Never Let Me Go

Chapter Two: Trying Not To Love You

Trying not to love you, only goes so far, and trying not to need you is tearing me apart.

Brooke sat on her bed, in a deserted house, surrounded only by her thoughts. 'I wonder what things would have been like if Lucas and I were still together..' she thought to herself, almost grinning at the idea of it. They'd be the power couple, completely in love, with nothing to tear them apart. He'd have opened up a little more, and revealed his wild side; she would've have tamed herself, and let her sensitive, caring side show. They would have changed each other: they were great for each other. Yet, there was still that doubt in her mind that he could hurt her again; she was falling for him the first time and he just happened to be the concrete ground that she would land upon, that would make her hurt and ache for months. What if he cheated on her again? He could be making a mistake. Maybe he doesn't even know what he wants.

Brooke gazed at her small alarm clock, planted on her bedside table: 1:43am. Was it really that late? With all of the thinking she must have lost track of time. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about him this much; he had broken her heart, and she assured herself she would never go there again, but part of her heart was still with him. He wasn't like the other guys, who just wanted her for sex.. Well, the sex was great, but he saw past the façade, and truly liked her for her. Eventually, the reoccurring thoughts made her sleepy, then she slowly fell into a deep slumber.

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Knock, knock! "Whaaat?" Brooke moaned drearily.

"It's Peyton, get up" she heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door. Peyton slowly opened the door to enter Brooke's room, but quickly slammed it shut when Brooke aimed a pillow right at Peyton's face. "Brooke, seriously, you're gonna be late for school."

"5 more minutes!" she groaned into her pillows.

"Don't make me do it, Brooke.."

Brooke looked up at the blonde, a scowl on her face. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would." Peyton challenged, narrowing her eyes and darting towards Brooke. She pinned Brooke down and tickled her ribs viciously, causing Brooke to fall into a gigantic fit of laughter. Peyton toppled next to her and said "go and get ready, lazy."

Brooke frowned at Peyton, but managed to pull herself out of bed in defeat. She pulled a cute, white tank top and denim jeans out of her closet, and put them on. "Let's go, blondie!" she said cheerfully as they exited her bedroom.

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Peyton and Brooke pulled up into the school's parking lot and Lucas was already stood there waiting for them, a grin on his face as the car drove into it's usual spot. Lucas embraced Peyton in a friendly hug and then moved over to Brooke, pulling her in tight, his hand on the back of her head, never wanting to let go of her and just hold her forever. Finally, Brooke pulled away and gazed into his sparkling, blue eyes, almost forgetting that they weren't a couple. His hand slipped along hers, sending a shiver down her spine: she ached to have his touch constantly.

"Jake!" Peyton yelled, a vibrant smile etched onto her face.

"Hey, Peyt." Jake said, with a loving grin, pulling her in for a kiss. The kiss lasted a while, it was like they couldn't get enough of each other. Brooke and Lucas looked at each other awkwardly and laughed at the duo in front of them.

"Save it for the bedroom, slut." Brooke teased her best friend and gave her a wink. "Hey, Luke, you coming to English?" As much as he wanted to walk to class with her, he needed to talk to Peyton.

"I'll catch up with you." he said

"Okay, see ya." she smile and gave a slight wave.

"Hey, Peyton. Can we talk?" Lucas asked.

"Sure thing, Luke. Jake.." Jake nodded in approval, knowing that Peyton wanted him to go elsewhere. "What's up?"

"How do I go about this whole Brooke situation? I want to tell her how I feel, but I don't want to scare her. I mean, she's probably still tender from the whole deal with you and me before. But, it's killing me not to be able to kiss her again or hold her hand. I just want her, Peyton." Lucas breathed an agitated sigh.

"Luke, Brooke is definitely scared about getting hurt again. I think she still likes you; I've seen how she looks at you, even when you don't notice it. She needs to have complete confirmation that you won't hurt her again, so prove yourself." Peyton stated knowingly.

"I guess you're right. Thanks, Peyt." Lucas walked away, smiling towards his ex-girlfriend as he turned away.

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"Owch!" Brooke yelled, as she winced at the feel of paper hit her head. "Really? Who throws paper airplanes anymore? This isn't 5th grade, guys." Brooke turned around in disgust, looking for the culprit. She eyed Lucas and he winked at her, mouthing 'read it' to her. She picked the plane up off the floor and opened it. It read: 'fancy going to the carnival later?' Brooke turned around and gave Lucas a nod and flashed him a smile. She was excited until she thought 'oh shit, wait.. am I going on a date with Lucas Scott?'