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Lucas woke up from an unsatisfying sleep to find his brother lying on the floor beside his bed.
"Nate?" Lucas jumped off his bed and shook his brother awake.
"What?" Nathan mumbled.
"Jeez, I thought you were like dead or something. What are you doing on my floor?"
"Why the hell would I come lay by your bed if I was dying? Don't you think I would try to get you to help me or something?"
"It's 3:00 in the morning Nate."
"I was scared." Nathan said, sitting up.
"Of what?"
"Myself."
"Really? What's going on?" Lucas asked, moving down on the floor next to his brother.
"I know you said you forgive me, and Brooke forgives me, but I can't help but feel like I'm the shittiest person alive."
"Nate, you're not that person anymore. We all make mistakes."
"You said yourself it's hard to forgive yourself. How can I forgive myself for the tape if you haven't forgiven yourself for cheating on Brooke last year?"
"Yeah. To be honest I was thinking about that myself earlier."
"I don't want people looking at me like they did yesterday."
"You mean Haley?"
"I mean everyone. Back then I didn't really give a damn about what people thought. Now I care. Maybe too much."
"There's nothing wrong with caring. But you should be proud of yourself. You've worked hard to get to where you are."
"Thanks Luke."
"Hey Nate?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we make our own pact about college?"
"As in decide to go to the same school?"
"Let's at least try to pick a school where we can live together, even if it's not the same school."
"You want to live together after we graduate?"
"Only if you want to."
"Hell yeah I want to. What about the parents though?"
"I don't think it would be so unbelievable that we end up together, even if we were deciding on our own."
"True."
"I just keeping thinking that we need to take this chance while we have it."
"Yeah soon enough you and Brooke will be married or something and your house will be filled with clothes and there would be no room for me anyway." Nathan laughed.
"Exactly." Lucas laughed too.
"I'm really glad we're doing this."
"Me too. Soon enough our short second childhood will be over."
"It would be a shame if we didn't make the most of it."
Monday morning, Lucas and Nathan headed for homeroom bracing themselves for the comments from their classmates.
"Hey Scott, I guess brothers do share everything." Someone yelled out in the hall.
"Yo Lucas, time to make a sex tape with Haley or Theresa if you really want to get even!" Another kid called out.
Nathan put his hand on Lucas's arm as a silent warning to keep his cool.
"This day is going to suck." Brooke rolled her eyes.
Lucas covered Nathan's eyes and kissed Brooke passionately.
"Much better." Brooke smiled.
"That'll show them." Lucas laughed.
"Gross." Nathan grumbled.
"Hi." Peyton said quietly, approaching with Jake.
"Hey." Brooke mumbled.
"We'll leave you two to talk." Jake said pointedly.
"See you at lunch." Lucas said, kissing Brooke.
Once it was just the two of them, Peyton closed her eyes and sighed.
"Brooke, I'm so sorry."
"Me too Peyton. Even if I was drunk off my ass, which I definitely was, I should have taken myself home way before I got myself into trouble. Again."
"You were right. I know you weren't doing anything to hurt me. That whole thing with me and Lucas, I still feel horrible about it. Selfishly I just thought maybe this would even the score. But I realize it's not even in the same universe. Nathan and I definitely did not have the relationship you and Lucas have."
"It's okay."
"I love you Brooke Davis."
"I love you Peyton Sawyer. My BFF."
"You caught that, huh?"
"Just because you and Jagielski are blowing me off for California in a few months doesn't mean you aren't still my number one ho."
"Good to know."
"Haley's a good friend to have though."
"I know, I know. Things have been weird between us and I was just worried about losing you. Especially since I've been a crappy friend in the past."
"We've been through so much together and you've had my back. You can't get rid of me now." Brooke said, linking her arm in Peyton's as the bell rang.
"Is it safe?" Jake asked as he approached the lunch table.
"Yes." Brooke and Peyton said in unison.
"Thank God." Jake said, sitting down.
"Hilarious. Hey, did you make a set list for next weekend?" Peyton asked.
"The thing at Tric is going to be next weekend?" Brooke asked.
"Yeah I got ahold of Karen yesterday. I had to do something besides being pissed off."
"She says she's looking forward to it." Lucas said.
"Me too. I'm working on getting some more acts to join in."
"I wish I was doing something cool like that. It's not like my designs are going anywhere." Brooke sighed.
"Hey. Why don't we show your clothes at Tric?" Peyton suggested.
"That's a great idea." Lucas agreed.
"Really?" Brooke asked, smiling wide.
"Yes. And I'll even offer myself up as your assistant to help you get ready." Peyton said.
"You're in for it now." Jake muttered.
"Shut up Jagielski. I love this idea. I have a ton of stuff I've wanted to put together." Brooke said excitedly.
"It's going to be great." Lucas smiled.
Just then the bell rang.
"See you all at practice." Nathan said, getting up.
"Yes you will." Lucas grinned.
"Oh jeez. Your first official week as assistant coach." Nathan rolled his eyes.
"You ready for this?"
"On a scale of one to Dad, how bad is this going to be?"
Lucas cracked up.
"I'll go easy on you, little brother."
"So Lucas I hear Brooke is showing her designs at Tric next weekend?" Andy asked at dinner later that night.
"Yeah, Haley is going to wear one of her designs while she's playing and the Brooke is working with Jake to design an event t-shirt that they're going to sell at the show."
"That's great." Andy said.
"I think she's really excited."
"Listen, I can see if I can get some people I know to come to the show." Andy suggested.
"What kind of people?" Lucas asked.
"I have some connections to people who work in retail. Maybe they'll like what they see."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course. Anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks Andy."
"Hey Karen." Dan said, sitting down at the counter at the café the next day.
"Hi Dan. What brings you here?"
"I had a favor to ask."
"Shoot."
"Deb and I want to go on a weekend trip to visit my parents. We would leave Thursday night and get back Saturday afternoon."
"Right, she told me."
"I know it's your week with Lucas, and I was wondering if Nathan could stay with you too on Thursday and Friday."
"Of course. I bet Lucas would love that."
"Thanks Karen. It's just that it seems like every time Deb and I try to go on a weekend trip, something happens. Maybe if you have the boys it will be okay."
"I don't believe in superstition but I'm happy to help." Karen laughed.
"Great, Deb will be thrilled."
"How are your parents by the way? Lucas told me they visited this summer?"
"They're great. They adore Lucas."
"I'm glad." Karen smiled.
"I think they're coming back here at the end of the month. Around Lucas's birthday. I'm sure they would love to see you."
"I would love to see them too."
"We'll see what we can do."
"Wait, Thing, Thing One and Thing Three?" Andy asked, laughing after dinner.
Karen was in the kitchen cleaning up, so Lucas and Nathan started telling Andy stories about getting to know each other.
"Well, he was the third." Nathan and Lucas said in unison.
"Unbelievable."
"Yeah we had some crazy nights last year." Nathan said.
"But you guys didn't even like each other back then right?"
"We hated each other." Lucas said.
"So what changed?"
"We actually got to know each other as people."
"You guys are lucky to have a second chance like this."
"We know." Nathan nodded.
"So what was Luke like as a kid?" Nathan asked Karen later that night.
"Oh, well, I might be biased but I think he was the greatest kid."
"She's biased." Lucas said, not looking up from his book.
"He always had his nose in a book once he learned to read."
"Nothing's changed there." Nathan laughed.
"Hey, I talk to people." Lucas protested.
"Andy and I watched an entire movie and you did not look up once. A couple of months ago I accidentally nailed Tim in the face with a basketball at practice and you did not look up once from whatever you were reading."
"Oh. Hmm." Lucas said distractedly.
"It keeps him out of trouble." Karen pointed out.
"That's true."
"He was super cuddly. He liked to give hugs and he would fall asleep on anyone." Karen said, smiling at her son.
"That one I've noticed. He uses my shoulder as a pillow all the time, mainly because he never makes it through a movie."
"When you insist on starting movies at 1:00 in the morning, of course I'm going to fall asleep."
"Total homebody." Nathan said, smiling at Karen.
"Yeah he and Haley mainly kept to themselves and made their own entertainment at home." Karen agreed.
"He said something about Scrabble tournaments?"
"Oh yes. They would get intense. He also was quite the football player. He and Keith would spend hours outside." Karen said, returning Nathan's smile.
Lucas put down his book and smiled at his brother and his mom. Karen and Nathan hadn't always gotten a chance to talk and understand each other, and he was glad to see his mom and brother getting along.
"Nathan you came!" Haley grinned as she walked into Tric. It was finally the night of the show.
"Yeah I didn't think I could miss it. You ready?"
"I am. I think it will be a great show."
"Is Eric coming?"
"He will be here in a little bit. You're rather early."
"Luke and I are helping Karen and Peyton get everything ready. Sounds like they're expecting a good crowd here tonight. Andy has some fashion connections or something so Brooke's freaking out."
"Andy knows people in fashion?" Haley asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Apparently. He always seems to know somebody."
"That's true. Well, I'm glad you came. I know it might be weird."
"I'm fine. Really. So are you still considering doing this full-time once we graduate?"
"Actually, I've been wanting to tell you this. I'm going to Stanford."
"Wow Haley. That's amazing. Congratulations." Nathan said, hugging her.
"Thank you. It's been my dream, well my other dream, forever. Maybe I'll do some open mic nights there, see what happens."
"Definitely. So another one of us is off to California."
"Looks like it."
"What does Eric think? Is he going to school out there too?"
"I actually haven't told him about it yet."
"Oh."
"It's no big deal; I just wanted to make sure it was final before saying anything."
"Sounds like you've made your decision."
"Yeah. Maybe tonight will be a good night to tell him." Haley said half-heartedly.
"Maybe. I'll let you get ready. I know it will be great."
"Thanks Nate. It means a lot to me that you're here."
"Okay everyone, thanks for coming out tonight. My name is Peyton and I'll be your host for the show. Let's get it started with the sexiest guitar player I know, Mr. Jake Jagielski!" Peyton grinned.
Jake wandered out on stage and smiled without really looking at the crowd.
"Thanks Peyton. Hey everyone. "Jake said shyly.
He pulled out his guitar, took a deep breath, and started to play.
"He's great." Brooke said quietly.
"That sounded dangerously like a compliment Brooke." Lucas teased.
"Oh Broody, you know I'm nice to everyone."
"Of course. My bad." Lucas said, putting his arms around her and holding her close, swaying to the music.
Jake finished the song to thunderous applause. He smiled again and briefly pointed at Lucas before looking back at the crowd.
"Why did he point at you?" Nathan asked Lucas.
"Maybe that's their love song." Tim said.
"Don't worry Tim I'm sure the next one is for you." Nathan said, rolling his eyes.
Once Jake had finished his set, Peyton came back out wearing a Clothes Over Bros hoodie.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Clothes Over Bros." Peyton said simply, unzipping her hoodie and she headed backstage.
The lights dimmed and a remix started to play as only the stage was lit up.
Brooke, Theresa, Peyton, and some other cheerleaders came out wearing various pieces of Brooke's clothing line.
And not much else.
Some of the girls were wearing Clothes Over Bros tops with boy shorts and others were wearing cropped tops and shorts with the logo across the back.
"Oh my." Jake said evenly, raising his eyebrows.
"My mom is going to freak." Lucas said almost inaudibly.
Nathan and Tim cheered. Lucas smacked his brother on the arm.
"Sorry Luke. I thought you'd like this sort of thing."
Lucas didn't respond, he was searching the crowd for his mom and Andy. He caught his mother's eye.
She did not look happy.
"Oh Brooke, what did you do?" Lucas wondered out loud.
After the crowd died down from the unexpected display, Haley made her way onstage.
"Well that was interesting." Haley laughed as she sat down at the piano.
She started to play, and Nathan couldn't help but be entranced by her music once again.
Whether he realized it or not, the feeling was mutual. Haley searched the crowd for Eric and found his smiling face, but she couldn't help but watch Nathan most of the time.
"Is this weird for you?" Jake asked Nathan.
"Nah it's okay. I didn't see Chris Keller in the audience so that makes it a thousand times better." Nathan replied, not taking his eyes off of Haley.
"That's true. So you don't think he's going to pop up and make a pass at me, then try to take me out on tour?" Jake joked.
"Hope springs eternal, Jagielski." Nathan laughed.
"Bring back the scantily clad cheerleaders." Tim sighed, approaching Nathan and Jake.
"I think Karen will make Brooke and the others wear floor length long-sleeved dresses here from now on." Nathan said.
"She's mad? But it was awesome."
"They're teenage girls, Tim. Of course Lucas's mom is not going to be a fan of that. Plus Andy brought people to see Brooke's line and now they're probably thinking she's not serious." Nate said.
"I loved it." Tim said, taking a sip of his drink.
"Of course you did. It's probably the closest you've come to a naked girl in real life." Peyton said as she walked by.
"I love that girl." Jake said fondly, turning back to the stage.
"Hey." Nathan said, approaching Haley backstage once the show was all over.
"Hey you."
"You were amazing. As usual."
"Thanks Nate. Brooke's show was a hard act to follow."
"Yeah I'm hiding back here in case Karen finds Brooke."
"She must be pissed. Is Lucas mad?"
"He's probably not generally opposed to seeing his girlfriend in that type of outfit, but when his mom and stepfather are around with potential business contacts, it's a different story."
"Makes sense."
"I guess I should go find Luke though. It was really amazing to see you play again. I've missed it."
"Me too."
"I've missed you too."
"I've missed you too Nate. I always feel like I play better when you're around."
Nathan was silent for a moment, debating whether or not he should say what was on his mind.
"Screw it. Haley, there's something I need to say."
"What?"
"I love you. I realized when you got so mad at me that I've never fully stopped loving you. When that tape got played and I saw how hurt you were, I remembered how much you inspired me to be better as a person."
"Nathan—"
Haley was interrupted by Nathan leaning in to kiss her. He was surprised to receive a slap in the face instead.
"I'm so sorry!" Haley gasped.
"Whoa." Nathan said quietly, touching his cheek.
"I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to. It's just that…I'm still with Eric."
"So what does this mean?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry Nathan." Haley said, rushing off.
"Lucas, I wasn't thinking about the fact your mom was here." Brooke protested.
"Who do you think Andy brought with him, Victoria's Secret? This reflects badly on my mom!" Lucas said, exasperated.
"Hello Brooke, Lucas." Karen said quietly, approaching where they were sitting.
"Karen, I am so sorry. It wasn't my intention to make you look bad. I was just trying to do something memorable."
"Lucky for you, it was memorable." Andy said.
"What?" Brooke and Lucas gasped.
"They loved your clothes and presentation, Brooke."
"Wait, really? Who exactly were these people?" Brooke asked.
"One of them represents Victoria's Secret."
"So I was right." Lucas laughed, despite his frustration. Karen glared at him.
"They want to talk to you some more. They had to go for tonight, but they promised to call me at the beginning of the week." Andy said.
"Oh my God!" Brooke exclaimed.
"I'm excited for you Brooke." Lucas said, squeezing her hand and looking at his mom.
"If you still lived with me, you would be grounded." Karen said firmly.
"I'm sorry Karen. I promise that if I'm ever allowed to show my designs here again, it will be nothing but ball gowns." Brooke said quietly.
"Promise?"
"I promise. I appreciate everything you've done for me. Both of you." Brooke said, looking at Andy.
"Well your clothes, what little of them there was, looked great." Karen admitted.
"Thank you Karen."
Karen smiled and got up to help Peyton take down everything from the show.
"I'm really glad my mom met you." Lucas said to Andy.
"Why, because of my connections to Victoria's Secret?" Andy joked.
"Among other things." Lucas smiled.
"Hey." Nathan said, sitting down next to Theresa. She was sitting by herself, looking like she wasn't sure if she should stay or leave.
"Hey." Theresa replied, not really looking at him.
"How are you? I hope nobody's given you crap about...you know."
"I'm okay. Luckily people seem to feel sorry for me instead of wanting to make fun of me for that tape."
"I'm really sorry about that Theresa. I'm also sorry I didn't apologize earlier."
"Haley was more important I guess."
"Well I definitely needed to apologize to Brooke first, but I just saw Haley's face and felt horrible."
"I felt horrible too, you know."
"Of course. I'm sorry. For everything."
"Was it all just pretend with us?"
"No, it really wasn't. I had a great time dating you, Theresa. Also, you were there for me for so much in the past few months. It's not just anyone who would take on dating a wreck like me. If nothing else, I feel like I've made a great friend. Is that horrible for me to say?"
"No." Theresa admitted.
"You really were great. I wouldn't have gotten through the past few months without you." Nathan insisted.
"Just bad timing I guess." Theresa said, smiling weakly.
"Definitely bad timing. But hey, please don't stop coming to these things. I like hanging out with you."
"I'm just waiting to see if my new friendship with Brooke will last."
"It should."
"Thanks for the talk Nathan."
"I'm sorry it didn't work out."
"So what happens now with you and Haley?"
"Nothing really. She's still with Eric."
"You still love her though?"
"In one way or another, I always have. But I really liked you at well. It was confusing."
"I don't know how I feel about that."
"I don't know. If it makes you feel better, I turned her down because I wanted to date you."
Theresa laughed.
"Was that stupid of me to say?" Nathan asked, laughing nervously.
"Probably. At least it was honest."
"I'm trying."
"I know. I appreciate it."
"Theresa! Want to come back to Peyton's? Girls sleepover." Brooke called.
"See?" Nathan said quietly, smiling.
"Of course. Be right there." Theresa called back, smiling back at Nathan.
"Have fun." Nathan said.
"Thanks Nate."
"I'm exhausted." Lucas said later that night as he and Nathan made their way upstairs.
"Did you mom and Brooke have it out?"
"It's okay. Andy's people actually liked it all. Brooke's incredibly lucky."
"See? I told you it was good."
"Don't pretend you thought that was artsy, pervert." Lucas laughed.
"Whatever man. I'm glad it worked out."
"All in all, not a bad night."
"No appearances by Chris Keller."
"Always a plus."
"Hey Luke, I have something to show you."
"Please tell me it's not a video." Lucas joked weakly.
"Very funny. No it's something I got today. Wait here." Nathan said, running to his room.
He emerged a moment later, a thick envelope in his hands.
"What's this?"
"My letter from Duke. I'm in." Nathan grinned.
Lucas didn't say anything, he stared for a moment and went into his room.
"Luke? What's wrong?" Nathan followed him, worried.
Lucas turned around from his desk and held up an identical envelope.
"My mom told me it came in the mail today."
"Seriously?" Nathan said, smiling wide.
"For real, little brother."
"Is this it then?"
"It just might be." Lucas smiled.
"This is great. Seriously."
"Definitely. For now, I need to sleep. I'll see you in the morning?" Lucas asked.
"You got it. Goodnight."
"I'm proud of you Nate."
"Thanks Luke."
"I love you."
"I love you too, Luke. I'm glad you're my coach. And my brother."
"Me too, little brother."
Nathan and Lucas got up around the same time the next morning and headed downstairs for breakfast. They hadn't seen Deb or Dan since they left for their trip.
"Hey Dad. Welcome back." Lucas said, pouring himself some coffee.
"Morning." Dan said distractedly.
"Something wrong?" Nathan asked, sitting down at the table next to Lucas.
Deb came in looking like she hadn't slept.
"Hi boys." Deb said tiredly.
"What's going on?" Lucas asked.
Dan sighed and looked at Deb, who didn't quite meet his gaze.
"We have something to discuss with you." Dan said quietly.
Oh snap.
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