Here's the next part.ENJOY!


Lindsay stood there for a few minutes after Brooke left. She contemplated asking Brooke what she meant, but when she turned to look inside, both mother and child were gone. She had no idea what was going on.

She had received a phone call from her office in New York. It had only taken a few minutes, but by the time she came back, the living room was empty. She noticed everyone standing around outside, so she made her way to the door just in time to hear Brooke "…I have Peyton's back. Always." It was then that she noticed Peyton was nowhere to be found.

Walking further into the sunlight, she asked to be alone with Lucas.

Once everyone was inside and the door was closed, she made her way down to stand in front of her fiancée. She took a moment to look at him. He looked lost and he looked hurt. To Lindsay, he looked like he lost his best friend.

"What's going on, Luke?" she asked. She really didn't know what to make of this situation. "And don't tell me 'nothing'. Brooke just basically told me to keep you on a leash."

Lucas didn't know what to say. He never talked about his relationship with Peyton, with Lindsay. Sure, she read his first novel, but that wasn't the same as going into details about them. Lindsay had already voiced her insecurities when Peyton had first come back home, and Lucas had done his best to assure her that his ex was just that – his ex.

So standing here, he couldn't exactly tell her that he was upset over Peyton. That would only bring on more insecurities. Instead, he settled for half-truths.

"It's no secret that Peyton still has feelings for me, Linds. Brooke was just being protective of her friend. She thinks it's best if I leave Peyton alone for a while; get her used to the fact that you and I are getting married." Lucas wrapped his arms around her. "She just tends to go a little overboard when it comes to Peyton."

Lindsay looked at him. She wasn't sure she believed him, but she didn't have time to argue with him. "We'll talk more when I get back. I have to go to New York for a couple of days."

Lucas sighed, relieved. Hopefully, she'll forget about this by the time she comes back.

XXXXXX

When Brooke got home, she put Angie straight to bed. She knew Peyton was home; her car was outside. Covering the sleeping baby, she was about to go find her friend when she heard sounds coming from the room next to hers.

Walking out of her room, she pushed open the door to the nursery. What she saw in front of her, left her momentarily speechless.

With the exception of the ceiling, Peyton had finished the paint job that they had started the day before. The soft lilac color would blend in perfectly with the white furniture that was to be delivered tomorrow. But what robbed Brooke of her words, was the picture of a sunrise painted on the wall to the left of the door. It was situated just right, so that when the crib was placed, the sun would be looking down on Angie.

"Peyton…that's. It's – holy shit, it's beautiful," Brooke stammered.

The curly blond was so caught up in her art, she jumped at the sound of Brooke's voice. Turning around, she faced her friend.

"Brooke, hey. I didn't hear you come in. Do you like it? I know Angie's gonna get older, she might want something else. I figured we could paint over it, or add more," Peyton rambled.

"Peyton, stop. I love it. Where did you get yellow paint?"

"Oh, from my art supply. I just needed an outlet for these goddamn feelings I have swirling inside me."

Brooke took a good look at her. Her eyes were a bit puffy and a little red, like she had been crying earlier. She cursed Lucas in her head.

"Are you ok?"

"I will be. You know, I meant it when I said I was moving on. But it's not like I can just flip a switch and turn off my feelings. And Lucas isn't making it any easier. What the hell is wrong with that boy? When I ask him to stay, he leaves; and when I tell him to leave me alone, he won't go away!"

Brooke walked up to her and enveloped her in a hug. "Don't worry about that jackass anymore. If he knows what's good for him, he'll stay away. I made sure of that."

Peyton didn't know what she meant by that, nor did she bother to care. She wrapped her arms around her best friend, taking comfort from her.

2 days later

TRIC was packed to the extreme that night. Mia's first single was released yesterday and Peyton wanted to throw her a party. This morning, Mia had gotten back from tour ready to finish her album, but Peyton told her to go home and sleep; she had a long night ahead of her.

Peyton was pulled from her thoughts when a cheery Brooke wrapped her arm around her shoulder. "Peyton look at this place! I don't think I've ever seen so many people in it before," Brooke exclaimed.

"I know. Mia is so syked. I mean, touring is great, and the crowds are like, ten times this one; but nothing compares to playing in your hometown."

"I'm proud of you, Peyton."

"Thanks B. Soooo…I saw you talking to Owen before," she nudged Brooke in her ribs. "How's that going?"

Brooke gave her a sly look, "Oh, that boy is sooo mine. We have a date tomorrow night."

"That's great, Davis. I know Deb has Angie for the night, but I can watch her tomorrow. I don't want you to think I'm so busy that I don't have time for my goddaughter."

"Sure P. Now why are your hands empty? Let's go get you a drink. This isn't just Mia's night; it's yours too. So have some fun."

After ordering their drinks, they turned to look out at the crowd. Peyton spotted Mia signing autographs and taking pictures.

They stood by the bar for a while making small talk until Skillz appeared beside them.

"Hellooo sexy ladies," he said, looking them up and down.

The girls laughed before Peyton asked, "Hey handsome. You havin' a good time?"

"Ya, Skinny. Just getting drinks for the gang."

Peyton and Brooke looked over to where he was pointing. Naley, Mouth, Millicent, Lindsay and Lucas were seated around a table. There was a Latina sitting with them that the girls didn't recognize.

"Who's the hottie?" Brooke asked.

Skillz winked at them. "That be my date," he said before walking off with his drinks.

Across the room, Lucas sipped on his beer, keeping his ears on the conversations going on around him, and his eyes on the blond at the bar. He saw her earlier when he walked into the club. She was wearing a dark green halter dress that stopped a couple inches above her knees; her hair was straightened and styled, and she had 3-inch black stilettos on her feet. She looked amazing, and Lucas couldn't stop staring. He noticed that he wasn't the only one. There were a few men eyeing her up.

"You know, the way you starin' at Peyton would give Psycho Derek a run for his money," Skillz leaned over and whispered to him. Skillz had seen the way Lucas was watching the blond and silently thanked god that Lindsay hadn't. He cringed at the thought of that conversation. I wonder what Lucas would say to her. Deciding that was Lucas' problem, he got up and asked his date to dance.

XXXXXX

Halfway through the night, Peyton found herself dancing with a guy named Kevin. He had approached her earlier, asking to buy her a drink. She had accepted and soon found herself enjoying his company. He told her he was a music producer back in Canada; he was just visiting relatives in Tree Hill.

At some point during the night, Peyton had run into Haley. Their conversation was stilted and awkward, mostly revolving around Mia, and Peyton quickly made up some excuse to escape. She was just coming back from her office when she was whisked onto the dance floor by Kevin.

After dancing a couple of songs, Kevin took her hand and led her to a more secluded section of the club. Turning her so that her back was facing the wall, he placed his hands on her waist. His brown eyes gazed into hers.

"So I leave the day after tomorrow. I was wondering if I can see you tomorrow. Maybe get some lunch?"

Smiling at him, she laced her fingers around his neck. "Sure. And if you're not doing anything the rest of the day, we could go to the fair; grab some dinner afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan." He leaned his face closer to hers, giving her a chance to back out. Instead, she closed the remaining distance and brought their lips together. They lost themselves in the kiss for a few moments before he pulled away.

Touching his forehead to hers, he looked into her eyes. "I'm gonna get going. I have to be up early in the morning." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pen. He grabbed a napkin from a nearby table and scribbled his number on it. "Call me tomorrow and we'll meet up." Handing her the napkin, he gave her one last kiss before leaving.

Smiling to herself, she made her way back to the bar, only to have Brooke step in her way.

"You little tramp. Who was that gorgeous piece of manmeat attached to your face?"

Peyton laughed. "Jeez Brooke. What were you doing? Spying on me?"

"Well if you must know, I was looking for your skinny ass so we could shake it up on the dance floor. I didn't expect to find you groping some stranger."

"I was not groping him," Peyton defended.

"Well you should have," Brooke joked back. Then she turned serious. "Speaking of strangers. Peyton, I know I told you to have fun, but please be careful. I've never known you to go around kissing guys you don't know." She winked at her. "That's more my territory."

Chuckling, Peyton slung her arm around Brooke's shoulder. "Come on, Davis. Let's go shake it up on the dance floor."

Unbeknownst to Peyton, someone else had seen her kissing Kevin. It made him feel things he didn't know how to handle. He spent the rest of the night knocking back beers.

XXXXXX

It was well past 3 in the morning when Peyton left TRIC. The club had closed about an hour ago, but Peyton had stayed back to tie up some loose ends concerning Mia's studio time. Brooke and the rest had left around 1.

Since she was still buzzing from the alcohol she consumed, she decided to walk home instead of calling a cab. Hopefully the fresh air would sober her up. Her and Brooke had decided that neither one would drive tonight because they had planned on drinking. So they had called a cab to bring them to TRIC. Peyton laughed, remembering how smashed Brooke had been. She knew what Brooke was like drunk, so she felt bad for Owen, who had to drive her home.

Deciding she didn't want to go home yet, she took a detour to the Rivercourt. The last time she was there was the night she had come back from LA. Pushing those thoughts aside, she made her way across the basketball court and sat on the picnic bench. She wished she had her sketch pad with her. Lying back, she gazed up at the stars.

She was lying there for about 15 minutes when she heard the familiar sound of a ball hitting the pavement. Sitting up, she came face to face with the last person she wanted to see.

Lucas couldn't sleep. Getting up, he threw on a sweatshirt, wrote a note for Lindsay, grabbed his ball and left. Making his way to the Rivercourt, Peyton was the last person he expected to see there.

Averting her gaze, she got off the table, deciding it was time to leave. She was stopped by Lucas' voice.

"You don't have to leave, Peyton."

Rolling her eyes, she turned to face him. "Yes, Lucas. I do. Because apparently, you still haven't registered the fact that I don't want to talk to you. I don't want you in my life. The sooner you realize that, the better."

Remembering what he saw earlier that night, his anger got the best of him. "You don't want me in your life after knowing me for 6 years, but you'll let some loser you just met, into it? You'll let him touch you and kiss you!?" Pissed off and jealous, he turned and threw his ball into the water.

"How is that any of your fucking business, huh Lucas? How I spend my time, and who I spend my time with is no concern of yours." The remaining alcohol in her system was wreaking havoc on her emotions, and her voice cracked with the effort to keep them in check. She could feel the tears stinging her eyes. "And newsflash, you insensitive prick, it was your choice not to be in my life. Or do you not remember that? I woke up in that hotel room and you were gone!"

He saw the tear that made its way down her cheek and he felt his heart clench. His mind took him back to 3 years ago and the events that changed both of their lives. "You said 'no', Peyton," he said softly.

"I said SOMEDAY!" she shouted. "As in one day, eventually, down the road. You know, it's like when people say, 'I'd like to be a mother SOMEDAY', and 'I'm gonna be a doctor SOMEDAY'. You know what that means, Lucas? It means that one day, it will happen. I told you I wanted to marry you, Luke. I asked you to wait, and like the idiot I am, I actually thought you would. Because you promised me that no matter how long it took, that you would wait for me." Swallowing the tears clogging her throat, she continued. "Remember when I said you were insecure? I was right. You proposed to me because you felt us slipping away, and instead of holding on even tighter…you let go completely."

"I called you to come to my book signing, Peyton. Lindsay and I weren't even together then. You got the wrong impression and you left," Lucas argued.

"You're right. I jumped to conclusions and walked away. But it's not like you even bothered to find out why I didn't show. Who knows what would have happened if I had the courage to approach you that day." She wiped the tears off her face and ran a hand through her hair. "It doesn't matter anymore, Lucas. We can't change the past. The point is, we're over. And that's not something I thought I'd ever say about us." She bit her lip and turned away from him. Walking away from him, his voiced stopped her once again.

"So that's it? After everything we've been through? 6 years of being friends and lovers. That's it?" He swiped at the tear that fell from his eye.

Taking a shuddering breath, she uttered the last words she'd be saying to him for a long time, "That's it."