Chapter Four:
When your past comes back to face you

"LUCAS!"

Haley yelled as she banged on his bedroom door. She hit the door repeatedly until her best friend opened the door. "What the hell, Hales it's 6:30 in the morning," he said as he leaned against his dresser. He yawned and looked down at her. "What's wrong?"

"What the hell is going on between you and Peyton?"

Haley hardly ever cussed, the only time she really ever did was when she was angry or she felt she had been lied to. Lucas looked surprised to see his friend so angry and he laughed at her inquisition. "What are you talking about?" He asked. He faced his dresser and pulled out his jeans and tee shirt he was going to wear that day.

"Don't play games with me Lucas. What is going on?"

Lucas shook his head. "So, Brooke let you in on all her insecurities…" Lucas said angrily. It was amazing to him, after how much he had loved Brooke- that she could still doubt him.

"Cut the crap," Haley said, cutting him off. Lucas looked surprised that his friend was speaking to him like that and she continued. "This isn't about some gut instinct Lucas. This is about you and Peyton, cuddled on her couch." She sat down on her bed, her arms still crossed. She was angry and she wanted him to know that there was no way she was letting this slide. Not again.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about Haley?"

"Brooke saw you."

The anger from Lucas's face disappeared and his draw dropped. "I don't understand… how did she…" He couldn't form the words. How could she have seen that?

"That's not the point Luke. How could you let this happen?"

Lucas looked down at the floor, embarrassed that he had been caught in what could have looked like an intimate position. In truth, it was harmless. His feelings for Peyton were nothing more than platonic and he knew her feelings were the same. They had been comforting each other over the loss of her mother and his uncle, of Jake and of Brooke.

"Look Haley," Lucas said as he walked towards her. He took a seat on the bed beside her and shook his head. "I don't know what Brooke thought she saw, but nothing happened between Peyton and I." He waited a moment and then repeated his last word. Lucas didn't want Haley thinking anything bad of him, ever again.

Haley's straight face disappeared as she flung her arms around Lucas. "I'm so sorry Lucas, I didn't want to believe it…but when Brooke said she saw you two laying there- I thought I had to. You have to tell Brooke."

"I don't have to tell Brooke anything."

She didn't know what to say. If he didn't want to tell Brooke, then she would but she knew it would be better coming from him. Brooke had been so insecure over everything and she believed that her worst fears had been confirmed. "She deserves to know Lucas. If you don't tell her I will."

He looked at her and shook his head. "You don't understand Haley," he sighed. Lucas put his head in his hands. "Your relationship with Nathan doesn't have any of these problems…"

"Because our relationship has been so easy," she said sarcastically.

Lucas looked at her briefly before standing up. "It's never been easy. But neither of you ever really lied to each other. I've been keeping things from her that I never should have. To go back and admit that, would kill our relationship."

"You're talking about your HCM?"

Lucas nodded his head. "Among other things."

Haley raised an eyebrow. "What else is there Lucas? You're my best friend. I thought we told each other everything?" She questioned. Lucas nodded his head and bent down in front of her. He stared up at his friend and she could see the tears in his eyes that had yet to fall.

"It's my secret to tell. And I won't do it to that person."

She wondered for a moment, who he was keeping the secret for and knew instantly that it was Peyton. There was no one else it could be. What could Peyton be keeping from Brooke? "But you're hurting Brooke," she reminded him.

"Like she hurt me?" He shook his head as he stood up. "She's left me Haley. For the second time. The first was worse enough- knowing that I had just told her how I felt and she didn't even have the heart to tell me anything. But when she left this last time… something changed. I changed."

Haley looked around his messy room. "For the better Luke?" She questioned. Haley had known the answer, her best friend was falling apart. He was so tired and had begun to be losing weight due to stress. Lucas's brave front was good enough to fool his mother and brother and some of his friends, but Haley had known better. It was killing him.

"It doesn't matter anymore Haley."

Haley cut him off as fast as she could. "But Luke…"

"No Haley. It's over. Brooke and I are over."

……

Peyton jumped up off of her bed. Had that been a dream? She glanced around the room, waiting for proof that Jake had really been there the night before and found nothing. She sunk back into her covers and pulled them over her head. The phone rang, startling her. "Hello?" she answered.

"Are you ready for breakfast?" Lucas asked.

Peyton smiled from her end of the line and nodded her head. "Breakfast sounds great. Pick me up in twenty?" She asked. He agreed and the two friends hung up the phone. She made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face when the doorbell rang.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she said as she jogged down the stairs. She was wearing only a tank top and her boxer pj's, but she didn't care. Opening the door, her heart caught in her chest. "Jake!"

Peyton threw her arms around him and brought him towards her, happy in knowing that perhaps the night before hadn't been a dream. "I'm so glad you're back. Where's Jenny?" She said looking over his shoulder. The events of last night came back to her and she remembered him leaving obviously bothered by something.

"Jenny's at Haley's apartment. With Brooke."

Peyton gave him a weird look and shook her head. She let him into her house and he shut the door behind him. "Why is she with Brooke?" Peyton questioned. Jake couldn't form any words. It had been a year since he had seen her, and she still took his breath away. Gone were the curls that formed around her face, instead shoulder length blonde hair cupped her face. But she was still his Peyton. The girl he had loved more than anyone.

"Brooke's the reason I came back."

She sat down on the steps and shook her head. "Okay… I'm confused."

"Brooke ran into me when she was visiting California. We had dinner a couple of times and before I knew it she was convincing me to come home," he explained. She nodded his head, glad there was nothing more to it than that.

"To you."

The words had surprised her so much that she hadn't noticed the front door open, or the fact that Lucas had managed to slip into the house. He looked at Peyton and then towards Jake. "Hey Jake, what's up man?" He said, pulling Jake into a hug before he had a chance to object.

The tension between the two was visible enough for Peyton to see, so she turned towards the both of them. "Why don't we go to Karen's? We could all catch up there?" She suggested.

"That's great actually," Jake said with a smile. "Cause I told Brooke and Haley to meet me there." He turned towards Lucas and raised an eyebrow. "You up for it man?"

Lucas nodded his head and Peyton turned towards the stairs. "I'll be down in a few minutes." Lucas and Jake both watched as their former girlfriend walked up the stairs. When she was out of sight, Jake turned towards Lucas.

"I'm sorry about Keith," he offered. Lucas nodded his head and mumbled a thank you before telling Jake it was good to have him back home. "It's good to be home. Seems like I missed a lot though." Jake was more talking about Lucas and his growing relationship with Peyton, but Lucas was once again oblivious to it. He thought that Jake simply meant the death of Keith and then the suicide of Jimmy.

Peyton had changed into a pair of jeans, a tee shirt and her jean jacket and had immerged from the upstairs minutes later. Lucas and Jake both looked relieved to see her and they made their way to their cars. Lucas to his and Jake to his and Peyton stood in the center of her yard. Who was she supposed to go with?

As if he was reading her mind, Jake yelled towards her. "Go with Lucas okay? I have to stop and get gas. I'll be there after that." She sent him a small smile and nodded her head as she joined Lucas in his car.

After several minutes of silence, Lucas turned to her. "So, how does it feel?" He asked, concerned for his friend. Peyton had been through a lot this year and even more in her life. He just wanted her to be happy for once and with Jake here… perhaps she finally had that chance.

"It feels strange."

He laughed at her response and as they pulled into the parking lot of his mother's café, he turned to her. "You know how you were telling me about what Ellie said? Fighting for love? Maybe now's your chance."

She nodded her head sadly and looked away from him. What if she had already lost her chance? It was obvious to her that Lucas had thought of her as just a friend. And when Jake had left, she had buried her feelings for him away. But with Jake back in town, maybe that was who she was supposed to be with.

"Luke- there's something that I have to tell you."

He nodded his head and stared at her. For a brief moment, he remembered just how much he had once loved her. There had been an ache inside of him for so long that needed completion and when she looked at him, he felt as if she was that part.

But she hadn't been, at least he didn't think she was. No, he was sure she wasn't the part of himself that was missing. He found it inside of Brooke. And despite their failed relationship, there was no way he could go back to where it all began. "What is it Peyton?" He questioned.

"I think…" Peyton looked down at her hands. She fought the tears in her eyes and pushed herself to do something she wasn't sure she should. "I think I'm still in love with you."

TBC.
Okay okay, I am going to get flames for that one right? Well, I think I deserve them. All of my Brucas fans are going to be like WTF, with all the LP I am doing right now. It's just that episode (3.16) brought a lot of old feelings to the surface that I think need to be adressed. Now having said that- THIS IS A BRUCAS STORY. So, I won't dissapoint any of you