A/N: Well I know I've got another fic to get going with but I thought of the idea for this earlier and just really wanted to do it, this is a sort of prologue for the actual fic, hope you guys like it.

This was it. This was going to be the hard one. It had almost killed him to tell his mom he was moving to Charleston, and it had been hard enough telling Haley. He had left Brooke a letter, he knew it wasn't the best way to do it, but she wouldn't want to see him. Now he had to tell Peyton, how could he possibly tell Peyton he was leaving her? Forever. He desperately wished that things had worked out between them. But he had fucked up and he now had to pay the price, he had to do it. He had messed up her life, he had messed up Brooke's, he needed to get out of their lives. Her needed a fresh start. He needed somewhere where nobody knew him, where nobody would judge him. He needed a second chance.

He slowly got to her door, and unsurprisingly heard her music blaring from her room. He quickly opened the door and made his way up the stairs. He got to her room; she was lying on her bed with her back to him. Seeing her really took his breath away. Even though he couldn't see her face he still marvelled at her mesmerising beauty, the blonde curly hair he had always loved so much simply glowed.

'Hey' he whispered, careful not to startle her. She turned around, she seemed worried about something. Peyton had already known he was there, she could sense him. She looked around, why the fuck was he here? She thought she had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to see him. She gave him a look as if to say what the hell do you want?

'You ok?' Lucas asked his voice full of concern.

'I've got some stuff going on' she shrugged; she definitely did not want to talk to him about the Jake stuff. He slowly walked towards her, trying to think what to say next.

'Look' He started. 'I just wanted to apologize, again. For not being a better person lately' He paused for a moment, god she was do beautiful he thought to himself. 'I'm trying Peyton' He argued. 'I don't know what else to say'. She shook her head; she couldn't bring herself to look at him, she couldn't let herself look into his eyes. She risked a quick look, but immediately regretted it, god she wanted to just jump into his arms, she sighed.

'It's not about what you say Luke. It's about what you do. You don't like the person you've become? Then do something about it. No one's going to do it for you.' She said, trying desperately to look like she really couldn't care less about him.

'I know' He said simply. 'That's why I came by. I'm going to be making a few changes.' He then paused for a second. 'I think this is goodbye. Just know Peyton, I will never forget you.' He said, glancing over at her one last time before turning away. Peyton stared at him. What the fuck?

'Luke what are you talking about? You're acting like we're never going to see each other again...' She said, her eyes welling up.

'I think there is a very good chance that we won't' He explained simply.

'What are you talking about?'



'I'm moving to Charleston with Keith... tomorrow. He needs someone to be with him right now. And I need to get away from Tree Hill' He hadn't wanted to give her the full details, but he really didn't want to lie to her either.

'What! So you fucked up! You don't need to leave!' She cried, she stood up in shock. Not Lucas too! Sure she was pissed at him at the moment, but they would find their way back, she couldn't really imagine her life without him anymore, he had become such a big part of her.

'It's the right thing to do.' He said, then paused for a moment, deep in thought. 'Peyton, before I joined the team, I used to be a pretty good guy. You remember what I was like when you were with Nathan?' She nodded, a tear sliding down her face. He had been so wonderful back then, he had been like a breath of fresh air. 'But somewhere along the way I lost myself. I didn't know what the fuck to do with popularity Peyton, I'm not like you and Brooke, I've never been popular. I led a pretty simple life before, all I had was the river court guys, Haley and basketball. Girls didn't look twice at me; it really was just me and Haley against the world. Then suddenly after my second game I was an overnight success... people that had previously hated me spoke to me like we'd been friends forever, and two amazing girls both wanted to be with me. I fucked up, I drove you both away, and even worse, I fucked up your lifelong friendship. Trust me, I wish I didn't have to leave. But I need to find myself again, and I need to get out of your lives, I've caused you guys nothing but trouble.'

'But... but' She started. She wanted to beg him to stay, it didn't really matter what he had done, she needed him, so badly. He walked over to her, he gently cupped her face. She closed her eyes she, loved the feeling of his hands.

'I meant it. I will never forget you.' He said, a tear sliding down his face. 'You will always be my what-if.' At this point Peyton broke down in tears. 'I'm so sorry about the way things worked out between us, I really am. I want you to know, I shoulder all the blame. For everything.' He took a moment to look at her. He hugged her briefly, and then gently brushed his lips against her cheek, before staring into her beautiful green eyes. 'I... I love you. I always have.' These touching words caused tears to start running down her face.

'I... I love you too' she smiled through the tears. It was true, she did. He smiled at her.

'I need you to forget about me. Soon I'll just be a bad memory. But make sure you patch things up with Brooke, best friends need each other. Remember, it was my entire fault. That why I have to leave'

'I don't want you to go' she wailed.

'It's for the best, you guys don't need me messing anything else up'. With that he turned around and made for the doorway. As he got there he looked back at her briefly. 'Goodbye Peyton'

She watched as he walked out of the door way. She watched as he walked out of her life.

A/N: Well it's slightly rushed but I'm going away for a few days so I wanted to post it tonight. I'll update when I get back.