"Lucas!" Nathan yelled as he spotted Lucas walking rather quickly through the halls of Tree Hill High. At the sound of his younger brother's voice, Lucas stopped and turned around to face him.
"Hey Nate." Lucas said, lack of enthusiasm clearly evident in his voice.
"Wow, man, you look like hell." Nathan commented when he saw his brother who looked like he had just been stomped on by a giant elephant. "I haven't seen you since Saturday night, where have you been hiding?"
"I haven't been hiding." Lucas said dryly.
"What's up with you?" Nathan asked noticing Lucas' attitude.
"Nothing, Nate, I'm fine." Lucas said, staring over Nathan's shoulder. Nathan turned around to see what his brother was staring at and sure enough, his gaze fell upon a certain green-eyed blonde walking across the quad. Noticing Nathan's staring, Lucas quickly averted his eyes to the floor.
"Something going on with you and Peyton?" Nathan asked.
Lucas scoffed. "She's been ignoring me, so at this point, you know as much as I do."
"What did you do?" Nathan asked.
"What do you mean 'what did I do?' Who said it was my fault?" Lucas asked, a bit annoyed.
Nathan raised his hands in defense. "I didn't say it was your fault, but if Peyton isn't talking to you, she probably has a good reason."
"I don't know what happened. One minute, she's happy and smiling, the next she's pissed off and slamming doors."
"Well when did this door slamming take place?"
"Last week after you guys left my house."
"What happened?"
"Apparently, I've been getting too friendly with Brooke and Peyton thinks she's up to her old tricks."
"Being a manipulative bitch?"
"You got it." Lucas said. "Well, Peyton walked into the kitchen and saw Brooke and I in a…compromising position-"
"Wait…compromising? How compromising?"
"Nothing like that, you perv. We were just standing close together." Nathan nodded, urging Lucas to continue. "And Peyton walked in and went psycho and started screaming about Brooke and I sneaking around, which is completely untrue might I add, and then she yelled something about our relationship being on thin ice and ran out. I haven't talked to her since." Lucas explained.
"Wow." Nathan said with a sigh. "I don't know what to say. I mean, you're obviously not with Brooke."
"We already established that Nate, but Brooke's my friend and as much as I love Peyton, I won't end my friendship with her just because Peyton says so."
"Well maybe you should just spend less time with Brooke until Peyton cools down a bit."
"Yeah but that would pretty much tell Peyton that she has control over me and my life."
"Look man, I'm not going to tell you how to live your life but if you value your relationship with Peyton, I think it would be wise, for now at least, to just not hang out with Brooke so much."
"I don't spend that much time with her as it is."
"Obviously you spend enough time with her to make Peyton suspicious."
"Don't you think Peyton should trust me enough to know I wouldn't cheat on her, especially with Brooke?"
"Well then you should prove that to Peyton. Talk to her, dude."
"We aren't exactly on speaking terms."
"Well if you both ignore each other, nothing is going to be solved."
"How do you suppose I get her to listen to me. I mean, I don't even know if she's still my girlfriend."
"Hey boys." Nathan and Lucas turned around to find the owner of the voice, and sure enough saw the bubbly brunette they were just talking about standing next to them.
"Uh, hey Brooke." Lucas said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Hey Brooke." Nathan said. "Listen, I've gotta go find Haley, think about what I said." He finished, giving Lucas a look before walking off.
"What was that about?" Brooke said, noticing their weird behavior.
"Huh? Oh nothing. Me and Nate were just talking." Lucas said.
"Right. So, I've been meaning to talk to you about the other night." Brooke said, interlacing her fingers in font of her as they began walking down the hallway.
"What about it?" Lucas asked.
"Well, with Peyton and everything."
"How do you-" Lucas began, skeptically.
"After I left, Rachel had to make a phone call so we sat outside your house for a few minutes and I heard her yelling." Brooke explained, noticing Lucas' skepticism.
"Oh."
"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to cause any tension between the two of you."
"It's not your fault, Brooke." Lucas said even though it was a bold-faced lie. "Peyton and I just have a lot of stuff going on and it just snowballed out of control-"
"And that's why she's been ignoring you for the past week."
"How do you know all this?"
"Luke, I may not be the next Einstein but I'm not stupid, you guys are normally attached at the hip, but she's been blowing you off all day."
"It's that obvious?" Lucas asked, raising his eyebrows
Brooke chuckled. "Yeah, it is." She said. "And I can't help but feel like I caused it."
"Don't worry about Peyton and I, we'll figure it out."
Brooke inhaled. "Okay, well, I just wanted to make sure we were okay."
"We were never not okay, Brooke."
"Good to know." Brooke said with her signature Davis smile. "Well in that case, I'm throwing a party at my house after the game on Friday, and I expect you to be there."
"Of course."
"Good. Okay well, I should go find Rachel and drag her to English class."
"See you later." Lucas said with a wave as Brooke walked off to the crowd of guys that Rachel was most likely in the middle of.
---------------------
"Okay, I'll see you next week to go over your notes for the Calculus exam." Haley said to one of the students she was tutoring as said student left the tutor center. Haley walked over to the table and started gathering her things. Nathan spotted Haley and quietly walked up behind her, placing his hands over her eyes.
"Guess who?" Nathan asked.
"Hmm… Brad Pitt?" Haley teased.
"Very close." Nathan said with a laugh as Haley turned around, his arms instinctively locking behind her back.
"Oh, its only you." Haley teased.
Nathan placed his hand over his heart, pretending to be hurt. "Oh, Haley how you wound me."
"I'm sorry, did I bruise your ego?" Haley giggled and leaned up to kiss Nathan.
"Mm.. you're forgiven." Nathan said after they broke away.
"Lucky me." Haley said. "What's wrong?" She asked, noticing Nathan's perplexed expression.
"What? Oh nothing. Just thinking."
"About…"
"Lucas and Peyton." Nathan answered.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that. What's going on with them?"
"In a nutshell… Peyton is jealous of Brooke because she thinks Lucas and Brooke are sneaking around. Peyton blew up at Lucas, thus semi-ending their relationship. Now they aren't speaking."
"Oh my god." Haley said.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Nathan said. "I mean, Peyton shouldn't be so quick to-"
"Wait, are you actually telling me you think Peyton doesn't have the right to be upset?"
"No I-"
"Because she certainly does. Brooke is bad news, she can't be trusted."
"Haley don't you think maybe everybody is a little quick to blame Brooke for everything? Maybe she's not such a bad person." Haley gave him a look, as to say 'you've got to be kidding me' "Okay, okay, point taken." Nathan said holding his hands up in defense.
"Brooke has been after Lucas for as long as I can remember and there's nothing that can change my mind about her."
"Did you talk to Lucas?"
"Yeah and he's really beaten up over it."
"I noticed, he's been walking around like a zombie all day." Haley said. "Has he tried to talk to Peyton?"
"Not yet, but I told him to."
"Hopefully he listens." Haley said. "Well, I was on my way to talk to Peyton anyway, so I'll try and get something out of her."
"Good idea."
"Yeah, I'll call you later." Haley said, kissing Nathan on the cheek as she walked by.
"Bye."
-------------
"Peyton!" Haley yelled as she spotted Peyton near her locker.
"Hey Hales." Peyton said, rather unenthusiastically.
"Hey."
"What's up?" Peyton asked as she shut her locker door and began walking with Haley.
"Nothing, just wondering if I could get a ride home."
"Yeah, sure." Peyton said with a nod.
"So…" Haley dragged out awkwardly.
"Go ahead and ask Hales, I know you want to." Peyton said, fully knowing where Haley was going with this.
"What happened with you and Luke?" Haley asked quickly.
"We fought."
"Oh please, don't bore me with details." Haley said sarcastically.
"I don't know, Hales. I mean, I love Lucas, you know I do but lately the way he's been hanging out with Brooke and the way I caught them in the kitchen on Saturday, I just don't know what to do anymore. I can't help but feel like there's something going on between them, they have history and I'm positive Brooke's still into him."
"Yeah, but Peyton, Lucas is completely in love with you, he wouldn't do that to you."
Peyton sighed. "I know that, and I should trust him on this but I just have this weird feeling that something's going on."
"Well, Nathan talked to Lucas and he said Lucas is really beaten up about it."
"I know and I feel horrible about that."
"Well, dummy, why haven't you talked to him about it?"
"Would it be really lame to say I don't know how?"
"You guys have known each other forever but now you're afraid to talk to him?" Haley asked.
"Yes?"
"Peyton."
"I don't know Hales, what do I say to him? 'Sorry I screamed at you, I'm a bitch, lets hug?'"
"Just apologize to him, talk it out with him, tell him why you feel the way you do and you guys can work to fix it. I have faith in you guys, you're the power-couple of this soap-opera known as high school."
"Thanks, Dr. Phil." Peyton laughed.
"I prefer Oprah." Haley teased.
"Oh, does that mean you're going to give me a new car?"
"No, I'm the cheap version of Oprah."
"Lucky me." Peyton laughed. "Come on, I'll drive you home in my very old car." She teased.
-------------------
Pulling up in front of Peyton's house, Lucas put his car in park and took a deep breath. This is the moment that could dictate his future, and he was feeling rather pessimistic about the whole thing. While Nathan's pep talk earlier boosted his self esteem long enough to get him to Peyton's house, it had somewhat faded as he reached her doorstep. He didn't bother knocking, he could hear the stereo from outside, obviously Peyton wouldn't hear him.
His need for deep breaths increased as he walked up the staircase towards her bedroom. When he reached her room, he saw her, sitting in her desk chair, sketchpad in hand, Foo Fighters playing in the background. Lucas knew this could only mean one thing… she was pissed.
He knocked gently on the door, but got no response. Then he knocked a bit harder and this time, she must have heard him because she jumped ten feet in the air.
"Jesus, Luke you scared me." She said, clutching her chest.
"Sorry."
"Ever try ringing the doorbell before entering someone's house?"
"You never hear the bell." He said with a shrug.
"What are you doing here Lucas?" Peyton said, wanting to cut to the chase.
"Isn't it obvious?"
She let out a sigh. "Luke-" She let out as she got up from the chair and walked towards her closet.
"No, Peyton we have to talk about this." Lucas said, following her.
"What do you want me to say, Lucas?"
"I want you to say that you want this to work and that you forgive me and that we can move past this." Lucas said, his eyes pleading with her.
"I don't know if I can do that." Peyton mumbled with tears in her eyes. She moved to stand facing the wall, her back to Lucas.
"No-God Peyt, don't do this, okay? Don't do this." He said walking up behind her.
"You haven't given me much of a choice, Luke." She whispered, turning her head slightly.
"Peyt-"
"No, this has gone on for way too long, it seems that no matter what, something always comes between us. I don't know if it's worth it anymore, if its just going to get screwed up."
Lucas moved around to face her and grabbed her shoulders. "Peyton, you cannot give up on us. I won't let you do this, not because of something that you think is true."
"Oh so you're saying its not?" She asked, punctuating the sentence with a scoff.
"That I'm sleeping with Brooke!?" He exclaimed. "Peyton I thought you knew me better than that!"
"Yeah, so did I!" She yelled back.
"I would NEVER do anything like that, let alone to you." He said, his tone a bit harsher than intended.
"Then how come every time I turn around your with her? And don't even get me started on the rumors."
"You should know better than to believe rumors, especially in Tree Hill, Peyton."
"Lucas-"
"No, just listen to me, okay?" He pleaded, seeing that yelling was getting them nowhere. "I love you, Peyton. These few days without you have been hell on earth for me, Peyt. You're more to me than just a girlfriend, you're also my best friend and I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you in my life, as cheesy and corny as it sounds." He smiled slightly, reaching for her hands. " I don't know what I did to make you think you can't trust me, but I'll do whatever it takes to fix that, to make you trust me, to make you trust us and believe in us, because you're it for me, Peyton, there's no one else I'd rather be with than you."
Peyton was speechless as she looked at him, tears in both their eyes. "Luke-I-I don't know what to say-"
"Don't say anything, just promise me, you'll trust me."
"Trust isn't an easy thing for me, Luke."
"I'm well aware of that, believe me." He smiled. "Peyton, I know you better than anyone and I know how big a deal it is for you to trust someone, but its me, its Lucas, you're best friend, you're boyfriend, just tell me you'll try to trust me, like you used to."
"I will." She said as she met his eyes. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, placing his chin on top of her head, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her hair.
"That's all I ask." He said with a slight chuckle. "Are we okay now?"
"Yeah, we are." She mumbled into his shoulder.
"I love you." He whispered into her hair, placing a light kiss on the top of her head.
"I love you too." She said as she pulled away to look him in the eye.
She leaned up to kiss him and instinctively, he weaved his fingers into her golden locks, deepening the kiss. She started moving him backwards until his knees hit the mattress and they collapsed on top of her bed. She moved her hands from around his neck, down his chest and under his t-shirt. He groaned at the feel of her cool hands on his skin.
He moved his hands from her hair and put them around her waist, breaking the kiss only to peel off the t-shirt she was wearing to reveal a spaghetti strap tank underneath. She shivered as the cool air hit her bare shoulders and Lucas took this opportunity to flip them over so now he was on top.
He dropped a few kisses on her collarbone before pulling back to pull off his own shirt and leaning back down to kiss her, hard on the mouth. She whimpered as his hands traveled down the length of her body, pulling off the tank she wore so she was left in nothing but her bra and a pair of well-fitted jeans. She made quick work of his belt and he helped her out of her pants. Before long, they were both in nothing but their underwear.
"Luke-"She gasped as he sucked at her collarbone, and moved his lips up her neck, towards the sensitive spot right below her right earlobe.
She flipped them over in order to gain control and began kissing a trail down his chest, stopping at the rim of his boxers and going back up. She licked and bit at his neck, eliciting a moan from the boy underneath her. She attacked his lips again, and they were thrown back into a rather heated make out session.
"God I want you." Lucas moaned as he sucked on her pulse point.
"I'm yours." She breathed out. "Take me."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, her heart pounding. "It's not like we haven't done it before." She smiled. He nodded and reached into her bedside drawer for a condom and they made love for what seemed like an eternity.