Title: Life for rent
Pairing: Brooke/Lucas with minor NH
Summary: Learning sometimes means soul searching. There are no words to calm that kind of hurting. BL
Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or the lyrics of a heartbreaking Damien Rice song.
AN: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that reviewed this story and/or put it on alerts/favorites. It really means a lot. So anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy!
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Chapter 5: Cheers darlin'
cheers darlin'
here's to you and your lover boy
cheers darlin'
I got years to wait around for you…
----BL----
Haley James Scott was a teacher, a wife, a mom but she was also the best friend of Lucas Eugene Scott ever since they were little kids which were quite a number of years. And she knew him well enough to know that ever since he walked into Tric his eyes were looking for only one thing, and that wretched look that registered on his face after he scanned the entire place upside down told her all she needed to know.
He never said a word but she knew that what he needed to put a smile on that handsome face was a certain redheaded girl with bright hazel eyes. So she wasn't surprised one bit that upon entrance of said girl his whole posture seemed to brighten up even though he tried hard to hide it as he stopped dead in his tracks just by the bar.
Brooke was completely oblivious to that change, partially because she hasn't seen him yet but mostly because her eyes were on a tall, dark and handsome guy coming her way. She smiled at him channeling the image of a teenage, party Brooke with a flirtatious smirk on her lips and dark look in her eyes.
That may have been a pretty common scene five years ago but Brooke wasn't the same person she was then. Haley knew her friend and once roomie at least half as good as she knew Lucas and this just didn't seem right. Something was horribly wrong with this picture.
What, she wasn't sure yet.
But as she watched Luke order some drink at the bar averting his eyes from the redhead she was sure only at one thing. Judging by the beginning of it, she had a felling this evening would not turn out the way she initially planned it to.
All she could hope was that it won't end like a certain party she also planned years ago.
----BL----
When she walked into the club she noticed that their favorite hangout place during high school days, Tric, hasn't changed all that much. Some things never did. Like Lucas and Peyton being together or the fact that all eyes were on her the moment she stepped through those front doors of the club. But she was used to all the attention by now. She just wished she felt the same when it came to her best friend and her broody ex boyfriend but sadly she didn't.
As she searched for Haley, a tall, dark haired twenty-something guy winked at her and she smiled back, deciding she would have some fun tonight and not think about depressing stuff, like her love life. Soon she saw Nathan sitting at the booth next to a short haired girl and it took her all of ten seconds to figure out that the girl was actually none other than Haley James Scott.
Haley saw her and stood up to pull her into a tight hug with a smile. After a few seconds the girls stepped away to look at each other better.
"Brooke, you look fabulous. Is that one of your dresses?"
"Yes it is." Brooke said, her voice laced with pride "And not only does it look amazing, it's also free since you know, it's made by a company I own." she added with a smile.
"Talk about the perks of the job."
"I know." she said, dragging the word out a bit as they both laughed.
"The only thing I get free are test sheets and believe me it's not nearly as much fun as that." Haley said pointing at Brooke's dress.
"Yeah, well I'll send you a few of these so you can look just as fabulous, but trust me you look just as good in that one you're currently wearing." Brooke said honestly.
"Hermes, Nate's present for our anniversary two years ago." Haley elaborated.
"Thought so." Brooke said "And I don't wanna sound like a broken record but you do have the best husband ever."
Haley looked at her and then at the said husband that was standing a few feet away, thinking about all they've been through lately, thinking of how fortunate she was they stuck around despite it all "Yeah, I guess I do."
"Seriously, if you don't like him can I borrow him?" Brooke half joked.
"Speaking of Nathan…" Haley said, as she saw him approach.
"Hey you two…" he said, kissing Haley lightly on the lips and then turning to Brooke "Don't I get to hug the big fashion designer?" Nathan asked putting a stop to their little bickering session.
"Sure you do hotshot." Brooke said hugging him.
"It's great to see you here Brooke."
"You too Nate." She retorted "You look great. Thank God you cut your hair by the way. Hales sent me that picture of you two with Jamie for Christmas where you had that longer hair and I almost had a heart attack. Believe me, long hair does not compliment you at all."
Nathan looked at her with feign hurt look on his face. He was about to say something to defend himself but Haley interrupted him.
"I couldn't agree more." Haley said, messing with his short hair.
Nathan pulled her hand away "Oh, that is so not…."
"Are you saying you don't agree with us?" Brooke asked.
"Of course not."
"I know you're Nathan Scott but even Brad Pitt had trouble pulling of the hoodlum look so you really shouldn't feel ashamed for it." Brooke said.
Nate gave her the look.
"Ok, I think we should all sit down before…" Haley started trying to divert the subject to something else but was interrupted by the arrival of Lucas and Mouth.
"Marvin McFadden, it's been a long time." Brooke said greeting her friend who was accompanied by his longtime girlfriend Gigi, with whom he shared an apartment in Tree Hill, where he worked as a journalist for the local newspaper.
"Too long Davis." He said with a smile before he joined the rest of the gang at the table.
Before she knew it she was pulled into a hug by someone, and she lost herself in a strong, familiar scent of the cologne. She recognized it immediately, the urge to pull back and hug him tighter consuming her, the conflicting thoughts creating a mess in her head.
"You look amazing Brooke." She heard him say into her hair, words rolling of his tongue as velvet, his worm breath tickling her neck.
She smiled through the suddenly tears filled eyes, glad he couldn't see her face and said, her voice nothing but a whisper, words loud enough just for him to hear "Thank you."
He smiled pulling away and she quickly moved to her seat next to Mouth, closing her eyes for a second to clear her now blurry vision as Lucas sat across from her, right next to a beaming Bevin who was four months pregnant and Skillz.
Just as the bartender came to take their orders Peyton showed up wearing a knee length green summer dress, apologizing to Haley and Nathan for being late, saying something about her plane being delayed and needing to go home to change before coming here.
Then she turned to Brooke but she was still in some sort of haze and the half of the things Peyton said didn't even register, except how much she apparently missed her. Then she hugged her quickly and all Brooke managed to do was smile at the person she considered her bestest friend in High school. But they've lost contact in their freshman year of college and right now Brooke wasn't so sure that was a bad thing.
Finally Peyton set down next to Lucas (of course) whispering something into his ear and Brooke turned to the bartender ordering a vodka martini. Double.
Lucas eyed her suspiciously and then ordered a beer just like Nathan and Mouth. She decided to ignore his look and turn to her cell phone to read the message she received not a minute ago.
Brooke, you can't just throw away all that we had like that. After almost a year of dating and four months of living together you decide out of nowhere to break it off without even so much as an explanation. I love you and I know you care about this too. Please give me, give us the second chance. - Blake
She typed in 'No, it's over between us.' and was just about to press send button when she heard Peyton giggle at some joke Lucas made hitting him playfully on the shoulder. Her fingers worked furiously over the keyboard of her Blackberry as she deleted the previous message and wrote this instead…
I'll think about it. – Brooke
Pressing the send button she stared perplexed at the words she wrote a moment ago when the clicking of the glass made her look up. Yes, the change was good but following the good old self destructive path was better.
"So now that we're all here I'd like to propose a toast…" Lucas said raising his drink and looking around the table "To Nathan and Haley and the love that never fades away." He said, looking directly at Brooke and she raised her own glass, feeling her entire body shiver under his piercing gaze.
"To Naley." Peyton said and they all clicked glasses laughing.
"Oh my God!" Bevin said, interrupting the moment, as she pulled Brooke's outstretched hand. "I almost didn't see it." She said, looking shocked. "It's beautiful Brooke."
Lucas averted his eyes from hers, looking a little taken aback as he looked to see what Bevin was talking about and Brooke's smile faded away.
The ring.
She has forgotten to take it off.
Oh well, maybe that was a good thing after all. At least Luke won't look at her pitifully all night while Peyton whispers some silly and possibly dirty things into his ear.
"Oh, it's not that special…" It really wasn't. Blake probably bought it on a discount or something. Actually, knowing him even that was a stretch.
"What are you talking about, it's beautiful." Bevin repeated.
"Yes B Davis it really is. I still can't believe you're engaged." Peyton said, looking at the ring.
"Yeah, well stranger things have happened." she said.
"Like what? Bevin giving birth to our twins last year is nothing compared to this." Skillz commented and everyone nodded in agreement. Except his wife who smacked him on the head.
"Why is this so strange to all of you?" Brooke asked. "I know I said I'll never settle down but by never I really meant till I'm thirty or something."
"It's not that strange, it's just that we always thought…" Bevin started, words coming out of her mouth before she had time to think about it, as usual. Luckily Haley was there to save the matter.
"Yes, we always though you'll merry some older rich guy and divorce him two months later after you take all his cash of course and not some hot young Ashton Kutcher look alike." Haley said with a fake smile, glad she saved the situation in the last moment "But seriously, congratulations once again Brooke." Haley said as Nate congratulated her too.
"Yeah Brooke, congratulations on the engagement." Lucas finally said, as Peyton looked at him questioningly, his face completely blank of any emotion.
"Thank you Luke." She retorted, fake smile plastered on her face. God, she really needed another drink.
"This calls for another toast." Nate finally said, feeling the level of tension rise around the table.
"Yes, I agree." Brooke said "Bartender, another vodka martini please."
When her drink was placed on the table Nathan raised his glass and said, looking at Brooke, as everything Haley told him earlier finally started to make sense, and said "To true love."
Brooke's eyes locked with certain blue ones that were impossible to decipher as she repeated "Yeah, to true love." biting on her lover lip in order to stop herself from laughing.
She spent the rest of the evening dancing and chatting with random guys, avoiding their booth like plague as Luke kept burning holes into her back. She didn't turn around once.
----BL----
Not even an hour and a half later she was pretty drunk, downing her fourth drink (or was it fifth?) when none other than Jake Jagielski himself walked up to their table and she almost chocked on the olive in her martini glass. She hasn't seen him since he left Tree Hill when they were in high school and the last thing she heard about him was from Peyton when she went to visit him in Savannah.
He walked up straight to Peyton kissing her softly on the lips and apologizing for being so late. He was dressed in simple dark jeans and a black button up shirt, his hair a little shorter than usual combined with a day old beard. If she didn't know any better she would've sworn this wasn't the same guy that wore flannel shirts and old black converse back in a day.
Peyton smiled at him "I was just about to tell them that you weren't coming." She said and then turned to Haley "He had this gig tonight and couldn't make it on the flight we previously booked and…"
"But now you're here, so it's all good." Haley said with a smile.
"Yeah." He agreed.
"It's good to see you man." Nathan said.
"You too, Nate." He said and then added. "And everyone else of course." before sitting next to Peyton as Lucas moved a little to make him room.
"So what did I miss?" He asked with a smile as the silence stretched around the table.
"Not much. Brooke got engaged and Nathan almost divorced Hales because she said Brooke's ring was prettier than the one he gave her." Peyton explained quickly.
Nathan glared at her.
"But let's not get back on that one." Haley said.
"Brooke, congratulations, I really didn't know." Jake said shaking her hand across the table.
Neither did I, she thought bitterly but instead muttered a quiet "Thanks."
Bartender came to take Jake's order and Brooke gestured to her own empty glass. "Brooke I really think you had enough of martinis for the evening. Save something for the wedding too." Haley said.
"I'm fine, Hales." She argued, leaning on the Mouths' shoulder as she felt her eyes closing. Okay, maybe that fifth vodka martini was a bit much…
----BL----
An hour after midnight, as the club was slowly becoming more and more vacant, Lucas said goodbye to Peyton and Jake who have decided it was time to head home and then he sat back on his seat looking at his younger brother and his best friend. It was pretty late and the only people left at their table were him and the couple. And of course Brooke.
He glanced at her sleeping form briefly before turning back to Haley, wondering whether or not to order one more drink. But if his night hasn't gotten better by now he doubted a drink would help to turn things around.
The whole evening has gone from bad to worse, proving to be nothing how he imagined it to go earlier that day. And now that it was almost over he only hoped that he'd get home soon, get in his bed and try to get some sleep.
"Luke, we should be going too." Haley finally said "Jamie's alone with the nanny and we said we'd be back by midnight and it's almost one now..."
"Yeah, of course, I was planning on leaving too." he agreed as he let his best friend and brother go after saying a quick "Goodnight."
The couple walked away and he was left alone with the girl he loved. This part he did hope would happen, the two of them alone at Tric. The only difference was that she was awake and much more sober. He doubted they could talk about anything serious, much less them when she had half a bottle of vodka in her system.
Then he remembered he forgot to ask Haley in which hotel was Brooke staying so he could drop her off there. He looked at her, lying there with her hair falling down, looking so small and fragile, a complete opposite of that confident girl that looked at him an hour earlier with all her walls safely up. After some thinking he was left with only one solution to this problem.
With a loud sigh he picked her up gently, her jasmine perfume setting all his senses on alert momentarily as she murmured something incoherently, her breath tickling his neck, before relaxing in his embrace.
----BL----
Twenty minutes or so after leaving Tric he was sitting in his living room looking at her sleeping form on the couch. Her hair was a mess of curls that framed her delicate face. Unlike in high school now she wore only some light make up that made her look even more beautiful than she was five years ago if that was even possible. He always did tell her she didn't need any make up, the way she looked in the morning when she woke up, tangled hair and big hazel eyes, made his heart falter more than anything else could.
He had thrown a warm blanket over her slender frame because even though it was a warm summer night it was still too cold to be sleeping in that short, sparse dress of hers. The only thing that wasn't covered was her left hand, resting on her chest and moving ever so lightly with every breath she took. And yet he couldn't avert his eyes from the small thing glittering on her finger due to the light of the lamp placed not too far from the couch.
Yeah, he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to get any sleep tonight even if he tried. He saw his laptop lying abandoned on the coffee table and decided to give it a shot and maybe try to write something. She stirred lightly as he sat on the smaller sofa across from the couch, facing her but soon her breathing evened out.
Not much later, her phone started to vibrate against the wooden surface of the coffee table and he looked at the name on the screen. Blake.
Her fiancé, he guessed.
He switched the phone to mute before it got a chance to wake her up and spent the rest of the night surrounded by nothing but her soft breathing and the sound of his fingers hitting the keyboard in equally measured intervals.
Sometime around three am despite his best efforts to keep writing, his eyes started to close and his last conscious thought before drifting off to sleep was how it has been a long time since he heard her breathe so close to him.
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AN: Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review ;)