KNOCK KNOCK.
It came loud and abrasively, wrenching Lucas from his dreams. But before he could even groan and think about getting back to sleep, the knocking came again.
KNOCK KNOCK.
What had his dreams been last night? He remembered they were particularly good. There was someone, a person who was weaving in and out of his vision, and he was holding on to something, a rope of some sort. There were times when he didn't realize he was holding, and during those times he would slip. But whenever he looked closely, he became conscious of it, and he'd be able to climb several feet up the rope, towards the blurry figure. There was some part of him that knew that if he ever lost that rope, or let go, he would lose the person above him. That might not sound good to most people, but to him, the person had a rare exoticness, and perfection that just made him happy being within its range. He knew that if he could climb that rope, up to the person, how much better his life would get…
KNOCK KNOCK.
And with that, all memories of his unconscious adventures were gone, slipping away like water in a through his hands.
"Alright, who is it?" Lucas groaned, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes. "Nathan, what time is it?" Lucas poked his head outside, hoping the sun would impart the time of day to him.
Nate raised an eyebrow. "Uhh, Lucas it's almost eleven. Did you just wake up?"Nathan peered into the room at the rumpled bedcovers.
"Yeah," Lucas said, turning and walking into the kitchen while Nathan followed behind.
"Late night?" Nathan asked curiously, all though Lucas could have sworn he had a suggestive tone.
"Nah, not like that. I ate dinner with Peyton, but I wasn't planning on it. I didn't even really want to, but she just sat down, so I was cordial enough." Lucas opened the fridge and pulled out two sports drinks.
"Oh," was all Nathan said thoughtfully, taking the drink Lucas was holding out to him. "And how was that?"
"Awkward. She kept asking me questions about relationships, she wasn't even being subtle. I don't want to deal with Peyton right now; it's almost been as if she's circling, waiting until Lindsey left me with an open wound. Now Peyton comes in for the kill." He made a violent slashing movement with one hand before taking a swig of the drink. Nathan laughed, but didn't offer any input. Lucas continued, "I just don't want Peyton. She always ruins everything… But you didn't come over here to hear about my problems. What did you need?"
"Well, Brooke came up with this crazy idea, that me and Haley--"
"Haley and I," Lucas interrupted with a cough. Nathan cocked his head and gave Lucas a sarcastic smile.
"Thanks, Haley. Anyways, Brooke thought Haley and I should take the honey moon we never had: we go to London for a week-and-a- half, Brooke stays at the house and watches Jamie."
Lucas laughed. "Brooke and her crazy ideas. But, this one actually sounds good. What did you need me for again?"
"Well," Nathan sighed, "we love Brooke, and we know she's great with Jamie, except there are two problems. One, we are still nervous about the whole Carrie thing. And two, Jamie is a lot to handle. Brooke--"
"You want me to check in on them every once in a while?" Lucas offered, skipping straight to Nathan's question.
"Yeah, can you? Haley would feel so much better about it, even though she trusts Brooke with her life."
"Don't worry, I'll be there. And, about the Carrie thing, I know Brooke would be trying so hard she wouldn't let Jamie out of her sight for a second. And I know personally that if she ever saw Carrie, Brooke would punch her. She told me she wanted to." Lucas laughed again, thinking of Brooke and her quirky attitude and mesmerizing personality.
"Yeah, we know that deep down. But, Haley always says, 'Luck favors those who are prepared!' What a stupid saying. If luck favored anyone, there would be no dying. Luck is Luck. But back to the point; can you come by tonight, for Haley? We're leaving tomorrow night, so she wants to talk to you."
Lucas nodded and Nathan stood up. "I'll be there. Does Brooke know about this little arrangement, me checking up occasionally?"
"Yeah, Haley is going to tell her tonight. Thanks for the drink, man." Nathan turned and jogged out of the front door.
The day progressed slowly. Brooke tended an unusually busy Clothes Over Bros, Peyton tried to find a new artist for her label, and Haley, Nathan and Jamie busied themselves with preparation for the trip. A few hours after Nathan left, Lucas finally turned off the TV, deciding to go for a run.
He jogged around the town, consumed with his own thoughts. Which was strange, because he didn't really have anything particularly important to think about. Well, there was the book, which was almost done with the first stage of editing. And with the book came Lindsay. They had broken up because of she thought Lucas didn't love her fully, because Lindsay thought he was in love with Peyton. Always Peyton, he thought suddenly, randomly. But however random it had crossed his mind, it was true. Peyton had caused Lindsay's uneasiness, and then she read too much into the book and left. It was Peyton's fault. And Brooke, he thought, Peyton caused me to lose Brooke. Now that was a really random idea. Brooke had never given him a real reason for their break-up, but he suspected it had something to do with Peyton.
As Luke neared his house, he admired the scenery to get his mind off things. It didn't work.
"Every time I look at something in Tree Hill it's probably the last time so I feel like I have to take mental pictures of everything."
"Well, make sure you make me look good when you take my picture."
"So, what are you going to miss most about me?"
"I can only pick one thing?"
"Yes. And it has to be something good, not like how much you'll miss hanging out with me, or how hot I am."
"Hm… neither one of those, huh?"
"No!"
"Damn." He considered her for a moment. "I'll miss the girl behind the red door."
She cocked her head at this comment. She thought he was teasing her. He bowed her through his newly painted red door, and she looked around his room wondrously.
"This is all my stuff, I don't understand."
"I had my mom talk to your parents, and they said you could stay until the summer. They didn't want to, Brooke, but my mom can be very persuasive."
"You did this for me?"
"I wasn't ready to lose you yet." She looked at him, and something passed between their gazes. "So, are you going to stay or what?"
"Yes, of course," she half-laughed, half-cried, running to hug him. "I wasn't ready to be lost. Thank you."
Lucas smiled at that memory as he came to his door. Resting to breathe, he thought about how much he had pined for Brooke before she left and how complete and happy that moment was when she agreed to stay. For a moment, that same feeling overwhelmed him, before he realized how late it was, and that he had to get to his Haley and Nathan's house.
"Hey, everybody," Brooke said, announcing her arrival. Nathan and Haley sat on the couch, and Brooke took a seat across from them as Jamie ran to play with his toys.
Brooke noted the awkwardness between Nathan and Haley, and she was glad that she had suggested the trip. It was just what the couple needed in such stressful times.
"Hi, Brooke. We just wanted to talk about this trip a little bit more."
Brooke nodded in excited anticipation.
"We would like you to babysit Jamie for the, you know, week and a half or so? You're pretty much the only person we feel comfortable with; Skills and the other guys we trust, but we don't want them to have to be so responsible for a week and a half. And Lucas has his book stuff, and we knew you would love to help." Haley spoke almost desperately; Nathan could tell that she had come to terms with this vacation and was now actually looking forward to it.
"Of course I will, Haley," Brooke said, "I'd love to spend time with Jamie. Will I be staying at the house?"
Haley nodded. "Whatever is good with you, Tigger."
"I'll just stay here, then. Do you know what Lucas is doing? Is he coming over at all?" Brooke sounded almost anxious.
"Well--" Nathan started, but Haley kicked him from under the coffee table where Brooke couldn't see.
"No, Lucas is going to stay at home and work on his book mostly. He may drop in here once or twice to see Jamie, but he hasn't said anything to me about it." Haley looked straight at Brooke, and talked as though nothing between her and Nathan had just happened.
Nathan looked at Haley, confused. Lucas was going to come over, once a day at least. He had no idea why Haley had lied to Brooke.
"Alright, then, I guess I'll go if that's all you needed me for," Brooke announced, standing up. Haley reached to give her a hug.
"Thank you, Tigger," she said, laughing at the old nickname.
A few minutes after Brooke's car had gone, Lucas's turned in.
"Hey, Haley, Nathan. What's up, Jamie?"
"Just playing with my toys," Jamie said simply. He had been told not to mention anything about Brooke being there.
"Cool," Lucas said, ruffling Jamie's hair before he sat down in the seat Brooke had vacated just five minutes earlier.
"First off, thank you, Luke," Haley said appreciatively. "I'm actually looking forward to this, and I wouldn't be if you weren't checking in every so often."
Lucas raised his eyebrows. "No problem, Hales, but you know Brooke is more than capable of doing this, right?"
"Yeah, and we really do trust her. We just want you to drop in every once in a while, to relieve her. The two of us combined can handle Jamie, but I don't know if it's possible for one person." Nathan laughed, only half joking.
"Ok, I agree," Lucas admitted. "I just drop in every day or so? Does Brooke know?"
Haley kicked Nathan under the table again, even though he hadn't even opened his mouth yet. That's a sign you are really close with your wife, Nathan thought. When she knows when you're about to say something before you even say it.
"Yeah, Brooke knows. You can just walk in, but it would be best at night. That way Jamie will almost be asleep and easier to handle."
Lucas left a half hour later, after talking a bit more with Nathan and Haley and then discussing the basketball team, and how it was doing now that the playoffs were drawing near. Finally he left, much to the dismay of Jamie, who had wanted to play with Lucas some more.
"Oh, he left," Jamie said disappointedly, walking back and putting away his toys before bed.
Nathan followed Haley into the kitchen, whispering "What was that about, lying to Lucas and Brooke? What are you trying to do?"
Haley was putting some dishes away, averting her eyes, but whenever her face turned towards Nathan, he could see the secret, mischievous smile on her face. "What are you up to?" he asked, his slight irritation fading to interested curiosity.
She just shrugged and smiled again in response, not looking at him. It finally clicked.
"You're trying to put them together, aren't you?"
She finally looked up at him, and her new, innocent-on-the-surface-but-really-devious-underneath smile confirmed his guess.