"I don't get it." Tim muttered, wandering over. "Why is she even giving him the time of day?"

Nathan shrugged. Once again, his dimwitted friend had abandoned his lab partners when it came time to clean up before the class period ended.

"I wish I knew." He replied.

"You did it!" Julian grinned, holding his hand up. "I don't know why you think you're not good at this. You're brilliant."

She blushed, glancing back at Nathan before wrapping her hand around his. "I couldn't have done it without you... Thanks for all the help."

Nathan's eyes darkened as he watched the pair smile at each other again. He knew what that look meant, it was defined as: Chemistry.

Real chemistry wasn't flat, or predictable. It was more complex, with a hidden secret. Meeting someone where the chemistry was both physical and emotional, so much so that you were blown away by the force of it, was rare. It was getting the butterflies, and hearing the bells and whistles, when you wanted to be with that person, forever.

He saw it when Lucas looked at Peyton, and no matter how hard he tried to deny it, he felt it whenever he looked at Haley.

"Brooke." Nathan called. She jumped, and he cracked a smile. "Hey, ready to head out?"

"You go ahead without me." Brooke replied, glancing down at her phone. "I need to go help Peyton."

He moved to stand next to her to read the text, his eyes full of confusion. "She couldn't ask both of us for help?"

B. Davis! SOS! I'm surfing the crimson wave...

"Oh..." Nathan drew out, almost blushing. "Umm... Yeah... I'll let you handle that one on your own..."

She slung her bag over her shoulder, rolling her eyes. "Gee. Thanks."

He watched her go before turning back to Julian. He was cleaning out a beaker, totally oblivious to the fact that he had been left alone in the room with two Ravens basketball players.

Nathan felt obligated to protect the cheerleading captain. Brooke Davis was always one to act tough, but her heart broke easily.

He wasn't about to let her get hurt again.

Two Years Ago

"Brooke?"

He entered the room without knocking, his eyes moving from the clothes covering the floor, to his brown haired friend, who lay curled up in a tight little ball on her bed.

"Brooke!"

He dropped down next to her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace. He had just fallen asleep when his phone rang. He'd been out with Peyton for Tree Hill's annual 'Boy Toy' auction, and he'd left the volume on his phone turned up in the unlikely event that Haley would call him, begging for him to rescue her from the boredom that Lucas was probably putting him through.

At first, he'd been annoyed with Mouth for waking him up, and then he'd felt guilty for snapping at him. His friends should have been able to count on him, 24/7, for anything.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to check your head." Nathan muttered, tightening his grip on her. "See how you're doing."

"I'm fine." Brooke replied, but she wrapped her arms around him anyway. "Really."

He sighed. "That sounds like something I would say. Look, I don't know what happened tonight, you wouldn't tell Mouth, and Mouth couldn't tell me. But whatever happened, Brooke, we're not gonna judge you. Shit happens, and maybe you don't always make the best decisions, but that doesn't mean that your problems are any less important, that all of us aren't here for you."

She stood up abruptly, and began to pick up the clothes from her floor, tossing them into a nearby laundry basket. "Look. Like I said-"

"You're fine." Nathan repeated, his tone even.

She wasn't okay, he knew her. She was putting on a brave face, and he had no idea why.

"Look, I hope that's true, and maybe it is... But, the thing is, the two of us have been down very similar roads. I mean, we were in the same cliques first. We both felt the same pressures, same expectations. Our parents were like children, and we both grew into kind of bad versions of ourselves way too fast. So I think you know I get it."

Brooke managed a smile. "They never really gave us a chance, did they... Our parents?"

He shrugged. His mother was trying, the drugs seemed to be more important to her than him. His father was constantly comparing him to his older brother, trying to make them hate each other. Dan thought it made for a better game.

Brooke's parents were never around, in their minds, they didn't even have a daughter.

"They don't know how." Nathan replied. He grabbed her hand, yanking her back down to sit beside him. "Brooke, hooking up with random guys, and getting drunk on a school night won't make them notice you. The only person you're hurting is yourself, alright? And you're better than that. Look, I've sort of been there, okay? So I'm gonna be kind of pissed off if you don't come talk to me about it."

Brooke nodded slowly. This was a side of Nathan Scott that she didn't get to see very often, but when she did, it just made her value her friendship with him even more.

"You were with Peyton tonight." She muttered, glancing up at him. "How is she? Did she talk to you... About anything?"

Nathan managed a smile. It was the first time he had gotten their blonde, curly haired friend to himself since her biological mother had died. She was slowly but surely bouncing back.

"It doesn't surprise me that you're thinking about other people when all this stuff is going on with you." He said, leaning back against her pillows. "That's not bad for a girl who never had a chance. Come here."

Nathan pulled her into another hug, his hand made circles across her back as he listened to her sobs die down.

"Are you gonna tell me what happened?"

Brooke hesitated, shrugging her shoulders. It was none of his business, but he was trying to be there for her.

"Earlier tonight, Mouth asked me what it is that girls want." She replied, tears welling in her eyes. "And I told him that it was important to have somebody that can make you laugh. Somebody you can trust. Somebody that, you know, turns you on, and that it was really, really important that these three people didn't know each other. And we laughed."

Nathan chuckled lightly. That was the Brooke Davis he knew and loved. "And?"

Tears streaming down her cheeks, she took a deep breath and tried to continue. "And on the way home, I told Mouth the truth. Nate... Girls just want somebody to want them back... At least I do."

His grip on her tightened. Brooke Davis was not always as strong as she seemed. She became fragile too, she just never let anyone see her break.

Present Day

"Yo." Tim said, moving closer to him. "Baker Boy. I think Nathan wants to have a word with you."

Nathan smirked as Julian began to back away.

"What's wrong, man?" He asked, tilting his head innocently. "Something scaring you?"

"If..." Julian stuttered. He'd been able to put on a brave face in front of everyone else, but now that he was alone with the younger Scott brother... "I... I would leave... Right now, if I were you, man..."

Nathan scoffed, dropping his backpack. If the new boy thought that he didn't have a problem with him, a big problem, then he was wrong. "You're not me. You never will be."

The mathlete crossed his arms, trying to look tough. Nathan Scott really was a hard ass. Julian knew he wouldn't be allowed to leave until the basketball player had spoken his mind.

"What do you want."

Nathan smiled coldly. "Look, man, I'll keep this short and sweet. I want you to stay away from me, my brother, my friends, my team, and more importantly, my girls. And that means Brooke."

At the mention of her name, Julian's gaze moved from the window to the floor. He knew he was out of Brooke's lead, but why did Nathan Scott have to bring it up?

Tim laughed. "Look at him, Nate. He's practically shaking in his boots!"

"Just say he's scared, Tim." He rolled his eyes. "And good, I hope it's finally getting through your thick head. Brooke Davis is way out of your league, man. And so are Haley and Peyton, for that matter. Come near any of them again, and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

Nathan grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder before nodding at Tim. "Come on, man. Luke's waiting for us."

Tim followed along behind him obediently, shooting Julian one last hard look. The nerd had definitely understood the threat, and for once, instead of a dumb ass, witty comeback, he kept his mouth shut. A smart move for someone so stupid.

"Oh." Nathan muttered, pausing in the doorway. "One more thing, Julian. Cancel your 'study' date with Brooke, or it's only going to get worse for you, man."