Author's note: So here's the new chapter (the one that was initially the second half of the last one). I know I said two days but my internet-connection has been a little crappy lately… But hopefully that's all fixed by the end of this week.
Personal thank you's are at the bottom of the chapter this time and i'm amazed that i had so many reviews for last chapter since the hit-count went rock bottom last week.
The title is actually both an album and a song by Switchfoot.
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CHAPTER 18 – The Beautiful Letdown: This is Your Life
Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that is broken
Don't close your eyes… don't close your eyes…
This is your life and today is all you've got now
And today is all you'll ever have
Brooke feels crestfallen at the sight of Haley's tears and she pulls the crying girl into her arms.
"Come here Haley" she says and strokes her back gently, "this is great news. Twins! I mean just think about it, you can have them in matching clothes and I bet they'll both be boys… three more and you and Nathan have your own basketball team…"
She tries to keep her voice chirpy but she understands Haley. She herself was having one kid with Lucas and right about now, that scared the living hell out of her. Haley and Nathan were now having two… God!
And as Haley sobs against her shoulder, Brooke signs to Lucas to come over. He looks worried and she tries to silently mouth the word 'twins' to him but that just turns his worried face into a confused one.
She should have known. Lip-reading was not really a skill that he had down, neither was charades for that matter, so using body language was not an option. And as Lucas gets closer she goes for the blunt way of doing things.
"Haley and Nathan are having twins!"
Lucas' jaw drops, just like her own had done moments earlier and Haley, who's still sobbing, turns to him.
"Nathan is going to go crazy Luke… What am I going to tell him?"
Watching Lucas stutter, Brooke seriously re-evaluates her thought of Lucas as a person good in a crisis-situation. But just as she is about to slap him out of his sudden comatose state, he finally pulls himself together and hugs Haley tightly.
"It'll be okay Hales. I bet he'll love the thought of this. And if he doesn't then I'll talk to him…"
After a couple of minutes Haley pulls herself together and heads off to find Nathan, and Brooke and Lucas are left alone again.
"We should head towards Biology…" he says and fastens a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. The small gesture sends tingles through her body and she gets an idea.
"I know a way better method to study that subject" she says with a seductive smile. "Come on…"
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Nathan puts his books into his locker, still feeling worn out from his math-test. Sure, he can add and subtract stuff in his head and he has no problem figuring out his average in a basketball game, but when it comes to stuff like algebra or calculus he's still confused. Even after being married to his tutor for this long.
And just as he thinks of his wife she comes down the corridor. He closes his locker and turns towards her.
"Hello wife with a perfect size head" he says smiling, but when he sees the look on her face his smile turns upside down. "What's the matter Hales?"
She leans into him and he hugs her.
"I need to tell you something and you might not be so pleased…"
"Oh, okay…"
She takes his hand and pulls him into a corner, away from the other students roaming the halls. She looks upset and he wonders if it has anything to do with the unpaid electric bill he left on the kitchen table this morning.
"Tell me…" he says softly and she clears her throat.
"I… I kind of had some unexpected news at the doctor's this morning…"
His heart drops and gets caught somewhere in the pit of his stomach and he searches her eyes for a sign of how bad this 'news' is.
"Is the baby okay?"
What could be wrong? They had been to the doctor just a week ago and Haley had gotten a complete clean bill of health. He knows that she has been working a little too hard at the café lately, just to keep them afloat economically, and he feels responsible. All his own time had been spent preparing for the championship.
Haley's eyes turn to the floor but he can still see the tears that are filling them.
"Babies, Nathan…" she says quietly and he doesn't understand.
"What Haley? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
She looks up again, meeting his confused eyes. "We're having twins! I'm carrying two babies and we can't even afford having one!!"
As she starts crying he stands there feeling completely helpless, still not seeing what the problem is. Two babies? That couldn't really be true, could it? Because that would mean that the second one had just popped up out of nowhere since the last sonogram…
"Maybe a girl would understand this better?" he thinks and strokes Haley's back sheepishly. Where the hell was Brooke when he needed her?
This is your life…
Is it everything you dreamed it would be?
When the world was younger and you had everything…
-------------------------
Lucas leans against the wall in the small dark room. He's shirtless and smiling crookedly and Brooke can't help but to find him irresistible all over again. She lets a finger slide softly down his naked chest.
"Maybe we should start behaving a little more like grown-ups" he says. "Now that we're having a kid and all…"
They're both a little out of breath and she grabs his t-shirt from the floor and hands it to him, before straightening her skirt.
"So making out in the janitor's closet isn't grown-up enough for you?"
Her eyebrow shoots up and his hand, that is still draped around her waist, strokes the skin on her lower back.
"If you're asking me if making out with you is enough, then no. I want to do a whole lot more with you then this… And on the question if I think this is mature, then that would be 'no' also… Grown-ups don't skip Biology to make out in a broom-closet Brooke."
"That's bullshit Luke…" she says smiling. "There's no such thing as a grown-up. We might become older and all that. We move out of our parents houses and form our own families, but everybody is still a crazy teenager on the inside… and I mean, all those insecurities we carry around, they just grow up with us… and the hornyness too I think."
He pulls her to him. "Is that so?"
"Yeah, of course! We get taller, sometimes even wiser, and eventually we have to start paying our own bills. But for most part, we're still just a bunch of kids you know…"
"You're pretty wise" he says, kissing her now, and she laughs against his lips. And whispering "I know…" she grabs the shirt that he's just about to put back on and throws it back on the floor.
"We don't need Health-class…" she says huskily. "I think we're both pretty healthy…"
Don't close your eyes
Cause this is your life…
Are you who you want to be?
But eventually they make it to their next class anyway. They're a little late but Lucas makes up a good excuse and they don't get detention. Of course she can't concentrate though. It was true what she told Luke in the car this morning. Being horny totally ruins her concentration and the make-out session hadn't really helped with that. Neither does his hand that slowly caresses her thigh under the desk.
"Stop that…" she whispers, the laughter caught somewhere halfway down her throat. "You're going to get us thrown out of here…"
He smiles but he doesn't stop and it just brings back mental pictures from earlier.
She pulled him into the less than a square feet room and as soon as the door closed, she had him up against the wall. He laughed first, kissing her softly, but when she pressed into him and deepened the kiss, he was quick to follow her lead.
I seconds Lucas hands were all over her in the darkness and she relished the feeling. His lips and tongue were hot against the skin of her neck and she let out an almost silent moan.
"I've needed this so much…" she whispered as she pulled the shirt off him and dug her fingers into the deep ridge between his back's muscles. And his voice was throaty as he answered;
"You're not the only one…"
Her daydreaming is cut off by someone opening the door to the class-room and a junior sticks in a note to the teacher who looks at it for a second.
"Brooke, apparently the Principal want's to see you in his office. You should bring your books because the class will probably be over before you get back."
Surprised, she wonders what he wants with her. She couldn't be in trouble since she had only been here less than a couple of hours. That was unless he had somehow found out about the little 'one on one' she and Lucas had last period. But she had done that so many times that it wasn't even countable, so why would she be called to the principal's office for that now?
No, she thinks. He probably just wants to have a word with her about some upcoming school event. She is after all the Student Body President.
Lucas gives her a questioning look and she looks back at him, shrugging as if to say 'I have no idea…'
"Meet me in the cafeteria after" he mouths silently and she nods before collecting her stuff. And walking off, she's already planning on which empty class-room she would pull Lucas into next.
But when she steps into the principal's office a few minutes later, she's a little surprised to see Whitey in there. Maybe she had disturbed them in the middle of something? But Mr. Turner smiles and waves for her to enter.
"Miss Davis! I'm happy to see that you are back on your feet. You gave us quite a scare there at the game…"
"Well, I hadn't really planned on getting run over by Nathan" she answers laughing. "But I'm fine now."
"And we're all glad."
He ushers for her to sit down across the table from him and she does so a little reluctantly.
"So what can I help you with Principal Turner?" she asks and shoots him a winning smile.
He smiles back, although his smile is much more apprehensive. "Well truthfully I have some bad news… On orders from the school board, I have to ask you to step down from your titles as Cheer-captain and President."
The smile dies on her lips and she shakes her head with confusion.
"Why?"
This is just shocking and she frowns and collects her thoughts for a second. "I have a 2.5 GPA, I did good on my mid-terms and I haven't missed any of my obligations as either cheer-captain or President except for when I was in the hospital!"
"I know that Brooke… It's just… As the principal of this school, I have to think of the parents and what they will say…"
She suddenly gets where he's heading with this and she interrupts him; "It's because I'm pregnant…"
The confusion inside her turns to hurt and anger and Whitey, who's standing next to the principal's desk, looks at her sadly. He seems embarrassed to take part of this discussion but she doesn't feel sorry for him. The least he could do was to defend her. He knew how hard she had fought for both of her spots, especially as captain. But the old coach says nothing. He just sighs.
She turns her eyes back to the Principal, who uses his most fatherly voice when saying;
"Well, I'm sure you realize that you are somewhat of a role-model at this high school Brooke. A lot of the younger girls take after what you do… They want to be like you, you know…"
Her head spins and she hears Lucas' words inside her head.
"…And you are kind of the queen around here. …I bet the entire female half of this school will come back pregnant next semester, thinking it's the new it-thing."
Well, he was obviously right, wasn't he? At least he and the school board had come to the same conclusion.
"But there's just one more game of the season… Can't I at least keep the position until after that?"
She hates herself for sounding so pleading but this is just not right. Could they really do this? Morgan Finley had chosen her to take over the squad and she had done the very best she could with it for two years now. But the Principal shakes his head slowly.
"Sadly no. If your pregnancy was still a secret, then I could have made an exception but the head of the board filed a complaint… and he's a big founder of the new gym…"
"So what about my squad?" she says, trying to keep her voice steady and her facial expression neutral.
"They will keep practicing as usual for the rest of the school year, and you can of course choose your replacement. Maybe a junior would be a good choice since there aren't so many months left before you seniors graduate and the season is over soon."
She feels beaten.
"So you're telling me that I don't have a choice? If I don't give this up freely, then you'll take the captainship away from me?"
He nods solemnly and she feels like screaming at him. To tell him that she isn't going to accept this and that she has the right to finish of what she had started. The championship is just a little over two weeks away and they had all fought so hard to reach this goal, much too hard for him to tell her that she wasn't going to take part of this… But she can't do anything.
"I'll let you know who I've picked later this week" she says quietly and she can hear her voice starting to crack. "Can I go now? I have class…"
"Yes. And I am sorry Brooke…"
She just shrugs as response and Whitey opens the door for her and follows her out in the corridor. She's about to just walk off but he touches her arm lightly, mumbling excuses that she really doesn't want to hear. The tears are burning in her eyes, both from anger and disappointment, and she is trying to think of a way to excuse herself when she feels a pair of hands on either side of her waste.
"Hey baby, what's going on?"
The sound of Lucas' voice always has a calming effect on her and when she doesn't answer him he places his hands on her upper arms instead, rubbing them slowly up and down as he stands behind her, leaning his chin against her hair. She feels herself physically relax against him: her shoulders fall and she leans back slightly, her weight on him.
Whitey looks down into the floor looking sad. "Brooke… you must know that I don't agree with the principal. I've tried to reach both you and Lucas the entire weekend to warn you of this…"
Lucas grip on her arms tightens and his voice is more serious.
"Whitey, what's going on here?"
Now the older man looks at her boyfriend instead.
"Principal Turner has just asked Brooke to give up her spot as Cheer-captain and Student body president. We had a meeting with the school board before the weekend and they voted 6 to 4…"
Lucas gasps behind her back and his arms wrap around her, as if he instinctively wants to protect her.
"Hell no!" he says harshly. "He can't do that! Brooke IS cheerleading at this school, that's HER spot! And she won the election against Erica fairly… Why is he doing this?"
She knows he's just standing up for her but she wants to go. So she interrupts, "Because he can't have a knocked up role model…"
Then she feels the tears start to run down her cheeks and she just shrugs off his arms and walks away. And when Whitey calls her she doesn't look back.
Yesterday is a kid in the corner
Yesterday is dead and over…
This is your life;
Is it everything you dreamed it would be?
When the world was younger and you had everything to loose
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Rachel is standing further down the corridor and she hears the exchange of words. She sees Lucas rush after Brooke and as they reach the corner, Rachel sees him gather the now crying Brooke in his arms.
"Damn it…" she mutters between clenched teeth. This was a freaking disaster.
She walks off in the other direction, leaving Lucas to deal with Brooke. She has a feeling that what Brooke need most now is probably him anyway. She herself has more important things to do. And she retrieves her cell phone from her pocket, dialing Bevin's number, and when she answers she says harshly.
"Gather the squad. Emergency meeting in the girls locker-room in ten minutes! And make sure you get Peyton!"
-----------------------------
Haley finds Brooke and Lucas out on the parking-lot next to Brooke's car. She can clearly see that Brooke has been crying and she knows why. Rachel came and told her and Nathan on her way to the squad-meeting and now Nathan is probably off screaming at the Coach.
"I heard about it… How are you holding up Tigger?" she says while giving Brooke a long hug.
Brooke's tears have mostly dried up but she seems a little shook up. However, she instantly directs the conversation towards Haley instead. Brooke always does that, Haley thinks. She could go on for hours, ranting about petty stuff like 'I don't have anything to wear' or 'My math-teacher hates me', but as soon as one of Brooke's friends needed her, she let everything else go.
"I'll be okay… But more importantly, how did it go with Nathan? He wasn't angry, right?
"No… But I don't think he has taken it in yet. He must be in shock or something because he keeps asking me where the other baby came from…
Lucas looks up and almost breaks a smile and encouraged, Haley continues. Maybe she could at least put a smile on Brooke's pale face.
"You know how I worry about how we're going to make it financially and all that? Well Nathan isn't the smartest with money. He traded our perfectly working car for a motorcycle, for crying out loud. And he doesn't understand why I'm so upset over this…
She shakes her head in disbelief. "When I told him I was pregnant, he freaked out. Now when I told him that we're expecting two babies, he just patted my back and asked me what the problem was. He actually suggested that we'd save money by having the kids sleep in shifts. That way they could wear the same clothes and we wouldn't have to buy more…
Lucas laughs. "Did he really say that Hales?
"No I'm just kidding… But he did take it surprisingly well. I guess we'll have to talk more about it later, but for now it's fine."
"I told you that it would be."
Haley keeps steeling glances of Brooke but her friend is quiet as she leans against Lucas' chest. And Haley realizes that she won't be able to cheer her up with lame jokes.
"Seriously Brooke… How are you feeling?"
Brooke just makes a tired face. "I want to go home… My stomach hurts. I think I need to sleep for a couple of hours…"
Lucas hugs his brunette girlfriend tighter and looks worried.
"I'm going to take Brooke home" he says and Haley nods. She takes Brooke's hand and squeezes it lightly.
"Call me if you need anything, okay? I can come over after school if you want."
Brooke nods and then Lucas gets her into the car and closes the door behind her. And when he walks over to the driver's side he hugs Haley and sighs.
"It's really unfair…" he says tiredly. "This is her first day back… It was supposed to be a good day.
This is your life;
Is it everything you dreamed it would be?
When the world was younger and you had everything to loose
Author's note 2: Promise me that you'll all tell me when you get tired of this slow tempo… I mean, it's taken me 18 chapters to get to Brooke's 15th pregnancy-week. LOL if I keep this up the story will be like 50 chapters long, but there are just soooo many great Brucas moments that I want in the story and there are still so much unfinished drama left…
Anyways, tell me when you get bored with the pace, and as always: PLZ REVIEW. (Not that you don't usually do that, and I'm soo grateful)
pOoLbEeRtAtToOs: Again you outdid yourself with that long amazing review! I'm as thankful as always… And Brucasel is now a solid name. LOL. jeytonbrucasnaley: Hey, you were right! Great guess! Lol Sabsfan2: I agree, a guy should NEVER comment on a woman's weight! lol. Eemah: Thanks for the huge support and the mental Emmy-award! Britt (Broody-N-Cheery-4Ever): The box will obviously come back to haunt them later. And I'm actually looking forward to seeing her get fatter too. Lol, maybe I have to speed up the story… Brucas3: Don't worry, I can't seem to write short chapters even when I try. B.Davis: Thanks so much for your support. And I'm glad you liked the mall-scene. I had fun writing it. Whisinonastar: The calm before the storm… lol And hey, great idea with the matching outfits ;) Look forward to some more moody Baley soon. CC: NO? I don't really understand… redboomcat: Less threads hanging loose now? Lol Thank you.
Oth rox, gilmoregrly4life, Brookeleighgilmore, goober396, dolcegrazia, catcat51092, Katie, and TrueLoveDoesNotAlter: Lots of thank you's to you all!