A couple years passed, and Lucas was only now moving back to Tree Hill. He had put it off last year after basketball season because he had wanted to win a championship with his team. He knew a part of him was avoiding living in the same town as her again, but he knew he was also out of excuses. His Charleston team were now state champions, and his second book was already published. He had just finished with the tour, the school year was starting soon, and he was going home.
At least he knew his parents would be happy to have him back in Tree Hill. He knew Haley would too, of course, but that was about it. He had heard from his mom that Brooke was back in town, and she and her daughter were kind of reclusive. Her daughter wasn't even going to the high school. He wondered how he felt about that, but he didn't think about it too much.
While he packed up the last of his stuff into his car-so little memories, for so many years-he looked at the apartment he'd lived in for fifteen years, and knew he should probably feel some sort of nostalgia for leaving it, but he didn't, much. He was more anxious to get back to his home. He left the key with the landlord, and then left.
When he made it to Tree Hill, Haley and Nathan were at his old house, waiting to help him unpack his stuff. Well, Nathan was going to help him. Haley just wanted to be there to say hi. "It's good to have you back, Luke," she said as she hugged him. He didn't feel the need to respond to that, but he happened to agree with the sentiment.
After about an hour, Haley realized that time had passed faster than she had wanted to. "Well, boys, I've got to go. Lucas, I'll see you soon. Nathan, I will see you at home later," she said, giving Lucas another hug, and Nathan a kiss before she hurried out the door, not mentioning where it was she had to head to so quickly.
Ten minutes later, Haley arrived at the building that she, Peyton and Karen had turned into a nightclub, which they'd named Tric. Peyton, with her all her musical experience from L.A. had approached Karen, who had all the business know-how from running the Cafe, with plans to make a nightclub in Tree Hill. Haley was there to give her own musical help. The three of them had managed to make the business thrive, and it was something they all loved.
The blonde was already there when Haley arrived, which meant that she had to explain why she was late. "Oh, I was just," she paused, knowing Peyton would hear the truth eventually. Besides, she already knew Lucas was coming back. Karen had told them as soon as she found out. "Lucas arrived today, and Nathan was helping him move his stuff in, and I was there to see him," she said.
With a smile, Peyton shook her head. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it? To tell me the truth, I mean," she said with a wry smile, telling Haley that she knew that Haley had been about to lie to her. "It's okay that he's back, and it's okay you guys are friends. I've told you a million times, ever since Karen found out he was moving back, there is no problems between me and Lucas. My moving to L.A. in high school had nothing to do with him," her words hitched as she tried to convince herself of the same thing.
Before Haley could say anything else, Karen came into Tric. "Hey girls," she said with a big smile on her face. She had her two-year-old son on her hip, but both of the younger women knew it was because of Layne's much-older brother that the grin was on her face. She noticed their look and quickly explained the reason for her grin. "Lucas is coming to dinner tonight," she announced.
Every Sunday night, pretty much since the three of them had started Tric together, Haley, Karen and Peyton, and their respective families, ate dinner together. Peyton supposed she shouldn't be surprised that Lucas would be joining them this Sunday night, since it was his first weekend back in Tree Hill, but she wondered if she shouldn't bow out. "If you guys want me too, Audrey and I can stay home. I don't want to intrude on your family time," she said quickly.
Both Karen and Haley sent her incredulous looks, but it was Karen who answered, as Haley grabbed Layne from her and took him back to the nursery they had set up for him. "Peyton, you and Audrey are every bit a part of this family as Lucas is. You've been here every day for the past two years. You don't need to miss dinner on his account. I'd be offended if you did," she said, before giving the younger woman a hug.
With a smile, Peyton hugged back. Those words were nice to hear. "I know, but he's blood and all, and I've only been here for two years. I was even more absentee than him before that. I guess I still can't believe you guys never hated me for leaving the summer after junior year, I guess," she said with a shrug, like she was trying to downplay her feelings, which she was.
Of course, Haley couldn't keep her opinion out of this conversation, so she couldn't pretend that she hadn't been eavsedropping. "Peyton, we understand that you had to go. You had a daughter to take care of all on your own and you had to do what was best for her. We all know what it's like to want to do what's best for our children. No one could hate you for that," she reassured her friend, getting in on the hugging action.
Feeling at least a little bit reassured, she smiled at the two. "Thanks, both of you. I guess I spent so many years in L.A, that I got used to not having any family around. It's nice to know I have people watching my back again. I think I missed that more than anything," she said, before deciding to change the subject. "Now, I assume we have some work to do today, considering we have a nightclub to run," she said, and that was that.
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Audrey was lounging on the couch, texting her boyfriend. "Mom, what the heck is taking you so long? You're usually rushing me out the door on Sunday nights. What's the deal?" she called again. She had been ready and waiting on her mom for nearly half an hour, and she was getting bored of it. For the past 15 minutes she'd been calling up the stairs for her mother every five minutes, and Peyton had called back that she needed another minute every single time.
This time Peyton was already at the entrance to the living room. "Chill out, daughter of mine. I'm ready to go. Besides, you know you're texting Sean anyway, or Logan, you know I've always thought you two would make a better couple than you and Sean," she teased her daughter, talking about Sean, the guy she had been dating for almost two years, and Logan, her best friend.
As Audrey stood, she scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out, making a fake gagging noise. "Oh, please. You know that's gross. He's like practically my brother," she answered, taking in her mother's appearance. Peyton was wearing a pair of jean shorts, which were kind of short, but they looked good on her, and a tight black Ramones tee-shirt, paired with her leather jacket and Converse. Her curls were pulled up in a pony tail with a few framing her face, and her make-up was flawless, not too much, but enough to enhance her natural beauty.
Surprised that it had taken her mom this long to look so casual, she wondered why she had taken such care in her appearance. Was there something her mother wasn't telling her? "What's going on, Mom? You look," she paused, looking for the right word, "hot. I mean, you look more like a teenager than my mother. What's up with that?" she asked, partially teasing, but curious as well.
Biting on her lip, Peyton stared at her daughter for a brief moment before turning defensive. "Are you saying I'm not allowed to look hot?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow. She refrained from rolling her eyes, heading for the door instead. "Let's just go. We're going to be late," she said, her tone saying that the previous conversation was over.
Following her mom to the car, Audrey just shrugged it off as she felt her phone vibrate again. She pulled it out of her pocket and smiled as she read the text before sliding it open to the keyboard and typing a text back. She slid the phone closed again as she got into the car, and she made casual conversation with her mom as they drove to Karen and Keith's house.
Seeing Nathan and Haley's car, she parked behind it, noticing another car, one that she'd never seen before, sitting in the driveway where either her car, or Haley's SUV usually sat. She had a feeling she knew who it belonged to. Well, it was more than a feeling, really, because there was only one other person the vintage Mustang could belong to. Audrey noticed it, too. "Whose car is that?" she asked, checking her appearance in the mirror to make sure she was ready to meet a new person.
This time Peyton couldn't stop the eye roll. She knew exactly what her daughter was doing, and it reminded her so much of the woman who used to be her best friend, that if she hadn't known any better, she would have sworn that Audrey was Brooke's daughter. Peyton didn't like to think of Brooke too much, though, and so she forced the thought away, getting out of the Comet.
After another couple of minutes, her daughter followed. She had pulled her hair out of the messy ponytail it had been in, to let the curls fall around her face, and she had reapplied her lip gloss. "Audrey, this is Lucas who's here. It's not like he's going to care what your hair looks like or anything. You don't have to impress him," she said, sending her daughter a look.
The younger blonde had heard of Lucas, and suddenly the extra care Peyton had taken in her appearance made sense. "You mean like you're not trying to impress him? I can see what you're doing, Mom. You dressed to impress, and we both know it, so don't even try to deny it," she shot back with a look of her own as she followed her mother to the door.
Just when Peyton began wondering if Audrey was really hers, there were these moments, when Peyton knew without a doubt that this teenager had come from her. The curly-haired blonde was almost an exact replica of Peyton as a teenager at times, except, of course, for the eyes. Those eyes were definitely not from Peyton.
Shaking that thought, and ignoring her daughter's tone, Peyton walked into the house just like she would normally do. She entered the living room first, with her daughter behind her, and stopped in her tracks so quickly that Audrey ran into her back. "Pey Pey!" Layne's voice called out his version of her name and he ran over to her, but Peyton's eyes were focused on the man he was running away from.
The past 17 years had definitely been good to Lucas Scott. He had on a red tee-shirt and ripped jeans, and she immediately thought of the day her car had broken down, and he had fixed it by the side of the road. He looked just as good today as he did on that day, if not better. His hair was kind of shaggy, just the right legnth, she though, and he had stubble on his face that alluded to a manlyness that he hadn't excuded before, and then, of course, there were his eyes.
Even from across the room, his clear blue eyes pierced her, seeming to look right down into her soul, like the intermitten years since they had seen each other hadn't happened, and he could read her just as easily as he could back then. She wondered if that wasn't true. Could he see straight into her soul, and know that she had never stopped wondering about what could have been? She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that.
As his little brother ran away from him, Lucas followed his line of sight, and saw the blonde woman he hadn't seen in far too long, in his opinion. His breath caught in his throat as he took in her long, toned legs. They definitely weren't as chickeny as they had once been, at least, not from this distance. She looked almost exactly the same as he had remembered her, except better, if that was even possible.
Taking in her complete appearance, his eyes trailed up her body until he met her green orbs. They were still deep and guarded, and breath-taking. His breath caught in his throat, and he stood, still holding her gaze. For a brief moment, he wanted nothing more than to cross the room and take her in his arms to see if she still tasted the same.
It took all his strength not to give in to the impulse, but as he stared into her eyes from across the room, even though he thought he saw the same desire reflected in her eyes, he couldn't be sure that he wasn't imagining it, because he wanted to see it. He had always been able to read her before, but he didn't know if time had changed that, and he wouldn't risk it.
Behind her mother, Audrey took in the way both blondes looked at each other, and she could almost swear she felt the elictricity flowing between them. She then noticed the eyes of the man, and for a second she forgot about her mother completely. His eyes were so like hers, it was almost like looking in a mirror. She hadn't given much thought to the identity of her father before, but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe Lucas Scott was her father.
The three blondes were suddenly distracted by the little boy they had forgotten was in the room. Layne Scott wasn't one to be ignored for long, though. He grabbed impatiently as Peyton's leg, reaching his arms up at her, indicating he wanted to be picked up. "Pey!" he shouted impatiently, slapping at her leg to get her attention.
With a smile that was more automatic than anything, Peyton looked down at the little boy, bending down to pick him up and give him a hug. He hugged her around the neck as he settled in on her hip. Audrey decided that Peyton and Lucas needed to have a private moment, though, and she grabbed the little boy, saying he needed to be changed, and left the room.
Neither Peyton nor Lucas had said a word to each other yet, and they were both suddenly aware of all the years that had separated them. Lucas put his hands in his pockets, and Peyton bit her lip as they both met each others gazes again. Then Lucas broke into a smile. "Peyton Sawyer," he said, finally walking across the room and pulling her into a hug.
In that moment, they both decided that the past didn't matter. Peyton felt so good with Lucas's arms wrapped around her again, that all she wanted to do was make up for lost time, and Lucas loved the smell of her shampoo, which seemed to be the same. Peyton's eyes drifted closed for a moment as she also took in a deep breath of his scent, which still sent shivers up and down her spine.
Neither of them really wanted to break the hug, but Haley came into the living room a few minutes later, announcing that it was time for dinner, and they were forced to break apart. She stared at them for a moment, and the way they both guiltily shuffled their feet, and she immediately knew something was going to happen between them. In her opinion, it was 17 years too late, but she decided to keep her opinion to herself. For now.
All throughout dinner, Peyton marveled at how smoothly it went, and how normal it felt, like Lucas had always been there. They all talked and bantered like it was 17 years ago, and no time had passed at all, except for the fact that there were kids involved now. There were only a couple of awkward moments during the whole evening, and even those passed quickly. The first one was when Lucas brought up the topic of Audrey's father.
Both Haley and Karen had already decided that Peyton wasn't going to give anything up about that, and they had accepted it, two years ago, but no one had warned Lucas. When he asked the question, the rest of the table, including Audrey, who was just as in the dark on the subject as anyone else, went silent and turned their gazes to Peyton, waiting for her reaction.
The blonde in question paused for a beat, sitting very still as she contemplated. She hesitated to give the explanation she had given the rest of them because she knew only Lucas could very well have the only arguement to her logical answer. She could only hope that he didn't think too hard about it, and accepted her answer like everyone else.
Clearing her throat, she focused on the blond across from her. "I know the color of her eyes, and we all know she didn't get that color from me, but if you remember, you were gone before the end of our junior year, and she was born in May, after I'd been away from Tree Hill for nearly six months, and we didn't even sleep together while you lived in Tree Hill. The father just didn't want to be a father, and I preferred to do this on my own anyway," she kept her voice even throughout her whole explanation.
After another moment of silence, during which the connection between blue eyes and green was almost tangible, Peyton blinked and looked away, unable to handle the eye contact anymore. She didn't know what he was thinking. She was almost scared to know. So she started up another conversation and everyone else did the same.
Not long after that, another sketchy topic was brought up: Brooke, who had been like the elephant in the room, the taboo topic, for two years. Peyton was once again surprised into silence, but this time she was more surprised at the flash of jealousy that flowed through her than the question. Of course he would be wondering about Brooke. "Well, I haven't spoken to her since she left Tree Hill, just a few months after you, at the end of our junior year," Peyton answered before the subject was changed by Haley.
While Haley took Peyton's attention, Audrey and James got into a conversation about the upcoming school year. They were both starting their junior year in a little over a month, and they were both excited for the upcoming basketball season, Audrey as a cheerleader and James as a basketball player. James was looking forward to having his uncle as his coach, though Lucas insisted that he wasn't going to go easy on him, or anyone else.
While Audrey, James and Lucas talked about school and basketball, Haley, Peyton and Karen were talking about the benefit they were planning to have at Tric. They had-well, Peyton had-gotten a bunch of bands from her label to play, including Haley James-Scott, and the proceeds were going to go towards a charity that supported breast cancer. The concert would be in a month, just before school started.
It was the first time they'd done something this big, and they were all hoping it would go well. Peyton had already started working on a CD that would feature some of the bands that would be playing at the club. The proceeds from the CD were also going towards the breast cancer foundation, and it would be coming out shortly before the benefit concert.
By the time the evening was over, Peyton was wishing she didn't have to leave Lucas. They seemed to have fallen back into that same easy friendship that they had kept up during their junior year. The only difference was they hadn't started making out behind Brooke's back, although, Peyton wouldn't mind that, the making out part at least.
When she got up to go, alone because Audrey had already gone off to hang out with the guys at the Rivercourt, Lucas stood as well, walking her to the front door, and then following her out to the porch. "You know, I can make it to my car on my own. I don't need to be escorted to it. It's right there," she said teasingly, pointing to her black Comet.
His hands were stuffed into his pockets and he looked down at his feet as he shuffled them. That was what indicated to Peyton that things were about to get heavy. She wanted to hear what he had to say though, so she just waited, which wasn't easy, considering she had little patience. "Peyton, I, um, well," he looked up and, with a confidence he hadn't had as a teenager, pulled her into a kiss. "I've wanted to do that all night," he said when the kiss broke.
For a moment, Peyton could not think of one word to say. She couldn't even remember her own name, if he had asked. The kissing was just as good as it had been in high school, if not better, because they both had more experience now, and they were more mature. The point was, though, that the same spark that she had felt her junior year had flowed through her just now, and she knew that what she had been feeling was more than just lust, even then.
Instead of saying any of that, she just blinked up at him for a moment, before pulling him back down to crash her lips to his. One of his hands slid to her waist, while the other moved to her hair, to hold her head to his. She threw her arms around his neck and laced her fingers in his hair, and they kissed each other fervently, with 17 years worth of surpressed passion.
It was only when Peyton needed oxygen that she broke away, and she had to take a step back, so she wouldn't jump him again. She needed a moment to sort out her feelings. "What was that, Lucas? I mean, we haven't seen each other for 17 years, then you come back into town, two years after I do, and just kiss me like that. What do you want from me?" she asked, her chest heaving as she tried to even out her breathing.
There was a pause as Lucas tried to figure out his own feelings. "Peyton, for 17 years, I've wondered what could have happened between us, if we'd ever gotten the chance to be a couple back then. Tonight I decided I don't want to wonder what if anymore. I want to try, and see what this could be, because I still feel the same feelings for you now that I did back then," he said, raising her chin so he could look into her eyes.
Then he took her hand, and placed it on his chest, above his heart, and he placed his other hand over hers. "I want it all with you this time, Peyton Sawyer, and it'd be really great if you didn't run from me this time," he said, injecting just a bit of humor into his tone, but his earnest blue-eyed gaze told her he was being completely serious.
As the silence drew on, and Peyton contemplated, Lucas felt his hope dwindling. Did she not feel the same things he did? He wouldn't allow himself to walk away, though, until she gave an answer. "Alright," she finally said, with a nod. "Let's give this a try, Lucas Scott. I don't want to run this time, and I don't want to wonder what if anymore," she said, and since that was that, he pulled her into another fiery kiss.
A/N: I am so glad y'all liked this fic. Thanks so much for all the reviews. I'm sorry that I confused a lot of people, and I'll try to straighten that out now. Audrey and Kristine were both 14 in the prologue. I originally started the last chapter in this year, but then I changed it and moved it back a couple years, and I guess I didn't fix everything like I'd thought. Anyway, they are both 16 in this chapter, and they are the same age. Kristine is a few months older, but not older enough to put them in different grades. The next chapter should reveal Kristine's father, and maybe Audrey's. I'm not sure yet because it's not written. Anyway, I hope you like it. Thanks again for the reviews, and I hope you'll review this chapter too.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.