Disclaimer: I do not, as much as I wish I did, own OTH or any of the songs in this story. All I own is the plot of the story, and I barely own that.

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Chapter 3: Leaving Town Alive

Brooke sat there, days later, in Haley's kitchen drinking her coffee and avoiding the subject of her semi-breakup with Julian. The truth was, every time she thought of that night, the way his eyes had looked so betrayed and broken, she found it nearly impossible to keep herself calm.

"So," Haley began softly, "are you going to tell me what happened on your date the other night that's got you all depressed?" Brooke shook her head at Haley, tears entering her eyes again, "Aww, Honey," Haley whispered, getting up and wrapping her arms tightly around Brooke. "Did you two have a fight or something?"

Brooke pulled back from the hug, wiping the tears from her eyes and looked at Haley hesitantly. Brooke's gaze dropped to the floor and she sighed quietly, "He um…he sort of asked me to marry him."

Haley's eyes widened, though it was clear to Brooke that she was attempting to be supportive. "Sort of?"

Brooke shrugged, trying to seem unaffected by the whole thing, "Or you know…not sort of."

Haley looked over at Brooke with a mixture of disbelief and excitement, and just the slightest bit of guilt on her face. "Oh my god, Brooke! Well, what did you say?"

Brooke looked back at Haley in a way that could only be described as one of regret and sadness, "I turned him down, Hales…I just…I don't know if he's the one. I could easily have fallen for him, I know that now, but my heart belongs to…my heart just doesn't belong to him yet, you know? And, on top of that, his life is in LA, mine's here."

Haley nodded for a second but then seemed to realize what Brooke said, "Wait, you said, 'my heart belongs to…' Who does your heart belong to, Brooke?"

Brooke face filled with shock for a second, but she hastily laughed it off and rolled her eyes, "You must have misheard me. I just said that my heart doesn't belong to him…You know what's really strange though?" she asked, attempting to change the subject slightly. "When he got down on one knee, my mind immediately went to my first date with Chris."

Haley laughed at that, having been filled in when Brooke first moved back home about her strange history with the infamous rock star, "Ahh, so The Keller owns your heart, huh? Haha. I never thought you would stoop so low, Tigger."

Brooke playfully glared at Haley, picked up the thing closest to her, which just happened to be a spoon, and tossed it at her, "That is so not funny, Haley James Scott!" Both girls laughed and leaned back in their chairs. "I only brought it up because it was just a really strange time to think of it, you know? I mean there Julian was, down on one knee, asking me to be his wife," Brooke sighed as the word 'wife' left her lips, "and my mind switches to Keller giving me that silly plastic ring."

"You know, maybe the reason you thought of Chris in that moment was because of how close the two of you used to be. I mean, he really took care of you when you needed it, and the fact that the two of you never really got serious when you dated doesn't change that; he loved you. Plus, you were probably so panicked that your mind tried to replace that scary, serious moment with something childlike and innocent; something that reminded you of youth and silly friendships." Brooke nodded slightly as if to say 'maybe.' "I hate to ask, especially since you're still so down about the whole thing, but what are you gonna do?"

Brooke looked at Haley helplessly and sighed again, "Shoot myself?"

"Brooke!" Haley tossed the spoon back at her, her face playful and serious all at the same time.

"Kidding, kidding," Brooke smiled to herself despite the situation, "And thanks, by the way."

Haley frowned and looked at Brooke like she was crazy, "For?"

"For being my best friend. It's hard, trying to talk to Peyton about this stuff. I just keep thinking about how she and Julian were 'in love' and it makes me feel all sick and jealous, and then I start thinking about how I used to be in love with her fiancé, so…" Brooke paused with a roll of her eyes, "I suppose we're even."

Haley smiled, "You know you can come to me with anything. I love you, Tigger."

"I love you too, Tutormom." Brooke smiled at Haley then began looking around the room for something to distract herself with. On the wall directly behind Haley was a picture of Nathan and Haley the night of their wedding reception; thinking about that night was still able to make Brooke both happy and sad, "So, how's the hubby?"

Haley smiled and pointed behind Brooke, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Brooke grinned and jumped up from her chair, running over to where Nathan was standing. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek, "Well, hello Hubby Scott. How are you?"

Nathan laughed and hugged her back, "To be honest, my life is beyond good at the moment; I have my basketball career again, a great son, and the most beautiful wife anyone could ask for."

Brooke sat back down next to Haley, "Aww. Aren't you just Mr. Perfect?"

"So are you gonna tell me why you look all gloomy today, Davis, or do I have to guess?" he asked her as he sat down.

Brooke opened her mouth to answer but couldn't find the words to describe just how messed up her life had gotten in just a few short days, so Haley took the liberty to do just that with a few simple words, "Julian proposed to her the other night."

Nate's jaw dropped and his eyes grew large and bulbous, and Brooke figured that if she wasn't so freaked about the whole situation, she probably would have laughed at his fish impersonation, but she instead opted to look down, feeling oddly ashamed of the whole thing. Both Haley and Brooke were so enthralled by Nate's reaction to the big news that neither of them even heard the little boy approach until he spoke.

"Aunt Brooke, if that man proposed to you, does that mean you're getting married like Uncle Lucas and Aunt Peyton?"

Brooke and Haley looked down at Jamie, not knowing how to explain the situation to the intelligent child, while Nathan, who had missed the entire first half of the conversation, looked just as curious and confused as Jamie, "Um…well…No, honey, I don't think I am, at least not right now," Brooke said softly, "I uh…I said no."

Jamie frowned slightly, his head tilted to the side. Brooke smiled at him lovingly and reached down and pulled him into her arms, setting him on her lap. Jamie hugged her tightly and whispered barely loud enough for all three adults to hear, "I wish Aunt Peyton had said no."

Haley choked on her coffee and looked down at him in shock, "Why would you say something like that, JimmiJam? Don't you want your Uncle Lucas to be happy?"

"Well, I think Aunt Brooke and Uncle Lucas should get married; they make each other happy, and they're my godparents." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "And Aunt Peyton is nice, but she's not as cool as Aunt Brooke. She plays lame games and is boring. When she babysat Andre and me, she treated us like we were babies; Aunt Brooke talks to me like I'm a person." Haley looked at her son in complete shock, while Nathan was trying his hardest not to laugh. Brooke, on the other hand, looked almost touched by Jamie's insightfully sweet words. "I mean, Uncle Lucas has already seen what's under all the clothes, so you don't have to worry about that, Aunt Brooke, not like you did with Owen."

At that, Nathan was no longer able to hold in his laughter, and Brooke's face lit up a bright shade of red. Haley shook her head at her husband, smacking his arm lightly, and gave him a look that clearly meant 'shut up or die', "Jamie, honey, why don't you run upstairs and get dressed. I'll make you some cereal."

Jamie nodded and ran up the stares, leaving the three best friends to sit in awkward silence. Nathan smiled at Brooke innocently, "You know, if you didn't 'talk to him like a person' he wouldn't have said that."

Brooke pouted and stuck her tongue out at Nathan, "You suck."

Nathan just laughed, "Love you too B. Davis."

Brooke rolled her eyes and started walking toward the door, "Call me later, 'kay? I really need some Naley advice right about now."

Haley and Nathan both nodded, their lips twitching with silent laughter again.

"Well," said Nathan smugly, "You owe me 20 bucks. I told you he was gonna propose."

Haley glared playfully at her husband but handed him the money anyway, "It's not even like you really won anything; I mean, I got the money out of your wallet."

Nathan laughed, leaning to down to kiss his wife, "You know what's funny?" Haley shook her head, confused, "When Brooke made that comment, when I was walking in, about how she used to be in love with Lucas, I almost believed her."

"What? No, no, no. Brooke doesn't still love Lucas; the Bermuda Triangle of Death is over! Brooke made that very clear."

Nathan smirked at his wife and rolled his eyes, "Just because she said it doesn't mean it's true. I mean think about it, Lucas said in his book that he would always be in love with Peyton Sawyer, but he was ready to marry Lindsey."

"But he didn't marry Lindsey," Haley said, shaking her head.

"Because Lindsey walked away. I'm telling you, Hales, Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis are meant to be. I don't think either of them ever truly moved on."

Haley rolled her eyes at her husband, thinking that he had to be clinically insane. Nathan laughed and leaned in for another kiss, neither of them noticing the cute little blonde boy standing behind them, his smile mischievous.

TBC…

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AN: Thanks for the reviews, and before anyone asks, yes, Jamie is going to try to get his godparents together, but I don't know yet if it's going to work. Lol. I'm only like one chapter ahead.

Next chapter, Brooke and Julian talk a few things out.