Author's Note:Yikes, has it been this long since I've updated? I'm sorry. To all of you. Especially since the reviews on this story are unreal. I love delving into them and hearing your thoughts, what you hope to see, your wonderings… I smile when I see the effort people are putting in to letting me know what they think. Thank you for taking the time out of your lives to help a stranger have a better day. It means the world to me.

I've been kinda lost in life. Obsessed with Heartstopper too. I think it's because it resembles love in the way it should be. The way it should feel. It makes me feel better. The way Brooke and Lucas were in seasons 2 and 3. I'm feeling nostalgic. There are few couples that I ship with my whole heart, but Brucas were that ship for me… and this is where I end up. In Fanfiction land. Being far too late in updating the latest chapter.

As always, I hope you enjoy it anyway. Let me know what you think! I'll try not to disappear for so long next time. Mental health can be a bitch.

- Chrissy

~ My Favourite Game ~

x~X~x

Chapter Nine: The Party

By the time we had reached the house the party was in full swing. Deafening music blared in thunderous beats with row upon row of cars sprawled across the elongated driveway that curled around to the entrance of the house. Laughter spilled from excited lips in drunken stupor, shrieks and squeals piercing through the cooling night air as I glanced up at the huge house before me. Lights and people streamed out of every opening I could see, with groups of guys and girls stumbling forward and landing directly on the grass before us, sprawled out like a bug on their backs, twitching and scurrying. Two were giggling, snorting, and sputtering in such stupidity that I doubted they would remember it in the morning.

But one was out cold. Eyes closed, limp body. Glossy lips from an obvious vomit.

I froze at the sight of her.

"Oh man, Mila's fucking gone. Deb, grab her head and I'll grab her feet. We need to put her in the car. She's such a lightweight."

I stiffened at the memory from the last time I was there and stopped in my tracks, pushing my lips against one-another as I tried to calm the nerves raging within. Tiny fists curled as I pushed away the oncoming trembles that threatened to take over my body. His voice rang out in my mind then, panicked and stricken as the feeling of his arms grasped the sides of my arms to shake me.

"Oh my god, Brooke. Brooke!"

Haley's scared voice crept into my thoughts, then. The shock of being forced back to the feelings of that time, where the loss of control was over my own body, not of the girl before me who was just as vulnerable as me the last night I was here.

As vulnerable as the night I couldn't escape… him.

"Come on, this is exactly what you knew would happen, right? I mean, you're an Evans, now. Clay is a god around here and everyone wants what Evans has, even his sister..."

"Hey," I felt the delicate touch of Haley's hand as she curled her fingers through mine and gave them a tight squeeze. Crashing through my daze her voice pulled me back to reality, focusing my attention on the two girls who grabbed their intoxicated friend and started making their way back down the driveway towards the myriad of parked cars. I went to move toward them, anxious to help, but the soft way she was held made me pause mid-step. Her friends had her. She was being taken care of. She wasn't alone when she was like this. She didn't need protecting or a longed-for rescue. She was going to be okay. Not like me.

Not like what happened to me.

But the bundle of nerves still sat pooling in the base of my stomach like a cancer eating away at me. Tears threatened to spill at the corner of my eyes, and I hurriedly blinked them away.

"Are you okay?"

Was I okay? Such a simple question from the beautiful human beside me, but one I rarely had a positive answer to. Truth was, I wasn't okay, and I hadn't been in quite some time, but moving forward was really the only option I had in this life because it was either force myself to do that or be buried by the demons of my past. The thought suffocated me.

"We can go back to our dorm, if you want to?"

I realised I hadn't answered any of her questions and must have looked like a feral animal caged or at elast, a deer in the headlights. My breathing had rapidly increased as it always did when my memory was jolted back to the past where the moments I only wanted to forget came surging back into my thoughts. Slowly, I released the tension in my curled fists and turned to face her with a nod, blinking back the tears of anxiety that cooled my irises. I could see the earnest in her eyes, and I forced myself to relax, giving her hand a tight squeeze and plastering a smile on my face. I had promised myself not to let my own problems poison others and I was intent on keeping that promise. It was why I never told Clay about my final year of high school and why he never knew the true extent of what happened to me in the twelve months since he left. It would only make him angry and vengeful and with everything he had to lose, the impact on his life had he known was something he would never deserve.

When people were like family to me, I did anything to protect them. Even if it was at my own expense.

I squeezed Haley's hand firmly once more and jotted my chin slightly higher, eyes flittering to the foreboding mansion before us as I pulled her closer to me.

"And miss the opportunity for you to attend your first ever real live college basketball party? No way, Hales. ."

She laughed as I mimicked her words and pulled our entwined hands close to her chest, bumping into my side with her hip as she did so.

"Then let's do this!"

When we got inside the heat of the room hit us instantly. The smell of booze, perfume and sex was ripe in the air, and I knew the party had probably started the second the final ball went through the hoop. The Scott Brother's parties had always been legendary according to Haley, but being in college at this level just added a whole new element to their status. Flickers of pinks, reds, and blues sprinkled their incandescent strobes from the strategically positioned lights throughout the living room. I looked to the left and noticed the study door locked and felt a slight pang of disappointment. So much for a possible haven if the reverie got to be too much. Loud voices carried out around us, and Haley clutched my hand slightly tighter, although I could tell it was from excitement more than anything else. It was in that moment that I realised this was highly likely my roommates first real party and I grinned at the thought. She really was so sweet and innocent and wholesome and unlike anyone I had ever met before.

It was refreshing.

Sliding through the bodies in the living room was harder than first anticipated. Haley's eyes bulged as she saw the closeness of some, and the way the girls moved up against the bodies of the people they were dancing with was probably contrasting to anything she had seen back home. Quite a few times she glanced nervously in my direction at the sight of people forgetting they were in public, body parts and tongues and cleavage on full display but I just shrugged, trying to keep it carefree. This was nothing I hadn't seen before. Finally we made our way through the maze of sweaty bodies and into the kitchen where there was a slight reprieve. Although still crowded, the noise level was decidedly lower and the lights a little brighter, so it afforded a chance to stop and talk without feeling the need to shout over the blare around us. Clearly others had the same idea, huddled in little groups, heads together, faces excited. I manoeuvred through the groups and snaked my way towards the kitchen island bench and leaned against the counter, reaching out and taking Haley's hand to bring her next to me. She smiled up at me, eyes wild with excitement as we surveyed the room. There were no familiar faces, but I wasn't all that surprised. The chances of seeing people we knew when there were clearly hundreds here tonight, were slim. I could only imagine how the bedrooms were being used. I reached for some spare red plastic cups and grabbed the closest drink I could see, liquid filling the cup as I turned and gave one to Haley.

"What is it?" Lowering her nose to the brim, she inhaled.

"Juice," I answered cooly, but noticing the slight disappointment in her eyes I reached back and pulled a bottle of vodka from the bench and tipped a little into her cup. "Better?"

She grinned and nodded her head, titling her it to the side when she noticed I didn't pour any into my own cup.

"Are you sure you're, you know, okay?" There it was again, the concern creeping into the edges of her eyes. I returned her apprehension with a gentle smile and raised one brow.

"I did drive here, Hales."

"Yeah, but we can always Uber back. It's not like we have classes tomorrow." She pulled the drink to her lips and took a big gulp, clearly forcing the obviously strong liquid down her throat as her eyes glassed a little at the shock of the taste. I laughed a little and she looked at me, connecting her cup to my own with a clink.

"Live a little."

"You heard the woman!"

Thick arms enveloped Haley and I in a tight hold around the shoulders and pulled us into a chiselled chest, a slight gasp escaping Haley's lips as I did my best not to spill my drink. Under normal circumstances I would be readying myself for my counterattack but when the scent of Paco Rabanne filled my senses, I knew immediately who our captor was. If the trace of the aptly named Invictus wasn't enough to give it away, then the envious glances of the shocked onlookers who started to disperse a little wider from their previously huddled groups surrounding us, was. Disdain, jealously and wonder mixed with confusion as Nathan Scott leaned down so that we could hear him speak.

"Come on, lightweights. We're outside and we saved you a seat."

Nathan barked his order and turned on his heel, spinning us around and away from the kitchen bench whilst grabbing the bottle of Absolut from the hands of another partygoer with an outstretched hand and passed it to the boy behind. There was no fighting back or even a look of annoyance, just a simple nod of the head and a look of acceptance. From a quick glance I could see the boy carrying the liquor now was the same one from class they called Taggaro, and he raised his brows and sent me his signature grin when he noticed me looking at him.

"Hey there, beautiful. Nice to see you came to party with us and-"

Nathan halted in his tracks and turned in silence, Taggaro stopping and looking at him with some confusion in his eyes as a chill and sense of dominance filled the closing space between them.

"Her name is Brooke to you. Not beautiful. Brooke. We clear, Felix?"

Realisation dawned in Felix's eyes, and he sent Nathan a quick nod before shuffling around us and out the glass sliding door that led to the back porch, taking the vodka with him. Haley shot me a look of curiosity but said nothing, and as Nathan's hands found their way down the smalls of our backs and the sea pf people once again parted as we drew closer to them, it became quite clear that everything Haley had been telling me about Nathan Scott and his status as a leader of the school were spot on. Weaving us through the crowd became easy, and Nathan even shrugged off multiple suggestive arms on his own as girls threw themselves into the ring to catch his eye. It was to no avail though, and by the time we got to the door ourselves, he had left a trail of destructive disappointment in his wake. Hell, even the door was opened for him by a pretty, petite blonde in an attempt to be noticed.

He didn't notice.

I found myself wishing I knew what that felt like, to remain unnoticed, and a pang of jealousy washed over me. Judging by the look she threw at me when she scooted past and out the door, I'd say the feeling was ironically mutual.

"Look who I found."

Nathan's voice boom over the covered back area and the familiar faces of Peyton, Jake, Bevin, and Felix glanced back at us. "I told you no one can resist an invite from me."

Peyton rolled her eyes at Nathan's words but smiled at me as she got to her feet, pulling me from Nathan's grasp and leading me to the comfortable lounger she had been sharing with Jake. "I'm glad you came. This party conversation is in desperate need of stimulating conversation that extends beyond game stats and cheer cries. My god, if Rachel were here right now…"

I chuckled slightly at her words and accepted her offer of a drink as she lifted a cup towards me, glad when I couldn't taste anything alcoholic in it. My eyes shot across the tiny wicker table that lay in the centre of the group and I could see Haley smiling as Nathan leaned in, a slight tinge coming to her cheeks at whatever he was saying. She straightened when she saw me watching and for the briefest of seconds, I could swear I saw a slight panic and remorse in her eyes, but my smile only grew wider as I looked at them and she relaxed a little, a knowing look of "We will be discussing this later with a tub of ice cream and our PJs" crossing between us. With that, she turned and placed her entire focus and attention on Nathan who appeared to be lapping it up.

"Where is Rachel?" Even I couldn't believe the fiery redhead wasn't in attendance.

"It's party night," Peyton sighed, leaning backwards, and feeling the hand of Jake wrap around her as she shuffled her back into his side. "She's off hunting." My face must have relayed some sort of confusion and she laughed at it, and I noticed a slight squeeze of Jake's hand on her arm without even looking at her. It was a little moment of mature sweetness in amongst the waves of teenage hormones.

"Hunting?" I brought the cups to my lips and took another sip, knowing full-well what her answer would be but trying desperately to feign ignorance or a total lack of care.

"Yeah, hunting. Party night is the epitome of fun for Rachel. She's off stalking Lucas, I'm sure."

Even though they were a part of two very separate conversations, somehow, Peyton and Jake managed to curl into each other perfectly. I smiled at the thought and Peyton's eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"You think that's funny?"

Realising she meant Rachel, I laughed and shook my head from side to side, leaning towards the table and placing my now empty cup there. "No, not at all. I was smiling at you two, actually. You seem very happy together. It's rare but it's nice."

Peyton traipsed her fingertips across the bare skin of Jake's arm and nodded her head softly, revealing the love in her eyes as she looked back at me. "It wasn't without it's drama, but I'm glad we made it here and we can all be together in spite of it all."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. "I can't imagine anything being difficult between the two of you."

Peyton swallowed hard and opened her mouth to speak, but the sudden ripping of loud music echoing from the now opened door behind us flooded our tiny refuge on the back decking and the conversation ended there. At least, it had until the unmistakable sound of Rachel's voice filled the air as she took a seat next to Felix and shot a look straight at Peyton.

"Really, Peyton? You wanna share the intimate details of your life with this one?"

She nodded her head in my direction and smirked, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knee as her chin glided effortlessly into her palm. "Because it's not really the nicest story for a party and I highly doubt Luke would want to re-live this in his own home? Or did it actually happen in his own home, I can't remember…"

Clearly, she did remember, and this little game Rachel was playing was purely for her own benefit. I could feel the tension fill Peyton's body as she swallowed hard and gave the redhead a cold look. I couldn't help but be confused by it all. They were friends, and despite my own opinions about Rachel, she had been tolerable and kept her snide remarks mostly in check when we had had class together that week. Surely this wasn't about my sudden arrival into their inner circle, because if it was, she was truly wasting her time with all that animosity. I was here for Haley's benefit, and Haley's benefit alone.

Seeing her like this though, with Peyton, wasn't cute. It was downright uncomfortable and unnecessary.

"Leave it off, Rach. Not tonight." Peyton tightened her grip on Jake's arm and the boy reacted instantly, his attention taken from his conversation with Nathan and Haley and now firmly directed at the scene before him.

"You brought it up," Rachel shrugged, reaching for the glass in Felix's hand and taking it as her own. He began to protest but when she shot him a daggered stare, he thought better of it.

"Stop," Peyton ordered this time, her tone a little harsher as she straightened in her chair and allowed Jake's arm to snake around her waist, anchoring her to him. "I mean it. Stop being such a bitch."

"One can only assume you wanted to talk about it and really I was just being curious as to why you would ever want to bring up such a bad time in all our lives with her."

Rachel smirked but I didn't bite, simply rolling my eyes and shooting a glance at Peyton. The blonde tried desperately to hide her own little smile at my non-reaction, and this only seemed to make matters worse. Rachel glowered then, her eyes never leaving Peyton. Suddenly everyone around the table began to quieten as the tension permeated every space between and around the group. Like a mist settling in for the morning, taking away the light of the sun and shrouding us all in darkness.

"What exactly is your issue?" My words were out before I could stop them. "I mean, if you wanted my attention that badly, you could just ask."

"Please," Rachel sneered, straightening a little at my words. "Like you even register for me."

"Your use of pronoun reference says otherwise," I quipped, getting to my feet, and shaking my head at her in pity. Her nostrils flared at my lack of interest in her, like somehow the sheer lack of care I felt towards her and her words was the worst social snubbing that I could have inflicted upon her. Fury raged in her eyes and she almost choked on her words with anger.

"Why are you even here?" Rachel replied, folding her arms as she started at me accusingly. "It's quite clear you don't particularly like the way we live. You act so superior around us, like somehow, we are beneath you, and yet here you are, all the time…"

"Maturity doesn't equate to superiority, and if you feel that way towards me, perhaps it's because you have your own issues to work through that have absolutely nothing to do with me and more to do with a therapist."

"You fucking bitch-" She moved to come at me then but was halted in her tracks, Nathan getting to his feet and stretching out a thick arm that wrapped around her waist and anchored her in place.

"Lay off, Rach," Nathan responded, clearly annoyed that the vibe was starting to shift. "It's a fucking party. Check yourself."

"Oh, so she fucks her boyfriend's best friend for months behind his back," she threw an accusatory look at Peyton and Jake and then turned her attention to me, "and she acts like a fucking smug bitch and somehow, I'm the bad guy?"

An audible gasp escaped Bevin's lips then and the group fell silent. Jake turned at Rachel's outburst and glared at her, a look I'd never seen from the boy who was always so gentlemanly and calm. Peyton tightened her grip around his arm, and it seemed to settle him, but his eyes never left Rachel.

"What?" she pushed Nathan's hand away from her waist, eyes darting angrily between the bodies around the table who stared at her in disbelief. "We were lucky to get this friendship group back together after what they did to Lucas, and you're all looking at me like I've committed the worse crime in the world by calling them out on it. What makes me so much worse than them? At least I'm honest."

"Wow," I breathed, trying my best to break tension as Rachel turned to look at me. "You say honest but look at what your honesty is doing right now." My hand moved between her and Peyton, who now had a face of complete and utter hurt etched across it. "Aren't you supposed to be friends?"

Rachel stilled at this, as if suddenly registering the actual feelings of those around the table. The fight left her body a little then, but not completely. I knew her real issue was with me, not Peyton, and that perhaps my arrival on the scene had caused her to become threatened. The irony was that I never wanted that. I never wanted to be anything to anyone. Not a threat, not a painful reminder, not a heavy weight to carry. I just wanted to be me.

Rachel turned her eyes towards me, and I readied myself for the onslaught of verbal accusation. It didn't come the way I anticipated it would.

"Fuck you."

It was an obvious retort for someone who didn't have one but at least this time it was aimed at the person she really had a problem with. The fight left her body but so did her sense of security as the group remained quietly looking at her with a mixture of annoyance, bewilderment, and in the case of Felix, just plain boredom. In that moment, I almost felt a little sorry for her and how she had hung herself out to dry, aiming her real anger at the wrong person and knowing it. She shot a look of remorse towards Peyton and Jake before making her way back into the house and slamming the door behind her and I turned to look at Peyton who didn't seem to have the words to speak. Her cheeks had turned crimson, and she lowered her eyes from mine, Jake pulling her to his chest as the rest of the group averted their eyes to anywhere but the two of them. The question burned within me, but I didn't dare ask it.

There was clearly more this group, and their story, than I even realised.

"I need a refill," I announced, and immediately held up my hand towards Haley as she tried to get up from her seated position. "Stay, I remember where the kitchen is."

She shot me a grateful smile and resumed looking at Nathan, who had now engaged himself in a conversation with Felix about game strategy for the upcoming match. I knew Haley was both in a safe space, but also, in her element.

Pulling the sliding door open, the heat of the inside and the roar of the music enveloped me like a shocking grab from a stranger. I'd forgotten how long it had been since I'd been to a party like this, and the sense of uneasiness crept over me like a wave of nausea. Darting between bodies I pushed myself down the hall, bumping into people continuously as I tried my best to avoid them. The drunken stupor around me did not feel inviting, and it was a good five minutes before I finally found a quieter spot in the gaming room, a few people leaning against the far wall as four friends worked their magic at the pool table. I stepped past them and made my way to the back of the room and out the final door, a cool breeze hitting my face from the balcony that I now found myself on. From here the stars twinkled above me, untouched by the obscenity of the raging festivity within the four walls of the house of basketball and free from mind-splitting beats of the bass that had just been blasted even louder. Sliding the door shut behind me I let out a long exhale and closed my eyes, thankful for the serenity that now enveloped me.

Reprieve at last.

"Hey, Pretty Girl."

A voice I would know anywhere suddenly entered my serenity and I gasped at the sound of him, eyes flinging open widely as I cast myself off the wall and turned sharply to my left.

"Jesus fucking chri-"

There, in the quiet darkness of the corner, sat Lucas, a small smile etched across his lips as he took in my stunned reaction. I brought my hand to my heart and felt its rapid rhythm, swallowing hard as I stared at him in shock. Slowly it calmed, but the words that flowed so freely inside were now suddenly caught in my throat. I stood frozen in place, and when he realised I wasn't going to move, he got to his feet and calmly walked towards me, angling himself carefully against the bricks of the wall and watching me with curious eyes.

"I didn't actually think you of all people would show tonight."

I wasn't sure why his thinking that sent flutters through me. Perhaps it was the fact that he knew me well enough to assume I wasn't the partying kind, and I liked that he knew it. I didn't want to like it, and I would never admit it, but it warmed me, slightly. Perhaps it was the way he sat alone outside, away from all the raging and drinking and cavorting that a part of me considered that he wasn't the partying kind either, something which would seem like a juxtaposition to his actual party-boy reputation.

Perhaps it was more the fact that whilst everyone around us at this party was walking around with a cup or a bottle in their hands, Lucas was sat outside, alone, with a book that now sat discarded on the seat he had been occupying before I had hurled myself out the doors in search of the same solitude.

Or maybe it was just all those things rolled into one and they just all happened to be sort of things I kind-of liked.

As if waiting for my internal monologue and considered pondering to conclude, he leaned his head against the brick and smiled at me softly, but there was no flirting, or overtly sexual undertone this time. He was calm. He was gentle.

He was waiting. For me. Shit… how long had I been stood there, silent, looking at him?

I decided the best thing to do would be to throw a curious finger towards the book he had been reading and try to remember how to form a sentence.

"I didn't think you were the kind to ditch a party for the serenity of a book?"

He didn't even look where I was pointing, his eyes never leaving mine as he straightened himself off the wall and dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans, leaning forward slightly as he spoke.

"Are you judging me in my own home?"

"Naturally."

He laughed at my unfiltered comment, and I couldn't help but smile back at him. It caught him off guard and his eyes widened slightly at the carefree nature I rarely let him see. I couldn't explain why, in that moment, this was easy. Even the silence was comfortable, and I turned to look out at the party below as Lucas leaned against the balcony railing, looking thoughtful. "You know, sometimes I come out here to escape, even when there's no party."

The evening breeze picked up around us and rustled our clothes, a soft echo of the emotions stirring inside me as I walked forward and stood beside Lucas, placing my hands on the balcony as I looked out over the twinkling lights that dangled in the backyard trees.

"It is kinda beautiful out her, isn't it?" I titled my head to the side and smiled.

Lucas turned around at my question and placed his hands down on the balcony railing.

"Yeah, it is."

In a bold yet subtle move, Lucas extended his right pinkie finger and let it brush gently against my left hand. The gesture was tender, and I could feel my heart begin to beat again at the same rapid pace as before. Only this time, I wasn't shocked or scared. It was simply my body's reaction to his touch, and how tender he was. I turned to my left, hands frozen in place, and our eyes met. For the first time, all his usual confidence was absent, and his eyes relayed the same anxiety I could feel permeating my body. We stood there silently, and I slowly glanced down as his fingers touched mine carefully, moving softly. The touch was delicate, our fingertips barely brushing against each other. Adorably innocent, like two kids discovering something new and forbidden.

My mind raced, a whirlwind of thoughts colliding. How did he make me feel this way? Why did I have this unexplainable urge to let my guard down, to let him in? I wanted to retreat, to protect myself from the vulnerability he ignited within me. But his presence was magnetic, irresistible.

And I both hated and yearned for it, like a moth to a flame.

"I… I don't usually do this," Lucas admitted softly, his eyes fixed on our fingers, still connected. "I mean, I'm not usually nervous around anyone. But something about you…"

His words trailed off, but I felt the weight of his unspoken thoughts. Something about me made him question, made him doubt. And the fact that he was uncertain about anything was a revelation in itself.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I finally dared to meet his gaze. "You make me nervous too," I confessed, my voice barely above a whisper. "I can't explain it. It's like everything in me wants to stop feeling this way about you, thinking about you, being surprised by you."

"Why?" he asked, his eyes searching mine. "Why fight it?"

I shook my head, a sad smile tugging at my lips. "Because my life is complicated, Lucas. There are things… things you don't know."

He leaned closer, his voice tender, "Then tell me."

I closed my eyes briefly, grappling with the torrent of emotions swirling within me. How could I explain the mess I carried, the walls I had built? "If you knew… if you really knew me, you'd run a mile. Trust me."

"Brooke," he said, his voice unwavering, "Just give me a chance. What are you so afraid of?"

I hesitated, torn between the desire to tell him everything and the instinct to protect myself. He saw the conflict in my eyes, the battle raging within me.

"Everything," I finally admitted, my voice breaking. "I'm afraid of everything that I can't explain to you. I'm sorry."

"Try," he urged again, his eyes searching, wanting, and hoping. "I don't get it?"

And that was our problem. He would never understand because I was too afraid to let him.

Before I could stop myself, I pulled my hand away and raced back into the party, leaving behind the one person who had stirred something in me that I didn't know how to confront. As I disappeared into the crowd, I felt the weight of his gaze lingering on my back. The tension between us was palpable, a fragile connection that had been tested and strained. I wished I could let it go, to be with him without fear, but my heart carried secrets that I wasn't ready to share. And so, I retreated into the shadows, once again… running away.

x~X~x

The house pulsed with the frenetic energy of the party, the air thick with the scent of alcohol and the cacophony of laughter and music. I had hoped that immersing myself in the chaos would drown out the turmoil swirling within me, but all it did was amplify the unease. Drunken bodies brushed against me, their smiles and slurred words meaningless in my spiralling mind. Panic clawed at my chest, constricting my breathing as I navigated through the sea of strangers. I had to get away, to find solace in the midst of the storm I had willingly walked into.

Amid the sea of bodies, I spotted my older brother, Clay, the golden beacon of basketball glory. Only this time his usual charisma was dimmed by the shadow of melancholy. I had seen something was off during the game earlier; now, his downturned expression confirmed it. My protective instincts surged, compelling me to bridge the distance that had been growing between us.

My feet led me toward him, pushing through the crowd, and there, amid the chaos, was Rachel, her fingers tangled possessively in Clay's arm. My stomach churned at the sight of her, a pang of jealousy and annoyance surging through me. This was a scene I didn't want to interrupt, but Clay's gaze lifted, his eyes finding mine.

"Brooklyn!" he called out, waving me over, a hint of genuine joy in his voice.

Rachel scowled, infuriation flashing across her features, her grip on Clay tightening as if he was her territory. But Clay was my brother, and this was my chance to be the sister he deserved. So against my better judgement and fear, I moved towards him.

As I approached, Clay struggled to his feet, pulling me into a bear hug that felt intimate in the crowded room. His embrace spoke of vulnerability, a vulnerability that Rachel clearly didn't understand. I shot her a look, a silent challenge to her possessiveness.

Rachel muttered something, her words dripping with disdain. "Is there any boy you don't want, Brooke?"

Clay's confusion was evident, his balance wavering. "Come on, Brooke, help me to my room. I feel like shit."

I rolled my eyes at Rachel's insinuation and focused on Clay. "Let's get you to your room then."

I ignored the obvious "whore" that spilled from Rachel's lips, and we weaved through the mass of bodies and up the stairs, stumbling down the hallway, until we reached a door that had his name on a whiteboard. I pushed open the door and helped him inside, Clay collapsing onto the bed with a thud. I stood by his side, concern etching lines into my forehead before I finally settled onto the bed next to him. When he didn't say anything, I knew I had to be the one to.

"I know something's wrong, Clay," I pressed, my voice gentle yet persistent. "I saw how you were at the game today. Please, don't shut me out."

He hesitated, his guard finally dropping under the influence of alcohol. "Mum had a setback," he admitted, his voice heavy with sorrow. "Her dementia is getting worse. Last time I saw her, she thought I was Dad. Told me to tell Victoria to stay away."

My heart sank at his revelation. "Victoria? But Mum met Dad after your parents split?"

Clay looked uncertain, the weight of his struggles evident. "I don't know, Brooke. Life's a mess right now. I feel like I'm letting everyone down."

Without hesitation, I sidled closer to him, wrapping my arms around his fragile form. "You're not alone in this, Clay. You'll never be alone. I'm here for you."

His eyes closed, his exhaustion and sadness evident as he buried his face in my lap and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I love you more than anyone, Brooke."

Tears welled in my eyes as I held him, running my fingers through his hair, a move I knew would calm him. He closed his eyes at my touch as I spoke.

"You're my favourite human, Clay. It's always going to be us against the world. Forever."

"I love you," he mumbled into my waist, eyes closed and breathing heavy.

"I love you, too." I said, leaning down and kissing the top of his head as he fell into a deep, drunken sleep.

A voice shattered the fragile moment then, and my heart twisted as I looked up to see Lucas standing in the doorway, his hurt and anger palpable. He had seen us, and looked upon me and Clay like somehow, he finally understood the reason behind my distance, my hesitations.

"Now I get it," he muttered, his words a mix of realisation and pain. He glanced between us again and then breathed out like I had sucked all the air from him and left his broken body behind. No words came to me as I stared at him in shock, and even though I wanted to say something, I couldn't. When I didn't respond, he disappeared back out of the doorway and down the hall, leaving Rachel smirking triumphantly in his wake.

Fuck!

x~X~x

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