They drove in silence the next morning as they inched their way up the eastern coast back toward North Carolina. It wasn't an awkward silence as much it was a tense silence. Brooke snuck glances at him as he drove, suddenly freed by her friends' statements that she wasn't to blame for Alex's death. She would always mourn him because he had loved her so well when she had needed him to, but she had blessed clarity now and it was amazing. She had met Nathan at a time in both of their lives when they had needed someone to be on their side. But now that the crisis was finally over, a year later for her, she was beginning to see the boy who had quickly become one of her best friends turn into the man she was desperate to be with.

"Stop staring at me or I'll have to pull over this car," Nathan muttered darkly.

"And do what," she smirked at him.

Nathan took one glance at her dimples, "all sorts of things I told you I was absolutely not going to do with you!"

"In that case," Brooke moved over in the passenger seat until she was rather close to his face staring intently at him.

He laughed and she smiled, her hand was drawn to the stubble that was beginning to mar his cheek. She stroked his cheek before placing one long, kiss on it. Nathan groaned, "you should stop."

"I don't want to," she admitted plainly.

"Well you have to," he pulled into a parking spot perfectly, "because we're here."

Brooke turned to the beach where he parked and smiled, "you've never been to a beach until you've been to a South Carolina beach."

"Who's house is this," he asked looking at the expensive looking house that stood a story high on stone columns.

"It was my grandpa's old house, after he passed away my parents used it for a vacation house although they never manage to get here for a vacation," Brooke grinned at him, "wanna stay here tonight? Plenty of booze and a beautiful beach."

"Don't tempt me," he told her.

They went into the house and the surprised housekeeper made them a quick lunch of sandwiches and soup before excusing herself for the day. After eating and joking they went on a walk along the water together.

"We're so cliché," Nathan told her.

"Why is that," she asked, leaning into him.

"We're walking on a beach, hand in hand," he explained.

"Well at least the sun isn't setting yet," Brooke stopped abruptly, pulling Nathan back from taking another step.

He turned to her in confusion, "why are we stopping?"

"Are we going to talk about this," she asked.

"Brooke," he looked down at his shoes and gently kicked the dirt with one foot, looking every inch like a bashful 5-year-old, "I won't let anything ruin my friendship with you. I know it's not fair, us sleeping together and everything, but I can't help it. I want to be close to you all the time."

"Nathan," she stepped up to him and put her hands on his chest, "we can do this and still not let anything ruin our friendship."

"I've never even done this," Nathan admitted, "I'm not a virgin but no girl in Tree Hill would be caught dead dating me!"

"I would," Brooke replied immediately. She paused, "I would be just as proud walking beside you as your lover and your girlfriend as I am when we walk together as friends."

"All the shit I've gone through has made me," he paused, pulling all of his jumbled thoughts together, "different. I get numb sometimes, that's not normal, Brooke. I come with a hell of a lot of string attached."

"And I've got more baggage then the luggage claim at the Charlotte airport but I want to try. You say you won't run from Tree Hill, you won't let them beat your bravery out of you," she looked up into his eyes wanting to kiss him more then she had ever yearned for breath, "be brave enough to take this step with me…please!"

"Baby," he cupped her cheeks and looked down into her eyes with so much intensity that Brooke couldn't have looked away if her life had depended on it, "all I want to do is take every step with you, but if doing this means that at some point you won't be in my life then I don't want anything to do with it! You saved me, Brooke, the day I met you was the day I started to believe again, to hope for more."

"I know," and she did. The day she had met him she hadn't been bullshitting when she'd said her intuition was telling her he would be important to her.

He jerked away from her and turned his back, he couldn't keep looking into her eyes and not kiss her. He felt her hand on his back before her arms crawled around his waist and she rested her head on his back, "Nathan, I can't tell you the future but I can tell you that I'm on your side no matter what. I highly doubt I'll be able to ever walk away from you. I…I think I'm in love with you."

He stiffened, he felt every muscle in his body tighten. He turned and looked into Brooke's eyes. They were full of tears but she hadn't let them fall, she was too strong, she would face him like the Amazon that she was.

"What did you say," he asked.

Her chin rose a bit, "I love you, and you can't make me stop!"

"Baby, I've been waiting for you to figure it out," he grabbed her behind and lifted her until her arms wrapped around his neck and their mouths finally met. He kissed her long and hard until he tasted her tears mixed in with her sweet taste.

"Take me to bed," she murmured against his lips.

"My head has been in your bed for weeks," he admitted, easily swinging her body until one arm was supporting her back and the other was supporting underneath her knees.

"That explains the copious showers you take day and night," she laughed out loud as she said it.

Nathan didn't respond he carried her into the house and very gently put her on her feet in the middle of what appeared to be a guest room. He watched then as she removed every article of clothing on her body. And when she stood before him naked and with her arms wide in invitation, he could barely stifle a groan. His fantasies hadn't done her justice.

"I love you," she murmured again this time with a smile bright enough to light a Christmas tree. He kissed her gently, taking his time to really enjoy her kisses before she lost patience and effectively stripped him of all clothing in what seemed like a matter of moments.

"I wish I could wait this first time but just looking at you has me close to the edge," he whispered before suckled one of her nipples deeply in his mouth.

Brooke's back arched off of the bed she hadn't even realized she had been lying on. She cradled him to her savoring him, "we'll be patient next time, I need you now."

Nathan rolled on a condom and it wasn't lost on Brooke that it was a magnum and that he was very well endowed. Finally, without preamble, he slid one long finger into her.

"Oh God, now, now, now! Don't wait anymore! We'll take our time next time," she promised rolling on top of him.

"Brooke," before he could utter another word she was impaling herself with his cock. He stared in fascination as every inch of him slid into her welcoming body. She tossed her head back and groaned. It seemed that he was numb for one moment before his body exploded into a mass of pure sensation. She was so tight and hot and he felt her body shudder around him as she rode him.

"Oh, God, I love you," she told him again and again before she screamed and he felt her clench around him.

Before she could come down off of her orgasm he rolled her beneath him and began to fuck her with long, sure strokes, almost always leaving her body but returning in a second with force making a loud slapping sound.

Her fingers curled around jaw and forced his mouth to hers before she tongued kiss him, her tongue mimicking his cock as he filled her over and over. He felt the tingling start in his thighs, "shit, I'm gonna come."

"Come with me," she offered, her eyes heavy and sensual.

He kissed her once on the mouth and then the breast before taking her over the edge and following her promptly with a grunt that rumbled through his trembling body and ended with his face in her neck, "I love you, baby. I love you, Brooke."

"I love you, too," she replied, her arms still tightly wrapped around him.

Nathan rolled off of her finally but pulled her so her head was lying on his chest. His eyes closed but before he could do more then take a few deep breaths Brooke rolled on top of him. He opened his eyes and focused on her smiling face, "what?"

"If I had known you were that good at it we would have been doing it from the start," she told him.

He laughed and lifted her easily from the bed, carrying her into the adjoining bathroom, "we have to shower and grab some dinner before me leave."

"You pleasure me, you feed me, you drive me around," she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her ear to his chest as her voice went from teasing to serious, "no wonder I love you."

"Every time you say that I feel," he paused feeling uncharacteristically close to a deep emotional outburst, "like I could conquer the world or give it all up, for you. I've never felt this way, it's weird."

She laughed and finally allowed him to talk her into a shower which ended exactly as she anticipated it would.

XOXOXOXO

"Woman," Nathan told Brooke gruffly, "if you don't stop that I'm going to be later for practice then I all ready am."

Brooke made a few noises but was too busy nibbling on Nathan's ear in the parking lot of Tree Hill High to care.

"Come back home and I promise it'll be worth it!"

"Don't tempt me," he replied and wrapped an arm around her waist so he lift her and kiss her properly.

She smiled as she kissed him so enthralled that she didn't notice how from the gym everyone could see them through the floor to ceiling windows on that side. Nathan, however, did notice and decided to end the show.

"Go to cheer practice, vixen," he released her finally.

Brooke turned toward the cafeteria, where the cheer leaders practiced on the weekends, but turned back to catch Nathan for one more kiss. He laughed and smacked her behind as she did a jog toward the cafeteria.

He was still smiling when he put his duffle bag down and began to stretch. He didn't really look around, he wasn't interested. What the hell did he care if none of the guys talked to him? He had Brooke and he had friends in Ashville now and they had a plan.

"So I take it you're official now," Lucas stated.

Nathan couldn't seem to stop smiling as he stretched his shoulders and ignored his brother.

"I understand, she's got a fine ass," no sooner had Skillz uttered those words then Nathan had him by the shirt collar. He put his hands up in surrender, "it was a joke man!"

"Don't joke about her," he released his teammate, "you can do whatever the hell you want to me but leave her alone!"

"Possessive much," Lucas asked.

"About her, yeah," Nathan admitted as he looked everyone of the guys in the eyes.

Lucas' identical eyes bore into him, "you haven't even known her for two months!"

"Yeah, your point?"

"She'll use you and toss you aside," Lucas predicted.

"Then you should get great entertainment. It would certainly be something that would amuse you for months, probably years," Nathan told him with an attitude but then he took a calming breath. They had a plan and he'd have to push down his possessive instinct to beat the hell out of any of his enemies who would do Brooke harm.

"Hey, Nate," he turned to see Brooke running up to him with a pair of sneakers in her hand. She paused in front of him and handed him his practice Jordans, "they were in my duffle. We must have switched accidently while we were at the beach house."

Nathan opened his duffle and sure enough, for everyone to see, was a bright pink thong sitting on the very top. He closed it immediately and handed it to Brooke, "get out of here, trouble maker."

She winked and after a quick peck began her quick walk back toward her practice. Nathan shook his head after her but was once again smiling, she just had that kind of effect on him.

XOXOXOXO

"They make me sick," Peyton spat out in disgust as she stared at Nathan and Brooke. They were sitting at a table in the food court of Tree Hill's mall laughing like they knew the best joke in the world.

Lucas rolled his eyes as he tried to pull Peyton on but she shook him off, "why do they bother you so much?"

"Why doesn't it bother you? Hasn't it been your mission in life to destroy his happiness? What has happened to you lately," she asked.

He knew he couldn't very well tell her what was on his mind, or better yet, who was on his mind. He knew Peyton and she would flip out and cause a stink that Tree Hill would still be recovering from for years to come.

"I'm just realizing that maybe I've been spending too much time focusing on his life and not mine. In a year and a half I'll be away in college, what do I care after that? And I'm starting to think I've been lucky. Dan has issues and Nathan gets to deal with that. At least I get Keith, he may drink too much, but he's dependable and I know he loves me."

Peyton's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock, "are you saying that you don't hate him anymore?"

"I'm saying that I don't care enough to hate him anymore. I'm almost an adult, I don't want to base my life on his," Lucas admitted.

"What has happened to my boyfriend," Peyton asked with disgust.

Lucas sighed deeply and meaningfully, "we're growing up, Peyt. It was bound to happen."

She turned her attention back to the happy couple and determined that it was Brooke's fault. The moment she had entered Tree Hill Peyton's life had begun to disintegrate. She had to get rid of her, one way or another.

XOXOXOXO

One week later was the final week of school before Christmas break would begin and it was only a few days until the plan went into effect. It would be a busy week with midterms, a big qualifying game, Winter Formal and Rachel would be coming to spend the next few weeks with them. Brooke was full of anticipation. She would get revenge on Peyton and the rest of her demon squad but until then she would wait. It would all be worth it in the end.

"Don't frown, pretty girl, it'll give you wrinkles," Brooke stiffened as she closed her locker and turned to face Lucas.

"What do you want," she asked immediately.

He cocked his head to the side, "do I have to want something to talk to a beautiful woman?"

Brooke laughed out loud sarcastically before abruptly stopping, "what's the game, Lucas? You know what, it doesn't matter. I'm not even marginally attracted to you so if you think you're going to flatter your way into my bed to get to Nathan then you're mistaken. I only have room in my bed for one Scott and I think I got the better catch."

Before she could walk more than two steps away Lucas caught her arm. She swung around her gaze locked on his hand, which was still around her arm. Her lips thinned into one line and her eyes hardened, "get your hands off of me Scott or I'll scream so loud people in Durham will hear me!"

He let go of her immediately and looked down at his feet, "look, I'm sorry."

"No you're not, you're pathetic, get it right," she corrected.

"Stop with the insults for a second!"

"I have to make up for all the years you degraded Nathan, you fucking idiot!"

Lucas took a deep breath, obviously trying to calm himself, "I have to talk to you, can you stop insulting me for a fucking second?"

Brooke stepped forward and sneered, "you don't get to ask me for a second because you haven't let up on Nathan for one second in seventeen years. Fuck you Lucas!"

Lucas stared into her eyes and realized that he was looking into the eyes of pure hatred. He took a step back, no one had ever looked at him like that, not even Nathan, "I…I know I've gone overboard over the years-"

"How about way overboard, so fucking overboard you haven't seen the ship in seventeen years and it's in the other fucking ocean," she corrected.

"I'm going to stop," he finally told her.

Her eyebrow rose, "yeah right."

"I'm not interested in being his enemy anymore. I don't care enough anymore," he told her.

"Bullshit," she argued, "you'll think of Nathan and his supposed luck for the rest of your life and wish for all the 'what ifs', you'll never stop caring. However, Nathan is going to get the fuck away from you and Tree Hill and Dan and he is going to have a good life and never think of you again! You'll be nothing more than a distant memory in a past that's more like a nightmare. You'll be in Tree Hill harboring your sadness and neglect like a security blanket because that's the kind of coward you are. Now I'm going to go and pretend that your balls didn't decide to drop today, and you never approached me. And one more thing, you can keep your pretty girl shit to yourself, I wouldn't let you touch me with a twenty foot pole, I'm not even marginally attracted to spiteful cowards."

Lucas watched her walk away but still felt the repercussions of her verbal beating. But he couldn't bring himself to be angry, although he was sure a few people had heard her bashing. She was right, he had been letting a lot of foolishness dictate his life. He watched Nathan with Brooke, saw how happy they were in their little world, and realized that despite him Nathan was moving on. It made him feel like he was in a rut, like he was being punished by his own actions. He ran a hand down his face and sighed, Peyton was right, he didn't even recognize himself anymore.

XOXOXOXO

Brooke's arms crept around Nathan's shoulders. She felt him stiffen before he realized it was her, she wondered if he'd ever stop flinching when he felt someone approaching.

"Hey, cutie," she whispered in his ear, "you got a girlfriend?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"I bet I could steal you from her," she took a nibble on his ear.

He shook his head and then turned his head so he could kiss her lips, "nope, no one compares to her, although…"

She smacked him as he laughed and finally sat beside him, "so, Rachel is going to be here in a few days, and I think she's more excited about coming then she's ever been about traveling anywhere else in the US."

Before Nathan could respond Peyton slammed her hands down on their table, her eyes boring holes into Brooke, "how dare you!"

"How dare I what," Brooke wondered, she hadn't wanted to tell Nathan about Lucas' little encounter but apparently she would have to.

"You don't get to speak to my boyfriend let alone demean him in public as if you're so much better then him! Just because you're rich-"

"Let me stop you right there, Peyton," Brooke rose and she noticed a hush fall over the cafeteria, "you spit when you talk so take a step back, and I'm not particularly fond of the smell of your breath."

"Bitch, I will beat you down so quickly," Peyton growled and Brooke had no doubt that she meant it.

"Try it, please, I'm begging you to throw the first punch so I can knock you on your anorexic ass," Brooke told her through clenched teeth.

"You may have been hot shit back in South Carolina but you're on my block now. You better take note that I will make your life miserable for the next year and a half if you don't figure out your place."

"For someone who is constantly getting on me because my parents have money you sure have a way of acting like a brat," Brooke replied, "you know what your problem is?"

"Brooke, come on," Nathan tried to lead her away.

She shook her head and he released her with a pent up sigh. Peyton barely looked at him, "what's that?"

"You're bitter and quite idiotic. You're pissed because three years from now you'll be fat, pregnant, and useless. I'll be in college with the Scott of my dreams. You're pissed because you know that no one really likes you, they put up with you. You're pissed because you know that your boyfriend isn't happy with you. You're pissed because it's easier to be mad and not do anything to change your situation then to get off your lazy, self-righteous ass and do something."

"Aren't you a regular Dr. Phil," she sneered, "you know what your problem is? You killed your boyfriend, you don't have any friends and you know that no matter what you can't get one up on me in this school. Bitch and moan all you want about me, I still own you until we graduate."

"Honey, you couldn't get on my level with a ladder and detailed directions," Brooke replied immediately.

"What's worse is that you actually think Nathan's in to you," Peyton told her, "everyone knows he's only with you because you're the only person who'll be seen with him. The moment he leaves this town he'll leave you and you know it. You say my boyfriend isn't happy with me, at least I'll have someone who'll stand beside me. I'm not the pathetic one, Brooke, you are because at least I don't lie to myself."

"Peyton," Nathan warned.

"What, Nathan," she snapped, "do you have something to say? Keep your mouth shut!"

"I don't know who the fuck you think you're talking to but he is not your child, do not tell him what to do," Brooke's voice got raspy and low.

"Make me shut up then," Peyton taunted her.

Brooke paused, truly considering it before she shrugged once, "I wouldn't soil my hands by touching you, not because you live in a trailer park but because your brand of whore leaves stains."

"Let's go," Nathan finally felt Brooke following and heaved a sigh in relief. At this rate he didn't know how they would make it to D-day.

XOXOXOXO

Lucas had been walking down the hallway toward the main gym when he was pulled into a closet. As soon as he was thrown against the wall he tensed and tried to fight out of the grasp but it was surprisingly strong. He finally focused on his assailant, "Nathan, what the fuck?"

"I will destroy you if you ever go near Brooke again," Nathan slammed him against the wall one more time, feeling his own power flowing like electricity in his veins.

"Let me go," Lucas told him through clenched teeth.

"Do you understand me? One more time, and I will not be responsible for what I do. I've taken your shit for years but the second you even look at her again I won't hesitate in taking you out and please don't misunderstand, I would love to bash your head through cement."

Lucas' eyes widened in pure shock. The eyes staring at him were unfocused, obviously furious, he wondered if that was how he looked when he was beating up Nathan with the guys holding his body still.

"Acting a bit like Dan now, aren't you?"

Nathan's eyes widened and after a pause he abruptly released Lucas. Luke pulled his shirt down and stared at his brother, "I told her I was going to leave you alone."

"Yeah, right," Nathan actually laughed at that absurd lie.

"You don't give a damn about me," Luke told him.

Nathan considered it, he only thought of Luke in terms of how long until he never had to see him again, "yeah, that's about right."

"I'm going to get the hell out Tree Hill and away from Dan's shadow," Luke admitted.

"Amen," Nathan took a deep breath, "look, man, just stay away from Brooke."

"You really care about her," Luke asked.

Nathan looked at him, "yeah. I care enough to beat the shit out of you if you ever touch her again. I don't care if that means that every time you and the team see me you jump me, but you'll never be stupid enough to do it again."

"Is she worth this?"

"She's worth everything," Nathan replied before leaving the room.

Luke stared at the door thinking that he knew exactly what Nathan meant but he wasn't thinking about Peyton.