A/N: Thank you so much Becca, lukenpeyton4ever, cayt326, Anon, lEYtOnFoREVERyay and mahsa for you your encouraging reviews! And also everyone who alerted the story. You surprised me and then I surprised myself by writing this chapter so fast. I can't promise it'll always be this fast, but I must say I'm really excited about it. Anyway, here's chapter 1 of Aiming for the Perfect Love. This is all Peyton, Lydia and Haley, the next chapter will be similar but from at least Lucas and Lindsey's side..
Haley finished her "rant to paper", as she had named it. She closed her notebook and hid the book behind her books in their library. Moving to a new house when Nathan got to NBA had given her a chance to properly collect books for herself and the kids. A funny thing happened, though, soon after she had started their own family library. One night Nathan had picked up a book she had been reading and started reading it to her. Reading out loud to each other had been their thing ever since. Nathan had also started to read by himself, but the shelf Haley hid the notebook to was only Haley's.
She made her way downstairs, but stayed back to observe the sight before her. It was so heartwarming she couldn't help but smile. 5-year-old Lydia Peyton Scott was lying on the couch with the woman she got her middle name from. Aunt Peyton was also her godmother and the little girl basically worshipped the ground her aunt walked on.
They were quite a team. Peyton had moved out of Brooke's with the first chance to do so without making it too obvious she made the move out of Tree Hill to Wilmington to balance her life in relation to the new Scott couple. She could live close enough home to run Red Bedroom and keep her friendships, but still far enough to allow her a chance for a new life or solitude, when she needed it. And oh how she had needed the distractions and solitude in the first two years Lucas and Lindsey had been married. She had made legitimate excuses for keeping her Tree Hill social life to minimum and spent a lot of time touring with Mia and working hard for music. It did not fill the void she so desperately set out to fill, it just made her a little number to the pain and distracted from the emptiness. But getting a goddaughter was the first thing in Peyton's life that actually felt like healing the wounds time time had so far failed to heal.
Lydia had been ten days old, when Peyton had made it to Tree Hill to see the little baby girl Scott. She had held the baby in her arms when Haley and Nathan had asked her to be the godmother. Lydia was so tiny and helpless and eagerly receptive of her love that it made Peyton want to give her all the love she had left in her. It felt good and empowering to love someone who didn't reject her love. So Peyton cut down on touring and with the excitement of being a godmother she faced the old Tree Hill social life she had kept to minimum the two last years.
With Lydia there it hadn't been as bad as she had feared. She soon became part of Nathan and Haley Scott's family. Lydia was one year old, when Nathan and Haley talked about having a family night, meaning that it would be just them and the kids, but back then eight-year-old Jamie had given his parents feedback at the end of the night that aunt Peyton had been missing from the family night. Peyton couldn't help a stream of tears when she heard the story. It was the closest thing to a real family she had had since she was nine.
Lucas, Lindsey, Brooke and her now-husband Julian and all the rest of the gang hung out with them quite a lot, too. It was quite nice to spend time with people who've known you for a long time. Especially in the beginning it was really awkward with Lucas and Lindsey, though. It was so much easier to miss Lucas from afar and just make sure he was alright from Brooke, Haley and Nathan's stories. It required a whole new levels of strength to let him be happy with someone else right in front of you, not to mention trusting that he really was happy when at times he did not seem as happy as in her memories.
It took them years to start talking more than in the whole group's discussions or the necessities when playing with the kids. As much as it killed her, Peyton thought it good and necessary. She had been through their history and did not want to take chances of ending up back in it. However, gradually Lindsey clearly got over her earlier worries about Peyton and the two women started to interact quite nicely. They were by no means best friends, but they sometimes talked just the two of them at the group's gatherings and they both knew to steer clear from critical topics like Lucas.
When things eased with Lindsey also Lucas and Peyton started to interact more. No one-on-ones, heart-to-hearts or Lucas&Peyton fun, nothing close to the very special moments Peyton most missed about Lucas, but little discussions about safe topics increased and in kitchen Lucas might help her reach to the highest shelves sometimes or Peyton would make sure Lucas's burger had two slices of cheddar on both sides of the steak with ketchup between the cheese and the meat. She had noted no one else seemed to make them the way she knew he liked them the best.
Anyway, right now it was just the godmother and goddaughter on the Scotts' living room couches. Lydia, who was just as much like her mother as all the Scott men had hoped, was cuddling against Peyton's side and they were discussing music trivia. It was quite adorable how engaged the five-year-old was in the topics.
"Aunt Pey, did you know mama when she started singing?" the little girl turned to look straight into her aunt's eyes as if signalling they were getting to an important topic.
"Yeah, dear, we were opening Tric and tried to find someone to play there, but they were all really bad." Peyton grimaced to illustrate the old memories and to get a giggle out of Lydia. "Your daddy sent your mama's demo to our auditions and it was amazing."
A content smile spread across Lydia's face and she leaned deeper towards Peyton's side as if it somehow transferred the memory to her better. They were quiet for a moment and Haley almost thought of joining them, but then Lydia asked a question again and the mother thought it better to not interrupt the moment yet.
"Why don't you have a daddy, too?"
Peyton looked at her puzzled. She was known to be twice-motherless, but never really without a dad. "Honey I do have a dad, too. Don't you remember aunt Peyton's daddy Larry?"
Lydia got up to sitting straight and looked at her aunt seriously. "Yeah, I know Larry. But he's old like a grandpa. Why don't you have a daddy like my mama's?"
Peyton was startled and confused. What was the girl on about? She raised her head to see the said mama standing by the stairs and looking at them and invited her to join the girly moment.
"Baby I'm not sure I follow what you mean.."
"It's just mama has daddy to send audition tapes and pick up things from up high. It is really nice to have daddy. Do you have one?"
"Your daddy is your mama's husband. I have never been married like they are." Peyton stroked Lydia's auburn hair and both of the older women's hearts broke a little to see the disappointment and sorrow in the little girl's eyes, when she said that. So Peyton added, "But you know, a long time ago I had someone who sent my art to a magazine just like your daddy sent your mama's demo to me."
Lydia's face lit up. "Did he reach up to the high shelves, too?"
The women couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, baby he was very chivalrous. How 'bout we go make some dinner now?"
All three rose and Lydia skipped to her mother, who was a couple of steps ahead towards the kitchen. "Mom, what does chivarous mean?" "You mean chivalrous?" "Hmph, that's what I said!"
Peyton lingered behind to take a deep breath and collect herself. Despite everything she had so many great things going on that she considered herself really lucky and happy. But moments like these it felt crazy that even after seven years of him being married she was still so hung up on him. She made a mental note to consider trying to date again. The last time she had been out on a date had been six months ago, maybe moving on was a skill just like others and practice would have helped her.
A/N: What do you think? I have just some ideas about the scenario, but I'm seeing how things play out as we go, just like you are. If you have any thoughts of what could or should happen, please let me know. I'll be happy to try and corporate them into the story. The story will start to move forward after next chapter, but these chapters, too, are very necessary for the story. Please leave me a review. It makes writing the story so much more meaningful!