Peyton wakes up on her birthday the same way she's woken up almost every birthday since she can remember. Well, plus one person.
Ginny, Catherine, Claire, and now Brooke, climb up onto her bed and sing her happy birthday, loudly and badly. They've brought coffee and croissants, along with Peyton's favourite chocolate and some cupcakes.
"Aww," Peyton says, stretching in her bed ad she smiles. "I love you guys."
"We love you too," Catherine says, handing over a coffee cup. "Happy birthday."
"And you know, even though you blew us off last night to hang out with the brothers Scott, we'll forgive you," Ginny adds.
"How was that anyway?" Brooke asks, tracing her finger over Peyton's duvet.
"He's fine. He's healthy. He knows you've got a boyfriend. He's still single," Peyton lists off, knowing exactly what Brooke wants to know about Lucas. "And I kind of have news."
"You're engaged," Ginny says. Peyton's eyes go wide.
"Pregnant," Claire guesses. Peyton nearly chokes on her croissant.
"With Nathan, she could already be married," Catherine says teasingly making them laugh. Peyton almost smiles. That's kind of funny.
"Married and pregnant, with those genes," Brooke says. The girls laugh even harder, and Peyton glares at them all. "Oh, come on. We're joking. What?"
"I'm not telling you now," Peyton says defiantly, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Tell us!" Brooke whines.
"Nope."
"Peyton!" Ginny cries. "Please."
The door opens again and Larry just laughs at the scene before him. Five girls all on Peyton's bed in their Oak Lake sweats, smiling and laughing at whatever's going on.
"Well, well," Larry says. All the girls look at him and wave and smile. "I just thought I'd come in and wish my little girl a happy birthday."
"I'm 18," Peyton says with a laugh. "I'm not little." She gets up off her bed and walks over to her dad to give him a hug. "Thanks, dad."
"I got you something," he says.
"I should hope so," Ginny says. The other girls laugh, and Larry playfully glowers at her. He's known these girls for ages; he knows they'll tease him and he'll tease them right back.
He pulls an envelope out of his back pocket and hands it to Peyton. "Here."
She looks at him questioningly before ripping into the envelope. He's always gotten her good gifts. The year before, he got her a car, and for her 16th, he got her a diamond necklace, earrings and bracelet. Never has he given her just a card.
But when she pulls out what's inside, her jaw drops. "Dad!" She throws her arms around him and he can only laugh. This is exactly the reaction he was expecting.
"What is it?" Catherine asks.
"10 days, all-inclusive in Maui!" Peyton says excitedly.
"Take me with you!" Ginny pleads.
"No!" Peyton says, her tone unchanged. The rest of the girls laugh at her enthusiasm. "Daddy, thank you!"
"You're welcome, sweetie," he says, kissing her forehead. "I figured you could use a nice vacation before you start..." He stops talking when she widens her eyes and shakes her head subtly. "Start college." He winks at her before heading for the door. "Goodbye, girls. Don't eat too much chocolate."
"Too...much...chocolate?" Brooke asks, because that just sounds absurd. Peyton climbs back up onto her bed and reaches for her croissant, but she can't stop smiling. "Aren't you going to call Nathan and tell him he's going to Maui with you?"
"He's taking me to dinner," Peyton explains. "And he and Lucas are working out with the guys this morning."
"Oh! What did you want to tell us?" Claire asks.
"Right," Peyton says, smiling to herself. "I um...I got some acceptance letters yesterday."
"What!?" Catherine cries. Peyton is the last to hear from her schools, and they've all been waiting with her. "To where!?"
"Yale," Peyton starts, and all the girls squeal. "Wake Forest."
"Matt would be happy," Ginny says rationally.
"Yeah. Wake Forest is a great school," Peyton says, making it sound like that's where she'll go. But then her smile gets a little wider and the other girls look at her and they all know that she's got more to say.
"What?" Brooke asks.
"And...Duke."
"Shut up!"
Peyton doesn't even know who says it. They all start squealing and hugging her, happy that she's gotten into her dream school. It's not lost on her how lucky she is. She knows she's got kind of an amazing life, and her background has very little to do with it. She's got amazing friends, a great dad, a boyfriend who's so perfect in her eyes that it shouldn't even be allowed. And now she's going to the school she's been talking about going to since she was old enough to know where her daddy went. And she's going there with that boyfriend. It's almost too good to be true.
The girls all leave before lunch, and Peyton spends her afternoon with her dad, talking and laughing and eating take out from the Chinese place they've always eaten from on her birthday. A few family members call her, and some of her father's 'associates' and friends. It's kind of nice to get all that attention.
When she heads upstairs to get ready to go out with Nathan, she can't stop smiling. She has no idea what he's gotten her, and it really doesn't matter. She doesn't need anything from him at all. She told him that, and of course, he looked at her like she was insane. He'd said there was no way he wasn't going to get her a birthday gift. What kind of boyfriend would that make him?
----
Nathan pulls on his black jacket over his dark grey shirt - no tie - as Lucas sits on the sofa watching a basketball game. The guys spent the night before sipping beer after Peyton left them, and letting old action movies play while they talked. It's weird, Nathan thinks, that he spent so much time mad at Lucas, when every time they're close he asks himself how they ever weren't in each others' lives. He made a silent promise to himself not to let that happen again.
"Where are you taking her?" Lucas asks, eyeing Nathan's attire.
"Someplace special," Nathan says cryptically. "Her dad has this little jazz club. I got them to reserve us a table."
"Isn't that illegal? You know, since you're underage and all."
"It's fine. We won't be drinking," Nathan says. All he can think is what Peyton told him before they even started dating, that her parents used to go to that club on their 'date night'. "She'll love it."
"What'd you get her?" Lucas asks. No matter how many times he's asked, Nathan hasn't given it up.
"I'm still not telling you!"
"It's not like I'm going to say something to her!" Lucas insists.
"Doesn't matter. No one needs to know but her," Nathan says. He surprises himself sometimes with how romantic he can be. "But it's awesome."
"Well, I'd hope you'd think that," Lucas says with a laugh. "It's crazy, you know? How serious you are about her."
"I guess," Nathan says, shrugging his shoulder as he slips on his watch - a Rolex Dan got him when he turned 16.
"You're...dude, you're more serious about her than you were about Haley. And that's saying a lot," Lucas says. It's not a judgment, it's just an observation. Nathan kind of loves that he's not the only one who can see that.
"I guess that's what happens when you meet the right girl," Nathan insists.
Lucas raises an eyebrow and watches Nathan lazily run his hand through his hair. "Wait. You didn't get her an engagement ring or something, did you?"
Nathan narrows his eyes as he grabs his wallet and keys. "You're a jerk, you know that?" Lucas just laughs. "Are you cool here? Take out menus are on the fridge, and there's a set of keys here if you go out."
"Yes, dad."
"Why did I invite you here?" Nathan asks, though he doesn't expect an answer. "I'll see you later."
"Later. Have fun," Lucas calls out as Nathan walks out the door.
The entire drive to Peyton's place, all Nathan can think is how much he hates that they aren't living together right now. He knows they have to wait a bit, and that Larry travels so much that they get to spend a lot more time alone with one another than most kids, but it doesn't feel like enough. He wants her to be next to him every night, and he wants to wake up next to her every morning, and he wants...
He's making it sound like he wants to be married to her right now and he doesn't. He really doesn't. He wants that eventually. Just not now. They've had some heavy conversations and he knows she feels like maybe eventually she wants to marry him. And she's already wearing his ring. There's not much more he can ask. And besides, with Peyton, he wants to do it right. He doesn't want a 10 minute, rushed ceremony with only one side of the family there. He wants a proper wedding, with the dress and the flowers and the rings and all that.
And he's almost 100% certain that he shouldn't be 100% certain that he wants all that with this girl. He can just feel it. There's no one else, and there's never going to be anyone else, and if it takes 2 years or 20, he'll marry this girl.
So when he pulls into her driveway and heads for the door, his mind is full. But when he sees her, he thinks only of her in that moment, hoping to remember it as long as humanly possible.
She's wearing a deep green satin dress with tiny little straps, and silver shoes, and her hair is perfect, and God, he loves her.
"You look...so, so beautiful," he tells her as they stand beneath the light of her porch. He rests his hands on her hips and looks her up and down.
"Thank you. I'm also freeing my ass off, so can we get going?"
He laughs and she smiles. He loves that about her - she doesn't fish for compliments. She probably has no idea how good she looks, and she probably doesn't really care. It probably didn't take her any time at all to look the way she does, and she probably wouldn't have cared if he'd shown up in sweat pants with a pizza and told her that he wanted to watch the game. With Peyton, it's never about appearances, and even when it is, she really doesn't care. She knows what - and who - is important, and none of the rest of it matters to her at all.
"That's my girl." He kisses her quickly, then pulls the door shut behind them before they walk towards the car.
She's definitely surprised when they show up at her dad's club and Dom has a special table set in the middle of the room for them. There's a card that says the spot is reserved, and there is an arrangement of fresh white calla lilies on the table. Peyton grips Nathan's hand and looks over at him; calla lilies were always her mom's favourite. Nathan pulls her chair out for her, and she can't stop smiling as he takes his place. Dom serves up some sparkling cider, then says he'll be back with their food.
They spend their evening eating great food and listening to jazz, and Peyton tells Nathan that she can't believe how thoughtful he is. He laughs when she rambles on about not meaning it 'like that', and all this is even before he gives her her gift. She doesn't even notice that he hasn't given her anything else. She tells him that they're going to Hawaii, and he smiles and tries to act surprised, but he can't lie when she asks if he already knew. As it turns out, he and Larry spoke just after Christmas, and Nathan has known all along. When they leave the club, he just takes her hand as they start driving, and she has no idea where they're going. Truthfully, neither does Nathan.
"Open the glove box," he tells her. She looks at him like he's crazy, but he rolls his eyes and reaches over and pulls it open.
He hadn't really expected them to be driving around back roads of this little town when he handed her the wrapped box - one that's so obviously jewelry - but it feels right. They've spent a lot of time driving together, and neither of them wants to go home yet.
She pulls back the paper and sees another one of those black velvet boxes, and she sends him an admonishing glance.
"Just open it," he says. He laughs, because every time he gives her a gift, it looks like she's afraid to open it. "Babe, it's your birthday."
"You didn't have to get me anything."
"Are you kidding me?" he asks incredulously. They've talked about this. "You're insane."
"Nathan."
"Open the damn box, Sawyer."
She does as she's told, and she doesn't even notice that he's pulled into an empty parking lot. She looks at the beautiful strand of pearls in the box in her hand. She runs her fingers over the necklace, and Nathan turns to her and takes the box from her hands.
"It was my mom's," he explains, taking the necklace out of the box and opening the clasp. "Her parents gave it to her when she turned 18." Peyton turns in her seat so he can place the necklace around her neck and fasten it. "She never had a daughter, so..."
"So she wants me to have it?" Peyton asks, in awe of both Deb's generosity and the gorgeous pearls laying against her skin.
"We both do," he says, shrugging his shoulder. "They look nice."
"Nice?" she asks, grinning at him.
"Beautiful."
"Nathan, this is too much," she tells him. "I can't..."
"Stop it," he insists. "It's yours. Mom gave them to me to give..." He stops himself before he says 'my wife', but it's true. After he got married, after Haley left town, she gave him that necklace to give to Haley. He knows now why he never did. They aren't meant for her. "To give to someone who deserves them."
"I love them," she says quietly. "Thank you. And I'll thank your mom."
"Let's stop talking about my mom."
"How come?" she asks, laughing softly. "It's not like we can do anything..."
"Stop it," he says. He puts the car in drive again, but he still doesn't know where he's going. "I don't need a reminder."
"He's your brother," she mumbles.
"And your dad is home."
"That's not my fault!" she cries, though she's still smiling.
"It's not my fault my brother..."
"You invited him! On my birthday weekend," she says. "You have to make it up to me." He takes a breath and glances over at her. "In the form of breakfast tomorrow morning, and..."
"Sex?" he suggests.
"No," she says, narrowing her eyes at him. "You and Lucas should...Oh!"
"What?" he asks, laughing at her excitement.
"We should get everyone together and go to the gym! You guys can play, and..."
"And you girls can sit on the bleachers with coffee and make fun of us?" he says.
"Exactly," she says, making him chuckle again. "But will that be weird for Lucas and Brooke?"
"Well, it won't be for Brooke," he says. There's a smirk on his face that she doesn't really understand.
"What does that mean?" He just shakes his head and shrugs his shoulder, but that does nothing to convince her. "Nathan Scott, what do you know that I don't!"
"Nothing."
"Liar!" she cries. "You can't lie to your girlfriend. Especially not now. It's my birthday, Nathan. Don't lie to me on my birthday. Of all days..."
"OK, OK," he laughs. "Calm down." He takes her hand in his as he shakes his head. He has a feeling that he's going to lose a lot of arguments this way. "Robbie and I went shopping on Tuesday after school."
"I know. You bought that shirt I hate."
"The shirt you hate that I returned," he mumbles. Yeah, he'd lost that argument in exactly the same way. "He also stopped by the jewelry store."
"What!? Nathan!" she shouts. Her voice is loud enough that Nathan winces a little bit. He doesn't know what she'd say if he told her that Matt bought a ring for Ginny, too. "Oh my God, this is amazing."
"It's kind of cool."
"You know, I've had all these same friends forever, and this is the first time we've all been happy at the same time," she says. "I mean, it's not like we've been miserable, but it's never been like this."
"I guess you just needed me and Brooke to round out the group," he says jokingly.
"We did," she says. "Well, I need you."
He looks over at her and shakes his head. "No you don't."
"What?"
"You don't need me."
"How can you...Nathan, how can you say that?" she asks, turning towards him a little more. He just shakes his head like he thinks it's insane that she doesn't get it. "Pull the car over."
"Baby, I'm not pulling over."
"Pull over!" she cries, shoving his arm playfully.
He does as he's told, but he really has no clue why she's making him to it. She gets out of the car and walks around to the front, so she's standing in the headlights' path, and Nathan stands in front of her. It's a dark and quiet road, and there are goosebumps on Peyton's arms, but she doesn't seem to care, and he's getting the impression that she won't be moving until he explains.
"What did you mean by that?" she asks again. He takes a step toward her and rests his hands on her upper arms, hoping to warm her skin.
"Peyton, you are the strongest, most independent girl I've ever met. You don't need anyone," he insists. "You were doing just fine without me."
"I wasn't really," she says, and it's not completely a lie. She's told him how much she was worried about her school year being hard. "Everything's just better when you're around."
"Yeah?" he asks needlessly. She nods her head and he kisses her quickly. "Well I don't plan on going anywhere, OK?"
"Like...ever?" She broaches the subject carefully, because for all the subtle promises they've made, they haven't ever really flat out said that they want this thing to be forever.
"Ever," he confirms, his eyes staring into hers.
"Nathan, if you don't mean that," she says, her voice trailing before she can finish the threat; the one she didn't know she could actually speak.
"I do mean it," he promises. "Peyton, this...This me and you...this is how I need it to be."
They both smirk, because they both know she could say that he doesn't need her, and go off on the same tangent that he did, but she won't do it. This is too serious a conversation for her to be making jokes.
"You see a future with me?" she asks.
He hesitates a second before answering, but he can't hold back now. "Yeah, I do."
"Well, like what?" she asks.
She walks around the car so she's leaning against the passenger's side door, because during this conversation, she realized that they're somehow in the one part of Oak Lake where you can see the entire town. All those twinkling lights and the big, black body of water at the edge of town. He drapes his arm around her shoulder as they look out over their little town.
"I'll play in the NBA, and you'll be a famous artist. We'll have a great house, too," he says.
"What about kids?" she asks, because she doesn't think he'll be scared by the question, when he's the one who started this conversation in the first place. She's getting the feeling that he's probably thought about all this before.
"Oh, yeah. We'll have a bunch of those," he says with a smirk. It's like he really can't wait to have a proper family.
"A bunch?" she asks incredulously.
"A couple. Two. Maybe three. Whatever you want, babe," he promises. He pulls her closer and presses a kiss to her hair.
"Two," she whispers. "And you'll teach them how to shoot perfect free throws."
"They'll be spoiled."
"With the grandparents they'll have? Definitely," she says. They both laugh, because they know it's entirely true. "And they'll be gorgeous."
"How could they not be?" Nathan asks, making her laugh a little harder. "I'm serious. We're like, the best looking couple in town."
"Nathan..."
"It's true. Ask anyone," he insists. She shakes her head, but leans up to kiss him. "We're gonna have that, Peyton." She looks at him and nods, and he brushes the hair from her face. "We're gonna do it right."
She knows what he means. They're going to have a proper relationship, and they won't rush into anything. They'll plan their pregnancies after they're married. Nathan'll get drafted, and Peyton will have a studio in their house. They'll have it all. They'll give each other everything. They kind of already are.
