Broke came home just as Peyton was walking out the door, the two nearly crashing into each other on their separate ways in and out.
"Peyton, where are you going?"
"I was gonna go talk to Lucas… You're home early-"
"I need to talk to you," Brooke said gently, the concern easily readable in her features. Peyton looked at her sideways, sizing her up, before sighing and taking a smooth step back into the house, allowing Brooke inside. The brunette closed the door behind her. "Haley told me what happened…"
"What happened with what?"
"With Lucas. She said when you tried to talk to him he blew up in your face." Peyton shrugged and nodded, walking over to the couch and sitting down as gracefully as she could. Brooke joined her, perching easily on the couch's arm.
"I didn't expect much less, you know? This is a big deal, everything that's going on and I knew damn well that he wasn't just gonna sit back and smile and nod like everything was gonna be okay. You and I both knew it- Wait, how does Haley know?"
"Nathan talked to Haley after you talked to him." Peyton rolled her eyes and slumped further into the couch. "What's wrong?"
"So everyone knows now?" Brooke smiled, amused.
"Well, everyone except for Mouth, Millicent and Skills, yeah. Why? You make it sound like such a bad thing-"
"I don't know, Brooke. I'm just so stressed out right now and I didn't want everyone to know right away and there's just so much damned drama… The fact that you even proposed to me is so huge I can't even get my mind around it and… damn it…" Peyton wiped tears from her face, pissed at the hormones that were making her to freaking emotional about everything. It was driving her crazy. She just wanted it to stop. Brooke slid off of the arm of the couch, squeezing in between in and her girlfriend, pulling her close. She kissed the blonde's hair.
"I didn't mean for this to be stressful for you, P. Sawyer. I just love you so so so much and I wanted to be yours forever." Peyton smiled at this, leaning her head against Brooke. She started crying again.
"I love you, too," she said. Brooke's hand slid down to rest on Peyton's stomach, and the blonde moved her hand to rest it on tops of Brooke's in the same place. "And I'm so glad that I've had you for all these years. I don't know what I would have done without you…."
"You would have been just fine," Brooke said, gently.
* * *
Peyton was at Lucas' house the next day with a new resolve and determination. This time was going to be different. She had Brooke behind her back now, a strong and definite support in an unstable and emotional situation, and she felt that very support when Lucas finally opened his door.
His face fell upon seeing Peyton's face.
"What do you want, Peyt?" he asked, leaving the door open and walking away from it. At least he left it open…
"I want to talk to you," the slightly shorter of the two blonde's explained, coming into the house. She felt Brooke's support in her head and in her heart with each step she took forward.
"You already did that, you know. And it was bad enough the first time so why don't you just-"
"Because I can't, Lucas. Because I can't." Her voice was strong and firm, and it forced Lucas to stop walking away (he was going to reach the other end of the house soon enough anyway) and turn around to face her. He looked her in the eyes, his gaze faltering her confidence. She took a deep breath. "I can't because I need you to tell me it's okay," she said.
"…what?"
"Brooke proposed to me, but I cannot feel right about saying yes until I hear the words from you telling me it's okay." Lucas was shocked, not having heard these words before. They were entirely different from what he heard in their last conversation, and they were words he simply could not fight against, for they were not hostile. His face softened, but the anger was still there. He shook his head.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that? How can you expect me to be okay with something like this? You left me, Peyton! I can't just forget that and tell you to go marry someone else, Brooke of all people." The words were venomous, and Peyton recoiled at them, but she was determined to win him over.
"Okay. What don't you understand about what I'm trying to do here? I'm over here, twice now, trying to get you to hear me, because I care about what you think. I'm in love with Brooke, she has proposed to me, and I can't say yes until you do. You won't find another woman like that anywhere! You couldn't ask another woman to do that! So all I'm asking you is to say yes. I want you blessing, Lucas. I want you to be at the wedding. I want to share this with you because I care about you. I respect you and I love you and I don't want you not to be a part of my life, okay? Do you get that? Cause that's all I'm trying to do. It's not like I'm sneaking around and getting married behind your back! I came to you first thing…"
"… I guess I wish you would have," Lucas said, and his words shocked Peyton. Her confidence, then at that point, went to shit. "And maybe you should."
Just a side note: The plot was changed just a little. Brooke proposed to Peyton. This is just to clear up any confusion. Also, I'm very sorry for my inconsistency. I'm a busy girl. I'll continue to update whenever I can. Keep reading. Thanks for your patience.