Right, as always, I want to firstly thank all you lot for reviewing. Ahh, they really do make my day!

Chapter 24 – And It's All Because Of You

"I can't believe it's been almost two months already." Jake said, as he walked into the room where Peyton was sitting.

"I know. Crazy right?"

Jake looked at her, how beautiful she was, how utterly perfect she was in his own eyes. But there was something wrong, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Peyton, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine honestly. It's just, I know it sounds stupid, but I miss Brooke."

"I should've known it would be to do with her." He added, knowing how much Peyton valued their friendship this time.

"Just, I always figured when I got married, she would be here with me. You know, driving me crazy, telling me that the centrepieces are all wrong, that she wants a red dress instead of a pink one. I don't know."

"She's going to be here in two days Peyton. Trust me that will be enough time for her to drive you crazy. It is Brooke after all."

Peyton giggled lightly as she pulled Jake towards her. She huddled herself in his arms, feeling protected somehow.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too, beautiful."

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Lucas sat still, silenced at his desk. He wanted to write but yet again he had no inspiration. And it was all because of her. It had been 2 months since he had last seen her, two months since he had last written anything. Man, he was a mess without her. He hated his life in New York. Everything was so busy. It was nothing like Tree Hill, and he couldn't wait to go back for the wedding. But one thing he didn't know if he could cope with; seeing the girl he let go, knowing he had blown his only chance at happiness. But he was sure of one thing, when he left New York for the wedding back at Tree Hill; he sure wasn't going to return. He could write wherever he wanted and he found better things to write about back home, family, friends, and love.

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Peyton was running about the house, worrying over the littlest things. It was only a few days to the wedding and she still hadn't found a dress. Yeah, she had tried numerous dresses on, but none of them were her, none of them were perfect. And that was what she wanted, perfection. She wanted everything on her special day to be just that. She wasn't settling for a dress she didn't love, only to look back at the photos years later wishing she hadn't bought it. She was going to have another look. She decided on taking Jenny with her as Jake was out and she knew how much the little girl loved pretty dresses. Swinging open the door, she nearly stood on the box that stood outside. It was a large, white box with a pink ribbon wrapped around it. She picked it up, taking it inside and laying it on the table. As she pulled off the ribbon, she noticed a tag.

P.Sawyer,

I only wish I could have been with you sooner. I know you are probably flustered without the B.Davis preparation. I know I'll be with you in two days, but I wanted to give you this. Haley told me about your little troubles. Hope this helps. I designed it especially for you. Because everyone deserves to look like a princess on their special day.

Love you always,

Brooke x

As she opened the box, a look of utter shock spread across her face. The dress was beautiful, perfect even. It was very P.Sawyer, and she knew Brooke had spent a lot of time on it. A huge grin appeared on her face, as a small tear fell.

"That is beautiful. My Mommy is going to look like a real princess."

Peyton pulled the little girl onto her knee as she hugged her.

"So will you sweetie."

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Brooke sat at her desk, looking at the sketch in front of her. It was the only piece she had designed in the past two months, she didn't really care about anything else. She knew Peyton would love it, and she smiled to herself at the image of her best friend opening it.

She stared at the photos on her desk, examining each one.

There was a picture of her and Peyton years ago. Although the pair of them never really made friends again after leaving high school, Brooke always kept that picture there because no matter what happened, Peyton was a big part of her life, and she still loved her even after all the crap. Then there was a picture of her and Rachel, both with drinks in their hands, smiling and laughing. They looked like they were having such a good time, and it was definitely one of Brooke's favourite pictures. But in the last two months, even though Rachel was living with her, she found it hard to have fun, without him, knowing what had happened. Then there was a picture of her and Haley. She loved looking at her high school pictures, because in all honesty, she had to admit, things had never been as good as they were back then, no matter how much money or clothing lines she had. It all seemed a little inadequate. She looked at the last picture, the picture that hurt the most. It was Nathan who stood next to Haley, holding her hand. Lucas stood next to them, his arm wrapped around her own shoulder. Then Peyton stood beside her, Brooke wrapping her arm around Peyton too. They all looked so happy, like they had no troubles. She wished more than anything they could go back to that, to a time where she actually felt happy.

Looking at his face, it made her think of everything that had gone on between them. She thought to herself.

What do you do when that one person that was never meant to let you down does?

That one person who was never meant to give up on you has?

What do you do when everything you wanted has slipped out of your reach and your one dream is torn away from you?

Your heart is broken and there's nothing you can do about it.
There is no way to fix it or make it feel even that little bit better.

Nothing compares to the hurting you feel and you realise that no matter how bad you don't want it to happen, you are going to have to be apart forever.

You then convince yourself that you will never find the one.
That you had your chance and lost it and you convince yourself never to trust again.

You make yourself think that nobody will be as good for you as they were.

You remember all the things you shared and all the time you spent together.

Letting go is the hardest thing to do.

And it's all because of him.

She removed herself from her thoughts as she realised she had to leave soon. Picking up her suitcase, she put it by the door of her office, as she took one last look around. Suddenly, the door opened, as she jumped out of her own skin.

"Surprise." The boy yelled, as he pulled her into a hug. "Told you I'd come visit."

"Chase." She muttered in utter shock as she had completely forgotten about him over the past two months.

"Look I don't mean to be rude, but I really have to be somewhere. I mean, you know about Jake and Peyton's wedding right? Well I have to leave, like now."

"Okay. Take me with you. Come on. I'm sure Peyton wouldn't mind. I have the week off and I really wanna spend it with you."

She thought to herself for a moment. Would it really be such a bad thing? And besides, she really couldn't say no to him after he said he wanted to spend him time off with her.

"Yeah okay, but I really wanna spend some time with Peyton before the wedding. So I'll go now, and I'll meet you at the wedding?"

"Yeah that sounds good. See you then." He replied, whilst placing a kiss on her cheek and heading out through the door.

She just stood there, frozen in her spot, wiping away the kiss from her cheek. She didn't love him, she knew that, but it would make things a lot easier if she did. So the least she could do was try right? Because she really couldn't keep holding on to something that could never happen.

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Lucas cleared his desk, taking one last look at the empty room. He threw the bag over his back and walked outside, tossing it into his car. He got in, staring at the broken radio he still hadn't got fixed. Honestly, he didn't want to get it fixed. He hated the reminders of her, reminders of things he could never have. He set off, ready to return to Tree Hill, just as Brooke did the same.

They were both thinking of each other as they rode home, although they tried to repress their thoughts as though they were never even there. But they were there, the whole way back. So was it the heart that brought them back?

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Hope you liked this one.

Leave me reviews telling me what you think etc. You know the deal :)

My new fic is called Get Ready To Collide and chapter 1 is up now.

Love Yah. Sophia x