I've never done a OTH fanfic before but I much prefer Brucas to Leyton. Peyton seems quite a selfish, whiney character and until the episode with Q's funeral I never really thought she was that nice a person.
Basic premise to this fic is that when Brooke told Lucas in season 1 that she was pregnant she was telling the truth, but when she later told him that she'd previously lied that was the lie. Lucas went off to Charlotte with Keith. Dan never had his heart attack so Keith and Lucas stayed in Charlotte. This fic is set just after the gang leave college so they're all 21/22.
"Mom? Who is this?" Lucas asked the question of his mother, but looking at the child before him, at her raven hair and blue eyes, he felt a drop in his stomach. Deep down inside there was something telling him who the child was.
"Grandma who is he?" The girl spoke her question at the same exact moment as Lucas and the dread deepened within him. He had not been back here since leaving with his uncle Keith over four and a half years ago. His mother had always found some reason for her to visit them rather than allowing them here. Now he felt like he finally understood why. When he'd walked in the door of his childhood home and been confronted by the girl for a split second he wondered if his mother had sold her home, until he heard her singing in the kitchen.
Karen Roe could barely breathe. She knew exactly who had walked into her home, what she didn't know was how the hell she could explain the last few years to her son, or her granddaughter. She had no idea how Lucas would react and felt desperately out of her depth at being flung into this situation. This wasn't her story to tell! It never had been. She begged for Lucas to be told the truth many times over the years, each time there was always an excuse.
"Please Karen, I told you this in confidence. And because I need your help. I can't tell Lucas. After everything that has happened, I just can't. We both know what he'll do. He could never be like Dan Scott. We'll both be miserable and he will be throwing his life away. You know I'm right. I'm trying to give him his life, and do the right thing for all of us." The girl was pleading with her, and against her better judgement Karen agreed. True she didn't want this kind of life for her son, nor did she want it for the poor girl sobbing on her couch. She'd been through so much in the past few weeks. The hurt and lies and betrayal. The shock news. Her parents' vicious reaction. Becoming homeless and broke.
"I won't say a word – for now. This isn't permanent. Just until the dust settles and everyone adjusts. I want you to move in here with me. I know how hard your life is going to become. I was lucky- I had Keith. You cannot do this alone." The tears came crashing down more heavily, but beneath them a smile was beginning to surface.
Karen stepped slowly forward, she needn't have tried to delay the inevitable though as the two occupants of the other room were both in the doorway to the kitchen in a second. Just when Karen thought things couldn't get any worse, she walked in.
"Karen, Haley came in early and sent me home, said she'd lock up and I looked far too exhausted to be at…" the girl's words trailed off as her eyes focused on her daughter, and the man stood next to her. "Luke." His name came out as barely more than a whisper. The blood had drained from her face and she stared around ashen. She opened and closed her mouth several times before finally tearing her gaze away from him and to his mother. Wordlessly they communicated a million things. Karen breathed a shy of relief at being able to leave the room, however she debated whether to stay regardless. It was not going to be an easy conversation. Against her better judgement she led Lauren away muttering something about getting an ice cream. The two remaining occupants of the kitchen waiting in silence until the child's voice disappeared and the door to the house closed. "You're home." For lack of anything better to say she stated the obvious, being clueless as how to start upon anything else.
Lucas stared at her and felt the bitterness of hate rise up in his chest and threaten to overwhelm him. "How could you never tell me?" There was little point in asking the paternity of the child he had seen, with her raven hair and blue eyes it was obvious her parentage. To find them both living in his mother's house only served to prove what he already thought. When he had left Tree Hill he had never planned on staying away so long. But his mother had always found reasons for him to do so. His anger knew no bounds as it slowly dawned on him just how many people were responsible for him being unaware he had a child.
"It was complicated." She looked away from him. He sneered at her.
"Complicated? Is that the best you have? For never telling me about having a daughter, for convincing my mother to never tell me. All of my friends here – Haley!" His blood boiled frantically in his body. Had he been the type he would have gladly struck her his anger was so great.
"Lucas I was confused and hurt. I had just found out about you and Peyton…"
"Peyton!" He cut her off sharply. "This is about her, I never got to know about my child because you were hurt and wanted revenge."
"No! It wasn't revenge. But I won't lie and say that wasn't related to it."
"You won't lie. How can I believe a word that you say? Nothing you ever say will mean anything to me. I can barely stand the sight of you Brooke Davis – you can burn in hell for all I care." He barged past her and out the kitchen door before she could respond. His thoughts were jumbled and he tried to figure out where he should go, he didn't feel like there was a single person he could trust anymore, at least not in Tree Hill. But he decided he didn't need a confidante, he needed someone to vent his anger at. And knew exactly who that someone was.
He stalked through town to his destination and slammed the door open as he burst in.
"Lucas! What are you doing here? Oh god I've missed you so much." Lucas backed away from the girl he had once loved, his anger knew no bounds and he was not in the mood for happy reunions.
"Missed me huh? Is that why you lied to me every time we spoke for almost 5 years!" People were staring at the two and he didn't care. His family had provided fodder for the people of Tree Hill his whole life, why bother stopping now. She looked like she'd been slapped.
"Lucas it's not that simple. There were reasons to not tell you."
"No Hales, you don't get to feed me some lines to make it better. I have a daughter and no one considered that I should know about her." The anger was beginning to subside as he accepted how painful it was to know the people he loved most had lied to him for so long. He sank down into a chair and Haley took the one next to him.
"Surely Brooke has explained why."
"I haven't really talked to Brooke. We exchanged words." Haley sighed.
"Luke, I was going to tell you. Clearly my loyalties were with you. But your mom said Brooke had her reasons and they good ones. That I should listen to her first. Brooke made it clear that not telling you wouldn't last forever. But I think the longer it went on the harder she found it to think of figuring out what to say." Lucas couldn't understand why Haley, his Haley, would lie for Brooke Davis. Nor why she'd defend her. "Luke things have changed a lot round here since you left. Brooke and I have spent a lot of time together, firstly because she works here and lives with your mom, but we just grew close and I saw a side of her I think she probably showed you back then. The side none of the popular kids know, except maybe Nathan and Peyton, saw. She even asked Nathan and me to be Lauren's godparents." It then dawned on Lucas that in all his rage at Brooke he had not asked a single question about his child.
"Her name's Lauren?" Haley tilted her head to the side and gave him an odd look.
"Yeah, Lauren Scott Davis. Her birthday is September 10th and her favourite colour is green. She wants a puppy." Sadness overwhelmed him as he realised that Lauren, his daughter, was a real person with her own likes and dislikes that he had no clue about. That she had grown and developed and he has missed everything. Just like that the anger returned.
"I'll never forgive any of you for keeping her a secret." With that he stormed out leaving Haley trying to figure out what had just happened.
"Still leave your door open." Peyton jumped at the voice and turned away from her extensive record collection to look at the owner of it.
"Luke, oh my god." She rushed to him and her arms went round him. Unlike with Haley he let her for a second. But then he gently pushed her away.
"You got anything you'd like to tell me?" The way he gazed at her she knew exactly what he was referring to. Peyton Sawyer was a lot of things, devious when it suited yet with the ability to be an amazing friend. But deep down she was one of life's victims and she justified her selfishness with that fact. She deserved to take what she wanted in life regardless of who got hurt and serve just herself because she had had something so intrinsic to her life taken away. Once again this destructive behaviour had led to trouble. "I know we aren't close Peyton, a few e-mails over the years, but you could have, SHOULD have told me about her." Peyton went to her bed and sat down. She couldn't tell whether it was anger or disappointment that flashed in his eyes.
"Lucas a few weeks after you left Brooke showed up here after either ignoring me or making hurtful comments towards me since she found out. I was shocked to say the least."
"Brooke…I'm so glad you're here. I think." Truth be told Peyton was a little nervous to see her former best friend walk into her room. Brooke walked slowly round the room, leaving Peyton wondering why she was there. This wasn't an easy visit for Brooke to make, but for now it was necessary. In truth Peyton's room still felt very much like home and she allowed herself a moment to mourn the loss of her friend. In any other circumstance she would be clinging to that friendship right now. She'd always known she was alone, but for the first time in her life she faced the fact that being truly alone wasn't about being lonely in a room full of 'friends' – it was knowing that you had no one who cared. Peyton would probably be quick to say she did care, in her more reflective moments Brooke accepted she should have steered clear of Lucas Scott. That she should never have chosen to believe the words Peyton Sawyer spoke about not wanting him, that the veiled looks and glazed eyes spoke louder than her words ever could. But for the first time in her life Brooke had let a boy into her heart and she put her own desire before Peyton's. She'd never done that before, if Peyton had been honest with her about Lucas just once Brooke wouldn't have done it. But she hadn't been and so Brooke went with her feelings and fell in love for the first time. She bitterly regretted her mistake. It had cost her everything. She finally sat on Peyton's bed and looked at the blonde.
"Do you regret what you did?" It hadn't been what Brooke had planned to say but the words were out her mouth before she could stop them. Peyton stepped forward.
"God yes Brooke, so much. You're my best friend and I should never have done that to you." Brooke smirked on the inside, Peyton may not have wanted to hurt her but it still seemed clear that she didn't really regret being with Lucas.
"We'll never be friends like we were." Brooke let her statement hang in the air, she half thought Peyton might object but she didn't. For once Peyton Sawyer accepted the cold truth. "We might salvage something though." Hope surged in Peyton's eyes. "There's just one thing. How much do I mean to you Peyton?"
"So much Brooke, you're like my sister. I'd do anything to make it right." Peyton's voice had wobbled slightly and for the first time Brooke questioned whether this would work.
"I hoped you'd say that because I'm about to tell you something and if you ever tell anyone else, particularly Lucas Scott then you will be dead to me." Brooke knew she was being unfair and manipulative. She had become the bad guy in this scenario somehow, but she truly believed that this was necessary. Not just with Peyton but all of it, she had to protect her baby, and for now that meant keeping the father away.
"Whatever you say stays in this room I swear Brooke." Peyton's desperation was obvious to Brooke and she felt guilty at using her like she was.
"I'm pregnant." Peyton stumbled back into her closet door stunned by Brooke's revelation. She had not been expecting that at all. Peyton had felt guilt over what she and Lucas had done to Brooke. But she'd always been able to justify her actions with her belief that Brooke had been filling in for Peyton in Lucas' life. That Peyton herself was the one Lucas was meant to be with. For the first time now though the full weight of what she had done came crashing down onto her. "Peyton?"
"I'm stunned Brooke. You have to tell Lucas." Brooke shot up from the bed.
"You swore Peyton!"
"But Brooke it's his baby too."
"It's not that easy. You know him, almost, as well I do. You know he'll come running back and stand by me to not be Dan. We'll all be miserable and sooner or later he'll come for you again. This time it will be a child's heart that breaks not mine."
"Just tell him that you need his support not a relationship for a child's sake."
"This isn't up for discussion Peyton. I've thought of every scenario for reasons I won't explain to you right now I've made my decision. You keep my secret and we can work on being friends again."
"I think I knew even then that we'd never really be friends. But I missed her so much and knew that she was facing a huge challenge. I felt I owed it to her and to the kids we used to be to try and save our friendship. I know that she would never have come to me to fix things if she hadn't needed to blackmail me into silence. I just couldn't betray her again Luke, I'm sorry." Lucas sighed and sank onto the bed next to Peyton, he hung his head in his hands and felt like his entire world had crumbled in the past 24 hours. Nothing would ever be the same and he didn't know if there was a single relationship that was salvageable for him here.
"Peyton was it worth it?" He swung his gaze to hers. His eyes were almost dead as they looked into her own.
"Probably not." Her hand reached to touch his shoulder but she pulled back. Peyton sighed. "What now?"