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: So, I've had lots of Brucas and Brulian fans BEGGING for their ship to be together, and I've had surprisingly a lot of Bake and Bris shippers, so I started thinking, and maybe I've been a LITTLE hasty in saying that there are only two possible ships for Brooke. I've decided to just keep going to way I'm going and she'll end up with whoever she's meant to be with – any ships are possible at this point.

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Chapter 15: Only Hope

Brooke frowned as she listened to her godson's angelic voice on her answering machine asking her to meet him at the River Court, since her last talk with Lucas she'd been avoiding it; she chuckled softly as she hit the delete button and picked up her keys.

"Chris, Sam?" she called loudly, knowing that the two were probably either discussing some obscure band or Sam was beating him at poker, something the young girl seemed fond of doing. She smiled to herself as she realized that just one week ago she was a mess, crying and moping around the house, and somehow the musician and her teenage daughter had managed to completely break her of her whining. She walked by Sam's room and grinned; the two were playing Connect Four, and Sam was, as always, kicking Chris's butt.

She popped her head in the door, her dimples popping, "Hey, guys, I'm gonna head out for a bit. Behave!"

Chris saluted, somehow managing to hit himself in the head, while Sam just grinned and gave a little wave. The petite brunette grinned at the sight and headed up the stairs to tell Jake that she was leaving, but she knew it'd be weird – everything had been weird between the two since she and Julian had last talked, or rather, since he'd told her to leave.

"Jake, you here?" she asked softly as she entered the room he was currently sharing with Chris. She frowned, her hazel eyes taking in the sight of his bags, now packed and lying on the bed. She heard a sigh behind her and shook her head, "You're leaving?" She turned and faced him, "Were you ever going to tell me?"

The dark haired man sighed and entered the room, one of Jenny's bags in his hands, "Brooke, my parents offered me a place to stay while I try to find a house down here; you were right, Tree Hill will always be home. I love it here, but my staying with you has already caused you enough grief, so I'm gonna stay with them for a while."

"But why? You shouldn't leave just because of…" she hesitated, her heart aching as she thought of him, "because of Julian?"

"Because it's too hard…" he ran his fingers through hair, avoiding her gaze, "When I came back it felt right; you were my best friend, you are my best friend, but you're so much more than that."

Brooke frowned and took a step toward him, having never seen this side of him before, "I don't understand."

He reached his hand out and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, "I can't stay here and see you every day, not when I'm this conflicted."

"Jake…"

He leaned forward and placed his lips against hers softly. "I could wait forever for you, Brooke Davis. But we're just friends, right?" he whispered against her lips.

Brooke's eyes widened and her hand fell to her lips as Jake picked up his bags and walked out of the room. She licked her lips and sat on the bed, barely hearing the sound of the front door opening and shutting. The house seemed eerily quiet then, and the hazel-eyed brunette suddenly felt a jab in her heart as she remembered that she already had a man in her life, the man she hoped was the one for her. And even if he was trying his hardest to push her away, she knew he loved her, and they would fix this; they had to. She sighed as she stood and headed for the door; she had a date with a beautiful little blond boy, and she intended to keep it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Lucas's eyes widened as he glanced around the River Court; he, too, had gotten a call from Jamie to meet him. The entire court had been painted red, and hundreds of pictures lay taped across the court and on the benches.

"Oh my god…what the hell is all this?" he heard her raspy voice say loudly behind him. Her face was a mixture of shock and awe, and her eyes shined greener than usual.

He turned, his gaze trapping her, "My guess - Jamie. Did you get a cryptic message from him asking you to meet him here?"

Brooke nodded and knelt to the ground, pulling one of the pictures from the cement. Her gaze softened and she lifted the picture into Lucas's line of sight. She handed it to him and he smiled softly as he gazed at the image of Brooke, Angie, and himself.

"What's that?" Brooke asked, pointing to a piece of paper hanging from the pole of the basket. They headed toward it, Lucas placing the picture she'd handed him in his pocket.

Lucas picked up the sheet of paper, a grim smile on his face as he read aloud, "'So, I know you're both going to be very angry when you see this, but I made a promise to my son, and I had to keep it.'" Brooke frowned and she read silently over Lucas's shoulder. "'Jamie seemed convinced that you two belong together, so as his father I had no choice but to help him. At least talk to each other. You both know you deserve the closure.'" Both of them stared sadly down at the piece of paper, remembering Brooke's last words to Lucas about not being friends. "'And Brooke, remember, 'it's not easy getting back in the ring with the one that knocked you out in the first place.' – Nate.'"

Brooke stepped as far away from Luke as she could, remembering the day Nate uttered those fateful words the first time, helping her make her decision to get back with the brooding blond during their senior year of high school, "I should get going…Sam's waiting for me…"

"Brooke, wait!" She glanced back at him. "He's right, you know…we need to talk. I don't want to lose my friend…" She hesitated, then nodded slowly. Lucas frowned, glancing back down at the piece of paper, "What did that last line mean? About getting knocked out?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Nathan frowned, suddenly wondering if it was such a good idea to interfere with the Brooke/Peyton/Lucas love triangle of doom; he'd promised Haley that he wouldn't interfere, but when Jamie had asked for his help, he'd been unable to say no. He glanced over at a picture of Peyton and Brooke holding Jamie, and he suddenly felt like slapping himself in the head, "She's pregnant, you idiot! I am so stupid…"

He sighed and headed toward the bedroom, suddenly changing his mind about wanting to get the bubbly brunette and the brooding blond back together, and he hoped idly that both Brooke and Lucas got car trouble and ended up not going to the River Court.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Brooke frowned, replaying Nathan's words over and over in her head, and didn't answer him. She slowly walked along the court, her head filling with hundreds of memories as she glanced at all the pictures of herself and Lucas. She spotted a few from the Nathan and Haley's second wedding and she smiled sadly, "Do you remember that night?" She pointed down at the picture of them dancing, her, as always, dressed in red, not noticing the sad smile on Luke's face as he looked down at it as well.

"Yeah. It was the last time we really talked about what our relationship meant. The last time we really talked at all…"

She shook her head, "No, you're wrong. That's not what it was." He glanced up at her, confusion in his bright blue eyes. "It was the last time our relationship had any meaning. It was the last time I truly felt like you loved me…God, how long ago that was. It's so strange to think that we once thought we were in love…"

Lucas reached out and laid his hand on her shoulder, "Brooke…I did love you. It wasn't something I just thought – it was real."

She rolled her eyes with a slight smile, "It doesn't matter, Broody." They both frowned at the use of the old nickname, thinking back on how angry she'd gotten at him the week before when he'd called her 'Cheery,' "Sorry…Lucas. I only brought it up because we look almost happy there." She smiled wistfully.

He frowned in confusion and looked into her eyes, "We were happy."

"I wasn't."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Were you in love with her?"

Jake glanced up from the picture of himself and Brooke that he was currently looking at to see Peyton standing directly in front of his mother's kitchen table. He nodded slightly, his gaze dropping at her hurt expression, "I think so…Someday took too long, Peyton."

"So, you just fell into Brooke's arms?" She raised her eyebrow, "Or maybe it was her bed?"

He dropped the picture he was looking at, "That's not fair! To me or to Brooke."

She nodded, feeling guilty, "You're right; it's not fair…But you never called me, not once in the last 5 years!" He glanced down, his eyes filled with guilt as well, "But you called her? You spent time with her and checked in on her, and she got to watch Jenny grow up…but you completely cut me out!"

"I sent you home so you could be with the guy you loved, Peyton! You could have picked up the phone too, you know!" He stood up, angrier at her selfishness than he had been in a long time, "Grow up."

Peyton glared at him, her head screaming at her to just walk away and never come back, while her heart was begging her to just give in to him and go back to the way things had been years before, when she'd asked him to marry her when she'd visited him in Savannah. Suddenly, as she looked into his eyes she couldn't help but remember the way his lips had once felt on hers, the way his body had melded with hers perfectly, "Jake..."

He shook his head and took a step back, "I've moved on…And you're engaged to Lucas..."

She looked down in guilt and shame, wringing her hands in front of her. She shook her head slightly, "I don't care…"

And unexpectedly her lips were on his, moving in frenzy. Jake fell into her for a moment, unable to stop the lust that threatened to overpower him, but seconds later he pulled away, angry at her for making him feel the way he did, "You're engaged! We can't do this…We won't."

Peyton's eyes filled with tears and she stepped away, "Oh god…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…I have to go."

She ran for the door then, her sobs causing her entire body to shake, "Peyton, wait!" he called after her, but she didn't look back, and he didn't follow her – that wasn't his place anymore.

His eyes filled with tears and he sat back down, his gaze falling between two pictures: one of him and Brooke in New York outside of some pub they'd visited and the other of him and Peyton in Savannah playing with Jenny.

"What are you doing to me?" he whispered.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Brooke?"

"It doesn't matter, Luke. Just drop it; I shouldn't have brought it up."

Lucas squinted, deciding to try and get answers about something else he'd always wondered about, "Why'd you say no to Julian?"

She glanced up, shocked that he would even bring it up, "Excuse me?"

"That answer you gave Peyton was a lie, and we both know it. It's not because you aren't ready. You can't lie to me…I know you too well, Pretty Girl."

Both of them stopped, Brooke's breath caught in her throat, "What did you just call me?"

"Sorry," he dropped his head, "…Come on, Brooke. Why'd you say no?" She shook her head and sat down on one of the picnic tables, glancing down at the pictures. "I know you're mad at me, but we are friends, Brooke, no matter what you may feel or believe right now. You can always tell me anything…"

She shook her head again, "No, Luke, we're not friends. We were never friends…" She looked up into his eyes, her gaze serious, "Never…" She sighed, looking at the ground again, "And I'm not mad at you."

"That's what you always say; you claim you aren't angry, but you still have to punish me for whatever I did wrong, and I'm not even sure what I did this time…"

She furrowed her brow, "What are you talking about? When have I ever said I wasn't angry and then 'punished' you?"

He sat next to her, "That night at Haley and Nathan's second wedding, you claimed you weren't mad at me, but you just gave up on us a few days later; you pushed me away."

"I pushed you away?! Are you kidding me?! You're pathetic, Luke…It's been years and you still don't get it!"

"Get what?"

"I wasn't mad at you! I was hurt that the boy I love still didn't really know me…You never knew me."

Luke looked up, angry, "I knew you…you were my everything, but you left me when I needed you most." Suddenly he looked up, his gaze confused, "Wait…you said love, not loved."

Her eyes filled with tears and she stood up, "No, I didn't! And you know what, we are not having this conversation! You're marrying my best friend soon, and she's having your child…It was high school, Luke. Grow up."

Suddenly his lips were on hers, her tears sliding down his cheeks, and she quickly pushed him away, "Stop doing this to me…" she took a step away, her hand covering her mouth as if she would be sick, "This isn't okay. We're adults now…This isn't like that night in New York. Go home…Go home to your fiancé!"

"Brooke…I'm…"

"Don't, Luke. Let's just forget this happened. It's over."

He glanced into her eyes, blue smoldering into green, "No, Brooke, it will never be over…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Peyton glanced up, quickly wiping away her tears, as Lucas entered the door, and he looked about as bad as she felt. Guilt coursed through her for kissing Jake and yet she couldn't bring herself to regret it.

Little did the pretty blond know that her fiancé was having very similar thoughts – his about her best friend.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Brooke stepped through her door, the tears staining her cheeks with mascara, "I hate men. I think I might become a lesbian," she whispered softly, her eyes meeting Chris's from across the room.

He chuckled softly at her mention of being a lesbian. "What happened, Brooke?"

"Lucas Scott happened."

His arms wrapped around her, and, for the second time that week, he simply held her as she cried her heart out.

TBC…