She hadn't had any other unordinary pains sicne the insident that had landed her in the hospital, so Lucas was allowing her to go, on a few conditions, of course. He would go with her to watch out for her, and make sure she only stayed her allotted hour and a half. He had shortened the time because of the environment, to make sure she didn't overwhelm herself., or work too hard. Peyton and Lucas were getting along quite well as friends, so she had agreed.
The main reason she had agreed, though, was because Keirah wouldn't be there. Keirah was in L. A. for a couple days as she figured some things out with the company she worked at. She would be gone until tomorrow, so there was no chance of her showing up at Tric. Peyton still hadn't figured out whether or not anything was going on between Lucas and Keirah and she didn't want to be around in case it hadn't yet, and it did. You never know what's going to happen when you get a few drinks in people.
Brooke and her new fling Chase would be there, too. Peyton hadn't met him yet, but Brooke had seen him a few times in the previous weeks. Peyton was just glad that Brooke was finally moving on from Rachel. Brooke had been pining since her relationship with Rachel had ended, and she had completely denied the fact, making it that much worse. Peyton knew that Chase was only a rebound for Brooke, and she hoped that he didn't get too hurt in the end.
Haley had called her practically every day to check in on her. Haley hadn't really talked about herself, much, though, which made Peyton a little worried. She could tell that something was up with Haley, but hadn't gotten the nerve to ask about it yet. She was sure that Haley would open up with her eventually, if she felt the need. She was relatively sure that it was just a small issue and Haley just didn't want to add to her stress. Or maybe she just wanted to believe that, so she wouldn't feel bad about not asking about it.
Peyton had just finished getting dressed when she heard the front door open and close. She stayed in front of the mirror, putting her earrings in. "I'm in my room," she answered when Lucas called her name. "Are the kids all set at Karens?" she called, biting her lip as she concentrated on getting the earring in; she was having some difficulties. Karen had offered to stay home and babysit the boys for the night because she knew Peyton could handle Tric.
Lucas stopped short when he saw her. Her figure was still perfect, despite being five months pregnant. She was wearing a black strapless dress that fell to right above her knees and hugged her in all the right places. She was wearing black heels which accented her perfect, if a little chickeny, legs. She had curled her hair for the night and it fell around her face and down her back in ringlets. She was putting a pair of black hoop earrings in her ears and her wrists were covered in chunky black bracelets. Her make-up was perfect, her eyes lined in black, and her lipstick bright red.
Peyton turned to look at him, a smile on her face. He was speechless, so she picked up the necklace she planned on putting on, so she would have something to do. He looked amazing in a blue shirt that brought out his eyes and a pair of black slacks. The rest of her accesories showed her more punk side, but the necklace was a thin silver chain, with a little pendant that was made up of three letters. TLA. "Help me put this on," she put the necklace in his hand then turned her back to him, holding up her hair.
Lucas looked down at the necklace she had worn for years, but he hadn't seen in months. He had given it to her for their one year anniversary, and she had worn it ever since, at least, up until four or so months ago. He had thought she had thrown it away, or something. Instead, there it was, in his hands. Three simple letters, that held so much meaning. True Love Always. They were supposed to have it. Was it still there? He really hoped so.
Lucas could remember once, about a year ago, when Peyton had thought that she had lost the necklace. Derek and his wife had the boys for the night because they so rarely got to see them. He had come home from work that day expecting her to be ready for their date that he had planned, and, instead, he had found her freaking out, tearing the apartment up, looking for the necklace. Lucas had planned a romantic night out, and had even made dinner reservations at an expensive, exclusive restaurant, but he immediately forgot all that and helped her in her search.
It had been a few hours later that they found the necklace, it had fallen onto the floor in the bathroom when she had taken it off to shower. Peyton had been extremely relieved that she had found it, but still felt back about screwing up his plans. Lucas had told her it was okay, and they had spent the whole night in, reminscing about old memories and even making some new ones.
Peyton cleared her throat, bringing Lucas out of his thoughts. "My arms are getting kind of tired holding my hair up, dude," she said, resisting the urge to tun and look at him. She knew what he was thinking about. She had been remembering that same night. She had chosen this necklace specifically to tell him that they were making at least a little bit of progress. Lucas put the necklace around her neck and clasped it. Peyton let her hair down and turned to face him, smiling. "Let's go," she said.
Lucas smiled back at her, holding his arm out so she could take it. Peyton grabbed her purse and old leather jacket, putting it on before looping her arm through his, letting him lead her out of the house. When they made it to Tric, Peyton walked in on his arm, before she was called away to set things up. Lucas watched her being whisked away to take care of things, and he made his way through the club. He had yet to see it when it was full of people, and it was quite a sight, especially knowing that Peyton had helped start it.
Peyton felt disappointed that she had to be pulled away from Lucas so soon, but she immediately got into the role of giving orders and making changes. She wanted things to go perfect tonight. Fall Out Boy had always been one of her favorite bands, and this was the first time a really famous group had ever played on her stage. She only hoped it wouldn't be the last.
After getting things moving so the band would be able to play, she found the band's dressing room and knocked on the door. She waited until she heard some acknowledgement from inside before opening the door and slipping in. She couldn't believe she was actually meeting them, but she kept her posture erect and tried not to show how excited she was.
She waited until she had the attention of all four band members before speaking. "Well, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Peyton Sawyer, partical owner of this club, and I also own a record label. I just wanted to tell you how happy I am that you guys could be here to play. I've always been a big fan of your music," she said, trying to stay business-like.
Pete stood up first, his eyes had been on her since the moment she had entered the room. He set down his guitar and approached her, holding out his hand, which she shook, keeping the eye contact as he stepped closer. "Well, it's an honor to play here. Your label is making quite a splash, and we always prefer to play the small town gigs than the bigger cities," he said.
The other members of the band said some things to her before she was called away to do something else. One thing Peyton noticed as she left the room was that Pete's eyes had never left her. She wasn't quite sure how that made her feel, but she didn't really have much time to think about it. When things were finally running smoothly, she made it out into the club area, finding Brooke, and Lucas and making her way over to them.
Peyton didn't spot the guy on the barstool next to Brooke as she walked up and hugged her friend. "Hey, P. Sawyer, congrats on getting Fall Out Boy, by the way," Brooke said as she pulled back. She took the hand of the guy next to her as they both slid off of their barstools. The guy finally turned, meeting Peyton's eyes. "This is Chase, my boyfriend. Chase, this is my best friend, Peyton, the fabulous, pregnant, partial owner of this club," she said, sending Peyton a look that said she was proud of her, and that she was excited for Peyton to meet Chase.
Peyton's eyes widened as she realized who Chase was. She couldn't believe she hadn't put the pieces together sooner. As she looked into his eyes she silently pleaded with him not to say anything. She reached out to shake his hand. "Chase, oh my gosh. Brooke, I went to high school with this guy. How have you been?" she babbled, allowing Chase to pull her into a hug.
Brooke watched then interact and listened to Chase say a few things about how his life was before she grinned and wrapped an arm through Peyton's. "Great, now you can tell me all about how he used to be and who he used to date. All the good, juicy stuff," she said, speaking to Peyton in a loud stage-whisper, looking at Chase and sending him a wink to let him know she was joking. Kind of.
Peyton rolled her eyes, pulling herself up onto the barstool besides Lucas as the other couple began to talk. "How much time do I have left?" she asked, calling the bartender over and ordering a water. Brooke smiled at the bartender, but didn't start flirting, because of Chase. As she took a sip of her water, Peyton glanced over at Lucas, wondering what was going through his mind.
Lucas had seen the look Peyton had given Chase. He knew something was going on there, and there was something that Peyton wasn't mentioning, but he decided not to bring it up now. So he shoved it to the back of his mind, and focused on what she had just said to him. He checked his watch. "About an hour. Fall Out Boy is going to play soon, right?" he asked.
Peyton kept her eyes on Lucas, one hand holding her water glass while the other gently caressed her necklace. It was a habit that she had thought she had broken long ago. It seemed that it was too engrained in her brain to be let go, though, and she didn't even realize she was doing it. Often, after she had taken the necklace off, she had reached up to her chest to find it bare, devoid of the necklace, and she would always resolutely put her hand back down with a sigh, feeling as if something was missing.
The four just sat at the bar for about ten more minutes, making idle conversation as they waited for Fall Out Boy to take the stage. Peyton had been about to go check on things when the DJ had announced them. Instead, she had sat at the bar, with her friends, her hand-held radio at the ready in case she was needed backstage. After some begging, Peyton got Lucas out on the dance floor, after Brooke had already dragged Chase onto it.
It was a fast song, so they weren't touching, but dancing close to each other, probably closer than necessary. She had handed Lucas her radio so he could put it in his pocket as they danced. While the music was going they didn't have to talk, they could just enjoy each others company. That was what Peyton enjoyed the most. Just being next to him, sharing smiles as they looked into each others eyes.
It was halfway through the list of songs that they were playing when Brooke and Chase came up to them, announcing that they were leaving. With a wave, Brooke left, calling over her shoulder that she would call Peyton in the morning. Peyton watched her friend go, but then turned her attention back to Luacs. Two songs later, someone else was making their way through the crowd.
Peyton took a few steps back as an extremely excited Keirah jumped into Lucas's arms. She couldn't hear Keirah's words over the music, but she didn't really care to. She watched for a moment before turning and heading back stage, where she could watch the band and not have to watch Keirah all over the guy who regularly claimed to love her.
As she was walking through the crowd she glanced up, and her gaze was immediately met by the gaze of Pete Wentz. Most of the time when guys looked at her while she was at Tric, she felt like they were only looking at one thing, and it wasn't her face. Looking at Pete, though, she noticed that his gaze stayed on her eyes the whole time as he played. She smiled back and then went backstage, where she stood at the edge of the stage, back far enough where the crowd couldn't see her, but the band could.
As Peyton was standing off to the side of the stage the band finished their set. She watched as they started packing up their equipment, heading off of the stage as the DJ started playing music again. She congratulated them and thanked them again for playing as they headed back toward the dressing room. Pete was the last one offstage and he stops next to Peyton.
Peyton waits for him to speak, partially knowing what's coming. She's just trying to figure out how to respond if she's right. Pete stood in front of her, pausing for a moment. "Look, this is kind of forward, and you can say no if you want. Do you want to hang out after this, though?" he asked, completelylacking any signs of being nervous.
As much as Peyton had been expecting it, the question still caught her off gaurd. Maybe it was the casual way he just stated it. She had intended on turning him down. "Well I really can't," she said, and he turned to walk away, nodding. "No, wait, I mean, I can't tonight," she paused, taking a deep breath. "The thing is, I'm five months pregnant, and I'm not supposed to be out for more than a couple hours a day. I've just about exceeded my limit for today, but maybe another time, if you still want to," she surprised herself with her words.
Pete considered briefly and then nodded. "I should be in town still tomorrow, I'll give you a call. My agent has your number," he said before turning and heading towards the dressing room. Peyton watched him go, unable to believe that she had just agreed to go on a date with Pete Wentz. It felt so surreal. She was sure no one would believe her.
With a sigh she left the backstage area and headed out toward the dance floor, looking for Lucas. She found him by himself. Apparantly, Keirah had already left. Instead of bringing up any touchy subjects, she just shook her head slightly. "Can we just go home now?" she asked, looking up at him, green eyes meeting blue. She was suddenly more tired than she would like to admit.
Lucas nodded and they walked out to the car in silence. Peyton wondered how the evening had started with things going so great between them, and now things couldn't have been further from great for them as a couple. It wasn't that they hated each other, or anything. It was more that while they had started the night with hope, the hope for them getting together any time soon had quickly faded.
When Lucas parked the car and they started walking toward the house, Peyton reached up, unlatching her necklace as Lucas tried unlocking the door, but found that it wasn't even locked. "I have a date with Pete Wentz," she announced as he pushed the door open, not noticing that there was anything wrong. Lucas was on alert as they made their was through the house, Peyton staying behind him. She was still carrying the necklace in her hands.
Peyton heard noises from the living room and she pointed him in that direction, staying behind him at his insistance. Lucas hesitantly stepped into the living room, flicking on the light switch right next to the entrance. They both stood, shocked for a minute, before Peyton pushed past him. She headed straight for her best friend, who was sitting in the middle of the living room floor, crying her eyes out. Peyton fell onto the ground, taking her friend into her arms, rocking her and murmuring soothing words into her hair. "It's okay, Hales, it'll all be okay," she said.
A/N: Oooh, what do y'all think Haley is doing back in Tree Hill, and why do you think she's crying? I added in the Pete Wentz because I wanted more drama, and also because I love him and I wanted him to be part of the fic. I loved the part in the show where Peyton dated him. He's completely hot, and I don't usually dig guys who wear more eyeliner than me. Oh, and what do you think went on between Peyton and Chase? Let me know what you think!!!
Oh, and on a separate note, about next week's episode, (For those of you who aren't watching, or don't want to hear any spoilers, ignore the rest of this A/N), what do you think about this Julien fellow? Did anyone see the preview? I think that'll be some kind of flashback about what happened between Peyton and Julien. She's with Lucas now, and they don't cheat on each other. They cheat on other people with each other, but they don't cheat on each other. It's just not the Leyton way. Besides, when she first saw Julien, it did not look like she wanted to kiss him. Anyway, so I'll stop babbling. Let me know what you think, about the episode and about the fic.
Disclaimer: I do own One Tree Hill. It's all mine, including Chad and James, and cute little Jackson. Oh, no, wait, that's just a dream. Nevermind.