(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love And Understanding

Morning.

A time of ultimate peace, that soothing feeling when you wake up and see through the darkness of a new day. A time to think about everything and everyone, about this world you live in, and to hopefully enjoy your life, make the best out of it because you love it. A time for your mind to start over again after a thankful escape when you fell asleep. For a new chance, a new day, to understand that life is moving. That there is no reason why you should be chained on the past. What's done is done, even we want to change it so desperately, it will not happen, even if it's your only and deepest wish. And that the future is only a longing that will not move faster to get closer to you, even if that would be your strongest desire. Life is the present, you're trapped in it, wanting it or not. It's in the middle of it all, after everything that happened and between what's yet to come. And you have to understand that's for the best, that balance is the best thing in life.

Silence was as comfortable in the room as the warmth of the blankets wrapped around Peyton's body. Contently she breathed in and out, feeling strangely light as a feather but deep as the Atlantic Ocean. Her eyes danced over the ceiling of the room, feeling lazily intense, imaginary tied down. Her eyelids were about to flutter close when she heard a painful groan rise up from beside her.

"Good morning Luke." The words wrapped in Peyton's voice rolled out of her mouth while she rolled over the bed to see Lucas lying on the ground.

"Good morning Peyton." His voice came out sore, sounding as uncomfortable as the look on his face. Slowly he brought himself to sit up, the childish duvet falling from his upper body, revealing a bare chest and abdomen. His strong arms reached out in the air, his head slightly fell to his left shoulder, a deep breath made his broad chest swell. A groan follows when the muscles in his body stretched out. Then his arms fell into his lap and he looked lazily at Peyton.

Without saying a word Peyton offered him her hand, he took it with a smile and let Peyton help him to get him on his feet again. Once Lucas was back up on his feet, he walked to the front of his bed before falling down on it, making the mattress complain underneath him, almost crashing Peyton.

"I am sitting here too remember." She said, hovering above her boyfriend who lay down on the bed, his face looking pretty tired and twisted.

"Yeah, you stole my bed." He mumbled with his eyes still closed.

"I didn't steal it. Just be glad we talked your mom out of you sleeping on the couch okay." Peyton's voice followed and her hands reached out to caress the sides of Lucas' face.

"I hate this. She's controlling our sex life." He pouted and opened his eyes to meet Peyton's one.

It was true. Since Karen knew her son and his girlfriend had crossed the edge to full intimacy she had forbidden them to sleep in the same bed, not bearing the thought they would do it under her roof when she was at home. First she had suggested Lucas would sleep on the couch and Peyton in his bed, but the two teenagers had talked her out of it in time. Now Lucas slept on an airbed next to his bed. First the two had thought that if Lucas just lay on his airbed in time in the morning, Karen wouldn't complain. That was a smart plan until they found out Karen controlled them four times a night.

Karen was determined to let her plan work. If she said they wouldn't spend the night in the same bed they wouldn't. So she checked them. First time an half hour after the two went to sleep, the second time when she went to sleep, the third the time gets up at 3 am to check them and the last time when she gets up to begin the day. After three days of trying both blonds realised that they better gave in into what Karen wanted.

"Everything hurts." Lucas complained, a yawn escaped and his blue eyes looked at her pleadingly. Peyton smiled and placed her hands underneath his shoulder, helping him to sit up and the edge of the bed.

"Poor Rakeboy." She whispered softly while her hands began to massage his shoulders. Her slender hands kneading the flesh underneath her hands with long movements. Her skilled fingers digging into the skin, pressuring the sore muscles in a good way, hoping to relieve the tension on his body.

"Mmm." He groaned out in approval, pushing his shoulders backwards to Peyton, feeling the soreness slightly melt under her magical touch.

"Does that feel good?" Peyton's breath tickled his ear, making him push his frame slightly against her.

"Yeah." He moaned, feeling contently happy with their close body contact they had to miss during the nighttimes.

"But I bet this feels much better." Her warm breath collided on his jaw before her lips began to nibble on his neck, her arms sneaking around his chest.

"It does." Leaning his head to his left shoulder, giving her better access to his tanned skin, his arms creeping backwards, his big hands finding their place on the small of her back.

"It sucks to sleep on the floor, I miss you in my arms." Lucas muttered causing Peyton to stop for a moment.

"Me too. Let me make it up to you." She spoke softly, her lips finding his as he turned his head. His hands dropped to her butt, softly kneading it making her moan out in his mouth. He loved the feel of her silken briefs under his fingertips.

Peyton was ready to slip her tongue into his sweet mouth when the door flew open.

"Lucas!" There stood his mom, in her bathrobe. Immediately the two broke apart.

"I swear, I slept on the airbed mom." Lucas began. "I swear. It's still warm." He sounded so ridiculous but he didn't want a punishment like sleeping on the couch that he knew he would get if he didn't convince her from the opposite.

Seeing the shocked and ashamed look on the curly blonde's face, she decided to believe him. When she had last checked they both had been in separated beds and besides they had been acting like angels this week, helping her.

"I believe you, but now get up, it's time for some breakfast kids." She said and disappeared to the kitchen, leaving both teenagers there embarrassed.

"God. She has a freaking sixth sense or something." Lucas groaned.

"Stop the complaining. Just let's go have some breakfast." Peyton said while putting on a pair of red sweatpants looking not so strange matched with a black tee.

"You still stole my bed." Lucas said, crossing his arms childish. Peyton poked out her tongue, earning an even more childish pout from her boyfriend.

"I'll make it up to you later." She whispered softly, blowing him a kiss from the doorway. Lucas smiled and followed her to the kitchen.

After a delicious breakfast, Lucas walked back into his room, getting rid of his pyjama pants to leave him only in his blue boxers.

"Looks like somehow is happy to see me?" A voice rose up behind him. That voice, with a sharp move he turned around to see Brooke standing in the doorway of his backdoor. Mentally he cursed himself for having Peyton's fault habit of not locking the door running over to him.

"Brooke, what are you doing here?" He asked irritated, feeling a red blush spreading from his neck over his face. Quickly he putted in his jeans on.

"We haven't seen each other in a while, I thought it would be fun to bring you a little visit." She said, walking closer to him.

"And I got something for you." She brought one arm up with a brown paper back while she let finger run down his still bare chest, 'causing him to shiver.

"Do you miss me Lucas?" She brought her lips up to his ear, just a breath away. Lucas froze.

"I know you do." She breathed heavily.

"How could you not?" And suddenly her hand dropped dramatically low. Low enough for Lucas to almost lose it, a place where Brooke's hands were not allowed, not anymore.

"Stop it Brooke." With shaking hands he pushed her away.

"Why are you here anyway?" Trying to gain in his confidence back.

"I thought I would bring you something, love." Lucas' eyes went sceptical but he couldn't hide his curiosity.

Slowly her hand disappeared in the brown bag and her hand appeared again, a box with chocolate chip cookies balancing on her palm.

"I know you like them …" Her voice came out in a way Lucas always had been turned on by, but this time, it only made his stomach twist painfully.

In the mean time Peyton was dancing through the hallway of the house, softly humming Jimmy Eat World's 'Work', brushing her teeth, the cloths she would wear today on her left arm. She was about to enter Lucas' bedroom when she heard voices. Peeking through the door, finding Lucas standing there, Brooke only a breath away from his lips.

"I also know some other thing you like." She saw a finger of the brunette make a trace over her boyfriend's still bare chest. And Peyton immediately froze on the spot she stood, unable to move, her breath getting stuck in her throat.

This one move of this one girl made Peyton's mind race, a million thoughts ran through mind that suddenly was fully awake now. All those imagines and scenarios that appeared in her head, blowing up from innocent to something far and far away from that same innocence. Faster than she had expected, her breakfast was fighting to come up again and her blood disappearing from her face, the flushed colour from before fading to pale white. Her mind was on the edge to stop working and black out when Lucas finally did what he had to do.

"Stop it Brooke." He said, pushing her hand away from his body. But Brooke being, you know, just Brooke hadn't let herself turned down.

"Come Lucas. Remember how much fun we had together." She said in a fake innocent voice, pressing her body to his. Their chests touching, making Lucas shiver in cold response.

"You have to remember Lucas. What else do you think about when she haves you sleep on the floor?" She said, leaning closer again. Lucas was about to open is mouth to protest but the brunette was quicker.

"I never let you sleep on the floor. And if your mother had you, I always made it up to you, remember." Again she leaned closer.

"In the hallway. In the kitchen. In the living room. In the bathroom." Her body neared dangerously. "Definitely the bathroom. Before the m-"

And in less than a second her thumb was softly stroking the spine of his lower back. Immediately Lucas jumped back.

"Lucas Scott. Since when are you so jumpy? You used to like that remember." Nervously he started to melt from his frozen position, his mind anxiously wondering where Peyton was.

"Okay okay. I get it, your freaking precious Peyton." She said with a voice full of disgust. And before neither of them could blink Brooke pressed a kiss on the corner on her ex-boyfriend's mouth.

"Bye baby boy." She said flirty before leaving through the backdoor, leaving Lucas tumbling from the one emotion into the other, feeling strangely lost.

The moment the door fell into lock again, Lucas began to move feverish. His hands getting lost in his thick hair, his chest rising swiftly and the falling never had enough to fade away.

Peyton saw his uneasiness from the place where she was 'hidden' but experienced the same. She felt ill, like she had a fever and her head was hurting. Deep pounds hammered through her head. She nearly jumped into the ceiling when Lucas walked suddenly out of the door.

"Peyton?" His voice came out low and surprised. Glad she wasn't able to answer with the toothbrush stuck in her mouth she just shrugged her shoulders and walked back towards the bathroom but hearing Brooke's voice in her head she stumbled towards the kitchen.

Ten minutes later Peyton found herself in her boyfriend's car playing tensely with zipper of her bag.

"Do you feel okay?" Lucas asked, seeing his girlfriend beside him looking suspiciously pale. Her now almost white skin tone was a measure contract with the flushed one this morning.

"I am fine. Can we just get to school?" She asked uncomfortable shifting in the passenger's seat, her fingers trembling when she reached for the seatbelt.

When Lucas thought Peyton was being silent during the ride to school, it was nothing compared than during the school day. Every minute she could spend without Lucas, she did. Normally she hated to be away from him, but today she spent all her time with Kenzie. Even avoiding Nathan the best she could because she knew if he began to ask questions, she couldn't stop from telling it. With Kenzie things were different, they still didn't know each other that long, there was trust but they didn't force each other into sharing things they didn't want to share.

Lucas couldn't help but ask himself questions when he saw Peyton and Kenzie wandering over the court yard. Kenzie was babbling happily, it was easy to see from where he stood and Peyton just walked beside her, listening with only a half ear, distracted by her own thoughts. That was maybe less obvious to see for others, but for Lucas it was an easy one.

When the school day had ended, Lucas stood patiently waiting for Peyton against his car slightly enjoying the warmth of the autumn sun. Looking at his clock almost every minute he began to feel nervous. This obsessing feeling was tightening around his heart, he wondered if Peyton maybe had heard Brooke this morning or even worse, had seen her.

Watching the other students from Tree Hill High School pass him by, he expected his curly girlfriend soon but when he saw Kenzie without Peyton on her side, the obsessing feeling became stronger.

"Kenzie!" He shouted to get the girl's attention. Immediately she walked over to him.

"She's already at home. She needed some peace she said." The girl said before Lucas could ask anything.

"Thanks Kenzie." He responded, giving her a light hug.

Stepping into his car, starting it, Lucas decided to drive homewards after a few seconds of hesitation. If Peyton needed some peace, she would get it. She would come around automatically, he knew that. But he hoped it would be sooner rather than later. By the way, her sketchbook lay in his room and she couldn't do long without it.

Enjoying some Led Zeppelin music while making her homework, Peyton sat after her desk. She wasn't really focused, her thoughts kept distracting her, and they had done that the whole day.

The curly blonde closed her eyes, hoping the music would ease her. Finally she found the soothing affect she had hoped for the whole day when she heard something.

"Don't get too excited. I am just here to pick up some stuff I left here." Brooke said, coming through the doorway, leaving Peyton shocked. Never, never had she expected to see the brunette in her bedroom again.

"Or did you steal my cloths along with my boyfriend?" She said, her voice was like poison. Brooke disappeared in Peyton's closet before she could protest, coming out with one of her bags. Without saying anything the brunette walked through the doorway again to Peyton's great relieve. But her relieve didn't last long because she came back after only a few seconds.

"Why would you steal my cloths, they are way too girly for you." Brooke said arrogant.

"They are totally what Lucas likes. He likes real girls you know." She said, pointing at her outfit.

"Not tomboys." Pointing to Peyton's outfit. She was wearing a pair of knee length dark brace jeans, a dark grass green Lacoste polo and matching All Stars.

Suddenly helpless tears tickled after her eyes.

"Girls, you know. Humans with boobs." She said sharp, pushing her chest towards hers, giving the teary eyes access to look into her playful presented boobs trapped in a dark purple blouse.

"And the type of humans who like to show their legs and wear high heels." Peyton couldn't stop herself from looking at the white mini skirt the other girl was wearing at the purple pumps.

"He likes them like this." She shoved it even further into Peyton's mind, reminding her painfully at this morning. Hearing the voice carry on Peyton decided to slip into the music, she couldn't hear it anymore. If she tried hard enough maybe Brooke would disappear. And she did after another of ten minutes poising Peyton with her sick words.

Feeling the need to sketch, Peyton began to search after the precious item to come to the finding it was in her boyfriend's house after searching through her room for the fourth time.

After a short drive in her Comet, Peyton knocked on Lucas' bedroom door, waiting for an answer with a little heart.

"Hi Peyton." Lucas said, stepping slightly backward to let her in. And she did, with big steps she made her way to his desk. Somehow she couldn't be in his near proximity right now, it felt wrong.

Silence made his entrance through the gaps of the room, leaving both blond teenagers feeling uncomfortable.

"Peyton." He said after a while, noticing she was avoiding his gaze.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his feet making its way to her.

"No Luke." She said swiftly, pushing her hands out in front of her to distance him, he was just too close now.

A little astonished he stopped, his mind was filling with unbearable thoughts, remembering the last months as the ones of struggling. They had been struggling to get their eyes and souls open, they had been struggling out of denial and into a new world of being with each other. A world that didn't seem safe of the attacks of pain and sadness.

"Do I look like a boy?" Her voice out of the blue broke through.

"No, no. You don't. Why would you think that?" The back of his hand caressed her cheek after he had closed the distance between them.

"Brooke." The name rolled from her lips with much difficulty.

Lucas turned away in anger. "Why didn't you tell me straight away she has been upsetting you? You know you can tell it to me Peyton." He said urgent, trying to make her green eyes look at him, but with no avail.

"Why didn't you tell me straight away she has been upsetting you? You know you can tell it to me Lucas." Peyton repeated him lamely.

"Like you did!" Her voice came out with sudden anger.

With blue eyes wide open he stared at her, she knew. "You saw us this morning?" A lamer respond probably didn't exist.

"Like hell I did, when she was all drooling over you and you let her!" The anger inside her intensified.

"I didn't. I was surprised with her standing there at first, but I didn't want it. It's complicated!" A shout match at its beginning.

Anger heated up, but both of them silent, waiting for the other to continue but then …

"But she knows all those things about you, all those things I don't know." Peyton's voice was joined by a heartbreaking sob.

"Peyton, they are all sexually." The curly blonde before him bit on her lower lip, feeling tears dance after her eyes. "She knows them Luke!" She sniffed, Lucas was taken back where this situation had headed to in just seconds.

"It doesn't matter because this, us, is about so much more Peyton. About me waking up and needing to be with you. About me getting distracted when I am reading or just doing something. About me doing silly things just to make you laugh or to enjoy you. This is about me being in love for …" Without any warning she crashed her sweet lips down on his, her tongue demanding access to his warm mouth, and surprised by her sudden attack, he gave in, letting her form the pace of their lips while he just followed.

In only seconds they were fully using their option to pleasure each other with the movements of their lips. Their tongues stroking each other softly but his girlfriend suddenly got more demanding. Her hands disappearing under his shirt, her body pressing hard into his. Her unspoken message to him to touch her.

It was too much too soon. They just had experienced a serious fight, Lucas didn't want to take advantage of the situation they were all of a sudden placed into. He knew Peyton didn't want it because of their love, but some miserable need to prove Brooke wrong. Lucas didn't want that to be the base of sharing intimate moments.

So he slowed the pace back down, breaking it, not ready to give in the intentions Peyton had. Carefully he pulled her onto the bed with him.

"Peyton Sawyer, we are different. This isn't about sex, and it will never be. This is about us, us being in love." And he gazed into her green eyes so forcefully it made her breathless.

"So don't let us rush this. Let us just stay here and enjoy each other's company. Let us just share the love on our level, in our world." He whispered, pulling the curly blonde against his chest. His hand searched her, and found it, their finger laced. Peyton looked up at him, with teary eyes, but realising this was their way of sharing love … in all silence, in all nearness, in all genuineness.