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.

AN: Eeeek! You guys flatter me so much with your sweet words of encouragement; this story would not have survived the dreaded 'delete' button had you guys not been so supportive, so thank you! You all mean the world to me!

I want to give a special thanks to Lelina, Brucas4Evah, and koumi11. You guys have continuously given me great reviews and even greater advice. Thanks so much!

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Chapter 8: I'd Lie

The entire house laid silent, save for the master bedroom at the end of the hall; contagious giggles and loud pleas poured from the room like bees from a hive, and, as Lucas Scott walked through the corridor toward the inhabited room, he found himself reluctant to break the pleasing and altogether sweet atmosphere. He slowed his steps, listening to mother and daughter, a mere six and a half year difference in age, giggle as they shared stories about boys they'd had crushes on and, in Brooke's case, dated. He placed his hand against the doorframe, eavesdropping intently as Brooke described the end of their junior year, when she'd dated Felix, and he had realized that she was the girl for him. Lucas's smile grew and he closed his eyes as Brooke described the way that she'd still been in love with him then and had been hiding her true feelings in order to protect her heart.

Lucas quietly placed his forehead against the door, and Brooke continued the story, going into deep detail about her and Lucas and their roller coaster of a relationship senior year. Her voice became raspier in certain sections, like when she described their fight in the rain, and Lucas could visualize that night perfectly; that night Brooke had truly become his for the first time.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Brooke ran, tears clouding her vision, as the rain fell heavily upon her; she could hear Lucas only a few feet behind her, but she didn't stop; her heart was already too bruised for that.

"Stop!" He screamed as he ran behind her, "This is ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous?!" She stopped running and turned toward him, anger and pain in her eyes, "I found that letter in your sad 'box of Peyton,' whatever, in your closet! 'Dear Peyton, blah, blah, blah. You're mine forever. Love Lucas!'" She started walking again, more slowly this time, all her pent up issues concerning Lucas and Peyton's fling the year before coming to the forefront.

Lucas continued following her, determined to make her realize just how absurd she sounded, "I don't even remember writing that!" He yelled over the sound of the rain hitting the pavement.

"Well, you did! Looks like forever just got a lot shorter!"

Lucas reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her around to look at him, "Brooke, I am sorry! It was a mistake…"

"Which time? When you wrote it to me or Peyton?!"

"You know, you were the one who was snooping through my closet," he said indignantly.

"So not the point!"

"Look," he grabbed her arms tightly, "I know you've been vulnerable about what you wrote to me in your letters…"

Brooke glared at him, frustrated that he, as always, was unable to understand why this upset her so much, "That is not why I'm upset right now! And FYI, I am not your recycling bin!" She turned and marched off again, more pissed than before.

Lucas glared at her back, "No, you're psychotic!"

After a few minutes of being ignored by Brooke, Lucas decided to concede, knowing that she would more than likely get him back for his idiocy later, "Brooke, I'm sorry I said that. You're not psychotic. I mean, a little disturbed, maybe."

Brooke stopped walking, spun around and glared at him again, "You think this is funny?!"

"Know what I think? I think you're trying to sabotage us. Find any reason you can to end it, so that you don't have to worry about getting hurt again."

Brooke conceded slightly, lowering her head, "But the same words, Lucas? The exact same words?!"

Lucas shook his head, frustrated, "I never sent that letter to Peyton."

"And I never sent my letters to you either, but they still meant something!" She paused, hurt in her voice, "Just tell me why, why me this time? Why not Peyton?"

Lucas shook his head slightly, "I can't say anything bad about Peyton. She's my friend, and she's your best friend!"

Brooke looked at him sadly, "That's okay; you can say bad things about her."

He shook his head again, this time with amusement in his eyes, "Oh, Brooke." The amusement disappeared, "The truth is, I care about Peyton."

The rasp in her voice deepened, and her voice cracked from the tears, "Then what is the difference?"

Lucas looked at her, the frustration in his eyes melting to love, "The difference…the difference is I love you, Brooke." The anger in her eyes begins to fade, "I wanna be with you, not Peyton."

Her voice sounded broken, almost like a child, "But why? I need to know why."

Lucas smiled slightly, "Because you…kink your eyebrow when you're trying to be cute; because you quote Camus, even though I've never actually seen you read!" She smiled slightly, "And because…you miss your parents, but you'll never ever admit that," he laughs slightly, "And because…I've given exactly two of these embarrassing speeches in my entire life…and they've both been with you…I mean that's…gotta mean something, right?"

She didn't answer him, but her eyes were softer and filled with love. Lucas smiles, "And because we're both gonna get pneumonia, but if you need to hear why I love you…I can go on all night."

Brooke smiled, "You did pretty good."

She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him as the rain continued to fall around them, and for that one moment, they each felt as if their love was unbreakable.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Lucas sighed silently, listening to the girl formerly known as his 'pretty girl' tell more stories about their previous relationship.

Brooke smiled sadly at Sam, "I just always felt like I loved him more than he could ever love me, and don't get me wrong, things have worked out for the best, but it still makes me sad." Sam nodded and laid her head on the older woman's shoulder. "I always believed that I would be Mrs. Lucas Scott…Davis."

Both girls giggled when she added her own last name to the mix, "But I do love Julian, and maybe someday I'll be Mrs. Julian Baker Davis, but I'm not ready."

"Do you still love him?" Sam asked softly.

"Lucas?" The teenager nodded, "I…"

Lucas leaned closer to the door, trying to hear her answer, but somehow managed to trip over his own feet, slamming his shoulder against the doorframe and knocking him to the ground loudly. Both girls glanced up as quickly as something hit the other side of the door, and Lucas immediately stood up from where he had fallen and opened the door, knowing he'd been caught.

"Luke!" Brooke stood up, anger and a bit of fear in her eyes, "What are you doing here? Were you eavesdropping?!"

Lucas shook his head without delay, a look of pure innocence on his face, "Of course not." Brooke didn't look convinced, and Sam looked downright pissed. "Actually, Brooke…I was wondering if we could talk about something?" He glanced over at Sam pointedly, "Privately."

The two girls looked at each other from the corner of their eyes and the older girl nodded, ushering Sam from the room with a simple gesture.

Brooke smiled at Lucas, though it seemed forced and lacked her usually prominent dimples, sitting back down on her bed, grateful that she'd decided to where pajama pants and a tee-shirt to bed instead of the lingerie she often wore when Julian stayed over. "What is it, Luke?"

Luke sighed and ran his fingers over the back of his head, "What's going on with you and Peyton?" Brooke growled beneath her breath, her conversation from that morning having been forgotten up until this point. Lucas rolled his eyes, expecting that response, "She's been in a really bad mood since I got home this afternoon, and she won't even talk to me."

Brooke raised her eyebrow, clearly not interested in his problems, "And you just assumed that I had something to do with your 'precious Peyton' being all bitchy?"

"Of course not! I didn't say that…and I didn't call her bitchy…" Brooke laughed at that and rolled her eyes, "It's just…she wouldn't tell me anything; she just kept mumbling something about people minding their own business and then I heard her say your name. But there was something in her eyes, Brooke, pain and guilt and anger of course, so what happened?"

Brooke shook her head and glanced away from him.

"We're friends, Cheery...You can tell me anything."

She scoffed, "No, we're not friends, Luke. You and I have never been friends, and, just for the record, you don't get to call me 'Cheery' anymore."

He looked hurt, "What do you mean, we're not friends?"

Brooke pulled a hair tie from on top of her dresser and threw her hair into a messy bun, "When's the last time we had an actual conversation, Luke? One that didn't revolve around you and Peyton? And when's the last time you called or came over just to say 'hey?'" She grew frustrated and stood up, her anger from the past few months spilling over, "And where were you when my entire world fell apart? You knew how important Angie was to me, but the second she was gone, you jumped on a plan with Peyton…so, no, Luke, we are not friends…"

He frowned, trying to think of a way to refute her, but coming up short. Brooke felt angry tears fill her eyes and she sighed, for a writer, Lucas Scott sure was bad at getting himself out of sticky situations.

"You know what, Luke, it's fine…Don't worry about it; I've accepted that when you're with Peyton we can't be friends…" She glanced down, a small frown on her face, "That's the way it should be…she should be your everything; don't worry about me..."

His face held a similar expression, "I haven't accepted that, Brooke. You are one of the most important people in my life…I don't want to lose you."

"You already lost me Luke…the second you made the call…" After a few minutes of awkward silence, Brooke finally relented, "You were right though…It is my fault that Peyt's in a bad mood…"

Luke nodded, glad for a distraction from her harsh words, "Care to explain?"

She shrugged, "There's not really much to it. I told her that Julian proposed to me and I asked her opinion. She said something about not rushing marriage…and I pointed out the contradiction between her words and her actions, she yelled, I got pissed, she hung up, and here we are. I think that about covers everything."

She noticed the far away expression in his eyes, "Luke?"

He glanced up slowly, "Are you…Are you engaged?"

She hesitated, not really wanting to share this bit of news with her ex-boyfriend, "No actually I'm...I said no."

Relief clouded his eyes, "Good…"

"What?"

"I just meant good as in…you're not rushing things." She glared at him as he turned to walk away, his voice completely monotone, "I'm just gonna…show myself out."

TBC…

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AN: If you see any mistakes please pm and I will fix them. Thanks guys! PLEASE REVIEW!