A/N: I am soo sorry for the delay in chapters. I had a hellish last month of school, but my semester is now officially over! Updates should become more frequent again!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Peyton heard the back door slam just moments before her office door flew open loudly.

"I can't believe she had the nerve to say that to me! After everything that she and Tyler did behind my back, she has the nerve to…" Lauren said angrily, throwing her hands up in the air and stomping out of Peyton's office. Peyton raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly had provoked Lauren's outburst.

Sighing, she got up from her desk and walked down the hall to Lauren's room. She knocked once before opening the door and peeking in.

"You sound like you need to talk. Can I come in?" Peyton asked, barely detecting the slight nod of Lauren's head.

"So, what's up?" She asked, sitting down beside Lauren, who had thrown herself face down on her bed.

"Charity. What else?" Lauren mumbled into the bed. Peyton nodded slowly. Charity's behavior of late had been a frustration for Lucas as well. The extra stress had carried over into his relationship with Peyton. She knew that Brooke had taken the reigns on Charity's treatment, and since Lucas had primary custody, that meant a lot of compromising and cooperation on Lucas's part. Peyton knew first hand just how "easy" Brooke could be to cooperate with. If Charity was anything like her mother, than Peyton knew just how Lauren was feeling.

"The worst part is that even though she had no right to say what she did, she's right," Lauren said softly, rolling over to face Peyton.

"Thanks for caring, but I think I just want to be alone for awhile," Lauren said, giving Peyton a half-hearted smile before rolling back onto her stomach. Peyton nodded and quietly left the room. She thought about calling Lucas and having another chat with him about Charity, but those conversations only sufficed to make Lucas feel more helpless and frustrated. Before she had decided one way or the other, the phone began to ring. Peyton smiled as she read Lucas's name on the caller ID.

"Hi," She answered, her smile evident in her voice.

"Hey," Lucas replied. Peyton frowned, noting how tired he sounded.

"Listen, I've been thinking and I was wondering if you were free tonight? I thought maybe I could come over and we could talk?" Lucas asked. His voice shook slightly, causing Peyton to wonder why he sounded so very nervous.

"Uh, yeah, that's fine. Lauren is home, but she's holed up in her room," Peyton said, trying to ignore the dread that was forming in the pit of her stomach. Lucas had been snappy and distant with her lately. He couldn't be leaving her, could he?

"Alright, well I'll be over in just a bit." Lucas said with a note of finality in his words. Peyton said goodbye and hung up the phone. Her eyes darted around the room as she tried futilely to think of any reason that Lucas would have to call her like this.

Various worst-case scenarios swirled around in Peyton's mind. Before she had too much more time to worry, the ringing of the doorbell jolted her out of her thoughts. She slowly made her way to the door, and hesitated a moment before opening it.

"Hey Luke, come on in," Peyton said, trying to sound more cheerful than she felt. Lucas gave her a small smile as he passed by her and into the living room.

"Do you want anything to drink?" She asked, fiddling with her shirt. She didn't know why she was so completely out of sorts. Sure, Lucas had sounded nervous on the phone, and sure, telling her that they needed to talk had never led to a positive conversation, but this time could be different, right?

"Actually, I had thought about calling you. Lauren went to see Charity today. I don't know what happened, but Lauren was so angry you could practically see the smoke rolling out of her ears. She hasn't come out of her room since." Peyton said. She did want to talk to Lucas about the girls. Delaying the reason for Lucas's visit was only part of the reason she brought the incident up.

Lucas shook his head and let out a large sigh. He cut his eyes toward Peyton for a split second before he dropped his head, staring into his lap.

"I don't know what you want me to about it, Peyton. I've tried talking to Charity; I've tried talking to Brooke. Hell, I've even suggested that we get Charity to a therapist. Needless to say, Brooke nixed that idea," Lucas said, his words carrying an undercurrent of anger. Peyton immediately regretted bringing Charity up. She knew that Lucas had exhausted his options. It wasn't that Brooke was trying to make things harder; she was just being, well, Brooke. It was common knowledge that once Brooke got an idea into her head, it would take hell or high water to get it out. The last thing that Peyton had wanted was to put more pressure on Lucas right now.

"I know Lucas," Peyton began. She paused as Lucas stood up quickly and spun around to face her.

"No, you don't know. You don't have any idea of what I've gone through these last few weeks!" Lucas shouted, glaring at her from across the room. Peyton felt her face flush in anger.

"I have been by your side, as much as possible, since the accident. I put my life on the back burner, so that I could do everything in my power to make this easier for you! How dare you, Lucas Scott!" She exclaimed, crossing the distance between them.

"I don't know what you came here to say to me, but you'd better say it quick. I'm about two minutes from throwing your ass out!" Peyton said quietly, her eyes flashing. Lucas shook his head with a rueful laugh.

"Believe it or not, I came here to ask you to marry me."