The whole summer had passed by now, and Chilarie had yet to give Peyton her answer, though she had worked on some of her songs at Tric with Haley. She was more focused on the fact that Brett was leaving in a few days. He was only going to be a few hours away, but still, she would miss him while she was stuck in boring old Tree Hill. Her mom had tried to convince her that she could be out on tour, but she wasn't convinced.
Now it was the day Brett was leaving, and she wanted to cling to him and beg him not to go, but she couldn't do that. She had to let go, and support him, and believe in the fact that he would be back every chance he got, and their love would make it through. She had her hand resting on the back of her neck as she checked out her appearance in the mirror.
With a smile, she removed her hand, and flipped her hair so it was covering the back of her neck. Her hair, with the help of some hair dye and a perm, was back to it's normal blonde color and curls. She was wearing ripped jeans and a band tee and her old standard Converse. She hadn't worn them so much since Brett had come into her life, because she had abandoned them in favor of heels, but she liked the comfort they gave her.
The doorbell rang, and she grabbed her purse as she practically ran for the front door. Her mother beat her too it, unfortunately. Peyton glanced at her daughter, and sent her a smile before heading back to the kitchen, where she had been cooking before the doorbell had rang. Chilarie finally made it to the doorway and caught sight of her boyfriend. She grinned before throwing her arms around him and pulling his lips to hers.
After a few minutes, she pulled back and he leaned his forehead on hers. He had planned the day out and she had no idea what they were doing, and she desperately wanted to ask, he could tell, but she was holding herself back. He just smirked at her. "Don't bother asking, Little Scott, because I'm not going to tell you," he informed her as he took her hand and they left the house.
Chilarie waited until they got into the Jeep before pulling him close and kissing him again, moving her lips this time from his lips, to suck on the hinge of his jaw. She did this for a few moments, until she was sure he was sufficiently distracted. "So, where are we going?" she asked, pulling back slightly as she looked at him. He just smirked and shook his head, giving her a quick kiss and turning away to start the car.
The couple stayed silent through the rest of the drive, and it was a kind of sad silence. Their hands were linked, but they both knew this would be the last day they would spend together for a while. She didn't want to ruin the day, so she didn't say anything, and he didn't either, but it weighed heavily on both of their minds.
As he parked the car, he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. She looked at their surroundings. They were at the Rivercourt. "Not exactly the most romantic of places, but we've shared a lot of moments here. I like it," she said, as she leaned over and gave him a kiss. "Now, let's go recreate the memory of the first day we met," she paused, "minus James and Nicci and the twisted ankle," she amended, getting out and grabbing the basketball from the back of the Jeep.
With a smirk, he got out after her. "Oh, no, you won't beat me this time. I won't go easy on you today," he said as they walked onto the court. She tossed him the ball when they reached the middle of the court, but he tossed it back. "Ladies first," he said as he stood in front of her, knees bent and arms spread as he readied himself to block her shot.
Bouncing the ball once, she faked left, and went right around him, dribbling the ball as she made her way to the hoop. He suddenly grabbed her around the middle, and the ball bounced away. She turned in his arms. "No fair, you used hands. That is so a fowl," she said, scrunching her nose at him cutely. He cut her off by kissing her. "This doesn't mean I'm going to let you win," she said when she pulled away.
Instead of letting her get away, he grabbed her and pulled her back. She cocked an eyebrow at him, but he just pulled her face to his, and kissed her deeply. She pulled her face back a few moments later, and began working her lips along the hinge of his jaw, her arms working their way up to wrap around his neck, her fingers nestling in his hair. He picked her up and walked over to the bleachers, setting her feet on the first bench, so they were even in height.
After a few more minutes, Chilarie pulled back to see his face. "Wait, wait, wait, hold on. I thought we were here to play ball. What's going on?" she asked, because the way he was kissing her, it kind of felt like he thought it would be the last time. "Hey, you know we'll have plenty of time for this. We'll have forever. I thought you were the one who said nothing was going to change," she said.
With a sigh, he sat on the bleachers, pulling her down to sit next to him. He took her hand and played with her fingers as he looked down at them. "I know, and I can't believe it, really. I never thought this would happen to me. If someone would have told me a year ago that I would actually be sad to go to college, that I would actually want to be tied down to someone, I would have laughed in their face," he trailed off.
Wondering what he was getting at, Chilarie stayed silent. "I do, though, Hope. I want to be tied to you, forever. I don't want to go off and leave you. I want it to be you and me, together, like it has been lately. I don't know how I'm going to make it without you, and that's what scares me the most," he finally looked up at her, vulnerable in a way she was pretty sure he allowed himself to be in front of no one else.
Reaching out, she caressed his cheek, looking into his grey eyes. "It's okay to be scared, you know. I am, too. I don't want you to go, and I definitely don't want to be away from you, but you have to go. We'll make it through, I'm sure of it, and until I can see you again, I'll be here, waiting. I promise," she said, dropping her hand down to take his again. "It'll always be here, you and me," she assured him.
With his free hand, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't doubt you, or us. The world has taken away anyone who's meant anything to me, though. Anyone I let past my boundaries. That's why I haven't let anyone in since my mom died. I don't want to lose you, too," he admitted, but there was something else he wanted to bring up. "I think you should go on tour, like your mom is offering," he said hesitantly.
This actually shocked her a bit, because she hadn't been expecting that topic to come up. They hadn't really talked about it since she had first sung for him, though she had sung him some of her other songs since. They hadn't talked about the tour, though. She bit her lip, before shaking her head. "No, that's not the dream I want right now. I'm going to tell her no, at least for now," she answered, sure of herself.
Staring at her for a minute, he finally nodded. "If you're sure, I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do, but don't stay in Tree Hill and wait for me. I want you to live your life, too," he said, even though part of him wanted to keep those words in, he wouldn't let himself take them back. He didn't want her to resent him later.
Smiling, she shook her head. "No, that's not why I'm not doing this," she paused, taking a deep breath, and he waited. "I guess I'm not ready to leave home yet. I know soon enough I'm going to have to, and I just want to stay here for as long as I can. I want to play basketball, and stay in school. I'm not ready to leave this behind," she explained.
After taking a moment to stare at her, he was sure she was telling the truth. "Alright, then, let's not talk about it now. We've got other things to do," he said before standing, and pulling her to her feet, and towards the car again. He caught sight of her confused look. "Oh, you couldn't really believe we were going to spend all day here? Maybe a normal day, but today is not normal," he said, before opening the passenger side door, so she could get in the jeep.
Slowly, she slid into the Jeep, wondering where they were going now. She hadn't expected there to be a second stop. She wondered if she was dressed properly for where ever they were going, but she knew he wouldn't tell her in advance, so she waited quietly as he drove to the next place, lacing her fingers with his on the seat between them.
The next time he stopped the Jeep, they were at the arcade where they'd had their first date. Chilarie looked over at Brett. "Are you ready to be beaten again?" she asked, trying to keep the mood light. He rolled his eyes at her and they both got out the the vehicle, laughing.
For hours, they were at the arcade, playing the different games, each of them winning and losing, and bantering as they did so. Chilarie expected them to get pizza at the pizza place when the time for dinner grew near, but apparantly, he had other ideas. He handed her a garment bag and a backpack. "I had Nicci help me pick this out for you. Go change and we'll go to dinner," he said, pushing her towards the bathroom.
A little confused, she went into the bathroom and opened the garment bag. Inside was a beautiful aquamarine colored dress. It was speghetti strap, with an empire waist that flowed to her knees. It fit her nicely, she had to admit, as she slipped it on, and she looked pretty good in it. She looked down at her feet, where her Converse were, and wished that she had worn heels.
Just as she was about to leave the bathroom, she remembered the backpack. She opened it to find a pair of silver heels that would look good with the dress, a silver purse that matched the shoes, and make-up. He really had thought of everything for today, and for a minute she stood there, unable to believe how lucky she was. Then she moved into action again, fixing her make-up to better go with the dress, and redoing her hair as well.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw that he had changed as well. He was wearing a pair of khacki dockers, and a button up shirt that matched her dress, along with a tie that was the same color, with silver designs on it. She walked up to him and immediately pulling him into a kiss, not caring about the fact that she had just reapplied her lip gloss.
Air became necessary, so she had to pull her lips away from his, but she just moved them along his jaw, leaving a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses. "Best boyfriend ever," she accented each word with a kiss, before pulling away to look in his eyes. "Seriously, I understand now why every girl in Tree Hill loves you. What's not to love?" she smiled up at him.
With his cocky smirk, he raised his eyebrows at her. "Well didn't you know that already? You're very lucky to be here with me. All the other girls have loved this," he said, arrogance just oozing out of his every pore. She raised her own eyebrows at him in a look of annoyance, but he was quick to the defense. "No, seriously, though, I've never done this much for anyone, and I've never cared so much what another girl thought, because you're more than just another girl. You're my girl," he said, and that instantly melted her annoyance.
Before she could start another make-out session, she controlled herself and took his hand, starting to head for the car. He followed her, but she could read the question on his face. "That was amazingly sweet, and I could stand here all day and listen to you say the exactly right things, but I figured you had probably made reservations somewhere," she explained.
With a smirk that wasn't quite as cocky as the previous one, he stayed silent. He knew she was right. They could stand around all day, and would never run out of good things to say about her, but they did have reservations, so they had to get moving.
When the jeep pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant where he had also taken her on their first date, she just grinned at him. "Well, you said you'd like to come back one day, so today is that day. You're right, it wasn't first date material, or necessary for the first date, anyway, but you're my girl now, Little Scott, and I can pamper you all I want," he said.
After dinner was over, they went for a walk on the beach, with Brett holding Chilarie's heels so she could feel the sand between her toes. They sat down to watch the sunset, and Chilarie rested her head on Brett's shoulder, staring out at the water long after the sun had disappeared. She couldn't think anything except how perfect her life was, and she wouldn't change a thing, even though she didn't know what the future would hold, she knew it would all turn out okay.
A/N: I am super surprised that I am doing this, but I am going to end this fic with this chapter. I never intended to be finished with these characters so soon, but with the lack of reviews, and all the other fics I'm working on, and the way this chapter went, I decided that this chapter could end it. I had a lot more ideas, and actual chapters written, which would have come later, and I might post them, but that would only be extra scenes for the people who are interested, only because I hate to see all those good scenes that I spent so much time working on go to waste. Anyway, let me know what you think, or don't, as y'all apparently don't want to. Thanks to all the people who did read and review, I really appreciated it.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill, but I did have fun with these characters in this world I created, while it lasted.