"That's a good idea, Haley…you guys can take Audrina with you"
"What, you're not going to come?" Haley demanded.
"Oh, please. So I can see Feather and her posse of over-manicured sluts at my ex-boyfriends birthday party? PLEASE" Brooke said.
"Come on…I know how much he misses you"
"How?"
"He tells me every single time I call him"
"Haley…" Brooke said. "He's started a new life. He's over me and over his life in North Carolina. We're not meant to be…we just thought we were"
"That's not true" Haley defended.
"Yes it is" Brooke said. "It's a great idea though, Hales"
"Audrina won't go without her mother and it would break his heart if he couldn't see his little girl on his birthday"
"Oh FINE" Brooke said. "You just guilted me into it"
"Yes!" Haley high fived Nathan. "Anyway, Peyton's coming over soon!"
"I'm SO excited" Brooke said. "I missed my goldilocks"
"Yeah" Haley said. The doorbell rang. "And that would be her"
Brooke and Haley ran to the door, opened it, and screamed when they saw Peyton. The three girls enveloped each other in hugs and jumped up and down, screaming.
"OH MY GOD" Brooke shrieked. "You look amazing"
"Why thank you" Peyton said. She was curvier, glowing, and her hair was its natural curly again.
"Whose are you?" Audrina came up and asked Peyton.
"This is not fair, B. Davis" Peyton complained. "My own godchild doesn't know me"
"Yous my godmother?" Audrina asked.
"Hi Audrina, I'm Peyton…I'm your mommy's best friend and your godmother"
"Hi" Audrina said, suddenly shy.
"Omg Brooke she looks EXACTLY like you…except for those baby blues" Peyton said. "Those belong to Lucas"
"Yeah she's my girl" Brooke said proudly.
"Come on" Peyton said, taking the little girl's hand. "You and I have a lot of bonding to do…"
In Ohio…
"Hey Lucas" Matthew, one of his teammates, greeted him. "What's up?"
"Nothing" Lucas said. "You?"
"Coach is going to run us to death today" he laughed. "And it's my turn to cook dinner tonight"
"Oh" Lucas laughed. "Wife got you whipped?"
"More than you'll ever know" Matthew rolled his eyes but there was a smile on his face. "I do more than she does"
"Let me guess- she shops all day"
"Shopping isn't the word, man" Matthew rolled his eyes. "And my daughters no better"
"I have a daughter too!" Lucas beamed. "How old is yours?"
"Six and already more like her mother than she'll ever be"
"Mines almost 3…and the same way- she's her mom's carbon copy" Lucas laughed.
"So does your wife live with you?" Matthew asked.
"Well we're not married or engaged…we kind of broke up" Lucas said. "She lives in Chapel Hill in North Carolina"
"Oh…sorry to hear that dude" Matthew said. "I know how that can be"
"Yeah" Lucas sighed. "Let's hit the court?"
"Let's do it" he said and ran out.
"That's a fantastic idea!" Peyton said. "I haven't seen Lucas in forever…it'll be great"
"Ok" Haley said. "So we've got it all planned out. Friday night we fly into Cleveland. Then we'll stay at the hotel and when he leaves for basketball practice, we get into his house and decorate. Then he'll come home and we'll all jump out!"
"This is so cliché" Brooke groaned.
"He's gonna shit his pants when he sees all of us" Nathan laughed.
"No joke" Peyton laughed. "What am I supposed to get him?"
"I have no clue either" Brooke said. "And I actually have to make my gift normal and not crazy because we're not together anymore"
"Says who?" Peyton asked. "Brooke you are still Brooke and he is still Lucas- breaking up hasn't changed that. You should still be yourself"
"You haven't changed one bit P. Sawyer" Brooke laughed, hugging her. "I'm glad you're home"
"I'm glad to be home" Peyton laughed, hugging her back.
"I's glad you're home too!" Audrina giggled. She had warmed right up to Peyton.
"I know silly girl" Peyton laughed. "I cant believe I didn't get to meet my goddaughter until she could talk"
"It sucks" Brooke nodded. "If you weren't miss world traveler…"
"It was AMAZING, Brooke" Peyton said. "I have to take you to Florence"
"I know, Europe sounds amazing…maybe when munchkin goes to college?" Brooke laughed.
"Maybe" Peyton laughed.
"Okay, Nathan you got our tickets, right?" Haley was ignoring them and checking off things on a checklist.
"Yeah" Nathan said.
"Hales, chill" Peyton laughed. "We're leaving in like a week, it's ok"
"Not a week, 5 days" Haley said. "And don't forget, you still have to buy him a present and pack"
"Ok, fine, 5 days" Peyton laughed. "Lucas will love it, and I practically backpacked across Europe I'm not stranger to moving fast"
"I hope Lucas will love it" Brooke said. "I'm not flying all that way for him to be like what the hell are you doing here"
"Come on Brooke" Nathan laughed. "He misses you like crazy"
"Right"
"He does! He says so every time he calls"
"Why does he tell everybody ELSE?" Brooke asked.
"Because he's afraid that he'll hear you say you DON'T miss him" Haley said.
"Which isn't true" Brooke sighed.
"I can't believe you guys are over" Peyton said. "I almost cried when I heard, I can't imagine how it was for you, Brooke"
"It wasn't fun, I can assure you of that" Brooke sighed.
"How'd she take it?" Peyton asked, pointing to Audrina who was bored with all the adult talk and was now fast asleep in Nathan's lap.
"She doesn't really grasp that mommy and daddy are over" Brooke said. "She thinks Lucas is on some kind of vacation"
"Must be tough" Peyton said.
"It is…but I get through it, you know. Life isn't always pretty"
Over in Ohio…
"So, how was breaking up with Brooke?" Matthew asked Lucas over lunch.
"It was…HORRIBLE" Lucas laughed. "That's the only word for it"
"She didn't wanna move?"
"Yeah, it wasn't just that…you know her schoolwork is very important to her nowadays- it never used to be but it is now and we had Audrina and I was never home and dude it all just fell apart"
"How'd you deal?"
"I moved" Lucas laughed.
"Dang"
"Yeah"
"How did your daughter handle it?"
"She doesn't really grasp it, you know she's only 3…but she cried when I left" Lucas sighed. "I cried a little when I left…Brooke cried a lot"
"That sucks man" Matthew said.
"Yeah…but I get through it. Life isn't always pretty"
A/N: Reviews would be nice.