Never Let Me Go

Chapter Ten: Ours

"Seems like there's always someone who disapproves,
They'll judge it like they know about me and you,
And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do,
The jury's out,
And my choice is you..."

*****

"Lucas, wake up! Your mom is coming home from New Zealand today," Brooke exclaimed.

It had been a month since Karen had left Tree Hill to visit her boyfriend, Andy Hargrove, in his native country but it felt like years. So much had happened in the time she'd been gone.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," Lucas muttered, sleepily. "What time is it?"

"11:27am exactly," Brooke informed him. "Your mom's flight lands at about 2:30 this afternoon."

"So, why am I awake now?" Lucas asked, unhappy about the rude awakening.

"Well, since Karen is coming home, we kinda won't be able to share the same bed anymore," she explained, "so I was kinda thinking we could make the most of it for the next few hours..."

"Oh, I like the sound of that," Lucas said with a smirk, pulling Brooke down on top of him with one quick motion.

*****

After a long while of passionate kissing, Brooke looked at the alarm clock on Lucas' bedside table. It read 2:51pm.

"Lucas, please tell me your alarm clock is like an hour fast," Brooke silently prayed.

"No, it isn't. How come?" He replied.

As Lucas responded, his bedroom door opened. "Honey, I'm hom-" Karen stopped in her tracks, as she saw the two teenagers lying in bed together, only bed-sheets covering their naked bodies. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry," she exclaimed, quickly exiting the room and slamming the door behind her. "Meet me out here in 5 minutes. Both of you," she yelled from behind the closed door.

Both Lucas and Brooke had turned an unimaginably bright shade of red. "That was SO embarrassing! Your mom is never going to let me carry on living here now," she said to Lucas frantically, as she started pulling on her clothes.

"Brooke, trust me, this is definitely way more embarrassing for me. But, we'll figure something out about you staying here, I promise." He pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt, planting a gentle kiss on Brooke's lips and grasping her hand. "Shall we?" He asked, ushering for the door. Brooke gave a gentle nod and walked out of Lucas' bedroom, her boyfriend following behind her.

Karen was sat on the brown couch in the lounge, looking towards the wooden floor and twiddling her thumbs. "Mom..." Lucas began cautiously, "we are so sorry about this."

"I thought I said no funny business!" Karen yelled. "How could you be so reckless and disobedient?"

"Because we're in love, Miss Roe," Brooke stated. "I'm madly in love with your son and I have been since before we even met for the first time, after Lucas' car crash. And he feels the same way about me."

Karen's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Lucas, is this true?"

"Yes, mom. It's very true," he admitted, moving closer to Brooke and putting his arm around her. "We're together now. We have been for a few weeks."

Karen sat down on the couch again and sighed. "Well at least I can say I'm glad you waited until you were in love, but it doesn't change the fact that you lied to me about being just friends and that you disobeyed me.

"I understand, Karen," Brooke said proudly, "and I will move out and find my own place, if that's what it takes to make you more comfortable with mine and Lucas's relationship."

Karen looked up at the loving couple stood in front of her. "I hate to say it, Brooke but I think that might be for the best."

"What?!" Lucas said, angrily. "You can't just kick her out on the street like that!"

"Lucas, it's okay," Brooke said, soothingly, placing her hand on the side of his head and stroking his cheek softly with her thumb. "I've had my eye on Nathan and Haley's old apartment for a while now, I'll just check if it's still available to let."

Karen sighed. "Thank you for your co-operation, Brooke. You're a lovely, smart young women." Karen stood up and hugged the brunette cheerleader.

"It's no problem at all, really. Just call it repayment for letting me stay here in the first place." She smiled sweetly at her boyfriend's mother, before retreating to the bedroom to pack away her belongings.

*****

"I am... never... carrying another... box of clothes... upstairs... ever again... EVER!" Mouth panted, sweat dripping from his forehead, as he leaned on the kitchen island of Brooke's new apartment.

"You might have to..." Brooke explained apologetically, chucking a cool bottle of water to her friend. "But first, a five minute break."

Mouth caught the water bottle and opened it, gulping down several mouthfuls of the cool liquid inside, then sealing the lid once again. "So, how are things going with Luke?" Mouth asked the girl he had once been in love with.

"Things are going surprisingly great, actually. I've got my own place now and there's no boyfriend/best friend scandals going on, that I know of. I feel like this might actually be it now, Mouth. I think I've found the one. I have a really great feeling about how this is all gonna turn out." The cheerleader opened up to one of her closest friends. "How are things with you, Mouth?"

"Pretty good too, thanks. When I'm not lugging your boxes upstairs, I'm dating Erica Marsh," Mouth informed Brooke.

"No way!" Brooke exclaimed in disbelief. "You're dating Erica and you haven't told me about it?!"

"I just figured that, since you two don't really get on, you'd be mad at me for dating her," Mouth said sadly.

"Mouth," Brooke began, "Erica and I might not be best friends, but me and you are and I am so incredibly happy for you. You deserve to be happy and, if Erica makes you happy, then I'm happy too." Brooke engulfed Mouth in a gigantic hug. He appreciated her friendship, she had never let labels and cliques get in the way of them being friends.

His thoughts were interrupted by Brooke clapping in front of his face. "Don't mean to bother you, Mouth but those boxes full of clothes won't carry themselves upstairs. But, just because I know how much you hate it, I'll throw in an extra 30 bucks in cash."

"Sold!" Mouth yelled, rushing down the stairs to collect another box, filled with designer clothes.

On the way downstairs, Mouth bumped into Lucas, who was walking up the stairs. "Sorry, Luke. No time to chat, I've got clothes to carry."

"No worries, Mouth. I'll come down and help you in a moment, after I've spoken to Brooke," Lucas informed him, before continuing to climb up the steps.

Lucas gently knocked on the open door, brushing a hand through his blonde hair.

"Broody! I've missed you," Brooke declared, getting on her tip-toes to plant a kiss on Lucas' lips.

"I've missed you too, Cheery," Lucas told Brooke, earnestly.

"So," Brooke began, "try out the couch."

"Um, okay," Lucas said, slightly confused, sitting down on the couch. "Yeah, it's a nice couch?"

"No," Brooke replied seductively, clambering onto Lucas' lap, "I said, try out the couch." She began kissing Lucas passionately.

Just as things were getting heated, Brooke's phone began to ring. It was Peyton.

Brooke answered. "Hey P. Sawyer, what's up?"

"Brooke," Peyton responded frantically, "it's Jenny. She's gone missing."