Chapter Two.
Lucas walked slowly as he dribbled the basketball. He always enjoyed taking his time walking to the Rivercourt. He loved just being outside in the warm sun and listening to his music. It gave him time to himself and time to think, both of which he had very little of lately. Although he enjoyed spending time with his friends and with his girlfriend, he needed time to himself. He took a deep breath and soaked in the cool air and warm sun. He hoped that it was going to be a good day.
A few minutes later he arrived at the Rivercourt to see that everyone was there waiting for him. He took off his headphones and placed them in his pocket as he approached the group.
"Hey, Guys! Sorry, I'm late." Lucas said as he grabbed a hold of Skills' hand and brought him in for a hug.
"Man, we thought you was never gonna get here," Skills responded. The group behind him yelled a loud 'yeah' in agreement.
Lucas threw his hands up in a mock surrender. "Alright. I give up. I said I'm sorry, but you've gotta cut me some slack here. I was dreaming about my girlfriend."
"Dude, what goes on behind closed doors is your own business. Don't be trying to scare us with your freaky sex dreams," Skills said as Lucas chuckled.
Lucas turned his head and scanned the crowd of people to see if his girlfriend was there. His eyes settled on the bleachers where he saw her sitting next to Mouth. They looked like they were having an interesting discussion, because as Mouth talked his hands were getting more frantic by the second. Lucas wasn't sure if she'd actually show up today but thought that she might considering that they had argued about his whereabouts the day before. It was totally a miscommunication on his part, so he really couldn't be too upset with her for being mad. Most of the time it was really great between them, but sometimes it got a little hard. She finally noticed that he was staring at her so she smiled, nodded her head in his direction and winked at him. God, she was beautiful. He'd give her that. He couldn't help but stare at her.
After a long, arduous game Lucas' team was victorious. So far the day was living up to its promise of being good. As he was saying his good-byes to his fleeing teammates, he saw his girlfriend approaching with a scowl on her face. Spoke too soon, he thought to himself.
"Hey there, Pretty Girl," he said in is most non-confrontational tone
"Hey," she replied flatly.
"Is something wrong?"
"What happened to you this morning? Why were you late?"
"I just got a late start today. I had a little trouble sleeping last night, so I got a little extra sleep this morning. I promise that's all."
"Oh, okay. I believe you. I just get worried about you sometimes."
He didn't know why he never mentioned his dream to her. When they first started happening he intended to tell her, but they had just argued about something insignificant, and he just didn't feel like bringing it up at the time. He also didn't know why he continued to fail to mention it to her. Part of him believed that his dream would lose part of its magic if he actually talked about it. He'd tell her eventually. He just needed some time.
"I know babe. It's good. I'm not mad, and I'm sorry I made you worry. So, what are you plans for the day?"
"Well, I actually promised Mouth that I'd help him with something."
"Oh, really? What?" he questioned as he saw her face brighten.
"My, my! Is the confident Lucas Scott jealous that this beautiful girlfriend is going to spend time with someone else today?"
"I'm jealous of anyone that gets to spend time with you," he responded as he brought her closer to him and kissed her on her forehead. He could see that this made her happy.
"Well, what are your plans for the day, boyfriend?"
"They were you, but seeing as how you're leaving me all alone today I'll have to find some other way to entertain myself."
"Aww..I can cancel with Mouth if you want me to. He'd understand. I'm always up for some Lucas time."
"That's sweet, Brooke, but you shouldn't cancel with him. Go, help him. I kind of wanted to catch up on some reading anyway. I could use some Lucas time myself."
"Dirty! Just as long as you promise that I'll get some of my own time with you later."
"You got it."
"Okay, hun, I've gotta get going. I need to change before I can go hang out with Mouth, and you know it takes me a while to decide what I want to wear."
Lucas looked her up and down confused by her comment. "What's wrong with the outfit you have on now?"
"When will you ever learn, Lucas? Mouth has already seen me in this today. I can't wear the same outfit to see him again. It's against the rules, ya know?"
"Actually, I haven't been informed of said rules. It might help if I could see these rules that you always talk about. But whatever you say, Pretty Girl."
"I do say so, so that's how it's gonna be. Okay, I've gotta get going. Kiss." she said as she kissed him squarely on the lips. "See ya later, hun," she yelled as she happily bounced away.
"Later pretty girl," he replied as he watched her go.
This is a surprise, Lucas thought as he looked around the Rivercourt as saw that no one was around. He didn't expect having the whole afternoon to himself. He didn't know what he'd do. He stared off towards the water and watched as the sunlight danced across the surface. It was beautiful. He knew that he was going to enjoy his afternoon alone.
Deciding he'd had enough alone time at the Rivercourt, he gathered his belongings and started the journey home. He placed his headphones on, smiled, and started dribbling his way home. He wasn't paying close attention to where he was going and walked right into a lamp post. Lucas took two steps back and scrunched his face up in pain as he heard a familiar voice say something to him.
"That's amazing! I just saw that stationary object run right in front of you."
Lucas quickly turned to face her. Her blond, curly hair was blowing in the wind and her hand was up in the air shielding her eyes from the bright sun. His stomach tightened more so than usual at the sight of her, and he wasn't sure why. He pushed that feeling away and spoke.
"Geez, Peyton. I told you it was only stalking if you stayed hidden in the shadows."
She chuckled at his response. "You'd know all about stalking wouldn't you? Considering how you're the one that stalks me."
"Well, I'm not the one who broadcasts herself over the Internet now am I?"
"Oh, so you finally own up to it, Scott. I knew you were one creepy dude."
They both smiled. They enjoyed having each other again. Last year they drifted apart, but somehow had found their way back to one another. They spent most of their summer together getting reacquainted. Lucas didn't want to lose her again, and she didn't want to be lost anymore either.
"So, Peyton. Watcha doin'? I mean besides following me."
"Well, that does take up a lot of my time, ya know. A girl doesn't have room for much else in her life," Peyton responded playing along. "Actually, I was searching for some inspiration. It's such a beautiful day out I thought I'd see if anything piqued my interest, but then I ran into you and you sucked the inspiration right out of me," she said as she playfully hit him on the shoulder.
He placed his had over the spot where she just touched him and he winced as if it hurt really bad. "That's no reason to beat me up!"
Lucas couldn't keep a straight face much longer and cracked a smile.
"You're crazy, dude. So, what are you up to? Where's Brooke?" Peyton asked raising her eyebrow.
"Oh, she had to help out Mouth today for some super secret reason."
"Whoa. Is this a first? Lucas and Brooke NOT together. What will a brother do?"
"I know weird right? I was actually trying to solve that dilemma when that lamp post walked right out in front of me and stopped my train of thought. Hey, what are you up to right now?
"Nothing much. I was just going to go home and hang out, why?"
Before he even knew what he was doing his mouth started moving.
"I was just wondering if you want to hang out with me this afternoon? Maybe grab something to eat or go to a movie, something..."
Peyton looked at him confused. She really didn't know how to respond to his question.
"Um, Lucas, aren't you forgetting about someone named Brooke? She'd totally flip out if we hung out together. You know it makes her uncomfortable." Peyton stated.
"I know," he sighed. He waited a moment before he spoke again. "I just wish we could hang out just like the summer. I don't know what I was thinking, Peyt."
There was an awkward silence between them for what seemed like an eternity when Lucas suddenly broke it.
"You know what? I do know what I was thinking. I was thinking its been way too long since we've hung out together. C'mon."
Peyton let out a breath. "Alright, on one condition. That you call Brooke and tell her. I don't want her to be angry with us anymore, or for her to think that anything is going on."
"Alright!" Lucas quickly agreed. "I'll call her on my way home. I've got to take a shower, so I'll meet you at my Mom's cafe...say in about an hour?"
"Yes, I'll see you there. Later." She said as she walked away.
An afternoon with Peyton. This was a pleasant surprise. It really had been a while since they last hung out. If he remembered correctly it was before he and Brooke had officially gotten together.
Definitely a good day, he thought as he started his way home again.
A/N: Please drop me a message and let me know if you like it and want me to continue. :)
