Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read this story and reviewed it. I really appreciate it. This Chapter is pretty short, but I've been busy and wanted to give you something. Just to let you know…Brucas will be coming soon. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

"It was Only a Kiss"

"Where have you been?" Dan asked when Lucas walked into the house. He was sitting in the living room and watching some old videos of Nathan's games.

"I've been out with a friend," Lucas responded.

"Haley?" Dan asked and Lucas shook his head. "What other friends do you have?"

"Her name's Peyton and she's my girlfriend."

Dan shook his head. "She can do you so much better, son…she's only going to hurt you."

Lucas was furious at Dan's comment. He should have known that Dan would say something to hurt him. "Yeah, we'll see," he drawled.

"I guess you like Nathan's left overs." Dan grinned as Lucas stormed out of the room, and then went back to watching his video. He had succeeded again at hurting Lucas, and he felt good about it.

Lucas stormed into his bedroom and slammed the door shut. He was so upset that he just wanted to hit something. Instead he found his pills and took two of them. Now he had to wait for the numbness to wash over.

He lay on his bed and as he waited for that feeling that he loved and thought about Dan's words. Nathan never treated Peyton right; that's why she hurt him. He would treat her like his queen, so she would have no reason to hurt him. He shook his head; Dan didn't know what he was talking about. Peyton cared about him, and he liked her right back.

Peyton was lying on her bed and working on one of her sketches. The sketch just happened to be of Lucas. She couldn't get his face out of her head, and she couldn't find the right color blue that matched his eyes, so she did the sketch using just her pencil. She was working on his mouth when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come on in, Lucas," she said. She put her sketch down expecting to see Lucas standing there, but gasped when she saw someone else. She jumped off her bed and ran into his open arms. "When did you come back, Jake?" she asked excitedly.

Jake Jagelski was the first guy that Peyton had ever opened her heart to. They had met at the end of their freshman year and became fast friends. Peyton loved spending time with Jake and his daughter Jenny. Their friendship blossomed into so much more and Jake became Peyton's first love. Peyton's world was shattered when Nikki, Jake's ex, returned to town and threatened to take Jenny away. Jake had no choice but to take his daughter and run; leaving Peyton behind and broken hearted. She had a relationship with Nathan, but it was nothing like the one she shared with Jake.

"I got in last night," Jake responded when they pulled free. Then he led her back to the bed, and the two of them sat down.

"Are you back for good?" she asked.

"That's the plan."

"Where's Jenny?"

"She's with my parents. I thought I'd give them some time to catch up…plus I had to see you."

Peyton pulled him into another hug. She held him tight in fear that he would leave again if she let him go. "I've missed you so much, Jake."

Jake took their reunion to the next level as he let his lips meet hers. Peyton felt herself melting as she remembered the softness in his lips. The kiss was long and passionate. Peyton closed her eyes, and was racked with guilt when she saw Lucas' image. She quickly pulled free from Jake.

"I can't do this," she said with tears in her eyes. "You left…and I moved on."

Jake was crushed by her admission, but he wasn't going to give up that easily. "You can't honestly tell me that that kiss meant nothing to you," he said.

There was a long pause and then Peyton spoke again. "You're right…I want to go to what we had, but I can't do that to Lucas. He's been through so much these last few weeks; I can't break his heart."

"What about your heart?" Jake pleaded. "Are you just going to ignore your feelings?"

"I have no choice," Peyton whispered. "Lucas can never find out about this. It was only a kiss and nothing more."

"Peyton…"

"You should go, Jake."

Jake didn't say anything as he rose to his feet and slowly walked out of the room. When he reached the doorway he stole another glance at the girl he loved. When he was gone Peyton hugged her pillow close and cried.

The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers.