"Thank you for coming tonight," Lucas swayed Brooke into his apartment with a smile. "You made my night perfect."

"No problem," Brooke chewed her lip as she put down her purse down. Lucas shutting the door behind him and quickly had Brooke turned around facing him.

"Hi…" he whispered looking down at her, swearing no one ever looked more beautiful.

"Hi," her voice cracked just a little looking down from his perfect ocean blue eyes. Her heart hurt, it really felt shattered all because of one flawed moment in her night. She had everything planned out, how her night was supposed to go when they got back and now it was ruined.

"So tell me…" he brushed her hair back and lifted her chin. "What you want to do now huh?" he leaned in giving her a sweet kiss.

"Luke… " she frowned pulling from their kiss.

"What?" he looked down at her confused. "What's wrong?" he questioned not getting her mood change. All night things had been perfect, she was happy, he was happy but then something switched. In all if five seconds he saw her mood change and he hoped it was just because she was tired. That she was over the little party and wanting to go home so he brought her home. Yet now they were home, it was just the two of them and now…now the mood didn't change.

"Do you want something to drink?" she detangled herself from him and headed over to the kitchen. "Maybe eat or something?"

"What?" he followed behind her still a little lost. "No I'm not hungry…I just ate."

"So a drink?" she opened the cabinet and grabbed a glass.

"No…" he repeated walking over and taking the glass from her hand. "I want you to talk to me…What happened? Things were going so perfect tonight… I thought…I mean I thought when we got back home…"

"This isn't my home," she mumbled offering him a shrug.

"What?"

"I…I said this isn't my home Lucas," she looked back up at him and spoke louder for him to hear. "My home is about twenty minutes that way and a whole lot smaller," she tossed her hand to the side as her tone rose a bit.

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" he questioned completely taken back. "I mean if you are your doing a great job of it."

"No I'm not," she rushed to tell him, bringing her hand to her head shaking it. "I'm not trying to pick a fight. I just…I'm trying to get you to understand."

"Understand what? That for some reason my girlfriend lets me get so close before shoving me back? You are right I don't understand that…"

"I'm not shoving you back I just…god what is wrong with you that you don't get it?" she let out a dry laugh not at all understand why he doesn't see what she does.

"Get what?" he threw his hands up with his voice raising higher. "Explain to me…" he placed his hands on her shoulder to look at him. "God explain what I'm not getting here…" he begged hoping if she explains it would make things all that better.

"Lucas," Brooke sighed looking down. "I'm just…I'm not a part of your world. I don't belong in places like that, dressing in things like this and talking to people who clearly I'm beneath," she shook her head, her whole night feeling like a huge blow up.

"Screw those people Brooke, I don't even like half of them," he threw his hands up. "All I care about is you, why isn't that enough?" he wondered not getting why it always came back to the same conversation.

"I don't know if it is," a tear trickled down. "You shouldn't be with someone like me."

"Someone like you?" he lets out a harsh laugh. "Brooke you are exactly what I want."

"But I shouldn't be," she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm mean… I'm the waitress at the diner down the street with the two year old. I don't fit into your life; everyone knows that, everyone sees that but you!"

"That's not fair, it's not fair just because I have some…some stupid last name that you are just going to give it all up," he shook his head and she let out a dry laugh.

"This is why I care so much about you," she gives a heartbroken shrug. "I'm the one that shouldn't be there and I'm the one that is completely out of place but you think it's because of you. You think you did something wrong and you haven't, god Luke you haven't," she took his face in her hands and shook her head. "I've never met anyone who treated me half of the way you do."

"Then be with me Brooke," he circled his arms around her small waist. "I know that we are different I do, but it seems you and everyone else pay more attention to it than me. I don't care what you wear, or drive or live and I don't give two shits about where you work," if you only knew she mentally cursed herself. "I know what you are capable of Brooke, I know what you can do and I know the amazing person you are and it's those idiots fault if they don't try to take the time to figure it out."

"I don't deserve you Lucas," she looked down, her voice cracking. "Nothing about me is right for you."

"I don't care about right Brooke," he told her quickly but she just kept shaking her head. "All I care about is if you care about me, if you want to be with me and if your answer is yes I don't at all see the problem," he let a dry laugh holding her closer. "Was it Dan? Did he say something to you? Did he say something that hurt you?"

"No!" she told him quickly lifting her head to face him. "No Lucas he was great to me. He was nice and caring and told me that you were lucky to have me," she told him not wanting him upset with the older man.

"For once I agree with him…" he lets out a laugh shaking his head.

"I just feel like I don't fit….like there is this huge part of your world that I want to belong in…I do," she looked up at him as tears pooled in her eyes. "But I don't," her voice cracked. "And that scares me…"

"Why? Why does that scare you?"

"Because I'm crazy about you," she looked up at him as her heart chipped a little more. "And I hate that right when I fall into the comfortable feeling of it all, when I start to really feel like I deserve to be with you that one more person pops up and reminds me I shouldn't. And that scares me…It scares me because I'm petrified that next person that realizes it is you."

"Brooke…"

"And what do I do when that happens?" she sniffled, taking a slow step back. "What am I supposed to tell Easton when all of a sudden you realized you can do better. That someone else shows you that you can do better and you're gone? Just give a laugh and say 'Sorry baby mommy just doesn't add up to what everyone else wants.' I go through life trying to teach my child that things don't matter. Belongings are nothing as long as you have someone but that's crap. Your status in this world always matters and you will realize one day just like everyone else already has…" she tossed her hands up and side stepping passed him towards the front door.

"Brooke…" he latched on to her arm and jerked her around. "Don't…don't tell me all that and just leave."

"Let me go Lucas…"

"No!" he snapped, gripping her arm tighter when she jerked it from him. "God you are so unfair!"

"What do you mean I'm unfair?"

"You don't even let me have a chance…a damn say in any of this! You are just so damn certain I'm going to fuck up that you run…you run as fast as you can in the opposite direction and my feelings don't mean anything!" he snapped and her eyes closed and head dropped. "Honestly…honestly I think I care a hell of a lot more then you do," he let out a dry laugh releasing her. "Because the only person running here is you. The only person giving up is always you," he shoved back from her. "Always…" he shook his head heading to his room and shutting the door.

Ten minutes.

A lot can happen in ten minutes. In ten minutes you can get ready for bed, brush your teeth, strip off your clothes, wash your face and crawl into bed. Lucas Scott can normally pull all that off in under five. Which gives him five more to lay in bed listening to the tick of his clock.

Five minutes.

That's how long he has let his mind settle into the silence of his bedroom. That's also the amount of time he has spent telling himself not to rush back to Brooke because this time…this time he wasn't wrong.

He hadn't heard his front door slam so he assumed she hadn't left but he wasn't completely sure. His apartment was so large that there could be a party in the living room and not notice from the bedroom but he was paying more attention tonight. He was listening for that door to shut, he was praying it wouldn't.

Then finally, finally after his long wait when the clock stuck 2:47 he heard the door to his room crack open, saw the light shining from the hallway before it was switched off and felt the movement of the figure inside.

He didn't say anything; he honestly didn't know what to say so he just laid there. Completely still on his side he kept his eyes drifting open and close as the small shadow moved to his dresser, sliding the drawer open he watched it strip from the dress of the night, the sound of the zipper slowly drop before the dress joined it on a pool by her feet.

"You normally let me do that," he flipped on his back to look at her, her body straightening up as if not realizing he was there. "This late at night you're usually too lazy to change yourself."

"I thought you were asleep," he heard the brokenness in her face and his anger shattered quickly. "Easton isn't home and I don't like being alone there at night," she admitted and when the light from the moon hit her face and he saw the red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks and anger he had left quickly vanished.

"Come here," he whispered and in no time she moved across the room and was climbing up his bed, leaving a trail of kisses across his bare chest and up under his neck and chin before planting a final one on his lips.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered against his mouth adding as much pressure to their kiss as he would allow. "I'm so sorry Luke…"

"It's ok," he broke the kiss to thread his fingers through her hair. "I understand…I do. I want you to know I get it. I just…I just want to change it," he let out a dry laugh and her head dropped to rest against his.

"I'm trying to change Lucas, I am. I'm just so scared to get close to you…to let Easton close to you. Every time I feel like I start to let my guard down and finally understand you want to be here something pops up that shows me you shouldn't," her voice cracks knowing Felix would screw everything up. He hadn't said anything tonight, didn't even hint at it to Lucas but he overused the word perfect through the whole talk. Made a point to constantly mention how Lucas described her as perfect and amazing. She could tell he wouldn't say anything tonight but she could also tell he love knowing something that Lucas didn't. That he very much enjoyed at any moment in the night he could pop Lucas's little bubble about her and she hated it.

"I think it's in your head," he told her honestly. "In your mind you are so sure that we are wrong you keep coming up with reasons to push me away."

"There are solid reasons Lucas," she told him with a dead tone and he shook his head confused.

"Then why can't you just tell me? If there is something bothering you, if there is some constant reminder why won't you tell me? I mean is it something I do? Am I doing something that you just hate because if so tell me and I won't do it."

"No Luke," her hands framed his face as she shook her head. "God Lucas it's not you. Don't ever think it's you," she told him quickly knowing he never did anything that made her upset. "I just…"

"Just what?" he asked when she felt silent and eyes closed. "God just tell me Brooke," he begged hating he always seemed to be in the dark when it came to her. He couldn't figure it out but he was sure everyone always seemed to know his girlfriend better than him. "Is it Theresa?" he questioned and her eyes squeezed tighter. "I didn't ask her to come tonight Brooke."

"I know…" she nodded. "I know you didn't Luke," she pulled in a deep breath to calm herself. "I just…I feel so blends so well with you," she told the half truth knowing she couldn't tell the whole. "She knows you friends better, or at least fakes it enough to get through the night and she says the right things and laughs when she should and throughout the night talks to damn everyone. I just talk to a handful of you. One being the young server whose ex is a total douche bag and I told her that. You wouldn't believe this guy Lucas, he cheats on her, dumps her then after a few months tries to get her back dropping the 'I made a mistake you are the best thing I ever had' line. I hate guys like that. I mean if she is the best thing you ever had, know that then, don't screw it up," she snapped a little and he slowly let out a soft chuckle. "What?" she brushed her hair back not finding what was fun.

"God Pretty Girl," the chuckle grew louder as he flipped her over on her back to look at her. "You want to know why I am so insane about you?"

"Because you are a little insane?" she corked a brow and he chuckled.

"What's Lily's favorite movie?" he randomly asked and her brows scrunched.

"The Little Mermaid," she told him not getting why Lily had anything to do with this conversation.

"Do you know how I like my coffee?"

"Yeah you like a little coffee with your cream and sugar," she teased and he let out a small laugh.

"Yeah I do," he brushed her hair back with a smile. "Do you know why I'm so crazy about you Brooke?" he questioned and she shook her head no. "Because you pay attention. You listen when I talk and remember it. You picked tulips' for my mom when we went to visit because in one of the very first dates I mentioned them being her favorite. You seriously sat down and watched that stupid Mermaid movie twenty times while visiting because Lily liked it and because you Brooke Davis know that one of my servers that no one in the room knows the name of has a douche boyfriend."

"I just listen…" she shrugged.

"I dated Theresa on and off for years and I don't think she could tell you one serious thing about me. Yeah she might mix well with those people but it's only because they are fake. To this day she makes my coffee and just adds cream because she doesn't think I like sweets."

"Are you serious? Has she met you?" she questioned with wide eyes and he chuckled.

"This right here," he traced his finger over where her heart was. "Is what makes you so amazing Brooke and knowing that I have a piece of it. That I somehow go to bed at night knowing in the morning I'm going to wake up beside you and if I don't know I get to hear that gorgeous voice the next morning makes me feel special. Because honestly I question every day how on earth I got you," he admitted knocking the tear dancing down her cheek. "And I'm so scared that I'm going to lose you. God I can't lose you," he dropped his forehead to rest against hers breathing her in deep.

"Let's make a packed," she trailed her hands up to his face. "No more insecurities. We won't let other people weigh in on us anymore. I promise to go full in if you promise to also."

"God Brooke I'm already all in," he brushed her hair back. "I've been all in for a long while and just been waiting for you to get there."

"I'm here," she promised leaning up to give him a small kiss. "I promise I'm right here with you. Just don't leave me ok?"

"Never," he brushed his knuckles across her cheek. "Pretty Girl I promise I'm not going anywhere. As long as I know you are here I'm here I just…I just need you to trust me," he looked right in her eyes and she saw all the worry and pain he felt by that one thought. "I'm going to take care of you and Easton…I want to take care of you two. I just need you to trust and believe in me because if you don't…if you don't I don't know what we are going to do."

"I trust you," she leaned up catching his mouth with hers. "I promise Lucas, I promise I trust you," she rolled them over on his back, his arms wrapping tight around her slim waist and he hated it. He hated it because he knew she didn't trust him, she wanted to trust him he know that without a doubt but she didn't. He honestly didn't know if she ever would.

Sorry it has been so long! Hope you enjoyed!

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