'Excuse me a sec' She turned, quickly heading for my room.

'Peyton' I attempted but my plea fell on deaf ears as she shut the door on all of us. My eyes darted back to Brooke. I felt completely responsible for the sad face I was greeted with. It was no wonder Peyton was a little pissed at me for not telling her that her best friend was going to be here but Brooke didn't deserve to get treated so badly. 'Brooke' I broke the awkward silence, keeping my eyes firmly on the slender brunette, trying to ignore the baffled faces behind her. 'She's not feeling great, she'll be out in a minute' She nodded but I knew by the way her eyes narrowed that she could see straight through my lie.

'You didn't tell her did you?- that I'd be here' She stated bluntly. I swallowed, unsure of how to respond- another lie? or the truth?

'I, it slipped my mind?' I shrugged helplessly.

'Lucas' She groaned

'I-' Before I could get out another word she was pushing past me to get into my room. 'Brooke'

'Let me speak to her alone' She demanded in true Brooke Davis fashion. In any other situation I'd of done exactly as ordered, no one was to mess with Miss Davis but judging by the Peyton I'd been with for the last few weeks the last thing she needed was a one to one with her old friend.

'Just give her a little while. She's just a little overwhelmed at seeing you. Why don't you guys go open a bottle of wine, I'll be through in a sec. I wanna here all about what you've been up to miss Davis' I smiled, shooting Nathan a meaningful look. He really could help me out instead of just standing there.

'Oh yeah, a glass of wine sounds good' Nathan took my silent plead, thankfully averting everyone's confused gaze to him, a few muffled agreements and shuffling of feet followed as everyone headed toward the kitchen. 'Come Brooke' He draped his arm around her rigid shoulder guiding her down the hall. I closed my eyes tightly for a second, wondering if Peyton was going to be completely inconsolable now. There was only one way to find out though, I bravely made my way into my bedroom. It was empty and I panicked a little at first but soon saw her skinny figure out on the porch. I walked through the open back door.

'Peyton' She didn't respond, staring out in front of her. I gingerly sat beside her on the swinging seat. 'Come on, don't you think you're over reacting a tad?' Crap, great start Luke, I always had to say the wrong thing.

'Over reacting? No, I'm not fucking over reacting. I didn't even want to come here and then you spring Brooke Davis on me? Fuck Lucas.' She hissed. 'A little bit of a heads up would have been nice. You're an ass do you know that?' She ran a hand through her rampant hair agitatedly. 'Brooke fucking Davis'

'She's your best friend- I thought you'd be happy'

'Best friend? Lucas I haven't spoken to her in nearly five years.'

'Don't you want to get to know her again?'

'I..I' She stuttered. 'What have you told her about me?'

'Nothing, nothing at all. Peyton I promised you, I'm not going to lie to you'

'Huh' She snickered. 'Not going to lie to me? You've already lied to me Lucas'

I groaned. 'Ok, ok, I'm sorry I lied about Brooke but I'm not lying about this. I said I hadn't told anyone about anything you'd done in the last five years and I haven't' I promised.

'She knows, you told her'

'You're being paranoid' I stood, taking a hold of her shoulders. 'She doesn't know' She stared at me for a long time. I watched her contemplating my response and soon found myself getting lost in those green eyes of hers. 'Come on' I cupped her face. 'Let's go back inside.' She coldly turned away from me.

'Fine. But I'm not talking to you' She snapped childishly, stomping off back into the house. I sighed, would anything ever be easy with Peyton Sawyer.

The next hour past in a haze, I was only aware of one thing- how surprisingly smoothly everything was going, granted she wasn't talking to me but she wasn't causing a scene. What with all the drama drama drama that Peyton Sawyer carried with her, it was like I was constantly preparing myself for her next outburst. I watched her, Brooke had just approached her and she had a sweet fake smile plastered on her face. I truly hate that smile. I watched anxiously, wanting to get nearer and ease drop on their conversation but knew I couldn't do that.

'What are you thinking Lucas?' I jumped at my mothers voice, sharply turning to face her.

'Nothing' I smiled.

'Really? You seem a little preoccupied to be thinking nothing' She said knowingly in that typically mothering tone. I rolled my eyes as she continued. 'And you're forgetting that I'm the crazy woman that bought you into this world- I know you better than you think' Her wise preaching went on for a further few minutes before returning to her first question. 'So are you going to tell me what's bothering you?'

'I'm fine' I assured her.

'Luke-'

'Mum, really I'm fine'.

She sighed, eying me skeptically. 'You know there was a time when you came to me with all your problems'

'I'm not ten anymore ma' I reminded her gently. A small laugh fell from her mouth at my remark.

'Oh I know that. I do miss having you around though' At this point I took the opportunity to look around the room, wanting to avoid the guilt her eyes were making me feel.

'I know' I offered her a small apologetic smile, before letting my eyes drift back to Peyton.

'How are thing's with you and Peyton?' I raised my eyebrows and pouted like a little child. I hated having this conversation with her. 'What? Can't a mum wonder what's going on in her sons love life?' When it came to Peyton, No was the simple answer.

'We're fine'

'So you two are officially a couple?'

'No, maybe, I don't know' I groaned. 'Look mum, me and Peyton, we're complicated ok? But I do know one thing and that's that I'm the happiest when she's in the same room and when she's not there I'm thinking about her' I mentally scorned myself for sharing with her, I felt like I was trying to prove that she's a good person.

'Love's always complicated Lucas, as long as you're happy' She placed her hand over mine. 'Is Peyton ok though?' My eyes involuntarily darted to hers, subtle I know.

'She's fine' I tried to be nochalent but have never been all that great at being discreate, especially when it came to lying to my own mother whom seemed to have mystical mind reading powers.

'I just meant, she seems a bit, I don't know, on edge.'

'She's just nervous to see everyone again, she hasn't seen Brooke in a long time'. I covered pretty smoothly if I do say so myself. I took a sip of my beer, taking a sneak peak toward the two ex best friends to find they were no longer there. 'I, er, I'll be back in a sec mum' I said hastily, quietly excusing myself.

'I assumed he'd tell you I was coming here' I heard her raspy voice and lent back against the wall, not daring to let myself be seen.

'I know.' Was her short reply. 'I'm sorry I rushed off earlier, I was just in shock I guess'

'It's fine.' I could hear the tapping of Brooke's heels as she crossed the room. 'Peyton?'

'Y.ye.yes?' I could see her face in my head, her lost eyes staring at Brooke.

'Why'd you never return my calls?'

'I'm sorry' She mumbled. I cautiously peered around the door, taking my chances. Peyton distanced herself from the brunette, her head down in shame and I wanted nothing more than to swoop in and save her from this conversation but knew it wouldn't be the finest of plans. They needed this talk, they need to resolve their issues.

'Did I do something wrong? I called you so many times Peyton'

'You didn't do anything. I don't expect you to understand ok? Everything just got...a little crazy and I, I'm sorry'

'You were the one person I could rely on. Let's face it I don't have the best family. You were my family Peyton' She said sadly. 'I needed you. I need you back in my life. I miss you' I watched Brooke helplessly close the gap between them and hug her, clinging to her desperately. I'd known Brooke had missed Peyton but I guess I'd been naive, I hadn't even been slightly aware of the extent of how important their friendship was to her. Peyton abruptly pulled away and I cringed. I wanted Brooke to know that it wasn't personal, that she just didn't want to be touched.

'You don't need me Brooke' She shook her head confusedly and I knew exactly what was going through that complicated mind of hers. She was finding it hard to comprehend that she was actually physically needed by someone. 'You seem to be doing pretty good, you have a huge company'

'That doesn't mean I'm happy. Please let me back in Peyton' She pleaded and the room was suddenly webbed in silence. I swallowed, watching them both trying to ignore the huge elephant in the room.

'I missed you too' Peyton finally spoke and those four words were like music to my ears not to mention the most sincere thing I'd heard her say. Brooke grinned and threw her arms around her again, this time Peyton's tense figure forced herself to return the embrace.

'So are you happy Luke's back in your life?' The words spilled from her mouth excitedly.

Peyton's cheeks went a little red and I had to smile at her bashful behaviour. 'Well I didn't really have much choice in the matter'. I rolled my eyes at her reply.

'He's good for you...Oh P Sawyer, we're going to have so much fun this Christmas' She squealed enthusiastically, the seriousness of their conversation quickly forgotten. Peyton nodded awkwardly, her eyes drifting to the doorway, noticing me for the first time. Shit. I swallowed thickly, quickly turning and removing myself from her radar in fear of being walloped over the head with the nearest heavy object. I think I'd rather stay conscious this Christmas. I smiled to myself, things were actually going ok.