A/N: OK, so some of you are less than thrilled (it seems) that they haven't kissed or anything yet. It's coming, I swear!
So, to speed things along, I'm posting another chapter today.
----
Three days after Jake and Brooke left, Peyton was just getting used to having a quieter house. Too quiet, if you asked her. Lucas had been out two of the three nights, and while she relished the silence the first evening, she definitely started getting lonely after that.
She wondered if maybe he was avoiding her, regretting the things he said and the way he acted with her on the weekend. In her heart, she knew that probably wasn't the case. He had a study group, then he watched a game with his friends, then he went to a game.
And so there she was, on Wednesday evening, laying on her bed and reading a book that she had borrowed off his shelf. She had finished midterms, and didn't have any schoolwork due for a while, and she was thankful to read something that wasn't required by her curriculum.
As she turned the page, her attention wandered to the drawing that sat, overturned on her easel. It received the best grade she'd gotten in her entire academic career, and she was proud of it, of course, but she knew that the grade had nothing to do with her attachment to the piece.
It was too much. The feeling she had when she'd drawn it was unlike anything she had before. It was like complete contentment, able to block out the world and just let her hands do what they wanted to do. When her professor had asked her how she'd felt, and she described that, she was told that was what it was supposed to feel like.
She heard the door open and close, and she realized she was bundled up in a pair of pajama pants, fuzzy socks, a sweater, and a blanket pulled up to her chin. The thing with Lucas was, she didn't care what he saw her in. She wondered why that really was. Normally, when she had feelings for someone, she always tried to look her best. With Lucas, she felt like he didn't really care what she had on.
He appeared in her doorway, wearing the same Tar Heels tee shirt she'd worn not even a week earlier, and leaned against the frame. She lowered her book and sent him a smile, and he grinned when he saw the title she was reading.
"You look cozy," he observed, stepping further into the room.
"I'm freezing," she said, making him smile. The girl was always either too hot, or too cold. "How was the game?"
"Awesome," he told her. "We were down by two till the buzzer, then Hansbrough hit an amazing 3 to take it by one."
"Wow. That sounds exciting," she said seriously.
"It was great," he said with a nod. "You should come to a game some time. Show some spirit."
"Darlin', I've got more spirit than you can probably even imagine," she said with a raised brow.
"What does that mean?" he asked as he laughed.
"It means that I was a cheerleader for 4 years."
"Ohh, that's right," he said, glancing over to a photo of her and Brooke in their red and black uniforms. His mind wandered a little bit more, wondering if maybe she still had that uniform, and how damn hot she'd look in it. "How was your night?"
"You're looking at it," she said, deadpan.
"And how are you liking the Steinbeck?" he asked, enunciating in a way that made him sound more refined than they both knew he was.
"It's really good," she admitted with a nod.
"It's my favourite," he said softly.
"I know." She locked eyes with him and a beat passed before he turned away.
And then he walked to her easel, and she felt her heart stop. He couldn't see that drawing.
"98%?!" he asked excitedly upon seeing the number on the marking sheet on the back. "Peyton, you got a 98% on an assignment and it's hiding in here?"
"It's not hiding," she insisted gently, hoping he'd drop the subject. "It's just..."
She couldn't even finish her thought before he took the page in his hand and flipped it over.
She closed her eyes and grimaced, waiting for his reaction. She should have known she couldn't hid it from him. She couldn't hide anything from him, it seemed. He knew her too well, and it was getting harder and harder to keep secrets, no matter how hard she was trying.
"You drew me?" he asked, glancing at her quickly, then back to the page. "Why did you draw me?"
"Yeah...it was...It was just an assignment," she mumbled. She would have said more, but she was drowning in self-loathing.
"But...wow," he said, eyes still fixed on the portrait. "I'm just...why?"
"It doesn't matter, Luke," she said hotly. "It's just schoolwork."
"Is it?" he asked quietly, hoping those two simple words wouldn't make her even angrier.
"My prof told me I needed to connect with my subject," she said, shrugging her shoulders as he glanced between her and the art in his hands. "You and I kind of connect, so...whatever."
He got the strong feeling that she really didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he just nodded, set the drawing down the way he'd found it, and moved towards the door. Just because she didn't want to talk about it, didn't mean that he wasn't going to think about it. She drew him. Art was her love, and she used him as a subject. He had no idea what that meant, but he didn't buy that it was nothing.
"Peyton," he said, turning to her slightly when he got to the door. "It matters to me."
When he tugged the door closed behind him, she wasn't sure what he meant. Did he mean that it mattered to him that she'd drawn him? Or that her art meant more than she was letting on? He was right on both accounts.
And then she had to ask herself why she was pushing him away. That was the harder question.
He wanted to believe that she drew him for a reason - something far deeper than what she'd told him - but he didn't want to get his hopes up. He knew that if she ever saw the novel he was working on, and saw that it was about her, she'd probably freak out.
She was just the easiest thing to write.
But somehow the hardest thing to understand.
----
If he hadn't had a class that morning, Lucas wouldn't have gotten out of bed. He would have stayed shut away in his room, reading or plugged into his iPod, ignoring the outside world. Ignoring the hot and cold signals he was getting from Peyton.
Ignoring that all he wanted was everything with her.
He wasn't sure how his life went from drama free, no women troubles, focusing on his studies and his family, to focusing almost entirely on the blonde girl who'd moved into his house and his life and his heart.
But his alarm went off and he had to face it all. The house was quiet, so he slipped out unnoticed, went to his class and stopped by the library, and he did the one thing that was becoming like second nature.
He thought about Peyton.
And she had a horrible day. Just awful.
All she could think about was Lucas and his words from the night before, and she just couldn't stop herself from believing that something more was laying beneath the simple words he spoke.
And then her father called her and told her that he wouldn't be home for Thanksgiving that weekend, and so she wouldn't see him until Christmas.
So she picked up ice cream and a few new albums, and she changed into her sweats and sat on the sofa for the rest of the day.
When Lucas walked through the door and saw her sitting there, listening to music far louder than either of them ever did, and eating what looked like the richest chocolate ice cream available, he knew something was wrong.
And no matter how much he'd wanted to ignore everything, he couldn't ignore the need to look after her.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he flopped down on the sofa next to her.
"Nothing," she mumbled with a mouthful of ice cream.
He raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, and she knew there was no getting things past him.
"I'm...kind of...embarrassed," she admitted quietly.
"What? Why? What happened?" he asked worriedly.
"Are you...? Is...?" she stuttered. "Are you forgetting last night?"
"You're...you're embarrassed about that?" he asked in surprise. He say her shake her head and look away from him. "Peyton, don't."
"Don't what?" she asked once she realized that he wasn't about to elaborate.
"Don't get all insecure about how talented you are, OK?" he insisted seriously.
"I'm not!" she cried.
"Yes, you are," he said with a tilted head and a shadow of a smile.
"I just...kind of didn't want you to see it," she said, barely above a whisper.
"Well, you did make me a little better looking than I really am," he said jokingly. She dropped her jaw and swatted his arm as he laughed. "I just didn't know you were that good."
"Me neither," she whispered.
He didn't know what that meant, but as always, he couldn't find it in him to ask.
"So you can't just be upset about that," he said knowingly.
"It's nothing," she said, waving off his concern. "My dad isn't coming home for Thanksgiving, so I'm just going to stay here."
"No you aren't!" he cried assertively. "No way are you spending the entire long weekend here alone."
"Well, there's nothing else..."
"You're coming with me," he insisted. She started shaking her head and opened her mouth, but he spoke again before she could. "My mom makes the best stuffing, and Haley, Nathan and Jamie are coming in for the whole weekend. You're coming with me."
She didn't need any more convincing, really. In fact, just the thought of seeing Karen and Lily again made her smile.
"Are you sure? I mean, I'm sure your mom has it all planned out," she started.
He pulled out his phone before she'd even finished her sentence, and held it to his ear as she looked at him questioningly.
"Hey mom...Yeah, I'm good. You guys?...Yeah, yeah, I'm still coming home tomorrow. But listen, Peyton's dad isn't around this year, and...That's what I told her...OK...I'll see you tomorrow morning, then...Love you, too."
She tilted her head and sighed as he snapped his phone shut and smiled triumphantly.
"She says you are always welcome in her home," he informed her. "I'm leaving at 8:30. Be ready."
"Luke, why are you so good to me?" she asked quietly, shaking her head as she looked down to the tub of ice cream in her hands.
She asked the question because she was hoping for some sort of answer that might give insight into the things he said and did. She wanted to know if maybe he meant those things the way she wanted him to.
He knew she probably didn't remember that she'd spoken those words to him before, so he could only smile at her in response.
"Because I care about you," he admitted before he could stop himself. "And because you make it really easy to take be good to you."
"What does that mean?" she asked with a smile.
She should have know he'd have the perfect words.
He didn't say anything. He couldn't. It would have been too much.
He just shook his head and smiled, winked at her and got up to head upstairs.
"Chinese tonight?" he called down to her.
"Uh...yeah," she mumbled absently. "Yeah, I'll order."
She sat for a while before moving, just to try to figure out what he meant. He cared about her, that was no secret, and she wouldn't question that. But how was it that she made it easy to be good to her? What did that mean? And why couldn't he just answer a damn question for once? She realized that was why she rarely asked them. It was either a fear of how he'd respond, or knowing that he simply wouldn't.
She ordered their dinner, and Lucas came down stairs just in time to eat. It was her turn to buy, and he tried to argue with her, but she would have none of it.
"How'd you know I have been craving this exact meal?" he asked as they sat down to their food.
"Just a hunch, I guess," she said with a laugh.
"I think I've only had this like, once in the entire time I've known you," he observed before digging in.
So maybe the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
And just maybe he made it really easy to take care of him, too.
----
Later that night, as Peyton was packing for the last minute trip she'd be taking that weekend, her phone rang. Sometime during the weekend prior, Brooke had changed the ringtone on Peyton's phone to play Michael Jackson's Pretty Young Thing when she called. When asked, she had just said that she was a 'PYT', and that Peyton's ringer on Brooke's own phone was the same song. So she left it like that, because it somehow made her feel closer to her best friend.
Peyton explained, after their typical greetings, that she was going away for the weekend, and where, and it was met with silence.
"OK, what?" Peyton asked, putting a hand on her hip though she knew she couldn't be seen.
"So he's taking you home to his family? Again?" Brooke inquired giddily.
"He just pities me for not having anywhere to go for Thanksgiving," Peyton scoffed, hoping to make Brooke tone down her excitement.
Of course, Peyton was excited, too, she just didn't want to get her hopes up and then have nothing happen.
"Don't take pajamas," Brooke insisted seriously.
"What!?" Peyton asked with a laugh.
"Peyton, trust me," Brooke said. "Don't. And then when you tell him you forgot, he'll give you something to sleep in. It's win-win."
"How is that win-win?"
"Because you get to sleep in his clothes, which is like, one of the perks of being a girl, and because he'll drool over seeing you in his clothes," Brooke explained, making Peyton laugh. "I'm serious!"
"That's what I'm afraid of," Peyton said through her giggles.
"Promise me!"
"Brooke!" Peyton cried.
"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, promise me," Brooke insisted sternly.
"Ugh! Fine. I promise!" the blonde said in exasperation.
"OK, I have to go, but I want updates via text message," Brooke said.
"I'll talk to you later," Peyton said with a laugh. "Bye, Brooke."
"Later, Peyton," Brooke said before hanging up.
Brooke figured that she knew a lot of things. She'd seen a lot in her short lifetime, and she'd retained a lot of information.
A lot of that was about boys.
And that was how she knew that the blonde one that was living with her best friend was potentially 'the one' for her best friend.
So now she'd sit back and wait for the call that told her that one or both of them had come to their senses and acted on their feelings.
----
They got to Tree Hill mid-morning. Peyton - never a morning person - had slept most of the car ride there, making Lucas tease her, of course, for missing out on the 'best parts' of the drive. She told him that since she'd been there before, she didn't need to see the same things over again. She knew that wasn't true, and so she just rolled her eyes when he called her on it.
When they pulled up in front of his house, he shot her a smile before climbing out of the car and heading to the trunk for their bags.
She stepped out of the car and stretched her arms over her head like he so loved to see her do, and he pointed towards the door on the side of the house.
"Go ahead," he said, watching as she took in the sight of the house she'd only seen once before, in passing.
She loved that little house. It was homey and it somehow felt like Lucas. It was comfortable before she even stepped inside.
She hadn't expected to step into a bedroom when she pushed that door open. She also hadn't expected Lucas to be directly behind her when she turned around to question him.
"Sorry," she said with a chuckle after she crashed against his chest.
"It's OK," he laughed. He set down their bags as she glanced around the room.
"This room is awesome," she observed.
She didn't notice anyone else was even in the house until she heard the laughter coming from the kitchen, and a little brunette girl rushing towards her and wrapping her arms around Peyton's legs.
"Peyton!"
"Hi, Lily," she said, reaching down and hoisting the girl into her arms as Lucas looked on with a content smile on his face. "How are you?"
"I'm good!" Lily claimed. "Jamie's here, and Nathan and Haley, and now you and Lukey are here too!"
"Sounds like a full house," Peyton laughed.
"Come on! You have to meet everyone," Lily proclaimed, wiggling in Peyton's arms to be let down. "Right Luke? She has to."
"Yes, Lily," Lucas said with a laugh. "You go on, we'll be out in a second, OK?"
He knelt down to kiss her forehead before she scurried off into the other room.
"She's excited," Peyton pointed out needlessly.
"Always," he confirmed. "You ready?"
"Sure," she said with a shrug. "It's just your entire family, right?"
He chuckled and draped his arm around her shoulder as they walked from the room and into the kitchen. She knew everyone, of course, having seen photos, but all the eyes staring at her and the anxious smiles pointed her way, were making her a little nervous.
"Hi," Jamie chirped before anyone else had spoken. They all chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm as he sat on his father's lap.
"Hi," Peyton said with a bright smile.
"I'm James Lucas Scott," he informed her.
"I'm Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer," she said, making Nathan grin.
"I'm Haley James Scott." Nathan and Lucas rolled their eyes at Haley's need to encourage her son's three name use. The brunette extended her hand for Peyton to shake. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"You too," Peyton said politely.
"I'm Nathan."
"Nathan...?" she drawled, waiting for a middle name.
"Oh God," he scoffed, casting a reprimanding glance to Haley. He knew, then, that the two women would get along just fine. "It's just Nathan."
They all chuckled again, and Haley wiggled her eyebrows at Lucas when no one else was looking. His response was a serious glare that made her smile in accomplishment at getting a rise out of him.
Peyton and Karen made small talk while Lucas caught up with Nathan and Haley, and pulled Jamie onto his own lap. Lily climbed up onto Nathan, and they all sat like that for a while, before all their conversations blended together. Peyton was asked a series of semi-serious questions about her upbringing, what her courses in school, and various other topics.
Lucas watched on as Peyton interacted with his family, smiling when she made Lily or Jamie laugh, and winking at her when he caught her eye.
Nathan noticed the subtle interaction. He also noticed the bashful looks Peyton would get when Lucas looked at her a certain way. There was no doubt to him that the two blondes were in a little deeper than either of them had admitted. He wouldn't say anything to Haley or Lucas about it, knowing that Haley couldn't keep the gossip to herself, and Lucas wouldn't appreciate the allegations, even if they were true.
Lily very excitedly showed Peyton her bedroom, pointing out all her favourite things and hiding places for her trinkets. Peyton sat at the end of the bed, as instructed, while Lily put on what was apparently a mini fashion show, donning dresses and tiaras and smiling so widely that Peyton herself had to smile. The girl was absolutely adorable, and so different than Lucas was.
"OK, princess," Nathan said with a laugh from his place in the doorway, watching as Lily explained to Peyton why one crown was better than the other. "Time for lunch."
"OK!" she chirped, running past him and out of the room.
"She's hilarious," Peyton said with a smile as she stood from her place.
"She's something," Nathan said, shaking his head. "I'm glad I have a boy."
"Who's awesome, by the way." They started down the hall and Nathan just chuckled. This girl would fit right in with the Scotts, that was for sure.
"He's probably the coolest kid ever," he stated proudly, making her laugh.
"Well, his parents seem pretty fantastic," she pointed out.
He stopped and turned to her, and she smiled up at him, and he pulled her into his arms in a hug she hadn't necessarily expected, but didn't feel uncomfortable with at all.
"You're pretty great, too, Sawyer," he said softly, smiling as they pulled apart.
It was true. Normally, people didn't blend with the family so quickly, because they let all the drama of the past cloud the present. Peyton seemed to just care about the people as they were, and that was something special, if you asked him. And maybe calling her by her last name was just a habit from years and years of locker rooms, but he kind of thought it suited her anyhow.
They entered the kitchen to see Karen and Haley sitting next to their children, ensuring they were eating all their food, and Lucas leaning back against the counter and nursing a cup of coffee.
It had been a long time since Peyton had been around so many people, and while it was amazing, and she adored them all, she couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed by it. Not by the noise or laughter or conversation, but by the comfort and the real sense of family they so obviously had.
She caught Lucas' eye and gestured towards the bedroom, and he nodded. He knew she was telling him that she needed a moment alone, and he totally understood that.
She walked straight through his room and onto the porch, taking a seat on the steps. She didn't know what it was about the visit that had barely even begun, but she found her eyes welling with tears as she looked out on the quiet little street lined with quiet little houses.
She wanted this. She wanted a family and gatherings, and children laughing and talking excitedly. She wanted harmless teasing between brothers, and reprimanding looks from mothers whose children are too old to receive reprimanding looks. She'd never had that. She was an only child, and her mother passed away when she was young, before real traditions could be set in place. Sure, she had a brother, but he was off at a base in Iraq, and she only got to email him occasionally.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but it must have been a while, because Lucas had apparently come to find her.
"You OK?" he asked gently, noticing her sitting there in only her tee shirt and jeans.
"Yeah," she answered quickly, spinning around to see him. She hadn't noticed anyone come outside, so she was happy that she wasn't crying anymore. Certainly he wouldn't have believed her response had she had tears running down her cheeks.
"You sure?" he inquired knowingly.
"You have a real family," she said softly. He looked at her with a smile; the same smile, she noticed, that he got any time he spoke of the people he loved.
"It took us a long time to get like this," he said, half-jokingly.
"I know," she said with a nod, pulling her knees up to her chest. "It's just...so nice to be around."
He'd rarely heard her be so sentimental. Of course, there was the day, nearly two months ago, when they went to visit her mother, then his, but that was different. This was making him want to hold her in his arms and comfort her. Something so simple as a family visit could make her so emotional, and he was reminded of all the things she would have missed out on since her mother passed away.
So he held her in his arms.
He moved a little closer and pulled her into his side, and she leaned against him a little bit, and they sat there quietly for a few minutes.
"Nathan gives really good hugs," she said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"This one not good enough for ya?" he asked. She could hear the smirk he was wearing, and she chuckled in his embrace.
"I'm just not used to family stuff," she said.
"Well, it didn't take you long to fit in," he insisted, running his hand up and down her arm. "They love you."
"That's because they hardly know me," she said self-deprecatingly.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "It's because you're amazing."
"Luke," she whispered softly.
"It's true," he said, pulling away from her and rubbing slow circles on her back.
"Thank you," she said, locking eyes with him as they both smiled.
They heard their names called from inside the house, and he stood up, offering his hand to help her. She placed her hand in his, and it stayed there until they were in the living room. She had butterflies in her stomach the entire time.
She watched Lucas lift Lily from a chair effortlessly before sitting down in it with her on his lap, and he started in on a conversation with his mother as his little sister leaned against his chest. Nathan leaned over to kiss Haley's forehead as Jamie coloured at the table.
She stood and watched it all unfold before moving a little further into the room and taking a seat next to Jamie, reaching for a crayon and helped him with his picture.
And maybe that was the moment she realized she wanted to be a part of that family.
