What About Now?

Brooke was beaming more than usual. Everything seemed to be falling into place. She was standing in front of her closet, wondering what outfit to wear. She looked at her bed, where a mountain was forming of clothes that didn't look right to her.

She was currently wearing a pair of jeans and a red top. She was about to change again when she heard the door. She looked at her watch, in a state of panic, and realised that she had taken longer than she intended.

While she was walking down the stairs, thoughts started running through her mind, 'is this a date because there's food and conversation. No, it isn't a date.' She looked through the peephole; she wasn't sure why as she knew who would be on the other side of the door. A smile reached her lips when her eyes captured the curly blonde before her. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Both of them paused before saying anything, taking in the sight before them.

Peyton decided to break the silence. "Hey."

"Hey." Brooke didn't know what to do. Should they hug, should she move in and kiss her? There was an internal battle going on in her head, which rooted her to the spot. This wasn't helped by the fact Nathan's words were running through her mind. She was interrupted by Peyton, "Are you gonna let me in or am I standing out here all day?"

Brooke woke up from her daze and opened the door wider, letting Peyton in. Peyton also had the same internal battle as Brooke did. She felt slightly weird. Yes they were going to give things another try but there was hesitation at her end. She didn't want the past to weigh her down but there was no hiding from it. Peyton looked back at Brooke as she closed the door. Timid smiles were worn as Peyton waited for Brooke to walk past her. There was a slight bit of contact, as Brooke brushed past. This sent electricity through both of the girls. They looked at each other and without saying anything; they instantly knew that the other girl felt it.

Both girls walked through to the front room and sat on the couch facing each other. Brooke was sitting with her legs crossed while Peyton sat with her arm rested on the back of the couch, supporting her head.

"So you wanted to talk." Brooke asked feeling a little nervous about what Peyton had to say.

"Yeah, I guess." Peyton was shifting around trying to be comfortable on the couch.

"I take it that you have some reservations about us." Brooke looked at Peyton but she was looking down at her hands. "I get it. It's too much to forget."

Peyton finally looked up and saw how vulnerable Brooke was. She was playing with her hands and was looking everywhere except at Peyton.

"Maybe." Peyton lifted her head away from her hand and reached out to Brooke's. She intertwined their hands and Brooke looked up at her. "Or maybe not." As their eyes meet, Brooke could see a glimmer of hope from the other girl.

"My head is telling me to stay as far away from you as possible and not do this." Brooke lowered her head and her free hand started to play with the bottom of her top. Peyton moved closer and lifted Brooke's chin so that there was eye contact between them.

"My heart is telling me something completely different. It's telling me that I want you, I need you and I can't stay away, no matter how hard I try. I'm more likely to follow my heart because if being away from you for this long, didn't stop these feelings then I don't know what will." Peyton inched closer until her lips met Brooke's. It didn't take long for Brooke's brain to catch up with her lips and she was kissing her back. The need for each other was taking over their lips.

Peyton pulled away breathless and rested her forehead on Brooke's. "Where's Maria?"

"I sent her out for the day but she left food in the kitchen." Brooke answered not breaking eye contact with the other girl.

"So we have the place to ourselves?" Peyton asked hopefully.

Brooke nodded her head, still breathing heavily. Peyton brushed some hair out of the other girl's face and smiled. Her hand traced Brooke's skin moving to her chin, then neck. She moved in again but this time there was more hunger in her kiss. Peyton's tongue didn't have to beg for entrance as Brooke complied very quickly and opened her mouth. Tongues were massaging each other's as the need for each other increased. Peyton's hand moved back up to Brooke's face while her other hand let go of Brooke's and moved to her waist. While deepening the kiss, Peyton lowered Brooke on the couch. Both girls adjusted their legs and Brooke's hands went into Peyton's hair. Peyton's hand started to move underneath Brooke's shirt and was rubbing her bare skin. Brooke's hands moved from Peyton's hair to the buttons of her shirt, unbuttoning a couple. This movement caused Peyton to pull away. Brooke thought that she might have taken it too far and fear was evident in her eyes. Peyton smiled which made Brooke immediately turn her fear into calm and contentment.

Brooke moved back to Peyton's shirt but she squatted her hands away. "Not so fast." Peyton used her hands to lift both of Brooke's hands above her head. She had a big grin on her face as she moved her hand down to Brooke's thigh. She started kissing her neck as her other hand let go of Brooke's. Her hands moved to Peyton's back resting underneath her shirt.

The noises from the front door opening startled Peyton and made her panic. She quickly jumped away from Brooke and started buttoning her shirt up again.

"Peyton, it's ok." Brooke tried to reach out to the blonde to make her calm down.

"I thought you said Maria was out." Peyton had got up from the couch and was walking to the door.

"She is, its just Nathan, he moved in yesterday." Brooke got up herself and followed Peyton. "Where are you going?"

They walked past Nathan in the corridor. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you, I was just quickly grabbing something." He could tell by the way that Brooke was looking that it wasn't a good time. He quickly ran up the stairs and left the two girls alone.

Peyton looked back at Brooke. "I think it's best if I go."

Brooke grabbed Peyton's arm to stop her. "You don't have to. It's ok."

Peyton moved from Brooke's grasp. "I really think I should." Peyton opened the door and ran to her car. Brooke stood watching as she frustratingly put her hand through her hair. She closed her front door and slumped to the floor. Nathan came back down the stairs and saw the defeated look in his friend's face.

"Is everything ok?" He asked, kneeling down at her feet.

"I'm not sure." She looked up at him. "Everything seemed to be fine and then she freaked out when she heard the front door."

He bent down and placed a hand on her knee. "She obviously still needs time, but she'll be ok." He got up. "Are you going to be ok coz I'm off to break up with the teacher?"

Brooke got up herself seeing as she was blocking the door. "I'll be fine."

After Nathan kissed Brooke on the cheek, she moved out of the way and he walked out the door. Brooke decided she wasn't going to sit around and wait. She grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

A smiling Melissa, at her front door, greeted Nathan. He put on a fake smile for a second and double-checked no one was watching when he fully entered the house. On the way, he had been mulling over how he was going to handle the situation. Whether or not he was going to be tactful and soften the blow or just go full hog and be brutally honest. She finally decided to just see how it panned out and deal with it whichever way he needed to.

"I'm so glad to see you." Melissa walked closer to Nathan, moving her hands up towards him but he pulled away. "We need to talk."

This made her stop and look at him strangely. "This doesn't sound good. Those words never sound good."

"This has to end now." He backed away from her.

"Why, we're having fun." She said putting her hands on her hips.

"Fun, you call this fun. It might have started off that way but you're getting possessive and jealous and I can't take it anymore. You forget that I'm only seventeen. This." He pointed towards her and himself. "Shouldn't be happening and it has to end."

Melissa walked back up to him and put her hands on his face. "Nathan, come on." He pulled her hands from his face and started backing up. "It's over." He walked towards the door but looked back at her before her opened it. "I'll see you at school." He walked out the door, got in his car and drove off.

Peyton had been driving around town for a while, trying to clear her head, listening to music. She had already paid a visit to her mother's grave and just spent some time talking to her. She would usually pay a visit to get some clarity or just to generally spend some time. She had no idea where she was going to at this moment, she just kept driving. She wasn't sure why or what took her to her destination but she found herself there all the same. She parked her car and walked up the path to the front door. She knocked and waited for an answer. The door opened and Peyton spoke. "Hey, can we talk?"