Hey guys! Chapter 5 is up! Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review.

Cristy

Chapter 5: Dreams Of An Uncertain Future

In an hour span Lucas had already finished shopping and was getting ready to exit the parking lot when he got yet another call on his phone. This time he was sure he wasn't going to get away so easily, Jon would be mad and he was going to be put through hell for bailing on him. But yet another surprise this day brought, the name that flashed was Haley's. He was hesitant to pick it up at first, assuming that Haley might want to talk about him and Nathan but at the last minute he decided to answer the call.

"Before you start talking I want to warn you, if I hear Nathan's name come up once in this entire conversation, I'm hanging up."

"Well good morning to you too. Oh yes, I'm doing fine. Thank you for asking. And I'm not calling to talk about the unmentionable. I was just calling you to personally invite you to our anniversary next week. I talked to Peyton last night and she said she wasn't sure you'd say yes."

"Haley I got work, Peyton has class, its…"

"Over the weekend. Lucas we used to be so tight and now you are making up flimsy excuses so you can get out of coming to my marriage anniversary party. What ever happened to us?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

"Okay I can tell where this is going." Haley said making a pause. "You know what this is too important to talk over the phone."

"Yeah, that's the second time I've heard that today" Lucas mumbled to himself.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing important. Don't worry about it"

"Lucas our friendship does mean a lot to me. Maybe even more than you think. So why don't you come down here and we'll talk about it during some time in the weekend? I want us to be friends again. Remember back in Junior High, when it was just you and me? I want us to be those persons again."

"Unfortunately Haley that's impossible because you have Nathan and many new friends and I have Peyton and new friends too. So as you can see it's not just you and me anymore. But about the weekend, I'll think about it and I'll try to see if we can make it. But I'm not promising you anything so don't get your hopes up just yet."

"I'm glad Peyton was wrong. She said that as soon as you heard about the whole thing you were going to give a final and rotund no."

"Well she wasn't wrong because I did give a final and rotund no." Lucas thought.

"But even though you haven't said yes I'm happy that you'll at least think about it." as Haley was talking Lucas heard Nathan's voice sound in the background and he immediately wanted the call to end. He didn't need to do be thinking about this right now.

"Yeah, look Hales I'm in the middle of something important right now. Can I get back to you with this?"

"Sure. You-know-who just got home anyways so I have to go too. Bye Lucas, and I just want you to know that it would mean the world to me and Nathan if you came."

"Bye Hales." And he ended the call.

During his whole conversation with Haley, Lucas had been driving towards the flower store to get a massive amount of roses in order to fill the house with petals. His stay there was brief. He bought 3 dozen red roses, 3 dozen white roses and 3 dozen yellow roses. Only one more place to go, the department store. He needed a huge amount of candles for what he was planning to do; probably around a hundred. He got off and bought all the candles they had that would adjust to his necessities, paid, and left. Now with all the shopping done all he had to do was set up.

Back at the house, Peyton turned in bed only to find Lucas's spot in bed cold and empty. Instead of his body she found a note.

Morning Sleepy Head,

I wish last night was as amazing for you as it was for me. I hope you slept well and dreamt of me all night, because I sure did. I went out to shop for some things. By the time you read this I'll probably be getting back. Whatever you do don't leave our room, that's an order. If you come out it will spoil the surprise, so amuse yourself for a couple of minutes, could be hours because it might take a while till I have everything ready, but don't worry I promise it will be worth the wait. By the way I just want you to know that I'm doing all of this to show you how much you mean to me and to remind you how much I love you.

Kisses.

Luke

After reading the note she found herself smiling and reliving every single detail of the previous night. She jumped off the bed, she had to be ready. She needed to pick out the perfect outfit; she needed to look great by the time he came home, and by what the note said she wouldn't have much time.

By the time Lucas was back it was almost 10:30, he had to set up everything, and he had to do it fast. He knew Peyton wasn't the most patient person and she would soon get curious. He dropped the bags in the living room and went to check on her. He opened the door and saw she was no longer in bed, obviously she had read the note.

"Peyt, where are you?" he said while walking into their room.

"Hey you" she said opening the bathroom door. Peyton had just gotten out of the shower; her body was still pretty wet and wrapped in a tiny towel. Lucas's jaw dropped as he saw her emerge from the bathroom. No matter how many times he saw her it still felt like the first one. He couldn't help it, he was still amazed by her beauty.

"So Luke, what's this all about? You leaving really early and secretly sneaking around. What is my boyfriend up to?"

"Get ready and ask no questions because there is nothing coming out of these lips until I have everything ready." While he said this she started to get come towards him, and by the time he was done talking they were only a few inches away.

"Do you think bribery would work in this case?"

"I don't know try me? Maybe I'm weaker than what we both think" right after he said this she started kissing him deeply. Lucas was driven crazy by her fresh, sweet smell and moments later Luke placed Peyton on the bed falling on top of her. But he suddenly remembered he had things to do and ended the kiss.

"Woa."

"So did it work? Are you going to tell me what it is you're preparing?"

Lucas smiled and moved towards the door. He showed every intention to tell her, but as he turned the door knob he swiftly turned around and said "Get ready and you may find out in a little while."

"Luke" she said starting to pout "how can you do that to me? At least give me a clue. Tiny whittle clue" she said the last phrase imitating a baby's voice.

"Ahhhhhh, that's so cute!" he said walking towards her, and finally giving her a tender peck "But no. You will definitely be rewarded for you patience." He said while walking towards the door again.

"Lucas Scott, I hate you!"

"Big deal, I love you enough for both of us." He said before closing the door after him.

In about an hour everything was ready. Food was cooked, candles were lit, and rose petals were laying everywhere. Everything was ready for her now.

Lucas entered their room and found her sitting on her desk drawing. She was so into her art that she didn't even acknowledge him. When he got near enough he saw that the drawing was divided in two frames; the first one was of the two of them like they were just moments ago, hugging and kissing, and the second one was the dialogue they had right after that. She was standing with a bubble on top of her head that read "Lucas Scott I hate you." He had the door knob in his hands and a bubble on top of his head that read "Big deal, I love you enough for both of us."

"Boo" he whispered in her ear while poking his finger on her sides. She immediately jumped from her seat and scribbled all over the drawing.

"You're a jackass! You scared me."

"Nu uh, really!" he said with a sarcastic look on his face. "I kinda think that was the whole point"

"You know I could've hurt you. I'm very dangerous. Plus, I really liked that one, and now it's ruined"

"Yeah right! You wouldn't hurt a fly." He said while dragging her out of the room and heading towards the hall. "Close your eyes." He whispered in her ear while holding both of her hands in his.

"What you're going to throw me down the stairs."

"Now that you say it, it doesn't sound like such a bad idea. If you're dead I can fulfill my biggest dream; I can become a pimp."

"Yeah, like you're not one already." She said while forcing him to give her a hug. "But I know I'm your favorite biatch."

"How did you know? Am I that obvious?" he said while she nodded and pecked him on the lips. "C'mon Peyton, food's getting cold. Close your eyes now." He said while putting his hands over her eyes.

"Whatever"

He guided her slowly down the hall, and when he finally got to the end of it he put his hands on her waist as she slowly opened her eyes trying to adjust them to the dimly candle light living room.

As soon as he left Peyton's room a while ago, Lucas started working pretty hard to get everything ready quickly. First thing he did was put the roses in a vase to prevent them to get wilted until the time he had to remove all the petals. Then he put in place all 103, different sized, colored and scented candles, he had bought. When that part was ready he started to do the dirty job; he started to cook. He fried bacon, made French toasts; he did pancakes, scrambled eggs, and washed and took the stems of the strawberries. When all in the kitchen was ready, he started to set up the table. When he had everything cooked and served, he started to light up all the candles. There was a delicious mixed smell of vanilla, lavender, strawberries, cucumber, and lilacs from all the different types of candles that were lit in the living room. To make the ambient more romantic Lucas closed all the curtains and drapes from any window that could let light in the room.

Peyton's jaw dropped as soon as she saw this and she immediately turned around and wrapped her arms around Lucas's neck and rested her forehead over his. "Thank You" she mumbled quietly as he started to kiss her.

"Peyt, I knew from day one that I saw you that we were meant to be together. You're the woman that I love and want to spend the rest of my life with." As he said this he started to get on one knee. As soon as he did this Peyton felt her knees getting week and the back of her eyes starting to fill with tears. "Peyton you're the woman I want to grow old with and you're the one that I want to be the mother of my kids."

"Lucas, I…"

"No, Peyt let me finish" he said while placing a finger over her lips "I just want you to know that everything I tell you, I mean it. I want you to know that you're not wasting your time with me. I want to make our relationship formal and serious for us and for the world. I love you and nothing's going to change that, ever. I was walking through the mall a couple of weeks ago, and I passed through a jewelry store; I don't know what made me stop and go inside, but I did and as soon as I saw this ring it reminded me of you and me and what we have, it was like I had a connection with it. So I went ahead and bought it, I've been carrying it around with me for weeks. I wasn't really planning on giving it to you till graduation, but after all that happened yesterday, but especially last night and how it made me feel I had no doubt in my mind that I needed you to know how much you meant to me. It was like last night I fell in love with you all over again. And I just couldn't keep it to myself any longer. I needed you to know." By the time he said this Lucas himself had teary eyes. "So what do you say Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, would you like to spend the rest of your life with me, have a bunch of little Scotts to have 'em running around the house and after all that grow old together?" he said while making a pause and watching her straight into the eyes "Peyt, would you like to be my wife?"

By the time he was done Peyton had a river of tears flowing down her cheeks. She had a big lump on her throat, she couldn't speak. Had Lucas really just asked her to marry him? Was she dreaming? And if she was, how long would this dream last? She saw him still kneeling and looking dead straight at her, knowing that he was expecting an answer she said:

"Luke, I love you. You know that right? And I'm really flattered you went through all this trouble for me but I really don't know what to say"

"Then say yes Peyton, say yes. We love each other and that's all we need."

She just looked away. Deep down he was a little disappointed that she hadn't said yes right away, even though he was trying to hide it. That had made him think that maybe she didn't feel things were as great and perfect as he did. Maybe she wasn't really in love with him. Lucas tried to quickly change the topic, trying not to make her feel pressured into giving an answer she wasn't sure of.

"Peyt, look you don't have to answer right now, you can think about it. Take all the time you need; I'm not going anywhere. I don't want you to feel pressured into this or anything of that sort. OK?" he said as he got up, wiped away her tears, and kissed her forehead. "Why don't we just go eat, its getting cold" He started to walk towards the dinning room where everything was ready for them to sit and have a quiet and peaceful meal. But unexpectedly Peyton pulled him towards her and kissed him.

"Yes" she said as she broke the kiss and parted from him a couple of millimeters.

"What?" Luke said with a surprised look on his face.

"Yes, I do want to marry you, and grow old together and have a bunch of little Lucas Scotts running around our house" immediately after she said this Lucas picked her up and started to spin her around the living room, but pretty soon lost his balance after spinning a bunch of times causing them to fall and burst out in a fit of laughs. After a couple of minutes eventually the laughter stopped and Peyton turned to face Lucas.

"Can you believe we just got engaged?" Lucas shook his head no. "Broody, a question just popped in my mind. What were you going to do if I said no?"

"Nothing. I was pretty damn sure you were going to say yes." He said before kissing her "Now lets go. I'm pretty sure that by now the food is definitely cold." They both laughed. Lucas and Peyton walked into the dinning room. Peyton was amazed when she saw all the candles and petals on the floor surrounding a picnic sheet and basket that where carefully set up on the floor.

"It's beautiful."

"I know. It has to be. I did it, remember?"

"God, am I going to have to put up with your cockiness for the rest of my life?"

"Looks like it."

"I just wish our kids aren't as half as cocky as you are. I have enough with you, I don't need any more."

"Oh, Shut Up!"

"Geez, I just imagine how things would be if you were any good in bed." When he heard this he put a shock face on.

"That was low."

"Truth hurts, face it."

"Truth hurts, face it" Lucas said mocking Peyton's words.

"Hey, I just remembered we forgot something." He said as Peyton stared at him with a confused stare. "You have to wear this to make things official." He said while taking the ring out of his pocket and slipping it into her finger.

"I love you" they both said after they kissed.

"Now lets eat please. I'm starving. And this better be good because I'm warning you, I'm not lifting a finger after we get married. You better get used to the idea of being my maid." She said.

"Ha ha, funny. I wish our kids don't get your sense of humor because if they do…" he was interrupted by a smack to the back of the head. "Ouch! That hurt."

"Really?" She said as she dipped a strawberry in chocolate syrup. "I kinda think that was the point but I could be confused you know." She said right before taking a bite of the strawberry. "Ohhh, this is great. Here try one." Peyton said as she started feeding him.

And that's how they spent the rest of their morning and early part of their evening; with them feeding each other, kissing and cuddling and talking about basically anything and everything. They talked about their future together, about their dreams and plans. They also talked about the past and what obstacles they had to overcome to be where they are now. But little did they know that all those plans and dreams might not turn out quite as they hoped.