HEY GUYS!! WOW! Sorry this has taken SO long! I've had serious writers block and on top of that have been really busy so I hope you all forgive me :)
I need to thankyou all for the AMAZING reviews I have been receiving for this fic, every time I got one I made myself sit down and add at least a few lines to this. You guys are defiantly my inspiration so thanks so much for bothering to take the time to read and write a review.
I'm not sure how I feel about this chap, I struggled to write it and it prob doesn't have as much Brucas as you guys would like but don't worry, there will be plenty of that in coming chapters! And I have tried my best so I hope I don't disappoint too much!
Also... I have put a new poll up on my profile cause I wanted to get a feel for which of my fics I should be focusing on/what type of fics you enjoy so if you could please go there and vote, that'd be great!!
Anyway, thanks again for R&Ring! And for your patience! I hope you enjoy!
It's the Differences that Matter
Chapter 5
What I Want
"Brooke Davis attends anti-prop 8 rally"
"Davis attends Grammies with Timberlake"
"Davis does PETA 'rather go naked than wear fur' shoot"
"How long do we think this one will last?" Peyton asked as her and Rachel sat on the kitchen island, looking out at the entrance hall where Brooke and Lucas were sharing a kiss by the door.
"I give him a day"
"I dunno, she seems pretty excited about him"
"So what, a week?" Peyton chuckled, shaking her head
"C'mon Rae, don't be so pessimistic"
"Pessimistic? More like realistic. You know our Brooke, there is not chance in hell she's gonna open her heart to anyone, least of all some random from hicksville" Rachel made a gagging sound causing Peyton to chuckle "Don't blame her though, men are not to be trusted"
"So they can get in your body but not your heart?" Rachel nodded as Peyton sighed "Rae that-"
"Don't bother giving me a pep talk fake-blondie, you know it will do you no good"
"She seems to like him though, I mean he's actually at the house" Peyton said, changing the subject. Brooke rarely invited guys around to the house, it made it impossible to slip away undetected come morning
"Which, I will add, was a stupid move"
"Why exactly?"
"Uh hello! Do you know how many of that swarm outside would kill to get a bug put inside Brooke Davis's house? How do we know he's not one of them?"
"Trust"
"In a stranger?"
"In Brooke's judgement" Rachel shrugged before turning away from Brooke and Lucas to face Peyton
"I can't believe your pregnant" Peyton smiled in-spite of herself
"Well nothings confirmed yet so keep it on the D-L"
"Yeah cause I'm gonna march right out and announce it to the paparazzi that Brooke Davis's B-F-F is pregnant to none other than Jake Jagielski, star player of the Knicks" She chirped sarcastically
"You never know, you might want to sell the story for a new wardrobe, I wouldn't put it past you" Peyton joked as Rachel playfully slapped her
"Skank!"
"Bitch" Both chuckled
BL~BL
About half an hour later Brooke joined the girls where they were still sitting in the kitchen
"Finally gone?" Rachel asked
"Yep, Darren took out one car and Gabe's in the other, their going to circle the block a few times then drop him home to hopefully avoid all the pap's" Peyton nodded
"Sounds like a plan, but you know regardless, their going to swarm him" Brooke sighed, taking a seat on one of the large chair-stools that sat in kitchen
"I know" she groaned "but hopefully this will give him a running start"
"Can I ask a question?" Rachel said, raising her hand jokingly "why exactly didn't you sleep with him? and why are we bothering to go to all this trouble?"
"Because-" Brooke paused, she had told herself she wasn't looking for a relationship, but then why had she spent the night with him without sex? Why had she promised to see him again? Why had she given him her real number? She wanted to tell her friends it was nothing, maybe lie and say they had slept together, it was fun and he was going to be her new fuck buddy but she knew they would see right through her, they did, after all, know her better than she knew herself. "Honestly I don't know, a part of me really wanted to but, I-my heart or mind or whatever kicked in and suddenly I didn't want to rush things. Is that stupid?" The answer Brooke got should have been expected yet she still couldn't help give a small chuckle
"Yes" The red head stated matter of factly and at exactly the same time, as if planned, the blonde shook her head
"No" She said soothingly, both stared daggers at each other
"She can't have a relationship with this guy Peyton, it's ludicrous! She's filming a movie and this guy is a nobody, he probably just wants her money"
"Did you see the way he looked at her Rae? He obviously cares-"
"He wants to get into her pants!"
"You and I both know if that were true they would have slept together last night"
"HEY!" Brooke shouted but both the girls ignored her
"Not the point, she doesn't have time!"
"Oh she's dated on movie sets before"
"No, she's fucked her co-stars, that is completely different"
"So, she's allowed to fuck whoever she wants yet it's the worse thing in the world if she actually likes a guy?"
"I'm just looking out for her"
"No, your looking out for her career. But you know Rach, there is so much more to life than that" Instinctively Peyton put a hand on her stomach causing Rachel to dry heave
"You think just cause Jakie knocked you up you get to be all high and mighty and tell us what to do to get this great happiness? I'm happy for you Peyt, I am, but just because you want that life doesn't mean the rest of us do"
"And just because you want to slut around for the rest of your life doesn't mean Brooke does as well. You may think your looking out for her but I am to, I'm not going to let her throw away love just because you can't stand being the only single one in the group."
"I-"
"TIME OUT!" Brooke roared and both girls turned to stare at her "Listen, I love you guys so much and it's great that you look out for me but this is my choice OK? I don't want a relationship" Rachel nodded triumphantly yet Brooke herself didn't entirely believe the words. Two days ago she could of said with absolute certainty that a relationship was the last thing on her mind but now, she wasn't so sure "but" She continued "I do know that I want to see Lucas again, honestly things moved pretty fast last night, I don't know why but a part of me feels instantly comfortable around him, I can't explain it but I'm going to step back, give it a few days and work things out from there. Who knows, maybe Lucas isn't looking for anything serious either, maybe he just needs a friend"
"A friend with benefits?" Rachel suggested earning her a hard stare from Brooke, she threw up her hands defensively "OK! OK! I got it, how about we change the topic?"
"Sounds good"
"Good" Rachel agreed smiling "Where's your car?"
"The BMW? We left it at the restaurant and walked back, I'll go pick it up later"
"Alright we'll take one of the others"
"Where are we going?" Peyton questioned
"We" Rachel signalled between herself and Peyton "are not going anywhere. We" she signalled between herself and Brooke "are going to get your scrawny, knocked up ass a thousand pregnancy tests" Brooke jumped up excitedly, clapping her hands
"YAY!" She screamed, perhaps a little too loud, Rachel rolled her eyes
"I hate Brooke in baby mood" Peyton laughed
"Brooke's always in baby mood" Brooke scowled
"Am not"
"Are too" Peyton argued "for a girl who claims she doesn't want a serious relationship you sure like kids"
"Alright, I give, I like kids but I do have like five god-kids, five beautiful god-kids, I might add, so who wouldn't like kids? Plus there a plenty of great single parents out there so I don't have to want a relationship to have a child. And also, no matter how much I love them I am so not ready for one yet so I will be quite content being Aunt Brooke rather than mama Brooke for a few more years at least."
"That was a very confusing speech" Peyton quipped
"It's easy, Brooke like kids, Brooke love god-kids, Brooke don't need man to have kids, Brooke not ready for kids" Rachel said in her best Tarzan accent, she turned to Brooke "that about it?"
"Yep" Brooke smiled in satisfaction "So shall we go?" Rachel nodded
"Wait, why can't I come?" Peyton asked
"Because" Rachel said sighing "If you come that paparazzi are automatically going to know that the engaged soon to be Jagielski is knocked up and do you really want them to know before him? Also" Rachel continued before anyone had the chance to say anything "they are going to assume it's Brooke anyway so she may as well come with, in fact it might be better if everyone thinks it's her that way you will have ample time to tell Jakie Boy" The two other girls nodded, Rachel was the best at manipulating the paparazzi, she was always one step ahead of them, which very often came in handy.
"Don't be long" Peyton whined as the two other girls went upstairs to get dressed, Brooke grabbing a purple D&G summer dress and strappy sandals, letting her hair fall out into natural curls and Rachel slipping on her favourite black Gucci short skirt and C/B white halter top, she completed her outfit with a pair of black jimmy choo's. Both girls met up before heading to the garage Rachel smiled deviously as they walked in, Brooke gasped, apparently most of their cars had been shipped down to North Carolina. On one side of the garage Rachel's sleek black Ferrari lay next to her collection of top of the range, some even one of a kind, motorbikes. On the other side Peyton's muscle cars sat idly, the shiny black Mercury Comet, the bright orange Shelby Mustang and the dark blue 67' Chevy Impala was enough to make any collectors mouth water. In the middle lay Brooke's more subtle choice in car, a black, top of the range Vogue Range Rover and a red Cadillac Escalade.
"We'll take the Ferrari" Rachel said, going to grab the keys where they hung near the door, Brooke stopped her
"We'll take the Range Rover" She corrected, picking up those keys and jumping in the black car before Rachel had the chance to protest.
"Spoil sport" Rachel whined before walking over to join her friend in the car
BL~BL
"Finally your here man, Haley's been going nuts" Lucas chuckled at Nathan as he walked into the living room of the house his brother, best friend and nephew shared
"I was expected?" He asked, already knowing the answer
"Dude, where else would you go?" It was true, anytime anything major happened in his life Naley's house would be the first place he would turn
"True, so-"
"LUUUUCAASSSS!" A shriek came from the other room and a second later Haley appeared in the doorway, she ran towards him at full pelt, grabbing him before pulling him down next to her on the couch "Tell us EVERYTHING!" She demanded as Lucas shook his head in amusement
"She's amazing" Were the first words out of his mouth before he had even realised he was speaking, Haley and Nathan shared a look, they had never honestly heard Lucas describe a girl as 'amazing', sure he called girls 'nice' or 'beautiful' or even 'fun' but amazing was not a word he used lightly.
"So you really like her huh?" Nathan asked, he had not seen his brother this happy in a long time
"I do, it's crazy because we only just met, but I've never felt like this way about a girl before" Haley gave a little shriek
"YOUR DATING BROOKE DAVIS!" She cried excitedly, unable to hold it in any longer
"She's great Hales, she so smart and funny and kind, I don't know why you ever thought she would be a diva" Haley narrowed her eyes at her best friend, who chuckled "Fine, it was me but I can't imagine thinking that now" Haley threw her arms around Lucas
"Okay so I may be just a tad star struck but Luke, I am really happy for you"
"Thanks"
BL~BL
"ONE"
"TWO"
"THREE"
All three girls pulled off the cloths covering the pregnancy test's in front of them "Positive!" Brooke shouted excitedly as she checked the one assigned to her
"Positive" Rachel said, with less enthusiasm as she checked hers
"Positive" Peyton repeated, staring down at the test in front of her "Y-you guy's I'm-I'm-"
"PREGNANT!!" Brooke finished for her, swooping down so she was face to face with Peyton's stomach "Hey baby! Hey baby! I'm going to spoil you rotten k? Your Aunt Brooke is going to love you so much!"
"But your going to love your cool Aunt Rachel way more!" Rachel cried, crashing down on Brooke so that she could claim the closets spot to Peyton's stomach "Cause I'm gonna teach you all the cool things you need to know, all the things your mum and Aunt Brooke are way too lame to tell you" Peyton swatted Rachel away, laughing "If it's a girl I get to teach it how to cheer!" Rachel claimed causing Brooke to pout
"UNFAIR! Fine, if it's a boy, I get to teach him how to pick up girls! And if it's a girl I get to teach her how to put on make-up!" She stuck her tongue out at Rachel
"Well if it's a boy I get to teach him basketball!" Brooke chuckled
"I'm thinking Jake might want that job? Plus girls can play basketball too!" Rachel rolled her eyes
"Screw Jake, I'm much better than him anyway. So whatever sex, I will teach it basketball!" Peyton laughed
"You guys can't bags thing to teach it! Either way you have like eight months or whatever to figure it out!" All three girls laughed before Brooke struggled out from under Rachel and stood up
"Okay so here's the plan. Jake has that big game against the Laker's coming up in four days, so we know that Coach Thompson is going to pretty much have the guys on lock down, aside from talking to you P, Jake will have no contact with the outside world so you just gotta keep your mouth shut got it?" Peyton nodded "I think we should all just chill out here for the next three days then you two can fly back to New York, see Dr. Jensen, confirm that all these sticks are right, then go to the game and tell Jake afterwards... Sound good?" Peyton smiled
"Well it seems that you've just about thought of everything B. Davis" Brooke shrugged
"What can I say? I am a genius after all"
"Yeah cause your paid to think" Rachel joked as Brooke playfully slapped her
"It sucks that you can't come with us" Peyton said as Brooke pouted
"I know, but I have that stupid interview on Friday that I can't get out of. You have to promise to call me as soon as you know either way"
"Promise" All three girls smiled as Brooke's phone started to ring, she snatched it up from the coffee table and looked at the caller ID
"Millie" She told the girls as she pressed the green answer button and put the phone to her ear "Hey Millie, what's up?"
"Your mother" came the voice on the other line and Brooke subconsciously rolled her eyes
"What's wrong with her now?"
"She saw the pictures of you and Lucas" Brooke's mouth went dry, sure technically there was nothing her mother could actually do to her, after all she had her own money and power now but there was something about that woman that always shook her to the soul.
"W-Well it's none of her business"
"I know but she wants to meet for lunch" No way in hell, Brooke thought to herself, she had already made peace with the fact that she never wanted to see her mother again
"Isn't she in Fiji or something?"
"She' flying back Friday and insisting that you meet her for lunch at Bergdorfs"
"Well I can't make it, I have an interview" The brunette smiled triumphantly, running a relieved hand through her chocolate locks
"Should I reschedule?"
"No thankyou Millie" On the other end she could hear the girl let out a small giggle
"She won't like that"
"I know"
"She scares me" Brooke chuckled, not once through out her three years on the job had the small dark-haired assistant bothered to hide her disdain for the elder Davis
"I know, me too" Both girls laughed, the two had grown close to a point where they would consider each other friends rather than just employee/employer relationship
"So" Millie said as the laughter died "enjoy the house?"
"Yeah it's awesome and the DVD's were a great touch"
"Thought you might enjoy them, how about the basketball court?" Brooke's eyes grew wide
"There's a basketball court?"
"Yeah, and a swimming pool"
"That's awesome!"
"Wait have you even been out the back?" Brooke bit her lip, between Lucas and Peyton's pregnancy she hadn't really taken the time to explore the house
"No, I've been kinda busy"
"Well I guess you haven't found the 'games room' then?"
"The what?" Millie laughed
"At the end of the downstairs hallway, last door on the right, I thought you, Rach and Peyt might want to have a little fun so I... Well.. You'll see" Brooke was intrigued
"I might just go check it out now then"
"Sure thing, I better go call your mother back anyway" Millie's tone turned downcast at this last sentence
"Thanks Mill, and before I forget, Rachel and Peyton need to fly back on Thursday, can you give the pilot a call?"
"No worries"
"Thanks, cya Mill"
"Bye Brooke" Brooke hung up her phone and turned back to her friends
"C'mon" she signalled for them to follow her as she turned, walking back towards the door
"Wait what are we looking for?" Rachel asked as she followed her brunette friend down the long white hallway
"A game room apparently" Brooke stopped outside the door Millie had indicated before looking at both her friends and opening it, she couldn't help but laugh at the contents
"Apparently Millie knew about the baby" Inside was full of a random array of toys and play things, everything from roller blades to laser tag to archery sets, basketballs, video games, tennis equipment, motorised scooters it appeared that a toy store had been raided
"Cool" Rachel whispered instantly dashing into the room to claim the green laser tag vest and gun, handing the blue to Peyton and Red to Brooke "Get on your gear girls, it's time for war"
BL~BL
The girls spent the next three days in and around the house, they started off playing laser tag, Brooke and Rachel taking risky moves, diving across the backs of couches to avoid being shot and battle crawling across the ground. Peyton however was shot the most as protective urges kicked in and she was forced to be much less active than she would of liked.
Once all the fun ran out of that they moved on to the fencing equipment, quickly realising that none of them knew how to fence they proceeded to try their best sword fighting it out with the stick side of golf clubs. Next they moved on to roller blading, although neither Brooke nor Rachel would let Peyton strap on the skates, much to her annoyance, so she grabbed a motor scooter and the three girls went exploring the massive backyard. Millie had been right, the place did have a basketball court and a huge pool with a slide and diving board, what she failed to mention was the tennis court and many acres of beautiful grass land that lay in the backyard. The girls played basketball, tennis, video games and swam in the pool and at the end of each day they all collapsed in a heap, settling down to watch a movie where they would fall asleep still in a tangled mess of red,blond and brunette. Theses days reminded Brooke of being a kid again and although, to the outside world, it may have seemed like a childish way to spend time, she loved every minute.
BL~BL
Brooke hadn't spoken to Lucas in the three days but the two had texted each other like crazy, pointless things really but to the two of them it was fun and brought a smile to both their faces. When Brooke had been shot whilst playing laser tag she had texted Lucas
Mayday! Mayday! Man down!
And oh so young too...
I'm being surrounded!
Just lie still, play dead, it should make them go away
Oh god, we have a problem
What?
How the hell am I supposed to play dead? What am I an actor? I can't act to save my life!
Lucas had laughed at this
Yeah, I've noticed that
Just for that, I'm going back to my real friends and ignoring you
Oh c'mon, you know I was kidding
A few minutes later
Brooke?
He received no reply and sighed, idiot, he thought, way to fuck it up by offending her
Look, I'm sorry, I was really only joking, The East is one of my all time favourite movies and I think you were brilliant in it. Forgive me
Brooke burst into laughter
OMG!! I totally had you!!
Lucas groaned, now he looked like a complete idiot
You weren't mad?
No! Don't you think I can take a joke? That apology was hilarious! Glad you enjoyed the movie though. How'd you like the sex scene?
Lucas almost choked on the beer he was drinking, was she flirting with him? He couldn't tell, damn SMS and it's lack of emotion.
Very.. Artistic
Perve
It's kind of hard to miss
Now this is completely unfair! You've seen me close to naked and I've seen nothing of you!
Okay, she was defiantly flirting with him
Maybe we just have to change that huh?
Two could play at that game
In your dreams Scott
Don't you worry, it will be.
When the girls had played basketball she had text him
Just made a three pointer, you'd be very proud
Nice work! Did you win the game?
I'm about to
If they double team you fake past Rachel and shoot a lay up around Peyton
Sounds like a plan
Good luck X
Thanks ;)
Many other conversations had centred around texts and as much as Brooke was having a great time with her friends a part of her was subconsciously pining to go catch up with Lucas. She honestly didn't know where they stood and wanted to find out sooner rather than later what, if any, their future held.
BL~BL
Rachel and Peyton left early Thursday morning, Brooke had woken up early to bid them farewell and once again made them promise they would call as soon as they had seen Dr. Jensen. Once they were out the door Brooke had the Escalade brought round and headed right for the coffee shop, hoping with all her heart she would run into Lucas although she swore to herself that the trip was about caffeine not a guy.
The second she stepped out of the car a horde of men and woman holding big cameras that flashed brightly in her face surrounded her and her name was suddenly on the lips of everyone around her.
"Miss Davis, Miss Davis is it true you and Mr. Scott are secretly engaged and expecting?"
"Miss Davis, look this way please!"
"Miss Davis is Mr. Scott really the baby daddy?"
"Miss Davis is it true that Chris Evan's is asking for a paternity test?"
She ignored the flashing light and horde that was actually a lot below the usual stream, stopping to sign autographs for the few who managed to fight their way through the crowd
"WATCH OUT!" She screamed at one man who had his camera turned towards her, not looking where he was going, he almost barrelled right into a small dark haired boy who was walking hand in hand with his mother.
Arriving at the coffee shop she managed to enter without anyone following her, they knew the rules, do not enter private property under any circumstance, sure some chose to ignore that rule but they were usually the more sleazy of the paparazzi, Brooke had always had a good relationship with them so they generally respected her boundaries.
"Brooke!" Brooke smiled as Deb came flying from the counter towards her "It's so great to see you again!" Before Brooke knew what was going on she was wrapped into a hug and as they pulled away, Deb smiled in embarrassment "Sorry, I got caught up but wow, I can't believe you and Lucas out on a date, I mean I have never seen him so happy-"
"MUM!" Looking past Deb, Brooke peered up at an embarrassed Lucas, she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face
"Lucasss" She purred and he smiled
"Hey Brooke" Deb non-chalauntly excused herself, pretending to need to get an order when it was clear everyone in the cafe was quite content already
"The paparazzi haven't been giving you too much trouble?"
"Nah, it was really weird at first but it's been OK" He couldn't take his eyes of her, she had once again managed to completely take his breath away "hey, uh, do you wanna go do something?"
"Sure, what do you have in mind?" He held up the ball in his hand
"I was gonna head down to the rivercourt, it's this-"
"Court by the river?" Brooke guessed kinking an eyebrow, Lucas chuckled
"Yeah" he nodded "We can go out the back and walk, it's not that far"
"Lead the way"
BL~BL
"How the hell did you learn to do that?" Lucas asked in astonishment as the orange ball sailed effortlessly from Brooke's manicured hand and glided through the hoop as she stood with her eyes closed at the three point line.
"It went in?" She asked coyly although she already knew the answer, Lucas nodded
"Ah-huh" She smiled, opening her eyes and walking over to sit on the green bench next to the court
"I dated a few basketball players in highschool, guess I must of picked up a few things"
"A few things? You just made a blind shot from the three point line!" Lucas took a seat next to Brooke and suddenly she felt her heart beating just that little bit faster, the two still hadn't talked about where they stood.
"So it was three basketball players and they all ended up in the NBA" She shrugged, tossing a few loose curls away from her face and laughing as Lucas's mouth dropped open
"Who?" She kinked her eyebrow
"A lady never kisses and tells" Lucas laughed
"Fine, but maybe you should be trying out for the NBA"
"Maybe I should" The two sat in silence for a moment then Lucas reached out his large hand and wrapped it around her smaller one, a small shiver ran down Brooke's back
"Brooke" His piercing blue eyes met dazzling hazel and he couldn't help the small smile that played on his lips
"Lucas?" She bit her lip nervously as she watched him study her face before locking his eyes with hers
"I-I've been wanting to ask you for three whole days what was really going on between us. I didn't know how to word it, how to ask you if you just wanted to be friends, if you wanted to date casually, seriously or if you just didn't want anything at all" He paused, his mouth suddenly growing dry, searching for any sign or betrayal of emotion on the brunettes face "but after today I've decided against that, I'm not going to ask you Brooke, asking you implies I would be happy no matter what way this went but that's not true... S-So I'm telling you that I want you to give us a try. I really care for you and if you give me a chance I think that maybe you could learn to care for me too" he kicked himself mentally, knowing that every word he spoke sounded like something out of a cheesy eighties movie yet somehow he couldn't help the word vomit coming out of his mouth and decided to blame on the fact that her eyes were still locked intently on his. Deciding to just go for it he leant down and brushed his lips softly against hers "I want to be with you Brooke" he murmured quietly, bringing his hand up to cup her face gently "I want you to give me a chance" Brooke didn't answer, staying completely silent she starred into his eyes one moment longer before bringing her lips forward for a forceful kiss.
BL~BL