Ch1: Crisis
Tag Line: We all make choices. What's yours?
Summary: This is based slightly on the movie The Last Kiss. Lucas Scott lived the good life. He had a great girlfriend who was carrying his child. He had amazing friends that he had had since grade school. And his job, well, it was ok. Working as an architect was never all that fun anyway. He had everything he'd thought he wanted when he was younger, but why does he find himself ordinary? Why is everything suddenly boring and predictable? He was 29 years old and turning 30 in less then two months. And of course, his mid life crisis has only just begun.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or The Last Kiss. Although I DO own Zach Braff, he's currently in my bed… Kidding.
A/N: My other story is on hiatus because I've currently been grounded to an unbearable degree and the only reason I'm on right now is because I'm at my mom's house and she's the greatest. At my dad's, I'm living the lifestyle of a nun and I'm not sure for how long. Please I BEG YOU, read and review! It'll get me through this horrid groundation. I don't even think that's a word. /
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Prologue: When I was 12 I closed my eyes and pictured what it'd be like to be thirty, and this is exactly what I saw. Great friends, beautiful girlfriend, I should also mention that in that same fantasy Hulk Hogan was my live in body guard. My girlfriend and I met three years ago. She's smart, she's beautiful, she makes me laugh. And if you absolutely have to become an adult and all that comes with it, this is the kind of woman you wanna do it with… Right?
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BING. BING. BING. BING. BING.
Suicide seemed like the best possible choice when every single day of your life starts off like this. The 'bings' of an alarm clock ringing at 8:00 in the morning could send just about anyone over the edge. It was like a routine now. Everything was sort of expected. Wake up, shower, get dressed, go to work, blah blah blah.
Groaning, Lucas Scott slammed his hand down on his alarm clock, hopefully hitting the 'snooze' button, but there were so many damn buttons on that thing…you'd never know which one you could end up hitting. Rolling over onto his side for an extra 15 minutes of sleep, he found himself inhaling the beautiful, intoxicating smell of his girlfriend, who was lying next to him as usual. She smelled of fresh lavender. Lucas liked to believe that it was her natural scent, that she was born smelling of purple lavender flowers- but of course, it was just her shampoo.
"Mmm... Hey honey…"
He smiled into her hair as her soothing voice floated into the quietness of the morning. She turned around slowly and sat up, her honey eyes still laced with sleep as she sent him a tired smile. He smiled back, leaning up and planting a loving kiss on her tender lips, not caring about either of their morning breath.
"Hey babe"
He replied as he then leaned in to gently nuzzle her neck. He breathed in heavily, taking in all the lavender his nostrils could take before he had to get up and shower. She giggled as he did this and then pulled away, looking into the ice blue eyes of her boyfriend of nearly three years.
"I got to go shower"
He said with a frown as she gave him a big blubbery lip, which caused them both to laugh. They were always like this in the morning. All lovey dovey, the kind of lovey dovey that would cause most people to gag in disgust. But they didn't care of course. That's just the type of couple they were.
Getting up out of bed despite the protests of his loving girlfriend, he grabbed a towel off the shelf and began to make his way over to the bathroom for a nice, hot morning shower. Another step in the daily morning routine.
"I love you Luke"
He smiled to himself as the upper part of his body turned slightly to look into the eyes of the girl that he had fallen in love with so long ago.
"Love you too, Peyt"
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"Morning Mr. Scott"
The usual weekday greetings were tossed about as he made his way over to his office, which was linked to several others. He gave his co-workers nods of acknowledgement seeing as it was way too early for him to actually sputter words from his mouth. It was just a task he was hardly in the mood for. He was never in the mood for much lately, anyway.
Sitting at his desk he looked up at the clock which read 9:15 and smirked. Another boring day at the office. He thought to himself as he turned on his computer and waited patiently for it to start up. His forehead soon became introduced to the cold, hard wood of his desk as his eyelids drooped shut. Going to bed at 2 in the morning will do this to you.
He let his mind wander to the current events that were going on in his life at the moment and sighed out loud.
FlashbackLucas had just came home from another long, painful day of work. He had to work an extra shift tonight seeing as he had taken several days off the week before on a cause of sickness. He took his jacket off and flung it carelessly on the couch before slipping out of his shoes.
"How was work?"
He was slightly startled by the voice and looked over at the digital clock on the TV which read 1:37 in the morning. He looked up to find his girlfriend Peyton, dressing in a tank top and PJ pants with a mint green robe around her for warmth. He smiled at her and she returned it almost immediately.
"It was work"
He said with a shrug as they made their way towards each other, embracing one another in a big, bear hug.
"That bad huh?"
"Worse"
They both shared a laugh as Peyton took his hand and laced her fingers with his own. He looked into her eyes that were big and full of unsure ness. He could only imagine what his reaction was like now, probably confused, actually- he was probably doing that little squint thing he always does.
"Everything ok?"
He asked, his voice full of concern as she sat down on the couch and motioned for him to do the same, which he of course did.
"Listen…Lucas, we've been together for a little more then 3 years now…"
She began as a confused Lucas droned in and out of what was going on.
"And I love you and I know you love me…and well, together, we can conquer anything"
She continued as he nodded along, looking into her eyes as if he were looking into her soul.
"And, well, I saw the doctor today and…I'm pregnant"
As she spoke those words a small laugh came out of her mouth and her eyes brimmed with fresh tears. Not tears of sadness, tears of joy. Joy for the fact that they had created something so beautiful and in nine months, were going to welcome it into the world together, as a family.
Lucas was at a loss for words, to say the least. He had no idea what to say or do, so when he felt her tiny arms wrap around his built frame, he automatically hugged her back, getting tangled in her mop of blonde curls. It was as if his whole life had actually stopped right there. Like his innocence was lost and the days of living his life to the fullest were over. But he couldn't tell her that of course, he had no choice but to be happy. He had to be. It wasn't an option.
End FlashbackHis groaned aloud again as he brought his head back up and brought his hand to his head, feeling the indent that the desk had left. He looked back up at the clock hopefully, which now read '9:20'.
"You've got to be shitting me…"
He murmured to no one in particular, not wanting to believe that only nine minutes had passed. He looked at the screen saver on his computer, which was a beautiful mountain with Peyton at the very top, arms up in the air and a smile evident on her face. He had taken that picture the year before when they went on their trip to Bermuda. It was the most fun he had had in a long time.
Hearing a knock on the door, he shook his head of his memories and cleared his throat, ready to actually speak now.
"Come in"
He called, causing the door to automatically open and a very stressed Jake Jagielsky to enter.
"You look like shit"
Lucas commented as a smirk came to his lips. In return, Jake sent him a dirty look and sat down on one of the empty chairs in front of Lucas's desk, arms on knees and head in hands.
"Rachel has been driving me insane, man. I mean, everything used to be great between us. We were happy and- and… I don't know what to do Lucas…"
Jake began, going into some sort of panic attack that caused Lucas to get up from his desk and walk over to him, putting a caring hand on his back as he took the empty seat next to him.
"What's going on man? I thought things were going good with you guys…"
Jake and Lucas had been friends since longer then he could remember. Lucas knew Rachel as well, they were forced to be friends in high school seeing as she and Jake were together for 2 years of it, and still were now. Which was highly impressive seeing as they were both 29 now. Jake and Rachel had been together for 13 years and had been married for 4 of them.
"Yeah I mean…we've been on the rocks for the past couple years and I really thought that having Jenny would somehow bring us closer together some how but it's only been causing us to drift more and more apart"
Lucas bit his lip lightly as his thoughts drifted to Jenny. She was a beautiful, angelic little girl. But that only lasted for so long. With all the dirty diapers, drooling, crying, peeing- the cuteness fades fast.
"I'm sorry Jake, I really am. Let me know if there's anything I can ever do for you, alright?"
He said, comforting his friend of many, many years, who in return nodded and looked up at him with respect and gratitude on his features.
"Thanks Lucas. You're a really great friend, I'm sorry to bring my problems on you I just…well, you know"
Lucas nodded and laughed a little as the two men stood up and exchanged a manly hug.
"Don't worry about it"
Jake nodded as he brought a hand to the back on his neck and left it there for a short while, something most men did when there was simply nothing else to do.
"Anyway…you must be excited about the baby huh?"
Jake began, changing the subject in a nonchalant manner to Lucas and the tiny, little fetus growing inside his girlfriend's belly.
"Uh yeah…I mean she just found out three weeks ago so we still have a long way to go until it's an actually…" He made some sort of weird hand gestures as he tried to find the right word. "..baby" He finally decided on, getting a weird, but understanding nod from Jake.
"Yeah well, you and Peyton are great together. I'm sure you'll make wonderful parents. I'll see you after work man"
And with that, he turned and left, letting the door click gently behind him- leaving an overwhelmed Lucas to think about his unborn child.
"Yeah…just wonderful"
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"Oh man oh man GO GO GO!"
Lucas groaned inwardly at the eagerness of his friend Tim, who sat beside him on the couch, cheering the Patriots on with extreme passion. Tim Smith was born in Boston, raised in Boston, and worshiped every sport's team that belonged to Boston. Which was highly overwhelming at times.
"Tim, seriously calm down. I swear you get a boner every time you watch ESPN"
Nathan Lee came out of his room in nothing but low rise PJ pants, showing off his toned torso and abs. This was another part of Lucas' routine. Every now and then the boys would meet up at Nathan's house to just hang out and be guys again. It made him feel younger- and not as if he were turning 30 in less then two months. He shuddered inwardly at the horrid thought.
Shortly after Nathan came out of his room, an extremely sexy blonde made her way out as well and Lucas did his best to avert his eyes from her bare chest as she slipped her dress on over her head.
"I had fun Hally"
Nathan said, a grin forming on his lips as he playfully smacked her ass.
"It's Janine"
Came the haughty reply of the girl as she shoved her way passed him, grabbing her purse and making a harsh exit. Nathan rolled his eyes and gave the guys an innocent look as he too, took a seat on the couch to watch the game.
In a way, Lucas felt sorry for Nathan. He was always living in fear of commitment; it was as if he could never be tied down. It was just impossible for Nathan Lee to be with one girl, and one girl only. He had a different girl every night, each one hotter then the next. He was still stuck in the young zone. He was a teenage boy in a grown man's body.
Although Lucas felt sorry for Nathan, he was also highly envious of his freedom. He could hook up with anyone he wanted to. He had choices. He had a variety. And Lucas, well, he just had Peyton. But that didn't matter because Peyton was and always would be amazing. She was the perfect girl. She got along with his friends and his family absolutely adored her. Everything was how it was supposed to be.
Exactly, how it was supposed to be.
The thought, which should've been a happy one, made Lucas frown. But his thoughts were slowly drowned from his mind by a very loud, obnoxious, Tim.
"YEEEEEEAHHHYAAAA BOIIIIIII!"
Lucas's eyes went wide with disgust as Tim got up and began air humping the invisibility and quoting Flava Flave. This caused Jake to toss the football he had been holding at Tim, hitting him square in the stomach. The guys all laughed at this as Nathan lit up the joint he had been saving.
Once he was done taking his hit, he passed it over to Lucas, who took a long drag, letting the smoke take over his lungs. He closed his eyes and passed it on to Jake, but left the smoke to linger in his throat for a little while longer before letting it all out.
He glanced over at the clock on the TV and groaned. It was already 2:17 in the morning and they all had a wedding to attend in the morning. And he wouldn't be a very happy camper if he went to the wedding in a grumpy mood on a cause of not enough sleep.
"Alright guys I'm gonna head home. I'll see you guys at the wedding"
He said as he took one last drag and got up, grabbing his jacket and slipping it on.
"Alright later deush"
Lucas rolled his eyes at Nathan's farewell and then left without another word.
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"Aw Sarah you look amazing!"
Lucas watched as his girlfriend embraced the woman on the day whose eyes were full of happy tears. The wedding ceremony was finally over, thank God. Lucas wasn't exactly the 'wedding' type of guy- he had his reasons.
The after party had begun and the day was absolutely beautiful. There were delicious looking buffets all around and flowers blooming everywhere you turned. A perfect day for a wedding.
Lucas, Nathan, Jake, and Tim were all hanging out in their own little circle, as usual. It seemed as if the other three were engaging in some sort of conversation that didn't quite interest Lucas, causing him to let his eyes drift around to see who had attended. That's when he spotted her, well, more like she spotted him. It was pretty obvious that she had been looking at him for quiet some time now.
His eyes caught hers and lingered for a little more then a moment. She was slightly far away from him but from what he could tell, she was quite the looker. All he could tell from the distance though, was that she had dark, long brown hair that was worn in loose curls today, and a tight red dress that had black lace trimming and was strapless. She was a vision, but only caught his eye for so long.
His eyes then landed on a much-needed setting, the outdoor bar. Excusing himself from his friends, he made his way over to it and looked at the selections before him.
"What're you drinking?"
He felt a presence by his side and turned slightly as his eyes made out the familiar petite figure whom he had caught eyes with moments earlier and couldn't help but notice, that she was way more beautiful up close. She had big, hazel eyes with flecks of gold and green in them. But the most adorable thing that he noticed were her dimples when she smiled at him. They almost melted his heart right then and there.
"Depends on how drunk I want to be"
He replied with a charming smile as they both laughed. He then looked to the bartended and nodded his head ever so slightly.
"I'll have a beer"
He said as the man nodded and turned his back to grab a bottle out of the cooler.
"Yeah me too"
Chirped the girl who once again, caught Lucas's eye and smiled at him, exposing those damn sinful dimples once more.
"Thanks"
"Have we met before?" He asked her, comfortable with her outgoingness.
"Do I look familiar?" She said arching an eyebrow as a goofy grin came to her lips.
He laughed in response and shook his head.
"No"
"I'm Brooke" She said as she brought her eyes back up to meet his with another small, dimpled smile.
Brooke.
The name repeated itself inside Lucas' head. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.
"Lucas"
He gave her a sincere smile as he held out his hand for her to shake, which she did while letting out an extremely cute giggle.
"So are you a friend of the bride or the groom?"
Lucas looked over at the happy couple at the mention of them and smiled to himself as the two of them began to walk through the area which was full of well-dressed people.
"The groom, practically since kindergarten"
"Impressive"
He laughed and nodded along.
"Yeah it is"
The mystery girl laughed lightly and looked down at her freshly French pedicured feet which were clad in black, peep toe Steve Madden heels.
"So what about you? Friend to the bride or groom?" He asked with semi-curiosity.
"Eh, family thing, but we know the bride. I'm here with some of my friends…" She began as a small, jingle sound took over their conversation. Brooke pulled out her cell phone from her black clutch and looked at the screen before looking back up to him.
"These are them actually. We've been wanting to ditch this thing ever since it started" She laughed which made him smile. She flipped her phone open and spoke to the person on the other end.
"Yeah, alright I'll be right there" And with that, she hung up and looked back up to Lucas. "Uhm, I'll be right back" She said and turned to walk away but not before turning back around to look at him, giving him a somewhat vulnerable look. "Just…wait here, ok?" She said to a surprised Lucas before turning around and taking off.
Lucas just stood there, amazed at what was happening. He looked up at the balcony of the bride and groom's house and saw Peyton standing there in her emerald green dress, looking stunning as she usually did. Only she wasn't alone, she was holding a baby in her slender, pale arms. Probably one of her friends'. She caught Lucas' eye and smiled at him, and he returned it mechanically.
He shoved his hands awkwardly in his pockets as he made his way over to the buffet, letting his eyes wander to where Jake was, who was holding a crying Jenny and dancing with her.
"Jake what the hell do you think you're doing?" Came the shrill voice of Jake's wife Rachel, anger evident on her face as she began to take Jenny away from him.
"I'm dancing with her! Jesus Christ Rachel she's having a fun time!"
"She's crying you idiot! God how stupid are you?"
"Maybe she's crying because she saw you coming" He replied with an angry look on his face as she gave him a look of disgust.
"Oh, real nice Jake" She said, turning on heel as she smelled Jenny's diaper, which was, as she expected, dirty.
Jake kicked the wooden fence roughly, angry about the situation that had just taken place.
"God damn it!" He cursed himself and brought a hand to his head.
Lucas frowned as he walked over to a deserted area of the wedding, wanting desperately to be alone. He found himself sitting in what looked like an old tree house with his legs dangling over it, looking out at the still lake with a look on his face showing that he was deep in thought.
"It's beautiful isn't it?"
He smiled at the familiar voice and nodded.
"Yeah it is"
He turned his face to see Brooke's tiny body making it's way up the ladder and onto the base of the tree house. She plopped down next to him and smiled as they stared into each other's eyes for far too long then necessary. This made Lucas avert his eyes from hers and stare out into the ocean.
"Don't you just love weddings?" She asked as she too, looked out at the lake.
"Nope. I honestly don't see the point" He replied, laughing at the goofy look of disbelief on Brooke's face. "I mean…why should their be an event for people to prove their love to each other? It's all just blown way out of proportion"
"Alright now tell me what you really think"
He laughed and shook his head in a goofy way before staring back out at the lake.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked abruptly, catching Lucas off guard.
After several moments of silence he nodded and smiled slightly.
"Yeah" He said with a small laugh, which Brooke joined in.
"Hm, a little hesitation there…Having a crisis are we?" She asked in a somewhat knowing tone.
"Do I look like I'm having a crisis?" He asked with a half smile, taken aback by the girl at his side who spoke so independently.
"Everyone I know is having a crisis, they come and go" She said matter-of-factly as her eyes once again began drifted to the lake.
"Sometimes…sometimes I don't really feel like they're going anywhere" He admitted sadly as he looked her in the eyes.
"You're having a permanent crisis?" She asked with playfulness to her tone.
Lucas laughed at this and glanced around nonchalantly.
"I don't know, maybe."
He shrugged slightly as he gave her a sideways glance.
"I've just been thinking about my life lately and everything feels pretty planned out, you know? It's like I know everything that's gonna happen. There are no more surprises" He said with a frown, speaking what was on his mind for a long time now.
"That is so boring" Came the blunt reply of Brooke who had a bored, pitied look on her face that caused Lucas to laugh at her honesty.
"I know" He said in agreement as he shook his head slightly as they both shared a laugh.
"It's weird…" She began, catching Lucas's attention once more. "I mean the world is moving so fast now, that we start freaking out way before our parents did, cause we don't ever stop to breathe anymore" She said, deep in thought as her eyes scanned over the lake before meeting his again.
He stared intently at the vision of beauty in front of him, so taken aback by her forwardness and insight.
"Anyway…" He began with a small smile as he caught her eyes once more. "What do you do?" He asked with interest.
"I go to Boston College…I'm hoping to be an actress. I've been in several productions and so far it's been really great. It's something I hope to do as a career" She said truthfully, smiling at the thought of it all.
Lucas nodded and smiled at her, wishing he were that young again. It seemed just yesterday that he was in college, having the time of his life with all of his friends.
"That's nice. So are you in your last year of college…?" He began to ask her as she slowly shook her head and held up two fingers, indicating that she was only in her second year.
"Oh so you're 20?"
She nodded and rested her hands on her lap lightly.
"Yup…two more years to go" She said with a small chuckle.
"Yeah well college was the best years of my life…I'm 29 now and I still wish I could go back and relieve it…"
She smiled as Lucas stood up and held a hand for her to help her up which she gladly accepted.
"Thanks"
"No problem. Listen I gotta run…it looks like it's clearing out so…it was nice meeting you Brooke" He said sincerely as he looked down at her with a sweet smile on his lips which she gladly returned.
"You too"
He nodded and turned around but before he was fully turned, she spoke again.
"So uhm, do you like, want my number or something?" She asked hopefully, hints of nervousness laced in her sweet voice.
"Uh, yeah sure" He said turning back around to face her.
"Uhm…do you have a pen?" She asked with a laugh which caused him to open up his jacket, revealing no pen in sight, making him laugh as well.
"Oh alright well…I have classes at BC on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1-5 so just stop by that little café right outside the main building anytime around 5…I hang out there" She explained with a smile, causing him to nod.
"Yeah, definitely"
"So uh, I'll see you around" She said with a nervous laugh before taking off, disappearing down the ladder of the tree house.
Lucas stood there for several minutes longer, allowing his mind to process everything that had just happened with this beautiful girl whom he had just met. She was the first unpredictable thing that happened in his life for a long time. He needed that. He really, really needed that.
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"Hey babe. So I never got to talk to you much after the wedding. Where'd you run off to?"
Lucas looked across the dinner table and looked into the honey colored eyes of Peyton, whose eyes were not suspicious or accusing. Simply curious. He almost felt bad.
"I was there. I was with Jake mostly. He and Rachel had another fight" He explained as Peyton nodded understandingly.
"That's terrible. I mean, they were always so happy together…" She said sadly as she scooped some corn into her mouth from their take home dinner from Boston Market.
"Yeah…" Lucas agreed as he began to cut up his chicken.
He had a guilty feeling in the pit of his stomach that he tried desperately to ignore but soon came to terms with the fact that it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He lied to his girlfriend. He didn't even have a reason to lie. It wasn't like anything happened with this Brooke girl, and it wasn't like anything was going to happen.
Right?