Chapter 20

Peyton watched as a red Toyota Camry cut off a green SUV. The cars behind the SUV screeched to halt, each coming within centimeters of the bumper in front of them. A symphony of horns started - and she thought New York City was full of crazy drivers.

A sudden thud wiped the smirk off her face. Peyton looked down at the suitcase that nearly landed on her toe than back up at a shivering Sam.

"I thought you said it wasn't going to be cold." Sam said, pulling her coat tighter around herself, trying to warm up. "No wonder Michael bailed at the last minute. He probably checked the weather channel, saw how cold it was and volunteered to work those extra shifts."

Peyton sympathetically looked at a Sam who was wearing a fashionable jacket, fit for fall weather and not for the winter winds of Tree Hill.

"And need I remind you," Sam continued her rant, "that I'm here because you didn't want to be out here all alone? So the least you could do is offer me your warm jacket."

The thunderous roar of an airplane, which had just taken off, drowned out Peyton's laugh. "Oh, but I do recall a certain someone begging me to rescue her from spending Christmas with drunk Aunt Ida and pervy Uncle Pete?"

Sam shot her friend a death glare, "Doesn't mean you should let your friend freeze to death."

"Come here." Peyton wrapped her arm around Sam for warmth. "For what it's worth, favor or not, I am glad that you came. I really do need you here with me."

Sam rolled her eyes, "Yeah, because…wait a second here. You're actually being sincere. Are you ok?"

Before Peyton had a chance to answer, a car beeped as it pulled up in front of them. Peyton looked up and smiled, but before the smile appeared on her face, Sam could have sworn that she caught a pair of sad eyes.

The driver in the red classic car hurried out of the car and towards the girls with a smile of his own.

"Daddy!" Peyton wrapped her arms around her father.

"Hi, honey. It's so good to see you." Larry gave his daughter one last squeeze before pulling back. "Welcome back home."

Memories of her childhood flooded Peyton's mind as Larry drove home. They passed the park where Peyton first learned to ride a bike and the swings where her mother would push a six-year-old Peyton. The trees in the park were bare, reminding Peyton of the cold. She always remembered the winters in Tree Hill being mild. There were days where it would be cold, but not cold enough for it to snow.

There was that one year, though, when it did snow. Peyton was in the sixth grade. During the night, a snowstorm blanketed the small town with white snow. A snow day was called and a cheery Brooke Davis spent the day in the Sawyer's backyard, helping Peyton build a snow fort, with a tunnel.

Larry turned left, driving past the record store, a place Peyton definitely wanted to stop by before going back to New York. Downtown Tree Hill hadn't changed much at all. A few changes in businesses, but the old stone buildings kept the area quaint and homely. As they approached the next block, the light turned red. Peyton groaned to herself as the car came to a stop in front of the café she wanted to avoid. She slouched back into her seat, turning her face away from the window, in case a certain owner's son was gazing out the window.

"You know, I used to watch you?"

Peyton stopped sketching and met his blue eyes, wondering if she heard him right.

"Over there." He pointed to the newsstands in front of THUD!

"When?"

"Oh, Freshman year," Lucas vividly thought back and remembered that it wasn't just that year he spied on Peyton, "Sophomore year uh, both summers actually. Every weekend, you'd stop, pick up the latest edition of THUD!, lean against the stand and torture me. Sometimes you'd even sit on top of the stand. Man, did you ever torture me."

She was embarrassed. "Stop it!" but she was also curious, "What did you watch?"

Lucas pointed to her legs with his flirting eyes, "Your legs mostly."

"What?!"

"Ohhh, I'm serious," he pointed again, this time with both his eyes and index finger, "From up close, they're a little chicken-y."

Playfully, Peyton pushed him away and laughed.

"Shut up!"

"But!" he tried to defend himself "Form where I was watching they were pretty awesome."

Lucas laughed as Peyton stared out the window to exact place where she would stand across the street.

"I'm not sure that's a compliment."

"Ohh it is, trust me."

Peyton smiled one last time as Lucas let out a deep breath.

"But then Brooke would come along, carrying a huge shopping bag, and take you away."

Her heart began to ache again as she watched Lucas return to his book as if the flirting conversation didn't happen. It wasn't fair. Out of the blue, Lucas confessed that he watched her from a far and she'd be damned if she lied and said that it didn't make her feel sexy. But damn him for ruining his story by ending it with Brooke. Broken up or not, it always went back to her.

Finally, Larry turned onto their street. With the exception of that ten-second stop, Peyton enjoyed reminiscing that past as she watched the town through the window. She couldn't wait to re-explore the town on foot and tell Sam, who had fallen asleep in the back of the car, what she had missed.

"I know how much you love surprises," Larry turned off the ignition and turned to Peyton. "So I've prepared a little surprise for you."

The smile on her face beamed, "What is it?"

"Actually, I'm not sure it's ready yet…"

"Aw come on, daddy. You know I hate it when you tease me about presents. Tell me. PUH-LEASE!"

"Alright, fine. Let's go."

Peyton and a groggy Sam followed Larry to the side of the house. They headed towards the garage, where the doors where open. The back end of the classic, black '63 Comet was in clear view. Larry didn't have to look back to know that his daughter was following. Peyton was always a sucker for presents, especially surprises.

It had taken all afternoon to figure out the problem with the carburetor. A simple cleaning was all it needed to make the car run smoothly again. He smiled proudly to himself as he took one last look at Peyton's car. He gave the hood one last wipe with a clean cloth before he was fully satisfied with his work. It was perfect.

Bending down, he started to pack up his tools. As he picked up his wrench, he heard footsteps approaching. Curiously he peeked over the hood of the car. Lucas was relieved to see that Larry had returned and stood up.

"So where's my surprise?" her sweet voice filled his ears.

Then she emerged from behind Larry and he finally saw her. The wrench in his hand fell, landing noisily on the concrete ground, but not before hitting his big toe.

Peyton jumped at the unexpected noise and then captured the surprised eyes of Lucas. The look of shock was frozen on both of their faces. She knew that running into him was inevitable. What she didn't know was that it was going to happen before she had a chance to set foot into her own house.

The throbbing pain made Lucas want to grab his big toe and curse like a sailor. But he didn't. The mere sight of her froze him.

Larry noticed the sudden uneasiness and awkwardness. "Surprise?"

A/N: Originally I was going to make up a flashback, but I kinda liked this scene in season four. So, since season four and on doesn't take place in this fic, I borrowed and tweaked the scene to make it fit in here.