Surprise

"Julian..."

There was really nothing Peyton could do now but just stand there, eyes wide in shock, as her two ex-boyfriends stared back at her. Lucas now looked just as surprised as Peyton, while Julian sent her a small, guilty smile that told her that he knew she'd be there.

She couldn't believe that Julian was producing Lucas' movie. More than anything, she couldn't understand why he would want to make a movie out of the book that broke them up. She clearly remembered a time when he hadn't been so fond of the novel she'd kept so close to her heart.

"Hi, Peyton," Julian quietly said.

Lucas glanced back and forth at them both in confusion. "You two know each other?"

All she could do was nod dumbly, but Julian turned to look at Lucas, the guilt that Peyton had seen in him a second ago now even more obvious.

"We were friends back in LA."

Friends? They'd been so much more than friends. Julian had been so close to stealing her heart from Lucas once and for all. They'd been in a serious relationship for over a year, in love and living together. A part of her wondered that, if he'd just given her another chance instead of sending her back to Lucas, they'd still be together.

"Wait." Brooke's voice broke her out of her reverie. "You're Julian? As in the Julian?"

Peyton had told Brooke about her past relationship with Julian numerous times, but Brooke had never actually met him. Lucas, on the other hand, obviously had no clue.

She was distracted from answering Brooke's question as her eyes finally locked on to Julian's. He held her gaze, his usual confidence still there, but he was clearly conflicted as well and it was probably because he was thinking that that she suspected that his motives with the movie wasn't just business. And, now that she thought about it, she wondered if he was simply in Tree Hill for the movie. He'd never been fond of Lucas' book, nor had he actually read it, so why would he want to make a movie of it? Did he come for her? That seemed like an arrogant question, but she thought it was justified.

"The Julian, huh?" Lucas said. "I'm still lost."

"We dated," Peyton said, finally speaking.

Lucas looked at her, an eyebrow cocked, but he didn't seem too put off. There was no jealousy or anything of the sort, something that was for the best.

"Well, that's a coincidence."

"Is it?" Peyton questioned, staring Julian right in the eye. She knew how to make him cave. If his intentions for this movie were personal, then it really wasn't fair to Lucas and she wasn't going to have that.

Julian didn't answer; he looked away from her, staring with an unreadable expression at anything but her. And there was her answer.

Next to her, Brooke laughed nervously, filling the awkward silence. "Um, okay, so the foods all here so why don't you two come inside and we can...talk."

Peyton watched Brooke exchange a nervous smile with both Julian and Lucas as she ushered them both into the kitchen. Lucas and Julian sat next to each other and Peyton and Brooke took seats across from them.

"Eat up," Brooke said, loading up her own plate with food, while the others followed.

"So," Lucas said, "I don't think I need to introduce you to Peyton, but this," he motioned over at Brooke, "is my great friend, Brooke Davis."

Julian sent Brooke a cute grin. "Nice to finally meet you, Brooke. I've heard a lot about you."

"Yes, I've heard a lot about you too. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. I mean like an—"

"Brooke," Peyton interrupted, glaring at her best friend before she could continue on with what was sure to be a very colorful and very inappropriate explanation of all the more intimate details that Peyton had told her about her and Julian's relationship.

Now Julian was back to looking uncomfortable, while Lucas caught Brooke's eyes and they shared a laugh. Peyton glared at him too. This wasn't funny. This was so far from funny.

"Look," Julian said, serious now as he turned to Lucas, "I just want to say that, despite my prior relationship with Peyton, I'm here solely for this movie. Your book was great, Lucas, and I really want to translate that to the screen. So, Lucas, please know that I'm serious about this. I'm not taking this movie lightly and you've got to trust me on that."

Lucas nodded slowly. "I believe you, Julian."

Peyton was surprised at how quick Lucas was to trust Julian because she definitely didn't. He could say all he wanted, but she was sure that he wouldn't have been so eager to make a movie if it wasn't for the fact that he knew she'd be in Tree Hill. She wasn't going to call him on that now, though. That was something she needed to do in private. So, as Julian started explaining the movie details to them all, she just grinned and bared it, knowing that the return of her ex-boyfriend was sure to cause only trouble.

888

Somehow Julian and Lucas had managed to deviate the attention from the Julian/Peyton relationship over to the movie and so this left Brooke to observe the crazy situation from the sidelines.

Peyton was trying hard to remain as unreadable as possible, which might work for Julian and Lucas, but Brooke could read her like a book. It was more than obvious that Peyton was trying her hardest to figure Julian out. Peyton didn't believe that Julian was simply in Tree Hill for the movie and, to be honest, neither did Brooke. Peyton had told her a lot about their past relationship and she knew that it was more serious than either of them had let on. It had only been a little over a year since they'd broken up and Brooke knew from her own experience that most of the time it took a lot longer than that to get over losing someone you really loved.

Brooke shifted her attention of to Lucas. She was a little surprised at how well he was taking this. It would have been natural that he would be a little put off by the fact that the guy who wanted to produce a movie based on his book had once seriously dated his ex-girlfriend, who also just happened to be a main love interest to him in the said book. It didn't matter that Lucas was supposedly over Peyton, he could still have thought that the situation was a little weird. And yet there he was, talking and laughing with Julian like they were old friends. It was kind of weird, now that she thought about it, and she made a mental note to talk about it with Lucas later to find out how he really felt.

When she glanced back at Peyton, her best friend looked more annoyed than anything. She was frustrated now that everyone was ignoring the main issue and Brooke couldn't blame her. Then again, it was probably wise not to start any more drama than necessary.

A second later, Peyton dropped her fork, standing up. Lucas and Julian stopped their rambling to look up at her.

"I've had a long day," she said and Brooke could hear the frustration in her voice. "I'll see you later."

With that, Peyton headed upstairs, leaving a once again guilty looking Julian behind. Lucas glanced over at Brooke, catching her eye, and she just nodded, wordlessly conveying that she'd check up on Peyton. She quietly excused herself, following Peyton upstairs. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

888

"So..." Julian trailed off as Brooke disappeared. The producer looked down at his now empty plate uncomfortably.

Lucas looked over at him, his jaw set. Now that they were alone, he would finally be able to get an idea of what exactly he was dealing with. It wasn't like he was angry with Julian for dating Peyton. He was surprised, to say the least, because Peyton had made it seem like she was living like a nun ever since they broke up, but he wasn't angry. He was also pretty sure he believed Julian when he said he was there for the movie, not Peyton, but he still wanted to make sure. Julian might have seemed trustworthy, but that didn't mean he was.

"Alright," Lucas said, turning to look at Julian seriously, "I'm gonna be honest with you— I don't care that you dated Peyton. Actually, I'm perfectly fine with it."

"Really?" Julian asked, clearly surprised. "See, I thought that was gonna be the big issue with me and you. I mean, aren't you and Peyton together?"

Lucas cocked an eyebrow. He wasn't sure how Julian had gotten that impression. "No, we're not."

"Oh..." Julian frowned, looking away awkwardly.

"Peyton and I have been over for awhile now."

"Huh..."

"Julian," he continued, "I know I told you in front of the girls that I believed you when you said you were just here for the movie, but that was because I didn't want to start up anything. But I'll tell you now if your main goal in coming here was to get Peyton back, then I'm not sure this will work."

"That wasn't my goal at all," Julian defended. "I'll admit, I knew Peyton was here. I was hoping to see her again, but I thought she was back with you. And why would I try to steal her away from the guy that I sent her back to?"

"You sent her back to me?" he asked, surprised.

"Kind of, yeah...Look, the story's kind of complicated..."

Lucas just looked at him expectantly. He wanted to know; actually he deserved to know.

"But you have the right to know all the facts," Julian continued. He sighed, stringing a hand through his hair. "I met Peyton pretty much the day after you broke up with her. We became good friends and then, about six months later, we started dating. We had a lot of fun together, but I knew I was a distraction for her from you. She was still hung up on you, even though she never admitted it. I only knew because every time she saw your book in stores, she'd buy a copy. I didn't mind at first; I knew she was just coping and that soon she'd get over you. But then we started to get really serious and we were even living together, but she still didn't stop buying your books. And that's when I started getting frustrated. I grew to hate a book I hadn't even read. It was tearing us apart and she didn't even know it... After awhile, I just couldn't take it anymore. It was obvious that the two of you didn't have any closure, that she was still in love with you, and I just couldn't be second best any more. So I let her go. I didn't explicitly sent her back to Tree Hill to be with you, but I knew that would end up happening. And I was right. A few months after we broke up, she'd moved back here."

Lucas was silent for a moment, taking in Julian's words. He wasn't surprised that he'd been the cause of their breakup. He felt bad about it, yes, but he knew that Peyton had been hung up on him for the past few years. What he didn't understand, though, was why Julian wanted to make a movie out a book he hated.

"If you hate my book so much then why do you want to make a movie out of it."

"I don't hate it anymore. I'd never actually read it until a few months ago, actually, so I didn't really know what I was missing. Peyton had left a copy of your book at my house after she moved out and a couple of months ago I found it. For some reason, I decided to open it and find out why exactly I broke up with her. I didn't expect to like it, but I couldn't deny that it was a great book, with even greater potential to be brought to the big screen. So I brought it to my bosses and they read it and agreed that it had a lot of potential. Then we called you and now here we are."

Lucas nodded slowly, remaining silent.

"Look," Julian continued, "I'm not even going to lie, Peyton is the reason I read your book. I probably would have never known about it had I not known her. But I didn't have to read the book. I didn't have to like it either and I definitely didn't have to want to make it into a movie. Honestly, it would have been so much easier if I just ignored the book all together and moved on from Peyton once and for all. Believe me, it would have saved me a lot of unnecessary pain. So know this, Lucas— I'm not here for Peyton, I'm here for you and your book, which I think has all sorts of potential to be a huge box office hit."

Julian finished, sitting back in his seat as he looked at Lucas seriously.

It was silent for a few seconds before Lucas finally spoke. "Okay."

An expression of relief fell across Julian's face. "So we're good?"

"I think so," Lucas said, nodding. "Honestly, I just wanted to make sure that you were making this movie because you wanted to make it, because you really enjoyed it and appreciated it, and not because you were using it as an ulterior motive to get a girl back."

Julian smiled. "I can assure you I have no ulterior motives."

"Good," Lucas said, smiling too, "then I think this is settled. Although I really do think you should talk to Peyton."

"I know," Julian said, sighing. "Knowing Peyton, she probably thinks I'm here for her, and I really can't blame her."

"Just for the record, Julian," Lucas said, "if anything does happen between you and Peyton while you're here, it's okay."

"I don't think anything will happen between me and Peyton," Julian said resignedly. "There was always something or someone standing in our way and I'm not sure we're strong enough to overcome it."

"I know what you mean," Lucas said, thinking of Brooke, "but sometimes you've just got to risk it and hope for the best. Relationships aren't meant to be easy."

That was especially true of him and Brooke. They'd struggled countless times back in high school and, in the end, they'd both given up. She didn't fight for him and he stopped fighting for her. If he ever was lucky enough to get a chance with her again, he'd never stop fighting for her.

"You're probably right," Julian said, "but I'm not here to win Peyton back. So I'm not gonna worry about that now. Besides, I think I've got my eye on the other girl from your book. Brooke Davis is definitely easy on the eyes."

And suddenly Lucas wasn't liking Julian anymore. His lips twitched into a straight line, his eyes narrowing.

Julian just laughed. "I was kidding, Lucas. But thanks for letting me know which girl I should stay away from."

"It's not like that with us," Lucas protested. "Brooke and I are just friends."

"Okay."

Lucas shifted in his seat, annoyed. "I'm serious, Julian. Now if you're really here to bug me about my love life, I suggest you leave now because my life is no longer an open book."

"Fine," Julian said, still laughing. He wore a cocky grin as he leaned back in his chair. "Lucas Scott, I have to say that I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship."

888

"Hey." Peyton kept staring at the ceiling as Brooke entered her bedroom. "So what a crazy night we've had."

Crazy was an understatement. She honestly never imagined that she'd see Julian again. She also never imagined how great it would feel to be around him once more. Despite Julian's reasons for being here, whether it was for her or not, she couldn't deny that she'd missed him more than she even knew.

Brooke laid on her back next to Peyton. "Peyton, talk to me."

Peyton let out a huff, crossing her arms stubbornly, but, after a few minutes of Brooke waiting patiently, she finally spoke.

"Was it just me or was Julian completely ignoring me?"

"No," Brooke said, chuckling softly, "it wasn't just you."

"It's like Julian didn't even want to see me."

Brooke put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure he wanted to. He probably just didn't want to cause a scene."

Peyton let out a long sigh, still glaring at the boring white ceiling. She made a mental note to paint something up there soon since she tended to stare at it a lot.

"You could still go down and talk to him, you know."

"I'm not sure I'm ready."

"I don't blame you..."

They fell into silence again, something Peyton was happy for, but then Brooke spoke again.

"So how do you really feel about all this? Because you don't seem very happy to see Julian again."

"I am happy to see him," Peyton said in frustration. She sat up, sighing as she leaned against the headboard of the bed. "That's the problem."

Brooke sat up with her, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Why is that a problem?"

"I don't even know."

Seeing Julian again brought back all these old feelings. Feelings she thought were long gone. But she'd broken Julian's heart once and she wouldn't do it again, even though there was no Lucas to come between them this time. Truthfully, though, Peyton was afraid of getting her own heart broken again. After Lucas, Julian, and Jake, she was tired of being left alone.

She and Julian didn't do well as friends. They were always more than that. And, with him back in her life, who was she to say that things had changed, that they could be just friends? The fact of the matter was that they couldn't. Which, in turn, meant that, inevitably, someone's heart would be broken in the end. Whose that heart would be, she didn't know. All she knew was that she didn't want it to be either of them and that was the problem.

888

Brooke flopped down next to Lucas on the couch. He sent her a tired smile as she sank into the warm cushions, resting her feet on Lucas' lap. Julian had left a little while ago and Brooke had just left Peyton upstairs.

"That was definitely an interesting night," Brooke said.

Lucas chuckled softly. "Yes, it was."

"Are you okay with it?" she asked as she sat up to lean against the arm of the couch.

"After I got over the shock, yes, I was actually fine with it. Julian and I had a good talk while you and Peyton were upstairs and I really think he means well."

"Well, I guess that's good."

Lucas nodded and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. One of his hands slid up and down her bare leg, his other massaging her foot and, for a few moments, everything was perfect.

Then she remembered the conversation she'd had with Peyton right before Lucas had brought Julian over and suddenly she felt oddly uncomfortable. Lucas didn't seem to notice, though; he stared absently at the blank TV screen in front of them, obviously lost in his own thoughts.

She, however, was feeling more than conflicted. This whole situation with Julian and Peyton had deterred her from dwelling on the complicated question Peyton had asked her a few hours ago, something that was probably for the better, but now that she was alone with Lucas, she was suddenly overcome with the guilt of feeling something that she definitely shouldn't be feeling.

As Lucas' hands gently grazed her bare skin, she became acutely aware of just how intimate of a position they were in. It wasn't like this was new for them— Lucas touched her all the time — but now, after she's spent the last few days continuously denying her feelings for him, this situation held a lot more meaning.

For the first time in a very long time, she could deny it no longer— she wanted him. She wanted to feel his lips against hers, to feel his body press against hers in a way it hadn't for so many years. She wanted to touch him in ways she dared not do now. She wanted to call him boyfriend again and for him to call her his Pretty Girl. She wanted to tell him that she didn't just love him, she was in love with him. She wanted to so badly it hurt.

But she didn't. Because, even if he felt the same way, it wouldn't work between them. It never did. And she wasn't going to let her heart get broken again. She just couldn't.

Suddenly Lucas' hand was touching her cheek as he bent over to look at her.

"Is something wrong?"

Yes, everything was wrong. She was once again falling for Lucas Scott, which only meant trouble, and she hated herself for it.

"I'm just tired," she said, removing herself from his now excruciating hold and standing up. As she stood at the edge of the stairs, she turned to look at him one last time. She didn't want to leave him on a bad note.

"Night, Luke," she said quietly.

He nodded, but, before she could make a move, he was standing in front of her again. Her breath hitched in her throat as he tucked a stray hair behind her ear. He was smiling softly down at her and she could tell that he was worried about her. Then his hands moved to rest on her hips and she wasn't sure how much more she could take. Was he trying to make her go crazy?

"Are you sure you're okay? You're not thinking about the attack, are you."

The attack was the furthest thing from her mind.

"No, I'm not," she assured him. "And I'm fine, really."

He stared into her eyes, as if trying to make sure she was telling the truth, but then he simply nodded, letting her off the hook. Her eyes fell to his chest, which was only inches away from her own body, and then he was pulling her into a hug. She dug her face into the crook of his neck, unable to help herself.

When they pulled a part, their eyes met and, in that moment, she had never been more tempted to kiss Lucas Scott. She almost gave in, too, but then common sense kicked in and she quickly pulled away from him, backing up towards the stairs.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, her voice shaky.

Lucas looked confused. "Yeah..."

Then she flew up the stairs, making it to her bedroom in record speed, and slammed the door behind her. She slid down the bedroom door, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Tonight had been a turning point in more ways than one. She'd realized that her feelings for Lucas were too strong to bury again. She was in love with him, she couldn't deny it anymore. And, during that brief moment that they'd stood in her living room, locked in a warm embrace, she was pretty sure that he was in love with her too.

And that scared her more than anything.

A/N: I know that most of this chapter focused mostly on Pulian/Peyton and I'm sorry for that! Most of you are reading for Brucas, so I know that this chapter wasn't what you were hoping for, but I hope that little bit at the end was enough to tide you over!

Thanks for reading and please remember to review!