Hey!! I know what you're thinking….why the heck weren't you updating for the past month? Can I tell you how sorry I am? Because I am so so so sorry!!!! School was becoming soooo hectic, and I have had so many things to do. I had some health problems and family drama, but all that is done now. Luckily, things are starting to cool off a bit, and with break next week, I'll be able to start updating more often. I promise! Also, thank you for all the reviews! They are really motivating and help keep me writing and I really appreciate them. Anyway, here's Chapter 7. There's a lot of cute Brucas and some Peyton/Brooke/Haley interaction. Enjoy!

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Many people worry so much about managing their careers, but rarely spend half that much energy managing their LIVES. I want to make my life, not just my job, the best it can be. The rest will work itself out." –Reese Witherspoon

"...If you can make a girl laugh - you can make her do anything..." –Marilyn Monroe

"With fame, you know, you can read about yourself, somebody else's ideas about you, but what's important is how you feel about yourself - for survival and living day to day with what comes up." –Marilyn Monroe

"The hardest situation to stay happy in, I think, is when you're trying to find love, and yourself at the same time. It just doesn't seem to fit well." –Sophia Bush

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Clothes. There were many different kinds of clothes. From t-shirt and jeans to halter tops and mini skirts. There were many different kinds of clothes. As a fashion designer, one is supposed to be the queen of clothes…they are supposed to know the numerous styles, the right colors, the elaborate designs which emphasize certain characteristics. But even though you can make thousands of dresses and shirts and skirts for others, sometimes it's hard to conjure just one outfit for yourself.

"Damn stupid clothes!" Brooke cried as she screamed into a fluffy lavender pillow, throwing yet another top onto the floor. "Peyyyttoon!!! Hallleeyyy!!!"

The two friends rushed into the room, scared that something may be wrong with the brunette, but stopped in their tracks at the sight in front of them.

Clothes were hanging everywhere…from the ceiling, on the lamp, across the floor, on top of the bed…everywhere.

"What in the world is going on in here? Did your closet just throw up or something?" Haley asked, an incredulous look embedded on her face.

Brooke raised her eyes slowly and sent the girl an evil glare.

"No, Har-Lee, I'm just trying oh so desperately to find a nice outfit for this evening. Remember my date with Lucas? The bet you forced me into?" she spat out.

Haley took a slow gulp and raised her hands up as a surrender. Peyton threw a sympathetic look to her right.

"Look, Hales, why don't I help Brooke over here? Why don't you got cook up a snack? I'm kindof craving some food…."

Haley's face clearly brightened. "Yeah! I'll do that…you have fun with…Brooke." Then she hastily exited the room before another venomous comment could be thrown her way.

Peyton turned her attention back to her other friend who was whipping through her array of dresses, scoffing at each and every one of them as if they had cost a mere penny instead of hundreds of dollars.

"Now why is Brooke being a bitch?"

Brooke turned around and glared at her friend before jumping back on the bed. Peyton followed suit, wanting to know what was really going on in the brunette's head.

"I just want to look nice for tonight…"

"And you call this looking nice? Brooke! Half your closet is all over your room!"

"I have a streak of creativeness?" the brunette tried, giving the blonde a weak smile.

Peyton snorted. "Yeah, then I must be Da Vinci or something…what's really going on?"

Brooke stayed quiet for a moment then quietly whispered, "I forgot what casual was."

This obviously took the other by surprise. "What?!"

"He said to look 'casual' and I forgot how casual was…I've been up in this whole glamour world for such a long time. I forgot how it was when you didn't have to care how you looked when you went outside or didn't have to put on a pair of sunglasses when you went to the grocery store or―"

"―you forgot how it was like when we were in high school? When you were young and carefree?"

"Hey! I'm young! I don't have wrinkles, do I??!"

Peyton busted out laughing. "No, B, you don't have wrinkles. Very wrinkle-free with the help of Glenda I may add." Brooke hit her playfully in the shoulder at the mention of the local spa owner. "I think you just need to go out and have fun! Take a short break from work or something and go have fun. You're still young and beautiful and I have no clue why I'm saying this but ever since the morning I've been thinking about you and Lucas. Personally, I think that maybe this could be a good thing….I mean, you're having fun, right?"

Brooke sat there in shock. Did Peyton just…approve? Wow…just that morning she had been trying to persuade Brooke to back out of this bet and now she was actually rooting for her? Definitely weird.

"I guess…omg! Lucas!! He's going to be here soon, and I'm still in my robe!"

"Not to fear, Peyton Sawyer is here!"

"And I actually thought Haley was the cheesy one…" Brooke joked as Peyton punched her in the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, come on, Cinderella; let's get you ready for your prince tonight."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Lucas jogged up the apartment building stairs, stopping at a red door with a gold 3 on it. Ironic, he thought as he looked at the apartment number. He rang the doorbell and waited patiently for someone to open the door. Within a second, it swung open revealing a very pretty Brooke. She was wearing faded jeans and a striped pink shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and flats covered her feet. This was as simple as she could've looked but Lucas couldn't help but notice that she looked absolutely beautiful.

"Hey," he said softly, giving her the flowers that had been in his hands.

"Hi," she replied as she sniffed the pink roses, a sweet aroma filling up her nose. Looking back up in his eyes, she couldn't help but feel shy, something that was foreign to her. "The flowers are gorgeous, Luke. You really shouldn't have. I mean I already have a hundred roses lying all around my bedroom."

"Gorgeous flowers for a gorgeous lady. Don't argue. You should know that it's rude to never accept flowers," he answered with a wink. "You ready?"

She just chuckled. "Yeah, let me just go put these in a vase. Come on in."

Lucas followed her into the apartment and was surprised with what he saw. He would've thought that it would be extraordinarily decorated with expensive paintings and various forms of art, but the flat was covered in picture frames of Brooke and the two girls he had seen her with earlier. There were bags scattered across the living room and shoes lying awkwardly on the rug. It was a sight of imperfection, and he couldn't help but smile as he gazed around. The apartment looked like someone had actually lived there instead of those which looked like they had just jumped out of a home living magazine.

"Hey," Brooke said as she walked back into the living room, "I apologize beforehand for the mess. I haven't had any time to clean."

"Don't worry about it. I like it," he responded, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "Flowers set?"

"Yup, let's go."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"So where exactly are we going?" Brooke asked for the thousandth time as she sat beside Lucas in his expensive sports car.

"It's a surprise. Patience, Pretty Girl," Lucas said as he turned onto a winding road.

"Patience my ass. For your information, I'm not a big fan of surprises and you're not even giving me a hint! We've been in this car for like an hour, and all I know is that we aren't going anywhere fancy…we aren't going anywhere fancy are we?"

He broke out laughing. "No, it's not fancy. Just wait and stop pouting. You're acting more like a Broody than a Cheery."

"Yeah, and you're more like a Dorky than a Broody," Brooke joked back.

This just earned her another laugh from the blonde. "A Dorky?"

"It was the first thing that came to my mind!" She, too, started giggling. It was true. Laughter was contagious.

Suddenly, the car stopped and Brooke raised her head to look around. All she saw was miles and miles of glowing sand and the bluest of waters. The beach.

"Wow…" she whispered.

"I know, right?" Lucas said as he opened her car door. "Come on, you haven't seen anything yet."

Hand in hand, he led her down the beach to a small tent.

"Luke…." She said slowly but he just hushed her with a wave of his hand.

Walking inside, she was met with a magical paradise. There was a table set for two with entrees she assumed were very expensive. There was a smaller table with two flute glasses and a bucket of ice cold champagne. All around them were candles of different heights giving off a romantic sensation. Once again, she was blown away and speechless.

"You always have something up your sleeve, don't you, Scott?" Brooke finally asked, a huge dimpled smile playing on her lips.

"I'll take it you like the accommodations?" He teased with a smile.

"More like love it. How did you pull all this off?"

"Let's just say I have my resources. Now, let's eat before the food gets cold. I hope you like shrimp?"

"My favorite actually."

For the next hour, both chatted away, sipping champagne and eating delightfully. They would take turns telling jokes or old stories while the other threw his head back and laughed with such pleasure. It was like an old scene out of a movie…the charming young man and the beautiful young lady on the perfect date…eating, talking, smiling…looking at the couple, one could say that it was meant to be.

"Oh God….you seriously slapped your teacher in the face?" Lucas asked as he doubled over with hilarity.

"He was hitting on me! It wasn't like I would sleep with the guy!" Brooke exclaimed defensively.

"Well, you always could've…" Lucas wiggled his eyebrows at her jokingly.

"Eww!!" She said as she hit him in the shoulder. "Get your head out of the gutter, Scott."

Both sat back in their seats enjoying the comfortable silence. The brunette was the first to break the quiet.

"Let's go for a swim."

Lucas looked at her like she had just lost her mind. "What?"

"Let's go for a swim! We're at the beach and it's like illegal to not go into the ocean."

"If you don't realize, Cheery, we don't exactly have suits."

"And why should that stop us?" She asked, a sly smile forming on her face. Before he could protest, she started stripping off her clothes until she was in her black lace panties and bra. "You coming, Broody?"

That would definitely get a boy going. Lucas followed suit until he, too, was in his boxers and ran after her into the dark blue waters.

"Shit! It's cold," he yelped as Brooke splashed him.

"Awe, don't be such a bab―" But before she could finish he had grabbed her around her waist and turned her around so that she was facing him, the air suddenly being filled with the brunette's high pitched squeals.

"I'm a baby, huh?" He murmured as his lips inched closer to hers.

"Uh, huh."

Suddenly, her lips crashed onto his, her hands getting tangled in his messy blonde hair as his tightened around her back, bringing her closer to him. She started biting on his lower lip, playfully teasing him as he moaned loudly before beginning to place butterfly kisses down her neck. Her lips instantly made their way back to his, but before their kisses could get any more intimate the sound of Fergie's "Glamorous" filled their ears.

"Ugh, that's my phone…" Brooke said as she broke away for air.

"Do you need to get it?" Lucas mumbled, continuing to kiss her where possible. What was up with damn phones interrupting them while they were making out?

"Mhhmhh, it might be important."

He grudgingly allowed her to extract herself from his embrace, watching her skip to her blaring phone.

"Its work," Brooke said hesitantly after she hung up. "I'm really really sorry, Lucas, but I have to go. There's an emergency and―"

"―it's okay. Come on, let me drop you off," he offered with a smile. He couldn't hold it against her that work was calling. He remembered numerous times when he had bailed on previous dates because there was a problem with his publisher or with a book.

She couldn't help but kiss him on the lips. "Thank you…I mean for understanding. Most guys would get mad."

"Well, I'm not most guys, am I?" he asked as his eyes bore into hers. She had to look away, not being able to handle the intensity of his gaze.

"Let's go, Pretty Girl. We have a long trip before we reach Clothes over Bros." Lucas placed a brief kiss on her forehead and then the two headed towards his car, hand in hand.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Later that night, Brooke laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling not being able to sleep. Well, I'm not most guys, am I? His words echoed throughout her head. What had he meant when he said that? I mean, he has a history of being a jerk when it came to dating but today and yesterday…it just doesn't seem like that guy at the beach is that same guy who would break off an engagement just because he was bored. Maybe it wasn't true…maybe he was different from most guys…Brooke's thoughts clouded her head as drowsiness overtook her, placing her in a peaceful sleep.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Lucas walked into his bedroom and threw his things onto his bed, obviously exhausted from that day's events. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of Brooke at the beach…she had looked so cute pouting with her wet hair tangled up in that messy ponytail…He shook his head, trying to clear all thoughts of the beautiful brunette. He walked up to his computer desk about to turn of the mini lamp when something stopped him. His computer. For some reason, he felt drawn to it…like it was telling him to sit down and start typing. So he did just that. And surprising, words starting coming to him out of nowhere…letter after letter, word after word, Lucas Scott began breaking those walls which had halted him from living his dream. With a smile on his face and his mind on a certain girl, his fingers moved swiftly around the keyboard filling up page after page after page…killing the night away.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

End of Chapter 7! Hope you guys enjoyed it!

Next: Day 3 (Brooke has problems at work and more Brucas!)

Please R&R! I love new ideas/suggestions/comments/ etc. And I don't mind if you write some constructive criticism either. Thanks!

Hope you have a great day: )