Chapter 2: What I Wanted to Say…
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~ C & B ~
"Guess who?" Brooke asked gently, her purse hanging at the fold of her arm where her elbow was. She smiled widely, her head tilted as she waited for Lucas to speak. She had finished unpacking most of her things in the small apartment she now owned, the brunette figuring it wouldn't hurt to see her boyfriend for a few.
"I can't see the screen, Brooke," Lucas said with a slight annoyance in his tone as he waited impatiently for her hands to stop blocking his view. The second they fell, he continued to type away, his frustrated blue eyes staring intently on the lighted up screen.
"Having a hard time writing today, baby?" Brooke asked as she took a seat on the corner of the bed. She grabbed her purse and slid it off of her arm, the black leather falling on her lap.
"Just a little," Lucas said, running a hand over his forehead. Letting out a sigh, he gave up and decided to work on it later when his brain was refreshed.
Standing up, he gave Brooke a quick kiss before grabbing his water bottle. "What's up, need something?"
"Just wanted to spend some time with my favorite guy," Brooke said with a small smile, shrugging a little as she turned her head a little to look at him.
"What do you say? Wanna go grab a bite to eat, come back here, watch a movie and maybe make out a little?"
Lucas shook his head, not even cracking a smile. He lowered the water bottle from his lips and nodded towards the clock, "I have plans in about 20 minutes actually and when I get back, I need to finish up a few things on the story."
"Oh," Brooke said, her voice a little raspy as she nodded her head and folded her hands together above her purse. "Well, um, with who?"
The knock on the door caused both of them to look over, Peyton walking in and smiling widely at Lucas, "Got the burned CD's. We can just pop them into the radio and we're good to go." She looked at his bed and met the eyes of her ex best friend.
"Oh, I get it," Brooke said softly as she stood up and hoisted her purse over her shoulders. She was about to move when Lucas grabbed her wrist.
Turning to him, she automatically shook her head, "No. I get it. It's cool. Just call me whenever you can, okay?"
She passed by Peyton and made absolutely no eye contact, not for a second trusting the blonde girl but putting all her heart and soul out to Lucas and trusting it was nothing more than a friendly visit. She needed him. She had no choice but to convince herself.
~ C & B ~
Baby blues narrowed in on the familiar car pulling out of Lucas's driveway. He'd know that comet anywhere, having spent the second half of high school in the backseat of it with Peyton. She waved at Lucas and Chris couldn't help the way his chest tightened at the small exchange between them. He and Peyton had been over for a long time now and though he didn't want to be with her anymore, he didn't exactly want her with his best friend either.
The black Mustang replaced the comet in the driveway and Chris slowly made his way up the steps, considering turning around and bailing. Thing had been tense between them after the "incident," as Lucas liked to call it… you know, when he wasn't avoiding the topic all together. And now Chris could only feel his own tension growing.
He didn't bother to knock, pushing the front door open and walking straight in. Lucas glanced up with a smile, his fingers tapping away at his laptop even as he greeted his friend, "Hey, man, I forgot you were stopping by. You're lucky you got here when you did, I was just about to dive right in."
Into what? My ex wife's pants?
Chris bristled, ready to retort, but Lucas beat him to it.
"It's the strangest thing, I haven't been able to write at all in months, but suddenly I can't get the words to stop. There's so much I want to say now," he glanced up, an excited glint in his eye, "I feel like I don't really have time for much else."
"You seem to have plenty of time to hang out with Peyton."
Two pairs of blue eyes met, sweat forming on Lucas's brow, "We're friends, dude, you know that."
Chris crossed his arms over his chest, converse tapping against the hardwood lightly, "You seem a little more than that to me. And if I see it, I'm sure Brooke does too."
Lucas shook his head, closing his laptop and looking unconcerned, "Brooke is fine. She trusts me with Peyton."
"Well, I don't," Chris admitted, ignoring the hurt look on his friend's face, "Look you're a good guy and you have good intentions, but your good intentions ruined my marriage. Don't let them ruin your relationship with Brooke too."
"Brooke is not going to break up with me," Lucas said it softly but with a sureness that grated on the musician's nerves, "She loves me."
"Maybe she should," Chris muttered, words going unheard as Lucas continued.
"But Peyton needs a friend right now. She doesn't really have anyone."
"That's because she cheated on everyone else," Chris spoke bitterly, shaking his head, "You know what, I'm gonna go. Watch your back, Luke. Peyton will bring you down too."
~ C & B ~
Brooke ran a stressful hand down her cheek slowly, tired hazel eyes on the mirror in her bathroom. Work always wore her out, but today she let the Lucas and Peyton incident get to her. She trusted Lucas, but she was jealous. Why was she always a step late when it came to making plans? It seemed like she was always a step too late. It was as if alls Lucas wanted to do was call her his and that be the end of it.
Brooke kicked off her heels but kept her work clothes on, tossing her hair into a neat ponytail as she walked into her kitchen. It was a lot smaller than her old house. Everything was closer together. It was a one bedroom, one bathroom, simple living room and dining room and a kitchen with a hall closet. It was perfect.
Never one to learn how to cook, she grabbed the Chinese menu and glanced at the clock. Closing was soon. She had to wait for Chris to show up, the two of them always spending the night at the other's place at least once a week as a weekly routine. It was simple for the most part, like any other friends hanging out. There was Chinese, board games, TV, and bets.
"Where the hell are you?" Brooke muttered under her breath, tapping her fingers impatiently on the marble counters. She glanced over at the door when there was a rhythmic knock, the brunette adjusting her pencil skirt as she opened the door. Her head tilted, hazel eyes narrowing, "Fashionably late so doesn't fit you, you know."
"My bad, Dimples," he leaned in and brushed his lips over the apple of her cheek before pushing his way into the apartment. He kicked his shoes off, loosened his tie, and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his dress shirt.
He walked over and plopped down on his spot on the couch, tilting his head up to look at her as she stood directly above him behind the couch, "Did you order yet? You know I want extra egg rolls!"
Brooke raised a brow and rested her hand on the top of his head, amused by his set of hair since day one of their meeting. "Okay," she began slowly, "every single time we do this, you ask me the same thing. And what is my response?"
She flicked him lightly when he didn't respond and she circled the couch and plopped down next to him with the menu in her hand, "I say Chris Keller needs to wait patiently and be happy with what he gets."
"Well Chris Keller is starving," he said dramatically, snatching the menu away and looking through it as if he wasn't going to order the same thing he always did. Finally he handed it back, tapping her knee with his with a grin, "I'll have my usual. Four extra egg rolls! No, no! Five!"
He nodded resolutely, "Yes, five is the perfect number."
He waited a moment for her to order, the girl still staring at him, "Well go on! Order already. If the food isn't here yet, I may have to take a bite outta you."
Brooke gave him a look and after a minute, shook her head and rolled her eyes, "You wish."
She stood up then and walked over to the kitchen, quietly placing the order before walking back into the living room. "I don't get it. You eat 5 eggrolls and gain nothing. I eat 3 and gain a gut. The world is so fucked up."
"Oh shut up. You're hot and you know it," he laughed, snatching her wrist and pulling her down onto the couch with him. He poked her side, pretending to be examining her while lightly tickling her, "You seem skinny enough to me."
Brooke, being insanely ticklish at one touch, had her head thrown back and she was swatting his hands away with as much energy she could give out. "Okay, okay!" She kicked her feet up, the red nail polish glimmering in the light of the living room. "I'm skinny!"
Once she slid over to the far end of the couch so he couldn't reach for her, Brooke smirked and hugged the pillow to her chest, "I forget, did you say you and Lucas had plans earlier in the day?"
Chris nodded, leaning his head back against the back of the couch and giving her a small forced smile, "Yeah we just talked for a bit. Apparently he's working on his newest novel or something."
His tone was disinterested, but he tried to hide it, shrugging one shoulder, "I was trying to listen, but sometimes he just goes on and on about all that boring stuff and I zone out."
"Wouldn't know," Brooke mumbled under her breath, shooting him a smile when their eyes met. It was insane how Lucas always stopped what he was doing to have male bonding time with Chris, but whenever Brooke asked if they could do a simple dinner, Lucas buried himself in his work… and Peyton. But his career came before their relationship and Brooke understood that. Being selfish was something she was afraid he'd think of her. Even though it was painful to be altruistic, it was better than egocentric. "So what's the update on you and your lame ass music?"
His face fell a little and he shrugged as his eyes fell away from her, "It's fine. I guess."
He didn't say anything else until their eyes met, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. He grabbed the other pillow and played with it absentmindedly, "I haven't written anything in months and the label doesn't want to re-sign me. They're afraid I'll quit again. And even if they did hire me," his shoulder rose again, "It's not like I have anything to give them. Chris Keller is officially a has-been."
Brooke gave him a mocking heavy sigh and raised a brow, "Now, being dramatic and totally rockstarish isn't going to get you anywhere. Let's brainstorm."
An hour later, both of them were sprawled out on the living room floor with a bunch of papers tossed in a hat and their Chinese food in between them. "Okay! I'll pick out of the hat. Whichever piece of paper I pick, you must write a song about." Her fingers rummaged around the hat and she pulled out a small piece of paper, her eyes filled with amusement once she read it, "A song that mentions the color pink. Woo!"
He laughed and rolled his eyes, "Fine fine. Pick another. No wait, I want to!"
He smacked her hand out of the hat and pulled one out, raising his brow and holding it up to her: Brooke Davis and how awesome she is.
"Really? When did you sneak this in? I thought I was the vain one!"
"Well I am awesome," Brooke teased, leaning over slowly and trying to sneak one of his eggrolls away. "You may as well start being legit! Clearly the love songs aren't doing it."
He grabbed her wrist just as she got hold of it. They had a stare off, the boy smirking as he brought her hand to his mouth and ate half the eggroll straight from her fingers, his tongue brushing her palm as he tried to fit more in his mouth.
Brooke couldn't help but smile, keeping her hand at his mouth before raising a brow and realizing what was actually taking place. "Ew! Chris Keller needs to stop licking things with his HIV infested tongue."
He managed to curl his tongue around the rest of the eggroll, sucking it into his mouth. He grinned proudly as he chewed, brows rising teasingly, "You should see what else I can do with my tongue."
Brooke made a gagging noise and shook her head, "Should. Can't. Won't. Too bad!" She leaned over and reached for the last eggroll, his hand going over hers. Challenging hazels met challenging blues, both of them not moving a muscle. Brooke was going to get this last eggroll damnit. She got on her knees and leaned forward, her cleavage showing more and more as her shirt slid with every inch she moved forward. "Can Brookie please have the last eggroll?"
Chris tried to keep his eyes up but they fell anyway. His hand went slack over hers and he licked his lips a little, swallowing hard when she shifted. He didn't even realize she'd taken the eggroll until he heard her giggle around a bite of it.
He glanced up with wide eyes, pointing at her, "That was mean! You're all… 'look at me, I'm a girl with boobs,'" he mocked her voice, going all squeaky and extra raspy at the same time, "No guy can avoid looking!"
"Some can," Brooke said with a shrug from firsthand experience at her failed attempts to get Lucas to even kiss her. She ignored the feeling of rejection and uncomfortable stomach feeling, taking one last bite before giving the rest to Chris. "Consider the rest of this a present for being… I got nothing!" She sent him a wink and stood up then, picking up the rest of the Chinese food and setting it on the kitchen counter. "I'm gonna go change into some comfortable clothes, I'll be back."
He watched her go, spotting that look she sometimes got in her eyes. He still wasn't sure what it meant, but it was usually his sign that he needed to do something to cheer her up. He put in her favorite movie even though he hated it and pulled his tie off completely, getting comfortable on the couch as he waited.
When she came back, he looked over at her, eyes somehow softening and widening at the same time. "Wow," he whispered to himself.
Brooke's eyes widened when she saw The Princess Bride pop up on the screen, her smile getting bigger when she looked at Chris, "Really? You wanna watch it? You hate romantic movies!" She took a seat next to him on the couch and leaned over, the light fading out so the TV screen stuck out more. "Is Chris Keller actually thinking of other people?"
"Psh, never!" he pulled her legs over his lap like he did every time he was over and slipped the throw blanket over her legs to keep her warm, "I love this movie."
They shared a small, secret smile, the girl knowing he hated this movie more than anything, "It's my favorite one."
"Now why can't Chris Keller be this nice all the time?" Brooke asked with a smirk, her eyes now glued to the TV. Half way through she switched positions and sat up, scooting closer so her head was resting on his shoulder and her hand on his upper thigh.
Chris glanced down at her hand, the single boy in him taking note of exactly where it was, but the friend in him just slid his arm around her shoulders. Her head cradled more comfortably into his shoulder and neck and he let his cheek fall against her hair, the scent of strawberry slowly rising to his nose.
Once the movie was over, Brooke let out a big yawn and brought her head up. She made a face of annoyance when she saw Chris's head had fallen back somewhere in the last minutes of the movie and he was passed out. "You're a dickwad," she muttered, the word dickwad giving her an idea. She slowly creeped her fingers up his thigh, not touching him in his manhood but fairly close to. "Up!"
Chris didn't wake up, shifting a little and pressing his thigh more into her hand. His head moved forward and his lips lightly brushed the side of her neck, his breaths letting her know he was still completely asleep.
The brunette closed her eyes for a second, chewing on her bottom lip before she opened them and realized he was still asleep. She huffed and slid into his lap, leg on either side of him. "Asshole, get up! Get up! Oh look! More eggrolls!"
Chris's eyes shot open then, the boy blinking hard in confusion as he looked at her, "Eggrolls?"
"Wanna know something? Guys suck," Brooke said as she gave him a shove back against the soft couch. "They don't care about anything other than their careers and food. A girl tries to get their attention? Forget it."
Chris frowned deeply, thinking back on all the times Peyton had accused him of only caring about his career and not her. He swallowed hard, voice coming out a rasp, "I don't neglect the people in my life for my career."
"I know," Brooke said softly, her voice going back to being stern right after though. "I'm talking about you caring about food. The mention of an eggroll and you're up and about." She ruffled his hair and tilted her head, "Have good 10 minute dreams?"
He leaned his head into her hand a little and nodded, eyes lighting up softly, "I remember strawberries. I could smell them everywhere."
He licked his lips and a little, brows furrowing, "I can almost still taste them. Isn't that a weird thing to dream about?"
Brooke snorted and shook her head, "Clearly that dream sucked if the famous fashion designer Brooke Davis wasn't in it."
The boy moved his hands to her hips subtly, fingers toying with the pockets of her pajama shorts, "I haven't really dreamed in a long time. It's hard to sleep in that apartment. The bed is terrible and the couch is even worse."
"Oh, it's not enough for Chris Keller's needs?" Brooke teased with a smirk, bouncing a little. Her eyes searched his for a second and found nothing readable. Somehow, he seemed happier though the thought of Peyton was still a sensitive one. Like, he was free and finally following the right direction. Brooke figured music was the cause for that even though he was having trouble and she was going to stay by his side throughout his whole career. Besides, she WILL get a song with the word pink in it one day. "How's my couch?"
"Better than mine but still pretty rough."
He kissed her nose when she wrinkled it, rolling his eyes playfully, "I can deal."
He leaned in as if he was going to kiss her, their eyes meeting in a playful challenging gaze before suddenly he had her on her back, his fingers digging into her skin. The dangerous mood was broken then, her shrieks filling the apartment as he tickled her mercilessly.
"Ah! No, no. Stop!" Brooke squealed out, her laughter increasing. She flailed her arms around and tried to escape but he was stronger than her. "Chris!" Once he finally gave in, she swatted his arm and sat up, giving her hair a quick comb through. "Rude ass."
She swatted him again and stood up from the couch, straightening out her clothes. "It's getting kin-" she yawned and stretched her arms out, "kinda late. You should probably head out before it gets too dark."
He pouted and ruffled her hair, "Oh come on, one more movie! Please."
He gave her those eyes he knew even she had trouble denying, "Please, Brookie. Chris Keller doesn't want to go home to his lonely apartment."
"Do you want to stay the night or something?" Brooke asked, shrugging a little as she motioned around herself for emphasis at the tiny space. "I mean, it's not luxurious for your famous people needs and it's not really big but I don't mind."
He met her eyes and gave a small nod, "Thanks, Dimples. Chris Keller's not so good at being alone."
Brooke left the room and came back with a pair of clothes, shrugging a little at Chris's look, "Something Lucas never claimed back from centuries ago. It should fit you perfectly." Once he was changed, they both sat back down on the couch and began watching Nightmare On Elm Street just for Chris. Somewhere in the night, Brooke's eyes slowly began to drift shut, her final words for the night coming out in a murmur, "Don't leave."