How long before I get in?
Before it starts, before I begin?
How long before you decide?
Before I know what it feels like?
Where to, where do I go?
If you never try then you'll never know…
Speed of Sound-Coldplay

"Hey." Lucas said as he walked into Peyton's room and sat next to her on the bed, it was becoming the routine again.

"Hey." She didn't look up at him at all when he sat down she just continued to look down at what she was sketching.

"Death Cab?" He asked referring to what was currently blasting from her stereo.

"Yup. Death of An Interior Decorator." She responded, still not looking up at him.

"I like this song."

Noticing that she wasn't looking up at him or willing to respond to his attempts to start a conversation he picked up his bag, took out a book, and began to read.

After a few minutes, momentarily, she finally broke her concentration from her strip that she was trying to do for THUD to look up at him. She smiled to herself as she watched him. Whenever he would read something his brow would always crease and it seemed like all of his attention was on the book. He made the weirdest facial expressions when he read, which caused her to laugh.

He finally turned his attention from the book that he was reading to her as she continued to laugh at him.

"What's so funny?"

"You," She paused to laugh, "Are you aware of the faces you make when you read?"

"No." He wasn't aware that he made faces when he read; it wasn't like he read while looking at a mirror.

"Well you should be. You look like you just swallowed a lemon." She continued to laugh. She now believed fully that laughter was the best medicine. She had been feeling down all day ever since the phone call she got this morning.

"That's funny because that's how you look when you sing." He retorted and couldn't resist laughing at her shocked expression.

"Now you should see your face." It was his turn to laugh at her now as she held the expression.

"Shut up!" She finally broke, finally laughing a long with him.

"Hey c'mon, I may not be a Haley James, but I can carry a tune." She laughed it off, as did Lucas.

"Yeah, yeah." To be honest Lucas thought Peyton's singing voice wasn't that bad… actually she was pretty, better than she gave herself credit for.

"You know Jake called this morning." She said once their laughter was finally over.

"He did? How is he?" Jake was a subject that he knew Peyton didn't really like to talk about. He didn't know if Peyton still felt the same way about him, but for his sake he hoped she didn't.

"He's um… okay. He found Nikki and Jenny two weeks ago in Georgia." Her voice held no emotion. She was happy that he finally found Jenny, unbelievably happy, but she was afraid. Nikki had too many tricks under her sleeve just to up and leave them alone to be happy.

"Georgia? Are you serious? How'd he find them there?"

"I don't know, but once he did Nikki just ran away. He doesn't know where she went, but he's not going to wait around in Georgia to find out so he called his family and their moving to Savannah. He called me to tell me that he's not coming back to Tree Hill." A few months ago if Jake would've told her that she probably would've broken into a million pieces and go back into her semi state of depression, but now things were different. She was stable now and she knew that there were people who cared about her and would help her anytime she needed them.

Lucas noticed the lack of emotion on her face and thought that she was putting up her walls again, that her emotion or lack there of was all a façade. He wouldn't let her get like this again; he didn't want her to be like this again.

"I'm sorry, Peyt, but atleast he found Jenny and Nikki's gone so there shouldn't be such a big problem now."

"Yeah." She nodded, still not responding to his attempts to cheer her up, even though she didn't need it.

"It's okay to be upset or sad because Jake's not coming back—"

"But that's just it, I'm not upset or sad. I'm actually relieved." She admitted. She didn't mean to feel this way, but she just… did.

"You are?"

"Yeah. I don't mean to be, but I am. Don't get me wrong what Jake and I had for that short period of time was great, but I knew we never stood a chance. Before he left he told me to move on and that's what I'm doing. I miss him and Jenny, I miss them a lot, but I don't blame him for not coming back or not wanting to. They're happy wherever they are. I know they are and I'm happy where I'm at now, too. I'm a different person now… last year was probably the lowest I've been since my mom died and I don't have to be that person anymore."

He watched in admiration as she spoke of her newfound outlook. She was truly amazing. He had seen her fall many times only to pick herself back up again and he admired her for that.

"I'm proud of you Peyton." Their eyes locked as he smiled softly at her.

"Seriously?" She asked wondering why he had said that. The last person who had said that to her was her father in an email not too long ago. He said that he was proud of her for being able to live on her own and handle everything so well. She missed him a lot and was glad that he was finally coming home today.

"Of course. You're amazing you know that?"

"Thanks." She turned her head so he wouldn't see that she was slightly blushing.

"You know you and Haley have been like my best friends lately… I can't thank you guys enough for just being there and listen to me bitch about my problems when you both have your own, but I guess that's what friends are for, right?" She finally turned to look at him as she started to ramble. She was nervous.

"Right." He nodded.

"Good." She whispered as a silence soon came over them.

"Well as long as I'm here, Peyton there's something I need to tell you." He tried his best to keep his cool as he spoke, but ended up feeling nervous anyway. He figured now since he knew how she felt about Jake he would just seize the moment. He just hoped that he was making the right decision.

"Is it serious?" She watched as he nodded, "Is this about your heart because if it is—"

"No, this isn't about my heart, it's about something else…" He stalled not knowing what words to use.

"What is it?" She suddenly sat up on her bed and set all of her attention on him.

"I know this probably isn't the right time to do this, with your father coming in just a few hours, but—" He immediately stopped talking when he heard the door slam.

"Who's that?" Peyton asked as she got up off her bed and headed towards the door.

"Luke can we talk about this later… or just until I see who's at the door."

"Sure." He tried to act as if it wasn't that important and watched as she went out of the door. This couldn't keep happening—these interruptions, he would tell her before the day was over, he couldn't wait anymore.

"Daddy!" He heard her shout happily from up where he was. So her father was finally home, that was exactly what he felt she needed. She needed her father, a family figure just to reassure her that she has family that cares. After a few minutes he figured he should go down and say hi. He got up from the bed and finally walked downstairs to see an extremely happy Peyton and Haley whom were both talking to Larry.

"Hey Rake boy! I didn't know you were here… I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see boys coming out of Peyton's room." He joked as he went over to shake Lucas' hand.

"Daddy!" Peyton cried, obviously embarrassed by his little joke.

"I'm just joking chicken." Larry laughed.

"It's good to see you again sir." Lucas finally spoke up.

"Rake boy please just call me Larry."

"I'm never gonna live that name down am I?" Lucas laughed slightly.

"Afraid not. So did you come by to visit or are you living here, too?" He joked and they all started laughing.

"No—I was just visiting." Larry nodded and watched as Peyton and Haley disappeared into the kitchen.

"Listen Lucas," He preceded to take Lucas to the side, "Peyton told me about what happened to your father… and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Lucas nodded; he should've known Peyton would tell him about what happened and surprisingly he wasn't angry with her at all.

"It's all right." Now he could finally say those words and mean it.

Larry nodded sympathetically, "If you ever need to talk or anything while I'm here this week you can just stop by."

"Sure." He didn't really feel comfortable talking about Dan's death right now. He was at peace with it, but talking about it was another thing.

He looked down at his watch and realized that he was supposed to go help out at the café and if he didn't leave now not only would he be late, but he would be grounded, too. He let out a sigh. As much as he wanted to stay and hear some more embarrassing stories about Peyton when she was younger, courtesy of her dad, he really had to get going.

"I have to go help out at the café, so I'm going to go… tell Peyton and Haley I said I'll see them tomorrow?"

"Sure." Larry said as he watched Lucas head towards the door.

"Hey Lucas," He called out right before he went out the door, "Say hello to your mom for me."

Hours later Peyton found herself on Lucas' doorstep. She stood in front of the door waiting for someone to come out, this time she knocked and used the front door, instead. She waited a while until Karen finally opened the door.

"Peyton, how are you? Come on in." She greeted warmly as she opened the door wider for Peyton to come in.

"I'm fine." She said as she walked into the house.

"So Lucas tells me your father's back in town." Karen watched as Peyton practically lit up at the very mention of her father being here.

"Yeah he is. He just came in this afternoon."

"That's great. How long is he staying?"

"For about a week."

"Good." Karen was happy for her. She knew how much Peyton needed an adult figure in her life and at times Karen would opt to be that adult figure, but she knew no one could replace her father.

"Well if you're looking for Brooke she just left. She's at some party and if she's not back in two hours she'll be grounded, so—"

"I'm not here for Brooke—I'm here for Lucas." Peyton spoke up to keep herself from laughing at the thought of Brooke being grounded. Karen was really whipping Brooke into a shape—in a good way, of course.

"Oh… well he's in the bathroom. He should be out in a few."

"Okay." She nodded.

"You know Peyton you've been there for Lucas a lot—especially lately with everything that happened and I just wanted to thank you for that." She took the opportunity to speak up, maybe get some insight on Peyton's feelings for her son.

"It's no problem, really. I'm just returning the favor."

"Oh—"

"Hey." They both looked over to see Lucas, who was now coming towards them.

"Hey." Peyton suddenly brightened up and Karen saw this.

"You up for a walk?" She asked and Lucas nodded as he looked at his mom.

"Sure go ahead, just be home be in two hours." Karen smiled knowingly as she watched them head to the door.

"Oh and Peyton, tell your father I said hi." She said before they went out the door.

"Well that was weird." Lucas said once they were about a few blocks away from his house.

"What?"

"My mom told you to tell your father she said hi… that was the same thing your dad told me to tell my mom before I left your house earlier." They both looked at each other and started laughing.

"Maybe my dad likes your mom." She joked.

"I think my mom likes your dad." Lucas joked.

"No way… your mom's with Andy." Peyton rolled her eyes at him. The last time Larry had been in town he was flirting with Karen, which was strange, but not entirely wrong.

"They're on a break—and besides does it really matter anyway?"

Peyton laughed, "Why are you supporting this? You do realize if they ever started dating and then eventually get married we'd be like sort of related."

"Ew." They both said simultaneously and shook of the thought of that.

"Okay we need a change of subject."

"Definitely." She agreed.

"So while we're on the subject of your dad, shouldn't you two be somewhere hanging out or something?"

"Yeah… we should, but he's tired so I let him rest. We'll have tomorrow or the weekend to do stuff."

"And Haley?"

"Haley's out finishing her shift at the café. So I just figured that I'd come and bother you."

"I'm flattered." He said sarcastically.

"You should be." She retorted.

"Good one."

"Luke do you think we're boring?"

"What?" Her question caught him off guard as they stopped since they reached the docks.

"We're seniors. This is supposed to be the craziest year of our lives, we're supposed to be spontaneous, or out having fun, and going to parties, committing felonies…"

"What?" He laughed at her last suggestion.

"You know what I mean."

"No I don't think we're boring—responsible maybe, but not boring."

She nodded in agreement, "I guess."

"Do you want to dance?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

"What?"

"Do you want to dance?" He repeated as he held out his hand.

"You're crazy."

"You said it yourself… we're seniors, we should be going crazy."

"Yeah… but I meant normal crazy things—not this." She thought he would use her words against her, like he always would, and she was right.

"C'mon Peyt, you know you want to." He practically pleaded.

"Fine." She laughed a little as she rolled her eyes and accepted his hand.

They both started swaying to the nonexistent music, their eyes never leaving each other. They were both captivated by each other's deep stare. They had never danced before, so this being a first was nice.

"Well Lucas I thought both of the Scott brothers were horrible dancers, but you just exceeded my expectations." She spoke, clearing up the silence that was between them. Although she didn't want to admit it she was glad that he thought of this, dancing on the docks with nothing but the night sky above them. She wasn't one to believe in these things, but she would say this moment was almost perfect.

"What made you think that?"

"Nathan. Great guy, but he's a horrible dancer."

Lucas starting laughing as he pictured Nathan stepping all over Peyton's feet.

"You wouldn't think this was so funny if you were the once dancing with him." It was now Peyton's turned to laugh.

"So is this crazy enough for you?"

"Not as good as committing a felony, but it's certainly up there." She smiled at him, happy that he suggested this, because being in his arms never felt so good.

"Good." He couldn't help but smile as he looked into her green eyes.

"So you left kind of early today… what happened?"

"Your dad didn't tell you?" She shook her head.

"I had to go work at the café."

"Oh, so are you coming by tomorrow?"

"I guess—if my mom doesn't need any help at the café then I'll stop by."

"Okay." And once again they went back to their comfortable silence.

"Peyton there's something I really need to tell you." He was going to do it this time. His cell phone was back home, there was no one else here, Haley was working, Brooke was at a party, and her dad was resting. He was sure there wouldn't be any interruptions this time… and if there would be he would just tell her anyway.

"Is this the same thing you had to tell me earlier?" She asked as they stopped moving, but his hands were still placed comfortably on her waist.

"Yeah."

"Well go ahead." She said softly, suddenly fearing what he was going to say. She didn't like the serious tone of voice he held.

"We've spent a lot of time together, Peyton. We spent a whole summer together rebuilding our friendship… we're closer than we've ever been now and I don't think I could hide this anymore—"

"Lucas what are you saying?" She asked, growing uneasy with each word he uttered.

"The time we spent last summer was amazing and throughout the time we spent together I started to feel something more than just friendship for you. I don't know when it happened, but I know that's how I feel. I can't keep on just being your friend; it's getting to be too hard."

She felt herself become emotional as tears filled her eyes, but she didn't want to cry. She had waited so long for this moment and now it was finally here.

"Lucas—"

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm in love you Peyt." He whispered softly. He had finally did it; he told her how he felt. He just hoped she felt the same way he did.

His hands finally left her waist and were now placed on both sides of her face. Everything was happening so fast, yet their movements were going by slowly. He leaned in slowly, making sure if what he was about to do would be okay. She felt like a deer caught in headlights as his face came closer to hers. She was scared, but she couldn't remember wanting anything so badly in her life, so she closed her eyes and let it all happen. They both felt as if it was the greatest feeling in the world as they kissed; it was gentle, yet passionate.

He released everything he had felt for her in the one kiss and was relieved when he felt her respond. This was it. There was no turning back now atleast not for him.

"Oh wow." She whispered raggedly as they reluctantly broke their contact.

"Yeah, wow," Lucas, replied softly, smiling at her as his thumb absent-mindedly caressed her cheek. He leaned in for another kiss and Peyton was eager to respond before she realized what she was doing.

"Lucas." She moved her head away from his and pulled away from him.

"What's wrong?"

She looked into his now confused eyes and felt tears slide out of her own. She was a mess.

"I—I can't." She forced herself to say as she stepped back.

"Peyton it's okay—" He tried to get through to her not wanting her to get scared and run away.

"No… I'm sorry." She brung her hand up to her mouth as she continued to cry. She couldn't do this. The one thing that she had wanted, she couldn't do. Sometimes she just didn't understand herself.

"Peyt—"

"I'm sorry, Lucas." She kept on saying repeatedly as she backed away from him.

"Don't do this." He pleaded with her. He watched helplessly as she began to walk away. He knew going after he was the wrong thing to do right now. He blew it, he messed everything up. He thought she wanted the same things he did and when he felt her kiss him back he was sure of it, but he was wrong. He was so very wrong.

So finally Lucas told Peyton how he felt! Of course it all blew up in his face, but atleast she knows now. So where do they go from here?Well I can't reallysay, but you guys probably won't be disappointed like you probably were when you got to the end of this chapter.Maybe someone could knock into Peyton's head or maybe another "tragedy" will bring them together. Talk is next…