Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I don't know why. There's nothing about it that's particularly special or anything. I guess I've just missed writing.. Well, you'll see what I'm talking about. Anyway, I would like to thank everyone for the reviews. I'm really glad with the reviews people are giving for this story, and I hope you guys can keep it up, because you're amazing. Thanks so much.

Movie Script Ending

Chapter Fourteen: I See No Signs of Fortress

With a heavy sigh, Brooke stared up at the ceiling of her and Lucas's bedroom. She lay on their bed, legs straight out in front of her, and one hand pressed tightly to her chest, while the other cradled it.

Lucas popped his head into the room as he fixed his tie. She found herself wondering why he stayed with her; put up with her madness. "Hey Sweetie," He smiled.

"Hi."

"I'm just heading out for work. Wanted to make sure you were okay." He walked towards the bed, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I'm fine. Thank you, Wonderful Husband." She smiled up at him, and he grinned in response, before walking out of the bedroom.

"Love you!" Lucas called as he walked down the stairs.

"Love you too!"

She sighed as she heard the front door close, squeezing her eyes shut. Then, after a couple moments, she sat up. She pushed herself completely up, and looked out the window, watching Lucas speed away.

Brooke found her eyes traveling down to her hand. It was now bandaged up in perfectly white bandages, leaving almost none of her hand visible. Lucas and Nathan had taken her to the Emergency Room two nights before, after the bleeding had refused to cease, leaving her with the constant reminder of her parents' visit.

She was now fully over it. Lucas had managed to calm her down, and after the doctor had wrapped up her hand, she'd gone home and straight to bed. The next morning, she'd woken up, straightened herself out, and was now trying to pretend the incident had never happened.

However, she had called her mother to apologize. Brooke knew that she had not been wrong in her accusations, but in all honesty, her mother was like a child. And no matter how hard Brooke tried to get her to see things her way, she would never succeed, so it was hardly worth all the struggle.

Brooke leaned against the window frame, looking out at the large houses lined up on her street. It was funny. They were all so similar. And not just the way they looked. The types of people that lived there were basically all the same. Rich husbands with their money-obsessed wives. Their kids - Tree Hill High's next generation - snuck out and drunk and did drugs, while managing to put up the perfect, angelic faces when their parents questioned them.

She almost longed to be a teenager again; not completely oblivious to the drama surrounding you, but able to indulge yourself in school activities to forget about it.

The sound of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts, and she frowned. She liked thinking. Granted, sometimes it did get her into trouble, but she quite enjoyed it.

Shuffling at her own, calm pace, Brooke made her way down the staircase, pulling the door open with a smile on her face.

The man on the other end looked to be some sort of delivery man. He held a large, yellow envelope in his hands, on top of a clipboard. He wore what a UPS guy would usually wear, and Brooke scrunched her nose in distaste at the outfit.

"Hi, can I help you?" She focused her eyes on the envelope.

"Um, yes, actually," He paused, "I'm looking for.. Nathan Scott. Is he, by any chance, here?"

She made a face. "I think so. Hold on a second."

She leaned away from the door, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Nate! You here? Nathan!"

In seconds, he was down the stairs, right beside her. "Uh-huh?"

"There's someone here to see you." She gestured towards the open front door.

Nathan frowned. "Is that for me?"

The man nodded. He handed Nathan the envelope, and then his clipboard. "Sign right here, please."

Nathan did as he was told. "Thanks." He told the man, who simply nodded, walking off.

"Ooh, Nathan got a package." Brooke shut the door, following her brother-in-law as he walked towards the kitchen.

He traced his fingers along the edge of the envelope, trying to tug it open. Instead, he slid his finger along the corner edge, giving himself a nice, clean paper cut.

"Ouch. Fuck." He quickly slipped his finger into his mouth, sucking the blood away from the tiny cut.

Brooke found herself smiling slightly. "Just be lucky yours doesn't look this." She held up her bandaged hand.

Nathan almost instantly lowered his hand from his mouth, the envelope briefly forgotten. "Speaking of which, how is it?"

"Eh, it's fine. Hurts a little, but I mean, I did practically grate it, so that's to be expected." Although it was meant to be a joke, it hung in the air between them awkwardly.

Nathan bit his lip, looking down. "And um, how are you?"

"I'm fine," She smiled, quickly searching for a way to change the subject. "Are you ever going to open that thing? I'm getting anxious as to what it is."

"Right. Sorry. I don't get too excited when it comes to envelopes, though."

She chuckled, and he grabbed a knife, slicing the top of the yellow envelope open, and then pulling out the contents. He read slowly, and Brooke stood impatiently, tapping her foot against the ground.

"Oh my God." The knife fell from his hands, hitting the ground between them. Brooke jumped back, a frown forming on her features as she picked it up, placing it on the counter.

"What's wrong? What does it say?"

"It's Haley," He lowered the papers, "She's filed for a divorce."

"What? No way!" Brooke grabbed the papers from his hands, and her eyes widened farther and farther with each word she read.

"I can't believe it." Nathan tried to lean against the counter for support, but found that he was too tall for it to work out.

"God, why didn't she tell you about it first? She could have at least called, so this wasn't so out of the blue."

"It's too soon," He frowned. "It's too soon for us to be already getting divorced."

"I'm sorry, Nate." Brooke dropped the papers on the table, pulling him in for a tight hug.

"Sit," She ordered. "I'll make coffee. Really, really strong coffee."

Nathan did as he was told, still staring in shock at the divorce papers before him. He ran his hands through his short hair, reading the words over and over.

Haley Elise James-Scott.

He read her name about a hundred times. He remembered how he'd loved her name in high school; how he'd thought it had fit her so perfectly. He wondered if she regretted changing her name to match his.

Irreconcilable differences..

He shook is head. Had that been it? The reason they'd split? Irreconcilable differences? Because they couldn't get along, and they hadn't loved each other the same in years?

Brooke placed a coffee cup before him, and then a kiss on his forehead. "Oh, Nate. I'm so sorry."

He shrugged. "I thought she'd file these in a couple months or so, you know? I thought that she - being Haley - would talk to me about it first."

Brooke sat beside him, running her hands comfortingly through his hair. "I know, Sweetie. I guess," She paused, "Sometimes people can just really surprise you."

Nathan turned to look at her.

She offered a smile. "Look, it's probably for the better."

"Maybe."

Taking a sip of the coffee she'd brewed for him, Brooke shook her head. "I just don't understand. Why so soon? You guys separated less than a month ago."

"Maybe there's another guy." Nathan shrugged. He felt annoyed at the thought. Brooke was right! They hadn't even been separated for a month, and already she was looking for new prey?

"I doubt it. I think that maybe, she just wants to move on. You know? She knows there's no hope, so she doesn't want to prolong any more hurt."

He shrugged his shoulders, and found that they sagged afterwards. "Twenty-two and divorced already. That's - it's wonderful."

"Nate.."

He pulled away from her grasp. "Thank you, Brooke. But I think right now, I just need to like, lie down or something."

"Of course. If you need anything.."

"You'll be the one I call." He attempted a smile, and then he was gone.

Brooke stared after him. Once he was out of sight, her jaw dropped. She looked back down at the divorce papers, running her hands over her lips. God, how had they become this way?

She could remember a time where she'd been good friends with Haley, and Haley had been happily married to Nathan. They'd all been happy then, really. And now, so much had changed. So many people were unhappy, and so much hurt was traveling around through such a small group of people.

She doubted they'd ever return to normal.

-

Nathan closed his door, instantly falling back onto the guest bed.

"Divorced," He said to himself. "I'm divorced."

It just didn't sound right.

"Hi, I'm Nathan Scott… Am I married? Oh, no. Actually, I'm divorced." He ran his hands over his head, suddenly feeling a migraine coming on.

"It's for you." Nathan handed her the bracelet, his trademark smirk forming on his face as he did.

"Stop it." Haley frowned.

And although she conveyed a look of offense, she didn't stop him as he slid the plastic bracelet on her tiny wrist.

"Just don't say I never gave you anything."

He stared up at the ceiling. His eyes seemed to turn a darker shade of blue as he searched for answers. Somewhere. Anywhere.

"Oh, her name was Haley James. Haley James-Scott, actually. We got married when we were sixteen.. Was it an arranged marriage? No. We loved each other.. Please stop laughing. I know it's weird, but I guess I figured that it was love back then." He spoke to the imaginary woman, who would surely, at this point of the conversation, turn and walk away.

"I just- I keep putting myself out there for you, and you keep blowing it! And it's probably a good thing too, because at this point, there's nothing you could possibly say or do that could surprise me-"

He cut her off, pressing his lips to hers. She didn't exactly kiss back, pulling away, and looking unsure.

"Nathan, you shouldn't have done that."

"I wanted to." He shrugged. It wasn't exactly a good excuse, but it was the truth.

"Yeah." And in mere seconds, she'd wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him down for another, more passionate kiss.

He closed his eyes, but more memories quickly flooded through his mind. Curling his hand into a fist, he slammed it into the mattress.

"Now, I'll say it again. I could hold you in my arms forever."

"So could I, but-"

"So why can't forever start today?"

He often wondered: Had he forced her to marry him? Had he made her do something she truly wasn't ready for?

After all, they'd only been sixteen. He'd been completely clear on his feelings for her, but she'd always seemed a little unsure.

Sighing, he stood, leaving the bedroom. As he exited out into the hallway, he frowned. Standing right before him, was himself. But it appeared he was not alone. Suddenly, Nathan realized he was in the middle of a flashback.

"Nathan!" Haley giggled, pushing him away.

"You know, you're looking pretty hot right now." He tugged her a little farther up the stairs, his eyes darting towards the guest room.

"Uh-huh. I happen to believe you're trying your hardest to get laid." She teased, nudging him.

"So, do you think it's gonna happen?"

"Not right now! Nathan, Brooke and Lucas just moved in to this beautiful house, and they're showing it to us and Peyton. And as their guests, I think we need to respect them, and get back down-"

He cut her off, lifting her easily off the ground, and stumbling backwards.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, to hell with it."

She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, feeling a wave of complete desire wash over her. "Make it quick."

"Oh Honey," He made a face, "You know I can't do that."

Sighing, Nathan turned around, walking in the opposite direction of his flashback. He peered into Brooke and Lucas's room, where Brooke lay on the bed. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing deep, slow breaths. His eyes focused on her bandaged hand, so protectively held by the other.

Sighing, he walked downstairs towards the abandoned kitchen. The papers lay strewn across the counter.

Swallowing hard, Nathan took a seat at the island. He reached a hand out, dragging the papers across the table, towards himself. He grabbed a pen, and with a heavy sigh, he signed his name across his end of the dotted line.

"..And I thought, if I could just get up, I'd walk up to you and tell you how I feel. How you mean everything to me. How nothing else matters." His voice went weak, and the last part came out as a whisper.

Disbelief coursed through her eyes. She'd never known him to be half the person he actually was. A smile lighting up her features, she pulled him in for a kiss.