2004 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

Nathan Scott walked into the kitchen of his apartment with just a lilac towel wrapped around his waist. He had just walked out of his bedroom. Amber's candles were everywhere. She hadn't left yet, but she had a lot of her things packed in her suitcase for when she was ready to leave.

"Brianna, we seriously have to hide the matches from your Pyro sister," Nathan said. He didn't realize that his wife wasn't at home. Instead, Amber was, and she walked out of the bathroom at Nathan's words, in one of her sister's shirts. Nathan was blowing the candles out, and Amber's clothes were also all over the living room.

"Be grateful it's just candles. When we were kids, I set fire to our bunk beds." Amber said, and Nathan turned around when he heard her voice.

"Look, where's Brianna? And does she know that you're wearing her shirt?" Nathan asked.

"At school," Amber said, browsing through the fridge for something to eat. "And no, I needed a beach cover-up." She said, putting some things into her duffel bag, she was going out to the beach with some people. "I borrowed some cash, for beer, I hope you don't mind." She said.

Nathan couldn't even give a response before Amber walked out of the house, and then from the counter, Brianna's laptop dinged and Nathan sighed as he looked at it. "And, she left the computer on." He said, and he walked to the island of the kitchen and sat down in front of it. "Love having you, Amber. Come visit anytime." He said sarcastically, and then he looked at the message that had been sent to Brianna.

EWellington: Got your message. Don't think I can leave you alone.

Nathan frowned when he saw this message and made a decision. He clicked on Brianna's 'sent items' and found the email chain between Brianna and Ethan and the title was.

Miss you, thinking of you! Following the messages were a string of messages that Ethan had sent to Brianna, and seeing them did not make Nathan happy.

EWellington: Don't waste your talent. They still haven't found someone to play Belle. You can still come audition.

EWellington: I want to kiss you.

EWellington: The worst subway ride ever, but I'm glad you're thinking about me.

EWellington: You're too talented. Come be with me. Come be in this musical with me! Your audience awaits.

The messages shocked Nathan, he couldn't believe that Ethan was saying all of these things to his wife and he also couldn't believe that Brianna was letting him say these things. Nathan looked at all the messages once again and he let out a deep exhale.

He was ready to go in on Ethan.

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Brianna was at school, putting her coat inside of her locker and grabbing the books that she needed. She noticed that she had missed quite a bit of school lately, but not enough to where she would fall behind. Since she didn't go to New York with Ethan, she was set to do Macbeth with Ethan's understudy, and rehearsing with him didn't feel the same. Even their director, Griffin knew it was off, but he and Brianna both knew they had to deal with it.

Haley was standing with Brianna and they were talking about their dilemmas when Eptyon approached. She had been out of town with Jake, that's what Brooke told her. "Hey, P. Sawyer! Brooke told me you were out of town with Jake... fill me in on all the dirt," Brianna teased. Peyton softly smiled at her, but then she turned to Haley.

"Uh... Haley is the only one who has any," Peyton said. Brianna raised an eyebrow. She wasn't sure what she meant by that. Brianna also turned to Haley. "Um, I have to ask you something," Peyton said.

"Yeah?" Haley asked.

"Did you kiss Chris?" Peyton asked. Brianna's eyes widened.

"How did you know about that?" Haley asked.

"That is seriously not important," Peyton said. Brianna frowned. She wanted to say something because Haley was dating her brother, but Brianna also knew she had no leg to stand on because she let Ethan kiss her.

"It was like a... goodbye kiss," Haley said.

"Haley, what is going on with you? You know how ugly everything got with me, Brooke, and Lucas, and there were no wedding rings in that scenario," Peyton said and Brianna frowned.

"Well, while we're confessing, Ethan kissed me before he left for Broadway," Brianna said.

"What is with you two!?" Peyton asked and Brianna frowned.

"I didn't kiss him back, but I was also so shocked that I didn't immediately push him away. It didn't mean anything to me," Brianna said.

"Yeah, Chris kissing me didn't mean anything to me," Haley said. Peyton frowned as she looked at her friends and shook her head.

"A kiss always means something,"

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Brianna was sitting at one of the outside tables doing homework. She liked to stay ahead. But she was still thinking about what Peyton said. She knows that Ethan kissing her didn't mean anything to her, because she loves Nathan and knows that she loves him. Ethan can't take that away from her.

"You talk to your folks lately?" Nathan Scott asked. Brianna looked up and smiled when she saw her husband. He sat down across from her.

"Uh, yeah, actually, I have. I finally told them I married you. My mom lectured me for two hours and emailed me annulment papers. I deleted the email," Brianna said as she shrugged. She was pissed when her Mom sent her annulment papers. She wasn't even going to entertain the idea.

"What about Ethan?" Nathan asked as he set a stack of papers in front of his wife. Brianna picked them up and when she saw that it was her emails with Ethan, her eyes widened.

"You went through my emails?" She asked.

"What is this, Brianna?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing. I sent him one email asking how auditions went, of course, I'd be curious," Brianna said.

"It looks like a lot more than one email to me," Nathan said. Brianna sighed. She knew what she was about to do and she already hated herself for it. She knew what they said, one lie leads to another, which leads to another, and then you're telling a bunch of lies to cover the first one.

"Amber must have sent these from my account because... yeah, look at the dates. They all started after she got here, and this one was sent when I was at work," Brianna said as she pointed to one of the emails.

"So you didn't kiss Ethan?" Nathan asked.

"Amber is just stirring up trouble, like always," Brianna lied and she immediately hated herself for it. She hated that she was throwing Amber under the bus when she knew none of it was her fault.

"Okay. I'm gonna tell her to leave, then. That cool with you?" Nathan asked. His last attempt was to get Brianna to tell the truth because he could tell she was holding back. And it wasn't cool with Brianna for Amber to be kicked out, but she knew if she said no, Nathan would be even more suspicious.

"Yeah. She should go," Brianna said as she slowly nodded.

"Alright."

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"Hey," Brianna caught back up to Haley and looped her arm through hers.

"Hey," Haley said, and then she frowned. "I thought you'd be mad at me," She said and Brianna shook her head.

"What right do I have to be?" Brianna asked as she sighed. "Nathan found out that Ethan kissed me," She said.

"What? How?" Haley asked.

"My idiot sister. You remember Amber, right? Taylor is her best friend," Brianna said and Haley grimaced. "She was emailing Ethan under my screen name because apparently, the drama in her own life isn't enough. Nathan found the emails," Brianna said and Haley's eyes widened.

"Gosh. How did Nathan take it?" Haley asked and Brianna sighed.

"Um... I told him that Amber made it all up," Brianna said as she frowned. Haley gave her a sympathetic look.

"So you lied again?" Haley asked and she didn't sound as judgmental as Peyton did earlier.

"Yeah, and I feel horrible about it. But what's the point of telling Nathan? Ethan is out of my life. He's in New York. Nathan would feel worse if he knew the truth." Brianna said. 

"What is the truth?" Haley asked.

"Ethan and I are connected through theater. He understands that part of me in a way that Nathan doesn't," Brianna said and Haley sighed.

"That's how I feel with Chris. I love Beckham, but Chris understands the musical side of me that Beckham doesn't," Haley said and Brianna nodded.

"If Chris were in town would you be into him?" Haley asked.

"No, no, of course not, I love Beckham. Would you be into Ethan if he were still here?" Haley asked and Brianna shook her head.

"No. I know I should've stopped him as soon as I saw him leaning in, but I was just so shocked that it was happening. It was a mistake," Brianna said.

"So the connection is strictly theatre?" Haley asked and Brianna nodded.

"That's all it is. I love Nathan, more than anything."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Brianna was back at home. She knew Nathan was home too, he was either in the bedroom or the bathroom. She was sitting at her writers' station, trying to work on the play she had been writing, but she let out a deep exhale. She couldn't focus. She had been thinking about the lies she had told, her conversations with Haley and Peyton, and she hated herself even more for wanting to reach out to Ethan to see how things were. Then the front door opened and Amber walked in.

"I was beginning to think you skipped town and left all your stuff," Brianna teased as she laughed. Amber sat down on the couch and rolled her eyes.

"What do you care if I haven't been around? You're kicking me out, right?" Amber asked and Brianna sighed.

"Drop the attitude, Amber. You brought this on yourself. You've pulled a lot of crap over the years, but emailing Ethan as me... even Brooke wouldn't go that low, and she's gone pretty low. I just can't believe you'd be such a conniving little bitch," Brianna snapped as she turned around.

"Hey! You're the bitch who's letting a guy who is not your husband kiss you," Amber hissed as she walked over to her sister. "You need a scapegoat? Fine. Let Nathan think this is all on me, but you and I both know that kiss happened, Brianna, and no matter how much you try and blame me, it won't alleviate your guilt over lying to your husband," Amber snapped. Brianna hung her head, because she felt horrible, and she knew Amber was right.

Brianna lifted her head when she heard Nathan's footsteps coming into the room. She stood up from her desk chair and walked over to Nathan and hugged him. "Hey, have a bear claw, brother," Amber said as she held the box out to him. "We're celebrating, I'm leaving tonight," She said as she gave her sister a pointed look. They heard a knock on the door and Amber went to answer it.

"Upgrade. I'm Dan," Brianna rolled her eyes when she heard her father-in-law.

"And I'm out of your league," Amber said as she walked away from the door. Nathan had approached when he heard his father's voice.

"Wanna bet?" Dan asked back and Brianna rolled her eyes. That was disgusting.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked. Brianna noticed Dan had a box in his hands, and without answering, he threw the box to Nathan. Luckily, Nathan has good reflexes and he caught the box.

"That's the last of your stuff. Need to make some room. Lucas is moving in," Dan said. Nathan turned to his wife and they both had the same shocked expression on their faces. Why the hell would Lucas be moving in with Dan? The man who abandoned him and never acknowledged his existence for 17 years.

"Lucas is moving in with you?" Brianna asked in disbelief. Dan looked at her with a smirk.

"Yeah. I guess I'm not the devil after all. Enjoy your breakfast."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Brianna and Nathan were about to leave their apartment later that night to go to TRIC. Peyton had gotten The Wreckers to play so Brianna was really excited. Brianna was in the living room with her sister and she looked at her. "Okay, we're going out to TRIC. Are you going to be here when we get back?" Brianna asked.

"No. My ride's coming tonight," Amber said. Brianna hated this. She knew she shouldn't have put all the blame on Amber, and she knew she shouldn't have allowed Nathan to kick her out. None of it was her fault.

"Where are you going to go?" Brianna asked. She genuinely wanted to know and wanted to make sure Amber was going to be okay.

"I... met some guys starting a surf shop down in the Keys. I'll crash there for a while," Amber said.

"And then what?" Brianna asked.

"I don't know, Bree! I didn't think that far ahead," Amber said.

"Maybe you should. Why go down to the Keys when Stephanie is here?" Brianna asked and Amber scoffed.

"Yeah, because having a plan worked so well for you," Amber snapped and Brianna sighed. "As for Stephanie. I know she and Daniel don't want me in their house, not long-term anyway," She said and Brianna frowned.

"Well, listen... uh," Brianna trailed as she dug through her purse and grabbed her tip money from her wallet. "It's not much but here... it's all I have," Brianna said as she held out the cash to her sister. Amber looked at her sister, unsure and Brianna nodded. "I want you to have it," She said. Amber nodded and took the money from her sister.

"Thanks, Bree... but this won't make you feel any less guilty about Ethan," Amber said in a soft, non-judgmental tone. Brianna nodded as she looked down at the ground.

Amber was right.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

When Brianna got to TRIC and everyone was settled in, she was surprised to see Jake. He had left Tree Hill because of the drama with Nikki and Jenny, but she didn't know he was going to be coming back, but she was glad he did. She knows Peyton has been missing him a lot. "Jake! Hey!" Brianna exclaimed.

"Oh, hey!" Jake said with a smile as they hugged.

"Welcome back," Brianna said.

"Hey, where's Nathan?" Peyton asked as she approached them. Brianna turned and smiled at her friend, giving her a hug, and then she pointed over her shoulder.

"Karen needed some help with the boxes," Brianna said.

"Oh, well, I'll go help them out. I've been wanting to say hi to Karen, so I'll see you guys," Jake said. The girls nodded as he walked away and then Brianna turned to Peyton.

"Hi," Brianna said.

"Hi," Peyton responded.

"Hey!" A new voice exclaimed, the girls looked over to see Haley. Brianna smiled and hugged her and then Peyton did the same.

"Hey," Haley said.

"Hi," Peyton said with a smile.

"So, okay... this is going to sound really weird and groupie, but... I'm a huge Michelle Branch fan... I was wondering if you could introduce me?" Haley asked with a hopeful smile. Peyton smiled and wrapped her arm around Haley's shoulders.

"Yes, I'll introduce you."

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"Brianna!" She turned around when her name was called and her eyes widened at who she saw.

"Ethan. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in New York?" Brianna asked.

"I'm only here for the weekend to see my folks, and I thought I should tell you this in person," He said and Brianna raised an eyebrow.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"They still haven't found anyone for Belle... girls have been auditioning, I've done scenes with them, but they don't think any of them fit. They still want you to audition, Brianna," Ethan said and Brianna's eyes widened. She would've thought by now they would've found someone.

"What? Are you serious?" She asked.

"Look, I know that kissing you was wrong, and I'm so sorry about that, but Bree... if this is still your dream, you can still have it. Come back to New York with me after the show, and audition for the role. If you get it, you have your dream, if you don't, come back home and finish Macbeth... but don't live with the regret of not trying," Ethan said. He gave her a smile and then he walked away. Brianna sighed as she watched him go.

"What's he doing here?" Brianna quickly whipped around and saw Nathan standing behind her and he was watching Ethan walk off. She wondered how much of their conversation Nathan had just heard.

"I didn't know he was coming, he said he was in town to see his parents because I guess rehearsals will be starting and he's about to get really busy," Brianna said and Nathan nodded. Haley found them in the crowd and she sighed.

"Chris is here... opening for them," Haley said lowly for Brianna to hear. Brianna's eyes widened as she turned to Haley.

"Does Beckham know?" Brianna asked.

"He's about to find out," Haley whispered.

Peyton came onto the stage and introduced Chris right as Beckham had approached them because he saw Nathan, Brianna, and Haley. "What the hell is he doing here?" Beckham asked.

"I didn't know he was coming, I swear," Haley said and Brianna frowned.

"You guys still aren't ready for this. But I'm in a forgiving mood... this one's for you, Haley," Chris said. Haley's eyes widened while Beckham's jaw clenched. As Chris performed, Brianna could tell her brother was getting more irritated with the lyrics, especially since he dedicated the song to Haley.

"Maybe we should go," Haley whispered to her boyfriend and Beckham shook his head.

"No, no. I'm gonna waste this guy," Beckham said and he shook his head. Then Brianna looked to her side and saw Amber approaching them.

"I thought you weren't coming," Brianna said to her sister.

"My ride's running late," She said and then she pointed to Chris on stage. "Who's the stud?" She asked. Beckham's jaw clenched at her question.

"Chris," He said through a strained voice. Amber noticed the tension in his voice and nodded.

"Well... this evening just got interesting,"

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

After the night at TRIC, Haley told Brianna that The Wreckers wanted her on tour with them, to open for them with Chris, and she told Haley how Ethan told her they still haven't filled the role of Belle, and that they still want her to audition. Both girls didn't know what to do. Brianna was now walking in the front door to her apartment, Ethan's words weighing on her. She knew she had to talk to Nathan. She has a second chance to fulfill her dream.

She couldn't lose it.

"You know, now that Amber's leaving, maybe we'll have enough hot water for our own showers," Nathan teased as they walked into the apartment. Brianna softly smiled as she closed the door behind them. Then she hopped onto the counter and Nathan walked over to her and stood between her legs. Brianna wrapped her arms around her husband and hugged him tight. She knew this was going to be the last nice moment between the two of them.

"Brianna, what's wrong?" Nathan asked. Brianna almost broke down into tears at the feeling of Nathan running his hand down her back.

"Um... at TRIC, Ethan told me that they still haven't cast the role of Belle, they haven't liked any of the girls who have come to audition, and they still want me. I'm so far ahead with classes, and I'd be back in time for senior year," Brianna said. Broadway shows usually ran a few months, so she expected they would be performing all throughout the Spring and Summer.

"So says the great Ethan," Nathan said with sarcasm and Brianna sighed.

"No, this isn't about him, Nathan, it's never been about him. This is about... opportunity. I have, my entire life, been the reliable one and the dependable one... You know Brooke and you've met Amber, I had to be. I've always done precisely what's expected of me so I didn't rock an already fragile boat," Brianna said.

"Until we got married," He said.

"Exactly! Until we got married. For the first time, that was me doing something for me... something that I wanted... and the world didn't end. I have that chance again," Brianna said.

"If you leave me..." Nathan warned and Brianna frowned.

"Nathan... I'm not leaving you. This is not the end for us. This is my shot to find out if I'm good enough to have a life in musical theatre... or if school plays and productions are all I get," Brianna said as she frowned.

"And this has nothing to do with Ethan?" Nathan asked and Brianna shook her head.

"No, absolutely not," She said. Nathan snorted while shaking his head. Brianna didn't like it, she was starting to see the Nathan she used to loathe.

"Then why haven't you asked me to come with you?" Nathan asked. Brianna was shocked by the question. She didn't think to ask Nathan to come with her because he has High Flyers, and she didn't think he would want to go with her. Rehearsals would be all day, performances are 7-8x per week. What would Nathan do? "Did you kiss him?" He asked after Brianna remained silent.

"He kissed me... I didn't kiss him back, but I didn't stop him either," Brianna whispered after a while. The sadness in Nathan's eyes made hers water. She never wanted to hurt him, but she couldn't keep lying to him. "I'm sorry... you have to believe me. The only reason I didn't stop him is because I was so in shock that it was even happening in the first place," Brianna said.

"Brianna, listen... If you want to go, you should go. But if you do," Nathan trailed as he unwrapped Brianna's arms from his neck and took a step back. "We're done," He said and Brianna's eyes widened. She couldn't even respond.

He left the apartment.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Brianna Davis-Scott sat on her bed, thinking about Nathan's ultimatum. She loves theater, and she loves Nathan as well, but she couldn't believe that he said if she went to New York, their relationship would be over. She sat in the middle of her bed, hugging her pillow with tears running fastly down her cheeks. Her older sister Amber entered her bedroom and she sat down behind her little sister and gently rubbed her shoulder.

"I know what it's like to search for something more, Bree-Bree," Amber said with a soft smile, and then she started to run her fingers through her sister's hair. "That's why I'm always running. But then, I've never had a Nathan to come home to."

Meanwhile

Nathan Scott walked down the street to no particular destination. He knew deep down what he said to Brianna wasn't fair, but the only reason he said it was because he really didn't want her to leave. He knows that her theater is a big deal for her.

But he didn't want to lose her to it.

Nathan walked past the street market docks and he stopped and stared at the benches. It was nearly one year ago when he and Brianna sat here for their first tutoring session at the beginning of their junior year, which was now starting to come to an end, and Nathan was sent back into a flashback of their first moment.

flashback

"Ugh, please let this be a cheat sheet," Nathan said. Brianna rolled her eyes and looked back at her books until he started talking again. "It's for you." He said.

Brianna looked up to see he was holding a purple bracelet, with some pink, red, and green little flower-looking 'charms' on it, and she rolled her eyes. "Stop it." She said.

Nathan shook his head. "Come on." Brianna sighed and held her arm out. He slid the bracelet onto her arm, and as his fingers grazed across her wrist, she pulled her hand back, as she felt a warm chill go across her skin the moment he touched her.

"Don't say I never gave you anything."

Present Day

Nathan Scott, realizing what a huge mistake he made, took off running in the direction that was back towards his home. He ran as fast as he could, hoping Brianna would still be there when he got back, despite what he said to her, and the choice he tried to force her into. He wanted to take it all back, and he needed her forgiveness.

When he ran inside the house, he started to look around while taking in deep breaths to try and regain his. He saw a shadow move in their bedroom and he let out a breath of relief hoping that Brianna was still there.

"Bree?" He called out. Much to Nathan's disappointment, instead of his wife walking out of the bedroom, her sister Amber walked out instead and she wore a small, but sad smile on her face as she looked at Nathan, knowing her words were about to break his heart.

"I'm sorry, Nathan... she's gone."

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and brianna goes to broadway. again, don't get all nitpicky, it's a fictional story, it just has to fit her story. 

don't forget to vote/comment. 

xoxo.