The Beautiful Dance

Disclaimer: Same old, none of the characters are mine

Authors Notes: I'm trying to update sooner, hang in there with me.

Chapter 7:

Peyton had finally reached her breaking point. The mess she was in with Lucas and Brooke had finally helped her realize that she was tired of letting other people control her life. She cared about Brooke very much, but for too long she'd let Brooke have too much say in her life. She didn't want someone telling her how to dress or how to act around guys. She wanted to date whoever she wanted without feeling guilty. She wanted to be with Lucas.

She'd spent the day working up the courage to go over to his house and tell him she was sorry for everything that had happened. She didn't know if he would take her back, hell she didn't know if he would let her talk. But she had to try.

She took the steps up to his house slowly, going over in her head what she would say to him. Peyton took a deep breath before knocking on the door. She was surprised to see Karen answering the door. Karen looked pleased to see her.

"Hi Peyton, it's nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too Ms. Roe. Is Lucas here?"

"Try the Rivercourt. I finally got him out of the house and he's down there with the guys."

"Thanks Ms. Roe, I'll try him down there." Peyton nodded and turned to walk away.

Karen had been right. Peyton found him at the Rivercourt playing ball with his friends. She watched him for a few minutes from the obscurity of her car. He seemed more upbeat than he had in the past few days, he might be willing to talk. It's now or never, she thought to herself as she climbed out of her car. Her legs felt like lead as she walked slowly to the court. She had to stop herself a few times from turning back to the car; it would have been so easy to run.

Peyton froze when Lucas locked eyes with her from across the court. He looked stunned to see her and stopped what he was doing, the other guys continuing to run the court around him. She walked to the edge of the court but Lucas still hadn't moved. Skills was the one who noticed Peyton's presence and the effect it was having on Lucas and the rest of the guys realized what was going on.

"Hey Luke, we're gonna split. See you tomorrow man." Skills said gathering up his basketball. It was clear to Peyton that at least Skills knew about her and Lucas' situation.

"Thanks Skills." Lucas replied not looking away from Peyton.

Lucas didn't know how to feel about Peyton's sudden appearance. He knows he should at least be somewhat angry with her for what she did. She had hurt him worse then anyone in his life. But he wanted so badly to just take her in his arms and hold her, to erase everything bad that had happened between them.

Peyton was more nervous now than she had been earlier. "Can we talk?"

He all of a sudden decided that he wasn't going to make this easy for her. Why should he? She hurt him. "I don't really feel like talking right now." He said turning his back to her and grabbing his tattered old basketball from the ground and went back to shooting around.

"Fine, you don't have to talk. I'll talk." She wasn't surprised by his hostility, it had been expected. "I just wanted to tell you I was sorry for hurting you Lucas, I never wanted to do that. I chose to follow my loyalty to Brooke instead of following my heart, and I regret that more than you will never know."

Lucas stopped the ball in his hands and looked at her. "What did your heart want?"

"I wanted you Lucas, I always have." She said softly. "I just couldn't stand to see Brooke hurting because of something I did."

"So why was it ok for you to hurt me?" He asked sadly.

"Truthfully? I knew that Brooke was right when she said I'd only hurt you eventually. I wanted to believe that you could move on, find someone better."

"Is that what you wanted? For me to move on and forget about you"

"No that's not what I wanted, but it's what I had to believe to make my decision seem like the right one in my head. After it happened I saw how isolated you had become. You pulled away from everyone. You were losing yourself because of what I did."

"So is that why you're here, because you felt guilty?"

"It's not like that Lucas. I'm here because I miss you. I miss that feeling in my heart whenever you're around, I miss you being my boyfriend even if it was only for a day. I need you Lucas, I want you."

Lucas felt a range of emotions coursing through his body listening to her say she needed him. His heart began to race and he was suddenly very aware of the fact that he could hear his pulse in his ears. He was so tired of all the bullcrap, he just wanted to be with her. The good and the bad, he wanted all of it.

"Peyton you have to listen to me." Lucas was incredibly serious and tilted her chin up forcing her to look him directly in the eyes. "I want you and I want us more than anything. But I've been through a really bad time since you left me, and I don't ever want to go through that again. I won't be able to handle you leaving again so you have to promise me you won't run anymore."

"This is where I want to be Lucas, right here with you. I'm not going anywhere." She promised.

"How do you know you're not going to leave?" His voice was child-like, full of hope and fearing rejection. Peyton had never seen Lucas so scared and vulnerable; it worried her a bit. All of his hopes were dangling on a very thin string and she couldn't hurt him again, she wouldn't.

"I know because I'm ready for this, because I can feel it in my heart," she touched him for the first time since they had broken up. She put her hand over the spot where his heart rested and felt his rapid heartbeat beneath her fingertips, causing her to smile. "I can feel it in your heart too."

"Peyton..." he trailed off. She felt her own heart skip a beat as he leaned forward and pulled her into his arms, his face buried in the crook of her neck. Peyton closed her eyes and held him tight, the back of her eyes stinging with the threat of impending tears.

Lucas pulled away from Peyton, reluctantly. He gently cupped the right side of her face and leaned in to kiss her tenderly on the forehead. "This is where I want to be too."

"Let's get out of here. My dad's gone again, I have the house to myself." Peyton said. She was surprised at how nervous she had sounded, at what taking her newly reunited boyfriend to her empty house would mean. She didn't want to come off as the kind of girl she had accused Lucas of liking during their big blowout a few weeks ago. But she loved him and it wasn't just about the sex, it was about being close to him.

Lucas nodded and Peyton was relieved to see him looking nervous as well. "Ok let's go." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight as they walked in the direction of Peyton's car. He wondered if this was all happening to fast, if maybe they should wait. But he loved her, and he had loved her for a long time. This was the right time.

A/N: Ok let me know what you guys think, I need reviews. My next update is going to be for Don't Let Go, I've got that chapter about half way down. I'm looking to post that chapter by the end of the week, so watch for that.