The tension in the room was as sharp as a double edged sword as Peyton stared at the clock looming overhead. The big, ugly, bold numbers were slowly being passed by a small red second's hand. The blond pulled her eyes away from the clock and she scanned the room, sinking in as much detail as possible. The sight before her was probably the most peculiar she had ever seen. Big-Shot-Scott and the Honors student were quietly talking to one another from different tables while The Queen Bee was sitting on the ground with the Other Scott's head resting on her lap, softly wiping the blood from his mouth. Oh yes, Peyton wasn't a fucking idiot. There was something going on and Brooke had definitely contradicted herself earlier in the bathroom.
As Brooke raked her fingers through Lucas' buzzed hair, a soft smile threatened to fall upon his face. "What's all this for, Princess?"
Smirking, Brooke slapped the back of his head. "Way to ruin the moment, Doofus."
She had to admit, Lucas Scott looked absolutely adorable when he was beaten up. His eyelid was turning purple already. Not thinking about what she was doing, Brooke's soft fingertips traced along the corner of his eye which instantly caused Lucas to wince.
"Sorry! Sorry!"
Lucas sat up slightly and brought his hand up to his tightly shut eye, his head resting on her chest. "Ow. It's okay. My own fault, not yours."
Brooke frowned, he looked broken. More so than usual. It wasn't like he deserved what happened to him, so how could it be his own fault? "Do you want me to get you anything?" She asked, bringing her fingers back to the top of his head.
Luke didn't reply at first but eventually shook his head no, rubbing the side of his face into her fine assets. "No, that's good right there. Don't move."
It took Brooke a good couple of minutes to realize what he was doing. Crinkling her nose, she flicked the side of his arm and pulled herself out from under him.
"Fucking perv! And here I was, actually trying to help you." She exclaimed, trying her best not to grin but ended up failing miserably. Brooke began heading back to her seat next to Nathan, knowing full well Lucas wouldn't be too thrilled.
Lucas slowly got back on his feet, stumbling a bit in the process as he laughed. "Aw c'mon Princess, don't be like that!"
"Easy there, Rocky." Haley said after Lucas tripped over his own two feet, causing all 5 individuals in the room to crack a grin.
Over the course of the next 20 minutes Nathan, Haley, and Brooke had all moved to the far right of the library sitting next to each other as they all watched Lucas tear books to shreds. Haley uneasily looked from the Other Scott to the heavy wooden door that Turner could burst through at any moment. "Lucas, I really don't think that's a good idea…that's school property."
"Very educated…"
Lucas turned his head around to the source of the noise. Peyton hadn't even looked up from her drawing to guess that he was doing something stupid. With a grin, he faced the other three and threw the ripped paged up in the air. Lucas snorted through his nose as he read the binding of the book.
"The Catcher and the Rye: Salinger's only piece of literature worth reading. The Antihero is scared to face his parents…"
Hearing his half brother utter the word 'parents', Nathan felt one of Haley's elbows hit his forearm which reminded him to refrain from saying something stupid. Glancing down at his feet, Nathan closed his eyes and couldn't help but feel like a complete dick for his actions earlier.
"…All he does is bitch about them. But then again, I don't exactly blame him." Lucas said, finishing up his rant.
Brooke stared at Lucas intently, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he actually read. She nodded her head in agreement as his intense gaze found its way to her soul.
"My parents are on the brink of divorce constantly. Neither of them will actually go through with it though. My dad's afraid of what a divorce will look like in the public eye…and my mom's in it for his money. They use me to get back at each other. It's a total drag."
Lucas had stopped shredding the book once Brooke began talking. He was caught off guard; he wouldn't have expected her to open up that much to a group of complete strangers. Cocking his right eyebrow, Lucas slowly approached her as he placed what was left of the book on an empty table.
"So who would you chose? Your pops or your old lady?"
Brooke shrugged her shoulders, "I'd rather live alone. I practically do already. My mom's always off on some island and he's on business ALL the time. You know, out of the 18 years of living on this planet, my father has managed to be with me on 3 of my birthdays."
Out of nowhere, a booming "HA!" caught everyone off guard. It was Peyton.
"Shut up!" Brooke really had no idea why this girl had a problem with her. She didn't even know who the fuck she was.
Lucas suddenly felt the need to defend his Princess. Hell, he wouldn't even go that low. Well, maybe Nathan was the exception, but that was even pushing it. A slight frown replaced his signature dopey grin. "You want to join in anytime soon, sweetheart? We're all ears."
Peyton rolled her eyes and glanced back up at the clock, not saying a word.
Haley offered Brooke a small smile, attempting to apologize for Peyton. But Nathan grinned and shook his head to himself. "You're just feeling sorry for yourself, Brooke."
"Yeah, well if I don't, no one does."
Lucas stood up again and cleared his throat. "Sporto, do you get along with your parents?"
Nathan remained silent. The question was like a trap.
"Well if I say yes I'm an idiot, right?"
Lucas laughed as he began knocking over random shit again. "You're an idiot anyway, but if you say you get along with your parents…well then you're a liar too."
The room went dead silent again. Every single one of them knew Lucas had a point and knew he was right. But Nathan would never admit that.
"Fine Lucas, what the hell's so bad about your parents? Let's see it."
Lucas calmly walked over to Nathan's desk where he rested his palms flat against the wooden surface, leaning down towards Nate.
"Really, man? I have no father. I was abandoned. I live with two people who can't stand me. My mom blames me for everything. I'm the reason Dan left her. I'm the reason her parents won't speak to her. I'm the reason she couldn't go to college. I'm the reason her life is spiraling out of control and going down the shitter. And then her boyfriend is fucking around behind her back. She refused to believe anything I have to say and tells me 'not to fuck this one up'. And her boyfriend….he's something else. He makes Dan look good. Flips a shit all the time. This", Lucas pointed to his eye and let out a dry laugh, "This is nothing. I've had so much worse than this."
Nathan snickered as he shook his head. "No way. It's all part of your image."
Lucas felt his jaw drop slightly before a new emotion over took him. Gritting his teeth, he raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe me?"
"No. Did I stutter?"
Rolling up his sleeve, Lucas pointed to a particular part of his forearm. "You see that? Looks about the size of a cheap 7-11 cigar, don't you think? This is what happens in my house when there's no beer in the fridge. And this!" Lucas then lifted up his shirt, revealing his toned torso which both Brooke and Haley took notice to. Lucas pointed to a jagged scar on his chest. "This is after you get the beer and he gets drunk and your music happens to be too damn loud. DO I STUTTER?!"
Lucas kept his hands pressed flat against the desk, staring his brother down as he breathed heavily through his nose.
Nathan glanced at the carpet beneath his feet and hung his head low. "Look man, I'm sorry." He mumbled under his breath.
With another dry laugh, Lucas rolled his eyes. "No…you're just sorry you made yourself look like a complete asshole. Aren't you just Daddy's spitting image? Only looking out for your narcissist self."
Nate shook his head again and spoke louder in order to defend himself, "No Lucas. I'm sorry, ok? I get that sort of shit too, just not in the same sense."
Lucas realized he was being somewhat sincere. Dan Scott was the world's biggest prick, he knew that. "Forget about it, bro. How the hell were you supposed to know anyway? I am a bit notorious around here for being a bit dishonest." He said grinning, referring to the numerous times he had been caught stealing tests a head of time. "And it's not like I tell people for their sympathy. Only 6 people know, him and this fun bunch."
Haley was still processing all of this. It explained so much as to why Lucas was the way he was. She tried to say something, anything, but she seemed to be choking on her own words. "Luc.."
Lucas cut in and offered her a weak smile. "Look smartypants, I don't want a pity party. Or people to feel sorry for me. It's just life, shit can happen and I probably deserve it half the time anyway. I am a bit of an asshole. Drop the subject, por favor?"
The Other Scott suddenly felt his hand get a tiny squeeze.
Brooke bit down on her lower lip before placing her hand in his. She had thought this shit only happened in Lifetime movies. She saw Lucas' stupid grin reappear on his face as she felt the pad of this thumb run overtop of her hand.
11:45 AM
Over the past hour and a half, everything seemed to have improved between the 6 of them. Lucas and Nathan could actually tolerate each other and even Peyton had begun to chime into some conversations. By now, Turner had just barged back into the room, allowing them to eat lunch.
Nathan looked down at his lunch and let out a muffled 'Shit....' Deb must have forgotten to give him a Gatorade. Sticking his hand up in the air, Nathan cleared his throat in order to get Turner's attention. "Are drinks going to be provided?"
Turner scowled and shook his head laughing "Are you kidding me Scott?"
To back up his brother, Lucas slowly lifted his head off of his desk and interjected. "Excuse me, Sir, if I may, at the point in your career would it be wise to not keep these hardworking students hydrated? I'm just looking out for your best interest, Dick."
Turner must have heard Lucas because he pointed to Nathan with a tired sigh.
"You.." and then to Peyton "and you. Yes you."
Peyton didn't move, but continued to stare at Turner with a blank expression.
"She doesn't talk, Sir."
"Shut the hell up, Scott. You two, get up! There's Pepsi in the teachers lounge. Don't take forever."
Nathan couldn't help but feel disappointed that Turner hadn't picked Haley, or even Brooke for that matter. But no, he had gotten stuck with the girl who wouldn't talk.
Peyton hesitantly got up and pulled down her black T shirt which had ridden up the small of her back when she was sitting down. Once they got out into the empty hallway, Nathan awkwardly attempted to spark conversation as he stuffed his hands deep into his pockets.
"What's your poison?"
Nothing.
"What do you drink?"
Rolling her eyes, Peyton began to walk faster so she wouldn't have to deal with this dumbass. "Vodka."
"Vodka? When do you drink vodka?" Nate hadn't seen her at any parties he went to. He wasn't even sure if she went to parties.
"Whenever." Peyton stated with a shrug of her shoulders before facing Nathan, who had a quizzical expression across his face.
There they all were. Sitting in almost the same seating arrangements they had been in at 7 this morning. Lucas began to look around, studying everyone's food. Peyton had a small carton of left over Lo mien and a couple Pixies Stix along with her can of Pepsi. Odd. Haley had the typical 'Leave It to Beaver' lunch. PB&J, an apple, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Typical. Nathans brown bag seemed to be a bottomless pit: a foot-long sub, huge bag of Doritos, two bananas, and fucking pack of M&Ms. Fatass.
Lucas last brought his attention to Brooke who had pulled out a small, black plastic box and chopsticks. "What the fuck is in there?" Lucas asked as his nose crinkled up.
"It's sushi, idiot."
"Sushi? Like raw fish? That's gonna stink up the entire room!! You won't smoke weed, but you'll eat that shit?"
Brooke ignored his latest remark as she sprinkled soy sauce over her salmon. "You got any lunch?"
Lucas nodded as he leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the wooden desk. "You're wearin' it, Princess."
Both Peyton and Nathan stifled back laughs as Brooke rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Very clever, Scott." Brooke tried to keep the image of Lucas taking every article of clothing off her, but failed miserably. A dumb grin quickly replaced her scowl as Brooke glanced up at the clock, hoping the others couldn't see her blushing.
Good? Bad? Boring as hell? Reviews are greatly appreciated and motivate me. Get on that shit!!
