Title: Will You Fall for Me?
Show: One Tree Hill
Pairing: Peyton/Jake
Chapter Eleven: Words
"Hey."Brooke stiffened at the familiar voice. "What do you want, Lucas?"
"Hey, woah," Lucas waved his hands in front of him, "white flag?"
"And that's supposed to mean what?" she asked a thin layer of disdain laced her words.
It was true, it was unfair to keep Lucas in the doghouse after she had forgiven Peyton, but it was her prerogative.
"Look, I don't want to fight." He knew they had to have it out one way or another. They had fought in the heat of the moment, but now that a couple of months had past, he thought that cooler heads might prevail and perhaps a semblance of a friendship could be built.
"Then what are you doing here?" Brooke grabbed a loose shirt from the piles of clothing surrounding her. "I'm pretty sure you didn't come to help me organize the clothing for the charity drive," she said gravely. "So I don't see the point of you being here at all.
"As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I'm here for." Lucas nodded and stooped down to pick up a handful of clothes and placed them on a clear space on the table where Brooke was also folding things.
"You know you're pathetic." The words did not have the same venom behind them. Roling her eyes, she knew that the clothing drive was the last thing on his mind. Brooke glared at him in disbelief at the lengths he would go. "I don't know why you care if I forgive you or not," she said dismissively. "It doesn't even matter. I've moved on."
Lucas knew that was a lie. The anger and nasty words she spoke volumes to how hurt she still was. He remained silent, choosing not to respond to her last remark. Instead Lucas decided on a safer subject. "So who would have thought Jake and Peyton, huh?"
Her eyes flickered at his decision to dispute her obvious feelings about him. Brooke decided it would be best to play along. "I could see it a mile away," she said haughtily. "Anyone could see that Jake and Peyton were made for each other." Under dark lashes, she studied his reaction - whether he flinched or cringed at the notion of Jake and Peyton as soulmates of some kind.
Nothing.
"They look happy," Lucas said nodding casually. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her almost relax. "I think it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."
This caught her attention . Snapping her head up, Brooke studied Lucas' face. Did he mean it? And why was he telling her this? It seemed as if he was trying to let her know he was all right with it all. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn she even saw...something..."Nice guys are hard to find," she said darkly, as she spun around to place her neatly folded clothing in a near by box.
You can't do this to yourself again.
"They're not...really."
Brooke spun around on her heel and stared at Lucas. "Are you really saying that to me?" she exclaimed irritably. Shaking her head, she began to grab the unfolded clothes and stuff them in unmarked boxes. "Fool me once, shame on you." She turned and jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "Fool me twice, shame on me." With that she side stepped the large pile of boxes and strode out of the gymnasium.
Lucas sighed. He thought they were making progress. But he knew to Brooke, all he was to her was words.
His actions would need to prove to her that he meant those words.
--
"Do you really know what you're doing?" Peyton hovered slightly over Jake's left shoulder as he poured cans of tomato soup over the chicken breasts, which had been laid in a shallow casserole dish.
She had been quite surprised to see Jake standing on her doorstep with grocery bags in hand, as well as a single white rose. He had been dropping vague hints for the past week during school about their highly anticipated date. Peyton wasn't quite sure what to expect.
"I thought you might like a home cooked meal." That was all he said.
Peyton had never had a guy cook for her. As she had watched Jake pull out all sorts of fresh ingredients, she studied his lean arms that pulled out each ingredient with ease and then gently place them neatly on the kitchen counter. She let her mind wander slightly down to his trim, but muscular torso that was clothed in a loose-knit cotton t-shirt. At that time, her mind flashed back to an indistinct time when she was a child in the same kitchen, and watching her parents take upon themselves the mundane chore of putting away the groceries. She felt safe and cared for - just as she did at that moment.
"Hey, stop questioning the chef," Jake chided, glancing over his shoulder, as he dropped breadcrumbs into the casserole dish. "You're supposed to tell me how much you know you're going to love this. How you trust the chef implicitly."
Peyton slipped her arms around his waist and looked up innocently at him. "I do," she hedged, glancing back at his concoction. "I just don't know if I trust the ingredients." Pushing up on tip toe, she kissed him on the cheek.
"I'll stop critiquing the chef."
"Good."
"Well, can I help with anything," Peyton asked, glancing around at the ingredients for a salad and a couple of side-dishes.
"No, I'm supposed to make dinner for you, remember?"
"Well there's nothing wrong with a little bit of help, is there?" Gleaning a baby carrot from one of the bags, she popped it into her mouth.
"Well I can see you're going to be trouble," smirked Jake, pointing at her with a wooden spoon.
"Who me?" Peyton could not keep the smile off her face.
Turning from his task, Jake pulled her to him. He was inches from her and she found herself unable to breathe; his beautiful, soulful eyes seemed to see right through her.
She couldn't describe the connection she felt to him, other than to say it was powerful and filled her with a sense of calmness, yet a sense of chaos. Never had she felt such a pull to another person. It felt like they were moving at lightening speed; the emotions were so intense and raw when she was with him. She could tell him anything and everything.
"Yes you," he whispered, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Ja-" His soft lips cut off her words, catching them in a sweet kiss. And before she knew it, it was over. Jake had turned his attention back to his creation.
"However," he said, slightly out of breath. "If you keep distracting me from this meal, I just might have to put you to work."
Regaining some of her composure, Peyton turned to her accuser. "I wasn't the one who kissed me," she said, proclaiming her innocence. "I seem to remember your hands pulling me into that kiss."
He turned around and looked her up and down. It wasn't the kind of lustful raking that she was used to from the entire population of her class; instead, it was more of sensual longing she saw in his eyes. It gave her the shivers. Who was distracting who?
"But if you're in the room I'm going to be distracted Peyton."
She felt the corners of her lips twitch. "You're full of it, you know that Jagielski?" Peyton eyed him closely. "Since when did you become the smooth talker?" she asked, feeling the blood rush to her face.
He made her feel special. It was a mixture of respect and acceptance. He knew the heart of her and didn't hate her for the darkness and uncertainty that resided there.
"I'm not a smooth talker," Jake protested. "I'm just motivated to say these things aloud now."
Peyton narrowed her eyes, curious as to what he meant. "Really?"
"I guess I didn't have the words until I met you."
-
A/N
Yeah yeah, I know. Bad place to end it. I was going to have more, but decided I wanted to end on this note. I really love it when I find a great ending...