Brooke loved her new house. She loved her room, and she loved the bathroom that was attached with a large bathtub that she thoroughly enjoyed spending time in. And more so than anything else, she enjoyed the privacy. She had spent most of her life living practically alone, and so it sometimes got annoying for her, to constantly have to talk to people. And physically, she was doing fairly well, she liked to think. She'd managed to make it to school for three days the week she was released, and was now looking forward to enjoying her weekend. It was Friday night, and there would be a Ravens playoff game; their last playoff game, which would decide if they made it to the State Championship or not. It would also be the first game Brooke cheered in in weeks.
She smiled at herself as she painted the little "R" on her cheek. Haley had gone with her the day before to get some hair pieces placed subtly into her hair; her hair was looking full and bouncy again, curled with her bangs pinned up. She had even put on a little bit more of the weight she had lost, and she looked less sickly, in her opinion.
Haley and Peyton came in just as Brooke was finishing up her makeup, also wearing their uniforms.
"Brooke Davis, the only girl on Earth who can have cancer and look like a rockstar in a cheer uniform," Peyton joked. Brooke beamed.
"You bet your scrawny ass I do."
"Are you sure you'll be okay for this?" Haley asked worriedly.
"I've got this," Brooke huffed. "I won't be doing any tumbling, just dancing. And you both know that I know this dance like the back of my hand."
"I also know that Lucas is going to have a heart attack when you do it," Peyton said. "I mean, not only is it you, sick and dancing, but it's you purposefully using the cheer team as a distraction for the other team."
Brooke rolled her eyes. "He'll be grateful when the guy guarding him is distracted. Besides which, I'm not gonna be the only one being watched like a hawk. Haley, you're pregnant and cheering. Nathan is going to be in full blown watchdog mode."
Haley groaned. "I'd forgotten about that. I was too busy focusing on the fact that I have to do a provacative dance feeling like a whale."
Brooke shot her a look, as did Peyton. "You've just started hardly showing."
"I feel like I've gained forty pounds all ready."
"All the more reason to feel sexy tonight," Brooke winked. "Now let's go."
The girls came into the gym, kissed their boyfriends who were warming up, and started stretching. The game started and Brooke watched proudly as Lucas played. However, no matter how well Lucas and Nathan were playing, it was evident that the other team had a stronger line up as a whole. Halfway through the second quarter, Lucas and Nathan both looked exceedingly frustrated. Lucas ran by her, dripping sweat.
"Go, boyfriend! You got this!" Brooke cheered, waving a pom pom. He turned to grin at her.
The guy guarding Lucas derisively snorted. "You dating Brooke Davis, Scott? I hear she hops right in bed with the highest scorer. Looks like that'll be me tonight, huh?"
Lucas went to lunge toward him when he heard Nathan across the court. "Don't be stupid, Luke! Head in the game!"
He nodded with gritted teeth while Brooke turned to her team with a mischevious smirk. "All right, girls, you ready?"
"I can't believe we're doing this," Haley groaned.
Rachel was grinning like the cat that ate the canary. "I love it. This is the first time we've ever danced facing the players during a game. Let's see what we can do."
Peyton rolled her eyes but smiled, happy to see Brooke being so sultry and mischevious. It was refreshing. It felt like things were normal. Brooke nodded to Mouth, who put on their music. Britney Spears's "Would You Hold It Against Me" pumped through the speakers as the girls began to move.
It was safe to say that Brooke Davis was back in her element. Within the first thirty seconds of the dance, one body roll and one sensual hair flip from Brooke Davis had caused the head coach of the other team to yell furiously for his team to focus as Nathan broke away with the ball. Lucas shot Brooke a look, shaking his head in amusement. She winked at him saucily as she spun onto the ground on her knees beside Rachel. The two girls smirked at each other, sliding down into the splits quickly before rising into a series of gyrating motions that was elliciting cat calls and cheers from both sides of the gym.
When the dance was finally over, Brooke was panting and lightheaded. She realized that maybe she had put a little too much effort forward; but at the same time, the high she was feeling was completely worth it. And, the boys were now winning the game.
The Tree Hill Ravens defeated their opponents by ten points, and a grinning Lucas had swept Brooke into his arms, dipping her into a passionate kiss. He grinned and looked over at the guard who had made the comment about Brooke.
"Lucky I was the top scorer, huh?" Lucas smirked.
Brooke smirked and giggled, jumping on him with her legs wrapped around his waist. "Quickly, take me to bed! Now!"
Lucas laughed, putting her down and kissing her forehead. "That dance was incredibly sexy, pretty girl."
Brooke shrugged cutely. "What can I say? It's how I am."
Lucas laughed, rolling his eyes. "Let's get you home, crazy."
"You don't want to go to the party?"
"I'm pretty worn out," Lucas said. "Plus, the last time you went to a party-"
"I wasn't with you," Brooke reminded him. "If you wanna go, we can go! Your team just made it to State, Luke! This is huge."
Lucas considered this for a moment before kissing her soundly. "It's a dream come true. But the only person I care to be with tonight is you. It's been a long few weeks."
Brooke smiled and took his hand. "Then home it is."
BoxUpAllTheButterflies
"Why don't you go hop in the shower? I'm gonna make us something to eat?" Brooke asked as they got to her house.
"It's fine, we can order take out," Lucas said.
"I want to," she smiled sweetly. "Besides, you need to shower. You are dripping in icky man sweat."
Lucas laughed, kissing her before going upstairs to shower. Brooke smiled and set out to cook, pulling out some pasta and some garlic bread. When Lucas came back into the kitchen thirty minutes later, Brooke was just finishing putting the food on the table. The little table had lit candles on it, the lights in the room turned off. Brooke smiled at him.
"Surprise!"
"Oh, Brooke," he said, kissing her. "I love you. This looks great."
"I hope so," Brooke said with a laugh. "If not, we have cereal."
He laughed and took a bite, his eyes widening. "Brooke Davis, you cooked food that is more than edible, it is actually delicious."
She reached across the table to whack him, and he caught her hand and kissed it.
"I'm gonna miss this," she said simply.
"What do you mean?" Lucas said quickly.
"When I'm gone," Brooke said softly.
"Brooke, don't talk like that. Did you see the way you danced tonight? That did not look like a sick girl to me. Not a girl who's going to die, at least."
Brooke giggled. "Oh, Lucas, I meant when I go to New York or L.A. for school."
Lucas stared at her for a moment before what she said clicked. "Oh. Right."
"Yeah. You and Naley will all still be here, probably at Duke or at UNC, and I'm gonna be at UCLA or one of the schools I applied to in New York."
"You applied at UNC and Duke, too," Lucas reminded her.
"To humor you," Brooke said wryly. "That's the same with UCLA and you know it."
"You just watch, something is going to happen that's going to surprise you," Lucas smirked.
Brooke sighed and rolled her eyes. "Do you think we'll be okay? If we end up far away from each other?"
"Brooke," Lucas said, adopting a serious tone. "We've made it through cheating, non-exclusive dating, a school shooting, my uncle dying, a pregnancy scare, and now this. I guarantee you that distance will be nothing to us."
"We barely made it through all of that," Brooke said meakly.
"But we did!" Lucas insisted, squeezing her hand. "And that's what's important. What's important is that I love you, and that's never going to change."
Brooke beamed and kissed him, hard. She stood. "Can you do the dishes since I cooked?"
"Do I have a choice?" Lucas laughed.
"Nope!" she chirped, sauntering up the stairs.
"Where are you going?" he called after her.
"Don't worry about it," she said, and he laughed, shaking his head as he washed the dishes.
When he finally made his way upstairs, he opened Brooke's door slowly, not sure if the silence meant she was sleeping. Candles were everywhere in her room, and soft acoustic music was coming from the speakers in the corner. Brooke, however, was nowhere to be found.
"Surprise," Brooke said from behind him. "Again."
He whipped around to find her in a pale, goldish pink nightie that was low cut, reaching barely under her butt. A slit in the front exposed a large portion of her thigh, lined with black lace. She had on black thigh-high stockings with lace, a pair of black pumps, and a matching pale pink robe. Her hair was shaken out in all its wildly curled glory, and Lucas felt himself instantly heat up.
"Brooke," he practically growled. "You are...so damn sexy. Are you sure about this? Because if you get me started here, I'm not going to be able to stop."
She laughed her throaty laugh, pushing him back slowly on to the bed, straddling his waist and kissing him deeply. He ran his hand up her back, feeling the soft satin and the warmth of her soft skin. He moaned as she ground herself on him, reaching his hands down to feel up her legs. She captured his bottom lip in her teeth suddenly and tugged, causing him to suddenly groan. She smirked into his mouth and he flipped them over, kissing and biting her neck. She let out a breathy little moan and he grinned into her skin, kissing down to her breasts as he gently slid the straps of her nightie off of her shoulders, leaving her exposed. She ran her nails over his scalp as he rubbed, kissed, and sucked her breasts, leaving her breathless underneath him. He kissed down toward her stomach, slowly peeling off the negligee as he did so. Once it was off, he removed her shoes and her stockings, slowly, kissing every inch of skin that was becoming exposed. She dragged him back up to her and took off his shirt, running her hands over his chest and down to the waistband of his shorts and boxers, which were quickly removed. In the light of the candles, they touched and explored what they hadn't dared to try in a while, not since before Nathan and Haley's wedding. When he finally entered her, they made love in a way they never had before; it had never been so sensual, so deeply passionate, so deeply connecting on so many levels. And when they lay together afterwards, Brooke sleeping on his chest, Lucas could only seem to think of the ring his mother had given him and how beautiful it would look on Brooke's perfect little finger.
BoxUpAllTheButterflies
The telephone ringing woke them the next morning. Brooke rolled over and picked it up with a groggy greeting.
"Hello, Brooke, hope I didn't wake you," Dr. Grant said.
"Oh hey there, Dr. Down Under," Brooke greeted, sitting up. She glanced at Lucas, who was sleepily blinking at her.
"You must be confusing me with your gyno."
Brooke burst out laughing. She liked Dr. Grant for his humor and his ability to treat her like a friend and not just a patient. "You're a sassy one, Crocodile Dundy. So why might you be calling me at ten on a Saturday morning?"
"I had a favor to ask of you."
"You do realize I'm taken, yes?" she teased.
"Brooke," he said seriously. "I mean it. I have a patient, she's almost six years old. She's got lymphoma, too, and her biggest dream is to be a cheerleader. It's all she talks about. I was thinking that maybe you could meet her, teach her a little cheer routine, something like that. If you'd be interested, you could even be her mentor of sorts. Her parents are hardly involved. I don't think she has much time left. Normally I'd go through Make a Wish, but it takes so long and you seem like the perfect person for this."
Brooke was shocked but touched. "Absolutely. That would be wonderful."
"I was thinking tomorrow afternoon? I can meet you, her, and her mother at the park at one?"
"That's perfect!" Brooke chirped. "I'll see you then."
"Thank you, Brooke, this will mean a lot to her."
"It'll mean a lot to me, too, Dr. Grant," Brooke smiled before hanging up the phone.
Brooke turned to Lucas and filled him in; he was excited for her and asked if he could come, which warmed Brooke's heart. He put so much effort to be a part of the things that meant a lot to her, and it made her so incredibly happy to see him so dedicated. She gave him a kiss, which quickly escalated, and she spent the rest of the day enjoying a little more than just her boyfriend's company.