A/N: Hey, everyone! First off, I just want to thank everyone who took the time to review the first chapter, it really means a lot to me and is great motivation to keep writing! With that said, I'm back with the second chapter. It's a tad longer than the first, and this time, it's written in Lucas' POV and has some LP interaction. ) I hope you guys enjoy it, and as always, R/R!


Chapter Two.

Lucas needed to get out, needed fresh air. He needed to escape the thoughts that were eating him alive, to clear his mind. There was only one place that he could truly do just that, so he grabbed his basketball and exited out of his bedroom, headed for the Rivercourt. He'd opted to walk, rather than drive in his car, the distance doing him some good. Before he knew it, he was there, and the figure he saw before him took him by complete surprise. He had to be dreaming, because there was no way that she'd suddenly come back after the way they'd left things. Or had she? He honestly hadn't the slightest clue in that moment. The only thing he knew was that he'd missed her, and that she'd come home.

"Peyton?" He intended for his voice to be a lot stronger, but from the moment he saw her—all skinny arms and tangled mess of hair—Lucas couldn't speak. He looked her up and down for a brief second, taking mental note of how good she looked and temporarily pushing back the voice in his head that was speaking of all the things he'd now like to do to her. He couldn't think of her that way, not after all this time. Quietly, he released the breath he was holding as he saw her look up and smile, taking that as a sign he could pull her in for a hug.

They separated, and he looked awkwardly at the ground for something to say. He wanted to say something, anything, but instead he found himself studying her again; smirking absentmindedly as he watched her cross her arms in front of her-a gesture done out of habit rather than defensiveness.

"Lucas Scott. How long's it been?"

"Two years," His reply came out slightly more bitter than he wanted it to, but he was used to being unguarded as far as Peyton was concerned. It'd been that way ever since they were in high school, why should now be any different? "You're back." He continued, his tone unchanging.

"Yeah. Just flew in a couple days ago, actually."

"Where—where are you staying?" He asked, unsure if he really wanted to hear the answer. She could be living with some new guy already for all he knew.

"With Brooke," She answered, looking away from him rather quickly. He got the sense that there was something she wasn't telling him, but he didn't want to push it. Instead, he motioned to her to come with him, and they walked toward the picnic table, sitting next to each other. He turned his head to look at her, and saw that she was staring blankly into the night. He wanted to ask what was on her mind, but he was pretty sure that he lost the right to know those things sometime ago.


Lucas was now laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He had returned home about an hour ago, too alert and consumed with thoughts to even consider sleeping. The echo of the last bit of their conversation was hanging over him like some dark and gloomy storm cloud. She'd hurt him with her words, but maybe he'd looked for it. After all, he was the one that asked, right?


"You know, I came home because I needed to find myself again. Because I was tired of having to answer to the big hot shot executives at my label. They believed more in the image than the music, they tried to make me believe that music can't change people's worlds. I'm thinking of starting my own, you know. A label."

"Well, if anyone's capable of starting the next great record label, it's you," Lucas said quietly. They were both looking down at the ground now, struggling for their next set of words. He looked up, a sudden tinge of sadness and anger hitting him. "Why didn't you come? To the book signing, in LA."

"Luke, I knew we weren't meant to be." She answered quietly, after a moment. He looked at her, taken aback. She was looking at him with a pained expression on her face, as if it suddenly physically hurt her to be there with him. Taking that as his cue to end their conversation, he simply nodded his head, avoiding her gaze as he stood up from the table, grabbed his basketball, and left. He'd began his walk home, not looking back for a good while until his guilt got the best of him. He turned back around to see her standing in the center of Rivercourt, staring down at the signatures they had all spray painted so many years ago.

"Peyton," She looked up, her face bare of any expressions. "I'll be seeing you."


He laughed bitterly to himself as he thought of what she said. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong, that they were meant to be—that they are, but he couldn't do that. Hell, he didn't even have the balls to ask whether or not she was seeing someone, but was all too happy that she didn't volunteer that information on her own. Restless, he decided to try and get some writing done. Since his first novel, he hadn't been able to come up with a second piece of work. He'd felt stuck, and truthfully, lost. Not to mention, he'd been spending a lot of time with Haley and Jamie since Nathan's accident, but that was neither here nor there.

He began working on autopilot, his fingers gracefully moving over the keyboard in such a rhythm that he surprised even himself. He looked at the clock to find that three hours had passed, and as a result, he had produced about five and a half pages of material he could send to his editor, Lindsey. That should get her off my back, he thought, placing the file into an email and typing out a quick message to her. Once the message was sent, he shut his laptop and proceeded to change for bed. A few minutes later, Lucas was lying in the darkness, the silence loud and deafening. He closed his eyes in attempt to block out his thoughts and fall asleep, but that failed when all he saw was Peyton's face. He smiled as he imagined the way she looked tonight; still the same, but very different at the same time; still very beautiful. Still, he couldn't help but feel angry at her. How could she have just walked away from everything they had? How could she turn her back on him, on them? How could she break his heart? There were so many unanswered questions Lucas had, but he wasn't even sure if he wanted to know the answers to them. The only thing he was sure of was that she was still his, and he was still hers, even if she didn't realize it yet. He knew that he wanted to be with her, despite fear of getting burned again. He knew, in his heart that they belonged together.

He contemplated telling her everything that he felt, but he didn't want to risk anything so soon, especially with the biggest unanswered question of all hanging in the air. He didn't want to believe that she was seeing someone, although he couldn't blame her if she was. What man wouldn't want her? Did he want her to be happy? Of course he did, he wanted that more than anything. But truth be told, he just wanted them to be happy—him and Peyton, together. He wanted that more than anything. Unfortunately, he was rendered powerless for the time being, his only option was to endure the situation as it may come and hope that somewhere along the line, she'd see that they belong together, too.