Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or its characters...I own nothing but this story's plot!!!

Chapter 14:

Jealous Guy

"They're back! They're back!" Olivia screamed when she heard a car pull into the driveway. Ever since she had gotten up from her nap, all she had wanted was for Jamie to get home so that the two of them could play together.

Brooke smiled and laughed at Olivia. "Okay, okay, settle down you crazy munchkin," she chuckled. "Don't stand in the doorway so that they actually have room to get inside."

Olivia just bounded over to the window to look out of it. "There Auntie Rachie! And there Jamie!" She yelled, pointing through the glass pane.

"Yep, that's them," Nate said, coming up from behind the little girl. "What do you say we go outside and see if we can help them with their stuff?"

At his words, Olivia's eyes grew wide and she nodded her head vigorously.

"I'll take that as a yes," Nate responded and picked up the little girl, before heading out of the house.

"You ruin her, you know that?" Brooke said to Nate as more of a statement with a cocked eyebrow as she tried to hide the smile that was trying to form on her lips.

"I try," He smirked back at her before closing the door behind himself and Olivia.

"So what's the deal with you, bitchie-two-shoes?" Rachel asked, bounding into the room her friend had been occupying for about a week now. "You can't even come greet your best friend when she comes home?"

Brooke just shook her head from side to side, smiling up at her friend. "I thought Nate and Olivia had the welcome wagon on lock so I just came up here for some quiet time," she told her friend.

"That excuse is weak, B, and you know it," Rachel told her, plopping down on her bed. "But never fear, I have something that is going to so change your attitude."

"What?" Brooke questioned with a giggle.

"We are going out tonight!" Rachel screamed and waved her hands around for emphasis. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about anything," she instructed her brunette friend, when she saw her mouth trying to open in protest. "Haley has already arranged for Deb to come and watch the kids."

"Yeah, but, I don't know, Rach," Brooke started. "I mean, you just got home. And Nate is here."

"The more reason why we all need a night out," The scarlet haired girl said. "Besides Nate already agreed that it was a great idea, as long as you were in for it. Plus, Nathan and Dean are going to try to pop down if they get out of practice early tonight."

Brooke raised an eyebrow at her friend suspiciously. "Dean? Didn't you just see him like yesterday?" She asked.

"So?" Rachel counter-questioned innocently. "Besides, it will be more fun with a big group. So what do you say? You in?" She asked with hopeful eyes, moving her body back and forth in hopes to sway Brooke's vote.

"Fine, I'm in," Brooke said, putting her hands up by her face, signaling for Rachel to stop with the begging. "But quit with the peer-pressure, okay," she told her. "You know I always end up giving in."

"I know," Rachel said with a wink. "And that is why I always use it on you. Now I'm going to take a shower. But I will be back later on to get ready with you."

"Alright," Brooke agreed with a laugh. Until then she was going to go see what was going on in the once quiet house, because with all the people who were here now, she was sure it was anything but quiet.

"Hey you," Haley nudged her friend as she made her way into the kitchen. "So are you in for tonight?" She asked with a smile.

Brooke nodded her head and gave Haley a small smile in return. "Yeah, I think it will be fun," she admitted.

"Me too," Haley smiled widely. "It has been way too long since I have done something fun with you." Then she grabbed a drink and jumped up on a barstool.

"Yeah, I know," Brooke said, walking over to the fridge and getting out a canned coke of her own. "And it will be a good way for Nate to get to meet everyone. Is Nathan going to be able to come?"

"I think so," Haley nodded, "He said they should get out of practice early and he had been wanting to do a night out, so…"

"Well good," Brooke smiled as she slid herself up onto the stool next to her friend. "Because I really think he and Nate would get along. And plus if we go off dancing I don't want to leave him alone."

Haley laughed at her friend and smiled as well. "Speaking of Nate," she began, sending her friend a look. "He seems like a pretty great guy. How did you ever find him?" She questioned curiously.

"Long story," Brooke began, smiling at her memories. "But I know how lucky I am to have had him stumble into my train wreck of a life."

"Brooke, your life is not a train wreck," Haley consoled her with a chuckle as she patted her hand. "You are an amazing girl and anyone would be lucky to have you and Liv in their life."

"Well thanks, Hales," she smiled back at her friend, looking up from the counter to meet her gaze. "I guess I'm lucky that he actually likes Olivia, and that he didn't run in the other direction when he found out about her. I mean, that is the most natural reaction of most guys."

Haley laughed out loud, and slapped a hand over her mouth to calm herself. "You know what they say. Bringing up anything that screams commitment is a way to see if a guy is in it long term or not," she told her friend with a shrug.

"Yeah, I know," Brooke answered. "We just started dating so I'm really not thinking about long term. But I guess it is a good quality for him to have if the situation ever happened to come up."

"Mmmm, hmmm," Haley nodded her head at her friend. "Just don't shut yourself down to the possibility of actually finding love, Brooke Davis. Because you deserve it, more than anyone I know," she said as she pulled her friend in for a hug.

"Thanks," Brooke mumbled into her friend's shoulder as she squeezed her in return. After everything that had happened, she had just assumed that love wasn't in the cards for her. But maybe, after all these years, she had actually been wrong.

"You ready to go ladies?" Nate called up the stairs to the girls. Deb had arrived nearly twenty minutes ago and they had yet to emerge from the room where they were all getting ready together upstairs.

"They'll be down in a little while," Deb tried to reassure him, though she wasn't sure how well she was doing. She knew how girls could get, and who was to say if they would be down within the next five minutes or the next hour.

"I know," Nate told her, retreating to a seat on the sofa. "I can just get really anxious when I have to wait to go somewhere. It's actually something I need to work on so I guess this is a good thing."

Deb laughed and stood up from the chair she had been occupying. "I'm going to go check on the kids. But if they haven't come down within the next fifteen minutes I'll send one of them in to check on them," she said, smiling at the young man.

"Thanks," Nate nodded back at her. He didn't know much about this woman, but he already liked her style.

Needless to say, Deb's little plan wasn't needed. Five minutes later Rachel came trotting down the staircase. She was followed by Haley and last but definitely not least was Brooke, looking stunning in a corset style top, shorts, and wedges.

"So you ready to go?" Rachel asked Nate as the girls all entered the room.

"Sure am," he said, making his way over to Brooke and slinking an arm around her waist. "Are the other guys going to meet us there?" He asked, not that he minded being the only guy, but if they got all girly at least he wanted someone to be able to talk sports center with.

"Yeah, they won't be here till a little later," Haley answered, grabbing her purse from the table by the door. "But we can have plenty of fun without them."

"That's right," Brooke nodded, smiling widely. "Now let's go get this party started. It's not every night you get a chance to go out and just be young, and I plan to take full advantage of it."

"That's my girl," Rachel said, linking arms with her friend and pulling her away from Nate, much to his dismay. And arm in arm the two of them headed to the car.

"Did I tell you this was going to be a good idea, or did I tell you this was going to be a good idea?" Rachel asked Brooke as the two of the danced back to back to the music.

"I think you told me it was going to be a good idea," Brooke giggled back to her. Rachel's attempt at superior cockiness totally lost on her.

"Hey, that guy totally keeps giving us the eye," Rachel told her, looking in the guy's direction the entire time she spoke. "I think I'm going to go investigate. You want to come with?" She asked her, turning to look at her friend.

"Nah, you go," Brooke urged her. "I'm going to go get a drink anyway. Plus I want to see what everyone is doing because I haven't seen Nate or Haley since we started dancing."

"Well aren't you just too sweet," Rachel told her sarcastically. "Thanks for being my wing girl, but I'm okay to fly solo if you couldn't tell."

"No, I could definitely tell," Brooke winked at her. "Go get 'em Tiger," She added, before backing away from the dancing crowd as Rachel disappeared into the mass of people.

Brooke sat alone at the bar, twirling her olives around in her dirty martini. She had stopped dancing to give her friends some company, but they were nowhere to be found.

Shortly after she stopped dancing and found Haley at the bar, Haley had ditched her to start dancing with Nathan. Rachel was still off with her new man of the hour. And she had asked about Nate but Haley said he had to take a phone call from work. But when Brooke went outside to search for him he was nowhere to be found, so it was back to the bar.

"Hey beautiful, what you drinking?" A handsome stranger asked as he slid onto the stool next to her.

"This could be interesting," she thought. Strange as it sounded it had been a long time since a random guy had come up to talk to her out of the blue.

"Grey Goose Martini," she told him, "Dirty," she added, eating one of the olives out of her glass.

"Care to try something a little stronger?" He asked her, with a devilish smirk, one that almost made her want to take him into the bathroom with her.

God, what was she thinking? She could not act like this, she was a mom now for Pete's sake! I guess this was the reason why she hardly ever went out anymore. She had to get her head back on straight. She shouldn't be flirting with this guy, she had a boyfriend. A boyfriend that could walk in any second and see her dangerously close to whomever this guy was.

He leaned in closer to her, his face mere inches from hers and asked, "Shot of Absinthe?," with a lift of his eyebrows.

It was a move that was totally out of left field from the way she was thinking, and immediately she busted out into a fit of laughter. She moved even closer to him as the two shared a laugh, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady herself.

"Hck, Hmm," She heard someone clear their throat from behind her, snapping her back to reality. Great, just what Nate needed to see, her in another compromising situation with a guy.

"A little close, aren't you?" Lucas asked the guy in front of Brooke from where he stood behind her. His face was flat, masked over with what seemed to be anger. "Brooke…"

"Lucas," Brooke turned around and hissed. "What is your problem?" She asked him.

"Yeah, Lucas, what's your problem?" The guy asked, backing up what Brooke was saying. "We're just talking."

Lucas's jaw clenched as he looked at this guy. He looked like a smug jack-ass and all he wanted to do was knock the stupid smirk off his face. But he wouldn't, not here.

"Just watch it," Lucas warned the guy. "I'm not gonna let you play with her, not this one," he said and he walked off, leaving Brooke's jaw hanging.

"Sorry," Brooke finally said once she was over the initial shock of the whole situation. Had Lucas actually just acted jealous? As if he had any right.

"It's fine, I know the type. Ex-boyfriend, right?" He asked her, as if he could read her mind.

Brooke just looked at him about to speak, but before she could he cut her off. Her look must have said it all.

"Don't worry, Brooke," he told her. "I've moved around a lot and I can pretty much read the vibes between people. And He's obviously not over you," he added pointing in the direction Lucas's walked away.

Brooke scoffed at his take on the situation. "You may have been able to read the ex-boyfriend thing, but as for the not-over-me thing, not so much. He was engaged to someone else up until about two days ago. And since I am spilling this to you, I think I deserve a name, don't you?" She said, putting her hands on her hips, as she turned to fully face him.

"It's Dean," he told her. "And just because he was engaged doesn't mean anything. I can smell unresolved issues from a mile away."

"Ugh," Brooke groaned. Her moment of escape was ruined, only culminated by the fact that this so-thought escape ended up bringing her crashing back to reality. "How about those shots?" She asked him.

He flashed another one of his smiles in her direction and then leaned up on the bar. "Hey, two Absinthe shots over here," he called, before settling back in his chair.

The shots arrived and Brooke downed hers before Dean even picked his up. "Can I get another?" She asked the bartender with a bat of her lashes.

Dean laughed, and downed his as well. "Well I can see why he likes you. You're definitely a ballsy girl. I don't think I've met another girl who would drink one of those and immediately chase it with another,"

"Well you haven't met my friend Rachel then," Brooke laughed, setting her glass back on the bar.

"Rachel?" Dean questioned her, as if confused and totally enlightened at the same time. "As in Rachel Gattina?" He asked her in shock.

Brooke turned and smiled wickedly at him. "Oh so you do know her. Are you one of her latest conquests?" She asked with a laugh, her mind definitely fuzzy from the alcohol.

"Uh, yeah," Dean started, not really sure what she meant by that. If anything she was one of his conquests. "We've kinda been sle—I mean, seeing each other the past few days."

"Oh, you're the Dean!" She squealed, everything finally clicking. She should have known by the name. Gah, this alcohol must really be affecting her ability to think straight. "She was right, you are definitely hot," she added with a laugh, putting a hand on his strong chest.

"And that alcohol has definitely got you feeling good. I thought you could handle your liquor?" He asked her with a smirk.

"I can," she shot back. "I am perfectly fine!" She told him, waving a hand in his face. A hand which made the bartender rush to their sides.

"We're good, thanks," Dean told him before he had a chance to ask.

"No," Brooke corrected, turning from Dean to the bartender. "I'll have another martini please…oh, what was your name?" she asked him as if she had simply forgotten.

"It's Owen," he told her with a toothy smile.

"Thanks Owen," she breathed huskily. Then she turned back to Dean, "See I'm fine."

"You are a future poster for the morning after pill if you keep throwing yourself at every guy who even looks your way," he shot back at her.

"I am not throwing myself at anyone," She screamed. "I am simply having a good time. Am I not allowed to do that?" She asked him, throwing her hands into the air.

"I never said that," he told her. "I'm just saying all actions have consequences. Trust me, I know. You and Rachel may be from your perfect little rich, sheltered worlds but I know some things about bad decisions."

"Has Rachel not told you anything about me?" Brooke asked him in shock. She was actually starting to wonder what the girl had told him about herself, seeing as how he seemed to hardly know anything about her.

"Huh?" He asked her curiously. And before he could say anything else, Brooke started again.

"Let's just say I know a few things about the consequences of your actions too," she told him as she picked up her martini and sauntered away from the bar.

"I bet you do do," Peyton smirked from where she stoo right in front of the brunette, almost causing her once friend to run into her.

Brooke just stared at Peyton, her face full of contempt, but still not exactly sure what the blonde was getting at. "Excuse me?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Peyton let out a slight laugh and crossed her arms over her chest as she stepped closer to Brooke. "Oh you know, I waas just agreeing with you about yourself and your bad decisions. You know, that little devil you call a daughter."

Brooke now raging, leaned forward into Peyton's face. She was beyond ready to know the smug expression straight off of her. "You need to get out of my face, Peyton," she warned. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you and your shit right now."

"Oh your not in the mood right now," the blonde mocked. "Did you think I was in the mood to see you, here, in Tree Hill? Did you think I was in the mood to have you ruin my relationship with the love of my life? No I wasn't. Guess what, life sucks and sometimes you just have to deal."

Right as she was about to pounce on Peyton, Brooke felt a pair of arms grab her shoulders.

"There you are," Nate whispered in her ear, pretty oblivious to the situation her had walked in on. Then he looked up and added, " Oh, did I just interrupt something?"

Brooke turned to face him. "Nothing worth continuing," she said flatly. "Let's go," she told him, grabbing his hand. "I really want to dance." And the two walked off, leaving a still fuming Peyton.

Thank goodness for Nate. Or was it alcohol? Because those two had her feeling a lot better. Alcohol and Nate, what a perfect combination.

Not long after she had left her most depressing bar conversation ever, she had found Nathaniel making his way back into the crowded nightclub. She had immediately pulled him out onto the dance floor with her, drink in hand and all.

And they had danced, and danced, and danced. Even when Haley tried to get her to stop, she wouldn't. She wasn't ready. She needed to feel the pulsating beat of the music and feel his body pressed closely against hers. She needed all the distractions she could get to keep the voices in her head quiet.

That was until Nate broke away from her. "I'm getting tired," he told her. "I think I'm going to go get a drink and sit down for a minute. You want to join me?" He asked her, tugging at her hand.

She slowly pulled her hand away and shook her head from side to side. She wasn't ready to leave the dance floor, not any time soon. So as he made his way off the dance floor, she made her way further onto it, disappearing into the throng of people.

It wasn't long before she felt a pair of strong arms make their way around her waist, resting a great deal of his weight on her small frame. And for some reason she didn't even care to make them stop. She just gave in, leaning into the tall man and grinding herself into him seductively.

It wasn't until she turned around a few moments later that she saw who she had been dancing with face to face. And she pushed herself away from him like he was a hot kettle on a stove. Well, there was the one thing that could get her to stop dancing.

"Lucas, what the hell are you doing?" She screamed at him, standing still in the middle of the dance floor.

"Nothing," he told her. "I'm just dancing, same as you," he said innocently. "I thought you could use a new partner, one that could keep up with you. And I didn't want you being by groped by someone like that asshole at the bar." He added with a slur to his words.

"So you thought you would do it instead?" She asked him incredulously. "Unbelievable," she muttered, as she turned to walk away. Not so much as one word from him in almost four years and now he was acting like some jealous boyfriend or something.

As she turned to go, she felt a tug on her arm, and she was pulled back towards him. Spun around completely so that they were almost face to face, she could smell the alcohol on his breath. So this was what had him in such a tailspin.

"Have you been drinking?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. She looked into his eyes and they were beyond glassed over.

He shrugged his shoulders at her. "No more than you," he admitted. "And besides, this is a bar. That is the whole reason why people come here."

Brooke could tell she was much more sober than the man in front of her. She pulled away from him, and watched him stumble as she did so. "Lucas, go home and sober up. You have no reason to be this drunk," she said. "You should be working on setting an example."

"What, like you are?" He challenged her. "Flirting with random men and drinking away. You go out and party while your daughter is at home alone. Bringing strangers into your her life, wow, that's some kind of example," he said, waving a hand in her face.

"Don't you dare try and judge me. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been out since I had Olivia. And I can also count on that same hand the number of times you've been there to give her a role-model to look up to," she snapped, waving her arms around. "I'm done!" She screamed, flinging her hands in the air and letting them fall to her sides.

"We're not done here," Lucas told her, grabbing her wrists once more.

Before he had a chance to speak again, Brooke started to yell. "Get your hands off of me," she told him, wriggling out of his grasp.

By this time, Rachel and Dean who had been dancing nearby were at her side, and they did not look very pleased.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Rachel screamed, gesturing between the two of them, but she ended up giving Lucas the death glare. Then she and Brooke retreated from the floor.

"Yeah man, you got a problem," Dean asked Lucas, stepping mere inches from his face. He hadn't liked this guy from the second he had laid eyes on him.

And the feeling was mutual. Even in his somewhat altered state of mind, Lucas still wanted to take this guy on. "It's nothing that concerns you," he spat at him. And he turned to try to go after the girls.

"I don't think so, Boozy," Dean told him, putting a hand on Lucas's chest to stop him from moving. "I suggest you forget they were ever here tonight."

"And I suggest you get your hands off me," Lucas warned him, his tone flat.

"Lucas, come on, let's just go," Peyton encouraged him, making hereslf known from where she had silently been watching in the shadows.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Lucas responded as he jerked away from her touch as if it had burned him. "I'm about to beat this guy's ass," he slurred in his drunken state.

Dean laughed in the guys face. It was beyond obvious he was drunk, and in no way worth his time or effort. "No, no, listen to her. Why don't you just run home with your anorexic fiancé here? I hear that 's what you're good at," he challenged Lucas before turning away. After his earlier encounter at the bar, he had found Rachel and she had given him the rundown on this guy's back story. A story, I might add, that wasn't very pretty.

That was when Lucas lunged at Dean, knocking them both to the ground. The two began to tumble and pretty soon Dean had Lucas pinned to the ground. It wasn't hard considering Lucas's state of mind. Let's just say he had a severe handicap in the little battle.

The fight didn't last very long, and soon they were both being escorted from the building by security.

"Remind me again why going out tonight was a good idea?" Brooke asked her friend as they all rode home together from Tric. It was much too early for most of their liking but after the fight had gotten Dean tossed; they couldn't much do anything else.

Rachel just turned to Brooke and shot her a look. She had wanted nothing more than a fun night out. How was she to know that they would run into a drunk Lucas or that Dean has such a violent streak for that matter.

"That guy was a real winner, Brooke. I can see why you left his ass in the dust a long time ago," Dean told her sarcastically as he leaned around Rachel to look at the brunette.

"Oh, and about before, what I said at the bar—" Dean started, but Brooke cut him off.

"Don't worry about it," she waved him off. "I know you wouldn't have said anything if you knew. And besides, it seems like it is just in your nature to look out for people, even those you don't know very well," she added, looking from him to Rachel who she gave an approving smile.

Rachel smiled back and pulled her friend in for a quick hug. She was glad she seemed to approve of Dean; after all, he was the first guy in a long time she had actually let Brooke meet. For some reason, the others just hadn't been…worthy.

Brooke then turned her attention back to the window. Why did her life have to be such a freak-show? She felt like she was on the inside of some huge glass box—on display for everyone to see—and people just kept on with the poking and prodding. She was their favorite spectator sport.

"Don't worry about it," Nate turned around and placed a hand on her knee. "I know that guy is seriously messed up. None of what happened tonight was your fault."

Brooke gave him a sad smile and nodded her head. At least Nate wasn't mad at her, which was a plus considering the events that had occurred since he arrived in Tree Hill.

"Thanks," she said, giving his hand a squeeze before looking back outside. She just wasn't in the mood to talk right now. And no matter what everyone said, she couldn't help feeling all the events that were happening in her life were her fault.

So here's the next chapter...I'm still not completely happy with it, but I can't really edit it and be happy either. Sometimes, well most of the time, when I get a crazy idea in my head I have to go with it or I won't be satisfied. Idk, it's hard to explain, but let me know what you all thought of it...that is the most important thing. I will try to get back into the swing of things with updates now that I am married and not having to plan a wedding! :) Title from a song by Gavin DeGraw!