Chapter 1

Lucas opened his eyes and looked around the hospital room. He looked at the poster Brooke had put up on the wall, and suddenly he remembered. He had been in a car accident with Keith. Was Keith okay? And then it hit him. The rush of moments passed through his head all at once. The rest of their junior year, the school shooting, the wedding, the limo crash, winning states. It was all just a dream, but in a way it had seemed so real. He then noticed his mom sitting next to the bed, fast asleep. He slowly moved his hand to touch hers. She bolted upright, then noticing her slowly moving son.

"Oh Lucas" she cried as she moved closer to the bed and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Mom" he tried to speak but he was still a little weak.

"I thought I lost you" she cried into him

"I'm right here" he whispered. She lingered over him, thanking God he had returned to her.

"How do you feel?" she said as she slowly sat back down on the chair.

"Like hell"

"Watch it. Just because you're lying in a hospital bed right now, does not mean you can suddenly forget the rules" she smiled "sorry. Just habit I guess"

"I've missed you mom"

"Oh baby, I've missed you too"

"How long was I out?" he asked, scared to know the truth.

"A month"

"Oh"

"Don't worry honey, you'll get back into the swing of things. It wont even seem like you were gone"

"Yeah" he forced a smile across his face as it slowly formed into a yawn.

"Well look, I let you get some rest. I'll tell the others that you're awake and I'll come back in in an hour or two with some food."

"Okay" She gave him another kiss on the cheek before heading toward the door. She turned around and smiled "I'm so glad to have you back my baby"

"Oh mom I'm not a baby remember"

"Lucas, you will always be my baby" she smiled again. Though she had smiled so much since he awoke, it was still hard to see her happy. In the world he had dreamt, Keith was murdered and she had been so devastated. It was so good to see her happy again.

"Its good to see that smile mom" She smiled at him once more before leaving the room.

"What in the world did I dream about?" he asked himself. He tried to fall back asleep but he couldn't shake the dream he had had. It was so weird. It was like life kept on going, but yet he had woken up back a year. They had been seniors. They were going to be graduating. It just seemed so real. He continued to look around the room, at the collection of cards and balloons that had gathered. It was just too weird. He tried to move, but that's when he realized that his shoulder hurt, a pain the accident caused. So he continued to lay there, and tried to force himself back to sleep, to at least get a little rest.

The silence was soon broken as a blonde, curly head of hair bounced through the door.

"Hey there stranger" she smiled and immediately fled to the bed to devour him in kisses. He accepted them willingly and then pushed her away.

"Peyton we cant do this."

"I know"

"No you don't know. While I was unconscious I dreamt about us, and the trouble we caused. We cant do this to Brooke"

"I know Lucas. I don't want to hurt her, but I cant shake the feelings I have for you. So we just have to tell her."

"You don't understand Peyton."

"Then explain it to me"

"Yes I do have feelings for you, but I also have feelings for Brooke. And this will only lead to more hurt in the future. I don't want to ruin my friendship with either one of you, let alone the friendship you have with Brooke"

"Our friendship will be fine"

"You don't know that"

"And you do?" she asked, confused as to why he was pushing her so far away

"I told you, I dreamt it"

"So you're willing to throw this relationship away, before it even starts, based on some dream you had"

"I know it's a lot to take in but…"

"Lucas I love you"

"I know you do Peyton, and I love you too…."

"Then why cant we be together"

"Because there is this other girl that both of us love as well, who would be crushed by this"

"Then what do we do? Where do we go from here?" she asked so hurt and confused

"I have no idea" he stated as he re-focused his attention to the poster on the wall. Would the messy love triangle he pictured really happen? He didn't know anymore.

Peyton put her attention to her lap. How could he base this on a dream, it just wasn't possible. Before the accident, they had loved each other, and were willing to tell Brooke about this love. What changed? A dream? It was absurd. She began to cry a little. Lucas heard her and quickly turned his attention back on her.

"Peyton please don't cry" he said, trying to reach her face to wipe the tears away

"I cant help it. I just don't understand what changed. I mean before the accident we wanted to be together, and now…"

"I don't understand it either Peyton, but please just give it some time. Things will work out" he tried to smile. How could he expect her to believe the words coming out of his mouth when he didn't even believe them.

"Ok" she finally whispered. If time was what he wanted, time was what he would get. She looked into his eyes. She was so glad he was finally awake, but now, the happiness fled from her body. She anticipated this for so long, so they could finally be together. And that dream was crushed within the first few minutes she spent with him.

"Thank you" he smirked. He still loved Peyton, but he couldn't shake the things he saw in his dream. The moments of him and Peyton screwing up royally with Brooke, causing her to hate both of them. The friendship between Brooke and Peyton put on a wicked roller coaster. The moments he had hurt both of them because of it. It may hurt Peyton right now, but he was trying to save her from the hurt of their future mistakes. She couldn't understand that because she wasn't there.

She slowly rose from the chair, kissed him on the cheek, and headed toward the door.

"Peyton I'm sorry"

"Me too" she smirked before leaving the room.

"God, where the hell am I" Lucas screamed after she left. "What the hell am I doing? I don't know what's real and what is fake. How can I just erase that dream that felt so real?" His anger venting was soon interrupted as Karen walked back into the room.

"Talking to yourself already?" she smiled

"Mom, can I tell you something"

"Of course sweetheart. What's wrong?"

"Please don't think I'm weird"

"Ok?" she said uneasily

"While I was out, I had this dream. But it wasn't like a normal dream. It felt so weird. I had woken up from the coma and had moved on with my life. We finished our junior year of high school and started our senior year. That summer you had traveled to Australia after some guy."

"Lucas" she laughed

"No seriously. I saw it. And then Jimmy…" he stared at her. The memory of Jimmy and Keith was just too hard to retell, especially to his mother.

"What about Jimmy" she asked

"uh…never mind."

"Lucas. It was all just a dream"

"I know mom, but it was so real. Haley and Nathan got married"

"What" she screamed

"Twice actually, only the second time the limo went off a bridge. And Haley went on tour with a singer named Chris Keller"

"Lucas seriously"

"mom" he began to cry

She moved closer to him. "It's okay baby. It was all just a dream"

"But that's the thing. I cant separate my dream from reality. It was just so vivid, it was like I was actually living."

"I understand sweetheart. But dreams fade after some time. Don't worry, it'll be fine. You'll be fine" she smiled at him before kissing the top of his head. He stayed in her arms for a moment, trying to grasp the sense that this was reality, not the other world. "Are you hungry" she asked pulling away from him

"Starved"

"Good" she smiled and pulled some food out of a paper bag.

"I love you mom"

"I love you too my boy" she smiled

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"hey there boyfriend" Brooke smiled as she walked into the room.

"hi" he said softly. It was so weird hearing her call him her boyfriend. Yes in his dream world they had dated at the beginning of their senior year, but again he had screwed up with Peyton and hurt her again. He still remembered those words she said to him at Nathan and Haley's second wedding.

"I'm not pushing you away Lucas, I am holding on for dear life. But I need you to need me back. Why wouldn't you tell me about the kiss? And why wouldn't you call me while you were away? And why wont you ever just let me all the way in?" She cried into him. He didn't know the words to say to make it better.

She bounced over to his bed and gave him a kiss. She smiled and peered into his eyes. God he loved her so much. But this was ridiculous. He couldn't love two people, especially best friends. It was impossible. But he couldn't shake the feelings he had for both of them. He just didn't know how to go about it without experiencing all the pain he saw in the future. She sat down next to him on the bed.

"How are you feeling" she asked so sympathetically it made his heart hurt.

"Better I guess" he smiled. He needed time. Needed space to sort everything out. But he remembered when he told her the last time he just wanted to be friends. She was crushed, and then eventually had found out about him and Peyton.

"That's good. Do you need anything" she asked

"I think I'm good"

She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Lucas.

"Brooke I need to tell you something"

"Ok?"

"I think I need some space for a little. Just to sort some things out" her smile quickly faded from her face.

"What?" she asked. She was so hurt by what he just said. She loved him, and she was pretty sure that he loved her too. So why was he all of a sudden ending things. "You want to break up?" she asked, a few tears forming in her eyes.

"Brooke. You need to understand something. While I was unconscious, I had this dream. I dreamt about things that were so real, it felt like I was actually living it, you know what I mean?" she nodded her head, not really knowing where he was going with all of this. "I dreamt about us, and me and Peyton, and you and Peyton. I dreamt that we were in our senior year. I dreamt of a bunch of things Brooke. But most of all, I saw the pain I had caused us all. I made a lot of mistakes, with you, with Peyton." she tried to say something but he kept going. "and I know it's just a dream, but I can't help how real it seemed to me. So that is why I need time, to sort this all out. And it's not about Peyton. We're not together. I told her the same things. So please, just understand"

He paused, waited for her to say something, to show how hurt she was, just like Peyton had.

"I don't think I can understand completely Lucas. But I love you, and if this is what you want, I guess I'll have to accept it."

"Thanks Brooke"

"And you promise this isn't about Peyton"

"No I swear" he looked into her eyes. She deserved to at least know that they had kissed a few times. But it would crush her. But he didn't want things to happen like they did in his dream. "But I should tell you something"

She continued to look at him, a few tears began to slide down her cheek.

"Before the accident, Peyton and I….Peyton and I planned to tell you that…."

"Oh God"

"We were going to tell you that we wanted to be together." she bent her head over and began crying. How was this happening? "But I realize that that was a mistake. Brooke, I don't ever want to cause you pain. You or Peyton. And forming a relationship with one of you right now, is just not fair for any of us."

She slowly looked at him "Did you kiss her?" she asked so full of pain

"Yes" he uttered. She bent her head and began crying again.

"Brooke please don't cry. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. That's why I want to end things, because I saw all the pain I cause you two in the future."

"Like now?" she asked between sobs

"Brooke please. I still love you, and I think I always will, but I just need some time to sort this out. Please don't be mad"

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and finally looked back into his eyes. "I'm not mad Lucas. I'm not mad" she said shaking her head "I realize that probably some space is a good idea" she said before rising from her chair and turning to leave

"Brooke" he cried out to her. What the hell was he doing? She was hurting, exactly what he wanted to avoid.

"Lucas. It's okay. I hope you get better soon" she formed a tiny smile before sliding out the door. He just stared at it, wondering what was going on. Half of him wanted to crawl back into slumber, into the world he dreamt about. Because everyone was starting to be happy again, unlike now. Within the first hour or two since he awoke, he had already caused both Brooke and Peyton pain, the thing he wanted to avoid all together.

He wanted to see Haley. He wanted to see his best friend, and have her tell him that everything was going to be okay. Where was she? He tried to sort the fictional world from the real world, but it was hard. All he saw when he thought of Haley was her marriage to Nathan, and how they kind of lost touch with each other. He would do anything to avoid that. It was then that it hit him. Him and Haley had had a fight before the accident.

"You know what" she screamed "next time you see me don't talk to me" she yelled before turning to leave him room.

"Fine" he yelled just before the door had slammed shut.

Was she still mad at him? He hoped not. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Nathan's head peered around the opening of the door.

"Hey man" he said as he noticed Lucas was awake.

"Hey" Lucas returned the favor

"Can I come in?" he asked

"Of course. Sorry. I thought it was a given" Lucas smiled. Although in his dream, Lucas and Nathan were great friends, but in this reality, they were only beginning to form a friendship. The truth was, they still had some issues to work out.

"Glad to see you've finally decided to join us" Nathan jeered as he sat down on the chair.

"Tell me about it" Lucas smiled. There was a pause of awkward silence. "So where's Haley" Lucas finally asked

Nathan took a minute to answer. "She's scared to come"

"What? Why would she be scared to come and visit"

"Because she thinks you're mad at her"

"Why would I be mad at her?" Lucas was confused

"Because of the argument you two had before the accident. She thinks you're mad at her"

"That's ridiculous"

"That's what we've all been telling her man"

"Well then tell her again. I need her here Nathan"

"Then it's a good thing Peyton got to her"

"What?"

"Peyton came over after she was done visiting with you. She told us that you were awake. I told Haley that I would take her with me but….she didn't want to. She felt like it was all her fault or something. That's when Peyton talked to her, and convinced her to come down."

"So where is she?"

"Out in the hall. She wanted me to clear the air first." Lucas nodded his head in understanding.

"Thanks" Lucas said as Nathan got up and left the room.

The door soon opened again, revealing a sad friend standing in the doorway. Haley looked at Lucas lying in the bed. He gave her a smile and held open his arms. She lost it, she began crying, and ran into his arms. She cried into him, releasing the pain she felt for yelling at him.

"I'm so sorry" she cried

"Haley it's not your fault" he said as he wrapped his arms around his best friend. He was so glad to finally see her.

"I never meant the things I said"

"I know Hales" She sat up and looked at him. He wiped the hair from her face, and stuck it behind her ears. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm so glad to see you" he said

"Me too" she smiled. Maybe this world wasn't as bas as he thought. Maybe, it would eventually get better.

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So let me know what you think. I really like this idea and thought it would make a great story so...here you go...please leave comments...and any suggestions you might have...thank you and i hope you like it