Scarlett Stain.

Summary: Brucas. Begins a little after shooting in season 3. Brooke believes Lucas only wants her and really loves Peyton because he saved her. Can he convince her that he loves her and her only?

A\N: I got reviews and subs pretty quickly so.. Yay (: thanks so much, now. Chapter two..

-

Annoyed, Brooke looked to Lucas again and shook her head, turning toward the door and quietly, she walked out, convinced it was Peyton, her best friend, that Lucas, her boyfriend wanted.

-

Why is there so much ..bad in the world? So much hate, so much pain, so much heartache?

Lucas woke up later that afternoon with a groan as he saw the time. He looked around, confused. Where was Brooke? It's not like her to ..leave..

Standing up, Lucas scratched his head and checked his cell phone for any missed calls. Nothing. That's weird, he thought and then he slightly panicked, what if something was wrong?

He called her number, bringing the phone to his cheek and began to freak out as he got her voicemail.

He got dressed quickly, leaving without a word to his mother who was lying on the couch and staring blankly at the ceiling.

-

Pulling up at Nathan and Haley's, he urgently but calmly asked them if they knew where she was.

Shaking her head with a slightly arched brow, she asked what happened.

He sat and explained everything to them, emphasizing his words with his hands as he told them, flushing as he did so, what happened the night before and that when he woke up she was gone.

"But why? Is she mad at you for some reason?" Haley asked.

"I don't know.. I mean, she sounded relieved that I called her last night." He paused briefly. "What if something bad happened?"

"Nothing bad happened, I'm sure," Haley assured him, patting his shoulder comfortingly.

"Well," Nathan spoke up, "Did she seem uncomfortable last night? About ..you know."

Lucas thought for a moment, trying to remember her facial expressions last night. She did seem a little..

He groaned, angry at himself and he buried his face in his hands.

They were all silent for a moment, then Lucas finally said: "She did seem ..uncomfortable last night. But I was too caught up in grief that I hardly noticed…"

"Dude," Nathan said with concern as he put a hand on his shoulder. "You better fix this."

He stood up, still angry at himself. "Well I have to find her first!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"We'll help you," Haley offered, standing up and smiling at him slightly.

"I appreciate the help, Haley, I do, but .. I need to do this alone." Lucas said without emotion.

Haley stepped back and quietly nodded. "You sure?"

He nodded too and without another word, left.

-

He searched everywhere, every time he didn't find her somewhere, he panicked a bit more. What if something really did happen? What if she ..got in a car accident? Or had a heart attack? Or got attacked? Or ..what if he's dreaming all of this and it's not really happening and any second now he'll wake up … -

"What are you doing here?" He heard a raspy voice ask.

Turning, he saw Brooke leaning against a tree, her eyes squinted at him and in the moonlight he could see that she was crying. Or had been.

"Brooke.. I .. where have you been?" He asked, hesitantly taking a step toward her.

She remained still. "I slept in my car. I've been here."

His eyes widened, and he was going to ask why she slept in her car but her uncertain expression from the night before entered his mind and he decided to be straightforward with her.

"Brooke, I'm sorry for last night.. Did I hurt you or? ..Ugh, God, I am so sorry. I feel horrible.." Lucas rambled on sadly.

Brooke nodded silently, looking down at the fallen leaves. "It's ..It's okay." Liar, she thought.

"It's not okay," He said, beginning to get frustrated. "I'm such a jerk, I know. And I'm really, really sorry."

She said nothing and they stood there, the cool wind blowing in their faces and she shivered, bumps forming on her arms.

He took another step toward her and was about to hand her his jacket but she backed away and said: "Don't touch me."

Hurt, he stared at her. "Brooke.. What.. I mean, I know you're upset, but.."

"Don't come near me," She interrupted, taking another step back, her face blank. Empty.

"Brooke.."

"It's over, Lucas." She said, her last words coming out as a pained whisper. "I'm sorry."

And with that, she began to walk away slowly, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

He wasn't going to let her go. Not the best thing that's ever happened to him. Why was he such an idiot? He began to walk after her, yelling out her name.

"Brooke, please, wait!"

She stopped, turned around, her hazel eyes became glossy with unshed tears. "Lucas, stop.. I can't .. we can't be together anymore, okay? … Bye."

He grabbed her arm and made her face him again. "But why?"

With a sigh, she unwillingly spoke. "Because I can't.. I can't deal with this anymore. I can't do it." She said, raising her chin. "I won't."

"Brooke.. What did I do? I mean, I know what I did was wrong and I'm sorry but I was hurting and I needed you. I always need you."

Biting her lips painfully, she tried to hold back the tears. If she cried, she would lose it and she would end up taking it back and she would ask for forgiveness and she would try again, but no, she wasn't going to do this. "I know you love Peyton, Lucas." She said, hating every word. "So ..you should be with her. She needs you. .. And ..you need her."

He couldn't say anything, he was too shocked to utter a word and he watched her stare at him with cold, tear filled eyes. She nodded to him and turned back around, walking away and out of his life.

Numbly, he went back to his car and drove anywhere, his mind blank, his heart throbbing madly with sorrow.

Of all the places he could've ended up, he ended up at Peyton's.

What is wrong with me? He thought as he knocked on her door.

She answered, automatically smiling as she saw it was him. "Luke, hey.." and noticing his expression, she asked: "What's wrong?"

He walked in and she shut the door behind him.

Following him to the couch, she sat across from him and waited.

He spoke: "Why is there so much ..bad in the world? So much hate, so much pain, so much heartache?"

Peyton was quiet for a moment, contemplating what she should say, how she should answer and what had happened to make him look so upset..

It must be Keith, she thought.

"Well .. That's just the way the cruel world works, Luke. But, you know what? You live for the good times. You live to dream. You live to accomplish." She paused, her eyes twinkling as she half smiled at him. "You live to love."

He nodded, bringing his face to his hands for the second time that day. And he said: "Brooke broke up with me."

She was surprised, she had to admit. She never saw them fight but something bad must've happened. "Oh, well.. Why?"

"She didn't say," He answered, deciding not to tell her that Brooke said she wanted him to be with Peyton and vice versa.

They sat still for a long interval and she debated with herself on what to say. Should she ask if he was okay? No, of course not, not when the answer is so obvious..

"She left." He said. "And.. I don't know what to do."

"Do you want her back?" She asked, a little afraid of the answer, though she didn't know why.

"Of course I do," He said automatically, looking up at her with narrowed, questioning eyes.

Not knowing what to say, she licked her lips and stood. "Okay then, well.. You work for it. You get her back." She stopped. "If she's worth it."

Sighing, he rubbed his pounding head, leaning back. "But it's not that easy, Peyton.."

"No one said it would be easy, Luke. If you really, truly love her, then you'll get her back." She wasn't sure if she actually liked Brooke with Lucas but she didn't think they would really get back together.

"God, Peyton, I really screwed up this time.." He shook his head, closing his eyes and tried to sleep, to erase everything in his mind, but he couldn't. He had to do something.

"Well you can fix it." She attempted to assure him.

He opened his eyes to look at her and said, sadly, quietly: "I really hope so, Peyton."

-

Brooke was at Haley and Nathan's. She had asked them if she could stay the night because she needed someone to talk to. Haley, of course, said yes and they talked for hours on end. Brooke cried her heart out, and seeing Brooke cry, made Haley cry. Haley tried to get her mind off of it but she needed to let it out so she cried with her.

After wallowing and eating ice cream, Haley turned to Brooke, her face serious and full of sympathy. "Brooke. You have to tell me.."

"Tell you what?"

"Well,.. What's going to happen? Where are you going to stay? I mean, you're welcome to stay here but I don't know about Lucas.."

"I think I know what I'm going to do." Brooke said, her expression hurt but determined.

"What's that?"

Brooke looked at Haley with regret in her eyes. "I'm going to move to California."

-

A\N: We just won super bowl, had to end it here! (: I'm so happy! Yay ! Sorry for the somewhat cliffhanger though. Please review! and I obviously didn't have enough time to check over it, so sorry. We have some celebrating to do! :D