(takes place during "what is and what should never be"...peyton and brooke storm out after learning about lucas's secret with nikki.)

"Peyton! Wait!" Brooke screamed as she chased Peyton down the steps.

Peyton jumped in her car, started the engine and took off. As she drove away from Nathan's apartment complex she couldn't help but look in the rearview mirror. Part of her hoped Lucas would chase after her. The rest of her felt completely humiliated. More than she'd ever felt in her entire life. How could this happen again? Finally, she let Lucas back into her life...gave up her best friend for him...and it again smacks her in the face. Finally, Peyton pulled up to her house, turned her car off, took the keys out of the ignition and placed them in her lap. As she played with the keychain that Lucas had given her the day before, she wondered if she was overreacting. She thought to herself, 'Maybe I'm being too judgmental. Maybe I should just learn not to expect so much...' After a few minutes of sitting in her car, thinking about what she should do, she couldn't help but yawn. As she yawned, a tear ran down her cheek. She decided to go inside and just go to bed...tomorrow is a new day.

::back at the apartment::

"I need to go find her." Lucas said to Haley.

"Who knew it'd come out like this?!"

"I should've just told her. I don't know WHY I keep doing this!" Lucas exclaimed while hitting his head against the wall he was leaning against.

"Just go, do the right thing. She can't blame you for trying to make it better. Hey, at this point, what do you have to lose?"

"Thanks Hales." Lucas kissed Haley on the cheek, grabbed his car keys and jumped into his Jeep.

As he pulled up to Peyton's house, he saw her car in the driveway. A sudden rush came over him. He knew that he had to face Peyton. He had to explain to her what happened that night and how he feels now.

Lucas turned his car off and slowly got out. He tried to make as little noise as possible as he shut the car door. As he got closer to the front door, the butterflies in his stomach began to churn. As Lucas went to open the door, he discovered that the front door was locked. 'She NEVER locks the front door,' he thought to himself. Just then he remembered where Peyton kept the spare key. He ran his hand along the top of the doorway until the key fell onto the porch. He unlocked the door and quietly entered the house. Climbing the stairs to the second floor felt like it took a lifetime. Just as he reached Peyton's bedroom, he noticed that the door was left open slightly. Before opening the door, he peeked in. Peyton was laying on her bed, facing the window. Just watching her was enough for him. He never truly did realize how much he loved this girl until he was faced with losing her again. Just then, Peyton sighed deeply and turned over on her bed. Now facing her door, Lucas knew he should walk in before she noticed him standing there.

"Hey." Lucas said as he slowly opened the door.

Peyton sat up, holding a small pillow across her chest, "What are you doing here?! I really do not want to see you right now."

"Listen, Peyton...you deserve an explanation...I can't begin to tell you how much I regret the things that I've done."

"I don't deserve anything. Obviously what we were going through at the time didn't mean as much to you as it did to me. I would've never gone out and had sex with some random person like that. Lucas, the way I feel...felt...the way I felt about you was...it was just too hard to throw it away like that. I mean, god...did I mean so little to you? I just don't understand it. I try to...I try to sit here and put myself in your shoes, but I get lost. I guess you just meant more to me than I did to you...GOD...I fucking loved you..." She couldn't believe she said it. She had never told anyone how she felt about them like that. She turned away from him as she felt the tears in her eyes.

"Peyton." Lucas said as he sat on her bed and put his hand on her shoulder. "With everything that was going on with us at the time, I would've never imagined something like this happening. It was purely a mistake. A mistake I wish I could take back every second that I think about it. Peyton, I...I really am sorry. You mean more to me than you'll ever know. Think of something you can't live without...multiply it by a hundred...that's how I feel about you. I have loved you for so long and you mean more to me than you'll ever be able to imagine...much more than I'll ever be able to explain." Lucas ran his hand down Peyton's back, "Anyway, I'm sorry and I hope that one day you can forgive me. I just had to come see you and tell you this. I didn't want anything to go unsaid."

Just as Lucas got up off the bed and headed towards the door, Peyton got up. As she was still facing the window she said, "Lucas, don't go."

"What?" Lucas questioned.

Peyton turned to face Lucas...she then walked around the bed towards him. As soon as they were face to face she put her right hand flat against his chest. "I want this...ya know...I wanna be here...I wanna have everything with you...I want it all...I want us."

Lucas smiled. He remembers the day he said the exact thing to Peyton. He couldn't believe that she remembered that day. He ran his finger tips across her forehead... Peyton closed her eyes, taking it all in. Lucas then ran his fingers down the sides of her face... He couldn't wait any longer...he cupped her face in his hands and gently kissed her. Peyton wrapped her arms around Lucas's neck and kissed him back...passionately. The tears of sadness were quickly replaced with tears of happiness. As they parted their lips and moved their faces away from each other, they both smiled. "How 'bout you get some sleep? Its been a long day." Lucas said.

Peyton took Lucas's hand, "How 'bout we get some sleep? Stay with me tonight."

Peyton climbed into bed as Lucas shut the bedroom door and turned off the lights.