'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
and life's like an hourglass glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button girl
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe, just breathe
-Anna Nalick
xxxx
A smile of contentment crossed his face as he stepped into the Tree Hill airport. He was home. Julian Baker grabbed his luggage and searched the airport for the familiar faces he was expecting. He pulled his phone out to give his ex-wife a call when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and his eyes softened as he saw Haley and Jamie standing behind him. "Dad!" Jamie yelled as he engulfed his father in a massive hug.
Julian laughed as he pulled away, "I missed you Jamie."
"I missed you too dad."
Julian turned and smiled at Haley. "Come here Hales," he grinned as he opened his arm wide for his ex-wife.
Haley looked at him hesitantly before erupting into a smile and allowing herself to fall into his arms. "I missed you Hales," he whispered into her ear. His voice sent shivers down her spine and she couldn't find her own voice.
He gave her a confident smile as he pulled away. "Well, let's get going. I've missed this place."
The rivercourt had never been his place. It had always been Lucas's but for some odd reason Nathan Scott found himself standing at the rivercourt with a basketball. He was trying so hard to focus on his game but his mind kept slipping elsewhere. His thoughts were consumed with images of him and Brooke, Sophia, Peyton, Sawyer, everything. He threw the ball at the basket but he wasn't even paying attention and the ball narrowly missed the basket, hitting the rim and bouncing back onto the asphalt. "Fuck!" he cursed loudly as he retrieved the ball and lined himself up to shoot again, attempting to shake the thoughts from his head and focus on the game.
"Want me to show you how it's done Danny Jr?" a familiar smug voice asked.
"What do you want Dan?" Nathan growled as he set the basketball down and glared at his father ominously.
"I don't want anything," Dan chuckled. "I just thought I'd stop by and say hello to my son. I heard he was back in town but I figured that was a lie considering he'd tell me if that were so."
"You're not a part of my life anymore Dan," Nathan retorted as he picked up the basketball, threw it hard at Dan and turned around to leave.
Dan caught the ball and smirked devilishly. "You know son I'm so proud of you. You turned out just like me."
Nathan stopped in his tracks and turned around with a cold frown planted firmly on his face. "I will never be you Dan. Never!"
Dan let out a small chuckle. "It's a shame you can't see it Nate but you are me. Don't you see? You abandoned your child, you kept the other one, and now you regret letting go of the one you abandoned. Good job Nathan, you've made me proud."
"Do you really think I wanted to end up like you Dan? Do you think I just woke up one day and wished for this? No, I didn't. It doesn't matter how hard I try to deny it but I regret the choice I made. I don't want to end up like you did, in prison for murdering my own brother, and having absolutely no family left. You're dead to everyone Dan but I'm not. And I won't be."
A small smile curved across Dan's face. "Then don't make the same mistake I did. Go fix it."
With that he was gone, and Nathan was left alone on the court with the words echoing through his ears. Go fix it. He wished it was that simple. He really did.
"Coming!" the cheery voice of Brooke Davis called as she heard a knock on the door.
She swung the door open only to reveal her best friend Lucas. "Hey…"
"Hi Luke," she mumbled awkwardly. They hadn't spoken since the kiss and that was almost 2 days ago.
"Can I come in?" he asked with a goofy smile spread across his face.
"Sure." Brooke ushered him inside and closed the door behind them.
"Brooke we need to talk," Lucas stated plainly as he clasped his hands together.
"Okay…" she nodded her head uneasily as she led Lucas into the living room.
"Can I get you anything?" she asked politely but Lucas just shook his head.
"Look Brooke about the kiss…"
"It's okay Luke. I understand. It was just a mistake. I get it," she cut him off as she looked down at the floor.
"Brooke. Look at me." Lucas lifted her chin with his finger. "I love you."
Brooke felt her body tense up. Maybe he meant it in a friend's type of way. Judging by the look on his face that would be a negative.
"W-what?" she managed to choke out.
"I love you Brooke," he repeated. "And I'm sick of holding it in. I let you go once Brooke and I don't wanna do it again."
"Lucas I… What makes you think it'll work? It didn't work the first time and now…" Brooke trailed on aimlessly.
"Because we have grown up Brooke. We are not the same people we were in High School. We weren't ready for a relationship then but it's different now. I have spent the last 16 years by your side, raising your daughter because my own brother was too much of a coward to do it himself. Can't you see it Brooke? We are already a family."
"I can't…" Brooke croaked out as she looked at Lucas helplessly.
She watched as Lucas's face fell. "Why not?"
"Because I can't risk it. I can't risk getting my heart broken again and I need you Lucas, especially right now. I need you as my best friend and I can't risk losing that either. There's just too much on the line right now and your timing sucks Lucas. It always has. I'm sorry but I can't." Her eyes clouded with tears as she rejected her first love, the man she would always love.
"Brooke…"
"I'm sorry," she replied quietly. "I have to go."
With that she was gone, leaving Lucas alone and heartbroken. His entire world felt like it was shattered. He put his heart on the line only to get it burned.
Brooke ran. It was what she did best. She ran until she reached her store on Main Street. Quickly, she swung the door open and scanned the store for the one person she was looking for. There were no customers and it was almost closing time. "Mom!" she called loudly.
"Brooke?"
Victoria Davis appeared from the back room with a dress in her hand. She saw the tears in her daughter's eyes and dropped the dress before rushing over and enveloping her daughter in a hug. "What happened?"
"He told me… he told me he loved me and I… I walked out…" she choked out between sobs.
Victoria rubbed her back soothingly. "Who told you they loved you?"
"Lucas…"
"And you walked out?"
Brooke nodded her head slowly as Victoria pulled away and frowned at her daughter.
"Well then what are you still doing here? You need to go back there and tell that boy that you love him!"
"Mom, I can't. I don't. I mean I don't know what to do."
"Well you love Lucas don't you?" her mother asked rhetorically.
"No! I mean as my best friend yes but I don't love him anymore. That was a long time ago. I haven't had feelings for him since well the last time we uh… slept together."
"Well do you ever think you could…?"
"I don't know mom. I'm just so confused okay?" Brooke snapped as she rested her head against her mother's shoulder.
"That boy loves you Brooke. He always has. I can see it in his eyes Brooke. The way he looks at you, it's a way that I could only wish my husband would have looked at me in…"
"I know that okay! Even if I did have some feelings for him it wouldn't matter anyways. I can't give my heart away again. The last time I did, you saw how it ended and I'm not sure that I can go through that again. I won't."
Victoria sighed. "So you're gonna punish Lucas for Nathan's mistakes? That was a very long time ago Brooke and Lucas is not Nathan so why push him away because you're afraid? You're afraid to give your heart to someone because Nathan fucked everything up but guess what Brooke? Until you put your heart on the line and learn to let someone in you're going to end up like me. Alone and miserable."
"I'm not afraid…"
"Yes you are Brooke. Just stop hiding your heart and figure out what you want."
"I just need some time to think okay?"
"That's fine Brooke," Victoria offered her daughter a slight smile as she pulled her in for a hug. "I love you Brooke."
"I love you too mom."
Peyton Scott sat in front of her computer as she listened to yet another demo tape. "Fail," she muttered to herself as she threw the tape in the garbage. "And you call yourself a musician…" She hadn't been having very much luck finding a new act lately.
"Actually I do call myself a musician," a voice chuckled from behind her and she turned around to come face to face with Jake Jagielski.
He offered her a small smile as he picked up a guitar and started plucking a few strings. "You play?" Peyton asked with surprise.
He nodded as he opened his mouth to sing.
It's the biggest storm in years they say.
Couldn't take a plane so I hopped a train
I'd like to stay, in a stormy winters day
so I'll come back to you someday
As the states rolled by
its all so clear
I'm everywhere but never right here
It's always the same
constant change.
But I'll come back to you someday
"Wow…" Peyton breathed once he set the guitar down. "I didn't know you could sing."
"There's a lot you don't know about me," he grinned.
"Did you write that yourself?"
"Sure did. When Jenny was little I used to sing to her."
"Have you ever thought about making it a career?" Peyton asked quietly as she looked down at her hands.
"Nah. I mean it would be nice but I have Jenny and TRIC…"
"That's a shame because your talent shouldn't go to waste. I could sign you onto my label right now if you want."
Jake chuckled. "It's just not my thing. I think I'll stick to singing at TRIC."
"Oh," Peyton looked down defeated. She thought that maybe she'd found her saving grace. The one thing that could've saved her deteriorated label from sinking as low as it could possible go.
"What's wrong Peyt?" Jake asked sincerely as he placed a hand on top of hers.
"It's just the label… you know what never mind. It's my problem not yours."
"Maybe I can help," Jake offered.
"The label is probably going to go out of business," she blurted out in one quick motion.
Jake looked at her in shock. "Wow. Peyton I wish I could help…"
"Well I need a new act and it can't be a half ass act. I need an international superstar in the making to keep me in business. You were my one chance but I guess it's time to start packing," she sighed bitterly as she grabbed a producing award off the wall beside her desk, stared at it, then tossed it into an empty box.
"I think I might be able to help you," Jake smiled, causing Peyton to turn to him in surprise.
"So you'll do it?"
Jake shook his head. "Not me but maybe someone else will. Just hold on a second."
About 5 minutes later Jake returned with a tall brunette girl that looked to be maybe a few years younger than Peyton. "Peyton this is my other bartender Chase's girlfriend Mia. Mia this is Peyton, the owner of this label."
"Hi…" Mia offered Peyton a small smile as she stuck her hand out for Peyton to shake. Peyton accepted the gesture awkwardly and turned to Jake who smiled in return.
"Mia is an amazing singer but she's never tried to pursue a career. Can you just hear her out?"
Peyton nodded. "Let's hear what you've got."
Mia nodded and sat behind the piano. Her fingers moved effortlessly as she produced a beautiful harmony.
I've heard there was a sacred chord that
David played and it pleased the Lord.
But you don't really care for music, do ya?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof.
You saw her bathing on the roof,
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya.
She tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
As Mia's voice faded out, Peyton stood with an unreadable expression on her face.
"So…" Jake mused as he looked back and forth between Peyton and Mia.
A huge smile erupted across Peyton's face as she clapped. "I think you may have just saved my label."
"Really?" Mia asked with excitement. Being a singer had always been her dream.
Peyton nodded and handed her a piece of paper. "Here's my number. Drop by the studio at about noon tomorrow," Peyton grinned as she scanned her schedule book and wrote Mia's name down. "We can discuss our hopes for your career then and start recording as soon as possible. Do you have many songs?"
Mia pulled a notebook out of her purse. "Hundreds," she grinned as she flipped through the pages, each filled with lyrics written in ink.
"Great," Peyton smiled. "I can't wait to start working with you."
Mia nodded, "Well I have to go meet Chase now but I will definitely be back tomorrow."
As Mia left, Peyton smiled and jumped out of her chair. "I seriously love you Jake Jagielski!" she screamed as she threw her arms around his neck. "You most likely just saved my label."
Jake smiled as he leaned against the desk. "Well what can I say, I am a lifesaver."
"You are Jake. First you gave me a place to base my label out of and now you helped my find a talent that I'm sure is going to hit big. What would I do without you?"
Jake laughed, "I don't know Scott."
"Come on let's go celebrate!" Peyton grinned as she drug Jake out of the office.
"So how'd the new movie go?" Jamie asked curiously as he sat opposite his father on the couch. Haley had gone to visit Lucas while Jamie and Julian hung out together.
"Great. I think it's gonna be a hit," Julian smiled as he pulled a few tickets out of his pocket. "And as a treat I thought I'd invite you, your mother, Sophia, Brooke, Lucas, Jake, and Jenny to the premiere next week."
Jamie's eyes lit up as he scanned the tickets. "Dad you are the freaking best. I'm gonna go call Sophia right now!"
"No need to do that goof. I'm right here," the smug voice of Sophia Davis laughed as she walked into the room and gave Jamie a quick hug and a peck on the lips.
"Well well, if it isn't Sophia Davis herself. Last time I saw you, you were about 10 years old. Look at you now all grown up," Julian grinned as he opened his arms for Sophia.
"Hey Julian!" she smiled widely. "What do you have in your hands Jamie?" she asked once she let go of Julian.
"You my friend are seriously gonna love my dad. He got tickets for me, you, mom, your mom, Uncle Lucas, Uncle Jake and Jenny to attend his movie premiere in LA next week."
"Shut up!" Sophia squealed as she grabbed the tickets from Jamie's hands. "Oh my god Julian I freaking love you right now!"
"Yeah Julian she freaking loves you right now," a voice mocked and Julian turned to see Brooke Davis standing behind him with the usual smirk on her face.
"Brooke Davis. It's been awhile," Julian stood up and pulled the brunette in for a hug.
"That it has," Brooke agreed as she pulled out of the embrace.
"So do you think you can attend the premiere?"
Brooke smiled, "Well I'll have to think about that…"
"Brooke…" Julian groaned as he playfully tapped her shoulder.
"Of course, I'll be attending your premiere."
"Well Soph and I are off to the movies now but mom should be home soon," Jamie cut in as he ran down the stairs and grabbed his car keys.
Julian nodded, "That's okay, I have Brooke here to keep me company. I'd love to catch up with her. You two have fun," he winked at Jamie and Sophia as they rolled their eyes in unison and headed out the door.
"So how's life been treating you Davis? Or is it Scott now?" Julian asked playfully as he raised his eyebrow.
"It's still Davis," she stated firmly, the annoyance clearly evident in her voice. "And I've been good"
"Seriously, you and Luke never got together? I was sure that by now you two would've been married and had a few kid running around."
"Yeah well people can't seem to realize that Luke and I are just friends," she growled, putting a stress on the word friends.
"Sorry, I won't pry but if you wanna talk about what's bothering you, I'm listening," he offered with an encouraging smile.
"Well I assume that Haley or Jamie has told you that Nathan is back in town," Brooke stated flatly. Julian nodded his head. "Well it turns out that Peyton is Nathan's wife and they have a daughter together. And Sophia doesn't like Sawyer so that just makes things worse. And now with Luke…"
"Wow wait a second Hales already filled me in but did you just say and now with Luke?"
Why can't I just keep my mouth shut Brooke wondered? "Well yeah but it was never mind."
"Come on Davis. Spill it. Something happened between you and Lukey," Julian teased in a mocking voice.
"Nothing happened," she snapped.
"Right… If you don't wanna tell me I understand but I will beat it out of Lucas or Haley later so…"
"We kissed alright and he admitted he loved me and I walked away," she blurted. "There are you happy now?"
"Hold on a second, let me get this straight. Lucas Scott admitted that he was in love with you and you walked away?" Julian asked with disbelief. Brooke nodded.
"Are you freaking nuts? That boy loves you, and you obviously love him but you chose to walk away and ignore the fact that your happily ever after was right in front of you?"
"Julian it's not like that. You don't understand," Brooke sighed as a tear dropped from her eye. "I wish I could love him but I can't. I just can't okay?"
"Because you're scared right?"
Brooke shook her head, "I'm not scared."
"Yes you are Brooke. You're hiding your heart because Nathan broke it so badly. But punishing Lucas for Nathan's shortcomings isn't going to solve anything. If you have feelings for him, you need to give it a shot because this could be it for you. This could be what you've been looking for all along."
"God Julian, you sound like my mother. I'm not ready to make any rash decisions just yet. I need to think about things and now is not ideal timing either with Nathan back in town…"
"That's all the more reason," Julian smiled as he reached for Brooke's hand. "I'm sure you'll figure it out Brooke. You're a smart girl."
"Thanks Julian. It's good to have you back in town," Brooke smiled as wrapped her arms around Julian. "We sure have missed you around here."
"Well I've missed you too Davis."
Haley James watched the scene unfold in front of her. Julian and Brooke sure looked awfully comfortable, wrapped in each other's arms on her couch. She knew they'd always been close but it seemed strange to see them like this. Haley quickly shook it off. Brooke loved Lucas right?
"Mia is going to fucking annihilate the music business with her awesome vocals," Peyton slurred as she finished her drink and slammed it down on the table.
Chase was working tonight and Jake was off duty so the two of them were having drinks to celebrate Mia being signed to Peyton's label.
Both Jake and Peyton were pretty tipsy. Well Peyton was pretty much full on drunk and Jake was starting to feel it.
"I fucking know Peyt. She's gonna save your label big time. She's fucking awesome," Jake replied drowsily as he called for Chase to get them each another drink.
"Why are you married to Nathan?" Jake suddenly asked and Peyton turned to look at him with surprise.
"I dunno," she shrugged casually. "I honestly don't know anymore Jake. I want out of it though. I fucking hate him and his stupid ass bullshit. He could fucking die for all I care."
"That's a little harsh don't you think?"
Peyton shook her head fiercely. "He ruined my fucking life Jake! He turned my daughter into some spiteful monster, a remnant of himself. And he doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself. He can rot in hell."
Jake nodded. "He was always a major ass in High School. Why'd you date him in the first place?"
Peyton scoffed, "I didn't, I just fucked him and BAM all of a sudden we have a child together." "But having Sawyer changed my life and made me a much better person so I guess in a way I'm glad that my path collided with Nathan's. I just wish I'd gotten out when I had the chance," she sighed bitterly as she chugged the rest of her drink. "Now let's stop talking about that asshole, we're supposed to be celebrating not bitching."
A few hours later Jake and Peyton stumbled out of the bar, both wasted out of their fucking minds.
"I should probably go home now. Nathan's waiting," Peyton grumbled as she glanced at her cellphone and noticed that it was already 2 in the morning.
"You don't have to go," Jake whispered seductively as he pulled Peyton closer to him. "You can come over to my place."
Peyton giggled, "As tempting as that sounds, I'll have to pass. Nathan will bitch if I don't come home…"
"Well fuck Nathan. He's an ass and you don't have to comply with his every demand."
Jake kissed Peyton with as much hunger and force as he could. He attached his lips to hers vigorously as his tongue explored the inside of her mouth. "Come on Peyton, let's go."
Peyton shook her head, "I'm married Jake."
"So I bet that ass cheats on you all the time."
"It doesn't matter. I won't sink to his level."
"I'll call you a cab then," Jake muttered as he pulled his phone out.
"Wait!" she yelled as he dialed the number. "Shut the phone."
Jake snapped it shut and looked at her confused.
"One night couldn't hurt. I'll give that asshole a taste of his own medicine," Peyton smiled as she licked her lips flirtatiously. Sleeping with Jake wouldn't be so bad would it? Nathan's done much worse things to her.
AN: So Lucas finally told Brooke! I promise that Brucas will eventually sort things out. There was no Sawyer in that chapter which was probably a relief for most of you and as for Brulian, pretty much all of you wanted no Brulian romance so I decided to scratch that and keep them as friends. The aftermath of Jeyton sleeping together will be next chapter, Rachel also will come into the story, and more Sawyer/Jamie/Sophia interaction and a possible Lucas/Nathan confrontation will all be things to look for in future chapters. Please review and lemme know what you think.