Thank you guys so much for your reviews! Here's the next chapter! I hope this shows you a little bit of the direction I am trying to go in and I hope you enjoy it.
Oh, and about all the history in the last chapter. I don't know about you guys, but I like to read the history of the relationship from the authors point of view because I think that its important to see the point of view the characters have in that particular story. Also, its important to see what they were feeling in order to make them the character that the author has turned them into. And as I ramble, I hope that this is making sense to you guys! Anyways, on to the chapter...
-Emery
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3 years later
"Lucas." Brooke whined. "I don't want to watch basketball."
"Brooke this is my apartment. It's the middle of the game. And you literally just walked in the door." Lucas responded, not so much as glancing in her direction.
Brooke slammed the door. "Fine." She walked past the back of the couch where Lucas was seated, gave him a smack on the head, and then made a show of collapsing on the couch.
After about 6 minutes and 8 very loud sighs later, Lucas finally looked over at Brooke. She was seated on the other end of the couch, arms crossed in front of her, and her perfected pout firm on her lips.
Lucas rolled his eyes and tossed the remote control over to her on his way to the refrigerator. "There you go, Princess."
She clapped her hands together. "Really?" She shrieked loudly.
"Really. It's half time and I'll catch the rest on ESPN later." Lucas rolled his eyes again, throwing her a can of Diet Soda from the fridge. "Anything for Brooke Davis, right?"
"Glad you have finally surrendered to the masterpiece that is Brooke Davis." She told him while flipping over to the latest season of The Real World.
"You know, if you keep rolling your eyes at me like that, Luke, they might get stuck up there." She didn't even need to turn around to know what he was doing behind her back.
"What are you doing here anyways? Don't you have something productive to do instead of coming here to bother me in the afternoon? Like, oh, I don't know, work, maybe?" Lucas asked dropping down on the spot next to her.
"Oh, yeah, I bother you so much. Is that why you keep Diet Soda in your fridge for me? Because I bother you and you just hate when I come over?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
He glared at her.
"That's what I thought. And I'll have you know that I worked all day. I got there at 6 this morning, finished 3 dresses and sketched out 4. And they all look pretty damn good, if I do say so myself." Brooke told him. She had that glint in her eyes. The one she always got when she talked about her work.
Lucas smiled in response.
"Besides, you should talk. Aren't you supposed to be in class right now? Or the library? Or possibly tutoring someone, tutor-boy? I thought that was all you did these days besides watch basketball and entertain me." She smirked over at him before turning her attention back to the TV.
Brooke was in rare form, more sarcastic and playful than usual. It reminded Lucas of the first time they dated in high school, when neither of them had a care in the world. Lucas was afraid that after he cheated on her when they dated the first time that he had taken away that carefree, playful attitude and traded it for a more guarded pessimism. But in the last few years, the old Brooke was coming back more and more frequently.
They hadn't known that they would both end up in Boston. In fact, after High School they didn't know how their relationship would turn out. Of course, they wanted to be friends but was that really possible? They had been through so much together and had so much feeling for one another that Brooke and Lucas wondered if they would be able to put that aside and actually be friends.
Somehow, they managed. And they worked really hard at it. They had to work through their many obstacles: the awkwardness, the tension, what people said about them, and, of course, Peyton. Naturally, Peyton was too thrilled with Lucas hanging out with the girl he used to proclaim he was the guy for. However, Brooke's friendship was important enough for him to fight with Peyton over. And eventually, Brooke and Lucas were very good friends.
The summer after they graduated and before Lucas went off to college was when Brooke and Lucas solidified their friendship. Lucas was heading off to Boston University and Brooke was staying in Tree Hill for awhile to start her fashion line. They made it a point to hang out at least three times a week no matter what was going on. By the end, it was Brooke, not Peyton, who helped Lucas pack his entire life into boxes. It was Brooke who was there for him when he started having his panic attacks about leaving his Mom. And it was Brooke who he made promise that she would come by everyday and check on his Mom and newborn sister, Lily.
Despite their closeness, Brooke didn't want to step on any toes where Peyton was concerned. She encouraged Lucas to let Peyton in and let her help him deal with some of the things he was going through. So, it was no surprise that Brooke wasn't there the morning Lucas drove off to Boston. She truly wanted to be there for Lucas as he was leaving, but she just didn't feel that that would be fair to Peyton. And even if she and Peyton weren't on very good terms and Peyton had never shown Brooke that same respect, it was important to Brooke.
Their goodbye had been a tearful one. It started out with "family dinner", a tradition that had been started when Brooke lived there before they had dated the second time, and had been reinstated by Karen after the two had started becoming friends again. After that, Lucas and Brooke had walked to the River Court to say goodbye. The tears had already begun for Brooke before they even reached their destination. Lucas had never been one for crying, but Brooke could have sworn she saw one glisten when she was hugging him goodbye.
They promised to talk at least twice a week for updates. Twice a week quickly turned into multiple times a day through emails, text messaging, and phone calls. A year later, Lucas got the phone call that Brooke was coming out to visit him. After she got there, she then surprised him with the news that she wasn't leaving. Some celebrity had come across Brooke's line, wore some of Brooke's "Hoe's over Bro's" clothing to some events and BAM, Brooke had made it in the world of fashion. What better place to start than Boston?
Now, Brooke was a fairly accomplished fashion designer, frequently dressing the stars for various events and she lived in the (much nicer) building across the street from Lucas'. Lucas still went to Boston University and had just one more year until he graduated with his degree in English. He had already begun writing what he hoped to be his first of many novels. And Brooke and Lucas were closer than ever.
"I skipped class today." Lucas responded to Brooke's question.
"What was that? I don't think I heard you correctly. From here, it sounded like you said that you skipped class. But that's just ridiculous, you never skip class." Brooke feigned shock.
"Yeah, yeah. I guess you are rubbing off on me. And I've already read this book about 8 times, so I didn't really need to be in the lecture today. Besides, I had some studying to do." Lucas told her, his eyes glued on the TV.
'Damn her and all her stupid reality shows that suck you in.' Lucas thought.
"You skipped class to study? That's so lame. Most people skip class to do fun stuff. You know, shop, go on a boat ride, attend a concert, go skydiving, take a trip, hang out with me…" Brooke listed.
Lucas tilted his head back and gave a small chuckle, causing Brooke to smile.
"You're right. What was I thinking, studying when I could have been hanging out with you."
Brooke smiled in satisfaction. "Well, now that that's settled, what are you doing for dinner, boy? I thought I would make us something here?" Brooke asked.
"You are going to try to cook again? Can't we just order pizza or walk somewhere?" Lucas whined while Brooke went to search his cupboards for something she could make them.
While she was up the doorbell rang and since she was already up, Brooke went to go answer the door.
"Hey, I know how to cook!" Brooke retorted to Lucas while opening the door. She made a face at him before moving her own eyes to the person who stood at the door.
"Peyton." Brooke said, clearly shocked that the other woman was there.
"Brooke." Peyton said curtly.
Lucas heard the exchange and jogged towards the door. Brooke looked at his face, wondering if he knew she was coming or if he was just as surprised as she was. He glanced at her, taking in her fearful, wide eyes. She knew it wasn't the best thing for her to be there when Peyton arrived. She wasn't stupid.
"Peyton! What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming for another week?" Lucas asked her.
"Well, it's nice to see you too, Lucas." Peyton said, her face becoming a bit angry.
"No, no. It's great to see you, babe." He told her and then gave her a kiss on the lips for reassurance. "I was just surprised, that's all. But I'm glad. Really." Lucas told her, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.
Peyton grinned in response and walked past Brooke, without acknowledging her, leaving her suitcase for Lucas to bring in. He quickly took it following Peyton inside.
Brooke quickly grabbed her purse that lie near the entrance and opened the front door. She just wanted a quick getaway with the least amount of drama.
She was about to walk out of the apartment when Lucas yelled her name. Brooke turned around and he offered a small apologetic smile while she gave him a sympathetic one. "Rain check on dinner?" He asked.
Brooke grinned. "Of course. I'll cook." She gave him a wink and shut the door behind her.
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Hope you liked it! Reviews are greatly appreciated :)
