A/N: THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THOSE WHO REVIEW….I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT THERE IS A QUOTE HERE THAT HALEY SAYS TO LUCAS THAT I CAME ACROSS THE OTHER DAY AND I REALLY LIKED AND I COULDN'T HELP BUT WANT TO ADD, GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LUCAS IS IN. ANYWAYS HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE IT AND I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HOPE YOU GUYS REVIEW!

Brooke sighed as she stared out the passenger side of Nathan's new black convertible. He had picked her up this morning as was their daily routine. But from the moment she had gotten in the car he had barely acknowledged her presence. He hadn't given her, her usual 'Good Morning' kiss, or a hello, not even so much as a nod. Instead, she had been forced to ride with him in absolute silence.

Once again he was too preoccupied with his own problems to even notice her.

She glanced back at him, his handsome features were marred into a slight frown as he stared silently ahead of him.

She cleared her throat, "Nathan…"

"Hmm?" he grunted, not even bothering to turn and look at her.

Brooke bit her lip and crossed her arms in front of her, "Forget it." She mumbled, noticing that they had already pulled up in front of the school. She unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out, grabbing her book bag and sliding it over her shoulder.

He sighed as he watched her walk ahead of him, not even bothering to wait for him. He grabbed his backpack and shut the door, throwing his keys inside his pocket.

"Brooke! Wait up."

She turned around and crossed her arms in front of her, "So now you want to talk?" she asked coldly.

He rubbed his hand across his forehead tiredly. Okay so he probably deserved that. "Brooke..I'm sorry okay? I don't mean to push you away like this, It's just-"

She shook her head, "Look I get it okay? I know last night was rough on you. And it's something that's going to change everything…but why does that have to include us?" She took a deep breath and looked away, "I mean, how long are we going to do this Nathan? All I want to do is be there for you and you won't let me."

He stepped closer to her and placed his hands on her waist, looking down into her eyes, "I know that okay? And I really am sorry Brooke..you just…just give me time." he pressed a kiss on her forehead, "No matter what happens. How much everything changes, the one thing that will never change is that you will always be my girl. It's always going to be you and me. You know that right, babe?"

She looked up at him, wanting desperately to believe him. She nodded and smiled, "Always." She whispered.

He let out a sigh of relief, "Good." He murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, "Because I never want to lose you." he pulled away, "I have to meet Whitey before class, so I'll see you later okay?"

She smiled, "Okay."

He grinned and leaned down to kiss her one more time, "Hey, you and me tonight okay? I'll make up it up to you."

She winked up at him, running her hands down his back seductively. "I know just the way Baby."

He laughed and shook his head at her as he leaned down and gave her one last kiss. She smiled as she watched him disappear. Maybe everything would be okay between them after all.

Lucas walked to his locker, ignoring the stares he was receiving from everyone around him. He should have been prepared for that. He knew people were going to talk after what happened yesterday. He knew that, but he was still unprepared for the way it made him feel. He reached his locker and spun the combination, shoving his books inside

"A little unnerving isn't it?"

He turned around and his heart landed somewhere near his shoes. Haley was standing directly behind him clutching her books to her chest.

"What, the stares, the whispers, the non-subtle way people mention your name when you walk by?" he shrugged, "Nah. I'm used to it."

She bit her lip, "Sorry. I didn't meant to-"

He cut her off gently, throwing her a smile as they started walking down the hall, "Don't worry about it. I mean it's nothing new right?" he looked down at her books, "So uh, where you headed?"

She made a face, "Biology." She waved her hand, "Don't get me wrong, it's a great class. It's just Mr. Edwards can be a bit….I don't know…sexist."

He laughed and nodded, "I know what you mean." He cleared his throat nervously, "Uh…you think…would it be okay if I walked you to class?"

She glanced back at him, finding the way he was slightly blushing adorable, "Sure. I'd really like that." she smiled and he grinned back, "So, if you don't mind me asking…" she began, "What made you decide to join the team?"

"You mean other than for the love of the game?"

She nodded and he let out a breath as he stared ahead of him, "I-uh…I mean there's times that I feel like…like I really want to show him sometimes y'know? What a mistake he's made."

She took in a deep breath, unprepared for that, "You mean Dan?"

He nodded, "Yeah, sometimes for my mom…and I guess sometimes for me." He glanced back at her. Normally he'd feel strange sharing these sorts of things with someone he barely knew. But there was something about this girl. From the moment he'd first laid eyes on her, something that made him feel like he could really trust her, that she would understand him.

She turned around and faced him as they stopped directly in front of her classroom, "Listen, we may not know each other well enough to offer insight on these sort of things, and it might not mean anything coming from me but… you seem like a really good guy Lucas. And I think it shows amazing character that you've decided to go through with this. Look I'm not going to lie, you've got a tough season ahead of you. I know how Nathan and the guys can be…" she brushed her hair out of her eyes and smiled at him softly, "But something tells me that you're the type of person that can handle anything that is thrown his way…and given the circumstances…"she trailed off, she cleared her throat and looked back at him, "Staying true to yourself and what you believe in is what's important. Always remember who you are and what you can accomplish. As long as you don't lose sight of that…I think you'll be okay." She gave his shoulder a light squeeze and turned around, heading inside the classroom.

He smiled to himself as he thought over her words. She was wrong. Because coming from her? It meant everything.

She was beautiful. But hers was a quiet subtle beauty that most took for granted.

Lucas took a moment to look up from his notebook and stare directly in front of him. She was sitting next to the group of cheerleaders and basketball players as was usual per lunchtime. Her blonde hair gleamed softly in the sunlight and her dark brown eyes sparkled with laughter as she talked animatedly among her friends.

To see her was to love her, love but her, and love her forever

He smiled to himself as he scribbled down one of the most famous quotes from one of his favorite poets.

"Still caught up in hopeless fantasies?" Peyton asked in a biting tone, sliding in next to him and glancing down at the large words staring back at her from his notebook.

He looked at her in surprise, "What's with the attitude?"

She stared down at her food, "I'm sorry." She mumbled, "I-I've had a rough morning…and you didn't deserve that."

He frowned, "What's wrong? You seem a little negative today. Even for you."

She sighed, "He left again this morning Luke."

"Your Dad?"

"Yeah…"she said in a small voice, "You think I'd be used to it by now..the disappointment…" she trailed off as she took a small bite of her food.

"How long is he going to be gone?" he asked gently.

She shrugged, blinking back the unexpected tears, "I dunno. How long was he gone last time?"

He let out a breath and placed an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close to him, so that he could press a kiss to the side of her head. "I guess this means I'm going to end up in the floor again." he murmured against her curls.

She pulled back to look at him, "What are you talking about?"

"Well…every time your Dad leaves, you always end up crashing at my place. Not that I'm complaining or anything. But every time I always end up on the floor even though I started the night on my comfortable bed. Do you know how much you kick and toss in your sleep?" He joked, trying to lighten her mood just a bit.

She looked down and held back a grin, "Well you might want to think about getting a bigger bed."

"And you may want to think about actually sleeping in your own bed, in your own room." He teased.

She nudged him in the ribs, "Whatever. You love having me over."

He grinned, not disagreeing with her because he couldn't. Truth be told, he did love having her over. It made the house a little less quiet and him a little less lonely.

He plucked a french fry from her plate, "Why don't you ever talk to your Dad about this?"

She sighed, "It won't really change anything I guess. Because in the end he still has to leave, as much as I hate it, it is his job." She smiled at him, "Plus he knows I'm always in good hands." She squeezed his arm, "I know I don't say this often…but I'm really glad you're my best friend Luke."

He slung an arm around her shoulder and smiled down at her, "Me too, Peyton. Me too."

Brooke clapped her hands and shouted, "Let's go Ravens, Let's Go!" She kicked up one of her legs and came back around in a perfect spin. She turned to the other girls and jumped up in the air in a simple combination, "We're the Ravens, We've got the team, that you will not likely beat. So bring on the heat cause we're oh so ready to let off some steam. Clap your hands and stomp your feet, because a team like ours you will never quite meet." she chanted, while doing jumps in succession.

She stopped to catch her breath and turned to the girls in front of her, "Okay? So what did you guys think?" she asked excitedly.

"Okay so I'm gone for a day and you turn this into some sort of poetic bullshit? I mean seriously what is up with all the rhyming?"

Brooke whirled around and glared at Rachel, who was standing behind her with her arms crossed, a smug smile playing across her lips.

"Excuse me?" she snapped, "You're late. And where the hell where you yesterday?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Ever heard of the common cold? I was bed-ridden the whole day."

She tilted her head and smirked at her, "Oh, is that what we're calling it these days? Yeah, I'm sure you spent the whole day in your bed." She said sarcastically.

"Okay uh guys?" Haley cut in, sharing an amused smile with Peyton, "Can we cut out the bitchiness and get back to the cheer?"

Rachel smirked, "Fine let's see Brooke's silly little cheer."

Brooke gritted her teeth, "You better watch it Sl-achel!" she snapped, "Besides I happen to think it's very good."

"Yeah. Because you came up with it." she scoffed.

"Well that is why I'm the captain." She said smugly, "Whatever I say goes, and right now I say, get in formation with the other girls, because I'm teaching you guys this new cheer."

Rachel rolled her eyes but took her place next to Bevin.

Brooke smirked and raised her hands above her head, "Okay so the first thing…." She trailed off noticing she had lost the attention from the girls, "What now?" she snapped. She turned in the direction of their glances and watched as the tall blonde made his way into the gym, trailing behind Coach Durham.

Much like yesterday when Peyton had made her presence announced, a hush had fallen over the gym as they all stared at the new member of the Ravens.

Brooke looked over furtively at her boyfriend to gauge his reaction. He was glaring over at the blonde boy and even from far away she could see his muscles tense. She bit her lip and glanced over at Haley, who was looking at the blonde boy with an expression she couldn't quite decipher.

She cleared her throat, "Okay guys." She said loudly, getting their attention back to her, "Let's get to it okay? Remember, the game is in less than a week." She took her place again in front of them and proceeded to launch herself into their new cheer. As she watched the rest of the girls spot each other, she stole a quick glance over at her boyfriend. He was standing off to the side, having a heated discussion with Whitey. She let out a sigh, and hoped everything was ok. For his sake. And for hers.

Lucas trudged into the empty locker room and slumped down on the bleacher in front of his locker, completely exhausted. He was the last one to leave as Whitey had wanted to go over a few things with him once practice was over. He leaned against the lockers and closed his eyes for a second, rubbing his arm in the spot where Nathan had deliberately jabbed him with his elbow. He winced as his muscles screamed out in protest. More than anything he wanted a hot shower, but he knew he would have to wait till he got home. Peyton wasn't one to patiently wait and he calculated she'd been waiting out in the parking lot for a good 20 minutes. He sluggishly got up and tried to open his locker to gather his stuff.

"What the hell?" he muttered, yanking at the door. It wouldn't budge. He tried once more, but nothing. He leaned down and peered at it closely, noting the thick white solid mixture in between the opening.

"Great." He fumed, "Just freaking great." Somebody had glued his locker shut. No, not just somebody, he realized. Nathan. Of course, who else would want to screw with him like this? It had to be. This had Nathan Scott written all over it.

He kicked at the locker in frustration and looked around furtively, for something, anything, that would help him cut through the thick mixture. No such luck.

He let out an angry sound and despite his aching muscles jogged over to the other side of the lockers, towards the showers.

A moment later he came out with a razor, he sat on the bleachers again and carefully broke the plastic around it until all he had left was the razor blade.

He stood up and as carefully as he could began to methodically scrape against the white mixture with the small blade, being extra careful not to cut his fingers.

He set the blade on the bench and tried tugging at the door again. Still nothing. He picked up the blade again and scraped at it some more. With one final tug, the door yanked open and he grinned in triumph.

It quickly turned into a frown as he took a look inside his locker. The whole inside was smeared with shaving cream

He sighed and pulled out his pants and shirt, noticing the various holes on the side of each one. He looked down at his sweat drenched uniform and back at the holey shirt. Oh, well. He had no choice. He pulled his jersey over his head and stepped out of his shorts, quickly wiping down some of the shaving cream with his jersey as best he could before shoving it into the now sticky gym bag. He quickly changed and reached for his binder, letting out an angry sound as all the loose paper flitted out, spilling out into the floor.

"What else?" he muttered angrily as he reached down and picked up the papers quickly shoving them back into his binder. He slung his gym bag over his shoulder, wanting nothing more than to see Peyton and vent his horrible day to her. He stopped a couple of inches away from his locker and bent to pick up the sole sheet of paper on the floor that he had missed.

He looked down at it and his brow furrowed in confusion as he stared at the pretty handwriting that wasn't his.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
-- MARTIN LUTHER KING JR--

Hey, just thought I'd share one of my favorite quotes with you. Keep your head up Lucas.

Haley

A smile broke out in his face, the frustration and anger from moments before, completely forgotten. He wondered how he hadn't seen this. But then again she had probably sneaked this in his folder during their Literature class. He slipped out of the lockers and headed outside, softly whistling to himself as he hurried along.

Peyton's eyes widened as she took in the sight of him, "What the hell happened to you?" she demanded, "And why the hell are you smiling?"

Rachel stormed out of the gym after cheerleading practice. She'd had it with Brooke and her perfect little cheers and her perfect little life.

"One of these days I swear, I'll wipe that pretty little smirk off your face." She muttered, yanking her locker open and pulling out her books.

"Resorting to talking to yourself?"

She turned around and glared at Felix who was grinning at her in amusement, "What the hell do you want Felix?" she snapped

"Nothing with you obviously." He scoffed, "At least not with that attitude."

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever, like you even have a chance."

"You'd be lucky if I ever gave you the chance." He grinned, "Besides I know where your interests really lie, or rather with who."

She crossed her arms in front of her, "Yeah? And? What's it to you?"

He placed a hand on the locker next to her and leaned in, "Why don't you give it up Babe? You know that's not likely to happen any time soon. At least not with her in the picture."

Rachel glared up at him, "You obviously don't understand the power of persuasion."

"Yeah okay," he snorted, "Cuz it's worked out so far for you."

She pushed at his chest, "What about you then huh? You haven't had any luck yourself with Brooke have you?" she paused, her eyes lighting up in realization, "Wait. That's it. It's perfect."

"What? Me and you?" he leaned into her a little more, "Well..I guess if you really want to.." he teased.

She pushed him away, "Not that you idiot!" she straightened up and looked directly into his eyes, "We can do some serious damage together. What do you say? You help me. I help you. We both get what we want."

"And what is that exactly?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Are you really that stupid or do you just pretend to be?"

"Do I really have to answer that?" he teased.

She threw her hands up in frustration, "What do you think I'm talking about idiot? We break up the 'Golden Couple.' You help me get Nathan, you get Brooke, easy as that."

Felix paused as his gaze wandered past her, "Maybe that's not what I'm looking for anymore."

Rachel turned around and spotted Haley and Brooke stepping out of the gym, laughing together. She looked back at him incredulously, "The tutor? Are you kidding me?"

He looked back at her and she laughed realizing he was serious, "Right. Like she'd ever even give you the time of day. Please, you would have better luck laying me."

He grinned, "Exactly. Maybe that's what I need. A real challenge. Easy is getting old y'know?"

She glared at him, "Fine." She snapped, "I help you get Haley, you help me get Nathan."

"You really think I need your help?" he scoffed, "Do you forget who you're talking to?"

"And do you forget who we're talking about?" she retorted, "Look why don't you face it? Little Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes wouldn't come near you with a ten-foot pole."

He crossed his arms in front of her and grinned, "Wanna bet on that?"

"And what exactly are betting on? That you can lay the tutor?"

"And that you can break up the perfect little couple." He added.

She grinned slyly, "They don't know what's going to hit them once we're through with them." She said referring to Haley and Brooke, "I'm sick and tired of Brooke and Haley's holier-than-thou attitude." She looked at him, "Just remember we're in this together. Bet or no bet. It's bound to be a win-win situation."

Felix grinned and stuck out his hand, "You're on, partner." He said in a mock southern accent, "So when do we start?"

Brooke looked at the clock near the vanity mirror for the third time that night. It was past 10:30 and she was absolutely furious.

I can't believe he would do this to me! she silently fumed, And the worst part is I'm not even that surprised. Furious yes, but surprised, not so much.

She shook her head to clear away her thoughts and dug inside her purse, reaching for her cell phone. She hit number 1 on the speed dial and held it up to her ear, waiting patiently as it rang. And rang. And rang.

Hey it's your boy Nate, do what you gotta do at the beep, and I'll get back to you.

Beep!

"Nathan Scott." She fumed into the speaker, "Where the hell are you? I cannot believe you! After everything you promised today! You have exactly 15 minutes to pick me up or call me back and tell me what the hell is going on or so help me God, we are-"

If you are satisfied with your message, please press one, to erase and re-record please press 2-

"Ughhh!" she cried out. She snapped her phone shut and stared angrily at the clock.

"Okay." She said to herself, "I'll try one more time and if he doesn't pick up.." she grabbed her phone again and dialed his number again. And still. No answer.

She threw it across the room in anger and flung herself across the bed, no longer caring about wrinkling the brand new black silk skirt she had decided to wear tonight.

She wiped angrily at the tears that had seeped out of her eyes. Enough was enough. She didn't have to take this. Nathan Scott could not just do with her what he pleased. She was Brooke Davis damn it. No guy left her hanging. Even if he was her boyfriend, she couldn't keep on letting him do this to her. She wouldn't.

"Damn it, why do I have to love him so damn much?" she whispered into the dark. She got up and turned on the light, looking at her pathetic expression in the mirror. She sighed as she picked up a tissue to dry her tears. Her gaze caught the framed picture of Marilyn Monroe, a gift from Haley, who knew of her admiration for the blonde bombshell.

She picked it up and stared it, the famous quote at the bottom, catching her eye.

A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, and leaves before she is left.

Marilyn Monroe

She bit her lip as she stared down at the inscription. Maybe..just maybe…that's exactly what she needed to do.