WARNING: I feel like I need to have a warning for this chapter, it contains stuff about depression and self mutation so I believe a warning is in order. If you are having feelings like the ones mentioned in this chapter please, talk to someone.

Disclaimer: I also do not own the characters only the story idea and plot line.

"Hey Brooke do you love me?" Nathan asked one morning after they had gone for a run. Brooke closed the fridge door handing him a water bottle looking at him strangely.

"What?"

"Do you love me?" He repeated chugging down half of his water.

"Of course I do, why are you asking?"

"Would you anything for me?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"What you want me to do." She answered sipping down some more of her water and sitting across from him at the kitchen table.

"Would you go on a trip with me?"

"Where would said trip take us?" She asked watching him sit on the counter playing with his water bottle.

"Tree Hill." Brooke luckily had not put the water bottle to her lips when he muttered the words 'Tree Hill' otherwise the water would've ended up across the table.

"Why?"

"Well I wanted to take a look around Duke before I got down there and I have to go for Orientation anyway and I was wondering if we could maybe stop in Tree Hill, ya know visit Peyton, Luke, and stuff." He muttered again kicking his feet out in front of him.

"Alright." Nathan looked at Brooke with eyes wide as saucers.

"Really?" Nathan asked making sure that he wasn't making things up and that she had really just agreed to go with him.

"Yeah, I mean it makes sense if you have to go for Orientation then we might as well stop in for a visit, Peyton's been wondering when we could hang out."

"You sure you wanna do this? I know how bad the last trip to Tree Hill was, so I'm not going to make you do this if you don't want to."

"I want to do it. I may have left Tree Hill but that doesn't mean that I can't go back for a little bit right?" She asked now up and standing in front of Nathan resting her hands on his thighs.

"True but I don't want you to feel like you have to do it. I can just go to Duke by myself and come back."

"No I want to do this, with you." She whispered shyly brushing a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Thank you." Nathan whispered lightly kissing her forehead sliding off the counter and wrapping his arms around her. Brooke sighed and wrapped her arms around Nathan relishing the security and love she felt in Nathan's arms.

And that is how Brooke Davis found herself in a car next to Nathan with Jake and Jenny in the back seat on their way to Tree Hill. Brooke was thankful that Jake and Jenny offered to accompany Brooke and Nathan on the trip so now with a little more than an hour before they reached Tree Hill Brooke was beginning to feel a little nervous. The memories of why Brooke left came flooding back hitting Brooke like a ton of bricks. She wondered why these memories hadn't hit her the last time she was in Tree Hill.

Flashback

Brooke looked at the picture in her hand, tears slightly blurring the figures in the picture, it was the last shot she had of the whole group happy and the only couple remaining was Bevin and Skills. Haley had left Nathan for her music and Luke had chosen Peyton, Brooke's best friend her sister her family, over her; It wasn't like she had completely torn down the walls she had built up over the years letting him into every fiber of being. Looking at the picture Brooke should've known that he was going to go running to Peyton, they had more in common. Both of them were just too broody for Brooke's taste, every once in a while is fine but there are times when you need to find the silver lining.

That was the last moment that Brooke had actually smiled and been genuinely happy. Every morning she woke up and put on the mask, slipping her flawless smile into place before going out and facing the world.

She had no idea just when it got this bad. When she began drinking to the point of blacking out and even playing with knives toying with the idea of running the blades across her skin to see if what they say is really true, if cutting really does release pain.

But every time she brought the knife close to her skin she freaked out picturing the blood oozing from her leg and she would become lightheaded. She was also smart enough to lock up the sharp objects before she drank. So at least she was being smart in her state of depression.

She had been under this black cloud for almost a month now and it was beginning to take over her life. She was skipping school to avoid people more so Luke and Peyton, she had given up caring about cheerleading it held no meaning for her now, and she found herself not eating some days hoping that if she were thinner maybe just maybe Luke would want her back.

She, of course, would never tell anyone that she was depressed or that what had happened had affected her this much. No, when she went to school she turned on her smile and made it seem like everything was just fine and dandy and that nothing could hurt her.

So that night, Brooke Davis decided that she was going to leave Tree Hill behind.

End of flashback

That was the night before Brooke left Tree Hill and looking over at Nathan she couldn't help but wonder what would be like had she not gone to Nathan's apartment that night, her life could be different.

Nathan looked over at Brooke as they passed the welcome to Tree Hill sign and wondered why she had a pained expression on her face. Reaching over Nathan grabbed her hand making her eyes snap open and looked down at his hand that was resting on top of hers gently squeezing. "You okay?" He asked lacing his fingers with hers. She shook her head slipping a smile into place hoping that Nathan didn't press the issue. Nathan saw through the smile but smiled anyway inwardly sighing deciding to just press the issue later.

Nathan felt weird being back in Tree Hill. When he left with Brooke he had told himself that he wasn't going to come back, that Tree Hill would just be a part of his past that he didn't want to relive. So much had happened here that still haunted Nathan.

Flashback

Nathan looked around the walls of his apartment and then at the ring that lay on the coffee table in front of him. So much had happened to him in the past year that just thinking about it made Nathan's head spin. He was tired of dealing with everything, with all the reminders of all the failures he's had. He had failed at his marriage with Haley, a marriage he was sure was going to work since they loved and cared so much about each other. He was failing yet again in school, which might have something to do with the fact that Nathan just stopped going to school. Sitting there in his apartment Nathan Scott felt like the biggest failure of the year. He needed to get out of Tree Hill; he couldn't stay here and be haunted by all the things that had gone wrong. Desperately he needed to get out of Tree Hill to save at least some of the sanity he had left and maybe save him from becoming an alcoholic at the age of 18.

Getting fed up Nathan picked up his wedding ring and threw it against the wall watching it bounce off the wall and land on the floor inches in front of him. Suddenly the idea occurred him, picking up the wedding ring from the floor Nathan walked out of his apartment and down to his car.

He pulled up in front of Dan's beach house and got out shoving his hands into his sweatshirt pocket as he walked around the house and down towards the beach. Standing just a few feet in front of the rolling tide Nathan pulled the ring out of his jean's pocket twirling it a few times about his fingers. For a moment he lets his mind wander to the happier times before the reality crashes down on him. She left him so he shouldn't feel bad about moving on and getting on with his life. Reeling his arm back he hurls the ring into the water finally feeling like the weight he's been carrying around since Haley left being lifted from his shoulders. That night as Nathan fell asleep on his couch the vodka bottle sat untouched on his coffee table.

Hours later after Nathan had fallen asleep a rushed knocking awoke him from his sober slumber. It took him a few moments before he realized that he wasn't exactly dreaming there really was something knocking on his door. In the back of his mind he thought that maybe just maybe Haley had come to her senses and decided to come back. When he opened the door he wasn't expecting to see Brooke Davis standing on the other side.

"Davis what are you doing here at 3 in the morning?"

"I'm here to tell you that I'm leaving Tree Hill."

"What?" He asked fully awake now.

"I'm leaving Tree Hill and I just wanted to tell you 'cause you won't tell them."

"Just tell me where you're going?"

"I don't know yet." He stepped out into the chilly early morning air leaving the door slightly ajar.

"Why are you leaving?"

"No one wants me here anymore so I'm just gonna leave so I'm not a burden anymore. I know people will cheer when I'm gone." She struggled not to cry, she hadn't expected Nathan to be so caring. She expected him not to care to just say whatever and turn away.

"Maybe a fresh start won't hurt, when you finally decide where you're going let me know so I know you're safe." Brooke nodded and gave into temptation kissing Nathan. She turned and scurried down the stairs leaving Nathan confused trying to figure what happened.

Nathan watched her run down the stairs wondering what had just happened. Pinching himself he shook his head knowing that he didn't just dream that she had kissed him. So why on earth did Brooke Davis just kiss him? They haven't shared a kiss since the night they made the sex tape. Feeling the cool breeze Nathan briskly walked back into the apartment going back on the couch instantly falling asleep.

End of flashback.

Nathan looked over at Brooke again this time grabbing her hand and holding onto it as they pulled into the driveway of Brooke's house. "You sure you want to stay here?" Nathan asked the car still running in case she changed her mind.

"Yep, it's free of charge and a neutral zone, so yes I still want to stay here." Brooke replied squeezing Nathan's hand before getting out of the car. Nathan took a deep breath and shut the car off; did they really need a neutral zone?

Nathan walked into Brooke's house later that night after having dinner with his mom and felt that something was off, the house was too quiet. Nathan slowly made his way to Brooke's bedroom a tad bit relieved to hear the soft John Mayer music coming from behind her closed doors. Pushing the door open Nathan's eyes scanned the dimly lit room to find Brooke sprawled on out her bed starring at the ceiling.

"Brooke?" Brooke lifted her head to acknowledge him before going back to studying her ceiling. "Brooke, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She softly replied turning on her side as Nathan walked towards her bed slipping off his shoes before lying down next to her.

"Something's wrong." He stated pushing a piece of hair out of her eyes, his fingers lingering on her cheek for a moment.

"It's nothing important." She replied glancing into his eyes for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asks again moving closer to her, placing his left hand on the small of her back.

"It's just being back in Tree Hill. I thought that I could handle it but when we passed the welcome to Tree Hill sign the night I left came flooding back."

"What happened that night?" Nathan asked wanting to know what finally pushed her over the edge and made her leave.

"I was looking at a picture of the whole group of us, Haley, you, Luke, Peyton, Bevin, Skills, Mouth, and me. The last picture we had all taken before Luke and I broke up when he chose Peyton over me. That then spiraled me into thinking about how I had ended up how I was back then."

"What do you mean how you were back then?"

"I was drinking almost every day to the point of blacking out and I was toying with the idea of cutting myself to try and ease the pain I was feeling. It was really bad."

"Brooke, why didn't you talk to anybody?" Nathan asked concern and horror at the thought of Brooke cutting up her perfect skin flooding his voice.

"Who was I going to talk to? I mean I stopped talking to Peyton and Luke."

"You could've come to me."

"Nathan you had your own issues to deal with that you didn't need my on top of yours."

"I would've given you someone to vent to. You shouldn't have had to go through that by yourself."

"That's why I showed up at your door that night. I know that I told you it was because I knew you wouldn't tell them but that was lie."

"Why did you tell me then?" Nathan asked hoping he got the answer he wanted to hear.

"I told you because of how close we were before high school happened. It was my way of telling you that I would always think of you as my best friend." Nathan nodded now completely understanding now why she had showed up at his door and glad that he had gotten the answer he wanted.

"I was worried about you that night." He admitted toying with a piece of her hair that had fallen back in front of her eyes.

"Really?" She asked inching just a little bit closer to him.

"Yeah, the next morning I checked my phone to see if you had called or sent a text. I will also admit that I checked my phone almost every 30 minutes. Felt like the biggest girl."

"Nathan." Brooke softly chuckled picturing Nathan checking his phone every minute like she has done on numerous occasions waiting for Nathan to call her.

"Hey I can't help it that even after years of not talking to me I still cared for you and thought of you as my best friend." Nathan admitted a small blush creeping up his neck. "And I never really thanked you for extending the invitation to me. I don't know what I would've done had I been stuck here without even you to lean on." Brooke gently cupped his cheek with her hand.

"I should also thank you for coming. I don't think I would have survived in Boston without you. Whenever I'm with you I always feel safe and I know that nothing can happen to me since you're there. I love you Nathan and I'm so glad that you moved in with me even after years of not talking to each other and being complete jerks to each other."

"I love you too." Nathan replied lightly kissing her forehead pulling her flush against him. "Are you okay now?"

"Yes." She replied resting her head against his chest drifting off to asleep to the rhythm of Nathan's heart beat.

Leaving Tree Hill was the best thing to happen to both Brooke and Nathan but also coming back and facing the demons that drove both of them away had also been one of the best things to happen to them.

A/N: I know it's been so long since I've updated and I'm hoping that you guys enjoyed this chapter.