(Open scene to Lucas standing at Peyton's front door)
knock knock (no answer) knock knock
Lucas waited by Peyton's front door, patiently, secretly hoping that she was just applying the finishing touches to her make-up for their senior prom. He waited by the door with a corsage in one hand, and the other placed in his pocket around a small jewellry box which he had picked up from the store earlier.
He slowly released the jewellry box and knocked again, this time more forcefully in case she hadn't heard him the first time because she was listening to her music. Again he waited silently.
After another couple of minutes he stepped back from the door and looked up at the house hoping to see a sign that somebody was inside. He could see that her bedroom light was turned on, but whether anybody was inside would remain a mystery behind the drawn curtains.
Lucas stepped towards the door again. However, instead of knocking he took the handle in his hand and turned it slowly. He held his breath as he gently pushed the door forward, praying that it had been left unlocked as it often was.
"Damn" Lucas muttered under his breath when the door didn't budge. Not that long ago this door had almost always been open to those who Peyton loved, however, that was before she had met her brother Derek. At least, that was before she had met who she thought was Derek. Peyton made the mistake of broadcasting her search for her brother over the internet, hoping that maybe he would be watching and would make contact with her. What Peyton had failed to consider was the possibility that there could be someone watching that she wouldn't want to meet, someone who was just biding their time until she provided him with the perfect way to enter into her life. What she didn't realize was that she had done just that.
Since Peyton had discovered the truth about the person she thought was her brother, the door was more often than not locked, something which Lucas now cursed when he wanted so much to see her.
Lucas took his phone out of his other trouser pocket and dialed Peyton's cell number. He listened as the phone rang, first for one minute, then two. Finally, Peyton's voice came onto the line...
"Hey, you've reached Peyton, sorry I can't answer your call right now, but I'll try and get back to you as soon as I can."
Lucas listened to the message and waited for the beep before speaking into the phone, "Hey, it's me. I guess you decided not to come to the prom after all. Listen, Peyton, I understand that if after everything that's happened you can't face Brooke and Nathan, but I'm here for you if you need me, and I would really like to share a dance with the girl I love."
Lucas paused trying to find the words to convince Peyton to come to prom, not for him, but for her. Lucas was worried that if she missed it, she would regret it later on. However, as much as Lucas tried to think of something, he just couldn't.
"I love you Peyton, please call me, ok?"
Lucas stepped back from the door once more, and again stared up at the light in the window above. He dropped his head slowly and began to make his way back to his car feeling defeated. He gradually sat down behind the wheel and stayed there for a few moments, hoping that any second now he would see the front door slowly open and Peyton appear from behind it. When it didn't, Lucas half-heartedly turned the key in the ignition and drove away from the house towards Tree Hill High School and the prom.
(Inside the house)
As all this was happening outside, little did Lucas know that Derek; at least the impostor Derek, had stood only feet away, shielded by Peyton's front door and waiting until the time came when Lucas would finally give up, and he would have Peyton all to himself.
That time had come now, and as Derek heard Lucas' car pull away, he looked down at Peyton's cell in his hand, the phone registering one missed call. Then he turned his head slowly and stared at the unconscious form of Peyton lying at his feet, and then he smiled.