She Paints Me Blue

Author's Note: Yes, it's been awhile. I'm truly sorry. I really am. You've heard it before.. Read my previous author's note. This is chapter five, I really hope you enjoy it! I've been building ideas for weeks now. Please, please review. It's simple and easy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of One Tree Hill. And sadly, nothing of Friends.

Chapter Five: She Is Everything I Want

"So, like, you guys all have jobs?" Brooke asked as she looked around the room at everyone dumbfounded.

She was used to being spoiled in her life, she assumed that most people had been the same. In fact, until she'd left Jeremy and made her way into the group, she didn't realize people actually had jobs. She never did.

Haley looked around the room at the other three, before turning back to Brooke and nodding her head.

"Well, I should be going," Jake said as he planted a kiss on Peyton's forehead and exited the apartment.

"Me too," Lucas piped in as he realized he was already late, and then was soon followed by Peyton.

"So how are you?" Haley asked Brooke as she sat down across from her at the table.

She knew it was hard for Brooke. Brooke was pulled from a comfortable environment and placed in a completely new one. She had had so many plans for her and her fiancé, and now she just didn't. Even though Haley hadn't seen Brooke for the last three years, their connection was still there. Their friendship was still there.

"I'm good. Actually, I'm great. I'm totally over that sleaze-head and that blond bimbo," Brooke said with a slight hint of bitterness, before managing a smile.

"Good. You don't need them!" Haley exclaimed as she pulled Brooke into a side hug.

Brooke sent Haley a smile before she stood up grabbed her purse. "Wish me luck," she said cheerfully as she put on her shoes.

"What for?" Haley asked as she watched Brooke scramble around to get her things.

"I'm gonna get one of those…" she started as she looked around thinking of what to say, "job things," she finished with a smile before blowing Haley a kiss and heading out of the apartment.

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Lucas watched Brooke as she collected her keys, purse, shoes and lip gloss. She was on her way to work. Lucas had never realized how far Brooke had come, since she'd first moved in with Haley, until he sat back and took a good look. She was independent and successful, and those were two things he really loved about her.

Once again, he was sitting alone thinking about Brooke Davis. She'd done that too him a lot lately. He hated to be thinking about her. They were friends. She was dating someone else.

Nickolas… another person Lucas hated to be thinking about. Lucas had hated him from the start. Nickolas wasn't good enough for Brooke, and Lucas knew that. If only Brooke knew could see it too.

"Have you…" Brooke started to ask as she dropped to the floor and stuck her nose under the loveseat as far as she could. She quickly jumped back up and fixed her hair. "Have you seen my shoes?" she asked him as she looked under the table.

"They're not in my room or my closet!" she exclaimed frantically a she continued to run around looking in places. She knew she was going to be late.

"I think they're by the magazine rack," he replied after finishing a bite of his bagel.

Brooke quickly turned to look by the magazine rack. "No, those aren't them," she said sadly before stepping into the bathroom and looking around.

"The ones behind the door?" he asked loudly as he stared down at the bagel in front of him. This was actually something normal for him. Brooke had so many pairs of shoes, it usually took her twenty minutes to find the desired pair.

"No, the strappy ones!" she called back and came out from the bathroom.

"Oh, the grey ones?" he asked as he pointed to an area by the television. She looked over to them, and shook her head once more. She dropped onto a barstool next to Lucas and gave a sigh.

"The black ones," she stated. He was pretty sure she had a few pairs of strappy, black shoes, but Brooke Davis was very picky about her shoes.

Once, Brooke had made him watch Sex and the City with her. The whole time while he watched a blonde girl go on and on about her shoe closet, his thoughts were that Carrie Bradshaw had nothing on Brooke Davis.

"Try by my bathroom in the hallway," he stated, turning to her and giving her a shrug. She stood up and dragged herself to the other hallway where his bathroom was, and saw the shoes laying on the floor.

"Ah hah!" she yelled as she swiftly picked the up and hurried to put them on.

"Wait, why were my shoes by your bathroom?" she asked him as she put them onto her feet.

"Remember last Tuesday? You thought that there was something wrong with your sink and you had to use mine?" he asked her, trying to spark recognition. It amazed him how easily things slipped Brooke's mind.

"Oh yeah. By the way, did you check that out? I swear there was something wrong with the water levels," she told him as she lifted her cashmere sweater and put it on.

"Yeah, it was fine," he said, containing a slight bit of laughter. Worrying was another cute thing on Brooke.

"Hmm, I could've sworn there was something," Brooke said. She gave a quick shrug and grabbed her purse. "Well, I better get going. Oh, I'm going out with Nickolas after work, so I'll be home late," Brooke said as she gave Lucas a smile. She sent him a quick wave before heading out of the apartment.

Lucas gave a sigh as he collected his briefcase… deciding he would work in the office today.

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"Brooke, it's Lucas. Something's happened in the apartment. You might want to get over here."

Lucas sighed as he nodded along to whatever the man in front of him was telling him. He was starting to get a little confused, and usually Lucas knew a lot about maintenance. "Uh huh. I see," Lucas said as he faked understanding and nodded his head along.

It sounded pretty simple. Something had clogged in the pipes and then built up inside. This caused the water to drain a lot slower, and a small pipe in the sink to eventually burst. That's why Brooke's bathroom floor was filled with water, and why the man in front of Lucas was talking to him.

Workers went up to the apartment and were fixing the sink, that had left a trail of dirty water halfway into the hallway and living room. The floors had been soaked as the water continued to overfill and file out, before the pipe had eventually burst.

"They are repairing what they can now. As for the water leakage, they're working on containing it now. Don't use anything in that bathroom for the time being," the man continued.

"Luke!"

Lucas spun around to see Brooke rushing towards him, a very confused look, to say the least, plastered on her face. He bit his lip slowly as he pointed his index finger towards the apartment. She followed his vision, and then eventually saw the guys walking around in her bathroom.

"What happened? You hung up so fast! We ran out of the restaurant in the middle of dinner," she said as she tried to contain the worried look on her face.

"After paying the check of course. I mean, we didn't literally just run out right then. We waited for the cheque and then got in his car and drove. But it was fast! We had to be going over the speed limit," she continued to ramble on before giving a sigh as Lucas just stood in front of her wordless.

"Sorry, I ramble. What happened?" she asked.

"There was a… umm," he started as he turned his focus into the apartment near the bathroom. How should he put this? "There was a slight water leak," he said quietly, completely avoiding her gaze.

Brooke looked at him sternly and stepped forward into the apartment itself. She looked around at all the damage and turned back to Lucas, remaining cool, calm, and collective.

"A slight water leak? One so slight that I can't step into what looks like my flooded bathroom?!" she said, her voice raising with every word. Lucas turned his attention to the small painting on the wall that was now beyond fascinating.

"Lucas!" she yelled, getting his attention back on here.

"Okay, well maybe it was a little more than slight," he suggested as he brought up his arms and folded them across his chest.

"What do you mean 'more than slight'?" she asked, this time in a very demanding tone.

Lucas gave a sigh as he dropped his arms, deciding she might as well hear the bad news. "A pipe in your sink busted when I was running water out of it," he said and decided to quickly continue. Why he was in her bathroom was a totally different story.

"Apparently it's been building up for awhile. Something clogged it and that's why it was draining so slow." he told her, trailing off into a very quiet voice on the last part. Here it came.

"What? So what happened to 'It's fine'? It doesn't look fine," she told him as she made her way closer to the sight. "Good thing you're not a plumber," she told him as she turned back to him.

"Brooke, I'm not a plumber! It looked fine to me! I couldn't actually see down your pipes, you know. Besides, it's your sink," he countered, a smile forming on his face as he once again folded his arms in front of him.

"Yeah, but you, Mr. Big Shot, said you would check it out and that it was fine. Guess not, huh?" she said as she tried to get closer.

"Lucas Scott?" someone asked as they approached Lucas. He gave a nod as he looked towards another guy, one he hadn't spoken to yet. The man lifted his arm into the air, his plastic glove holding a round, pink cap.

He explained that this item was what contributed to the backed up water, before leaving to go back to the sink.

He handed the cap to Brooke, his face asking for the explanation instead of his mouth. Brooke gave a guilty smile as she took it from it.

"I think that's to my hair spray," she muttered.

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Lucas placed his hands on the curve of his shoulder as he lightly massaged the kinks, and then walked around in front of her.

Brooke smiled to him and placed a hand over her chest. "I didn't know it was you, you scared me," she informed him.

"What's going on?" he asked her, as he watched Brooke continue to stare at the guys.

"They're finishing up… I think," she told him as she rested her back against the wall and turned towards him. At least it was a Friday night. Still, she was tired to say the least, and Lucas could tell.

"Brooke, it's late, you should get some sleep," he told her, as he looked down the hallway to her room. "You can have my room, I'll sleep on the couch."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, grabbing his shoulder and lightly pulling him with her. "It's fine. I'll sleep on the couch. Let's watch a movie. That guy should be done soon anyway," she told him as she walked over to the DVD case and picked out a movie for them.

She put the movie in, deciding to leave it a surprise for Lucas, and settled herself onto the couch. She patted the spot next to her, and pulled the blanket on over her. He settled down next to her, and watched as she put on the movie.

"How was your date?" he asked her with sincerity. Although he had concern with the guy she was dating, he still wanted her to be happy and he was making sure that that was happening.

He noticed as Brooke exhaled deeply, maybe a little more than usual, and gave a shrug. "It was okay," she said, in the plainest way possible to end the conversation. She was right, the date was okay, but it wasn't anything special.

The two began watching the movie, which was one that Lucas had never heard of. It was a movie of Brooke's. He wasn't quite sure what it was about, because the two fell asleep towards the middle.

He woke up, early in the morning, as the sun shined through the curtains onto his head. He stirred a slight bit, before noticed the petite body laying on him. Her head was rested on the area between his shoulder and chest, and her body was laid next to his.

He smiled down at her as he watched her chest slowly rise and fall, and watched the small breaths emerge from her parted lips as she peacefully slept. Her hair was strewn out over his shoulder, her face, and the couch. He lightly parted it from her face, and covered the fallen blanket over her body. He wondered if he had ever seen someone look so beautiful.

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