A/N: So, this is my first fanfic EVER! Hopefully you'll like it. This is set at the beginning of Season Five, but with one major change. Lucas has already been approached to turn his book into a movie.

I do not own One Tree Hill or anything associated with the show, including but not limited to: characters, locations, situations, etc. I'm simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

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She closed the door of the hotel room behind her and struggled to keep from screaming. Assistant to the Assistant. What a fucking joke. She gripped the handle of the door as she took in a deep breath and calmed down.

Peyton hated her job sometimes. Okay, most times. Fine… ALWAYS. But it had to get better, right? After all, that's the reason she forced herself to go to work everyday, despite knowing that the only difference she made was whether her ass of a boss got his disgustingly overpriced caffeine drink on time or not. It's also why she agreed to go on this stupid errand for the already mentioned asshat that should be beneath her. And that's the reason that three years ago in this very hotel, she didn't immediately agree to marry Lucas.

Lucas.

That one word would always be her downfall, she knew. She tried to push him out of her mind before everything came flooding to her, threatening to choke her with longing and need. But it was too late, already the memories were there. His intense blue eyes that could always look right through whatever façade she had manage to conjure up and straight into her soul. His strong jaw and smart ass mouth that would break into the grin that would make her knees weak. His muscular arms that held her tight on so many night, that saved her countless times. His…

She felt her cheeks burn. Amazing how quickly her thoughts of him seem to go in that direction. Maybe Brooke was right, she need to get laid. But she couldn't date. Peyton couldn't bring herself to look past the fact that whatever guy she tried to get to know wasn't Lucas. The one guy that managed to survive the first date simply did because she needed it to.

Julian hadn't been Lucas, either. But considering that she had just seen Lucas kissing his new girlfriend (that man-faced bitch), that was pretty much the appeal. He had been good to her and he made her love him. But there was always that tall skinny blond boy that she could never let go. And Julian knew it, so he had let her go.

So there was no dating for her and trolling bars for one night stands was out of the question. She wasn't wired that way, and despite all the urgings from her best friend, she had been as celibate as a monk. Well, maybe not. She still "Brooked" herself. Especially when the memories and her need for physical comfort became too much for her to take. Like now.

But now was definitely not the time and definitely not the place for that kind of release. The last thing Peyton needed was to get herself arrested for indecent behavior in a hotel hallway.

She just needed to get her mind off of her lost love's strong lines and hard…

Oh. That was going to be harder than she thought. At least she's not a boy with their tell-tale signs of arousal. Oh, but that didn't help the fact that her underwear felt a little tight. She rummaged through her purse and took out two items to help distract her: her mp3 player and her book.

In went the earbuds and out came the sounds of La Rocca's "Non Believer." The song that Max had prescribed to her after Lucas had his heart attack had served as her go-to song whenever she needed a little refill in the hope department. The shoulders that she didn't even realized had tensed up, relaxed as her nimble artistic fingers flipped the pages of the worn book in her hands until she found what she was looking for…

"Peyton Sawyer is destined for greatness.
Actually, she's already great, because
Peyton Sawyer had a thing called integrity.
And nothing and no one is ever going to change that."

His words had an immediate effect on her. Her arousal faded to the background and she succumbed to the comfort of his words. She felt his love and admiration for her when he wrote those words wrap around her like a warm blanket. Without her eyes ever leaving the page, her hand found the button for the elevator.

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It had been two years since Lucas had last been in Los Angeles. Not since his book tour… not since Peyton had made it perfectly clear that there was nothing left between them. He had never thought much of the city and those memories did nothing to change his opinion. But LA was where movies got made, and that was what he was trying to do. Or rather, what Lindsey wanted him to do.

Luke! It's a great opportunity. Think about it," she pleaded.

A sigh. "I've thought about it, Linds," he started and then stopped. "I just don't know if I want An Unkindness of Ravens out there like that. It's personal."

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "So personal that you published it so that everyone else could read it?"

Crap. She had him there. "It's different."

"How? How is it different?" Her eyes locked onto his. There was no escape this time. He had managed to derail the conversation too many times in the last week and Lindsey was determined not to let him get away with it this time.

He opened his mouth and closed it again quickly. He was going to have to tread carefully. This was heading towards dangerous waters. How was he going to explain to his new girlfriend that he couldn't bear having to relive all the wonderful times with his… with his Peyton. Nearly three years after they broke up and he still couldn't call her his ex-girlfriend. She was still his Peyton. Except that she wasn't, not really.

His mind raced for a plausible explanation. One that would sound good enough for her. One that would close this conversation (argument) forever. Lindsey's eyes narrowed and he knew he was running out of time. And then, it hit him.

"Because I wrote it, Lindsey. I just can't have someone else mess it up, changing details to suit whoever." There, that should do it.

Her eyes darted around, studying his handsome face, looking for something. "Is that the only reason you don't want to do this?"

"Of course," he lied. He blinked. It always bothered him how easy it was to lie to Lindsey. Peyton would have… He willed himself not to finish the thought.

She smiled. "Well then, you don't have to worry about that. The producer wants you to write the screenplay. So, it will still be you writing it."

Oh, he thought but said nothing.

Not that she really even gave him a chance to. "After all, it's not like you're actually writing your second book like you're supposed to be doing." Her voice was light, but it sounded a little forced. "Maybe writing the screenplay might kick start your creative juices and you could actually give me some pages to edit so I could do my job."

He groaned. Lindsey couldn't help but bring up his writer's block in every conversation they had. She was his editor, so he couldn't get mad at her for that. But because she was just a editor, she didn't understand that words don't just come to you if you will them to. You have to be inspired. Lucas knew she would never understand that part. Not like Peyton…

He realized that Lindsey was still staring at him, studying him. She was probably waiting for a response. He swallowed hard to get rid of the lump in his throat.

"Great. That sounds… great." The reply was less than what she had hoped for but more than she had expected.

"Well, don't sound too enthusiastic about it, Luke."

He started to explain but she cut him off before he could even begin.

"It's fine." Her voice made it clear that it was anything but fine. "I'm just going to call Julian to give him the good news and we can then get the ball rolling."

And that was that. He knew better than to back out of it. Lindsey would get angry with him. And he didn't want that. She had been really great these past few years. Sure, her position often caused him no end of annoyance. But she was just doing her job. And she was so proud of him, having his novel (possibly? maybe?) turned into a novel.

But because of that he was now stuck in a city he hated, meeting with people that made his skin crawl, talking about doing a project he didn't want to do. And what was worse, they had set him up in that hotel. Thankfully it was a different room. But still, was it any wonder that the first thing he had done when he entered his room was raid the mini-fridge? He knew that being slightly drunk wasn't going to help him forget anything, but at the very least, it would help him get through yet another meeting with slimy movie people.

He walked to the elevator and for the umpteenth time, he started looking over his contract. It was full of lawyer-speak and movie jargon and he had no idea what it said. His lawyer assured him that it was both on the up and up and extremely beneficial to him. Even so, he kept looking over it, hoping that something,anything would jump out of the page at him and he would have reason not to sign it. He sighed and he pushed the button for the elevator.

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Peyton stepped into the elevator, her head lightly moving to the music. She hit the button for the hotel lobby and leaned against the wall, fully engrossed in the words of the man who once loved her so much. The man that couldn't wait for her. Usually, anger rose up in her at that point, but today she was much too tired for that. Instead the anger was replaced with a dull ache. Her eyes watered a bit and she had to blink several times before the words on the page came back into focus.

The elevator move downward and two floors later, it stopped.

The elevator doors opened and in walked Lucas Scott. But neither of them noticed the other. They were both so busy with the literature in their respective hands. The doors closed and the elevator started its journey downward once again.

"Lobby, please," he said to his companion in the steel box without looking up from his contract. When Lucas registered no movement beside him, he looked up to see the "L" button already lit up.

He turned to the other occupant with a sheepish smile on his face when he saw her.

Peyton Sawyer was standing there, not even realizing he was there. Her blonde hair was longer than he had last seen it and she looked a little skinnier too. But there was no mistaking those beautiful legs that drove him wild for as long as he could remember.

Her skin prickled a bit and she could feel the guy who had just come in staring at her. She was in no mood to be ogled by some prick who thought that just because she wasn't wearing a habit that she wanted it.

"What?" Peyton snapped, even before she had made visual contact with the guy. But it wasn't a guy. It was the guy. Her guy.

"Lucas?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she pulled the earbuds out of her ears. Her hands were trembling, as if they were begging to touch him. Her body ached suddenly with the need to be pressed against him. But Peyton stayed where she stood and just stared at his amazingly perfect face.

His face that had hardened. "Peyton."

His cold tone hit her like a shot in the chest.

And then the lights went out and the elevator stopped suddenly.