A/N: NEW STORY:) And it's not even a oneshot!
Okay, after next Tuesday (the first one in March '08, when 5x10 premieres) this story will be AU, I guess. Because it takes place two years after 5x09 (the episode where the girls get locked in the library) and none of what happens after 5x09, happens in the story. I think anything else you need to know will be explained in the story, but you have any questions, leave me a review, and I'd be glad to reply.
Anyways, here goes nothing!
Disclaimer: All One Tree Hill related stuff belongs to Mark and the CW. I own only the ideas. Oh, and the chapter title comes from the song Missing You by Tyler Hilton, which is also what the story is named after:)
Chapter 1: Heartache Overload
There was nothing but a long line of road ahead of her as she drove down the practically empty highway. She ran her fingers through her long blonde curls. It had been a while since she'd cut them, so they had grown quite long, and often became horribly tangled and messy. But there hadn't been a reason to cut them. She hid in her house, or in her office at Tric, day in and day out. She avoided contact with people, because it was easier this way.
There were two reasons Peyton was in her car, driving down the highway out of Tree Hill, in the early hours of the morning.
Firstly, Peyton was still in love with Lucas Scott. No matter how many times she denied it, it was the awful and pathetic truth. Peyton Sawyer would always be head over heels, undeniably, in love with Lucas Eugene Scott. There was simply no way around it anymore.
And it showed. Goodness, you could tell how the thoughts of him still haunted her, even though he had long since moved away to start a new life with Lindsey Strauss, his wife and editor extraordinaire. Their new life. One that had nothing to do with her.
The second reason, was that Brooke had called her, saying that she needed to get up here immediately. Brooke had gone up to visit Lucas and Lindsey about a week ago, and Peyton hadn't heard from her until now. And that was perfectly fine with Peyton, because hearing about how much Lucas and Lindsey loved each other, and how happy they were together, was the last thing Peyton wanted.
It had been 2 long years since they had gotten married, and not a single one of them for Peyton, had been spent doing anything other than wishing she had never gone to Los Angeles after high school, and that she had simply held onto Lucas for dear life.
Her love for Lucas, and the phone call from Brooke, her best friend, were the sole reasons she was driving on this highway right now.
It had nothing to do with Lindsey. Because the only reason she would be going up to see Lindsey would be to stab the woman, who stole her man, in her sleep. Sure, Lindsey was terribly nice, and if it weren't for the fact she was Lucas' wife, Peyton would have probably been friends with her. Right now, stabbing her seemed much more of an appealing idea. But that was not the point of this visit. Actually, looking back, Peyton realized she wasn't entirely sure why she was needed. Brooke hadn't mentioned anything really when she had called that evening.
The phone rang loudly, sounding through her vacant apartment. She was lying on her back, in the middle of her bed, staring at the ceiling.
Groaning, she rolled over, picking it up and dragging into her ear.
"Hello?" She muttered, rolling back over, the phone cord twisting around behind her.
"Peyton. You need to get up here, right now. It's important."
"But Brooke, wh-" Peyton had begun, but she was almost immediately cut off by her best friend.
"No time for explanations. But if you don't, things are going to change forever."
And the line was dead.
Maybe change wasn't such a bad thing. Right now, life was looking pretty dim, and the future for Peyton had still yet to be written. She had spent so long hiding from the world, that she was no longer sure where she was headed. Music was still a huge part of her life, but how could she help someone get their dreams, when she had long since lost all of hers.
She saw the lights of the city up ahead, telling her she was almost there, but having no idea what waited up ahead for her. She sat forward, gripping the steering wheel tighter until her knuckles were practically bright white. She did that when she was nervous. Bad habit, basically. She bit her lip as she passed the sign, welcoming her to town, and by then it was all she could do not to make a U-turn right then, and go home.
Was she honestly ready to face Lucas again, after all these years? Or was it all too much at once for her to take in. She glanced at the piece of paper sitting on the passenger seat, following the directions she had scribbled down. She had never been to visit Lucas and Lindsey, so she honestly had no clue where they lived. But Brooke had given her the address and phone number before leaving in case of emergencies, so it was just a matter of finding online directions.
But as she pulled up in front of the house, every light seeming to be lit inside, she immediately regretted even considering the trip.
The house was so, perfect. White picket fence, with a garden kind of thing. It was almost too perfect. The roof, not a shingle out of place, the perfectly trimmed green lawn. There was no way the Lucas Scott she had once known, lived in this house.
But it wasn't any of this that caught her attention first. Her eye had been drawn to the front window; the thin, practically see through curtains closed. But there was no denying the shadow that was projected from them. Someone was sitting right inside, and Peyton immediately knew who it was. Her hands shook nervously at the sight of him, even if it was only his shadow. She opened her car door, and stepped outside slowly, afraid she was making a terrible mistake.
The car door slammed, and Peyton began her walk up the driveway. And if she hadn't known any better, she would have told you that the driveway must have been at least a mile long. Because it seemed to take hours to get from one end to the other. But once she was there, standing on his front door step, she could barely even remember the walk up. It was like her head filled with thoughts of how he was going to react, if he even knew she was coming, if Brooke had mentioned any of it at all.
Before she could make herself fight against it, she reached up and rang the doorbell. She heard someone get up, and make their way to the door, and she watched as the handle slowly began to turn...
"Peyton." Her best friend whispered as she walked out the door, engulfing the curly haired girl in a hug, "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Brooke." Peyton smiled, tears filling her eyes. She wasn't entirely sure why she was crying, but it was just one of those moments where it seemed appropriate. Brooke pulled away, and wiped the tears off her friend's face.
"Thanks for coming, P."
"Anything for you, B. Davis. But what's going on anyways?" Peyton asked nervously, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
Brooke frowned, "Come in."
Peyton stepped inside, off the step and into the front hall of the house.
And it was as if from that moment on, the last two years of missing Lucas were over, but in a strange way, she almost wished she had stayed away. She would rather still be missing Lucas then be here right now.
Leave a review:)
