Chapter 9: The Proposal

Peyton paced back and forth in her office at Red Bedroom Records. She was supposed to be setting up one of her recording artist's concert tour dates while simultaneously setting up the sheet music for the Elvis Presley play. Instead, she was pacing around from one end of the room to the other. There was a reason she was doing that- she couldn't stop thinking about the events of the previous night.

She had had the most perfect night. The opening for her art gallery had turned out to be a huge success. Afterwards, Jake had taken her out to celebrate which led to the most amazing night of her life. What was the problem though? Jake had proposed to her. Although, she did not accept his proposal, she didn't refuse it either. He proposed to her during their romantic stroll around Tree Hill…

Flashback

"I can't believe you planned a midnight picnic in that empty park!" Peyton laughed. "There could have been some creeper or drug addict lurking around somewhere ready to make his mark!"

Jake chuckled, "Well, I would've saved you from them if they did."

"Well, it's nice to know that I'm loved." She said, leaning into him as they continued walking along the pathway.

"You are loved." Jake said. "And you will be continued to love for the rest of your life by Brooke, Haley, Nathan, all your friends and especially Jenny and me."

"Well, that is definitely a good thing. Though, I'm not sure I can say the same for you. I think I'll give all my love for you to Jenny instead." Peyton joked. "God, I love that little angel of yours."

"I love that you and Jenny are so close. All I've ever wanted for Jenny is to have someone like you in her life, and mine." Jake stopped walking and turned to face Peyton as he took a deep breath. "Peyton, Jenny loves you. Sometimes I think she might even love you more than Nikki. And you know what? I love you, too. There are not enough words to describe how much you mean to me. And we have been through so much together. You helped me keep Jenny in my custody. You were the reason I came back to Tree Hill and though, we have had our fair share of rough times, we still made it. Even after the whole Lucas thing, I never thought I'd see you again but our paths crossed again. I don't know if it's fate or if it's just pure coincidence, but what I do know is that I want you by my side for the rest of eternity. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer?"

Jake was already on his knees with the opened velvet box in his hand showing the most beautiful ring Peyton had ever seen. Peyton, much like Haley, gasped at the sight of it. She had tears in her eyes now. She wanted to say something. But she just couldn't open her mouth. She didn't want to say but she knew that she did not want to say no. How could she refuse the proposal of the man she loved most in her life? But she couldn't bring herself to say yes either.

Sensing that she wouldn't be saying anything anytime soon, Jake opened his mouth, "You don't have to give me an answer now. You can take your time. Take all the time you need to decide. Just tell me when you're ready. I don't want you to feel pressured."

And what did Peyton do next? She thanked him. And then they headed off to his house without another word about the proposal.

End of Flashback

"Peyton, I'm leaving Ryan in here with you." Brooke said, barging into the room with Ryan in tow. Noticing something wrong with her best friend immediately, she asked, "Peyton, what's wrong?"

Before Peyton could say anything, Haley entered the room and said, "Hey, Peyton, I think I might-"

"Jake proposed." Peyton blurted out.

Brooke gasped, saying, "What? I have to see the ring!"

"I didn't say yes." Peyton said.

This time it was Haley who gasped, "You said no?"

"I didn't say no, either." Peyton said.

"Ok, Ryan, sweetie, why don't you go look for Julian and hang out with him while mommy talks to Aunt Peyton and Aunt Haley, alright?" Brooke said to the little boy next to her who immediately nodded his head and ran out the door.

Peyton sighed and slumped down on her office chair. She told her two best friends about her night with Jake after the art gallery opening. Brooke and Haley listened to her intently.

"Maybe you just have something against marriages." Brooke said.

"I don't!" Peyton swore. "And what makes it worse is that Jake was completely fine with it!"

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" Haley questioned, confused.

"It should be but it isn't." Peyton sighed. "He should be angry or upset or just anything! But instead he chooses to be completely fine without an answer! He said I could give him my answer whenever I want to! How is that ok with him?"

"I think it's kind of sweet." Brooke smiled. "Jake is amazing. He doesn't want to pressure you. He only wants you to marry him if you're ready to take that step."

"Exactly." Haley agreed. "Just don't wait too long to give him an answer. It might be too late then, otherwise."

Ryan galloped around Tric from one corner to another looking for Julian whom he finally spotted near the stage. Ryan skipped his way over to Julian whom he hugged from behind. Julian, startled by the sudden contact on his legs dropped the file he was holding on to the floor scattering the pages inside everywhere. When he saw who it was, he couldn't help but let out a smile.

"Hey there, Ryan." Julian said, kneeling down to the little boy to return the hug. "You just scared me."

Ryan blushed, "I'm sorry I scared you and dropped all your papers. I didn't mean to, I promise!"

Julian put his hands on Ryan's shoulders, "Hey, it's ok. It happens to everyone. I'm not mad. If you want, you can help me pick them up, alright?"

Ryan nodded his head and started picking up all the papers as fast as he could. Julian chuckled and picked up his file from the floor and collected the papers from Ryan whom he thanked.

"Where's your mom?" Julian asked once they settled down on a couple of chairs placed near the stage.

"She's in Aunt Peyton's office talking to her about Uncle Jake's proposal." Ryan told him as if it was nothing special.

Julian stared at Ryan, "You mean, Peyton is getting married?"

Ryan just nodded his head as he played with the toy car that was in his pocket earlier.

Quinn started the engine of her car and headed on to the main road. She was on her way to go grocery shopping. She had no idea where Clay was. He wasn't home when she woke up so she figured he was probably at Tric or Fortitude. As she stopped at the traffic light, she looked around her surroundings. There was a man asleep on a bench, a bird chirping melodiously and a stray dog barking. Quinn looked back at the man on the bench and thought, Clay has those same shoes… and shirt.

Quinn parked her car on the side and got out of the car to walk over to the man on the bench who, she was instantly sure, was Clay. She called out his name but he didn't budge. Once she reached him, she shook his shoulders, "Clay, baby, wake up."

Clay's eyes immediately shot open, he rubbed his eyes as he sat up straight and looked around. Why was he asleep on a bench out in the streets?

"Quinn, what am I doing here?" he asked as a worried look came across Quinn's face.

Nathan and Lucas were at the River Court playing basketball. Ever since the production for the play had started, the two brothers didn't get a chance to hang out but they finally found time. Tree Hill was most definitely not the same without Lucas. He and Brooke were the only two people making Tree Hill incomplete but he understood that the two had obligations and couldn't just leave everything in New York just because Tree Hill didn't seem quite right without them.

Lucas, out of breath, signaled Nathan for a break and ran over to the bench to grab his water bottle for a drink. Nathan followed suit and did the same thing, sitting down next to the older Scott on the bench. Lucas popped a pill in his mouth. His heart condition was still the same. He missed playing basketball the way he used to but at least he wasn't endangering his life.

"So, how does it feel like to be a director?" Nathan asked.

"Man, it is a lot of hard work. I don't know how Julian does it. Especially the scene with Mia and Alex. Those two can not keep their claws to themselves. It's a good thing I have Haley with me for that scene, she keeps those two girls in check." Lucas explained as Nathan chuckled.

"Well, at least we're half way through it. It's turning out to be great." Nathan said. "And hey, if we're lucky, we might be able to do something like this again so you have another excuse to stay here."

"Is that your way of saying you miss me, little brother?" Lucas smiled.

Peyton took a deep break as she got into her car to go home. She had thought long and hard about her decision. It was all she could think about all day. And she finally had her answer. After her talk with the girls, she got into the Comet and drove all over Tree Hill until she ran out of gas. Luckily, she was near the gas station so she refueled her car and went back to Tric. After finishing up some work, she thought about all the good times she'd had with Jake. And the bad times. He was always there. Never once had he abandoned her. How could she not accept his proposal? Sure, they'd had their fair share of drama but they had made it through everything and had still come out strong. And then there was Jenny. Oh, how Peyton loved that little ebullient angel. She loved Jenny like she was her own daughter- her own flesh and blood. It was final. Peyton was going to go over to Jake's house and tell him she loved him and that she wants to marry him. But there was still something stopping her from doing so- Lucas.

Hey guys! So, I realize that this chapter basically focused on Peyton and the proposal but the next chapter will go back to being the way my other chapters were with each character's storyline. I hope you guys liked it and I'd like to dedicate this to those of you who've stuck with me throughout the story, you know who you are. :) Tell me what you thought of this chapter! R&R!

Peace! =D