Hello everyone! This is the promised sequel to An Unkindness of Ravens. Huge apology for the amount of time it took for me to get this sequel out...but I hope that you will still enjoy it. This is a 2-parter, originally I had it as a one-shot but it was far too long. I decided to separate it into 2 chapters. I might wait a day or to update on the 2nd installment...but if I get positive feedback quicker than expected then I will surely update immediately.
Very special thanks to JeytonBrucasNaley for her helping me write this! I was going to send you the entire finished piece, but I didn't want you to know the end until I posted it! Thanks again, couldn't have done it without you!
Warning: I'd advice you to read the one-shot that is the sequel to this- An Unkindess of Ravens. It might be hard to understand this sequel if you haven't read the previous one-shot, but it shouldn't be too hard to follow.
Flashbacks and quotes are in italics.
Disclaimer: I don't own oth.
A Benevolence of Ravens
-Sequel to An Unkindness of Ravens-
"Some people believe that ravens guide travelers to their destinations. Others believe that the sight of a solitary raven is considered good luck. But a group of ravens predicts trouble ahead."
Life is full of suprises. Some are good, like when we find love after a terrible heartbreak. Our dreams are suddenly fulfilled, and the past doesn't seem to matter anymore because what we have in the present is overwhelmingly spectacular. But then again, other suprises are cruelly unexpected. There are those that are so shocking that they leave us filled with sadness, regret, and despair. These rude awakenings are called An Unkindness of Ravens.
When faced with the unknown, most of us prefer to turn around and go back. But once in awhile, people push on to something better. Something found just beyond the quiet persistance of a dream. For it is only when we are tested that we truly discover who we are and who we can be. This discovery- when we conquer our deepest fears, regrets, and heartaches...it is not called an unkindness of ravens. Unkindness and unfortunate situations in life are inevitable; good things to follow are always promised. And this happy time, when we surge on to something better, something profound and beautiful...it is called A Benevolence of Ravens.
He stood before the large brick house, attempting to develop the courage to walk inside and tell his girlfriend what had occurred that night. He knew that it had to be done. Peyton was leaving to go to LA with Brooke tommorow, and he couldn't let her go without telling her what had happened with her best friend.
Brooke Davis had walked away from him that night. He had pronounced his love for her, and she had rejected him.
In a flash, he made his way toward her and crashed his lips upon her own. Once again, they met in a passionate kiss, and feelings long suppressed were set free as they lost themselves in each other. Just as he was about to deepen the kiss, she pushed him away, anger evident in her eyes.
"This can't happen, Lucas. Not now, not ever. You didn't choose me. You chose her."
"Then I guess I chose wrong," he replied.
Her lips trembled at his words, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She couldn't be put through this again, she wouldn't be put through this again.
"Please don't say that, Lucas."
"You told me you were always going to love me, Brooke. Truth is, I'm always going to love you too," he said.
She took a deep breath, and mustered every ounce of the powerful and courageous woman she was. She couldn't fall back into his arms again, back into a relationship of three people. Peyton was always going to be involved, and nothing was ever going to change that.
"But love isn't going to be enough for us, Luke," she said, her voice breaking as she spoke. "It can't be."
He had spent the last 2 years of his life trying to escape the pain of the endless "love triangle." It was a merry-go-round of feelings. He went from Brooke, to Peyton, then back again. He assumed that it was all over, that his relationship with Peyton during senior year was unbreakable. Yet it took one kiss with a beautiful brunette to put an end to his assumption.
He gazed up at the huge brick house, and took a deep breath. Quietly, he pushed open her front door- he couldn't ring the door-bell so late at night. The house was dark and filled with shadows, and he faintly remembered the many times that he had entered her house during their relationship. Peyton and Lucas were good together, they were two of a kind. But she was leaving for the entire Summer, and for the life of him, Lucas Scott couldn't figure out why he wasn't asking her to stay. Until he had kissed her best friend, and his answer was suddenly thrust upon him. He entered her room, and found Peyton sitting on her bed, focusing on a picture that she was drawing. He cleared his throat to let her know that he was there, and her face immediately shot up. She smiled when she saw him, unaware of what he was preparing to tell her. She jumped off the bed to kiss him, but just before her lips touched his own, he turned away from her.
"Luke? What's wrong?" she asked, a sound of alarm in her voice.
He couldn't face her, so instead he moved to the other side of the room to look at some pictures she had placed on the wall. He felt her eyes following his every move, and with his back turned to her, he said, "Peyton...something happened tonight."
She made her way to his side and turned his face to look at him. Her hands found their way to the back of his neck, and he finally found the courage to meet her eyes. His normal piercing blue's were filled with utter sadness- a quiet warning that he had done something that was going to jeopardize their relationship.
And that's when she knew.
She pulled away from him instantly, as if his skin had burned her own. Her eyes danced with anger and hurt, and she asked, "It's her, isn't it?"
He said nothing, but then again he didn't need to. The evidence was already there, and his clarification of his own infidelity wasn't needed. That look was in his eye- the one that could only be caused by one girl, and that girl was certainly not Peyton Sawyer. And he smelled like her perfume...the strong scent of Brooke Davis.
"How could you, Lucas?" she prodded, the threat of tears swelling in her eyes.
"I didn't want this to happen, Peyton."
"What happened? You can at least tell me that, since you're suddenly at a great loss of words."
He ran his hands through his long blonde hair and replied, "It was at the party tonight. I kissed Brooke...and I told her that I loved her."
His words were like bullets. She felt a strong pressure in her chest, as if she couldn't breathe. She quickly sat in her computer chair, afraid that if she continued to stand she might just fall. But then again, he had already pushed her down.
"You...you love her?" her timid voice asked.
He nodded, and said, "Please try to understand. You of all people should know that you can't help who you love."
Peyton furiously wiped her tears away as anger flashed in her eyes. She had said that to Brooke months ago, and in turn destroyed the relationship that Brooke and Lucas had. Ironically, those words had come back to destroy her own relationship with Lucas.
"Don't use my own words against me, Lucas."
Lucas only nodded in understanding. He was thankful that it wasn't Brooke that stood before him right now. Although that was a terrible thought, he knew that it was an even harder ordeal to tell Brooke Davis that he loved her best friend. After all, he had done it before, and Brooke's wrath was much more terrifying than Peyton's ever would be.
"And what about her," she asked venomously, "did she just fall right back into your arms again?"
He knew that this was a tough situation, that Peyton was allowed to be mad. But if Brooke Davis was anything at all, it would have to be loyal.
Intent to defend Brooke, Lucas said, "Actually, she said that she would never do to you what you did to her."
His words stung her, but she knew that they were true. Peyton had been in this exact situation only 2 years ago, except this time she wasn't the one sneaking behind her best friend's back.
"Look, Peyton...you need to understand that this was my doing, not Brooke's. If you're going to lay the blame on anyone, do it on me, not on her. She was loyal to you, she refused me."
Peyton said nothing in return, she only stared him down with an icy glare. "You know that I love you, Peyton, but-"
"You're in love with her," she finished for him.
He nodded his head, thankful that she somehow understood what he had done, seeing that she had previously done the same thing herself.
"Please leave, Lucas," she said, and with that she turned her back on him.
He did as she asked, and made his way to her door so he could leave. But before he left, he said, "Please don't be mad, Peyton."
She stood before him, an array of tears and hopelessness as she fought tirelessly with the boy she loved.
"Okay why didn't you tell me about the kiss! And why didn't you call me while you were away," she screamed, pounding her hands on his chest to emphasize her point."And why won't you ever just let me all the way in?"
He was crestfallen at the sight of her. She was hysterical and afraid, and he didn't know what to say or what to do to make it better. He felt the hot sting of the tears that were forming in his eyes as he shook his head, unable to answer the sobbing girl before him.
"We have to go and give our toasts now- about love," she said, her voice hoarse from her hysterics.
Her words sliced through him, their true meaning burning a hole in his heart. He knew what she meant...they had to go and speak about love, when their own was slowly but surely falling apart.
She swiftly turned away from him, but was stopped when he said, "Please don't be mad, Brooke."
"I'm not mad, Lucas," she whispered, "I'm not mad."
He had said the same words to Brooke only a few months ago, in the futile attempt to make up for the fact that Peyton had kissed him. And here he was, telling Peyton not to be mad because he had kissed Brooke. Ironically, she delivered the same answer that Brooke had.
"I'm not mad, Lucas. I'm not mad."
She was crushed.
2 weeks later
Heartache is a terrible thing. Most of us try to ride it out, with the hope that it will go away and never resurface again. There are no solutions for a broken heart; no mathematical or surgical procedure can seal the wounds of a lost love. It was Summertime, and Lucas Scott understood the pain of a lost love all too well. He hadn't lost one, but two girls he had loved before the Summer even begun. It was a strange sensation for him: there had always been two constants in Lucas' life, two girls that he could always turn to. There was Peyton Sawyer, the tortured artist that understood him all too well. She was mysterious and subdued, intricate and pretty...she was his perfect match. But then there was Brooke Davis, the force to be reckoned with. She was fiercely independent; brilliant, and beautiful, and brave. She was his exact opposite. Lucas was serious and cautious; Brooke was spontaneous and carefree. And as the saying goes...opposites always attract. Yet within the course of a single night, Lucas Scott had managed to lose them both.
On the corner of Summit Avenue, in Tree Hill, North Carolina, sat a huge white house with a bold red door. The house was clearly built for the rich and priveledged. Brilliant green grass swept across the vast expanse of the lawn, which was decorated with well-kept gardens. Red flowers could be seen on the edges of the walk, perfectly copying the solid red color of the front door. A single car was parked on the street directly in front of the house, and Lucas Scott sat inside.
He gazed up at the sight of the former Davis home, his thoughts winding their way through his mind as he studied the place where the woman he loved used to live. He sat in the driver's seat of his own car, with a notebook perched on the passenger's seat. Lucas Scott had only graduated from high school a few weeks ago, but he was already setting off to become a writer. He never left the house without a notebook, just in case he needed to write down some brilliant idea or thought. And as he sat in front of Brooke Davis' old house, a million thoughts ran through his head that needed to be written down. He took a deep breath and grabbed the notebook that sat beside him. He retrieved a pen from his pocket, opened the notebook to a blank white page, and allowed his thoughts to make their way onto paper:
She had no one, but that never seemed to matter. There were no traces of her family...just a house with a bold red door. Inside the house there lived a girl, one that never seemed to believe in her own worth. She was beautiful, but she barely knew just how much. She was smart, but she didn't believe it. Her independence and fierce nature made up for her lack of a family. She was brilliant and I loved her, but she also left for the entire Summer, and I can't do a thing about it. The girl that used to live behind the red door is the one I miss the very most.
He abruptly stopped writing, and folded the notebook closed. He knew that this was wrong, he couldn't keep doing this for the entire Summer. Ever since the night of the graduation party, Lucas Scott had been a complete mess. He spent his time thinking about the girls he lost, and the mistakes he had made. He hadn't talked to Peyton since he walked away from her the night that they broke up. He didn't know if she went away with Brooke or not, for all he knew she was still in Tree Hill sulking like he was. He hadn't heard a thing from Brooke since the night he told her he loved her. According to Haley and Nathan, she had boarded a plane to go to California just like she planned to. He didn't dare ask if Peyton had accompanied her; he was far too guilty to bring her up in a conversation.
The minutes turned into hours, the hours into days, and the days into weeks. And for 2 weeks, Lucas Scott had sat outside of Brooke Davis' old home every single day. He didn't know how long he stayed for each time. Sometimes it would be for hours, other times it would only be for a few minutes. He was heartbroken, and this was the only way he knew how to ease his pain.
He opened his notebook once again, and read the last sentence that he wrote: "The girl that used to live behind the red door is the one I miss the very most."
He closed his eyes, and allowed a faraway memory to resurface.
"So what are you gonna miss most about me?" she teasingly questioned.
Brooke was due to leave for California sometime within the next week, just before the school year was about to end. She would be gone for the entire Summer, and she was clearly reluctant to leave.
"I can only choose one thing?" he asked.
"Yes! And it has to be something good, not how much you'll miss hanging out with me or how hot I am."
Lucas tapped his fingers on his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. "Hmm," he murmured, "Neither one of those?"
A brilliantly wide smile shown across her face as she replied, "No!"
"Damn," he said, with a snap of his fingers.
Then, suddenly, the playfulness vanished from his deep blue eyes, and was replaced by a serious and passionate gaze.
"I'd miss the girl behind the red door," he said, and he made a gesture toward his own door. She gave him a strange and confused look, as she took in the sight of the red door that he was pointing to.
"Come on," he said. He opened the door to his room, and she stepped inside, gaping at the sight before her. All of her things were surrounding her: pictures, luggage, posters, and most importantly the white doll-house that was the perfect replica of her old home. Her face was in apparent shock as she said, "This is all my stuff. I don't understand."
"I had my mom talk to your parents, and they said that you could stay hear till the Summer. They didn't want to, Brooke...but my mom can be really convincing," he answered.
Her eyes began to glisten with tears and she asked, "You did this for me?"
"I wasn't ready to lose you yet."
He opened his eyes, and all images of the two of them together completely vanished. Once again, they became just a memory. He looked at the words that he had previously written about Brooke Davis, and his eyes focused on a particular sentence.
"She was brilliant and I loved her, but she also left for the entire Summer, and I can't do anything about it."
Two years ago she was planning on leaving to go to California, and he had stalled her departure by offering her his own home to stay in. But in the end, he had let her escape for the entire Summer. "I can do something about it," he said to himself. He swiftly pushed his keys into the ignition and drove off, leaving Brooke's old house far behind him. Within minutes, he had reached his own home. He quickly went inside, opened his laptop, and bought a single airline ticket to California for the next morning.
Last time, he had lost her for the Summer. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
To Be Continued...
Remember, this is a 2-parter story, so I'll be updating soon... be sure to review!