Title: Love Will Always Find Its Way
Fandom: One Tree Hill
Genres: Romance
Pairing: Lucas/Peyton
Spoilers: One Tree Hill, season 2ish
Disclaimer: I don't own OTH or the characters, too bad I know
Summary: Lucas hears some wise words from his little brother, but can he trust his heart? Totally a Leyton fic! One Shot
A/N: Okay so here's the deal. I'm a really big Leyton shipper. So of course this is a Leyton story. This story takes place in episode 210 Don't Take Me for Granted, only I made a few adjustments (time shifts some dialogue change and some other stuff but you'll know when you read), this is the episode where Nathan tells something to Lucas that is going to change his life forever. R&R! But more importantly...have fun reading!
Nathan was preparing his dinner for Haley, Lucas just happen to come by. After some small talk Nathan got to the point.
"Remember after you accident you told me you didn't want to be afraid to live your life."
"Yeah I remember" Lucas said as he looked at Nathan with much confusion in his expression
"Well I don't buy it Luke. I think there's something in your heart you're running from."
"Okay, what are you psychic now?" Lucas laughed.
"You can make jokes about it all you want, but you know there's a girl you have feelings for."
"Nathan..." Lucas said somewhat unnerved.
"Look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong." Lucas looks Nathan in the eye, but he can't say it, he knows Nathan is right.
"See" Nathan said
Lucas could only nod. He didn't actually want to admit that his little brother was right.
"Now you can be mad at me all you want, you can say your heart is fine...but until you tell this girl how you feel...your heart's going to be flawed. You need to talk to her Luke."
Nathan left the room, leaving Lucas still thinking about what his little brother just told him.
"Hey Nate, I'm heading out. Have fun with Haley!" Without waiting for an answer, Lucas left. He had to go and tell the girl that he had feelings for her. But who was this girl?
Lucas was lost in his thoughts, he let his legs just walk, he had no idea where he was going, but he knew that he had to go somewhere and his legs knew where to. But somehow he ended up on her porch.
"Hey" Anna said as she opened the door.
"Hey, I'm sorry I know it's really late, but I just had to see you." Anna smiled at his words, Lucas tried to smile back at her.
"Is something wrong? You look kind of upset."
"I'm okay, I just have to tell you something." Lucas took a deep breath, as he wanted to say something he was cut off by Anna.
"Lucas are you sure you are okay?"
Lucas looked Anna deep in the eyes. He liked this girl, he knew it, she knew it, hell even Felix knew it, but this wasn't what Nathan was talking about. Nathan was talking about true love, the one… you know the one you are going to spend the rest of your life with, the one that makes your heart skip a heartbeat when he or she walks into the room, the one that takes your breath away by just looking at you. Lucas liked Anna, but he never felt that way about her, so he took another deep breath before speaking.
"You know I care about you Anna, but this what we have between us, is not what I'm looking for in a relationship." Anna immediately stopped smiling.
Lucas knew he had to tell her everything, "There is someone else. I've been lying to myself about the way I feel about her and I need to see her tonight, or it'll be too late, I can see her slip away, I have to do this... I really am sorry Anna." With that, Lucas turned around, afraid of what Anna was going to do or say. So he just walked away. He didn't know where those words were coming from. Have I been lying to myself about the way I feel about her? Where was this coming from? Lucas thought to himself. He had no idea, but he cam eto the conclusion that if those feelings weren't for Anna then they had to be for Brooke. He's been feeling different around her lately, so it had to be Brooke, it just had to be.
After his realisation, Lucas practically ran to Brooke's house. He saw that her door was open, so he rushed to her door. He then saw Brooke and Felix sitting on her bed, kissing. He saw that Brooke was smiling against Felix's lips. Lucas saw them kissing, but he didn't feel anything, it didn't affect him at all. He didn't feel angry, he wasn't jealous, he felt nothing, he was numb. Maybe he was wrong about how he felt about her. Lucas quickly turned around, giving Brooke and Felix some sort of privacy.
Lucas didn't know what to do. He was really convinced that the feelings he was feeling were for Brooke, but when he saw Brooke and Felix kissing, it was as if it was okay. He didn't quite understand it, but he felt happy, he was happy for Brooke, it had been a while since he had seen her happy. And she looked happy with Felix.
Lucas was confused, so he just walked around town, not noticing where he was going. He was lost in his thoughts, when he looked up he saw that he was on the wrong side of town. He saw a black convertible standing in front of him. Hey Peyton has a car like that. Wait this is Peyton's car, what is she doing here. He looked up and saw that Peyton was talking to a guy, Lucas knew the guy, he had seen him in his mom's club, Tric, but what was Peyton doing here, talking to him?
Lucas could see that Peyton and the guy could see him approaching, Lucas could hear him say something.
"You know this guy?" The guy asked Peyton. Peyton didn't answer, she was speechless. Her eyes were filling with tears and Lucas could see it. Peyton smiled at Lucas.
"Luke" with that, the guy, Rick, left. Peyton could no longer hold her tears back, so she just let them roll. Lucas came closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm here for you Peyton, I'm here." Lucas said as he wrapped his arms around her more tightly. No words were further exchanged, they just stood there in each other's embrace, just holding each other, needing each other. It began to rain, but they still wouldn't let go of each other. When they were both soaked to the bone they let go of each other's embrace. Lucas looked Peyton in the eyes, he knew what he saw tonight wasn't right, but he knew better than anyone not to push Peyton in telling something she really didn't want to. So he just nodded at Peyton and pressed a small kiss on her forehead.
"You want me to take you home?" All that Peyton could do was nod, she gave Lucas her car keys and let him drive her home.
They had barely started to drive, but Peyton had already fallen asleep. She had a long and an emotional day. When Lucas arrived at Peyton's place, he looked at her and saw how peacefully she was sleeping. He didn't want to wake her, so he got Peyton's keys out the ignition , scooped her up, and he brought her into the house. He knew his way around, so he just brought her up to her bedroom. He laid her down on her bed and pulled the covers over her. Lost in his ministrations, he hadn't seen that Peyton had woken up.
"Hey" She said with a soft voice.
"Hey, I thought you were sleeping."
"I was, but now I'm not." She smiled at him, "I have to get out of these clothes, they are really sticky"
Lucas did not know what to do, so he did what he always does, he ran. "I should probably go." He said while making his exit.
"No, don't go, please, I can't be alone." She said as she got out of bed. She walked towards Lucas, she grabbed one of Lucas' hands with both her hands and brought it up to her lips, she gently pressed a kiss on his hands.
"Please Luke, I really can't be alone tonight. Stay...stay with me."
"Okay" Lucas could not resist that look, he always had a soft spot for Peyton.
"But you need to get out of those wet clothes. Here," she said as she handed him a shirt and shorts "they are my dad's."
"I'm going to change," he said as walked into the bathroom that borders to Peyton's bedroom.
"Yeah me too," Peyton whispered.
Lucas was already changed into Peyton dad's clothes, but he heard her say that she was going to change, so he waited a few extra minutes to give her some time to change. About 15 minutes passed and Lucas walked back to Peyton's bedroom, with a towel on his shoulder. He saw her sitting on the bed, with a T-Shirt and some sweatpants, he saw that her hair was dripping off her face, so he took the towel that was on his shoulder and threw it over Peyton's head. He began drying her hair, at first Peyton was startled, but she quickly adjusted. When Lucas finished his task, he smiled at her.
"Are you tired?" Lucas asked her
"Yeah, actually I am." She said as she was yawning.
"I see," Lucas, laughed, Peyton laid down on her bed, "I'll just sleep on the floor."
"Don't be stupid." Peyton said as she patted on the spot next to her. Lucas sighed and laid next to Peyton. He knew he had to say something. He knew exactly what to say, he was just scared of actually saying it. He sat up and so did Peyton.
"I'm sorry Peyton." Lucas said after moments of silence
"For what?"
"For everything"
"Whatever that means," Peyton laughed.
Peyton laid down on her bed and Lucas laid next to her, keeping one eye on her at all times. He was wide-awake, just watching Peyton happened to this girl? What happened to her fire? Why is the fire in her eyes replaced by tears? He didn't know, that just made him feel guilty, he was a lousy friend, he knew it. She had every right to yell at him the way she did this afternoon. He was an ass and he knew it, he said he would always be there for her, but he let her fall just like everyone else in her life. He let her down, he was too busy focussing on his own problems, that he hadn't seen how Peyton was really doing. He had brought down those walls that she worked so hard to build, but when she did open up he saw the beautiful person that she really was, but he screwed up and the walls were back up. Sometimes he could still see that girl, just like tonight, but most of the time she was guarded, like this afternoon. Lucas decided that he needed to take care of her, not that she needed to be taken care of, but she was special to him, he hated seeing her cry. Eventually Lucas also fell asleep, even in his dreams he was still thinking about Peyton, how he could help her. How she could be the person that was meant to be with him...With that thought Lucas woke up.
He opened his eyes and saw Peyton's emerald eyes looking at him, her hand on his cheek. Lucas was surprised how good it felt to wake up next to Peyton.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, Luke" Peyton said as she pulled her hand away from his cheek.
"It's okay, it's time to get up anyways." Lucas said as he looked at Peyton's clock on the nightstand.
"Do we have to?" Peyton pouted
"Come on, I'll make you some breakfast."
"Well I can get used to this," Peyton said to herself.
She sat in the kitchen and watched Lucas make breakfast for her. She actually felt guilty about the fact that he was doing this for her and she was just sitting there doing nothing but stare at him.
"Lucas, I'm sorry for what I said the other day."
"What's that?"
"You..."Peyton sighed, "When you came by yesterday afternoon. I was just so pissed off at principle Turner and you were just here, so I guess you just had to take all the heat."
FLASHBACK
"You've reached Sawyer Dredging. If you'd like to leave a message for Larry Sawyer, please do after" Before the message ended Peyton already hung up the phone. Peyton put the phone down and she leans against the desk. Suddenly she hears a knock on her door. She looks up and sees Lucas.
"Hey" Lucas says as he enters Peyton's room
"Hey" Peyton answered
"So I saw you cut out of lunch today. I just wanted to know how you were doing."
"Well I have seen better days," Peyton said as her eyes were tearing up. Lucas sees that Peyton is starting to cry and offers her a shoulder to cry on.
"Hey, come here." He says with a gentle voice.
Peyton walked towards him and steps into the hug that Lucas was offering they both pulled out of the hug they looked each other in the eye. Lucas then sat on the edge of her bed, he then places his hand on the edge of the bed. "Come, sit down. Do you know who wrote it? I mean on your locker."
"No but I just want it all to go away. Just all of it. I don't need this you know. I have enough problems, I really don't need more."
"I know Peyton." Lucas looks around the room and then sees all the changes in her room. He sees the drawing of him, Brooke and Peyton with rifles in their hands. He picks up the drawing and looks at it a bit closer. "You still think about this much?" He says as he holds up the drawing so she can see it.
Peyton frowns at Lucas and looked at him with red eyes. Lucas knew that the tears were coming, he just didn't know what to do to stop it.
"You should go Luke." Peyton stands up and walks away from Lucas. She could not be that close to him.
"Peyton..."
"No Luke. You cannot just walk in here and ask me something like that. When was the last time we even had a conversation about something real?"
Lucas did not expect this. "I thought you could use a friend."
"Yeah, you know what, I could use a friend, but you know what YOU no longer qualify for that anymore. You know why?"
"Peyt?"Lucas tried, but Peyton was not going to be interrupted.
"You know why Lucas? Because a real friend would know about all the crap I've been dealing with lately."
Lucas really wanted to be there for Peyton, but he didn't know what to say to break down the wall, so he just said the first thing that popped into his head.
"Like what?" He knew it was the wrong thing to ask, Peyton was way too angry to talk to right now, but he had to try.
"Don't Lucas, Just go, please."
"Okay I'll go." Lucas said somewhat defeated, he walked towards the door, but then stopped, even though he hasn't been there for her, he never stopped caring. She had to know that, so he had to tell her that.
"Whatever you think of me...I really do care about you Peyton." Lucas didn't even wait for a respond, he just left, leaving Peyton thinking,
END FLASHBACK
"I really do need a friend. And you were there for me when I needed you. So what I'm trying to say is, Thank you."
"You do not have to thank me. I need you need to forgive me. You had every right to call me a lousy friend, because I really was. I was so wrapped up in my own problems that I forgot about you. But I promise you Peyton, that will not happen again. I'm here for you, if you need anything. "
"Thanks Luke. It really means a lot to me."
A WEEK LATER
They hadn't spoken to each other since that night. It's not that they didn't want to. It was just that they both didn't know what to say. Lucas saw Peyton sitting on a bench on the quad. He was staring at her for a few minutes, he finally found the courage to walk up to her. He sat himself down next to her on the bench.
"Hey, I haven't seen you in ages."
"You just saw me, last period...we had English together."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know I was just testing you." She said as she rolled her eyes.
"So are we going to talk about what happened that night?"
"Do you want to?"
"I feel we have to. It's not just something we can ignore."
"Luke..." Lucas saw people staring at Peyton. He saw them whispering, he wasn't good at reading people's lips, but he could clearly see the word DYKE slip their lips. He looked at Peyton who had learned to ignore the people that were whispering.
He thought back to the night, they were just lying there together in bed, as he was watching her sleep, Peyton, his beautiful Peyton. She didn't deserve this, she deserves so much better. He then felt something he was also feeling that night. He felt the urge to kiss her. He could see her lips move, but he didn't hear a word she was saying, he was just focussing on her lips. Lucas closed his eyes and leaned in and without a second thought, he pressed his lips against hers. It took Peyton a while before she realised what was happening, but as soon as she did she kissed him back. Peyton pulled back from the kiss, catching her breath.
"What was that for?"
"I just needed to do that. Since that night I just...I needed to..."
Lucas never finished that sentence. Peyton leaned in and kissed on the lips. When she pulled out from the kiss, she saw Lucas smiling.
"So I guess you are not gay" Lucas smirked and put his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him.
"Dude, shut up."
"Let me make it up to you." He whispered as he once more pressed his lips against hers.
Peyton pulled from the kiss and stood up. Lucas didn't understand what she was doing, so he also stood up and grabbed her by the arm.
"I know this was sudden, but I love you Peyton." Peyton turned around looking Lucas straight in the eyes. "I love you, I always have and I always will. It's you, you're the one I want, you're the one I need, you're the one I want to take care of, it's you. I don't know if you feel the same, but I saw you slipping away and I need you to know. You are the one for me Peyton. Lucas pulled Peyton close, he kissed her and then looked her in the eyes, looking for some kind of response.
Peyton bowed her head down, she then looked up with a big smile on her face. "You don´t know how long I've waited for you to say that."
"You don't know how long I've been wanting to say that."
Without any hesitation Peyton jumped up and kissed Lucas, wrapping her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.
"I want you Luke, I want us."
The End