Author's Notes: First update of the new year! Can you believe it took me 32 days? This is long overdue and I apologize. Anyway, I know I said I would update What Can I Say next (you guys probably hate me, I want to bitch slap myself for going back on my word)but I realized that that story is going to be like a sequel to this one or companion fic. You'll see how it all fits soon enough. So I can't update it until I'm done with this story. I already wrote the next few chapters but I realized with it being a sequel, I'd have more information to add and it would get developed better. And I'm very bitter about the fact that when Lucas comes back on OTH, he will only have scenes with Haley and Jamie. Like what the hell Mark? He knows there are a lot of Brucas fans, why would he not give us a scene with them together?

Disclaimer: I hate these things, I don't own OTH! Obviously, otherwise S4 would've gone WAYYY differently.

You Picked Me

Chapter 6 – Trouble Is A Friend

Trouble he will find you no matter where you go…

Brooke walked into the familiar club and felt a sense of belonging. It all just seemed so familiar to her. She spots the stool she always used to sit on, the bartender she would always flirt with, the pool table she lured many boys to and beat many boys at. One boy in particular…

She shakes away the thoughts of him and takes her seat at the bar. She reminds herself that she won't think about him tonight as she flags down the bartender and shoots him a flirty smile.

"My usual," she states once he finally reaches her.

"Haven't seen you in a while," he mutters, wiping his hands on a towel and taking in her stimulating outfit for the night. She came here straight from school so she still has her cheerleading outfit on.

Brooke fights the urge not to cringe at the disgusting bartender. Sure she had done this before, but that was the old Brooke. The Brooke she was before she actually fell in love. The girl trying to nurse a broken heart because of her parents and fill the empty void in her life.

And when Lucas filled that void, she cut all ties to alcohol, thinking she didn't need it because she finally had someone who cared about her. Then he let her down and she was back to square one. She remembers the feeling of numbness and the high she would be on after drinking and this pushes her to continue with her plans.

She plasters a fake smile on her face in response, "Yeah but, something tells me you haven't forgot." she replies, still grinning as she watches him make her drink.

A couple of drinks later, her vision's blurry and she can't even think straight. It's been a while since she actually had an alcoholic drink. She used to be able to down about ten drinks a night and not even get tipsy. Now she just feels like a newbie since she's perfectly smashed after having only four strong ones. This is probably what Haley felt like when she told her about the time Nathan first got her drunk and she threw up on Dan.

Her head's resting on the counter and her body's slumped over. She honestly feels like she's gonna pass out any minute.

The bartender spots her lifeless form and walks over to her and taps her shoulder. She raises her head from the bar counter and as soon as she spots him, rolls her eyes, not in the mood to be hit on.

"Hey, I'm a good guy and everything and if you want sex, I'll give you sex." he starts his proposition. "but, if you want me to call someone for you, I'll do that too. I mean you just sitting here, isn't really attracting potential customers."

She can't really formulate a correct response in her head. She can't even remember the name he's told her the many times she's come here. She's trying to decide whether or not to take that as an insult or to just ignore him. She decides to do neither and just wordlessly hands him her purse.

He figures he'll find her phone in there and is correct when he opens it up. He decides to go to her speed dial list, thinking that people usually keep the ones closest to them on speed dial.

He first calls a girl named Rachel. She doesn't pick up so he leaves a message. He then calls a guy named Nathan. He doesn't pick up either, causing him to leave another message. When people pass out at bars like this, bartenders are only allowed to call the maximum of three people in the person's phone. He tries one last final number which is a girl named Haley.

None of them pick up and he realizes he'll be forced to wait the maximum two hours before asking her to leave. He looks at her unresponsive form and actually takes pity on her. Sure she's been around here before and they've flirted a bit but he's always seen how sad she'd look if she followed a guy in the back, or how sometimes she would just sit here, not ordering anything but just looking…sad, or that time he found her crying in a private section in the VIP room. He didn't make his presence known or ever bring it up again because he didn't want her to get embarrassed.

He takes one more look at her before coming to a decision. Hoping his boss doesn't see, he hops over the counter, takes her into his arms and carries her to the back. He puts her in a private room and lays her down on a bed, covering her with blankets also so she won't get cold. He makes sure to lock the door so no one could get in.

….

Nathan walks out of school with Haley by his side. "How was practice?"

She rolls her eyes at the question. "Well, from what I saw on the bench," she emphasizes. "pretty good, although Peyton was acting weird."

"Oh yeah what was up with that?" he asks while taking out his phone. "I heard the little tantrum Brooke threw."

"From what I saw, Peyton came late. Brooke got mad." she states simply.

He doesn't respond, just furrows his eyebrows at his cell phone in confusion. "Did Brooke call you?"

She pulls out her cell phone also. "Oh, yeah, she did. She left a message too."

"Same here."

They both stop walking to listen to the message when a man's voice fills their ears.

"Hey, I'm a bartender down at the Blue Post and your friend Brooke is here and passed out. You're on her speed dial list so…could you come get her? Whenever you get this message…"

"Brooke." Haley says in alarm. "Nathan we have to get down there now."

The two sprint towards their car in concern, both hoping their brunette friend didn't do anything too stupid. On their way they run into Lucas and Peyton who had just come from his car.

"Hey guys," he calls out. "What's the rush?" he chuckles taking notice of how tired they look.

"It's Brooke." Haley blurts out without thinking.

"Haley." Nathan scolds and Lucas watches as the two get into some sort of whisper argument.

"What about Brooke?" he questions making the couple turn to him. He looks into Haley's deer-caught-in-headlights look and Nathan solemn expression and he suddenly turns serious. "What about Brooke?" he repeats slowly.

Haley swallows and looks at Nathan who just sighs in defeat. "We got a call from a bartender at Blue Post," she begins. "and he told us that Brooke's passed out there."

"Figures…" Peyton snorts under her breath.

"What? Is she okay? Is she hurt–"

"That's what we're going to find out right now." Nathan says, silencing his questions.

Lucas swallows and looks between them. "I'm coming with you." he declares firmly, making no room for argument.

"Luke…" Peyton starts but it's Haley who cuts her off.

"Lucas, I don't think Brooke would be comfortable with having you there." she wonders out loud, just looking out for her friend. "She may be passed out but think of how she'll feel when she wakes up and finds out you saw her like that."

"Why would she care?" Peyton questions making the rest of them look over at her, suddenly aware that she knows nothing of what happened with Lucas and Brooke and what Nathan and Haley found out about her.

Lucas is aware she knows nothing of Brooke spending the night, their kiss, and his attempt to make things better for them.

Haley's aware that Peyton doesn't know she found out about what she did at their rehearsal dinner and that Brooke spent the night at Lucas'.

Nathan is aware that he is the only one that basically knows everything that has happened – the kiss between Brooke and Lucas, and what Peyton did behind all of their backs. He is also aware that Peyton doesn't know about the kiss and that he knows what she did. He knows he has to make a decision seeing that no one is saying anything and to honor Brooke's wishes.

He turns to his wife. "Look Haley, you're pregnant and I don't want you in that kind of environment. Why don't you let Peyton take you home and Lucas and I will go figure out this thing with Brooke."

"Nathan!" she exclaims. "I don't want to go with her." she says in a hushed tone so as not to offend the blonde. She may have hated her right now but she still had manners.

"And Lucas isn't going anywhere." Peyton jumps in. Lucas heaves a big sigh and pulls her off to the side, Nathan doing the same with Haley.

"Look Peyt, I really need to go."

"Why do you care so much about Brooke?" she demands, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Why don't you?" he questions in confusion. He watches as the bored, nonchalant expression she wears falters for a bit and is replaced by one of hurt. And as quickly as it came, in two seconds, it was gone.

"I do but, I don't see why you have to go. I mean, why can't I?"

He states the obvious. "She hates you."

"She hates you too."

"Not as much as she hates you."

"I'm pretty sure it's just as much."

"Look," he sighs out, feeling like they're just going around in circles. "Just trust me, ok?" he says, desperate to get her to oblige. "Take my car and take Haley home and I'll meet you at your house tonight, alright?"

"Fine," she agrees, ready to walk away but not before pulling him in for a kiss. "I love you, Lucas."

He struggles to get the words out of his mouth, knowing that he won't mean them if he says it and that it might show. "Me too." pecking her lips once more, he walk towards Nathan's car before she can stop him.

Nathan glares at him as he's approaching, leaning down to give Haley a light kiss before sending her off to Peyton. He waits until they drive off before turning to Lucas. He stares at him then shakes his head. "You're leading her on, Luke."

"What?"

"Both of them actually, you're leading them both on." he pauses to keep the anger he has for his brother to a minimum. "I mean, you say you love Brooke but you won't leave Peyton."

Lucas sighs and looks away from his brother. "I don't want to hurt her."

"Oh but you don't mind hurting Brooke, right?" he lets out a bitter laugh before jerking the car to a stop. "You know, you seem to make the mistake of considering Peyton's feelings before anyone else's when the girl doesn't even deserve it!"

"What the hell did Peyton even do!" he exclaims, really tired of everyone bashing on her when he doesn't even know what's going on. Everyone around him seems to know something but they just won't tell him.

"What did she do?" Nathan questions in disbelief, unable to understand how Lucas can be so dense. "You mean besides the fact she told Brooke she–"

He cut himself off, remembering Brooke's plea for him not to tell anyone and her reasons why. He sighs out in frustration and slams his fist against the steering wheel. Even though he doesn't agree, he understands her hesitation. And as a good friend, he has to respect that.

"Told Brooke what?"

"Nothing." he responds solemnly, starting the car back up. But Lucas is quick to protest.

"No! I'm tired of everyone doing that. Tell me what the hell is going on with Brooke and Peyton!" he commands, honestly tired of being kept in the dark about certain things. Everyone knows this big secret but no one will tell him anything. He looks at Nathan expectantly.

"She needs to tell you herself." he only grumbles.

He throws his hands up in frustration. "Yeah well Brooke won't even talk to me. Every time I try to talk about us, she runs away." he honestly wondered why Brooke's go to reflex was fleeing every time he wanted to talk about a problem.

Nathan kept quiet and his thoughts drifted back to Brooke at Blue Post. He hopes after all the time they wasted that she's still okay. He hopes that bartender is keeping an eye on her and won't let anyone take advantage of the brunette.

She's like his little sister. They've known each other since they were practically in diapers. They're parents hung out at the same social events – leaving them to fend for themselves and lean on each other – and they grew up together, along with Peyton joining shortly after. Sure, they grew apart in high school, and for that he feels most guilty. He feels like he should've been there for her more and maybe he could've stopped her from sleeping with a lot of guys, or just be there for her more. He feels like he should've protected her more.

"Why do you think she always runs away, huh Lucas?" he shoots him a pensive look before directing his gaze back to the road. "I mean, you've hurt her…more times than I can count on both hands, you're dating the girl she's considered as a sister since she was about seven, plus the fact that you got with said girl less than a month after breaking up with Brooke, you know, the girl you supposedly love–"

"Nathan what are you trying to say?" Lucas questions, fully aware of all his mistakes and not needing Nathan to point them out.

"What am I trying to say…?" Nathan chuckles to himself, unable to believe that the clueless boy sitting beside him is his brother. He guesses he's only book smart because he's definitely not 'Brooke Smart'. He briefly considers stopping the car and throwing him over the bridge they're currently driving on, but he figured that wouldn't sit well with Karen, or Haley…or Brooke. Yes Brooke. Even though she's not admitting it, she still loves him. And he knows if he decided to kill Lucas she'd hate him forever for taking away her one true love.

His thoughts drift back to the passed out brunette in question. He wonders if Rachel knows what her current state is. Those two have gotten pretty close in the last few months and are living together.

"We should call Rachel," he decides after a beat, taking out his phone and dialing the redhead's number. "She would want to know what happened."

….

The ride between Peyton and Haley is awkward, to say the least. And Peyton can't for the life of her figure out why. She's tried cracking wise jokes, but that only earns her a glare from the pregnant tutor beside her. She put on one of her favorite mix CD's and when Haley's song Halo came on, she sent a small smile in her direction and tried to get her to sing along but all she got was an eye roll from her.

She honestly doesn't know what happened between them. They were friends, now she's getting the cold shoulder. She looks over at Haley and notices she's staring blankly outside and sitting tensely in her seat. She figures she'll try one more time to break the tension before demanding the tutor tell her what's up.

"So…" she drags out. "How's being pregnant?"

Haley scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Great." she says with a fake smile. "How's being a bitch?"

Peyton snaps. She stops the car and pulls over to the sidewalk. "Okay Haley, I honestly don't know what stick is up your ass, or maybe it's just your pregnancy hormones, but can you tell me why the hell you've been giving me the cold shoulder since we left because I honestly don't know what I did to you!"

Haley looks in disbelief at the blonde next to her. "What you did to me? It's not me you screwed over."

"It's not you? Haley, I'm honestly confused…"

"Yeah and I hate her for doing this to me!" Haley lets out. "I mean, I want to tell you that I know and I want to bitch you out for what you did but she seems to have her own agenda." she rubs her temples in frustration.

"What I did?"

"Yes Peyton, what you did! You know what you did but I can't tell you I know because she doesn't want to cause anymore drama and ruin your happiness and…GOD! Everything is frustrating…"

"She? She who?" Peyton questions, genuinely confused at Haley. She doesn't know what's got the tutor so hyped up nor does she know what she could've done to make her mad.

Haley sighs and shakes her head. "I can't tell you just…just drive me home." she says quietly and goes back to looking out the window. She looks over at Peyton as she starts up the car again. "What you did was really bad, I mean I thought you were better than that considering what happened last time," she's speaks in a soft tone at the blonde. "I thought you had learned your lesson but, I guess I was wrong."

She turns her attention back to the world outside her window and ignores Peyton for the rest of the ride. She doesn't thank her for the ride when she gets to her and Nathan's apartment, nor does she say good bye.

….

"Brooke!" Rachel yells walking into her house. "Brooke!" she tries, setting her keys down on the table and walking into the kitchen. "Yo skank, I'm home!"

She walks upstairs to their shared room and changes out of her cheer uniform and into a mini jean skirt and a green halter top that ties in the back. She decides she wants to make him jealous tonight. After their fight a couple of days ago she hasn't seen him. Sure she's hooked up with guys but never in front of him and tonight she decides that she's gonna push his buttons a little. But she can't help but wonder where her partner in crime is. She's obviously not here and apparently lied about needing time alone. Rachel rolls her eyes at the ridiculous excuse and wonders how she could've fallen for it. "Stupid skank just wanted to skip school…" she mumbles to herself.

She takes out her phone, getting ready to call the missing slut and bitch her out when she notices she has one missed call. "One missed call…Brooke?" she questions to herself and decides to listen to the message.

"Hey, I'm a bartender down at the Blue Post and your friend Brooke is here passed out. You were on her speed dial list so I'm calling you wondering if you could come get her. She's pretty wasted; probably can't even walk so whenever you get this message…just get here as fast as you can."

She panics. She knows that voice and she's dreading actually having to talk to him. But this is Brooke. Her Brooke. She needs her and Rachel honestly doesn't know what would happen if she waited any longer.

"Screw it…" she scolds to herself and grabs her keys, dashing out the door.

Damn you, Brooke.

While speeding down the street, way above the speed limit, she gets a call from Nathan. "What?" she answers, not in the mood to talk to anyone, just wanting to get to Brooke as fast as she could.

"Rachel," comes Nathan's rushed voice as he breathes out a sigh of relief upon reaching her. "I got a call from this bartender at the bar, the Blue Post, and he said Brooke's–"

"You got the call too?" she questions, stopping Nathan midsentence. "Are you driving there now?"

"Yeah I am."

"Look, I'm in my way now." she replies while making a swift U-turn and making the cars behind her honk their horns sporadically. She just flips them off. "If you get there before me, find her and don't leave until I get there."

"Nathan, I think you were supposed to turn back there." she hears from over the phone and she recognizes the voice instantly.

"Is that Lucas with you?" she demands.

"Yeah…look, I didn't really have a choice. He wouldn't back off." She hears the regret in Nathan's voice when he replies and probably realizes she's about to scold him for bringing that blonde.

Rachel rolls her eyes at his excuse. "Nathan, I'm pretty sure you're stronger than him. You could've just beaten his scrawny ass." she grumbles into the receiver, then quietly adds, "I know I would like to."

At this, Nathan actually lets out a chuckle. "Thanks for the advice Rach, I'll make sure to use that next time although I'm not too sure it would look good on my record if I went to jail for beating up my brother, plus I love him…somewhat." he glances over at Lucas and chuckles at the confused expression on his face.

"Whatever, do your little brother-bonding-incest moment, I could care less. Just try to hurry up and get to Brooke if I can't get there before you. Traffic's a bitch." she's about to hang up when she hears his voice call out to her.

"Hey Rachel?"

"Yeah?" she replies uninterestedly.

"I'm really worried about her…"

Her hard exterior softens when she hears those words and how concerned he sounds and she contemplates telling him to man up and to stop acting like such a sap and that Brooke will be just fine. But can she really guarantee that? She opts for just being nice right now, figuring it really wouldn't help the situation if she acted like a bitch and since she really is worried about her small brunette friend who doesn't always make the best of decisions.

"Yeah, me too."

….

Lucas and Nathan pull into the Blue Post parking lot and seconds later so does Rachel. "How'd you get here so fast?" Nathan questions walking over to her, watching her stumble out of her jeep and walk hastily towards the club's entrance.

"That's what speeding will do. It'll also make you outrun a cop. Man, he was a fast one!" she reminisces and Lucas looks over towards the parking lot.

"There's Brooke's car…" he states distantly. Nathan and Rachel turn toward the object of Lucas' attention. They all see the brunette's blue beagle parked crookedly in a spot.

"Come on, let's get in there." Rachel says and swings the door open, the two boys following suit.

The three rush into the club and instantly notice it's packed. There are people of all ages making out, dancing, drinking and they even notice a small fight brewing in the corner.

"How are we ever gonna find Brooke in all these people?" Lucas questions, running a hand over his face in frustration. Of course, he could spot the brunette beauty anywhere and easily point her out in a crowd, but he honestly thinks there has to be close to half of the world in here.

"If only we knew the name of the bartender who called…" Nathan trails off while scanning the crowd for Brooke.

Rachel spots him behind the counter and mentally tells herself to suck it up as she walks straight towards him, the two boys following after in confusion. She takes in his appearance as she gets closer and can't help but wonder if a strand of her hair is sticking up or if her shirt's wrinkled. She, very quickly, straightens out her clothes and hair before getting his attention.

"Hey," she calls out nonchalantly, or at least hoping it came out that way. She mentally slaps herself for getting so nervous around him. Rachel Gatina does not get nervous around guys…only this particular one, huh? She wasn't even nervous around Cooper, or any of her other conquests. What makes him so damn special?

He looks up at the sound of her voice and his eyes bulge out of their sockets. "Rach–" he starts, but she cuts him off before he can make it obvious that he knows her.

"You called us about our friend Brooke? We're," she gestures towards all three of them. "on her speed dial list."

"Rachel, how do you know this is the guy?" she hears Nathan whisper behind her but she ignores him.

The bartender breaks out of his momentary shock and watches as Rachel sends him a glare, which probably means 'don't say anything or I'll kill you.' "Right, right, she's uh…she's this way." He points toward the back and signals for them to follow him.

Before she can take a step to follow, Lucas gently pulls on her arm and turns her around to face them. "Rachel, are you sure this is the bartender?" he questions cautiously, not wanting to get fooled or roped into any tricks right now since his worry for the brunette is taking up half of his brain.

"Why else would he be taking us to see a girl named Brooke?" Rachel questions back while rolling her eyes.

"It could be a trick." Nathan cuts in. "Look, maybe we should–"

"Trust me," Rachel says firmly. "This is the bartender."

Both boys get the feeling that she knows more than she's letting on. Like she knows this particular bartender. But both come to the conclusion that she probably won't say anything to them. And why would she? It's Rachel.

They decide to drop it and they follow her as she walks in the back to where the bartender disappeared to.

They reach the VIP room.

They all look around for the bartender, seeing that he's nowhere to be found. A door opens on their left and his head peeks out. "In here." he whispers to them and motions for them to come over. The trio walks through the door and instantly sees Brooke's lifeless form on one of the couches.

Rachel promptly rushes to her side. "Brooke…" she whispers and swiftly feels the tears well up in her eyes. She curses herself for acting so weak and opts for staring just at Brooke so no one can see her tears. "Has she been here long?" she questions softly, and hopes no one can hear the shake in her voice.

"No," the bartender speaks up. "Just a little over an hour."

"She gonna be okay?" Nathan questions, coming over to Brooke and putting a comforting hand on Rachel, noticing the slight shake in her shoulders.

"Oh yeah. She just had a little too much to drink, she'll be fine." he reassures them, hoping his statement is true.

"And you just kept giving her drinks, I mean…you didn't think you were giving her too much?"

Rachel rolls her eyes at Lucas' ridiculous question, knowing that he made the mistake of sticking his head in his ass when he was worried or concerned. The guy's a bartender. It's his job to give people drinks and watch them drown their sorrows in alcohol and booze and hear the pathetic stories about their effed up life.

"I'm a bartender. I can't exactly say no to a paying customer."

"What about her age? She's not 21 yet." Lucas says accusingly and everyone can clearly see he's mad but also concerned for Brooke. Finding her in this state isn't exactly easy for him and he wonders if he had anything to do with it.

"Yeah, I figured that." the bartender says sheepishly. "But she's always come in with these fake I.D.'s and it's not like I had any proof she was underage. But she's such a regular here that they just stopped checking."

Nathan cuts in before Lucas has the chance to say something stupid again. "Thanks for watching out for her man. No one asked you to, so thanks." he stands up and gives the young bartender a pat on the back.

"I guess it's time to take her home…" Rachel mutters. She turns towards Nathan and Lucas and gives them a scowl. "Well, I can't carry her fat ass out so get your asses over here and help." she snaps.

Lucas walks over and gently lifts the brunette in his arms. Both Nathan and Rachel are skeptical about having Lucas carry Brooke but they figure she's got a while until she wakes up. The two brothers walk out of the little room and Rachel goes to pick up Brooke's purse before going follow them out when he gently pulls on her arm.

"Look, Rachel…I think we should talk."

"There's nothing to talk about now if you'll excuse me, my friend needs me." she tries to maneuver her way around him but he blocks her way.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said last week, I didn't mean–"

"We are not in a relationship." she snaps at him. "We just fuck so you're free to date whoever the hell else you want." she storms past him angrily and out of the VIP section. She leaves him standing there in the middle of the room, knowing she didn't mean a single word she said.

Trouble is a friend, yes trouble is a friend of mine

When she gets outside, Nathan and Lucas are already making their way over to his car. She walks over to them but stops abruptly when she realizes what they're about to do. "What the hell are you doing?"

They both turn around to face her. "Hey, what took you so long?" Nathan questions.

"Nothing important." she says quickly and is really glad that Brooke isn't awake, knowing she'd pester her about the bartender until she got answers. "What are you doing?" she repeats.

"Uh, I'm about to put her in my car and take her to my place." Nathan replies as if it's obvious.

"Uh, no you're not. She's coming to my house, she lives there remember." she begins to guide Lucas over to her car when Nathan stops them.

"Rachel, I can keep a better eye on her–"

"You mean like you've done this past year?" she challenges and she watches as his face falls. She knows he regrets not being there for Brooke like he should've been and he wonders how the hell she figured that out. "I'm the one that's been there for her these past few months and she hasn't died yet so I think she'll be fine at my place."

"Rachel." he sighs out. "I would just feel better if she stayed at my house so I can make sure she's okay."

"I don't care what would make you feel better Nathan. I'm not looking out for you, I'm looking out for Brooke."

"I know you're just looking out for Brooke," he says through gritted teeth, trying to keep his anger at a minimum. "But you're not really the responsible type."

"And you are?" the redhead lets out a dry laugh. "Because of your defective protection, your girlfriend's knocked up!"

"Alright Rachel, that's enough!" Lucas cuts in once he sees Nathan fists begin to clench. "Both of you, actually." he notices both of their angry expressions and comes to a conclusion. "Brooke can stay with me."

To his surprise, both of them actually start laughing.

"Good one Lucas." Rachel says in between giggles. "Like that's gonna happen." she stops laughing long enough to see Lucas' expression and sees that he has yet to crack a smile. "Wait, you were serious?"

Nathan stops laughing too and looks at Lucas. "Dude…"

"Nathan you have Haley to worry about, who – need I remind you – is pregnant. Rachel, you have every brand of alcohol that was ever made in your house. I'm the only one who actually has adult supervision in my house."

"Lucas, I don't think that's a good idea." Rachel says cautiously, knowing Brooke wouldn't like that.

"Yeah man." Nathan agrees. "I mean last time she stayed with you, you guys kissed."

"I knew it!" Rachel exclaimed. She had a feeling Brooke stayed with Lucas and that something happened. "That little slut."

"Thanks Nate…" he mutters as Brooke shifts in his arms and snuggles closer to his chest. He smiles softly at this and can't help but notice how peaceful and innocent she looks when she's sleeping. Almost as if she's a little girl with big dreams that has yet to discover this cold, harsh world and hasn't been scarred yet. But he knows Brooke's been scarred. He's placed some there himself.

"Sorry," the raven-haired Scott mutters. "But I don't think it's a good idea for her to stay with you either."

"Look, I'll have my mom watch over her and I won't go anywhere near her, okay?"

"Since when do you ever keep your promises?" Rachel grumbles under her breath as she walks over to Brooke's car, the boys following behind her. "Why don't you drive her car and we can follow you home to make sure she gets in safe." she says turning to Lucas.

Lucas nods and now he sees why Brooke hangs out with Rachel. At first, he didn't understand their friendship, who would? They call each other degrading names and spit insults out at one another every chance they get. Yet, they still hung out together. No one really ever understood why but he sees it now. They genuinely care about each other even if they don't want to admit. Their banter is some form of code for sincerity. And seeing how much Rachel cared about Brooke tonight, he has a newfound respect for her.

"Do you have her keys?" he questions and watches as she gets them out of Brooke's purse and unlock the car. He gently puts her body down in the passenger seat then takes the keys from Rachel and goes around to the trunk. He opens it and gets a blanket out for her. He gently drapes it over her body and watches as she makes herself comfortable in the leather seat. He then walks around to the driver seat and starts the car up.

"I'll see you guys at my place?" he says to Rachel and Nathan and waits until they get into their cars before pulling off.

As he's driving, he wonders how Brooke will react when she wakes up in his room for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.

Trouble he will find you no matter where you go…

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