Hi, folks! So 'The Games That Play Us' is on a bit of a hiatus while I figure out exactly what I want to do with it, but in the meantime, I've been bitten by the Brooke/Nathan bug. I haven't really kept up with the show, but for the sake of this story, let's pretend that when Haley left, Brooke and Lucas were a couple and he was sneaking around on her with Peyton. I know that's probably not true, but hey, artistic license, right? As always, reviews my life, and the more I get, the faster I'll write, so let me know what you think!

Brace Yourself

So you think you can hold the world up by a string

Her bags were already packed.

Nathan stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the two suitcases – matching, because Haley liked things to fit each other – sitting innocuously beside the couch. Behind him, the door swung shut with a bang, and he didn't so much as blink.

"Is that you, Nate?" Haley's voice reached him from the bedroom. "You home?"

He'd thought he was. After a long day of school and practice, he'd been looking forward to returning to the home he'd made with the woman he loved and enjoying some peace and quiet. Their apartment was a safe place for him, somewhere he could be free of teachers criticizing his grades and Coach drilling him into the ground.

So why did he suddenly feel like he didn't belong there at all?

"Earth to Nathan," Haley laughed, in front of him now, blocking his view of the suitcases and filling his vision with a pretty smile and shining eyes. "Hello?"

She tugged lightly on his shirt, bringing him back. "Hi," he said and grinned, but when she rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him, the suitcases reappeared and his smile flickered. "What's all this?"

"It's, uh –" she hesitated, and her smile dimmed just as his had, and later on he would want to hit himself for not having seen it coming. "It's just a few of my things. I have some news."

"News that involves your things?" Nathan let himself be led to the couch. Usually, sinking into the cushions at the end of the day was his favorite thing, but tonight he found himself unable to relax. "Let's hear it."

Haley paused, choosing her words carefully. She'd been practicing her speech all day, but that didn't make it any easier. "I've been offered the chance to tour. Michelle Branch liked my music and her manager called today to offer me and Chris a spot on the road with them. It would only be for a few months and it's a great opportunity and -"

"And you're going." He didn't let her finish but then again, he didn't have to. Her eyes were brighter than stars, her cheeks flushed pink with excitement. A blind person could have seen how much this meant to her. "Well, that's great, Haley. That's just great."

Sarcasm colored the words, making her bite her lip. "You don't sound too thrilled, Nathan."

"Are you kidding? I'm through the roof." He stood up and stepped away from her, his hands dropping hers and curling unconsciously into fists. "My wife, the woman I gave up my entire life for, is going on tour to be a famous rock star with the one guy in the world I don't want her having anything to do with. Oh, happy day."

Clearly upset by his reaction, Haley stood as well, trying to restore some balance between them. "Don't be like that, Nathan. This is the chance of a lifetime for me. It's not about Chris. It's not even about you."

"Not even about me." A short, mirthless laugh escaped him. "That's rich. I'm your husband, Haley. Aren't I supposed to be involved, just a little bit, in decisions like this?"

"It's not your choice to make!" Both of them froze as the words flew out her mouth and landed solidly, heavily, between them. Haley winced at the impact and tried to backtrack. "I'm sorry, Nathan, but –"

"No." He kicked her suitcase and it landed on the floor with a thud, silencing anything else she might have said. "You're not sorry. You're not."

There was a long pause. Haley was at a loss, unable to come up with words that wouldn't hurt him, and Nathan couldn't find syllables with enough sting. Finally, he spoke. "You want to go, go. But if you do … we're over."

XXX

It was all over school the next day.

Of course, the details varied. She had signed a record deal and was leaving to begin a world tour. She'd had an illicit affair with that spiky-haired musician and was running away with him. Nathan had cried – actually cried – as she left him with nothing but divorce papers.

People believed what they wanted to believe. The only thing anyone knew for sure was that Haley James-Scott, cute and bright and formerly all kinds of boring, had left both her husband and Tree Hill, possibly for good.

Brooke Davis heard the whispers and couldn't have cared less. Or so she told Bevin, who had been gossiping about it with the squad, as a way to shut the other girl up. If there was any truth to the rumors, she didn't want Nathan having it rubbed in his face that everyone and their brother knew about his troubles.

Still, curiosity got the best of her, and because the main subject of the story was MIA, Brooke decided to go straight to the next best source. After all, Lucas was Haley's best friend, and as her boyfriend, he had a duty to confide in Brooke anything Haley had confided in him.

Knowing it would take a few minutes of wheedling to get the information out of him, Brooke arrived for English – the only class they shared – early. To her surprise, Peyton was already there, too, sitting backwards at her desk to face the blond boy, and the two were leaning close enough for their noses to almost touch.

"I haven't heard from her yet," Lucas said earnestly. Just outside the classroom, Brooke frowned and pressed closer to the entrance, wishing he wasn't such a mumbler. "And she hasn't returned any of the messages I've left."

"Weird." Brooke couldn't see her best friend's face, but she saw the blond curls shake as Peyton shook her head. "It's not like her to ever miss a call. What're you gonna say when you do get in touch with her?"

Lucas shrugged. Brooke loved his shoulders, their strength and span, how he was just the right height that she could tuck her body perfectly in the crook of them. "I'll just tell her the truth," he replied. "That I care about her a lot, but she's not the one for me."

The entire world seemed to grind to a halt at those words. The humming conversations of the students around Brooke stopped, the air went stale, her heartbeat slowed to an unnatural pace. She had assumed that Lucas and Peyton were, like everyone else, discussing Haley, but his words didn't make any sense.

Unless …

Brooke didn't even want to think it, but it wasn't like they were leaving her much choice. Something was obviously up between her boyfriend and her best friend and she'd never been one to back down from a fight.

She cleared her throat to make her presence known and her heart broke at how quickly they jumped away from each other, how guilty they looked as they avoided her gaze. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked sweetly, wondering which of them would have the guts to come clean.

"Brooke …" Of course it would be Lucas. Her sweet, sensitive, too-good-to-be-true boyfriend Lucas. "No, you're not, we were just – just –"

"Just trying to think of a good way to dump me," she supplied. She'd never wanted to be wrong so badly in her life, but neither of them were trying to argue. "Hm. I guess you found it, huh?"

"Brooke, it's not like –" Peyton began, wanting to salvage what she could of the situation. She of all people knew what it was to like lose someone you loved, and she wouldn't wish the pain of it on anyone, especially not Brooke. The brunette was like a part of her, the kind of person she only wished she could be.

"It's not like you knew how much I cared about him," Brooke interrupted, and the smile she flashed was cold enough to send shivers down her friend's spine. "It's not like you didn't already have a chance with him that you blew."

"It's not Peyton's fault," Lucas tried, "It was me, too, I couldn't –"

"Couldn't help yourself," she cut in again, determined to not let either of them finish a sentence. She would finish it for all of them because, damn it, she was Brooke Davis and she did not get her heart broken. "You know what? You two are unbelievable. You deserve each other."

She headed for the doorway, then stopped and turned around again. "One more thing. If you have any human decency at all, don't use this as more kindling for your 'tortured soul, bleeding heart, pity party' routines. Okay? When you wake up in the morning feeling guilty – and trust me, you will – just go with it."

With that, she strode out of the classroom and allowed herself to be swallowed up by the crowd. Neither Lucas nor Peyton tried to stop her, and that was the biggest betrayal of all.