I don't own One Tree Hill and Supernatural.

Thank God I'm finally able to upload this chapter. I had been trying to upload this since two days ago but my account had some troubles. Anyway, as always, a HUGE THANKS to those who reviewed. Love ya lots! (:

16: A Weekend in the Country Part 2

"Luke, just tell me what you have to say," Brooke blurted out.

Lucas closed his eyes and then took a deep breath. "Something happened between me and Peyton."

-----

"She came to me a couple of weeks ago and…" Lucas trailed off.

A sharp stabbing pain almost made Brooke scream; the emotional pain she felt was too strong, it almost felt physical. She felt like her heart was going to explode. Lucas didn't need to finish his sentence for her to get what he was trying to say.

"Tell me you're lying." Brooke trembled as she stood up and backed away from Lucas.

"I'm sorry," Lucas whispered as he stood up and tried to touch Brooke's hand.

It was all coming down to Brooke now. Why Peyton was in Lucas' bedroom when she called, why Lucas always seemed like he was trying to hide something, and why Peyton looked so guilty whenever Brooke looks at her – it was all because of that. Lucas slept with Peyton.

Anger, disappointment, pain, and most of all, betrayal overwhelmed Brooke as she stood there, frozen at the sight of the man she loved. Her hands trembled as she forced herself to think that it wasn't real.

"Why...?" Brooke cried, unable to control herself anymore. The pain she felt was indescribable.

The look on Brooke's face broke Lucas' heart; tears were already flooding her cheeks. Lucas stood up. "Brooke...it was a mistake..." Lucas said with sincerity; he could see how agonized Brooke was, and he hated himself for it.

Brooke shook her head. "Mistake?" Her voice grew louder as her anger took over all the other feelings she felt. "Is this why you're avoiding me? Because you're with Peyton?"

The way Brooke said Peyton's name made Lucas flinch; Brooke made it sound like Peyton was poison. "It's not like we wanted this to happen," Lucas pleaded. "Brooke...let me explain."

Brooke shook her head once again. She fought back her tears as she reached her boiling point. Of all the people who could betray her, why her best friends? "You broke your promise." Brooke looked so frail the moment she said those words; she could still remember the promise Lucas made when they were young. 'You're my only one'...those were his words.

"You broke it too, Brooke. You're the one who's getting married!"

Brooke clenched her fists; if that was one reason why Lucas cheated, then he was not the man she used to love anymore. "That's a different case! Besides, did it ever occur to you that I would come back to you once my arrangement with Dean is done?!"

Brooke's words were like a slap to Lucas' face; he knew at that moment that he had already lost the argument. "Brooke…please."

"What have you done, Luke?" Brooke murmured. She still couldn't believe and accept what Lucas had done. Somehow, she hoped that this was all a bad dream. How could Lucas do that to her? With the remaining ounce of strength in her, Brooke heaved a sigh and looked at Lucas intently, as if wanting him to feel her pain, and then walked out.

Dean came running down the stairs as soon as he could when he heard the commotion downstairs, but Brooke was already gone. "What's going on? Where's Brooke?"

Lucas just looked at Dean and didn't answer his question; he doesn't have any right to be involved in this.

Dean's blood boiled when Lucas didn't answer him. He went towards Lucas and grabbed him by the collar. "What did you do?"

Lucas tried to push Dean away but he failed; Dean was much stronger than him. Lucas grunted and exchanged heated glares with Dean.

"That's enough!" Peyton yelled as she ran towards Dean and Lucas.

Nathan and Haley ran down the stairs; Sam was not far behind. Sam quickly went to his brother and pulled him away from Lucas.

"What is going on here?" Haley asked with an exasperated sigh. "You're fighting again."

Dean scoffed and looked at Lucas once again. "Where's Brooke and what did you do to her?"

"She walked out..." Lucas finally answered.

Haley suddenly became worried. She knew at that instant what this was all about. She looked at Peyton and then at Lucas. "Did you tell her about what happened between you and Peyt?"

"What happened between you and Goldilocks?" Though Dean knew what Haley meant, he wanted Lucas to man up and answer. He also wanted to confirm his conclusion before he does something to Lucas.

Lucas ignored Dean's question and avoided the others' looks. "I told Brooke. I confessed."

The answer Lucas gave was enough confirmation for Dean. "You as-" Dean didn't bother to finish his sentence; he lunged towards Lucas again and punched him straight in the face.

Sam pulled Dean away; Nathan did the same with Lucas. "Do you think this is what Brooke wants?" Sam asked as he looked at his brother intently.

Dean didn't remove his gaze from Lucas. "After all the sacrifices Brooke did, this is how you repay her?"

Dean's words struck Lucas; Dean was right in many ways. Dean went back upstairs to get a jacket and then went down again.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked.

"I'll go find Brooke."

-----

Betrayal was something Brooke never expected or wanted to experience. Lucas was the only man she ever loved, and Peyton had been her friend for as long as she could remember. So how the hell could they do that to her? Brooke asked herself if she had done anything wrong and came to the conclusion that it was their distance that made them do so. How ironic life could be; she planned this weekend to have quality time with her friends but it didn't turn out great. Finding out that Lucas was with another girl would probably hurt less if it wasn't Peyton.

As Brooke walked, she got a couple of cuts on her leg and arm from wild shrubs. When she felt like she couldn't walk anymore, she found a big tree and sat on the ground between two thick protruding roots with her back pressed against the tree. It was only then when she thought of how far she had walked and wondered if she would be able to go back by herself. Memories of her past with Lucas flashed in her mind, but instead of feeling good, those memories felt like sharp knives being stabbed into her chest now.

Tears flooded Brooke's cheeks once again. She wrapped her arms around herself as she tried to control her tears, but failed. She felt so fragile and small.

Brooke had never felt this bad before; it was the first time her heart was broken like this. Lucas had never hurt her before - not ever - and the fact that Peyton was involved made things worse for Brooke. Two of the most special people in her life betrayed her.

-----

All Dean thought about was Brooke as he desperately searched for her. He knew how hurt Brooke was which made him think that she might do something she would regret later. He had been looking for her for about an hour now, and he started to fear that she might've delved deeper into the woods. Dean's resentment towards Lucas increased as time passed by; how could he do that to a girl like Brooke?

To his relief, he found Brooke after an hour and a half of searching. She was sitting by a tree, crying. Dean slowly approached her. "Brooke?" he asked gently.

Brooke removed her hands from her face and was surprised to see Dean standing in front of her. She suddenly became conscious of how she looks; she wiped her tears away and ran a hand through her hair.

Dean had seen Brooke get sad and upset, but never like this before. Her eyes were strained and her nose and cheeks were red from crying. "You look like a mess," he said as he sat beside Brooke.

Brooke scoffed. "What're you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here?"

Dean's answer caught Brooke off guard. He sounded so caring and serious at the same time. They fell silent for a moment; Dean tried to think of how to console Brooke, while Brooke still tried to process the emotions she felt.

As Dean tried to think of what to say, he caught sight of the cuts on Brooke's leg. It didn't look that bad, but he felt the urge to ask. "Does it hurt?"

Brooke looked at her cuts and then shook her head. For the first time, she saw pure concern in Dean's eyes. She looked down and heaved a sigh of relief; Dean's presence somehow calmed her down a bit. "I was so sure that we'd have a great time this weekend."

Dean didn't know what to say, so he just let Brooke talk and release her thoughts and feelings.

"I missed my friends so much. So I thought, why not plan a vacation? But then here I am..." Brooke trailed off. "You know...I never thought they'd do that to me. I trusted them so much."

Brooke rested her head on Dean's shoulder. In return, Dean wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Having Brooke in his arms felt so good.

"Lucas was the first guy I ever loved. I thought he was the one for me, you know. And I was so sure of it back then. We were so in love."

Dean sighed. "People change, Brooke."

Brooke's tears came back again. "It's just..."

"It's hard to believe?" Dean asked but didn't wait for Brooke's answer. "I've been there. The hardest part is accepting the truth. No matter how hard you try to think of reasons why it happened, the truth will still hurt in the end."

With that, Brooke unleashed her tears. Everything Dean said was true. All the anger and pain that she felt burst into tears. Dean felt hurt just by seeing Brooke's pain. He let Brooke cry into his shoulders as she released her feelings and he remained patient and silent; he caressed Brooke in his arms whenever she cried harder and held her tight to show her that he wasn't going anywhere. When Brooke finally calmed down, they remained silent.

"Have I ever told you about my first dog?" Dean broke the silence; he wanted to remove Brooke's thoughts from the present and the first thing that came to his mind was his first dog. "His name was Dexter. Sam and I weren't allowed to have a pet - I was seven back then - but we insisted and dad caved in. Dexter was the sweetest Labrador I ever met. Sam and I took turns feeding him and taking care of him until one day, we woke up and he was dead."

Brooke looked up at Dean; he was half-smiling, as if reminiscing his days with his pet. "What happened to him?"

Dean shrugged. "The vet said he ate something that he wasn't supposed to. I was heartbroken back then; Sam was miserable as well. It took us a few months before we were able to move on."

"I remember Peyton saying people always leave," Brooke murmured.

"She's just being melodramatic." Dean chuckled. "Here's the thing: someone leaves but there would always be someone who would come and make you feel like you were never left."

By then, Brooke's tears were almost gone. Her head was rested on Dean's shoulder, so she could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest. For the first time, Brooke felt so close to Dean. This was also one of the rare moments where Dean wasn't being rude or sarcastic. And the way he said those words made Brooke feel like he wasn't just trying to tell her that someone would come for her. "Dean..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being here." Brooke held Dean's hand. "You don't know how much this means to me."

Dean let out a small smile and kissed Brooke's head gently. "Glad to be of service."

Brooke chuckled and somehow, her anger subsided.

-----

Haley had been meaning to confront Peyton about what happened between her and Lucas, but Haley never got the perfect time, until now. First of all, Haley was just disappointed at Peyton. Second, Haley doubted how Peyton really treasured her friendship with Brooke. And third, all Haley could think about was Brooke. Now that Brooke knows about what happened between Lucas and Peyton, Haley feared that they might never be able to regain the beautiful friendship they once had.

"What on Earth were you thinking?" Haley asked; disappointment was obvious in her voice.

Peyton bit her lip and looked down; Haley's look made her feel small. "I don't know...I got carried away."

"Didn't you even think of Brooke?" Haley didn't wait for an answer. "You've been Brooke's best friend since she was a kid. Did it ever occur to you how much this would hurt her?"

The cold harsh truth was like a slap to Peyton's face. They were all right and she was wrong. However, Brooke had also broken Luke's heart by agreeing to marry Dean, but Peyton knew better than to use that as an excuse now.

"More than a decade of friendship...ruined by this one single mistake," Haley muttered. She honestly could not believe how tactless and selfish Peyton was.

Peyton bit her lip. "I'm sorry, okay?"

Haley sighed. "I just hope we could all be fine again. I never wanted us to fight like this."

"I'll try to fix this," Peyton murmured, though she somehow expected that it would take a long time before Brooke could forgive her.

Right then, Lucas, Nathan, and Sam entered the house.

"Any luck?" Haley asked hopefully.

Sam shook his head. "We couldn't find Brooke or Dean. They're not answering their phones either."

It had been five hours now since Brooke and Dean left the house. Though it was only a little past lunch, they were all worried. The sky was getting dark, predicting heavy rain, and if Brooke was alone, it would be a huge trouble.

-----

Dean woke up to the sound of thunder slapping the grey sky. Brooke's head was still rested on his shoulder; she was sleeping soundly. Brooke had fallen asleep due to exhaustion, and Dean had nothing else to do so he did the same. Though Dean didn't want to wake Brooke up, he shook her shoulder gently.

Brooke woke up with a slight headache. She inhaled deeply and then sat up straight. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost three hours, I think. We have to get back to the cabin." Dean stood up and offered Brooke his hand.

Brooke took Dean's hand and stood up. "But...I don't know what I'd do..."

Dean grinned, which made Brooke frown for a moment. "Just ignore them. Don't pretend you're alright. Don't talk to them if you don't want to."

The rain started to pour. Dean immediately removed his jacket and placed it around Brooke's shoulders. He took her hand and led the way back to the house. The walk back to the house was shorter, Brooke noticed, probably because Dean knew the way better than her. When they arrived at the house, Sam was waiting for them at the front porch.

"Thank God you're home," Sam greeted.

Brooke gave Sam a smile. The three of them went inside the house. Lucas was in the living room, desperately wanting to talk to Brooke, so when she entered the house, he quickly stood up. But the way Brooke looked at him was enough to make him stop.

"You're soaking wet!" Haley gushed. She then took Brooke away from Dean and brought Brooke to her room to help her dry up.

Dean, on the other hand, went straight to the fireplace with Sam right behind him.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"She's devastated," Dean replied as he removed his shirt. "I've never seen her like that before." He then looked around and saw Lucas talking to Nathan. "What happened when I went out?"

Sam shrugged. "I went out with Lucas and Nathan to look for you and Brooke. Haley and Peyton stayed here."

Dean sighed and shook his head.

"Dean...is there something you're not telling me?" Sam could read it in Dean's face; even though he had already guessed it, Sam wanted to hear it from his brother.

Dean looked at Sam intently and then looked away after a few seconds. "This isn't the perfect time to talk about it."

With that, Sam backed off. He knew Dean wasn't in the mood, and things will only get worse if he insists. He gave Dean a soft pat on the shoulder and then left his brother.

-----

Have a great time - that was the purpose of the weekend vacation Brooke Davis planned. After months of being away from her best friends, she was glad they all agreed to come. The fact that Dean and Sam came along made her happy as well; that way, the brothers could get to know her friends better. However, after one unfortunate event, the whole trip was ruined.

Brooke's life was ruined... Well, almost.

Yes, she was heartbroken, but she didn't expect to have Dean as her shoulder to lean on. For some odd reason, the pain Brooke felt subsided easily when Dean followed her and talked to her in the woods. It was her first time to see that side of him - the thoughtful side - and it was the first time she felt comfortable in his arms.

"You ready?" Dean's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

Brooke patted her bag and gave a reluctant smile. She donned a pair of sunglasses and checked herself out in the mirror; she didn't want the others to see how puffy her eyes still were. When she was content with her look, she went downstairs and saw Lucas sitting by the fireplace.

Lucas stood up and walked over to Brooke. When he was close enough, he saw her eyes beneath the semi-dark shade of her sunglasses. "Can we talk?"

"No," Brooke answered quickly and then looked away. "We have nothing to talk about."

Beneath the toughness Brooke was showing, Lucas knew that she was in pain and all he wanted to do was to wrap her in his arms and show her how sorry he was. "Please, Brooke."

Dean came down the stairs with Brooke's stuff and paused when he saw the two of them. Brooke gave him a small smile to show him that she was fine. With that, Dean nodded at her and then looked at Lucas. For a brief moment, Dean looked at Lucas in a warning way and then left the house to load Brooke's bags into his car.

Brooke looked away. "It's all over, Lucas."

The formality in Brooke's tone was like a slap to Lucas' face and the look of a sad goodbye in Brooke's eyes were unnerving. The cute nicknames were already forgotten somehow, and it was his entire fault. Before he could say a word again, Brooke looked at him one last time and then went out of the house. To Lucas, it felt like the end of his relationship with Brooke, but he forced himself to hang on and hope that his relationship with Brooke would be mended.

-----

As Brooke waited for Sam and Dean, who went back to the house to get the last batch of the stuff they brought, she tried not to feel angry or sorry - she wanted to feel nothing at all - as she looked at Peyton, who was waiting for Haley and the others by Nathan's car.

Peyton pulled herself together and slowly made her way towards Brooke. "I'm sorry," she said in a low voice.

"You of all people, Peyton. How could you? You're my best friend!" Brooke yelled. "I trusted you!"

"It's not like we planned it to happen, Brooke. Just...let me in. I don't like the fact that we're not talking to each other."

"We're not talking because of you. You did this. I love Lucas and you know that." Brooke tried not to cry or get angry. She's had enough of all the drama; all she wanted for now was to get away from her friends that betrayed her.

Peyton felt like Brooke didn't want her to be happy. "What about my feelings, Brooke? You want me to hide my feelings for Luke? You're already getting married and -"

Brooke cut her off. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm being selfish? You don't know how much I sacrificed, Peyton," Brooke scoffed. "And you broke our golden rule – Hoes over Bros...do you still remember that thing we swore together?"

Before Peyton could answer, Dean came out of the house with two bags. Even from afar, he could see the tension between the two ladies. Peyton then went back to Nathan's car without saying another word to Brooke.

"You okay?" Dean asked as he loaded the bags into his car trunk.

Brooke turned to look at him and gave him a wry smile. "Yeah."

Beneath the sunglasses, Dean could clearly see that Brooke was not entirely okay. In fact, when he woke up this morning, Brooke was crying, but Dean didn't say a word about it. Like earlier this morning, he preferred not to say a word because he didn't want to push Brooke into telling him stuff that she didn't want to share.

After Brooke's short goodbye with her friends - mainly with Haley and Nathan - they went their separate ways. Lucas didn't want to leave without making up with Brooke, but Brooke obviously didn't want to talk to him. Peyton, on the other hand, felt slightly pissed at Brooke for not caring about her feelings. Brooke was still upset about the thing between Peyton and Lucas, but for some reason, she wasn't that hurt anymore because of the silent support she had been receiving from Dean Winchester.

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