A/N: Ok, so this is supposed to be the final chapter...but I thought of an idea for the epilogue...so I may post an epilogue! I want to thank you all for all your wonderful support and reviews! This was my first long fic and it really helped having all this encouragement! I never expected for this fic to be this popular. It puts a lot of pressure on me for the next one. (And I've already started working on the next one). Thank you once again! And as always, enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill
Chapter Twenty-One: Finding Happiness Here
February 10th 2006
Someone once asked me, do you wake up lonely, Peyton? Do you feel as if the walls are always crashing down around you? Do you wish someone would reach in and pull you out? Do you long for that loving touch that only one extremely special person can give you? The person who asked me these questions was Brooke. She was drunk as hell that night. And she kept giggling and rolling around on my bed while I tried to get her to go to sleep. Suddenly she became quiet and called my name softly. I turned to look at her and she began rambling off those questions. And she ended by saying, "I know you're lonely Peyton. And I know that sometime soon I'm not gonna be the person to save you from that. I just hope someone comes along to do it for me."
Brooke Davis. Teenage prophesier. We were only fourteen at the time. Two years before Lucas Scott was more than a face in the crowd. Two years before it all and she already knew things would change. I learned a long time ago that when drunk, Brooke Davis proved she wasn't naïve. It scared me then. I didn't want to lose her and that's exactly what it sounded like would happen. Brooke and I were so different. We were bound to drift. But two years into high school we were still hanging on.
I wonder if Brooke remembers those words. I wonder if she thinks back now and realizes that she was talking about Lucas. He's the one who's going to save me. Like always. Lucas Scott is everything to me. And I often wonder how it got that way. How did he break down my walls? How did he become 'the one' in a matter of so little time? These questions have no real answers. I just have to learn to accept it. And I do. Because I like it this way. I wouldn't trade Lucas for anything.
I'm currently sitting on the beach. I couldn't sleep last night. As soon as Chris came back with my car, I sped off here. It was 4:48 when I got here. I didn't plan on staying here until my date with Lucas. I mean I'm wearing the first pair of jeans and t-shirt I could find. But I couldn't bring myself to leave. I kept thinking about the future. What will it bring?
A year from now, I can picture myself sitting here with Lucas. We'll be home from UNC visiting his mom and Rachel. My dad will still be out on his dredging boat. I can picture Rachel pacing the beach with Mouth and her baby. I picture the baby as a boy. I see Karen across from her with her daughter showing the two how to play together, but they're too young to register any of it. I see Skillz trying to dunk Bevin in the water while she shrieks in protest. Nathan and Haley will be hand in hand watching Rachel and her baby and maybe speculating about their own child still to come. Chris will be providing us with some background noise, playing a cover of that Led Zepplin tune he liked so much. Brooke. I see Brooke there. She'll be laying on her stomach while her current boy toy rubs suntan oil on her back. I'll be sipping a margarita. And right there with me will be Lucas with his arms wrapped around my waist.
It may be a fairytale. To believe that all of us will be that happy a year from now. Who knows what could happen? People change. People die. People leave. I can't expect us all to be the same. Or even happy at all. I can't honestly say that Lucas and I will still be together a year from now. But right now it doesn't matter. Because at this moment, I'm happy and hopeful.
I burry my feet deep in the sand as a sharp wind blows through. As I turn to the left, I see a figure approaching me and my face lights up. It's Lucas. He's wearing khaki shorts, a button up shirt and sandals along with that devilish smirk he always has. I send a soft smile his way.
"Hey babe," he says as he sits down beside me, "You're early."
"I've been here awhile."
"Really? If I would have known that, I would have come sooner."
"I've been here since about four o'clock."
"You wanted to see me that bad?" Lucas smirks.
"Oh yeah. I was just counting the seconds," I say sarcastically. I really was.
"Ouch, Peyt. Ouch!" he says dramatically placing his hand over his heart, "And you call yourself my girlfriend." He wraps an arm around my shoulders. "So why'd you come to the beach so early then?"
"I couldn't sleep. And then I couldn't bring myself to go home to change for our little rendezvous." I watch out of the corner of my eye as his eyes drift over my appearance.
"Why would you have to change? You look gorgeous."
"Thanks, Luke, but I'm not wearing any make-up. This shirt has a hole on the bottom and my hair is all over the place."
"And yet you're still the most beautiful girl I've ever met. You could be bald and wearing a potato sack and I'd still think that."
"Should I hold you to that? Because I've always thought about shaving my head."
"Ha, ha," he says. I snuggle closer to him, wrapping my own arms around his torso. I look up at his face. My eyes are fixed on his chin. They trace his jaw line and around his ear. I notice the exact coloring of his eyes. They're crystal blue with flecks of gray around the pupil. He's concentrating on the ocean, but I can tell he's thinking about something much more serious. His eyebrows are furrowed and his lips are somewhat pursed. I love his lips most of all. They're so soft and plump. I just want to reach up and touch them. Or even cover them with my own. Just as the thought crosses my mind, a smirk crawls onto his face.
"Why are you staring at me?" he asks. I feel my cheeks go red.
"What are you thinking about?" I ask trying to cover my embarrassment.
"Do I get to kiss you now? Because I've been waiting quite a while to do that," he asks. I chuckle at him. We must be on the same brain wavelengths.
"Yes," I say, "But just so you know, I want to take this slow."
"How slow?" he asks raising an eyebrow, "Like you and Jake slow or like Nathan and Haley slow?"
"If we went at Nathan and Haley's pace, Lucas, we'd be married in a week."
"Well, we are on their beach right now. I think they got married over there, in fact." He points over a hill, "I meant Nathan and Haley the second time around."
"What am I going to do with you?" I chuckle.
"I think you're going to kiss me," he says. I sigh dramatically before pressing my lips gently on his. Oh are those lips kissable! And now I'm sure this is where I want to be.
Three weeks can change a lot of things. In three weeks, I went from a broken, miserable person to finally having something to look forward to. A happy relationship with Lucas. Finally after all the heartache and disappointment, I get what I deserve. And I have to thank my mothers for that. Because I know they're smiling down on me.