Reviews

Mia - Wish I could give that piece of info away, but I gotta keep you guys guessing a little longer! You'll understand what's the deal with Brooke soon enough.

RoseK124 - I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm so excited to have you guys reading this!

S. Jamedra - So happy you like where this story is going! The cause behind Leyton's divorce will be touched upon in the next chapter.

A - Oh thank you so much! You are very sweet and I truly appreciate your kind words.

Tpassions - Oh man so many questions and I can't answer them all without giving the story away, but please keep reading to find out!

Anne - What is your take on how this all started?! Please share, I love reading everyone's take and predictions on this!

lovely35 - And thank you for reading!

thibbs65 - Thanks, glad you like it!

Kb - Aww and I'm super thankful there's people like you still reading Leyton stories! We need each other.

jordana60 - I'm so excited you're here as well. I always look forward to your reviews. Thank you for your endless support.

Guest - I so love that you love 'Strangers' and I'm even more thankful that you've decided to give this story a shot! Thank you.

Guest - I don't want to give out any spoilers, so please keep reading!

Guest - It will become clear why Brooke isn't a main character, however she will make an appearance or two.

Guest - Yay another loyal reader from my Strangers fic! Thanks so much for coming to check this out!


Hi everyone! I just wanted to say thank you for all the amazing feedback I've received for this story so far. Sounds like people are definitely interested and that means I will keep on writing!

There's not a lot of exciting stuff going on in this chapter. This chapter is background on how Leyton got together as teens. I kind of needed to get this out of the way in order to set up the rest of the story.

Things you should know: Lucas, Peyton and Quinn are the same age. Quinn & Peyton have been best friends since diapers. Lucas and Haley are still besties. Nathan and Haley are two years younger. Lucas and Nathan are still half siblings, but being that their two years apart there's no big basketball rivalry between them. Lucas and Peyton's personalities are different in this. Lucas isn't very broody and he's much more confident than we're used to. As for Peyton, she's not adopted - Larry and Anna are very much alive -so she's not tortured, broody or insecure. Haley, Nathan & Quinn's personalities remain intact, no changes there.

As for Brooke, I know many of you guys have been asking what's the deal with her and if she played a role in Leyton's divorce. I'm not going to give anything away, but I am enjoying reading everyone's take on it. Brooke won't be a main character in this story, but there will be sprinkles of her every now and then. You'll get a small clue about what role she plays in the next chapter.


Chapter 2: Told You, I'm Always Right

Even after all these years, both of them could still remember clearly the day of their first real interaction. They were fifteen and in their second year of high school. He was a player on the basketball team and she was a member of the cheerleading squad. There had been practice held for both the team and the squad that day, so while the basketball players ran the court, the cheerleaders were off to the side going over choreography for the next game. After practice the rest of the team had retreated to the locker room, but he had stayed behind. He messed around the court a little, while he waited for the cheerleaders to finish up their practice. When the girls started packing up their things, he kept waiting hoping to catch her alone – though of course she was oblivious to it at the time. After the rest of the squad had departed she was still there talking and laughing with her best friend Quinn James, while he continued to watch her out of the corner of his eye. She hadn't even noticed that he was still in the gym shooting around. A few minutes later her best friend left the gym, leaving her alone. He dropped the ball in his hands and jogged his way over to her. She was too busy digging into her bag searching for her ipod that she hadn't noticed him approaching. He greeted her and she looked up from her bag, a look of confusion appearing on her face. They never really spoke much to each other so she found it odd.

She knew who Lucas Scott was, of course she did. It was a small town where all the kids went to the same schools and hung out at all the same spots. Growing up she had also seen him sometimes hanging at the James' household, though they didn't speak or interact much. He was best friends with her best friend's younger sister, which she found a bit peculiar considering Haley James was two years younger than them, but then again Haley had always been far more mature than all of them combined.

She also knew that his mother owned that café down on Main Street and he was the older half-brother of Nathan Scott. Their father had dated Lucas' mother first, got her pregnant and then left her high and dry. During freshman year of college Dan Scott had met Nathan's mother and they had Nathan two years later, only this time Dan actually stuck around and married the woman. Dan moved back to Tree Hill with his new family right after Nathan was born. It was a small town and everyone talked. Everyone knew the story. Though while the rest of the town was busy making judgments, she never really cared either way. She had her own opinions of Lucas Scott and it had nothing to do with his family drama.

It was no big secret that he'd had a thing for her since middle school. She remembered being in eighth grade and giggling about it with her girlfriends after school. He was cute even back then and she had been flattered at first, but if she was completely honest he had always rubbed her the wrong way. He was obnoxiously smart, always offering up the correct answers in class and showing off in the way that made most people roll their eyes and groan. It was even worse when he was trying to make a point or prove someone wrong. He was stubborn and always went out of his way to make sure he was right in the end. It wasn't exactly an attractive feature. He was also a bit full of himself – a little too confident, a little too cocky, and a little too competitive – especially when it came to girls, books and basketball. He was good at basketball, most girls in their school had a thing for him and he wasn't your typical dumb jock. He'd received an even bigger ego boost this school year, when he became the youngest player in the school to ever make varsity on the Ravens. Because of all this he was pretty popular at school, though surprisingly he wasn't some kind of man-whore at school. He ate up the attention he received from girls and was a big flirt, but as far as Peyton had heard he didn't actually date much.

Even with all those annoying qualities, they weren't the main reason behind her dislike for the boy. Frankly she just found Lucas to be plain ol' creepy. He had a knack for just standing and staring at her in particular. Though his crush on her was well known and he wasn't exactly shy with other girls, Lucas had never actually asked her out. He just stared at her and it freaked Peyton out to no end. He'd been ogling her since they were thirteen like some kind of pervert, and it was creepy and inappropriate, however the rest of the girls in her class didn't see it that way. Some were even jealous, which made Peyton snort in disbelief. Quinn on the other hand thought it was kind of hilarious and teased her about it constantly. Being that Lucas was her little sister's best friend and around the house a lot, she never really did have a problem with Lucas. She claimed that despite his annoying egocentric qualities, he was still an all-around nice guy. Peyton didn't care, even though she already knew that the boy was completely harmless, it still didn't excuse his staring. She wasn't a piece of meat.

Anyway, despite their long history of close contact during school and outside of it, they rarely exchanged words directly. And even though Peyton was just as popular as he was in school, their tight knit circle of friends differed, which was fine by her. She kept her distance, as did he – a sort of unspoken agreement between the two.

Or at least it had been up until he decided to approach her after practice that day.

He was grinning down at her when she looked up from her bag, practically smirking, like if that was supposed to have some charming effect on her like it did on all the other dumb girls at their school.

"What do you want?" She grumbled at him disapprovingly. They never talked, so why was he all of a sudden bothering her now?

Lucas continued grinning, apparently unfazed by the comment and the tone it was delivered in. "Nice legs."

Her eyes immediately narrowed at him angrily. "Excuse you?" The blonde spat out offended.

"You have nice legs." He clarified still sporting that stupid cheeky grin on his face.

Peyton scoffed.

What. A. Creep.

She was wearing one of her tiny blue cheer shorts to practice today, but that didn't give him the right to comment on her legs.

"I'm pretty sure this is the part where you say something nice about me now." Lucas stated. He could tell she was already pissed and couldn't resist the urge to push her buttons just a little. She was a tough cookie. He knew ahead of time that talking to her wasn't exactly going to go smoothly. He knew Peyton wasn't his biggest fan, which was a damn shame because he practically worshipped her from afar, but she had never given him the time of day.

If he thought Peyton was about to toss a compliment his way, he was sadly mistaken. She couldn't believe the nerve on this kid. Sure he was good looking, but she wasn't about to let him know that she thought so. Lucas had always been a looker, though this year had been particularly kind to him. The summer in-between freshman and sophomore year had transformed him. He came back to school even taller than before and he had filled out too. He wasn't this scrawny thing anymore and had been clearly hitting the gym during those hot months because his body was more defined and muscular. His face had changed too, gone was that adorable cute baby face and it was replaced by a more handsome face. His appearance was maturing and yeah even Peyton had to admit that he wasn't just cute anymore, he was pretty hot now. Unfortunately for him she just couldn't stand his smug ass.

"You're disgusting." She informed him and rolled her eyes. "Goodbye." She dismissed him and secured the strap of her bag over her shoulder before turning to leave.

"Hey wait up Peyton, c'mon don't be like that." Lucas quickly clasped a hand over her shoulder and spun her around back to him, desperate for her attention. This was the longest they had ever spoken before.

She blew out a breath of annoyance and slapped his hand off her shoulder. "Back off dude."

He just laughed at her of course.

The jerk.

Peyton opened her mouth to berate him once more, but then his lips had appeared over hers, interrupting her speech. He had grabbed her face unexpectedly and pulled it to his before she had time to react. Her palms pushed back hard against his chest as she shoved him off. He hadn't been that all surprised when she had pushed him off. Though he most certainly hadn't been expecting the hard slap that followed after. Lucas looked at her with an astonished expression, mouth hanging open as he rubbed the side of his stricken cheek.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" Peyton yelled out loudly, her eyes wide in shock as she threw her hands in the air at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" She wiped the taste of his lips off hers with the back of her hand. She had decided right there and then that she hated him. She really did.

Lucas quickly brushed off his initial shock from the slap, appearing unfazed once more. His lips curved up and he was grinning at her yet again. If that wasn't irritating enough he began to chuckle and Peyton was tempted to slap him again. This wasn't supposed to be funny. He couldn't just go around kissing whatever girl he felt like and think he could just get away with it. He sure did have some balls on him.

"I like you Peyton." He told her finally.

Peyton huffed. She didn't like where this was going.

"I wanna be your boyfriend. Let me take you out on a date."

Now it was her turn to laugh. "I'm not going out with you." She stated incredulously.

"Why not?" He said in a pout.

"Why not?!" The blonde shook her head in disbelief. "Listen, Lucas remember when you would just creep at me from afar and I'd just completely ignore you? That was a good thing we had going on there and now you're ruining it. So just…don't. Let's stick to the status quo shall we?"

"You're going to go out on a date with me." Lucas replied confidently in that smug tone she absolutely detested.

"I will never date you, as in never ever, so you can forget about it."

"Yes you will." He said stubbornly. "And I'm always right."

"Well not about this you aren't." She sent him a glare. "Just stay away from me Lucas. I'm not interested." She couldn't really comprehend this obsession he had with her. There were plenty of other girls at school just throwing themselves at him. Why couldn't he just pick one of them?

"You will be!" Lucas called at to Peyton as she made her way out of the gym.

"No I won't!" She called back as she walked away, not bothering to turn around. She already knew he was probably already staring at her backside. He really was a jerk.

"Yes you will." Lucas spoke out even though she was already long gone.


Unfortunately for Peyton that wouldn't be her last encounter with Lucas. After that day he kept trying to corner her on several occasions. She usually managed to dodge his efforts, but there had been a couple of times where he had caught her by surprise – either way she continued to brush off his offers to take her out on a date. He had also started sitting next to her during the classes they shared and he wasn't exactly subtle about the looks he gave her. It had the whole student body gossiping up a storm, especially since he was still flirting with other girls too.

She really did hate him now.

A month into his persistent chase of Peyton and even Lucas had to admit that he was getting nowhere. He hadn't been able to crack her down, not even a little bit. It was clear that he needed some assistance and he knew exactly the person to turn to. He had strolled into the James residence one afternoon and headed up to the room inhabited by the one person who knew Peyton Sawyer the best.

He found Quinn James sitting on her bed as she flipped through a magazine. "I was wondering when your sorry ass would find its way here." She stated not bothering to look up from her magazine. "Took you long enough." She mused. Quinn didn't have to guess why Lucas was here. She knew why. It wasn't exactly a mystery.

Lucas plopped down on her bed. Since Lucas was best friends with Haley and came around the house often, for years now, he and Quinn were close enough that he could just pop into her room uninvited. "I'm desperate. Please take pity on me. Convince your friend to get off her high horse and go out with me already." He was growing increasingly frustrated at Peyton's constant rejections.

Quinn laughed. "Peyton would kill me for even entertaining the idea of setting you two up. I think I'll pass. She's scary when she's angry."

"Don't I know it." Lucas mumbled agreeing with his best friend's sister. "Oh c'mon Quinny." Lucas playfully poked her side. "How long have we known each other?"

"Not as long as I've known Peyton." She replied deadpanned.

"But long enough…" He pressed. "And plus, you said it once yourself that you thought me and Peyton would make a good couple."

Quinn sighed. "She's really not interested Luke."

"Yea, yea, she hates my guts, I got the memo." Lucas said dismissively. "But surely someone as charming and talented as yourself can help me turn that around, right?" He looked at her adoringly with those blue eyes of his and smiled brightly, his white teeth on display.

"Laying it on pretty thick there aren't we?" Quinn teased.

"Who me?" He said while pointing at himself innocently.

"You're good I'll give you that."

"So does that mean you'll hook me up?"

"I don't know Lucas…convincing Peyton to do something she doesn't want to do isn't exactly easy. Plus you made shit harder on yourself when you decided it was a good idea to go on and kiss her. That was a poor move on your part my friend."

Lucas shrugged. "I wanted to kiss her, so I did it. No regrets here." He said with a grin.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "And it's that attitude right there that has you stuck in this predicament. Peyton's never gonna date you. I'm sorry."

"We'll see." Lucas said with a smile. "Are you gonna help me or not? C'mon Quinn you know how much I really like her. I wouldn't be wasting my time otherwise."

Quinn paused to consider. She knew Lucas was sincere in his feelings for her best friend, but it was still gonna take a miracle to get Peyton interested. If Peyton could just get past the layer of arrogance that Lucas carried, she'd see that he was actually a pretty good guy. "I'm in." She said finally. "Damn she's gonna be pissed." Quinn muttered as she thought of her curly haired friend.

"Awesome. I owe you big time."

"Naturally."

"So what do I need to do then?"

"Well first off, how about we tone down the overconfidence? There is a thing as too much of it and it's not attractive." She stated frankly.

Lucas made a face. Clearly that wasn't going to be easy. "I'll try." He offered.

"Second, stop flirting with other girls."

"Done." Lucas replied without skipping a beat. It wasn't like he was interested in any other girls anyway. He just flirted back with girls for the heck of it.

"Third, grow out your hair."

"Huh? What's wrong with my hair?" He inquired as he ran a hand over his newly buzzed hair. He had decided on a new look this year.

"Just grow it out an inch or two. Peyton has a thing for running her fingers through a guy's hair. It's a telltale sign of hers that's she interested. Trust me, if she's thinking about running her fingers through your hair then you've already won half the battle." The brunette explained and winked.

"Jesus." Lucas muttered. He didn't think Quinn was going to be this thorough. "Okay, what else?"

"Well…"

In addition to other adjustments she suggested that he make, Quinn had given him a long list of music that Peyton was currently into. He already owned more than half of the albums on the list so at least musically they seemed to be in sync. She also told him little facts here and there about Peyton, like how her favorite color was red, how she was obsessed with all things peanut butter, how she loved classic horror movies, hated anything with coconut in it, and was recently really into scented candles.


Now that Lucas had recruited Quinn for help, it was a hell of a lot easier to insert himself into Peyton's life. When Peyton and her friends would plan to get together, Quinn let him know when and where. Then he'd 'randomly' show up and Quinn would invite him to join them much to Peyton's dismay. Since Quinn and Lucas were actually friends it didn't seem out of the ordinary that she would ask him to join, but even Peyton started to get suspicious after Lucas started 'coincidently' showing up everywhere she and her friends went more than a few times. But by then it was too late, Lucas had managed to successfully infiltrate himself into their group. He had charmed all of her friends and Quinn didn't even have to tip him off anymore about their whereabouts. All their friends kept him in the loop, including him in group emails and texts about their plans – he had become one of them, even though Peyton knew he had his own group of friends. Sometimes he'd bring Haley along with him, other times it was his friends from the river court, and sometimes some guys from the team too. Their two worlds were merging out of nowhere and Peyton was anything but happy about it. She tried to ignore him as best as she could, but it was fruitless. He always managed to be sitting next to her somehow and was always coming on to her. He even had poor Haley putting in a good word for him. When she complained to Quinn about Lucas hanging around all the time now, her best friend only shrugged and simply told her to get over it because everyone seemed to love Lucas but her, and it didn't seem like he was going anywhere.

Peyton didn't talk to her for two whole days after that.

One night Quinn had showed up unannounced at Peyton's house, – though that wasn't unusual in itself, she did it all the time and vice versa – she came barging through her room and demanded that the blonde get dressed because they were going out. When Peyton asked why, Quinn just shrugged and said it was Saturday night, no explanation needed. So Peyton got dressed and they headed into town near the harbor where most of town spent their weekend evenings either shopping at the dozens of little boutiques nearby, or eating and drinking at some of the restaurants and bars the area had to offer. Quinn led the way and Peyton followed her blindly since it was apparent that her friend had already decided what they'd be up to tonight.

However, the last thing she expected was to be taken to a restaurant where she found Lucas and his friend Skills waiting for them. They were both dressed up for once, not wearing basketball shorts and tees. Lucas smiled at Peyton the instant the girls had approached.

"What the hell is this?" Peyton said as she glanced over at the three of them cautiously.

"Told ya you'd go out on a date with me." Lucas quipped in a cheeky grin.

Peyton's eyes widened briefly in realization before narrowing down venomously, her nostrils flaring angrily. She glared down hard at Lucas before shifting her attention to her supposed best friend. The look in Peyton's eyes letting Quinn know just how displeased she was with this dirty trick. Apparently this was a planned double date, with Lucas bringing Skills along to keep Quinn company. "Screw this." The blonde huffed before spinning around and retreating in the direction she came from.

"You idiot!" Quinn scolded. "Now why would you go on and say that!" She left the boys to run after Peyton.

Skills started laughing right next to Lucas. "You just couldn't resist could you?" He drawled out.

Lucas smirked. "I kind of like riling her up. It's so easy and kind of fun, plus she looks sexy when she's angry."

"Skinny girl is never gonna go for you man if you keep this up." Skills advised.

"Yea that's what they keep telling me." Lucas muttered. "She'll come around." He spoke confidently as he watched Quinn yank Peyton off to the side by the arm and watched them bicker. They were far enough that he couldn't hear what was being said.

"Whatever you say dawg." Skills replied unconvinced.

Several minutes later the girls reappeared. Quinn had a hand tightly wrapped around Peyton's arm, tugging her along. "Shall we?" She spoke gesturing to the boys to enter the restaurant as she continued to pull Peyton along.

The dinner hadn't gone smoothly, not that anyone really expected it to. Quinn and Skills were the only ones really keeping up the conversation at the table, as Lucas failed in his attempts to engage the blonde sitting across from him. Peyton of course gave him the silent treatment the entire time and the daggers she was shooting at him from her eyes had Lucas squirming in his seat a bit. When it came time to order their food, Peyton ordered the most expensive thing on the menu already knowing that Lucas was going to pay for her dinner anyway. She played around with the food in her plate, barely eating it and then she bailed right before the bill came.

"Are you ready to give up now?" Quinn questioned Lucas later that night as he walked her home after dinner.

Lucas scoffed at the ludicrous question. "I'm only just beginning Quinny."


By the time spring rolled around he could tell that Peyton was starting to soften up a bit towards him. He had been hanging out with Peyton and their newly formed group of friends for a few months now.

In addition to him being good-looking, smart, and talented, Lucas was kind of hilarious and fun to be around. And as much as she tried not to, Peyton found herself laughing at his jokes, which of course Lucas took great pride in when she did – the asshole. She wasn't hanging out with him alone or anything, it was always in a group, but she was no longer completely freezing him out. If he engaged her in conversation she would respond – in fact they mostly just bickered really, but it was better than her not talking to him, though sometimes they did have an actual exchange of civil words. Unless he was flirting with her, then that's when she'd go back to ignoring him. He still kept asking her out and she still kept turning him down. Lately they'd been discussing their favorite music artist and songs, though Peyton had a field day when he told her that he hated The Cure. She promptly told Lucas that he was an idiot.

When her birthday rolled around in May, Quinn and Lucas had organized a surprise bash for her at his mother's club Tric and invited all their friends. It had been a pretty great party and she had thanked them both profusely. When Peyton got home later that night, she found a white box with a red ribbon wrapped around it. She recognized the sloppy handwriting on the card attached, knowing the gift was from him. Inside the box was a European import of an album that she'd been trying to track down for months. He had also given her this pretty old looking book. The hardcover was worn and a faded olive green color. The book was titled 'Love Letters of Great Men' and just like the title suggested it was a collection of love letters written by real men throughout history. Inside Lucas had noted and highlighted his favorite passages for her to read. It was probably the most romantic and thoughtful gift anyone had ever given her. She would end up carrying that book around in her bag for months, always pulling it out to read and reread when she had some down time. When she reached back into the box to pull out the last item she couldn't help but laugh.

It was a jar of peanut butter.

The next day at school he walked past her on the lawn, she was sitting on the grass, legs crossed with his book in her hands – it had been his own personal copy he had given her. She looked up at him and mouthed a silent thank you before going back to her book. He sat down next to her pulling out a book from his bag and they read together silently side by side until their next class.


It was summer now and school was out. Two whole months of freedom before they officially became juniors. It was a summer filled of swimming, summer concerts, outdoor festivals, parties and lots of ice cream to beat the humid North Carolina heat. July 4th was kind of the first big kick off into summer and everyone was down at the pier to watch the fireworks go off. Somewhere along the thick crowds of the night, Lucas and Peyton had gotten separated from the rest of their friends and after fifteen minutes of trying to locate them, Peyton gave up and suggested they head down underneath the pier to watch instead. The fireworks would be going off soon and it was less crowded on the beach. Lucas agreed and they pushed their way through the crowd heading down to the beach.

"This isn't some kind of trick to get me alone is it?" She accused as they walked on the sand. This was the first time they were hanging out alone together.

Lucas chuckled. "No actually, not this time." He really hadn't orchestrated anything tonight to get them alone. Truth was after months of chasing Peyton he was starting to burn out. He had hoped after her birthday things would had changed between them – and they did – they were actually friends now that still bickered occasionally, but nothing romantic had developed. Lucas was starting to give into the notion that maybe they were just meant to be friends.

Peyton raised an eyebrow skeptically.

He laughed again. "Honest to god." He told her in all sincerity raising a hand up.

Peyton nodded believing him. "Look it's starting!" Her face lit up and she grabbed Lucas' arm and dragging him closer towards the water to get a better view. They sat down and watched the fireworks for the next twenty minutes. Lucas turned to her at one point observing the look of pure excitement painted across Peyton's face.

She looked like a little kid with her eyes wide, the colors of the fireworks in the sky reflecting off those green orbs of hers. He thought it was beautiful.

Unable to help himself his hand went to her face, his thumb lightly stroking her cheek. Her eyes danced over to him and she gave him a soft smile. She didn't pull away from his touch, she leaned into it and he took that as his cue to kiss her. He leaned over pressing their lips together innocently and when he felt her kiss him back he applied more pressure. When they pulled apart Peyton chuckled at the goofy grin Lucas was sporting.

"What no slap this time?" He teased her.

Physically she had always found him attractive, but it wasn't after he gave her that book of love letters for her birthday that she really began seeing him differently. Obviously he was still somewhat of a cocky asshole, but behind that he was actually pretty sweet. Peyton smiled at him before admitting that she had been wanting to kiss him for awhile now.

So he kissed her again.

And then again.

The fireworks long forgotten.

His heart soaring the entire time. He finally got what he wanted and was making out with Peyton Sawyer.

When they pulled apart for air they were both still smiling. Peyton ran a hand through his hair. "I like your hair better like this." She commented now that he had grown out his hair.

Lucas silently thanked Quinn as Peyton continued to run her fingers through his short blond locks. "For you I will never cut my hair that short again." He said in a dead serious tone making her laugh. He wasn't joking. He really wouldn't.

She shook her head at him and kissed him again. Lucas was a good kisser, not that she was all that surprised. He was annoyingly good at everything else, so why not?

"Go out with me tomorrow." He mumbled over her swollen kissed lips.

"Okay." She agreed quickly.

"You see…I told you, I'm always right." He quipped after they took another kissing break. He was reminding Peyton of that afternoon in the gym months ago when he informed her that she would eventually go out with him because he was always right.

And that's when she slapped him.

Not too hard like the first time though. It was more playful this time. "You really are an asshole." She mocked at him and rolled her eyes.

And then she grabbed Lucas by the collar of his shirt and kissed him over and over again.


They were pretty much inseparable after that night. A week after their kiss Lucas informed Peyton that she was his girlfriend now – he didn't even ask her if she wanted to be, according to him it wasn't necessary. Predictably, Peyton mumbled something about him being an ass, but she never did say he was wrong about them being a couple now. When school started up no one really was all that surprised that they were officially dating. He was now the captain of the basketball team and she had become cheer co-captain along with Quinn. It was predictable as it was laughable. They kind of ruled the school, but not in the iron-fist sort of way. They weren't that type of couple. They didn't think they were better than anyone. She wasn't some stuck up head bitch cheerleader, and though Lucas was a little too full of himself, he was still a good guy. He wasn't the kind of jock that went around torturing or making fun of other students.

Actually, the newly formed couple that had taken the student body by surprise hadn't been the two blonds, but it had been Nathan and Haley, both who had entered their freshman year at Tree Hill High. No one had expected the young basketball player to start dating his nerdy tutor. They would end up breaking up and getting back together a couple of times throughout high school, and would also end up shocking the entire student body once more when they got married and pregnant their senior year of high school.

As for Lucas and Peyton they remained strong throughout their junior and senior years. When they graduated high school he went to UNC on a basketball scholarship, where he was a literary studies major. Peyton had decided to go to a small little liberal arts college in Savannah, where she studied art and minored in business and marketing. Four years of long distance had been tough, but the couple weathered through it. They visited each other during long weekends and were attached at the hip during holidays, semester breaks and summer vacations. They made the best of their distance with daily online chats, texts, phone calls and emails. Sometimes when he was feeling particularly romantic, Peyton would find hand written letters from him in her mailbox. And in-between visits when they were really aching for each other, a few naughty phone calls here and there helped them get through those lonely nights. When they did finally reunite and were in bed together, Lucas would always trace his fingers around her bare ring finger and even kiss it sometimes, a silent promise that he was going to marry her one day.

His graduation came first. Peyton drove up from Georgia for the weekend and stayed with Lucas as they celebrated that entire weekend with friends and family. She was still in the middle of finals so she had to drive back down that Sunday, but her graduation was taking place the following weekend so he'd be seeing her soon enough. He was going to drive down there and stay a week after her graduation so they could pack up her stuff and move back to Tree Hill. They had decided to move in together, so once they were back home they would start searching for a cheap place together.

The week before he was driving down to Georgia, Lucas had brought Karen with him to a jewelry shop in downtown Wilmington. He had been looking at engagement rings for a couple of months now and had wanted his mother's opinion on the one he had selected for Peyton. He would have invited Quinn to come along as well, but she wasn't flying back from California – where she had gone off to college – anytime soon. Lucas had been slowly saving up these last four years, picking up odd jobs to get the money.

"What do you think?" Lucas asked as he showed Karen the ring. "Do you think she'll like it? Do you think she'll say yes if I give her this one?" He spoke nervously, his words rushed.

"Sweetheart you could propose to that girl with a ring pop and she'll still say yes." Karen teased. "She loves you."

"I know I just….ugh." Lucas scratched the back of his head. "I just want it to be perfect. She's so perfect mom, so she deserves perfect. I need it to be perfect."

"Then why are you getting her this ring?" Karen spoke bluntly.

Lucas' face dropped. "You don't think she'll like it?" He frowned. "I think it's a pretty nice ring." He added as he closely inspected the ring for the billionth time. He had been at this shop several times now to come look at this ring.

"It's a lovely ring sweetie. It's beautiful and I know Peyton would love it, but it's not exactly her is it? It's not her ring, at least not the one you really want to give her." Karen nodded over the glass counter pointing over to another ring. She had caught her son's eyes glancing over at this particular ring a few times already since they had entered the shop.

Lucas sighed, scratching the back of his head again. "I can't afford that one. It's a little out of my budget." He sheepishly admitted. He knew Peyton would still like the ring he had picked out for her, but the other one would have been the more perfect choice if money wasn't an issue. Sure he could hold off proposing in order to save up some more, but getting the rest of the money together would take forever now that they would be getting an apartment and paying bills together. He didn't want to wait however long that was going to take. He wanted to marry Peyton now.

"I see." Karen spoke. "You know Keith and I were talking, and we decided we'd like to help you out a little. You can get Peyton the other ring and we'll cover the difference."

Lucas quickly shook his head. "I can't ask you guys to do that."

"Why not? We want to and you've worked hard these past few years at school. Consider it a graduation present." Karen offered.

"You guys already got me a graduation gift." He reminded her. Keith had given Lucas his red mustang.

"Well that doesn't really count. That car already belonged to Keith. We didn't actually spend any money besides filling up the tank for you." She teased. "We'd like to help."

"I should be paying for this on my own. I'm the one marrying her not you guys." Lucas told her. "You guys can pay for the wedding though." He said grinning.

Karen laughed. "You're too damn smart for your own good. How about a loan then?" She suggested. "No interest, you can pay us back when you have the money."

Lucas thought about it and then nodded. "Thanks mom." He hugged Karen. "You don't know how much this means to me. I really appreciate."

"Well you said Peyton deserves perfect so let's give her perfect then."


The week after Peyton's graduation the couple was driving up the coastal highway heading back to their hometown with a small u-haul trailer attached behind the car containing all of Peyton's belongings. Right before they were entering town Lucas took a detour, driving the car until they reached the lake right outside of town. She became visibly excited when she realized where they were heading. It was their spot, their special place, the place they'd come and spend time together alone when they were in high school. They hadn't been here in a long while. When he stopped the car Peyton had jumped out and ordered him to join her. He hadn't said a word and when she turned away from the lake to get his attention she found him on one knee holding a little black box.

He had prepared this long speech with all the right words and feelings he wanted to get across regarding his undying love for the girl with curly blonde hair that had refused to give him a chance for years. But in the end he found that it wasn't necessary. As she looked down at him with tears in her eyes and a wide smile, the only words that came out of his mouth were 'marry me.'

She had dropped to the floor and tackled him to the ground instantly. With her arms locked around his neck she kissed him like her life depended on it. Like she couldn't breathe without him. She mumbled her one-worded answer 'yes' over and over again against his lips. Lucas couldn't help but chuckle because she hadn't even bothered looking at the ring yet. The box had slipped from his hands after she had tackled him and was currently laying on the ground somewhere.

God he loved her.


Okay so I promise the story will move forward in the next chapter. Up next: Lucas is coming over to have his chat with Peyton.

Please tell me what you think! If you have any pressing questions about character backgrounds (be it Leyton, Quinn, Nathan or Haley) let me know! I will be happy to fill you in!

Also if Guest Reviewers could leave some sort of name with their reviews that would be awesome! Just makes it easier to identify who's who.

Until next time.