I don't own One Tree Hill and Supernatural.

Heya! Again, thanks to those who reviewed; I love you guys! (: I hope you'll like this chapter.

14: Falling Slowly

Brooke Davis had always thought that she will marry Mr. Right. When she reached the age of seventeen, she was sort of sure enough that Lucas Scott was the right one; he was perfect for her - he knew how to take care of her, and most importantly, he loved her. Their differences made their relationship even more beautiful. Now, as Brooke stared at the engagement ring she was wearing, she started to think of her precious memories with Lucas. And then the kiss that happened between her and Dean the night before interrupted her thoughts of Lucas. She tried to shrug off the memory of her kiss with Dean, and when she finally did get rid of that memory, she couldn't help but think of the lanky blonde she treasured dearly. So Brooke grabbed her cell phone from her nightstand and quickly dialed Lucas' number.

"Hey Brooke," Lucas greeted.

Brooke's brows creased. Lucas always calls her 'pretty girl' whenever he answers her calls; now it was just plain 'Brooke'. "Hey Broody...what's up?"

There was a short muffled noise before Lucas answered. "Um, nothing. Just the same old stuff." There was something in his voice that made him sound like he was trying to hide something.

"Oh," Brooke muttered as she set her gaze on her engagement ring. "What are you doing?"

"Just woke up... uh -" Lucas was cut off by a female voice asking who Lucas was talking to. It was none other than Peyton; Brooke was sure of it. But what was Peyton doing with Lucas in his bedroom at this time of the morning?

Brooke hoped it wasn't something bad. "Was that Peyton?"

Lucas cleared his throat. "Yeah...she's...wanna talk to her?"

"Um, no..." For some reason, Brooke just didn't want to talk to Peyton. "I have to go...just tell her I said hi. And hug Haley for me."

Lucas chuckled. "Sure thing. It was nice to hear your voice, Cheery."

Brooke's lips curved into a lopsided grin. "You too." With that, she hung up and sighed.

-----

Lucas Scott had never felt guiltier than this before. He had done something he thought he would never do - sleep with Peyton Sawyer. Lucas has had a crush on Peyton since he was in fifth grade, but he never had the guts to ask her out. And then came Brooke. Brooke made the first move; she asked him out on a date after his first game as a part of the Ravens basketball team. Shortly after, he and Brooke became the golden couple of Tree Hill High, aside from Nathan and Haley. Lucas thought that his feelings for Peyton was gone; but when she came to his house last night - crying because she just broke up with her boyfriend - the same old feeling just popped out of nowhere.

"What did she call about?" Peyton asked with wary eyes; she, too, was guilty. She knew that Brooke was still in love with Lucas, so what she did was a betrayal of some sort.

Lucas shook his head. "She just called to check."

Peyton heaved a sigh and then rested her head on Lucas' shoulder. "What're we gonna do?"

"Nothing. I don't want Brooke to find out about this." He was sure that what happened between him and Peyton was just a one-time thing only because Peyton was upset and he was taken away by his stupid infatuation. He doesn't want to hurt Brooke by telling her what happened. "This will never happen again, right?"

Peyton looked down and bit her lip; she didn't want to stop whatever connection she had with Lucas because to be honest, she has had feelings for Lucas for quite some time now. But for the sake of her friendship with Brooke and Lucas, she nodded. "Yeah...this'll never happen again."

-----

Dean Winchester grunted as he stared at himself in the mirror. He thought he just kissed Brooke the night before because he was drunk, but now he couldn't forget the kiss. He also couldn't forget the smell of Brooke's hair and her dimples and the way she laughs. This wasn't a usual thing for him. In fact, he only felt like this before once, and he honestly didn't want to feel it again.

The sound of his cell phone buzzing against the marble counter made him remove his gaze from his reflection. He grabbed his phone; Castiel's number was flashing on the screen.

"Dean," Castiel greeted. "Where are you?"

"Home. Why?" Dean asked as he went out of the bathroom. Brooke was lying on their bed, staring at the ceiling. He could tell that something was bothering her.

"Can I come over? I want to meet your girlfriend," Castiel replied.

Dean's lips formed into a small grin. After their conversation the night before, Dean had already made a mental note that he'd meet with Castiel when he had the chance. "Sure. What time are you coming here?"

"I'll be there in a couple of hours." With that, Castiel hung up.

After deliberating whether to ask Brooke what was bothering her or not, Dean heaved a sigh and walked towards their bed. There was a feeling inside of him that urged him to do so. "What's up?"

"Nothing..." Brooke mumbled and covered her face with a pillow. "Just tired."

Dean scoffed. "I could tell by the look on your face that there's something bothering you. Now quit acting like a kid."

Brooke gasped, removed the pillow covering her face, and threw it right towards Dean, but Dean caught it before it hit his face. "I am not fooling around," she muttered.

Dean chuckled and tossed the pillow to the other side of their bed. For a moment, he and Brooke just stared at each other. Brooke felt awkward once again; Dean wasn't the tell-me-your-problems type and he seldom asked her what was going on in her life. Was he doing this because of what happened between them last night...?

"If you don't want to tell me, fine." Dean said. He was about to get off of the bed when Brooke cleared her throat.

Brooke looked at Dean and then looked down on her hands. "There's something wrong with Luke."

"Lucas?" Dean scoffed. "What's wrong with him?"

"I wish I knew what's wrong with him..." Brooke said in a low tone, still avoiding Dean's glance. She didn't know what to tell him about Lucas; he probably doesn't even care to know what's going on between her and Lucas.

Dean removed his gaze from Brooke and tried to think of what to say, but nothing came up.

"All I know is that something has changed." Brooke got the feeling that it was Lucas' feelings for her that have changed.

"He's probably with another girl," Dean blurted out. He knew how most men think, and it was the only reason he could think of.

Brooke's brows furrowed as she looked at Dean with sadness in her eyes. Though she didn't want to believe Dean, he was right. Lucas was with a girl - Peyton - but why would he act like that if it was only Peyton? Besides, what was Peyton doing inside his room?

When he saw the sadness in Brooke's eyes, Dean felt stupid. "Look," he said as he went to her side. "Forget about it. Did you eat already?"

Unwelcome tears were threatening to come out of Brooke's eyes. Fortunately, she was able to stop it; she didn't want to cry and look weak in front of Dean. She shook her head.

"Come on." Dean stood up and helped Brooke get up. "Let's eat."

Brooke was somewhat surprised by how Dean was acting since this day started. First, he wanted to know what was going on with her. Now he's trying to console her. Brooke pushed her thoughts aside and followed Dean downstairs.

Sam Winchester could not believe his eyes the moment Dean and Brooke went down the stairs together and there was something he couldn't explain with the space between the two of them; Dean and Brooke were surprisingly close - literally - as they went to the kitchen. Usually, the two of them always managed to keep distance between each other, but now it was as if the invisible wall between the fake couple was gone. Out of curiosity, Sam followed the two to the kitchen.

"What do you want?" Dean asked Brooke as he rummaged through the ref.

Brooke shrugged. "Just coffee."

Dean turned to look at Brooke. "You sure?"

Brooke nodded and gave him a small smile. She then noticed Sam enter the kitchen and sat beside her on the counter.

"Dean...are you gonna make breakfast?" Sam asked.

Dean chuckled as he grabbed two mugs from a cabinet. "For you? No."

Dean's reply just made Sam more baffled. The next few minutes were spent in silence; Dean busied himself with making coffee, Brooke just stared out the nearest window, and Sam tried to think of what was going on between Dean and Brooke.

-----

Haley James Scott had always been the 'parent' in their group; she was always there whenever one of them has a problem, she was the one who drove them home whenever they were too drunk; she was their rock. She felt fortunate for having friends like Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas because they were always there for her as well. Now, at the age of 21, she couldn't ask for anything more; she's happily married with Nathan Scott and she's going to be a mother in a matter of 7 months.

"Luke," she said with a smile as her male best friend approached her.

Lucas let out a smile and gave Haley a pat on her shoulder. "How's your baby?"

"The baby's fine," Haley gushed. "I still can't believe that I'm pregnant. I'm so..."

Lucas chuckled and held Haley's hand. "I'm happy for you."

Right then, Haley noticed something in Lucas' voice; she knew him well enough to notice that he was bothered. "What's wrong?"

Lucas trusted Haley with his life. He knew that whatever happens, Haley will still be there for her. He also couldn't keep what happened between him and Peyton to himself, and he knew that the only person he could talk to about that matter was Haley.

"Promise me you won't get mad at me," he said with wary eyes.

Haley's brows furrowed as she looked deep into Lucas' eyes. "What is it, Luke?"

"I slept with Peyton," he blurted out.

Before he knew it, Haley's palm hit his cheek; she slapped Lucas. Haley couldn't believe what he just said. She couldn't believe that he could do that. The first person that came into her mind was Brooke. How would Brooke react when she finds out about this?

Lucas rubbed his cheek; Haley slapped the hell out of him. Tears were threatening to escape Haley's eyes, and Lucas felt responsible for it. "Hales," he said, almost in a pleading way as he reached for her hand.

Haley yanked his hand away though. "Don't touch me, Luke. How could you do that to Brooke?"

"It was a mistake...I'm sorry."

Haley fought back her tears; a moment ago, she was happy and content with her friends and family, now she might not have a chance to see her friends happy anymore once Brooke finds out about this. "Tell that to Brooke."

Lucas shook his head. "I don't want her to find out about this."

"How am I supposed to live what that?" Haley snapped. "I can't pretend that I don't know anything in front of Brooke. You have to tell her. Or I will."

Lucas looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. Haley was right and he couldn't blame her. "Hales...I don't want to hurt Brooke.

Haley heaved a sigh and looked at Lucas with frustration. "Then why did you do it?"

"Because…" Lucas trailed off, finding the right words to say but nothing came up. He couldn't think straight and he knew that he was way damn wrong. And right then, he knew how much his stupidity and carelessness would break Brooke's heart.

-----

Castiel Collins had once been a very big part of Dean's life, but when Alice died, Dean lost control of his life and didn't even want to receive help and comfort from his family and friends. Castiel had tried - and did his best - to help Dean compose himself, but Dean rejected him every time. After numerous attempts, Castiel somehow lost hope and slowly, his friendship with Dean was almost forgotten.

And then Dean called him last night. It was a surprise, and Castiel could not believe his eyes when he saw Dean's number flashing on the screen of his phone. After two years without communication, Dean suddenly pops back into his life as if nothing had happened.

They didn't talk much last night; Dean said he just called to 'get in touch' again with him and that he would like to see him sometime. Castiel couldn't be any happier. This sudden change made him remember an article he read a few weeks ago - Dean's engagement to Brooke Davis - and he thought it was all because of her, so he called this morning to ask Dean if he could come over to meet the woman who changed Dean Winchester.

The Winchester mansion didn't change much, and as Castiel parked his car beside Dean's Impala in the front garage, his anticipation of meeting Brooke Davis heightened. The housekeeper opened the door for him and asked him to wait at the living room. As he sat there and looked around the living room, there was something he noticed: there wasn't any picture of Dean and Brooke on the shelf that contained family pictures. Odd as it was, Castiel shrugged it off and almost forgot about it when Dean stepped into the living room.

Dean had changed in many ways, Castiel thought as he eyed his friend. Dean looked rougher - probably because of his short stubble - and there was something in Dean's eyes that made him look like he's been through a lot. Castiel stood up and walked towards Dean and gave his friend a hug.

After two years of no communication, Dean felt his mood light up when Castiel gave him a hug. The moment felt like a reunion of long lost brothers. "I'm glad to see you, Cas."

Castiel chuckled and patted Dean on the shoulder. "Me too. It's been a while. I was honestly surprised when you called."

Dean motioned for Castiel to sit down again. "I've been such a jerk - not calling you and all. I'm really sorry."

"I understand," Castiel reassured in his usual mild and calm tone.

Right then, Brooke came into the room with two glasses of soda. She handed one to Dean and the other to Castiel.

"Brooke, this is a friend of mine - Castiel," Dean said.

Brooke's brows slightly furrowed, but before she could say a word, Dean laughed at her reaction.

"Weird name, huh?" Dean chuckled. "He was named after a town or something in Switzerland."

Castiel looked at Dean and then shook his head; Dean always made fun of his name. "Just call me Cas."

Brooke let out a warm smile as she shook hands with Castiel. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," Castiel mused. "You look prettier in person."

A sweet smile escaped Brooke's lips. "Thank you." She then looked at Dean. "Are you sure he's your friend? He's kind of too nice to be a friend of yours," she said with a joking tone.

Both Dean and Castiel laughed at Brooke's comment. Castiel rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm more of a parent than a friend to him," he said and then winked at Brooke.

"Really? Where have you been these past few years…especially when he needed that kind of friendship the most?"

Dean cleared his throat and looked down. "His absence was kind of my fault. I pushed him away."

"You always push people away," Brooke replied with a hint of sarcasm. She then turned to look at Castiel. "Anyway, I'm glad you're back in his life. Dean really needs a friend like you right now."

What Brooke said struck Dean in many ways. His relationship with Brooke was like a rollercoaster ride - sometimes up, sometimes down - but somehow, she always knew what he needed and sensed what he felt most of the time, as if she could read him. And the way she said it, it was as if she cared. Again, the memories of the kiss that happened between them the night before flashed in his mind.

"I have to go," Brooke said with a smile. "Sam's waiting for me outside"

Castiel nodded and gave Brooke a smile. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too." With that, Brooke patted Dean's shoulder and then left the living room.

"She's...something," Castiel claimed. There was something about Brooke that instantly made him like her, and he was almost certain that he and Brooke would become good friends someday. "I like her."

Dean smiled, and though he didn't want to think about it, he knew and felt that Brooke was becoming something more in his life. At that moment, he was both afraid and certain of one thing: he was falling slowly for Brooke Davis.

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