Okay I'll start off with review stuff:

BDavisLScott23—I loved your review. They always bring a smile to my face! And you won't have to see Lindsey for too long I promise.

Crazygirl54—Thanks for the review! I can promise that Brathan won't fall in love, but I do need him to get Lucas's ass in gear for certain aspects of the story.

Alysef—I loved your review. It made me happy that you liked what I did so thanks!

Dianehermans—thank you for always reviewing!

CaseyJr—Thanks for the review. We will see some Brooke/Nick interaction…actually in this chapter! Lucas, Lindsey & Brooke are 21, Nathan is 24, Rachel is 25 and Nick is 27. Sorry I should have put that in there!

Tay—I flippin love your reviews! They make me so incredibly happy and I think this is my favorite story of mine too. It's fun to write and the ideas seem to flow the best. And I love how your reviews are so in-depth. Sometimes you see things that I may have not elaborated on and you give me motivation to expand other ideas. So thank you because your review is what made me start this next UD! Also what is circle of death? Lol Yeah we have over 6 foot high snow banks and it's so hard to go anywhere!

Pam—thanks for the review!

Remember when, we never needed each other
The best of friends like
Sister and Brother
We understood, we'd never be,
Alone

Brooke was packing her bags for the weekend away. She had been able to get today off from work to start her long weekend so she was thankful of that. She had gone back and forth with the idea of going away with Luke, Nate and Lindsey. She didn't want the group dynamic to seem like a double date kind of thing and she had still not talked to Lucas since their fight. Nathan had begged her though because he said he didn't want to be the third wheel so he guilted her into finally going.

She was actually really tired today. She had worked four thirteen-hour days this week and she hadn't slept much. Her parents had been arguing a lot lately. Her dad was getting frustrated because he couldn't find a job and he had turned to drinking. Brooke didn't worry about it all that much because she knew her father wasn't a drunk, he was just frustrated with the economy. Her mother didn't help because she would say stupid shit that she knew would get under Keith's skin. Most nights it ended with her going down and playing referee and then getting her parents to calm down. By the time she went to bed each night her parents were fine. Then as soon as she thought it would turn into a peaceful night she would hear Nick going in and out.

She pushed the thought from her mind and zipped up her bag. Even though they were only going for two days she had packed enough clothes for a week. But her motto was better to be prepared for everything. She walked over to her jewelry box and opened the door to grab her necklace. Lucas had bought her a beautiful god necklace that had a past, present and future charm in diamonds for her twentieth birthday and she thought it would look really pretty with the outfit that she wore. Okay that was strange. She knew that the last time she took it off she placed it back in there. That was the one piece of jewelry that meant everything to her so she was always careful with it.

She walked out of her room and into the kitchen, finding her parents having a discussion over coffee at the table. "Mom, did you borrow my necklace that Lucas got me?"

Her mother turned around at the sound of her voice and looked at her questioningly. "No sweetie. I haven't touched anything of yours since I borrowed your clip like two months ago," she said as she saw Brooke about to turn around and head back to her room. "Brooke, can you sit down? Your dad and I would like to talk to you about something," Karen said and by the look on her parents face she knew that it was something serious. She slowly walked to the table and pulled the chair out to take a seat.

She looked between her parents, waiting for one of them to say something and it was her father that started. "Brooke we have a problem."

Those days are gone, and I want you so much
The night is long and I need your touch
Don't know what to say
I never meant to feel this way
Don't want to be
Alone tonight

"Nathan we have to leave if we are going to beat the traffic. Didn't you tell Brooke to meet us here like an hour ago," Lindsey asked annoyed. This past week she had been a little more short than usual, especially when the subject turned to Brooke.

"I did, give me a break," he said and glared at her. He never did care much for the girl his brother dated. Hell he even like Peyton more and that was saying something because they rarely got along. "Let me try her phone again," Nathan said before Lindsey started again and then Lucas got on his back.

"Hey Brooke," Nathan said happily. "Listen you are late and everyone is….Brooke are you okay," Nathan asked hearing her sob. "Brooke what happened," Nathan asked seeing Lucas walking towards him with a questioning look. "Just calm down and breathe, " he said as he walked away from the other two.

"What's wrong, is Brooke okay? Let me talk to her," Lucas said grabbing for Nathan's phone unsuccessfully. It made him panic when he heard that she was upset or that something had happened. Brooke was never the type of girl to cry over something small so he knew whatever it was that it was serious. He didn't care that they had a fight and still hadn't spoken. If something was wrong he wanted to be there for her. He waited till Nathan hung up and then waited for answers.

"Look guys I'm gonna stay behind. Brooke needs a friend and I don't feel right leaving her alone," Nathan said trying not to make eye contact with Lucas. He knew his brother would be fuming but he had promised Brooke he wouldn't say anything. This was something huge for her and it wasn't his news to share.

"Nathan," Lucas said and got in his face. "Brooke is my best friend. If something is wrong I should know."

"Lucas it's just family stuff. Brooke asked me not to say anything," and then he saw the rage in his brothers face.

Lucas punched the truck and startled both Nathan and Lindsey. "What the fuck do you know that I don't," he said and clenched his fist at his side.

"Luke," Nathan tried to reason with Lucas but he wouldn't listen, just demanded answers. Nathan was stuck in between a rock and hard place. Lucas was his brother but he promised Brooke he wouldn't say anything. He knew Lucas was about to flip out even more so than already. Lindsey tried to get Lucas's attention but he just waved her off. Lindsey got into her car, slammed the door and drove away and he sighed heavily and dropped his shoulders.

"It's….it's her brother Luke. Nick has been battling a drug problem."

Lucas just looked at Nathan dumbfounded. He knew something was wrong with Brooke, but he never would have guessed this. He felt numb that he didn't know something like this was affecting his best friend. This wasn't something small that she could have brushed away. This was something huge and Lucas knew that it would affect Brooke profoundly and he suddenly wondered how long he has been clueless about everything. He finally backed away a little defeated. "How long Nathan," he asked eerily calm.

"For about six months... he has been lying to everyone."

"No…how long have you known about all of this," he asked and brought his gaze back to his brother's face. He knew he wasn't going to like whatever answer came from his mouth but when he told him that he knew about it since the beginning Lucas flipped out. Before he knew what he was doing he brought his fist up and punched Nathan square in the jaw.

Nathan was caught off guard and felt the need to fight back but he couldn't bring himself to hit Lucas. He knew that fighting with him wouldn't do any good and right about now nothing he said would be of any comfort. He settled on the first thing he could think of. "Why the hell did you just hit me asshole?"

Lucas tried to keep himself in check but his resolve was quickly fading. He had spent countless hours with Brooke and she never mentioned anything. He knew something was wrong but he never pushed the subject. And in all of that time she was confiding in his brother! Everyone always choose Nathan over him but he couldn't come to grips with the fact that Brooke would do that. "She is my best friend Nathan. You have everything," he said and threw his hands out to make a point. "You are mom and dads favorite, you did better in school, you went to a better college, all of my friends like you better and," he said and collected another breath. "Why couldn't you just let me have one person? One person who is my friend and would confide in me over you! I'm supposed to be there for her and help her through stuff like this and she choose you. She picked you over me," he said as tears brimmed his eyes as he backed away from his brother and his house.

Nathan just watched his brother walk away. He was actually surprised at what just came out of Lucas' mouth. He never knew his brother felt inferior to him. He would have never stepped over that boundary had he known that his brother felt that strongly about his friendship with Brooke. Come to think of it,\ he should have known. Brooke was one of the only things that made his brother happy and he had taken that. He rubbed his jaw as he watched his brother storm down the road and hung his head. He knew where he was headed and this was one battle that he had to stay out of no matter how much he wanted to stop it.

Those days are gone, and I want you so much
The night is long and I need your touch
Don't know what to say
I never meant to feel this way
Don't want to be
Alone tonight

Keith and Karen had stepped out to go and make arrangements at a local rehab center and Brooke stayed home to wait and see if Nick would come stumbling home. She was sitting on the couch and about fifteen minutes after her parents left Nick came strolling through the door whistling. She stood from the couch and clutched the receipt in her hand as she approached him.

"Nick we need to talk," she said as she stood in front of him defiantly.

He smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "Not right now B. I'm tired and gotta catch some sleep before I go out later," he said and side stepped her.

She was angry and she couldn't push this problem aside any longer. She reached her hand out and grabbed his arm. He turned around and looked at her curiously. "Nick you have a problem and we are going to talk about it."

He laughed and tried to brush her off. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said and looked at her like he had no clue what she meant.

"You're on drugs Nick and don't you dare try to deny it," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

He leaned in close as if testing her. "You don't know shit," he said angrily."Mind your own fucking business and go be a good little girl and do what you do best. Help mom and dad, talk shit to Rachel and be the one everyone loves…oh wait except you can't have the one person you really love because he doesn't give two shit about you," he hissed into her face.

His word stung because she did love her brother, but he knew just where to hit her where it hurt. Before she could stop herself she slapped him across the face and stepped back. "I'd rather be a goody-to-shoes than a drug addict."

He turned on his heel and stormed off to his room and she followed him. "If you're looking for your pills they are gone. I flushed them," she said as he turned to her with a rage in his eyes that she had never seen before. It almost scared her that she was alone with him.

He stormed over to her and took her by the arms. His grip was painful, but she refused to let him know he was hurting her. "You little bitch, you had no right. Give me back my shit," he said as he shook her.

She managed to break free from his grip and push him backwards. "I had every fucking right. You stole from me," she said and threw the receipt at him. "You sold my necklace and you sold mom's guitar. How could you," she said as the tears finally fell from her eyes.

She watched as her brothers anger faded and was replaced with shame. He slumped away from her and walked to his bed. She watched him reach under the bed and pull some thing out. Her eyes widened and her back hit the wall when she saw the handgun. "I'm so sorry Brooke," he said as he sat and played with the gun.

She felt fear run through her veins, but not for herself. She knew her brother was in a bad place and right now she didn't know how to handle the situation. She had never been in this position and now she knew she had to talk him through this. She just hoped that she could get through to him and she prayed her parents would be back soon.

"I am so ashamed," he said as he started to tremble and the tears flowed from his eyes. She slowly made her way over to the bed and sat next to him. He sobbed harder when she pulled him into a hug.

"I can't do this anymore B. I can't do this to me or to you guys. You deserve so much more than what I am…what I've become," he said as he turned the gun in his hands. Brooke watched every movement and slowly brought her hands to cover his on the gun and tried to move it away. She sobbed as she tried to change the outcome.

"Nick I love you. Mom and dad love you. Rachel loves you. Doing what you are thinking about right now is not the answer. None of us want that Nick. We just want to get you some help," she said and breathed as he slowly loosened his grip and let her take the gun from his hand. She moved it away from him and onto the bed as she sank to the floor in fron of him and pulled him into a hug.

She heard the front door slam and breathed a sigh of relief that her parents were back. That was until she heard the voice.

"Brooke," he yelled not caring who heard him. He was angry and he wasn't going to hide it anymore.

She panicked. Right now her brother was in a bad place and she didn't want anything more to go wrong. She tried her best to even out her voice as she held her crying brother in her arms. "It's okay Nick. We are going to help you I promise," she soothed her brother. She tried to keep her tears hidden but seeing her brother so broken hurt her so deeply. She couldn't hold them back anymore and she couldn't help her brother and deal with Lucas, he would just have to wait.

She wasn't responding but he knew she was home. He went up to her bedroom but she wasn't in there. He knew her parents were out because the car was gone. He peeked his head into their room and she wasn't there either. He listened for a moment and heard a quiet sob and made his way towards Nick's room. He rounded the corner and was met with a sight that he never imaged. Brooke was holding Nick who was crying and there was a gun on the bed. She looked back at him with tear stained eyes and he felt a pain in his chest, maybe fear.

"Lucas," she croaked out as he slowly approached. She looked between him and the gun and shook her head silently asking him to take it away. He approached slowly and picked it up. "Please call my parents and ask them to come home," she asked as she pulled her brother closer. He nodded his head and left the room. He knew that Nick wouldn't want him there and neither did she. They were having a moment and he wasn't needed there. He called Keith's cell phone and told him the situation. He sat on the couch and waited. He couldn't leave her alone and he wouldn't leave until he had spoken to her.

An hour later and Nick was in the car with a packed bag on the way to rehab. Rachel hadn't been in town but when called her and Cooper said they would head over. Brooke had gotten them to stay where they were. She knew Nick was ashamed and didn't want to see anyone else. He wouldn't even leave his room until Lucas had gone up to Brooke's room. On his way out the door he asked Brooke to stay behind and hugged her. He apologized for stealing her stuff and for letting her down. She just held on to him tight and told him none of that mattered. All that she cared about was that he got the help he needed and told him she would always be here for him. She watched from the front door as they drove away and the tears streamed down her face.

She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't heard Lucas come back down. She didn't even realize that he was in the same room until she felt his arms pull her into his chest. She turned in his arms and buried her head in his neck. He held her but it was different. She knew he was angry. She knew that the moment he walked into her house, but he was trying to keep it at bay. Finally she got her emotions in check and pulled out of his arms to look into his eyes.

"I…you…thanks," she said shyly. For the first time she wasn't sure what to say to him.

"Why didn't you tell me Brooke," he asked her in a broken voice.

She was nervous and not quite sure how to answer that. She pulled at the sleeves of her sweatshirt as she made her way to the couch. She knew he would be following. He sat beside her and she sighed heavily. "I didn't want anyone to know," she settled on.

"Except Nathan. I mean who better to confide in than him," he said bitterly.

She finally looked at him, but now he was avoiding her gaze. "It's not like that Luke," she said and tried to reach for his hand but he pulled away. Suddenly she felt a bit angry with him. "The first night I knew I called you. I had been crying and you didn't even notice," she said and watched as he looked at her puzzled. "Oh yeah that's right Luke," she said and stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "You were screwing Lindsey and told me you would call me back. Well I needed a friend so I called Nathan. You called me back two days later," she hissed out and watched as his face fell.

He stood and she could see a whole range of emotions cross his face. "Brooke," he whispered her name. "I'm sorry I didn't know. I…I should have known. If I did you know I would have come over and been with you. I'm so sorry."

"I can't do this anymore Luke," she said and her whole demeanor dropped.

I hear your voice
And I start to tremble
Brings back the child that, I resemble

I cannot pretend, that we can still be friends
Don't want to be,
Alone tonight

"Do what," he asked her almost knowing her answer but dreading it.

"I confided in Nathan because he is a good friend to me," she said and saw how he tried to stop her but she held up her hand to stop him. "Nathan is so wonderful to me Luke, but you. It's different," she said and finally made eye contact with him. "You've changed so much Luke. I used to be able to come to you with anything and lately I can only talk to you if it doesn't interfere with your plans with Lindsey or if she's out of town."

"That's not fair and you know it Brooke. I never made you feel guilty when you shut me out for Felix," he said trying to defend himself.

"Are you kidding me," she asked incredulously. "You took every opportunity to make me feel guilty that I was with him instead of with you. Even when you were with Peyton or Lindsey you got mad when I was with anyone else. If I confided in them and not you, you would flip out on me."

"I was trying to protect you for crying out loud," he said and ran his hands through his hair. "Every guy you dated was trash and you know it!"

"That's real nice Luke. You're one to talk. This coming from the same guy who fucked Theresa when you and Lindsey took a break, but it really wasn't a break now was it," she bit back angrily. It hurt her when he made her feel like she only went for losers and would never do any better.

"You don't know shit Brooke," he said leaning in closer. "What happens in my relationships is none of your business. Why do you even care who I sleep with? Are you jealous because lately this seems to be all we talk about? Peyton, Lindsey, Theresa…and while you're at it you missed Nicky," he said angrily. "Yeah I was sleeping with your friend after Peyton and I broke up," told her.

She looked at him like he was a complete stranger. "Who are you Lucas? I mean you say you are my best friend but I don't know anything about you. You aren't the guy I thought you were. You are way different than you let on and still you blame me for not telling you every little detail of my life," she yelled out and clenched her fists at her side. She could feel her fingernails digging into her palm. "And that's why I confide in Nathan because you two are so different and he has been more of a friend to me the past month than you have been in years," she spit out. She saw the anger in his eyes and knew it mirrored her own.

"Different," he said bitterly. "I should have known. I mean, fuck it's Nathan. Everyone loves Nathan," he said dramatically and threw his hands up in the air and turned away from her to the door. "I thought you were different too, but I guess I was way off. I'm done. You want Nathan to be your best friend than have at it. Have a great life," he said as he turned the door handle but stopped at her words.

"It is different Lucas because Nathan is just my friend. If you hadn't noticed for the past seven fucking years, I have been in love with you," she yelled out and then realized what she said as he stood frozen at the door. She hadn't meant to say it but she just couldn't hold it in anymore. It was out in the open now and she knew that he had heard her. "I guess it was hard to notice in-between all of the girls you have been fucking in the mean time," she said to the boy in front of her who looked completely clueless.

"What did you just say," he asked, not sure if he had just heard her right. There is no way she just said what he thought she did.

What can I do, to make you mine
Falling so hard so fast this time
What did I say, what did you do?
How did I fall in love with you?

Oh I want to say this right
And it has to be tonight
Just need you to know, oh yeah

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review and give me your thoughts. Two updates in one week!