A/N: Alright, so I just recently registered and I love writing AU fanfics so I thought I would share one of them with you guys! (LP)
Chapter 1: Welcome To the South
Church. My father and I went to church every Sunday at 7 a.m. You could never skip it. If you did, my father would always say "God doesn't bless people who go to Church when they feel like it." Of course I didn't complain. I couldn't is what I should say. You see, my family has been through a lot. From my mother dying when I was 14 years old to my father trying to keep up with the farm. Things get harder and harder each day. It's just him and me, me and him. Us against the world.
I help out a lot on the farm. He does most of it, but I do as much as I can to try and help him out. He always tells me that I do a lot for him, but I don't think I do nearly enough. I think he's just trying to make me feel better considering the fact that I'll ask him every 5 minutes if he needs anything. He'll simply reply, "No thanks dear."
Most of the time I fill my days with drawing. I draw pretty much everything but mostly my 9 year old horse Faith. My mother named her which is why she is my favorite. My mom was always a firm believer in God. When I would lose hope in something, she would bend down on one knee, put a stray curl behind my ear and tell me "Honey. Never lose faith. It comes from the most unexpected places." I never really understood what she meant when would tell me that. But I know now. Faith and hope are everywhere. You just have to believe that.
My mother is the main reason why my father and I go to Church. When she was alive, she would grab the cowbell and shake it while screaming "Everybody up! Time for Church!" I would pull the covers over my head due to the fact that it was 6:15 in the morning. I hated that she would do that to us. Now, I would give anything to hear her do it again.
Our farm is 300 acres of agricultural land. We have your typical animals that are expected to be on a farm; chickens, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, geese, horses, ducks, and roosters. Of course I can't forget one of my favorites Jack. Jack is our sheepdog. He's a big help. Jack is like a human with fur. He knows how you feel and can easily make your day better. I love him for that.
"Peyton! Get your skinny legs down here! We gotta go to Church!"
It was only a matter of time before he was going to do that. I pull the covers off of me. "Ok! I gotta get ready!" I yell back. He's not going to be very happy with me considering the fact that I was supposed to be ready 10 minutes ago.
"Come on Peyton. I woke you up a half hour ago. You know I hate being late!" my father yelled up the stairs.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll hurry!" I managed to say with a toothbrush in my mouth. Gargle, spit, rinse. I wash my face quickly and run to my room where I get out a simple black dress. Nothing special. I pull my hair out of its pony tail and run my fingers through my curls quickly.
"Peyton Hurry! We're going to be.."
"Ready!" I said jumping from the top of the stairs. I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he stared at me dumbfounded. "Come on, Dad. You don't want to be late, do you?" I say laughing as I imitate him.
"You are one of a kind, Peyton Sawyer," my father says as he wraps his arm around my shoulder and kisses the left side of my forehead.
We arrive at St. James Church. The same Church I was baptized in, recieved communion in, was confirmed in, and would probably end up getting married in. We ran through the doors and sat in the last pew. We had to genuflect while doing the sign of the cross. Church was the same as every Sunday. We lived in a small town and this was the only Church in our town so everyone knew everyone. News always spread like a wild fire. You knew everything about everyone in a matter of minutes. Gossip always ran wild even in Church.
After the last song, the pastor gets up to preach. I expect this part to be really dull just like everytime he gets up to speak, but surprisingly I'm not bored at all. Mostly, he's just telling a story. It's about this rich guy who cancels a big debt his slave owes him. The slave acts all thankful and contrite, for about 5 minutes, until he runs into a slave buddy who owes him a measly bit of money. Instead of forgetting about the buddy's debt, he has the guy thrown into jail until he can pay up. How he was supposed to get the money in prison isn't quite clear, but at this point in the story I'm distracted by a guy who's looking at me from the other side of the Church. I look away, since flirting in church is probably a sin. Besides, the guy seems way to sure of himself.
Everyone stands when the pastor says the service is over. My father and I step out of the pew and walk toward the exit. We are then stopped when my Dad's friend Brad stops us to say hello. Brad lives down the street and his house is the one closest to ours. I guess you could call him our neighbor even though he lives half a mile away. He's the only house that's next to ours. See, I told you it's a pretty small town.
"Larry, Peyton. How are you guys?" Brad asks as he shakes my fathers hand and smiles at me.
"Good, good. How about yourself? Haven't seen you in a while," my father says.
I stood there thinking 'What are you talking about Dad? We just saw him two days ago.' But then again my father is used to seeing him everyday because he helps us out a lot with the farm.
"I've been good. Really good. My nephew's here and is staying with me this summer. He's going to help out with the farm. He's a real handy man. Knows how to milk a cow better than anyone I know which is really ironic because he's a city boy. Hey come to think of it, I think he's right around your age Peyton. He's 19 and his name is Lucas. He was just here a minute ago." Brad looks around for him, but he's no where in sight.
"Oh! Look at that Peyt. You got yourself a little friend you can hang around with this summer," my dad said grabbing my shoulder and tapping it lightly.
I smile pretending to be interested and excited.
"Well, Listen Larry. You don't mind if I bring him by the barbeque later on do you?" Brad asked.
"No. No. Not at all. He could keep Peyton company so she doesn't have to hang out with that one girl. What's her name, Peyton?" he said turning to me.
"Brooke. She's my friend dad," I say raising one eyebrow.
"Right. Brooke. That's her name. Well, we gotta head out. I'll see you around 12 Brad. Take care," he said shaking his hand again.
"You too, Larry. See you later, Peyton."
"Bye."
When we arrived home, I changed into ripped jeans and a plaid button up shirt.Yeah, that's me. Your typical farm girl. After I finished changing, I started to clean up a little bit. My father hated when it was a mess when we were going to have company over. I washed dishes, cleaned the barn, and brought in some corn from the fields. I washed it and gave it to my father who started to cook on the grill. I poured him some lemonade and sat in one of the chairs. I wanted to keep him company.
"What's on your mind, Peyton?" he asked me. He always seemed to know when something was wrong with me.
"Mom. I miss her so much."
"I miss her too Peyton. But you know she's so proud of you right now. Don't you forget that." He turned and smiled at me.
"I know she is. I just wish she could be here with us."
"She is, Peyton. Everyday."
I smiled at his last comment. He always knew the right things to say that could touch my heart and I loved him for it. Our heart-to-heart talk was interrupted when I heard the doorbell ring. My dad was setting his plate down, but I motioned for him to stay.
"I'll get it."
I whistled as I went to the front door. I opened and to my surprise it was Brad and his nephew, the one who had been staring at me in Church. He was a lot taller when he stood right in front of me, so I have to look up. He's wearing faded jeans and a white T-shirt.
"Well, Hi there Peyton. You're looking prettier than ever!" Brad said while greeting me with a hug.
"Thanks Brad."
"This is my nephew, Lucas. Lucas this is Peyton, Larry's girl."
"Hi," I say reaching my hand out to shake his.
"Hi Peyton," Lucas replies.
I can't deny that he is very handsome. He has sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His skin has a slightly bronze tint to it. He looks as if he works out a lot. I suddenly feel embarrassed when I realize that I am still shaking his hand. I quickly pull away. He smiles as he notices me blushing. I look around the room and notice that Brad has left us alone in the living room. He must have went out back with my Dad. Great. I don't even know what to say. I need to say something. Anything.
"Umm, so where are you from?" I ask him.
"Chicago," is all he says.
"Oh. Big city."
"Yeah, I guess."
I want to disappear, but Lucas doesn't take a hint. He just keeps standing there. Then a sly smile creeps onto his face and I can't help but notice how cute he is. I push the thought aside.
"So I guess it's true what they say about Southern girls?" Lucas says tilting his head to the side.
"What's that?" I ask, in spite of myself.
"How friendly you are." He's being sarcastic. I can tell.
I don't know what to say, so I started to walk out to the back where I noticed more people arrived. I could feel that Lucas was following dangerously close behind me, but I pretended not to notice. I walked over by my Dad who was talking to Brad. I pretended like I was listening to their conversation, but the truth is I was just trying to get away from Lucas. I didn't know what I was going to say to him. He made me really nervous and we had just met. What was anyone supposed to talk about when you don't even know the person?
"Lucas! Come here!" Brad called to him.
Lucas walked over and grinned at me on his way. What was I supposed to do? I counldn't just walk away. Then he would know that I was avoiding him. So I stayed right where I was next to my Dad, avoiding making eye contact with Lucas.
"Larry was just telling me that he's been falling behind on the farm. He needs some help. Are you interested?" Brad asked his nephew.
"Of course I'd be paying you," my Dad added to Brad's statement.
"Oh, I'm very interested."
I could tell that he was looking at me, but I kept my eyes fixed on the ground, studying the leaves and dirt intensely.
"Great! I need help with the animals mostly and some yard work? Do you think you could come by tomorrow morning?"
"Sure. First thing."
I could here him walk away and I quickly look up. He looks back at me and winks. I can't help but smile.
"He's a nice boy," my father says elbowing my lightly.
"Dad, Stop!" I say starting to blush.
"Yeah, he's real good. He's a big help to. He can do just about anything when it comes to working on the farm," Brad says.
"I can tell. He looks like he works really hard," my dad says, "Hey, Brad could you go get me those paper plates on the kitchen counter inside?"
"Sure. I'll be right back."
I started to walk away to go talk to my friend Brooke who had just arrived, but my Dad stops me.
"Not so fast young lady." He grabs my arm gently.
"Why? What did I do?"
"Well for starters Lucas doesn't even know anyone and your treating him like he's got the plague or something."
"No I'm not."
"Oh really? Is that why everytime he comes over here, you can't even look at him."
"I do so look at him," I say raising my voice a little.
"Watch your tone!" I quickly apologize. "Look. Just go talk to him or something so he doesn't have to sit by himself."
"Ok. Ok. I will. I'm sorry."
"It's ok."
I turn away from my Dad to go look for Lucas. I can't find him anywhere which is a surprise because I would have expected him to be watching my lke he had been since he walked in. I turn my head and see him enter the barn. I follow after him. I enter the barn and see him with my horse Faith. He pets her mane of hair and talks to her in a sweet voice. I lean against the entrance of the barn with my arms folded across my chest as I watch him. His voice is gentle and soft the way he talks to her.
"You ride?" I interrupt his conversation with Faith.
He looks at me like he I was the last person he was expecting to see. "Hmm?"
"Horses. Do you ride horses?" I ask him.
"Not really. You?"
"Mmm-hmm. Her name is Faith. She's my favorite out of all of them," I say to Lucas as I walk toward him slowly.
"She's beautiful," he says staring at the deep black horse.
"I know."
"Maybe you could teach me sometime?" Lucas asks.
"We'll see," is all I say.
There's an awkward silence between us for about two minutes but then I finally break it.
"So of all places you could've went to over summer, why'd you pick here? I mean you're from the city. Why come to a small town like this?" I ask him.
"Because it's peaceful."
"What do you mean?"
"It's different here and I always wanted to live on a farm."
"Makes sense."
Our converstion is interrupted when my Dad calls everyone for dinner. "TIME TO EAT!" He yells at the top of his lungs.
I walk out of the barn as Lucas follows. My dad sees me with Lucas and winks at me. I know what he's thinking; that he's thanking me for keeping Lucas company. I hear someone call my name. I look around.
"Peyton!"
I see Brooke, my best friend.
"Oh hey."
"Who was that guy you were just with?" she asks me as we sit down together.
"Oh, that's Lucas, Brad's nephew. He's going to be helping out on the farm. Why?"
"Because he's so hot. It's about time someone good looking comes to this town. I'm so sick of the boys here. How long is he staying?"
"The whole summer."
"Excellent! You don't mind if I talk to him, do you?"
"Um, yeah sure. Go ahead."
"Great. Your the best!"
I watch Brooke walk up to Lucas and can't help but get a little jealous. You see, Brooke always got the guys and me, well I was always second best. She's smiling and flirting with him. It's the same thing with every guy. She'll flip her hair, smile a lot, and touch him more than she needs to. I've seen it too many times. I know her routine by now. Lucas smiles at her as she talks to him. He then glances over at me. I quickly turn away not wanting him to notice that I was watching them.
"Hey Jack," I said as my sheepdog put his head on my lap.
He looks up at me. "She always gets the guy, doesn't she buddy?"
Jack could tell I was upset. I knew he could because he was by my Dad most of the time but always came by me whenever something was bothering me. Call me crazy but I think he's the only one who understands me somtimes. I look back at Brooke and Lucas. She plays with his hair. I sigh and lift my shoulders. It's not that I was jealous of Brooke, it's just that she was always the master when it came to guys.
It was about 11 when everyone finally decided to go home. Brooke had given Lucas her number. I changed into some comfy shorts and a loose-fitted T-shirt. I put my hair into a messy ponytail as I was walking down the stairs. I looked to my right to see that Brooke was still here.
"Brooke? What are you doing sitting there?" I asked confused.
"Waiting for you duh!"
"I thought you left."
"Nope, still here."
"I can see that. How'd things go with Lucas?" I ask curiously.
"Good! Great! Amazing! We're going out tomorrow night. Am I something or what?" she asked with a huge smile.
"Yeah, you're something alright." I can't believe it. She just met him and she already has a date with him. That's Brooke for you, jumping straight for the guns.
"I don't know where I'm going to take him. Like he's from the city and I know nothing about that stuff, ya know?"
"Well, Brookie you're in luck because he loves the 'Farm Life.' "
"So what do you suggest?"
"He did want me to teach him to ride a horse, but maybe you could do it."
"Ughhh Peyton! I don't know how to horseback, you know that!"
"Oh yeah. Sorry I forgot. Why don't you just invite him over to your house and you guys could watch a movie or something?"
"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, You are my savior! Why didn't I think of that?" Brooke says as she slaps her forehead.
"Because you're not as smart as me." I say sarcastically.
She slaps my arm. "Alright, I'm gonna get going. I'll call you tomorrow and tell you how my date goes. Love ya!" Brooke says blowing kisses at me.
I pretend to catch them in my hand.
I walk up the stairs and check on my Dad who is already sleeping. It was a long day for both of us. I fall down onto my bed and push the thoughts aside about Brooke and Lucas. I mean it's not like I would've actually dated him. Besides he was going to be gone at the end of the Summer. I lay my head on my pillow and quickly fall asleep.
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