The night had been a restless one for Lucas. Around 5 am he couldn't stay in bed any longer and decided a run along the boardwalk would surely clear his mind. It didn't work completely but at least he had a plan now. He would go see Peyton before going to brunch and hopefully, the evening would be well without incidents.

Peyton was at TRIC really early there were still a million things to prepare. After she checked the bar and refreshment delivery she retreated to her office to go over the setlists for tonight. Even if this was supposed to be Jake's release party it was also her big night and she hoped Tree Hill would have a fantastic night. There still was a surprise in her back pocket. She smiles to herself, yes this will be a good night. Not even Lucas can kill my mood right now!

A knock on her door frame pulls her out of her reverie. Her smile falters for a second when she turns but it is back in place right after and she hopes the intruder didn't notice. "I hope I am not disturbing you." She doesn't get a chance to answer as he simply continues." I know stupid question. I just need 2 minutes of your time and then you can scream at me or throw me out or both."

She sits down and gestures for him to the same. "Say your piece, Luke. But I don't think it is necessary." He looks a little hurt and confused at the same time but that doesn't stop him.

"I believe it is. I was an idiot two weeks ago, five years ago and probably the whole damn time in between. I thought I had gotten over our break-up and everything and I even had convinced myself that we had done the right thing in not getting married so young. I understand what was going through your head and then learning I had nearly lost you long ago before we even had a chance… that threw me for a loop and I reverted back to the stupid teen guy. I want to apologize for that and I hope you can give me a chance to prove myself to you again." In the end, he finally takes a breath and just looks at her.

She subconsciously mirrors his posture, sitting straight up, her elbows on the side of her chair. She moves her head from left to right just as if she was listening to music before she looks him straight in the eye. "You were an idiot, but I had a hand in that. I could've been more forthcoming with that crazy proposal and break up story but it somehow never came up. I don't blame you for acting the way you did five years ago, not anymore. You were hurt and I didn't give you much of an explanation. I guess what happened this year is a little bit crazy too but this time I am fully blaming Brooke for creating the chaos." They both share a laugh at that. "That is something we can agree on."

After a stretch of silence, Lucas looks her in the eyes again" Just imagine, where we would be if we had gotten engaged and married five years ago. What do you think? Would we also be in Tree Hill?" "I guess. Probably also had one, two little ones running around. But you wouldn't play ball. I wouldn't let you. You could coach the Ravens and maybe write in your spare time." "And you would own the record store and paint. Probably selling both pretty successfully."

Unbeknown to the two blondes creating a fantasy life Jake had overheard their imaginations and decided to not interrupt. He had wanted to talk to Peyton about his setlist for the evening but now he would just go to the studio and sing his heart out. The only way he knew to effectively deal with his feelings.

When Jake arrives at the recording booth he hears Mia singing her newest song from what he can tell and somehow the lyrics speak to him and he gets an idea. He knocks on the windows lightly and when Mia spots him he opens the mic: "Wanna perform this as a duet tonight?"

I broke this up in two chapters, just because I want to stay true to my lengths and the next chapter will contain a couple of lyrics. Can you guess which song Jake and Mia will perform as a duet? Hint: it is one of my favorite Kate Voegele songs ;)