As Peyton walked up to the small car garage she put her hands in her pockets and let out a long sigh, her stupid car had broken down again and she needed to go and pick it up. She knew Lucas worked here. It was weird now they were friends again but good weird. There weren't any more awkward silences or tension between them, they could both just relax.
She could hear the stereo playing through the gap in the doors as she walked into the garage before stopping in her tracks. Lucas was standing there, shirtless. She swallowed watching as he leant over and pulled on another shirt and she couldn't help but admire his physique even if he was a little thinner…
She quickly tried to look anywhere but at him as he turned around and flushed slightly.
"Oh hey." He said obviously embarrassed as he pulled his shirt down and turned to her. She smiled feebly.
"Um…my car was brought in, I was just checking up on it." She said tucking her hair behind her ears as she looked up at him. He nodded and smiled.
"Yeah, I think it's ready. Let me just get the…the forms." He said looking away awkwardly. He swallowed and reached for the clipboard on the desk. They were friends again so why did he feel so awkward?...Maybe because she just walked in on him changing? Because of their history?
Peyton watched as he glanced down at the forms, scanning through them and she sighed inwardly. So they were back where they started, awkward silences. Well, at least they weren't hostile ones. She couldn't exactly expect him to be a lively conversationalist, his wife had just died.
He frowned and felt in his pocket…looking on the desk.
"Have you seen a pen?" He said looking up.
Peyton glanced down at the untidy desk and spotted a ballpoint, reaching forward she placed her hand over it only to find Lucas' hand on top of hers, both having reached for the pen at the same time.
She looked up, meeting his eyes; his hand still on hers. She felt a slight shiver when his hand touched hers, looking into his blue eyes she felt a sudden connection. Clearing his throat and flushing with embarrassment he moved his hand and looked away.
He could feel color rising to his cheeks as he moved his hand away from hers. What was wrong with him? They were practically a walking cliché. He could feel his heart beating a little faster as he looked up into her eyes, she was smiling with embarrassment and holding the pen out to him. He took it gingerly and began signing the forms.
What was going on? Why couldn't they just hold up a normal conversation, the people that used to talk about absolutely anything for hours…She was the only person he could do that with apart from Callie but now he couldn't do it anymore…
Finishing up the forms he exhaled loudly and handed her the clipboard.
"If you um…just sign there then you can take her away now." He said not quite meeting her eyes. She nodded, scrawling her signature quickly and handing him the clipboard back.
"Thanks." She mumbled and he nodded.
He watched as he pulled her keys from her pocket, looking down at the car with a smile. He knew how much that car meant to her, her dad had bought it for her. Swallowing he looked away, he couldn't wait to go home…in a way he was glad he had something to do, something that kept his mind off things but at the same time he wished he could just hide away so he wouldn't have to face everyone.
She smiled back at him briefly before pulling out of the garage…he watched her drive off and he sighed. What was it with this girl?
XxxxX
Lucas sat at the counter of the café, looking down into the swirling black coffee in the mug in front of him. He didn't know how he felt anymore, know everything was out in the open. Peyton knew, Brooke knew and now probably the whole of Tree Hill knew. He just felt…empty. Before he had just felt so angry, upset, and lonely but now…it was like it had all gone away and now there was just emptiness, like a part of him was missing.
He heard the bell over the door go but he didn't look up, pre-occupied with sipping his coffee. Suddenly he felt a pair of hands close over his eyes.
"Guess who?" A familiar voice said causing him to break into a grin and turn around on his stool.
"Haley!" He said as she pulled him into a tight hug, knocking the air out of his lungs. Gasping slightly when she finally released him he shot a smile across at Nathan who was standing next to her.
"Hey bro." Nathan said pulling him into a short manly hug.
"How've you been?" Haley asked a concerned look crossing her face as she looked up at him. Lucas' smile faded slightly.
"Um…not great but I'm doing okay. Anyway, how was your…second honeymoon, anniversary vacation…thing? Whatever you were calling it anyway." He said eager to change the topic of conversation. Haley and Nathan smiled.
"It was great, the hotel was really nice and we had a really good time." Haley said with a smile. Nathan nodded, his arm around Haley's shoulder.
The door to the café opened again and Brooke and Peyton stepped in, both smiling and laughing. Haley looked across at Peyton then back at Lucas…
"So what's been going on since you got here?" She asked raising an eyebrow…
A/N Pointless crappy filler chapter, I know I know but the next chapter has ALOT of drama so make you sure you read and review for that, it's already up