AN: I don't usually write fanfic but this one has been lingering in my head for a while so I decided just to get it out.
All reviews and comments will of course be most welcome... tell me what y'all think;)
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The things we do to stop the noise.
Lucas Scott lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He got up and swung his legs over the sides of the bed, sitting there in deep contemplation. He had just returned to Tree Hill after spending five days sailing with Andy doing nothing but... sailing. And fishing. That's right; they also managed to squeeze in some fishing among all the sailing.
He grimaced at the memory of Andy gutting open their dinner every night, reminding himself to stay clear of fish for the next few hundred meals.
Lucas suspected Andy had been trying to initiate some kind of male bonding between them in an effort to lift him out of his post-altar fiasco slump. It was times like these when he missed Keith's presence in his life. He imagined Keith dragging him down to the shop and forcing him to get stuck under the hood of a car which was probably impossible to fix but would be the perfect challenge to distract him from reality.
Lucas shook his head, trying to dispell such kind of thinking from his brain. It was sure to do nothing but add even more weight to his already sunken heart. To be fair, he reasoned with himself, Andy's intentions were noble and that's what should count. He was a good man, always had been, as Lucas recalled incidents from the past. But most importantly, Andy made his mother smile and took away the sadness from her eyes. That was enough for Lucas. But still, regardless of all that, at that moment in time, Lucas did not feel the relaxation or ease the trip was meant to bring to him. Instead, he was stuck with a queasy lingering at the pit of his stomach. He blamed this on the fact that he hadn't managed to shake off his sea legs since they had docked earlier that evening. That had to be it. It couldn't be because he was finally back to the real world where he had to now not only deal with his struggling basketball team but also finally face the repercussions of his wedding day fiasco. And it certainly couldn't be because he knew he had to face her. It couldn't.
A deep, frustrated sigh escaped his body, almost as if he was trying to push out that queasiness and relieve the weight he felt trapped under. Lucas Scott was in dire need of some release. He had too much going on in his head for him to be even thinking about relaxing. He decided that he was in need of some adrenaline. Something, anything to push out the questions in his head because he sure as hell did not have an answer for a single one of them.
He grabbed his basketball from the shelf and gave it a tame little bounce. It had been gathering dust in that one spot, neglected in the craziness of the last couple of weeks. As he was about to make his way out, a young girl, no more than four years old, came barging in to his room, and abruptly planted herself in the middle of his room, arms crossed defiantly across her chest.
"Hey booger, what are you doing still up?"
On her return to Tree Hill, Karen had decided to call it quits on her world tour and settle down in order to provide some normalcy for her daughter, Lucas's sister, Lilly. For Lucas it meant that he had a full house while Andy waited on finalizing the purchase of a house. Lucas didn't mind one bit. It was Karen's house anyway plus it was nice to have his mother and little sister around, precocious as she may have been.
"Are you gonna play?"
He couldn't help but break out in a smile as he watched her eyes light up with anticipation when she pointed to the basketball nestling between his arm and his hip.
"Maybe..."
"Please, please can I come? Pleaase Luke!"
She ran up to him and gave his sleeve a little tug, staring up at him with her big brown eyes full of pleading. As usual, Lucas could not resist the adorableness that personified his little sister. He responded to her pleas by scooping her off the ground and nestling her by his side like his basketball. He yelled out to Karen, informing her that he was kidnapping the little booger for a while.
"Don't call me that!"
"But you are what you are... booger!"
"Am not!"
The sibling banter continued as Lucas finally left his room, armed with a basketball and a Lilly on either side of him.
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"...and remember, we're trying to keep April free for the opening gig on the Pete Yorn tour. No interviews, nothing, okay?"
Peyton Sawyer wearily ran her fingers through her curls as she finished what felt like the hundredth phone call that evening. Ever since the release of Mia's single, her workload felt like it had trebled; it was hardly unexpected given her stubborn determination to stay true to the music and Mia during this whole process. Plus she still didn't trust John so the more she involved herself in Mia's career, the more she could ensure that John's influence was at a minimum. Of course, more than anything else, work distracted her from dwelling on the events that had transpired over the last month.
At first there was numbness. It must have been the shock of it all; the shock of hearing him accept her as his wife, the one to share the rest of his life and dreams with. Hearing it out loud had made it real and that was a reality she could never really be prepared for. This was marriage to another woman – definitely not a high school triangle anymore. This time, she wasn't faced with the prospect of spotting them holding hands in the Tree Hill High hallways. No, she was faced with the prospect of witnessing the beginning of their new life together as husband and wife. Peyton knew how it felt to be shot and when she heard him utter his "I do", it felt like she had been shot once again only this time, the bullet pierced through her heart.
So was she supposed to be happy or even relieved when Lindsey interrupted and ended the union? Happy or relieved were the last emotions that were familiar to Peyton now. She had almost failed to register the significance of Lindsey's words during her objections; she had said something about him waiting for a comet to return and Peyton being the comet in question. What did that exactly mean for them, Peyton had wondered afterwards. If anything, life had just become even more complicated. Did she now keep trying to move on? Or should she let him back in? Would he even want to be let back in? What did this all mean for Lucas and Peyton?
The vibrating noise of an incoming text message startled Peyton out her little pensive trance. She berated herself for getting swept up in this kind of pointless thinking. She had adopted a "best not to think about it" approach to the whole situation, and it had been working… so far.
Peyton chuckled to herself as she read the text message she had just received from Brooke:
" P.Sawyer, it is way too late for you to still be working. I demand you stop right now. Feel free to have a couple of drinks at Tric before you come home – BTB is coming over for dinner tnight;O)"
So Brooke had a date at the house with BTB aka Owen "The Bartender Boy", which meant that Peyton should probably try and stay out of their way for a while. The watch on her desk read 9:00pm. Brooke was right, Peyton should really be done for the day by now but what were her alternatives? She couldn't go home yet and she certainly did not want to have a drink at Tric by herself. Her eyes drifted to a pile of cd's lying on her desk. One of the perks of her job was that she had what seemed like an infinite supply of new music. Every week she would receive cds from unsigned artists, agents, managers, all hoping to catch her attention and do with them what she had achieved with Mia. She did her best to listen to them all but time was a precious commodity these days. Peyton decided this would be a perfect opportunity for her to catch up on some music, and an even better opportunity to finally get out of the office for the day.
--
Some things will always remain sacred. Growing up doesn't change a thing.
Peyton Sawyer had a tendency to get lost in the night air when she drove around Tree Hill with the flow of lyrics and melody echoing in her car, and this was just such a night. She knew that no matter how low life felt at any moment, she could always find comfort or even an escape simply by starting up her car and turning on her stereo. She would become so engrossed in the music and the motion of the car, that often, she would lose complete track of where she was driving, just as she had done now.
Peyton looked around at her surroundings and realized that she had driven out to the River Court without realizing. She scrutinized the area to make sure that there was no one around before pulling up her car under a tree. It was still too early to go back home so why not enjoy the night in the open air comfort of her car with some music for added atmosphere. Sounded like a good idea to her. Cranking up the volume on her stereo, she reclined back on to the leather seats of her comet convertible and shut her eyes, allowing her thoughts to disappear in the music.
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"Okay here's the deal, Booger. I'm gonna let you down and then we're gonna race to the court. The last one there has to do the basketball dance."
Lucas Scott playfully bounced his little sister on his back as they made their way towards the River Court.
"Aw Luke, you know I hate doing that dance!"
"Well if you win, you won't have to."
Lucas swung her off his back and planted her down on the grass in front of him. She was barely on the ground when she made a run for the tarmac of the court. He watched her sprint off as he followed with a slow jog. Of course he would let her win, he always did. Finally, he broke out in to a short sprint to reach Lilly who by now was standing way out in the center of the court.
"Okay okay you win Booger! You didn't have to run out this far!"
But Lilly wasn't really paying attention to Lucas; instead, her attention was focused on the convertible parked on the other side of the court.
"Hey Luke, look, that's your friend's really cool car!"
As soon as Lucas looked towards where Lilly was pointing, his stomach did a little flip. A faint hum of music reached them through the darkness as he spotted her reclined across her front seat, eyes shut, completely oblivious to the world.
"Let's go say hi!"
Before he could stop her, Lilly took off towards the car.
"Great."
Lucas silently cursed himself and the stars above for putting him in this situation tonight of all nights. So much for taking his mind off things.
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Okay so this chapter was a little light on the plot but I wanted to establish both their frames of mind in the beginning. The following chapters will pick up with the plot though.