling her to run away. She turned around quickly and ran down the drive way. Her pride was telling her to keep running, but her heart was screaming for her to just stop and give him a chance to stop her.

But Brooke kept running until the next thing she knew she was far out of his sight, but still she didn't bother to turn around. She stopped around the deserted corner and sat on a bench that was at the bus stop. She didn't cry, surprisingly. She just stared out into the cold air and tried to wrapped her head around what had just happened. She was at his door step, and he was in front of her, and now here she is. Just when she had the chance to let him know how she felt, she ran away.

"Why do you always do that Brooke?" A voice spoke from behind her. She closed her eyes tightly at the sound of his voice.

"Do what?" She whispered, she didn't turn to face him, she was facing him five minutes ago and it scared the hell out of her. He walked around the bench and sat next to her, hands jammed into the pocket of his hoodie as he shivered with the cold crisp air.

"Run away." He said, she turned to face him, and let out a stressful sigh.

"Every time I look at you, it scares the hell out of me." She whispered. Lucas laughed.

"Well, that has to be the best compliment I've ever gotten." He chuckled. She just stared at him seriously as she let a small tear escape her eye. He nudged her playfully. "Hey, come on. Im supposed to be the broody one, not you, you're supposed to be cheery." He smiled.

"Supposed to be? Why?" She began to get frustrated as she shot a frustrated look at him.

"Because!" Lucas laughed again. Since he had stopped hanging out with his old friends, he had never gotten a chance to hang out with Brooke or Nathan, so he wondered if all along he was too blinded by everyone's childish stereotypes to see who Brooke really was. And now in this moment he began to wonder if he should reevaluate who it was he was sitting next to. " I guess that's just who we are." Lucas said, in a very unconvincing tone. Since he had been with Haley, he knew that no one is who you say they are, until you take the time to look deeper and find out.

"That's not who I am." Brooke said as she shook her head. She hadn't been that person for a really long time. And now she was questioning if Lucas looked at her like every other guy did, as a brainless slut.

"Who are you?" Lucas asked her, being serious this time.

"Im just a girl." Brooke whispered.

"And what does this girl want?" Lucas asked, wanting to know exactly why Brooke was standing on his doorstep earlier.

"You." She whispered. Lucas looked at her with shock. She had never been that bold about her feelings, this was definitely a side of her he hadn't seen before. Brooke just stared straight ahead and didn't speak.

"Brooke, you had that chance before, and you walked away from it." Lucas said sadly, trying his hardest to be true to Haley, but with Brooke sitting next to him like this, and having her finally speak her heart, he was finding it hard to stop old feelings from coming back.

"You know, I think I've said this before, to Haley, or someone, but, sometimes people play hard to get... because they need to know the other person's feelings are real." She whispered. She stared ahead still, but son she turned and faced him, and he watched as a beautiful tear fell down across her face. Lucas wasn't quite sure what to say, but as he looked at her he felt more temptation than he ever did before.

It was funny though, when given the option to follow their hearts, Brooke wound up on Lucas's front door, and Nathan at Haley's. He found himself knocking uncomfortably. He used to always go on in and make himself at him, but now, the space between them had grown so great that the things that seemed so original before, became something too far fetched for either one of them.

He shifted to one leg as Haley swung open the door, and Nathan's heart crashed as he saw her in front of him, eyes swollen from tears and hands shaking as she looked at him angrily.

"Where were you!" She screamed hitting his chest. "WHY DIDN'T YOU HAVE YOUR CELL ON?" She screamed. She kicked the space between them and fell to her knees crying.

"Haley? What's going on?" Nathan asked as he fell down in front of her and tried to calm her long enough for her to explain.

"Why are you never there when I need you?" She cried. Hearing these words come from her mouth had made a realization hit Nathan like running into a wall of pain. She was right, he walked away from her, and he probably hadn't seen how broken she was about it. She still sat on the front porch crying uncontrollably. She began to hit his chest rapidly with anger.

"What happened?" Nathan asked as he grabbed her hands and turned her face to stare into her eyes. When Nathan stopped her from hitting him, she became so overwhelmed with her emotions that she fell into his chest with dreadful sobs. He wrapped his arms around her shaking body and kissed the top of her head.

"I tried to call you, then I went to look for you. I couldn't find you, so I came her to try and call again. I should be back at the hospital but..." She leaned back and stared into Nathan's eyes. He searched her eyes for the rest of her sentence. "But.. I needed you." She whispered. She leaned back into his chest and quietly cried as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Faith. It's Faith." She whispered into his neck.

Okay.. there ya go.. did you like it? LOL.. review please.. :)

Michelley P.