Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or anything related to it.
AN: Just a short little one-shot because it's February 1st and I felt like posting something. As always, it's JulianxPeyton.
Sometimes Julian Baker thought he knew everything about Peyton Sawyer.
And then she would go and do, or say, something completely opposite of what he would have expected. Sometimes it is a little infuriating, and other times it is refreshing and intriguing, and he completely loved that about her. There are actually a lot of things he loves about her. He tried to make a list once but he never finished it because there was always something else to add. Of course he loves some of the reasons more than others, but when it comes down to it, everything makes her who she is. And he wouldn't have her any other way.
He knows she is special. In a good way. In a really good way. In a life changing way. When he can be the one to dry her tears and make her smile, he feels a special sort of fulfillment. It is really, kind of, addicting, but totally enduring at the same time. Conversely, when he is the reason a flicker of doubt crosses her features, he feels a new low. A low he has trouble describing. A low that he vows to never feel again by insuring he doesn't hurt her, but somehow he manages to screw up and it hurts when he sees that look on her face. To hurt when someone else is hurting is a completely new experience to him. He has never been this invested in another person, and he loves that it is Peyton who he is invested in.
He knows Peyton works for the big record companies because she still genuinely believes that there are artists who still make music for hearts, not for profit. She really tries not to care that her boss continuously chooses the skanky girls and excessively groomed boys with autotuned voices over bands and singer-songwriters with genuine talent and potential, because she knows when she's running the business, things will be different. He knows this, because she tells him all her hopes and dreams every single time they watch the sun set at his father's beach house, and he absolutely loves that she still has that kind of faith in the world.
He knows she spends her free time without him roaming the streets of the NoHo Arts District. Many the shop owners know her because she takes the time to talk with each one of them whenever she visits. She knows personal details, because she actually cares about how other people are doing. She brings home records every single time because she absolutely had to have because it was significant in some way to her. Some contain songs that remind her of moments that have long since passed, some contain songs that renew her hope and faith in music, and some are just plain amazing. Then, there are the books. Books from an assortment of shops about music and people and great things that she always swears will change his life. Sometimes she comes home with random bits of art, little kitchy things, that she claims make their apartment a real sort of home. And he really loves all those little things because it means she wants to have a real sort of home with him.
He knows that Peyton usually has dinner on the table when she comes home before he does, usually from a restaurant they both love. He's never believed that that should be solely a woman's job, but it is really sweet of her. She has tried to make dinner a few times, and they turned out edible, but just barely. He still smiled and praised her cooking as he ate it, because he is beyond grateful that she makes the effort, no one has ever really done that before. She usually begins to giggle before they are six bites in and asks him where they should order from. And he loves that she is okay with failing in part of her life, and isn't afraid to take alternative paths.
He doesn't know why she does it, really. But sometimes those books she brings to their home are copies of a book she already owns. A book that is almost completely about her life, and her best friend's life, or what was their life in high school. And the number she owns is slightly ridiculous in his mind. He can understand having a hardback and a paperback, and maybe a second edition. But owning eight copies of the same exact book does not make him feel secure. Not when said book was written about the love she shared with a boy who proposed to her first. And while he appreciates her life before him, he doesn't love all the copies of the book she has to remind her of it.
But he knows her friends from 'back home' are important to her. The pictures that sit on their bookshelves and on the walls prove it. He knows when she is feeling particularly homesick because she will put on an old Ravens t-shirt. A t-shirt with 'Ravens Cheer' emblazoned across the front. He knows exactly what she looked like in her uniform. The picture her best friend gave her for her last birthday makes him wish he went to high school with her. But when that shirt makes an appearance he knows that she is not going to be in the mood to do anything but cuddle and watch a good film. If he is patient, and waits for her to work through it herself, she'll talk. She has stories that he wishes he could have been a part of. Stories about driving to Texas to retrieve a friend from jail and crashing a prom and sneaking backstage at a concert to ask a band to be on her benefit CD. She also has stories he wishes he could change, to take all the bad things that have made her so afraid. But one this is clear, as weird as things got in Tree Hill she still has so many great memories from her time there and he loves that she can hold on to those without fearing the bad ones.
He didn't know why it was so important to her, but she made him make peace with Paul. After the first phone call, she said he may not have always been there, but at least he had come home often enough to show that he had some concern. And she pointed out that he hadn't exactly been abusive or forceful. She made him see that not all parents would have been angry that their son cut them out of their life, and he was lucky his dad cared enough to actually be offended. She said that he was lucky to have both parents, parents who wanted to be a part of his life but still respected his decisions. She talked about how she wished she had more time with her mom, and how her best friend's mom only cared now because of the successful business. So it came to pass that they had dinner with his parents one night. It turned into a few more dinners, and finally became a bi-weekly event, if everyone's schedules managed worked out. And both of his parents loved Peyton, and Julian kind of loved that.
She is Peyton Sawyer and she has changed his life in more ways than she thinks. He knows that she is literally the best thing to ever happen to him. And he doesn't know why she puts up with him, or how much longer she is going to be in his life. But he knows he is going to enjoy having her in his life as long as he can.
AN: Thanks for reading. I guess this potentially be considered a 'lost' chapter for my multi-chapter JulianxPeyton fic Alter the Ending. I think they are all sort of tied into one another because the AU in my head always ends up the same direction. I have another one-shot from Lindsay's PoV that I like, but I'm not sure it'll work.