A/N: Just to make something clear; due to the fact that Peyton still doesn't know Ian's real name, I'm calling him Derek whenever it's from her point of view, and otherwise I'm calling him Ian ;)

Peyton was more than anxious, her mind driving her crazy with worry. Lucas had been gone for too long now. She was beginning to wonder if it had all just been a fragment of her imagination, that he was never really here in the first place. It wouldn't be the first time her mind played tricks on her like that. But she reminded herself of his smell, his voice… it had all been so real, it couldn't have been a dream. She could still smell the comforting scent of him, she could still hear his soothing voice echoing in her head. It was real. But this meant that something might have happened, and that worried her more than anything. She couldn't hear any sounds from outside though, and that was probably a good sign. There weren't any sounds of fighting or struggling, it was all quiet. She hoped to God Derek didn't know about Lucas' appearance yet.

She jumped as the door to her room suddenly opened, and for a second she expected it to be Lucas, but it wasn't. Her eyes widened noticeably as Derek quietly walked up to her, and she bit her lip. His expression was cold and unreadable. She had no idea if he knew, but she tried to hide her frightened state.

"What's wrong, Peyton?" he said in an overly sweet tone and raised his eyebrows.

"I… I was just surprised… I didn't hear you."

He didn't respond. He stood there staring at her without saying word, and she felt like she would throw up from worry. She felt his eyes piercing into her, and she made sure to avoid direct eye contact. She tried to focus her eyes on his forehead while forcing a small smile to him.

"Did… did you buy anything interesting while you went out?" she asked, hoping his overly cold expression was just her imagination making her paranoid.

Again, he said nothing. It was quiet for another moment, and Peyton didn't know what to do or say. This wasn't right…

"Is there something you would like to tell me, Peyton?" he suddenly said and her weak smile faltered.

He decided to test her… test her loyalty. He'd heard them talking together, he'd hidden outside the room and listened, and now it was time to tell… would she be truthful or disloyal?

"N-no... What would I have to tell you?" Peyton answered, trying to look as innocent as possible. Her heart banged in her chest and she held her breath. She could tell from his expression and body language that something was wrong. He knows, she thought, and she really felt nauseous. An electrifying shiver of fear went through her. She became more than worried about where Lucas was. Had Derek hurt him? Or maybe he'd ran away to get the police? Or he could be hiding until Derek disappeared again?

"Are you sure about that?" he said with narrowed eyes, clutching his fists.

She noticed his clenched fists at once, and her breath became heavier. Peyton's mind went on overload. What were her options? He knew she was lying, it was obvious from his expression, but she couldn't just admit to Lucas being here… she didn't know how much Derek knew, and couldn't risk telling him anything.

"Yeah, I-I'm sure," she said, nodding nervously.

Ian let out an angry sigh. "I really don't like lying, Peyton."

He would have to teach her a lesson about lying later.

Peyton started trembling. "No, I'm not-"

"I'll give you one last chance, and I'll give you a clue; has someone come to see you today?"

Peyton swallowed, shivering. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered desperately. "I didn't mean for it to happen, I swear."

It was like he had this control over her, mentally, and she couldn't help what she was saying. She couldn't hide anything from him.

Ian smiled. This was more like it.

Peyton sighed, closing her eyes. Oh no…

"That's better," he said, caressing her cheek.

She opened her eyes again, and a tear fell down her face. "Please…" she breathed out.

"Please what?" he said coolly.

She looked down, shaking her head weakly. "Just… don't do anything… you have me. You have what you want. Please don't hurt him."

Her plea for Lucas' safety angered him more than he would've thought possible, and he grabbed her wrists tightly, making her wince in pain.

"He'll get what he deserves, Peyton. It's none of your concern what happens to him, is it? You don't love him. Do you?"

Peyton whimpered as his grip on her wrists tightened, and she shook her head desperately. "N-No, I don't! I love you… I'm sorry!"

Ian smiled his cold smile, then bowing down and opening one of the drawers of the nightstand, he grabbed a rope. Peyton whimpered again as he tied the rope around her wrists, making it so tight that it felt like it would tear her skin apart.

"N-No… what are you doing? Stop…"

"Just a precaution, sweetie." He finished tying her wrists, then went down to her foot and unlocked her chain. Peyton tried to pull at the rope binding her wrists, but every movement she made hurt like hell, and her skin felt like it was on fire.

Ian paid no attention to her discomfort, and pulled her to her feet.

"Now I'll prove to you baby… just how much I love you. Soon you'll understand," he whispered in her ear, and Peyton trembled harder than ever.

She continued to whimper hurtfully as he led her into the living room, but soon she forgot all about the pain in her wrists. Her eyes fell on Lucas, lying there on the floor, half-unconscious, his hands and feet bound, and a small puddle of blood on the floor by his head. A strangled scream left Peyton's mouth.

"Lucas!"

Peyton started to run towards him, but was roughly pulled back by her hair, and she screamed.

"You don't fucking move unless I tell you to, okay?" Ian said angrily, jealousy evident in his voice. "I'll deal with you later."

Ian hated her dedication towards that idiotic jock, but he'd change her mind. He'd show her how weak Lucas Scott really was.

At the sound of Peyton's scream, Lucas was slowly pulled out of his unconscious state. His eyelids twitched, but they refused to open properly. His head ached as if it had been split in half, and it felt like he was spinning around in thin air. The pain was nauseating. Then he heard her again. He could hear her broken whimpers, and he could hear that voice, that voice he despised, telling her not to move. Lucas forced his eyes open, and all he could see for a moment, was blinding stars. Then his vision slowly focused, and he saw the two of them standing above him, a few meters away.

Peyton was standing rigid, looking scared and shivering, as Ian held an arm around her waist, pressing her body tightly against his own. Her wrists were bound and her face fearful, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Scott, you're awake. Good." Ian smiled a repulsive smile, and took a few steps forward, away from Peyton. He gave a light kick to Lucas' midsection, and Lucas grunted in pain. Peyton took a fast step forward, but stopped herself from doing anything. She felt so weak and helpless and she hated it, but it was like she was glued to the spot. It was like she couldn't think straight when she was with him.

Lucas felt an uncontrollable anger starting to boil at the sight of them, at him with that smile, and Lucas forced his numb body to move. It was only then that he became aware of the fact that his hands were tied behind his back, and his feet were also tied, making him pretty much helpless. He started pulling at the tight bindings, fighting against them.

"You son of a bitch," he mumbled angrily, and then the throbbing headache returned, making him close his eyes and wince at the pain for a moment.

Ian chuckled. "It's good to see you again, Luke. Too bad it's under these circumstances, but I just couldn't let you come here and ruin everything."

Lucas heaved for his breath, trying to control the immobilizing pain from his head injury. He forced a glance at Peyton, who was standing behind Ian, insecurely staring at the floor.

"Peyton…" he whispered, wanting to catch her attention, but in the next moment, he got another kick sent to his midsection, and he lost his breath.

"You have no fucking right to speak to her! She's not yours to speak to anymore, and in fact, you shouldn't even get the pleasure of looking at her. But don't worry, I'll take care of that in a minute," Ian stated.

Peyton made a small protesting sound, her eyes still on the floor, and Ian turned to her, raising his eyebrows.

"What?"

She glimpsed up and met his eyes. "Please… Derek, don't hurt him," she whispered in a small, pleading voice, and it sounded nothing like the Peyton Lucas knew. He'd never seen her making herself so small before.

"Don't you see, Peyton baby? This will be my way of proving to you how much I love you. I'll do anything for you, I'll kill for you! And now he won't be in our way anymore, now he won't be able to get between us. Everything will work itself out perfectly," Ian said and smiled happily at her.

She shook her head. "Please don't. Please let him go, and… I'll do whatever you want. I-I love you. I'll do anything. Please don't."

Ian had no patience, and grew angrier the more she begged for Lucas. "You know what, Peyton? I think you should shut your mouth right now. This isn't up to you," he said, raising his hand threateningly.

"But-" Before she even managed to respond, Ian backhanded her; there came a loud crack of skin hitting skin, and Peyton whimpered, shrinking down.

Lucas would not have that; he couldn't watch him hurt her. "Don't touch her, you fucking asshole!"

Ian turned back to Lucas with a dangerous look in his eyes. He walked towards Lucas with slow steps and stopped right in front of him, staring down. "Does anyone else know you're here, Scott? The police? Anyone? Huh?"

"I'm not telling you anything, you psychopath. Let Peyton go!"

Ian responded with another kick to Lucas' midsection, and Lucas growled angrily, starting to cough in pain.

"I don't think you understand the situation, Lucas. You don't have any power here. Now, I need to know if anyone else knows you're here, and you will tell me. You see, Peyton and I have been having such a wonderful time here, and it would just suck if we were forced to leave."

Lucas said nothing, staring angrily up at Ian with his mouth glued shut. Ian kicked him again, but this time, not only once. Once he'd given him one blow, he kicked him several more times, using all his strength. Lucas screamed out; it was dizzying. The pain in his head was already bad enough, and now it felt like he couldn't breathe. He crumpled together, choking in pain.

"No!" came a scream from Peyton, and the kicking stopped. Peyton had ran over to Ian, trying to stop him, but Ian punched her down, making her fall to the floor.

He turned back to Lucas. "Are you going to tell me?"

Lucas tried to catch his breath, his mind working like crazy, trying to figure out how to get out of this. "N-no. There's- no one else knows I'm here. I came alone," he lied.

"Good." Ian smiled. "So you thought you could just come here and take what's mine then, did you?" he said with a cruel laugh, pulling Peyton back on her feet and holding her tightly.

"Peyton isn't yours, you sick bastard! She doesn't belong to anyone," Lucas angrily snapped back, breathing heavily in pain. He tried to get eye contact with Peyton, but she wouldn't look at him. She looked so small and submissive next to Ian. Lucas didn't understand why she was acting like this. How did Ian have so much control over her? This wasn't the strong, determined girl he knew.

"See, I think you're wrong. Peyton is mine, and she knows it. Don't you, babe?"

Peyton stared at the floor and gave a small nod, but Lucas saw the tear falling down her face at the same time.

Ian smirked evilly at Lucas and dragged Peyton's hair out of the way from her shoulder, kissing the side of her neck. Her tense body shivered but she did nothing to object. Lucas started struggling against the ropes again, he couldn't just watch as Ian treated her like some plaything. It angered him beyond anything, and he could feel the heat within rising. Peyton met Lucas' eyes for a second, before she closed hers. She couldn't bare to look at him, she was ashamed.

"Peyton, what are you doing? Don't let him control you like this, he doesn't have any power over you… you can't let him! You're stronger than this." Lucas desperately needed to get through to her.

Ian laughed. "It won't help, Scott. Peyton has realized that we're meant to be together. She doesn't want to come with you. She loves me. And we'll be together forever."

Lucas weakly shook his head and forced himself not to throw up from the intense headache. "Peyton, listen to me. This is your chance. You can get away from here, you can come back home. Larry is a mess… we all need you. You just need to stop letting him control you and fight back!"

Peyton glimpsed at Lucas again, her eyes tearing up. "I'm sorry…" she mouthed so only he could see. She didn't have any strength left to fight, it all felt hopeless. Derek would win, just like he always did, she knew it… there was nothing she could do.

Ian released his hold on Peyton, turning to look at her. "Don't you dare move from this spot Peyton, or I swear to you, I will only make it worse for him," he said forcefully, and she distantly nodded.

Then Ian put his attention back to Lucas, clutching his fists with a determined, scary look on his face. Lucas started struggling relentlessly against the bonds holding him down, as Ian approached. "Get the fuck away from me…" he muttered furiously, but Ian didn't listen.

The first kick was so forceful it blackened Lucas' vision for a moment, and his breath was taken from him. Yet he got no time to recover, as he was kicked again, and again, and again. He started coughing and grunting in pain from the forceful blows sent to his body. He took punches to his face, kicks to his stomach and legs, and his whole body soon ached from the violence. Lucas struggled to breathe, he struggled to see, and could taste his own blood in his mouth, but Ian never stopped.

Peyton helplessly watched as Derek beat the crap out of Lucas, and she sobbed and screamed at every single blow that was sent to his defenseless body. "Derek, stop! Please!" she screamed again and again, but he didn't pay any attention to her. The room was filled with the sound of pain-filled growls and punching sounds, and Peyton had never felt more helpless. She wanted to move forward from where she was standing, she wanted to throw herself at Derek to stop him, but her feet were like pinned stuck. She was petrified. She covered her face with her trembling, tied hands, not wanting to look as Lucas got the life beaten out of him.

Was this the way it would all end? She could never live with herself if Lucas was killed now. But what could she do? Derek was stronger than she was, none of them stood a chance.

Over all these months in captivity, she'd slowly started to resign to the fact that she'd have to live with Derek for the rest of her life… but now Lucas was here… did she really have to? Lucas' words rang in her head, as she continued to hear his pain-filled growls filling the room. Don't let him control you like this, he doesn't have any power over you… you can't let him! You're stronger than this.

Why did she let him control her like this? She had thought he'd taken everything from her, she had thought there was nothing left to fight for… Everyone had given up on her, Lucas had moved on… But was that true? He was here, trying to help her, right now. He'd come for her, just as he promised he would, no matter what Derek had told her.

When did she become a person who let herself get stomped on? She'd been raised into a willful, smart girl, not some submissive, brainless fool.

She saw freedom. It was here, just out of her grasp. If there was something worth fighting for, this was it.

She couldn't let Lucas die. Never.

She made her decision. Peyton ran forward and threw herself over Derek, stopping his violence for a moment. He spun around, red in the face, his eyes furious. "Fucking hell, Peyton!"

She tried scratching him and kicking him, but his hands were fast to lock themselves around her throat, stopping the air from going to her lungs. Peyton coughed and teared up, her hands clawing desperately at his firm hold. He let go, only to give her a forceful punch to her face. Peyton lost her balance, falling down on the hard wooden floor, almost losing her conscience from his mighty strike. She expected to be beaten again, and hurriedly covered herself, but she soon realized Derek had already gone back to terrorizing Lucas' bloody state.

A throbbing headache formed in her head, and she had to force herself not to pass out right there. She blinked violently, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Lucas lying there, getting blow after blow sent to his helpless body. That was the kick she needed to continue, and Peyton lifted her head, frantically looking around for anything that could help.

That was when she saw it; something shiny catching her eye a few meters away... She forced herself to move forward, as Lucas' growls filled her ears. She crawled forward towards the object, and her hands desperately stretched out to grab it.

Lucas was starting to lose consciousness, but he fought for his dare life to stay awake. There was a deafening ringing noise in his ears, blocking out all other noise, and he could feel himself start to lose control. All he could think was; how could he help Peyton if he passed out? The pain was so much though, he just wanted it to stop.

Ian put all his strength into every kick, every punch, as he let all the hatred he felt for Lucas Scott come free. He was a beast, an uncontrollable beast, and nothing could stop him. He could hear himself laughing loudly at Scott's pathetic, little groans, but he never stopped.

Then someone grabbed his shoulder from behind, turning him around, and he was suddenly staring into her wide, green eyes. His own eyes narrowed angrily; he'd instructed her not to disturb him. But something was wrong - her expression was different from usual. Her eyes were on fire.

Peyton looked straight into his eyes, not even blinking, and put every ounce of pain she'd ever felt, every ounce of hurt he'd ever brought to her, all into one merciless motion; it flashed through her eyes as she twisted the blade deep into him. She saw the shock seep into his cold, blue eyes, the complete and utter hurt and shock overtaking him, and it felt like all time stopped. They just stared at each other for a long moment; her eyes filled with nothing but hatred and anger, and his own eyes filled with surprise. "P-Peyton?" His voice came out as a whisper, barely audible. He tried to grab her arm, refusing to let her go, but she pushed his controlling fingers away. And in the next moment, his eyelids reluctantly fluttered shut, and he fell to the ground with a loud thump.

Peyton stood there, just staring straight ahead, her whole body quivering. She didn't even notice it when her legs gave in and she fell to her knees. Her blurry vision slowly moved down to him, laying there, with blood starting to soak the spot where she'd struck him. A shaky cry escaped her lips. She was suddenly overwhelmed with feelings. She didn't know how to feel. It was all too much.

She felt nothing.

"Peyton…" Lucas' voice whispered hoarsely. Her eyes moved from the motionless body lying in front of her, to Lucas a few feet away, who was a bloody mess. Peyton forced herself to keep herself in check for a little while longer, as she could feel the throbbing headache growing stronger, hammering in her head. She quietly crawled over to him, her limbs trembling, and she moved to cut at the ropes binding him, still with the bloody knife in her tied hands. He struggled to sit up, his whole body aching from pain, but he grabbed her at once, hugging her tightly.

"Oh my God, Peyton. I'm so sorry, for all of this…" Peyton didn't respond, she could barely even hear him. His voice echoed in her head, but a louder sound overwhelmed everything else. She could feel all her surroundings become blurry in her mind, she could feel the darkness emerging, and she was glad of it. His voice turned into one loud echo, the buzzing in her head overtook everything else, and she allowed herself to fall into the darkness at last. Now she could rest.

A/N: No, this story is not over yet! I will put alot of focus on the aftermath of this whole experience, so don't you worry! There is still a lot to happen, and I hope you'll all continue reading :)

Thanks so much for all the support I've gotten up until now though, you've all helped to keep me motivated, and I really appreciate every single review and message I've gotten!