When I have a new story, I do get a bit overly keen with the updates! xx
Just getting some friendships established, and just to let you know, the couples are probably going to be canon in this one, so any Brooke/Clay in this chapter is just leading to friendship! Review with your ideas and thoughts! Building the Clay story, aswell as Brooke/Peyton, Brooke/Julian here :)
Clay yawned as he stretched and woke up..in the same place! He looked around, almost in shock, and focused his gaze on Quinn, who was sitting on the sofa near him, reading a book
"Hey sleepy" she laughed, putting her book down "you feeling alright?" she asked, looking at him intently
"Yeah, just feeling a bit rough" he admitted, putting his head on the pillow. it felt like a deadweight
"Anything I can do?" Quinn asked, giving him a small smile
"Nothing" Clay said, more to his pillow
"You sure, you look really pale?" Quinn asked, tapping her fingers across her book
"Don't worry Quinn, im fine" he reassured her "I think im gonna go to bed" he nodded, and gave her a smile before he went upstairs
"So your not living with Taylor and your still always here" Haley grinned, waving Quinn over as she came into her kitchen "want a coffee?"
"Yeah, sure" Quinn replied, giving Nate a wave as he came home
"So you moved all your stuff to Clay's yet?" Haley asked, busying herself with teh coffee, and giving Nathan a kiss
"No, hes not feeling so good" Quinn nodded, looking at Nathan and Haley with a worried glance
"Yeah he called earlier, hes got a cold.." Nathan said, serenely
"Surely he could still come for a meeting?" Haley asked, with raised eyebrows
"No, I just saw him, hes not upto driving" Quinn butted in in Clay's defence
"Is it that bad?" Nathan asked, turning to face Quinn
"He'll be fine in a few days, its probably just flu or something" Quinn said, shortly "hales..wanna come move my stuff with me" she said, in a pleading tone "clay was meant to do it but I cant ask him now, pleasseeee" she started, widening her eyes, she saw Haley softening..Haley laughed
"fine, come on then you big dork" Haley laughed, nudging her sister "and seeing as neither you or Clay can cook, im gonna make you dinner"
"Score! Quinn grinned, and they headed out with a laugh
"I need to teach you to cook" Haley commented
"I can cook" Quinn muttered
"Toaster pastries don't count" Haley cackled
"Shut up Hales!" Quinn laughed, retaliating by swinging her bag at Haley, they both laughed.
Brooke and Peyton had been sitting inside all day, catching up over wine, chocolate, and photos.
"So this is Alex..shes pretty right?" Brooke muttered, pointing at the screen
"Not a patch on my best friend" Peyton immediately retorted
"Shes young, she can have kids..what am I doing P-Sawyer?" Brooke murmured, putting her head on the table, Peyton reached and rubbed her shoulders in response
"Just because you cant have kids, it doesn't mean Julians going to leave you. He loves you" the silence was broken, Peyton had spoken
"But what if one day he decides-" Brooke started, but Peyton cut her off
"What, that hes gonna walk out and have babys with Alex? Get real Brooke, hes not going to"
"How do you know?" Brooke asked, stretching her arms and shrugging
"Because I know now that the worst case scenario rarely happens. and I see you Brooke, you sabotaging something before you get hurt" Peyton started
"Can you blame me?" Brooke started, then gazed at Peyton "sorry thats not fair"
"Its fine Brooke. Luke hurt you I get that. But don't let your pain from that define you and Julian. He adores you" Peyton said, rubbing Brooke's back in circles
"Alex tried to kill herself, he just wants to help her before she drowns" Peyton continued
"Why does it have to be him?" Brooke muttered
"Because hes her friend. Imagine if it was one of your friends, Nate, Haley, Clay or someone..you would be there for them, wouldn't you?" Peyton probed, prodding Brooke a little bit
"Well yeah but thats completely different-" Brooke started
"No, your making it different. Julians protecting a friend, in the same way you would" Peyton said, as if she was repeating herself
"Ive been an ass haven't I?" Brooke moaned, banging her head on the table
"Give yourself some credit, you didn't sleep with Chris Keller" grinned Peyton
"Oh yeah P-Sawyer, good one" Brooke laughed, throwing a pillow at Peyton and cackling
"Thanks" Brooke smiled, and the doorbell went
"Haley! have I got a surprise for you!" Brooke grinned, as she opened the door to Haley
"Last time I had a surprise from you, it was a stripper" Haley said in a deadpan tone, while Quinn laughed
"Go in the kitchen" Brooke instructed, watching Haley walk towards Peyton..
"Peyton!" Haley screamed, giving her a hug "How? What? When? Where?" Haley asked, taking hold of her arms, almost shaking her
"1 month job, today, here" Peyton grinned "so Haley James Scott, now im here, are you gonna produce me a rockstar album?" asked Peyton, with another wide smile
"You bet your ass I am" Haley giggled "its so good to have you back"
"Whats up Hales?" Brooke asked, going over herself
"Oh, yeah, do you have any boxes?" Haley asked, almost in a business like tone
"For what?" Brooke asked, with a raised brow and a questioning look "your not moving..."
"No, no, Quinn is though!" Haley laughed
"You better not be leaving James, you were becoming skinny ass best friend mark 2!" Brooke commented, standing on a chair and looking through her stuff
"No, no its nowhere far" Quinn beamed, watching her
"Shes moving in with Clay to get away from the Taylor sex noise construction site" Haley admitted, shrugging her shoulders and laughing
"Fair enough" Peyton nodded, while Brooke squealed
"You and Clay..I knew it!" Brooke suddenly started
"No, no we aren't together!" Quinn responded, as quickly as Brooke started
"Oh..well I said nothing" Brooke quickly retorted, passing a few boxes down "have fun James girls, and come back here when your done" Brooke grinned, grabbing some martine glasses "we have some catching up to do" she finished, with a wink
"Before I drink anymore, im gonna run to the store and get some things, you need anything?" Brooke asked Peyton, who was staring loftily out the window
"Im good" Peyton said, quietly
"Everything good?" Brooke questioned
"Yeah, its just strange being back here" Peyton answered "theres only one tree hill" she quipped
"and that was cheesy" Brooke laughed
"shut up and go get your stuff" Peyton laughed back, rolling her eyes
Again, Clay had managed to dislodge himself from his bed. it was 10pm in the evening, and he was sleeping near a bench by the store, none the wiser. The cold was getting worse throughout the night, and the "heavy showers" that were the subject of the news last night were starting. It was already getting soaking, and he wasnt awake yet
"Brooke, please pick up the phone" Julian was saying, walking down to the car. Usually he would of ran, but sometimes he quite enjoyed the rainy weather. It felt like the set of one of his movies.
In an ideal world, Brooke would pass by, they would apologize for any previous arguments, declare their love for eachother, and share a passionate kiss. But it was Tree Hill, not Hollywood, and things like that didn't happen. He had noticed Brooke thawed slightly, as she finally had unblocked him from her "whatsapp" contact list, but she still wasn't answering the phone to him. He got in the car and sat, and waited. He had no idea why, but he just didn't feel like spending another night in a hotel room
He had been living in and out of the house and a hotel room. The first few nights, he stayed in the hotel room, until he realized that it made the Alex situation look 100x worse. The next few nights, he stayed in the house, but the frosty silence he was met with each morning convinced him that maybe the hotel was a safer option for his sanity. He remembered his conversation with Nathan. He just needed to stick it out, just for a few more days, weeks, and Brooke would realize that he wasn't the bad guy, that he didn't want to be
Brooke drove in her range rover, swearing a little at the rain that was starting. She was not equipped for rain, she had a dainty cardigan on, sunglasses on, and non-waterproof mascara. And her favorite pair of heels. She stopped in the road as she saw a traffic light approaching, and used the time to look around a little. She smiled at her surroundings, then suddenly noticed a figure, sleeping next to the bench. Not even on the bench. She looked again then did a double take..it was Clay..what was he doing?
Brooke swore again as the car behind her beeped her, and she quickly swerved into a parking space, praying that she had a coat or something of warmth in the back of the car.
"Clay?" Brooke shouted hoarsely, running towards the bench, with a small sigh
Julian's eyes widened. He saw Brooke. This was too coincidental. Maybe things were lucky. He got out the car, watching her go towards a figure by the bench..should he follow?
"Clay?" Brooke said again, slapping his cheek lightly, trying to get a response. She knew he was breathing, he was breathing heavily, almost snoring,as if sleeping outside was a daily routine for him. Something he hardly noticed
She looked as his eyes slowly opened, and mentally prayed that the rain stopped soon
"H-hey...whats going on?" Clay snapped his eyes open, taking in his surroundings..how as this possible, just hours ago he was tucked up in bed, bemoaning a headache and a cold, and deciding to sleep. He had napped on the sofa earlier, why was he outside again. and more importantly. how did Brooke see him
"You tell me Clay, your sleeping in the rain! Something wrong with the 4 bedroom beach house you own?" Brooke asked, sarcastically, and Clay shivered beside her
"I don't know" he answered simply
"What?" she replied, looking perplexed
"Sometimes..I wake up outside..I sleepwalk" Clay admitted, adding a stage chuckle into the mix so Brooke didn't worry. That could lead to a world of problems if Brooke started worrying
"And you didn't think of telling anyone?" Brooke sighed
"This is the first time its happened in a couple of years" he lied, his blue eyes swimming with doubt. Luckily, Brooke wasn't watching his eyes
"Are you..ok?" Brooke questioned him, looking at him
"A bit cold" Clay murmured, with a small laugh "my brain picked the wrong day to sleepwalk"
"You can say that again"
"Brooke!" shouted Julian, who had decided to follow
"Oh god" Brooke tried to flatten her hair
Julian finally managed to cross the road over to her
"Clay! Are you ok man, I saw Brooke running to someone I didn't know it was you?" Julian asked, looking a bit frantic
"Im fine man..my head thought it would be funny to sleepwalk" Clay said, shivering again
"Oh..in the rain..nice" Julian nodded, offering a hand to help Brooke up, which she didn't accept, and he then helped hoist Clay up
"Hey guys..thanks for..well..saving me" Clay sighed, with a smile. He was playing down how worried he was but this had to stop. Quinn lived with him now, what if she started noticing, telling Haley, telling Nathan. They would all be onto him, then Nathan could search his records, find out about Sara. It would all be awful, out of control..
"Im a hero, what can I say" winked Brooke, and Clay chuckled
"You got it" he nodded, with a laugh
"I'll drop you home buddy" Brooke smiled, giving him a nudge "my car has heating, might be able to try the top of your hair at least" she teased
"I guess i'll go then..hope your ok man" Julian said, surprised by Brooke's frostiness towards him, he thought the unblocking had been a sign, clearly not
"Julian" Clay suddenly said, and Julian turned around
"Yeah?" he asked
"Well both of you..any chance you could..not tell Nate and Hales about this..don't want them worried" Clay quickly said, tilting his head from side to side
"Thats fine" Julian smiled, waving as he left
"Julian!" Brooke suddenly shouted, and Julian turned again, looking more hopeful
"Yeah?" he quickly said, surprising himself with his reaction time
"Can we catch up soon?" she asked, a break evident in her voice
"Sure" Julian replied, looking at her with an intense glare
"Great" Brooke said, unlocking her car and practically pushing Clay in, wrapping a coat round him that she found discarded in the boot
She slammed her own side, and rubbed some water out of her eyes
"You know, Juju doesn't like Alex, at all in that way" Clay commented, watching Brooke intently
"Why would you think that?" Brooke asked, switching the heating on
"The way he just looked at you kinda says it for me" Clay kindly responded, and Brooke put an arm around his shoulders
"Look whose going all soft and romantic in their old age" she laughed, and Clay rolled his eyes
"Oh shut up" he laughed, as Brooke started rubbing his arms, trying to warm him up
"Are you ever going to get a girlfriend?" Brooke asked, slightly interested
"Well, that would be telling" Clay laughed, happy to of distracted her from any worry that she may of had
"Well, they would have to regulate the crazy sleepwalking" she laughed, finally satisfied with her cars heat, and starting to drive
"Sure would" Clay shortly said, looking out the window and breathing a sigh of relief. Brooke wouldn't say anything, she was preoccupied
Brooke parked outside from Clay's house
"Now, stay in there" she laughed, rubbing his shoulder
"Yeah yeah" Clay laughed, making to get out
"Thanks Brooke" he suddenly said, breaking the happy conversation flow, with a serious tone
"For what?" she asked, with a kind smile
"Picking me up, not making a big deal out of things" Brooke smiled
"Its alright. Ive seen stranger" she admitted
"Like what?"
"I stood in the rain hurling insults at Lucas for about an hour, so sleeping in it doesn't seem so strange" she laughed, and Clay let out a small laugh aswell
"Good luck with all things Julian related" Clay smiled, giving her a thumbs up, Brooke snickered
"We'll be fine..good luck finding a chick that wants breakfast" Brooke recovered, then retorted
"Oh the sting!" Clay laughed, "bye Brooke" he finished, walking to his door and waving
Brooke waved until he was inside, then looked at her phone. the wallpaper of her and Julian.
She wasn't so angry with him anymore after her talk with Peyton. She was angry at herself. For acting the way she did. For letting her Lucas insecurities destroy another chance of happiness. She just couldn't face telling Julian this yet, she needed some time. But it would be ok, and for the first time in weeks, she felt she understood the plight of Alex Dupree. Today was a good day