AN: I was a little nervous about this chapter but I hope you guys will like it.

Chapter 4 – Passing afternoon

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life

which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

- e. e. cummings

-BL-

Walking through the streets of the town she grew up in alone was a new experience for her. No one asked her for an autograph, no one greeted her, no one shouted out her name. No one but the cold, inviting early morning wind.

It was like everything was moving in slow motion here, contrasting that fast pace she was used to by now living in a big city.

She slowly opened her eyes, breathing in, the sight in front of her making her feel she was trully home for the first time since she came to Tree Hill. There, in front of her was an empty basketball court, located just by the river, washed in the sun. It wasn't an unusual sight for her, basketball courts were as common as hot dog stands or cold mornings in New York City. There was one just two blocks from her apartment but she never felt the need or desire to visit it.

But now, standing at one, she was filled with an odd sense of calmness and nostalgia as she remembered all the good (and bad) times spent here. It was places like this one that defined her youth, her growing up much more than her own home did. She had spent more time here, at Karen's café, Peyton's house, Tree Hill High, Nate's beach house then she did with her parents at their house.

Sitting down on the bench Brooke closed her eyes, letting the wind prompt the hair from her face, as she closed her eyes listening to the soft murmur of the water. She was grateful she remembered to wear a jacket because even though it was summer time it was cold out here since the bench she was sitting on was placed quite close to the river.

The familiar surroundings gave her comfort in a way few things could and she opened her sketchpad deciding to use the free time before Tric to work on her designs. Being here, breathing the fresh air filled her with an odd sense of piece that no yoga or Pilates class ever would. It reminded her a little of high school when she often skipped class and came here and just sat thinking, enjoying the view and the way sun warmed her skin.

For a moment she even thought she heard the familiar bouncing of the ball against the pavement of the Rivercourt, but she shook her head, thinking she's gone way too far with this trip down the memory lane. She tried to focus back on her drawings when something hit the lowest bench with a thud. Pulling her notes a little further down her lap, she looked past her black ankle boots as a basketball came into her line of sight, bright orange contrasting with the grey of the pavement it was lying on.

"Excuse me, could you just-" she heard someone say as she looked up to see who the person that interrupted her so rudely was and instantly wished she stayed at her motel that morning.

The man standing across the court looked just as shocked as she was at first, his eyes scanning her from head to toes as if he was trying to determine if she was real or just a figment of his imagination but then his lips turned up into a smile. "Wow, I must be seeing things."

"I could say the same thing about you," she couldn't help but grin, putting down her sketchpad on the bench and standing up. Slowly, she walked up to the abandoned ball and picked it up turning to the blond guy with a smile. Lucas didn't move but instead returned the smile that looked a lot like the familiar smirk he sported a long time ago.

She raised an eyebrow, her eyes focused on the basket and then threw the ball that went in smoothly and she graced him with a satisfied smile.

"And here I though basketball was more my thing," he said picking up the ball easily before it hit the pavement.

"No, losing the ball and missing shots was more your thing," she said with a laugh.

"And that's why I coach a basketball team," he retorted, irony in his words intentional.

She shrugged, as wind ruffled her hair "No, that's why your basketball team sucks, Scott."

"How do you know we suck?" he asked, not even a little bit insulted by her statement. All he could think was, why did she even care about some small high school basketball team anyway? And the answer he got made his heart beat just a little bit faster.

"Oh, I have my connections in Tree Hill," she answered jokingly, dimples showing.

"Haley James Scott I presume?" he said, trying to stay serious but failing miserably.

"Maybe," she said, raising an eyebrow, her lips quirking into a smile while in her mind she was still processing the fact that Lucas Scott was standing in front of her.

Somehow, that seemed even less plausible than her and Victoria spending an afternoon shopping at Bloomingdales. His presence made her feel dizzy, made this afternoon feel even more surreal. A day ago they were a lifetime away and now barely a breath away. She held her breath unable to look away from those piercing blue eyes and right then a lifetime seemed just a touch away.

Her hand trembled but she didn't move.

They were really here. Him and her. In his world.

A world she was no longer a part of.

And that made her heart ache in a way it hasn't in forever. For some reason, one she had yet to fathom, it bothered her she wasn't part of it anymore.

"So Haley called you to come to Tree Hill for the wedding/Jamie's birthday?" he asked bouncing the ball a few times as a distraction from that dazzling smile of hers. He didn't know much about her life since she moved to NYC for collage. Actually the only time he got to see her was when he randomly stumbled on some fashion channel during the commercials when he was watching basketball on TV. More than once he ended up missing the rest of the game and watching her talk passionately about her work. Not that he'd ever tell her that.

"Of course she did. I have to be there. I am the bridesmaid/godmother after all," she said half seriously.

"Tell me about it," he said, the day Haley asked him to be Jamie's godfather still vivid in his mind just like the day Nathan asked him to be his best man. There was never a doubt in his mind that he would say yes, both times. Nathan was his family and Haley was like a sister he didn't have and to say he loved Jamie like he was his own son didn't even begin to describe their relationship. Jamie always said he was his favorite person in the whole wide world. Well, after Brooke. And he couldn't compete with that. Didn't want to actually, because he kind of had a tendency to agree on that one with his nephew.

"It's good to see you Brooke," he said on a more serious note.

"You too Luke," she confessed. And it really was. "Come here," she said with a smile and he moved closer, complying on her request and pulling her into a tight hug. Brooke closed her eyes letting his tall frame shelter her from the cold wind, feeling his warm hands wrap around her small shoulders. A strong scent of his cologne surrounded her, and it was then, in those strong arms that she felt she was truly home.

Lucas wasn't sure how long they remained like that, in a vacuum of time, a special bubble that isolated them from everything, allowing him this one moment of weakness, this anguish of being so close to her and yet so far at the same time. He moved away unwillingly knowing full well that the moment had to pass but wanting it to last just a bit longer, breathing in, realizing he almost forgot to breathe just then "So-" he said letting out a breath "How long are you staying here?"

"I'm probably going back on Monday."

"Just this week then?" he asked, trying to keep emotions out of his voice.

"Yes," she said softly "Wish I could stay longer but you know how it is, work can't be put on hold no matter how much you sometimes want it to."

With a nod he sat on the bench she was previously occupying. She joined him shortly after.

Her eyes scanned the empty court, a few stray leaves that fell from the trees, it's only decoration. It made her wonder what kind of a cruel twist of fate led them both here this afternoon, to a place that once meant something more than it did now, that's for sure. Seeing it now with him as a friend (was he even that?) contrasted with the way she remembered it, paling in comparison, making them sitting here now seem like a bad reenactment of a fairytale gone bad…

She and Lucas were standing at the edge of the court watching his friends play basketball under a weak light of the old street lamps.

"This is my world, Brooke." he said with a smile "Or, at least it used to be."

She laughed and said with an easy grin "I have been here before, you know?"

"I know… I just never told you what this place is to me."

She smiled and came a little closer to hear what he had to say because she could tell it was something important, something he didn't share with just about anyone.

"It's not just a court… it's where I came from, it's where I belong… it's my world."

"So do I get to be part of this world?" she asked reaching for his hand.

"The biggest part."

They both looked away at Mouth who was sitting at the bleachers announcing "Ladies and gentlemen, what a treat we have tonight – Rivercourt legend, Lucas Scott. It's been months since Scott's won a full-court game here, so I guess the big question is… will he play tonight?"

They looked at each other, his eyes looking for her approval as she nodded and said with a smile "Go get em, boyfriend."

He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips before walking onto the court. Brooke walked up to Mouth and sat next to him, joining her friends as they watched them play, Lucas glancing in her direction every so often, grinning like a fool.

She swallowed hard, the image of the full basketball court fading away in front of her eyes instantly replaced by the reality of the empty court. She wanted to say something, ask him was he wondering the same, was he thinking about that day and the promises he made to her here? Probably not.

They remained sitting in silence as Brooke watched him spin the ball in his hands, elbows leaned on his knees. Lucas looked at the empty court, then at her sketchpad and said with a note of yearning in his voice "You don't have a place like this in NYC."

She wanted to laugh, really, really laugh, like the way you laugh when you're watching some really bad movie or when you hear some completely ridiculous statement like this one was. But she hasn't because as crazy as it sounded his words made her think that maybe he meant to say the same thing she was thinking about for the last five minutes. He just couldn't find the right words to say so but she understood him anyway.

"No, no you don't," she said quietly "Not in New York or anywhere else in the world. I mean sure there are basketball courts, many of them, but it just isn't-" There were no words to describe it. It was a feeling this place evoked in her that no word in English language could explain. It was his hand in hers, a smile, his blue eyes finding hers across the court through the crowd after he scored a basket that night, his soft words paired up with a reassuring smile 'The biggest part…'

"I know what you mean," he said with a distant expression after a brief silence that was accompanied by nothing but the soft river flow, and she really hoped he did know.

"I really missed this place," she said softly "I missed the people here, my friends, Hales, Nathan, Peyt. I missed-" she started but just then his phone rang and he pulled it out of the pocket to answer not letting her finish what she was meant to say, I missed you.

A few minutes later he hung up and stood up from his seat "That was Peyton on the phone. I have to go pick her up at the airport," he explained as she nodded, feeling a lump in her throat that didn't allow any words to come out of her mouth. Besides, she didn't trust herself with saying anything without tears forming in her eyes.

She tried to smile, to forget about that ache in her heart as he added, walking backwards in the direction of his car "But I'll see you tonight at Tric," he said and with that he was gone. But she wasn't surprised.

Sure, they weren't in high school anymore and they may have all grown up, but there was always one constant in Lucas Scott's life. Peyton Sawyer.

And she was too tired and too lost to fight for him too.