One Last Kiss
Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from One Tree Hill!
A/N: Ok…so this is the sequel to 'The Scars Behind My Mask' so I suggest you read that story first before you read this.
Basically…it has been nearly 1 year since Brooke left Tree Hill to California. Now she is coming home!
Oh and just for anyone that is unsure of the ships in this. It will be a Brucas story! No matter what happens!
Flashbacks are in this style of writing.
And now without further ado. I give you; One Last Kiss…
Brooke sat nervously on the plane…she would be arriving in Tree Hill in less than two hours and she didn't know if she was more nervous or excited. She couldn't wait to see everyone again…especially Lucas; but part of her is scared, scared of facing the things she left behind almost 9 months ago.
"So how are you and Anna going?" Haley asked as she and Lucas sat in Karen's café.
Lucas had been dating Anna Taggaro for just over two months now; after weeks of her chasing after him he finally decided to give the girl a chance. She was a nice girl and Lucas liked her, but there was something missing; passion. She was not Brooke and she would never replace the piece of Lucas's heart that Brooke still held onto. Even from California.
"We are doing ok" Lucas shrugged
Haley looked at him with a raised eyebrow "Just ok? Lucas that girl is insane about you, why don't you just return the feelings?" Haley asked.
"I like Anna!" Lucas defended; and it was the truth, he did like her.
"But she just isn't Brooke right?" Haley asked sighing.
Lucas looked down; Haley was right.
"Lucas…Brooke is gone" Haley sighed "And I doubt that she will come back, I am sorry but that's the truth"
"I know Haley ok!" Lucas groaned frustratingly. They were interrupted by a voice approaching them.
"Lucas" Anna smiled as she leant down and kissed his cheek.
Lucas smiled hesitantly to her as she took a seat next to him…he didn't know why but he didn't really like PDA. But he knew that he didn't have that problem with Brooke.
"Hi Anna" Haley smiled
"So what are you guys doing today?" Anna asked
"Nothing…just hanging out" Lucas shrugged.
"Well I am just glad to get out of the house. Felix was being a total jerk this morning" Anna explained as she begun to tell them the full story.
Lucas just sat there not really interested in the conversation. He hated Felix and Felix hated him. That was it; he didn't want to know if Felix took too long in the bathroom one morning or if he stole her car keys one time.
"No I just got here now" Brooke said into her cell as she pulled up in her rental car towards Rachel's parent's house. She couldn't actually believe that she was back in Tree Hill…it just didn't seem real to her.
"Yes Rachel I know" Brooke sighed as she stepped out of the car. She noticed it was raining so she pulled her hood over her head as she hurried up the steps into Rachel's porch as she shuffled around her bag for her keys still holding the cell in-between her ear and shoulder. "Ok Rach…I will call you back ok?" Brooke said as she hung up her phone and finally was able to open the door.
However she did not spot a confused looking Jake watching from the entrance to Rachel's drive.
Jake entered the café and saw Lucas, Haley and Anna. He and Lucas were civil but he wouldn't exactly call each other friends, he knew that he was mostly to blame for that but Lucas didn't acknowledge his existence in the aftermath of Brooke's departure.
"Hey…Haley can I talk to you for a moment?" Jake asked hesitantly as he approached them
"Sure" Haley smiled as she got up and followed Jake towards the other side of the café "So what's up?" Haley asked.
"Well…I have just been for a run and I was jogging through Rachel Gatina's old estate and as I ran past her house I saw someone there" Jake said confused.
"Ok…?" Haley asked confused waiting for him to continue.
"Well…it kind of looked a bit like Brooke…I mean I don't know for sure because whoever it was had their hood up but I really thought it was her" Jake explained.
Haley looked towards Lucas for a moment before looking back to Jake "Brooke? Are you sure Jake? I mean if it was Brooke then don't you think she would have told someone she was coming back? I mean she would have told Lucas right?" Haley asked not so sure herself.
Jake sighed "I don't know Haley…It might not have even been Brooke, hell it could have been Rachel; I don't know" Jake said a little frustrated.
"But do you want it to be Brooke?" Haley asked.
Jake nodded "Yeah…I miss her"
Haley gave him a small smile "Well then maybe it is…who knows"
"Damn it!" Brooke muttered as the box she was carrying split open from the bottom which caused everything to fall out onto the ground outside her new apartment. Although it was Nathan's old one so it wasn't really new.
She finally managed to pick everything and stumbled into the very empty apartment. She shook off the rain drops that stuck to her coat and looked around the room curiously. There was so much she could do with this place…but where to start?
She looked at all her boxes and suitcases and wondered exactly what she was going to do now. She knew she hadn't really thought this through much but she wanted to come back to Tree Hill so bad she didn't really care about what she would do once she actually arrived.
Then something hit her as she looked around the empty apartment. She had not furniture! No couch, no bed! No tables and there was just one chair placed randomly in the middle of the room.
She walked towards the fridge and opened it to find one random beer bottle and an apple. She took the beer from the fridge and looked at the date on the back…smiling when she saw she could drink it.
"What did Jake want?" Lucas asked as Haley returned to her seat.
Haley looked at Anna and thought it was best not to mention Brooke to him while she was there "Oh you know…just catching up" Haley shrugged.
Lucas looked at her curiously before shaking it off.
"So school starts tomorrow…nervous or excited?" Anna asked the small group.
"Excited" Haley smiled "I love the first days of school!"
"You are such a nerd" Lucas chuckled.
"Hey!" Haley said shocked as she slapped his arm.
"What about you Luke?" Anna asked sweetly as she casually placed her hand on Lucas's thigh.
Lucas tensed at the connection but shrugged anyway "Uh…I don't know, but I have decided that this year I am just going to concentrate on Basketball and nothing else"
"Oh…" Anna said disappointedly as Haley looked at him with a 'What the hell?' look.
"Um" Lucas stuttered realizing what he had just said "I mean not just basketball…my friends and Anna too obviously" Lucas said back tracking.
Anna smiled as she leaned over and gave him a quick peck "This year is going to be the best" she smiled "I mean we will be seniors! And the senior ski trip will be coming up! I can't wait"
"Yeah" Lucas said hesitantly with a weak smile as he remembered a similar conversation he shared with Brooke one time not so long ago.
"Just think Luke…this time next year we will be seniors!" Brooke squealed excitedly as she lay next to Lucas on his bed.
"Yes we will" Lucas said laughing at his girlfriend's excitement as he wrapped his arm around her protectively.
"But you do know what that means don't you?" Brooke asked.
"Uh…No?" Lucas asked confused "But I am sure that you are going to tell me"
"The senior trip, silly!" Brooke laughed "We get to go skiing" Brooke explained "It's going to be so awesome! Me and you! Together on the slopes…wait, Broody you can ski cant you?" Brooke asked.
"Yes Brooke I can ski" Lucas smiled "And if that means spending a whole week alone with you then I can't wait" he grinned as he leaned over and kissed her softly.
"Me neither! Oh my god! I am going to need to buy some new ski boots! And a whole new wardrobe!"Brooke said excitedly.
Lucas chuckled lightly at his girlfriend…god he loved her.
Lucas sighed sadly as he realized that he wouldn't be spending that week alone with Brooke, instead he would be spending it with his new girlfriend; Anna.
"You ok Luke?" Anna asked softly as she noticed he had spaced out a little.
"Huh? Oh Yeah…I am fine" Lucas said giving her a small smile.
"We thought we had lost you for a minute there" Haley smiled.
"Sorry" Lucas said still trying to force the smile to stay on his face.
Brooke sat on the lonely chair in the living room as she took a swig of her beer. She looked down at the phone on her cell as it read 4:17pm. She had a whole afternoon to unpack but she was too tired to. She slumped down further into her chair when she remembered the day she decided to tell Nathan and Rachel she was going return to Tree Hill.
"Hey guys" Brooke smiled as she entered their California beach home. It was the beginning of the summer so they decided to move there for the holidays. She looked over at 1 and a half year old Jessica who sat playing with some plastic doll. Rachel was sitting on the couch reading a magazine while Nathan was watching some baseball game on the TV.
"Um…Can I talk to you for a moment?" Brooke asked nervously after she was greeted.
"Sure" Nathan shrugged as he turned off the TV and turned towards Brooke giving her his full attention.
"What is it Brooke?" Rachel asked as she placed the magazine down.
"I…I uh…ok, well I don't really know how to say this so I am just going to come and say it" Brooke said before taking a deep breath "I want to go back to Tree Hill"
The room erupted into a very uncomfortable silence as Nathan and Rachel took in the news.
"Why?" Rachel asked speaking first.
Brooke shrugged "I don't know…I miss that place…and everyone in it" she sighed
"So it's about Lucas?" Nathan asked
"No" Brooke answered quickly before thinking about it in her head "Ok well yeah…but it's not just about him…I miss it; I miss everything about that stupid little town" she explained.
"But I thought you liked it here?" Rachel asked confused "School…our new friends…the beaches and of course the boys" Rachel smirked but it soon faded as she saw Nathan looked at her with raised eyebrows "The boys for Brooke I mean" she explained smiling.
"Uh-Huh" Nathan chuckled shaking his head before turning serious again. "I think you should go back Brooke"
"What?" Both Brooke and Rachel said in unison…both shocked by Nathan's comment.
"What?" Nathan asked in mock horror "Why are you looking at me like that for?" he asked pretending to be shocked.
Rachel and Brooke didn't answer as they still looked at him surprised; both speechless.
"Guys stop it!" Nathan groaned "Stop looking at me like that!"
"Uh…Sorry Nate…I mean, I just wasn't expecting you to agree to this. I mean at least not right away" Brooke answered honestly.
Nathan sighed "Brooke…I just want what's best for you; and if going back to Tree Hill is what will make you happy then I say go for it. I've made the mistake about not letting you follow your heart once before…I am not going to do it again"
Brooke smiled as she ran over to hug him "God Nathan…you are the best brother in the world" she smiled as Nathan wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Yeah well you should tell me that more often" Nathan smirked as he pulled out of the hug.
"Can I interrupt this little family moment now?" Rachel asked smiling.
"Rachel…come on" Brooke smiled as she stretched her arm out for Rachel to join into the hug, Nathan picking Jessica up in one of his arms as the four of them embraced each other.
"God this is so cheesy…we are worse than the movies" Rachel smirked.
"Yeah Yeah" Brooke laughed before looking at Rachel hesitantly "So what do you think about this?"
Rachel shrugged "Do what you like Brookie…all though I don't understand why you would want to leave the sun and the beaches for a little Hicksville like Tree Hill" Rachel answered honestly.
"Because it's my home" Brooke answered.
"Fair enough" Rachel said giving her a small smile "I am going to miss you though"
"Ditto"
"So when are you planning on leaving?" Nathan asked. A hint of sadness trailing in his voice.
"Well I was thinking about spending the rest of the summer here and just go back to Tree Hill in time for the new semester"
"Well I am happy for you Brooke" Nathan said softly.
"Thanks Nate" Brooke smiled.
Brooke decided that she was not going to waste her afternoon lounging around in her empty apartment. Instead she was going to explore the town she left behind.
Jake was playing alone at the River Court when he heard a voice he hadn't heard in a long time.
"You really need to work on those jump shots" Brooke smirked as she approached them.
Jake turned around surprised and the biggest grin spread to his face as he realized that it was actually Brooke Lee. "Brooke!" he smiled excitedly as he ran over to her and hugged her tightly "God I have missed you" he whispered.
"I have missed you too" Brooke smiled as she pulled out of the embrace
"What are you doing here? Are you back for good?" Jake asked.
"Maybe" Brooke shrugged
"You know…I thought I had saw you earlier but I just shrugged it off thinking I was seeing things…but god you really are here" Jake smiled still in shock.
"Yep; I am right here in the flesh" Brooke smirked as they walked over to the bleachers and sat down.
"So, why are you back?" Jake asked curiously.
Brooke shrugged "I missed this place"
"And Lucas?" Jake asked skeptically.
Brooke sighed before answering "Yeah I miss him…but he isn't the only reason that I am back here"
Jake nodded his head not sure if he should tell Brooke that Lucas has moved on and has a girlfriend…Anna Taggaro to be precise. "When are you going to see him?" Jake asked.
"As soon as possible…I just keep chickening out" Brooke answered honestly letting out a small laugh.
"Well I am sure he will be glad to see you" Jake said honestly.
"Yeah…I hope so" Brooke sighed as she looked around the empty River Court. She had missed this place.
"Luke…are you ok?" Anna asked as she and Lucas stopped outside of her house after Lucas walked her home.
"Yeah" Lucas answered giving her a small smile.
"Look Lucas…I don't know what's wrong with you but I don't think I will be able to carry on with this…I feel that you are only with me because you have nobody else; not because you actually want to be" Anna said sadly.
Lucas sighed as he looked at his girlfriend. He knew he wasn't being fair to her by not giving himself fully to her. "What are you saying?" Lucas asked hesitantly.
"I don't know…maybe we should take a break" Anna suggested.
"No" Lucas blurted out surprising both himself and Anna.
"No?" Anna asked questionably.
"No…I don't want us to take a break Anna…look, I am sorry that I have been distant with you but I promise that things will change" Lucas said pleadingly "I mean it"
"Ok Luke…but I want this to be real now ok? Me and you" Anna said
"And it will be" Lucas said giving her a small smile as he leaned in and kissed her softly "Bye" Lucas smiled as he pulled away and walked a couple of steps backwards.
"Wait!" Anna said calling after him.
Lucas turned around "Yeah?" he asked smiling
"Do you want to come inside?" she asked
"Sure" Lucas smiled
"Great…come on in boyfriend" Anna smiled
Lucas froze at the nickname. 'Boyfriend'. That's what Brooke used to call him. Lucas slowly followed Anna into her house, trying to forget about his ex-girlfriend and concentrate on his new one; because Brooke isn't coming back, and he needs to understand that. So finally after 9 long months; Lucas Scott is moving on.
A/N: Well? I hope you liked the first chapter! And sorry that this didn't really have any Brucas in it! But in the next chapter…Maybe! So please Review! I want to see what you all think about this story so far! I hope you enjoyed it!