Chapter Nine: You Can't Write Our Kind of Love

Wait a second. Pause. Rewind. Yeah, right there. Play. What just happened? Had Lucas actually asked me to marry him? At first, I thought that my ears had been decieving me, so I stayed quiet. Then, when I realized that I had been correct and not hard of hearing, I continued to stay silent, waiting for him to tell me that he was joking. That was a joke, right? Married..Yeah, okay. Our parents were getting married. Litterally. We couldn't just up and get married, could we?

I turned to look at him, my eyebrows threaded together in a mix of thought and confusion. When I saw Lucas was waiting for my answer, I shook my head, gently moving out of his grasp. I turned to face him, my jaw dropped open in shock. For some reason, I couldn't seem to form sentences. What the hell was going on? "Did you just--" I trailed off accusingly, not knowing what else I could possibly say right now.

Lucas nodded his head, his blue eyes staring into my green ones. I had never been able to look away from his intense gaze. It was almost as if, whenever he looked at me, I was under a spell. I still shook my head, my mouth still open but no words coming out. "That's crazy!" I finally objected, somehow managing to snap out of my daze.

Marriage? Come on now. How old were we again? Nevermind the fact that we were..No..ARE practically related. This was just totally Jerry Springer. I knew I should have just become a lesbian or..Something.

"Marry me, Peyton. They can't break us apart if we vow to spend the rest of our lives together." He repeated firmly, still staring deep into my eyes with that look on his face. I couldn't speak. I could barely even breathe. Not only was it crazy for two eighteen year olds to get married, but for us to get married while our parents were engaged was..Insane. For some reason beyond my control, though, I found myself getting lost in him. My eyes getting lost in his and my body getting lost in his touch.

"..Okay.." I practically whispered, nodding my head to confirm what I had just said. Alright, so I was engaged to my step-brother. For some reason, I couldn't see beyond the fact that I was marrying the man that I loved. Whatever else he was didn't matter. He was Lucas. The guy that I had fallen head over heels in love with. The guy who brought more drama to my life than a Spanish soap opera, but I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

For the first time in my life, I was going to be selfish. I was going to do something that I wanted to do even if it wasn't right for other people. "Let's go." I decided, standing up and pulling Lucas up with me. I saw the confusion wash over his face, but I chose not to explain. Instead, I began to walk towards the ladder, allowing myself to get down before waiting for him. Lucas eventually came down as well, still confused as hell.

"Peyton, wh--" He began to object, but I wasn't about to have any of it. Instead, I grabbed onto his arm and dragged him towards my black car, getting inside. Once Lucas was inside as well, I backed out of the parking lot and began driving towards the highway, hell bent on marrying him right at this moment. If I didn't do it now, I was going to lose my courage and then we'd never be able to be together. This needed to be done.

"Look, if we don't get married now, our parents are gonna get married first and then it'll just be...Wrong for us to be together. But, if we're married first, then things will change and it'll almost be like it'll be wrong for them to be together instead of us." I reasoned, talking faster and faster by the second. My mind was racing and I knew that I was acting like a lunatic but I couldn't help it. I wanted this. No, I needed this. I needed Lucas and, right now, this was my way of holding onto him for dear life.

I pulled into the City Hall and stared at the large white building, my heart practically pounding out of my chest. I turned my head to look at Lucas, noticing that he, as well, looked quite overwhelmed. I turned my whole body in my seat, grabbing onto his hands. "I wanna spend the rest of my life in your arms." I whispered, looking down at our hands. I felt Lucas's free hand come up and lift my chin ever so gently, causing me to smile.

"Well, that's good. Because I wanna hold you in my arms forever, too." He promised me as he leaned in and kissed my forehead. "You sure you want this, Peyt?" He questioned, smoothing my blonde hair down as he spoke. Any ounce of hesitation that I had was gone the mere second that I looked into his eyes. I nodded my head, smiling slightly.

"I'm positive." I whispered before leaning in and closing the space between our lips. Our lips met for a soft yet amazing kiss that simply confirmed everything that I'd known all along. I was doing the right thing. I knew damn well that I couldn't lose him and, by marrying him, I wouldn't.

After a long process of filling out paper work and proving that we were over the age of eighteen, Lucas and I were finally allowed in front of the judge. Everything was a blurr. Before I could even grasp what was going on, Lucas was looking deep into my eyes and saying his vows.

"I, Lucas, take you, Peyton, to be my wife. To have and to hold from this day forward for as long as we both shall live." He said, quite sure of himself.

I smiled and nodded my head, my heart leaping out of my chest. We were crazy and this was all so sudden. Was I ready for this? Yes, I was. And I had been since the moment that I laid eyes on him. "I, Peyton, take you, Lucas, to be my husband. To have and to hold from this day forward as long as we both shall live." I whispered tearfully, my smile only growing as the repeated words left my mouth.

So, it wasn't my dream wedding. We weren't in a Catholic Church and I wasn't wearing a gorgeous white gown, but I had my dream guy and that was all that mattered in the end. After the judge said a few things that I could barely even listen to, I saw Lucas leaning in to kiss me. I laughed despite myself and jumped into his arms, gently placing my lips on top of his as my legs found their way around his waist.

"Please tell me we didn't just get married." I mumbled against his lips, a loud squeal erupting through my body. We were insane. Completely and utterly insane. Who else ran to City Hall at two o'clock in the morning just to get married? Crazy people. I allowed Lucas to carry me out of City Hall and towards my car. He opened the passenger door and set me down before walking over to the drivers side and getting in.

Before he could start the engine, I gently placed my hand on top of his and shook my head. "I don't wanna go home right now." I whispered with a small smile. Lucas nodded his head and leaned in, kissing me ever so softly. "I know just the place." He promised me, starting the car and driving towards wherever he planned on taking me.

After only a few short moments, we arrived at a lake. An absolutely gorgeous lake at that. I smiled before getting out of the car, spinning around in circles. "It's beautiful!" I said, hearing my voice echo as I spoke. Lucas got out of the car as well, his arms once again finding their way around my waist as he held me from behind. "Yeah, it is." He whispered, although his eyes weren't on the view, but instead on me.

I turned my head to look up at him, our lips gently grazing against one anothers. Without further delay, I leaned up onto my tip toes and closed the gap between us, my lips gently falling against his. I felt Lucas pick me up bridal style and carry me onto the roof of the car as the kiss continued on. He gently placed me down and just stared at me. I looked around for a moment before nodding towards the car.

"I've got an idea." I said, sitting up and running into the car. I pulled out a blanket and wrapped it around myself, a small smile on my lips. With that, I returned over to Lucas and wrapped my arms around him, immediately taking his jacket off. What could be more romantic than making love to your husband under the stars at a lake? You couldn't script that kind of romance even if you tried.

I laid myself down on the hood of the car and pulled Lucas on top of me, my lips never leaving his and our foreheads connected as his hands searched my body like he'd never touched me before. A soft moan escaped my lips and I allowed Lucas to take off my dress and underwear, my body covered by the flannel blanket that had previously been in my car. I took off Lucas's shirt with ease, by now an expert.

After sliding off his shirt, my nails ran up and down his back, his hands running up and down my bare sides. His touch alone was enough to make me shudder beneath him, my breathing heavy and my heart racing. Why did this feel like my first time all over again? Once we were both completely rid of our clothes, I kissed him once again as he entered inside of my, my body once again shuttering. I couldn't help myself.

This would make things real. Now, we couldn't get an annulment when our parents found out and we wouldn't be forced to give eachother up. No one could keep us apart any longer. Eventually, we were going to have to come out with the news, but when would be the right time? Karen and Larry were so happy together, but it was clear that they weren't meant to be together. Not like Lucas and I were, at least.

Lucas continued to move inside of me as we continued to kiss, our bodies connected in every single way possible. His hands continued to graze along my stomach before settling on my arms, his fingers running up and down my upper arm, causing goosebumps to form. A loud moan escaped my lips but, luckily, they were pressed against his so tightly that you could barely hear a thing.

The actual sex itself was amazing, but it was more than that. It was always more than that when it came to Lucas. More than it was about sex, it was about us. As cheesy as it sounded, it was more about our bodies and our souls and all of that poetic stuff that you read in English class but never quite understand. It was more of a symbol of our love than it was 'sex', and I had never before experienced anything like that.

I can't even tell you how long I spent in Lucas's arms, the flannel blanket wrapped around us and my body resting between his legs. I would just rest my back against his chest as he spoke, listening to his words as he talked about his real father. The man that he never knew.

"..So, my mom says, he left.." He told me and I was able to hear the pain in his voice. "He found out she was pregnant and just..left her one day." Lucas shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care, but I knew better. I shook my head against his chest and looked up at him, leaving a soft kiss on his jaw.

"At least you know he's out there somewhere, right? So, he knows you're out there too. And that guilt..The guilt of leaving a family..It's gonna haunt him until the day he dies, Luke." I promised him before closing my eyes.

"What about you? Your mom.." He questioned, his arms tightly wrapped around my waist. I smiled at the question, remembering every single thing about my mother. How she used to sing to me and how she smelled or how she laughed--It all came rushing back to me at that one moment.

Although, to anyone else, I'd brush the question off, I couldn't with Lucas. I never could. "..She died when I was eight. Car accident." I recalled, remembering that horrid day all too well. I took a hold of Lucas's hand and kissed it before letting it fall back down, my eyes staring up at the shining stars.

"It's funny because..I haven't felt truly safe since she died..Until I met you." I admitted, finally closing my eyes and smiling, basking at the feeling of closeness between us. Although I didn't know for sure, I got the feeling that Lucas closed his eyes as well and we fell asleep together just like that, married, in love, and never wanting to face reality again.