Title - Reconstruction
Disclaimer - I don't own any One Tree Hill anything - tho I've been fighting to get a hold of a certain younger Lafferty brother (I wish). Anyway, none of those evil torture devices (pictures) are mine either, but they were EXTREMELY adorable.
Summary - He kept a box full of her things, their memories. A few months later, Brooke is moving out to go live with her parents for the summer. After helping Lucas move back into his old room, Peyton decides to stick around, being as they are friends - what happens when they come in contact with the box? One-shot.
Author's Note - I do have half an update for The Saddest Song, but I freaked out when I found caps of last night's episode. Those pictures just make me miss them more. And so upon my unhealthy obsession with this couple, and those random pictures I felt the need to write this - Scratch that, I was compelled to write this.
Finally, after two long, exhausting days Lucas was settled back into his old room. It had taken a long time to get the make-up stains out of his rug, and get the last of Brooke's clothes out of his closet. Everything had to be cleared, all of his things had to be removed so Brooke could make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. And after an emotional good bye from himself, Peyton, and Nathan, she was on her way to Florida to spend the summer with her parents.
He couldn't say he wouldn't miss her, she had become a better friend to him over the past year - but it was going to be nice to have a summer without her - some time to reconnect with his brother...and Peyton. That was his top priority for the next nine weeks, he wanted to prove to her that he was worth having in her life, because he needed her in his.
"Luke!" that same blonde yelled through his small house, he smiled. Finally, things were back to the way they should be - minus Haley being gone. He'd talked to her a few weeks before - she was trying to get out of the contract she signed, she wanted nothing more than to be home with Nathan. And as far as Lucas was concerned, Nathan needed her no matter what he said.
"Yea?" he lifted himself from his freshly made bed, making his way to the kitchen he found the small girl reaching for a glass on the top shelf in a cabinet. He chuckled at her inability to do things he found so simple, but generously retrieved the cup for her.
"Don't laugh, we're not all six foot here," she playfully scolded, whacking him in the chest.
"Okay, um, wanna help me hang some posters back up and put my crap back in my closet?"
"Yea, I could stick around. Not that my empty house is any better, right?" Jake had left to head to Florida for his trial a few months back - she had been heartbroken. Lucas had done above and beyond what was expected in those few weeks right after his departure. She couldn't exactly say their friendship was back to what it was, she was unsure if it ever would be - but they were on the right track.
He and Brooke never had given it that second try - in fact that perky brunette had pushed Lucas away in every way possible, even having a spontaneous hook-up with Mouth in her last few weeks in Tree Hill. Quickly, the broody boy realized she wasn't worth being upset over, she was the same girl he met at the beginning of the year, just her overall facade had differed. They remained friends, but he didn't need her the way he thought he did - for the time being he was concentrated on the people who truly meant something to him.
They entered his room with a few cans of soda and a bag of chips. It was going to be a long night with the many boxes and bags scattered throughout his fairly large room. He hadn't realized how many possessions he had until they all had be fit back into his room.
"So, are we putting those little toy cars back up?" she teased while he made faces.
"I liked them, they represented my inner-child," he feigned an English accent, receiving a laugh for his corny jokes.
"Loser."
"Hey, I'm hurt," he smiled at how carefree Peyton seemed to be these days. She was slowly recovering from the loss of a certain boy with a baby, but his name was rarely mentioned anymore.
"Seriously, Luke, they're not a turn on when one is trying to make out in this room -"
"So...you're saying those toy cars didn't turn you on after my accident?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, she fell into a fit of laughter at how cool he thought he was. Though he was a cornball, she brushed off the comments about their past history. As far as they had progressed it still did hurt to hear about their destruction as a couple. And so an awkward silence set in among the two, nearly suffocating Lucas - it struck him that their history was never a good discussion starter.
"Chip?" he offered, six were already stuffed in his mouth. She rolled her eyes at his boyish behavior and grabbed a handful from the bag and proceeded to rifle through her ex's belongings.
Five hours, a bag of chips, four sodas, and eight CD's later they were delirious. Laughing at any random thing that held any remote humor, and singing along with his loud rock CD's at the top of their lungs. Little did they know what was about to unfold right beneath them.
"More soda?" she asked, standing up from her spot on the floor.
He nodded adamantly as she trucked out to his refrigerator. Quietly, she grabbed two more sodas for each of them and headed back to his room in the back of the house. She walked in to find him standing in front of his CD collection, thoughtfully trying to make a selection.
"How 'bout Travis?" she suggested, he smirked at her - she blushed realizing her words. 'Oops' she thought, setting the Pepsi's down on his night stand and heading to his closet. "Or Story of the Year works too."
"What's in there?" he questioned, seeing her up on her tip-toes reaching for a large box perched on a higher shelf. It had been so long since he'd been in his room he could barely remember what he put up on those higher shelves. And it wasn't until the contents of the box came spilling onto the floor that he knew exactly what the box contained.
They each stood staring at the items laying all over his carpet - neither willing to make a move towards it. Lucas took a deep breath, he could hear Peyton's ragged breaths from where he stood. He closed his eyes, silently asking why he had to keep all of it in a box that was bound to fall from a shelf that was six feet up at one point.
"What is all this?" she asked quietly. The petite blonde fell to her knees to inspect the things that were on the floor. Her hands combed through a pile of paper before coming to the larger objects.
"Oh my God," she breathed, seeing a million old things from their short-lived relationship scattered in front of her eyes. "You kept this?" she looked up to meet his stare and he nodded. He sat next to her, calmly leafing through a few pictures.
She extracted a CD case that was facing upside down, and upon further examination she saw the writing on the front of the once blank CD. P.S. Whatever, was scrawled neatly in her own writing.
"So, last week...sucked. I just...wanted to say thanks," she finished awkwardly, squinting through the bright sun in her eyes.
"Oh, you made me a mix?" he questioned, obviously happy with her choice of gifts. It meant more to him than she would ever know.
"Just trying to square my karma," Peyton Sawyer, never one to be vulnerable.
"Uh-huh, does this mean we're dating," he teased, she rolled her eyes. But she would admit later that he looked absolutely adorable when he teased her about that.
"Listen, you've got a long bus ride tonight and I had some free time. Don't read too much into it," but somewhere, she did hope he would read too much into it and chase after her - something he would do later on, but she'd push him away for.
"Peyton," he nudged her shoulder gently, shaking her out of her reverie.
"Huh?" she responded with a dazed look.
"You okay?"
"I don't believe you kept this," she said, making eye contact, a lop-sided smile appeared on her face.
"Well, it meant something to me, even if you were just trying to square your karma," he poked fun, quoting words she had said to him many months before.
"I wasn't sure if it would," she confessed, letting herself be vulnerable for once.
"It did," he reassured her. Cautiously, he ran his fingers through the pile lifting a picture that had been taken some time during their friendship, or relationship. He could barely distinguish between the two anymore.
He concentrated on the moment captured in the still shot that sat in his calloused hands. She lay happily on his lap while he stared intensely at her. And the moment remained vivid in his head even after many, many months later.
"Luke, you ready?" she set foot into his messy bedroom, but he was nowhere to be found. Thoroughly confused, she headed back through the house to find him in the bathroom, messing with his hair.
"You do know that no matter how many times you try to fix your hair it looks exactly the same, right?" he made faces at her while she smiled.
"Yea, yea. I'm ready now," he slipped his jacket on as they headed out to her car. "So...where are we going?"
"Bevin's? I dunno, but Brooke is with Theresa at some club, so we're safe for tonight. Haley and Nathan are gonna be there too, so it should be good," he nodded, pulling out into the street, grabbing her hand with his own free one.
Less than five minutes later, they walked into Bevin's empty house, hand in hand. The noise suddenly erupted from the basement, he looked over to see her reaction and she laughed, pulling him down the stairs with her.
"Lucas! Peyton!" Haley jumped up, engulfing them both in a lopsided hug.
"Hales, have you been drinking?" Lucas questioned, amused with her outburst.
"Maybe just a little," she closed her fingers to a small space to indicate her amount. They both cringed at the smell of alcohol that came from her breath as she talked. Nathan sat behind on a chair, shaking his head, smirking - he still never got used to seeing Haley like that.
"Have a seat guys," Bevin pointed to a large red couch against the wall of her basement and they made their way there.
It was half an hour later when Haley was feeling sick, but still jumping around like the energizer bunny. Mouth, Tim and a few other cheerleaders showed up too, making their group quite large.
"Having fun?" she looked up to meet his eyes from her position on his legs. He lifted an eyebrow and leaned down to capture her lips in a quick kiss.
"I'll take that as a yes," she finished, laying a blanket over herself. A huge slamming noise occurred, startling them both they looked over to find Haley on the floor having tripped over a cord. Bevin pulled a camera from a bag beside her TV and snapped a picture of Haley laying on the floor. Nathan proceeded to help her up, but she refused his attempts while everyone else laughed shamelessly at the lightweight drinker. Peyton, obviously enjoying her friend's struggle to get off the ground was laughing, and Bevin looked over to see the blonde.
But what she found was an endearing scene. As Peyton laughed, Lucas watched, almost in awe of the simplest things she did. Bevin, genuinely smiled at their relationship, even if it was bound to hurt Brooke. And conveniently, the camera was in her hands - she snapped a picture, handing it off to Peyton on her way out.
"Do you remember that?" she asked, this time startling Lucas from his thoughts.
He nodded silently, smiling at a memory he'd kept close to his heart, even after she hated him. It made her re-think their friendship seeing that he kept so many of her things. So many things she'd given him in the few weeks that was their relationship.
Again, she moved through things, finding a drawing or two in the bunch. He watched her reactions as she found things she didn't expect he'd have kept. He liked to surprise her on occasion. And so she came across a small card she'd written him - 'Lucas' was colored across the front. She laughed, reading over the words.
It was the day after he kissed her in the hallway that she slipped that small greeting card into his locker. He had called later that night, laughing at her corny jokes.
"I loved the Christmas/military card, Peyt," she smiled at the use of her nickname - she had once hated it, Nathan had used it before. But with Lucas it sounded so much more...personal? She couldn't quite place it, but it sounded better when it came out of his mouth.
"I got bored yesterday when I was doing homework, and I thought of you," she rattled off, trying her hardest not to sound all sappy with him.
"Did Peyton Sawyer just sound girly?" he teased, receiving a grunt in his ear.
"Well, that's the last time I write you notes -"
"I'm kidding. I like it. I just didn't expect you to be one to write cute little love notes," she scoffed on the other end.
"Hey, I can be just as girly as the next girl. And, with you it's easy to be girly and write love notes after the cheesy lines you feed me," it was his turn to scoff.
"Last time I heard, girls like those cheesy lines."
"Girls so do not like those cheesy lines," she insisted, after zoning out on his phone call.
"Some do. How was I supposed to know I got the one girl who doesn't?"
"Because, Lucas Scott, you should know me," she poked him in the chest while he cocked an eyebrow at her behavior.
"I do...where was this taken?" he lifted another picture, and her eyes widened.
"Where'd you get this?"
"I don't know. I think Haley gave it to me a while ago," he shrugged and she snatched the picture from him.
"What're you doing in my café?" he startled her from behind as he entered his mom's small building.
"I was having a muffin and talking to Haley about tonight...what're you doing here?"
"Keith let me off early. So, I thought I'd drop by and grab something to eat, mind if I have a piece of that?" he stole a piece of her blueberry muffin that sat unguarded on her plate.
"Well, I guess it's too late to mind now," he smirked standing behind her. Haley came out from the back to find them laughing, and she smiled. They were both happy - it was nice to see.
"Um," she guiltily interrupted them and they both turned to her, laughing at her expression. Nathan walked in to the café, finding them all picking apart muffins.
"What're you guys doing?" he looked at them strangely before kissing Haley.
"Well, not to interrupt or anything, but I'd rather not watch my brother make-out with my best friend," they broke apart, Haley winked at Lucas and he pretended to gag.
"Well, my shift is over...what now?" she looked at the three people in front of her, and Lucas perked up.
"How about we just go hang up on the roof?" After a mutual agreement they all headed up the stairs.
The sky began to darken as Nathan entertained Lucas and Peyton with a story of how Dan had almost drowned one summer - it was a story Lucas particularly enjoyed.
As they all sat around, Haley had recently been a camera freak - she felt the need to capture every moment so she could remember them years later, Lucas and Nathan frequently felt the need to tease her about it. She snapped a few pictures of Nathan, and finally got Lucas and Peyton as they both smiled, and she patted herself on the back for her photography skills.
It was less than a second more before the sky erupted in thunder and the rain poured on them. Haley screamed as her hair matted to her head, but the other three stood under the large raindrops.
"Not worried about your hair?" he poked fun.
"Not worried about yours?" she snapped back, he nodded - she was good.
"Okay, I'll give you that one."
"What about this one?" she leaned in kissing him with all she had in her while Nathan and Haley obliviously played in the forming puddles.
"Well, enough of this," he broke her somber mood, pulling her up with him and walking back through the house.
"Where're we going?"
"I dunno. I'm just sick of getting all upset over that -"
"Upset over what?" He turned back to look at her, debating revealing his thoughts.
"That we never really got a chance...and that I've gotta spend the whole summer with you wondering what could've been," her eyes softened, the pain in his eyes evident. He kept all those things for a reason - he saved their memories because they meant something.
"All of those pictures, those notes, drawings - everything. They meant something Peyton...they still do," he confessed, watching her cave at his words.
"Yeah?" she asked softly.
"Yeah," he insisted. She closed the space between them slowly and as she moved in he broke the silence.
"What about Brooke?"
"Fuck Brooke, we've got the whole summer to figure her out. It's you and me right now," he smiled at her change in attitude before she jumped into his arms, crushing her lips against his. He responded intensely, she granted him entrance, reveling in the feel of his arms around her once more.
They broke apart breathless, her eyes mixed with emotions as she looked at him for approval. He nodded, obviously showing how he felt about her through his eyes.
"What about everyone else? What about Jake?" he asked.
"I don't care anymore, about any of them. This isn't for them, it's for me - and I want you. I want this and I"m prepared to fight for it this time."
Okay, I hope it turned out okay. It wasn't anything phenomenal, but all in all it was just meant to be kinda a fluffy happy thing to save us all from the finale. Tell me what you thought and what you liked! Dedicated to all Leyton fans who were left wondering about those pics...