So, I've been working on this for a little while. It was originally going to be a one-shot, but I think honestly the reason I've been struggling so much is because this doesn't work as a one-shot. That being said, I think this is going to be a short multi-chapter story. Please let me know what you think of this beginning. I could really use the feedback.
You To Me Are Everything
Lucas slung his duffle bag over his shoulder, and headed across to the door of his mother's bedroom. "So Ma, I'm gonna take off, OK?" His announcement was met with silence. Lucas shared a glance with Peyton, who stood by the door. She leaned heavily on the crutches given to her since she was shot in the leg inside the school. Thankfully, the doctor told her after some extensive physical therapy, she would be alright.
Peyton sent Lucas a sympathetic glance. Karen had been completely non-communicative after Keith's sudden death. She wasn't eating, sleeping, or bathing. Lucas didn't want to leave her side; in fact it was Peyton, Skills, Nathan, and Haley who convinced Lucas to go on the trip to Rachel's family cabin. She had invited the whole lot, including Brooke, to go to heal, and maybe even find a few answers along the way.
"Hello?" Lucas asked, knocked on the door. Unbeknownst to him or Peyton, Karen was leaning against the door on the other side, clutching a photograph of Lucas and Keith when Lucas was about seven years old. The look in her eyes was an unforgettable one. "...I'll be on my cell if you need anything, Mom," Lucas said. He turned to Peyton putting a hand on his arm. "She just seems so hopeless."
"She's been through a lot," Peyton said, her voice soft and gentle. "You just need to give her some time, Luke."
He nodded, and he walked to match her pace as they left the house, until he stopped when a thought entered his mind. "Hey," he said, and she turned to him. "Brooke's gonna be there. Are you gonna be OK?"
"I'll be fine," Peyton assured him, as she took his hand. "Are you gonna be alright?"
"As long as you're with me," he said, his reply as honest and sincere as they come. She could tell by his voice, and by the blue in his eyes. He leaned in to kiss her, partly because he knew he wouldn't have much chances to do so this weekend, considering their company.
Peyton ran a hand down his cheek, and she motioned for him to follow her out of the house.
Haley, Nathan, Skills, and Mouth were already waiting for them outside by the cars. Brooke, Rachel and Bevin would ride in another car from Rachel's place to avoid any discomfort or awkwardness or tension of any kind.
"So, does anybody know anything about this place we're going to?" Haley asked, as she sipped on a coffee.
"All Rachel said was that it was some kind of cabin," Peyton replied, as she put her bag in the trunk of Nathan's car. She saw Skills' humongous suitcase and she asked, "Skills, you know we're only gonna stay for two nights, right?"
"Still, if we're gonna be staying in the middle of the woods, I need all my stuff: CD, Mp3, my pillow. You never know how rustic we talkin'."
-x-x-x-xx-x-
As they pulled up to Rachel's massive and luxurious cabin, Lucas could feel Peyton's heart racing. "Hey," he said, once the rest of the gang went up the stairs and through the front door. He put a hand on her back. "It's going to be OK, baby. She won't create drama for everyone." Lucas winked at her, and took her hand. Together, they went inside the house.
Everyone, including Brooke, congregated in the living room. Peyton admired the beautiful rustic feel of the cabin. "Rachel, this place is awesome," she said. She could feel Brooke glaring at her from across the space.
"It's been in my family for years. We hardly come here anymore; my dad mostly just loans it out to clients." Rachel addressed everyone, "The kitchen's fully loaded, theres a river for fishing, ATV's in the garage, plasma screens upstairs, and a hot tub in the back. There's five bedrooms, take any one but the master."
"Let's check them out," Bevin chirped, and she grabbed Skills hand. They all dispersed upstairs, including Peyton and Lucas.
Rachel breathed out in satisfaction, and then turned to Brooke. "How're you doing, crazy?"
Brooke rolled her eyes. "How am I doing? My recently declared ex-boyfriend shows up here parading around his new girlfriend. Oh, and she used to be my best friend!"
"She can still be your best friend, Brooke," Rachel said, as she sat down on the couch.
Brooke scoffed. "Um, what drugs are you on, Rach? She kisses Lucas at the school, again. They cheat on me behind my back. Again. He realizes out of the blue that he loves her?! And you want me to be her friend–are you fucking kidding me?"
Rachel held up her hands. "Alright, so they kissed. She thought she was gonna die. I don't know any more than you about what else went on between them in that library, but don't you think...don't you think maybe they just realized that life is too short?"
Brooke leaned forward. "Rachel. He was still dating me!" the tone in her voice bore no further argument. "I can't believe you're taking her side!"
"I'm not."
"Yes you are!" Brooke yelled. She shook her head. "I can't believe this, why the fuck did I even come here," she muttered to herself, and got up from the couch.
"Brooke, where are you going?" Rachel asked, her tone even and calm. "I'm your ride home."
Brooke rolled her eyes. "Fuck me."
Rachel smirked. "No thanks. Better hurry up and pick a room; the good ones are going fast."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Lucas and Peyton entered an empty bedroom and shut the door behind them. "See, we were in the same room as her for about five minutes, and it wasn't so bad."
Peyton stared at him. "She won't even look at me. And when she does it's a death glare." She sat down and felt the springs on the bed. She took a breath, but like always, felt like she could confide in Lucas. "...I think the hardest part about this is how I lost my best friend."
Lucas stopped admiring the room and turned to her. He dropped his bag to the floor, sat next to her on the bed. He lifted her legs onto his lap, took off her Converse shoes. "I wish there was something I could do or say to make that part better for you, Peyton….and in a way I'm responsible for it..."
"It's just as much my fault as you think it is yours," Peyton reasoned. "I don't want you to take all the blame for this, Luke." She blew out a breath and said, rather unconvincingly, "I'll be fine." She watched as he took off her socks and began massaging her feet, going so far as pulling up her pant leg and gently rubbing over her injury.
"I know it's not the same, but...I'm here."
Peyton looked at him and felt like crying. Rather, she pulled him close and kissed him. His tongue crept into her mouth, as he crawled closer to her on the bed and together they lay down. Soon their hands were roaming, hers through his hair and his up her flat stomach. "How's your leg?" he breathed, once they pulled apart. Her legs had curled around his own.
"It's OK," she replied. "Burns a little."
"Later I can give you a massage if you want," he whispered, nuzzled his nose with hers.
She nodded, kissed his hand.
A knock sounded on the door, and then it opened. "Oh, sorry," Nathan said, his cheeks coloring. "Dude, do you wanna check out the ATVs?"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
As they whizzed down the dirt desolate roads surrounding the cabin, Nathan stopped his ATV, took off his helmet with a laugh and faced his brother.
"Nice jump back there." Lucas removed his helmet.
"You too! I think we both scared the hell outta some cows, man," Nathan chuckled.
"You know, maybe we better be careful, given our family driving history one of us is bound to end up in the hospital."
Nathan chuckled and watched his older brother do the same. It was nice to see him at least sort of laughing again. "So," he began. "You and Peyton, huh?"
Lucas inhaled. "Yeah," he said. "...I know everyone probably thinks it's insane and weird."
Nathan shrugged. "I don't. You guys have always had a thing for each other. Look...whatever anyone says to you...don't listen to them. If Peyton's the girl you love, go for it, Luke. I got your back, always."
"Thanks."
"If there's anything I've learned from what happened, it's that life is too goddamn short." He cleared his throat and reached into his front jeans pocket. "Which is why I swiped this from Haley."
"Her ring?" Lucas asked, taking it into his hand from that of Nathan.
"Mhm. I'm going to need you to hold onto that for me."
"...Why?"
Nathan smirked in that signature way of his. "Because I'm gonna ask her to marry me."
Lucas squinted. "OK, I'm sorry–but didn't you already do that?"
"Yeah, but..." Nathan inhaled. "I was thinking about Keith and your mom and how...they never got a chance to stand in front of their family and friends and tell everybody how they feel, ya know?"
Lucas nodded, and hurt constricted his chest. "Yeah."
"Haley and I never got to do that, either...and, now that we're back together...I wanna do things the right way."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Lucas walked into the kitchen of the cabin to find Peyton just getting off a call on her cell. "...Why is Haley going through a nasty assortment of drain hair?"
Peyton chuckled, as Lucas was referring to how his best friend was frantically searching for the wedding ring that she had...misplaced. "She can't find her wedding ring," Peyton hissed, just in case Nathan was in earshot.
Lucas reached into his front pocket, after he looked over his shoulder to ensure there was nobody around. "...You mean this wedding ring?"
Peyton's eyes widened. "Where did you get that?!"
"Nathan gave it to me; he's going to propose to Haley again."
"That's so sweet," Peyton said.
"Yeah...he told me that he realized that life was too short–like I did," he said, quietly. Lucas stared at her, a stare so intense it made her lose her breath and go weak in the knees. Upon hearing Haley's voice, Lucas quickly shoved his the ring into his pocket.
"Did you find it?" Peyton asked, as Lucas put an arm around her waist.
"No!" Haley huffed. "Nathan is going to freak out."
"Haley, we'll find the ring," Peyton assured her, when Rachel walked into the room. "The guys from Sunkist called, they're hosting this club night not too far from here, so I thought we could all go?"
"Wait...what about my ring?"
"Haley, we will find your ring! In the meantime, just hide that finger."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The club night sponsored by Sunkist was crowded with a line to get in wrapped around the block. The gang got in easily with Peyton and her connections alongside them. Brooke stayed with Rachel, whilst Skills and Bevin took shots and Nathan grabbed two sodas for him and Haley.
"Why're you wearing those mittens? It's like a million degrees in here." Nathan smirked to himself; his plan was working!
"...My hands are just cold today," Haley replied, as she clapped her hands together.
At the next table, Lucas put his hand on Peyton's back. "You OK?"
"I'm fine," she replied, leaned into his touch. "Are you OK?"
A bumping hit took over the club, and Lucas took Peyton's hand in his. She read his mind and began shaking her head in protest, but he dragged her out to the dance floor anyway. Shortly after Skills, Bevin, Nathan, and Haley joined the pair.
Rachel sidled up to Brooke as she was forced to watch Lucas and Peyton dancing. She took a breath, as though she was inwardly cringing when she said, "I won't ask you how you're doing this time."
Brooke rolled her eyes. As she watched her ex and her ex best friend her heart was breaking all over again. "I need some air," she said, and made her way out of the club.
Mouth made his way over to Peyton and Lucas on the dance floor. Since he wasn't talking to Rachel at the moment, and since Brooke was making her way to the nearest exit, he had no choice but to announce, "Some guy named Rudy keeps asking me to dance; if you could help me out that would be great."
Peyton started laughing, and her and Mouth began dancing together. Lucas turned and watched as Brooke left the club, and made his way after her–all the while Peyton and Mouth continued to dance, unaware of his absence.
"Brooke!" Lucas called, once they left the club. The music and throbbing of the crowds died down, and all they were left with was the chatter of passerby and the occasional car horn.
Brooke turned, her arms wrapped around herself as she felt the unexpected breeze. "What?"
Lucas stood there, and the awkwardness of the moment hit him then. "Are you alright?"
Brooke scoffed, shook her head. "You have got to be fucking joking. You ask me if I'm alright? Are you for real?"
Lucas swallowed and said nothing at first. "I just..."
"I can't believe you. First you cheat on me; then you break up with me–fine–but then you parade her around in my face? After everything? How could you do that?"
"Brooke, I don't mean to–"
"OK, but you are! Do you have idea how much it hurts to see the two of you together? Again?" Brooke shook her head again as tears filled her eyes. "That was supposed to be you and me, Lucas."
Lucas sighed, ran a hand over his face in lieu of words. "I–"
"No, I loved you!" she shouted, her cry piercing the night. "I loved you, I poured my heart out to you, I trusted you! How could you do that to me? How could you do that to us?" She stared at him, confronted him with the very reality that so often crushed her, and one that broke her heart more and more every day.
"Brooke, I'm sorry." Lucas shrugged in almost a hopeless kind of way, and took a deep breath. "You need to understand the circumstances this time. Peyton and I were in the library, and she was dying. Blood was pouring out of her leg, and when she kissed me–"
"Yeah, right, and you let her! You let her because you had feelings for her still. Just admit it."
Rather than do as she asked, Lucas said, "I never meant to hurt you."
Brooke began muttering why did I come to herself. "Well you did. You did, badly. Then you throw it in my face and expect me to be OK?! What!?"
"I don't know what to say," Lucas said eventually. He stared at her with those sad eyes. "But I never expected you to be alright because of this."
Brooke turned and headed away from the club, leaving Lucas alone.
-x-
She sat in the deserted school library, bleeding from her leg, the fluid soaking the library's ugly blue carpet. She grew more and more tired, and more and more cold. She turned to see Lucas, the boy who was there at her hour of need, who was always there. He looked at her, those soulful blue eyes making the guard that shielded her weaker and weaker. The silence was harrowing, so she filled it with words.
"It's not glass, is it? In my leg."
Lucas took a breath. "No. It's a bullet. Now I may have to get you outta here, ok? But nothing will happen to you. I promise."
"….You're always saving me." The pain in her leg was mind numbing, she honestly wasn't sure if she was going to make it out of this godforsaken library alive, and Lucas was there. So close she could smell the residue of his cologne, see the way his hand rested on her leg.
His lips parted and he said, "Somebody's got to."
Inside of her something lifted, and it was like she could finally breathe. "If I say...If I say 'I love you' right now, will you hold it against me? 'Cause I've lost a lot of blood." He smirked at her, but it was like his heart was breaking at the same time. "Come here," she whispered. Slowly, he leaned in around the same time she did, placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Just in case you can't keep your promise...and...we don't make it outta here...I love you, Luke."
-x-
That night, Lucas was staring out the window, thinking of everything Brooke had said. Peyton came up from behind him and put a hand on his arm. "Hey, you OK?"
Lucas turned to her and put his hand over hers. "...Brooke and I talked."
"Yeah?"
"She said I was shoving you in her face. I don't mean to parade you around, babe… I just want to be with you."
"I know," Peyton replied, moved into his arms for a hug.
Lucas moved to sit on the bed. "I know the timing sucks, it's just...is this selfish of us?"
"...I ask myself the same thing," she admitted, but she held onto Lucas tightly. "But, Luke, it doesn't mean I have doubts about being with you. I don't. We're only human, and we both didn't intend to hurt Brooke. Right?"
"Yeah." he turned to her and lightly bumped their foreheads. "I don't have doubts about being with you, either."
Peyton kissed his forehead. "How about you try getting back to bed?"
Lucas nodded, and got under the covers with Peyton by his side. He opened his arms and she crawled into them, kissing her nose. "I was thinking about how beautiful it is here...it's weird, but sometimes I feel like Keith is here with me."
"He is," Peyton whispered. She nestled closer to him, and they fell asleep.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Brooke lay in a bunk bed underneath Mouth's bunk, and she was feeling like the darkness surrounding them was going to just swallow her up.
"What're you thinking about?" Mouth asked.
"Truthfully? How many times I can be betrayed."
Mouth swallowed, followed the sound of Brooke's voice because he couldn't see her. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
"No," Brooke said. "No."
"For what it's worth, any guy would be so lucky to have you, Brooke."
"Thanks, Mouth," she said, a smile tugging at her lips. She shut her eyes, that thought in her mind as she drifted off to sleep.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The last day there, it was pouring rain, which pounded the ground below. Lucas and Peyton spent it laying in bed. Their lovemaking was done in secret, with Peyton half paranoid that somebody would hear them–on the other hand, Lucas loved the excitement. He lived for these stolen moments with her, where he could hold her in his arms, worship every inch of her beautiful body; muffle the sounds of her sensual moans with his kisses.
"Is your leg OK?" They both heard the echoes of their friends laughing over some outdated board game they found in one of the closets.
"A little sore," Peyton admitted, as she ran her hand over Lucas' chest, which was slick with sweat.
Lucas moved his hand up and down her injured leg, being as gentle as he could. "Want me to massage it?"
She nodded, staring at him intensely and shutting her eyes to the feel of his touch and of the rain outside.
-x-
Peyton was sitting on her front porch, her leg propped up and elevated on a pillow, with her father Larry Sawyer checking up on her literally every ten minutes. She was merely watching the heavy rainfall, closing her eyes to the romantic sound of raindrops hitting the roof and windows. She was thankful to be able to hear those sounds….over the past couple days since the shooting, nothing seemed certain anymore–and perhaps that was always true–but this truth only intensified. Since the passing of Jimmy Edwards, of Keith...Peyton knew there were only two certainties in life: one of them being death, and the other… the other being love.
"Peyton?"
Her eyes snapped open to see Lucas, getting soaked by the rain as he stood on her porch steps in his gray Keith Scott Body Shop hoodie and black sweatpants with Timberlands. He wore that the night they first made eye contact, the same night Peyton almost ran him over. "…Hey," she said, sitting up straight. "What're you doing here?"
He shrugged in a boyish way. "I needed to see you."
Peyton made a come forward gesture with her hand. "Get outta the rain! You're soaked."
Lucas gratefully climbed the steps and sat across from her, in the chair next to the one that propped up her injured leg.
"Let me get you a towel–"
"What? Don't get up." Peyton moved to do just that, and Lucas held out his hands in a protective manner. "Peyton, no, don't. Seriously. I'm just a little wet, don't worry about it." He wiped his face with the back of his hand. "I wanted...I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the library that day."
Peyton sighed. "Lucas, we don't have to do this."
"Yes, yes we do, Peyton," he said, ever so serious. His blue eyes were deep and beautiful. "You told me you loved me."
"Luke," Peyton wailed. "My leg was bleeding, OK? It wasn't exactly a romantic moment."
"So, what're you saying, that you didn't mean it?"
Peyton swallowed, her heart beginning to pound in her chest and her stomach beginning to twist into knots. "I didn't say that," she whispered.
"So you did, then."
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her eyes turning cold.
"Because, Peyton! Maybe it wasn't a romantic moment...but you wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it–" he took a deep breath. "All I'm saying is...it's OK if you did." He flinched at his own words, almost to say, way to go, you moron.
"No it's not!" Peyton shouted. "Lucas, you're dating my best friend–"
"I broke up with her," Lucas said, speaking over Peyton. "I ended it."
"When?" Peyton whispered, the wind getting knocked out of her.
"Last night. I told her everything. I'm sick–I'm sick of lying to everyone, including myself. When I meant–when I told you it was OK that you told me you loved me, I meant because….I meant because I love you, too." Peyton's mouth gaped open, and she watched as Lucas got up and knelt in front of her. "I love you."
"No you don't," Peyton said, the first words that popped into her mind. "You don't love me."
Lucas laughed a bit. "Yes I do. You don't believe me?"
She suddenly wanted so badly for him to take her hand, feel the warmth of his skin. "I… you love me?" she repeated needlessly.
"Of course I do." he shrugged. "I'm so in love with you. I always have been." He shyly reached to intwine their hands. She didn't pull away.
"Luke..."
"You don't have to be afraid, Peyton. It's going to be alright. I promise."
"What brought this on?" she breathed, though she knew he so badly just wanted to hear that she was also very much in love with him.
Lucas let out a breath. "When I was in that library, hearing you say all those things in that moment...I couldn't deny what was most important. Life is short. I want to give us a shot. We never really had a chance because people stood in our way all the fucking time. I've always been in love with you, baby, and that's the truth. I don't know how else to express it to you." He looked at her for a minute. "Come on, tell me what you're thinking, at least."
"I…" Peyton sighed. "Lucas… what about Brooke?"
"She never made me feel the way that you do," Lucas answered, simply. "It wasn't right, and I think both of us knew that." Lucas leaned down and kissed her hand. "I know Brooke's your best friend, Peyton and the last thing I want to do is come between y'all...but I have to be with you."
His words brought Peyton back to that library in Junior year, when Haley caught them kissing. The chance they never had was now returning to them. As scared as Peyton was, she couldn't deny that this was what she wanted, and for so long. She just pushed it down and away for the sake of others. No more.
"Come here." He edged closer to her, pushing up on his haunches. She cradled his face, and a few tears fell down her own. "...I'm in love with you, too."
A look of relief filled his eyes. "Do you want to be with me?"
Peyton let out a sob, and Lucas responded by holding her tightly. She nodded, wiping harshly at her face. "For real."
"For real," he repeated, nodding gently. "Of course."
All she could see in that moment, was him. When they kissed, all she could feel was his soft lips pressed up on hers, his hand on her waist. She paid no mind to her father's intrusion, the awkward clearing of his throat.
"I guess you're feeling alright," he said, and then abruptly shut the front door, leaving the two of them to make out on the front porch, the rain cascading around them.
-x-
"Luke?" Peyton craned her neck to look at him.
"Hm?"
"I love you," she said.
Lucas stopped his actions to look her way. "I love you too, baby." He hovered over her and nuzzled their noses together. "So much."
As the rain continued to fall, they made love again. They created a cocoon that wrapped around them both, and they remained for once untouchable.
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There's the start. Hit that review button, please and thanks.
