Summary: She sneaks up on him in ways that surprise him more than he can tell. It all seems fast and irrational, yet it's the most natural thing ever. And it's not so fast at all. One-Shot. LP.
AN: Hello! I know I've been kind of MIA the last weeks (months? I don't know) and my guess is it'll probably stay that way a little longer. But I did have this one-shot practically almost finished for weeks now so I decided to post it. I don't really know what this is, I'm not too confident about it. It's different from all the things I've ever written and I know the ending might seem kinda rushed, I'm sorry. I do hope some of you get to like this though!
Oh, and if you'd have the time, a review would always be appreciated ;) Thank you so much for reading!
Something Unusual
He notices her one day and he wonders if she has seen him as well.
She's like a goddess, the wind making her long chocolate brown hair move around her face, that radiant smile playing around her lips as she makes a comment about one thing or another.
He vaguely notices the other girl as well, but he seems too consumed by the brunette to pay too much attention to the blonde.
.
He's dating said girl now, the brunette goddess with the radiant smile. It's been six months and it still seems unreal.
He's Brooke Davis' boyfriend and it seems to be all he's ever wanted. She's funny and kind and bubbly. And she seems to be making him just a bit more fun as well.
She also has a best friend. An opinionated best friend. One who judges and sneers and won't ever not tell what she thinks of him just for the sake of Brooke not being mad at her.
If there's a confrontation ahead, she won't run from it. And as time passes, he notices he won't run from it any longer either.
.
"I'm happy." She smiles softly, looking up at him as her body rested against his, both lying in the small sofa standing in his living room. "Are you?"
It's a been a little over a year now and it has not really been easy, but at the same time it's also been everything to him. They fight, often, but then they make up and he is once again amazed by the fact that she of all people chose him.
And maybe they don't really talk anymore. And maybe she doesn't know what he's talking about when he makes a literary reference. And maybe it's been a while since they really connected. Maybe they never really did to begin with.
But it doesn't really matter, because she's happy and that's what he wants for her.
"Yeah, I'm happy too."
He doesn't know if it's a lie or not. He doesn't really know if not connecting with her really makes him unhappy, but he figures there's no reason to tell her any of this, because she's happy and he doesn't want to ruin that.
(And there's still Peyton to talk to.)
.
He doesn't really know when or why he starts noticing the curly blonde more often than his own girlfriend. He only knows that it isn't really the way it is supposed to be.
But as Peyton smiles at him from a distance, Brooke standing next to her but not looking up to meet her boyfriend's eyes, he can't really find it in himself to care.
.
"How can you not like the Cure? I've always thought that was physically impossible."
She lets her fingers trail over her records, touching them with so much love and care, he can't get himself to look away. Her passion still amazes him, even after countless times of discussing music with her.
"I've told you before, haven't I? Their music is depressing and whiny."
"Their music changed my life." She simply replies and he notices that glint in her eye and he wishes he could see it all the time.
He sometimes thinks he'd be okay if all he could do for the rest of his life was just staring into those eyes of her.
He wasn't supposed to think that, right?
.
Someone pulls away her headphones as she's lying in the grass and she nearly screams until she notices it's her best friend's boyfriend.
"Is this your way of getting rid of me? Scare me to death?" She asks with a glare, readjusting her headphones but bringing the volume of her music down so she could still hear him.
He only smiles and shrugs his shoulders and they both know he's forgiven.
"What were you listening to?"
"Something you'll probably think of as depressing and whiny."
"The Cure?" He laughs. "I like all other things, you know."
She scowls at him, but he only laughs more.
"The Beatles, actually." She notices he gives her a rather weird look, one she doesn't receive all too often. "What?"
"Just thought of you more as a Rolling Stones fan."
"It's a weird notion that you either have to be a Beatles or Rolling Stones fan, Lucas. I'm not that narrow-minded."
They both smile as he settles himself next to her, pulling a book out of his bag.
"Mind if I just sit here with you?"
"Well, you know, I don't really like to be seen with you, Scott, but I guess I can make an exception this time." She laughs and he matches her happy laughter as he makes himself comfortable.
"What are you reading?"
"The Great Gatsby." He says and she nods approvingly. "Can you believe there are people who haven't read it? It's only one of the greatest books out there, but oh well."
She smiles and silence falls between them as they both lay in the sun.
After moments of silence, she can't help but ask,
"Has Brooke read it?"
She hasn't.
.
It's been a year and a half when he breaks up with her and maybe he should've done it sooner, but he just couldn't.
She asks if he is in love with someone else and he tells her no, but as he says the words he knows he's lying. He hates himself for it.
.
He kisses Peyton one day and he thinks it might just be the very best kiss he's ever had.
She kisses him back but before they both really know what's happening, she pulls away and leaves him standing alone in the hallway of his home.
Next thing he hears is about her moving to California with Brooke, going to live in L.A. and trying to make her dreams come true.
.
He runs into Brooke one day, almost two years later, and she smiles and hugs him and for the first time in long he feels really good.
Things maybe hadn't worked out between the two of them, but she was still that same bubbly brunette he once used to have lots of fun with.
She's staying in Tree Hill for a couple of days and they decide to spend some time together, just two old friends catching up. It takes him almost until the end of the day before he finally asks the question Brooke had thought he'd ask her the moment he'd see her.
"Peyton's good. She's working a lot."
He smiles and thinks that crushing pain he feels somewhere in his chest is hidden behind that smile he's giving Brooke, but she knows so much better.
"You know how it goes," she says then, "she's trying to drown herself in her work, all in order to forget about you."
He stupidly blinks a couple of times, not quite knowing what to say, and then Brooke shakes her head, telling him that of course she knows.
She has to leave then and they hug again and tell each other they'll see each other soon.
They both know it'll probably take another two years.
.
It's summer, a couple of months after he saw Brooke, and he's lying in the grass, a book discarded next to him and the sun on his skin and all he can think of is Peyton.
It's no surprise, since it's what happens almost all the time, but it's still frustrating.
He doesn't want this. It's been more than two years and he should be over it, right?
He has dated other people, has written and published a book, he has moved on.
And it wasn't like there was something to get over to begin with, right?
Then why does he still feel this way?
.
Summer turns into fall and one day he's shooting hoops at the River Court when he sees a car passing by. It's not so much the car that catches his attention, but more so the long blonde curls of the person inside the car, floating through the wind.
He's sure he's imagining it all and leaves the River Court.
.
He rounds the corner of his street and actually stops in his steps when he sees her.
She's sitting on his porch steps and he needs to blink a couple of times, making sure she's actually there.
"Hey."
"Hi."
Silence.
"I read your book. It's beautiful, Lucas."
"Took you two years?"
She smiles. "Slow reader?" She offers.
And then he's smiling back and taking a seat next to her and somehow it feels as if it's only been yesterday since he last saw her.
"I didn't want to read it," She says then, making him look up at her. "Brooke made me."
He only nods because he doesn't really know what else to do.
"I'm really sorry, Luke."
He doesn't really know what she's apologizing for.
.
"You know, I'm sorry too." He says much later, both of them still sitting on his porch steps.
They both don't really know what they've been apologizing for but at the same time they both know it all too well.
She nods and then he weaves their fingers together and she leans her head against his shoulder and it's as if everything's simply right again.
.
"What happened to us, Luke?" She asks later, when they're sitting inside, both sipping their coffees.
"Life?" He offers, but really, he doesn't know. "I guess we just didn't have timing on our side."
"Do we now? Have it on our side, I mean?"
"I think we do."
She smiles the smile he has always loved about her and she can feel he's right.
.
And as it turns out, they really do.