"Luke, what is this?" Her voice was centimeters away from panic as she looked around the garage, desperately searching for her car, her Comet, and came up shorthanded, only seeing a silver monstrosity, sitting next to Lucas' car with a big, red bow on the top, proclaiming it to the world.
"It's a minivan." Lucas said simply, a smile on his face as he joined his dumbstruck fiancée in the garage. "What do you think?"
He really didn't want to know what she thought. "Where's my car?"
"It's right in front of you. The minivan's yours. Surprise! I thought with the baby coming, you would want a nicer, safer car. So I asked Haley, and she said that this one was really nice, and it'll fit the car seat, and it had four wheel drive, so in the winter, you and the baby will be safe. Plus, the brakes and tires are brand new. And, it had satellite radio." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. "Do you like it?"
"Well, thank you, so much, for considering my feelings and getting me satellite radio. And, I'll rephrase. Where is my Comet, Lucas Scott?" Lucas took a few steps back before answering, his shock at her response plastered clearly on his face.
"It's in the shop, getting repairs done, to boost its value."
"For what?"
"Well, babe, when we sell it."
"You have got to be joking me." Her tone was lethal as she spun around and walked out of the garage, and into the driveway.
"Peyton, where are you going?"
"To work!"
Lucas looked around, confused. "But the car's still in the garage."
"I'm walking." She called back, and Lucas could tell that she was already a little ways down the street.
"And you're still wearing your pajamas."
"Hey Peyton." Mia's could barely hide the laughter in her voice as she walked into the room, and saw her mentor, producer, and all around favorite twenty-two year old, sitting at her desk, in a pair of flannel pants and what looked like one of Lucas' old tee-shirts. "Everything okay?"
"I'm pregnant." Peyton said, burying her head in her hands, and Mia's eyes shot open.
"That's great Peyton, congratulations." Her smiled faded just about the time she realized that Peyton wasn't nearly as happy as she was. "Are you not happy?"
"Oh, no I am very happy, and so it Lucas. At least I was, until I realized that this baby is going to grow up without a father."
"Should I ask why?"
"Because I am going to kill him." She looked up, and the anger in her eyes ahead Mia deciding whether to laugh, or run away, as fast as she could. "He bought me a new car."
"Most people like new cars."
"People who don't like their old cars, like new cars. I love my old car. And he just went and got me a new one. He bought me a freaking minivan."
"A minivan."
"Yes. A four wheel drive, four door, three row, eight passenger minivan. With a bow on top."
"Oh."
Peyton smirked. "Yeah, and then he decided that it would be best to sell my Comet, because the new car is safer."
"Well, is it?"
"I don't know. Probably. That's not the point though. The point is, that car means a lot to me. It should me a lot to us. As a couple. We have had sex in that damn car, and he just wants to toss it out."
"I'm sorry." Maybe running was the best option. "You know what, I just wanted to drop off the new demo. You should talk to Lucas. Soon." And not talk to her until the hormone thing wears off."
"Whatever."
The house was quiet when she got home, and Lucas was nowhere to be found. Inside the house anyways. As soon as Peyton had determined that though, she knew exactly where to find him. And there he was, sitting on the steps into the garage, his head in his hands, still wearing the clothes he had been wearing when she left. "Hey, Luke." He didn't say anything, and she tentatively moved to sit down next to him, putting her hand on his thigh. "How was your day?"
"Pretty bad." He smiled up at her, and the halfhearted, guilty, depressed look on his face was enough to break her heart. "I pissed my fiancée off this morning, and she hasn't been taking my calls all day. And I just wanted to tell her that I'm sorry, and that I love her."
"Do you even know what you did wrong?" She had to laugh as he sighed, and shook his head.
"I know it has something to do with the car, and about you not liking it."
"Lucas, it's not that I don't like it." She looked up at the van. "No, I take that back. I really don't like it, but it's more than that, Luke. My car means a lot to me. I've had a lot of life changing moments in that car, we're had a lot of life defining moments in that car. My dad gave me that car. I love that car. And I was just mad that you thought you could just take it, without asking, no matter how good your reasons were. But more than that, you're not that guy Luke. You're the guy that asked four different times before we had sex the first time, and the guy that always remembers the important things. You're not this guy. So what happened?" It had taken her all day to come to that conclusion. All day. She had spent the morning walled up in her office, angry, and then the afternoon at the shop, attempting to get her car back, which eventually happened, after she had explained exactly what had happened, but it was only as she was driving home, fully prepared to spend the night not talking to him, that she realized that this just wasn't a Lucas thing to do.
"A little boy died last week, in Iowa, because the car he was in wasn't safe. And it freaked me out. I'm sorry."
"Lucas." She couldn't deny that at least he had a good reason to be freaking out, after both of their track records with car accidents. "Next time you're freaking out about something like this, talk to me. Don't go all passive aggressive and max out your credit card. Please. There are far more important things to buy. Like things for your baby-mama." She smirked, and then took Lucas' hand. "Luke I love you, and I love our baby, but I love my car, too. And I hate that minivan. I mean, can you seriously you seriously see me driving that?"
He laughed, "No." he paused, "But I really, really would feel better if we at least talked to someone about how safe the Comet is."
She nodded. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. We can talk to someone about it, and if the car isn't safe, we can go look at cars, together. Cars. Not mini-busses. Okay?"
"I love you, Peyton Sawyer."
"Yeah, yeah. Now get out of here, and get rid of that thing taking up space in our garage."
A/N: another one-shot. This one just popped into my head while I was writing something else up. Hope you enjoyed. R&R!
