She couldn't help it; she had to get out before she said something she would regret to Brooke. There was no way she'd be able to tell Brooke about what actually happened in the library only a few days back. In all honesty, she had no intentions of ever hurting Brooke again, but she felt it in her heart, and she couldn't fight it any longer.

Denying the inevitable will only lead to destruction. A heart can only be fooled to a certain degree, and when your denial hits your highest point, there is no telling what will come of it.

She was a complete wreck. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, leaving black marks from her running mascara. However, she paid no attention. She had been drawn into her own world, and as she indecisively made her way up the steps to a familiar red door, she was snapped out of it by a piercing yell and a slam of the door she was approaching.

"Get out! Find somewhere to go for the night because I don't want you here!" Her eyes widened with Karen's earsplitting demand, and she watched as Lucas, steamed with fury, slammed the door behind him. She grew regretful of her decision to come talk to him, and so she quietly tried to slip away without Lucas ever noticing her presence.

"Peyton?" His voice lingered as he caught sight of the blonde slipping off. She stopped instantly, yet was hesitant to turn and go back. "Peyton? What are you doing here?" She could still hear the anger in his voice from his fight with his mother, but she also felt the warmth in his tone as well.

"Sorry, Luke…I really didn't plan to come here. I just…" She managed to say as she turned around facing him stiffly.

"Oh no, it's fine," he said, cutting in to soothe the moment. "I'm sorry you had to witness that though. My mom just found out about Dan…and the fire."

Peyton let out a little laugh as she motioned a little closer to Lucas, taking a seat on the steps. "You just got to let her know it's in your nature." Lucas gave her a weird glance, not really understanding what she meant by that. "I mean rescuing people, Luke. People like you are kind of unheard of around here. I haven't met many others who would risk his own life to save another."

He knew she wasn't referring to his situation with Dan in the fire at all; instead, she was referring to him being her rescuer. It was a role he knew he desired from the first time he saw into her and saw her pain. She had a broken soul, a tortured heart, and he wanted to be her fixer.

"So, why are you here Peyt?" He wasn't upset in the least bit that she had stopped by, just sort of puzzled. He remembered clearly what she had said in the library, and he knew from experience that approaching someone you've just spilled everything out to without much in return isn't so easy. Sure, he had told her he loved her a couple days after she had done the same, and he was being honest. He loved Peyton, but somehow, he had convinced himself he had fallen in love with Brooke as well. He was torn between the two, and for the second time, both desired him back.

The only difference this time was his devotion to Brooke. In the past, he hadn't been this committed to her. Yes, they had been in a relationship, but the "I love you" had never been dropped, and he hadn't promised himself he would try and make it work. He didn't want to hide from what he felt again, so he contradicted his heart and went for it with Brooke. Besides, Peyton was with Jake when he and Brooke started.

But was he really just supposed to push Brooke off a cliff or something? Maybe not literally, but by breaking it off with her for Peyton, it's what he'd be doing.

"Honestly, Luke, I don't know why I'm here." She cut of his thoughts in response to his earlier question. "Brooke had called, and when I went over there, I couldn't handle what she was saying to me because of this situation we're in, and I began to cry, and so I left her house, and I guess somehow on my way home I ended up here..." She knew she was beginning to just rattle on and on, so she stopped talking and just looked up at Lucas.

Lucas made his way over to Peyton's side, rested his arm on her back, and looked into her eyes. She instinctively met his eyes, yet pulled out knowing exactly where it could lead.

She didn't want to get wrapped up in this drama all over again, and she especially didn't want him to later deny their connection for Brooke.

Just like earlier with Brooke, she left him alone there on the steps. However, this time, she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay next to him forever; she wanted to meet his lips to hers without hesitation; and she wanted to hold a gaze in his eyes until her heart melted.

But it wasn't permissible until he figured out his own heart and came to rescue hers.