Chapter 7: You Can't Dance Around It Forever

AN: You guys have been amazing! Thanks so much for all the support. We adore you! Please review.

~ C & B ~

The brunette munched happily on the banana nut muffin as she took a seat across from Haley in the Naley backyard. She blew Jamie a kiss and smiled when he blew one right back before getting scooped up by Nathan. Giggling, she turned to Haley, "He's the cutest little man."

"Speaking of," Haley began, her brow rising with a smirk as she shifted in her seat, "How's Chris's little man doing?"

Brooke melted in her seat then, the brunette setting her muffin down on the table in between the chairs. "He's as happy as ever. I haven't seen him cry yet and don't little people cry a lot?" She shrugged and continued on, "He gets shy around me but I'm sure he'll get used to me."

"Aw, that's the cutest thing ever!" Haley exclaimed, shooting Nathan a wink when their eyes met before she turned back to Brooke. "I can't wait to meet him. I haven't really seen Chris in a while either." She paused, thinking over her next statement.

Just say it, Hales.

"So how's he doing with the whole Lucas and Peyton get-together?"

Brooke shrugged and ran a hand through her hair, her chocolate brown strands falling back down just below her shoulders. "Honestly," she bit her lip, "Chris has never been better. He's got money and fame and he's living the single life without having an unhappy marriage holding him down and most importantly, he's finally experiencing the unconditional love of someone else. He really needs Michael just as much as Michael needs him."

Haley noticed the sparkle in the brunette's eyes when she was rambling about the musician. How did Chris not see it when they were together? I mean come on, Brooke hasn't been this happy with a guy since the beginning of her relationship with Lucas. "So when did you realize you wanted to be a part of the reasons he's happy?"

Brooke's mouth opened slightly from shock at the random question but she kept her cool, always having great power to pretend she wasn't freaking out in her mind though she was. "Hales, we're just friends. I just broke up with Lucas."

"Sweetie, just because you just broke up with someone doesn't mean that's the time where you started getting over the fact that you were over. You've been coping with the fact that you and Lucas have been over for months now," Haley said back, giving Brooke's knee a light tap. "It's okay to have feelings for someone else right after. Did you ever think that maybe Chris is partly the reason why you did break up with Luke?"

The second Haley said those words, Brooke realized that they were true. Without Chris, she knew that she wouldn't have ever gotten the courage to break up with Lucas. She never wanted to be alone. It was scary. But with Chris, she never felt alone. She trusted him. She knew that with him, she was safe.

"He doesn't want me the way I want him," Brooke finally said, her raspy voice low and sad.

"How do you know that?"

"With the exception of Peyton, he never believed in commitment. He never had that idea fairytale ending scenario. He's Chris Keller," Brooke said, shaking her head and grabbing her muffin.

"Do you really think that's all Chris Keller is?" Haley pushed softly.

Brooke sighed.

No.

"Maybe," the brunette began slowly, hazel eyes scanning the backyard slowly as she spoke, "..Maybe I'm just clinging onto the first guy that's actually giving me the time of day."

"All your life, you've put everybody before yourself," Haley said.

"Mama! Come look at what daddy showed me!" Jamie called out from the swing set.

The young mom stood up and dusted herself off, looking down at Brooke, "It's time for Brooke Davis to do what she wants. It's time for her to act on her feelings. She won't know until she tries."

~ C & B ~

The pen slid smoothly over the page as Chris signed all the papers regarding the final hearing for his adoption. He heard a heavy sigh next to him and ignored it, flipping onto the next page for his initials. Another sigh filled the kitchen and he stopped, raising one brow without looking up, "Can I help you?"

"You're not even looking at me. It's rude not to make eye contact when you're talking to someone."

Chris closed his eyes for a moment before pointedly looking up and meeting his friend's eyes. He blinked hard when Clay only stared back, saying nothing. Silence filled the kitchen, both boys challenging the other to break it. Finally the former musician let out a loud sigh, "What do you want, Clay?"

"Attention," the blonde answered simply. He looked at the tall, thin man expectantly, "Well? I'm waiting."

"Two minutes!"

The blonde whined immediately as Chris went back to signing papers. He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting until his friend's eyes were back on his to speak again, "Actually that was three minutes and 47 seconds."

"Why are you so needy today?"

Clay shrugged and kicked the leg of his chair, "Why didn't you tell me that Brooke dumped Lucas?"

Silence.

Slowly Chris opened his mouth, floundering a bit for words. Finally he settled on "I didn't see how it was relevant," clearly displeasing Clay who immediately pointed a finger at him with dark eyes.

"Liar!"

"Drop it, Clay," he stood up and rolled his eyes, prepared to change the subject before his friend could get too deep into it.

Too late.

"Why don't you just admit you're in love with your bestest buddy Lucas's ex girl?"

"Are you seriously jealous of Lucas?" Chris asked suddenly, ignoring Clay's annoyed glare, "I mean seriously, you never have a good thing to say about the guy. What's the deal?"

Clay scoffed and shook his head, "He's a shitty friend who has been going behind your back for months to be with your ex wife and yet you act like the sun shines out his ass. I'm your best friend. When you and Brooke get married, I'm your damn best man, got it? And also, I'm hotter!"

Chris blinked slowly, an amused smile on his face, "That's why you get annoyed when I bring up Lucas! You're jealous!"

"Shut up! That's not the point!" The musician held back his laughter at the blonde's annoyance, his smile quickly falling at the next words, "The point is, you're in love with Brooke."

"I-I'm not in love with her. I just… want to be around her all the time and do things to make her smile, mope when she's not around, picture her taking care of Michael," his eyes went hazy and he quickly shook his head, "But no! I'm not in love with her!"

A blonde brow rose, "Dude…"

"Fine, fine! I love her, okay? But she doesn't feel the same. She and Lucas just ended. She doesn't need me to give her more drama." Chris shook his head seriously, blue eyes soft, "I can't lose my best friend because I have feelings. She's too important for that."

"Yeah but she feels it too. Come on, everyone can tell how you two feel except for the two of you. Go get your girl already and quit being a pussy about it."

Chris stepped back and shook his head, "I can't, okay? Not when she's still in love with Lucas. Look, she's coming over in a while and I have some stuff to get done."

Clay held up his hands in surrender and shook his head, "Hint taken. But for the record, you're an idiot."

With a half hearted salute he was out the door, trying to come up with a plan to get those two together already. There had to be something.

~ C & B ~

Chris took a seat on the end of the couch and tapped his fingers nervously against his knee. His heel began to bounce on the floor and he shifted positions, eyes shooting to the door. Another couple of minutes passed and he shifted again, running a hand through his hair in annoyance.

Why the hell are you so nervous? Stop fidgeting! It's just Brooke.

He heard his spare key in the door and sucked in a deep breath, just holding it there.

Oh shit, it's her. Act cool!

The brunette chewed her gum to calm the nerves in her body, her bag full of her pajama clothes and other essentials for a sleepover slung over the fold above her elbow. She opened the door and was washed over by the comfort of his home, her smile widening.

All nerves died and eager hazel eyes met nervous blue, Brooke shutting the door behind her softly. "Hey, Keller. Are you okay? You look jumpy."

"Yeah I'm good!" he spoke a little too loudly, their eyes meeting as he twisted his fingers in his lap. He cleared his throat and adopted a casual tone, leaning back against the couch and trying to look unaffected, "I mean, yeah… I'm good."

Brooke snorted and nodded her head slowly, setting her bag on the kitchen counter. "Did you order the Chinese?"

Chris nodded and leaned back, "Yup. I got your usual."

He pointed to the plastic bag next to her, sitting up a little, "I ordered a couple movies. Your style and mine. They all look doable."

Brooke made a face of disgust and shook her head, looking over all the movies and pouting every time she passed by one of his. She lifted them up and frowned, "Must we watch these? I don't think I'll be able to hold down all my food if I have to go through watching another one of these horror movies where the psycho killer drags a girl into the woods and slurps up her insides."

"Those don't even have cannibals in them! I checked this time."

Brooke immediately gave him the look. Chris narrowed his eyes, "That's not going to work on me this time! I know better now."

Her bottom lip shook and he clenched his hands at his sides, "Fine fine! We'll watch your girly crap. You're mean."

Brooke smiled in triumph and she grabbed her bag, "I'm gonna change because… Well, I hate casual clothes." She sent him a wink and left for the bathroom. It didn't take her much time to slip on her boy shorts and tank top, the brunette letting her hair fall loose of its ponytail.

Once she exited the bathroom, Chris already had the monopoly board set up and the pretzel piece was on her side. He definitely knew her way too well. Instead of sitting across from him like she usually did, Haley's words filtered through her mind.

Don't ignore it. Try it. Explore it. Be calm. Relaxed. Casual.

Brooke plopped down right next to Chris who was leaning back against the couch on the floor. She leaned against him and looked over the board, "I see you took the liberty in rolling first. Cheater!"

He laughed and bumped his arm against hers lightly, "It's not cheating. You took too long. You brought this on yourself."

He watched her as she rolled, eyes scoping down the skin he'd imagined touching a hundred times. He rested his hand against his leg, knuckles rubbing against her outer thigh each time she shifted even just a little. She glanced over and their eyes met, the boy getting a little lost in her. She nudged his hand and he looked down, realizing she was trying to hand him the dice.

Smooth, Keller.

"Oh! Thanks," he took his turn, heart racing at how close he'd come to just giving in and kissing her right then.

"You are so out of it today," Brooke said as she watched him roll the dice, his eyes on the board but seeming to be concentrated on anything else.

Oh no, you're too close. He doesn't want you near him. I knew this was all wrong! Stop fooling yourself, Brooke.

She casually scooted to her left so they were no longer touching, running a hand through her hair in the process. She smiled lightly when he landed on one of her properties, "Ha! Pay up, lover boy."

Chris leaned a little closer than necessary to hand her the money, their legs brushing again as he leaned across the board to exchange some money with the bank. When he sat back, they were even closer than before, the back of his hand resting against her thigh casually. He handed her the dice, eyes twinkling a little from the touch, "You're up."

There was a knock at the door and both of them jumped, the brunette making the first move and gladly standing up with the money in her hands. She exchanged the money for the food, sending the Chinese boy a wink as she shut the door. "You know, we get the same delivery guy every time and he still doesn't give us stuff for free. Do my winks not work?"

One blink. Two.

"Brooke… he's gay." Chris tilted his head, "He's totally got a thing going on with the pizza delivery boy that always comes here. I saw them making sexy eyes at each other. Trust me, you could never be the issue."

"Oh my gosh, that makes me feel way better about myself," Brooke said as they quickly finished up the game and packed it away, setting the food down in between them. She snatched one of his eggrolls from his pile and started munching away. "Well, are there any delivery guys that aren't gay? Because Brooke Davis is single and ready to mingle."

Yes. That is casual. Show that you are willing to move forward. Without necessarily saying you have feelings for him. Good girl.

His face fell for only a second at the thought of her moving on to someone else, but he quickly masked it with a smirk, "Well the chick who delivers from that tiny café down the street is single. I could get her number for you," he teased.

There! Now she knows you don't want her to date any other men. Good job, Chris. You got this!

Brooke frowned and set her eggroll down. So clearly he was interested in her after all if he was suggesting other people. "Right." She laughed and shook her head, giving her throat a quick clear. "So um, Haley's been asking about you. You should visit her. Maybe bring Michael with you next time. Jamie would love a new friend."

"Speaking of Michael," he licked his suddenly dry lips, lowering his fork to the carton, "the final hearing is in two weeks. I was hoping you'd want to come with me. There's not anyone that I'd rather have there. I want you."

"Awe, really?" Brooke melted inside but she pretended to keep her cool. She smiled warmly at Chris and leaned over, her hand falling on top of his. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Chris moved in and brushed his lips against the side of her head, hand turning palm up and giving hers a squeeze, "Thank you. I don't think I could do it alone."

"You could," Brooke assured him, her eyes meeting his and giving off a warmth and comfort in the atmosphere. "But I'll be more than happy to be there. And whatever the outcome, I'll still be there."

"You're amazing, you know that?" He leaned in and wrapped his arms around her, breathing her in and letting his eyes fall closed, "I don't know where I'd be without you, Dimples."

Brooke gladly wrapped her arms around him, returning the hug and closing her eyes.

Don't let go of me.

"You're my best friend."

"You've been my best friend for a long time now," he whispered back. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, arms tightening.

You're so much more than that though.

Brooke adjusted herself on the floor and crawled over to where he was sitting, the brunette climbing into his lap and burying her face in his chest. They stayed together in silence, the fashion designer breathing him in and calmly breathing out. Her voice was quiet and soft, but full of love, "I feel my safest with you."

He leaned his cheek against her hair, "Even though I'm kind of a wimp?"

"You're not a wimp when it comes to protecting the people you care about," Brooke whispered, shaking her head. "And one day, when you find your princess to rescue, she'll see how strong you really are and think wow, I'm insanely lucky."

"That's how I feel with you," he laughed quietly, voice soft. "I get to be your best friend and spend my time with you. Damn, I'm insanely lucky."

"You're Chris Keller. Famous Chris Keller," Brooke said back, her eyes opening though she was still lost in his trance. "All the girls in America and other countries wish they were me right now. I'm the lucky one."

"I'd give it all up, you know," his lips brushed her cheek, "the fame and fortune, all of it. If I had to choose between this moment and being up on that stage… there wouldn't be even a second where I debated not choosing this."

Brooke shook her head, not choosing to believe that was true. It was in her nature to keep her guard up when the sweet words were given. She fell for them too many times and it often led in hurt and a broken heart. "What's so special about this moment?"

He blinked slowly, finding comfort in her arms, "When I was married, we spent a good portion of the time fighting about stupid stuff. Like, REAL fights. We'd argue about who would do the laundry and then she'd storm out and go stay with you for the night. And before that, I spent my days pretty much being an ass because it was easy."

He shook his head, "Right here, now, I feel calm. I never felt like I could breathe before, but now I can. You give me that."

"So can everyone else… who isn't Peyton. And I guess Lucas," Brooke said, shaking her head. "There's Haley, Mia, Clay, Nathan, Jamie and Michael."

"It's different," he argued quietly. "With Michael and Jamie, I'm excited and full of energy. And I get like that with everyone else too, but with you," he let out a slow breath, "I've never had this with anyone else."

"Never had what?" Brooke asked softly. She lifted her head and her eyes met his, both of them so close to each other that their noses brushed.

"Comfort. Security." He licked his bottom lip, breath hitting her lips, "This kind of happiness."

Love.

"Well, that's what best friends are for," Brooke said with a light smile, giving his nose a light kiss before burying her face back into his shirt.

Smooth Brooke. Smooth. Don't even act on it. Why are you so scared? The worst you'll get is a rejection. You'll still be best friends. Right?

Chris groaned internally, pissed at himself for letting the moment pass them by without kissing her.

Wait… was that even a moment? Crap, I'm misreading signs again.

He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, "We'll always be like this, right?"

"As long as you're willing to put up with me," Brooke said with a light laugh. "Then I don't see why not. Let's get to the movies. We can watch one of your scary ones. But that means you have to hold me and comfort me when I'm scared."

He gave himself an internal high five, standing up and slipping her down onto the couch, "Get comfy and I'll put one in."

Grabbing a blanket from the hall closet, he made his way back into the living room and slid the scariest one he could find into the player. He slid in next to Brooke, wrapping the blanket around her. Finger poised over the play button he turned to her, smirking, "Are you ready for this?"

"Not at all," Brooke shook her head back and forth with wide eyes as he pressed the button. It started out mysterious and dark. And for the first twenty minutes everything seemed okay. But of course, the next scene showed the killer doing his thing with nothing but blood baths everywhere. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" She squealed and covered her eyes, burying her face in his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him, her leg falling over his lap.

Chris laughed loudly and curled his arms around her tiny frame. His fingers slid up and down her arm softly and he pressed a light kiss to her bare shoulder during one of the calmer parts of the movie. Before they knew it, the killer was chasing the main character and Brooke was completely in his lap, shaking.

"You're okay," he whispered with a soft laugh, "I've got you."

"How do people w-watch this stuff for fun?" Brooke asked with wide eyes, her body still shaking slightly. She jumped when she heard a loud bang from outside and she clung tighter onto him, her fingers curling through his shirt. "We're gonna die."

"We're not gonna die," Chris couldn't stop his laughter at this point, not even paying attention to the movie as he focused on her. "That's just the wind. You're being silly. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Yeah huh! He's got a chainsaw. You've got your fists!" Brooke said, her eyes going back to the movie. She nearly gagged at the sight and quickly pulled the blanket over her whole body, the brunette hidden from view. She closed her eyes, her hand accidentally brushing over his junk though she didn't notice.

Chris jumped a little, eyes going wide. He looked down at where her hand was still resting above him and tried to shift it away, feeling himself start to react. "U-um why don't we lay down to watch the rest?"

Brooke's hand pressed down even further as she adjusted underneath the blanket, "I'm not coming out of hiding. No way. Nope. My brains are going to stay in my head and are not gonna be a part of a zombie's next meal."

He whimpered quietly and shook his head, "B-but this isn't even a zombie movie. Let's just lay down…"

"You don't know," Brooke said, her fingernails running over the skin under his shirt softly. "They can just pop out of nowhere! They always do that."

He closed his eyes and tried not to focus too hard on the feel of her nails on his skin. He licked his lips and took a deep breath, "There are only a few minutes left. No zombies. Promise."

Brooke let out a breath and finally peaked out of her blanket hiding place. No zombie came out of nowhere and attacked her and she let out a breath of relief. "Okay." She sat up and smiled at him, "Let's lay."

Chris shifted beneath her on his side, pulling her back against his chest. His cheek rested against hers and he smiled when her fingers dug into his arm a moment later from fear.

Nothing else compares to this.