"So tonight's the night with Lucas, is it?" Is it? Peyton wondered. Brooke slapped her best friend on the butt as she passed, flipping up the skirt of her cheerleading uniform.

"Brooke!" gasped Peyton, pulling her skirt back down and looking around to make sure nobody had seen her underwear, "Stop it!"

"Go for it girl. You know you want it." Tossing her glossy brown hair over her shoulder, Brooke turned, blowing a kiss over her shoulder at her best friend as she left the gym.

Peyton stayed where she was. Lucas came up behind and touched her on the waist, earning a slight jump and another gasp from Peyton. She turned, feeling him run his fingers through her blonde curls, tipping back her head slightly so that his fingers grazed the sensitive spot at the base of her neck. Then he slid his fingers into hers and pulled her gently away, from the gym.

--

The regular beat of an old band's album pulsed through Peyton's bedroom. Lucas was lying on his back, on her bed, arms behind his head. Peyton finished adjusting the stereo and crawled onto the bed. She thought it was high time she had some fun, and Lucas was lying on her bed. Hmm.

'So, when do I get to read your … book ?" she asked him, seductive half-smile making Lucas' resolve melt. He smiled, putting out his hands to Peyton's shoulders, massaging until she closed her eyes and let her head fall back.

"Soon," he managed. Peyton crawled up the length of his body, knees on either side of his hips, dropping her lips to meet his. He held her face near his with his hands in her hair, kissing her lips, her chin, every part of her face that he could reach.

Crash! Derek emerged from the wrecked doorway, hands grabbing at her hair…

"No!" she cried, pushing at the hands that encircled her waist. Struggling against the hold, pulling, wrenching herself from the grasp, tumbling, grabbing, and then she was on the floor, crying.

"Peyton! What is it?" Lucas sat on the side of the bed, staring helplessly at Peyton as she lay, writhing and crying on the floor. Gently, he lifted her in his arms, and pulled her back onto the bed, onto his lap. Shaking her hair out of her eyes, she looked into his hazel ones.

"Oh, God," she broke down, crying again. Shoulders heaving, Lucas held her tightly, hugging gently.

"It's Derek, isn't it?" Lucas asked her tenderly. She nodded, still not letting go of him. He cursed the man that had done this to her, the man who had broken her spirit, made her unsure.

"It's OK. I'm here," he told her softly. Her sobs subsided after a while, and Lucas let his body relax. He touched a hand to her hair.

Thud! All she could see was the inside of the bag as everything turned dark. Hand pulled at her, lifting her, and she couldn't tell if the screams were her own…

She turned her head back to Lucas' shoulder, crying again, collapsing onto the bed. How could she let him do this to her? Lucas was wondering the same thing. It wasn't fair.

"Lucas, I'm sorry," Peyton recovered herself, pushing the curls out of her face and allowing Lucas to stroke the tears from her face with his fingers. "It shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't…"

"I know … I know." Much as Lucas wanted to kill the one who had done this to her, he was prepared to wait, to help her get better. She could do it, he had confidence that she could. He just had to be patient.

"Would you like me to sleep here tonight?" Lucas asked. Peyton nodded, silently thankful that she had him to protect her.

--

"Everything alright now?" Lucas asked. Peyton nodded, fingers intertwined with his, under the covers in the dark. With Lucas next to her, it was hard to imagine anything going wrong. She rolled over to face him.

"I'm sorry about that, Lucas. I didn't mean it to … I mean, I just want it to go away."

"I want that too." He looked up, into her face, moving his head onto her pillow, an inch away from her face. She put two fingers under his chin and lifted his lips to hers. He opened his mouth to taste her, letting her slip her tongue into his mouth. His hands roamed under the sheet, pulling on her singlet, running over her back, stroking her shoulders, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Lucas," she gasped, breathlessly, "Stop. Seriously, please…" With an effort, she managed to tear herself away, gently taking his hand off her breast.

"I love you, Lucas. But … I told you I wanted our first time to be special…" She trailed off, and gave him another hot, open-mouthed kiss. He smiled.

"And that means … you not bursting out crying right before hand, does it?"

"Shut up." Peyton hit him, her small hands doing no damage to his muscles chest. At the same time she as furious with Derek. She wanted Lucas so badly. Derek wasn't even here and he was getting in the way. The desperate … pretender … she struggled to think of words for him. Luckily, she had Lucas.

" Tomorrow, Peyton. Everything will be alright tomorrow. "

" 'Nite, Luke." And with that, she rolled over so that he could reach his hands around to hug her safely while they slept.